Boarding the Ship, Rewards, Bounty Issued

The sparring had ended, but everyone remained trapped in the visual shockwave Can Yue and Zoro had unleashed, unable to pull themselves free.

Can Yue's overwhelming strength, Zoro's unyielding spirit, the mutual respect between swordsmen—this battle had etched itself into the townsfolk's minds like a living scroll unfurling before their eyes.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted.

"What are you standing around for? Go after Can Yue before you regret it!"

"Huh? What the hell?"

"Holy crap, hubby Can Yue, don't leave! Come back and... and party with us!"

"What are you waiting for? If you don't chase Can Yue, you'll regret it!"

In an instant, dust kicked up everywhere, the scene as grand as a cavalry charge.

Can Yue frowned slightly at the swarm of women surging toward him from behind, then leaped onto a rooftop in one fluid motion, leaving a crowd of women below whimpering and wailing.

"HAHAHAHA!" Luffy suddenly burst out laughing, then announced, "Crisis averted! Banquet 2.0 officially begins!"

"OHHH!!!"

As the sky darkened, Luffy had already blended in with the town's kids, pulling faces and belching out off-key songs.

Zoro was locked in a drinking contest with a bunch of grown men, his unbeatable tolerance drawing rounds of cheers.

Can Yue sat atop the town's tallest building, sipping his wine. Below, of course, a pack of beautiful, ravenous women—egged on by alcohol—were shouting out shameless words.

Can Yue suppressed the urge to annihilate them with a single strike, lifted his gaze to the crescent moon in the night sky, and fell silent.

Just then, an impossibly long arm grabbed Can Yue by the collar.

In that instant, cold sweat broke out on Can Yue's forehead.

"You... have some nerve!"

Can Yue was yanked into the air by Luffy. Just as the two were about to collide, Can Yue twisted midair two and a half times and kicked Luffy a hundred meters away into a garbage dump.

"Whoa, hubby Can Yue is so cool!"

As he landed gracefully, another wave of cheers erupted.

Amid the women's strange cries, Can Yue charged toward the garbage heap where Luffy lay.

He grabbed Luffy's ankle—the only part visible—and flew off toward a distant grove of trees.

Moments later, only cries of "Ow! That hurts! Go easy on me!" could be heard.

The pained shouts rose and fell, weighing heavy on the men's hearts and flushing the women's cheeks.

After a while, Luffy's pained yelling faded. The townsfolk shrugged off the commotion and went back to partying.

In the grove, a battered and bruised Luffy suddenly dropped his usual childish antics and looked at Can Yue seriously.

His tone solemn, he said, "Can Yue, become my partner. Come with me, find the ONE PIECE, become the Pirate King. And then... make that dream come true."

Can Yue naturally knew that Luffy had always had another dream besides becoming the Pirate King. Though he guessed it might involve changing something about the world, he wasn't certain.

"What dream?"

Luffy smiled slightly, his lips moving as he began to speak.

"So, Can Yue, what do you think?" Luffy looked at Can Yue with hopeful eyes.

Can Yue was silent for a few seconds, then nodded in reply. "Alright."

At this moment, the fundamental reason Can Yue agreed was that raising his fusion level required experiencing the major events of this world.

And Luffy, as the chosen son of the Pirate World, would inevitably have a string of troubles come knocking at his door.

In short, it was convenient for leveling up.

Of course, Can Yue didn't dislike this naive, straightforward guy—at least not yet.

Though his personality was similar to Sesshomaru's, Can Yue had been human before his transmigration, not a demon, so he didn't despise humans.

Hearing Can Yue's agreement, Luffy shouted excitedly, "Awesome! Let's get back to the party!"

Before they knew it, the first rays of dawn tore through the veil of night, and a new day arrived.

The ground was littered with passed-out men and young women lying every which way.

But Can Yue, Luffy, and Zoro had already arrived at the dock.

Luffy grinned wide and said, "Hehe, the Straw Hat Pirates are officially formed!"

Can Yue and Zoro watched the sunrise cresting above the horizon and both smiled faintly.

Then, reluctantly, the two of them boarded Luffy's tiny, beat-up boat—a vessel less than three meters long.

"Set sail!"

The three of them stared ahead as they sailed, each lost in their own thoughts.

