Though Tesoro's menagerie looked small, the beasts were vicious—an iron-clawed black panther that could shear stone with a swipe, a steel-toothed crocodile that could bite through blades…
Amid them, Creed found a tiny creature he half-recognized yet couldn't name. Only a few centimeters long, its body was wrapped in a strange watery film. It had four pairs of legs, each ending in claws with little cups or toes for gripping, and a mouthpart jutting forward in twin prongs…
Bullied for its size, it was still unharmed no matter how the iron-clawed panther pounced or the steel-toothed crocodile slammed and snapped at it.
It seemed… very hard to hurt.
Baccarat's eyes widened when she saw it. "Huh? It took a nasty beating from the panther two days ago—and it's fully healed already!"
Seeing Creed's interest, she explained, "They call it an 'undying bug.' Tesoro caught it on a strange little island. Its vitality and recovery were shocking, so he brought it back—planning to hand it to Doflamingo's scientist, Caesar, for study…"
Creed nodded and probed the creature's stats:
[Attributes]: Strength: C, Agility: C-, Endurance: S, Willpower: D
[Abilities]: Super Regeneration S-, Extraordinary Vitality S-
[Overall]: A-
"So it's a tardigrade. No wonder it's so tough. On Earth, tardigrades are micrometer-scale—barely visible to the naked eye. This one's a hundred times larger… mutated by this world?"
"These are exactly the traits I'm missing. Shame it isn't human—I can't extract it."
The system offered no extract options, which disappointed Creed.
Then a spark flashed in his mind.
"Right—I've got an S-rank Exotic Ability Extraction Card!"
He suddenly remembered. Back when he defeated Crocodile, he'd received a purple chest and a tri-color chest from the system. The tri-color chest gave him the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan; the purple chest yielded two cards: a Purple Ability Upgrade Card and an S-rank Exotic Ability Card.
With no suitable exotic target at the time, he'd shelved the card. As his strength skyrocketed, he figured it would turn into a useless trinket. Who'd have thought it would shine today?
"Use the S-rank Exotic Ability Card to extract the tardigrade's Super Regeneration and Extraordinary Vitality."
Creed willed it.
"Suitable target detected. Both target abilities are S- minus tier, meeting host extraction criteria. Consuming one Exotic Ability Card…"
The system's reply chimed in, then: "Super Regeneration and Extraordinary Vitality stored in 'pending abilities.' Apply now?"
"Yes."
"Extraction applied. Host now possesses Super Regeneration and Extraordinary Vitality. Both can be raised to match host's overall tier and may be accelerated with Ability Upgrade Cards…"
"Ugh… Upgrade Cards. I haven't hit a treasure chest in ages…"
Creed clicked his tongue.
Here in Gran Tesoro he had put down three top-tiers and gotten not a single chest—felt like losing tens of billions of belly.
He glanced at his panel:
[Stats]: Strength: SSSS-, Agility: SSS+, Endurance (Defense): SSS+, Willpower (Haoshoku boost): SSS+
[Abilities]: SSSS- Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), SSSS- Iron Skin, SSSS- Hyōketsu Ken'iki (Frozen Sword Will)… Super Regeneration S, Extraordinary Vitality S…
[Devil Fruits / Specials]: Ope Ope no Mi (near awakening), Thunder Control, Pika Pika no Mi (near awakening)
[Rinnegan]: Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Susanoo (Second Form), Yasaka no Magatama
[Rinne no Kendō (Samsara Sword)]: Beast; Ogre; Hell; Human; Ashura; Deva; Extreme Evil Slash (66%); Supreme Good Slash (66%); Peerless Samsara (0.0%)
[Overall Power]: SSSS-
He immediately spotted it—the two newly extracted abilities, originally S- minus, had risen to S.
So overall tier influenced ability potency as well. Even without Upgrade Cards, diligent development would improve them—just far slower than a direct upgrade.
"I wonder if Kaido can give me a pleasant surprise next."
With that thought, he left with Baccarat.
Next up was welcoming the strongest solo fighter on sea, land, and air.
With Baccarat organizing order and Redfield suppressing troublemakers, Gran Tesoro recovered most of its calm—though undercurrents churned. Many visitors were New World pirates; some had ties to the Beasts Pirates. Seeing the Three Calamities in Creed's hands, they itched to take them back.
But with Redfield sweeping the field, those waves gradually stilled. Some recognized him and were shocked that he still wore a youthful face; whispers spread that he might have eaten some "reverse-aging" fruit.
"Captain, message from the Navy," Robin reported in another hotel. "They demand we release Charlos immediately. Oh—and the signature is Sakazuki."
"Tell Baccarat to answer: 'Charlos was killed by Tesoro.'"
Creed smiled. "Sakazuki, huh? Looks like we're adding another fight. I wonder if he's stepped into SSSS-tier."
Among the three Admirals, he had already defeated Kizaru; Aokiji was utterly outmatched by him. The question was how much Akainu had grown. If history held, the three Admirals would, by the time of the Paramount War in a few years, rise into SSSS-tier—standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Yonko.
Creed even had a nagging hunch: his appearance might accelerate that leap.
A few hours passed quickly; the appointed time with Kaido drew near.
Before long, an immense, crushing aura rolled in from the southwest!
(End of Chapter)
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