Chapter 208: Reputation Exchange, Life Return and Sea-Stone
[The Legend of the Emerald City]
[Quality: Extremely Rare (Special Item)]
[Description: A special treasure map from the One Piece derivative world, pointing to the legendary Emerald City.]
[Effect 1: Before deployment, you may spend D-Grade Singularity *2 to open this map. Your deployment mission world will be re-anchored to a One Piece derivative world.]
[Effect 2: In a One Piece derivative world, this map will display specific coordinates.]
This was a standard "Treasure Map" type special item, possessing the ability to both find treasure and anchor a mission world. Such items were most useful for Reincarnators who wanted to target a specific world to acquire specific abilities or items.
Of course, a treasure map of this quality was extremely rare in the Nexus. The [Emerald City], which was barely mentioned in the original story, was clearly of immense value.
Kaito Shirogane did have plans to return to the Skuld Island sea area to search for [El Dorado], which had most likely sunk into the sea after Garp shattered the island. But he had to wait until Garp and these HQ Marines had left.
He had left Hina alive because it was more beneficial for his future operations. He knew that with his current reputation, both the World Government and the Marines would offer him a good position; even advanced training at HQ was foreseeable.
Therefore, controlling Hina was more valuable than killing her. If he killed her, the G-51 Branch might fall into someone else's hands. But with a now-compliant Hina in charge of the G-51 Branch, Kaito had essentially gained access to a wide range of resources.
Kaito Shirogane coldly calculated the pros and cons. He hadn't sensed any desire from Coby to kill her. Otherwise, when Coby was in control of his body, he could have easily used the Dodon Ray to kill her then and there.
Bellamy was now lying weakly on the ground. Not far away, a few pirates were watching cautiously. Kaito guessed these were members of the [Hyena Pirates], Bellamy's crew.
But after getting the map, Kaito walked over to Bellamy. He looked at the other pirates and placed a finger on Bellamy's head.
The pirates looked terrified. The Satsui no Hado began to swirl around Kaito's hand like a flame.
"Ah!" Bellamy's wail was weak.
"That's enough, Marine."
A deep voice sounded. Kaito Shirogane wasn't surprised. He turned his head and saw the grim, helmeted Vice Admiral Gion standing nearby.
"This man is infected. We must study him first. Do not execute him."
[Your actions have earned the praise of Vice Admiral Gion. Your reputation with Gion has increased. Current: Friendly (78/100).]
Kaito's lips curled. His perception was extremely sharp, especially after his Spirit broke its limit. Within a dozen meters, he could sense everyone's presence, even with his eyes closed.
He had known Gion's position from the start. He had put on this cruel display partly because he was influenced by the Satsui no Hado, and partly because Kaito was intentionally indulging it.
He knew that Gion and the other HQ "hawks" would never worry about his methods being too extreme. They would only worry about him being soft-hearted.
This was a group of militants, aggressive toward pirates and colleagues alike.
Kaito stood up, letting Gion's men take Bellamy. He then approached the equally cruel Marine Vice Admiral.
As usual, these native characters who weren't in the "good guy" camp had a rather good impression of Kaito.
"Vice Admiral Garp said you are very talented."
Gion looked at Kaito. He had seen Enel's terror and did not believe for a second that this Marine alone could have killed the "Evil God." That was something he and the other Vice Admirals combined could not do.
He was certain that Garp must have heavily wounded the "Evil God" first, allowing this Mercenary Tao to land the final blow in a counter-attack.
Still, to possess that kind of quality... he was no ordinary man.
Gion's gaze softened slightly, a rare occurrence. He liked strong colleagues, especially one whose methods aligned so well with his own.
When dealing with enemies, you must be even more cruel than they are.
This was why he followed Admiral Akainu.
"How about it? Want to enter HQ for advanced training? I can recommend you."
Gion's words were, in fact, an implication that Kaito could join their faction. Because of the brutal battle at Skuld Island, Kaito, who had distinguished himself, was guaranteed to get the Navy's attention. He didn't need Gion's recommendation for HQ training.
But Gion didn't want this Mercenary Tao getting too close to Garp.
Garp was a hero, true, but Garp's strength and willfulness were not what Gion believed the Marines should be.
"Then thank you, Vice Admiral. I happen to have many questions about my training. I wonder if you could offer some guidance?"
Gion smiled, seeing Kaito Shirogane was so perceptive.
[Vice Admiral Gion Reputation Exchange List unlocked.]
Kaito knew he and Garp didn't mesh. His methods were not to Garp's liking, and his future plans would be better served by having hawks like Gion and Doberman on his side.
He took the opportunity to open the exchange list with Gion.
The list of items the Navy offered was extensive.
Aside from things like Devil Fruits, it had everything from basic training techniques to the training methods for the Rokushiki.
Kaito quickly scanned the list while following Gion, and soon locked onto his target.
[Life Return]. Requires [Respected] reputation, costs 40 reputation points.
This was a special technique obtained by a select few masters of the Rokushiki who had achieved ultimate, meticulous control over their own bodies.
Using [Life Return], the user could control their muscles, hair, and even internal organs. It allowed them to fight with their hair as if it were limbs, change their body shape to become more agile or more powerful, and even store life energy inside their body.
In some ways, this ability was even more profound than the [Rokushiki].
Because the [Rokushiki] techniques also required [Respected] reputation and 40 reputation points each, and Kaito's reputation with the Marines was [Respected (33/100)].
This meant he could only afford one technique. Since he already had [Moonwalk] and had learned [Tekkai], and he wasn't pursuing pure speed or power to the extreme, he felt [Life Return] was a bigger upgrade, especially since he couldn't get all six techniques to learn the [Rokuogan].
Moreover, Gion himself was a Vice Admiral who was extremely skilled in [Life Return].
This choice made Gion's approval of Kaito rise even higher.
After that, Kaito also exchanged for two sets of [Sea-Stone Handcuffs].
[Sea-Stone Handcuffs]
[Quality: Rare]
[Description: A special substance unique to the One Piece derivative world, containing the power of the sea. It is a strong counter to Devil Fruit users.]
[Effect 1: Devil Fruit users who touch the Sea-Stone Handcuffs are greatly weakened.]
[Effect 2: Devil Fruit users locked in the Sea-Stone Handcuffs cannot use their Devil Fruit abilities.]
This was a world-specific counter item, one that was often bought at high prices in the Nexus.
If you knew a Reincarnator was a Devil Fruit user, then acquiring [Sea-Stone] gave you the best opportunity to kill them.
When Kaito Shirogane and Gion arrived at the Marine gathering point in Mock Town, Garp was somewhat surprised to see the grim Gion actually explaining something to the new rookie, Mercenary Tao. His hair was even moving, as if he was demonstrating the secrets of [Life Return].
Garp had no interest in these factional politics and just laughed while stuffing his face.
"Gion! Mercenary Tao! You're too late! I'm not saving any food for you!"
Garp laughed, but Kaito's gaze shifted to Captain Hina, who was just entering from the other side.
The woman noticed Kaito's gaze, gave a subtle nod, and then looked away.
Kaito was impressed; this woman was indeed very skilled at these small-scale maneuvers. He casually picked up some rum, pretending to drink.
Garp's personality was very similar to Luffy's. When not in combat, he had many openings. He was just so strong that he didn't care. Kaito watched the flush appear on Garp's face as he chugged his drink.
Kaito knew... he might soon have his chance to kill those two monsters.
Jabra the werewolf... and... Moon Fiend...
(End of Chapter)
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