Chapter 145: The Era and the Pirates

At the same time.

In Gao Wen's mind, the familiar system prompt sounded:

"Crew member Xiang Keluo has comprehended Armament Haki."

"Potential increased."

Just like with Ah Jin, his potential had increased, yet he had not broken through the current level's ceiling to reach the Gold tier.

But Xiang Keluo's own growth limit had undoubtedly been raised higher.

More importantly, with Xiang Keluo awakening Armament Haki, Gao Wen finally no longer needed to rely on himself to grind for Armament Haki experience.

Previously, it was only a dozen or so points per day; even after his own potential rose to Legendary, the improvement speed was merely a few dozen points, which was truly too grinding.

Moreover.

Xiang Keluo was only the beginning; afterward, under the effect of the Experience Piggy Bank, the cultivation speed of the others would increase dramatically.

The number of people awakening Haki would grow, and the speed of Gao Wen's own improvement would become faster and faster.

Thinking of this, Gao Wen couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a slight smile and said lightly:

"That's right."

"This is Armament Haki."

"The most comprehensive among the Three Colors of Haki."

"Wrapped around a weapon, it can strengthen attack power; attached to the body's surface, it can also form a layer of armor!"

"You have now entered the door; just how strong you can raise it to next depends entirely on you."

"Additionally, Armament Haki is divided into levels..."

As he spoke.

Gao Wen told Xiang Keluo everything he knew about Armament Haki, without hiding a single thing.

Xiang Keluo looked at the black claw-blade in his hand, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Observation Haki had solved his problem of whether he could see or not, while Armament Haki helped him solve the problem of whether he could cut or not.

Now, as long as he continued cultivating along this path, his combat strength would at minimum reach the standard expected of a Navy Vice Admiral.

Of course, extreme exceptions, such as a certain old guy who was clearly beyond specifications, or certain Vice Admirals who could be called a disgrace, held no reference value.

After all, even judges know to discard the lowest and highest scores.

Xiang Keluo closed his eyes, began to feel the Haki within his body, and attempted to control it.

Seeing this, Gao Wen no longer disturbed him; instead, he turned and left, leaving the space to Xiang Keluo.

Now that the aspect of Armament Haki could be supplied with experience by Xiang Keluo, Gao Wen's energy naturally needed to be focused on Conqueror's Haki, which he could only rely on himself for.

A few minutes later.

Behind Raven Port, atop a flat mountain peak.

Gao Wen looked around; seeing no miscellaneous objects nearby and that it was very quiet.

He nodded in satisfaction, found a clean stone to sit on, but did not immediately begin cultivating Conqueror's Haki; instead, he focused his attention on the system panel.

Several days had passed; Gao Wen had accumulated quite a bit of experience, and all his skills had seen increases, yet none had reached the threshold for leveling up.

Only Navigation, after reaching its limit, had accumulated over seven thousand invalid experience points:

【Navigation-LV-5: 7215/MAX】

Without a moment's hesitation, Gao Wen directly poured all of Navigation's experience into the Experience Piggy Bank.

As the excess experience from Navigation decreased, the number in the Experience Storage Tank grew larger and larger.

Very soon.

The invalid experience on Navigation dropped to zero, and a brand-new number appeared before Gao Wen's eyes:

【Warlord of the Sea - Experience Storage Tank: 3405】

Henceforth, the Experience Storage Tank would automatically distribute points according to the diligence of cultivation shown by members within the team, based on proportions.

Even though the experience had shrunk considerably, long-term accumulation would still allow Xiang Keluo and the others to achieve a noticeable improvement.

As time passed, Gao Wen gradually realized one thing.

The way these crew members improved was that for every bit of effort expended, they could see a corresponding improvement; though slow, it was overall smooth.

Whereas Gao Wen himself, after accumulating experience to meet the level requirement, received a wave of feedback all at once, presenting a step-wise improvement.

Each had its own benefits; the former allowed one to see progress with every bit of effort, while the latter provided an ultra-strong feedback at the moment of improvement.

But for leeks, an improvement visible through effort indeed brought a motivational effect far higher than that of step-wise improvement.

"This feels a bit like..."

"Nothing."

Gao Wen shook his head, shaking off the stray thoughts in his mind.

After arranging the Experience Storage Tank, Gao Wen focused his attention on the cultivation of Conqueror's Haki.

Feeling that aura originating from belief within his body, Gao Wen gradually began to attempt to control it.

Very soon.

Behind Raven Port, ring after ring of crimson Conqueror's Haki swept across, startling countless birds and beasts in the vicinity, causing them to lose consciousness and collapse to the ground one after another.

Even Xiang Keluo, who was fully immersed in cultivating Armament Haki and had almost forgotten everything around him, was startled, sensing the source of that aura.

"That is... Conqueror's Haki?"

"Who?"

