A sudden surge of Conqueror's Haki swept across the entire Thriller Bark in an instant.
Thud. Thud.
The unsuspecting crew members, who had been handling the captives, were struck by the overwhelming presence. Their bodies trembled as the haki washed over them, and one by one, they lost consciousness, collapsing onto the deck with dull, heavy thuds.
The only ones unaffected were the strongest members of the crew, such as Gaya.
"That's the Captain's Conqueror's Haki."
"What an immense presence… The moment it 'touched' me, my very soul shuddered. How terrifying—if I had a heart, it would have leapt out of my chest! Yohohoho!"
"Releasing Conqueror's Haki indiscriminately like this… That's not something Maude would normally do. Did something happen inside the castle?"
They glanced around at their unconscious crewmates before simultaneously turning their eyes toward the castle, their expressions tinged with surprise and curiosity.
"I'll go check."
Gaya narrowed her eyes slightly. Maude's sudden release of uncontrolled Conqueror's Haki felt too out of place.
A hint of unease rose within her, and without hesitation, she strode toward the castle.
"Arara, I'll go too."
Aokiji, equally perplexed, followed closely behind her.
The rest of the crew exchanged glances but remained where they were. With Gaya and Aokiji investigating, there was no need for them to worry.
It only took moments for Gaya and Aokiji to reach the castle.
They pushed open the large doors of the first floor and stepped into the spacious hall.
At the far end of the hall, a winding staircase led up to the second floor.
Standing against the staircase railing, Shakky leaned lazily, a freshly lit cigarette held between her slender fingers.
Midway up the stairs, Lafitte stood on the platform, a faint smile playing on his pale lips.
"Hoho, no need to worry. According to the Captain himself, this was merely an accident."
Lafitte's calm gaze met Gaya and Aokiji as they entered the hall.
Gaya frowned slightly, still pressing for an answer. "What happened?"
Aokiji remained silent but gave Lafitte a questioning look.
Resting his cane against his lower back, Lafitte spoke in a composed tone. "It would take too long to explain. At this distance, why not use Observation Haki to see for yourselves?"
Gaya and Aokiji fell silent for a moment before tilting their heads slightly, gazing upward toward the ceiling. A crimson glow flickered in their eyes.
Without a sound, their Observation Haki extended beyond the ceiling, reaching the room where Maude was.
The instant their haki swept across the space, they perceived Maude's presence with crystal clarity—and it was unlike anything before.
Compared to the aura he displayed during the battle in Dressrosa, the presence they now sensed was overwhelmingly stronger.
Astonishment flashed through their eyes as they focused on Maude's energy, akin to staring directly at a blazing sun radiating limitless heat and light.
The difference was stark. The growth was undeniable. Particularly in the way Maude made no effort to suppress it, creating a stark contrast with before.
"Little Maude sure is excited," Shakky remarked, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "So excited that he can't even control his Conqueror's Haki—just like a child who just got his hands on a new toy."
"Ara, ara… That's something you don't see every day."
Aokiji withdrew his gaze, turning to Shakky, his voice carrying a tinge of genuine surprise.
What truly puzzled him was how Maude's aura had suddenly become so much more powerful.
Gaya's thoughts stirred.
As one of Maude's earliest crewmates, she had witnessed this phenomenon before—more than once.
But compared to those past instances, this time was too conspicuous. So much so that even she found it surprising.
Through the drifting smoke, Shakky's eyes glowed faintly as she said, "It must be the Kage Kage no Mi's ability. I remember Little Maude using a technique during the war at Marineford that temporarily granted him an immense boost in strength. The prerequisite was absorbing shadows…"
She took another slow drag from her cigarette before continuing.
"Though this 'feeling' seems a little different, maybe he's refined that technique, improving its power and effects."
"The Kage Kage no Mi, huh…"
Aokiji stroked his chin, recalling the form Maude had taken when he defeated Whitebeard at Marineford.
Back then, Maude had absorbed hundreds of prisoner shadows, temporarily acquiring tremendous power. It was one of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's most unexpected and formidable abilities.
And it wasn't exactly a secret anymore.
The Navy knew all about it, and thanks to the live broadcast, the entire world had seen it firsthand.
