210 Gather some Points

"Good, you're back just in time. Now lie down on the bed for a bit while I step out," 

Lynch said, grabbing Tom Cat by the hands and feet. Stretching the cat like a rubber band, Lynch pulled Tom's height up to his own.

As everyone knows, cats are fluid creatures, but Tom Cat takes it to a whole new level. 

Round like a cake, stretched into a long strip, or even square-shaped—there's nothing you can imagine that Tom can't do.

Tom stared at his flattened 2cm-thick noodle-like figure, almost as if he was feeling nostalgic. 

"Hmm, it seems a bit flat. Can you reshape yourself to match my body size?" Lynch teased.

Tom thought hard, tapping his head with a paw. 

Suddenly, he bit his thumb and started blowing air into himself. His body inflated like a balloon, swelling visibly until he matched Lynch's figure perfectly.

Satisfied with his new shape, Tom puffed out his chest proudly, though his ridiculous antics left Lynch shaking his head in amused disbelief.

[Ding! Congratulations, your pet Tom Cat has automatically unlocked the Rubber Fruit: Third Gear Form.]

[In Third Gear, Tom Cat possesses all the strength and abilities of Luffy's Third Gear.]

[Ding! Tom Cat now has three permanent forms: Marine Tom, Swordsman Tom, and Third-Gear Tom. The host can freely switch between them at any time.]

"Good grief," Lynch muttered, utterly dumbfounded. "Is this even possible?!"

Then, after a moment of thought, he shrugged. "Well, considering it's Tom, this actually makes perfect sense."

When compared to Luffy, Tom Cat truly feels more like a real Rubber Fruit user. Everything Luffy can do—stretching, shrinking, inflating—Tom can also do effortlessly. In fact, there are things Tom can achieve that even Luffy can't.

Can Luffy survive being sliced into pieces by Mihawk and casually bounce back like nothing happened?

Fake Rubber Fruit user: Straw Hat Luffy.

Real Rubber Fruit user: Tom Cat.

Tom, fully aware of his newfound abilities, started flexing and examining himself with glee, inflating and shrinking his body like a child with a new toy. 

Watching him, Lynch couldn't help but shake his head and laughed.

"Alright, stay on the bed for now, and don't reveal yourself until I return," Lynch instructed Tom Cat, who nodded obediently.

Although he had reassured Garrett that he wouldn't take immediate revenge on Big Mom, that didn't mean he couldn't collect some "interest" in advance.

Following the directions Garrett had once shared, Lynch made his way toward the underground chamber where Big Mom stored the Poneglyphs.

There are four red Poneglyphs in total: one on Cake Island, one on Zou, one in Wanokuni, and the last one, which is still missing. Collecting all four is the key to finding the legendary Raftel.

The underground chamber was heavily secured, likely due to the recent chaos on Cake Island. Layers of guards patrolled the area, and even Smoothie, the long-legged beauty and one of Big Mom's commanders, stood watch.

But none of this mattered. As long as Lynch didn't want to be seen, no one could detect him.

Using his Sun Candle Fruit ability, he shrank himself down to a tiny size and slipped past all the guards with ease, eventually arriving at the massive red Poneglyph.

[Ding! Congratulations to Host for discovering the red Poneglyph. Worth 50 points]

"Not bad, quite valuable," Lynch said with a smirk as he pulled out large sheets of white paper from his storage space and began making rubbings of the ancient text.

The true value was in the information contained on the stone, not the Poneglyph itself. To Lynch, it was just a heavy chunk of rock.

Curious, he tried making multiple copies to see if the system would reward additional points. Unfortunately, the system wasn't that generous. No matter how many rubbings he made, it still rewarded only 50 points.

"Fair enough," Lynch muttered. "One copy of the same text is sufficient. Any more would just be overkill."

He had no intention of stealing the Poneglyph itself—better not provoke Big Mom unnecessarily and risk dealing with her irrational wrath.

"Ah, what a pity," he sighed. 

"If only I knew where Big Mom's treasure vault was. I could've helped myself to some extra money.'"

