In the World of One Piece, I Can Copy Any Talent

Vivi said thoughtfully, "If that's the case, I have an idea..."

Chaka asked curiously, "What do you have in mind, Princess?"

Princess Vivi flashed a sly smile. "I'll go undercover!"

"I've been watching them for a long time. If I can get inside that organization, I'm sure I'll learn something!"

Chaka was startled and hurried to stop her. "You can't! That organization is far too mysterious, and Your Highness, you're royalty..."

Princess Vivi shook her head. She wasn't listening to him.

She skipped off to ask her father for permission.

Chaka's face fell, and he hurried after her.

Under the moonlight, several important events unfolded without a sound across the vast desert in a single night.

Robin's Talents

As dawn broke, the turmoil of the night settled.

Princess Vivi pleaded with her father to grant her request, while Crocodile, having taken a beating, began laying his plans again.

He was also searching constantly for Noil, looking for a way to get revenge!

But by then, Noil had already sailed leisurely beyond Alabasta's borders.

Inside the cabin, a man and a woman were hard at work, both drenched in sweat.

Noil sat on the bed, sweat running down his forehead. Gasping for breath, he asked in a low voice, "How does it feel?"

Robin lay on the bed, biting her lower lip. Her cheeks were flushed as she murmured, "It's all right..."

"Turn over."

"That hurts..."

"It'll be out soon!"

A moment later, Robin gave a muffled groan, and Noil let out a long breath.

Wiping away his sweat, Noil held up a pair of tweezers. "That bastard's Golden Hook wasn't even solid. It left a fragment in the wound."

As he bandaged the bleeding wound again, Robin's complexion gradually returned to normal. "That's Crocodile for you. The Golden Hook was probably poisoned."

After spending the entire night tending to Robin's injury, Noil collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion. "That guy's disgusting..."

Robin stroked his head reassuringly and smiled. "I was wary of him before. I don't have an antidote, but I did manage to make something that suppresses the poison."

Noil closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "We can't leave that poison in you forever. We need to find a doctor..."

Wait, isn't Chopper's hometown somewhere around here?

Noil sat up and looked at Robin. "Do you know where Drum Island is?"

Robin thought for a moment. "It's famous for medicine. I read about it in a ship's log, but I only know roughly where it is."

That was good enough. Robin had taken the suppressant she'd made, so there was no immediate rush.

Drum Island it is!

After a burst of excitement, Noil suddenly remembered something. "So, would you like to join my crew?"

Hmm... Why did that sound like a marriage proposal?

Robin propped herself up on the edge of the bed, her elegant smile returning. "Shouldn't I be asking whether you'll let a wanted criminal join your crew?"

A wanted criminal?

Oh. If Robin hadn't mentioned it, I'd almost have forgotten...

Noil waved it off. "That's fine! I'm no saint myself."

Robin shook her head helplessly and held out her hand. "Then I'll be in your care, Captain."

Noil clasped her hand and grinned. "You bet!"

And so, after more than fifty chapters of hardship, Noil had finally found his first companion.

He had even recruited Robin away from the main crew.

Noil was very pleased.

He had to admit, having a woman aboard made life a lot tidier.

For one thing, someone had finally cleaned up the pigsty Noil lived in.

The other rooms were spotless too, and someone was even washing Noil's clothes.

He felt rather embarrassed. For the first time, he felt completely useless...

A few days passed, and the ship had long since left Alabasta behind.

Their surroundings changed completely. The heat that could have cooked a person gradually gave way to freezing air.

As they sailed deeper into the waters around the winter islands, thick snow began to fall. The ship and the horizon alike turned white.

In weather cold enough to freeze a person to death, neither Noil nor Robin wanted to leave their room.

Inside the warm cabin, Noil tugged at his hair as he stared at the game board in front of him.

Across from him, Robin appeared absorbed in a book.

But a little hand had sprouted from the tabletop and was placing pieces on the board.

Noil had made them a five-in-a-row set. He didn't know how to play Go, so he'd persuaded Robin to play this instead.

But somehow, he hadn't won a single game in days!

Robin was the very picture of someone who could beat him with her eyes closed.

The hand she'd grown on the table gently set down a piece. Noil's eyes widened, and he looked ready to keel over.

Damn it—I lost again!

The arm vanished with a pop, dissolving into petals. Robin smiled at him. "You lost again. That's 121 losses now."

Noil slumped over the table. "That shouldn't be possible. I thought I was playing pretty well."

Like an older sister who had just finished teasing her little brother, Robin said, "You're too easy to read. I can see every move coming."

