"I didn't expect the Spirit Flower to still be in bloom, and now the second seed is starting to awaken as well."
Ethan Sugawa could feel the blood pill dissolving in his stomach, gradually being absorbed by the seed, turning into nourishment.
As the seed began to sprout, he activated his 'Appraisal Eye' and focused on his Dantian. Information about the seed immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Life Flower: Once it blooms, the host will possess extremely powerful vitality. Even if the heart is pierced, death will not come instantly. Additionally, it will form the Beast God Soul.]
"Immense vitality? The Life Flower?"
Ethan's expression froze, but soon his eyes lit up with joy.
With the Life Flower's enhanced vitality combined with the regenerative ability of his vampire bloodline, as long as his head wasn't cut off, he would practically be immortal.
Not only that, but he also saw that, just like the Spirit Flower, the Life Flower would condense a new soul upon blooming.
[Beast God Soul: This soul can independently host Zoan-type Devil Fruit powers and will not be affected by the Devil Fruit's will even after awakening.]
"So I can eat another Devil Fruit with this soul?"
Ethan's smile widened in satisfaction.
He was especially thrilled to discover that the Beast God Soul would allow him to completely resist the influence of a Devil Fruit's will.
When Luffy awakened his Gear Fifth, he was partially influenced by the will of the Sun God Nika, laughing uncontrollably in battle.
But Luffy's case was still mild.
The worst-case scenario was like the prison guards in Impel Down those who failed to control their Zoan awakenings ended up being fully possessed by the will of their Devil Fruits, becoming mindless beasts.
The risk of Zoan awakening was no joke. Failure meant becoming a walking corpse.
Although Ethan was still a long way from awakening, having a way to eliminate that risk was priceless.
He decisively consumed all the remaining blood pills in one go.
The rich blood energy flooded his abdomen, all of it being devoured by the Life Flower.
The seed gradually sprouted roots and grew two leaves.
After a few minutes, the growth slowed and then came to a halt. The Life Flower had returned to dormancy.
"Looks like this little bit of blood isn't enough for the Life Flower to fully bloom."
A sharp glint flashed in Ethan's eyes.
"Looks like it's time to go hunting again."
This time, he wouldn't just be hunting pirates. The Marines were now on his kill list as well. Even smaller Sea Kings were fair game.
"But first, I should get Gloriosa back to Amazon Lily."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Gloriosa stepped out from the cabin and approached him.
After several days of rest, her injuries had fully healed, and her strength had returned to its peak.
Looking at Ethan, she sighed with admiration. "I didn't expect you to have changed so much since leaving the Rocks Pirates."
During her recovery, Ethan had single-handedly fended off several waves of pirate attacks.
His fighting style was strange and overwhelming his eternal white flames, his blood-colored flying swords, and the unpredictable black-and-white greatsword.
Based on her observations, Gloriosa estimated that Ethan's current strength was on par with a Marine Vice Admiral.
What's more, she could tell his potential was immense. He still had a long way to grow.
Ethan was only eighteen. By the time he reached Whitebeard's age, he might surpass even the world's strongest man.
Hearing Gloriosa's praise, Ethan modestly replied, "I've just been lucky. Without that Devil Fruit I found during the God Valley Incident, I wouldn't have grown this quickly."
"Let's not talk about that now. You might be in danger."
Gloriosa's tone suddenly turned serious.
"Even though you faked your death by falling into the sea, making the World Government suspect you're dead…"
"You've been ruthlessly wiping out every pirate crew that attacked you without leaving survivors."
"But some traces still leaked out. A few fishermen witnessed you slaughtering pirates and spread the story. They're calling you the 'Four-Armed Asura.'"
"Four-Armed Asura?"
Ethan pondered for a moment.
"Does that mean my faked death is exposed?"
He was mentally prepared to be hunted by the Marines, but Gloriosa's next words put him at ease.
"The Marines don't know you're still alive yet."
"However," Gloriosa said solemnly, "your new identity, 'Four-Armed Asura,' has been exposed and is now on a wanted poster."
"How much is the bounty?" Ethan asked curiously.
Gloriosa handed him a wanted poster. "Ten million Berries."
"That much?"
Ethan's face was full of surprise.
His original identity only had a bounty of 500 Berries.
Now, under a new identity, his bounty had increased two hundredfold.
Back then, he was just Big Mom's 'boy toy' and hadn't had many chances to display his combat ability. That's why his bounty was so low.
But now that he had revealed his power, the bounty skyrocketed.
"With the bounty increase, my reputation must've grown as well."
Ethan opened his system panel.
[Reputation: 1200 (Reach 2000 to unlock a treasure map).]
After passing the 1000 mark, the system had granted him an additional slot for another skill.
However, since he hadn't encountered a suitable skill yet, he'd temporarily left it empty.
After sorting through his gains, Ethan smiled and said to Gloriosa, "As long as my original identity isn't exposed, I don't mind."
If his past identity as Big Mom's 'lover' were exposed, the Gorosei especially Saint Jaygarcia Saturn would surely send fleets to hunt him down.
Saturn might even personally come after him.
But right now, as 'Four-Armed Asura,' with a mere ten-million-Berry bounty, he'd only attract bounty hunters.
And those solo bounty hunters? Ethan wasn't the least bit afraid.
He looked ahead and said lightly, "We're almost in the Calm Belt. Amazon Lily is just up ahead. You can go back to being Empress."
"…Yeah."
Gloriosa only nodded calmly, her expression lacking any trace of joy.
After being away from Amazon Lily for so long, the island's affairs had become unfamiliar to her. Nothing was like it used to be.
Even if her people still wanted her to return as Empress, Gloriosa probably wouldn't accept.
She'd likely step down and focus on training the warriors of Amazon Lily.
Besides…
Gloriosa glanced at Ethan, her heart stirring with unfamiliar feelings.
During these days together, she had quietly developed a fondness for him, slowly moving on from her past relationship.
She thought she'd have more time with him, but the journey was ending much sooner than she'd expected.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The sudden roar of cannon fire jolted both of them back to alertness. They quickly raised their telescopes and scanned the direction of the sound.
In the distance, a fleet of Marine warships was closing in.
Leading them was none other than the Marine Hero himself.
Monkey D. Garp.
Holding a loudspeaker, Garp's booming voice echoed across the sea.
"Pirates ahead! You're surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender now!"