The Whitebeard Pirates were left rattled, but none of that had anything to do with the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Casualties?
None.
Whitebeard's Quake Punch had met the super-sized Tailed Beast Bomb head-on and neutralized it before it could inflict real damage. Even so, the sheer scale of that blast had shaken every last soul on deck.
Rakuya and Peach Rabbit lounged off to the side, waiting for the Nine Tails to return.
A thunderous boom rolled over from afar. Feeling the tremor, Rakuya chuckled. "That fox just cannot keep a low profile."
Moments later, a crimson-streaked fox silhouette tore across the horizon.
"Master."
The Nine Tails came skidding to a halt in front of Rakuya.
"The Devil Fruits?"
"Right here, Master."
It produced twenty fruits with tight, whorled patterns and set them before him.
"Ding. Mysterious energy detected. Collect?"
"Collect."
"Ding. Thirteen Zoan-class Devil Fruits, converted to 10,400 points."
"Ding. Five Paramecia-class Devil Fruits, converted to 4,500 points."
"Ding. Two Logia-class Devil Fruits, converted to 3,500 points."
"Total: 18,400 points."
Numbers flipped across the system panel. Rakuya's point balance surged to 20,700.
"That many points already? I should be able to max out another path, right?"
"Ding-dong. Apologies, Host. Insufficient points. Your last Max Summon upgrade cost 14,440 points. The next max-level upgrade requires 28,000 points. Current total is insufficient."
"You have got to be kidding me."
Rakuya nearly spat blood. The system's appetite for points was monstrous. At this rate a single max-level upgrade would run fifty or sixty thousand points.
Fifty or sixty thousand. What did that mean in Fruit terms?
At roughly 800 points per Zoan, that was sixty to seventy Fruits.
At roughly 900 per Paramecia, that was fifty to sixty Fruits.
At roughly 1,800 per Logia, that was thirty to forty Fruits.
That many Fruits for one upgrade. What a scam.
He reined his thoughts in, recalled Peach Rabbit and the Nine Tails into the system space, and then headed for Fish-Man Island.
Trade there was thriving. Bounty hunters in the tens of millions up to the hundreds of millions flocked to the island for a chance at the newest craze: paying to personally work over a Celestial Dragon. The one who earned the most from this, of course, was Rakuya.
More than half the pirates entering the island were there for the Celestial Dragons. One Dragon could net him tens of millions of Berries in a day. Ten Dragons meant over a hundred million. With luck, a few Devil Fruits might fall into his lap as well.
A hundred million a day. Only Rakuya would dare to imagine it, and only Rakuya would dare to do it.
He drifted above the bustling streets and smiled. King Neptune must be raking it in too. As for Rakuya, the sap of the Sunlight Tree Eve was as good as his.
He did not linger. Passing through the throngs, he headed straight for Ryugu Palace. Neptune was on his throne, grinning from ear to ear at the treasure piled before him.
"Neptune, what has you so pleased?"
The king started, sprang up, and bowed. "My god."
"What are you smiling at?"
"God, profits have exploded. Just from the Celestial Dragon business you started, we are pulling in several hundred million a day. In just two days we also gathered ten Devil Fruits. Pirates are wearing out their fists and prebooking for tomorrow. Those Dragons are in miserable shape, but for some reason they just will not die..."
Rakuya smiled lightly. "The Fruits?"
"Here, my god."
Neptune hurried over and flipped open a chest. Ten Devil Fruits rested inside.
"Ding. Mysterious energy detected. Collect?"
"Collect."
"Ding. Ten Zoan-class Devil Fruits, converted to 8,000 points."
All Zoans? Seriously? Rakuya could not help grumbling. Ten Zoans were a far cry from ten Logias.
Still, points were points.
He glanced at his panel.
"Balance: 28,700."
"Ding. A max-level upgradeable element has been detected. Proceed with max upgrade?"
Already?
He had just been wondering when he could push another path to the cap. He had not expected it so soon.
"What is ready to max?"
He did not rush to confirm. Better to ask first. If it turned out to be a dud, he would cry.
"Eyes: max level."
"Eyes? What does that include?"
"Max Eyes raises ocular abilities to their peak. Access at will to Byakugan, Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Tenseigan, Rinnegan, Rinne Sharingan, and other ocular powers. Techniques include Susanoo, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Kamui, and more."
"So strong?"
Rakuya's eyes went wide. In the shinobi world, eyes broke the game. In the end, it was ocular power deciding everything.
Uchiha Itachi's Amaterasu could incinerate swathes of reality in a blink. Tsukuyomi was the ultimate torture for the soul.
Undying, are you? The best way to deal with the undying is Tsukuyomi.
Endless loops.
Sanity-shattering.
"Max it."
The more he thought, the clearer it became. Max Eyes was nothing short of invincible.
Summon Max brought in little brothers. Max Eyes made Rakuya himself an end boss.
Who would kill him then?
"Ding. Max upgrade successful. Cost: 28,500 points. Remaining balance: 200."
"Damn. My poor points. I worked so hard for those..."
The pitiful number made his heart bleed. Still, for eyes like these, it was worth it.
He released the Nine Tails and Peach Rabbit, nearly giving Neptune a heart attack. Rakuya paid the king's expression no mind. His focus was entirely on his eyes.
He lifted a mirror and began testing.
"Single Tomoe Sharingan."
"Double Tomoe Sharingan."
"Triple Tomoe Sharingan."
"Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Byakugan."
Caught up in the thrill, he shifted to Byakugan and casually glanced Peach Rabbit's way with a roguish look that could not have been more suspicious.
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