"Caw!"
I am a newsbird.
Business was good today; I sold many newspapers, and the weather was sunny—a truly wonderful day!
After work, I definitely need to go to the dock for some fries! This is the pursuit of a bird's life.
"I'm just a little newsboy..."
"Bang!"
Tomorrow and accidents—who comes first is often unpredictable. But one thing is certain: I'm probably not going to enjoy those fries.
Newsbird: "Caw!!!!!!!"
Kaito Sakamoto: "Ah!!!!!!"
...
In the forest, Karp and Luffy, the grandfather and grandson, were walking along the path.
The elder was digging his nose with his pinky, while the younger did the same. Yes, they looked quite like a grandfather and grandson.
"Grandpa is a liar!"
"Didn't you say there's good food in the forest?"
"You kicked me off a cliff! Fought a wild boar! And that tiger was huge!!"
This was Luffy's accusation.
Before Karp handed Luffy over to Dadan, the training he put him through revealed a true grandfather-grandson bond.
He transformed life-threatening situations into a passive experience, while Luffy developed a powerful will strong enough to shock Kaido and Big Mom.
Why isn't he afraid of fire? Because he has a strong will!
"Hahaha!"
"Stinky kid! Just say the wild boar meat is delicious!"
"And what about that tiger? Grandpa rode one when he was your age!"
Karp replied with a laugh. He wasn't lying; he was a force to be reckoned with in the forest back in his day.
Just thinking about wild boar meat made Luffy's mouth water. Let's not get into it; it really is delicious.
"Riding a tiger at my age? Grandpa's just lying!"
Luffy didn't believe Karp's childhood exploits. But after he spoke, Karp didn't react. Little Luffy looked up at him.
The old man had dozed off, bubbles coming out of his nose.
Little Luffy had seen Karp like this many times before.
If you wake him up, fine. If not, just poke the snot bubble.
But before he could say anything, he vaguely heard shouting from above.
"What's that noise?"
Luffy looked up and saw someone crashing down, a newsbird smashed under their weight.
"Ah!!!!!"
"Caw!!!!!"
"Bang!!!!!"
It landed squarely on Karp's head, and the sound of the impact echoed, indicating that Karp's head was indeed solid.
...
A person was on the road, and someone fell from the sky.
Karp was sleeping soundly until he was suddenly hit, one of his eyeballs popping out. Kaito and the newsbird rolled off his head and landed in front of him.
"Who dares to ambush me!"
Karp was jolted awake, instantly alert. Who had the guts to ambush me in front of my grandson? Do they think my fists aren't hard enough?
But there was no "assassin" to be found, only two creatures before him.
A child and a newsbird.
Both had dazed expressions, likely having fainted.
"Grandpa, they fell from the sky and hit you."
Little Luffy kindly pointed it out.
Karp nodded, "How could this kid fall from the sky?"
...
"Um…"
Kaito slowly opened his eyes, his vision shifting from blurry to clear, revealing a wooden ceiling above.
"Where is this?"
The classic line after waking from a coma.
Kaito felt as if an enormous weight was pressing down on him, like a stone crushing his body; he didn't even feel like himself. Moving even slightly was excruciating, as if he were falling apart.
Summoning all his strength, he raised his hands, which were wrapped tightly in bandages.
He turned his head slightly to survey the surroundings. The room was simple: a bed, a nightstand beside it, and a clock on the wall across from him. There was nothing else.
"Who is this kind-hearted person who saved me?"
Straightening his head, Kaito focused again on the ceiling. With nothing else to do while lying in bed, it was a good time to reflect on life.
"That stupid system!"
Before he could ponder his life, the voice of that peculiar system echoed in his mind, causing Kaito to grind his teeth in frustration.
"Half the words are gone!!"
"Fragile and sickly, I really appreciate it!"
"Replication Fruit? It can replicate others' skills and abilities, and if it can replicate Devil Fruit abilities too, that's just overpowered."
"And what about the real name? Could this fruit be like Luffy's Gum-Gum Fruit?"
"But the most important thing is, what's the third ability!!!"
For someone like Kaito, who had obsessive-compulsive tendencies, it was infuriating to have a half-finished thought and to only understand half of something.
He tried calling out to the system in his mind several times, but the voice sank into silence, with no response whatsoever.
"It seems that guy really got attacked by a virus."
"...Trash!"
"Hopefully, it will reappear later to tell me about the third ability."
Kaito prayed. He was fixated on it; if he didn't find out what the third ability was, he was afraid he'd never find peace.
"Forget it; I'll just sleep a bit longer. Moving around now is painful anyway. Let's see if anyone's here when I wake up."
Muttering to himself, Kaito closed his eyes.
But they were like a switch; as soon as they closed, he heard—
"Bang!"
The door to the room was kicked open, as if someone was coming to collect a debt.
Startled, Kaito opened his eyes wide, ignoring the pain, and turned to look.
In his line of sight appeared an old man and a child.
Although Kaito didn't consider himself a die-hard fan of pirates, if he didn't recognize Luffy and Karp, would he be called "the King of Mountain Bandits"?