Chapter 291: High-Stakes Gamble

"At a time like this..."

Gao Wen looked at the system prompt and was slightly stunned.

After Zoro awakens, he will undergo a transformation; this was within his expectations.

After all, Zoro is the type who grows stronger the more he fights.

This meeting with Gaoshan, if he gained no realization, would be the strange part.

What truly surprised him was Sanji.

"The bloodline factor has been activated. If I recall correctly, in the original timeline, Sanji only relied on the Germa battle suit until Wano Country..."

"Reiju?!"

Reiju's face floated before Gao Wen's eyes.

After the great battle in Water 7, Reiju, along with her brothers Ichiji and Niji, became Gao Wen's captives.

Because of Sanji's sake, Gao Wen did not make things difficult for Reiju; looking at it now, that move was correct.

The effect of the bloodline factor on the others of Germa could only be described as mediocre, but on Sanji, it worked wonders, turning the rotten into the miraculous.

In the original timeline, after Sanji entered the New World, his combat power clearly fell far behind Zoro's, but he relied on the bloodline factor to close the gap in one go.

It even raised Sanji's physical strength by a huge margin.

His durability, originally so fragile that a kick from a Six Powers-level Vergo caused bone cracks, leaped directly to the point of bathing in the attacks of the Three Calamities Queen, hanging the latter up and beating him the whole time.

The improvement was so great it could already be said to be cheating.

Of course.

The cheats opened by the three main forces of the original Straw Hat Pirates in Wano Country were each bigger than the last; compared to the Straw Hat who speed-ran Ryuo, Armament Haki binding, and Fruit Awakening in a few days, this was truly a dwarf compared to a giant.

But regardless, after awakening the bloodline factor, Sanji's rate of improvement will rise by another huge margin.

Zoro, having gained realization, is the same.

"Perhaps before entering the New World, I will have two more Gold-level combat forces under my command, making it one Emperor and four Calamities."

"In terms of high-end combat power alone, it is already not inferior to Kaido's, of course, this is without counting Yamato, who may have already stepped into the Legendary stage."

"It's enough!"

Gao Wen nodded silently, and in his heart he couldn't help but feel some anticipation for Sanji and Zoro to truly grow up.

The previous battles.

Whenever they encountered a slightly high-end situation, it basically relied on Gao Wen alone to hold it up.

On the ship, apart from Xiang Keluo who could help a little, the others were still far behind.

But this three-month period of cultivation, the combat power of Gao Wen's group can be said to have undergone earth-shattering changes.

Jinbei has entered the Gold level, and Zoro and Sanji's potential has improved; they are not too far from the Gold level either.

The martial power of Gao Wen's group has visibly become abundant.

Dealing with battles in the New World afterwards also has greater certainty; at least the situation where Gao Wen gets tied up and the others are left helpless will not occur.

Thinking of this.

Gao Wen nodded in satisfaction and was just about to close the system interface when the system's prompt sound came again in his mind:

"Physique Experience +1833!!"

... (Omitted)

"Zoan Devil Fruit Experience +1303!"

"This is..."

"Why did the Zoan Devil Fruit experience rise so much?!"

Gao Wen was slightly surprised.

After the Cat Viper brothers' growth rate slowed down, Gao Wen's Zoan Devil Fruit experience relied entirely on Roubo Luqi, the Cat Viper brothers, Chopper, and Xiang Keluo to support it.

And now that Roubo Luqi has returned to CP9, the daily supply of Devil Fruit chart experience has visibly decreased; originally, Gao Wen's gains were gradually shrinking.

This was also within his expectations.

But this wave of Devil Fruit experience today was a full one-third more than before!

In confusion.

Gao Wen scanned the panel and quickly saw that the Sword Death experience had also risen by a huge margin; he instantly understood what was going on:

"Tsk~"

"It seems my awakening of Swordsmanship Grandmaster this time gave that old fellow Xiang Keluo quite a shock; the harder you try, the greater the gap between us will become."

"However, for that old fellow to touch the threshold of awakening a step ahead of me is unexpected..."

