"Those were Mihawk's final words?"
After hearing Ren's account, Zoro leaned weakly against the wall, clenching his fists. "In that case, I won't let him down. Someday, I'll defeat him and become the world's greatest swordsman!"
Ren, utterly calm, just pressed Zoro back down with a perfunctory "Yeah, yeah, sure."
"You'd better focus on healing. I already gave you the captain's quarters."
With that, Ren turned and left the room.
Once the door closed, Zoro lay back on the red-and-white bed, staring at it with a complicated look.
The debts were piling up.
Though he'd always believed in letting fate decide life and death, he couldn't deny that Ren's methods had definitely saved his life.
Otherwise, he would've died from Mihawk's very first flying slash—never even getting the chance to cross swords with him.
Something that could substitute for death like that… didn't need to be explained to know how precious it was.
Can I ever repay that?
Zoro turned his gaze to the ceiling, his expression shifting as if lost in thought.
Ren entered Zoro's quarters—if it could even be called that. There was only a floor mat, cluttered with random junk.
Comfort was nonexistent. He couldn't help thinking that if only he could move into Nami's room, things would be better.
It would still be crowded… but at least she had a bed!
Maybe it's time to change ships.
Ren sat cross-legged, placing the crimson spear before him.
In the battle against the Krieg Pirates, the Pseudo–Gáe Bolg with triple enchantments had played a massive role.
In just a few minutes, it could wipe out an entire pirate ship of over a hundred men—at least a thousand pirates in total had fallen to it.
Ren's Killing Intent breaking through to the Evil Spirit stage was directly tied to that weapon.
And the spear itself synergized perfectly with the triple enchantments.
[Pseudo–Gáe Bolg · Loyalty · Riptide · Channeling]
Origin:Fate/stay night / Minecraft
Type: Artificial Noble Phantasm / Enchanted Weapon
Effect: A man-made imitation of the Gáe Bolg crafted by an unknown magus. Due to the creator's limited ability, it only reproduces a far weaker version of the original's "cause-and-effect reversal" fatal lock.
Once aimed and thrown, it locks onto an enemy target—the strike cannot miss. If it fails to hit, it will continue pursuing until the enemy dies.
Later, the unrelenting magus modified it again, granting it the ability to target multiple enemies within a large area.
Enchantment · Loyalty — After completing its attack, the spear returns to its user.
Enchantment · Riptide — During rain, automatically activates and greatly increases the spear's flight speed.
Enchantment · Channeling — During thunderstorms, draws lightning to the spear, creating a powerful Thunder Spear capable of releasing destructive electric arcs.
Cost: None
"With the Gáe Bolg enhanced by triple enchantments, even a tank like Pearl from the Krieg Pirates couldn't last two hits. My anti-mob toolset is finally complete. Judging from the Thunder Spear's power, this should last me through at least the first half of the Grand Line."
Ren summarized his thoughts, then remembered his shattered sword—Raichi.
He winced, then sighed.
Well, it was never on par with Wado Ichimonji anyway.
And besides, he had replacements.
Ren turned his gaze to his upgraded Killing Intent:
[Evil Spirit]
Type: Killing Intent
Effect: Killing intent forged from the resentment and malice of over a thousand souls, forming a powerful aura—the Evil Spirit.
Like a butcher's stench of blood or a coroner's deathly chill, it will accompany the wielder forever.
The intimidation trait evolves into Soul-Grasp, allowing eye contact to unsettle the target's mind—causing dazes, stupor, or brief paralysis, depending on mental resilience.
It also possesses Spirit Intimidation: entities of the spirit world may mistake the wielder for a fearsome oni, producing fear, awe, or submission.
This Killing Intent can continue to evolve. The next stage: Fiend God.
Remark:As though Heaven itself sent a demon-slayer—yet he's the calamity of mankind!
Interesting… the more I kill, the stronger it grows? Maybe it's time for a new blade.
