Chapter 188: Heaven and Man

"What do you mean?!"

A monkey-faced CP executive frowned slightly, feeling a hint of dissatisfaction at this teasing behavior in his heart, yet daring not to vent it.

Although he was a powerful faction within the CP organization, he was far inferior to the man seated in the main position.

The CP executive seated in the main position said indifferently:

"The ones who leaked the Six Styles happen to be Luo Bu Lucci and Kalifa."

"That's impossible!"

Spandam stood up and interrupted the words of the man in the main seat:

"Lucci is the most talented person in CP9 in eight hundred years, and Kalifa has also executed numerous missions; their loyalty can withstand any test."

"It is fundamentally impossible for them to betray the World Government!"

The conference room instantly fell silent.

Everyone's gaze focused entirely on Spandam, carrying undisguised coldness.

Only then did he come to his senses, realizing what he had actually done; cold sweat immediately broke out all over his body, yet he knew clearly that he had to speak at this moment.

This was because once Lucci and Kalifa's betrayal of the World Government and the crime of leaking the Six Styles were confirmed, he, as their direct superior, would inevitably face an investigation.

Thinking of the things he had done in the past to amass wealth and climb the ranks, Spandam felt nothing but a wave of chill.

It might not necessarily cost him his life, but he would absolutely no longer be able to wear this uniform, and for someone like him, this was no different from being executed outright.

"Heh."

The man seated in the main position spoke slowly, his tone carrying undisguised mockery:

"Then explain to me why this report exists!"

Slap!

Several paper documents were flung in front of Spandam.

With trembling fingers, he opened them; after roughly scanning the contents, his pupils instantly shrank to the size of needlepoints, and his back was soaked in cold sweat:

"Members of the Gao Wen Pirate Crew stated personally... that Luo Bu Lucci taught them the Navy's Six Styles?!"

"And even guided their cultivation on the ship?!"

"This..."

For a moment.

Spandam was rendered speechless; he very much wanted to speak up and refute it, but could not find a suitable reason.

This was because he knew that these CP executives had originally held Luo Bu Lucci in very high regard, even believing that he would inevitably have a place within the CP organization in the future.

He was an important combat force with a promising future.

Even now, Lucci's strength would not be considered weak even within CP0.

But now, everything had been ruined by this investigation report...

Spandam slumped down dejectedly, yet the voice of the CP organization's leader, devoid of any emotion, reached his ears once again:

"So you should understand now, right?!"

"When a tool is no longer reliable, and even possesses the possibility of biting back at its master, what awaits it is destined to be abandonment."

"Even merely the possibility of betrayal is enough for him to die a hundred times over."

"Besides, you wouldn't actually think I don't know about those stupid things you've done, would you?!"

Spandam froze, feeling his hands and feet turn ice-cold.

He opened and closed his lips, yet could not utter a single word; only his constantly contracting pupils and eyes filled with extreme terror remained.

Without needing any command, several CP agents stepped forward directly, snatched the elephant sword from his waist, and firmly restrained him.

The CP leader, however, no longer looked at Spandam; turning to face the crowd, he spoke:

"From now on, Spandam's duties in CP9 will be temporarily taken over by Gismonda."

Beside the conference table.

A tall man wearing a red-faced mask, with hair exploding outward like a sunflower, stood up and said respectfully:

"Yes!"

The CP leader nodded and commanded:

"The matter of Fuzfu must not happen a second time; take people and deal with Luo Bu Lucci and Kalifa first; they know too much."

"Yes!"

Very soon.

This internal meeting of the CP organization concluded.

The crowd gradually dispersed; Spandam was forcibly restrained by several agents and locked away in a temporary prison.

It was not until he sat on the cold bench inside the prison that he finally came to his senses, with nothing but fear of his future fate in his eyes.

This was because he had seen countless colleagues fall into the same predicament as his current one; those people had never appeared since then, not even leaving behind any news.

Spandam's entire body trembled continuously due to fear, and atop his head, a wisp of smoke rose from his rapidly spinning brain, as he uneasily muttered:

"What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?!"

The Grand Line.

The sky hung low, lightning flashed within the cloud layers, the sea surface gradually began to churn, and surging waves battered the hull of the Raven, causing it to shake ever more violently.

