Chapter 146: These Pirates Are Too Weird!

At the same time.

East Sea Marine Branch 016.

Under the night sky.

Several headquarters warships were anchored in the harbor, the Seagull Flag fluttering constantly in the sea breeze.

Ain stood in the harbor, letting the sea breeze rustle her clothes, appearing somewhat distracted.

"I hope nothing has happened to Instructor Zephyr..."

Although she had already learned from the Marine Headquarters notification that the Knight Gao Wen had become the new Warlord of the Sea, effectively making him half a Marine.

But since the Warlords were already at full capacity, it was not hard to guess that Gao Wen must have conducted some unspeakable transaction with Zephyr and the World Government.

This made him even more worried about Zephyr's safety.

"Captain Ain!"

"From Headquarters!"

"It's an order from Headquarters!"

A marine ran over excitedly from afar, handing a freshly printed document to Ain.

After glancing at it, Ain's pupils instantly brightened; her entire person seemed to breathe a sigh of relief in that moment, and she turned to look at the marine beside her, commanding:

"Immediately wake everyone up; we are setting out now to Raven Port to welcome Instructor Zephyr."

"However."

Ain's expression suddenly turned serious:

"On this journey, we will be going to the pirates' lair, which is also the perfect opportunity to let those rookies who still harbor fantasies about pirates take a look."

"At just how much sin a port ruled by pirates can hide, and at how painfully the people there truly live."

As she spoke.

Unconcealed anger filled Ain's eyes, and she continued:

"Additionally, we must maintain constant vigilance, after all, we are facing the pirates who defeated Instructor Zephyr."

"Yes, sir!"

The marine swallowed hard, then immediately relayed the message.

Lights gradually illuminated the buildings in the harbor one by one.

In just a few short minutes, rows of marines appeared in the harbor, boarding the warships in an orderly fashion.

Half an hour later.

Accompanied by the sound of a whistle, the several warships anchored here set sail one after another, heading toward Raven Port.

East Sea.

Raven Port.

It was already deep into the night; a crescent moon hung in the sky, its clear light spilling down, illuminating Raven Port brightly.

Gao Wen had long finished his cultivation; he sat cross-legged to the side, yet his expression was somewhat strange, simply because the familiar system notification sound rang in his ears:

"Physique Experience +1003!"

... (omitted)

"Paramecia Devil Fruit Experience +60!"

"Armament Haki +60!"

"Conqueror's Haki +8!"

"The Paramecia type is useless to me; just like the Navigation Skill I grinded to max level, I'll throw it directly into the Experience Storage Tank to convert it into General Experience, accelerating Xiang Keluo and the others' growth speed."

"Armament Haki increased by sixty points; this is purely normal, several times faster than if I grinded it myself."

"But this growth speed for Conqueror's Haki..."

Gao Wen fixed his gaze on the Conqueror's Haki column of the panel.

【Conqueror's Haki - LV-1: 38/5000】

"It's about the same as when Armament Haki first started, but the experience required to level up differs far too much; going from level one to level two alone requires 5000 experience."

For a moment.

Gao Wen fell into deep thought.

If relying solely on cultivation, even if he eventually recruits leeks possessing Conqueror's Haki potential consistent with his own, the experience they could provide daily would be less than one hundred.

Calculated that way, leveling up once would take nearly two months, and grinding to level five to awaken the trait would take at least one or two years.

And that is only after successfully accepting subordinates who have awakened Conqueror's Haki; if truly relying on Gao Wen to grind it himself, that time would likely need to be multiplied by at least ten.

Although the top-tier experts in the pirate world, aside from Straw Hat, are mostly around forty or fifty years old, such speed was far from satisfactory to Gao Wen; he did not want to reach his peak only in his forties or fifties.

Moreover, there are indeed experts who mastered high-level Conqueror's Haki, or even Haki Infusion, in their twenties or even teens; the fact that they could achieve it proves there must be a shortcut!

Gao Wen's gaze fell upon Straw Hat:

"Straw Hat Luffy took only a little over two years from awakening Conqueror's Haki to comprehending Haki Infusion; even if he is a child of destiny with a cheat, there should be other reasons..."

"Combat?"

Scenes from Straw Hat's rise flashed before Gao Wen's eyes; from the East Sea to Wano Country, Straw Hat refined his Haki through battles against one powerful opponent after another.

This also aligned with the characteristics of Conqueror's Haki.

After all, unlike the other types of Haki, Conqueror's Haki is a manifestation of personal will and belief, and mere bitter cultivation can never forge an invincible heart.

Based on this, the Conqueror's Haki naturally finds it difficult to make progress.

