[SIDE QUEST COMPLETE!]

Winning Hand

Win 1,000 games of card.

Reward: 10,000,000 B

"YES!"

Brynlee's victorious scream echoed throughout the entirety of Arlong Park, turning many heads and even startling the drunkest souls awake. Chew scowled, throwing his cards on the table between them.

"No need to rub it in, either…" he huffed.

"Just take your money already, kid," added another Fishman, rolling his eyes.

"Nah, you can keep your chump change, boys!" she grinned, jumping to her feet.

"Chump- chump change? There's over 10,000 berries in the pot!" gawked Hachi.

But Brynlee simply cackled, flying away without another look back. The Fishmen around the table all exchanged unsure glances, before Chew shrugged and hurriedly claimed his money back, the others quickly imitating him before Brynlee could come back and change her mind.

"CHA!"

[SIDE QUEST COMPLETE!]

One Strike

Destroy a 1000 targets practicing Fishman Karate.

Reward: 100,000 B

Brynlee wiped the sweat from her brow as the target collapsed in pieces, satisfied. Kuroobi then approached her, and her eyes widened when he offered her a single stripe of black fabric – one Nami and Koala had earned a few weeks ago.

"Congratulations, Brynlee." Their teacher had warmed up to them, even if he'd always deny it when asked. "You've earned your first level black belt. But you'll need to work even harder from here on out if you want to go up in levels."

"Understood! I won't let you down!"

As she gingerly wrapped the black belt around her waist, a notification window popped up.

[SIDE QUEST]

A Fish in the Ocean

Become a level one black belt Fishman Karate practitioner.

Reward: 100,000 B

Brynlee grinned and got right back to work.

Pain exploded in Brynlee's side, and then in her back, as she violently collided with the ground. The air was knocked right out of her lungs and stars danced before her eyes, and it took her a moment to notice the notification window that had popped up.

[SKILL UPDATE]

Invulnerability: 7/20

Yay… Who'd have thought getting beaten up would be the fastest way to level up that skill? She thought, albeit sarcastically, as the pain slowly faded.

"Bryn! I'm so sorry, are you alright?" exclaimed Sanji, whom she hadn't even notice rush to her side.

"All good, Sanji. No worries," she assured, wincing a bit as she sat up.

"You left your right side wide open," critiqued Chez Zeff. "You're lucky he held back at the last second, or you'd have ended up with a few broken ribs."

"I'm so sorry—"

"Sanji, I'm okay," she assured, offering him a reassuring smile. "I'm tougher than I look – I can definitely take it! So don't hold back anymore, okay?"

He looked definitely torn – not because she was a lady, but because she was his friend. But she was determined, and he seemed to understand. Nodding firmly, he took a few steps back to take a proper stance, and Brynlee pushed herself back to her feet. Bringing her hands behind her back, she inhaled deeply, then pounced.

They trained for the following three hours. And, once Sanji and Chez Zeff left to return to the Baratie, Brynlee trained for two more hours on her own.

She wouldn't take it easy.

"Miss Belo?"

"Hm?"

Brynlee braced herself, painfully aware that she was once again going to attract a lot of attention to her impossible knowledge – which was a shame, since she'd managed to lay low for a while now, and the Captain hadn't interrogated her in months.

"I want you to teach me Armament and Observation Haki."

Belo's cigarette dropped to the floor at the woman stared her down, dumbstruck by the unexpected request. But then, she realized what this was: an opportunity. So, she settled comfortably behind her desk, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay," she agreed. "But only if you tell me how, exactly, you know what you know. And no weaseling your way out of it this time. Deal?"

Brynlee hesitated, but then sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Deal."

Hopefully, she was making the right decision trusting the Revolutionary Captain with this.

Alright, only one last chapter left before going ahead with a timeskip! Hope you guys are as excited as I am ah ah.

Also, I can't remember if I mentionend this before, but Brynlee essentially set her "Gambler's Reward" to an automated setting - meaning every single sidequest's reward is automatically multiplied by five. I simply didn't want to mention it each and every time.

Good day y'all, and see you soon!