Looking at the young man before him, Shiryu suddenly regretted his earlier decision. He shouldn't have made an enemy out of someone like this.
But regret was useless now. Against someone like Kidd, there were only two options:
Either maintain a good relationship with him…
Or kill him before he grows too strong, eliminating the threat for good.
Clearly, Shiryu no longer had a choice.
He had already thoroughly offended Kidd. Reconciliation was impossible now. The only option was to kill him here and now.
With that thought, Shiryu's gaze hardened. A terrifying bloodlust radiated from his entire being, sharp as a blade, slicing into Kidd's skin.
"It seems… I can't let you live."
With those final words, Shiryu wasted no more time. He attacked.
Unlike before, his swordsmanship was now frenzied, demonic—a reckless, unrestrained release of power.
Facing this berserk version of Shiryu, Kidd felt overwhelming pressure. Clashes came one after another, leaving him no time to catch his breath.
The constant pain in his palms was torture. Each collision intensified the agony, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on.
A serious Shiryu really is terrifying… In a direct fight, I'm no match for him.
"So, what do you think of that kid, Baa-chan?"
"Nothing special. Just a slightly stronger ant."
Facing Rayleigh's question, Baret didn't mince words. His disdain was palpable.
"Oh? I don't think so."
"From start to finish, even while at a disadvantage, he hasn't shown a hint of panic. Maybe… this kid really can pull off a miracle."
"Hmph. Wishful thinking. Miracles only happen for those who are prepared. If just anyone could casually create miracles, this world wouldn't need to exist."
As a staunch realist, Baret believed only in the tangible. He had no patience for fantasies.
"Well, we'll see if he can pull it off."
After decades together, Rayleigh knew Baret's temperament well. No amount of talking would change his mind.
"What's wrong? Giving up already? Weren't you so arrogant earlier? Come on, keep going!"
Kidd pushed his Master-level Observation Haki to the limit, perceiving everything around him—the fluctuations in the air, the trajectories of sword slashes, even the remnants of Shiryu's movements.
His Armament Haki was primed, ready to harden his body at any moment to block Shiryu's strikes.
The battlefield had expanded across all of Level 6. To wait for Shiryu to make a mistake, Kidd had no choice but to keep dodging—while also seizing the chance to extract abilities from the prisoners he passed.
"Ding! Detected ability: Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit). Copy and extract?"
"Ding! Detected ability: Suna Suna no Mi (Sand-Sand Fruit). Copy and extract?"
The sudden system notifications made Kidd's mind go blank for a second. His gaze instinctively darted to the cells on either side.
On one side, a shirtless young man covered in gruesome scars came into view. Yet, despite his wounds, his eyes burned with fierce vitality.
Portgas D. Ace.
Son of Roger. Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Luffy's sworn brother.
And, in Kidd's past life, one of his favorite characters.
On the other side was a man who, while not as famous as Ace, was no less formidable—Crocodile, former Warlord of the Sea and user of the Suna Suna no Mi. A man who had once challenged Whitebeard himself.
Kidd was now faced with a brutal choice.
Both the Mera Mera no Mi and the Suna Suna no Mi were incredibly powerful Logia-type fruits. In the first half of the Grand Line, they were practically invincible—without Haki, no one could even touch their users.
Before this, Kidd had encountered other Devil Fruit abilities, but he hadn't taken any. None had felt right.
The system could remove the weaknesses of a Devil Fruit, but the cost in exchange points was astronomical—far beyond what Kidd could afford right now.
But these two were different.
He wouldn't refuse either.
Yet fate had forced him into a cruel dilemma—choosing one meant abandoning the other.
And worse, he had no time to hesitate. Once he left this area, the system's extraction ability would vanish. If he delayed, he'd lose both opportunities.
"System… I choose the Mera Mera no Mi!"
After a brief struggle, Kidd made his decision.
The reason?
In the system's exchange list, the Mera Mera no Mi was priced higher than the Suna Suna no Mi—significantly higher. In fact, its value surpassed most other Logia fruits, even Admiral Akainu's Magu Magu no Mi (Magma-Magma Fruit).
Kidd trusted the system's judgment. If it rated the Mera Mera no Mi this highly, there had to be a reason.
Many believed the Mera Mera no Mi was inferior to the Magu Magu no Mi, but Kidd was convinced that was only because Ace hadn't fully unlocked its potential.
Fire—the most primal, violent, and direct form of energy—was a calamity in its purest form. At its peak, temperatures could exceed tens of thousands of degrees, making it one of the most terrifying forces in the world. Even Kaido wouldn't walk away unscathed.
"Congratulations, Host. Obtained: Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) — Grandmaster Lv. 10!"
As the system's voice echoed in his mind, an overwhelming surge of warmth flooded Kidd's body—far more intense than before.
He also noticed something unusual.
While Ace's mastery of the fruit was indeed Grandmaster Lv. 10, the system gave no special notification.
Meaning…
Ace's development of the fruit had only reached the peak of Grandmaster. He hadn't broken through to the next tier.
This only reinforced Kidd's belief—the true power of the Mera Mera no Mi hadn't yet been fully unleashed.
Perhaps, once he broke through to the next level, the fruit would finally reveal its true glory.
When the process finished, Kidd felt an indescribable change in his body. A strange, immense power lay dormant within him, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
He suppressed the urge to test it immediately.
This unexpected trump card could turn the tide against Shiryu.
Used at the right moment, it might just produce a miracle.
And that was something he couldn't afford to waste.