But for Gao Wen, there is another solution.

"If this path proves viable, then next I must find a subordinate with Conqueror's potential, let him fight constantly, and I will reap the benefits while others toil."

To verify his hypothesis.

The next day, Gao Wen approached Fujitora; after explaining his intent, Fujitora readily agreed.

"You wish to verify how to cultivate Conqueror's Haki? It is my honor to assist you."

Gao Wen nodded and said:

"This time is a pure contest; without using abilities, let us see exactly what we can achieve."

"Very well."

A few minutes later.

Behind the mountains of Raven Port.

Two figures wielding swords fought to the death among the steep, jagged peaks.

Blades clashed; the scattered sword intent sliced the surrounding rocks into fragments.

As time passed, the two's battle grew increasingly fierce; their speed and strength had reached their limits.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The continuous booming sounds drew the crowd in Raven Port here; watching the two locked in combat, they were stunned into silence.

Jin looked at Keluo with a hint of pity:

"I recall your goal is to surpass the Captain, right?"

Keluo's expression stiffened; lacking full confidence, he said:

"I will achieve it!"

Beside them, Zoro silently tightened his grip on the three swords at his waist, then slowly lowered his hand, saying unwillingly:

"Although I feel the itch to fight, if I went up now, I would be far from a match for those two."

"Why is it that the more I train, the greater the gap between me and the Captain becomes?"

"It's an illusion!"

"It must be! It must be an illusion!"

While the crowd discussed, the battle in the arena continued until late night; even after the crowd dispersed, it had not paused for a single moment.

At this moment.

Only Zoro remained watching the scene; he stared intently at the two clashing, fearing to miss a single move.

For such a battle, even merely as an observer, benefited him immensely.

"Between the current Captain and that man, who is truly stronger?!"

Once this question appeared in Zoro's mind, it would not leave.

This made him even more eager to see Gao Wen and Hawk Eyes fight again.

To see.

The gap between us now and the world's number one.

As the two's clash grew increasingly fierce, Observation Haki and Armament Haki were used one after another; Gao Wen even began attempting to mobilize the Conqueror's Haki within his body, but it was not successful.

Under the moonlit night.

The two figures stopped simultaneously.

Gao Wen was covered in sweat; Fujitora also panted heavily.

Guanshi Zhengzong.

Black Road Fire Line.

Two top-tier famous swords continuously emitted a humming sound, yet gradually quieted with time.

"That's enough for today; if we continue fighting, neither you nor I will determine a winner."

Hiss!

Fujitora sheathed his sword; the look in his eyes toward Gao Wen carried a hint of surprise, yet in the next instant transformed into relief.

"Although I lost the last battle,"

"if I used my full strength, I still had confidence to suppress you, but now things are different."

Fujitora let out a sigh of emotion:

"In just a few short days, to achieve such a change; your talent is simply... incomprehensible!"

"You are truly a monster yourself~"

Gao Wen sighed, then sheathed Guanshi Zhengzong as well.

After bidding farewell to Fujitora and the watching Zoro, Gao Wen slowly returned to his room, but at this moment, the system's prompt sound for harvesting experience reached his ears:

"Physique Experience +1011!"

(Omitted)

"Conqueror's Haki +88!"

Hearing the Conqueror's Haki experience surge, Gao Wen's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved upward:

"Indeed, my hypothesis was correct!"

"Conqueror's Haki places greater emphasis on the cultivation of conviction; one must attain enlightenment through combat."

"Of course, the correct solution is to prioritize finding a subordinate who has awakened Conqueror's Haki or possesses the aptitude for it, let them fight, and I will reap the benefits through the System."

"However, given current limitations, I can only rely on myself for now."

"But there are no longer any strong opponents in the East Blue capable of fighting me; once the ship's refit is complete and we enter the Grand Line, I will seek out new opponents and fresh leeks."

Having said this.

Gao Wen had already formed a plan in his heart; just as he set down the Guanshi Zhengzong and was preparing to wash up and rest, the System's prompt sounded in his ears once more:

"Detected that the Host's Sniping has increased to LV-5, reaching the maximum level; you may choose one of the following branch abilities:"

"Hawk Eye, Precision."

"Sniping has already reached level 5?"

Gao Wen paused slightly, glancing at the System panel,

【Sniping - LV5: 6/MAX】

Only then did he realize that after several days of accumulation, his Sniping skill had also reached level 5 and hit its potential ceiling.

"My talent in Navigation and Sniping can only be described as average."

"But in terms of Swordsmanship and Physique, I have yet to reach the peak; this means my overall talent leans more toward these two areas."

"A good thing."

The corners of Gao Wen's mouth curled upward.

