Author: Xiao Yifeng
Translator: PapaSmurf0700
In his previous life, Bai Ye had been moved to tears watching Luffy invite his crewmates to join him. What an incredible thing it must be, he had thought, to be one of Luffy's companions. Now, standing before the boy himself, receiving that very same invitation, Bai Ye was momentarily stunned into silence.
"My name is Luffy! Monkey D. Luffy! The man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy declared, his voice ringing with the same childish, unwavering conviction from the stories. It was a simple line, but for Bai Ye and the terrified Koby standing nearby, it landed with the weight of destiny. In that moment, they both knew, with absolute certainty, that this boy could actually do it.
Bai Ye didn't hesitate. An opportunity like this, a literal dream made real, was not something to be squandered.
"Okay!" he replied, his voice filled with an enthusiasm that matched Luffy's own. "I have no family and no friends in this world. And since you're going to be the Pirate King and you've invited me to be your partner..."
This time, Bai Ye offered no formal salute. He stood tall, looking Luffy directly in the eye with a newfound confidence.
"...then let's set sail together, Captain!"
"Yosh!" Luffy cheered, pumping a fist into his other palm. "I found my first crewmate! I knew this would be easy! Now we just need some more people. A musician is a must!"
"Right! You can't have a proper pirate banquet without music!"
"Hahaha! Bai Ye, you're the best!"
Luffy's whimsical train of thought didn't faze Bai Ye in the slightest. He just looked at his new captain with a warm, admiring smile. Koby, on the other hand, was still struggling to process the sheer insanity of the situation.
If a narrator had been present, they might have described the scene as such: In Koby's eyes, two certified lunatics stood before him. One declared his ambition to conquer the seas and invited a total stranger to join him; the other accepted with joyous abandon. Koby felt the very foundations of his worldview cracking under the strain.
But neither Luffy nor Bai Ye paid the perplexed boy any mind. They were already focused on the grand adventure ahead.
For Bai Ye, the choice was simple logic. Considering the major powers in this world, joining the Straw Hats was the only path that made sense. Becoming a standard pirate was a fool's game in a world ruled by monsters. A bounty hunter's life was one of solitude and endless enemies. The Revolutionary Army held no interest for him, and joining the Marines would eventually mean protecting the Celestial Dragons—a task he found utterly revolting.
That left the Straw Hat Pirates. A crew that bore the name of pirates but marched to the beat of a much different drum. Besides, the benefits were undeniable.
First, Luffy's unwavering loyalty to his crew meant Bai Ye would never be treated as disposable. Second, since the entire grand story was told from Luffy's perspective, Bai Ye essentially possessed a roadmap of the future. Third, Luffy was destined for greatness. With a grandfather like Garp and a father like Dragon, the boy was practically royalty in the world of power.
There was simply no reason to decline.
With his decision made, Bai Ye turned his focus inward, to the Taomen Jilu now residing in his mind. As he explored its contents, his eyes widened with excitement. It was a complete collection of Daoist arts, from ancient to modern.
It contained everything: the Eight Trigrams, the Five Elements, the secrets of Fenghou Qimen, the legendary Golden Light Curse and Thunder Method of Longhu Mountain, the talisman arts of Maoshan, and even the esoteric practices of alchemy and weapon refinement.
He couldn't instantly master these techniques, but he could enter the compendium's inner world, a place where the flow of time could be manipulated. This was his greatest advantage, a way to gain precious time before Luffy's journey inevitably led them to truly formidable foes.
The book had also granted him a "novice gift package": a seed of innate energy. He had already noticed his enhanced physical strength since arriving in this world, a product of his body's natural internal force, or qi. But that was nothing. The difference between his current qi and true innate energy was the difference between a martial artist and an immortal.
The Compendium had given him the seed. By catalyzing it with his existing internal force, he could transmute his body's energy into a higher-level power, dramatically increasing his strength in a short amount of time.
Armed with this new knowledge and a clear path forward, Bai Ye looked at his captain. "Luffy," he said, his expression serious. "There's something I need your help with."