Ambition, Mary Geoise, the curtain is about to rise

Binz had no desire to find out how hard Naito could punch now.

Not far away, Ain had just finished a round of training and was a little out of breath. Watching Naito continue without pause despite the sweat pouring off him, the girl gritted her teeth.

Was this guy really not a robot? His body was clearly nearing its limit, yet his form hadn't faltered in the slightest!

In a boundless, empty world, Naito floated leisurely in the air, watching with interest as Weevil ran around in excitement and Buckingham sat dejectedly on the ground, despair written all over her face.

Binz had indeed been right. When Naito trained, he really was "asleep."

Naito had transmigrated to this pirate world a year ago.

His transmigration was unusual.

He hadn't crossed over in his own body, but it didn't seem to be a conventional soul transmigration either.

Before transmigrating, he had been playing a pirate game.

He had randomly rolled an exceptional new character, complete with a powerful Devil Fruit, maxed-out potential in all Three Types of Haki, and a starting follower from a special race.

Then, the moment he excitedly pressed start, Naito arrived in this world.

He became his game character.

Although the game system hadn't come with him, Naito had indeed obtained all of that character's abilities.

A powerful physique far beyond that of ordinary people despite not belonging to a special race, astonishing potential to master all Three Types of Haki, and a starting follower who was absolutely loyal to him.

And the Dream-Dream Fruit.

Controlling his real-world body to train while dreaming, thereby avoiding the pain of training, was only the most insignificant of its uses. Slipping into other people's dreams or putting them straight to sleep was just as easy.

The true essence of this ability was that it gave Naito a dream world.

This world had no fixed form or boundaries, because it was Naito's dream, a spiritual world in the truest sense, where everything followed his will.

As long as it was within the scope of his understanding, Naito could do anything he wanted in this world.

Even so, that wasn't the key.

The key was that reality and dreams intertwined within Naito, blurring the boundary between spirit and matter.

Naito could forcibly drag others into the dream world, and he could also make dreams encroach upon reality.

Forcibly bringing someone into a dream was easy to understand: it meant exactly what it said. Unless the Haki they unleashed or their willpower was strong enough, they couldn't resist Naito's ability to draw them into a dream. And once they entered Naito's dream world, even Imu would be at his mercy.

As for dreams encroaching upon reality, put simply, Naito could project things from the dream world into the real world.

Mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, trees and forests, lightning and flames-as long as it was something tangible, Naito could project it into the real world at will.

The Illusion-Illusion Fruit he claimed to possess was a disguise based on this ability: he created the corresponding illusions and sounds in the dream world, then projected them into reality.

The blow that had suddenly materialized and struck Buckingham by surprise was a projected solid object; he had merely made it invisible.

However, just like the ability possessed by Killingham of the God's Knights, the things Naito projected ultimately weren't real.

They were only dreams given tangible form.

Flames weren't hot, solid ice wasn't cold, and seawater couldn't suppress Devil Fruit users.

But this flaw wasn't impossible to overcome.

In the end, the projections were false because dreams and reality weren't yet closely enough intertwined.

So if Naito alone wasn't enough as a nexus, he simply had to add more!

The orbs of light Naito had given Buckingham and Weevil were essentially a form of two-way access to dreams.

Naito opened his dream to them, and they opened theirs to him.

Because mother and son were outsiders, and because Naito couldn't understand what a soul actually was—it lay beyond his understanding—he couldn't directly alter their wills. He had to get them to accept it themselves; he couldn't forcibly establish the connection.

Once they accepted this access, their dreams were effectively linked to Naito's dream world, or rather, had become part of his dream.

On that basis, the two of them could enter the dream world at any time.

Of course, because the access went both ways, Naito could also pull them into the dream at any time, or even use the connection to project his consciousness directly into them and control their bodies.

From then on, Buckingham and Weevil also became nexuses.

The mother and son naturally weren't enough, so what he had to do was simple.

As long as he brought more people into the dream world and made them nexuses too, the dream world and the real world would become more and more closely linked, and the power Naito could wield in reality would gradually increase.

