One Piece: Gaining Kenpachi Zaraki's Legacy from the Start

That fruit that existed only in legend, which could let someone turn into an element?

This boy had actually handed a priceless treasure like that to... a pirate?

"So that's what you meant when you said Ace was lucky?" Garp slammed the lump of scrap metal in his hand into the ground, leaving a crater. "If you'd eaten that fruit yourself, I could've guaranteed you a position as a Headquarters Vice Admiral even without any physical training!"

Lin Xuan looked at Garp, his eyes clear.

"Regret it? Why would I regret it?"

He casually crumpled the Parchment into a ball and flicked it away. The paper ball traced an arc through the air and landed in a distant gap in the rubble.

"I wouldn't bother eating something that turns you into a deadweight the moment you fall into the sea, even if someone gave it to me." Lin Xuan rested his hand on the sword at his waist and gently pushed the guard an inch with his thumb. The blade's cold gleam reflected his confident features. "Besides, old man."

"The sword in my hand is enough to make me a Marine Admiral. Giving that idiot Ace a bit of an advantage makes this game more fun, doesn't it?"

Garp froze.

As he looked at the boy standing tall before him, for a moment he seemed to see Roger back in the day, laughing just as wildly as he declared he would conquer the sea, or his own younger self, who believed in nothing but his fists.

The boy's spirit made even Garp take notice.

"Hahahaha! Good! Damn good!"

Garp suddenly threw his head back and laughed, his laughter shaking dust loose from the surrounding ruined walls. "That's my boy! That's right, Devil Fruits aren't worth shit! Only Haki can reign supreme over everything!"

"All right, if there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

Lin Xuan waved and turned to leave, heading toward the harbor. "Now that I know Ace has been making such a big splash, I'd better pick up the pace too. I've still got some personal business in the East Blue. Once that's done, I'll go beat him up."

He left without hesitation, showing no attachment whatsoever to the mountains of treasure in Arlong Park.

At that moment, Nami poked half her head out from behind a stone pillar.

Her money-loving eyes were fixed on the depths of the ruins-Arlong's treasure room, which held enough wealth to buy ten Cocoyasi Villages.

If she just rushed in now and used the confusion to take even a small bag of gems...

But then her gaze fell on the old Marine wearing a dog-head hat.

Garp merely stood there, yet his powerful presence made it hard to breathe.

He was someone strong enough to crush Arlong with ease.

"Money... or my life..."

Nami bit her lip, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead.

Under that pressure, she could even feel her legs trembling.

The next second, she made her decision.

The orange-haired girl pulled her head back, not daring to spare the treasure another glance. Hugging her navigation charts, she ran in the direction Lin Xuan had gone.

"Hey! Lin Xuan! Wait for me!"

Watching the two figures leave one after the other, Garp stopped smiling and picked his nose.

"Oh, right, you little brat!"

Garp shouted after Lin Xuan, "If you run into a guy called Krieg out at sea, he's a beaten dog who recently fled back from the Grand Line. Apparently, he brought plenty of scrap metal with him. If you see him, clean him up for me while you're at it! Save headquarters the trouble of sending someone all the way out here!"

Lin Xuan never looked back. He simply made an OK gesture with his back to Garp.

Only after Lin Xuan disappeared into the trees did movement return to the ruins of Arlong Park.

The Navy elites who hadn't dared breathe a moment ago finally gasped for air, collapsing limply to the ground.

"Hey... did you hear that?"

A Navy ensign wiped the cold sweat from his face, his voice trembling. "Fire Fist Ace of the Spade Pirates and that Lin Xuan who just cut down Captain Smoker... they're actually brothers?!"

"One's a famous rookie pirate, and the other's a Navy monster Vice Admiral Garp thinks highly of..."

"This sea... things are going to change."

Meanwhile, at Cocoyasi Village's makeshift harbor.

A small single-masted sailboat with a patched sail slowly pulled away from shore, cutting through the blue sea with the current.

The sea breeze carried a faint saltiness. Lin Xuan leaned against the gunwale, watching the island's outline gradually recede as he planned their next route.

"Caw-!"

Chapter 40: Why Does This Damn Mirror Have X-ray Vision?

A white seabird circled above the mast, its raucous cries interrupting Lin Xuan's thoughts.

Before Lin Xuan could frown, a soft rustle of clothing suddenly came from beside him.

Carina, the purple-haired girl Nami had brought aboard, had somehow produced an exquisite flintlock pistol.

She didn't even aim, simply raising her wrist in a natural motion.

A faint cloud of gunsmoke puffed from the muzzle.

Dozens of meters overhead, the seabird that had been diving at high speed let out a shriek and plunged into the sea.

Her shooting was both fast and accurate.

Carina deftly spun the pistol and slipped it back into the holster on the outside of her thigh. Then she brushed back her long purple hair and gave Lin Xuan a sly smile. "Now that I'm aboard your ship, Lin Xuan, I can't just freeload. I might not be as good at reading the weather as Nami, but I can still help with this sort of dirty work."

Lin Xuan gave her a somewhat surprised look.

Whether it was her draw speed or her anticipation, that shot had already surpassed the standard of an ordinary Navy elite.

Apparently, this phantom thief's skills weren't limited to petty theft.

"Not bad."

Lin Xuan's lips lifted slightly as he offered his assessment. "Looks like this trip won't be too boring."

The smell of gunsmoke was soon dispersed by the damp, salty sea breeze.

Lin Xuan glanced at the unfortunate seabird still bobbing on the waves, then returned his gaze to the flintlock in Carina's hand.

The gun was old, the wood grain on its grip worn shiny. Judging by the design, it was probably a portable model that had been popular in the North Blue a few years ago. It wasn't powerful, but it was light.

