A white seabird circled at the top of the mast and its noisy cry interrupted Zaraki's thoughts.
Before Zaraki could frown, a soft rustling of fabric sounded beside him.
The purple-haired girl, Carina, who was now aboard with them, held an exquisite flintlock pistol in her hand.
She did not even aim, she just raised her wrist naturally.
A faint puff of gunsmoke erupted from the barrel.
High in the sky, dozens of meters above, the seabird that had been diving at high speed let out a miserable shriek before plummeting into the sea.
Her marksmanship proved both fast and accurate.
Carina spin the pistol stylishly before sliding it back into the holster on her outer thigh.
She tossed her purple hair and flashed Zaraki a sly smile.
"Since I boarded Zaraki-san ship, I can't just be dead weight. I'm not as good at reading weather as Nami, but I can still help with these dirty, tiring jobs."
Zaraki glanced at her with some surprise.
That shot just now—both the draw speed and the prediction—exceeded the level of ordinary elite Marines.
It seemed this phantom thief's skills extended beyond petty theft.
"Not bad."
The corner of Zaraki's mouth lifted slightly as he gave his assessment. "Looks like this journey will not be too boring."
The smell of gunsmoke dispersed quickly in the damp, salty sea breeze.
Zaraki glanced at the unlucky seabird still bobbing with the waves on the sea surface before returning his gaze to the flintlock pistol in Carina's hand.
The gun body looked old.
The wood grain on the grip shone from wear. Judging by the design, it was probably a portable model popular in the North Blue a few years back.
It lacked significant power but remained lightweight.
That blind shot she just made did not rely on the quality of the gun. It relied on pure instinct honed through countless life-and-death situations.
"Put the gun away." Zaraki withdrew his gaze, his interest waning.
He adjusted his center of gravity as the ship rocked.
"Save your bullets. Finding a resupply station out in this vast ocean will not be easy."
"Aye aye, Captain." Carina blinked.
Her deliberately flirtatious demeanor came and went at will as she twirled the gun before sliding the weapon back into the holster on her outer thigh.
She was a smart one.
Zaraki saw right through her.
This woman had witnessed his monstrous strength.
She showed off her skill eagerly now simply to slap a "useful" label on herself within this slapdash crew.
In a crew that practically had "just scraping by" written all over their faces, useless people at sea often died the fastest.
"Hey! You two!"
Nami's loud shout came from the stern.
The orange-haired girl desperately gripped the tiller that swung wildly with the wind. Her other hand pressed down on the nautical chart threatening to blow away.
She looked utterly flustered.
"Stop posing over there! The wind changed! Come help adjust the sails! If we veer off course, we will be drinking the northwest wind for dinner tonight!"
Nami was in a foul mood.
As the only professional on this vessel, looking at the patched-up sail and this single-masted boat whose only merit was "it floats" triggered her professional OCD.
"Coming right up, Navigator."
Carina leaped across the deck as lightly as a purple butterfly, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"Don't get so worked up. You will get wrinkles soon!"
"None of your business! And stop firing that gun randomly over there! You will scare away the fish! What are we supposed to do for dinner then?"
Watching the two girls bickering and bustling on the deck, Zaraki did not move.
He leaned back against a pile of ropes.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed the cold hilt of the sword at his waist. His gaze fixed on the horizon where sea met sky.
The East Blue seemed calm, but undercurrents swirled.
The name Garp had mentioned before leaving—Krieg—stuck in Zaraki's thoughts like a thorn.
If he remembered correctly, that guy called himself an "Admiral of the East Blue," though his strength was garbage, he commanded a massive fleet.
He possessed full-body armor that counted as advanced technology for this era.
Poison gas bombs, needle cloaks, battle spears... that guy was a walking arsenal.
With the Kenpachi Zaraki template and Haki, Zaraki could probably charge straight through even Krieg's flagship right now.
The problem remained that this ship was too fragile.
Not only was the ship fragile, but the people were even more so.
Zaraki's eyes swept over Nami and Carina, who were pulling on the sail ropes.
One wielded a three-section staff, relying solely on her wits and basic martial arts.
The other carried a worn-out flintlock pistol that had changed hands who knows how many times, only good for bullying ordinary Marines.
