Chapter 24 – The Mentor Who Wouldn't Join, and the Captain Who Leveled Up
"Mr. Aike, your theories are far more advanced and complete than anything we've ever come up with!"
"Join the Revolutionary Army, Mr. Aike! You were born to lead the revolution!"
If Dragon's earlier recruitment attempt had been driven by pragmatic interest, now it was pure ideological worship.
In his eyes, Aike wasn't just a powerful merchant anymore; he was the guiding light of revolution, the man destined to build a new world.
So he went all in.
"If you join us, I will step down as leader right this instant."
Dragon's voice was firm and decisive.
Compared to Aike's depth of understanding, his own theories felt childish.
Compared to Aike's vision for the future, his own plans were shortsighted.
In Dragon's heart, Aike was the one who could truly change the world.
Unfortunately, the more sincerely Dragon offered, the faster Aike shot him down.
Even when Kera and Ahiru joined in to persuade him, Aike didn't budge an inch.
He simply sold Dragon a "Revolutionary Handbook" (compiled from previous-life textbooks and forum wisdom) in exchange for copies of all three types of Haki.
At last, peace and quiet.
Aike lay back with his head in Nami's lap, utterly relaxed.
"Who told you to show off? You could've just closed the deal and been done with it."
Carina waved a fan, sending a cool breeze over him.
"How was I supposed to know he'd turn into a fanatic?
Still, picking up some Haki tricks isn't bad."
"Extra lessons for both of you tonight."
Aike grinned wickedly.
Nami and Carina rolled their eyes in perfect sync.
Two rounds of trading had completely drained Dragon dry.
His Devil Fruit ability → now belonged to Carina (future goddess of lightning).
Full three-color Haki knowledge, including future-sight Observation and Conqueror's entanglement.
The new Conqueror's Haki especially piqued Aike's interest.
It felt extremely similar to spiritual pressure.
Conqueror's focused on the body and will; reiatsu was soul-deep domination.
"What would happen if I fused the two…?"
Aike closed his eyes and began theorizing.
Physical + spiritual suppression stacked together?
The result could literally kill people with raw presence.
Excited, he got up from Nami's lap, found a quiet spot, and started experimenting immediately.
Meanwhile.
Dragon clutched the Revolutionary Handbook like it was holy scripture and began devouring it page by page.
Every new concept, every theory he'd never even dreamed of; it was intoxicating.
Kera and Ahiru read over his shoulders, eyes shining with the same reverence.
"From now on, Mr. Aike is the official ideological mentor of the Revolutionary Army."
"Every member who meets him must show the utmost respect!"
"Understood!"
That very night, the Revolutionary Army ship sailed away fully loaded with supplies and a new gospel.
The next morning, the Libra also raised anchor and left Shimotsuki Village.
For Aike, this stop had been an absolute jackpot.
On the surface:
Great Swordsman-level swordsmanship
A copied Logia Devil Fruit (Goro Goro no Mi)
Full three-color Haki mastery
New crew member Kuina
+45,000 transaction points
The points instantly recovered most of what he'd spent upgrading Kamui space.
Current status:
Permission Level: 2
Transaction Points: 175,000
Dimensional Trade: On cooldown (12 days remaining)
Seeing the numbers climb again made Aike's spending itch return.
Level 3 permission required 500,000 points—still a long way off, and he didn't urgently need it anyway.
Better to upgrade the template instead.
The Aizen template he currently had was from the Shin'ō Academy era—tons of stuff was missing.
Higher-level Kidō, stronger base reiatsu, the method to create the Hōgyoku…
All things he'd been drooling over.
"System, upgrade the Aizen template!"
[Confirm spending 100,000 transaction points?]
"Do it!"
Ding! Upgrade successful!
The moment the prompt sounded, Aike felt his reiatsu explode upward several times over.
At the same time, a flood of new knowledge poured into his mind:
Forbidden Kidō
True Zanpakutō mastery
The nature of Shinigami and Hollow
The complete blueprint for creating the Hōgyoku
And much, much more
"Boss? Boss, what's wrong with you?"
Nami's worried voice came from nearby.
Aike opened his eyes, a faint smile on his lips as overwhelming spiritual pressure unconsciously leaked out for a split second.
"Nothing. I just got a lot stronger."
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