The barrier vanished.
Ares pounced first, moving like a tiger. One clean, decisive punch sent Kurozumi Higurashi flying. He snatched the box in the same motion.
The moment he saw the Devil Fruit with eight leaves, he was certain.
This was the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Model Yamata no Orochi!
A flicker of joy rose in his chest.
"So it really is the Yamata no Orochi… What a waste. That Mythical Zoan was completely ruined in Kurozumi Orochi's hands."
"Give it to any real powerhouse and it would never end up as some worthless, background ability…"
Scenes and memories of Kurozumi Orochi flashed through Ares's mind.
That man's combat ability could only be described with one word.
Trash.
Weak to the bone. And even after getting the Mythical Zoan, Model Yamata no Orochi, he never truly developed it.
In the end…
A terrifyingly powerful Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit was squandered by a useless fool.
Ares knew exactly what this fruit could do.
Eight lives. Eight heads. Each head with its own will.
In cultivation or battle, it was absurdly strong. The boost it offered its user was enormous.
And that sparked a thought in Ares's mind.
"Right now, Kaido and I are both Mythical Zoan users. If we add a third Mythical Zoan… Yamata no Orochi…"
"Maybe one day… I can create a pirate crew where everyone is a Mythical Zoan user."
Even if he couldn't make every single member Mythical Zoan…
If enough of them were
That crew's combat power would be unprecedented.
Surpassing even the Rocks Pirates wouldn't be a dream.
Because after merging those memories, Ares knew one brutal truth.
The Five Elders were each Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit users.
If he didn't have overwhelming power and strong subordinates, overthrowing the World Government would be nearly impossible.
But if his crew held multiple Mythical Zoan users…
That was a different story entirely.
For a moment, Ares's thoughts surged like waves.
The future felt clearer.
Sharper.
He understood
Building his own force was inevitable.
Having seen how the God Valley War would end, he knew what came next.
A chaotic era where pirates fought to dominate the seas.
And Ares would never forget his ultimate dream.
To forge his physique into something that surpassed even a Supreme Grade blade.
To become an invincible, peerless monster of a man on the seas.
After merging those memories, Ares gained new insights into how to temper and refine his body, though he couldn't implement them yet.
Once this war ended…
He made up his mind.
He would train his physique to a whole new level.
Kaido and Slardar were still stunned.
Even through that "invincible" barrier, Ares had injured Kurozumi Semimaru.
After the shock, Kaido grinned wide.
"Wororororo ! As expected of Big Bro Ares! You always have a way!"
"Those two bastards can't act arrogant now. Did they really think a barrier meant they could do whatever they wanted?!"
Slardar's lips curled into a cold smile.
"They were as cocky as they could be earlier. Now they're as pathetic as they can be."
"Getting smug in front of Boss Ares… they brought it on themselves."
At that moment
The once-arrogant Kurozumi duo knelt on the ground, forcing themselves to endure the pain while begging over and over.
"Ares, you got the fruit already, so spare us!!"
"We we were talking nonsense earlier! Please don't take it to heart! We're both Devil Fruit users!"
"When it matters, we might even be useful!"
They even tried to defect on the spot, offering themselves as Ares's subordinates in exchange for their lives.
But looking at those two crooked, worthless losers
Ares had zero interest.
And they were his enemies.
His gaze turned cold.
Steel-like muscles swelled. His dark skin reflected a chill sheen.
Without hesitation, Ares threw a punch
And smashed both of them into a puddle of meat, leaving only a smear of blood on the ground.
He flicked the blood off his hand and said coldly,
"Trash like you aren't qualified to be my companions. Keeping you alive would only leave a future disaster."
"Go to hell."
"It's just a shame two decent Devil Fruits ended up in the hands of wastes like you…"
One was the Clone-Clone Fruit, the other the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
Both Paramecia. Both extremely specialized.
In the far future, the Clone-Clone Fruit would fall into the hands of a "real man," Bentham.
And the Barrier-Barrier Fruit would end up with Luffy's fanboy, Bartolomeo.
But that was decades later.
Maybe…
If he had the chance in the future, he could try to collect Devil Fruits like these.
If he got them, great.
If not, he wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Compared to Mythical Zoans, the gap was too large.
Kaido snorted. "Killing those two with one punch was letting them off easy."
Slardar spoke calmly, "Now isn't the time to waste. The island still has six Devil Fruits. We probably should've squeezed information out of them about the island first."
"That would've made things easier."
Ares looked at the Mythical Zoan: Model Yamata no Orochi in his hand and said to Slardar,
"Slardar, take this fruit. If you eat it, your strength should rise a lot."
"I'm not suited for it." Slardar shook his head and refused. "My strength is built on the sea. If I become a Devil Fruit user, I lose my greatest gift."
"Save it for someone else."
Ares thought for a moment.
Then a name surfaced in his mind.
Someone who would be a perfect fit for the Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Model Yamata no Orochi.
After God Valley ended…
He could try to recruit that person into his future crew.
With the Yamata no Orochi power on top of their base, reaching a right-hand level wouldn't be difficult.
Seeing Slardar refuse, Ares nodded.
"Then I'll store it for now and give it to the one who truly fits it."
He already had a candidate.
The only question was
Would that person join his crew?
After putting the fruit back into the box, Ares said,
"Shiki already went ahead to cause trouble for Rocks. For us, we should collect the Celestial Dragons' Devil Fruits on this island first."
"There are five left. The more we get…"
"The stronger our future crew will be."
He knew among those six Devil Fruits, one was called a "divine fruit."
The power that would one day belong to Warlord Bartholomew Kuma.
And Ares…
He didn't just want the Paw-Paw Fruit.
He wanted to recruit Bartholomew Kuma himself.
Kuma's strength in the future was no joke, and the Paw-Paw Fruit could repel pain and damage.
In battle, it could become an immense support for allies.
It could even serve as Ares's "mobile charger," letting Ares fully unleash his combat power without restraint.
Even if he couldn't recruit Kuma, Ares still wanted the Paw-Paw Fruit.
Kaido grew excited at once.
"That's right! If we want our crew to one day stand alongside the Rocks Pirates…"
"We need powerful companions!!"
Ares nodded, using Observation Haki to read the island's movements.
He couldn't cover everything, and he couldn't fully blanket the whole island.
But he sensed combat to the southwest.
Ares said simply,
"Let's move."
"If we're even a step late, the Devil Fruits might fall into someone else's hands."
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