Strength is the foundation for survival in this chaotic world, a fact known both to him and to the pirates roaming the globe.

Even the Straw Hat Pirates, who shout that comrades are everything, were not completely wiped out by Kuma on the Sabaody Archipelago?

Had any other Warlord of the Sea arrived at that time, the entire crew would have been sacrificed on the spot.

Immediately, Gao Wen focused his attention on the two Sniping attributes; after weighing them carefully, he chose Precision.

After all, Hawk Eye clearly implied an enhancement of visual capabilities, an attribute leaning toward perception.

But in terms of perception, Gao Wen already possessed Observation Haki, and moreover, an extremely specialized form capable of foreseeing the future.

For him, the vision-enhancing Hawk Eye seemed somewhat superfluous.

"I choose Precision."

As soon as the words landed.

Gao Wen felt a surge of heat; from the top of his head to his limbs, and then to every part of his body, a tingling sensation spread.

Very quickly.

The modification ended.

Gao Wen felt his body lighten, his neural reflex speed increasing once again; this was not a qualitative transformation like his first Awakening of Equilibrium, but rather seemed more like a statistical increase on the panel.

"Indeed."

"The abilities involved for a sniper are diverse, but when manifested in the body, they amount to nothing more than more precise judgment and keener perception."

"Both of these are related to the nervous system."

Saying this.

Gao Wen pushed open the window, grabbed the flintlock pistol on the table, and casually fired a shot at a bird flying in the sky.

Bang!

The bullet instantly struck the bird, scattering drops of blood in mid-air, drawing the attention of those on patrol.

"Although I cannot achieve Van Augur's level of hitting whatever I aim at within ten kilometers, a radius of five kilometers poses no problem at all; moreover, after transforming into the Red Dragon form, influenced by the larger size, this range will be even greater."

"I can be considered a first-class sniper now."

Seeing this, Gao Wen gained a rough understanding of his own level and simply closed the window.

This scene.

Was noticed by Van Augur, who was still active in the vicinity.

He looked at the window of Gao Wen's room, then at the bird fallen in the distance, the corners of his mouth twitching involuntarily:

"Don't tell me that in the end, I'll be surpassed by Captain Gao Wen in sniping; that would be a huge joke..."

Saying this.

He patted his beloved gun, Senriku, nestled in his bosom, barely suppressing that unease in his heart, before turning to continue leading the guards on patrol through the port.

In the following days.

Everyone in the Gao Wen Pirates felt a certain sensation: their cultivation speed had become faster.

"To achieve this degree of improvement before, I would have needed at least a week; now, it took only three days."

Zoro swung his sword in the port's training room, feeling the changes in his body, his expression filled with surprise.

Those who focus on physical cultivation are often more likely to notice sudden changes.

"Do you feel the same way?"

Sanji, who was undergoing physique cultivation nearby, felt the same.

Droplets of sweat slid down the tip of his nose, shattering on the ground with a soft 'pa'.

Now that Gao Wen had basically figured out the method for cultivating Armament Haki, it naturally spread throughout the pirate crew; Zoro, Sanji, and the others also temporarily shifted the focus of their cultivation to their physiques.

After all, Armament Haki is nearly indispensable when fighting against Devil Fruit users in the future.

However, compared to the puzzled Zoro, Sanji was much more open-minded about it:

"Isn't it good that we're improving faster? It's not like someone directly enhanced our physiques, is it?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Zoro was speechless.

He immediately ceased speaking further and focused his mind on cultivation.

This was solely because he clearly understood that for every bit he grew stronger, he would be able to help Gao Wen a little more in the future, and the distance between himself and Gao Wen, as well as Hawkeye, would draw closer.

It was no coincidence.

Everyone in Gao Wen's pirate crew, especially those ranked at the forefront, had developed this same feeling.

Although they harbored slight doubts in their hearts, these did not last long.

After all, shifting from one unit of effort yielding one unit of reward to now one unit of effort yielding two or even three units of reward, that sensation of immediate feedback surging wildly made them crave more, causing them to become even more engrossed in cultivation.

For a time.

Even though the Martial Arts Tournament had long concluded and the next one would require a long wait, the intensity with which the members of Gao Wen's pirate crew cultivated became increasingly exaggerated.

In the eyes of the marines under Zephyr, this group of pirates had gone mad.

"Damn it!"

"These pirates are too disciplined!"

"I have never seen a pirate wake up at seven in the morning to cultivate and not return until eleven or twelve at night, yet he even wears a smile of happiness on his face!"

"Too weird!"

"Something's wrong; these pirates are very wrong!"

"I need to stay far away from them!"

(End of Chapter)