"What's going on?"
Even though they were several hundred meters up in the air, Redfield and Ain's eyesight was sharp enough to clearly see the people in that town—every single one of them wore a smile, whether they were crying, laughing, being thrown around, or getting beaten!
"If I'm not mistaken, this town is Ebisu Town. It's also called 'Smile Town' because all the residents always have smiling faces."
Creed let out a sigh before explaining, "The reason they keep smiling like this every day is because they ate failed artificial Devil Fruits."
"Kaido built a SMILE factory in Wano, just like the one in Dressrosa, specifically to produce Zoan-type artificial fruits... But the people of Ebisu Town ended up like this because of human cruelty. Wano's shogun, Orochi, didn't want Ebisu Town's people crying and wailing from hunger and death, because it would disturb the Flower Capital. So he secretly mixed the failed artificial Devil Fruits into leftover scraps and tossed them to these people to eat..."
The moment Creed said that, Redfield and Ain's expressions changed.
That Orochi… was utterly despicable!
"Over there is the Flower Capital. The tallest, most luxurious building is where Orochi is hiding. Senior Redfield, I'll leave this to you."
Creed pointed forward.
Redfield bowed slightly. "Leave it to me, my captain."
Then, together with the giant bat, he descended.
"Next, we're going to Onigashima."
Creed said to Ain, secretly speeding up the Ark as it locked onto a certain direction and shot forward.
This time, Creed planned to have Ain face the Three Calamities, with Falkor assisting.
It was also a rare chance to temper her—after all, the Three Calamities' strength was below SSSS-rank, but above ordinary SSS+-rank.
And Ain was SSS+-rank, and she was already on the verge of breaking through. Maybe she could seize this chance and push herself over the line in one go.
As long as Ain didn't have at least SSSS--rank overall strength, Creed couldn't truly rest easy.
Because the battles coming up were all at that level. Without SSSS--rank overall strength, you were basically cannon fodder. And Bloodshadow still had a top commander who hadn't died—someone extremely skilled at assassinations from the shadows. Creed was also worried that person might set their sights on Ain.
Not long after, a black island shaped like a skull with two massive curved horns appeared in the sea ahead. Gray mist churned around it, making it look ominous and terrifying.
"Ya…"
Seeing the rough shape of the island, Ain was slightly surprised.
This island really did look like the head of some ancient demon. A normal island simply wouldn't form like this.
While the Ark was still several miles from Onigashima, Creed stepped onto the prow.
Then, an incomparably vast aura expanded outward, suppressing the entirety of Onigashima.
Boom!
This was a pressure laced with SSSS-rank Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) and Ryuu-i (Dragon Might). Under that overwhelming suppression, the entire island trembled faintly.
Creed was going to attack Onigashima openly!
In the central palace of Onigashima, Kaido was in a meeting with the Three Calamities and many of his squad leaders.
Last time, when Creed's alliance fought the World Government coalition, Kaido had tried to swoop in and profit—but failed. Now he was still brooding over it.
He even suspected Creed had already noticed he'd shown up at the scene.
So right now, he was discussing how they should respond if Creed came knocking.
Although his Beasts Pirates had grown to a considerable scale and weren't much weaker than the Creed Pirates in raw power—
Creed had Shiki and Big Mom backing him, and now he'd even added the Revolutionary Army. If you looked at total strength alone, Kaido's side would be crushed.
That made the meeting heavy and stifling.
One squad leader even suggested abandoning Wano and running away—but he nearly got slapped to death into the table by Kaido.
Only then did everyone realize it clearly:
Their boss… still wanted to fight.
"We can raid Whole Cake Island—capture the king to seize the whole game!"
"We can send a challenge letter and demand a fair, proper duel with the Creed Pirates! No other pirate crews allowed to interfere!"
"Hah! So what if they have numbers? They're just a mob! As long as Governor-General Kaido kills Creed, the rest will surrender on the spot!"
After seeing Kaido's reaction, those squad leaders immediately changed their tune. One after another, they rolled up their sleeves and shouted, practically itching to rush straight to the battlefield and cut down Creed.
King watched those squad leaders, a strange look flickering in his eyes.
Seems that over these years, those idiots had lived far too comfortably… their brains had started to rust!
Suddenly—
Boom!
A faint, distant dragon roar rang out above the palace, carrying an indescribably terrifying aura.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
All the squad leaders present—one after another—went weak in the knees and involuntarily dropped to their knees.
Not just them.
Even the guards outside and the pirates across the island instantly passed out.
In the blink of an eye, only four people on the entire island could remain steady.
"Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki)?!"
But even King, Queen, and Jack were crushed by that pressure at the same time, their bodies starting to tremble.
This suppression wasn't just physical—
It was spiritual, too.
A double-layered oppression!
"Is it Shanks?" King could only think of one person.
In the rumors, Shanks' Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) was the strongest among the kings of the New World—his mastery was unbelievably high!
"No. It's Creed!"
Kaido stood up. With a whoosh, he shot straight into the sky.
"Sigh… our violent governor-general."
Staring at the massive hole blown through the palace ceiling, King shook his head, then transformed into a flaming pteranodon and flew out through the breach as well.
"Creed! You finally came!"
Kaido roared as he transformed into his azure dragon form and charged toward Creed's Ark.
Creed's released pressure had shaken Onigashima and nearly knocked Kaido's subordinates unconscious. That kind of opening intimidation was like slapping Kaido in the face.
Kaido couldn't tolerate it!
Too arrogant!
Today's battle would be to the death—there was no avoiding it!
Creed calmly looked at him, while secretly having the System scan Kaido's attributes.
He realized that compared to last time, Kaido had made quite a bit of progress as well!
(End of Chapter)
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