"Little brother Xiang En, the weather on the Sabaody Archipelago is quite cool lately. I don't think you'll need that."
Rayleigh, who was waiting for Xiang En to use his ability, was confused when he saw him suddenly run to the doorway and pick up an umbrella.
"Or are you preparing that for the partner you are about to summon?" Rayleigh asked suspiciously.
"Uh... perhaps?"
Xiang En's tone was uncertain. He himself wasn't clear about the specific relationship between the summoning medium and the summoned character.
Through some information that had suddenly appeared in his mind, he learned that his Golden Finger wouldn't always summon a character; only summons that required a medium could bring a person. Furthermore, there would be a cooldown period after each summon.
He didn't yet know how long the cooldown was; he'd only find out after the first summon.
In any case, he hoped the person who came would be easy to get along with. He was a social recluse, after all.
[Summon condition met. Summoning medium gathered. Proceed with character summon?]
"Yes!"
Whoosh~
As Xiang En's voice fell, an ethereal blue glow suddenly appeared in the dimly lit vault, which was only illuminated by a few candle flames.
Hmph, there's a summoning effect, too?
He had expected the person to just appear out of thin air, but this was much more advanced than he thought.
Xiang En looked down in the direction of the light and found that a blue summoning array had, at some point, covered the area for several meters around his feet.
Before Xiang En could observe the array, the space in front of him suddenly trembled violently, as if something was trying to emerge from within.
With a "crack," a rift appeared in the air, looking like it had been punched by Whitebeard.
Immediately following.
A small hand reached out from the rift and grabbed the shaft of the umbrella.
Whoa, what terrifying strength!
Xiang En instantly felt a massive force transmit from the umbrella handle. He was nearly dragged down by the pull and quickly let go.
Thump-thump-thump~
As nimble footsteps sounded in his ears, Xiang En looked up, his eyes meeting the curious gaze of the petite girl standing before him, holding the umbrella.
The girl was wearing an orange-red qipao, the same color as her hair, which was tied up in twin buns (maruko-gata). Her figure was very small—she was visibly shorter than his shoulder—and she was currently staring at him with her cat-like, azure blue eyes.
"..."
Parasol, qipao, orange-red twin buns, girl.
With such distinctive features, Xiang En's mind instantly, and without any effort, conjured her name.
—Kagura.
The female protagonist of the Gintama anime.
She belonged to the Yato Clan, one of the strongest races in the Gintama world. They had an appearance identical to humans, but their physical abilities and appetite were unimaginably terrifying. Their weakness was that they couldn't be exposed to direct sunlight for long periods, which is why the clan typically carries a parasol when outside.
[Successfully summoned Kagura from the Gintama world. Host has gained partial attribute sharing with this character. Please check your personal status panel for details...]
Attribute sharing?
Xiang En tried to feel his body. He noticed that compared to his previously weak, sedentary body, he was now many times better. He felt lighter and possessed a sense of strength he'd never had before.
He felt like he could punch and kill an ox right now.
He opened his status panel.
[Character: Xiang En]
[Age: 24]
[Race: Human (95%) Yato (5%)]
[Ability: None]
[Evaluation: With your initial improvements, and the super-defense and recovery power granted by your partial Yato bloodline, you might be able to try to catch an axe from Morgan with your bare hands.]
Hiss... Taking an axe from Axe-Hand Morgan head-on with my body. That's a high evaluation. I could probably swagger through the East Blue with this.
But I'm on the Sabaody Archipelago right now! This is the first half of the Grand Line. Any pirate with a bounty over ten million Beli is stronger than Morgan.
So, with his current strength, he was probably just a small fry on this island.
The momentary feeling of power that came with the sudden surge of strength instantly evaporated. Xiang En had to accept the fact that he was still a weakling.
"I heard that if I follow you, I'll get fed?"
The orange-haired girl stared at Xiang En for a long time. Seeing him remain silent, she finally couldn't help but ask.
Her voice was both anxious and hopeful.
It had been a long time since she had a full meal since running away from home.
Today, while she was scavenging for valuables in a garbage bin on the streets of Edo, she suddenly heard a voice.
It said that if she went to a very distant place to be someone's partner, she wouldn't have to worry about food anymore.
So, with virtually no hesitation, she followed the voice and crossed over.
But now, looking at the pale-faced, dry-lipped, disheveled guy in front of her, he didn't exactly look like he could afford to feed her.
After all, she knew her appetite was... a little big.
Follow me? Get fed?
Upon hearing this, Xiang En's expression grew slightly astonished. Such a thuggish way of speaking coming from a young girl created an indescribable sense of contrast.
However, remembering that the person in front of him was the female protagonist of the Gintama world, he was instantly relieved.
In that world full of oddities and nonsense, it would be strange if the female protagonist wasn't strange.
"Why not meat?"
Unlike a certain penniless, silver-haired, naturally-permed bum, Xiang En, who held a massive fortune of one billion Beli, confidently patted his chest, having the complete confidence to say those words.
Plop!
Upon hearing Xiang En's words, Kagura was instantly stunned. The parasol in her hand fell to the ground, and tears welled up in her eyes.
After a while, the girl's incredibly excited voice rang out in the vault.
"I'm sticking with you, Boss!!!"
...
...
"Eh? What are you doing?"
Looking at the girl who had lunged into his arms, weeping with excitement and hugging him tightly, Xiang En was at a loss for where to put his hands.
The girl's body was soft. With the sudden closeness, Xiang En could even catch a whiff of a subtle fragrance carried by the air.
However, before he could enjoy it for a few seconds, he felt that something was wrong.
The arms wrapped around his waist seemed to be increasing in strength as their owner's emotions fluctuated.
"L-Let go... Ah..."
Creeeak.
He heard the sound of his own bones being compressed. His breathing became difficult, and his face rapidly turned pale.
He felt like he was going to die right here, suffocated to death in the embrace of the companion he had just summoned.
No matter how you looked at it, this was an incredibly shameful way to die!
"Hey, hey, hey, little girl, little brother Xiang En doesn't look so good!"
Fortunately, there was a third person in the warehouse.
Rayleigh had initially been watching the two interact with interest. As he got older, he always enjoyed observing vigorous young people to reminisce about the past.
But what he didn't expect was that the partner little brother Xiang En had summoned, despite her small stature, possessed a strength that even he could not underestimate, and she didn't seem to know how to control it very well.
"Huh?" Hearing this, Kagura looked up confusedly, only to discover with horror that the Boss she had just recognized was frighteningly pale, looking like he was about to kick the bucket at any moment.
Frightened, she quickly let go. Xiang En, as if released, collapsed limply to the floor, with white foam already seeping from the corners of his mouth.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
"Are you suddenly sick?"
"You jerk, don't slack off and sleep here! Wake up and take me to eat meat!"
For a moment, Kagura was at a loss. In her panic, her small body slammed heavily onto Xiang En's chest, causing Rayleigh to widen his eyes.