If they truly encountered Krieg's fleet at sea, or later entered the Grand Line and ran into those with bizarre Devil Fruit powers, he could not possibly keep Kenbunshoku Haki active 24/7 to babysit them.
This was the Great Pirate Era.
Since he intended to keep them by his side—for navigation, intelligence, and to build his own power base—simply protecting them would not cultivate true strength.
"Hey, Carina." Zaraki spoke suddenly.
His voice was not loud but cut clearly through the howling sea wind.
Carina, who was tying a knot in the rope, paused and turned back.
She looked somewhat puzzled at the boy sitting in the shadows.
"What is it, Zaraki-san?"
"Throw me that gun of yours."
Carina stood taken aback for a moment. Though she did not understand why, she promptly drew her gun.
She flicked her wrist and sent the flintlock pistol tracing an arc through the air before it landed steadily in Zaraki's hand.
Zaraki weighed the pistol.
Too light.
The barrel rifling was severely worn, and the spring in the hammer felt somewhat loose.
With such scrap metal, it would not even pierce the hide of a slightly tougher Sea King, let alone elite Marines who had mastered Tekkai.
"Where did you pick this thing up from a garbage heap?" Zaraki mocked mercilessly.
He pulled back the hammer lightly and listened to the slightly grating click.
Carina's smile stiffened for a moment.
She awkwardly brushed back her hair. "Come on... I spent a fortune to get this from the black market. For solo thieves like us, as long as it fires and can scare people off, it is enough."
"Scare people off?"
Zaraki scoffed. He flicked his thumb and spun the flintlock pistol—which ordinary people would still consider a deadly weapon—twice in his hand.
"What we will face in the future will not be the kind of pushovers frightened by a toy like this."
He raised his head.
His dark eyes gleamed with an elusive light, like a hunter contemplating how to sharpen his arrows.
"Since you boarded my ship, don't embarrass yourself by carrying such junk around."
Zaraki stood up and casually tossed the flintlock pistol back to Carina, who fumbled to catch it.
A meaningful smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"When we reach the next island with a town, we will need to do some equipment shopping."
He paused, his gaze lingering for a moment on Nami's crude wooden staff.
"Or rather... it is time we upgraded this ship too."
As soon as Zaraki finished speaking, the familiar mechanical prompt sounded abruptly in his mind.
[Determination successful. Host has demonstrated preliminary planning for team combat capabilities.]
[Quest 'Captain's Foresight' completed.]
[Current Template Unlock Progress increased to 17.5%.]
[System Shop has refreshed. Current available Points: 800.]
Zaraki's eyelids twitched slightly, though his expression remained unchanged.
He leaned back against a pile of ropes as if resting with his eyes closed. His consciousness had already sunk into the deep blue interface only he could see.
Seventeen point five percent.
The power within him stirred a bit more.
Kenpachi Zaraki's Reiatsu was slowly awakening, and even his five senses had grown sharper.
His focus did not rest on his body right now; it sat on the newly refreshed Shop list.
Eight hundred Points.
This was essentially all the loot he had managed to gather from those rats over the past few days.
His gaze quickly skimmed past miscellaneous items like basic hemostatic potions and compressed rations before finally settling on the weapons section.
'Since I decided to arm these not-yet-fully-grown companions, I will have to bring out some real gear.'
'On this vast sea, even support members like Nami and Carina will not only become burdens but could also turn into fatal weaknesses that cause the entire team to collapse when facing the monsters of the Grand Line if they lack the ability to protect themselves.'
'However, before that, there is a very practical issue.'
"System," Zaraki called out silently in his mind, "if I give the special items exchanged from the Shop to others to use, can they be stolen or lost?"
This remained a crucial question.
If a high-priced divine artifact ended up taken away or used against him, he, as a reincarnated person, would be a complete failure.
[Answering Host: All System-produced items are bound to the Host as the sole highest authority owner by default.]
[If lent to others for use, the Host can remotely and forcibly recall them, lock their functions, or directly detonate and destroy them at any time through mental command. If the holder develops substantial killing intent toward the Host, the item will automatically deactivate and backlash against them.]
"A capitalist's safety lock... I like this setting."
Zaraki felt relieved in his heart, and the corners of his mouth relaxed slightly.
Since no risk of arming the enemy existed, there was nothing to hesitate about.
His gaze locked onto the two discounted items in today's Shop, and his pupils contracted slightly.
