Chapter 14: Joining the Spade Pirates
Although Ace had just invited Ayaan, he wasn't entirely confident in his heart.
Ace had already realized that Ayaan was no ordinary person. Just the stone Ayaan threw earlier showed incredible power, and his combat ability was clearly far beyond that of regular people.
In fact, Ace could guarantee that—aside from himself—no one in the Spade Pirates could match Ayaan, especially considering his Devil Fruit ability.
What's more, Ayaan was a rare Devil Fruit user. The transformation ability of the Baku Baku no Mi wasn't some ordinary power. On top of that, he had excellent medical skills. Whether he joined the Navy or the pirates, he would undoubtedly be highly valued.
Even without factoring in his combat power, his instant healing ability alone was enough to draw the attention of both the Four Emperors and Marine Headquarters.
Although the Spade Pirates were considered "supernovas," the truth was... that didn't mean much. One or two supernovas appeared every year on the seas, but only a few managed to truly establish themselves. The value of a Devil Fruit user like Ayaan was obvious.
Otherwise, Ace's crew wouldn't have been struggling so much.
His brother Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates had a real dream team: an elite navigator, top-tier cook and shipwright, a skilled doctor, fighters not much weaker than Luffy himself, and even the world's only archaeologist.
As for Ace's crew… well, let's just say it's hard to describe them in polite terms.
The so-called Spade Pirates could basically be understood as Ace and his group of leg-huggers.
Of course, Ayaan didn't know the true situation of the Spade Pirates yet. He assumed that since Ace was Luffy's brother, even if the Spade Pirates didn't have the Straw Hats' dream setup, they still couldn't be that bad.
After all, he'd never read the spin-off manga about Ace and had no idea how weak the Spade Pirates really were.
But it didn't matter, even if he did know. In the end, they would be absorbed into the Whitebeard Pirates anyway. For Ayaan, the Spade Pirates were just a stepping stone.
On the other hand, Ace became visibly excited when he heard Ayaan accept the invitation.
By now, the Spade Pirates' ship had arrived at the shore, and seven or eight crew members disembarked.
Ayaan glanced at them and thought to himself,
"These guys don't seem very strong. They're way behind Ace."
"Speaking of which, this vice-captain named Deuce is also surprisingly weak. It's actually impressive that Ace led this group all the way to the New World."
Although Ayaan had cultivated Observation Haki, his sense of others' strength was still vague. So he couldn't judge the full capabilities of Ace's crew.
But at least Deuce's physical strength had already been analyzed via the Baku Baku no Mi, so Ayaan had the clearest understanding of his level.
And since Deuce—with his strength—was already the deputy captain, Ayaan now had a better idea of what kind of people made up Ace's crew.
"Ace, are you okay? Who's this guy?"
"Deuce seems to have recovered! Is our ship's doctor finally back to normal?"
Deuce's face turned a little red.
"Ahem, I'm no longer the ship's doctor. Ace found a new partner for us."
"New partner?" Several crew members looked toward Ayaan, who gave a polite smile.
"My name is Ayaan. I'm just an ordinary doctor from the Drum Kingdom."
Chopper seemed a bit reluctant to part.
"Ayaan, are you really going out to sea?"
"What do you think? Chopper, do you want to come with us?" Ace suddenly leaned down and asked with a grin.
That's enough!
Those are your brother's important crew members and food supplies! If you kidnap him, Luffy will become the dumbest member of the Straw Hat Pirates!
Although Ayaan was screaming internally, his expression remained calm.
The current Drum Kingdom wasn't like it was in the original story, with ridiculous laws banning doctors. Excellent doctors were everywhere now. With Luffy's charisma, it wouldn't be difficult to find a reliable doctor. So even if Chopper left, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Chopper covered his face and twisted shyly.
"Idiot, do you think it's that easy to kidnap me onto a ship? Even if you invite me, I won't go!"
No, you look like you really want to go! Everyone can see it!
Ayaan sighed and began to wonder what kind of new doctor the Straw Hat Pirates would end up finding.
But at that moment, Chopper's expression changed.
"W-What's that?! Ugh, don't come any closer!"
A huge lynx suddenly pounced and bit Chopper on the head. Chopper screamed and ran in circles, blood spurting from his forehead.
"Kodaz! No!"
"Stop! That's not prey!"
The Spade Pirates panicked and rushed over. It took a lot of effort to pry the lynx off Chopper. At this point, Chopper's face was covered in blood and tears.
"Wuwu… I'm not going. I'm definitely not going. I'll get eaten if I go…"
Ayaan observed carefully. The lynx, Kodaz, was now obediently lowering its head while being scolded. But for a brief moment, a slightly sinister smile appeared on its face—before it went back to looking innocent.
Wow… even the pet is territorial these days!
It was obvious what Kodaz meant: this ship can only have one mascot—and that's me!
Come to think of it, most pirate crews either had no mascot, or just one. Whether it was a furred creature, an animal, or even a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit, there was rarely a second mascot onboard.
Perhaps it was just like that old saying:
"There can't be two tigers on one mountain—unless one is male and the other is female."
Clearly, Ace and the rest of the crew had noticed the issue too, and they no longer invited Chopper.
After all, two mascots on the same ship? That was asking for chaos.
"Alright, alright, Chopper. Let me heal you." Ayaan sighed and then—much to everyone's horror—swallowed Chopper in one gulp.
"AHHH!!!"
The Spade Pirates were terrified. Even the lynx's fur stood on end, and its tail shot up.
Luckily, after a few moments, Ayaan spit Chopper back out. The wounds and blood had completely disappeared. The frightened crew finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whoa… that's incredible!" Deuce's eyes widened as he stared at Ayaan's mouth.
So that's how he healed me...
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