The SSSS-grade Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) was vastly different from SSS-grade—"a qualitative leap" fit it perfectly.
Creed held both hands like sword fingers—at the left fingertip, a sliver of deep black light bloomed; at the right, a thin, pale blade-glow shimmered.
SSSS-grade Busoshoku Haki vs. SSSS-grade Kōri no Ken'i (Ice Sword Intent)!
"Tang!"
He brought point to point—needle's tip meeting wheat-mang—and a clear ring like clashing stone rang out.
They seemed evenly matched?!
Which meant the system's tiering was dead-on.
But… could the two stack?
Creed had, in Raijin Mōdo (Thunder God Mode) with Nitoryu (Two-Sword Style), laced SSSS-grade Busoshoku Haki into his blade work—that was why he'd floored Akainu in a single crisp strike.
"Hoh…"
With a flip of intent, the glows on both sword fingers changed.
Busoshoku wrapped over the pale Ice Sword Intent—and the Ice Sword Intent, in turn, wore a layer of Busoshoku.
You within me; me within you.
Thanks to the Ice Sword Intent's peculiar nature, the two didn't conflict.
Creed thought a moment, then put that experiment away and drew Rinne (Samsara).
"An."
A soft sword-cry answered. First, Rinne breathed out a gust of killing cold; next, the blade was sheathed in a layer of black Busoshoku; last, arcs of lightning crawled across the Armament, crackling bright and harsh to the eye.
With Rinne as vessel, Ken'i (Sword Intent) as bone, Busoshoku as blessing, and thunder as skin—the result was almost 1+1+1=3.
With Rinne as vessel, Ken'i as bone, Busoshoku as blessing, and thunder as skin—the result was almost 1+1+1=3.
A slash like that, Creed judged, wouldn't lose to pure SSSS-grade Busoshoku; in some aspects, it might even surpass it.
And if he layered Raijin Mōdo on top of Nitoryu?
He felt a stir of battle-itch: if he fought Kaido again, could that monster's defense really stand up to this?
This Golden City trip had paid off beyond Armament—cashwise too. In his carry-space he now had over three hundred billion belly!
The "Heavenly Tribute" gold Gild Tesoro offered the Celestial Dragons was a full three hundred billion.
Give it a few years and that tribute might hit five hundred billion.
No denying it—running a casino minted money.
Shame the Golden City was hard to control and needed World Government policy cover—otherwise he wouldn't have to worry about funding when it came time to topple the Tenryuubito and their Government…
Knock, knock.
Robin's knuckles tapped the door. Creed put away Rinne, opened up, and asked what was up.
Generally, Robin and Redfield seldom disturbed him—unless it was real business.
"Morgans really gave you face," Creed said after skimming the newspapers Robin handed over, the corner of his mouth curling. "Pasted a lot of gold on my mug."
"And a letter from Mr. Crocodile," Robin added, producing an envelope.
Creed opened it—an update on Crocodile's recent expansion. Even with the bar raised, pirates seeking to join under Creed's banner were still streaming in. By now he commanded five division-squadrons—every one of them elite.
Below the Four Emperors, there were barely a handful of pirate crews left who could top that power.
Truthfully, Creed hadn't pinned great hopes on what Crocodile could stockpile; he trusted his own strength more. Still, seeing such fast growth in so short a time was a pleasant surprise.
Beyond that, Robin briefed him on the Poneglyph translation: she had largely cracked that stone.
"These are my findings," she said, passing a densely annotated sheet. "There might be a few errors, but the gist should be right."
Even for Robin, this Poneglyph had places she wasn't fully sure of.
Creed took the page—when suddenly the system chimed in his head:
"Ding. Obtained Poneglyph 1/30 (bifi). Poneglyph Quest initiated. Collect all thirty Poneglyphs to receive a World Chest."
Creed blinked. "World Chest? The hell?"
He'd seen gold, purple, tricolor, five-color, seven-color chests—but never a "World Chest."
Judging by the name, this wasn't a simple reward. It might tie into the very secrets of this world.
As for collecting every Poneglyph… his confidence dipped.
There were thirty in all—four Road Poneglyphs, each recording a location; link those four on a map and the center point that appears is the final island—
"Laugh Tale."
Rumor said that was where Roger hid the great treasure.
Of the four Road Poneglyphs, Kaido held one and Big Mom another.
The remaining twenty-six Poneglyphs were historical and informational; gather them to learn the whereabouts of the three Ancient Weapons and the century of blank history.
To fully fill in that hundred years, you needed all thirty.
"Right—Roger assembled them once," Creed's eyes lit.
According to the tales, Roger had strung the thirty into a complete text and sent it to Laugh Tale. If he found Laugh Tale, he wouldn't need the rest—he could still learn the truth of the Void Century.
And since the one Robin had just decoded counted as 1/30, then all he needed was the four Road Poneglyphs—and the complete text Roger left behind—to clear the quest!
That would make things much simpler.
"Gururu—"
A strange cry outside turned both heads toward the deck.
Redfield's giant bat—"Little Black"—was capering along the mainmast's yard, screeching with obvious unease.
"Captain! Little Black says there's danger ahead—should we detour?" Redfield called up.
Ever since he'd eaten the Bat-Bat Fruit, he'd been able to understand the bat perfectly. As for the name "Little Black," he'd tossed it out offhand from the creature's color—pets needed names.
"Danger? What did it sense? Although… it might be a bit late."
Creed stepped out to the balcony rail and peered around. Sometime while they were talking, a thick fog had risen on all sides. Past a dozen meters out, even his vision—even a top-tier monster's vision—blurred into gray.
In fog like this, a ship's voyage was perilous. By the time you saw the reefs, it would be too late to dodge.
Was that the danger Little Black had warned of…?
(End of Chapter)
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