Chapter 219

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Staring at the man with golden hair, surrounded by a Super Saiyan aura that seemed to shake the very heavens and earth, Zyhark's normally calm demeanor was shattered. His eyes widened in disbelief.

What? This damn Wishing Pool actually managed to summon Kakarot?!

The unexpected surprise made him so excited he could hardly contain himself. If Kakarot really became his companion, wouldn't conquering the One Piece world be as easy as breathing?

But standing within the dazzling light, Kakarot himself was equally bewildered by suddenly finding himself in a strange place.

Crunch.

The sound of shattering stone echoed out. The Wishing Pool on the ground began to show visible cracks, like a spider web spreading across its surface at an alarming speed. Even the mystical liquid inside the pool began to boil violently.

Boom! Under Zyhark's astonished gaze, as if unable to withstand the overwhelming power of Kakarot, the Wishing Pool shattered instantly.

The light faded, the divine liquid flowed away, and Kakarot's gradually solidifying form dispersed, vanishing into thin air.

[The target exceeds the load limit. This wish has failed.]

[Attempting to restart the system. Restart failed.]

[Beginning version update... Update successful.]

Zing! The broken Wishing Pool suddenly emitted a rainbow-colored light, blinding Zyhark, Meowth, and the others.

Somewhere in the ether, an indescribable and peculiar energy swirled, rapidly converging on the central point.

As the rainbow light gradually dimmed, the cool sea breeze swept across the desolate island's coast.

A shimmering dimensional orb appeared.

[Wishing Pool 2.0 (This update has fixed some bugs)]

[Conditions for summoning have been confirmed. Initiating summoning of a non-standard companion from another dimension.]

Zyhark: "???"

So, after the update, it's not even going to bother with the superficial task of allowing me to edit the entry?

Fine, fine, you lousy cheat! You're not even pretending anymore, huh?

However, the Wishing Pool was merely a soulless, emotionless tool, indifferent to Zyhark's internal outburst.

In fact, the time Zyhark had to complain was short-lived.

As soon as the mechanical prompt ended, the surface of the Wishing Pool orb began to emit a scorching light rivaling the sun.

Space ripples spread in all directions, forming a gateway connecting to another dimension.

From deep within the portal, a frail-looking figure cautiously peeked around, hesitating before finally stepping through, taking his first steps into the One Piece world, and standing before Zyhark and the others.

This man was no more than 165 centimeters tall, with short, unremarkable hair. His outdated glasses obscured his timid eyes, and beneath them was a rather peculiar little mustache.

His clothes, loose and ill-fitting for his small frame, fluttered gently in the night sea breeze.

The biting cold made Escanor instinctively pull his baggy leisurewear tighter around himself as he shrank into a ball.

Looking at this man who seemed to have nothing to do with the word "strong," Zyhark's eye twitched, and he fell into a brief silence.

Could this really be Escanor, the Lion's Sin of Pride from The Seven Deadly Sins? The same man who, at noon, declared, "I am the one who stands above all others," and was known as the strongest human?

Sure enough, even after a version upgrade, the Wishing Pool couldn't provide a flawless SSR…

Recognizing the man as Escanor, Zyhark let out a sigh of relief.

Setting aside the fact that he was practically useless at night, Escanor was an incredibly reliable companion, one who would burn his life to protect his friends.

"Are you the one whose mysterious voice guided me here?" The frail Escanor nervously raised his head. After glancing quickly at Zyhark and the others, he hastily averted his eyes, clearly uncomfortable.

Despite being known as the Sin of Pride, this version of Escanor was timid and lacked confidence, especially when faced with unfamiliar people.

"That's right. We can discuss the details on our ship."

Zyhark smiled warmly, extending his hand toward Escanor. "Welcome to the team, Escanor."

"Huh? You—you know me?" Escanor was startled, and his glasses trembled along with him.

