The Birth of Poseidon

Come to think of it, the gauges on the mechanical heart Saint Sommers had dropped looked somewhat like those worn by the Space Pirates on the moon.

Perhaps Imu had come from the heavens, an invader from the moon.

Or perhaps Imu had obtained some of the moon's and the Great Kingdom's advanced technology.

There were too many unknown secrets and enemies. Even with nine awakened Devil Fruit powers, Houka still felt he wasn't strong enough.

Perhaps his caution and fear toward those unknowns were why his near-God-level Conqueror's Haki had yet to advance to God-level Conqueror's Haki.

Houka couldn't help but sigh. He never thought he would end up on the same path as Imu.

Who knew how many years he would remain stuck at this bottleneck?

Imu, after all, had been stuck there for nearly eight hundred years.

Only by sacrificing all his servants had Imu finally completed his ascent to God-level.

Houka was searching for the opportunity to make that leap too. He couldn't keep thinking about fusion or those hidden gods.

The only strength he could truly count on was his own!

Houka even considered a worse possibility.

What if this Ocean God completely countered all nine of his Devil Fruit powers? What would he have left to fight back with?

That was the main reason Houka's original soul had never consumed a tenth Devil Fruit power.

If all his Devil Fruit powers were countered, suppressed, and sealed,

his true self could at least still fight back.

Even without the help of his nine Soul Fires, Houka wouldn't surrender without a fight.

He had to keep training. He needed more trump cards!

Houka kept studying Brook's powers of the Yellow Springs, hoping to find a way into Yellow Springs Hell.

No, getting into Yellow Springs