Sengoku had been sure he was about to soar, only to be hit with that result. The whiplash was hard to swallow.
"Fine. It's still not bad." He steadied himself and forced the words out. "Maybe I'll gather them someday."
With that, he pushed the disappointment aside. There were still two items left. Even if the first one had conditions, the next two should be more practical.
He put the Four-Star Dragon Ball away. If nothing else, it was a rare collectible.
Amon nodded, playing along. "It's got high collectible value. If you ever manage to gather all seven, you'll be rich."
Then he took out the second item.
A small bottle.
Amon cleared his throat. "Next one is also... special."
Garp and Sengoku both focused on it at once. Sengoku's eyes were sharper than Garp's. He needed something usable, something immediate.
Garp squinted at the label. "Kidney Tonic?"
In his experience, anything in a bottle was usually good. Pills, elixirs, tonics, healing liquids. Bottles rarely disappointed.
"What does it do?" Garp demanded. "You drink it? It boosts strength?"
Amon held the bottle up, then his expression shifted into something... strange. The kind of look that made sense to every man alive.
He paused, glanced at Belle-mère and the girls nearby, then coughed.
"Never mind. Read it yourself."
He handed the bottle and the description to Sengoku.
Sengoku took it without thinking much. He assumed it was another normal item and started reading aloud.
"Kidney Tonic. One bottle clears your mind. Two bottles make you never fall and never feel tired. Three bottles grant immortality..." [T/N: The 2nd bottle is about dihh staying hard.]
He stopped.
His face flushed red.
In the next second, he shoved the bottle and the description away like they were contraband, moving so fast it looked like his life depended on it.
"T-this is real?" His voice dropped, tense and eager.
Amon nodded without hesitation. "Everything drawn from my Jars is real."
Sengoku's fingers trembled slightly.
Garp stared at the two of them, then narrowed his eyes. "What did you pull that has you acting like this? Let me see it."
Sengoku stiffened. "Secret."
He tried to sound calm, but the guilt was obvious.
Garp's mood soured immediately. "Secret? We've been friends for decades. You think I'm going to steal it? I'm just curious."
Then he turned straight to Amon. "Amon, tell me. What is it?"
Amon shook his head. "This one can't be said."
Sengoku noticed Amon's silence and felt a surge of goodwill. The embarrassment alone would have been unbearable. Amon keeping quiet meant he had at least some sense of decency.
Garp clicked his tongue. "Boring."
He gave up, annoyed.
Sengoku held the bottle tighter and looked at Amon. "Amon, how do I use it?"
"Simple." Amon pointed at it. "Open it and drink it. It tastes decent too, a little sweet."
Sengoku did not hesitate for even a second.
"Good. I'll use it now."
He uncorked the bottle and drank everything in one gulp.
The moment it went down, a warm current rose in his lower abdomen and surged through him. Something that had been quiet for far too long stirred awake, then snapped to attention.
The effect was immediate.
So immediate that Sengoku's whole body trembled.
His eyes widened, then tightened with pure shock, then relief.
At that moment, no other treasure mattered.
He looked at Amon with an intensity that was almost reverent.
"Mr. Amon... Thank You."
For years, one reason he stayed buried in Marine HQ was simple. He did not want to go home and face disappointment.
But now it was different.
He could feel it.
A second spring was coming.
Tonight...
...