Because he was planning to go up against the World Government, Creed had never slacked off in his preparations. He knew all of their powerful departments like the back of his hand.
This organization called Blood Shadow was absolutely the ace among aces. In some ways, they were even stronger than the Celestial Dragons' so-called strongest shield, CPO!
CPO was hailed as the Celestial Dragons' strongest shield, while Blood Shadow was the World Government's sharpest sword!
For hundreds of years, any powerful individual or organization that dared to resist or attempted to overthrow the World Government—no matter how many branches they smashed, even if they stormed the Holy Land Mariejois itself—would, in the end, be wiped out by Blood Shadow.
Not a single one had ever succeeded!
Even the sea overlord Rocks and the Pirate King Roger had both been hunted down by Blood Shadow in the past, fleeing in quite a sorry state!
The Revolutionary Army had once been flourishing like a raging blaze, their ideals spreading through dozens of nations, on the verge of overturning the world's order. But once the World Government redeployed Blood Shadow to suppress them, they had all but vanished. The flame of their life was nearly extinguished.
And now, this sharpest of swords had once again been swung toward the New World. The ambition of the World Government was laid bare!
The council chamber fell into silence. Everyone nursed their own thoughts, but worry rose from the depths of their hearts all the same.
Without a doubt, CPO, Blood Shadow, and the full might of the Marines all converging on the New World formed a terrifying, ultimate deterrent!
That combined power was already enough to sweep the New World clean!
"Looks like… we'll have to change our plans again."
Even in Creed's voice, the usual ease and composure had vanished.
This was an unprecedented pressure!
If it were a one-on-one fight, Creed feared no strong man in this world. Even if his opponent was Kaido or Whitebeard, he still had the confidence to win!
But if he had to face two Whitebeards, two Kaidos, or even more at once… then things became far less certain.
"We should recall all the divisions here and concentrate our strength, or we'll just be picked off one by one,"
Redfield
suggested.
Creed nodded.
Originally, he had planned to return to the temporary headquarters in a few days. He hadn't expected the Marines to gather such a terrifying force so quickly.
After more than an hour of discussion, the meeting was finally adjourned.
However, Creed stopped Big Mom and Robin from leaving.
He was going to examine a Poneglyph—and Big Mom happened to possess one of the Road Poneglyphs.
"Poneglyph, huh? Come with me."
Big Mom was a little surprised at Creed's request, but she did not refuse.
To her, Poneglyphs weren't all that important.
After all, she knew that with her strength alone, it would be extremely difficult to gather all of the Poneglyphs.
And the World Government would never allow her to do so anyway!
When Robin heard the word "Poneglyph," she hurriedly raised a hand to cover her mouth.
Collecting and deciphering Poneglyphs was her greatest wish in life—her dream, the goal she would pursue until death.
She had once collected information related to them and knew that two of the Road Poneglyphs were in the hands of Big Mom and Kaido.
Because of how terrifyingly powerful those two were, she had always believed that she would never have the chance to come into contact with those Road Poneglyphs in her lifetime.
Who could have imagined that, because of Creed, she would have the opportunity to personally decipher one today?
Her excitement was beyond words.
Unconsciously, her gaze drifted toward Creed, her eyes brimming with gratitude.
Perhaps, by staying at this man's side, her greatest dream could be realized within her lifetime!
The two of them followed Big Mom into a spacious room, where Creed finally laid eyes on the Road Poneglyph.
The Road Poneglyph was noticeably larger than ordinary Poneglyphs, and the material it was made of seemed slightly different as well.
Creed couldn't understand the script carved into it, but with Robin present, that was no longer a problem.
"—!"
The moment she saw that Road Poneglyph, Robin drew in a sharp breath. Her chest rose and fell so violently beneath her tight short leather jacket that it looked like it might burst apart at any second—that alone was enough to show just how agitated she was.
Meeting her urgent, questioning gaze, Creed gave a small nod.
At once, Robin pulled out the notebook and pen she always carried with her and began her work of deciphering.
Big Mom was astonished.
The reason she hadn't cared much about the Poneglyphs all these years wasn't just that they were difficult to collect.
It was also because, despite all the scholars she had recruited over the years, not a single one had been able to decipher more than fifty characters!
She had even kidnapped several elderly scholars who had once served as tutors to the Celestial Dragons. Even working together under the threat of death, those top-tier scholars had been helpless before the Poneglyph. Their progress had barely reached two or three percent!
And yet… this beautiful woman was actually capable of fully deciphering it?
"You're responsible for fulfilling her daily needs. Don't let anyone disturb her. This matter is very important to me."
Creed instructed Big Mom.
Big Mom nodded.
But inwardly, she was deeply shaken.
This matter was very important?
Could it be that—just like Roger before him—he intended to gather all of the Poneglyphs and find the legendary Laugh Tale?!
When she thought about Creed's current strength, she found it perfectly reasonable.
Creed already possessed power on the level of a hegemon of the seas, no weaker than the Pirate King Roger. It was only natural for him to want to gather the Poneglyphs.
And with that, the Marines' abnormal behavior toward Creed became easy to understand as well!
Any existence that sought to collect and decipher all of the Poneglyphs was something the World Government would spare no effort in erasing!
No wonder the World Government had summoned an unprecedented gathering of forces, determined to turn the New World into a final battleground!
To the World Government, Creed truly had committed a sin worthy of annihilation!
"I never thought that, in my lifetime, I'd be able to witness such a grand, decisive battle… that I might even see the collapse of the World Government, and the Celestial Dragons finally exit the stage of history!"
As that thought took shape, Big Mom felt a surge of excitement in her chest.
Because she had nearly been sold to the Marines as a child by human traffickers for an outrageous price, Big Mom bore an intense hatred and disgust toward the Marines. Otherwise, she never would have attacked those two Marine bases in the New World so casually before.
If Creed could truly bring down the Marines, and even the World Government itself, Big Mom would be more than happy to see it happen—and she would not hesitate to offer up her strength for that cause!
From that moment on, Big Mom's mindset began to shift, just as Shiki's had before.
…
In a pitch-black stretch of sea, two large ships were cleaving through the waves side by side.
On the left-hand ship, whose bow was painted red with a motif of erupting flames, several figures were gathered at the prow, crowding around a particular spoil of war and chattering noisily.
It was a jet-black Devil Fruit placed inside a treasure chest. Strange patterns crawled across its surface, and it exuded a cold, dead, oppressive aura that made those who looked upon it feel both startled and intrigued.
Anyone with a bit of knowledge could tell what it was: a Devil Fruit.
"Captain Thatch, what kind of Fruit is this?"
Someone turned to ask one of the men leading the group.
These two ships belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates' Second and Fourth Divisions. They were currently on their way back from a victorious battle.
This Devil Fruit was one of the most valuable spoils they had seized.
"I have no idea. Ace, do you know?"
Thatch shook his head. He had never studied Devil Fruits and was completely in the dark on that front.
But his physical skills and swordsmanship were both exceptional, and his mastery of Armament Haki was quite advanced. He simply didn't need to rely on just any random Fruit ability.
"I don't know either. Thatch, you still don't have a Devil Fruit power, right? How about you eat it? Your combat power would definitely jump up a level!"
Ace urged him with a grin.
(End of Chapter)
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