Chapter 205: Flying Man in the Sky
When he saw that what had been swapped out was actually a Zanpakutō, Ian immediately sensed something was off.
Previously, Ian had drawn two consecutive cards from the Bleach series. He hadn’t looked too closely at the Uryū Ishida card, but he had used Orihime Inoue’s card, so he knew its attributes and skills.
One characteristic of Orihime Inoue’s card was that her skills required a specific exclusive treasure to activate.
Conversely, Orihime Inoue’s exclusive treasure, Shun Shun Rikka, was useless to Ian without the corresponding card!
So, when he swapped out this Sode no Shirayuki, Ian’s heart skipped a beat.
He guessed that even if he wanted to use this Zanpakutō, he would need the corresponding card to do so—meaning he had to draw Rukia Kuchiki’s card!
With this doubt in mind, Ian confirmed the swap and took out the Sode no Shirayuki Zanpakutō.
[Sode no Shirayuki]
Star Rating: Four Stars
Rukia Kuchiki’s Exclusive Treasure
Strength +80
Psychic Power +120
Initial Release: Temporarily boosts all attributes by 300% and grants a special skill. Requires a four-star Rukia Kuchiki card to use.
Final Release: Temporarily boosts all attributes by 800% and grants a special skill. Requires an upgraded five-star exclusive treasure and a five-star Rukia Kuchiki card to use.
Sure enough, after seeing Sode no Shirayuki’s attributes, Ian immediately understood.
Unlike the Enma Sword, Sode no Shirayuki’s attributes displayed the stats after upgrading to five stars, but similarly, stronger attributes required a higher-level card to use.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the ultimate skill obtainable from Rukia Kuchiki’s five-star card should be the Final Release.
It was even possible that all Bleach series cards followed this principle, with ultimate skills tied to exclusive Zanpakutō treasures.
Ian figured this was related to the original work, because in the Bleach manga, the most memorable elements were these Zanpakutō weapons—it was a rare manga where weapons were the selling point.
However, it seemed Zanpakutō couldn’t materialize characters, likely because the system couldn’t create souls. If it could materialize them, this system wouldn’t be a money pit but a true divine artifact.
Whether it was the Initial Release or Final Release, Zanpakutō treasures boosted all attribute abilities, likely corresponding to higher-intensity spiritual pressure. This was somewhat similar to Ian’s devouring of the Flame-Killing Black Dragon Wave, both being burst-type abilities, except devouring the Black Dragon Wave only boosted Psychic Power, while Zanpakutō boosted all attributes.
This didn’t mean the Black Dragon Wave was weaker than a sword; Ian suspected there might be a difference.
The Psychic Power boosted by the Black Dragon Wave had no time limit—Ian could keep it as long as he wanted, provided his body could handle it. But Initial Release and Final Release were different; they likely had time limits and might even consume a large amount of Ian’s physical stamina.
After studying the card system for so long, Ian had figured out that the system, with its usual nature, wouldn’t let a single exclusive treasure or card make you invincible. Although these treasures or cards allowed Ian to use original skills, the power of those skills still depended on Ian’s final Psychic Power output. At most, they were like the Black Dragon Wave or Railgun, which had higher starting points due to their Logia attributes.
Sode no Shirayuki was an ice-type Zanpakutō, hailed as the most beautiful Zanpakutō in the Soul Society. In Ian’s hands, it indeed looked very elegant.
However, without Rukia Kuchiki’s card, even the most beautiful Zanpakutō was useless.
Moreover, with the shadow of Orihime Inoue’s card, Ian was now extremely cautious about choosing female card characters. Although Sode no Shirayuki looked beautiful, it wasn’t suitable for Ian.
If Ian were as handsome as the so-called Pirate Prince Cavendish, using this sword might be fine, but the problem was, Ian wasn’t that handsome…
Comparatively, if he really wanted to choose an ice-type Zanpakutō, Ian would prefer Hyōrinmaru. After his ten-draw sessions, he had accumulated several Hyōrinmaru fragments. With a few more, he might be able to synthesize it.
Among Ian’s current skills, he already had three Logia-type abilities: one for fire (Iori’s Crimson Flame and Hiei’s Demon World Flame), one for lightning (Misaka’s ability), and one for wind (Yasuo’s ability). If he added an ice-type skill, he’d almost have a full set of Logia abilities.
In this One Piece world, Logia Devil Fruit users were often highly regarded, and for good reason. The unique elemental damage and the suppression effect against ability users could sometimes be decisive. If Ian hadn’t been able to use flame abilities back then, he might not have been able to injure Aokiji.
