"Is that so? I honestly think it's a shame," Nami said with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, I feel the same," Uta nodded in agreement.
"I kind of want to see Captain Arton in black stockings too," Robin added, chin propped on one hand as she smiled.
"Hey, that's going a little too far," Arton said, pinching the bridge of his nose, totally exasperated. "If anyone's wearing black stockings, it should be you girls wearing them for me."
Seriously—he liked black stockings, sure. But that didn't mean he wanted to be the one wearing them.
That kind of thing looked best on Conis and the girls, not him.
Seeing everyone look like they were about to seriously try it, Arton immediately cancelled the fusion.
And yep—Nami, Robin, and the others all wore the exact same disappointed expressions the moment he did, which only made him feel even more speechless.
"Alright, alright—stop staring at me," Arton said, waving them off. "You should be looking at Conis right now."
"She's the one who got Serval's Template."
"And instead of hoping I'll ever wear black stockings…" Arton grinned, "…you should hope Conis reaches the point where she can use Serval's Template at one hundred percent."
"Because the moment she fully summons Serval's power onto herself… she'll probably end up with Serval's exact black-stocking look."
Just imagining it made Arton's heart itch with anticipation.
"That might be true," Nami said, turning toward Conis, "but getting to that level is hard."
"I… I'll do my best," Conis replied nervously.
"I'm not trying to pressure you—forget it." Nami shook her head, then looked back at Arton. "Captain, weren't you going to guide Conis?"
"You said you wanted to fuse first and get a better feel for her power but you've already exited fusion mode—can you still teach her?"
Arton's face split into a smug smile. He hooked a thumb at his chest.
"Don't underestimate me, Nami."
"While I was fused and talking to you guys, I already got a solid grasp of Serval's power."
"So yeah—I can confidently say I'm able to guide Conis now."
As he said that, Arton couldn't help feeling a fresh wave of awe at what he'd sensed.
[The power of a Path really is on a cosmic level. When I fused with Conis, I could clearly feel that this power was connected to some vast, great existence in the universe.]
[That must've been an Aeon… or more precisely, Nous—the Aeon of Erudition?]
[The Path Serval wields should be the Path of Erudition. Pretty sure.]
[Tch. Compared to a Path, this world's Devil Fruits are basically trash. Even at the limit, all you get is Awakening.]
[But a Path is different. If you walk far enough on one, having god-level power is absolutely possible.]
[Man… I'm really looking forward to Conis going far enough on Serval's Path.]
[Also… when am I going to pull a Path-based Template that actually fits me?]
Chapter 573: Arton Wouldn't Lower Himself Under Someone Else, Right?
"Gah—! I knew the Path was insane, but I didn't expect Arton to rate it this highly," Whitey Bay muttered.
"In Arton's eyes, Devil Fruit power is just… garbage?" Makino said softly, stunned.
"Even back when Arton got other Templates, he never gave a review this extreme," Stussy noted. "But compared to things like Raikage-style Templates… Devil Fruits really do start looking underwhelming."
Riju's gaze sharpened. "Arton's Templates are touching more and more fields… Germa 66's tech looks like a child's toy in front of him."
Then she bit her lip, thinking of the restraints Judge had placed on her.
"And if Templates are this ridiculous… then in theory, shouldn't they be able to remove the restrictions Father put on my body too…?"
Gion's expression darkened. "A Path… this is getting more troublesome by the second."
"I can only pray this girl doesn't have too much potential," Sadi said, licking her lips. "If she masters the Path properly, Arton will gain yet another terrifyingly strong companion."
Domino frowned. "Even if her talent isn't great… as long as she's willing to grind, she can still farm a massive amount of points from Arton."
Kujaku's eyes widened. "So there isn't just one Path? Erudition… that means there are other Paths too?"
"And not just that," Doll added. "Even the Aeons aren't limited to a single one. Which means Arton's odds of pulling more Path-related Templates will only go up."
…
On Smoothie's side.
The moment she read Arton's diary entry, a hot thrill surged up her spine.
"A Path… for Arton to praise it like that…" she murmured, eyes burning with hunger. "I really want to see that Template's power up close."
"If I could actually get my hands on a Path-based Template…" She swallowed hard, the desire in her gaze turning almost physical.
At that moment, she even felt like all the Templates she'd missed before didn't matter anymore.
The ones Arton was pulling now were simply getting more and more outrageous.
Smoothie even had a feeling the further this went… the more terrifying Arton's future pulls would become.
"Yeah," Cinnamon nodded. "If Arton rates it like that, then its potential definitely isn't low."
"But Sis—up to now, he's only pulled one Template that carries a Path," Cinnamon continued. "It's not like he's guaranteed to keep pulling ones like that."
Smoothie smiled. "But Arton's lottery has three tiers—low, mid, and high. If he's willing to save up points and roll the high-tier pulls…"
"Then sooner or later, he'll hit another Path-based Template."
"I see…" Cinnamon nodded, but her brows stayed knitted tight.
Smoothie caught the look immediately.
"You're worried that even if Arton does pull something like that… he still won't give it to us, aren't you?"
Cinnamon nodded hard. "Yeah."
"Arton is getting stronger and stronger. I honestly can't imagine why he'd accept our invitation anymore."
"And… even if I hate to say it… Mom might end up disappointed."
Arton's growth was something every diary-holder could see with their own eyes. And now he'd just pulled a Template with cosmic-level potential.
Cinnamon could already picture a day where Arton awakened power capable of wiping out the world itself.
At that point… would Arton really be willing to live under someone else's command?
Would he ever lower his head? Not a chance.