"Is that a new ability of Link's?"
"Incredible. The famed Red-Haired Shanks and the leader of the Revolutionary Army couldn't even resist."
"Is that really all of Link's strength? Does anyone in this world stand as his match?"
"..."
As the battle ended, Karina and the others rode flame clouds out of the pocket dimension.
Gazing at the colossal blue water sphere hanging in the sky—having watched the fight from within that pocket space—they couldn't help but marvel.
By now, all of them had reached New World powerhouse level.
Hancock and the Snake Sisters were outright super-class.
Because of this, they understood just how formidable the Red-Haired Pirates truly were.
In overall might, the Red-Haired Pirates were second only to the very peak in the New World.
Without combining their abilities to produce a greater-than-sum synergy, even Karina's group wouldn't be confident of steamrolling them.
So when they saw peers of their level reduced to infants before Link, they grasped how far his power had climbed.
As Link himself had said, he wasn't even in the same dimension as everyone else.
After their sighs, Karina asked, "Link, how do we deal with them?"
"Behead them all and display the heads. Hand them to Doffy to handle."
But Link's attention wasn't on the Red-Haired Pirates.
Look closely and you'd see a faint furrow in his brow.
He tried to summon the virtual panel in his mind, but it didn't respond, as if it had glitched.
He called it again and again—still nothing.
For the first time losing contact with it, Link felt a rare flicker of panic.
Such a feeling hadn't surfaced since he awakened Conqueror's Haki.
After all, the system was his greatest backing.
Now that his cheat seemed faulty, panic was only natural.
He'd spent a stretch consolidating his strength; only now did he notice something off.
When Template One hit 100%, the system immediately began loading Template Two.
But it's been over a month since Template Two reached 100%, and there's still no movement.
Not only did he gain no experience from eliminating opponents on the level of Marco and Sabo, he couldn't even call up the panel.
If he didn't still sense the panel anchored deep in his mind—his spiritual space—he would have thought the system had slipped away.
After a few more futile attempts, Link calmed himself.
The system wouldn't fail for no reason. If the link was cut, some unknown change must be underway.
Since all his power came from it, until he could detach from the system, he lacked the ability to intervene no matter what happened to it.
Better to wait quietly than fret pointlessly.
He was sure the high-tier Six Paths power he now wielded belonged to him.
Even if the system vanished, he wouldn't lose much.
And even if high-tier Six Paths power couldn't break lifespan limits, he still had ways to grant himself and Karina's group immortality.
After all, in this world, methods for eternal life exist.
Once his thoughts were clear, Link said to Reiju, "Your brother is outside the barrier. He was caught by my illusion technique and is unconscious."
"I'll give you two choices. One, swallow your hatred. Your companions died by my hand, and I will not spare your captain."
"Two, have Pudding read and erase his memories and send him back to where he lived."
Indeed, Link hadn't killed Sanji.
When the white blaze of a Truth-Seeking Orb was about to erase him, Link shifted Sanji away just as he had Momonosuke.
He layered an illusion technique so he remained comatose.
"Thank you, Link."
Thinking her brother dead yet unable to blame Link, Reiju's face lit with grateful surprise.
After a brief silence, she said softly, "Have Pudding wipe his memories. That way he won't suffer for long."
"Mm. Go with Pudding."
Link nodded, then, as if recalling something, showed a strange smile. "And while you're at it, use your fruit to inflict Maid Sickness and Frailty on the brat beside your brother, then deliver him to Doffy."
"…All right."
Reiju nodded obediently, though she didn't know why Link wanted this done.
"Maid Sickness" was the virus that could turn a target female, and it was how Link planned to deal with Momonosuke.
In this world there were two must-eliminate figures: Absalom and Momonosuke.
Absalom, who had eaten the Paramecia Clear-Clear Fruit, Link had already taken care of.
But Momonosuke, Link wouldn't kill. Death is only a moment of pain—too cheap a price.
He would transform him and hand him over to Donquixote Doflamingo for punishment, with Frailty ensuring he could never shake off the effects.
Given his timid, cowardly nature, he would never choose a samurai's end.
Because the method was too vicious, Link didn't tell the others more.
Knowing Link liked to keep things close and wasn't the type to explain himself, Karina's group didn't press.
They split up to their tasks.
Reiju and Pudding went to handle Sanji and Momonosuke. Link and the women with Karina set about dealing with the sealed Red-Haired Pirates and the likes of Monkey D. Dragon.
No Devil Fruit posed a threat to Link, and he had no interest in the father-and-son pair's Kaze Kaze no Mi and the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. He killed them outright.
"Hm?"
As Link was about to kill the world's destined child of the coming era, his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, with its innate vision through the human body, seemed to notice something. His expression shifted in faint surprise.