Which was why, despite Maude's victory over the aging Whitebeard, the major forces of the New World dismissed it as merely a matter of favorable circumstances.
The title of "The World's Strongest Man" did not simply transfer to Maude upon Whitebeard's fall.
Now, with Shakky's words reminding him, Aokiji replayed the scene of Maude activating Shadow's Asgard during the battle at Marineford.
Something did feel different.
Could it really be, as Shakky suggested, that Maude had refined and improved Shadow's Asgard?
Had he… overcome its time limit?
If so, the potential of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, already terrifying in Maude's hands, would be completely unreasonable.
On the stairway platform.
Lafitte, fully aware of the truth, observed Aokiji and Gaya's reactions with an amused smile.
It was only a matter of time before Maude's ability to grow stronger by hunting powerful foes would be noticed by those closest to him.
But even if they discovered it, it wouldn't matter.
Even if one of them was a former Marine Admiral…
After all, Maude had already stepped into the realm of monsters who ruled atop the world.
No one could stop him from climbing even higher.
"I am the only one who knows the truth…"
Without warning, Lafitte tapped his foot rhythmically against the wooden floor, the sharp sound ringing through the hall in a steady beat.
The sound caught the attention of Gaya, Aokiji, and Shakky, drawing their gazes toward him.
Meeting their eyes, Lafitte simply smiled without saying a word.
As the sole keeper of Maude's secret, he cherished this knowledge more than anything.
Only this secret could prove his irreplaceable position in Maude's eyes.
"It doesn't matter who the Captain's right-hand man is. But to him, I am the one who cannot be replaced."
Lafitte narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fixating on Gaya and Aokiji.
Among the crew, the only ones he acknowledged as his equals in strength were them.
And they were the only ones who occasionally brought him a sense of pressure.
Feeling the subtle hostility in Lafitte's gaze, both Gaya and Aokiji were momentarily taken aback, unsure of its meaning.
At the top floor of the castle.
Maude was fully immersed in the surge of newfound power.
Within his dark consciousness, the edges of the Hunter's Notebook glowed with a brand-new radiance.
No longer a white light, but a deep, resplendent orange.
The black leather cover shimmered, and each star on it pulsed with vibrant orange, flickering like a heartbeat.
[Physique: ★★★★★★★★★]
[Swordsmanship: ★★★★★★★★★]
[Haki: ★★★★★★★★★]
[Devil Fruit: ★★★★★★★★★]
Maude's attention was fixed on the neatly arranged star frames.
Four attributes had reached nine stars...
From this point forward, due to the experience point distribution mechanism, condensing the tenth star frame would become exponentially more difficult.
This was also why, even though swordsmanship, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities had all reached nine stars, his physique—the earliest to take the lead—was still stuck at nine stars.
However, barring any surprises, his physique would be the first to condense the tenth star frame.
The only uncertainty was how long it would take to achieve that.
Even if he did condense the tenth star frame, filling it completely might require eliminating every strong opponent in the New World who could still provide him with experience points, and even then, it might not be enough to fully solidify the tenth star.
After all, ten stars was the true ceiling of the power system.
Maude slowly opened his eyes and gazed downward, as if his vision could penetrate the floor and observe the scene in the hall below.
"It's Gaya and Kuzan..."
He had sensed the brief presence of Observation Haki just now but chose to ignore it.
A few meters away, Law stared at Maude, unable to hide his shock at the overwhelming aura he exuded.
On the floor of the room, the bodies of Jack the Drought and Crescent Moon Hunter Catarina Devon still retained some warmth.
Blackbeard, who had sustained serious injuries, remained unconscious.
As for Shiryu and Ulti—whom Maude had yet to deal with—they had been abruptly awakened by the sheer force of his Conqueror's Haki.
Shiryu, having been rendered unconscious by a Negative Hollow, bore no physical injuries.
Ulti, on the other hand, had been struck down by Gaya's axe. Her wounds were severe in comparison, but as a Zoan Ancient-type user, her regeneration ability was formidable—her injuries had already healed by more than half.
The moment the two regained consciousness, Law immediately noticed and instinctively activated his Room, transferring their hearts into his hands.
Maude, however, merely observed the awakened Shiryu and Ulti with calm indifference.
"Huh?"
Maude suddenly let out a surprised sound, fixing his gaze on the two.
