Chapter 44: Extreme Limits

On the way back, Kiba received a notification that the mission was completed.

The onmyoji lady once mentioned that hidden missions are extremely rare, but for Kiba, this didn’t seem to be the case.

If time wasn’t so tight, there were still many places he could explore.

Not to mention, each member of the Straw Hat crew should trigger hidden missions, and there should be more than one for Luffy and Robin.

Of course, having a tight schedule isn't necessarily a bad thing. The incident with the cyborg, Gary, served as a reminder that it’s best not to meddle in higher-level matters without sufficient strength.

Even a small mistake in the process could result in consequences he couldn’t bear.

*[Hidden Mission: Sanji's Escape (Completed)]*

*[Calculating results… Generating rewards…]*

*[Based on your contribution, you may choose any three of the following rewards!]*

*[Option 1: 2 Attribute Points]*

*[Option 2: Germa Technology Warship]*

*[Option 3: Enhanced Gene-Modified Warrior]*

*[Option 4: 10 Cyborg Warriors]*

*[Option 5: Pirate World Entry Ticket (Rare)]*

He completed the mission quite well, without the enemy chasing him down, and killed his target during their first encounter.

Because of this, he received three rewards, which somewhat compensated for the loss of using the restoration potion.

Following the principle of choosing attributes when possible, he didn’t pass up the 2 points, even if it was just a small amount.

After adding the points, Kiba's base mental attribute reached the extreme limit of 19 points, allowing him to focus on enhancing other abilities in the future.

For the second choice, the warship could be ignored; it was almost identical to the one he was standing on, with only slight upgrades. It wasn’t very important to Kiba at this moment.

The enhanced gene-modified warrior was a character that could only be used in this world, with incredible potential and absolute loyalty. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take him out of the pirate world.

However, this didn’t mean the warrior was useless. On the contrary, the existence of this modified warrior could help him complete more missions.

In terms of attributes, the enhanced warrior wasn’t as strong as "Gary," but his combat power would be slightly higher than that of Sam and Butch.

Other than that, he was similar to the gene soldiers, focusing on high attack and speed, with two attributes just barely breaking the 20-point mark.

If it were any other reincarnator, obtaining this cyborg named "Jack" would have made them jump for joy. But for Kiba, it was just so-so.

Compared to the increase in combat power, he valued the warrior's loyalty more. Not betraying him was a rare and priceless trait.

The ten cyborgs below that were much weaker, similar to the ones Reiju had given him.

After the battle, Kiba took stock and found that half of those poor fellows had been lost. Although their combat power was strong, their survival ability was worse than that of ordinary pirates.

Ultimately, this was because they couldn’t feel fear.

Knowing that choosing them would just be a waste, Kiba simply looked at the last option, the Pirate World Entry Ticket.

Its function was simple: to forcibly bind the next storyline world to the pirate world, allowing the reincarnator to continue exploring unfinished tasks.

“Not bad at all,” Kiba said, satisfied as he put the items away.

There were still many things to explore in the pirate world, and he had learned quite a few secrets. Maybe he could take advantage of them later.

However, that would have to wait a long time. Certain things require a certain level of strength to accomplish.

*Spirit: 25 (+6)*

His spirit attribute had reached 25 points, and its power when fully activated was astonishing. However, he could no longer increase it.

Standing at the ship's railing, Kiba gazed into the distance, thinking about his next attribute allocation strategy.

To enhance his survival ability, the best option would be to boost his constitution, which would work exceptionally well with his legendary traits.

However, in all the dangers he’d faced so far, it wasn’t his constitution that had truly saved him, but rather the often-overlooked perception attribute.

Sensing danger in advance, seeing through the enemy’s movements, and the obvious benefits to long-range shooting—all of these pointed to the importance of perception. Many gunners prioritize agility with perception as a secondary stat.

Ryuuno had told him that onmyoji techniques heavily rely on perception. To sign a shikigami contract, perception is an essential attribute.

As for the hypnosis techniques taught by Zangao, they also require high perception. Kiba was eager to control multiple people at once.

He quickly made up his mind to focus on improving his perception attribute until it reached 19 points before moving on to enhance constitution and other attributes.

“Phew…”

Ryuuno sat down on the ground with a bitter smile, her eyes fixed on a damaged pirate ship ahead.

In the past few days, she spent money recklessly, recruiting over 300 pirates with different personalities, forming a large pirate fleet of seven ships.

They were just waiting for Jason and his crew to return, and then they could set off to fight the Pirate Admiral.

But what she didn’t expect was that, during a moment when she was alone, the onmyoji lady was ambushed by assassins from the Baroque Works.

