c2: Character Profiles
Despite his complaints, Buffon didn't dwell on the matter for too long. Even someone like him, who had spent nearly twenty years in his previous life obsessively reading the One Piece manga and analyzing the power systems of pirates, marines, and Devil Fruits, couldn't fully understand the logic behind the mysterious Character Encyclopedia that appeared in his mind.
If even a self-proclaimed pirate lore expert like him couldn't decipher its internal rules, then perhaps the system itself still contained unresolved flaws.
"The developers probably haven't fixed this bug yet."
He muttered quietly to himself while staring at the interface only he could see.
"Let's wait and see. Hopefully they'll discover the problem before the ending."
Having finished his silent complaint, Buffon carefully placed the repaired corpse back inside the miniature coffin that originally contained the body of the Tontatta pirate.
He then turned toward Hogback, wiping his surgical gloves clean before calmly reporting:
"It's done!"
Hogback immediately leaned forward and examined the corpse closely.
The tiny body now looked astonishingly complete.
Aside from the faint pale color of its preserved skin a side effect of Hogback's preservation fluid the corpse appeared almost indistinguishable from a living member of the Tontatta tribe that once inhabited the forests of Green Bit near Dressrosa.
Hogback's eyes widened with genuine excitement.
"Buffon, your sewing skills are getting better and better!"
He clapped his hands dramatically as he spoke, his round glasses gleaming under the laboratory lights.
"You're almost catching up to me — a genius!"
"It seems you, just like me, truly treat the reconstruction of corpses as an art form!"
"No wonder that out of more than a dozen apprentices who studied under me after I joined Lord Gecko Moria here on Thriller Bark, you are the only one who managed to remain!"
Buffon maintained his usual calm expression on the surface.
But inside his mind he couldn't help cursing.
"If it weren't for the fact that Thriller Bark hasn't encountered any serious storms in the Florian Triangle for the past ten years, and if I weren't bound to this ridiculous cheat ability, who would willingly stay in this dark castle floating in endless fog?"
He glanced around the gloomy laboratory filled with corpses suspended in preservation tanks.
"Living every day surrounded by the smell of decaying bodies and surgical chemicals?"
The entire island-sized ship drifted silently within the Florian Triangle, a sea region notorious for mysterious disappearances and perpetual darkness.
Sunlight almost never reached this place.
Only fog.
Endless fog.
Hogback had long since grown accustomed to Buffon's quiet personality.
In fact he interpreted Buffon's cold indifference as a sign of talent.
In Hogback's mind, only someone capable of suppressing normal human emotions could truly appreciate the beauty of reconstructing corpses and creating the perfect zombie soldier for Gecko Moria's army.
To Hogback this wasn't cruelty.
It was art.
Later that night Buffon returned to his personal quarters inside the massive haunted mansion located at the center of Thriller Bark.
After closing the door he lay down on the creaking wooden bed and continued analyzing his cheat ability.
During the time he had spent in this world he had already conducted multiple small experiments to test the limits of the Character Encyclopedia.
Fortunately the system itself wasn't particularly complicated.
In essence it behaved very similarly to the character profile cards often sold as merchandise for popular anime series in Buffon's previous world.
Whenever Buffon successfully repaired a corpse using his stitching abilities, the Character Encyclopedia would automatically record that individual's data and provide him with a random enhancement to one of his personal attributes.
The strength of the reward depended on several different factors.
First was the body's overall level, essentially the combat strength the individual possessed before death.
The Character Encyclopedia divided this into ten tiers ranging from T0 to T9.
The closer the target was to T0 the stronger the benefit Buffon could obtain from repairing their body.
Second was the level of obsession the individual possessed before death.
This strange parameter seemed to measure how strong their lingering will or attachment to the world was.
The stronger the obsession, the more powerful the reward granted by the Character Encyclopedia.
Third was the bounty issued by the World Government.
In the One Piece world a bounty represented the perceived threat level of an individual toward the World Government and the stability of the seas.
The higher the bounty placed on a pirate's head, the greater the potential reward Buffon could obtain after repairing their corpse.
As for other factions like Marines, revolutionaries, or ordinary civilians, Buffon had not yet encountered their corpses within Thriller Bark's laboratory.
