Upon returning to the deck, Raynor didn't linger. He went straight to his quarters.
He sank his consciousness into his mind to check the System Warehouse.
A massive, glittering golden lantern lay quietly in the corner. In its presence, the countless piles of other golden treasures seemed dull by comparison.
The Golden Lantern was filled with "Pure Gold" of the highest purity. Originally, this belonged to the great Lantern Fish (Bonbori), but now, Raynor was its master.
The presence of the Pure Gold turned the entire System Warehouse into a sea of gold, shimmering with a blinding brilliance.
At that moment, the system's mechanical voice echoed in Raynor's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations Host on obtaining the Treasure of the Sea, Eternal Pure Gold!][Triggered Fortune Reward: Obtained 60 Fortune Points!]
Another 60 Fortune Points?
Raynor, pleasantly surprised, immediately opened his system panel.
[Opening System Panel...]
Host: Raynor
System: Grand Line Voyage System
Swordsmanship: Lv 43 (44/100,000)
Observation Haki: Lv 19 (20/150,000) — [Future Sight]
Armament Haki: Lv 19 (20/150,000)
Conqueror's Haki: Lv 13 (14/200,000)
Navigation Points: 350,000
Subordinates: Linlin (Iron Balloon Talent), Jace (Rumble-Rumble Fruit User), Roger (Golden Lion Ability User), Streusen (Cook-Cook Fruit User), Shadow, Hajrudin, Shakuyaku
Fortune Points: 120
Looking at the Fortune Points, Raynor felt a surge of ecstasy.
With 120 Fortune Points, he could spend 100 to guarantee a 100% trigger on a Fortune Event—just like when he shared Linlin's "Iron Balloon" talent.
As for the Navigation Points...
While in Skypiea, apart from training, Raynor had spent most of his time reading ancient texts. Although the points gained from that were meager, they had added up over time.
Over the past three years, he had distributed his accumulated Navigation Points across four different attributes. By now, whether it was his swordsmanship or his three types of Haki, all had reached the level of a powerhouse.
With the remaining points, plus the 30,000 obtained from subduing Shakuyaku, his total had reached roughly 350,000 Navigation Points.
Raynor rubbed his chin, considering how to allocate this sum.
Whether it was swordsmanship or Haki, the higher the level, the more astronomical the cost to upgrade. He could no longer spread his points evenly like before; he had to make a choice.
Soon, he made his decision.
His teacher, Kaido, once said that among the many powers in the pirate world, only Haki transcends everything else. Furthermore, Haki has no limit.
In the entire world, no one could claim to have cultivated all three types of Haki to their absolute peak.
The future Kaido would possess incredibly powerful Haki. However: In terms of Observation Haki, Katakuri would rival him. In terms of Armament Haki, Garp would be a cut above. In terms of Conqueror's Haki, Shanks would be superior.
But even among those three, who could say they had truly maxed out their Haki?
Having made his judgment, Raynor decisively split the 350,000 Navigation Points into two portions, dumping them into Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
Both leveled up once, and his Navigation Points dropped back to zero.
Just as the Armament Haki attribute ticked over to Level 20, the system notification chimed again without warning.
[Congratulations Host on successfully raising Armament Haki to Level 20. Obtained: Internal Destruction!]
Raynor was momentarily stunned before a look of joy washed over his face.
Internal Destruction—an advanced and far more destructive technique of Armament Haki.
As everyone knew, the simplest use of Armament Haki was Hardening: coating one's body in Haki to make it harder than steel, drastically boosting offense and defense.
Slightly more difficult was Emission (Flow): projecting Haki outward from a weapon or body part to strike enemies without making physical contact, useful for both offense and defense (similar to how the three Admirals blocked Whitebeard's attack at Marineford).
But the highest level of difficulty was Internal Destruction.
"Not a bad harvest!"
Watching the black Armament Haki slowly fade from his arm, Raynor nodded with satisfaction.
"This voyage has truly been fruitful."
Since leaving Skypiea, Raynor had successfully obtained the treasure wood, "Adam." During the journey, he had subdued Shakuyaku and accidentally acquired the training methods for the Marine's "Six Powers" (Rokushiki) from a battleship. Following the treasure map, he had found the great secret treasure, "Pure Gold," earning a reward of 60 Fortune Points. And now, he had mastered the Internal Destruction form of Armament Haki.
Each one was incredibly precious, though in Raynor's eyes, the Pure Gold was undoubtedly the crown jewel.
After organizing all his gains, Raynor finally returned to the deck.
None of the crew members or the Kuja warriors had left; they seemed to be waiting for him.
Seeing Raynor approach, countless eyes immediately locked onto him.
Raynor knew exactly why, but he had no intention of telling them about the Pure Gold.
The reason was simple: Pure Gold was too valuable. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the most precious treasure in the world.
The fewer people who knew, the fewer problems he would have.
Even though the System ensured their loyalty, and he didn't doubt Jace or the others, what if they accidentally let it slip while chatting?
Raynor didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble.
Shakuyaku looked at the approaching Raynor with a faint, enigmatic smile. She had to admit, Raynor was charismatic.
If Raynor blocking Sanders' attack earlier wasn't enough for her to gauge his true strength, the aura he had just exploded with—and that flying slash spanning a hundred meters—was proof enough.
It was enough to make her submit willingly.
Only a man like this was worthy of Shakuyaku's submission!
Seeing Raynor look like he wanted to speak but stopped, the considerate Shakuyaku didn't pry.
She took a bottle of red wine from a Kuja warrior, poured a glass for herself and one for Raynor, and swayed her slender waist as she walked up to him.
"Congratulations to the Captain on obtaining the treasure," she said affectionately. "On such a joyous occasion, shouldn't we throw a banquet to celebrate?"
Meeting Raynor's gaze, Shakuyaku winked playfully.
The crew, understanding the unspoken cue, didn't ask further questions and immediately cheered in agreement.
They were used to strange things happening around Raynor. For instance, they still hadn't figured out how he stored all that gold away even after three years.
But since Raynor didn't say, they wouldn't ask.
That was called knowing your place!
"Then let's have a banquet!"
Clink.
Raynor took the wine and gently clinked glasses with her, the sound ringing out clearly.