For several weeks following the creation of the [Soul Object Extraction Medium], Donglai City maintained an almost supernatural tranquility, causing Azrael to temporarily forget about the mysterious card altogether.
"Could it be that cards aren't generated exclusively during crisis situations?" Azrael wondered aloud during a rare day off at home. The [I am an Inventor] trait hadn't specified that cards would only manifest during emergencies, merely that useful cards would appear when needed.
"The problem is, this [Soul Object Extraction Medium] won't be particularly beneficial to me personally." After careful analysis, Azrael couldn't identify any immediate applications for the item. Suppressing his curiosity for now, he redirected his attention toward crafting his next card.
Despite Donglai City's deceptive peace, as if criminal organizations like the Crimson Oath Society and the Onefold Doctrine had simply vanished, Azrael sensed this was merely the calm before an inevitable storm.
Furthermore, with his finances finally stabilized, the timing was perfect for his next creation.
The information Shiraori had previously analyzed flashed through Azrael's mind, "Pirate Master Craftsman, Feast of Pirates."
Since both materials centered on pirate themes, his target became obvious.
[Emperor's Approval]: Luffy's abilities were recognized by a Yonko who staked his future on the young pirate. Luffy receives comprehensive enhancement when facing any pirate-type opponents.
"It has to be Luffy."
Having determined his objective, Azrael began searching the points platform for appropriate materials.
"I can reuse the same Armament Haki materials as I did for Zoro." He located the familiar listing: [All-Around Physical Evolution Potion] (Gold), 9,990 points.
"However, Observation Haki requires a different approach." During his previous Zoro project, Azrael had only possessed the purple-quality [Eye of Insight].
This limitation stemmed partly from Zoro's relatively underdeveloped Observation Haki in the source material, and partly from Azrael's previous financial constraints. His desire for personal strengthening had clashed with budgetary realities, ultimately forcing him to settle for purple-quality materials.
This time, creating Luffy demanded higher standards. Azrael now possessed a substantial 30,000 points.
"Gold-level [World Observer] (Red quality), priced at 16,990 points." After extensive searching, Azrael finally located the perfect material.
Gritting his teeth, he purchased both components. Watching his point balance plummet to 9,050 triggered a familiar sense of financial emptiness.
"Never mind, if the old doesn't leave, the new cannot arrive," he murmured, steadying his resolve. While awaiting delivery, Azrael began mentally composing Luffy's expanded story.
Soon, both materials arrived at his doorstep.
The Gold-level Lore Cardian responsible for the [All-Around Physical Evolution Potion] delivery appeared stunned upon recognizing Azrael. The craftsman remembered this young man purchasing identical materials recently, and simply assumed the first attempt had failed, this must be a second try.
After signing for the packages, Azrael retreated to his second-floor study.
Gazing at the three materials spread before him, [King's Power], [All-Around Physical Evolution Potion], and [World Observer], he drew a deep breath and gently touched the Luffy card floating in his mental space.
"Please continue crafting your story."
[After the Enies Lobby incident, Luffy's bounty reached 300 million berries. The crew traveled to Water 7 for much-needed rest and recuperation.]
[In Water 7, Luffy successfully recruited the cyborg shipwright Franky and acquired their new vessel, the Thousand Sunny. Departing Water 7, the Straw Hat Pirates entered the mysterious Thriller Bark region, where they encountered Brook, a living skeleton musician who had consumed the Revive-Revive Fruit.]
[Upon learning that Gecko Moria had stolen Brook's shadow, Luffy immediately decided to help him reclaim it. However, during the confrontation, Moria also captured Luffy's shadow and implanted it into the massive zombie Oars.]
[Facing the overwhelmingly powerful Oars, the Straw Hat Pirates employed a desperate gambit, they inserted one hundred stolen shadows into Luffy's body, granting him the strength needed to defeat the giant zombie.]
[Through the combined efforts of Luffy and his entire crew, Gecko Moria was ultimately defeated, and Brook officially joined the Straw Hat Pirates as their musician.]
[Leaving Thriller Bark behind, the crew arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago, a crucial waypoint before the New World.]
[When his friend Hachi was attacked by World Nobles, Luffy's fury erupted. He retaliated against the Celestial Dragons, triggering a massive naval response.]
[During their desperate escape, Luffy and his companions agreed to reunite at the Thousand Sunny within three days. However, Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Shichibukai, used his Paw-Paw Fruit powers to scatter the entire crew across the world. Luffy found himself ejected to Amazon Lily, the island of warrior women.]
[On Amazon Lily, Luffy encountered Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress, Shichibukai member, and former slave of the Celestial Dragons. Drawn to Luffy's pure heart and their shared hatred of the World Nobles, Hancock decided to aid him in rescuing his captured brother Ace from Impel Down.]