Therefore he still lacked sufficient data to determine how the system evaluated those categories.
Another detail he noticed was the system's wording.
It always referred to the subject as a "body" rather than a corpse.
Buffon suspected that the Character Encyclopedia was deliberately guiding him toward a specific career path.
Ship's doctor.
Start by repairing corpses.
Then move on to repairing living people.
In that way he could simultaneously increase his medical expertise while accumulating powerful attribute bonuses through the system.
It was practically a fully planned advancement route designed specifically for him.
And the location of his rebirth was also extremely advantageous.
Thriller Bark rarely left the foggy waters of the Florian Triangle.
Very few ships dared to enter this cursed region.
This meant Buffon could develop his abilities quietly without attracting unwanted attention from powerful pirates or the Marines.
Even better, the master of this floating island was Gecko Moria himself.
After suffering a devastating defeat in the New World at the hands of Kaido decades earlier, Moria had adopted a strategy of avoiding unnecessary risks.
His philosophy was simple.
Let zombies fight.
Let shadows fight.
Avoid danger whenever possible.
That cautious mindset gave Buffon plenty of freedom to act within Thriller Bark.
And so with these comforting thoughts Buffon gradually drifted into sleep.
The next morning Buffon returned to the laboratory.
Inside the enormous surgical hall more than ten operating tables were arranged in orderly rows.
Several zombie puppets were already performing stitching work on newly delivered corpses.
Like Buffon they were all subordinates trained by Doctor Hogback.
However unlike Buffon these assistants were themselves zombies created by the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Their bodies were controlled by shadows that Gecko Moria had stolen from living victims and forcibly implanted into corpses.
Because Buffon was still a living human being, his status within the laboratory was naturally higher than those mindless zombie assistants.
In practice this made him the supervisor responsible for overseeing their work.
With sharp eyes Buffon quickly noticed one of the zombie puppets finishing its stitching procedure.
The corpse on the table still had several incomplete wounds.
Buffon immediately stepped forward and shouted sternly:
"523, stop! I'll do it!"
Without waiting for permission he grabbed the suture needle directly from the zombie puppet's hand and began stitching the corpse himself.
Zombie 523 froze for a brief moment.
"Lord Buffon?"
Buffon ignored the confused reaction and activated the threads generated by his Stitch-Stitch Fruit ability.
Within seconds the invisible threads began repairing the unfinished wounds.
As Buffon examined the earlier stitches created by zombie 523 his brows instinctively furrowed.
The sutures looked chaotic.
Uneven.
Almost grotesque.
The stitched wound resembled the body segments of a centipede crawling across the skin.
Without hesitation Buffon removed every single one of the previous stitches.
Then he began reconstructing the wound from the beginning using his own precise technique.
Zombie 523 stood silently to the side without interfering.
Inside the simple programming of a zombie puppet obedience was absolute.
Following orders was their only purpose.
When Buffon finished placing the final stitch the Character Encyclopedia appeared once again inside his mind:
[Character: Holmes]
[Rank: T9]
[Faction: Pirates]
[Bounty: 300,000 Berries]
[Obsession: 93%]
[Current Gain: Vision +35 → 101 (Level 2 Lookout)]
[Gain Gain?]
"Vision?"
Buffon blinked slightly.
"Was this guy a lookout on a pirate ship before he died?"
In the world of pirates the lookout position was extremely important.
From the crow's nest they were responsible for spotting enemy ships, marine patrols, or dangerous sea monsters long before they approached.
"Probably."
Before Buffon could continue analyzing the information the Character Encyclopedia flipped to another page.
A second profile appeared:
[Character: Lapunks]
[Rank: T8]
[Faction: Pirates]
[Bounty: 500,000 Berries]
[Obsession: 86%]
[Current Earnings: Cooking +7 → 9 (Level 1 Chef)]
[Acquire Earnings?]
Buffon slowly turned his head.
Apparently he had successfully intercepted one repair opportunity.
But not the entire group.
Another zombie puppet had already finished stitching a different corpse.
The puppet raised its head and called out obediently:
"Lord Buffon, come and check!"
