After Tina grumbled a few more complaints, she finally calmed down and returned to normal. She led a squad of Navy soldiers toward Siegel's pirate ship, ordering them to haul away all the treasure he had plundered and move it onto the small boats. I followed her onto one of the boats that would take us back to the Navy warship.
I had already switched into the Crimson Battle Armor, and while I was combing back my smooth black hair… pirates and Navy alike were staring at me with hearts practically popping out of their eyes.
"Truly beautiful…"
One sailor muttered to himself, clearly smitten — no doubt about it. The target of his love? Me. Great. The reincarnated boy inside me wanted to crawl into the sea and disappear. I looked away toward the horizon, awkward and pretending not to notice.
Before long, most of the treasure was transported to the ship, while several Navy members stayed behind to scavenge what remained from the Noire Pirate Crew. Well, who could blame them? The Navy had wages to earn too — and as long as no one knew where the treasure came from… no one needed to ask questions.
Tina and I were slowly rowing toward the warship. She lit a cigarette, then glanced sideways at me."Where are you heading next? If it's on the way, Tina can give you a ride."
"Uh, I'm going to… wait, let me check."
I reached into my chest to pull out my phone — and of course, doing that in this body made my entire chest jiggle. Everyone's eyes, including Tina's, locked onto me like predators sighting prey. Several sailors audibly gulped. Come on, seriously? Am I going to need a nutrition supplement after this?
When I unlocked the phone, Tina's gaze finally moved from my chest to the strange device in my hand.
"What's that?"
"Uh… it's the instrument I use to record maps. It's called a mobile phone."
"Oh? I've never seen a map device like that. Doesn't everyone usually use parchment?"
Tina's curiosity was understandable — anything that strange would attract attention. She leaned closer as the display lit up.
The Dragon Ball Mainline Quest Interface opened.
Quest: Find the Dragon BallsLocation: East Blue – Baratie Sea RestaurantQuest Item: Chef Zeff's Kitchen Knife
"…"
I stared deadpan at the screen.…So a kitchen knife is a Dragon Ball? What next? Are they going to make me fetch Luffy's straw hat? Isn't this going too far?!
The moment I saw that quest, a heavy black line appeared across my forehead. It wasn't a difficult task, but there was no denying it — this mission was absolutely ridiculous.
"I'm heading to the East Blue. Do you know the way?"
"Then there's only one route — we'll need to go through Reverse Mountain. The West Blue and East Blue are separated by the Red Line. As it happens, Tina is also returning to the Grand Line. Tina will take you there."
"Thank you!"
I responded happily — though what I didn't know was that Tina actually could return directly to the Grand Line via the Calm Belt. But she deliberately chose a detour just to help me out… most likely to earn herself a favor.
I sat at the edge of the boat, watching Graf Island grow smaller in the distance. On the coastline, I could faintly see Eliza and the others waving goodbye. My heart softened.Goodbye, my friends. I'll be off now.
If it weren't for those three girls keeping me company, I probably would've lost my mind long ago. Imagining it now… if I could fly, I would've soared straight off Graf Island myself in search of the Dragon Balls.
But the Bronya Series Armors only allow low-altitude hovering — barely half a meter above the ground. Even above the sea, larger waves could easily knock me into the water. Worse yet, flight consumes stamina, and with my current level and physical abilities, I'd be exhausted in just a few hours.
Moonlight Armor could fly in the Honkai manga — but not in the game. In-game, it can only stay in the air for short bursts. And since Buchstab-chan (Sister Besta) designs my abilities strictly based on game mechanics… anything from the manga simply doesn't exist for me.
The game defines what I can do — and that rule applies even to things like the Shadow Dance Armor's Shadow Clone. In the game, it behaves differently… but in my case, if I summon it while not in combat, it can exist indefinitely — as long as it doesn't get wet.
In short — I had no way to leave Graf Island using only my own strength. If I had even a simple little boat like the one Luffy used when he first set sail, I would've left ages ago. But there wasn't even that much… which was unbelievably frustrating.
Whatever. No use worrying now. Things were going great for me. I was about to have Navy warship escort across the sea — far safer than a small boat. The sea is merciless, and even a storm might not spare me.
"Alright… let's check my status," I muttered, opening the Valkyrie interface. I hadn't checked the loot from defeating Siegel yet.
The moment the screen loaded — I almost froze.
My level… had gone up from 55 to 56 — and the EXP bar was already half full!
As expected — the stronger the enemy, the more EXP I gained. When I defeated the Tyrannosaurus Rex — the strongest creature on Graf Island — I gained three levels at once.
Next, I reviewed the materials Siegel dropped:• Five Ranger Armor Fragments• Three Mountain Shatter Fragments• Moonlight Fragment × 1• Don't Forget Armor Fragment × 1
Not bad! I was genuinely thrilled. Moonlight was still at initial S-Rank, and needed 96 more fragments to reach SS-Rank. Don't Forget Armor was also initial S-Rank… but it was classified as the Awakening Armor of Shadow Dance Armor. Awakening Armors required significantly more fragments — so that one was still far off.
Siegel had also dropped a few Psychic Chips and Biological Chips. Without hesitation, I used them to upgrade my Valkyrie armors.
Soon, our boat arrived beneath the warship. Ropes were lowered for us to climb. I grabbed one, preparing to climb up — but Tina grabbed my wrist.
"Kiana. Not yet. Wait for them to go first."
"Why?"
I asked innocently. Tina looked a little stunned by my natural tone — then her eyes subtly shifted downward.
"…"
I froze. Right. I'm wearing a skirt. Even if I have safety shorts underneath… perverts don't need much imagination.
Women… are such a hassle, I groaned internally. Once again, I felt my determination to become a man solidify.
The sailors beside us sighed heavily — like they'd just watched paradise slip away.
"What are you waiting for? Move it!" Tina barked.
The sailors scrambled into action, carrying treasure as they climbed one by one. Because of the weight, they were slow — painfully slow. It took nearly half an hour before they were all aboard.
Only then did I start climbing.
"Tina will wait for you up top," she said.
"Alright."
And then — with effortless grace — she launched herself into the air, landing on the deck in an instant. Navy Rokushiki…? I watched, awed. I definitely needed to learn that someday — and Armament Haki, too. That would be essential against Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
Motivated, I resumed climbing. Before long, I reached the deck—
—and instantly froze at the sight before me.
Hundreds of sailors stood waiting. All of them staring directly at me. All of them… expectant.
The moment they clearly saw my face, they cheered as one.
"WOAH!! SHE'S EVEN PRETTIER THAN WE HEARD!"
"See? I told you all! You didn't believe me — but look now!"
Apparently… the soldier who climbed up first had already spread the news about a "stunning beauty," and most of the crew had abandoned their work just to gather here and see me for themselves.
"Uh… hello, everyone."
I said quietly. Even though I was a shut-in before reincarnating, I still wasn't used to being stared at by this many people. It made my skin crawl a little.
My soft voice echoed across the deck — and the sailors erupted again, trying to approach me all at once.
But Tina's voice cracked like a whip.
"That's enough! Where is your discipline?! Get back to your duties — count the treasure and move it to the storage room, immediately!"
Her harsh tone scattered them in seconds. She hadn't expected my charm to have such impact… and the scene reminded her of a certain female Shichibukai. Even though she'd only glimpsed that woman once from afar — her men had gone just as mad back then.