Creed didn't join their discussion. Instead, he raised both hands and gently pressed down, signaling everyone to quiet down and sit.
Then he asked Shiki and Dragon about the operation plan for this campaign, as well as the state of all preparations.
Shiki was a little curious, because what Creed had said before didn't sound like some massive conquest—it sounded more like they were going to take over a country.
So on Shiki's and Dragon's side, the preparations weren't difficult at all. They were already fully ready and could depart at any time.
"Good. Then today I'm here to say just one thing…"
Creed swept his eyes across everyone present, then declared loudly:
"Next, we're going to subjugate Kaido!"
The room immediately stirred.
To be honest, many of them hadn't guessed Creed would make this decision at all.
Some even found it unbelievable—far beyond what they expected.
"Captain Creed, we just fought a decisive battle with the World Government. We're already enemies of the entire world. And now we're going to subjugate Kaido too? If we fight on multiple fronts, I'm afraid the situation might be—"
One high-ranking executive voiced his concern.
It was true. Although Creed's side had defeated the World Government coalition and temporarily seized hegemony over the New World, that situation wouldn't last long. The World Government would never sit back and watch Creed's faction continue to grow.
With the resources of the entire world, the World Government wasn't afraid of grinding any force down through attrition. Maybe their next wave of attack wasn't far off!
So that executive's worry was completely normal.
Meanwhile, Redfield on one side, Ain on the other, and Law and the rest all looked like it had nothing to do with them.
No matter what Creed decided, they would support him with everything they had!
At this moment, Big Mom also spoke up.
"I know what you want, Captain. That guy still owes me a huge favor. How about I contact him and have him hand over…"
She thought Creed was going after the Road Poneglyph.
Creed didn't let her finish.
"My decision is made. And this time, I don't need you to take action. All you need to do is take over Wano Country when the time comes."
Those words left everyone present dumbfounded. Some even sucked in a cold breath in secret.
What terrifying confidence in his own strength!
With a flip of his hand, he could destroy a nation?!
But when they thought of Creed's power… it really did seem possible.
Whether it was Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) or Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), or even the Tremor-Tremor Fruit—any of them could wipe out a country, or even destroy the world!
And there were those who became excited instead.
Who was Kaido?
That was the ultimate monster renowned as "undying," the strongest in a one-on-one fight on land, sea, and air—the possible continuation of a new era after Whitebeard's time!
As for Whitebeard, even if he was still strong, he was riddled with injuries and illness, going everywhere with an IV drip. He was already declining day by day—he couldn't possibly be stronger than before.
If their leader defeated a figure like Kaido, then he could practically sit firmly on the throne of "World's Strongest Man"!
So many people believed this journey was Creed establishing his might—laying the groundwork for unifying the New World.
Creed kept to his usual style. He didn't waste words. After asking Shiki and Dragon a few more things, he left.
But in the shadows, he had already scanned everyone's attributes, searching for a suitable defensive ability or two.
He already had two SSSS--level defensive abilities—Steel Skin shows and Dragon Aura Scale Transformation—but he wanted to obtain an SSSS-level one.
After all, in the original story, Kaido's offensive power was terrifying. One Raimei Hakke (Thunder Bagua) had instantly dropped Gear Fourth Luffy.
If Creed could get just one more SSSS--level defensive ability, he could fuse an SSSS-level defense ability, gaining defensive power not much weaker than Kaido's.
Or getting two SSS+-level ones would work too—though the success rate would drop a bit, and the fused attribute might not be guaranteed to match what he wanted.
With this scan, he actually gained something.
"Ding. Successfully extracted SSS+-level Tough Skin."
This SSS+-level ability came from one of Shiki's trusted commander-level subordinates. Creed hadn't been paying attention to this side of things before, so this scan ended up revealing that quite a few people had very useful SSS+-level abilities.
So he didn't stop at just this one. He extracted everything he could. There was no limit to the number of abilities in his ability bar, and having more abilities never hurt.
As he left, Creed had Redfield and Ain accompany him.
And on Ain's shoulder, Komurasaki was sprawled there, fast asleep.
Three people and one beast—next, they were heading to Wano Country.
Creed's way of doing things was just that decisive.
"Creed-niisan, Komurasaki, it…"
At this moment, Ain told him something that left Creed a little surprised.
Apparently, ever since the decisive battle ended, Komurasaki had been sleeping deeply the whole time, with very little energy. It had even lost interest in eating, drinking, and playing.
"You don't need to worry. It's undergoing a metamorphosis. Soon, its strength will grow."
Creed used the System to scan Komurasaki and found that the "?" behind its overall strength was glowing faintly.
That meant this little thing would undergo a strength upgrade in the near future.
Creed's answer made Ain curious, and she couldn't help examining the little creature more closely.
"What an unexpected delight… I thought its advancement would still take one or two years—maybe even longer…"
Creed sighed inwardly.
If that was the case, then he would be able to gain ten more SSSS-level powerful helpers.
"Five Elders… we should be meeting again very soon!"
Thinking back to what happened in the World Government building, Creed became a little unsettled.
Even though what happened at the Holy Land Mary Geoise had been satisfying—killing had been satisfying too—being betrayed and ambushed by a trusted organization still left him with a knot in his chest.
He'd originally wanted to become an invincible Marine Admiral, but the world refused to go as he wished.
But before going to Wano Country, Law and Ain still needed to go see Hody.
Because of Blood Shadow's disclosure, Shirahoshi already knew her father Neptune had been escorted by the Marines to the Holy Land Mary Geoise. So in recent days, the little girl had often been in tears, worried sick.
After hearing what Ain said, Creed could only delay the Wano Country matter for the time being and go comfort that girl first.
Shirahoshi's Paradise had already been destroyed in the clash between Mihawk and Blood Shadow, but Big Mom had built a new palace-style water park for Shirahoshi elsewhere.
"Creed-sama."
Today, the one responsible for guarding this place was Smoothie. When she saw Creed arrive, a strange light flashed through her eyes, and she quickly bowed in greeting.
(End of Chapter)
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