"Gao Wen!"

"It can only be Gao Wen!"

Even though Xiang Keluo had never seen Conqueror's Haki before, it did not prevent him from instantly judging that the crimson aura sweeping the surroundings right now was indeed Conqueror's Haki.

After all, the powerful will revealed within this aura had impacted his spirit.

For those with slightly weaker strength, losing consciousness on the spot was entirely possible.

He looked at the Armament Haki coiling around his hand, then looked at the Conqueror's Haki released by Gao Wen in the distance, and for a moment, all he wanted to do was curse.

"I just comprehended Armament Haki, and you immediately pull out the higher-grade Conqueror's Haki?"

"How much more are you hiding?!"

"Why don't you just release everything all at once? Coming at us wave after wave like this is terrifying!"

Xiang Keluo couldn't help but recall all he had experienced since meeting Gao Wen.

He suddenly realized that this fellow almost every time brought up something new, and not long after, directly pulled it out.

From Observation Haki, to Armament Haki, to Conqueror's Haki...

The case was solved!

This brat must have mastered these things long ago.

He had been hiding his true abilities all along!

Thinking of this, the corners of Xiang Keluo's mouth twitched; deciding that out of sight meant out of mind, he turned and found an area where he could not sense Gao Wen's Conqueror's Haki to resume his cultivation.

Yet, his state of mind had been disrupted by the sudden impact of the Conqueror's Haki just now, and it took him a long while to regain his feeling.

At the same time.

In the port.

Crowds moved back and forth along the streets, completely undisturbed by the Conqueror's Haki behind the port.

Only two tall figures simultaneously halted their steps, turning their heads together toward the source of the Conqueror's Haki.

"Oh my, oh my~"

"Is that Gao Wen?"

Fujitora let out a sigh, yet a hint of fighting spirit ignited in his eyes:

"Such a violent and fierce Conqueror's Haki shares the same source as his swordsmanship; even the blade in my hand is beginning to grow excited."

"After all, the last time I crossed swords with him, I was far from satisfied."

"The qualities of a king~"

Zephyr nodded.

When Gao Wen previously awakened his Conqueror's Haki, he had been present at the scene, even a true witness, so he was naturally extremely familiar with this Haki.

"For someone like him, whose entire being is rebellious bones and who holds no awe for the World Government, it would be strange if he didn't possess Conqueror's Haki."

"Mr. Zephyr, then how much awe do you still hold for them now?"

Facing Fujitora's questioning, Zephyr paused slightly, an inexplicable emotion flowing in his eyes:

"Who knows?"

"Come to think of it, I should thank that fellow for concealing my identity from the people in the port, allowing me to truly integrate among them."

"Of course, I also thank you for being willing to take an old man like me to every place in this port, to witness the true face of the common people nearby."

"If one didn't say they came here, who could know that the truth is actually so absurd..."

"So chilling to the heart."

As the two spoke, they took up their steps again, and within a few minutes, walked into a bar on Red Dragon Street.

Gathered here were all members of Gao Wen's pirate crew.

Everyone drank the wheat beer in their hands, joking and bantering with one another; laughter and the sounds of horseplay filled the air, a scene that even made Zephyr think of the group of marines under his command.

Whenever he led his disciples to defeat pirates causing chaos in a place and opened a victory banquet, the faces of those new recruits wore this same expression, adopting this same posture.

"Alike, truly alike."

Zephyr sighed with emotion, then fell silent, finding a seat and gazing at the crowds around him, unknown what he was thinking.

Fujitora naturally sat opposite him, looking at the surrounding crowds, a faint smile appearing on the corner of his mouth:

"They are all just ordinary people."

"Ah."

Zephyr responded with a sound, then fell silent.

The female waitress at the counter, however, walked over at this moment, a sweet smile on her face; she handed two cups of wheat beer to the two men, then took out two loaves of bread from behind her back, and said to them:

"It's the Captain's rule: disabled people get free bread and wine."

"Well!"

The waitress winked playfully:

"After all, this place is also the retirement home the Captain left for us, hee~"

Having spoken, before Zephyr and the other could react, the waitress was called away by pirates at another table.

Zephyr, meanwhile, stared blankly at the bread and beer in his hand; only after a long while did he come to his senses, letting out a long sigh:

"Now I finally understand why, when he returned, so many people spontaneously came to welcome him."

"Even those marines who fought to the death for justice never received such treatment..."

"Many of them, after retiring due to injury, vanished without a trace."

Saying this.

Zephyr slowly brought the bread in his hand to his mouth.

The crust was crispy, the interior soft, carrying the fragrance of milk and eggs.

Although the quality and taste could not compare at all to the food specially supplied to the Navy Admirals, for these people, it was nonetheless a rare treat.

Bite by bite.

After Zephyr had finished eating the bread completely, he finally let out a long breath, feeling a long-lost sense of ease and comfort.

