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Tashigi snapped out of it and stared at the man in front of her. Clutching her sword, she asked cautiously, "Who are you?"
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The marines behind her also watched Noir warily. Undeterred, Noir chuckled and said, "I am a cold-blooded assassin!"
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Tashigi drew her famous sword, Shigure, and the soldiers aimed their rifles at Noir.
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Noir twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "All right, actually, I''m just an ordinary pirate hunter. You''re not going to back out of the deal, are you?"
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Hearing this, Tashigi relaxed a bit and said seriously, "Of course, the Marine won''t owe you any money!"
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"By the way, what''s your name?"
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"I''m Noir."
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At these words, Tashigi tightened her grip on her sword again, and the soldiers cocked their guns, ready to fire.
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Noir quickly waved his hands and shouted, "Wait a minute! What''s the meaning of this?"
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With a piercing look, Tashigi said coldly, "Pirate hunter Noir, didn''t you join Ace''s pirate crew?"
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With a blank face, Noir firmly denied, "No, I haven''t. How could I join pirates?"
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"Ace? What a stupid name. Is it delicious?"
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Far away at the island''s harbor, Ace, who was choosing a pirate ship, suddenly sneezed several times in a row.
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Rubbing his nose, Ace grumbled, "Damit! Luffy must be cursing me behind my back again!"
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Seeing Noir''s innocent and confused expression, Tashigi was a bit unsure.
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She hesitated and said, "This is Captain Smoker''s order. You must come with us now!"
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Noir shrugged indifferently and said, "Let''s go. I haven''t been paid yet."
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Tashigi sheathed her sword, and the soldiers lowered their weapons, though Tashigi still gripped his arm tightly to prevent him from escaping.
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Hmm...
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Tashigi wanted to grab his shoulder, but the guy was too big...
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From a distance, they didn''t look like a soldier arresting a criminal, but rather like a mafia boss strolling with his little wife.
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Noir walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, while Tashigi followed close behind, looking serious and "demure".
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The townspeople watched the odd couple with curiosity and whispered:
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"Is Ma''am Tashigi in love?"
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"My crush! My heart is broken!"
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"That guy''s really good-looking, isn''t he?"
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Although they spoke softly, Noir heard them clearly with his advanced observation haki.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
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Noir said helplessly, "Can we keep some distance? This looks too ambiguous."
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Tashigi glared at him and said, "We haven''t confirmed if you''re a criminal yet. I can''t let go!"
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Fine.
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That girl is so stubborn, isn''t she?
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"The host has met an important character. Rewards will be issued: One pair of color-changing flashy sunglasses and ten White Talent copy cards."
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Huh?
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Hearing the familiar system prompt, Noir raised an eyebrow in surprise.
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Getting caught counts as meeting someone?
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What are these Color-Changing Flashy Sunglasses? The name sounds cool though.
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Noir eagerly looked at the sunglasses in the system room, while deeply questioning the usefulness of the white copy cards the system gave him.
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What good is a white talent copy card?
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Considering Noir''s current strength, white talents were of no use to him.
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Sensing Noir''s dissatisfaction, the system was silent for a long time before speaking again: "System functions detected insufficient for host. Commencing upgrade!"
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"System upgrade will take 72 hours. During this time, the copy function will be unavailable."
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What?!
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I complained enough that the system is upgrading?
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Noir was overjoyed. The system had been a great help in making him stronger. An upgrade should provide more services, right?
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Only three days? No problem.
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The news of the system upgrade put Noir in a good mood, even making the girl with glasses next to him look prettier.
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While Noir was successfully "arrested" by the Marine, Ace ran into some trouble.
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Everything had gone smoothly. Ace and his two companions had chosen a ready-built ship, even paid for it, and only needed to change its appearance a bit before setting sail.
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But Ace, being Ace, insisted on eating before the ship was ready, and as a result...
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Ace''s bounty poster had just been distributed by the Navy!
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A bounty of 40 million berries, and the information on it was from before Ace had eaten the Flame Fruit.
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Who knows what Ace had done before that...
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The moment Ace entered the city and walked into a restaurant, he was recognized and a large contingent of Marines came after him.
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With a swarm of Marines chasing them, Deuce yelled in frustration, "Why did Ace''s bounty poster have to come out now?!"
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Dodging the barrage of bullets behind him, Skull yelled, "The Marines have too much firepower!"
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With bullet holes sometimes appearing through the flames on his body, Ace said cheerfully, "I think it''s okay."
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"That''s because they can''t hit you!" Deuce and Skull shouted angrily at the carefree Ace.
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As the three fled, they suddenly saw a man on a flashy, smoking motorcycle blocking their way.
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The man raised a strange looking weapon and charged straight at Ace.
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Ace watched the man attack him and remained indifferent. After all, his Logia ability made him immune to physical attacks.
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But to Ace''s astonishment, the Marine''s weapon didn''t penetrate his body as expected.
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The Jutte''s slammed into Ace''s chest, shaking his internal organs.
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Blood rushed to his mouth, but Ace forced it back down.
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Wiping his mouth, Ace clutched his chest, the smile fading from his face, and stared coldly at the cigar-chomping man before him.
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The smoker, exhaling white smoke, looked at Ace with disdain and said, "Pirate Ace, so you ate a Logia Devil Fruit, too."
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"But it doesn''t matter. No pirate from the East Blue can get past me!"
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High-temperature flames erupted from Ace''s body, a sunny smile on his face, but his eyes were like those of a predator.
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"Is that so? But I''m going through!!"
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The flames intensified, and Ace''s body seemed to explode with fiery power, the flames attacking like the fangs of a demon.
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Smoker snorted coldly, his body shrouded in white smoke, surging forward to meet the flames.
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For a moment, smoke and fire intertwined, like two ferocious beasts tearing at each other.
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The elemental storm of fire and smoke grew larger, reaching the sky, visible to everyone in the city.
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Noir, who had been teasing Tashigi, saw the spectacular scene and suddenly remembered that Ace and Smoker had fought in the original story.
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But wasn''t that supposed to happen three years later?
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"Did I time travel again?"