Chapter 124: Precognition

【Host-Gao Wen】

【Age-24】

【Identity-Captain of the Gao Wen Pirates】

【Skills:

Swordsmanship-LV-12: 17558/33000 (Godspeed, Extreme Blade)

Physique-LV-13: 10158/50000 (Balance, Harmony) (Human-Beast Form: LV-15 / Beast Form: LV-16)

Shao Death-LV-7: 33/7000 (Instant Step)

Observation Haki-LV-5: 1071/10000 (Precognition)

Armament Haki-LV-2: 438/2500

Navigation-LV-5: 6815/MAX

Red Dragon Fruit-LV3: 425/8000

Sniping-LV4: 2208/2500

】

【Badges:

Captain's Fury-Subordinate Stamina Recovery Speed +20%

Rising Fame-View Potential Abilities

Bounty Over 100 Million-Fortune of the Sea (Used)

】

【Rating-Gold:

A regional powerhouse, a top-tier strongman!

】

In the span of two months, Gao Wen's transformation could truly be called earth-shattering.

As expected, Observation Haki reached LV-5, with two branches available for selection:

Heart Net and Precognition.

The former greatly enhances perception precision and range.

The latter allows one to foresee the future to a certain extent, though the span is small—only about three seconds.

At the time, Gao Wen did not hesitate in the slightest and chose Precognition directly.

After all, he is not Enel, and does not possess the ability to strike accurately beyond line of sight; regarding Observation Haki, he naturally places greater value on its combat perception capability.

And foreseeing the future is undoubtedly an extreme result of perception.

Precognition brought his combat power a qualitative leap.

It could be said that after awakening this trait, even if the panels were identical, Gao Wen could grind his former self into the dirt.

Because the gap between them is simply too vast, reaching a point beyond words to describe.

Now, as long as his opponent is not at the Admiral level, Gao Wen is confident enough to take them on; even against an Admiral, if the battlefield is suitable, he would not fear them!

After all, what the Red Dragon is best at is prolonged combat.

As long as the leyline energy is sufficient and he isn't one-shot killed by the opponent, the battle will enter Gao Wen's most comfortable rhythm.

After sweeping his gaze across the panel, Gao Wen could not help but speak:

"Currently, apart from Armament Haki, all other abilities are basically sufficient. To have another qualitative change, it would take at least several months."

"There shouldn't be any essential changes in the East Blue."

"Moreover…"

Saying so, Gao Wen closed the system interface and cast his gaze upon the arena at the center of the port.

"Tomorrow is the day the Martial Arts Tournament begins."

"Over these two months, Keluo and the others have devoted themselves wholeheartedly to training, and each has grown considerably."

"According to the panels I saw earlier with the badge."

"Sanji and Zoro have both stepped into the Bronze level; Van Auger and the Cat Brothers, though still a bit short of Bronze, should be close."

"But what truly surprises is Ajin and Keluo, whose potential is not as high as Sanji's and Zoro's."

"Ajin has even reached high Bronze, and Keluo is nearly touching the threshold of Silver."

"Now both of them have qualified to come into contact with Armament Haki; it just remains to be seen how far they can ultimately go."

"However, even judging by their current potential, the two of them are at the very least at the level of the Flying Six."

"Before the Martial Arts Tournament begins, find time to talk to them about the core issues involved."

……

……

……

The next day.

Crow Harbor was packed with people.

People from all over the world, aided by the port guards, filed one by one into the Martial Arts Tournament arena.

The arena, originally expected to hold eighty thousand people, was somewhat crowded for a time, though this did not dampen the enthusiasm in the hearts of the crowd in the slightest.

The arena buzzed with noise, like a swarm of bees gathered together, emitting a constant drone.

The Martial Arts Tournament had not yet begun, but the news that certain star competitors would participate had long since been made known to everyone through the newspapers.

They debated among themselves over who would ultimately claim this tournament's grand prize—the three hundred million Beri bounty, and that Paramecia-type Bone-Bone Fruit.

"I heard that this time, the Donquixote Family's Fighting Fish-Dellinger, and Gentleman-O-Nice, will both be taking part in this Martial Arts Tournament."

"They all won at the Colosseum of the Kingdom of Dressrosa; they are the absolute seed contenders for this martial arts tournament!"

A man with slicked-back hair and glasses sat in the stands, speaking eloquently; his words immediately resonated with those around him:

"Seed contenders? That means they've already locked in the top two spots!"

"After all, they hail from the New World; whether in terms of strength or their own growth environment, they are incomparable to people from other seas!"

"Not to mention they are from the East Blue, the公认 weakest sea?!"

"I saw their fights at the Colosseum. Donquixote Doflamingo is rumored to have Fish-Man blood, bloodthirsty and cruel; Senor Pink acts strangely, yet is a genuine tough guy; but if you ask for their greatest commonality, it is their unparalleled combat power!"

Some echoed them, but others voiced opposing opinions.

"Daz Bones, the most famous assassin of the West Blue, is absolutely not weaker than these two!"

"And there's the Destruction Fist, Eddie, who has won the New World Central Fighting Tournament championship several times; he is also one of the top contenders!"