[With Hancock's assistance, Luffy successfully infiltrated the underwater prison but discovered that Ace had already been transferred to Marine Headquarters for public execution.]
[Supported by other escaped prisoners, Luffy broke out of Impel Down and reached Marineford just as the war began.]
[With backing from legendary pirates like Whitebeard, Luffy fought desperately toward the execution platform, ultimately facing all three Marine Admirals simultaneously.]
[Unfortunately, his current strength proved insufficient for such a massive conflict. In the chaotic battle involving countless powerful fighters at Marineford, Luffy could not alter the war's outcome.]
[In the end, he could only watch helplessly as his beloved brother died before his eyes.]
[Two weeks later, after being rescued by Trafalgar Law, Luffy sank into deep despair but gradually found the strength to continue.]
[Following a symbolic naval burial for Ace, Luffy made the crucial decision to train under Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King and former Roger Pirates' first mate, to master the power of Haki.]
Writing this section, Azrael couldn't help but chuckle, "It would've been more effective learning from Kaido's direct teaching method than Rayleigh's traditional approach."
He even suspected that Kaido's Thunder Bagua attacks possessed some kind of enlightenment-inducing properties.
[Two years later, Luffy returned to the Sabaody Archipelago to reunite with his nakama, and together they finally entered the New World.]
[On Fish-Man Island, to protect Princess Shirahoshi, the Straw Hat Pirates declared war against the New Fish-Man Pirates led by Hody Jones.]
[Despite the enemy's overwhelming numerical advantage, Luffy's newly awakened Conqueror's Haki rendered the weakest opponents unconscious instantly.]
[After defeating the New Fish-Man Pirates and liberating Fish-Man Island, Luffy's crew proceeded to Punk Hazard.]
[Learning of Caesar Clown's sinister experiments, Luffy and his crew formed an alliance with Trafalgar Law and successfully thwarted the mad scientist's plans.]
[Departing Punk Hazard, the Straw Hat Pirates entered Dressrosa, the kingdom ruled by the Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo.]
[To rescue the captured Law, Luffy engaged in fierce combat against the "Heavenly Demon" Doflamingo.]
[Ultimately, Luffy activated Gear Fourth, Boundman and defeated the Warlord, liberating Dressrosa from a decade of tyranny.]
[After Luffy's victory over Doflamingo and their departure from Dressrosa, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet was officially established. His bounty soared to an impressive 500 million berries.]
The story concluded, and Azrael returned to reality with a gentle shudder.
The young pirate's magnificent adventures flashed through his consciousness. The innocent boy who had originally smiled while adjusting the straw hat on the card now bore a distinctive X-shaped scar across his chest, and his face showed clear signs of maturation.
Though he maintained his childlike wonder and optimistic grin, this version of Luffy carried an inexplicable weight of sadness, the burden of loss and responsibility.
Sighing softly, Azrael stored the completed card in his mental space and began examining its detailed information.
[Worst Generation·Luffy]
Rank: Gold
Quality: Red
Category: Biological
Skills:
[Gum-Gum Fruit]: Luffy's rubber body grants him immunity to blunt physical attacks and electricity, while providing incredible elasticity and resilience.
[Gear Fourth - Boundman]: An advanced technique developed during two years of intensive training. Luffy coats his limbs with Armament Haki and inflates them with air, creating elasticity and tremendous size. This form dramatically enhances all physical capabilities.
[Conqueror's Haki]: The rare "one in a million" ability representing the qualities of a supreme king. Can be actively unleashed to intimidate or knock unconscious weaker opponents.
[Armament Haki]: Luffy's highly skilled Armament Haki combines seamlessly with his rubber abilities, creating devastating hybrid attacks.
[Observation Haki]: Luffy's exceptionally powerful Observation Haki allows him to keenly sense enemy life forces, movements, and hostile intentions.
Abilities:
[Emperor's Approval]: Recognition from a Yonko who staked everything on Luffy's potential. Grants comprehensive enhancement when facing pirate-type enemies.
[Desperate Struggle]: Performance increases dramatically when protecting allies or fighting overwhelming odds.
[Seed of Hope]: A beacon of optimism in desperate situations, inspiring hope in allies. Luffy's unwavering will renders him immune to negative emotional effects of Gold rank and below, while slightly enhancing strength when fighting alongside companions.
[Voice of All Things]: The ability to understand the language of all living beings, which can produce unexpected effects in various situations.
Introduction, "I'm the man who's going to be Pirate King!"