These zombie puppets all belonged to the operational chain under Buffon's supervision, and since he was the only living assistant personally trained by Doctor Hogback within this laboratory, the Character Encyclopedia system also allowed him to obtain a small portion of the rewards generated by their repair work, although the percentage granted was extremely low compared to when he performed the stitching himself.
The logic behind this arrangement seemed simple.
Although the zombie assistants were technically workers under Hogback's authority, Buffon was still the one overseeing their work inside the surgical hall, making him the indirect contributor to the repair process.
Thinking about the pitifully small rewards generated from their sloppy stitching, Buffon's expression slowly darkened.
He frowned deeply and shouted across the laboratory:
"Stop what you're doing and look carefully at what you've sewn!"
Before any of the zombie puppets could respond, Buffon suddenly grabbed one of the finished bodies lying on the operating table and violently tore off the crudely attached zombie arm.
The stitches snapped apart like cheap thread.
Holding the detached arm up in the air, Buffon spoke with cold dissatisfaction:
"With stitching like this, how do you expect these corpses to function properly once Lord Gecko Moria inserts a stolen shadow into them?"
"In the world of pirates strength matters, but durability matters just as much!"
"If these bodies fall apart during combat against intruders or Marines, how can they serve the Zombie Army that guards Thriller Bark?"
He then pointed toward the rows of operating tables scattered throughout the massive laboratory.
"Go!"
"Check every corpse that has already been sewn together."
"Bring them all back here."
"And redo every single one!"
The zombie puppets immediately obeyed the order.
Their hollow eyes showed no emotion as they turned and split up across the operating room, mechanically retrieving previously repaired bodies from storage racks and preparation tables.
Meanwhile Buffon himself began dismantling the poorly sewn bodies inside the laboratory with surgical precision, removing stitches, separating joints, and preparing the corpses for reconstruction.
Two hours later the situation inside the laboratory had completely changed.
All the corpses that had originally been lying across the dozen or so operating tables had now been personally re-sewn by Buffon.
Under his control the Stitch-Stitch Fruit threads moved like invisible silk, restoring muscle fibers and bone connections far more efficiently than the crude methods used by the zombie assistants.
During this entire process the Character Encyclopedia appeared repeatedly inside Buffon's mind.
Each completed body triggered another system notification.
These fourteen corpses appeared fourteen separate times inside Buffon's Character Compendium, with participation rates ranging from thirty-five percent to eighty-five percent depending on how much work he had personally redone.
The rewards that followed were extremely diverse.
Five or six different abilities were strengthened simultaneously, giving Buffon a comprehensive improvement across multiple skill categories related to survival within the pirate world.
[Medical Skill +45 → 156 (Level 2 Quack Doctor)]
[Agility +7 → 142 (Level 2 Swiftness)]
[Navigation +9 → 9 (Level 1 Helmsman)]
[Cooking +5 → 10 (Level 1 Chef)]
[Physique +31 → 136 (Level 2 Lieutenant)]
Among the corpses there was also one individual who clearly did not belong to any pirate crew.
This particular body was the one that had provided the large medical skill bonus:
[Character: Klein]
[Faction: Civilian]
[Value: 350,000 Berries]
Seeing this information Buffon immediately understood the difference in wording.
For pirates the system used the official bounty issued by the World Government.
But for civilians the system instead evaluated their "value," which seemed to represent their personal wealth or economic importance.
Even so the unit of measurement remained the same.
Berries.
The universal currency used across every sea in the One Piece world.
So effectively the system simply replaced the word "bounty" with "net worth" when evaluating non-pirates.
After conducting repeated observations Buffon had already figured out the basic structure used by the Character Encyclopedia to digitize abilities.
Each attribute followed a numerical progression.
Any value ranging from 1 to 99 belonged to Level 1.
Once an ability exceeded 100 it immediately advanced to Level 2.
However the exact requirement needed to reach Level 3 was still unknown.
Perhaps it required reaching 500.
Or maybe even 1000.
Without encountering stronger corpses Buffon had no way to confirm the threshold.
Just as Buffon was contemplating this issue, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the entrance of the laboratory.
The sound alone carried immense weight.
