Riser remained still for a moment, staring into the absolute void of the Kamui. There was no rush. No sound. Only the question forming in a direct, precise, inevitable way.
"System… and the dimensional energy I had already absorbed before? What will happen to it now?"
Silence lasted only as long as needed.
[PROCESSING.]
The answer came clean.
[THE ABSORBED ENERGY HAS BEEN REDIRECTED.]
"Redirected to where?"
[TO THE MAIN EVOLUTION MATRIX.]
Riser narrowed his eyes.
"What does that mean?"
[THE PREVIOUS ENERGY WAS NOT LOST.]
[IT WAS USED TO REDUCE THE LOADING TIME OF DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL.]
[BEFORE: 6 MONTHS.]
[NOW: 2 MONTHS.]
Riser tilted his head slightly, thoughtful.
'Two months… that changes a lot.'
But the System wasn't finished.
[IN ADDITION.]
[THE SAME ENERGY ENABLED AN OPTIONAL UPDATE.]
Riser raised his chin.
"Optional update."
[CONFIRMED.]
[THE HOST MAY ACTIVATE SYSTEM 3.0.]
The air seemed to concentrate attention for a second.
Riser spoke slowly.
"And what exactly would System 3.0 do?"
The answer came short, precise — exactly as he had demanded.
[SYSTEM 3.0 REMOVES ALL NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.]
[THERE WILL BE NO MORE SHOP.]
[NO COSTS.]
[NO DEPENDENCE ON POINTS.]
[ANYTHING THE HOST DESIRES MAY BE EXECUTED DIRECTLY.]
[THE SYSTEM WILL BECOME FULLY SUBMISSIVE TO COMMAND.]
[ABSOLUTE CONTROL.]
Riser fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he smiled.
"…That's tempting."
The System concluded.
[COST FOR EVOLUTION: 50,000 LUCK POINTS.]
Riser laughed to himself.
"Almost nothing… compared to what I get in return."
He brought a hand to his chin, reflecting without hurry.
"With System 3.0, I wouldn't just rule this world… I'd reshape it. Create. Destroy. Rebuild. Without relying on anything."
The idea pleased him more than it should.
It was practical.
It was logical.
It was inevitable.
But he was still a few thousand points short.
"I have 45,800 points now."
[CORRECT.]
"Then I'll gather the rest."
Riser slowly closed his hand, firm in his decision. He looked toward the suspended reflection of the Kamui, where the Pristine Room appeared in fragments — five old men frozen between terror and denial, unable to accept the void left by their false god.
"I'll gather the points watching them."
The distortion opened beneath his feet.
ZUUUUM
Riser reappeared in the room as if he had materialized from the very air, closing the Kamui behind him without ceremony. The Gorosei went into shock seeing him again, as if reality had decided to punish them twice in a row.
The silence that followed was almost funny.
Riser lifted his gaze.
"Surprise."
The tallest one stepped back immediately, tripping over his own feet. The others imitated him like poorly balanced domino pieces. Pathetic. Riser allowed a minimal smile, without any urgency.
"Relax. I just came back to get what's missing."
The long-bearded Gorosei took a hesitant step.
"What… do you want…?"
"Points."
The answer was simple.
The Mangekyō spun, and before any of them could even think of reacting, Riser directed his gaze at the oldest one's chest.
"Amaterasu."
FWOOM
The black fire spread instantly. The old man didn't scream — air escaped his throat like a broken hiccup, and then nothing. The flame climbed to his head, consuming everything with clean efficiency. In seconds, not even a silhouette remained.
The second Gorosei panicked and tried to invoke some defense, slashing his hands through the air, but no technique, ritual, or command could stop a fire born from Riser's will.
He tried to run.
Terrible choice.
Riser shifted his gaze an inch to the right.
"Amaterasu."
The fire erupted from the man's spine as if waiting for permission. He arched forward, lost balance, and fell to his knees, trying to tear off his own cloak while burning. The struggle only made the process uglier, never slower.
"Two."
The ashes were still falling when the System broke the air.
[ELIMINATIONS CONFIRMED.]
[GOROSEI — HIGH PRIORITY.]
[REWARD: +10,000 LUCK POINTS.]
[CURRENT BALANCE: 55,800.]
Riser tilted his head, satisfied.
"Better."
The remaining three finally snapped out of their initial shock. One jumped back, trying to gain distance. Another raised his arm aggressively, energy trembling around his hand. The third pointed at Riser as if issuing some idiotic decree, still believing he had authority to command anything.
Riser observed the shift with dry amusement.
"Ah… so you finally decided to react."
The three spread out across the hall, forming an improvised stance. One attempted to summon something from the floor. Another gathered power in his arm. The third muttered orders to no one, trying to look confident.