Can Yue recalled the reason Luffy had given for inviting him aboard in the forest last night, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Then, he slowly sank into contemplation, beginning to organize his thoughts.

After boarding the ship, the system rewards for this event had already been distributed.

Completed the Pirate King major event: "Met Luffy and Zoro, joined the Straw Hat Pirates; defeated Captain Morgan."

Reward: Fusion degree increased. Current Sesshomaru fusion degree: 40%.

Due to the fusion degree breaking an integer threshold, Poison Flower Claw and Time Whip have been strengthened. New skill acquired: Azure Dragon Break.

System bonus skill: Armament Haki, a unique power of the Pirate King world.

~

With the rewards concluded, Can Yue suddenly felt a surge of knowledge about Armament Haki flood into his mind.

As if it were muscle memory, Can Yue could now freely reinforce any part of his body with Armament Haki.

But due to the influence of his own Demonic Aura, his Armament Haki seemed different from the knowledge in his mind.

Stronger, richer, and far more lethal.

~

After experiencing Armament Haki, Can Yue began his next line of thought.

He had now roughly figured out how the Template System he was bound to operated.

Defeating a Boss recognized by the system would grant corresponding rewards.

And the most critical part of those rewards was breaking through the fusion degree's integer thresholds.

Daily roleplay could increase fusion degree, but when it approached an integer—like 39.9% needing to break through to 40%—only system rewards could unlock it.

Once unlocked, his strength would further increase. Besides enhancing existing abilities, he might also gain new skills unique to the Pirate King world, like the Armament Haki he had just learned.

So his future course of action was clear.

Daily roleplay as Sesshomaru—of course, for Can Yue, this required no acting at all; their personalities were far too similar.

As the fusion degree gradually increased through roleplay, when it reached an integer threshold, he would need to defeat a Boss-level character to raise it further.

Of course, not every villain counted as a Boss.

In Can Yue's view, there was no need to worry about whether a character was a major antagonist.

Just cut his way through!

Staying with the Straw Hat Crew, the big villains would naturally line up to get beaten.

The Chosen One, Straw Hat Kid, wasn't joking—he was definitely a villain magnet.

There would be plenty of people to fight in the future, and he'd surely hit the mark.

"Heh, saves me time."

Thinking this, Can Yue grew even more certain of the rightness of joining the Straw Hat Crew.

~

His thoughts concluded, Can Yue's mind gradually returned to reality.

"Can Yue, why could you punch me and make it hurt last night? I'm a Rubber Human," Luffy suddenly asked.

Can Yue thought for a moment, then instead of answering directly, he asked Luffy and Zoro in return: "Want to learn?"

"Yeah! Teach me!" Zoro, who had been silent, reacted instantly, demanding to learn.

Luffy quickly joined in the excitement.

In truth, Can Yue hadn't known Haki last night. What had hurt Luffy was his use of Demonic Aura. Perhaps the two powers shared some common ground—Demonic Aura could also affect Devil Fruits.

And what he planned to teach the two of them naturally wasn't Demonic Aura.

And so, on this narrow little boat barely three meters long, a legendary chapter quietly began to unfold.

Marine Headquarters—Bounty Management Division. A Vice Admiral was presiding over a meeting.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the bounties for Can Yue, Luffy, Zoro, and a few other recently notorious pirates.

"According to our investigators' reports, here is the information on the three.

Straw Hat Luffy: A Devil Fruit user, likely Paramecia, with the ability to stretch his body like rubber.

Pirate Hunter Zoro: Has previously captured pirates with bounties in the millions on his own. A master of the Three Sword Style.

As for the white-haired man, all we know is that he cut down Captain Morgan with a single sword strike.

Terrifyingly, the residual force of his attack severed trees dozens of meters away. Such strength cannot be underestimated."

The assembled officers only showed a hint of seriousness regarding Can Yue's displayed power. After a brief discussion, the meeting's lead announced the final results.

"Straw Hat Kid Luffy: Bounty 10 million.

Pirate Hunter Zoro: Bounty 9 million.

White-haired Swordsman Can Yue: Bounty 20 million!

If there are no objections, we'll move on to discussing the other pirates..."

As the meeting ended, the bounty posters for Luffy and his two companions were sent worldwide by the News Coos.