Partner System Unlocked

"Welcome aboard, Chief Petty Officer Tashigi—oh, no..."

"I'm the pirate Tashigi!"

After hanging up on Sengoku, Kael immediately extended a welcoming hand to the pitiful-looking Tashigi, greeting the female swordswoman he had finally tricked into joining them.

The flustered young girl stood there in a daze for quite a while before seemingly accepting reality and reaching out to shake Kael's hand.

"P-Please take care of me, Captain Kael."

"Hehe."

Having successfully talked his first crew member into joining, Kael immediately opened the system inventory and focused his consciousness on Rukia's character card.

The next second, an incredibly exciting pop-up suddenly appeared.

[Compatible crew member detected. Load Character Card—Rukia Kuchiki?]

[Yes] [No]

Clearly.

Tashigi had now gained the system's approval and could be loaded with a template.

However, Kael was in no hurry to load the character card for her immediately.

After shaking hands with Tashigi, he led her onto the deck instead.

At that moment, the morning sun had just risen, and the sea surged and ebbed.

Layer upon layer of waves rolled beneath the sunlight, scattering golden spray.

The salty sea breeze blew across them.

Kael and Tashigi, a lone man and a lone woman, stood together aboard the ship.

Looking out at the distant ocean, Kael spoke with his back to her like a seasoned senior.

"Tashigi, now that you've joined my Dusk Pirates, we're family from this day onward!"

"By pirate custom, we should be throwing you a welcome party."

"But given our current circumstances, your welcome party will have to be postponed for now."

"Uh... I-I don't mind. It's actually fine if we don't have any welcome party."

Having recovered her beloved sword, Tashigi hugged Shigure tightly and replied timidly.

Once she had learned that Kael was truly a Marine agent, she no longer cared at all about him deceiving her.

Instead, she feared that Kael might become dissatisfied with her because of her earlier terrible performance.

And naturally, what she feared came to pass.

The instant Tashigi finished speaking, Kael, who had been staring at the sea, suddenly let out an angry roar.

"How could that possibly be okay?!"

Kael turned around, pointed at Tashigi, and said:

"Since you chose to become a pirate, then you must follow pirate rules!"

"From today onward, forget all those bad habits you developed in the Marines! Stop being so polite to everyone and show the dignity of a pirate!!!"

"B-But..."

Tashigi raised her hand with a blankly adorable expression and asked:

"Aren't we Marines pretending to be pirates? Do we really need to go that far?"

"Nonsense!!!"

Kael flared up again and slammed his fist against the railing.

"What do you think espionage is?!"

"Some little make-believe game where the two of us pretend to be husband and wife and spend our days raising a child?!"

"..."

Little Tiga, who had happened to arrive at that moment, stopped in his tracks, suddenly feeling that he had come at the wrong time.

"S-Sorry! I know I was wrong!"

Tashigi jolted at the shout, then hurriedly bowed in apology.

"Don't bow!!!"

Kael reached out directly, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her upright.

"Remember this! From today on, you are a pirate!"

"You must be like all those people you once captured..."

"Arrogance and insolence are your true nature! Greed and desire are what define you!"

"Even when you meet your former superiors and comrades, you must show them the face of a pirate!"

"We are spies! We are agents! We are people who hide in the darkness and are misunderstood by the world!"

"If you don't want your incompetence to affect the Marines' important plans, then learn properly how to be a pirate!"

"Did you hear me?!"

"...I-I heard you!"

"Louder! I can't hear you!"

"I HEARD YOU—!!!"

Tashigi gathered her courage, took a deep breath, and shouted her reply.

"Very good! Now that's the spirit!"

Seeing Tashigi like this, Kael immediately revealed a satisfied smile.

He was not deliberately making things difficult for Tashigi.

The main issue was that this girl was simply too kind and gentle.

Countless anime and novels had plots where the heroine was too kindhearted, causing plans or missions to fail.

To prevent Tashigi from making such mistakes in the future, Kael had to give her a preventative shot in advance.

Though such things could not be changed in just a few words, there was plenty of time. He could slowly train her.

Kael patted Tashigi on the shoulder.

"I hope you remember what I said today."

"Alright, enough small talk. It's time to get down to business."

An expectant gleam flashed through Kael's eyes.