She barely survived, thanks to the extraordinary performance of her shikigami, and managed to hold out until her companions arrived for rescue. The cost was that one of the ships was destroyed by the enemy.

At first, she didn’t think much of it, but then she suddenly realized that the chain of hidden missions might be more troublesome than she had imagined.

When that guy returns, she must remind him to be extra careful. It’s not the direct confrontations that worry her, but rather the possibility of getting attacked when separated from the group.

A small lapse in attention could easily result in serious injury from the enemy.

Forcing herself to stand up, Ryuuno checked the remaining storyline points she had.

Cross-world summoning requires payment, which is why summoners are a profession that demands significant investment. It’s not something a typical lone wolf can afford to play.

To maintain combat strength, you must always reserve "funds" for summoning. If you can’t open the summoning channel, it becomes very awkward.

The consumption of storyline points is closely related to the strength rating of the summoned entity or, in other words, the summoning skills learned by the reincarnator.

*Name: Shikigami Summon (Ubume)*

*Level: 2*

*Grade: C*

*Effect: Consumes 60 storyline points to summon the SR Shikigami Ubume, duration 60 minutes, cooldown 2 hours.*

*Usage Requirements: Perception 14, Spirit 8*

*Learning Requirements: Spirit 15*

*Origin: Onmyoji*

*Skill Evaluation: A Shikigami who loves babies, with extraordinary swordsmanship and speed.*

In the reincarnation space's assessment, the powerful Ubume is only considered a C-rank summon. Even so, each time the summoning channel is opened, it costs 60 storyline points.

Since entering the pirate world, she has summoned Ubume four times, which means she’s spent a total of 240 storyline points—about the same as the reward from a main storyline mission.

This is why the onmyoji lady is eager to complete her destiny mission. Only by making Ubume her permanent follower can she have the resources to seek out other summons.

As for her other shikigami, Akashita, it’s rated as a D-rank summon and isn’t valuable enough to take up a follower slot.

In the onmyoji lady’s view, a summon should at least be on par with Ubume in terms of strength.

She returned to the ship’s cabin alone, and by the time she fully recovered, the main members of the Black Cat crew had finally returned.

At the dock, looking at the bustling pirate fleet, Kiba smiled and waved at the crowd. “Great, these people will be more than enough for us to use.”

Hearing this, Ryuuno curiously asked, “I’m really curious—how exactly do you trigger hidden missions?”

Kiba had already figured it out.

Apart from uncovering hidden plot secrets, there’s an easy way to trigger hidden missions: by changing the fate of important story characters.

Take Captain Kuro, for example. If nothing unusual happens, he’ll spend the next three years on that island until the Straw Hat Luffy comes and defeats him.

If you can change his fate, you’ll naturally trigger the hidden mission mechanism. Kiba had slowly figured out this pattern.

Seeing the onmyoji lady’s curiosity, he decided not to keep her in suspense any longer. “Of course, we’re going to bring back our Captain Kuro. Without him, we can’t defeat the Pirate Admiral.”

“Oh,” Ryuuno nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

After a quick headcount, Kiba immediately announced that they were heading to Syrup Village in the East Blue.

This is a small village in the East Blue, the hometown of Usopp, and where the Going Merry was born.

Miss Kaya is the daughter of a wealthy family, with blonde hair, fair skin, and a delicate appearance that evokes pity.

Her butler, Klahadore, is actually Captain Kuro in disguise, pretending to be a shipwrecked traveler who collapsed at Kaya’s doorstep and was kindly taken in by her father.

Tired of the pirate life, Kuro plotted with his old crew to kill Kaya and steal her fortune, but in the end, he was defeated by the main characters.

The main goal of this trip to Syrup Village was to persuade the former captain to come out of retirement.

The reason he grew tired of being a pirate was that he saw no possibility of becoming the ruler of the East Blue.

If he sees the current size of the pirate fleet, he’ll definitely be eager to return to action. Kaya’s family fortune might not even compare to the Black Cat crew’s gold.

Anyone should know what choice to make.

As they approached Syrup Village, Kiba ordered everyone to wait at a distance while he, Jango, and Ryuuno went ahead.

Bringing too many people would only alert the village and create unnecessary complications, something Kiba wanted to avoid for now.

There wasn’t much time left for the second main storyline mission. They needed to defeat the Pirate Admiral before the time ran out to earn the large bounty.

To improve his clearance rating and earn more attribute points, every main mission had to be taken seriously.

Walking along the village path, they followed the fence toward the estate on the distant hillside.

The peaceful atmosphere seemed to wash away the recent days of intense battles, bringing a slight smile to Kiba’s face.

“Hahaha, do you know what happened next?”

A burst of wild laughter came from nearby—the man with the slingshot was none other than Captain Usopp.

(End of Chapter)