Alvida noticed that Marcus was staring straight at her with a somewhat dazed expression. Only then did she realize that she was naked, but she remained unbothered by it.
She didn't mind being admired for her charm and beauty. Besides, she was still wearing her bikini bottom anyway.
At that moment, Marcus also snapped out of his thoughts about the experience orb.
"Since you're ready to be a pirate now, well... how about doing some plundering?" Alvida asked curiously, after all, that was the most common stereotype about what pirates did.
"Plunder what?"
"Uh... money?"
"Don't need it. We've already got more gold than we know what to do with."
"Hmm... supplies then? Food? Beautiful women or fine wine?" Alvida tried again, running through the traditional pirate wishlist.
Marcus found her suggestions amusing. "Being a pirate doesn't necessarily mean plundering, and it definitely doesn't mean doing evil just for the sake of it."
"Then what kind of pirate would you be?" Alvida didn't understand this approach at all.
"Think about what happened in Orange Town."
Alvida paused, then understood what he was getting at. So this man was still that kindhearted guy at his core, she'd thought he might have changed after their discussion.
"Well, in that case, being a pirate or not doesn't really matter," Alvida said, though she didn't plan to continue pushing that topic.
"What, are you planning to join the Straw Hat crew?"
"I've thought about it. How about you?"
"Sure, I don't mind. Besides, it's not uncommon in pirate circles for defeated foes to be recruited into the crew."
Just then, as if summoned by their conversation, Kira emerged from below deck. She walked over to stand in front of both of them.
"I've made up my mind."
"Oh? What decision did you come to?"
Kira looked at them seriously.
"Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. I want to go to the 153rd Branch... I want to meet Koby."
"Just meet him?"
Kira fell silent.
Marcus waved his hand dismissively. "You overheard our earlier conversation, didn't you?"
"Yes..."
"The girl's learned to lie," Alvida said with a smile, shaking her head.
Kira lowered her head and didn't respond.
"What was your original thought about what you wanted to do?" Marcus pressed gently.
"To... follow you," Kira answered honestly.
During her time at sea with them, she had felt the kindness and acceptance of both Marcus and Alvida. She could tell that her crippling social anxiety had been improving day by day. She'd been happier on this journey than she had been in the past decade combined, she was finally starting to understand what freedom actually felt like. But she had also heard Marcus' words about the importance of strength in this world.
She didn't have Alvida's incredible physical power, nor did she possess Marcus' mysterious abilities. She was just an ordinary girl with a rough understanding of basic navigation techniques.
If she followed them on their journey to become great pirates, she'd probably just hold them back and become a liability. Just thinking about that possibility, and imagining the disappointment that would inevitably appear on their faces, made her feel like she'd rather leave on her own terms. So she'd made her choice to prioritize finding Koby over her own desires.
Alvida sighed and spread her hands. "You convince her. I'm not good at this stuff."
After saying that, she walked back to her lounge chair.
Marcus reached out and gently ruffled the girl's hair. He lifted away the black strands that had been covering her eyes, revealing her face properly for the first time in a while.
One had to admit, in the One Piece world, young women were rarely unattractive. Of course, if they gained too much weight, it could ruin everything, whether it was Alvida in her previous form, Big Mom, or even Shinobu from Wano Country.
Kira's face was no longer as gaunt and malnourished as when they'd first met her at the port. Now it had filled out into a standard oval shape, with drooping, water-blue eyes that seemed to hold depths of emotion. Combined with her shy smile, she looked cute and vulnerable.
As her hair was brushed aside, Kira's face turned bright red, but she still tried her best to meet Marcus' gaze directly.
"Haven't you noticed that you've been eating more and more lately?"
Alvida, who had just settled back onto her lounge chair, nearly slipped right off it in surprise at the unexpected direction of the conversation.
Kira's face, no, her entire head, was red, almost visibly steaming with embarrassment.
"S-sorry... I'll... eat less next time," she stammered, looking like she was about to burst into tears of shame.
"Marcus—"
Before Alvida could finish, Marcus cut her off with a raised hand.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I want both of you to eat more, not less. I've discovered something important about my ability."
"The amount of food someone can consume that's been affected by my powers doesn't just reflect their appetite, it's also directly related to their overall strength and potential."
"What do you mean?"
"I first noticed it with Kira. When she first came aboard, she could only manage to eat one tropical fruit at a time. Now she can easily eat about five, and that number keeps going up. The same pattern applies to you, Alvida," Marcus explained, then turned his attention back to Kira. "Compared to when you first joined us, your physical condition is completely different. Back then, you were getting seasick constantly, throwing up nonstop, and even sweeping one room would leave you exhausted and breathless. But now?"
Kira thought about it for a moment, considering her recent activities. These days, she could clean the entire ship from top to bottom without feeling tired.
"It's... true, I guess. I hadn't really thought about it."
"My ability doesn't just produce food that fills your stomach," Marcus continued. "It also rapidly restores your physical condition and relieves fatigue. In other words, as long as you keep training consistently, you don't need to worry about rest periods or recovery time. That means your training efficiency is already several times greater than normal people. And if you also put in several times more effort than they do, can you imagine how strong you could become in the future?"
Kira imagined the possibilities, and her eyes became firm.
It was true that her original goal for going to sea had been to find Koby and reconnect with him. But during these days traveling with Marcus and Alvida, she had seen a world she had never known existed before. She wanted to see more of this vast, incredible world and all its wonders.
She was very aware that she was a small, almost invisible person in the grand scheme of things. Her presence barely registered with most people. Since leaving the orphanage, she had tried many different jobs and failed at all of them without exception. Her painfully shy nature made her terrible at socializing with customers, coworkers, or employers.
If it hadn't been for occasional charity from the orphanage, she might very well have starved to death on the streets.
That's why she desperately wanted to change herself and become someone stronger. She thought about Koby, someone who had also been timid and fearful, but who worked incredibly hard to transform himself. After learning that he had gone to sea to pursue his dreams, she began studying his old navigation notes and textbooks.
But the results had been deeply disappointing. She was a young girl traveling alone, and she understood perfectly well the looks that merchant ship captains gave her when she applied for work.
Actually, precisely because of her introverted personality, she had become very skilled at reading people's facial expressions and body language. She knew how to protect herself from the merchants who developed ulterior motives, but even the ones who maintained professional behavior still found her lack of practical experience and physical frailty to be major drawbacks.
Eventually, after being rejected countless times, she had worked up the courage to wander into a pirate tavern, planning to take on shadier work that might be more accepting of inexperience.
She had disguised herself to look as plain and even androgynous as possible, hoping to protect herself from unwanted attention.
But she had still failed to find work, pirates might not care about formal experience, but she was simply too small and weak for the kind of labor they needed.
Just when she was about to give up on her dreams entirely, she had spotted Marcus and Alvida recruiting crew members.
She had wanted to apply right there in the tavern, but the crowd of eager applicants had pushed her to the very back, and she couldn't even get a word in edgewise.
Fortunately, in the end, she had gathered every ounce of courage she possessed to approach them outside.
"So, what's your decision now?"
"I want to go to sea! I want to be a pirate!" Kira declared firmly.
The moment those words left her mouth, Marcus witnessed the same phenomenon he'd seen with Alvida.
Experience orbs burst out from her body in a shower of golden light, though not nearly as many as Alvida had produced.
Still, it was enough to raise him to level nine, bringing him close to what he suspected might be an important milestone.
Level 10.
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What do you guys think of the Soul Possession Mod?