"And there's Blugori..."

With the addition of a new wave of active participants, the crowd's argument grew more intense, looking as though a single disagreement would lead to a brawl.

Even several soldiers responsible for security rushed over immediately, fearing any trouble might break out.

Hearing their discussion, the group of guards rolled their eyes:

"The people you're talking about could never be opponents for Captain Akkin and Mr. Xiang Keluo!"

However, the guards' words only drew a round of laughter from the crowd.

"East Blue pirates?! People from the weakest sea, here to make jokes? They haven't even experienced the slaughter of the New World level!"

"Exactly!"

"Only those who stand out from such a cruel sea deserve to be called strong!"

"The East Blue is a different level of strength."

Someone gazed at the calm sea in the distance and sighed:

"You don't know how precious such a peaceful sea is; how many people want such a life but have no chance."

"Peace?!"

The guard sneered, about to refute, but was immediately drawn by the commotion in the distance; he instantly set aside his personal emotions, turned, and left.

The crowd in the stands once again started a new round of argument.

Regarding who exactly would stand out in this martial arts tournament, they had countless guesses, yet never once did a name from the East Blue appear in their mouths.

As time passed, more and more spectators entered the arena.

Jasmine stood at the host's podium, feeling her heart pound; yet it was not due to anxiety or nervousness, but excitement.

For she was the host of the first martial arts tournament.

Partnering with her was Jango, standing nearby with a bitter expression.

Seeing this, Jasmine couldn't help but tease:

"Mr. Jango, look on the bright side."

"Even if you lost to someone else in a fight where the loser goes on stage to be embarrassed, it now proves that you indeed have talent in this area."

Jango's mouth twitched:

"You're good at comforting people; don't comfort me next time."

Jasmine laughed heartily, but in the next instant, a deafening bell sound rang in her ears.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

The consecutive sounds of three bell strikes also marked the official opening of this martial arts tournament held in the East Blue!

At this moment, even the crowd sitting in the stands fell silent, fixing their gaze on the host's platform.

Jasmine and Jango said some symbolic witty remarks to stir up the atmosphere of the scene.

Immediately, Jango took a deep breath and began to announce the rules of this martial arts tournament:

"The East Blue Martial Arts Tournament will compete for the title of the strongest!"

"Our sole purpose is this: to be second is to be unknown!"

"Only the strongest can be carved on the stele of the Hall of Fame; as long as Raven Port exists, the winner's title will be passed down for a day!"

"The four regions of East, West, South, and North will engage in a free-for-all, each competing to produce the two strongest!"

"Afterwards, enter the draw for matchups; the winner advances, the loser exits, until the strongest person of this competition is finally decided!"

"The grand prize: 300 million Berries in cash and the Paramecia-type Bone-Bone Fruit!"

"This is a winner-takes-all game; there is no seat for the loser!"

Jango's voice, impassioned and even bordering on hysterical, landed, instantly driving the atmosphere of the scene to its climax; everywhere were the screams of bloodthirsty spectators.

Jasmine turned to look at the extremely excited Jango beside her, her eyelid twitching:

"You actually seem to like this, don't you?"

Jango's expression froze:

"Work, it's all work."

"Heh~"

Jasmine rolled her eyes at him, then turned to face the distant spectators and the Den Den Mushi cameras, speaking with equally excited tone:

"Enough small talk!"

"Now, the East Region free-for-all... begins!"

The voice landed.

On the east side of the arena, a heavy iron gate was slowly raised.

Clatter, clatter, clatter—!

Accompanied by the sound of falling chains, a crowd of powerful figures who had rushed here from all over the world, rubbing their fists and brimming with fighting spirit, walked into the competition grounds.

For most, the only things on their minds were the three hundred million Berries prize and the Bone-Bone Fruit, yet there were also those who had come purely for slaughter and blood.

Dellinger was precisely the latter.

Mingling within the crowd, his figure was thin and short; compared to the burly men around him, who often stood three or four meters tall, he looked simply like a leek that would topple at the first gust of wind.

But only those who had fought him knew just how terrifying a power resided within that body.

"The Young Master's order is to make the Martial Arts Tournament impossible to proceed; so if I kill everyone present, that should count as completing the mission, right?!"

"Let that fellow Onisel handle the things requiring brains; I'll take care of matters within the arena."

While muttering to himself, Dellinger's gaze wandered everywhere through the crowd, his bloodthirsty eyes searching for suitable prey.

Very quickly.

A thin figure appeared within Dellinger's line of sight.

"This fellow... is Ghost-Man Gin, one of the senior officers under Gao Wen's pirate crew; I wonder what his blood will taste like?"

"If he dies in the arena, what kind of expression will Knight Gao Wen make?!"

As he spoke, Dellinger's voice paused, a trace of surprise revealing itself in his eyes.

This was solely because Gin, in the distance, had already noticed someone spying on him; turning his head, his gaze met Dellinger's.

One pair of eyes was calm, revealing no emotion.

The other expression was mad, utterly bloodthirsty.

The two gazes met in the air, each perceiving the dangerous aura emanating from the other.

(End of Chapter)