Anyone could see that a storm was approaching.

But this could not stop the cultists aboard Gao Wen's ship—they even believed that cultivating amid storms and waves enhanced their training and looked cooler.

At this moment.

All officers of Gao Wen's pirate crew were practicing Six Powers on the deck.

Meanwhile, the ordinary pirates, whose physical conditioning still fell short of mastering Six Powers, huddled inside the ship's gym, training basic strength.

On the deck.

"Shave!"

Sanji repeatedly stomped the deck, generating powerful thrust that instantly carried his figure to the opposite end.

"Did I succeed?!"

After barely stabilizing his stance, Sanji's eyes flickered with delight.

Roubo Luqi, standing nearby, couldn't help but sigh:

"To master Shave in barely ten days—I've never seen such talent even within CP."

"Without talent like this, you won't find a place on this ship."

Sanji murmured, his eyes blazing with fire.

After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to recapture the sensation—suddenly, Sanji's figure flashed everywhere across the deck.

"Monster!"

Roubo Luqi sighed, glanced around, and couldn't suppress a twitch at the corner of his mouth:

"A bunch of monsters!"

Akin was practicing Iron Body on one side of the deck.

His muscles swelled, appearing extraordinarily robust, as several pirates slashed at him with swords and knives.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

……

Sparks flashed around Akin—yet none of the blade strikes inflicted any damage.

Instead, they made him sense the flow of Armament Haki within his body more distinctly.

At one moment.

Akin suddenly opened his eyes, seized the sword slashing at him, and crushed it in his grip.

"I felt it!"

He looked down at his hands—his palms and forearms had turned pitch black, faintly gleaming.

"This is… Armament!"

The Armament vanished entirely after only an instant.

Yet Akin's face showed not a trace of discouragement—only uncontainable excitement:

"As expected!"

"The captain's hypothesis was right!"

"The Six Powers truly assist in cultivating Armament Haki!"

Akin would not forget.

During the battle in Drum Kingdom, how humiliating he had been against Fuzifu.

Much of that humiliation stemmed from the fact that his opponent was a master of Armament Haki.

Even when Akin activated his Bone-Bone Fruit-derived Dual Bone form—greatly boosting his defense and allowing him to withstand cannon fire at point-blank range—he was instantly breached.

The overwhelming suppression Armament wielded over Devil Fruit users was laid bare in that battle.

"Now, if I proceed methodically and master Armament's application, my combat power will surge!"

Everyone's gaze turned toward Akin's voice—even Zoro and Fan Aoka could not hide their envious glances.

But this envy lasted only an instant before fading, for they knew envy could not make them stronger.

All turned their attention back to their own training, plunging once more into frenzied cultivation.

Gao Wen sat in the captain's cabin, eyes closed in light doze, when a system alert interrupted him:

"Crewmember Akin has awakened Armament Haki."

"Potential increased."

"Bai Yin —> Gold!"

……

"Did Akin awaken?!"

"His potential jumped straight to Gold?!"

Gao Wen snapped open his eyes, his gaze passing through the porthole to Akin, and quietly activated his badge function—a familiar interface appeared before him:

【Name—Akin】

【Potential—Gold】

【Rating—Bai Yin:

Grateful, fiercely loyal, promising future!

】

……

Gao Wen stared at the words "Gold" on the interface, representing maximum potential, and instantly understood, murmuring:

"When Akin ate the Bone-Bone Fruit, his potential was already at high Bai Yin—now that he's awakened Armament, rising to Gold is only natural."

"From now on, my Armament Haki leeks will number two, and one of them even possesses Golden-level potential."

"More importantly, with the Six Powers spreading throughout the pirate crew, Zoro, Sanji, Foxy, and even Chopper will all advance further, awaken their Haki, and become stronger in combat."

"The cultivation of Haki will now enter a fast lane."

Speaking thus.

The corners of Gao Wen's mouth gradually curled upward.

Previously, due to a lack of sufficient leeks, his Haki had grown extremely slowly, even being overtaken by the Red Dragon Fruit, which had nearly reached LV5.

But from now on, such a situation will see great improvement.

"The effects of the Six Powers appearing so quickly was actually beyond my expectations."

