Throne Of Supreme

Chapter 272: Off-field support

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A white fist shot toward Aoki's face, but he calmly raised his hand and caught it.

Leone's face lit up with an excited grin.

"If I defeat you, can I take the gold?"

"That's right," Aoki replied.

"Then I won't hold back!"

Leone flipped her hair back and lunged at Aoki like a large, golden lioness.

Although she no longer had the Leonel, her strength remained exceptional.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two exchanged blows at lightning speed.

Seizing an opening, Aoki suddenly struck, landing a palm strike squarely on Leone's abdomen.

Her face twisted in pain as she was sent flying out of the ring.

"He won again!"

"Good!"

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers.

Leone climbed back to her feet, rubbing her sore stomach. She glared at Aoki for a moment before bursting into laughter.

---

Night fell on a small courtyard.

"Cheers!"

The four of them raised their glasses, clinking them together before downing their drinks in one gulp.

Leone rubbed her belly, muttering, "Damn it, you really don't hold back, do you?"

"I was being merciful," Aoki said with a smirk.

Najenda and Lubbock both laughed, their camaraderie evident.

Aoki observed their playful interactions with interest.

"Are you two married?" he asked suddenly.

Najenda shook her head. "Not yet. The country is still new, and the situation remains unstable. How can we even think about things like that right now?"

"Unstable?" Aoki raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

Najenda's expression grew serious. "With your help, we overthrew the Empire sooner than expected. But that wasn't enough. There are still many stubborn factions resisting us. The most troublesome of all is Esdeath."

"Esdeath?" Aoki set his cup down. "She's shown up?"

Rab nodded. "She appeared not long after you left."

Najenda added, "Thinking about it now, I have to thank you and Kurome. If it weren't for those four super-dangerous puppets you left behind, I can't imagine how much destruction she would've caused over the past few months."

"Wait a second."

The more Aoki listened, the more something felt off. "How long have I been gone?"

Najenda gave him a curious look. "I haven't kept track exactly, but it should be close to three months."

"Three months?" Aoki looked stunned.

Leone laughed. "Are you losing it? How could you forget the time?"

Aoki didn't respond, instead rubbing his forehead in thought.

Three months?

Has it really been less than three months since He left the Akame ga Kill world?

After carefully reviewing his experiences, he quickly realized the issue.

"I must've assumed the flow of time in the One Piece world and Akame ga Kill world was the same," he muttered.

He began calculating in his mind.

Three months in the One Piece world equals one year in the Demon Slayer world, and just over two months in the Akame ga Kill world. If He include the earlier time discrepancies…

The time flow rates became clear:

One Piece world: fastest.

Demon Slayer world: moderate.

Akame ga Kill world: slowest.

The approximate ratio was 10:5:1.

Aoki glanced at the silver flower etched on the back of his hand and felt a sense of relief.

Thankfully, He found the silver bead that replenishes the energy of the world-traveling mark and left the Akame ga Kill world early.

The charging time in the Akame ga Kill world was about three and a half years.

If He had waited for it to recharge automatically, by the time He returned to the Demon Slayer world, Takina and the others might've been nearly forty years old.

"The power of time…"

Aoki snapped himself back to the present.

The past was the past—what mattered now was the future.

He need to accelerate the process.

Two years here, and by the time he returned to the One Piece world, the World Government might already have been destroyed.

And then there was another decision he had been hesitating over:

'Should I wait for the world shuttle mark to recharge naturally or use the silver beads to charge it quickly?'

Now, there was no room for hesitation.

"Hey! What are you thinking about?" Leone nudged Aoki's shoulder.

"Nothing," Aoki replied, shaking his head. Then he asked, "Is Kurome fighting Esdeath?"

Najenda nodded. "Yes. In fact, we've wanted to mobilize the army to surround and eliminate Esdeath, but we haven't found the right opportunity. And recently, the Western Kingdom has been causing unrest as well."

"I see," Aoki said with a slight nod.

"Should we call them back?" Najenda asked.

"No need. I'll find them myself later," Aoki said, shaking his head in refusal.

Lubbock, who had been silent, suddenly asked, "Aoki, why did you set up that ring?"

Leone and Najenda also looked curious. They knew Aoki well enough to feel that such a public display wasn't his usual style.

"I hope to be awarded the title of World's Strongest," Aoki said simply.

The three of them were momentarily stunned.

Fame was enticing to most people, but Aoki had never seemed like someone who cared about such things.

Aoki didn't elaborate further. Instead, he took out two objects and placed them on the table.

"Najenda, I hope for your help in this matter. These are your rewards."

"What are these?" Najenda asked, though she already had a guess.

"Dimensional Formation: Shambhala, and Chaos Throw: Big Leaguer," Aoki replied.

Najenda inhaled sharply.

Two Imperial Arms.

Out of the 48 original Imperial Arms, many had been lost or destroyed, leaving fewer than half still in existence.

These two were incredibly valuable, especially Shambhala, one of the most powerful Imperial Arms.

"It's said that Shambhala was originally in Minister Honest's possession," Najenda said, staring at the weapon on the table.

"Honest gave it to his son, Syura," Aoki explained. "I encountered him on my way out."

"I see. Without us even knowing, you've helped us solve another major problem," Najenda said with a sigh. Then, with a serious expression, she added, "Aoki, you've made great contributions to the establishment of the new nation. If you ever face any difficulties, we'll help you without expecting anything in return."

Aoki smiled, sensing her sincerity.

Najenda was clever but also genuine—a rare combination.

In Esdeath's eyes, such people might seem naive, but Aoki appreciated dealing with them.

"Take them. They're useless in my hands," Aoki said, pushing the Imperial Arms toward her. "Besides, what I need your help with won't be easy."

Najenda hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted the weapons.

"What do you need from us?" she asked.

"Publicity," Aoki said simply, though in his mind, he thought of it more as hype.

"Publicity?" Najenda repeated, her interest piqued.

"Even the best wine needs promotion if no one knows about it," Aoki explained. "I'm confident I can defeat all challengers, but it takes time for news to spread. For certain reasons, I need to secure the title of World's Strongest as soon as possible. I can't afford to wait."

"So you need our help to promote this?" Najenda asked. Without hesitation, she added, "That's no problem at all."

Currently, the title of the strongest belonged to Esdeath. Elevating Aoki to that position would only benefit them.

Aoki clarified, "I'm not just talking about this country—I mean the three foreign nations in the south, west, and north as well."

Najenda considered this. "We can send people to spread the word, but the results might be unpredictable."

"That's fine. Just do your best," Aoki said.

Najenda's expression turned serious. "Understood. I'll personally take responsibility for this."

Aoki nodded in acknowledgment.

"And finally, I'll handle Esdeath myself," he added.

Najenda's eyes narrowed. "Are you certain you can do that?"

"Of course. If I can't defeat Esdeath, then there's no point in claiming to be the strongest in the world," Aoki said with a confident smile.

"Alright. Leave the rest to us," Najenda said firmly.

What had started as a personal endeavor now carried implications for national security.

Leone raised her glass. "Are you done talking? If so, come over and drink already!"