Hearing this, Kembla's face darkened.
His heart stopped racing, his hands stopped trembling. He stared viciously at Noyer, "Brat! What did you say?!"
Noyer smiled lightly, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands, "I'll defeat you, then head to the Grand Line on my own."
"Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, you little punk!"
Kembla erupted, raising his fist and slamming it fiercely toward him.
Noyer didn't dare take it head-on. He jumped aside. A tremendous force struck the deck, shattering the wooden boards to pieces. Flying splinters nearly hit his face.
That much strength?!
Noyer's heart tightened. Although he outwardly scorned this guy, inwardly he remained on guard.
Just from this display of monstrous strength, what he said probably wasn't all lies. This guy might not be far off from Don Krieg, the overlord of the East Blue.
A pirate lackey nearby handed over a pair of gloves. Kembla quickly put them on — iron gauntlets that protected his fists completely.
Taking advantage of the moment, Noyer launched his offensive. He leaped into the air and slashed down fiercely from above. With his constitution exceeding 200, this strike fell like a meteor.
Kembla showed no fear. He raised his iron fist and rammed it directly toward the blade.
Clang!
An ear-piercing sound of metal clashing rang out, sparks flying everywhere.
Kembla remained unharmed. Noyer's hand ached from the recoil.
The pirate captain gripped the blade with his iron fist and wouldn't let go. Looking at his opponent's tense expression, he sneered mockingly, "Kid, not bad strength! Too bad — you're still far from enough!"
His arm muscles bulged. Then he threw the kid, sword and all, flying through the air.
Noyer stabilized himself in mid-air, then landed on the barrier board at the edge of the ship.
'This guy's strength is too great. I can't go toe-to-toe with him…'
A gleam flashed in Noyer's eyes. He kicked off with both legs and charged again.
"Never learns!" Kembla swung another heavy punch in anger.
Just as it was about to connect, Noyer's waist suddenly bent backward. The sword in his hand rotated from a blocking stance.
Gripping it in reverse, Noyer thrust the blade directly into Kembla's body in an extremely contorted posture. As he slid forward, the reverse-held blade carved a long, gaping scar across his opponent's torso.
"Argh!!" Severely wounded, Kembla let out an earth-shaking howl. He threw another punch to force the brat back, then clutched his wound, eyes bloodshot, "Bastard! You're dead!!"
Dodging to the side, Noyer rested his sword on his shoulder and taunted, "Kill me? Go ahead and try."
"Aaah!!" Kembla roared and lunged forward, bearing down like a mountain.
His massive body loomed over his opponent, bringing a powerful sense of oppression.
Noyer dodged with a quick movement. Bending low, he felt the iron fist sweep past overhead with a gust of violent wind.
His black hair blew upward, but his eyes remained exceptionally calm as he aimed his sword directly at Kembla's knee.
Having been fooled once, Kembla quickly pulled back his leg. But Noyer used the momentum to change direction, ramming the sword hilt hard into his shin. With force from both sides, Kembla's legs split apart. He dropped into a full split on the ground, howling in pain.
"Oh boy, that noise sounds kind of like a husky, doesn't it?" Noyer chuckled.
Several lackeys helped Kembla to his feet. He glared at Noyer, "You've thoroughly pissed me off, kid! I'm going to tear you to shreds!"
His body suddenly began to swell. The clothes on his upper body burst apart. His physique became imposing, and hard fur sprouted across his skin. His mouth protruded forward.
In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a fierce-looking beast-man!
A bear? So he's a Devil Fruit user.
The pirate extras around them once again fulfilled their purpose, shouting.
"Die, kid! This is the power of the gods!"
"Able to transform into a powerful bear-man, this is the mighty 'Wild Bear' Kembla!"
"Go to hell, brat!"
"I finally understand why pirates need lackeys." To Noyer's ears, it sounded like countless mosquitoes buzzing.
Besides being annoying, they're the hype squad. Look at this atmosphere — it heated up instantly.
Noyer didn't dare be careless. He quickly used the system to check Kembla's talents.
