After returning home, Azrael sat down to calculate his accumulated wealth. His fingers drummed against the desk as he tallied everything up.
The eleven copies of the Black Iron-level Rookie Pirate (Green) card would fetch around 220,000 on the market. His unused Black Iron-level [Flesh Demon] (Gold) card was valued at around 600,000. Combined with his previous savings, he had roughly 1.2 million in total assets.
Azrael stared at the final number, genuinely stunned. In both his lifetimes combined, he had never possessed this much money. The sheer magnitude of it felt surreal.
Of course, this kind of wealth accumulation was extraordinarily rare among Black Iron-level Lore Cardians. After all, the ability to craft red-quality cards was practically unheard of at his level. An ordinary Black Iron Lore Cardian who could only produce blue-quality cards would never accumulate wealth this rapidly. It's no wonder the Crimson Oath Society found it so easy to bribe cash-strapped Lore Cardians in the past; most of them struggled financially.
Pushing aside these thoughts, Azrael uploaded his surplus materials to the trading website and began browsing for what he needed. He already knew exactly which card he wanted to create next.
His eyes lit up when he spotted the perfect material: Bronze-level "The King's Chosen Person" (Purple), priced at 880,000. Unfortunately, he didn't have quite enough cash on hand, so he'd need to negotiate.
Azrael took a picture of his Blood Demon (Gold) card and wrote a private message to the seller.
"Hello there! I'd like to trade this material—see attached picture—plus 300,000 cash for your 'The King's Chosen Person.' Would that work for you?"
After sending the message, Azrael settled in to wait for a response, anticipation building.
The reply came faster than expected, a single word: "Yes."
Azrael's offer was roughly 10,000 to 20,000 higher than the listed price, so the seller's quick agreement made sense. Within minutes, the transaction was complete using the Jeju delivery service.
Holding the [King's Chosen Person] (Purple) material in his hands, Azrael couldn't suppress a satisfied grin. Everything was finally in place. It was time to begin the card creation process.
Azrael focused intently as he began sketching on the blank card. His hand moved with practiced precision as he drew a boy wearing a distinctive straw hat, red vest, and blue shorts. The character's face bore a silly smile that radiated both innocence and determination.
As his mental power enveloped the material, the familiar sensation washed over him and he found himself once again transported into that dark, mysterious space.
[Please start compiling your story.]
Azrael took a deep breath and began weaving the narrative that would bring the card to life.
Luffy was born in Windmill Village in the East Blue.
From childhood, he endured brutal training under his grandfather, Garp, a vice admiral of the Navy. Garp harbored dreams of molding his grandson into the strongest naval officer.
By chance, Luffy encountered the red-haired Shanks, one of the Four Pirate Emperors, during the latter's stay in Windmill Village. The two formed an unlikely but deep friendship.
During Shanks's visit, Luffy became enraged when the pirate captain refused to respond to the insults thrown by the bandit king, Shiki. In his emotional state, Luffy accidentally consumed the Gum-Gum Fruit.
Seeking revenge against Sig, Luffy confronted the bandit and was thrown into the sea. Just in time, Shanks arrived and sacrificed his left arm to save Luffy from a fearsome sea beast.
When Shanks finally departed, Luffy made a solemn vow that he would become the Pirate King. Moved by the boy's determination, Shanks entrusted his precious straw hat to Luffy as a symbol of their bond.
At seventeen, Luffy finally set sail to pursue his dream.
Shortly after beginning his journey, Luffy encountered Coby, who was working as a reluctant handyman for the pirate Alvida. After defeating Alvida, the two traveled to Shells Town, where they met the captured swordsman Zoro. After defeating the corrupt Navy Captain Morgan, who had been abusing his authority, Luffy invited Zoro to join his crew.
In Orange Town, the group encountered the thief Nami. Together, they defeated the notorious pirate Buggy.
At Syrup Village, the Straw Hat Pirates exposed and defeated Kuro, a pirate masquerading as Kaya's butler while plotting her murder. During this adventure, they recruited Usopp, a sharpshooter, and acquired their first official pirate ship, the Going Merry.