Still, Sode no Shirayuki was the first Zanpakutō Ian had encountered. Through it, he understood the general attributes of Zanpakutō. It had to be said that Zanpakutō were the most suitable exclusive treasures for Ian, as they came with special attributes.
Although the Enma Sword also had special attributes, it required upgrading to the maximum to unlock. It was usable in the mid-game, but in the late game, it required a heavy investment of diamonds.
Let’s try swapping again. If he could swap out Tensa Zangetsu or Senbonzakura, that would be perfect.
Thinking this, Ian put Sode no Shirayuki away and started swapping again. Unexpectedly, the next swap yielded a katana with a cherry-blossom-pink hilt!
Senbonzakura!?
Damn! Was his luck really this good? Could it be that after the sister’s, the brother’s would come next?
Ian pinched his thigh hard and felt pain, confirming he wasn’t dreaming!
He quickly confirmed the swap and took out the sword, holding it in his hand.
Senbonzakura’s length was no different from the Enma Sword, and its weight was similar, so Ian, accustomed to the Enma Sword, found it very comfortable.
Gently drawing Senbonzakura from its sheath, Ian heard a humming sound.
The blade was quite strange. Though made of metal, it appeared somewhat translucent, as if made of cherry blossom petals.
Checking the attributes, Ian found it was as he expected. This Senbonzakura Zanpakutō had similar attributes to Sode no Shirayuki, boosting Strength and Speed, followed by Initial Release and Final Release skills. The former required a four-star Byakuya Kuchiki card, while the latter required upgrading the Zanpakutō and a five-star Byakuya Kuchiki card.
With two consecutive Zanpakutō appearing, Ian was a bit stunned. Was the system forcing him to draw a Byakuya Kuchiki card?
Regardless, Ian decided not to continue swapping for now. He would use Senbonzakura for a while. Luck might only last a short time; if he kept swapping and his luck ran out, he might end up with some random exclusive treasure.
Since he was about to reach Level 20 and unlock a new card slot, Ian had been hesitating about which card to add. Now, he didn’t have to worry—he could use Byakuya Kuchiki’s card.
As Ian’s cards increased, he would inevitably face the issue of deck composition. He would keep some cards with special skills for substitution, but how to combine the six cards in his slots was something he needed to consider.
Just as Ian was thinking about whether to do another ten-draw for cards, he suddenly heard the lookout on the mast shout, “Captain Ian, there’s something in the sky!”
Hearing this, Ian temporarily stopped interacting with the system in his mind, looked up, and gazed at the sky ahead.
It was quite clear. Under the blue sky, a small black dot was moving slowly in the distance, gradually growing larger.
“What is that? A seabird?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. What seabird flies that slowly?”
“Could it be a thundercloud?”
“Even less likely. There’s not much wind right now. Even a small thundercloud needs wind to move.”
The Dragon Hunter Pirates, hearing the shout, also looked up and started discussing.
The lookout on the mast had the farthest view. He raised his binoculars and kept observing. After a while, he exclaimed in surprise, “Captain, that thing in the sky looks like a person. Not only that, but there’s another person on his back!”
“A person? Flying in the sky?” Everyone was stunned.
Ian was also puzzled. “An ability user? A Zoan flying type?”
In Ian’s general impression, someone who could fly directly in the sky while carrying another person might be like Pell, the deputy commander of the Alabasta royal guard, who had the Bird-Bird Fruit, Falcon Model.
Flying types were said to be rare Devil Fruits. Most had heard of them, so when Ian said this, everyone became even more curious.
Fujitora also came out of the cabin. Though blind, his powerful Observation Haki might sense it, but it was too far, and Fujitora didn’t want to waste the effort. He just asked Ian, “Do you think it’s an enemy?”
“I don’t know!” Ian was also uncertain. In the New World, encountering a few Devil Fruit users wasn’t strange, and they weren’t necessarily enemies. However, they had faced quite a few attacks recently, so Ian wasn’t sure.
Just then, the lookout suddenly shouted, “Eh!? Their speed seems to have increased. They’re flying toward us!”
Everyone looked and saw it was true. The black dot was growing larger, a sign of rapid approach.
“Be careful. If they’re enemies, counterattack!” Ian said solemnly.
“Uh!” Dorry beside him scratched his head in confusion. “Captain, they’re flying in the sky. How do we counterattack?”
Ian was also stunned. Right, an enemy in the sky—how to counterattack? Raise the cannons and fire upward?