"I already beat a Marine admiral candidate, and now the system finally activates? Kinda late, don't you think?"
Genrou inwardly complained while quickly analyzing the situation.
'Heroic Spirit Templates... so that's what it is. It lets me draw upon templates from characters across different worlds to enhance myself.'
'Fate's Heroic Spirits, ninjas from Naruto, even fighters from Dragon Ball are included?'
'Interesting… in that case, joining the Straw Hat crew is a must.'
With that thought, Genrou nodded to himself and extended his hand toward Luffy.
"Luffy, right? I'm Genrou. Nice to meet you. As for your invitation—I accept."
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully activated the 'Strongest Heroic Spirit Template System'.]
[Scanning for companions... Current companion: Monkey D. Luffy. Detected attributes: "Captain," "Glutton," "Rubber."]
[Commencing Heroic Spirit Template selection based on Monkey D. Luffy's attributes.]
["Captain": Francis Drake | "Glutton": Toriko | "Rubber": Reed Richards]
[Please allow Monkey D. Luffy to choose one of the above Heroic Spirit Templates. Host will receive one of the remaining two templates randomly.]
[Note: The template chosen by the companion will also be granted to the Host.]
'So that's how this system works… I let Luffy pick one of the three.'
'Francis Drake, the legendary pirate from Fate's world…'
'Toriko from Toriko, the Gourmet Hunter… and Reed Richards, Marvel's Mr. Fantastic.'
'They really do match up with Luffy's attributes perfectly.'
As Genrou pondered over this, Koby, who had been trying to reason with Luffy earlier, widened his eyes in disbelief.
"W-What?! You… actually agreed?!"
"Heehee! That's awesome! I've got a new crewmate!" Luffy grinned ear to ear, ready to cheer—
Then noticed the Germa 66 ship fading into the distance.
"Huh? Wait! Genrou, your ship's sailing away!"
"You mean that snail-drawn one? That belongs to a friend. It's not mine."
"What?! That's not yours?!"
"What, are you thinking of bailing on me just because I don't have a ship?"
"No! I can tell—you're strong. It's just… that ship looked pretty cool…"
Luffy glanced at the receding vessel, looking unusually disheartened.
"Don't worry, Captain Luffy."
"Even if I'm not the owner of that snail ship—"
"I've got something way more fun."
Genrou smiled, just about to demonstrate the system's power—when Luffy's stomach suddenly let out a massive growl.
"Ah… I'm starving!"
Luffy clutched his belly, collapsing to the ground in a heap.
"Well, if the captain's hungry, we better eat first."
"Yay, food time! Koby, you're coming too!"
Luffy beamed and turned to the nervous boy beside him.
"Luffy-san, we don't have any Berries on us!"
Koby shook his head frantically. He had no intention of dining and dashing.
"Oh, I've got Berries."
Genrou smirked and popped open the box he was carrying, revealing stacks of high-denomination Berry notes piled neatly inside.
"S-So much Berries!"
Luffy and Koby gawked, eyes wide with awe.
"It's not that much. Maybe around 100 million Berries."
Genrou rubbed his nose casually, his gaze drifting toward a certain orange-haired girl in the distance.
With his advanced Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), he had clearly sensed her gaze the moment he opened the box.
'Orange hair, looks about eighteen… could she be Nami?'
That thought made his smile deepen even further.
"100 million Berries?! Genrou-san, how'd you get so much?"
Koby was stunned.
"Oh, I took it off a disgusting man some time ago."
Genrou shut the box. He didn't want to scare Koby by revealing that the money had been stolen from a Celestial Dragon.
In fact, had it been easier to transport, he could have taken much more.
"Hehehe, anyway, now we've got food money."
"Once we eat, we'll go find that three-sword-style swordsman and make him our next crewmate."
"Genrou, thanks a lot! Once I get more Berries, I'll pay you back!"
Luffy stretched his arm to slap Genrou—who stood at a towering 1.9 meters—on the shoulder with a laugh.
"We're crewmates now, Luffy. No need to be so formal."
"Let's go eat some meat."
Genrou nodded toward Luffy and took the lead toward the town's nearest restaurant.
Hearing the word "meat," Luffy lit up and eagerly followed.
Meanwhile, just as Genrou and the others set off—
The girl who might be Nami blinked and began trailing after them with light, quiet steps.
…
(End of Chapter)
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