Later, at the floating restaurant Baratie, Luffy met the cook, Sanji. While there, they faced off against Don Krieg, the notorious East Blue overlord. However, this period also marked a devastating moment: Zoro challenged the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, and suffered a crushing defeat that left him gravely wounded.
After Sanji joined their crew, they sailed to Nami's hometown, Cocoyasi Village.
In Cocoyasi Village, Luffy learned the tragic truth about Nami's past. True to his word, Luffy confronted and defeated Arlong, the fishman who had been terrorizing the village through his corrupt alliance with the local Navy Branch. This victory earned Luffy his first bounty: 30 million berries.
At this point in the narrative, the card floating before Azrael began to emit a soft, pulsing light, the signal from the mysterious space that his story had gained initial recognition.
Azrael exhaled slowly as relief flooded through him. Then he pressed on with Luffy's tale.
When Robin suddenly left the crew, Luffy made an instant, unwavering decision: He would bring her back, no matter the cost. He led his crew straight to Enies Lobby and boldly declared war on the World Government to rescue his nakama.
On Enies Lobby, facing overwhelming odds, Luffy unlocked new levels of his Gum-Gum Fruit's power, developing both "Gear Second" and "Gear Third." These new techniques allowed him to successfully rescue Robin from the government's clutches.
The story concluded there, and Azrael waited with bated breath for the final judgment of the mysterious space.
He lacked neither the desire nor the ability to continue; he could clearly feel the material's limitations. The power required to depict Luffy's later adventures as part of the Worst Generation or his rise to the status of Sea Emperor far exceeded what Bronze-level materials could handle.
Still, Azrael was genuinely satisfied with what he had accomplished. The "Gear Third" technique, based on its original manga performance, clearly surpassed typical Bronze-level capabilities. Getting the mysterious space to accept such power at this tier was no small feat.
After what felt like an eternity, Azrael found himself back in reality.
For a brief, almost ethereal moment, he seemed to glimpse the optimistic, cheerful boy whose magnificent maritime adventures he had just chronicled. The vision felt so real that he could almost hear the crash of waves and the cry of seagulls.
Then, his attention focused on the card floating before him, finally complete.
[Straw Hat Luffy]
Rank: Bronze
Quality: Red
Category: Biological
Skills:
Gum-Gum Fruit: After consuming the Gum-Gum Fruit, Luffy's body gained the properties of rubber. He can stretch and rebound any part of his body at will, and he is significantly resistant to blunt force attacks and completely immune to lightning-based damage.
[Gear Second]: Luffy increases his blood circulation to superhuman levels, entering an enhanced state. While in this state, his speed, strength, and reflexes are dramatically amplified.
Gear Third: Luffy can enlarge specific body parts to gigantic proportions by inflating air into his bone structure. These colossal attacks deliver devastating destructive power; however, using this technique forces Luffy into a cooldown period afterward.
Features:
[Emperor's Recognition]: A Sea Emperor has acknowledged Luffy's potential and has literally bet his future on the boy's success. Luffy receives comprehensive stat bonuses when facing any pirate-type enemy.
[Survival Instinct]: When pushed to the brink of death, Luffy experiences a surge of strength and temporarily enters peak condition, gaining brief immunity to fatal damage.
[Eternal Optimist]: Luffy's naturally cheerful and optimistic nature renders him immune to negative emotional effects below Silver rank.
Introduction: "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
Evolution Path: Bronze [Straw Hat Luffy] → Gold [Worst Generation Luffy] → Diamond [Four Emperors Luffy]
Bond Effects:
When deployed alongside Ace and related cards: Activates Windmill Village Three Brothers.
When deployed alongside Zoro and related cards: Activates "Straw Hat Pirates."
Azrael stared at the completed card, amazement flooding through him as he processed the Gear Third ability. He hadn't expected the mysterious space to recognize such a powerful technique. In the original story, Gear Third attacks could sink Navy warships with a single blow.
Even with the cooldown limitation built into the card's mechanics, it remained an undeniably devastating finishing move.
Azrael suppressed his excitement and carefully summoned Luffy.