After the extraction, Creed felt warm currents coursing through his body, and streams of combat knowledge surfaced in his mind one after another, bringing a crystalline clarity to his movements. With his control elevated by the SSSS-level "Superhuman Body Technique" and reinforced by the SSSS-level "Iron Skin," even facing a top-tier brawler like Garp wouldn't necessarily put him at a disadvantage now.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host on completing a first SSSS-level ability fusion. After completing three persona integrations, you can unlock the function to lock a primary attribute."
Locking a primary attribute meant that, during fusion, he could pin one ability's properties in place and merge the other two into it to force an upgrade.
Since the function would only unlock after two more persona completions, Creed set it aside for now and reflected on the fusion he'd just performed.
"Three SSS+-level abilities can merge into a single SSSS-level upper-tier ability. But if you try to merge two SSSS-level abilities, a risk option appears—it isn't as stable as upgrading from SSS+ to SSSS. Looks like once you hit the SSSS tier, pushing further gets a lot harder…"
He sorted out the characteristics of fusing across tiers.
"Then… can Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) merge with Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki)? Or even all three Haki together?"
He triggered the system to attempt the fusion he'd imagined.
The system refused decisively: impossible.
The three types of Haki are fundamentally different. Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) empowers physical offense and defense; Kenbunshoku extends the five senses; Haoshoku is the sublimation of will and spirit. If they could be fused, the power produced would be terrifying—but they simply can't.
Since Haki was out, he switched tracks to sword intent.
"What if I merge the Samsara, Ice, and Night sword intents?"
"All three are SSSS-level ken'i (sword intent). After fusing, they would become an SSSS-level ken'i, but there is a possibility of losing one or more elemental properties. Proceed?"
Hearing that, Creed more or less understood how the fusion system worked: to upgrade, you combine three abilities of the lower tier to push one up a tier.
He did drool a little over an SSSS-level ken'i, but he didn't want to risk shedding attributes. Whether it was Rinne no Ken'i (Samsara Sword Intent), Kori no Ken'i (Ice Sword Intent), or Yami no Ken'i (Night Sword Intent), each base attribute was extremely useful and currently among his best trump cards. If he fused them and one attribute vanished, it would affect his entire fighting style.
With Nitoryu (Two-Sword Style) backing him now, it was better to keep at least two ken'i in hand.
"Or… wait until I extract two more SSS+-level ken'i and try then?"
On his way out earlier, he'd extracted ten SSS+-level inspirations from Vista, the Flower Swordsman: Hanabana no Ken'i (Floral Sword Intent). If he secured two more SSS+-level sword intents later, he could attempt to fuse them into a fresh SSSS-level ken'i without touching his current core three.
Very soon, he set all that aside and turned to the matter of Princess Shirahoshi.
There was no doubt that keeping Shirahoshi with him was risky. Not only would the World Government come for him—Big Mom and Redfield's old acquaintance in the underworld might take an interest too—but Charlotte Linlin and the Golden Lion's side would also make moves.
Even so, Creed viewed it as an opportunity: if both sides reached out, he'd cut them down together—saves him the trouble of hunting them one by one.
As for how to deal with Shirahoshi, who bore the power of Poseidon…
It was an unimaginably great force. If he used her power, unifying the New World would be child's play. But Creed's temperament was stubborn; even with such power at his fingertips, he had zero desire to lean on it.
A man should conquer the world with his own strength. That's the king's way.
Besides, Shirahoshi was a pure-hearted, gentle girl. In these few short days, she'd already become close sisters with Perona, Robin, and Ain—always stuck together, growing attached fast. In Creed's heart, she was already half a crewmate; he had no intention of "using" her.
Thinking this over, Creed left his room, stepped onto the deck, and addressed the helmsman Redfield: "Redfield-senpai, we're not heading back yet. Change course for Totto Land."
Redfield blinked in surprise, then quickly understood and spun the wheel to alter the Creed's heading.
As vice-captain, he knew the captain's mind well: they were going to Totto Land to make Charlotte Linlin honor her wager.
Back on Fish-Man Island, Big Mom had bet with Creed that the loser would submit to the winner's command. Creed had already won days ago, and yet Linlin had remained silent. Clearly, she meant to go back on her word.
"Captain, I have a request: if Big Mom reneges, please allow me to fight her!"
Although his clash with Whitebeard had benefited him, he still felt a gap—he wanted to borrow Charlotte Linlin as a whetstone to complete his metamorphosis.
Creed nodded his assent, which made the wine service at dinner instantly increase tenfold.
"Awesome, Redfield-senpai!" Robin and Perona—both fond of wine—cheered.
The happiest of all, though, were Falkor and the Giant Bat. The little wine-loving pair shot into the sky, circling and crying out, broadcasting their joy.
"If you're a visitor, Totto Land is a paradise—fragrant, delectable sweets that melt right into your heart," Ain said, a little star-eyed.
"Right, right! I heard the rivers are milk, and the houses are made of chocolate and cake…" Perona's eyes sparkled. For a girl who'd lived so long on the gloomy Thriller Bark without seeing the world, a kingdom of sweets was practically irresistible.
"I wonder if Big Mom will lend me her Poneglyph to read," Robin mused, looking forward to something else entirely.
Shirahoshi—who had seen even less of the surface world than Perona—pressed her hands together before her chest as if in prayer and let out a soft "waa," far more eager than anyone to see Totto Land.
Just then—
"If only Big Mom would show me her panties, yohohoho!" Brook chimed in.
The girls' bright eyes froze over at once and turned into death glares, sending Brook skittering away at top speed.
Creed was speechless. "We might be heading into a brutal fight, and you're acting like we're on a pleasure cruise…"
As everyone was about to start on dinner—
"Mmh?!"
Creed felt it first. He abruptly raised his head and peered into the depths of the sky—
His expression turned grave in an instant.
(End of Chapter)
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