[Congratulations, Host, on successfully recruiting crewmate Isuka. Claim reward?]
[Congratulations, Host, on successfully recruiting crewmate Tashigi. Claim reward?]
After distributing the Devil Fruits, Leo turned his attention to the System's rewards.
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the reward — Observation Haki: Mind Reading.]
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the reward — Primary Time Chamber.]
Mind reading?! The legendary ability?
Leo's eyes lit up. This was another high-level application of Observation Haki, the power to perceive the thoughts in another's heart.
He immediately unleashed his Observation Haki, locking onto the presence of all the women on the ship. Hancock, Sadi, Domino, Isuka, and Tashigi had already finished bathing; the five women were waiting in the training room, a mixture of nervousness and anticipation hanging in the air about Leo's... attentions.
A glint flashed in Leo's eyes. He activated the Mind Reading ability. In the next instant, he was privy to their inner thoughts.
[Hancock: How dare he... So Leo) enjoys this kind of play? Why does this ship even have a room like this?!]
[Sadi: So Leo-sama is just like me... he enjoys using these methods...]
[Domino: Empress-sama... this time, I will never leave your side.]
[Isuka: What is this place? And what are all these... tools for?]
[Tashigi: The Captain has... hobbies like this?! Those things look like they would hurt...]
The feedback streamed into Leo's mind.
"A bit niche, but better than nothing," Leo muttered to himself, smacking his lips. Every woman on this ship was his; he could do as he pleased. Reading their minds was a novelty, not a necessity. And against enemies, it was largely pointless.
Losing interest, he withdrew the Mind Reading Haki and focused on the second reward. His gaze instantly became scorching hot.
Primary Time Chamber.
A miraculous device involving the flow of time, straight out of the anime Dragon Ball. According to the system's annotation, the time flow in the Primary Time Chamber was ten-to-one. Simply put, ten days inside the chamber equated to just one day in the outside world.
"This came at the perfect time," Leo grinned, punching his right fist into his open left palm. A day was only 24 hours. After deducting time for daily life, necessary training, and other essentials, the time left for Leo was minuscule. And with more and more women joining the crew, ensuring he could... "distribute the rainfall evenly" was a challenge. He'd already had to shorten his private sessions from four hours per woman down to just half an hour each. Even then, the days were stretched impossibly thin. The Primary Time Chamber was the solution to his most pressing problem.
Inside the Chamber, even if he spent four hours with each of the 24 women, it would only take four days. In the outside world, that was just over nine hours. Perfect.
With his Heal-Heal Fruit powers on his side, Leo felt he could fight until the oceans ran dry!
Besides that, he and the women could also use the Chamber for training. To accommodate this, the system-provided Chamber's internal space was large enough to hold dozens of people. It was truly the ultimate tool.
"Excellent," Leo nodded in satisfaction once more. With the Primary Time Chamber, he would never have to worry about a lack of time again. He could go all out!
After taking stock of all his gains, Leo left his room, thoroughly content. After a quick rinse, he made his way to Training Room No. 1.
Training Room No. 1 was the largest room of its kind on the ship. Inside, it was stocked with every professional tool one could imagine: whips, nautical plugs, nautical rods, clamps, low-temperature wax... everything was there.
By the time Leo reached the door, the place was already surrounded. Nami, Kaya, Vivi, Robin, and others were peeking through the window, their faces flushed as they secretly observed the five women inside—Hancock, Sadi, Domino, Isuka, and Tashigi—as if admiring five pieces of art.
"What are you all doing out here?" Leo's sudden voice made them all jump. "If you want to watch, just go inside."
"L-Leo, it's fine! We're good right here!"
"Y-Yeah, Captain, you should go in. They're... waiting for you."
"Captain, we're just... curious. Don't mind us!"
The women waved their hands and shook their heads like rattles.
"Suit yourselves," Leo said casually, dismissing them and pushing the door open.
Inside, Sadi and Domino were already restrained, while Isuka and Tashigi were... prepared.
Time to put the Chamber to use.
As Leo was enjoying his private time with the five women, the entire world was boiling over.
With his near-omnipotent intelligence network, Morgans had quickly pieced together everything that happened at Marineford after the live broadcast was cut. Fighting back his excitement, he ordered his staff to develop photos and draft articles immediately, with all his news coos placed on standby.
