In One Piece: I Can Copy Any Talent

Noil kept his eyes locked on Kenbula as he straightened up, then turned and cut the last rope.

The fishing boat in the distance changed course and headed back toward the village.

Ignoring the screams of pirates falling into the sea behind him, Noil pointed his blade at Scarface beside Kenbula. "You're the one who fired that cannon at me?"

Scarface went deathly pale and waved his hands frantically. "No, no... I didn't mean to! I just... Agh!"

Kenbula, seated beside him, punched Scarface straight into the deck with a dark look on his face. Whether Scarface lived or died was anyone's guess.

The surrounding pirates fell silent. Noil raised an eyebrow and teased, "What's this? You kill your own men?"

Kenbula bared his teeth in a strange grin. "A useless piece of trash doesn't deserve to be on my crew!"

"Kid, how about joining my pirate crew?"

Noil paused, then smiled. "Your pirate crew? Is it famous?"

Kenbula burst into wild laughter without answering, and his pirate underlings laughed along with him.

One of them pulled a yellowed wanted poster straight out of his pants and shouted proudly, "Our captain's a super pirate with a bounty of fifteen million Beli!"

"He's Lord Kenbula, captain of the Savage Bear Pirates, known as 'Savage Bear'!"

"Even Don Krieg, the overlord of East Blue, can't beat our captain!"

Kenbula waved a hand, and his men immediately stopped laughing. He turned to Noil. "Don Krieg is no match for me. Sooner or later, I'll be the new overlord of East Blue. But I won't stop there!"

"I'll beat everyone who stands in my way. I'll find the One Piece and become the Pirate King! Come with me, kid!"

Noil watched Kenbula's performance, speechless.

After all that fanfare, he had expected the man's bounty to be something frightening.

Overlord of East Blue? Pirate King?

A "super pirate" worth fifteen million?

Hah.

He was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well who had never seen the world.

He had no idea how far he was from the top.

Even someone as strong as Zoro had needed a harsh lesson from Hawk-Eyes after setting out to sea before he understood how narrow his horizons were.

Even Luffy, with all the luck of a protagonist, had only felt the crushing weight of his own helplessness after Kuma overwhelmed his entire crew and he lost his brother in the Paramount War.

Seen that way, this savage pirate's ignorance was understandable.

Noil looked up at Kenbula with a smile.

Seeing that smile, Kenbula thought he had agreed. Then a jarring reply rang out:

"You won't become the overlord of East Blue, much less the Pirate King."

"Your trail of crimes ends here."

"I'll end it myself!"

Can Devil Fruits Be Copied Too?

Kenbula's face darkened again.

His excitement vanished, and his hands stopped trembling. He glared at Noil. "Brat! What did you say?!"

Noil smiled faintly and gripped his sword with both hands. "I'll beat you, then make my own way to the Grand Line."

"Don't make me do this the hard way... you little punk!"

Kenbula suddenly lunged, raising his fist and smashing it toward Noil!

Noil didn't dare take the blow head-on. He hurriedly leaped aside.

The immense force slammed into the deck, splintering the hapless planks. Flying wood chips nearly swept across Noil's face.

That much strength?!

Noil's heart tightened. He might have shown Kenbula nothing but contempt, but he had been wary of him all along.

With Monster Strength like that, perhaps not everything Kenbula had said was a lie.

Maybe he really wasn't that far behind Don Krieg, the overlord of East Blue.

Just then, a pirate underling handed Kenbula a pair of gloves. Kenbula took them and quickly pulled them on.

They were Iron Gauntlets, protecting his fists from every angle.

While Kenbula was putting them on, Noil swung his sword and pressed the attack.

Noil sprang into the air and brought his blade down with all his might. With his physique over 200, the strike fell like a meteor.

But Kenbula showed no fear. He raised an iron-clad hand straight into the blade's path.

Clang!

The clash of metal rang in their ears, sending sparks flying.

Kenbula was unhurt. It was Noil's hand that throbbed from the impact.

Kenbula gripped the blade tightly with his gauntlet and refused to let go. Looking at Noil's grim face, he laughed mockingly:

"Not bad, kid! You've got some strength. But you're still nowhere close!"

Kenbula clenched the blade, the muscles in his arm bulging, then hurled Noil away, sword and all.

Noil steadied himself in midair and landed on the railing at the ship's edge.

He's too strong. I can't meet him head-on.

A sharp gleam flashed in Noil's eyes. He kicked off and charged again.

"You never learn!"

Kenbula swept another heavy punch at him in anger. Just as it was about to connect, Noil bent backward, twisting the sword he had held ready to block.

With his grip reversed, Noil drove the blade into Kenbula's body from an impossibly contorted position!

Noil slid forward, the reversed blade carving a long, deep gash across Kenbula as it went!

