Chapter 121

"And other skills will also experience a significant boost."

"At that point, my combat power, even by New World standards, will be formidable—comparable to the Three Disasters and Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"But the growth rate of Armament Haki is truly too slow..."

Looking at the Armament Haki that had awakened over a month ago, starting at LV-1, yet still had not leveled up since.

A faint bitterness surfaced on Gao Wen's face.

Unlike other skills that can be cultivated by harvesting leeks for experience, Armament Haki now relies solely on his own training.

He gains only a dozen or so experience points per day—so slow it's maddening.

At this rate, by the time the Martial Arts Tournament begins two months from now, his Armament Haki might barely reach LV-2.

Reaching LV-5 to unlock ability entries is still a distant dream.

But.

Gao Wen could understand this.

In the original story, apart from the Straw Hat crew, whom Oda personally buffed, and outliers like Crocodile and Moonlight Moria, most strong warriors' peak periods generally lasted from their late thirties to early fifties.

Whether it was Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard, Sakazuki, or the younger generation—Akainu, Aokiji, Mihawk, Shanks—they all fit this pattern.

Simply because raising every ability to the pinnacle requires far more time than expected.

To solve the problem of Armament Haki's slow progress:

There are two viable solutions.

Either recruit leeks who have awakened Armament Haki, or get Xiang Keluo and the others to awaken it.

The former is rare even in the East Blue, let alone the first half of the Grand Line; the latter, Gao Wen's only hope now, rests on Xiang Keluo and the others.

Unfortunately, their physical condition is still not quite up to par—whether they can meet the standard within these two months remains uncertain.

But.

Neither is a problem that can be solved overnight.

After wrestling with it for a while, Gao Wen set the issue aside and turned his gaze to the Red Dragon Fruit.

Gao Wen had already experienced the power of the Beast Form.

Hanafuza's full-power strike couldn't even budge the Red Dragon's body.

Now that his skill has leveled up, his control over the fruit has become even more refined.

The three basic form transformations are no problem at all; the biggest issue remains his inability to combine the fruit's power with his sword techniques.

"For this, either study the Blue Ball's principle to master segmented or partial transformations, or just push the ability to LV-5 and see what entries it unlocks."

"But."

"Even relying solely on the fruit's power, my combat strength has already reached Gold Rank—even among the Warlords, I'm not weak."

"At the very least, I surpass Hanafuza, and Crocodile and Moonlight Moria after their beliefs were shattered. There are almost no rivals left in the first half of the Grand Line."

"Once the Martial Arts Tournament is over, I should enter the Grand Line and claim my own territory."

"The East Blue is simply too small."

"The leeks available here are far too scarce."

"Aside from the unlikely prospect of Ace, nearly all usable people have already joined my crew; staying here any longer holds little meaning."

A few minutes later.

The light in Gao Wen's room suddenly went out; silence fell over the surroundings, broken only by the wind howling past the walls with a shrill whistle.

…

Several days later.

Xiang Keluo and A Jin returned to Raven Port with the ashes of Biyangde and the others.

Jia Sha arrived immediately, bringing Mo Li with him.

The two stared at the several urns laid on the ground, their hearts filled with unspeakable rage.

The families of the dead who had come with them could no longer hold back their quiet sobs.

Seeing this, A Jin couldn't help but speak:

"I've avenged them. The king who ordered their execution is already in hell."

As his words fell.

The suppressed sobs in the crowd erupted suddenly, merging into a continuous wail around Jia Sha's ears.

The crying lasted over ten minutes before finally subsiding.

According to Jia Sha's established rules:

These dead would be buried in the port's cemetery, their names carved on tombstones, remembered as heroes by Raven Port for generations.

Soon.

The families of the deceased took their urns away.

A Jin watched their retreating backs, feeling a heavy weight in his chest; he couldn't help but turn to Xiang Keluo beside him:

"If we were stronger, and the Gao Wen Pirate Crew's name were louder, would this kind of thing have happened?"

"Yeah."

Xiang Keluo nodded.

Beside him, A Jin nearly bit his lips until blood welled up, his heart filled with unbearable resentment.

He was the hardest-working cultivator in the crew, even bordering on self-abuse.

All for the tiny, almost imperceptible gains each day.

But now, even that slight improvement was slipping beyond his perception.

A Jin lowered his head, staring at his tightly clenched hands, trembling uncontrollably, and murmured:

"Is my limit really only this much?!"

Keluo fell silent.

The crowd gathered in the harbor gradually dispersed.

After Keluo and the others handed over the matters of the Goa Kingdom, along with the several hundred million Berries in sponsorship fees they had brought back, to Gasha, they turned and walked toward the place where Gao Wen was cultivating.

……

Half an hour later.

Inside Crow Harbor.

Gao Wen sat in a chair, listening to Keluo recount the matters of the Goa Kingdom, a look of surprise surfacing in his eyes.

"Should I say it's just as expected?"

"He could actually see through our subsequent arrangements in Crow Harbor, and even use that adopted son's corpse to strike a deal with us?"

