Since Creed also possessed Dragon God Mode, he naturally had access to the innate abilities Dragon Breath and Dragon Might as well, so there was no need to extract them.
However, one thing was immediately obvious: Creed's Dragon God Mode was at least one full level stronger than Falkor's.
Even without going into the details, just the 1% power Creed could currently tap into from Dragon God Mode was on par with Falkor's present tier—his upper limit was clearly much higher than hers.
Maybe that was the difference between an Eastern divine dragon and the others.
The moment he thought of an Eastern divine dragon, an annoying brat's face flashed through Creed's mind—Momonosuke, that little punk who could also transform into a tiny Eastern dragon.
Right after that came the overwhelming, suffocating image of Kaido's full dragon form.
There was no doubt: Kaido was the real divine dragon, while Momonosuke was a cheap knock-off, not worth mentioning and only tarnishing the name of Eastern dragons.
If he himself transformed fully into Dragon God Mode… who would be superior, him or Kaido?
That thought alone made Creed burn with an intense desire to fight Kaido head-on.
Just then—
"Roooaaar!"
Seeing her thunder-flame Dragon Breath hit its mark, Falkor roared, flapped her wings, and swooped in with a claw, wanting to finish Creed off in one decisive blow.
"Your speed is fine, but your moves have way too many openings. Even with lightning wrapped around you as protection, if you run into an opponent on your level with real battle experience, Falkor, you'll just get beaten up."
Creed summoned another divine dragon phantom to intercept her, then shook his head and pointed out every flaw, leaving Falkor thoroughly unconvinced as she continued to snarl in protest.
"Not convinced? Then I'll beat you in one move."
Creed raised his right hand. His sword fingers spun once, then stabbed lightly forward. The divine dragon phantom mirrored his movement, stretching its claw out and raking across Falkor's belly.
"Raoo!"
But Falkor suddenly let out a dragon roar. Flames gushed out of her lower abdomen, appearing from nowhere and burning away most of the phantom's claw.
"You little schemer. Got plenty of tricks, huh."
Creed hadn't expected her to have a move hidden away like that and couldn't help praising her.
"Raoo!"
Receiving his praise, Falkor lifted her head proudly and cried out again—only to be smacked out of the sky by the phantom dragon's tail, slamming into the ground so hard that half her body was buried in the dirt.
"Grrraah!"
She dragged her head out of the earth, absolutely furious.
Thunder and fire erupted from her body like a volcano. Flames burned, lightning boomed, and she was completely reborn as a dragon of thunder and fire.
"Awooo!"
She charged again, determined to tear that damaged divine dragon phantom to shreds.
Only when Falkor had exhausted herself and collapsed did Creed—still spotless and without a single drop of sweat on him—finally turn his attention to Ain.
"You saw that fight just now. What did you take from it?"
Creed didn't strike immediately. Instead, he posed the question first.
Falkor was a naturally lightning-controlling divine creature; her methods of wielding lightning were the perfect reference material for Ain.
Ain nodded and shared the ideas that had been brewing in her mind, letting Creed correct and refine them.
"Creed-nii, please guide me!"
After a short while, she took up a fighting stance. Her body turned into living lightning, and she began her challenge against Creed.
"Don't worry about me. Go all out."
Noticing that she was still pulling her punches, Creed spoke up to remind her.
Ain's cheeks flushed red. She bit down lightly on her lip and finally unleashed everything she had.
"Boom!"
A vast surge of lightning shot into the sky, illuminating half the heavens.
"Not bad. Your accumulation is solid. At this rate, it won't be long before your strength advances again."
Creed nodded in approval.
Dozens of miles away, on a floating giant island, Shiki hovered at the edge, watching the events on the training island.
The longer he watched, the more dejected he felt.
"At this rate, I'm not even sure I could beat Creed's little pet…"
"For even the pet to be this monstrous… ridiculous. Still, once that little pet gets bigger, why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"
Following that faint feeling of familiarity, Shiki dug deep into his fragmented memories.
After a while, he finally found the answer, and his expression turned horrified as he muttered to himself:
"No way. Impossible. How can there be two of them?"
He had more or less guessed Falkor's identity—but he didn't dare believe it.
After all, for so many years, there had only ever been one King of the Sky.
"Did Imu's dragon die and then reincarnate into this form?
If that's the case, then the Marines trying to wipe out a once-in-a-century monster like Creed… kind of starts to make sense."
Shiki smacked a fist into his opposite palm as realization dawned.
"Still… to even have a Sky King, Uranus, as his pet—could Creed be the next master of the Empty Throne?"
"Sky Kings don't recognize masters easily. From what I heard, even Imu's dragon only submitted after an incredibly long and brutal battle…"
Shiki couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath at his own speculation.
Before, he'd still had all kinds of dissatisfaction and hidden rebellious thoughts. But the more secrets about Creed he uncovered, the more shaken he became—and the more powerless and awestruck he felt.
"The glory of the Celestial Dragons… will probably be buried in Creed's hands.
Creed will become the Void Lord of a new era, the new king of this world."
And it wasn't just Shiki who was shocked.
Even Big Mom, standing on the highest point of Whole Cake Island over a hundred miles away, felt her heart surge wildly when she sensed Falkor's terrifying power. She, too, faintly guessed Falkor's identity.
Big Mom was a sea emperor with grand ambitions. In her plans, she'd originally had several political marriages simmering on the stove. Once they all came to fruition, her overall strength would skyrocket, putting her above both Kaido and Whitebeard and making her the strongest sea emperor in the New World.
However, ever since she met Creed, all of that had gone up in smoke.
Even if she united with the Giant race, Big Mom realized it would still be nearly impossible to threaten someone like Creed as he was now.
She was forced to admit that Creed was an existence one tier above her altogether.
"Captain Rocks… perhaps, with a Sky King in his hands, Creed might really fulfill your long-cherished wish."
Unbidden, she thought of that towering figure from decades past who had shaken the world.
With Uranus at his side, Creed would be the new sovereign of the seas—perhaps even the ruler of the entire world.
On this point, she was starting to feel absolutely certain.
"To be able to witness a turning point like this in history… doesn't sound like such a bad thing after all."
Ain and Falkor's training lasted for more than a month before it finally ended.
Thanks to Big Mom sealing off the surrounding seas, no one came to disturb them.
Wano Country… inside the headquarters of the Kaido Pirates…
(End of Chapter)
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