[Modified Kar98k sniper rifle (unlimited energy recharge type)]
[Price: 400 Points]
[Description: The outdated gunpowder firing mechanism has been replaced with compressed air and the user's stamina conversion for kinetic energy. No recoil, silent, power fluctuates with the user's physical limit. Note: This is a man's romance and a divine tool for clearing out trash mobs.]
[Modified eight-fold optical scope (special enchantment)]
[Description: It is not just about seeing far. Although it looks like an ordinary glass tube, it incorporates corrections at the rule level on top of optical imaging. Note: Perhaps you will see things you shouldn't see.]
Exactly eight hundred.
The hard-earned savings, about to be emptied in an instant.
Zaraki felt a brief pang of regret for half a second, then decisively chose to exchange.
Points like these did not multiply if kept; converting them into immediate combat power remained the way to go.
Besides, compared to letting Carina go to her death with that fire poker, this rifle could better unleash her potential as a phantom thief.
Her attacks would become precise, concealed, and lethal.
His consciousness returned to reality.
On the other side of the deck, Carina was still fiddling with her old flintlock pistol, seemingly pondering how to maintain it to make the rusty hammer smoother.
She noticed Zaraki's gaze, paused her movements, and asked hesitantly.
"Um... Zaraki-san, should I find a deserted island to practice my shooting? Firing a gun on the ship makes too much noise, and the gunpowder smell is unpleasant. It might disturb your rest, right?"
"Rest?"
Zaraki opened his eyes and stood up from the pile of ropes.
With his movement, the green-haired boy who had been dozing with three swords on the other side of the railing suddenly opened his eyes.
His hand instinctively rested on his sword hilt.
"Don't be so tense, mosshead,"
Zaraki glanced at the highly alert Zoro, then bent down beside the ropes and pulled out a long oilcloth-wrapped bundle he had tucked there earlier.
There were no dazzling special effects.
Under the astonished gazes of Nami and Carina, he unwrapped the bundle and revealed a rifle in his hands.
The gun possessed a sleek, elongated design, its body entirely finished in high-quality matte black, paired with a wooden stock.
Its lines flowed smoothly.
The bolt mechanism was exquisitely crafted, and the chamber showed zero trace of a powder-loading port.
"This is the upgrade I am giving you."
Zaraki held the hefty 98K with one hand and casually tossed it to Carina, who stood frozen in place.
"Huh?!" Carina fumbled to catch it.
The precision and craftsmanship of this firearm completely surpassed her understanding of guns.
"This... this is a gun?" Zoro frowned.
He stepped closer from the side, staring at the strange iron tube.
"How do you use it? As a club to hit people?"
Nami, who was steering the ship, did not speak, but her large eyes filled with doubt.
Zaraki offered zero explanations.
He reached back into the same oilcloth bundle and took out a black cylindrical object—the modified eight-power scope worth four hundred Points.
"Watch."
Zaraki took the rifle back from Carina with practiced ease.
Click.
A crisp metallic snap echoed as the scope locked perfectly onto the rail atop the gun.
An eerie sense of completeness radiated instantly from the weapon.
The cold aura it emitted made even Zoro, who knew nothing about guns, instinctively take half a step back.
"No gunpowder. No noise." Zaraki gently ran his fingers over the cool surface of the scope.
The sensation felt unusually real. "As long as you have enough stamina, it can fire indefinitely."
With that, Zaraki pressed the stock against his shoulder.
He tilted his head slightly and brought his right eye close to the seemingly deep eyepiece.
He only wanted to test the clarity of this modified eight-power scope.
He also wanted to show these inexperienced people what professionalism looked like.
The muzzle pointed casually toward the stern.
Nami gripped the ship's wheel with both hands.
The sea breeze tousled her short orange hair, her thin T-shirt pressed tightly against her body by the wind.
Then, Zaraki froze and he forgot to breathe.
His pupils contracted violently within that small field of view, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
"...What the hell."
Zaraki jerked his head away from the scope.
His expression displayed utter shock.
He looked at the rifle in his hands, then raised his gaze to the oblivious Nami in the distance. His throat felt dry as he swallowed hard.
Was this what the System description meant by... "things you shouldn't see"?
Had the direction of this modification gone a bit too far off the rails?
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