"Damn it, why did the battle have to start now?"
Charlotte Linlin cursed under her breath, her brows furrowed in frustration.
She had known beforehand that the Rocks Pirates planned to attack God Valley. She had been waiting patiently, ready to plunder the treasures there once the battle broke out.
But now, something had disrupted her plans.
Ethan Sugawa's sudden rise had left Big Mom in a dilemma.
If she left him on the ship, she worried he might escape. But if she brought him to the battlefield at God Valley, the chaos might overwhelm her, and she feared he could die in the crossfire.
Big Mom stared at Ethan, falling into deep thought.
"Talents like him are incredibly rare. Even if he must die, he has to die by my side. I can't let him slip away into the sea."
With this in mind, Big Mom turned to the nearby fiery orb floating beside her and gave a firm order.
"Prometheus, from now on, you'll stay with Ethan Sugawa. Protect him at all costs."
"Understood, Mama!" Prometheus responded immediately.
Satisfied with the arrangement, Big Mom finally turned to Ethan, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"The battle outside has already begun. Leaving you behind on the ship is too dangerous. You must join me in this war."
Hearing he would get to go to God Valley, Ethan's heart filled with excitement, though he deliberately put on a reluctant expression.
He had been racking his brain for a way to get to God Valley. Now, Big Mom was offering to take him, he didn't even have to convince her.
"God Valley is overflowing with treasures, and there are rare Devil Fruits there too. Even just eating one would skyrocket my strength." Ethan silently strategized.
If it were before, he would never have dared to take part in such a brutal battle.
But now, armed with all three types of Haki and the devastating power of Ikoku Sovereignty, as long as he didn't run into legendary monsters, he was confident he could walk away alive.
Just then, Ethan felt a large hand grip his shoulder, and Big Mom's voice came close to his ear.
"Rocks and the others have already landed at God Valley. It's time for us to go."
In a flash, the two of them vanished from the ship's cabin.
…
God Valley Shoreline.
Kaido struck down the last remaining Marine in front of him and scanned the area, his brow furrowed.
"Where's Linlin? Why isn't she here yet?"
Beside him, Golden Lion Shiki cackled. "She probably realized she's not strong enough and chickened out!"
But before he could finish mocking her, Charlotte Linlin arrived on the battlefield with Ethan Sugawa in tow.
Her eyes swept coldly across to Shiki as she sneered, "With all the treasures in God Valley, you think I'd miss this?"
Seeing Big Mom arrive, Kaido finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then his gaze fell on Ethan, and his expression instantly darkened.
"Linlin, why did you bring your little lover here? He's so weak he's no help in this battle, and we'll just have to waste energy protecting him."
Big Mom smirked and raised her chin proudly.
"Don't worry about him! Ethan just awakened Conqueror's Haki. Ordinary enemies are no threat to him. Besides, I've ordered Prometheus to stick with him at all times nothing will happen to him."
"Wait, what?!"
Kaido's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the seemingly frail Ethan.
"Linlin, are you saying this little guy awakened Conqueror's Haki too?"
Although Conqueror's Haki was somewhat common within the Rocks Pirates, that didn't mean it was insignificant.
If news of Ethan awakening Conqueror's Haki spread outside, it would definitely cause a stir. Countless pirate crews would try to recruit him into their ranks.
No wonder Linlin was willing to risk everything to bring him to the battlefield she was worried someone else might steal him away.
If Kaido were in her shoes, he would do exactly the same.
"So with herself and Ethan combined, Linlin now has two Conqueror's Haki users. If she ever forms her own crew, she'll be a force to be reckoned with."
Kaido glanced at Big Mom, a hint of envy flickering across his face.
…
Soon enough, the news of Ethan Sugawa awakening Conqueror's Haki quietly spread within a small circle, triggering waves of surprise.
But Ethan remained oblivious to all this.
He was more focused on the steady rise of his Prestige Points, his face filled with curiosity.
"Could my rising prestige be tied to how widely my strength and identity are known?"
His prestige had previously been stuck at 1. But after word of his Conqueror's Haki spread within the Rocks Pirates, it had suddenly skyrocketed to 50.
"So the more famous I become, the faster my prestige will grow."
A thoughtful look appeared in Ethan's eyes. "But what's the point of prestige?"
Just as the question crossed his mind, a new message popped up on his panel.
[Prestige reached 50. Trait slot limit +1.]
[Current Traits: 3/4]
With the added slot, Ethan suddenly noticed faint glowing orbs floating above the corpses around him. He casually absorbed one, and a new message flashed in his mind.
[Cunning Trickster (White): The host's deceptive words become more convincing, a natural-born swindler. If you ever worked in the KK Zone, you'd top the sales charts.]
"…Uh, I'm not exactly planning to be a phone scammer, so what's the point of this?"
The trait was useless to Ethan. Just as he was about to discard it, another prompt appeared.
[Would you like to burn this trait?]
"Yes."
[Congratulations! You have received one Blank Trait.]
[Three White Blank Traits can be fused into one Green Trait.]
"So that's how it works."
Understanding the system, Ethan immediately burned the One Shot, One Soul trait, finally getting rid of the enormous inconvenience it had caused him.
That trait had nearly gotten him into serious trouble it almost let Big Mom take advantage of him and bear his child.
Now that it could be destroyed, he didn't hesitate.
"I'm left with just Legacy of Cao Cao and Emperor's Spear. I've got two empty slots now let's see if there are any good traits around here."
The battlefield was littered with the corpses of both Marines and pirates, and many of them still had faintly glowing orbs floating above.
Most of them glowed white, probably because the people who died were too weak.
But one orb shone with a vibrant green light.
"Let's hope this green one actually gives me something useful."
Muttering to himself, Ethan absorbed the green orb into his body. A new message immediately popped up.
[Swordsmanship Prodigy (Green): Born with a sword heart. The host's comprehension of swordsmanship is several times faster than normal. Any sword technique can be mastered instantly.]
"Perfect timing. My grasp of Ikoku Sovereignty is still a little shaky this will help me solidify it."
Activating the Swordsmanship Prodigy trait, a flood of sword insights rushed into Ethan's mind, instantly absorbed and refined into fuel for his Ikoku Sovereignty technique.
When he reopened his eyes, his mastery over Ikoku Sovereignty had already broken through to Level 2.
He didn't waste the remaining white orbs either he crushed them all, earning over ten White Blank Traits.
While Big Mom and the others were still preparing for battle, Ethan summoned his system panel, and a fresh wave of information appeared before him.