Poké Ball, Finishing Move

"Hiss~!"

"This thing!!!"

Looking at the system's description, Kael was instantly impressed despite not fully understanding it, his eyes gleaming.

With a thought, he took Nemu's Soul Reaper Uniform out of his inventory.

In an instant.

A black dress wrapped with a white sash appeared out of thin air on his desk.

Silky satin, a loose collar, and a skirt hem just long enough to cover the butt...

Rather than defensive gear for battle, this C-rank item looked more like cosplay attire meant to spice things up.

Uniform temptation? Cosplay?

The system sure knew how to have fun!

"As expected, the system is still the same system."

"It's got taste. I like it!"

Just imagining the mature Tashigi wearing that Soul Reaper Uniform made Kael feel as though he had taken another huge step toward his dream!

He then selected a pair of Emilia's white stockings from his inventory.

Though they were merely E-rank items with no special effects, they were still system-produced. Their texture and visual appeal were far beyond that of ordinary white stockings or thigh-high socks!

He placed the white stockings together with the Soul Reaper Uniform.

Kael planned to give them all to Tashigi once she finished training, giving her a huge surprise!

Unfortunately, that meant the sailor uniform set he had prepared for Tashigi would have to be set aside for now, waiting for another destined owner.

Sigh...

It couldn't be helped.

After all, the Soul Reaper Uniform was a C-rank item.

It was, after all, the attire of a Seireitei vice-captain. Defending against blades, spears, and clubs would be easy enough.

It was quite decent equipment.

Kael believed that Tashigi, who knew what Soul Reapers were, would definitely not turn down this set of Soul Reaper Uniform.

The first ten-pull had not brought any major surprises, but he had at least obtained an item his pirate crew could use right now.

That immediately stirred Kael's excitement.

He licked his lips and murmured inwardly:

System Daddy, come through for me!

With another thought, he chose another ten-pull from the standard gacha machine.

Then, another rapid stream of notifications flashed before Kael's eyes.

[Congratulations, you have obtained the E-rank item Kid's Cloak!]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the D-rank item Explosive Tag!]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the D-rank item Nichirin Sword!]

[...]

[...]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the B-rank item Poké Ball!]

"Hm!? A B-rank item!?"

"Does calling you System Daddy actually work!?"

Seeing the final notification flash past, a brilliant golden gleam immediately shone in Kael's eyes!

"A Poké Ball, huh!? Let's see what it does."

Muttering to himself, Kael quickly opened the inventory system, found the red-and-white sphere icon, and checked the Poké Ball's description.

[Poké Ball]

[Type: Single-use item]

[Rank: B]

[Description: Can tame one non-human creature defeated by the pirate crew as a companion, automatically granting it a Pokémon (C-rank) panel.]

"A Pokémon C-rank panel? This Poké Ball..."

"It seems pretty impressive!"

After reading its description, Kael's lips immediately curled upward.

At the same time, his brain began working at high speed as he considered how to use the Poké Ball.

"Hmm... based on what the system says, this Poké Ball should be quite flexible in its use."

"Non-human creatures..."

"In other words, aside from Sea Kings and rare beasts..."

"Even Fish-Men, Giants, Minks..."

"As long as they're non-human races, they can all be tamed by this Poké Ball and forcibly become members of the Dusk Pirates."

"Hiss~!"

"That effect really is insanely overpowered!"

Kael was secretly astonished.

Unlike becoming a crewmate first and then turning into a one-hundred-percent loyal companion...

Those tamed by the Poké Ball did not need to be willing to follow Kael at all. They would simply undergo forced brainwashing and be compelled to acknowledge Kael as their master!

"As expected of a B-rank item. It's terrifyingly powerful!"

Kael sighed inwardly.

But his eyes were shining brightly!

After all, this overpowered item was in his hands!

Considering the Poké Ball's setting, though, such an effect was indeed only natural.

In the Pokémon world, Pokémon that had been beating each other up one second would immediately become obedient "good children" once they were caught in a Poké Ball.

However...

