Zoan-Type, Mythical Beast-Type, Nue Form

"Luo Ji! There's fighting up ahead!"

Yamato's white wolf ears stood straight up as she shouted excitedly, as if she had spotted some thrilling adventure.

"Then let's go see what's happening."

Luo Ji raced along atop a massive white wolf, with the Komainu and Komakitsune quickly following on either side, while Tama rode on the Komainu's back.

As the captain, riding on the vice-captain's back was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Besides, summoning a crane to fly would waste stamina.

To maintain his peak condition and recover his energy, Luo Ji decisively let Yamato serve as his giant wolf mount for a while.

Besides, playing with the big dog, Okuchi no Makami, was enjoyable too.

Yamato herself was perfectly willing.

After crossing into this world, perhaps he should simply enjoy himself and experience a real life of adventure alongside Yamato.

As the white giant wolf continued sprinting, the scent of blood reached her nose.

"Luo Ji! Someone ahead is injured!"

Yamato charged over, and Luo Ji narrowed his eyes as well.

Before long, a heavily wounded body appeared before them.

But the first thing Luo Ji saw was the patterned fruit lying by the shore!

"Holy crap, what luck! Did I just get a Devil Fruit for free?!"

Luo Ji leaped straight from the giant wolf's back, grabbed the Devil Fruit, and broke into a radiant grin.

Its stem resembled a snake's tail and bore the shape of some kind of animal. At a glance, it was clearly a Zoan Devil Fruit.

"Luo Ji, he seems to have lost too much blood. Should we save him?"

Yamato returned from her giant white wolf form to human form, then crouched down to examine the unfamiliar wounded man.

"For the sake of the Devil Fruit, save him."

Luo Ji toyed with the Devil Fruit, though he had no idea what its specific ability was.

Perhaps this man knew something about it.

Under Yamato and Tama's amateurish and rough treatment and bandaging, the poor wounded man was successfully jolted awake by the pain.

Yamato had actually yanked the arrow straight out of the samurai's leg with her bare hands.

Tama went even further, sewing the wounded man's injuries shut using the same method used to weave straw hats.

There was no anesthetic and no disinfection...

The stitches themselves, however, were quite neat.

The brutal scene made even Luo Ji's heart clench.

It seemed he really needed to recruit a professional ship's doctor.

Amid the samurai's agonized screams, Yamato and Tama completed their first surgery and bandaging.

"Phew, saving people really is difficult!"

Yamato wiped nonexistent sweat from her brow, thoroughly pleased with her lifesaving accomplishment.

"So wounds really can be sewn up like a straw hat."

Tama looked at her blood-covered hands, then hurried to the shore to wash them.

"Hey, stop screaming. If you're not dead, tell me your name and what happened to you."

Luo Ji looked at the samurai's deathly pale face and handed him a jug of water, along with some meat and fruit.

The people of this world had absurdly tough constitutions. As long as they did not die on the spot, they had a chance to make a full recovery.

Of course, that mainly depended on how Eiichiro Oda was feeling.

That girl who died beneath the Supreme Grade sword was truly pitiful.

Usopp's skull being shattered, Jinbe having his chest pierced by Akainu, Zoro losing most of his blood—those mere fatal injuries were nothing to worry about.

"You... you're pirates? The ones behind the incident at the port...?"

Kojiro suddenly looked at the unfamiliar young man with hope in his eyes. As long as they took Kikuhime away, he was even willing to become a pirate.

"Answer my question!"

"Still, we did indeed take down some idiots at the port."

Luo Ji looked at the blond samurai. He seemed somewhat familiar, yet Luo Ji could not remember him at all.

That damn Ace-like face and red-haired hairstyle.

"My name is Kojiro, a guard samurai of the Mikami Family in the Kingdom of Kura.

Prince Kula wants to take our young lady Kikuhime away. Please destroy the royal family.

Countless commoners and samurai in our country have been driven to ruin by the royal family's taxes.

Please, help us. I can join you and become your subordinate."

A faint flush rose on Kojiro's pale face as he spoke with great excitement. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to destroy the Kura royal family, then flee the country with his beloved Kikuhime and live freely on the sea.

"Kojiro? Kikuhime? Prince Kula?"

Luo Ji frowned deeply, as if he vaguely remembered something.

A theatrical film? No, that wasn't it.

A side-story setting? There seemed to have been a Mythical Zoan ability.

Could the Zoan Devil Fruit in his hand be a Mythical Zoan ability?

At that thought, Luo Ji's eyes lit up as he stared at the Devil Fruit. This seemed to be another extraordinary Mythical Zoan.

Zoan Devil Fruit: Mythical Zoan, Model: Nue!

"Sorry, but I don't need a weakling like you as a subordinate!"

Luo Ji immediately rejected the blond samurai. A lovesick guard who had not even eaten a Devil Fruit—what qualifications did he have to board Luo Ji's ship?

If he had already eaten a Devil Fruit, then perhaps Luo Ji could have considered it.

But the Devil Fruit had been intercepted by Luo Ji, so Kojiro no longer had a chance.

This Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit should have been eaten by Kojiro after he woke up.

Then, relying on the powerful recovery abilities of the Mythical Zoan, Kojiro would recover from his injuries, obtain tremendous combat power, and make a dramatic comeback.

Afterward, he would seize his beloved Kikuhime again, cow the royal family and the Mikami Family, and run rampant across the Kingdom of Kura.

Luo Ji was extremely displeased with samurai of this Wano Country style.

Yamato and Tama had already completely broken away from the style of Wano Country.

One had become a mature queen, while the other had transformed into a Lolita princess.

"My lord, please! Please help us!"

Upon hearing Luo Ji's refusal, Kojiro grew desperate. He truly needed the help of these powerful pirates.

"Luo Ji, help him. A story about a prince trying to seize a noble lady would definitely be fascinating.

"And we have to defeat that detestable royal family that has allied itself with Kaido!"

At that moment, Yamato suddenly pleaded with Luo Ji, brimming with excitement. She had never experienced such an entertaining story before.

Luo Ji looked into Yamato's pleading eyes and let out a deep breath.

He had fooled this big dog himself, so he had to spoil her himself.

Although Luo Ji knew that Kojiro had lied about some things, was Prince Kula really forcibly taking a noble lady?

Could it instead be Kojiro's one-sided infatuation?

Still, Luo Ji was willing to let loose with Yamato and treat it as an entertaining storytelling game.

"Since our vice-captain has spoken, let's have some fun!"

Luo Ji chuckled lightly, then turned around and handed the Devil Fruit to Komachiyo.

"I originally wanted to turn you into a pink dragon, but the Nue Model of the Zoan-Zoan Fruit isn't bad either. It grants you the ability to fly, so let's give you combat power ahead of time!"

Luo Ji had no interest in Kojiro. He immediately gave his opportunity to his pet Komainu.

"Thank you, Big Brother Luo Ji!"

Tama hurriedly hugged Luo Ji happily, while Komachiyo rubbed frantically against Luo Ji's leg like a second big dog, its face full of ingratiating delight.

Komachiyo took a bite of the Devil Fruit.

The golden mane around Komachiyo's neck turned into bluish-purple flames. Its face became that of a tusked ape, while the spots on its body transformed into a tiger's black stripes.

Its tail actually became a blue snake covered in sharp teeth, with flames swirling around it.

A mass of white clouds appeared beneath its feet, allowing Komachiyo to successfully take to the sky.

This was the Mythical Zoan, Model: Nue.

The miraculous sight left Kojiro dumbfounded.

Yet he seemed to feel as though he had lost something, leaving his mind abnormally hollow.