I Can Copy Any Talent in the World of One Piece

Tashigi thought he was a kindhearted townsman and cried, "Get out of the way! They have weapons—"

Before she could finish, the man blocking the path gripped his sword and gave it a casual swing right before her eyes...

A hideous, bloodstained head flew straight at her!

Tashigi shrieked and stumbled back. Still shaken, she stared at the pirate's severed head on the ground. He had been breathing just a second ago...

Noil walked over, carrying the child the pirate had snatched. With a soft ring, his Skillful Grade Blade slid back into its sheath.

Smiling at the stunned Tashigi, Noil said, "Miss Marine, I'll take the bounty on that pirate now."

"Um... cash or credit card?"

Flame vs. Smoke

Tashigi came to her senses. Eyeing the man before her, she rested a hand on her sword and asked warily, "Who are you?!"

The Marines behind her watched Noil with equal suspicion. He seemed utterly oblivious, grinning as he said, "I'm a cold-blooded killer!"

Tashigi drew Kashu, her Famous Sword, and the soldiers raised their rifles at Noil.

Noil's mouth twitched. "All right, I'm just an ordinary Pirate Hunter. You're not going to stiff me, are you?"

At that, Tashigi relaxed a little and said solemnly, "Of course not. The Marines will pay you!"

"Oh, right. What's your name?"

"Noil."

Tashigi tightened her grip on her sword again. Behind her, the Marines cocked their rifles, ready to fire!

Noil hurriedly raised his hands. "Wait! What's this about?"

Tashigi fixed him with a sharp look through her glasses, as if he were a criminal. "Pirate Hunter Noil. Didn't you join Ace's pirate crew?!"

Noil flatly and promptly denied it. "No, I didn't. Why would I join pirates?"

"Who's Ace...? What a stupid name. Is it a sword?"

At a harbor on the other side of the island, Ace was picking out a pirate ship when he suddenly sneezed several times in rapid succession.

Rubbing his nose, Ace grumbled, "Damn it! Luffy must be bad-mouthing me behind my back again!"

Noil looked so innocent and confused that Tashigi began to doubt herself.

Hesitating, she said, "Captain Smoker gave us these orders. You have to come with us!"

Noil shrugged. "Let's go. I still haven't been paid, anyway."

Tashigi sheathed Kashu, and the Marines lowered their rifles. But to keep Noil from escaping, she kept a tight grip on his arm.

Well...

Tashigi had meant to grab his shoulder, but he was too tall...

From a distance, they looked less like a Marine arresting a criminal and more like a mob boss out strolling with his young bride on his arm.

Noil walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, while Tashigi followed close beside him, her face stern.

The townspeople along the road stared at the pair in surprise and whispered among themselves:

"Is Sergeant Tashigi dating someone?"

"My goddess! My heart's broken!"

"That guy's pretty good-looking, though, isn't he?"

Their voices were quiet, but Noil's powerful Observation Haki let him hear every word.

Exasperated, he said to her, "Can you give me some space? This looks way too intimate."

Tashigi shot him a fierce glare. "We haven't determined whether you're a criminal yet. I can't let go!"

Fine.

Why was this girl so dense?

The host has met an important person. Reward granted: Color-Changing Holographic Sunglasses ×1, White Talent Copy Card ×10.

Huh?

Hearing the system's familiar notification, Noil raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Getting arrested counts as meeting someone?

And what are Color-Changing Holographic Sunglasses? They sound pretty cool.

Noil eagerly examined the sunglasses in his system storage, though he had serious doubts about the White Copy Cards the system had given him.

What the hell are White Talent Copy Cards good for?

At his current strength, Noil had no use for white talents.

As though sensing his dissatisfaction, the system fell silent for a long moment before speaking again.

The system has detected that its functions can no longer assist the host. Initiating an automatic upgrade!

The upgrade will take 72 hours. The system's copying function will be unavailable during this period.

Huh?!

Did I complain so hard the system upgraded itself?

Noil was delighted. The system was a huge help in making him stronger; surely an upgrade would bring even more features.

It's only three days. No big deal.

News of the upgrade lifted Noil's spirits so much that even the bespectacled girl beside him looked more appealing.

While Noil was being successfully "arrested" by the Marines, Ace ran into trouble of his own.

Things had been going smoothly. The three of them had chosen a ready-made ship and even paid for it. All it needed was a few changes to its appearance before they could set sail.

But Ace insisted on getting a meal while they waited for the ship, and then...

As luck would have it, Ace's wanted poster had finally reached the Marines that very day!

His bounty was a whopping forty million Beli, and the information on the poster was from before he had eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit.

Who knew what Ace had done before this...