A moment later an enormous shadow blocked the doorway.
Gecko Moria's towering figure appeared in the entrance.
"Hehehehehehehe!"
His signature demonic laughter echoed throughout the surgical hall.
"Buffon, did you finish making Perona's new toy?"
Buffon's expression barely changed when he saw the ruler of Thriller Bark.
After all Moria was technically his employer.
He simply nodded calmly.
Moria slowly walked toward the operating table where the miniature Tontatta corpse lay.
Despite his massive body, Moria leaned down with surprising care as he inspected the repair work done by Buffon.
He grabbed the stitched wound firmly and pulled on it with significant force.
The flesh did not move even a millimeter.
The seam remained perfectly intact.
"Hehehehehehehe!"
Moria burst into laughter again.
"This is the perfect combination of art and warfare!"
"With zombies like this guarding Thriller Bark, even the Marines will hesitate to invade the Florian Triangle."
As he admired the corpse his expression briefly changed.
For a moment his thoughts drifted back to the New World.
Back to the memory of his devastating defeat.
Back to the man who had crushed his pirate crew.
Kaido.
"Seeing zombies like these..."
"I can almost imagine the day when Kaido's arrogant face is finally defeated."
Moria's tone carried a hint of obsession.
Buffon however showed absolutely no reaction.
He simply stood there silently as if everything Moria said was perfectly normal.
After examining the corpse for a moment longer Moria suddenly looked back at Buffon.
"Buffon."
His voice carried a strange friendliness.
"How about I teach you some combat techniques?"
The offer sounded casual.
But in reality it was extremely rare.
As one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea Moria possessed tremendous combat experience from surviving the brutal battles of the New World.
However Buffon rejected the offer immediately.
"No need."
His voice was calm and cold.
"As long as the zombie army exists, someone like me isn't necessary on the battlefield."
Moria stared at him for a second.
Then he burst into laughter again.
"Hehehehehehe!"
"In that case I'll arrange a separate laboratory for you inside the castle."
"So you won't have to keep working in this cramped place surrounded by zombie assistants."
Buffon simply nodded in response.
Moments later Moria turned around and slowly left the laboratory.
His massive figure swayed as he walked down the corridor.
Even from a distance his strange laughter continued echoing through the halls of the haunted mansion.
"Hehehehehehehe!"
After Moria disappeared Buffon finally relaxed slightly.
Just then he noticed a small fly drifting through the laboratory entrance about ten meters away.
Almost instinctively Buffon flicked his wrist.
A steel needle flew out of his hand.
Thin threads generated by the Stitch-Stitch Fruit trailed behind it.
Before the fly's wings could even complete another flap, the needle pierced straight through its body.
The thread suspended it in midair like a tiny specimen mounted for display.
Buffon stared at the floating insect.
"Oh..."
"So my eyesight has improved this much?"
"And my hand speed too."
Just as he was about to step forward to examine the result more closely, his foot accidentally struck a large coffin placed beside the operating tables.
The massive container tipped over with a loud crash.
It was nearly three meters tall.
Instinctively Buffon reached out with his right hand.
Without thinking he grabbed the coffin and lifted it upright.
Effortlessly.
The entire object rose from the ground as if it weighed almost nothing.
Only after placing it back in position did Buffon suddenly freeze.
He clearly remembered the first day after his transmigration.
At that time a coffin of this size required chains and several zombie assistants just to move it across the floor.
But now he had lifted it with a single hand.
Without feeling the slightest strain.
"So this is the effect of a Level Two physique attribute..."
Buffon's eyes slowly narrowed.
"If Level Two already grants this kind of strength..."
"What would Level Three or Level Four look like?"
A ridiculous image suddenly appeared in his mind.
Would he eventually be able to see Admiral Kizaru's laser beams with the naked eye?
Would he be able to crush Akainu's magma-coated skull with one hand?
No.
Buffon immediately shook his head.
Akainu was still far too terrifying.
Thinking about the terrifying monsters that existed at the top of the One Piece world only strengthened Buffon's determination.
For now the safest strategy remained the same.
Stay hidden.
Stay patient.
And continue growing stronger inside Thriller Bark.
....