Chapter 50: Rare Summoning! The Void from Another World!
The chaos of the escape was over. The cheers of the rescued civilians and the bustle of the crew had settled into a steady rhythm outside.
Suzaku quickly returned to his Captain's quarters, closing the heavy wooden door behind him. He turned the brass lock with a soft click, sealing himself off from the world. He engaged the deadbolt. He needed absolute silence for this.
He leaned against the door, sliding down until he sat on the floorboards. He let out a long, shuddering breath, the adrenaline of facing two Admirals finally draining away, leaving behind a buzzing excitement.
An irrepressible smile spread across his face, stretching wider and wider until it hurt.
"We survived," he whispered to the empty room. "And we won."
But it wasn't just survival. In his mind, the numbers were dancing. The 'Legendary Fame' counter—the currency of his ambition, the lifeblood of his system—was skyrocketing at a rate he had never seen before. It ticked upwards furiously, blurring like a speedometer on a runaway train.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The notifications chimed in his head, a relentless dopamine hit. Every newspaper read, every gossip shared in a tavern, every Marine report filed—it all fed him.
"It's here... it's finally here," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with the hunger of a gambler who just realized he owns the casino. "Those Marine guys aren't too slow after all. The bounty posters must have hit the streets. The world knows my name. The world fears the Vermillion Bird."
With a thought, he summoned the illusory system panel. The blue holographic screen flickered into existence in the dim light of his cabin, casting long, dancing shadows on the walls filled with maps and logbooks.
He focused on the tally. The numbers rolled like a slot machine before locking into place.
Looking at the final result, Suzaku felt his breath hitch.
[LEGENDARY FAME UPDATE]
[Host: Suzaku Yareon]
Original: 5,335 Points
Current: 44,335 Points!
Source Breakdown: Defeating Vice Admiral Momonga (+5,000), Surviving Admiral Aokiji (+10,000), Killing a Celestial Dragon (+15,000), Global Infamy Bonus (+9,000).
[Subordinate: Albedo]
Original: 3,180 Points
Current: 35,180 Points!
Source Breakdown: Stalemating Admiral Kizaru (+15,000), The "Unbreakable" Title (+10,000), Terrorizing Marines (+7,000).
[Subordinate: Rem]
Original: 330 Points
Current: 16,330 Points!
Source Breakdown: Defeating Vice Admiral Ferguson (+8,000), The Flying Ship Miracle (+8,000).
[TOTAL LEGENDARY FAME: 95,845 Points]
"Nearly one hundred thousand..." Suzaku whispered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm rich. Filthy, stinking rich."
He had never fought such a profitable battle. Risking his life against the pinnacle of the World Government, kidnapping a "God," shaking the foundation of the era—it had paid off in dividends. The risk-to-reward ratio was astronomical.
"Indeed, causing a big stir is the best way to farm points! Peace is for the weak; chaos is for the ambitious!"
His gaze shifted eagerly to the [Summon] tab on the interface. It was the tab he checked every day, usually with disappointment.
But not today.
The 'Rare Grade Summon' option, which had always been grayed out, taunting him with the label "Locked: Insufficient Fame", was now pulsating. It glowed with a soft, mysterious golden light, breathing like a living thing. The padlock icon shattered into pixels and vanished into digital dust before his eyes.
"It's unlocked!"
Suzaku's heart pounded against his ribs like a war drum. He felt a dry lump in his throat. This was it. The next step in his evolution.
He tapped the glowing option.
"Ding—!"
The system voice, usually cold and robotic, seemed to carry a hint of grandeur this time, resonating in his skull.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Achievement Unlocked: Fame Overlord]
[Detected Total Legendary Fame exceeds 50,000!]
[Special Permission Unlocked: 'Rare Grade Summon']
[Description:]
Summons characters or items of S-Rank or higher from the myriad worlds.
Cost: 50,000 Legend Points per summon.
Guarantee: Summon results possess extreme value, uniqueness, and high loyalty potential.
