The crowd's roar grew louder. Kai stepped out of the dark alley and into the bright sunlight of Loguetown. The air smelled of salt, sweat, and anticipation. Thousands of people were looking at the giant wooden platform in the center of the plaza.
On top of the platform, a man sat with his head held high. Even with heavy chains on his wrists, he looked like a king. Gold Roger.
Kai's heart hammered against his ribs. This was the moment that would change the world. He looked at the blue screen floating in front of him.
[System Note: First Soul Fragment Integrated.]
[Status: Perception increased by 20%.]
Suddenly, Kai felt a strange "pull" in his mind. He wasn't just seeing the crowd; he was feeling their emotions. Greed, fear, excitement—it was like a storm of souls.
"Executioners! Do your job!" a Marine officer shouted.
Two long blades crossed over the Pirate King's neck. The world went silent.
"My treasure?" Roger's voice boomed, clear and laughing. "If you want it, you can have it! Search for it! I left everything I gathered in that place!"
SHINK!
The blades fell. The Pirate King was dead, but a new era had just been born.
The crowd went wild. Pirates started screaming, and Marines tried to control the chaos. In the middle of the madness, Kai noticed something no one else could see.
A golden light was rising from Roger's body. It wasn't physical; it was a soul. The greatest soul in the world.
[Ding!]
[Extremely Rare Soul Detected: 'The Will of the Pirate King'.]
[Trade Value: Error... Value too high to calculate.]
[Warning: Every powerful figure in the plaza is moving! Host must act now!]
Kai looked around. He saw a young man with a straw hat (not Luffy, but a familiar face from the past) and a man in a green cloak looking toward the stage.
If he could trade even a fragment of that soul, he would become a god. But he was still just a "Zero-Rank" weakling in a sea of monsters.
Kai gritted his teeth and dashed toward the platform, dodging the panicked crowd.
"System!" Kai screamed in his mind. "What is the price to reach that soul before it vanishes?"
The blue screen flashed blood-red.
[Price: All 5 Soul Coins + 50% of your remaining life span.]
[Do you accept the trade?]
Kai didn't stop running. He could see the Marines' guns pointing in his direction. He could see the golden light fading.
"I accept!"