Three hours later, fully equipped news coos, carrying satchels packed with fresh newspapers, flew out from the news agency, destined for every corner of the globe.
"Hahahahaha! We've hit the jackpot! This is the real deal!!" Morgans cackled, his eyes burning with fervor, spraying spit everywhere. "I'm going to be the richest man in the world!!"
He had tripled the price for this particular edition. Even so, he was confident countless people would pay. Every headline on the front page was enough to send shockwaves across the seas.
And he was right.
The citizens who had watched the broadcast on Sabaody spread the news far and wide, each person telling ten others, who told a hundred more. They recounted the events at Marineford and speculated wildly about the aftermath. Of course, as mere civilians, their guesses were just that—subjective conjecture. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the official reports from Morgans and the Marines. This was the only way they could learn the final outcome of the Summit War.
When people saw the news coos in the sky, they rushed to buy copies, many purchasing multiple issues. Even at the inflated price, no one bothered to haggle under these circumstances.
The citizens tore open the papers, and the bold, red headlines made them freeze in their tracks:
LEO STORMS MARINEFORD!
SHOCKING! LEO OBLITERATES HERO GARP!
END OF A LEGEND: THE HERO OF THE MARINES FALLS!
PIRATE EMPRESS BOA HANCOCK BETRAYS MARINES, SHOOTS ADMIRAL KIZARU!
ACE, SOLE HEIR OF PIRATE KING GOL D. ROGER, EXECUTED!
LEO CLAIMS THE HEAD OF THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, WHITEBEARD!
WITH WHITEBEARD DEAD, CAN HIS CREW RETAIN THEIR EMPEROR STATUS?
A NEW 'STRONGEST' IS BORN: IS LEO THE NEXT LOCKS?
MARINE AND WORLD GOVERNMENT SUPREMACY CHALLENGED! HOW WILL THEY RESPOND TO LEO'S RISE?
MARINES DEVASTATED: HOW WILL THEY PROTECT THE SEAS?
A NEW ERA DAWNS: WILL THE SEAS PLUNGE INTO CHAOS?
One eye-catching headline after another grabbed the readers' attention. Everyone read with intense focus, afraid to miss a single word. Aside from a few headlines about Whitebeard and Ace, the entire report centered on Leo. Logically, the deaths of Ace, the Pirate King's son, and Whitebeard, one of the world's most fearsome pirates, should have been a cause for celebration across the seas. But now, with Leo's meteoric and brutal rise, any sense of joy was completely extinguished, replaced by a deep, pervasive unease. A palpable anxiety began to spread worldwide.
The New World, Wano Country, Onigashima.
In the gloomy skull-shaped castle, Kaido was in a rage.
"WORORORORORO! LEO! To think you actually killed Garp! You continue to surprise me!!" Kaido's face was dark, his draconic eyes wide with fury. He had originally planned to take advantage of the war to seize Whitebeard's territories, only to have his plans thwarted by that meddling Red-Haired bastard, forcing him to retreat empty-handed. He'd only learned the full extent of the events upon his return.
He had re-watched the footage of Leo's fight with Garp countless times. Throughout the entire battle, Leo had been overwhelmingly dominant. Lightning powers, Future Sight, Internal Destruction Haki, even Advanced Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and top-tier swordsmanship. He wielded all five abilities with masterful proficiency, unleashing one powerful technique after another. That final "Nation-Destroying" attack, in particular, had sent a shiver down even Kaido's spine.
For all his bluster and arrogance, Kaido knew Garp's strength intimately. Back when Kaido was just a rookie on the Rocks Pirates, Garp was already a legend, the man who had chased the Pirate King himself across the globe! Even if Kaido could defeat Garp now, it wouldn't be by a large margin. If Leo could kill Garp, it meant he already possessed the power to threaten Kaido himself.
"WORORORORORO! LEO! You killed Garp! You've given me another reason to take notice!!" He drained a huge barrel of rum and then smashed it against the ground with a roar. The surrounding pirates trembled in fear.
"Lord Kaido! We'll get more at once! Please wait!" The Tobiroppo and Gifters fell silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly for fear of drawing Kaido's wrath.
King, the lead All-Star, stepped forward. "Lord Kaido, it won't be long before Leo enters the New World. What are your orders when he does?"
His original thought had been to recruit Leo to strengthen the Beast Pirates. But now... that outcome seemed unlikely.