"However."

"To be able to prop up a fool like Sterry to power, and in such a short time, dissolve the kingdom's impending civil unrest into nothing."

"Otuluk III is indeed a ruthless character."

Gao Wen let out a string of praises, yet a hint of playfulness flickered in his eyes:

"Too bad he forgot that violence is the essence of power, especially in a world where an individual's strength can easily annihilate an entire country."

"But his existence can shield us from a lot of trouble from the World Government side, so he still has some use."

Gao Wen turned his head to look at Ajin and said:

"Oh right, this time when I went to the Loguetown auction, I obtained a Devil Fruit."

Having said that.

Gao Wen took out an octagonal box from beneath the desk.

After he pressed the switch in the center, the box split open from the middle like flower petals, and a strange fruit that seemed to be piled together from countless bones lay before the two of them.

"Paramecia — Bone-Bone Fruit!"

"Once eaten, it allows free control over every bone in the entire body, and even extending the bones outside the body to form weapons for attack, or armor for defense."

"Developed to a higher realm, it can even control the bones within an opponent's body."

"Most importantly, even if your potential has already reached your own upper limit, the existence of a Devil Fruit can still push you one step further."

"Originally I planned to use it as a prize for the martial arts tournament, but naturally we should prioritize boosting our combat strength first."

"You all choose."

The words fell.

Keluo did not speak, but turned his head to look at Ajin beside him and said:

"I don't have much interest in Devil Fruit abilities."

"So this is a Devil Fruit ability?!"

Ajin reached out and gently stroked the skin of the Bone-Bone Fruit, only to find that the outer skin was as hard as bone itself.

Originally, he had been very much looking forward to the moment of obtaining a Devil Fruit.

After all, once eaten, one would immediately gain a Devil Fruit ability, and there would be the possibility of further progress for himself.

But when it came right down to it, Ajin's heart instead wavered with some hesitation.

"Is there really no possibility for me to progress further on my own?"

Honestly, when a person learns the moment of their own talent's upper limit, the greatest reaction must be unwillingness!

Why is it that I bet my life, even cultivating in a nearly self-abusive manner, yet in the end cannot gain the slightest bit of progress?

This was exactly how Ajin felt at this moment.

He even developed a feeling that if he ate it here, it would be tantamount to admitting that he himself was nothing more than this.

Denying his own possibility, denying his own talent, denying his own resolve and will.

"I……"

"I'm not willing to accept this!"

"Mr. Gao Wen!"

The suppressed voice was forced out from Ajin's throat, so much so that even Keluo was somewhat surprised.

Only in Gao Wen's eyes did undisguised appreciation show.

"Of course there is!"

"Betting your life to cross blades with the strong, seeking out that sliver of a chance of victory from battles that should be certain death."

"Such battles themselves are the tempering of will, of conviction."

Ajin understood in an instant:

"Just like how Keluo back then fought me despite being gravely wounded, just like how you, Mr. Gao Wen, knew full well you were no match, yet still went to challenge Hawkeye."

"Ah."

Gao Wen nodded:

"That's right, an invincible conviction is not trained out, it's fought out."

"Once you find a reason to win even at the cost of death, the shackles placed upon you by innate talent will also be torn apart."

Ajin fell silent, merely lowering his head to stroke the Bone-Bone Fruit on the table, then little by little, closed the split box……

Bang!

As the last faint sound fell, the box holding the Bone-Bone Fruit returned to its original state.

Yet something indescribable had already appeared on Ajin.

"Mr. Gao Wen, I will not accept my fate!"

"Since its fate was originally to serve as the prize for the Martial Arts Tournament, I'll gamble once more to see if I am truly its destined master."

"Besides, my luck at gambling has always been quite good, hasn't it?"

The moment the words landed,

the corner of Xiang Keluo's mouth curled up slightly.

That's right!

Only with such resolve can a man keep pace with me and Gao Wen!

But...

"Do you believe you can defeat me?"

"How would I know unless I try?"

Ah Jin lifted his head, the corners of his mouth gradually splitting into a grin:

"I've suddenly realized that I seem to have been living in fear all along."

"Fear of my own weakness, fear of the widening gap between Mr. Gao Wen and myself, until I ended up being completely useless."

"But..."

"Fear alone is useless!"

With that, Ah Jin turned around directly, not even glancing at the fruit on the table.

"Really not going to reconsider?"

Gao Wen couldn't help but tease.

Ah Jin's whole body stiffened, yet ignoring both Gao Wen and Xiang Keluo, he slipped away as if fleeing for his life.

He feared that even a moment's delay would make him regret his current decision.

"Hahahahaha~"

"Your words were certainly handsome."

Xiang Keluo shook his head, then added:

"The person is handsome too."

Gao Wen remained outwardly indifferent, yet the gradually curling corner of his mouth betrayed the joy within his heart:

"Crew member Ah Jin! Severing attachments! Realizing his true heart!"

"Potential increased: Bronze → Silver!"

(End of Chapter)