Fisher Tiger

Not long ago, Fisher Tiger climbed the ten-thousand-meter Red Line with his bare hands, broke into the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, and freed all several thousand slaves kept by the Celestial Dragons.

That upheaval directly shook the entire World Government.

The Celestial Dragons were furious and forcefully ordered the Marines to capture Fisher Tiger alive.

And so, something unprecedented happened.

The first bounty placed on Fisher Tiger was as high as 230 million Berry.

Before this, no rookie pirate had ever begun with such a terrifying bounty.

Even more frighteningly, Fisher Tiger had managed to escape unscathed despite the layers of blockades.

At once, Marine Headquarters was dragged into an unprecedented state of busyness and tension.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku understood this very clearly.

He detested the Celestial Dragons' tyranny and secretly approved of Fisher Tiger's courage and actions.

But he bore the title of "Fleet Admiral" and carried the world's order on his shoulders. He had long since lost the freedom to act as he wished.

Fisher Tiger's actions were the most blatant possible challenge to the World Government's authority.

He had to respond.

And besides...

The time isn't right yet. The seas cannot descend into even greater chaos.

Aboard the warship headed for Marine Headquarters.

Beiyuan Heng leaned against the railing, his gaze sinking into his consciousness panel.

[Name: Beiyuan Heng]

[Profession: CP9 Agent, Marine Headquarters Commodore]

[Traits: Big Eater (Green), Great Strength (Green), Agility (Green), Swimming Mastery (Green), Perseverance (Green), Swordsmanship Mastery (Green), Iron Skin and Iron Bones (Green), Basking in Spring Breeze (Green), Genius (Blue), Six Powers Peak (Blue), CP9's Strongest Genius (Limited)]

[Draws Remaining: 1]

Compared to two and a half years ago, quite a few things had changed on the panel.

There was an additional [Swimming Mastery (Green)].

[Swimming Mastery (Green)]: Your understanding of swimming has reached the level of mastery. You are highly proficient in all kinds of swimming techniques, will find it easier to learn them, and will be able to move more freely underwater.

The original [Little Glutton] had advanced into [Big Eater (Green)], while [Swordsmanship Basics] had become [Swordsmanship Mastery (Green)].

[Big Eater (Green)]: You love eating and consume far more food than ordinary people. Your eating efficiency is exceptionally high, and you can absorb energy from food with great ease.

[Swordsmanship Mastery (Green)]: Your understanding of swordsmanship has reached the level of mastery. You are highly proficient in all kinds of swordsmanship techniques, will find it easier to learn them, and can easily perceive others' movements in battle.

Other than those, the panel had not changed much overall.

The world of One Piece was simply too vast. Islands were isolated from one another, and information spread extremely slowly.

Often, he would make a name for himself on one island just as his momentum began to rise, while the neighboring islands knew absolutely nothing about it.

With scattered awareness and slow dissemination, advancing traits from green to blue was extremely difficult.

The advancements of [Big Eater] and [Swordsmanship Mastery] had already been part of his plan.

Only [Swimming Mastery] had been an accident.

During a previous mission, they had encountered a group of rare fish-man pirates, who had directly sunk their warship.

Left with no choice, Beiyuan Heng could only enter the water and deal with them himself.

It was during that incident that he had unexpectedly triggered [Swimming Basics], then trained it all the way up to [Swimming Mastery].

Even now, he was somewhat puzzled.

It was only swimming, so why had it formed a separate trait instead of being incorporated into an existing trait like [Agility]?

Perhaps...

In these seas filled with Devil Fruit users, the ability to swim itself was an exceptionally rare and powerful talent.

Beiyuan Heng shook his head, casting aside those stray thoughts as his gaze fell on the sole remaining draw on the panel.

It was the reward the system had granted when he had officially been seconded to the Marines.

For this secondment, CP9 had directly arranged for him to hold the rank of "Marine Headquarters Commodore."

It was neither too high nor too low—just enough for him to independently command a warship and enjoy sufficient freedom of action, making it convenient for him to "freely improvise" outside.

His identity had also become extremely unusual.

On the surface, he was a Marine commodore. In secret, he remained a CP9 agent.

He was effectively an overt spy planted by CP9 in Marine Headquarters.

He could draw from both sides and make use of both sides.

As he was still pondering this, the Den Den Mushi at his waist suddenly rang with a "buru buru."

After he answered it, Spandine's voice came from the other end.

"Beiyuan Heng, you have a mission."

"During your time at Marine Headquarters, find someone for me: Fisher Tiger."

"I won't go into the details. You'll understand in time."

With that, the call was immediately cut off.

Beiyuan Heng's eyes shifted slightly.

Fisher Tiger...

Wasn't that the future captain of the Sun Pirates?

But at this point, that pirate crew dedicated to freeing slaves probably had not yet been established.

"So that's what happened... Fisher Tiger caused havoc in Mary Geoise."

"No wonder Marine Headquarters is short on manpower. Everyone has been sent out to search for him."

He suddenly recalled the fish-men who had sunk their warship not long ago.

Could those guys have been connected to Fisher Tiger?

Beiyuan Heng chuckled and stopped thinking about it.

Never mind Tiger or no Tiger. The most practical thing before him was drawing a trait.

With a thought, that one draw was directly consumed.

With the support of his two professions, the quality of this draw was clearly elevated.

A faint blue glow slowly lit up across the panel.

[Celebrity (Blue)]: Wherever you go, you will naturally become the center of attention. The "awareness" and "attention" you gain will increase slightly and will not easily fade away, instead continuing to accumulate slowly.

Beiyuan Heng's eyes brightened slightly.

Oh?

Before Beiyuan Heng could savor the pleasant surprise brought by [Celebrity (Blue)], the panel in his mind glowed blue once more.

Several familiar traits changed in succession.

The original [Perseverance (Green)] quietly shed its youthful green glow and transformed into a steady blue radiance, its name changing along with it.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence (Blue)]: Every bit of effort you make will bring a certain return. Your cultivation and training will receive additional enhancement, and every ounce of effort will yield doubled results.

Immediately afterward, [Agility (Green)] also underwent a transformation, becoming [Light as a Swallow (Blue)].

[Light as a Swallow (Blue)]: Your speed is like that of a nimble swallow. Your stamina consumption is reduced, and you can adapt to combat in all kinds of environments.

Beiyuan Heng was surprised. He had not expected the appearance of a single [Celebrity (Blue)] trait to drive the improvement of his existing traits.

This was equivalent to an all-around increase in strength.

The corners of his mouth could not help but rise, his eyes brimming with delight.

He had not even begun to act yet, but this harvest had already far exceeded his expectations.

Now that he had joined the Marines, he could make his style of action even more high-profile. He was already looking forward to the days ahead.