"Hm… I've got 700,000 gold left. If I used it all to strengthen Robin…" Luffy stared at the long list of items in the system shop and gave a firm command:
"System, bring up the partner equipment tab."
[As you wish.]
With a flash of white light, six items appeared neatly before him.
Technically, it was one set of gear, but color-coded into two styles.
A pair of black glasses and a pair of white ones.
A black shirt and a white one.
A pair of black cloth shoes and a white pair.
Luffy scratched his head and gave a dry chuckle.
"This feels kinda random…"
He tapped on the black glasses with his thoughts.
[Partner Equipment – Head]
Stamina +10
Strength +10
Price: 10,000 gold
He checked the white glasses next.
[Partner Equipment – Head]
Agility +10
Mental Power +10
Price: 10,000 gold
Luffy couldn't help but frown. Not only were the designs basic, but even the item names were plain. The only thing not half-baked was the price.
The remaining four items followed the same logic:
[Partner Equipment – Body] and [Partner Equipment – Feet], each with black versions that boosted stamina and strength, and white ones that boosted agility and Mental Power.
Luffy eyed the simplistic icons in the store with doubt.
"Would Robin even wear something this ugly?" She might just reject it altogether.
"Well, let's test it first."
He spent 10,000 gold on the black glasses, the only piece he thought didn't look completely awful.
Pulling it from his inventory, he found himself holding a pair of round, Harry Potter-style glasses.
Surprisingly, they were weightless.
"System, how do I enhance this? Is it the same as using an Evolution Stone?" Luffy asked, trying the glasses on and off.
[After purchasing equipment, the host can access the Partner Equipment screen to equip, enhance, star-up, and evolve items.]
"Partner screen, huh…"
Luffy opened the partner tab. Sure enough, next to Zoro, Nami, and Robin's headgear slots was a flashing little "+" symbol.
Clicking Robin's, a window popped up to select available equipment. Naturally, only the black glasses were listed.
He equipped them.
Instantly, the glasses adjusted size, reshaping slightly to fit Robin's facial features more naturally.
Back in the shop, Luffy bought a single Enhancement Stone and applied it.
[Ding! Enhancement successful.]
The system chime rang out, but the glasses themselves didn't change.
Luffy checked the item info. The only visible change? The name now read:
[Partner Equipment – Head (+1)]
"No attribute changes?" Luffy frowned. "Didn't it say enhancing made it stronger?"
[Enhancing increases stats by 1% per level. If the increase is less than 1, it won't be displayed. For significant changes, it is recommended to raise both star level and rank before enhancing.]
"Star upgrades, huh?" Luffy gritted his teeth. He bought five Star Stones and one Evolution Stone, spending a whopping 150,000 gold in total.
He dumped them all into the glasses. With a glow of light, the item's appearance didn't change, but the stats certainly did.
[Partner Equipment – Head (+1)]
Stamina +60
Strength +60
Skill 1: Can change appearance into any head accessory according to the wearer's wishes.
"Huh?" Luffy blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected much, but even so, spending 150k for a "cosmetic" feature?
He recalled the Evolution Stone's description, each evolution grants a new skill. What if the next one just gave… glitter?
A chill ran down his spine.
"Did I just get scammed?"
[Ding! No need to worry, Host. All partner equipment gains the shape-shifting skill upon first evolution. After reaching Tier 3, the item binds to the wearer and unlocks a unique, exclusive skill.]
"Exclusive skill?"
[Correct. A skill tailored to the specific partner.]
"Well, now I'm really curious…" Licking his lips, Luffy did some mental math.
"One evolution costs 150,000. I've got 550,000 gold left. That's enough for three more!"
"Gold can be earned again. I doubt the system would scam me."
Taking the plunge, Luffy pushed forward.
Gold Remaining: 400,000
Skill 2: +5% All-Element Resistance
Gold Remaining: 250,000
Skill 3: +10% Damage Absorption
"Last one," Luffy said, eyes gleaming as he stared at the five Star Stones and one Evolution Stone left in his bag.
The system didn't disappoint. The second and third evolution skills were beyond what he'd hoped for.
+5% Elemental Resistance meant any attack tied to an element, fire, lightning, etc., would be reduced by 5%.
With three pieces of equipment, that could be a 15% cut to all elemental damage!
Then there was +10% Damage Absorption across the board. Any attack, no matter the type, would be less effective by a tenth.
Luffy grinned from ear to ear, imagining Robin turning into a tanky shield maiden.
But halfway through his smile… he froze.
"Wait a minute!"
These high-tier bonuses… were useless to him!
He couldn't even equip the gear!
Joy drained from his face. He sighed in defeat.
"Fine, whatever. I get it, I lose if I take this too seriously."
After five star-ups and one evolution, Luffy reopened the item's stat screen.
[Partner Equipment – Head (+1)]
Stamina +212
Strength +212
Skill 1: Morphs into any headgear style the wearer imagines
Skill 2: +5% All-Element Resistance
Skill 3: +10% Damage Absorption
Skill 4: +50% Sensory Perception
Bound To: Nico Robin
Luffy couldn't believe his eyes, Robin's exclusive skill was "+50% Sensory Perception."
That was huge.
Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit wasn't just about growing giant arms, it let her manifest limbs anywhere within her sensing range.
In the original story, she easily restrained Cavendish in his Kamaitachi (Sleepwalking Berserker) form in Dressrosa, an opponent so fast even Bartolomeo couldn't see him clearly.
Yet Robin had targeted him precisely.
Which meant her perception abilities were already insane, and now they were getting a 50% boost?
She might even be able to keep up with Kizaru's light-speed movements now…
…well, assuming she could eventually learn to coat her abilities in Armament Haki like Luffy did in Gear Fourth.
All things considered, yeah…
Still a long way to go.
==========
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