The moment Ace entered a restaurant in town, someone recognized him. A whole squad of Marines came charging after him.

With a mass of Marines on their heels, Deuce nearly wept as he shouted, "Why did Ace's wanted poster have to come out right now of all times?!"

Skull ducked a hail of bullets by a hair's breadth and cried in outrage, "These Marines have way too much firepower!"

Bullet holes kept opening through the flames of Ace's body, but he grinned. "Doesn't seem that bad to me."

"Because they can't hit you!" the other two roared at the carefree Ace.

As the three fled, they suddenly spotted a man blocking their path on a motorcycle that trailed smoke.

The man raised a strange-looking weapon and charged straight at Ace.

Ace watched him come without moving. Elemental attacks couldn't hurt him, and physical attacks like this were useless.

But to Ace's disbelief, the Marine's weapon did not pass through his body as expected.

The cold tip of the Jitte slammed into Ace's chest. The blow seemed to shake every organ in his body.

Blood surged into his mouth, but Ace forced it back down.

He wiped his mouth and held a hand to his chest. His smile vanished as he stared coldly at the cigar-smoking man before him.

White smoke curled from Smoker's mouth. Contempt showed in his casual gaze as he said, "Ace. I didn't expect you to have eaten a Logia Devil Fruit too."

"But it won't help. No pirate from the East Blue gets past me!"

Scorching flames erupted across Ace's body. He flashed a sunny grin, but his eyes fixed on Smoker like a predator sizing up prey.

"Is that so? I'm getting past you anyway!!"

The flames swelled higher. Ace's body seemed to expand and burst apart, sending a skyful of fire lunging forward like a demon's fangs.

Smoker snorted. White smoke engulfed his body and surged forward to meet it.

Smoke and fire tangled together like two savage beasts, each determined to tear a chunk out of the other.

The elemental storm grew until it reached the sky. Everyone in town could see it overhead.

Noil, who had been teasing Tashigi, saw the spectacle too and suddenly remembered that Ace and Smoker had fought in the Original Story.

But wasn't that supposed to happen three years from now?

"Did I get transported through time again?"

The Pirate Hunter Is Back in Action

The battle between fire and smoke grew fiercer.

Tashigi slapped a hand to her forehead in alarm. "Damn it! Captain Smoker is fighting a powerful enemy!"

She waved the soldiers onward. "Get over there! Support the captain!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The Marines broke into a run, and Tashigi followed.

After only a couple of steps, she remembered something, turned back, and grabbed Noil again.

Noil was touched by her dedication, but did she really think that would be enough to hold him?

He easily twisted free of her hand and darted onto a rooftop. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished into the distance.

A faint voice drifted back. "I'll go check things out first. Hurry and catch up..."

Tashigi stamped her foot in frustration and shouted through gritted teeth, "Move it!"

Noil ran at incredible speed and soon found Ace and Smoker's battlefield.

The two had just separated from the tangled elements. Smoke billowed around Smoker, while Ace held up a burning fist.

Smoker's eyes shifted, and he immediately spotted Noil arriving. "Noil, the East Blue Pirate Hunter. Are you here to help Ace?"

Ace called out excitedly, "Noil! We bought a ship! We can set sail!"

Noil covered his forehead in exasperation. Come on, man. I'm a hunter!

Shouting that makes it sound like I'm one of you!

Sure enough, Smoker heard Ace and stared sternly at Noil. "So you did join the pirates."

Noil spread his hands, trying to explain. "Actually, I didn't—"

Noil wanted to explain, but Smoker had no interest in listening. His lower body turned to smoke, propelling him toward Noil.

"Smoke Launcher!" Smoker brought his Jitte down hard toward Noil's head, its tip concealing Seastone.

The world's such a beautiful place, and you're this short-tempered...

With a sigh, Noil raised his sword to block. He shoved the Jitte aside with both arms, twisted his body sharply backward, then swung his blade down.

"Rising Dragon Flash!"

The force of his spin and the strength of his arms flowed into the Qingxing Blade as it slashed toward Smoker's bare chest.

Like Ace, Smoker assumed a mere Pirate Hunter could not hurt him.

He made no move to defend himself and pressed on with his attack.

What he did not know was that Noil had already coated his blade in Armament Haki!

In that life-or-death instant, Smoker seemed to catch the scent of death. He instinctively twisted away and pulled back his attack.

That movement saved his life.

A shallow cut opened on his chest, not far from his heart, and blood began to seep out.

Cold sweat broke out across Smoker's body.

If he had not pulled back just then, the blade might have gone straight through him.

Noil, the Pirate Hunter, could use Haki?

Why was someone this strong in the East Blue?