Initial Victory Over The Underground World, Samadhi True Fire

Ah Jin was frustrated, not just because he had to admit defeat, but also because he felt disheartened being bested by a ten-year-old girl. He had believed in his strength, capable of destroying a small pirate group. Yet today, he learned what it truly means to be outmatched and that there are always greater powers beyond one's own.

"You lose. From now on, your life is mine," the puppet declared calmly.

Ajin, still confused, was quickly corrected by Monet. "Idiot! Mr. Ye is willing to take you in. You should thank him immediately!"

Ajin, dumbfounded, said, "Greetings, Mr. Ye."

He didn't understand why he should meet Arías, but he complied out of respect for his benefactor.

Arías responded calmly, "If you work with me, I can make you stronger. As a reward for your surrender, I'll let you take the punishment meant for Monet."

"Yes!" Ajin agreed. At least he wouldn't be implicating his benefactor.

Ajin stood quietly in the corner of the deck, enduring his pain in silence.

After resolving Ajin's matter, Arías turned to Solomon, who was lying nearby, pretending to be dead. "Get up. I know you're not dead!"

Solomon opened his eyes. The threads binding him had vanished when Brother Ming left, and his Zoan fruit's recovery powers had healed most of his injuries—except for a broken arm. He dared not act rashly; the man in black before him had shown immense power, and his missing heart indicated the man's involvement.

The puppet took out Solomon's heart from a sack and placed it in front of him. "This is your heart. A light pinch, and it will burst, killing you."

Solomon's eyes widened in fear, but he remained still.

"Obey me from now on, and I'll ensure you stay alive," Arías continued.

Solomon, greedy for life and afraid of death, agreed, "Yes, master."

Previously threatened by Brother Ming, Solomon now faced a different but equally dangerous situation. With Arías needing to maintain a presence and attract attention, Solomon found himself in a better position than under Brother Ming, who would have disposed of him once he was done.

Arías verified that Solomon only communicated with the outside world via a phone bug and was uninvolved in Bronte's death and other matters. This meant that capturing Solomon was a significant step toward controlling the underground world, though it remained unstable. Replacing the heads of each department with Arías's own people was necessary, with Monet, Sugar, and Ajin being potential candidates, though they were currently too weak and inexperienced.

The following day, after standing all day and being allowed to rest, Ajin collapsed from exhaustion. Severely injured and worsened by his battle with Sugar, he was further depleted by standing at sea without water. After being taken back to his room, he woke up the next day after a full day of rest. After consuming a bowl of meat porridge, he felt much better.

Arías then taught him Qi training techniques. He also retrieved two wooden boxes from a capsule—Devil Fruits traded by Brother Ming for hostages. One resembled a pomegranate with six snowflake-like protrusions and silver curling lines, likely the Snow-Snow Fruit. The other looked like a small red winter jujube with dense internal lines.

"Is this the Child-Child Fruit?" Arías wondered, but upon consulting the Devil Fruit illustrated book, he discovered it was actually the Cat-Cat Fruit, Lion Form.

While lions are powerful among common Zoan fruits, this was not the prized Child-Child Fruit that Arías had hoped for. Ming Ge's collection was impressive and included critical fruits for capturing Dressrosa. If he didn't have the Child-Child Fruit, he would find other ways to achieve his goals.

After completing his review, Arías received a reward from the system:

"Prevent Doflamingo from controlling the underground world, begin to control it yourself, and kill Torebol, a core cadre of the Donquixote family. You have greatly altered the future, and the world line will undergo major changes."

"Reward: Samadhi True Fire!"

As the system's voice faded, Arías felt a mysterious fire burning in his dantian—warm, overbearing, and seemingly capable of affecting the soul.

This fire could counter the Soul-Soul Fruit's effects, making it easier to handle opponents like Auntie. Moreover, it burned away impurities in his body, which had been transformed by the Liuku Immortal Thief, leaving almost no impurities. However, some residual impurities, likely from Devil Fruit side effects, were also being eliminated.

With the Samadhi True Fire accelerating the removal of these side effects, Arías would soon be able to consume a second Devil Fruit. As demonstrated by Blackbeard's rise from Shichibukai to Four Emperors after consuming two fruits, the power boost from additional Devil Fruits was substantial.