"Father, Akashō should be about my age, right? So why does it feel like he knows so much?"
"Even though he's still just a kid, his experiences… might not be any less than mine…"
...
In the dead of night, Akashō walked through a forest.
"Alright, you damn system, open a new template for me."
"Ding. Current total Villain Template reputation: 2.89 million. Spend 2.2 million to unlock the fourth template?"
"Yes!"
"Ding. Fourth template unlocked. Please review it."
Akashō immediately pulled up the system. What appeared before him was a name that closely resembled Bertholdt Hoover's.
"Donquixote Doflamingo…"
Akashō's eyes lit up. "Doflamingo?"
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea in One Piece, a Paramecia-type String-String Fruit user, a powerhouse possessing all three types of Haki. In the underworld, he was known as "Joker," while in the pirate world he bore the title "Heavenly Yaksha."
"With this kind of strength… he might even be stronger than Neferpitou."
Akashō quickly opened Doflamingo's template.
Donquixote Doflamingo:
Skills: Armament Haki, Observation Haki.
Special Ability: String-String Fruit, Conqueror's Haki.
Overall Strength: S
Current Reputation: 0
"Ding. Detected that the host has independently activated three Villain Templates. System upgrade commencing…"
"Upgrade will take three days. During this time, the host cannot gain any reputation."
Before Akashō could examine the template further, the system's voice rang out again in his mind, making him pause.
"An upgrade?"
"Damn, this trash system can actually upgrade?"
"Please, heavens, let this damn thing evolve into something amazing. I've seriously had enough of it."
But just as Akashō clasped his hands together and prayed to the night sky, the system's cold voice sounded again.
"Host, I am upgrading, not going into hibernation."
For some reason, Akashō felt like there was the faintest trace of resentment in the system's tone.
Must be my imagination. Definitely my imagination.
"So now I can't even complain about you being useless?"
Akashō clicked his tongue.
"If I ever find out there's some kind of system distribution center, I'm definitely giving you a one-star review."
"Heh. I look forward to that day."
The system actually responded casually, which surprised Akashō.
"Hey, damn system, seriously—don't you have emotions? That sounded like you snapped back at me just now."
But after that, the system fell silent again.
Akashō spat lightly. "What the hell. Ignoring me again. Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm sucking up to you like that idiot Runtu."
After muttering to himself, Akashō reopened Doflamingo's template.
And with one look, something felt off.
Why were there only two types of Haki listed under skills? What about all the abilities tied to the String-String Fruit?
Did he have to develop them himself?
No… that wasn't it.
Akashō's expression suddenly grew serious. Back when he first unlocked Neferpitou's template, he had already noticed a major issue.
In Hunter × Hunter, Nen is a highly intricate power system with countless techniques. Yet in Neferpitou's template, her Nen had been directly simplified into "malice," with only one application—En—clearly defined.
During the earlier fight where Neferpitou's shadow clone battled Han and Rōshi, she had constantly tried to use other Nen techniques, but none of them worked. Even something as basic as concentrating Nen at a single point on the body to enhance attack or defense was impossible.
Aside from En, which was explicitly listed in the template, none of the other Nen techniques could be used. It was as if Neferpitou's template had been completely fixed into something like a game character panel. Combined with the fact that template characters couldn't grow stronger, this seemed even more likely.
But now, Doflamingo's String-String Fruit abilities weren't rigidly locked like that. It didn't limit him to only the techniques Doflamingo had already demonstrated.
In other words, Akashō could incorporate his own ideas into how he used the String-String Fruit.
"Come to think of it… the template doesn't list Doflamingo's awakened ability."
Akashō stroked his chin. "Could it be that this template is from before he awakened his Devil Fruit?"
"So villain templates are divided by different stages…"
After thinking it over, that made sense. After all, judging by Doflamingo's strength post-awakening, he might even surpass the Kage Peak level.
"Can't be too greedy. Can't be too greedy."
Akashō calmed himself down. Even without awakening, Doflamingo was still incredibly powerful. With all three types of Haki and the String-String Fruit, he could fight at long and close range, had both control and damage, possessed wide-area attacks, and could even take to the sky when there were clouds.
Not bad at all. Not bad at all.