Free Web NovelChapter 9: Chapter 9
Chapter 9
[Ding! Crew member Kaya successfully recruited. Reward: Steel Balloon Talent.]
The system notification rang in Rorschach’s mind.
He paused for a second.
Steel Balloon — that was Big Mom’s special physique talent, right?
He never expected recruiting crew members through the system would also give him rewards. This was a pleasant surprise.
BOOM!
The moment the Steel Balloon talent fused with his body, Rorschach’s height shot up to 2.5 meters. His previously balanced build instantly transformed into that of a muscular powerhouse. His clothes tore slightly under the sudden pressure.
Kaya and Charlie stared at the dramatically changed Rorschach, speechless.
Thankfully, his handsome face remained the same.
"Sorry, I got a little excited and lost control of my power for a second," Rorschach said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
He closed his eyes, focused, and slowly returned to his normal two-meter height. Unfortunately, his clothes were still ripped in several places.
"This Steel Balloon talent really lives up to its name," he muttered.
He could now freely change his body size at will. If he wanted, he could instantly grow to six meters tall. But that form would look ridiculously muscular, so he had no plans to walk around like a walking muscle explosion.
"It’s truly incredible," Charlie said in awe. "Not only can you control your body size at will, but you also possess such miraculous medicine. Lord Rorschach, you really are something else."
[Ding! Next sign-in location: Goa Kingdom. Sign-in will unlock in ten days. Please proceed to the location.]
The next destination had appeared.
Goa Kingdom — Luffy’s hometown. This trip just got interesting. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Rorschach turned to Charlie. "I’m going to take a walk outside and buy a map. Can’t travel the East Blue properly without one and a compass."
He waved and left.
...
Five days passed quickly.
Charlie had prepared a neat small sailboat for Rorschach and fully stocked it with supplies. Together with the pirate bounties, treasure from the captured ships, and Charlie’s generous gift, Rorschach now had a total of 50 million berries.
On the shore.
Charlie and his wife stood teary-eyed as they looked at Kaya on the deck.
"Kaya, take good care of yourself out there, okay?"
"I will, Mom." Kaya waved her handkerchief.
"Lord Rorschach, please take care of my daughter," Charlie said, removing his hat and bowing deeply.
"Don’t worry. Once our journey is over, we’ll come back to visit," Rorschach replied gently, patting Kaya’s head.
"Set sail!"
With his words, the Float-Float Fruit activated. The small sailboat slowly lifted off the water and headed toward Goa Kingdom.
Life at sea was often boring.
Rorschach lounged on a deck chair, reading the newspaper with a relaxed expression. Two headlines caught his attention.
The first was about Alabasta falling into civil war. Large amounts of Dance Powder had appeared in the port city of Nanohana. Citizens, furious with King Cobra, had risen up under the rebel leader Kohza.
Looks like Crocodile’s plan is going smoothly. Without Luffy stopping him in two years, Alabasta really might have fallen.
Rorschach shook his head. Still, the World Government would never allow the secret protected by the Nefertari family to be exposed. If Crocodile goes too far, CP0 would probably eliminate him quietly.
He turned to the second headline.
"Fire Fist" Ace, Captain of the Spade Pirates, refuses to join the Seven Warlords! Declares he will challenge the World’s Strongest Man, Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate!
Fought to a draw against current Warlord "Sea Knight" Jinbe for five days and five nights!
The news had shaken the entire world. Every major figure was now watching this supernova pirate.
Big Mom and Kaido scoffed at the newcomer, but Whitebeard showed clear interest.
"Heh. So Ace will soon get beaten by Whitebeard and become Second Division Commander," Rorschach muttered. "And in about a year, Thatch will find the Dark-Dark Fruit... only for Blackbeard to kill him and steal it."
He wasn’t particularly interested in the Dark-Dark Fruit himself, but it was still a powerful one. If he could secure it for a future crew member, that would be nice.
Thanks to his system-granted Float-Float Fruit (which had zero side effects), he was completely immune to the Dark-Dark Fruit’s nullification ability, as well as to seawater and Seastone.
Still, with his current strength, trying to snatch the fruit from the Whitebeard Pirates would be suicidal. freewёbnoνel.com
"Lord Rorschach, I did it!"
Kaya ran over happily, holding a lively white mouse in her hands.
"Not bad at all, Kaya," Rorschach said with a gentle smile. "When we reach Goa Kingdom, I’ll find more medical books for you."
"Mhm!" Kaya replied with an adorable, bright smile.
Five days ago, Rorschach had already gathered a bunch of medical textbooks for her. Thanks to her Medical Talent, she had managed to cure a sick mouse in just a few days.
"You have real talent for medicine, Kaya. Don’t waste it."
"If it helps you, Captain, I’ll work really hard!" Kaya said, blushing slightly as she looked at him shyly.
"We should be reaching Goa Kingdom soon. Let’s speed things up — I’m getting hungry for lunch."
Rorschach activated the Float-Float Fruit. The sailboat rose into the air and shot forward at triple speed.
In less than half a day, they arrived at Goa Kingdom. It was just past noon.
[Ding! Sign-In System has detected the target location: Goa Kingdom. Would you like to sign in?]
"Sign in."
[Ding! Reward: Advanced Swordsmanship Experience Pack] [Ding! Reward: Strength Enhancement Pack] [Ding! Reward: Devil Fruit Experience Pack]
Simple but very useful rewards. Rorschach felt his strength increase across the board.
After checking his new power, he turned to Kaya with a smile.
"Let’s grab lunch first. After we eat, I’ll take you around the kingdom."
"Okay!"
"Here, take this. Buy anything you like." Rorschach pulled out a stack of 100,000 berry bills and handed it to her, keeping another stack for himself.
He then took Kaya’s small hand and began strolling through the streets, looking for the kingdom’s famous local dishes.
He had already stored the small sailboat in his Storage Space after secretly landing it in an empty corner. The space was big enough to hold an entire ship, so there was no need to leave anyone behind to guard it.
In a nearby alley.
A beautiful girl with short purple hair watched Rorschach’s extravagant spending with a sly glint in her eyes. She quietly slipped deeper into the shadows of the alley.
Rorschach’s Observation Haki had naturally picked up the gaze, but there were many people in the kingdom. Being stared at wasn’t unusual, and he wasn’t famous yet, so he didn’t pay it any mind.
After spending a full 500,000 berries at a local specialty restaurant, Rorschach and Kaya had tasted every famous dish Goa Kingdom had to offer.
They were now walking down the street, enjoying the exotic scenery.
"Sorry! Excuse me!"
An orange-haired girl wearing a short-sleeved orange shirt with a cat design suddenly bumped into them.
