With Shi and Aegis working together, plus the mysterious power of the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit) supporting them from the shadows, the trouble they posed was far greater than the Blood Shadow Twin Blades from before.
For the moment, even Creed didn't have a perfect solution.
After so many consecutive battles, his stamina consumption was enormous. Even with his monstrous recovery ability, it still couldn't keep up. On top of that, he'd taken Shi's full-power slash to the back—his injuries were not light, and his situation was honestly a bit bad.
However, with the Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit) and the Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit) in his hands, it was equally impossible for Aegis and Shi to truly bring him down.
Now that the situation on Kong's side had been temporarily dealt with, Creed finally calmed himself a little and began to drag things out against Aegis.
No—against three people.
There was still Bruno, hiding in the dark by relying on the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit).
That damn buzzing fly was the one Creed wanted to squash first.
Judging from the strength Bruno had just displayed, he was clearly not on the same level as in the original timeline. At the very least, he had already developed the Doa Doa no Mi to the level of awakening—he might even have pushed it to an even deeper stage.
Otherwise, with Creed, Shi, and Aegis all trading blows at what was arguably the top tier of combat in this world, there's no way Bruno could still be participating in the fight without being shredded by collateral damage.
Barely ten minutes ago, even elite vice admirals like Onigumo and Doberman couldn't get within several miles of Creed.
"Kill Bruno first."
Within the ROOM's sphere, Bruno wasn't that much of a threat by himself. But add Shi's interference on top of that, and the story changed.
Even someone as strong as Creed didn't want to take another full-powered slash from Shi.
Especially now that the monster called Aegis was about to move as well.
"ROOM!"
Creed first expanded a ROOM, then flashed out of his current position. At the same time, he immediately pulled out a stamina recovery potion, popped the cap, and swallowed a single drop.
"Boom!"
Aegis's strike landed where Creed had been standing a heartbeat earlier, shattering the air there into a web of pitch-black cracks.
"Mm?!"
Creed's sudden spatial shift clearly exceeded Aegis's expectations.
"The Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit)… as expected of an ultimate Devil Fruit. This kind of evasion is just absurd."
Even Aegis couldn't help but praise it.
"But I can't keep up with his speed like this. I need to think of a better way."
After the praise came a dull headache.
On top of the Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit), Creed still held the power of the Pika Pika no Mi (Glint-Glint Fruit). His raw speed was absolutely above Aegis's. If Creed decided to keep kiting, darting in and out to harass from range, then this battle was not something that would be settled in a short time.
"Hmph. Creed, your speed might be fast—but your people aren't necessarily the same."
A vicious idea surfaced in Aegis's heart.
If Creed continued fighting like this, he would switch to attacking Creed's companions—force Creed to come to the rescue and clash head-on.
However, he had misjudged Creed.
Creed had taken out the stamina recovery potion precisely because he wanted to restore himself to peak condition and end Aegis quickly. How could he possibly let things drag on according to Aegis's plan?
After all, sustaining a large-scale ROOM was also extremely stamina-intensive.
But Aegis wasn't Creed's first target. That "honor" belonged to Bruno, who was hiding within those spatial doors.
"ROOM!"
Creed expanded the ROOM again.
"Boom!"
All of a sudden, Shi lunged in from the side, the sword in his hand—Tenshiken (Heaven-Eroding Sword)—thrusting forward like a poisonous serpent. It carried that same gray Shokumetsu Ken'i (Eroding Sword Intent), as if it could corrode even the void itself, enveloping dozens of miles of sky and sea.
Even if Creed wanted to instant-transmit away, he would have to first cleanse this sword intent out of the area in front of him.
Unless Creed could, like Bruno, physically rip open space and slip through it.
"So the Shokumetsu Ken'i (Eroding Sword Intent) can be used like this? It can even corrode the void?"
Creed was a little surprised.
He'd originally thought Shi's sword intent could only corrode energy and physical matter. He hadn't expected it to be capable of "corroding" the very skin of space.
Of course, it was only "coating" the surface layer of the void with a poisonous film. It was nowhere near the level of the Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit), which could outright shatter space itself.
Even so, the Shokumetsu Ken'i (Eroding Sword Intent) was extremely vicious. If you were touched by it, it would cling to you like a bone-deep curse, almost impossible to scrub off right away.