For some reason, there was something about Zyhark's smile that gave him a strange, cunning vibe.

Thinking back on the strange experiences that brought him to this new world, and desperate not to be seen as a monster, Escanor followed his instincts and reached out his slender hand to shake Zyhark's.

"Th-thank you for the invitation, but my power is too dangerous. You'd be better off keeping your distance," he said, quickly pulling his hand back.

"Meow-hahaha, a man with a sense of humor! I think I'm going to like this new guy, meow," Meowth quipped, placing his hands on his hips.

Considering all the times he'd witnessed Admirals and Yonko going all out in battle, the frail-looking Escanor seemed overly confident—arrogant, even.

Or more accurately, overly confident in himself.

Given his current state, even Meowth, who considered himself the weakest on the ship, could probably push him around!

"A—a talking cat?!" Escanor was startled by Meowth's sudden comment.

"Idiot! I'm not a cat—I'm Meowth, the adorable Pokémon who stands for evil, love and justice, meow!"

Meowth immediately bristled, baring his teeth to correct him.

"Evil, love and justice… adorable villain?" Escanor scratched his head, his face full of confusion.

"Meowth, his situation is a bit special," Zyhark interjected, stopping Meowth from flying into a rage.

Escanor, blessed with the power of the sun, experienced dramatic changes in his personality, physique, and strength depending on the time of day.

The simplest way to describe it was:

Night: I'm sorry for being born human.

Morning: Would you like to dance with me?

Noon: I am the one who stands above all others!

Although Zyhark wasn't sure whether Escanor's magic would be weakened by crossing into another world, just like Aqua's, based on Escanor's tone and demeanor, it didn't seem like the impact would be significant.

No amount of explanation would be as effective as a firsthand demonstration. By noon tomorrow, Meowth should understand what Escanor meant.

For now, though, it was better to give their new companion a sense of the power at their disposal.

"Kanna, that mountain over there is blocking the view. Can you help clear it for me?"

Zyhark bent down to pat Kanna on the head, adding, "Be careful with the power; don't disturb the animals on the island."

"Got it, Zyhark!"

Kanna raised her small hand like an eager student in class, her adorable face filled with determination.

"W-wait, I don't quite understand—this little girl…"

Whoosh! A sudden gust of wind interrupted Escanor's words. His bespectacled eyes widened in shock as he watched the white dragon take flight.

Kanna, in her dragon form, wasn't playing around. She began charging a devastating electromagnetic blast in her mouth.

With a powerful exhale, the purple lightning sphere transformed into a blinding beam of destruction.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed, followed by a shockwave that swept across the island. Flames soared into the sky, forming a massive mushroom cloud in the night.

When Escanor looked again, the once towering mountain had completely vanished, revealing the deep, dark sea beyond—it had been vaporized!

The sight was so overwhelming that Escanor collapsed to the ground with a thud. This was the first time he'd ever seen a "monster" capable of wielding such power aside from his noon form!

(Here, Escanor is depicted as he was before joining the Seven Deadly Sins, during his period of self-imposed exile from humanity.)

"Done!"

Kanna landed back on the ground, reverting to her harmless little girl form.

"Zyhark, mission accomplished!"

"Good job, Kanna."

"Grr…"

Kanna clenched her small fists, her cheeks puffing out in frustration.

Clearly, this wasn't the kind of response she had wanted after eagerly seeking praise.

Zyhark blinked in confusion for a moment.

Noticing her reaction, he quickly knelt down, patted her head, and gave her a thumbs-up. "That was amazing, Kanna! You did an excellent job!"

"Hehe, of course I did~"

Only then did Kanna beam with satisfaction, her cute smile finally returning.

She's still just a child at heart…

After soothing Kanna, Zyhark stood up and turned to the small man before him.

"So, Escanor, do you have a better idea now of the power we possess as your new companions?"

"If that's still not enough, then…"

Zyhark's eyes narrowed as his raised fingers sparked with bright electricity.