Ren mused and reached behind him, pulling a ghostly violet blade from his Four-Dimensional Chrysanthemum.
As he unsheathed the Pseudo–Cursed Blade Thousand Edge slightly, the demonic pattern etched on its base gleamed scarlet.
It pulsed like a breathing light—or the gaze of an evil spirit.
A violent, murderous aura surged forth, briefly sketching a twisted demon's face in the air.
Insolent thing!
Ren's crimson eyes flared. The aura of the Evil Spirit burst outward, overwhelming the malevolent force.
If before the blade had been a wolf baring its fangs, now it was a tiger ripping free of its skin to roar back.
A far darker aura took shape behind Ren—a greater demon snarling back at the lesser one.
The cabin filled with a silent roar only spirits could hear. The faint outline of the evil face flickered… and then dimmed.
At the same time, the weapon's description changed:
[Replica · Cursed Blade Thousand Edge]
Origin:Scissor Seven
Type: Cursed Weapon / Spirit Blade
Effect: A wicked blade forged from 688 fragments, the closest imitation of the true Cursed Blade Thousand Edge. Imbued with a blood-thirsting evil spirit as its core, the sword demands to drink blood whenever drawn.
Can be infused with Qi to manipulate its 688 shards for attacks—but requires extreme mental control and spiritual fortitude.
Cost: Blood
The Dimensional Roulette interface popped up again, data refreshing.
[Spirit Status: Submission]
Description: The evil spirit fears your overwhelming murderous aura. It believes it could hurt you, but doing so would mean its destruction.
Therefore, it submits—relinquishing its demand for life and soul sacrifices, though still requiring blood. Whenever the blade is drawn, it must drink blood or it will attempt backlash.
Heh, fair-weather ghost, huh? Wait until my Killing Intent reaches Fiend God—then we'll see who's afraid of who.
Ren smirked, though that goal was distant.
Reaching Evil Spirit required a thousand kills; Fiend God would probably need five or ten thousand.
Even slaughtering pigs wouldn't be that easy—let alone people.
He pushed the blade aside and opened the Dimensional Roulette.
Mihawk's sudden appearance had unsettled him. In theory, there shouldn't be anything in the East Blue worthy of attracting the world's greatest swordsman.
Even in the original timeline, nothing major was ever recorded here.
Now, he was flying blind—and the strength gap he'd felt firsthand made him deeply uneasy.
All the more reason to prepare.
His remaining funds: 160 million Beli. Zeff had given him 10 million, the battlefield yielded another 20 million in cash, and another 10 million in treasure he'd already handed to Nami and Nojiko.
As for Zoro—well, Raichi was shattered.
The colorful roulette wheel appeared before him. Ren rubbed his hands together.
"Let's see what today's luck brings."
He flicked his silver lighter, lighting a cigarette.
Luck up! Blessing of the Goddess of Fortune — triggered!
Ten beams of prismatic light shot from the silver wheel, notifications cascading like a waterfall.
Ren's expectant smile froze as he read them. His eyes widened—round as copper bells.
It wasn't bad.
It was too good.
So absurdly good that even he, the beneficiary, felt unreal.
{Obtained – Totem of Undying · Steve's Tear × 2}
{Obtained – Iron Farm Black Box}
{Obtained – Purple Qi Rising from the East}
{Obtained – Flying Bird Gate · Phantom Wing Flight}
{Obtained – Protective Qi Barrier}
{Obtained – Nami's Weather Notes Collection}
{Obtained – Weatheria Meteorology}
{Obtained – Weatheria Botany}
{Obtained – Millennium Clock of Sculpted History}
A seemingly ordinary spin—but those first two prizes were nuclear.
