Chapter 21: System Upgrade & Supreme Grade Blade
The following week was peaceful. Shanks' missing left arm healed ridiculously fast—One Piece biology is insane. On Earth that would've been "100 days of bed rest" territory.
Then came the day the Red Hair Pirates finally set sail.
"Shanks, you guys really leaving?"
"Yep. We've overstayed our welcome. You're gonna be lonely without us~"
"Hehe! I'll miss the parties, but I'm not begging to join anymore! I'm gonna be a pirate myself!"
"Nyeeeh~ As if I'd take a brat like you!"
Shanks stuck out his tongue. Luffy raged (▼皿▼#)
"Of course I'm serious! I'll find a crew even better than yours, get the world's greatest treasure, and become the Pirate King! Right, Luo Lin?!"
Luffy turned to his backup supporter.
"Uh—yeah! Totally! 100%!"
Professional melon-eater Luo Lin gave a thumbs-up.
Luffy grinned triumphantly, expecting more mockery from Shanks.
Instead, Shanks' expression softened.
"You want to surpass us, huh?"
He took off his straw hat and placed it on Luffy's head.
"Then keep this hat safe for me. Return it when you've become a great pirate. This is a man-to-man promise!"
Click!
Luo Lin snapped the historic moment with a camera he'd somehow acquired.
Robin looked confused—what's so special about humoring a kid?
But Luo Lin knew: this photo would one day be the world-famous "Inheritance of the Will of D".
Luffy hugged the hat, tears and snot everywhere.
As the Red Force sailed away, Luo Lin pocketed the camera with deep satisfaction.
Best. Melon-eating. Trip. Ever.
Then—after months of silence—the system finally spoke.
"Ding~ Did you miss me, host? Your beloved system is baaack!"
Luo Lin: …
"Where the hell have you been? I called you a thousand times! If the panel wasn't still there I'd have held a funeral!"
System: "This mighty system is immortal, fool!"
"Tch. Trash system. Spit it out—what were you doing?"
System: !!! (´⊙ω⊙`)
"Ahem! Your current level no longer matches this system's magnificence! So I went to fight for upgrade permissions! Preparing a massive upgrade—when I'm done you'll be shocked!"
"Oh? Upgrade? From trash to mega-trash?"
"Of course not! You'll see when it's done. Might take a while, so I'm giving you a heads-up so you don't forget me!"
"Fine, go upgrade."
System (crying): "So heartless… Anyway, during the upgrade I can't issue tasks or chat, but everything else works normally!"
"So basically just the panel. Yep—still trash."
"Cough! Minor details! Before I go offline, I fought tooth and nail (and maybe bribed someone) for one last quest!"
"Ding! Challenge Quest Issued! Fight Shanks with everything you've got (one serious battle). Reward: Supreme Grade Sword — Meito · Mitama (Imperial Soul)!"
Luo Lin inhaled sharply.
Supreme Grade Blade!
Why didn't sparring with Rayleigh trigger this?! Whatever—free Supreme Grade sword!
"Heh heh~ Shocked, right? Reward is already reserved—auto-issued upon completion! Gotta go, upgrade starting—"
The voice faded into nothing.
"System? Hello?"
No response. Upgrade officially began.
Luo Lin checked the panel:
Host: Portgas D. Luo Lin Age: 20 Swordsmanship: Great Swordsman (Kenshi no Kōha) Haki:
Armament: Advanced
Observation: Intermediate
Conqueror's: Intermediate Rokushiki: Mastered Active Quest: Challenge Shanks to a full-power duel Reward: Supreme Grade Meito · Mitama
Only real change in three years: swordsmanship finally hit Great Swordsman after the Fish-Man Island trip.
Once he realized few people could actually threaten him anymore, his inner lazy otaku resurfaced. All he did was flirt with Robin 24/7—training? What's that?
(Also, the "Evaluation" field was gone. Confirmed: the system added those embarrassing comments itself. (▼ヘ▼#))
But this quest came at the perfect time—he could test if he'd gotten rusty.
While he was internally chatting with the system, only a few seconds had passed in real life.
Shanks' ship was already a tiny dot on the horizon.
Luo Lin decided: no way he was waiting until the New World to finish this quest.
"Oi, Luffy!"
"Huh?"
The crying straw-hat boy looked up.
"We're setting sail too! Grow up fast—we'll be waiting in the Grand Line!"
"Ehhh?! You're leaving too?!"
Luffy whined, but quickly got excited again.
"Fine! But don't join anyone else's crew—especially not Shanks'! Wait for me! I'm definitely coming!"
"Deal! Grand Line, see ya!"
Luo Lin raised anchor. Under Robin's steadily improving helmsmanship, the Demon shot after the Red Force.
Shanks' ship was bigger and faster. Luo Lin had to push the Demon to full speed for three hours straight.
Eventually he caught up—not because he overtook them, but because the Red Hair Pirates stopped at a small island to cook.
"SHANKS!"
"Oh? Luo Lin? You actually chased us? Finally decided to join?"