Zap, zap, zap!

A terrifying rumble of thunder suddenly echoed in the once-quiet night sky. A second later, lightning bolts exploded in the sky, illuminating the darkness.

Massive bolts of lightning struck down from above, shaking the entire island to its core!

"This…" Escanor stared in disbelief at the apocalyptic scene before him.

It was clear that this kind of catastrophic power belonged to the young man with the smile on his face!

For a moment, Escanor couldn't tell who the real monster was…

In a daze, Escanor followed Zyhark back onto the Endless Dream, still trying to process everything.

"What, you're back already?"

To Zyhark's surprise, the goddess who had been sleeping like a dead pig earlier was now fully revived, lounging on the couch, casually munching on fried chicken and sipping on a cold cola.

"A miracle, Aqua. You're actually still alive?" Zyhark said, feigning astonishment.

"Hey, hey, don't say things like that! For a reliable goddess who climbed out of bed because she was worried about her followers' safety after hearing the thunder, that's really hurtful, you know!"

Aqua lazily sucked on her fingers, a string of crystal-clear grease trailing behind.

"So your idea of concern is lying here and eating?" Zyhark retorted.

"T-this is a sign of absolute trust in you!" Aqua jumped up, blushing as she tried to defend herself.

Thanks to her outburst, she finally noticed the unassuming figure standing among the others—Escanor.

"Huh? Is this little guy the new companion from the summoning?"

Aqua had known a new companion would arrive soon since they left Fishman Island to retrieve the Poneglyph from Buggy.

As a result, she was naturally very curious about Escanor.

"This little guy looks like a weakling."

Aqua walked up to Escanor and poked his soft muscles with her finger. "Hey, where did you come from?"

"Never mind that. Do you want to become a devout follower of this goddess and join the Axis Cult?"

Escanor: "…"

Strangely, every cell in his body was screaming that he should stay away from this blue-eyed beauty.

"Alright, alright, enough of that. Let's start with introductions," Zyhark interjected, signaling Aqua to stop her recruitment pitch.

Since they were now partners in adventure, it was important to familiarize Escanor with the basic structure and situation of the One Piece world.

And so, the group gathered around the coffee table in the main hall and began chatting.

With the lively and entertaining Aqua, Escanor quickly warmed up to the team.

Especially when he mentioned his skill in bartending, which caused the goddess's eyes to light up with excitement.

"Not bad, not bad! I, the goddess, approve of you! From now on, I've got your back!" Aqua said, thumping her chest with unwavering confidence.

Even though the idiot goddess didn't really believe that this frail man had much combat ability, anyone who could make good booze was a lifelong friend in her book!

To this, Zyhark could only sigh, "As expected of you."

The night ended with the usual celebration of their new companion joining the crew.

By the time they finished their drinks, Escanor had become part of the team.

Late that night, after arranging a place for Escanor to sleep, Zyhark found himself alone on the deck, staring up at the starry sky.

Of course, he wasn't just out here to enjoy the breeze.

Focusing his attention inward, he looked at the Wishing Orb floating in his spiritual world, radiating a mysterious light.

Aside from summoning powerful companions, the other significant feature of this cheat device was the ability to enhance his own powers.

And now was the time to claim that "victory prize"!

[The summoner has successfully accepted the summoned individual. The transaction is complete. You may choose one of the following three abilities:]

[Wrath's Sin·Rebound: Strengthen your power, reflecting all attacks directed at you back at the enemy (usable twice a day)]

[Lust's Sin·Invasion: Strengthen your mental powers, gaining the ability to read, invade, and alter the enemy's memories and thoughts (your emotions will be stripped away)]

[Greed's Sin·Plunder: Strengthen your healing abilities and physical prowess, allowing you to gradually steal your opponent's strength during battle and convert it into your own (you will suffer multiple times the backlash after the fight ends)]

(End of Chapter)