Above their heads, floating words and a string of stars had appeared.
Maude blinked twice rapidly before focusing again. The words and stars were still suspended above them.
Above Shiryu's head were the words "Swordsmanship," followed by eight and a half stars—eight solid stars and one star frame—each radiating a deep purple glow.
Above Ulti's head were the words "Devil Fruit," accompanied by nine solid stars. Unlike Shiryu's deep purple glow, her stars emitted an orange light, though it appeared somewhat dull.
"Their ability rankings are being displayed directly..."
Maude was astonished. He thought to himself:
"This feature was one of my original concepts when developing the Hunter's Notebook, but back then, in order to ensure the ability's functionality, I had to abandon it. And now..."
Looking at the information hovering above Shiryu and Ulti, Maude realized it was an extension of the Hunter's Notebook ability.
As he pondered this development, the two newly awakened individuals moved.
Gurgle—
Shiryu, unable to locate his sword, Raiu, instinctively activated his Venom-Venom Fruit ability. In an instant, his body was covered in a threatening flow of lethal poison.
Ulti acted just as decisively. Without even assessing her surroundings, she immediately activated her complete Zoan transformation.
But the next moment, Law, expressionless, squeezed the hearts in his hands tightly.
Unlike Vergo's inexperienced control over the heart in the original story, Law, as the ability's true wielder, inflicted pain with absolute precision, cranking the suffering to its maximum threshold.
"Aaaaarghhh!!!"
The excruciating, unimaginable pain assaulted Shiryu and Ulti's nerves.
The venom coating Shiryu's body gradually dissipated.
Ulti instantly reverted to her human form.
Both of them screamed in agony. Just as they managed to stagger to their feet, they collapsed back onto the floor.
Maude glanced at the two writhing in pain but paid them little mind. Instead, he focused on examining this new aspect of the Hunter's Notebook.
This ability, which had been impossible to manifest in his previous life due to the constraints of that world's power system, had now emerged after all four of his core attributes reached nine stars.
Maude was both astonished and intrigued.
After experimenting with a few thoughts, he discovered that he could make the ability and star rankings above a target's head appear or disappear at will.
This meant the display wouldn't obstruct his vision when unnecessary.
Additionally, despite Shiryu having consumed the Venom-Venom Fruit, his displayed ability was "Swordsmanship."
It seemed the system only displayed the highest-ranked ability of an individual, just as he had originally envisioned.
"Speaking of which... what's Law's star ranking?"
Maude shifted his gaze to Law.
Activating the ability, he immediately saw two large characters, "Devil Fruit," above Law's head, followed by seven solid stars and one star frame, glowing in a soft purple hue.
Possibly due to the number of stars, Law's purple glow was dimmer than Shiryu's.
"How weak..."
Maude muttered under his breath, suddenly curious about Law's swordsmanship ranking. The only certainty was that it had to be lower than seven and a half stars.
"Weak?"
Law's ears twitched as he continued to squeeze the hearts in his grasp, now scrutinizing Maude with a sharp gaze.
Maude acted as if nothing had happened and turned back to Shiryu and Ulti, who were still shrieking in pain.
While he had been testing his new ability, three or four minutes had already passed.
Which meant Shiryu and Ulti had endured inhuman torment for just as long.
Sweat had soaked through the floor beneath them.
As long as Maude didn't give the order to stop, Law would continue applying pressure, prolonging their suffering.
"Let's pause for now."
After five minutes, Maude finally spoke up.
Law, upon hearing this, ceased his actions.
Shiryu and Ulti collapsed onto the floor, utterly drained, their bodies drenched in sweat as if they had been fished out of the ocean.
Maude looked down at their weakened forms, his gaze lingering on the stars above their heads.
These stars and their radiance visually represented the depth of Shiryu and Ulti's abilities.
Even in the New World, they were among the strongest.
And because of this clear and direct ranking system, Maude suddenly found himself understanding Kaido's peculiar "appreciation for talent."
"You two... I'm suddenly debating whether I should kill you outright or spare your lives…"
Maude mused aloud.
Shiryu and Ulti's expressions shifted.
"But personally, I'm leaning toward eliminating you both."
Maude smiled.
Though he understood Kaido's logic, such a choice would always come with risks.
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