[Shop Permission: Activated]
"Fifty thousand for one?" Suzaku raised an eyebrow, his wallet suddenly feeling lighter. "My newly acquired wealth isn't even enough for two pulls? That's highway robbery!"
He stared at the number. 50,000 points. That was the lives of Admirals. That was the terror of nations. All for one chance.
But then, an even stronger excitement surged through him, washing away the hesitation.
"You get what you pay for. If the Normal Summon (2,000 points) gave me Rem, and the Advanced Summon gave me Albedo... then a 50,000 point summon?"
He shivered.
"It must be a monster. A world-ender. A god."
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind. Ideally, he needed someone who could handle Haki users. A logia user like Esdeath? A swordsman like Sephiroth? A mage like Merlin? Or perhaps a technology expert?
"Hahaha! My gamble wasn't in vain. Although Aokiji almost turned me into a popsicle, the outcome is glorious!"
Suzaku stood up and clenched his fist, suppressing the urge to summon immediately. He needed to prepare. Rituals were important. In the world of gacha, superstition was as real as gravity. You didn't just pull; you prayed.
He turned and dug out a brass basin from under his bed. He rushed to the kitchen, ignoring Nami's confused look as he filled it with clear, cold water, and sprinted back to his room, locking the door again.
He placed the basin on the floor solemnly. He rolled up his sleeves and began to scrub his hands with soap, meticulously cleaning every finger, every nail, scrubbing away the invisible bad luck.
"Last time, I summoned Albedo right after washing my hands," he muttered, scrubbing with religious fervor. "It worked then. It has to work now. No bad RNG today. I need a heavy hitter. Someone who can stand beside Albedo. Come on, Lady Luck! Don't fail me now!"
He dried his hands on a clean white towel. He sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the basin, took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, and focused on the panel.
He closed his eyes for a moment, visualizing power. Then he opened them. His gaze was resolute.
"System. Rare Summon. One pull."
He mentally pressed the button.
"Ding!"
[Confirming Rare Grade Summon...]
[Consuming 50,000 Legend Points...]
[Remaining Balance: 45,845 Points]
The points drained away. Half his fortune, gone in a blink.
The moment the prompt faded, the air in the cabin changed.
It wasn't just a light show. The atmosphere grew heavy, dense, and suffocating. The light from the window seemed to dim, as if the sun itself was being swallowed.
A complex, profound magic circle silently etched itself onto the floorboards. It glowed with a dim, sickly green light—the color of spiritual energy, of souls, of the afterlife.
Vroooom.
Space itself began to twist in the center of the circle. A profound darkness began to leak out, spreading like ink dropped into clear water. It stained the air, creeping up the walls.
It wasn't just dark; it was Heavy.
A cold, nihilistic pressure filled the room. It wasn't Haki. Haki was willpower; this was... nothingness. It was the feeling of standing at the edge of the world and looking down into a void that had no bottom. It carried the aura of death, emptiness, and absolute despair.
The temperature plummeted. Frost formed on the windows, not from cold, but from the absence of life. The wood of the ship groaned, as if aging rapidly.
From the center of the inky void, a slender figure materialized.
First, the boots. Black, sleek, stepping out of the darkness.
Then, the pristine white uniform with black accents, high-collared and crisp.
Finally, the face.
Pale, porcelain skin that looked like it had never seen the sun. Jet-black hair that framed a face of unearthly stillness. Two distinct green tear markings ran down his cheeks from his eyes, like eternal scars of sorrow.
And those eyes...
Emerald green, cat-like slits. But they were hollow. They seemed to devour all emotion, all hope, all meaning. To look into them was to look into an abyss that stared back with indifference.
On the left side of his chest, where a heart should be, was a hole. A literal void.
He floated silently, hovering half a foot off the ground. A katana hung at his waist. He exuded an aura of absolute indifference that made the air feel thin, as if he were sucking the oxygen out of the room simply by existing.