Kaido snorted, glancing sideways at King. "King! Inform everyone! The moment Leo's whereabouts are discovered, report to me immediately!"
" 'The Strongest Man in the World'?!" Kaido suddenly turned the question back on his crew. "WORORORORO! Tell me! How does my strength compare to Leo's?!"
"Lord Kaido, you are undoubtedly the strongest! That is beyond question!" King stated firmly, his belief unwavering since the day he began following Kaido. In his mind, Kaido was the true strongest man, the one and only king who should rule the world!
"He's right! Lord Kaido is the most powerful! It's all that bastard Morgans, exaggerating things!"
"Lord Kaido, next time we see him, I'll twist his head off!" Queen, large-framed and smoking a cigar, chimed in. In his view, only those who had never seen Kaido in action could be foolish enough to believe Leo was stronger.
"Lord Kaido, you don't even need to lift a finger! Once we find Leo, I'll kill him for you!!" the hard-headed Jack thumped his chest, volunteering. So he killed Garp? He was just a 76-year-old man! Jack could do that too!
"Who said I was going to kill him?!" Kaido glared at Jack, who flinched.
"B-but Lord Kaido, you just said..."
"I said find him!" Kaido roared. "If Leo agrees to join the Beast Pirates, everyone's happy. If he refuses... then I'll kill him myself!!"
As he spoke, Kaido's immense aura flared, the newspaper in his hand shredding into countless pieces that fluttered to the floor.
The New World, Whole Cake Island.
"MAMAMAMAMAMA! That old fossil Whitebeard is finally dead!!" The heavily made-up, enormous woman squinted her eyes and let out a peal of laughter. This was already the third piece of good news she'd heard today. Whitebeard, though old, had still cast a long shadow. As long as he lived, the other Emperors had to concede second place to the Whitebeard Pirates.
Of course, with joy came sorrow. For Big Mom, there was also one piece of devastatingly bad news.
"Mama, Leo is so strong now... perhaps we should avoid provoking him," the family's first son, Perospero, ventured bravely, his long tongue lolling. He knew Mama was particularly fond of Leo and wanted him as her consort. But not only was Leo now the center of a massive storm, destined to be hunted relentlessly by the Marines and the World Government, but the power he'd displayed at Marineford meant their Mama might not actually be able to defeat him. They couldn't afford to lose out on both fronts. Provoking Leo now was unwise.
Big Mom's face darkened, but she surprisingly didn't(rebut). She liked Leo, but she wasn't a fool. To single-handedly take down Garp was a feat even she would find difficult to accomplish.
After a long silence, Big Mom shook her head regretfully and sighed. "Fine. Leave him be for now."
Hearing this, several of the Minster siblings let out sighs of relief. Good... good their Mama hadn't been completely addled by her... desires. She still knew how to assess risk and reward.
"What about the other matter?!" Big Mom changed the subject.
Charlotte Smoothie, one of the Sweet Commanders, stepped forward. "Mama, the Vinsmoke family has sent word. They will come in half a month to formalize the marriage alliance."
Big Mom nodded slightly, her unpleasant expression easing a little. Today, aside from the issue with Leo, everything else was good news. Garp and Kizaru were dead; the Marines had suffered heavy losses. That warmed her heart. Whitebeard was dead; she could seize his territories. She had long coveted the sweets of Fish-Man Island, but had been hindered by Whitebeard's protection. With him gone, the island was defenseless, ripe for the taking.
On top of that, the Big Mom Pirates were about to ally with the Vinsmoke family of the North Blue. Once Charlotte Chiffon was married to that... Ichiji guy, she would obtain the scientific technology of the Germa Kingdom. Then, the power of the Big Mom Pirates would reach new heights. Surpassing Kaido's Beast Pirates, even Shanks's Red Hair Pirates, was within sight.
Thinking of this, all of Big Mom's displeasure vanished.
"MAMAMAMAMAMA! Perospero! Set sail for Fish-Man Island at once. Tell King Neptune that the Big Mom Pirates will be their protectors now. Have them prepare all their sweets. I will pay a personal visit after the marriage is settled."
Big Mom greedily licked her scarlet lips as she issued the command.
"Yes, Mama!" Relieved that his mother was no longer obsessed with Leo, Perospero nodded with a smile and left to carry out his orders.
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T/N :
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