"Aargh!!"

Badly wounded, Kenbula let out a howl that shook the air. He forced Noil back with another punch, then clutched his wound and roared with bloodshot eyes, "Bastard! I'll kill you!!"

Noil stepped aside and rested his sword on his shoulder. "Kill me? Go ahead and try."

"Aah!!"

Kenbula charged with a roar, bearing down on him like a mountain.

His huge body loomed over Noil, bringing a crushing sense of pressure.

Noil dodged again and ducked. An iron fist whipped over his head with a rush of wind!

The gust tossed his black hair, but Noil's eyes stayed perfectly calm as he slashed at Kenbula's knee.

Kenbula had learned from his earlier mistake. He pulled his leg back at once, but Noil changed direction with the motion and slammed the sword's hilt into his shin.

Their opposing forces sent Kenbula's legs sliding apart. He dropped into a full split on the ground and yelped in pain.

"Well, that sounds a bit like a husky," Noil said, amused.

A few of his underlings helped Kenbula up. He fixed Noil with a fierce stare and said:

"You've made me truly angry now, kid! I'm going to tear you to pieces!"

His body suddenly began to swell. The clothes on his upper body burst apart as his frame grew powerful, coarse fur sprouted, and his muzzle pushed outward.

In the blink of an eye, Kenbula had become a fierce-looking beast-man!

He turned into... a bear?

A Devil Fruit User?

The surrounding pirates once again played their part as a cheering crowd, shouting:

"You're dead, kid! This is the power of a god!"

"He can turn into a mighty brown bear-man! That's the power of Kenbula, the great 'Savage Bear'!"

"Die, brat!"

"Now I know why pirates recruit underlings," Noil said. Their voices buzzed in his ears like a swarm of mosquitoes.

They were annoying, but they also knew how to build excitement.

The whole place had come alive in an instant.

Noil didn't dare let his guard down. He quickly used the system to check Kenbula's talents.

Name: Kenbula

Monster Strength: White talent. Kenbula possesses enormous strength at the cost of intelligence, reflexes, and speed.

Demon Possession: Bear-Bear: Blue talent. Having eaten the Zoan Devil Fruit, the Bear-Bear Fruit, he carries a demon's favor within him and can transform between Brown Bear Form, Human Form, and Bear-Man Form.

Sea's Rejection: Purple talent. Along with demonic power, he received a demonic curse. The sea rejects this curse; contact with seawater leaves him powerless and unable to use his abilities at will.

A Devil Fruit counted as a talent too?

This was Noil's first encounter with a Devil Fruit User. He hadn't expected the man's talent list to be so unusual.

Did that mean everyone who ate a Devil Fruit gained two talents, one for Demon Possession and one for Sea's Rejection?

Wait.

One talent is the fruit's power, and the other is its drawback. I should be able to...

Seeing Noil stand motionless, Kenbula assumed he had frozen in fear. He raised a huge paw and swatted at Noil's head.

Noil snapped back to his senses and raised his sword to block the bear's paw.

But their strength was no longer on the same level. The sword in Noil's hands bent under the blow, and the paw smashed him straight through the deck.

The impact sent Noil crashing through several layers of planking before he was driven all the way to the bottom of the ship.

"Cough!" Noil spat out a mouthful of blood and looked grimly up at Kenbula.

I let my guard down.

With his ability active, Kenbula had almost no physical weaknesses. His speed, strength, and reflexes had more than doubled.

The sword in Noil's hand was so badly twisted it was nearly broken. He tossed it aside.

Then he quietly took the Blue Copy Card he had stored in the system.

He needed to copy Kenbula's Demon Possession. Only then would he have a chance of winning!

Kenbula leaped down from above and landed heavily in front of Noil.

His imposing Bear-Man Form, paired with Kenbula's ugly face, made even Noil tense up.

Over the years, Noil had learned a great deal about the system. A Copy Card had to touch the target before he could copy a talent from their list.

Which meant he had to get close to Kenbula one more time!

An Unexpected Encounter with Shanks

Noil steadied his breathing, then charged barehanded at the bear-man Kenbula's legs.

"Annoying fly!" Kenbula sneered, looking down as he kicked at Noil.

Noil hurriedly rolled forward to avoid the attack, then slipped out the card and reached toward Kenbula's waist.

Startled, Kenbula threw a punch. Noil narrowly avoided the fist, but failed to notice the other bear paw swinging in hard from the side.

Bang!!

Noil's pupils contracted. It felt as though a bomb had gone off inside him, battering his bones and lungs. A great mouthful of blood burst from his lips.

Noil flew backward again, crashing through one barrier after another before the broken planks buried him.

Kenbula laughed wildly. "Is that all you've got, brat?!"

"Hahaha!!"