"Attribute Seeds…"
Following Red's gesture, the Straw Hat crew immediately focused their gazes on the four Attribute Seeds resting on the table.
Ice, Fighting, Ghost, Dragon…
Mystical items capable of granting additional attributes to anyone—or any Pokémon!
Judging from everyone's past performances, it was already clear that attributes recorded by the system's information panel were far more than simple access to a single type of Pokémon energy.
Sanji, who possessed the Fire attribute, could naturally generate flames.Nami, with the Flying attribute, had an almost inhuman sensitivity to air currents.Robin, endowed with the Psychic attribute, possessed mental strength far surpassing that of ordinary people…
In other words, any attribute worthy of being engraved into the information list inevitably came with unique and extraordinary abilities.
And now, these four items that could bestow attributes upon a person…
Everyone's eyes gleamed.
No one would ever refuse something that could make them stronger.
Still, everyone understood how priceless these items were. They had to be used on those who truly needed them most.
After a brief moment of thought, Robin—the Straw Hats' true intellectual core—was the first to speak.
"Since these are items that grant special abilities, I think the owner of the Dragon Crystal Seed has already been narrowed down to Luffy and Sanji."
"I remember you saying it before, Red… in the Pokémon world, the Dragon attribute represents supremacy and ultimate strength."
"Zoro already has the Dragon attribute, so he can't use it."
"Among us, I believe only Luffy and Sanji truly qualify for that title."
"Mm…"
Robin's words were met with unanimous agreement from the crew.
Although none of them liked admitting defeat, when it came to this matter, the Straw Hats' three main combatants all possessed an obsession worthy of being called "supreme."
The two people mentioned—Luffy and Sanji—blinked in confusion, then both turned to look at Red.
After thinking for a moment, Red nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. Those two are a perfect match for the Dragon attribute."
"In that case…"
Red reached out, picked up the Dragon Crystal Seed from the table, glanced briefly between Luffy and Sanji—then directly tossed it to Sanji.
"This Dragon Crystal Seed will be yours, Sanji!"
"That way, you'll have powerful Dragon-type energy, just like Zoro!"
"Tch~ Becoming like that moss-head, huh?"
Sanji caught the Dragon Crystal Seed without asking something pointless like why it wasn't given to Luffy.
If Red chose him, there had to be a reason.
What's more, Dragon and Fairy attributes were natural enemies.
Even this basic type advantage in the Pokémon system was something the Straw Hats now understood even better than Red himself.
In the entire Pokémon world, the only one to possess both Dragon and Fairy attributes at the same time was Mega-Evolved Altaria.
And as for Altaria's Dragon-type power…
Well—better not bring it up.
Compared to that, what Sanji cared about far more was Zoro's reaction.
"Heh, this works out nicely!"
"Once you and I share the same attribute, I can show you even more clearly…"
"Just how big the gap between us really is!"
Zoro grinned, staring at the Dragon Crystal Seed in Sanji's hand with a provocative smile.
"Hmph! That's my line!"
Sanji snorted. Without another moment's hesitation, and under everyone's watchful eyes, he swallowed the Dragon Crystal Seed in one gulp.
In an instant—
An overwhelmingly domineering surge of energy erupted violently from Sanji's body, like an awakened ancient ferocious beast roaring with boundless might.
Fortunately, Red had been prepared.
Relying on the machine rewards he had obtained after defeating the Elite Four and the Champion, Red unleashed an equally overwhelming Psychic power, instantly suppressing Sanji's aura and preventing it from affecting the surrounding tables and chairs.
Not long after, however, Red, Luffy, and Zoro all felt something and their eyes flashed at the same time.
"Huh!? This is—!?"
Before their exclamations could even fade, Sanji suddenly lifted his head and fixed his gaze straight ahead.
An even more violent and terrifying presence—carrying scorching heat—burst forth from his body once again.
Seeing this, Red immediately increased the output of his Psychic power, effortlessly suppressing Sanji's aura once more.
After all, this was merely an unstable release caused by sudden loss of control. It wasn't truly that powerful.
What truly shocked the three of them was—
Just now, Sanji had unintentionally released Conqueror's Haki!!!
The three exchanged glances, then nodded firmly.
There was no mistake!
That power Sanji had just unleashed was without a doubt the legendary Conqueror's Haki—something only one in a million people could ever possess!
While helping Sanji stabilize his aura, Red's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Even he hadn't expected that after obtaining the "supreme attribute" of Dragon, Sanji would awaken Conqueror's Haki.
What an unexpected delight.
After all…
Unlike Luffy and Zoro, who charged forward with unwavering ambition, Sanji was gentle by nature and always fought to protect others.
And with that kind of personality, Sanji was never supposed to awaken Conqueror's Haki.
Yet unexpectedly—
After using the Dragon Crystal Seed, Sanji had awakened Conqueror's Haki directly under the influence of the Dragon attribute.
Red didn't know whether this had anything to do with him personally, but for the Straw Hat Pirates, this was undeniably incredible news.
A single pirate crew with four Conqueror's Haki users…
Just imagining that lineup was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
With that thought, Red opened the machine interface and pulled up Sanji's information panel.
Sure enough, behind his [Fire] and [Fighting] attributes, there was now an additional entry—
[Dragon].
"As expected of something produced by the machine. It actually created an attribute configuration that doesn't even exist in the Pokémon world," Red said with a smile of satisfaction.
At the same time…
Zoro, sensing the aura emanating from Sanji, wore a complicated expression.
Seeing a crewmate grow stronger—even if it was Sanji, the guy he never got along with—still made him genuinely happy.
But…
"Damn it… this bastard just keeps getting stronger."
The thought that his own hard-earned Pokémon-ization had been copied by this idiot—and done even better than his own—made Zoro grind his teeth in frustration.
Moments later, under everyone's expectant gazes, Sanji slowly opened his eyes.
In that instant, a golden, blazing light flashed briefly across his pupils.
He looked around calmly, then tilted his head with a crooked smile, deliberately playing dumb.
"What's wrong, everyone?"
"Is there… something on my face?"
(End of Chapter)