After carefully storing the imprinted Poneglyph rubbings, Lynch's gaze lingered on Smoothie's long, slender legs for just a second. However, he decided not to stir up trouble—at least not tonight.

"Maybe tomorrow, I'll think of a way to trick Big Mom into taking Kaido for a 'tour' around the West Blue," Lynch mused. "That should be enough to rack up some decent points."

Just as he prepared to slip away unnoticed, the system notification chimed in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations to Host for triggering a new life choice.]

[Task Choice 1]: At the banquet, Smoothie plans to have you drink juice squeezed from someone. Can you tolerate this? Task: Pour a cream puff into Smoothie's mouth. Reward: Paramecia·Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit.]

[Task Choice 2]: Smoothie has a habit of slacking off at work. Teach her an unforgettable lesson so she won't dare to slack again. Task: Confront her and discipline her properly. Reward: Smoothie's fear of you +10, Smoothie's favorability towards you +10, Paramecia·Wool Wool Fruit.

[Task Choice 3]: For legs valued at 900 million and 800 million berries, have Smoothie wear black stockings. Reward: -50 Jerry Rat Points.

Lynch, who had been about to leave, suddenly froze in place, his thoughts interrupted.

"System, you little bastard, always showing up to cause trouble," 

Lynch muttered under his breath.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether the cream puffs in Choice 1 were the innocent kind. 

The last time something like this appeared in the options, it wasn't exactly… appropriate.

After just two seconds of deliberation, Lynch chose the third option.

"For the Jerry Rat Points, obviously," he convinced himself. "Definitely not because I want to see Smoothie in black stockings."

With the faint light of dawn breaking through, Lynch decided it was time for a quick nap. 

He returned to his room and hugged Tom Cat, who was already sprawled out on the bed, before dozing off again.

When the sun was fully up, Lynch tidied his appearance, making sure his clothes were sharp and immaculate. He then made his way to Smoothie's door and knocked.

A moment later, Smoothie opened the door. She looked visibly startled to see Lynch standing there but quickly composed herself, flashing a polite smile.

"Lynch, what brings you here so early?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Ah, it's nothing much, really," Lynch replied, feeling an unexpected twinge of embarrassment as he recalled the task ahead.

After all, Smoothie was technically his fourteenth sister-in-law.

As the old saying goes: 'A sister-in-law's care is half a responsibility of her brother-in-law,' but when it came to the eldest sister-in-law, things became a bit… complicated.

Holding up the bag in his hand, Lynch said with a straight face, "It's from Garrett. She asked me to personally deliver this gift to you."

"A gift from my sister? Thank you for bringing it," Smoothie said with a polite smile as she took the bag.

Curious, she opened it to inspect the contents. But as she pulled out what was inside, her expression turned increasingly strange.

"Black stockings? That's all that's in here?"

Smoothie's confusion deepened as she glanced back up at Lynch, who was still standing at the door, seemingly in no hurry to leave.

"Why are you still here?" Smoothie asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Garrett said to make sure it suits you," Lynch replied seriously, his tone completely calm.

"Oh~?"

Realizing that Lynch was younger than her, Smoothie suddenly became playful. 

She leaned closer, gently lifting Lynch's chin with her slender fingers, and spoke in a teasing, sultry voice:

"These black stockings—could they actually be a gift from you?"

"Shh! Don't deny it. I can see the truth in a man's eyes," she added with a smirk, her confidence unwavering.

Smoothie's towering height made the moment even more intimidating. 

Standing so close, Lynch only reached her chest, and now her bold movement brought him face-to-face with an expansive view of pure white.

Lynch raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. 

Suddenly, with a swift and precise movement, he struck Smoothie's neck with a light chop, knocking her unconscious in an instant.

"Heh, teasing even the Emperor of West Blue? Smoothie, your courage is commendable," Lynch said, shaking his head with a faint smile.

Looking at her unconscious form, he added, "If you won't put them on yourself, then I guess I'll have to do it for you."

He picked up Smoothie and gently placed her onto the large bed. Then, with a mix of focus and humor, he began to carefully put the black stockings on her long legs.

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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