The shadow of death hung heavy over the sea.
Most pirates were terrified Creed would slaughter them on the spot. Yet a few, either fearless or foolish, vaulted off their decks and streaked toward the Creed to challenge him head-on.
"Captain!"
"You've got this!"
"Go!"
Those few remaining lieutenants and first mates—still able to stand—shouted themselves hoarse, cheering their captains on.
Creed stood atop the figurehead, gaze narrowing at the figures skimming in. He knew every one of them.
He'd even extracted some of their Devil Fruit powers before.
Meeting again here—on opposite sides—was… amusing.
One arrival, however, did surprise him: Bartholomew Kuma of the Seven Warlords.
Before joining the Revolutionary Army, that "Tyrant" had been infamous for ruthlessness and rivers of blood.
Creed's eyes flicked above Kuma's head.
As expected—a purple treasure chest floated there.
Trafalgar Law, who came with him, had none.
"So it really is like that…"
Creed let the three land on the sea's surface before him. He didn't speak, curious what they would say.
At his current height, he could look down on them with only his eyes.
He hadn't fully withdrawn his Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki), either, so the three were visibly ill at ease before him.
Now they were certain: Creed's strength exceeded theirs by a canyon—unfathomable and overwhelming. With Haoshoku alone at this level, winning against him was already a fantasy. Unless they unleashed some heaven-defying surprise he couldn't predict—yet even then, the success rate wouldn't top one in a thousand.
Before absolute power, everything else was smoke.
"I'll give you one chance to explain."
Creed finally spoke—and it grated on the three of them.
Too lofty. He made them feel like ants.
"Creed! Have you forgotten me? Today I'll avenge the Sword-Dragon Pirates!"
One of the three couldn't hold back.
A mountain of a man—over five meters—twirled twin longblades three to four meters each. Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) lacquered his body and swords black. He burst through the pressure of Creed's Haoshoku and hewed down.
The slash was ferocious. Before the blades even fell, the sea in front of the Creed split under invisible force.
Kuma and Law both started. This "little giant" had terrifying power—very likely a giant's bloodline.
That single strike alone placed him above the average Supernova—worthy of a bounty over five hundred million belly. Even in the New World, where geniuses bloomed, such monsters were uncommon. With that alone, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with a Warlord.
But the twin blades never got within thirty meters of the Creed.
Creed lifted one finger—and a lance of light, Kōsen (Light Beam), flashed.
Boom.
Blood sprayed. The giant swordsman blasted backward and splashed into the deep, vanishing without a ripple.
A searing sheet of radiance rolled on, flames skittering across its skin—threatening to swallow Kuma and Law as well.
"Rūmu (Room)!"
"Pad Ho (Paw Cannon)!"
Neither dared be slow. Law warped the flaming torrent aside, and Kuma batted it away with a paw-print shock.
They were right not to block head-on. Even the displaced blaze boiled away several meters of the sea a few kilometers off—then burned on the surface, a hellish, unnatural fire that refused to die.
All from a casual finger?
So this was just the tip of Creed's strength. What came before—Haoshoku—had only been an appetizer.
No wonder a monster like Big Mom had fallen to him.
"Lord Creed, wait—we come without malice."
Law called out quickly. Whatever thoughts he'd had before coming, they evaporated the moment he felt Creed's true power.
"You speak for Dragon?"
Creed ignored Law and fixed on Kuma.
A tangible wall of Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) slammed down, pressing Kuma beneath the waves.
Even if the Tyrant came representing Dragon, Creed would take that purple chest first.
"Nikyu Nikyu no Mi — Urasusu Shokku (Paw-Paw Fruit — Ursus Shock)!"
Under the crushing weight, Kuma finally roared and unleashed his best.
Boom!
A transparent, colossal bear paw detonated outward, ricocheting Creed's Haoshoku away. Like a living bomb, its destructive blast rolled in all directions. That same technique had once blown an island apart; even a glancing hit would pulverize the Creed's hull.
Insulted, the Tyrant burned with anger. He might have mellowed, but he wasn't to be bullied.
"Hm."
Even Creed's eyes sharpened. Kuma's overall strength was SSS+, same tier as Katakuri—far from an ordinary Warlord. With the Paw-Paw's extremes and a full-power burst, even an SSSS- opponent would give it three steps.
But today, it still wasn't enough.
"Kuma, that's not your full strength. If you don't show me the real thing, the next second will be ugly—for you."
Creed thrust out a palm. SSSS- class might roared through SSSS- class Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), unleashing a rippling Shukuchi no Te (Space-Severing Palm) that carved a safe corridor through the transparent paw-blast.
For prudence, he simultaneously raised a Rūmu (Room), doming the Creed and nullifying all intruding forces and objects.
At the edge of the battlefield, Law's eye twitched. It was exactly his Ope Ope no Mi (Operation Fruit)—no, not a lower- or upper-tier resemblance. It was the same thing.
What in the world…
Vmmm!
And then the air keened—once, twice, thrice.
Vmmm—vmmm—vmmm!
Three more killing intents—three more instant kills about to descend.
(End of Chapter)
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