He hurriedly lifted his head, collected his thoughts, and looked at the gradually fading notification message.
"What the hell!? An A-rank from a normal gacha machine!? And it's even a character card, such a rare item!!?"
He quickly opened the inventory system and, among a pile of unfamiliar gear and items, he indeed found an item with a card icon.
Above the item was an image of a short-haired girl wearing a black shihakushō.
At that moment, the girl wore a determined expression, holding a sword with both hands and staring forward as if facing off against an enemy.
"Character card… it's really a character card..."
"Did I just get insanely lucky!?"
Staring at the red-glowing frame around the card, Kyle's eyes also began to flash with a dynamic red light.
Although Rukia was a bit small and didn't quite match his "XP"...
Still, she was undeniably a beautiful girl.
And after achieving Bankai, Rukia's combat power was at least on par with a Navy Admiral!
From both a viewing perspective and in terms of utility, she was a character that Kyle found extremely satisfying.
As that thought flashed through his mind, Kyle immediately tried to activate the card using his willpower.
However, just as he expected to summon Kuchiki Rukia like in a game...
A pop-up with a [Warning] label suddenly appeared.
[Warning! No compatible crew member detected. Loading failed.]
Kyle: Huh???
"What's going on?"
It was like a newly kindled flame was doused with cold water—Kyle's eyes widened in surprise.
The next moment, a new pop-up similar to the previous feature introductions appeared in his mind.
[Character Card: Can be attached to a member of your pirate crew, granting them the attributes of the corresponding character. The crew member who receives the template will show absolute loyalty to the captain. Requirement: Compatibility ≥ 60%.]
"So..."
After carefully reading the character card's description, Kyle's face showed clear confusion.
"So the character card doesn't summon the character into the pirate world directly, but instead applies their attributes onto someone else..."
"Does that mean... my dream of raising a bunch of busty anime girls on my ship is shattered?"
"Tsk. What a pity."
Kyle curled his lips and sighed internally.
Still, although this added an extra step, it guaranteed the modified crew member's loyalty.
In fact, this could become a powerful way for Kyle to stabilize internal affairs and recruit crew members without fear.
"Fine then. If those are the rules, I'll make full use of them."
"But how exactly is compatibility determined...?"
This time, the system didn't offer any window explaining compatibility.
Clearly, it was something Kyle would have to figure out on his own.
According to the system—
To use a character card, two requirements had to be met:
The person must be a member of the Dusk Pirates.
Their compatibility must be 60% or above.
While 60% didn't seem too high, who knew what criteria were used for calculation?
If it was based on Rukia's soul-based combat system, then there wouldn't be many soul sword wielders in the One Piece world!
"Let's not overthink it just yet."
"Maybe compatibility isn't as strict as I fear."
"Maybe any flat-chested female swordsman would meet the requirements."
"Which brings me to—where the hell am I supposed to find a flat-chested female swordsman and recruit her to my pirate crew!?"
Gazing at the shrinking silhouette of Yarkshi Island in the distance, a scene flashed through Kyle's mind.
Bathed in twilight.
A pair of childhood friends stood on a grassy field.
The girl patted her flat chest, while a naive green-haired boy blushed shyly.
When it came to female swordsmen in the One Piece world, the first one that came to Kyle's mind was the extraordinarily gifted, yet tragically killed, Kuina.
Of course—
Kuina's death was set in stone, and recruiting her was no longer possible.
But in the East Blue, there existed a "Kuina substitute"—Tashigi, a Chief Petty Officer stationed at Loguetown.
The most important thing was: since she was part of the Navy, Kyle figured it might actually be easier to operate.
"Looks like I'll need to call in a favor from my second uncle or Fleet Admiral Sengoku~"
"Anyway, never mind that for now."
"Looks like I won't be using the character card any time soon. Let's test the system's other mechanics instead."
After a brief hesitation, Kyle ultimately decided not to push the limits of the normal gacha machine.
Whether that A-rank character card was a guaranteed reward from the first ten-pull or just pure luck...
Given his limited funds, it was better not to put all his eggs in one basket.
He turned his attention to the premium gacha machine. After a moment's hesitation, Kyle pressed the button with his willpower.
The premium gacha machine was so expensive that it didn't allow multiple pulls. He could only do a single draw and hope for a miracle.
Maybe it was the world-traveling luck shift, or maybe some kind of beginner protection mechanism—
A miracle happened again!
As the gacha machine rumbled, another notification window appeared before Kyle's eyes:
[Congratulations! You've obtained A-rank Weapon – Zanpakutō!]
"Holy crap! Another A-rank!?"
A glowing red icon appeared and then turned into a streak of light, entering his inventory.
For a moment, Kyle couldn't believe his eyes.
He had never been this lucky playing any of those waifu-selling mobile games.
But then he remembered he had just spent 20 million Beli—enough to buy property in some small countries—
Suddenly, it didn't seem that thrilling anymore.
After quickly calming down, Kyle moved his willpower and switched to his inventory to check the Zanpakutō's information.
[Zanpakutō]
[Category: Weapon]
[Grade: A]
[Description: A special item from the world of Shinigami, forged with soul power. Usable only by specific characters.]
???
Why does this game even have exclusive gear now?
Kyle realized again how different the system was from regular mobile games.
In those games, equipment just provided stat boosts to enhance a crew member's combat power.
Strictly speaking, the bunny suit and machete he had drawn earlier were also a kind of equipment.
But clearly, the system after crossing over had removed stat panels and added item restrictions.
"Good thing I got Rukia earlier. Looks like this Zanpakutō is her exclusive weapon."
Though it had cost him 20 million Beli, the result was definitely worth it.
Not only did it reveal the system's rules and core mechanics, it also pointed him toward his next objective.
And because he had spent Beli in the system, Kyle's captain interface had changed:
[Captain: Kyle]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 10/50]
[Total Combat Power: 0]
[Skill: To Be Drawn]
After using 20 million Beli, his captain level finally rose from 0 to 1.
Unfortunately, it looked like EXP reset every level-up.
Even if he blew all 50 million Beli, he still wouldn't reach Level 2.
Looking at the "Skill: To Be Drawn" label, Kyle didn't hesitate—he tapped it immediately.
In an instant.
A giant prize wheel appeared before him.
At the top of the wheel were countless tiny, multicolored text entries too small to read.
Before Kyle could take a closer look, the wheel started spinning on its own.
Eventually, the pointer landed on a line of red text...
Another red one!!!
Seeing the familiar color for the third time, Kyle's eyes lit up as he licked his lips unconsciously and showed a satisfied expression.
Third red prize!
This meant he had drawn yet another A-rank prize!
And this time, it was a captain skill—something extremely important to him!
Under his excited gaze…
A boy with flames on his hands and forehead appeared as a translucent figure before him.
Tsuna Sawada!
Kyle instantly recognized the boy and called out his name in his heart.
The protagonist of Reborn!—a once wildly popular battle shonen anime.
Tsuna started as a typical loser and, after meeting the Mafia tutor Reborn from Italy, began a thrilling and action-packed journey.
Of course—
That didn't matter to Kyle right now.
What mattered was: Which of Tsuna's skills would he receive!?
Since he never played male characters, Kyle wasn't too familiar with Tsuna's abilities.
But the fact that he pulled an A-rank Tsuna from a pool filled with low-tier characters...
Kyle proudly called this draw: "Absolutely fair and balanced!"
Soon, the answer was revealed.
Tsuna's image dissolved into a stream of light and entered Kyle's body.
With a flash of vision, a brand-new skill entry appeared on his skill panel.
Let me know whether you like this Story or not. Should I continue translating it?
Let me know in the comments!