After a few moments, Akira calmed the excitement within him, thoroughly transforming from the inside out into an "ordinary person."
The current Akira gave others a very strange impression.
Despite his immense power, not a trace of his imposing aura could be sensed.
This contradiction between perception and reality felt eerily unsettling.
Since reaching SS-rank, Akira's control over his body had improved by leaps and bounds.
Through observing the changes in his vitality, he finally arrived at a rough estimate.
[An increase of about five hundred years in lifespan?] Akira raised an eyebrow, silently contemplating.
He had never forgotten that the primary effect of [Nitro Rice] was to enhance vitality and extend lifespan.
It was only because he possessed Snorlax and had broken through to SS-rank that this benefit seemed overshadowed.
Just like his power boost, the presence of Snorlax had also dramatically amplified his lifespan extension.
With a subtle glance at the people around him, Akira gained some clarity.
By his estimation, others likely gained around a hundred years of additional lifespan.
But he—had gained a full five hundred years.
In other words, barring other factors, he could now live for over five hundred more years.
This outcome greatly satisfied Akira—in fact, it far exceeded his expectations.
Though he had known [Nitro Rice] could prolong life, the exact extent had been unclear.
An extension of one or two years counted, but so did centuries.
No one could say for sure.
After all, while [Nitro Rice] was hailed as [Hope], it was ultimately just a product from the fringes of the Dark Continent.
Its effects naturally weren't overwhelmingly potent.
Fortunately, the final result didn't disappoint. Thanks to Snorlax, the benefits had multiplied severalfold.
With these extra five hundred years, he could live longer and accomplish far more.
Crucially, this was only his first taste of [Nitro Rice].
He could continue consuming it multiple times until the effects became negligible.
Even if [Nitro Rice] eventually stopped working for him, there was no need to worry.
The Dark Continent was vast, and Akira believed [Nitro Rice] couldn't be the only lifespan-extending treasure in the world.
There had to be other special items with similar effects.
Methods to prolong life were far too numerous.
Consuming vitality-rich foods, using special Nen tools, or leveraging unique Nen Abilities…
All of these could work.
Among them, Akira considered the most effective and convenient method to be nurturing those extraordinary Pokémon.
The Pokémon world boasted countless legendary Pokémon capable of extending life.
For instance, Ho-Oh, which could resurrect Pokémon, or Xerneas, revered as the [Life Pokémon]…
With even one of these Pokémon by his side, lifespan would cease to be a concern.
Achieving immortality would become a trivial matter.
This would be ideal—a permanent solution, eliminating the need to hunt for other life-extending treasures.
As for whether he could nurture such Pokémon, Akira believed the chances were far from negligible.After all, the unexpected appearance of the [Sea Creator] Kyogre had already occurred.
So wouldn't it be reasonable for something like Ho-Oh or Xerneas to show up as well?
Or even…
Akira recalled the two gestation bars still lingering in his mind.
He felt that there were still two Legendary Pokémon yet to be born from him!
The first one, naturally, was the Pokémon that had appeared ever since he set foot on the Dark Continent.
If following the speed at which Kyogre had been gestated, this Pokémon's gestation bar should have reached about a quarter of its progress by now.
Yet, it was far from what he had anticipated.
He knew exactly why.
Every time he entered the Digital World, the progress of this gestation bar would halt, refusing to advance further.
Clearly, it was because the Digital World wasn't considered part of the Dark Continent, so the progress bar wouldn't continue.
Only when they spent a night in the Network World and returned to the Dark Continent would the bar resume its progress.
Back when they were at sea, he rarely entered the Digital World—for the safety of the ship and to make good time, they sailed day and night.
That was why Kyogre had been able to fully gestate before the voyage ended.
Judging by the speed of this gestation bar, it was undoubtedly another Legendary Pokémon on the same level as Kyogre.
As for what Pokémon it might be, Akira already had a guess in mind.
Setting aside the first gestation bar, the second one also weighed heavily on Akira's thoughts.
Unlike the first, this gestation bar wasn't tied to terrain but, like Meloetta, was linked to something specific.
Ever since the phantom of the Demon King appeared, this gestation bar had inexplicably surfaced in his mind.
Naturally, it was closely related to the Demon King.
Unfortunately, after the Demon King's phantom was shattered, the bar surged briefly before stagnating again.
To make it progress further, he'd likely need to interact more with things related to the Demon King.
Or even defeat certain creatures tied to the Demon King!
As for the Demon King, Akira also had his suspicions.
A Legendary Pokémon, as dark and eerie as a demon king, possessing immense power…
With all these factors combined, Akira narrowed his focus to two candidates—the [Destruction God] Yveltal and the [Renegade Pokémon] Giratina.
These two Legendary Pokémon, both leaning toward the darker side, fit his image of the Demon King.
Admittedly, [Darkrai], the [Darkness Pokémon], was also a possibility. But considering that the Demon King was most likely at the peak of SS-rank,
Akira ultimately ruled Darkrai out.
After all, even at the fringes of the Dark Continent, he had already gestated Mythical Pokémon like Shaymin and Diancie.
Not to mention Landorus, a lower-tier Legendary Pokémon.
For a figure as infamous as the Demon King, gestating Darkrai seemed a bit underwhelming.
Between the [Destruction God] Yveltal and the [Renegade Pokémon] Giratina,
Akira leaned more toward Giratina.
Perhaps it was because of the movies he'd watched in the past, but he thought having a Giratina would be pretty cool.
Would there ever be a chance to ride Giratina through the Distortion World in the future?
Akira's thoughts drifted for a moment before he snapped back to reality, his eyes gleaming with determination.
The gestation bars were right there—they weren't going anywhere.
All he had to do was keep moving forward and bring them into existence.Not only will their true forms be revealed, but more Pokémon will also be born.
On the other side, Ging noticed that Akira's breathing had completely stabilized and stepped forward to ask first:
"Did you... break through to a higher level of strength?"
Everyone had seen it and knew Akira had made a tremendous breakthrough in power.
Ging asked this only to find out just how far Akira had progressed.
What kind of "scenery" would that level even look like?