Noil grumbled in protest.

Back at Bellemere's house, he had at least been the third-best player.

Only Bellemere and Nojiko had been better!

If Nami had dared to beat him, he'd have given her a good walloping...

Since he couldn't beat Robin at five-in-a-row, Noil decided to make something else for them to play.

He already had a rough idea: a board game set in the world of pirates!

He could borrow the system and skill checks from board games in his previous life.

If Noil made the rules complicated enough, surely he could beat Robin then?

Lost in his own plans again, Noil let out a strange "heh-heh-heh" laugh.

Robin gave him a look of distaste and quietly moved her chair a little farther away.

Seeing that he'd scared Robin off, Noil blushed and wiped the drool from his mouth.

Come to think of it, all this time had passed and he still hadn't checked Robin's talents.

Noil turned his gaze on Robin, and lines of information appeared at his command.

Name: Robin

Devil Child: Red quality. Born under an ill omen. Anyone or anything drawn into a connection with her would meet a tragic fate. But if someone blessed with great fortune stayed by her side and helped her, the side effect would vanish. Her charm would multiply, she would gain an air of warmth and grace, and her life would go smoothly from then on.

Ohara Scholar: Purple quality. The knowledge of all Ohara was gathered in one person. She had an innate aptitude for studying history and world-class learning ability and memory in any field involving written language. In battle, her intelligence increased as the fight progressed.

Demon Possession: Flower-Flower: Blue quality. She could make any part of her body bloom like a flower from any tangible object.

Sea's Rejection: Purple quality. In gaining a demon's power, she had also been cursed by it. The curse made the sea reject her. Contact with seawater would leave her powerless and unable to use her ability at will.

Huh?

Robin's talents were impressive, fitting for everything she had accomplished.

But Noil was a little disappointed that her ability to read Ancient Script wasn't a talent.

The system's descriptions were getting more mystical by the day. Born under an ill omen? Someone blessed with great fortune? Was this a talent system or a cultivation novel?

Come to think of it, I count as someone blessed with great fortune, right?

Noil thought it over. If he'd managed to cross into this world, surely that counted as good fortune?

Drum Kingdom

After thinking for a while, Noil couldn't recall anything unlucky happening since he'd met Robin.

Guess I'm one of heaven's favorites after all!

Noil didn't dwell on the absence of a talent for Ancient Script.

He wouldn't have had much use for it anyway. Robin was already aboard.

But he very much wanted the Ohara Scholar talent.

It was only purple quality, yet it granted world-class learning ability and memory in any field involving written language.

That was what he'd dreamed of in his previous life!

If he'd had that talent back then, would he have struggled to memorize even a single poem?

And having his intelligence rise as a battle progressed was a nice bonus.

After all, though Noil was handsome, charming, and dashing, his intelligence...

Well, it was a tiny bit lacking.

The system upgrade had given him three Copy Cards, and Robin had later given him another.

He had spent two on the Clone-Clone Fruit and Sand-Sand Fruit, leaving him with two.

If he used one on Robin, he'd have only one left...

Noil gritted his teeth. Forget it. I'm doing it.

They would meet Chopper on Drum Island anyway, which meant another Copy Card.

Noil quietly walked up behind Robin and pressed a Copy Card against her back.

Robin turned to look at him. Noil gave her an awkward smile. "Mosquito..."

Glancing at the snow-covered view outside the window, Robin wondered, Mosquitoes in this cold?

With Ohara Scholar successfully copied, Noil's mind felt clearer than ever.

Countless passages he'd read in his previous life played through his mind, vivid as a film.

Perfect recall, and he could even bring back things he'd learned long ago. What an incredible mind.

Noil nodded in satisfaction. The system had only just expanded to ten talent slots, and now they were full again.

His gold talent was Sovereign's Gift.

His red talents were Climate Super-Sense, Flame-Flame Fruit, and Sand-Sand Fruit.

His purple talents were Otherworldly Guest, Way of the Haki Sword, and Ohara Scholar.

His blue talents were Bear-Bear Fruit and Clone-Clone Fruit.

Then there was the utterly underwhelming, irritating white-tier talent: Sole Focus.

On top of those, Noil had trained in Fish-Man Karate, Flying Heaven Imperial Sword Style, and Amaterasu.

Granted, a talent's quality didn't necessarily reflect a person's immediate fighting strength.

It did, however, show what areas the talent enhanced and what special effects it offered.

Take the Way of the Haki Sword. It was only purple quality, yet it came from Shanks, one of the Four Emperors.