Faced with this character card, who could resist using Take Over?
Kaien's body began to rapidly grow in size. His clothes morphed into a flowing white coat, and in his hand appeared Murakumogiri, the Supreme Grade blade exclusive to Whitebeard. Most noticeable of all, a crescent-shaped white mustache curved upward beneath his nose. His face now looked like a blend of his own and Whitebeard's.
At the same time, memories belonging to Whitebeard began to flood Kaien's mind.
Whitebeard was born in a village in the Sphinx Kingdom, located in the New World. Because they were too poor to pay the "Heavenly Tribute," they were a non-affiliated nation not under the protection of the World Government.
Such nations usually ended up as lawless zones overrun by pirates and traffickers.
After the country fell, more and more children became unfortunate orphans—Whitebeard among them.
So from a young age, Whitebeard took to the seas as a pirate. He eventually joined the Rocks Pirates, and after their collapse 38 years ago, he formed his own pirate crew. Alongside Roger and Shiki, he was hailed as one of the three legendary pirates.
Unlike most pirates who thirsted for treasure or power, Whitebeard longed for family. He called his crew members his sons.
From the memories, Kaien realized that Whitebeard knew full well that going to the Paramount War meant no return. He was old, and his body was long past its prime. If he didn't go, even if the World Government did nothing, the pack of pirate hyenas would rip the Whitebeard Pirates apart.
Ace was the son he believed could carry the crew forward. As long as Ace lived, the others had a future.
He would use his own life to clear a path for his sons.
Experiencing it all through Whitebeard's eyes, Kaien was shaken to his core.
Some people claimed the title "Strongest Man in the World" was exaggerated—but the Fleet Admiral didn't question it. The Admirals didn't question it. The Four Emperors and the Seven Warlords didn't question it. And yet there are always people who think their judgment is better than all those legends combined.
Whitebeard's title wasn't given to him—it was earned, punch by punch.
Kaien could feel the power surging through his body. He had never felt so strong.
Clenching his fist, he felt as though he could tear the earth, shatter the sky, and shake the seas apart.
This explosive energy… it was like a walking volcano.
He felt like a single punch could rip through space itself.
Kaien's heart itched with excitement.
"Should I try it out? Just once!"
The thought rose in his mind and refused to go away. With strength like this, how could he not give it a shot?
"Hmm… it's already midnight. I'll just use a tiny bit. Just a tiny, tiny bit..."
BZZZZ—!
Kaien clenched his fist. A faint, pale glow formed a spherical shield around it. The power of the Gura Gura no Mi was now sealed inside that glowing sphere. Even so, the air around it visibly warped.
"Gently… gently…"
He threw a light punch forward.
CRACK! CRACK!
The air in front of his fist fractured like glass—fine cracks spread everywhere.
Then—
BOOMMMMM!!
All of Magnolia began to tremble violently, like an earthquake hitting level six on the scale.
"KYAAAHHH!"
"Earthquake!!"
"Get out—run! Run outside!"
Lights turned on in every house in Magnolia. People rushed out of their homes in panic, flooding the streets in chaos.
"...Uh-oh."
Kaien immediately canceled his transformation, darted back inside his house, and dove under the covers.
"So strong! This is insane!"
Even though he'd caused a disaster, Kaien was thrilled. He'd tried his best to control the power, but the explosion of force was still terrifying. If that was him holding back, what would full power look like?
He quickly checked off the lower-rank character cards.
[Recycle selected character cards?]
"Yes!"
[Recycle successful! Congratulations, Host! Magic Power has increased!]
Kaien opened his personal status screen.
[Host: Kaien]
[Age: 19]
[Race: Human]
[Magic Power: ★★★★★☆]
[Magic: Take Over Magic]
[Character Cards: Ulquiorra Cifer (Gold), Yoriichi Tsugikuni (Gold), Toji Fushiguro (Gold), Edward Newgate (Gold), Portgas D. Ace (Purple)]
[Current Draw Count: 3]
"Still not at six stars? System, when does my magic power reach six stars?"
[Recycle three more purple character cards, or one more gold character card, and you'll immediately level up to six stars.]
Kaien's eye twitched at that. He'd have to be insane to recycle a gold card. He'd already recycled two purple ones. Now that he had golds, regular purples didn't even appeal to him.
He kept Ace partly because he liked him, but also because Ace was incredibly practical. His mana cost was lower than golds, but his attack power was even higher than some of them. The value was off the charts—he'd basically become Kaien's go-to for missions.
"At least two more 10x draws, huh?"
Magic power was everything. The stronger it was, the more powerful the characters he used would become, and the longer he could maintain them. So increasing it was vital.
But the higher he rose, the harder it became to level up.
'Gotta do more missions.'
The next morning, Kaien arrived at the guild. The place was packed—everyone was buzzing about the earthquake from last night.
"You guys felt that earthquake last night, right?"
"Of course! That was insane—it shook me right out of bed!"
"Same here! I was having the best dream, then BOOM! Woke up midair!"
"Scared the hell out of me. I didn't go back inside all night, just in case there was an aftershock."
"Not just you—the whole town slept outdoors last night!"
Kaien listened quietly, muttering in his heart:
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry…'
"Kaien, you felt it too, right?"
Elfman clapped him on the shoulder.
Kaien replied guiltily, "Uh… I slept like a rock. Didn't even notice."
Mirajane blinked in surprise. Wasn't that about the time he was supposed to be summoning a heroic spirit? How could he have slept through it?
But she didn't press the issue. Maybe he really had just passed out—missions were tiring after all.