The blind shot this woman had just made had nothing to do with the quality of her gun. It had relied entirely on a feel honed through countless brushes with death.

"Put the gun away." Lin Xuan withdrew his gaze without much interest, adjusting his center of gravity with the boat's rocking. "Save your bullets. Finding somewhere to resupply isn't easy out on this vast sea."

"As you command, Captain." Carina winked, effortlessly reining in the seductive air she had deliberately put on. She casually twirled the gun and tucked it back into the holster on the outside of her thigh.

She was smart.

Lin Xuan saw it as clear as day.

This woman had witnessed that inhuman fighting power at Arlong Park. Her eagerness to show off her skills now was simply an attempt to label herself useful in this makeshift outfit that practically had "just scraping by" written all over it. At sea, useless people often died the fastest.

"Hey! You two!"

Nami's loud shout came from the stern.

The orange-haired girl clung to the tiller as it swung wildly with the wind, while her other hand tried to pin down the navigation chart that was nearly blowing away. She was utterly flustered.

"Stop trying to look cool over there! The wind's changed! Come help adjust the sail lines! If we go off course, we'll have nothing but wind for dinner tonight!"

Nami wasn't in a very good mood.

Although she'd boarded a pirate ship-a literal pirate ship-as the only professional aboard, looking at that thoroughly patched sail and this single-masted boat with no redeeming qualities beyond "it floats" was nearly setting off her professional compulsions.

"Coming, Miss Navigator."

Carina skipped lightly across the deck like a purple butterfly, her smile unmistakably teasing. "Don't get so worked up. You'll get wrinkles."

"Mind your own business! And stop shooting randomly! What are we supposed to have for dinner if you scare all the fish away?"

Watching the two girls bicker as they worked on deck, Lin Xuan didn't move.

He sat leaning against a pile of rope, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the cold sword hilt at his waist as he gazed toward the horizon where sea met sky.

The East Blue seemed peaceful, but undercurrents ran beneath its surface.

The name Garp had mentioned before they left-Krieg-had lodged like a thorn in Lin Xuan's train of thought.

If he remembered correctly, although that man called the "Admiral" had personal strength that amounted to nothing before the truly powerful, he possessed a massive fleet and a full-body arsenal that could be considered advanced technology in this era.

Poison Gas Bombs, a Spiked Cloak, a Battle Spear... that man was a walking armory.

With Kenpachi Zaraki's template and Haki, Lin Xuan could now charge straight through and cut apart even Krieg's flagship.

But the problem was that this boat was too fragile.

And its people were even more fragile.

Lin Xuan's gaze swept over Nami and Carina as they hauled on the sail lines.

One carried a three-section wooden staff and relied entirely on her little tricks and basic physical combat skills; the other carried a battered flintlock that had passed through who knew how many hands and could only bully ordinary Marines.

If they really encountered Krieg's fleet at sea, or those people with bizarre fruit powers after entering the Grand Line, he couldn't keep his Observation Haki active twenty-four hours a day to babysit them.

This was the world of One Piece.

Since he was going to keep them with him, it was for navigation and intelligence, and also to build the core of a force of his own.

Protection alone couldn't nurture strong fighters.

"Hey, Carina."

Lin Xuan suddenly spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it cut clearly through the howling sea wind.

Carina paused in the middle of tying a rope and looked back at the boy sitting in the shadows, somewhat puzzled. "What is it, Lin Xuan?"

"Toss me your gun."

Carina froze for a moment. Although she didn't understand, she still drew the gun without hesitation and flicked her wrist. The flintlock traced an arc through the air and landed squarely in Lin Xuan's hand.

Lin Xuan hefted it.

Too light. The rifling inside the barrel was badly worn, and the hammer spring was a little loose too.

Scrap like this couldn't even penetrate the hide of a slightly tougher sea beast, let alone those Navy elites who had mastered Iron Body.

"What garbage heap did you pick this thing out of?" Lin Xuan mocked mercilessly, gently working the hammer and listening to its slightly stiff click.

Carina's smile stiffened, and she brushed her hair back awkwardly. "Come on... I paid good money for that on the black market. For lone thieves like us, as long as it fires and scares people, it's enough."

"Scares people?"

Lin Xuan scoffed and flicked his thumb, spinning the flintlock twice in his hand. Ordinary people would still have considered it a dangerous weapon.

"The people we'll be facing aren't weaklings who'll be scared of a toy like this."

He raised his head, an inscrutable light flickering in his black eyes, like a hunter considering how to sharpen his arrows.

"Now that you're aboard my ship, stop embarrassing yourself by carrying junk like this."

Lin Xuan stood and casually tossed the flintlock back to Carina, who fumbled to catch it. A meaningful smile curled his lips.

"When we reach the next island with a town, we'll need to buy some equipment."

He paused, his gaze lingering for a moment on Nami's crude wooden staff as well.

"Or rather... it's time we gave this ship an upgrade too."

The moment Lin Xuan finished speaking, a familiar mechanical notification sounded in his mind without warning.

[Assessment successful. The host has demonstrated preliminary planning for developing the team's combat strength.]

[Mission "Captain's Foresight" completed.]

[Current template unlock progress increased to 17.5%.]

[System Shop refreshed. Currently available points: 800.]

Lin Xuan's eyelid twitched slightly, but his face remained expressionless. He settled back against the pile of rope as though resting his eyes, while his consciousness had already sunk into the deep-blue interface only he could see.

Seventeen point five percent.

The power inside him grew a little more active. Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressure was slowly awakening, and even his five senses had sharpened further.

But his attention wasn't on his body now. It was on the newly refreshed shop list.

Eight hundred points. That's everything I've squeezed out of those rats over the last few days.

His gaze swept quickly past miscellaneous items like Basic Hemostatic Potions and Compressed Rations before finally settling on the weapons category.