Creation from the void in the truest sense would become possible. Perhaps he could even do more than project tangible things; bringing the rules of the dream into reality might not be impossible either.

Perhaps one day, the dream world really could overlap completely with the real world. At that point, Naito would be a god in the mortal world in the truest sense.

Since he needed to recruit people, he naturally had to start with some capable ones. Naito thought Impel Down was a good choice; everyone in there was talented.

But as an exemplary Marine, Naito naturally couldn't do bad things himself, which made Weevil and his mother crucial.

Hmm, I'd better give them a little perk first.

Naito snapped his fingers lightly.

God issued a command to this world.

And the world answered respectfully.

Buckingham, who had been sitting there in a daze, gradually widened her eyes.

She had only blinked, but the world had changed.

She was in a magnificent palace that seemed to have been built of pure gold. She sat on a lofty golden throne, wearing all manner of jewels and ornaments.

Below the throne stood two rows of finely dressed servants, while outside the palace gates were mountains of gold, silver, and jewels.

The money-loving Buckingham swallowed instinctively.

"Whoa! So much treasure! We're rich!!"

Her foolish son had already thrown his arms around a gleaming golden pillar. He looked back at his old mother in delight, then froze for a moment. "Mom! You look so young!"

Hearing Weevil's words, Buckingham instinctively looked down.

Her hands, which had grown wrinkled with the passing years, were smooth and delicate again. Her legs had regained the fairness and slenderness of her youth, and even her breasts were full once more.

Had she really become young again?

No, all of this was fake!

This was a spiritual space. None of it meant anything, no matter what!

"Weevil-"

She wanted to say something.

"Weevil, Stussy, what are you two dawdling for?"

A man walked naturally through a door on one side of the palace.

Hair like molten gold, a crescent-shaped mustache, a chest as broad as the sea, and a towering body that seemed capable of holding up the sky.

A gentle, happy smile rested on his face. "It's time for our happy family gathering!"

Buckingham froze. "New... Newgate?"

"You-you're-"

Weevil reacted even more dramatically at the sight of the newcomer. His eyes trembled, and snot sprayed straight out of his nose. "Dad!!"

"Of course I'm your dad. What's wrong, you foolish son?"

The young man named Edward Newgate, known as Whitebeard, was somewhat baffled by his son's fuss.

"Dad! I finally get to see you!"

Weevil rushed over excitedly and threw his arms around Whitebeard, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Foolish son, Dad will always be by your side."

Whitebeard smiled and patted his foolish son on the back, making Weevil cry even harder.

Buckingham simply stared at the scene in a daze.

Her motives for giving birth to Weevil hadn't been entirely pure, but now, looking at the scene she had dreamed of, she was still inexplicably moved.

Even though she knew-

"Hey, Stussy, what are you standing there for?"

Whitebeard was a little impatient. He sighed, then turned his head slightly, his face reddening a little, and held out an arm to Buckingham. "Do you want a hug too? Honestly, what am I going to do with you?"

"..."

This was fake!

Just a false creation made by that mysterious Devil Fruit user to fool her!

That was what Buckingham told herself.

But she had already risen involuntarily to her feet.

Her legs completely beyond her control, she staggered forward.

Her steps gradually quickened, and then she threw herself into the man's arms.

"Newgate!"

The woman in her sixties was as tender and delicate as a young girl now.

"Foolish woman."

Whitebeard's strong arm encircled the woman's slender waist, a hint of indulgence in his voice.

This Newgate was fake!

That was what Buckingham told herself.

But he looked like Newgate, sounded like Newgate, acted like Newgate, smelled like Newgate, and even the feel of his muscles was Newgate's.

Buckingham raised her head and fell into a pair of deeply affectionate eyes.

Back then, Newgate seemed to have looked at Shakky the same way.

She couldn't tell the difference. She really couldn't!

Since she couldn't tell anymore, since she couldn't resist anymore...

Then-

"Weevil,"

Buckingham licked her crimson lips. "Go outside and play by yourself for a while."

"Huh? Mom?"

"Your dad and I have some things we need to talk over!"