"However..."

Gao Wen looked at Roubo Luqi, his gaze gradually turning cold:

"With this, you have lost your utility. When we stop next time, we will settle the score."

"If I cannot take you in, then I will have to send you on your way."

Roubo Luqi felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively turned to look behind him, but found nothing. His brows furrowed slightly:

"An illusion?! It must be."

"After all, given what happened before, Knight Gao Wen should have already lowered his guard against Miss Kalifa and me."

While speaking.

Roubo Luqi shook his head and shifted his attention to the pirates around him.

He took the initiative to correct everyone's cultivation errors, and in the process, gradually organized his own understanding of the Six Powers.

Through this method, in the past half-month, he had gained considerable insight, and his understanding of the Six Powers had advanced further.

He even frequently experienced strange sensations surpassing the five senses.

He knew clearly.

He was not far from awakening his Haki.

In the Captain's cabin.

Seeing Roubo Luqi's expression remain normal, Gao Wen looked at him again, a hint of surprise in his eyes:

"This near-instinctive sense of danger..."

"Observation Haki?"

"This fellow's talent is likely no weaker than Sanji's or Zoro's."

"Tsk~"

For a moment.

Gao Wen felt a desire to recruit such talent, but it lasted only an instant before he suppressed it:

"If you cannot be used by me, then no matter how excellent your talent, it is meaningless. It depends on how you choose."

"Luo Bu Lucci."

Time passed, and the sky gradually darkened.

The thunderclouds gathering in the sky grew ever heavier, with lightning striking the sea surface from time to time.

A storm had already formed.

The crew of the Raven had long grown accustomed to the changeable weather of the Grand Line. After finding a desolate island capable of blocking the wind and waves, they dropped anchor and stayed there.

Except for Foxy, Zoro, and a few pirates on night watch, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

At this moment.

On the Raven, inside a suite.

Miss Kalifa sat in the living room, holding an order just received from the CP organization.

"The people at headquarters suddenly want to meet with us?"

Roubo Luqi frowned tightly, instinctively sensing something was wrong.

For agents executing missions, especially undercover operations, every contact with CP organization personnel increases the risk of exposure.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, intelligence exchange is conducted via Den Den Mushi or intermediaries."

This was the first time he had encountered such an order.

Miss Kalifa raised her hand to push up her glasses, a hint of pleasure visible in her pupils, and said:

"I heard that some time ago, that guy Spandam was under investigation due to certain matters, and now our direct superior has changed."

"Perhaps that is the reason."

Roubo Luqi remained silent, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease in his heart, yet finding no other cause, so he could only vaguely reply:

"Let us hope so."

"Also... Miss Kalifa..."

Miss Kalifa looked up at Roubo Luqi, asking in confusion:

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Be careful."

"Mm."

Miss Kalifa nodded.

Yet, only the figure of Gao Wen floated in her mind.

She could not help but ask herself:

If a new superior ordered me to act against Gao Wen, could I do it?

She looked again at Roubo Luqi, silent before her; if you were ordered to act against Ah Jin, could you do it?

She had no answer to either question in her heart, or perhaps she already did.

……

……

……

Night deepened.

Gao Wen sat in the captain's cabin.

Lamp flames flickered on the table; outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Raindrops the size of beans struck the deck, emitting a crackling noise like beans being stir-fried.

Gao Wen simply pulled the window shut.

At that moment, the system's prompt sounded in his ears:

"Constitution Experience +1645!"

"Crimson Dragon Fruit +377"

"Armament Haki Experience +286!"

…… (omitted)

"Six Styles (All) Experience +2071!"

……

As yet another wave of experience harvesting concluded, Gao Wen's skills once again reached a breakthrough.

His Constitution had already reached level 15 several days ago; the awakened trait was, just as Gao Wen had expected, one from the Balanced series.

Its name was—Heavenly Man.

This ability had almost completely reshaped Gao Wen's body, helping him complete a transformation from the inside out.

Strength, agility, and nerve firing speed had all improved dramatically.

More importantly.

This ability made Gao Wen feel as though he had undergone a rebirth; he even suspected this was the Realm of Unity of Heaven and Man from xianxia novels.

(End of Chapter)