After careful consideration, Kael still felt that using a Poké Ball to tame humanoid creatures was simply not cost-effective!

"Humanoid creatures in this pirate world generally possess human intelligence and social traits."

"I can completely use threats and incentives to make them willingly board the ship, then wait for suitable character cards."

"This forced brainwashing ability is better used on valuable rare beasts or Sea Kings that refuse to submit."

At the end of the day, the Poké Ball would only add one C-rank companion for Kael.

Currently, he only had one A-rank companion and did not know how valuable a C-rank companion truly was.

What was more, aside from forced brainwashing, the Poké Ball's other ability was to directly add a companion for Kael regardless of compatibility.

That made it even more important for him to consider targets with outstanding potential but for whom matching character cards would be difficult to find.

And when it came to non-humanoid creatures, Kael already had a few ideas...

The massive whale Laboon at Twin Cape, the giant goldfish Island Eater near Little Garden, the Kung Fu Dugongs in the Alabasta Kingdom that could learn Armament Haki, the gigantic Sea Kings in the Calm Belt, Zunesha carrying the Mink nation on its back...

There were simply too many bizarre beasts in the pirate world to count!

Never mind whether Kael could defeat them.

Since they were companions, it would be best if they could board the Tiga and enter the training room to train.

"It seems that leaves me with very few possible targets..."

"Hmm... I really can't use this Poké Ball recklessly."

After weighing his options, Kael ultimately decided to put the Poké Ball away for the time being.

After all, there were no targets in the East Blue worth using a Poké Ball on.

Only members of the Arlong Pirates met the Poké Ball's requirements.

But Kael really had no interest in bringing a group of ugly Fish-Men aboard.

Never mind the countless evil deeds they had committed...

Kael did not object to having some bad people join his pirate crew. So long as they had compatibility with character cards and could bring him benefits, he was not picky.

But clearly...

As far as he was concerned, the Arlong Pirates had a better destination and greater use elsewhere!

After closing the inventory interface, Kael did not immediately spend the remaining ten million Beli. Instead, he opened his captain interface.

Because after that ten-pull, he had successfully become a level-two captain!

[Captain: Kael]

[Level: 2]

[Experience: 0/300]

[Total Combat Power: 440]

[Skills: Hyper Intuition (A), Pending Draw]

"Hmm, it feels... like it's nothing special."

Kael stretched his neck and loosened his muscles a little before remarking.

Although he had gained a ten-percent combat power boost, more than four hundred combat power only amounted to roughly another Alvida's worth...

Other than being able to clearly feel that his body had become somewhat stronger, the boost to his actual combat ability was not especially obvious.

"There are still too few people~"

Kael deeply understood his pirate crew's current predicament.

So he needed more Beli, allowing him to continuously draw from the gacha and increase the number of companions recognized by the system.

As it happened, the Dusk Pirates' next destination should be able to satisfy that need.

Of course.

Now that he had reached level two, Kael could draw another captain skill.

With an anxious heart, he paid respects in his mind to every god he knew of...

Then his consciousness instantly clicked the words "Pending Draw."

In an instant!

A huge, densely packed prize wheel abruptly appeared before Kael's eyes.

He nervously closed his eyes, though it made little difference whether he did so or not, since the system was in his mind.

The wheel spun at high speed.

Countless skills whose names he could not make out swept past the pointer.

Kael clenched his fists and waited silently.

Only after a minute did the wheel slowly come to a stop.

But Kael was so stunned that his mouth fell wide open.

"Holy shit!!!"

Within Kael's consciousness, the prize wheel slowly vanished...

And a gleaming bald head slowly appeared before him.

A pure white cape, bright red gloves, and a tight yellow suit.

That mysterious combination, along with those utterly vacant dead-fish eyes.

The result Kael had drawn this time was already self-evident.

It was none other than the absolute ruler from the world of One-Punch Man—the Bald Cape, Saitama!

At the same time, a notification appeared in the center of Kael's vision:

[Congratulations, you have obtained the S-rank captain skill "Finishing Move—Serious Punch"!!!]