On Punk Hazard, Kuzan and Fujitora stood side by side, their expressions complicated as they felt the warmth of the sunlight.
"Is this his true foundation?"
Fujitora's expression was conflicted. "How did he do this? At this level, it can no longer be explained by calling him a genius or a monster, can it?"
"Who knows? He has always been an unbelievable man."
Kuzan stared fixedly toward the end of the sunlight. Only peak-level powerhouses like them could sense the chasm-like difference between them.
Even an Awakened Logia user, someone capable of unleashing true natural disasters, could not reach Ren's level.
He was almost equivalent to the blazing sun itself. This was no longer something on the level of a natural disaster.
"A sun walking among men... By doing what I have done, will I truly obtain the ending I desire?"
Vegapunk was watching as well, his expression complex as he examined the result he himself had helped bring about.
The energy Ren had released in the sky had already exceeded the limits of his calculations.
He was, in the truest sense, a being worthy of being called a sun upon the earth.
Even with the entire world as his foundation, he could sustain a prosperous age of invisible energy.
Yet that terrifying power was held in the hands of a single person, someone who had not even reached his twentieth birthday this year.
That made Vegapunk deeply uneasy about his own decision. The more exhilarating it had been to receive such overwhelming support and resources during the research process, the more conflicted he felt now.
And yet, precisely because of that, a sense of expectation began to grow inside him.
So young, so powerful, and in possession of such ideals.
Perhaps this world really would gain one more sun that would never set.
'It is worth expecting...' Vegapunk reached his conclusion.
'What should I do next?'
High above the sky, Ren pondered his next course of action. He had to admit that the harvest this time had far exceeded his expectations.
Many of the arrangements he had made in the past no longer seemed necessary.
Originally, he had intended to use the further development of the Lord of Devils to turn his own abilities into Devil Fruits, then push them through another qualitative transformation.
But now, no matter how he looked at it, that was unnecessary.
Because he himself was absolute authority.
Schemes? Intricate calculations?
None of that was needed anymore. He could simply crush his way forward.
No matter what stood ahead of him, nothing could possibly halt his steps.
What Ren was considering now was whether he should simply flip the table outright.
After all, the plans currently underway were not especially important. At most, they would add a few more bargaining chips.
"Forget it. I'll take things as they come."
Ren withdrew his radiance, activated Combat Dispatch, and headed to Kuja Island.
In an instant, he arrived before the Reincarnation Pool and obtained the Float-Float Fruit from it.
The Float-Float Fruit ability was added to his Devil Slots. Including the Gura-Gura no Mi, the number of slots had now reached six.
It was not that he had miscalculated.
Rather, the Gura-Gura no Mi had Awakened within time.
For a Paramecia Awakening, one had to develop the fruit to its extreme, defeat the devil, and seize control over it.
Ren, already overwhelmingly powerful, had used the time he spent inside Space-Time: The Creator, assisted by certain items, to successfully Awaken the Devil Fruit. This was entirely reasonable.
That was also why the description had included the phrase "I Am the Blazing Sun."
He could use vibration to continuously intensify particle motion, simulating the internal environment of the sun inside the furnace of the Heart of the Blazing Sun.
The so-called limitless capacity to withstand solar power had been prepared precisely for this.
To be honest, the addition of the Float-Float Fruit was merely icing on the cake.
'Still, it's better than nothing.'
Ren floated into the air, then activated Combat Dispatch again and went directly to the Empress's bedchamber.
With infinite energy, his method of movement had directly become teleportation.
Inside the Empress's bedchamber, Hancock, draped in a coat, was frowning as she looked at the much-dimmed sky in the distance.
"What strange weather..."
The Empress was puzzled. Then her beautiful face shifted as her Observation Haki detected an aura that had appeared out of nowhere.
But immediately after, her tense, delicate body relaxed.
Sure enough, a hand landed on her shapely hip and gave it a firm squeeze.
Then Ren's voice rang out.
"It's not the weather. It was caused by a person. And not just the Calm Belt—the entire Grand Line, including the New World, was lit up."
"Are you joking?"
Hancock's brows knitted together. "If you said this place was caused by you, that would be one thing. But you are saying you illuminated the entire Grand Line and the New World? I would never believe something like that."
"Want to bet on it?"
Ren smiled faintly and leaned close, wrapping an arm around the Snake Princess's slender waist. "We'll bet on your lips. If you win, I'll give you the right to use everything else."
"..."