"I think it's time for you to learn about the structure of our Dusk Pirates."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kael waved at Little Tiga in the distance.

Little Tiga, who had been watching the spectacle, hurried over at a trot.

Kael crouched down until he was level with Little Tiga, then smiled and said:

"Next, let me introduce another member of our pirate crew..."

"The pirate ship Tiga, and its ship spirit—Little Tiga!"

"Hello, Sister Tashigi!"

Little Tiga raised his head and smiled at Tashigi from beneath his hood.

"A... a ship spirit?"

"You mean the legendary..."

Upon hearing Little Tiga's introduction, a look of astonishment suddenly appeared on Tashigi's face.

She quickly widened her eyes and looked at him.

Kael smiled.

"That's right, the legendary ship spirit!"

"And Tiga isn't just any ordinary ship spirit."

"Not only can he control the ship's route, direction, and speed, but he has also eaten the Storm-Storm Fruit, giving him the power to create storms!!!"

As he spoke, Kael looked up at the position of the sun and then said:

"Tiga, a new day has begun. Head for the next island—we need to resupply."

"And while we're at it, give our Marine friends a little hint. Don't let them actually lose us."

"Yes, Captain!"

Little Tiga immediately snapped into a salute.

Then his figure abruptly vanished from Tashigi's sight.

The next second.

A violent gale suddenly rose and blew against Tiga's sails.

The ship suddenly surged forward, startling Tashigi again. Her feet slipped, and she nearly fell flat on her backside.

Watching the fierce winds howl in the sky and feeling the ship charge forward through the pounding waves, Tashigi pushed up her glasses and stood there completely dumbfounded.

Ship spirits were already legendary creatures.

And now, a ship spirit with Devil Fruit powers had appeared right in front of her...

This was simply too shocking!

Was this the intelligence organization directly under the Marine Fleet Admiral?

It truly was filled with hidden talents!

Because of Little Tiga's special nature, Kael's image in Tashigi's mind immediately became even more impressive.

But this was not the end.

Because what was about to happen would completely overturn Tashigi's worldview!

Just as Tashigi swayed unsteadily, a large hand suddenly reached out, grabbed her arm, and steadied her.

Kael smiled and said:

"Next comes my self-introduction..."

"You already know my name..."

"Kael, an agent directly under Fleet Admiral Sengoku, captain of the Dusk Pirates, and also the user of the Imagine-Imagine Fruit."

"I possess the power to turn the powers or objects of fantasy into reality!"

The Imagine-Imagine Fruit was Kael's explanation for his system.

It was not that he wanted to hide anything from his crew.

It was simply that using a Fruit ability to replace the mysterious system would be much easier for people to accept and understand.

He smiled at Tashigi.

"Since you've already become a member of our pirate crew, let me give you a gift from the world of fantasy!"

With a thought.

Kael instantly selected the button to load the character card.

In an instant, the character card inside the inventory transformed into a streak of red light and flew into Tashigi's body.

Before the astonished Tashigi could react, a strange energy erupted from within her body.

At the same time.

Some unfamiliar memories inexplicably appeared in her mind.

Slash, fist, step, demon arts...

Though she had never heard of these things before, it was as if she had undergone systematic training, clearly comprehending the meaning of each one.

"I'm... a Soul Reaper?"

The confused Tashigi turned her gaze toward Kael, seeking an answer.

Unfortunately, Kael could not immediately give her one.

Because he was still immersed in the system, studying the Partner System that had just unlocked.

This time, when Kael opened the partner interface again, the screen was no longer completely blank...

Instead, it displayed two images—one solid and one translucent—formed from Tashigi and Rukia.

Tashigi was solid, while Rukia was translucent.

The two stood one before the other, like a past life and a present life.

Beside their illustrations was Tashigi's attribute panel.

[Partner: Tashigi (Rukia Kuchiki)]

[Aptitude: A]

[Level: 1]

[Experience: 0/100]

[Combat Power: 35]

Beside this attribute panel was another aptitude panel half its size. Displayed in a fan-shaped chart, it introduced Rukia's four-dimensional aptitudes.

[Total Aptitude: 350]

[Strength Aptitude: 60]

[Stamina Aptitude: 70]

[Agility Aptitude: 100]

[Spirit Aptitude: 120]

That was everything displayed on Tashigi's interface.