At that moment, the slightly drunken voice of a pirate from the neighboring table drifted into Zephyr's ears.

"Bread paired with ale; back when I first joined the pirate crew, this was the life I dreamed of."

"Who among us wasn't?"

A clearly elderly pirate wearing a headscarf slumped in his chair.

He drained the ale in his cup in one gulp, then let out a loud burp; the smell of alcohol made those around him instinctively pull away, only to return to their original positions once the odor dissipated, waiting for what he would say next.

Clutching his wine cup, the headscarf pirate continued:

"Back in my hometown, my family ran an ale business; we had some property, and I also had a wife."

"Oh, right, she was beautiful, just like Lord Gasa!"

"Keep dreaming!"

A burst of raucous laughter erupted from the surroundings.

Clearly, no one believed his words, dismissing them as mere daydreams; after all, if such a life truly existed, who would willingly become a pirate?

Only Zephyr felt a stir in his heart; he turned around and handed his ale to this pirate.

At that moment, what floated up in her mind were his long-deceased wife and children.

They had all died at the hands of pirates.

Zephyr could not help but ask:

"And then what happened?"

"And then?"

The headscarf pirate took a deep breath, his tone flat, as if recounting someone else's story:

"That year, the nobles of the territory suddenly raised my taxes; I tried to argue, but they held guns."

"I had no choice but to sell the brewery, yet the taxes suddenly doubled again, and my money still wasn't enough."

"Right in front of my eyes, they took my wife and child away, claiming it was to offset the taxes, but the next day, the next day..."

As he spoke, the headscarf pirate's eyes gradually turned red:

"The next day, I saw my wife on a ship."

"I wanted to save her, but my companions beside me held me down, telling me that was the lord's ship..."

"He even said:"

"That the lord taking a fancy to my wife was my honor."

At this moment, everyone fell silent; the looks they cast upon the headscarf pirate were filled with sympathy.

"Hahahahahaha~"

"Why are you all looking at me? You don't actually believe it, do you?"

The headscarf pirate simply squatted on the table, slapping his leg as he laughed loudly:

"Every time I tell this story, some newbie falls for it!"

"Drink!"

"You all have to drink!"

Everyone suddenly realized, finally aware that they had been fooled once again by the headscarf pirate's acting skills.

For a moment, cries of being deceived rang out as they reluctantly picked up the cups on the table and gulped down a mouthful.

Only Zephyr noticed the tear at the corner of the headscarf pirate's eye that had not yet fallen.

A pure lie cannot deceive people, but a lie mixed with truth will certainly deceive them.

Zephyr could not help but whisper:

"Why didn't you seek help from the Marines?"

"Don't tell me you..."

The headscarf pirate had intended to deny it, but upon seeing Zephyr's eyes equally filled with hot tears, he instantly understood that this man before him shared the same fate as himself.

"But..."

As he spoke, the corner of the headscarf man's mouth curled into a mocking smile, and the tears at the corner of his eye finally streamed down:

"The Marines were on his side."

"..."

Zephyr was momentarily speechless; he simply reached out and patted the headscarf pirate's shoulder, saying:

"I can understand you."

"I can."

Yet at this moment, the headscarf man grinned mischievously:

"Old brother, you got fooled by me too, didn't you?"

"Besides, I haven't seen you before; which squad are you from?"

Zephyr's facial muscles twitched; he casually fabricated a reason, saying:

"I am a newcomer who joined recently."

"Is that so? But becoming a pirate at such an old age, you are truly vigorous despite your years!"

Having said that,

the headscarf man did not press the matter further; after all, anyone able to enter this place was either a member of the Gao Wen Pirate Crew or someone granted permission by Gao Wen.

In any case, they were all one of their own.

He stood up directly, facing the crowd, and declared:

"A toast to the old brother!"

"Cheers!"

……

Amidst the crowd's enthusiastic clamor, Zephyr ordered another mug of wheat beer at the bar and downed it in one gulp before everyone's eyes.

Fujitora, sitting in the corner, observed the scene, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.

"If I had met these interesting people sooner, I wouldn't have destroyed my own eyes."

"Another day of bitterness and regret."

That night, Zephyr became drunk for the first time in ages, intoxicated not just in body but in heart.

He also listened to the crowd's stories, piecing together tragedy after tragedy from their fragmented words.

Though there were simple unlucky souls, the reason the vast majority became pirates was only one—they could no longer survive.

Either become a pirate or die.

Yet the root cause was never the pirates Zephyr had always believed them to be, but those higher up, so high they dwelt above the clouds, so high they could be called—gods.

Mortals' service to the gods, even in the form of—Heavenly Gold!

In his drunken haze.

A murmur from Zephyr reached Fujitora's ears:

"It was not pirates who created this era, but this era that created pirates..."

(End of Chapter)