"Then, Roger, until we meet again. If you run into trouble and you have enough Devil Fruits, come find me."
With a few polite words, Rakuya took Momousagi and the chest of fruits and glided off toward a different island.
After he left, Silvers Rayleigh stood beside Gol D. Roger. "Captain, his power is terrifying."
"I know," Roger said, noncommittal.
"Whoa."
Rayleigh suddenly spat a mouthful of blood. His face went chalk white, his balance vanished, and he collapsed.
The deck erupted.
"Rayleigh."
"Doctor, now. What happened to him."
"Where is he hurt."
Even Roger was rattled. He had been with Rayleigh the whole time. If Rayleigh had been injured on the Sabaody Archipelago, Roger would have felt it. He had watched the brief exchange with Rakuya himself. No way could Rakuya have pulled a trick under his nose.
"It was Rakuya," Rayleigh managed, clutching his abdomen. With a small crack, his blade in his hand split neatly in two.
"When did he hit you," Roger stared, stunned. He had sensed nothing.
"When our attacks met. It looked like I stopped his Divine Spike, but inside that cone there was another layer of repulsive force, even more tightly wound and vicious. That force..." His chest seized with a lance of pain.
Roger pulled back Rayleigh's shirt. A purple fist print stood out on his sternum.
"Incredible destructive power."
Even Roger felt his scalp prickle.
"Doctor. Now," he snapped.
Crocus grabbed his bag and hurried into the cabin with them.
Left on deck, the crew could only swallow hard as the cold sweat ran down their backs.
"Rakuya is that strong."
"One hit and our first mate is this bad."
"The worst part is the captain did not notice a thing. That is what scares me."
"Does that mean he is stronger than the captain."
"Maybe."
"The New World is about to get stormy."
They stared after the direction Rakuya had flown until the sea wind dried their faces.
"Pervert. Freak. You dead man, where are you taking me," Momousagi yelled over the waves, thrashing to break his grip. No matter how she fought, Rakuya did not loosen his hand on her forearm.
"Did I not tell you. You are going to be my little bed-warmer."
"Let go, you thug."
Her struggle was enticing, but it did not so much as budge him.
"Wait here."
He dropped Momousagi on a barren islet and pinned her in place with a tug of gravity. It was like sinking into a bog; she could not even lift a foot.
"You. Where are you going. Do not leave me here. Hey."
The place did not even have birds. Being stranded here was a nightmare.
"What. You were begging me to leave. Two steps away and you cannot bear it."
"Pooh. No one would miss you."
Rakuya laughed. The flush on her face rose and fell with her breath, and the view had its own kind of reward.
"System."
"Here."
"Convert these twelve Devil Fruits into points."
"One moment, Host."
"Scanning anomalous energy. Beginning exchange."
"Exchanging."
"Tabulating fruit types."
"Seven Zoan class. Total 4,900 points."
"Four Paramecia class. Total 3,600 points."
"One Logia class. Total 1,600 points."
"Twelve fruits. Grand total 10,100 points."
"Holy."
He had done the math in his head, but the real total still made his eyes widen. That many points. Enough to max out several elements. Enough to stomp this world flat.
"Detected a non-elemental pathway. Promote to max level."
"Hold on. Promote what."
A beat of hesitation. "Call it the Sea Overlord."
"The what."
"What is that supposed to do."
"In short, it is similar to Poseidon. On the sea, you can do anything. Stronger than Poseidon by more than a little."
Rakuya's interest stirred. "Go on."
"At max, as Sea Overlord you are invincible on the water. You can command the sea itself, even control weather at sea, and direct Sea Kings. You are the sovereign of the ocean. You are the dragon that summons wind and rain."
"So that is it."
"There is more. As Sea Overlord you have absolute control over water. You can become intangible and merge into it. Anywhere there is water, you can arrive in an instant. For example, you are in the New World now. Merge into the water and you can appear at any place in this world that has water."
"Now that is insane."
His grin split wide. Sea Overlord already sounded broken, and the rider skills were even worse in the best way.
"Last question. If Poseidon appears, who do the Sea Kings obey."
"You. They obey you."
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