Shoku's sudden loss of words came entirely because he could sense Creed's aura… and it didn't seem to have weakened nearly as much as it should have after that devastating blow.
Although Creed's aura had dropped sharply, it was still burning hot and fierce, with an intimidating pulse to it.
That meant his strike just now hadn't actually stripped away that much of Creed's combat power.
"What terrifying defense… His defense isn't beneath the so-called undying Kaido at all!"
Shoku was shocked to his core, but his hands didn't hesitate in the slightest. He exchanged a glance with Blueno behind him, then shot straight downward.
"Woong!"
Still in midair, his entire body turned into a mass of gray sword light, streaking down toward Creed like a thunderbolt.
"So the CPO still has a monster like you hidden away? If I'm not mistaken, you should be the second pillar, Shoku. Looks like the first pillar, Aegis, is about to make his entrance soon too."
Down in the hundred-meter-deep crater below, Creed looked a bit dusty and bedraggled. His back was pitch-black and blood-red, and fresh blood was still trickling out, making his injuries look anything but light.
If someone were to approach and take a closer look, however, they would see that his wounds were healing at a speed more than ten times—or even dozens of times—faster than that of an ordinary person.
His overwhelming vitality and terrifying recovery ability were fully kicking in now.
Creed straightened up and stared at the gray-black sword light slashing down toward him. His spirit and focus were almost entirely unaffected.
In secret, he had already begun extracting the Shoku no Ken'i (Erosion Sword Intent) from his opponent.
Shoku's strength was clearly above that of the two Blood Shadow blades from before. His overall power had already reached the SSSS-level, standing on the same tier as Creed.
Shoku possessed an SSSS-level Shoku no Ken'i (Erosion Sword Intent), but when Creed extracted it, since he didn't have the Erosion-Erosion Fruit and the Supreme Grade blade Tenshoku no Ken (Heaven-Erosion Sword) backing it, what he obtained was only SSSS-minus level.
"Creed, die!"
With a furious roar, Shoku came slashing in.
If he could bring Creed down, he would earn eternal merit. After that, he could even replace Aegis and become the CPO's first pillar, with a status second only to Lord Imu and equal to the Five Elders!
Unfortunately for him, Creed wasn't going to give him that chance.
"ROOM!"
Creed raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. A transparent ROOM sphere instantly spread out, enveloping an area of eight to nine miles.
If Creed wished, with his current strength, this ROOM could easily expand to cover dozens of miles.
Since the enemy had the spatial support of the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit), Creed could only counter with the power of the Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit).
Of course, he could also use the Tremor-Tremor Fruit to turn the entire area into his personal vibration domain, preventing the enemy from properly using the Door-Door powers.
However, the Ope Ope no Mi's counterattack speed was simply faster than the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's.
Within the ROOM sphere, Creed could rely on the markings of his Rinnegan to move at a speed akin to instant teleportation.
So inside the ROOM, no matter how the Door-Door Fruit opened its air doors, it was useless.
Because its speed simply couldn't compare to Creed's. And when you added in Creed's overwhelmingly advanced Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), he was confident that he could take down this CPO second pillar in a short time.
Seeing the transparent sphere immediately covering the surroundings, Shoku couldn't help being startled.
"The abilities of the Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit)!"
Before this decisive battle, every high-end combatant of the World Government and the Marines had meticulously studied Creed's intel. They knew every single ability he had ever revealed to the world.
As he turned things over in his mind, Shoku tried to think of a way around it. The Ope Ope no Mi was one of the very few truly "cheat-level" Devil Fruits; its powers were so broken that there was practically no reliable, straightforward method to counter it…
And just then—
Boom!
Creed swung his blade, unleashing a single slash. It was the Eikin no Ken'i (Sharp-Metal Sword Intent) that had been amplified by Satsui (Killing Intent)!
The golden sword light surged upward against the flow, and wherever it passed, space itself rippled in layers like water.
"Useless."
Facing this incomparably sharp slash, Shoku let out a cold chuckle, then released a slash of his own to meet it head-on.
Rip!
When the two sword attacks collided, there was no earth-shattering explosion as one might expect. Instead, a strange sound rang out, like boiling water being poured over solid ice.
"Hm? What Devil Fruit ability is this?"
Creed watched as his Eikin no Ken'i (Sharp-Metal Sword Intent) seemed to be stained by a layer of gray, oily paint. The brilliant gold faded in an instant, then shattered and dissipated.
Boom!
The eroded Eikin no Ken'i (Sharp-Metal Sword Intent) was blasted apart by Shoku's slash, which continued on toward Creed. Its power had only diminished a little.
"This ability is a bit troublesome…"
Creed felt a slight headache coming on.
If you only compared raw power, his slash just now had been stronger than the enemy's by a clear margin. But in the face of that erosive force, Creed's advantage had been completely wiped out—and then even reversed—leaving him on the losing side of the exchange.
"Still, that's easy enough to deal with. I'll just stop clashing with you head-on."
Creed shrugged, intending to use teleport-like movement to easily evade Shoku's slash.
But—
Boom!
A ferocious force, so overwhelming that it made even heaven and earth tremble, suddenly crashed in from the side. The sheer magnitude of that power was enough to move even someone as strong as Creed.
This was probably the strongest power he had encountered so far.
He didn't count the time with Whitebeard, because that old man hadn't gone all out back then.
Even so, just from this alone, it was obvious: the newcomer was yet another terrifying monster with SSSS-level overall strength.
Thud!
Creed reflexively swung his hand, unleashing a Kaminari Ryuu (Thunder Dragon)!
This move, stolen from Akainu's Meigou (Hound of the Underworld), was unrivaled in its single-target destructive power.
Yet the newcomer still crushed the Kaminari Ryuu (Thunder Dragon) and even sent Creed flying backward with it.
However—
Whoosh!
In the very next moment, the flying Creed suddenly flickered and appeared above the newcomer's head, unleashing another Kaminari Ryuu (Thunder Dragon) straight down.
Boom!
The newcomer seemed to have predicted Creed's move, raising his arm to block. Even so, he was shaken and driven down by Creed's force.
"Haha! The power of the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) really is ferocious."
The newcomer burst into hearty laughter.
At that moment, Shoku descended and landed at his side, respectfully addressing him as "Grand Commander."
"So it's the CPO's first pillar, Aegis—the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons."
Floating in midair, Creed withdrew the ROOM sphere.
The other side seemed to have something to say, and he himself needed a bit of time to recover his stamina and injuries, so he might as well stop and listen.
"Creed, on behalf of the World Government and on behalf of Lord Imu, I invite you to join our big family. If you agree, Lord Imu will establish a position above the Five Elders—something like a president. You would be under the sun yet above all people."
The newcomer was indeed Aegis. His loud, clear declaration silenced all the powerhouses around them.
On Creed's side, everyone remained calm. But on the Marines' side, things became extremely awkward and conflicted.
The World Government had mobilized seventy to eighty percent of its overall power to deal with the Creed Alliance, sacrificed so many lives, and in the end, they were still trying to win Creed over? And with such a lofty status?!
Even the Five Elders would have to bow their heads beneath Creed?
What kind of joke was that?
But it had to be said: the condition Imu had thrown out was a staggering temptation for anyone in this world.
Any powerful figure with decent intelligence channels knew that, for the past century or two, Imu had almost never taken part in the World Government's business or worldly affairs, and very rarely appeared before the public eye.
In other words, if Creed became the "president" of the World Government, there was a very good chance he would become the true number one in actual authority—
The real ruler of the world?!
(End of Chapter)
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