The Choice Was Made, and Big Bear Bore Everything Alone

The list of options fully unfolded.

At the bottom of the light screen, a line of explanatory text appeared:

[Note: Items obtained by the host through choices may encounter items that already exist in reality without causing annihilation.]

Lin Nuo stared at that line for several seconds.

They would not cause annihilation...

That meant that if he chose the Pluton Blueprints and they encountered the blueprints held by Iceburg or Tom in the real world...

The two sets of blueprints could coexist without disappearing.

That explanation was very important.

And... there was something else that pleased him.

The corners of Lin Nuo's mouth curled upward. At least the system was giving him a few hints and explanations now. Before, it had been nothing but cryptic nonsense.

Good. Keep it up!

He refocused on the list of options.

In truth, as the list loaded, he had already been rapidly thinking through it while reading, crossing off many choices in his mind.

Weapons and equipment like the Seven-Star Sword and Germa Technology did not mean much to him.

He did not specialize in swordsmanship. If he really wanted a good blade in the future, he could just go "borrow" one from Wano Country. That place had no shortage of famous swords.

As for technological blueprints, he did not need those for the time being either.

Once he sailed to Future Island, if he could establish a partnership with Vegapunk and fully support that genius scientist's climb up the tech tree, the results would definitely be far better than a single blueprint.

What Vegapunk lacked was not creativity, but resources and an unrestricted research environment.

As for things like the Adam Tree Seedling, the Eve Tree Seed, and the Island Turtle Egg...

Lin Nuo stared at those options, his brows furrowing.

They were good things—absolutely strategic-level assets.

Adam wood was material for building the finest warships, Eve wood was said to have even more mysterious effects, and an Island Turtle itself was a mobile military base and nation.

But—

"By the time these things grow up..."

"I'll probably be dead from old age already!!"

"System," Lin Nuo asked tentatively.

"For saplings, seeds, or Island Turtle Eggs like these, is there any way to speed up their growth?"

"Like special fertilizer, time acceleration, or something like that?"

The Hancock-shaped system quietly looked at him.

[I don't know.]

Lin Nuo: "..."

He laughed in irritation, but there was nothing he could do. He could only give up on them for now.

Then Lin Nuo's gaze slowly shifted toward one option on the list:

[Memory Seahorse · Living Creature]

He remembered this thing—a magical creature from an anime-original arc.

It looked like a seahorse, but it could quietly approach people while they slept, devour their memories, and use the power of those memories to make itself stronger.

More importantly, it had a trait similar to Moria's Shadow-Shadow Fruit: anything it swallowed could be "spit" back out.

Moria could cut away someone's shadow, and he could return that shadow as well.

The Memory Seahorse worked the same way. It could devour memories, and it could release them too.

The system's note was very clear: [Can store and transplant memories.]

"If it could only store them, that wouldn't be anything special. But transplant them..."

"This effect is already powerful enough to rival Pudding's Memo-Memo Fruit ability, isn't it?"

What made Pudding terrifying was her ability to directly read, erase, and replace other people's memories.

If this seahorse could completely extract A's memories, then fully inject them into B's mind...

Wouldn't it be able to change Luffy's dream into, "I want to become the King of the Marines"?

"System." His voice turned serious. "Does using this Memory Seahorse come with any cost? Or side effects?"

"For example, would the recipient go insane after receiving transplanted memories? Or could the transplant fail?"

[I don't know.]

Lin Nuo: "..."

He pressed a hand to his throbbing temple.

Fine. You're something else.

I'll choose it.

"I choose [Memory Seahorse · Living Creature]," Lin Nuo said, enunciating every word.

Making that choice had not been easy.

The Pluton Blueprints, Poneglyphs, the Adam Tree... every one of them was tempting.

But what Lin Nuo needed more was a tool capable of solving complicated problems and creating the possibility of miracles.

Choosing it was equivalent to gaining a Memo-Memo Fruit ability out of thin air.

And it might be even more flexible than Pudding's ability. After all, it was a living creature that could be cultivated and commanded.

As for things like the Pluton Blueprints and Poneglyphs...

He could get them later by visiting ancient ruins or going to Water 7.

[Choice confirmed.]

The system's notification sounded.

The enormous light screen began shrinking until it finally vanished.

Only the Hancock-shaped system remained before him.

Lin Nuo looked at the system.

"Just wait. One day, I'll fill this entire progress bar."

"And every time, I'll get here faster than before."

The system did not respond.

It mechanically added:

[After the host returns to reality, please promptly claim and activate the basic function unlock gift pack.]

Lin Nuo froze. "Huh? What gift pack? What function?"

That familiar feeling came over him.

The pure white space began to twist and spin.

Again?!

I haven't even finished asking my questions yet—!!!

"Stop—!"

Light swallowed everything.

The moment he opened his eyes...

There was the familiar sky, and the sound of waves splashing against wooden posts by his ears.

Strange, why did his body feel lighter...

Oh no!!!

Lin Nuo sprang up from the ground.

This is bad, this is bad. Did I suddenly pass out and fall from the sky? I can take a fall, but Kuma and the others...

His heart clenched as he hurriedly looked around.

Then he froze.

Kuma, Ginny, and Ivankov were all standing safely not far away.

But their expressions were extremely grave.

The three of them stood in a semicircle, all staring at the center of the clearing.

There floated an enormous bear paw, red around the edges and transparent in the middle.

At that moment, the red Pain Bubble radiated a heart-pounding aura.

"This is..." Ivankov's voice trembled.

"All the injuries Lin Nuo has suffered... since the day he was born?"

Kuma stood directly before the sphere and silently nodded.

He stepped forward and reached out, wanting to touch the sphere.

"Kuma!" Ginny grabbed his arm, her little face pale. "Y-you're really going to do this?"

"If you share this pain, will Brother Lin Nuo definitely wake up?"

Kuma lowered his head and looked at her.

"Mm."

"Then I want to share it too!"

"No. Let me do it." Kuma patted the back of Ginny's hand.

"You're already exhausted."

He turned around and faced the red bear paw again.

"I think..."

"The reason my parents gave me such a strong body was so that I could step forward when the people I cherished were in danger."

He raised his right hand.

"And right now is when I am needed most."

Just as he finished speaking...

A hand gently landed on his shoulder, pulling Kuma half a step back.

Then a figure swept past him and reached out with a casual wave.

The enormous Pain Bubble vanished soundlessly, as if erased by a rubber.

Kuma froze.

Ginny and Ivankov's tearful cries caught in their throats.

All three turned around at the same time.

Under the sun, Lin Nuo stood behind them, watching them.

"I made you worry."

"Sorry."