Throne Of Supreme

Chapter 260: Reaction and Upgrade

_______

The storm subsided, and the thunder dissipated.

Mary Geoise gradually regained its calm, but the oppressive atmosphere lingered heavily in the air.

"He's gone!"

The magma on Akainu's body receded as he returned to his human form.

Saint Mars eyes remained cold and calculating.

"The abilities he used today were entirely new. What on earth is going on? And why wasn't his teleportation ability blocked by the Imprisonment Fruit?"

Breaking into Mary Geoise, causing havoc, and leaving unscathed—it was as if he had trampled on their pride.

Saint Figarland pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "I suspect these are his newly acquired abilities. The failure of the Imprisonment Fruit might be linked to this."

"New abilities?"

Marcus Mars expression darkened further.

The mortal had already demonstrated powers akin to mythical beasts: immortality and teleportation. Now, he had revealed another form resembling the Human-Human Fruit's mythical beast species.

Could he be a user of two Devil Fruits?

Even though Marcus viewed humans as mere insects, he had to admit this mortal posed a significant threat.

Moreover, this man was unlike other pirates. He sought neither territory nor the title of Pirate King. Instead, he seemed hell-bent on targeting Mary Geoise.

Akainu took a drag from his cigar, his tone grave. "The biggest issue is the lack of information about him."

He hadn't been present during the first attack and wasn't fully aware of the circumstances. However, the subsequent failures were largely due to insufficient intelligence.

Saint Marcus voice turned icy. "Sakazuki, this is your Navy's negligence! It's been months since his last attack on the Holy Land, and you've uncovered nothing. Hmph!"

Akainu's eyes twitched.

The Navy hadn't found anything, but what about the World Government? Wasn't the CP agency supposed to have the best intelligence network in the world?

"Hmph! Your Navy's job is to fight pirates on the front lines. The government has far more to consider!"

With that, Saint Marcus Mars stormed off.

Saint Figarland followed suit, leaving Akainu standing alone with a grim expression.

---

The Next Day

News of the incident spread across the world.

The "Dragon King," who had been absent for months, had reappeared, wreaking havoc in Mary Geoise before escaping unscathed.

However, because the attack was so sudden, no photos of the event were captured this time.

---

Etania

Bang!

The door slammed open, and Alice burst into the room, her voice loud and excited.

"Robin, Robin! Have you seen the news?"

By the window, Robin lowered the book in her hands and glanced up.

"I've seen it."

"Hehehe, as expected of Aoki!"

Alice plopped down beside her, shaking her head with a smug expression.

"By the way, why did Aoki go to Mary Geoise? Wasn't he supposed to be heading home?"

Robin thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe he just wanted to test his strength."

Only she knew that Aoki had recently gained his special abilities.

Alice fell silent for a few seconds before standing up abruptly.

"Aoki went to Mary Geoise alone and came back unscathed. We can't let Aoki outshine us! This afternoon, I'm leading a team to hunt pirates and gain practical experience!

"Even though we have powerful equipment like the Burning Heaven Suit, very few people have mastered its full potential!"

Robin offered a calm explanation. "It's only been a few days since they received the Burning Heaven Suit. Its power is immense, so it's normal for them to struggle with mastery at first."

She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, go ahead. I'll take care of things here."

"Then I'll leave the base's affairs to you!"

Alice hurriedly left.

Robin watched her figure disappear from the room, then picked up the newspaper on the table and resumed reading.

---

Sabaody Archipelago – Shakky's Rip-off Bar

Rayleigh glanced at the newspaper in astonishment.

"He left the Sabaody Archipelago and went to Mary Geoise?"

Shakky lit a cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Not exactly. He stopped by to see Hancock first, then headed to Mary Geoise."

Rayleigh put the newspaper down and sighed. "What an arrogant guy."

Breaking into Mary Geoise wasn't a trivial matter. Aoki had already killed Celestial Dragons and was now on the World Government's must-kill list. This was nothing short of a direct slap in the face to both the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

---

On an Uninhabited Island

Hancock glanced at the newspaper, then tossed it aside.

Aoki had come and gone freely in Mary Geoise, yet she hadn't even mastered the basics of Haki.

Not enough!

Her previous training wasn't enough. She had to work harder!

---

The sun blazed high in the sky, and dense jungle teemed with life.

Aoki appeared out of nowhere, rubbing his forehead.

"Did it work? I wonder when I'll get used to the process of traveling through time."

Compared to his first experience with time travel, his strength had increased tenfold. Yet, when faced with the terrifying storm of time and space, he still felt as insignificant as a grain of sand.

As his mind cleared, Aoki shifted his thoughts to the battle he had just fought.

"Unfortunately, the level of Nature Spirit is still too low."

Even with the blessing of Infinite Dragon Beast, he had barely managed to block Akainu's casual attack.

The potential of Nature Spirit was immense, but for now, Infinite Dragon Beast remained the stronger option.

If he had activated the Ultimate Form, the battle would have been much easier. However, the Ultimate Form was exclusive to Infinite Dragon Beast and couldn't coexist with the Nature Spirit Form.

Still, Aoki hadn't gone to Mary Geoise to fight. He had used the Nature Spirit Form to test his newfound power.

And the results were promising.

Aoki focused his thoughts, and a deep blue panel appeared in his mind, displaying four notifications:

[You have ended a battle and gained 800 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you've leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you've leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you've leveled up!]

"I only fought Akainu briefly, yet I gained 800 experience points. Not bad," Aoki mused.

He knew the high experience gain wasn't solely due to Akainu. It was also thanks to the involvement of Saint Marcus Mars, Saint Figarland, and perhaps even the looming presence of the remaining Five Elders or Im, hidden deep within the Pangaea Castle.

The Nature Spirit profession, a four-star class, had now reached level 3. This advancement granted him 12 free attribute points and 3 free skill points.

Aoki evenly distributed the attribute points across his stats. With the skill points, he immediately learned all three forms of Haki:

Armament Haki for attack and defense.

Observation Haki for perception.

Conqueror's Haki for momentum and pressure, preparing for future battles.

Aoki silently felt the new powers surging through his body.

Haki was crucial.

As Teacher Kaido once said, "Only Haki can stand above all else."

There was truth to that statement. In the world of pirates, individuals like Roger, Garp, and Shanks had reached the pinnacle of power relying solely on their mastery of Haki.

In contrast, no one had ever become a top-tier expert relying solely on Devil Fruits.

Even those with powerful Logia or Mythical Zoan abilities couldn't rely on them alone.

Moreover, some Devil Fruits had extraordinary abilities, such as the Childlike Fruit or the Soul-Soul Fruit. These rule-based powers could be incredibly troublesome if one fell victim to them.

However, with sufficiently strong Haki, one could become immune to such powers.