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
Kembla
Talents: 〔 Monstrous Strength [White/5th Rank] 〕|〔 Devil's Dwelling · Kuma-Kuma [Blue/4th Rank] 〕|〔 Sea's Curse [Purple/3rd Rank] 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Monstrous Strength 〕
〔 Rank: White 〕
〔 Description: Kembla possesses tremendous strength, but at the cost of intelligence, reaction speed, and agility. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Devil's Dwelling · Kuma-Kuma 〕
〔 Rank: Blue 〕
〔 Description: Having eaten the Zoan-type Kuma Kuma no Mi, Model: Brown Bear, his body harbors the Devil's blessing. He can transform through three stages: Brown Bear Form, Human Form, and Bear-Man Form. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Sea's Curse 〕
〔 Rank: Purple 〕
〔 Description: Along with the devil's power comes the devil's curse — the sea's hatred. Contact with seawater renders him powerless and unable to use his abilities. 〕
﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄
Devil Fruits count as talents too?
This was his first time encountering a Devil Fruit user, and the talent column was so unique. Does this mean everyone who eats a Devil Fruit gains two talents — one "Devil's Dwelling" and one "Sea's Curse"?
Wait a minute. These two talents — one is the fruit ability, one is the fruit's side effect. I should be able to…
Seeing the brat standing motionless, Kembla thought he'd been scared stiff. He raised his giant claw and slapped it toward his head.
Noyer quickly snapped back to attention and raised his sword to block the bear claw.
But now the two weren't even in the same league strength-wise. The sword in his hand rapidly deformed. The bear claw, carrying tremendous force, smashed him straight down through the deck.
Noyer's body crashed through several layers of planking and slammed all the way to the ship's bottom.
"Cough!" Noyer coughed up a mouthful of blood, then looked up gravely at Kembla overhead.
Got a bit careless there.
With his ability activated, Kembla had virtually no weaknesses — his speed, strength, and reactions had more than doubled.
The sword in his hand was twisted and about to break, so Noyer simply threw it aside. Then he quietly took out the blue Copy Card stored in his system.
He would copy this guy's Devil Fruit power — only then would he have a chance of winning!
Kembla leaped down from above, landing heavily in front of him.
The oppressive Bear-Man Form, combined with his ugly face, made even Noyer nervous.
Over the years, he'd gained a deep understanding of the system. The Copy Card had to make contact with the other person before he could copy a talent from their talent column.
So he'd have to get close to Kembla one more time!
Noyer steadied his breathing and attacked the bear-man's lower body with his bare fists.
"Annoying fly!" Kembla sneered, lowering his head and kicking at him.
Noyer rolled forward to dodge the attack, then pulled out the card and reached toward Kembla's waist.
Kembla flinched and threw a punch. Noyer narrowly avoided the fist but didn't notice another bear claw on his side swinging toward him.
Bang!!
Noyer's pupils contracted. A bomb seemed to go off inside his body. His bones and lungs suffered tremendous impact, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth.
He was sent flying, crashing through layer after layer of obstacles before being buried under the planks.
Kembla laughed, "Kid! Is this all you've got?! Hahahaha!!"
He laughed brazenly, then turned to leave.
"Isn't this all you've got too?"
A calm voice rang out, and the laughter choked off.
As the smoke cleared, Noyer pushed aside the planks pressing on him. The determination in his eyes hadn't diminished — his spirit seemed to have risen to another level entirely. He stood there like a spear.
Looking at the brat, who appeared unharmed, Kembla couldn't help but doubt himself.
I didn't hold back at all, did I? He's already taken two of my hits head-on — how could he be fine?
Was Noyer really okay? Of course… he wasn't!
Standing there, he felt like he couldn't even move. If he moved again, his bones would probably fall apart.
"So what if you're okay? Can you still take more of my punches?"
Noyer smiled slightly, "I couldn't before, but now that's not so certain."
"Hm?"
Kembla was confused. Just as he was about to ask, he discovered the kid before him was transforming!
Brown bear fur, long canine teeth, and a massive physique — it was all too familiar!
"Why?! Why do you have my ability?" Kembla stared at him, whose power had surged dramatically, and roared with hatred and confusion.
I should thank you for that punch earlier…
Noyer sighed inwardly: Thank goodness I managed to stick the Copy Card on him when he hit me. Otherwise, this would've been a total loss.