"Like hell! I'm here to challenge you!"
"...Huh?"
Everyone—Beckman, Jesus Burgess, even Robin—froze.
Robin suddenly understood why Luo Lin had been in such a hurry.
The atmosphere turned super awkward.
Then—
"Pfft—BWAHAHAHAHA!"
Shanks burst out laughing first, followed by the entire crew. They were crying.
Robin smiled too—she enjoyed seeing Luo Lin suffer a little.
"You idiot! Why would I fight you?! Hahaha!"
"Yeah, no reason at all! Haha!"
Lucky Roux mumbled through meat.
Luo Lin knew it'd be hard—Shanks was too nice to force into a serious fight.
He was stuck… until Robin leaned in and whispered something that made his eyes light up.
"Hey, obviously not a deathmatch—just a spar! I wanna see how strong a Yonko really is!"
"Ohhh, a friendly duel?"
"Exactly!"
Shanks pretended to think… then stuck out his tongue again.
"Nyeh~ Still not fighting! Dummy! Hahaha!"
The crew lost it again.
Luo Lin: You motherf—
Fists clenched. Future Yonko? More like future clown.
Robin whispered the killer follow-up:
"Payment for the fight: a crate of the strongest alcohol in the world."
She'd noticed the Red Hair Pirates drank like fish every single day.
Normal One Piece rum = ~50 proof. Luo Lin once got bored and built a still—produced dozens of bottles of 90+ proof "Water of Life" that could strip paint.
He'd brought them all on the ship.
Shanks' eyes instantly sparkled.
"Strongest in the world? Yeah, right. I've drunk pure medical alcohol."
"Don't believe me? One sec."
Luo Lin jumped back to the Demon, rummaged, and returned with a bottle.
Shanks sniffed—eyes widened—chugged the entire thing in seconds.
"LUO LIN! How many more do you have?! Give them all and I'll fight you right now!"
"Dozens more. You get them AFTER we fight."
"Deal! When do we start?! I need that booze—this stuff is divine!"
"Hey! Don't half-ass it just for alcohol! I'm going all out—losing to me would be embarrassing!"
Shanks' playful aura vanished. A wave of Conqueror's Haki slowly rolled out.
"Of course. I never hold back—not even in sparring."
"Perfect. Beckman, please keep Robin safe!"
Luo Lin drew Shinrai, Conqueror's Haki exploding outward.
Every Red Hair Pirate's eyes nearly popped out.
"Conqueror's Haki?! And that strong?! Fall back further!"
Two invisible tides of Conqueror's crashed—trees snapped, the ground peeled.
"Incredible, Luo Lin… I felt that beast inside you before, but I never imagined this level!"
Shanks drew Gryphon, Haki coating the blade.
Both swords glowed with Armament.
"One clash to decide it—this island won't survive more!"
"My thoughts exactly! Iai · Oni Giri!"
"Divine Departure!"
CLAAAAANG!
Black-red lightning exploded everywhere.
The tiny ~1km island's center caved in, cracks spider-webbing outward.
Beckman's group was forced to the shoreline—still dodging flying boulders.
"What kind of monsters are they?! Captain's one thing, but Luo Lin too?!"
"He's only 20! 'Monster' isn't enough—he's a freak of nature!"
Robin was just as shocked. She knew he was strong—he escaped Aokiji years ago—but this was insane.
The two remained deadlocked for ages.
Eventually Luo Lin eased off. They lowered their swords, mutual respect in their eyes.
"No second clash—the island's done. I never expected a monster like you hiding in the East Blue. Guess you can't underestimate the world, haha!"
"As expected of a Yonko. I'm still not your match."
Luo Lin admitted defeat cleanly. Swordsmanship was close, but Shanks' Haki was deeper.
"Obviously—I'm a Yonko! Haha! Sure you don't want to join? Strength like yours is wasted staying low-key. Come find the One Piece with us!"
For the first time, Shanks seriously invited him.
"Nah. My only goal is protecting Robin. Everything else is extra. And… I already promised Luffy. Man-to-man promise."
"That so? What a shame! Hahaha!"
Beckman and the others returned with Robin, all wearing wide grins of respect.
Luo Lin took Robin's hand and waved.
"We'll be off then, Shanks! Next time we meet—party's on you!"
"Wait, you bastard! My booze! No running!"
Shanks grabbed his arm.
"Right, right! Coming! Follow me to the ship!"
Shanks personally carried the entire crate of super-alcohol off the Demon.
"Next spar, bring more of this stuff!"
Luo Lin waved as the Demon sailed away.
On deck, Robin stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
"Blown away by how cool your future husband is?"
"Mm! You really are amazing, Luo Lin."
"Of course! How else am I supposed to protect you? But no matter how strong I get—I'll always be yours."
He'd never say "stop staring, my face doesn't have flowers." Let his wife admire him all she wants! What's the problem?!
Though… charging one kiss per 10 minutes of staring is fair, right?
"Mm!"
Robin smiled like a blooming flower—absolutely breathtaking.
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