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Vice Admiral Tsuru said suspiciously, "Such a devastating battlefield, and that Celestial Dragon survived?"
The reporting Marine hesitated, then saluted firmly. "Yes, Vice Admiral. We've confirmed his identity. It's indeed Saint Rolviff."
Tsuru nodded. "Bring him here. I want to take a closer look."
The Marine obeyed. Garp, unconcerned, commented, "What's the point of seeing a Celestial Dragon? He probably just got lucky."
Ignoring Garp's usual bluntness, Tsuru's sharp gaze focused on the approaching Celestial Dragon.
Noir's heart pounded in his chest.
Though his mimicry was flawless, this old woman was one of the sharpest minds in the Marines. He couldn't afford any slip-ups.
Tsuru observed Noir discreetly. Noir, in turn, feigned fear and Celestial Dragon conceit. "You incompetent Marines! I was almost killed by those thugs!"
His obnoxious attitude was spot on.
Tsuru, unfazed by Noir's insults, calmly explained, "Saint Rolviff, this was clearly a planned, large-scale operation. We didn't anticipate it."
Noir retorted haughtily, "Is this how a Marine officer addresses a Celestial Dragon?"
Garp, his short temper flaring at the disrespect, charged forward and delivered a headbutt, sending Noir sprawling to the ground.
The Vice Admiral beside them nearly fainted. He grabbed Garp, pleading, "Vice Admiral Garp, please! He's a Celestial Dragon!"
Garp lifted his chin defiantly. "So what?!"
Though a Marine serving the Government, Garp held the Celestial Dragons in contempt. As long as they didn't cross him, he'd leave them be. But if they provoked him, he wouldn't hesitate to give them a good thrashing.
Noir seized the opportunity, grabbing Garp's arm. His face contorted in pain and anger, but inwardly, he was ecstatic.
In that instant, he'd quickly scanned Garp's talents and used a Talent Replication Card.
"Name: Garp
Unbending War Bones: Gold Quality. A monstrous talent for Busoshoku Haki. Haki is cultivated from the bones, passively imbuing the body with certain Busoshoku Haki properties.
When Busoshoku Haki is applied to fists and used to strike an opponent, the 'War Bones' trait is activated. Busoshoku Haki is guaranteed to damage the opponent's bones and internal organs, with the severity depending on the Haki's quality. This trait can be applied to other body parts or abilities.
Hero's Scars: Gold Quality. Awarded the title of Hero for defeating legendary pirates. When facing pirates, stamina and recovery speed increase by 50%, and intimidation doubles.
When facing Marines, enemy morale significantly decreases, stamina and recovery speed decrease by 50%, and intimidation doubles.
When facing individuals defined as 'family', morale decreases by 20%, attack and speed decrease by 30%, and intimidation is halved.
Fist of Love: Red Quality. Due to Garp's personality, he often uses his fists to discipline children, resulting in this nurturing talent.
When striking individuals defined as 'family' with love, the target's learning ability, willpower, stamina, and recovery speed all double for a certain period. However, intelligence may decrease permanently or temporarily depending on the severity of the strike.
Message Retraction: Red Quality. Garp's bluntness often leads to him revealing sensitive information, prompting him to ask listeners to forget what he said.
When Garp retracts a statement, the probability of others forgetting, disregarding, or keeping it secret increases."
Noir sat stunned, staring at the talents displayed by the System.
Two gold, two red – a fitting reflection of Garp's strength. But there were a few odd ones mixed in.
So Luffy's foolishness and battle instincts were a result of Garp's Fist of Love.
And that Message Retraction talent…
Was the System serious?
He suddenly found himself craving that talent!
But there was no time to dwell on it. Noir immediately replicated Unbending War Bones.
As for which talent to replace, he'd initially considered Shanks' Conqueror's Haki.
Though only a Purple talent, its Haki cultivation boost was incredibly useful. He'd been hesitant to replace it.
With the Dark Gold Supreme Swordsman talent, he could eventually replace Conqueror's Haki, but there was no rush.
Currently, Noir wanted to replace a Devil Fruit ability.
Now that he had the complete Shadow-Shadow Fruit, he needed to focus on developing it.
Other Devil Fruit abilities were secondary. In that case, sacrificing a slot to enhance his Haki wouldn't be a loss.
Alright, Crocodile, you're going into cold storage. Your powers aren't that useful on the open sea anyway. I can always pull you out of the inventory if I need you…
Noir replaced the Sand-Sand Fruit with Unbending War Bones. A surge of energy coursed through him, as if his bones had been completely renewed.
He clenched his fists, feeling a newfound strength and a surge of raw Haki.
A Gold talent specializing in Busoshoku Haki – it felt incredible!
If he could integrate this talent's traits into his swordsmanship, wouldn't that be… Sword Bones?
Tsuru and Garp watched Noir, perplexed by his alternating expressions of sly grins and contemplation.
Garp scratched his head. "Did I hit him too hard?"
Tsuru glared at him, took something from the Vice Admiral, and approached Noir.
Noir snapped out of his thoughts and saw Tsuru fastening a handcuff to his wrist.
It's over?
His mind raced. Had she discovered his deception?
But then, Tsuru, observing Noir's reaction, released the handcuff. "Apologies, Saint Rolviff. These are Seastone handcuffs. It was just a small test."
Noir was momentarily stunned, then understood.
The Seastone was meant to expose him. If he were a Devil Fruit user impersonating Rolviff, Tsuru's action would have revealed him.
But Noir, with his System, was immune to this!
He only copied Devil Fruit abilities, not the weakness to the sea. Seawater and Seastone were useless against him!
Seeing that Tsuru believed his identity, Noir quickly resumed his Celestial Dragon act, feigning outrage. "How dare you question this noble personage!"
"And you, insolent man! You dared to lay your hands on me! I'll have you stripped of your rank!"
In truth, Garp had held back. The headbutt had felt like a flick to Noir.
But a pampered Celestial Dragon wouldn't react that way. Noir had to rely on his acting skills to sell the charade.
Garp, unfazed by Noir's threats, shrugged. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot you were a Celestial Dragon."
"Can we just pretend I didn't hit you? I'll even buy you some crackers!"
Even though it was an act, Noir was furious. "How can we just pretend it didn't happen?! Y... ugh... what did you do again?"
"Oh, right! You attacked a Celestial Dragon! That's disrespectful!"
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