[Totem of Undying · Steve's Tear × 2]
Origin:Minecraft / Unknown Dimension
Type: Rule Artifact / Bio-Alchemy
Effect: Created by an unidentifiable being who studied block-man properties and fused them with a Totem of Undying. When held, the user is registered as its bearer. Upon a lethal event, the "Transcend Death" property activates:
The Totem pulls the user from the brink of death, negating the fatal event. Then, invoking the "block-man" trait, the user respawns at the nearest revival point—dropping nothing upon death.
Cost: Block-Man 1 / 1
Remark: Each Totem of Undying · Steve's Tear represents one block-man's tragedy.
Silence. Long, deep silence.
The description was absurd, but Ren's mind could hold only one thought:
Do I deserve this? No — does this lottery even deserve to yield something like this?
A 10 million Beli draw producing a death-substitution artifact?
Am I going to die tomorrow?!
His face could only be described as: "Wait — I'm dying tomorrow.jpg!"
Ren yanked open his status panel, eyes locked on his Traits:
[Wanderer Beyond Worlds / Rider of Fate's Tide]
Origin:One Piece / Earth
Type: Soul Trait
Effect: Having fully integrated into this world, you are not rejected by it. Yet due to your special origin, your luck surpasses that of ordinary humans. As one who knows too much, you are fated to ride the currents of destiny itself.
You will encounter good fortune more easily—and calamity just as easily. Whatever choices you make, you are already entangled in fate's whirlpool.
That trait had always been one of Ren's greatest assets for gambling.
"Easier to meet good things, easier to meet bad things"—literal, yet deceptive.
Put simply, his luck was like a scale.
When blessings piled up, it would tilt toward disaster—and when misfortunes piled high, it would swing back to luck.
That was why Ren never grinded endlessly for petty rewards. He even sought out trouble on purpose.
From experience, he knew: the Silver Roulette should never produce items of this magnitude.
That was for higher-tier roulettes, and even then, at minuscule odds.
Lucky lighter? Blessing of the goddess? He'd used that combo for thirty draws straight.
Sure, it boosted luck—but not to this degree.
And most crucially—he hadn't had any major misfortunes lately.
The Krieg Pirates had been tough, yes, but only due to their sheer numbers.
As for Mihawk, that calamity had fallen on Zoro.
Ren himself hadn't suffered at all.
Then does this mean some massive disaster is already on its way—one I just haven't realized yet?
The thought chilled him.
For his fortune to swing this far, something catastrophic must be inbound.
But in the East Blue—the so-called weakest sea—only three possible threats fit.
First: the Golden Lion. Maybe he'd taken an interest in Nami's talent and decided Ren must die for it.
Second: the fallout from the Arlong incident. If the Marine Branch 16 report stirred up trouble, only one man fit the profile—Garp.
Third: Red-Haired Shanks.
Ren had killed Buggy. If Shanks came for revenge, that'd make perfect sense. He was a pirate, after all.
It would be naïve to think a "good guy" like Shanks wouldn't retaliate.
Even someone as kind as Luffy wouldn't forgive harm done to his friends—let alone the more seasoned and pragmatic Shanks.
Still—
He crossed Shanks off the list first.
"This is East Blue. He's not sailing across the entire Grand Line just to kill me, right? If he were coming, there'd be some sign."
Next, the Golden Lion. Sure, that old legend had grand ambitions and an eye for talent—but Nami had never met him personally.
That, too, could be ruled out. Which left…
"Marine Hero Garp, huh?"
Yes.
After the local Marine branch twisted the facts, Garp—upon hearing of a "vicious ambush by the Demon Pirates"—would absolutely take action.
They'd probably even contacted him for help.
After all, Smoker's earlier appearance was likely for the same reason: Branch 16's talent for calling in backup.
Trouble, big trouble.
Ren frowned.
Fighting was out of the question. Don't be fooled by Garp's injuries at Hachinosu—he'd been up against an Admiral and half a Yonko crew.
Even ignoring Kuzan, any one of those foes could be Impel Down Level 6 material.
For small fry like them, running into Garp could mean only one outcome—total annihilation.
(End of Chapter)