Even with Creed's monstrous vitality, insane recovery, and the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit), the wound on his back still refused to heal in a short time.
That, in itself, was proof of how terrifying the Shokumetsu Ken'i (Eroding Sword Intent) truly was.
Naturally, this still didn't stump Creed.
He had plenty of ways to break out of this situation.
Without a doubt, the most direct method—and the one that allowed him to counterattack at the same time—was Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!
With that single drop of stamina potion, Creed had already recovered to a state of complete readiness.
So, in terms of stamina, he had no problems at all.
"Cho Shinra Tensei (Super Almighty Push)!"
When Creed moved, he unleashed a massive-area repulsive blast from the start.
Anyway, the hundred-plus miles in every direction had long since been reduced to a dead zone. There wasn't a drop of seawater left; even the seabed had been turned into magma, mixed with persistent sword intent and countless other lethal powers.
So plowing through it once more with Cho Shinra Tensei (Super Almighty Push) was hardly a big deal.
Before that peerless repulsive force, all Shokumetsu Ken'i (Eroding Sword Intent) turned to dust.
"He put away his sword and spread his hands? His whole body is full of openings! What kind of technique is this supposed to be? Whatever—this is my chance to take his life! …Huh?!"
Shi had seen Creed sheath his blade and suddenly stretch his arms wide. Flush with excitement, he was just about to thrust for Creed's heart when an indescribable sense of crisis surged up from the depths of his soul.
"Retreat!"
He instantly contacted Bruno through a special method, signaling for him to open an air door right behind his back.
"Boom!"
The moment Creed's arms spread wide, countless white rays burst from his body, turning him into a blazing miniature sun.
An overwhelming repulsive force swept out in all directions.
Even though Shi had a door directly behind him as an escape route, the shock of it still sent his blood and organs churning.
Taking this attack from close range—
Even a sage body would look pretty miserable afterwards.
Shi was blasted away, and even Aegis, who had charged in right behind him, was forcibly pushed back.
Aegis's original plan had been to let Shi tie Creed down, then rush in himself to cross blows head-on.
Who would have thought Creed would unleash such a terrifying ultimate move and bounce everything away in one sweep?
Even so, with his level of strength and his SSSS-rank Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), Aegis's body refused to yield to the repulsive tide. He forcibly punched through the wave of force and hacked his way forward, charging toward Creed in defiance of the blast.
But Creed paid him no mind.
Instead, he reached out and grabbed at the air.
"Bansho Ten'in (Universal Pull)!"
A surge of wild suction exploded from his palm, trying to latch onto Shi, who had retreated into the air door.
"What?! Shut it, now!"
Shi's body lurched in place. Terrified, he frantically yelled for Bruno to slam the door shut behind him.
Even so—
"Boom!"
The lingering shockwaves still made that special pocket of space tremble violently.
"Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation)!"
Purple light flashed in Creed's eyes as his Rinnegan—Rinnegan (Samsara Eye)—fixed itself on Aegis. He raised one hand and clenched it into a fist.
With the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye) and his overwhelming physical power, he could now do what late-stage Sasuke had done in the shinobi world: unleash Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) without even forming a physical black core.
All he needed was to lock onto a target with his eyes—and the prison would form around them.
"Boom!"
With Creed's gesture, Aegis suddenly felt his whole body fill with a strange, surging gravitational force. His aura scattered for an instant under the crushing pull.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In the next heartbeat, countless gigantic boulders, clumps of magma from the shattered seabed, and the remnants of sword intent all shot up like bullets, slamming into his body from every direction.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In the space of a single moment, Aegis was sealed inside a massive stone sphere over a hundred meters in diameter, suspended in midair.
Creed didn't have time to deliver a heavy follow-up strike to the imprisoned Aegis.
He instantly teleported several hundred meters away instead, and the power of the Gura Gura no Mi (Tremor-Tremor Fruit) erupted from his fist as he hammered a punch in a seemingly empty direction.
"Vmm!"
Blue-white cracks in space spread out like a spiderweb.
In that particular spot, the air itself was subtly shifting, space warping ever so slightly—Creed had locked onto it a step in advance.
Right now, he wasn't just using the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye).
He'd also activated Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) to foresee the future.
Under this double-layered targeting, the little tricks of Shi and Bruno were nothing but a joke.
Creed… was finally going all out.
(End of Chapter)
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