Advancement Path: Bronze [Straw Hat Kid·Luffy] → Gold [Worst Generation·Luffy] → Diamond [Yonko·Luffy]
Bonds:
When appearing with [Ace] series characters, activates [Windmill Village Three Brothers] effect When appearing with [Zoro] series characters, activates [Straw Hat Pirates] effect When appearing with [Cavendish] series characters, activates [Straw Hat Grand Fleet] effect
Activated Bond: [Straw Hat Pirates] (3/10)
Bond Effect: When all Straw Hat Pirates members appear simultaneously, if one dies, remaining members enter Rage state.
Note - Rage: At the cost of losing rational thought, all card statistics receive significant across-the-board enhancement.
The abilities generated by this advancement aligned closely with Azrael's expectations, though some variations surprised him.
First, the three types of Haki featured slightly different descriptions compared to Zoro's versions. However, considering individual Haki variations existed in the source material, Azrael found this understandable.
In his opinion, Enel's incredibly wide-range Observation Haki definitely rivaled Katakuri's future-sight variant, they simply emphasized different aspects.
Second, the original [Optimist] trait had evolved into [Seed of Hope], significantly expanding its effectiveness.
"If that's the case," Azrael mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "then during the next advancement, the [Emperor's Approval] trait should also undergo transformation."
After all, one more advancement would elevate Luffy to Yonko status.
Then there was the unexpected [Voice of All Things] ability.
"How did this ability manifest?" Azrael raised an eyebrow. While the description remained somewhat vague, unexpected traits were always welcome additions.
After summoning Luffy and sending him off to explore the house with characteristic enthusiasm, Azrael exhaled with satisfaction.
"This should be sufficient for current needs."
The primary challenge now involved apprehending the Onefold Doctrine's remaining members.
Several days later, in the association president's office, Azrael addressed Godfrey and Oliver, "Any discoveries?"
Both men shook their heads disappointedly.
Azrael wasn't surprised by Godfrey's lack of results, he'd already inquired under his Bruce alias several days prior. Neither the Cardian Master Association nor the Crimson Oath Society had located any trace of the Onefold Doctrine's main base.
This couldn't be called complete failure. The Crimson Oath Society's intelligence network had identified several Onefold Doctrine safe houses, but these appeared to be obvious decoys deliberately placed to mislead investigators, they provided no meaningful progress.
Regarding Oliver's report, Azrael frowned, "Our search teams found nothing either?"
He certainly hadn't remained passive. Azrael had previously assigned Oliver to lead investigative teams searching the waters around Donglai for possible secret realm entrances.
After all, Li Gang and his associates could hide anywhere, but dimensional gateways remained stationary.
Unfortunately, their efforts seemed futile.
Oliver shook his head, then hesitantly suggested, "Could the entrance be..."
"Not located at sea?"
Azrael paused, genuinely surprised. He hadn't considered this possibility. "That's... plausible."
"However, I still believe maritime placement is most likely." If the secret realm entrance existed on land, those massive steel vessels would have faced significant difficulties reaching water. Such commotion wouldn't have escaped notice from surrounding cities.
Unless...
The secret realm entrance wasn't located on Empire of Aetherlight territory at all.
Remembering the demon he'd interrogated mentioning simultaneous attacks on Goryeo, Azrael developed a bold theory, "What if it's in Goryeo?"
If positioned in Goryeo waters, this would explain why Donglai's Lore Cardians had failed to locate the secret realm entrance in nearby seas.
After momentary consideration, Azrael rubbed his forehead and instructed, "Tell your teams to cease searching nearby waters and focus investigations within the city itself."
Since Li Gang hadn't departed yet, the Onefold Doctrine would inevitably resurface to cause trouble, it was simply a matter of time.
"Understood," Oliver nodded affirmatively.
Just then, Godfrey's communication device vibrated urgently.
He retrieved the device, glanced at the screen, and was about to dismiss the notification when his eyes widened dramatically, as if witnessing something incredible.
Speaking rapidly, he announced, "President, our field operatives report they've captured Onefold Doctrine members!"
If this came from the middle-aged Public Security Office director, it couldn't refer to random cultists, these had to be key figures from that fateful night.
Azrael's expression immediately sharpened upon this realization.
Just as he prepared to demand specific details, a deafening explosion erupted in the distance.
Violent shockwaves rattled the office windows behind him.
His expression hardened, and he addressed the two men with a sardonic half-smile, "It appears they've decided to come to us instead."
"Let's see what those bastards are planning this time."
With those words, the young president vanished from the office entirely.
Azrael seethed with fury.
After countless hours searching, he never expected those Onefold Doctrine scum to actually approach him directly, and create such a massive disturbance in the process.
"Really..."
"They don't know what's good for them."