Even after freezing the two "CP0" agents solid, Aokiji was still irritated. Idiots from CP0—couldn't they see Fish-Man Island already treated Creed like a great hero? And they still had the nerve to jump out and make trouble?
If he hadn't put them on ice, he honestly worried the crowd would've torn them apart.
"No wonder Navy officers complain CP0 is arrogant and bossy," Aokiji muttered. "I used to think they were exaggerating. Seeing it today… they don't even put an Admiral in their eyes."
Back at Marine HQ, he'd be having a word with Commander Kong.
He glanced toward Ain—standing close to Creed, far too close under the gazes of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands, reporters included. There would be no suppressing this story. Tomorrow's papers were guaranteed to splash headlines about a "great pirate" and a "candidate admiral" in the same frame…
"Forget it. I'll do what Borsalino does and let Fleet Admiral Sengoku handle the fallout."
Still, as Ain's direct superior, he had to find a moment to remind her—this was a matter of positions and lines.
He didn't think it was fatal, though. After all, Navy hero Garp's son was a Revolutionary, and his grandson Creed was the New World's Fifth Emperor… and Garp was still Garp. If his granddaughter-in-law turned out to be a candidate admiral—wait, that logic was getting weird.
Probably idolizing Garp for too many years had messed with his head.
Jolted by the CP0 commotion, Ain finally remembered her own uniform and loosened her hold on Creed—but she didn't go stand by Aokiji either. The message was obvious, and Aokiji's brows pinched tighter.
He was a little worried Ain might actually leave with Creed. Since Zephyr's retirement, Ain's heart hadn't been in Marine affairs the same way—ruthless to other pirates, sure, but…
A candidate admiral running off with the Fifth Emperor of the New World—the Navy's face would be hard to save.
What could he do, though? It wasn't just that he couldn't beat Creed right now; even Redfield at Creed's side wasn't someone he could confidently subdue.
Circumstance outweighed ideals. Aokiji chose to withdraw. If he stayed any longer, watching Fish-Man Island worship a pirate emperor, the "justice" he upheld might start to wobble.
Creed didn't try to keep him. Aside from Grandpa Garp, Teacher Zephyr, and Ain, he had no ties left with the Navy. Better to smile, nod, and let paths diverge.
Once the uproar ebbed, Neptune dismissed most attendants and offered to host a grand banquet in Creed's honor.
Creed's eyes lingered a moment on Shirahoshi; then he accepted.
Yes, Fish-Man Island had just weathered a cataclysmic battle—but he now stood among the world's apex powers, and with Redfield beside him he wasn't worried about the Navy or the World Government daring to send anyone disruptive.
Before the feast, he took a quiet, luxurious room to recover his stamina.
Beating Big Mom and saving Fish-Man Island had wrung him dry—and even dipped into his reserves.
But the upside was obvious: under that crushing load, his Ope Ope no Mi (Op-Op Fruit) development had loosened its shackles. He was now half a step from an initial awakening—inevitable, sooner or later.
What would awakening look like? Hard to say—but one rumored technique outshone all others: the Immortality Operation.
Creed couldn't deny the anticipation.
He just didn't know if an extracted ability would still demand the caster's life in exchange…
"Hm? My recovery speed's clearly faster. Is that the Super Regeneration kicking in?"
He recalled the bizarre trait he'd extracted from a tardigrade.
A glance at his panel: Super Regeneration and Super Vitality had both climbed to S+.
After he advanced to SSSS-class, those former S-class traits had upgraded right along with him.
Even at S+, the recovery boost was this dramatic. If he could push it to SSSS, it might rival Kaido's draconic fortitude.
…Time for the main event.
The rainbow chest.
Defeating Charlotte Linlin had dropped a seven-color chest on her—Creed had opened tri-color and penta-color chests before; the more colors, the better the haul.
The tri-color had given him the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan; the five-color had evolved it into the Rinnegan. So what would seven colors bring—another ocular power?
"System, open the rainbow chest."
Ding. Opening rainbow chest…
Ding. Congratulations to the host: Obtained Six-Tomoe Rinnegan (1/4) and (1) SSSS-Class Ability Upgrade Card.
A cool ripple slid across his eyes—the Rinnegan subtly shifted.
More than that—two terrifying techniques unfurled in his mind as if he'd trained them for years:
Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation).
Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push).
Clearly, benefits bundled with that 1/4 fragment of the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Creed grinned.
The last two multicolor chests had vaulted him from Eternal Mangekyō to Rinnegan, but without the bloodline energy, chakra system, or Six Paths power of that other world, developing one of the strongest eye arts had been slow going.
Otherwise, with his power, he wouldn't have been stuck for so long at Susanoo's second stage—progress stalled and new techniques crawling.
This reward finally pointed the way.
He checked his stats—and found a pleasant surprise: Susanoo had advanced to its third form, a towering avatar now clad in a Tengu-style armor, defensive power surging, and capable of wielding weapons like Jūken (Ten-Fist Sword) and Kagutsuchi-no-Tsurugi (Kagutsuchi Blade).
Even better, it confirmed a theory: if he could secure all four Emperors' rainbow chests, the Rinnegan could fully evolve into the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan—and fill in the missing ocular arts along the way.
"Next question—where do I spend this SSSS-Class Ability Upgrade Card?"
He weighed the rows of sub-SSSS abilities on his panel, undecided.
(End of Chapter)
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