Hancock was startled and doubtful. She probed, "I am talking about the entire Grand Line plus the New World turning from night into day because you became the sun."
"I heard you very clearly." Ren grinned.
"..."
Hancock subconsciously bit the nail of her thumb. Though her heart had, more or less, already taken on the shape of the man before her, she was still, at her core, a woman who yearned for romance. To be honest, this sort of method did not quite match her expectations.
Perhaps Ren had noticed that as well, and was deliberately offering to lose those rights back to her?
After thinking about it, she said, "Did I not already give that place to you? During the Marineford War."
"I'm talking about the other one." Ren's gaze shifted downward.
"Vulgar!"
Hancock trembled from head to toe and glared viciously at the teasing Ren. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Fine. But you must convince me completely."
"Of course."
Ren tossed a Den Den Mushi to Hancock, then once again transformed into the sun and flew into the sky.
Light filled the heavens once more, and the world welcomed a second sunrise.
Vegapunk, who had only just returned to the laboratory to rest, stuck his head out of the window, utterly confused.
Did testing one's ability require doing it over and over?
Even with his brilliant mind, there was absolutely no way he could have imagined that Ren was making the world experience daylight again for that sort of reason.
At that moment, whether on the small sky island of Weatheria or elsewhere, countless people were stunned and at a loss.
What had happened?
Why had the sun vanished and risen again?
It was merely a bet. Something almost like a game.
Yet because of Ren's actions, an enormous portion of the One Piece world was affected.
Half an hour later, after the world had experienced its fourth sunrise, the matter finally ended with Hancock admitting defeat, and night returned.
Inside the Empress's bedchamber, Hancock knelt before the bed, glaring angrily at the man who had clearly only wanted to win.
If she could, she truly wanted to call this man childish right to his face.
But at this moment, she could not speak.
Ren placed his hand on Hancock's head, his fingers sliding through her smooth hair.
Seeing her unconvinced expression, he teased her lightly. Hancock, embarrassed and angry, warned him not to keep playing tricks.
To be honest, if Ren had not spent time with Hancock inside the Space-Time: The Creator domain, creating little Celestial Dragon figurines for her to vent on, and if he had not promised to hand over some of the most sinful Celestial Dragons to her as toys after everything was over, it would have been very difficult for Hancock to half-reluctantly accept this kind of intimacy.
"Mess around again and I'll bite you to death!"
Hancock's beautiful eyes flashed with shame and anger as she glared fiercely at the mischief-making Ren.
Ren's answer was to cup Hancock's cheeks with both hands, coaxing her for a while and painting promises for her future, until Hancock finally softened again.
More than twenty minutes later, when Hancock pinched Ren in dissatisfaction, he teased her once more. This time, however, he soon loosened his hold with a hiss—she had bitten him again.
Hancock glared at Ren in displeasure and was just about to say something when Ren suddenly gripped her waist with both hands and lifted her upward.
She instinctively settled onto him, her long legs closing around him as though riding a horse.
At the same time, the atmosphere between them became dangerously intimate, making her breathtaking face show a trace of panic.
"Since you lost, isn't it normal for me to claim what is mine?"
Ren leaned in close, leaving a red mark on her snow-white neck before trailing lower, his face sinking into her full curves.
A faint fragrance entered his nose as he enjoyed the softness before him.
The Empress's figure was even more voluptuous than Nami's.
At this moment, there was no trace of her former icy pride. What remained was a softness like water.
The wall of ice she had once built around herself had long since been worn through over years of companionship, through countless close and even skin-to-skin interactions.
She could not reject intimacy with Ren.
Unlike Monet, her feelings came purely from the fact that Ren truly was striking back against the Celestial Dragons.
There was a very real possibility that he would bring an end to those sinful people, and he had even used a method to erase the mark on her back.
To her, he was almost like a hero.
The only difference was the unpleasantness of their initial contact, but that was already in the past.
If there was still anything she minded, anything that made her unwilling to accept him so easily, it was probably the fact that this man had more than one woman.
Nami, Nojiko, Vivi, and Monet had already crossed that final line with him.
There were also others watching from the sidelines: Robin, who served as the group's secretary; Violet, who wanted to fully join this circle; and Baccarat, who was trying to gain preferential treatment by building a relationship with the big boss.
Based on Hancock's understanding of this man, as long as someone was a member of the group and willingly offered themselves, he most likely would not refuse.
For Hancock, whose possessiveness was extremely strong, that was difficult to accept.
But at the same time, it was impossible for her to leave Ren.
(End of Chapter)