"Impossible! Only I can possess this ability — give it back!"
Kembla charged at him like an enraged bear. This time Noyer didn't dodge. He raised both arms to clash directly with him.
Boom!
The powerful shockwave swept up the debris around them. The pirate lackeys watching from above were knocked head over heels. This kind of battle was long beyond what these small fries could get involved in.
At the bottom of the ship, the excited Noyer and the enraged Kembla were locked in an intense melee.
You throw a punch, I throw a kick. You use your claws, I bite with my teeth. You headbutt, I go straight for a low blow!
Both abandoned all defense — Noyer wanted to test his ability, and Kembla had given up thinking and just wanted to kill the other guy.
After another round of attacks, Noyer finally noticed something was off. His Bear-Man Form, granted by the "Devil's Dwelling" talent, was clearly inferior to Kembla's.
The system could only copy the fruit ability itself, not how far the user had developed it.
But this was already bug-level. After all, he'd copied the powers without copying the sea's curse. In the future, he could become a Devil Fruit user who wasn't afraid of the sea.
And because the system defined fruit abilities as talents, he could even absorb more powers and become a multi-Devil Fruit user!
In the fierce battle, Kembla fought more and more ferociously. Noyer, having just suffered serious injuries, began to decline. The fight started to turn against him.
Soon, his stamina was nearly exhausted — he could barely maintain his Bear-Man Form.
But in this terrain, he had a perfect opportunity for a comeback!
"Die!" Kembla punched again, then pursued relentlessly like a mad dog.
This is getting really annoying — time to use my trump card!
Noyer clenched both fists, then smashed through the ship's bottom with a wild bear ground-pound. Seawater instantly poured in. He didn't let up, frantically expanding the hole.
When the seawater hit him, Kembla instantly snapped to his senses. A wave of weakness surged through him. Unable to maintain his Bear-Man Form, it quickly dissolved!
Terrified, he roared, "What are you doing?! Going down with me?!"
But what terrified him even more was what appeared before his eyes — the kid's Bear-Man Form hadn't dissolved!
The seawater had risen past the Bear-Man Form's waist. Noyer waded toward him step by step. He reached out and grabbed Kembla, who was submerged in the seawater, then revealed a villainous smile.
Bear claw extended, Noyer pressed the pirate captain underwater.
"No… don't! No…" Kembla's eyes bulged with fury as the water closed over him.
Bubbles frantically escaped from his mouth, but his voice could no longer be heard.
One hand holding him down, Noyer raised his other bear paw and punched down viciously. Again and again. Like a machine, he repeated the action.
Finally, when the sea before him turned crimson and the struggle ceased, he let go.
Kembla's unrecognizable body floated on the surface. His life as a "Werebear" had come to an end.
The pirate ship gradually began to sink. Noyer exhausted his remaining strength to return to his original form. After considerable effort, he finally climbed back onto the deck.
But as soon as he reached the deck, the previously ignored pirate lackeys suddenly swarmed forward, shouting: "Kill him! Avenge the captain!"
Noyer curled his lip disdainfully. Avenge him? You all just stood by and watched — how dare you talk about revenge?
Just as he mustered his strength to deal with them, a terrifying presence suddenly emanated from behind him!
Boom!
The presence almost took physical form, crashing over everyone in waves. The pirate lackeys before him collapsed in droves.
Noyer's situation wasn't much better. Already depleted of stamina, he slumped on the ground, his vision barely able to focus, without even the strength to move a finger.
But he recognized this power.
Supreme King Haki!
And in this era, someone with this kind of Supreme King Haki in the East Blue could only be…
"Hey! Kid, I helped you out there!"
A young man stood before him. Noyer looked at his crimson red hair and immediately recognized who he was.
The "Red-Haired" Shanks, soon to achieve the throne of one of the Four Emperors!
Noyer immediately noticed he only had one arm left. This must be right after he returned from Luffy's place.
"Say, I helped you out… could you help me with something?" Shanks said with a cheerful smile.
Noyer was silent for a moment, "Go ahead."
"My pirate ship wandered off. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"
Noyer: "…"
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Thank you for reading!
If you want to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)