Riser stepped forward calmly.
"I'll let you try."
The bespectacled one attacked first, striking the air with force, using something that resembled amplified Busoshoku. The blow cracked the floor, but Riser simply shifted aside — no rush, no effort.
"A beautiful strike. Useless, of course."
The second launched something like a compressed energy wave. Strong enough to collapse an entire building. Riser raised his hand and simply let the attack pass beside him.
"You really think you're warriors."
The third drew a short weapon — glowing, unfamiliar technology. A blade vibrating at a high pitch, capable of cutting through almost anything.
He rushed forward.
Riser smiled.
"Perfect."
The blade passed where his neck should have been.
Kamui.
Riser allowed his body to become intangible for a second and reappeared behind the old man without any effort.
"You may continue. I'm enjoying this."
The three looked at him simultaneously — frustration, hatred, and fear mixing.
The hall seemed to breathe with them, even the air growing tense.
Riser spread his arms in a casual gesture.
"Let's see how far you get before turning to ash."
The three prepared to attack at the same time.
The bespectacled one moved first, trying to flank him. The second stepped back twice and began pulling something from inside his own back, a strange tremor running along his skin. The third firmed his stance, Busoshoku rising along his arms in dark plates.
Riser lifted his chin, bored.
"One at a time."
The Mangekyō spun. His gaze locked onto the one who trembled. The old man bit his lip as his skin began to deform, bones rising beneath the flesh.
"Zoan, huh?"
Riser didn't wait for the form to appear.
"Kamui."
ZUUUUM
Space collapsed at the center of the man's chest, as if someone had removed a circle from reality. A perfect hole opened and vanished in the same fraction of a second, taking everything that should be there with it. The body fell backward without a scream, without blood, without anything — only the dry sound of impact and the void where a heart once existed.
Riser tilted his head.
"Transformation interrupted."
The bespectacled one attacked on reflex, Haki boiling in his fist. The blow cut through the air in a brutal arc. Riser took half a step aside and let the wind of the punch sweep the empty space.
"Beautiful."
The third raised his palm, pointing it at him. Energy condensed around his hand, vibrating, ready to fire.
Riser exhaled shortly.
"Now it's the fire's turn."
The Mangekyō locked on. His gaze found the bespectacled one.
"Amaterasu."
FWOOM
Black flames appeared on the hardened fist and climbed the arm as if poured from within. The old man tried to smother the fire with more Haki, but the layer dissolved like wet paper. He fell to his knees, attempting to smash his own arm into the ground to stop the advance. Useless. The Amaterasu climbed to his face and erased everything in seconds.
"One left."
The third fired the compressed energy. The beam passed where Riser's head should have been. He tilted his neck a few millimeters, allowing the attack to pass, indifferent. The old man already gathered the second shot, his face firm for the first time.
"Good decision. Shame it doesn't work."
Riser adjusted his gaze.
"Amaterasu."
FWOOSH
The black fire erupted at the base of the man's neck and spread down the clavicle, devouring with silent hunger. He activated Busoshoku along the torso, forming a dark armor. For a moment, it seemed to hold. Seemed.
The flame pierced the hardening and spread across the chest, gaining pace until it covered the entire body. He staggered two steps, still trying to mold a third shot, but his hand failed before the gesture finished. He collapsed sideways, turned to ash, disappeared.
Riser stood still for a second, listening only to nothing.
"Done."
The System entered, dry.
[ELIMINATIONS CONFIRMED.]
[GOROSEI — HIGH PRIORITY.]
[REWARD: +15,000 LUCK POINTS.]
[CURRENT BALANCE: 70,800.]
Riser smiled without hurry.
"Seventy thousand and eight hundred. Perfect."
He ran his tongue lightly across his teeth, thoughtful.
"Hancock is going to love this."
The memory made his smile grow naturally.
"Bringing the pirate princess here… letting her see where these worms hid… and then pointing at the Tenryuubito as gifts."
He tilted his head, imagining her reaction — the satisfied gleam, the sharp laugh, the ancient hunger for vengeance finally fed.
"She'll enjoy this more than I did."
Riser snapped his fingers. The dry echo cut across the dead hall, now as silent as the government that was supposed to protect it. No voices, no guards, no servants. Nothing.
Only the empty throne.
And the absolute certainty that this place no longer belonged to the old world.
He sighed like someone closing an uninteresting chapter.
"It's done here."
The Mangekyō turned once — slow, precise.
Space around him yielded immediately, folding the edges of reality like fabric pulled inward.
ZUUUUM
The Kamui opened beneath his feet, unhurried, as if it had been waiting for exactly that moment.
Riser stepped back and slid into the dimension.
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