Inside the estate on Red Deer Island, a very elegantly dressed male pirate was gracefully listening to music and drinking wine, enjoying his own leisurely time.
Compared to the Grand Line, which was full of risks everywhere, the East Blue—this weak sea—was Solar's most ideal place to entrench himself.
His wealth was continuously accumulating, allowing him to live the life he wanted. As the absolute master of this island, Solar was also very generous to his subordinates.
"Captain, this is our greatest harvest this time."
When a pirate squad returned, they presented an exquisitely packaged gift box to Solar. The moment the box was opened, Solar's gaze completely shifted.
A pale blue radiance illuminated the entire estate, and a gem beautiful to the absolute extreme rested quietly before the Solar Pirates.
Even the surrounding accompanying musicians and maids revealed greedy gazes, staring at the dazzling gem in Solar's hand.
"This is truly too beautiful..."
The gem had been crafted into a ring. Although he had obtained many rings and treasures during his years of plundering at sea, the gem before his eyes allowed him to determine at a single glance that this was a priceless treasure.
"Captain, someone is making trouble at the docks... we can't hold them back."
Hearing that someone was making trouble on his territory, the gloom that surfaced in Solar's gaze made the surrounding people extremely panicked. Even the good mood from just obtaining the beautiful gem vanished.
Unlike ordinary pirates who only knew how to cause chaos everywhere, Solar was a figure who had a foot in both the light and dark worlds of the East Blue. Even the Marine Captain, who was responsible for this sea area, had accepted a lot of bribes from Solar.
Precisely because of this, Red Deer Island and dozens of surrounding villages were brutally controlled by Solar. If it weren't for the appearance of that bringer of calamity, Garp, one year later, Solar would have continued to plague this sea.
"Have the third and fourth squads go support them. I will arrive shortly."
Although the Solar Pirates were well-trained and fought more fiercely than ordinary pirates, they were clearly a bit insufficient when facing Shiraishi's group of monsters.
With the flash of an afterimage, Shiraishi moved, his silver blade dancing to display magnificent technique as blade marks were left on this group of pirates one after another.
Although he did not take their lives, this group of pirates could no longer continue fighting in the short term.
"Where is Solar's main base?"
A pirate with a completely hopeless look instinctively pointed to the distance: "At the Red Deer Estate..."
Just as Shiraishi let go of the pirate and prepared to forge ahead, a sharp edge flashed out of nowhere. It was a very piercing rapier, and the attacker was a strangely shaped red deer monster.
"The Captain is here!"
The silver blade abruptly parried the opponent's rapier, only to see the red deer turn around and deliver a sharp, howling palm wind!
Solar was a Zoan Devil Fruit capability user!
According to Shiraishi's memory, Zoan Devil Fruits generally possessed three stages of transformation: Human Form, Beast Form, and Hybrid Form.
The Human Form was the ordinary state. The Hybrid Form kept a humanoid appearance while turning into a beast, or could transform specific body parts into those of a beast. After entering the Hybrid Form, the user's physical capabilities would be enhanced.
Generally, the characteristic horns, teeth, claws, fur, and tails of the animal would be reinforced. As for the final Beast Form, it was the user completely transforming into the animal, possessing all its traits.
Among Zoans, carnivorous species showed an increased level of ferocity compared to herbivorous species, which also influenced the user's own personality. The current red deer monster, dressed in very expensive clothing, was clearly different from those crude carnivorous types.
But what truly caught Shiraishi's attention was the ring on Solar's hand that he hadn't had time to take off.
At this moment, Shiraishi's expression became ⊙﹏⊙...
Isn't this one of the eighteen gems lost from my gloves?
During their passage through the space-time barrier, the Rebirth Core chakra energy within the eighteen gems had undergone a mutation, possessing a stronger energy field.
Although Shiraishi wasn't clear where the issue had occurred during the process, he hadn't expected to obtain such a harvest just by passing through and plundering a pirate.
"Who is Your Excellency, and why have you come to this island?"
Solar tried his best to maintain restraint. The opponent could catch his sneak attack, indicating he was absolutely no ordinary character. There was no need to become enemies with such a powerhouse, so it would be best to resolve the trouble as quickly as possible.
"Our ship has been too short on money lately... so we hope to ask Your Excellency for a little charity."
When Shiraishi spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the ring on Solar's hand, causing the latter's face to darken.
"If supplies are needed, we can assist Your Excellency, but other demands seem a bit..."
Before Solar could finish speaking, an afterimage of Shiraishi appeared right in front of him: "Why so many words? As a pirate, can't you just have a straightforward, lethal battle!"
Damn it, this bastard!
Solar's face flushed. His deer antlers instantly lengthened and thrust out, but Shiraishi caught the antlers with a single hand. As the muscles in his arm continuously expanded, he abruptly exerted force, dragging Solar violently to the ground!
With a heavy thud, Solar's entire face contorted as his body was slammed heavily onto the ground. The rapier in his hand attempted to thrust out again, but was forcefully suppressed by Shiraishi's silver blade once more.
"You're already a Zoan, yet you still use such childish weapons!"
"None of your business!"
Hissing as he lunged forward, Solar was kicked flying by Shiraishi. Coughing up a thick spray of blood, Solar's face turned completely livid. At this, Shiraishi walked forward slowly, shaking his head with a bit of helplessness.
This guy's fruit development was far too weak. When Zoan fruits were cultivated to the later stages, there was the power of Awakening. Once awakened, the user would possess powerful lifeforce and recovery speed.
Thinking back, this was the East Blue after all, so it wasn't very likely to have such a powerful Zoan user.
"I surrender... the ring is yours!"
Shiraishi smiled and took the ring from Solar's hand. Seeing the latter's thoroughly humiliated look, Shiraishi turned around to glance at the arriving Ace: "Ace, go move the goods!"
Uchiha Madara, Unohana Retsu, and Kikyo all possessed their own arrogance and would not do such thieving work. The only one who could cooperate with Shiraishi was Ace, who was natively born a pirate to begin with.
Watching the two look like a pair of petty thieves, Unohana Retsu rarely revealed a slightly flushed expression, feeling truly too ashamed: His years as a Marine commander look completely wasted on him...
While Ace went to the Solar Estate to search for treasure, Shiraishi focused his entire attention on this pale blue gem.
As expected...
The power of the Rebirth Core had mutated.
The absolute instant Shiraishi gripped this pale blue gem, a unique wave of light reflected across the flawless crystalline surface.
Subsequently, as if plunged into a massive ocean, a roar from ancient times caused Shiraishi to freeze for a moment, though everything quickly returned to normal around him.
Ultimately, on the surface of this blue gem, countless light rays condensed into a single point, weaving a specialized living creature totem...
This is...
Seeing the shape of the creature on the pale blue gem, a trace of surprise surfaced in Shiraishi's eyes.
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