[Summon Complete]
[Character: Ulquiorra Cifer]
[Origin: Bleach]
[Rank: 4th Espada (Cuatro Espada)]
"Ulquiorra..."
Suzaku's eyes widened with a burst of pleasant surprise. He recognized this figure instantly.
The Espada of Nihility. The one who sought the meaning of the 'Heart'. The monster who pushed Ichigo Kurosaki to his absolute limit and beyond.
"Jackpot," Suzaku whispered, his voice trembling with excitement. "This is better than a God. This is a Calamity."
Almost at the same moment Ulquiorra's form completely solidified, Suzaku skillfully operated the system.
[Injecting Knowledge Packet: 'World Basic Sense']
He directly imported the information about the One Piece world—Devil Fruits, Haki, the Marines, the geography of the Grand Line, and the current crew—into Ulquiorra's mind.
Ulquiorra's hollow emerald eyes flickered almost imperceptibly. A massive stream of alien information flowed into his consciousness, but he received it without flinching. He processed it calmly, filing it away in his mind like data in a cold computer.
New World. Pirates. Marines. Haki. Devil Fruits. The limitations of this reality.
He also grasped the unbreakable spiritual connection between himself and the summoner standing before him. A bond that transcended worlds.
Once the integration was complete, Suzaku took a deep breath. He stood up, meeting the Arrancar's gaze. He didn't flinch under the heavy spiritual pressure (Reiatsu).
"It is I who summoned you here."
His voice was steady, authoritative.
"Ulquiorra Cifer. I am Suzaku Yareon. Welcome to this vast ocean."
Ulquiorra blinked once. He looked at his hands, flexed his long, pale fingers, then looked at Suzaku. His expression didn't change. It was like looking at a statue carved from ice.
"The world we are in is meaningless," Ulquiorra said.
His voice was soft, flat, and devoid of inflection. It was a voice that belonged in a graveyard, calm and final.
"And we who live here are also meaningless... Knowing that this matter itself is meaningless is also... meaningless."
He looked Suzaku in the eye, his gaze piercing through the Captain's soul.
"What meaning does your welcome hold for me, Summoner? Why have you pulled me from the void?"
Suzaku paused. He knew this character. He knew how to talk to him. You couldn't appeal to his greed, his honor, or his lust for battle. You had to appeal to his curiosity. To the question that defined his existence.
"If everything is meaningless, then why did you answer the call?"
Suzaku stepped forward, entering the aura of heavy pressure.
"Since I brought you to this world, are you interested in following me? We are not just surviving here. We are overturning the heavens. We are challenging 'Gods' and redefining what it means to live."
Suzaku extended a hand.
"Perhaps," Suzaku smiled, a genuine, challenging smile. "In this chaotic 'New World', amidst the clash of dreams and wills... you might find the 'meaning' you were looking for in the void. You might finally understand what the 'Heart' is."
Ulquiorra's emerald eyes stared at Suzaku. For a few seconds, silence reigned. The air was heavy with unsaid words.
Then, he slowly descended. His boots touched the floorboards without a sound.
"Meaning..." Ulquiorra repeated the word as if tasting it. "Boring and pointless."
He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, Murciélago.
"However... since you summoned me here, and since I have nowhere else to be..."
He bowed his head slightly. It wasn't a bow of servitude, but of acknowledgment. A predator acknowledging an alpha.
"Until I find your so-called 'meaning', or until you die and prove your own meaninglessness... I will follow you. I will observe this world through your actions."
It was a pact. A contract forged in silence.
Just then—
BOOM!
The door to the cabin didn't just open; it exploded inward. The lock shattered, wood splinters flying across the room.
"LORD SUZAKU!"
Albedo rushed in like a black whirlwind. Her dark armor was fully deployed, covering her from head to toe. Her massive battle-axe, 3F, was raised high, glowing with green destructive energy. Her golden vertical pupils scanned the room, locking instantly onto the new presence.
[Akarin Note:
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