Gao Wen looked at the Red Dragon Fruit entry on the panel and fell into thought for a moment:

"The only possibility is that Xiang Keluo's compatibility with the Sickle Weasel Fruit is too high, so his innate level was high to begin with."

"If following the system's evaluation standards, perhaps when Xiang Keluo ate the Sickle Weasel Fruit, he had already reached level eight or nine or even higher."

"This is the only possibility that makes sense."

Thinking of this.

Gao Wen gradually had a number in his heart.

Everything is ready now.

Everyone has achieved something in their cultivation; it is time to set sail.

Just waiting for the new ship inspection to finish, and it will be the time for Gao Wen to set sail again.

……

Two days later.

The Lionheart sailed lay quietly moored in the harbor.

The pirate flag, with a round shield as its base, fluttered in the wind, crackling loudly, standing firm in the sea breeze like a giant guarding this place, gazing far out over the ocean.

Franky's movements were far faster than Gao Wen had anticipated; in just two days, he had completed all preparations.

Now he stood on the deck, proudly introducing the new ship's configurations to everyone:

"With the central control system, one person can operate over forty cannons on board!"

"The interior cabin space is spacious enough to accommodate over a hundred people, and it even features a seawater purification system to ensure a steady supply of fresh water, even during prolonged voyages."

"As you instructed, I specifically reserved ample cultivation space within the cabin and on the deck!"

At these words,

The cultivation fanatics present could no longer sit still; they ignored Franky's rambling, bypassed him entirely, and rushed into the cabin.

Soon,

A cultivation area half the size of a soccer field appeared before them; even these seasoned veterans couldn't help but gasp.

"Franky actually reserved an entire deck as our cultivation space?!"

"I take back my earlier judgment—he's not a freak at all. From today on, he's my brother, a brother bound by life and death!"

Bepo nodded heavily, satisfied as he gazed at the area before him.

Chopper had already begun testing the equipment, feeling the various strength-training devices lined up in the chamber, his eyes widening at the weights marked in tons—his affection for them was immediate:

"This is literally our paradise! I must start cultivating right away!"

He immediately stepped onto the deadlift machine, casually maxed out the weight, then began operating it with gleeful excitement!

Feeling his muscles throb with energy, Chopper's eyes burned with exhilaration!

"Franky!"

"You… you… how on earth do you understand us so well?!"

"Wooohooooo—!"

The grindmasters immediately erupted in excitement, disregarding everything else, and began cultivating on the spot.

Soon, the entire cultivation chamber filled with pirates stripped to the waist, drenched in sweat.

The surroundings grew noisy.

"These idiots…"

Nami raised a hand to her forehead, unable to look:

"Suddenly, I'm not so eager to get stronger anymore."

"At least…"

"I won't be like these brainless muscleheads."

Miss Kalifa nodded in silent agreement beside her.

"Exactly!"

"Training like this will only make your body bulkier and your skin rougher."

"No man will want a woman who's thickset, covered in bulging muscles."

"If I turn into that… "

Miss Kalifa's mind involuntarily flashed to Gao Wen's figure.

Though events before had convinced her that Gao Wen held feelings for her—feelings no less than those he held for Wang Fei—

the challenge before her remained: how to make that dream come true, and win Gao Wen's willing heart.

Especially now, with more and more female crew members aboard Gao Wen's ship.

Gasha, the innocent type; Robin, the direct, mature beauty; plus Reiju, captured by Gao Wen—all of them, without exception, were fierce rivals!

But Miss Kalifa would not forget: Gao Wen wanted a strong partner who could stand beside him.

That way, he would never again endure the pain he had once known.

But…

How could she gain great power without sacrificing her appearance?

Miss Kalifa fell into deep thought, her peripheral vision catching sight of Nami's Devil Fruit encyclopedia—her eyes suddenly lit up:

"Nami, can I see that encyclopedia?!"

Nami blinked, glanced around at the muscular men training, then looked at Miss Kalifa—she instantly understood her intent.

She handed the encyclopedia to Miss Kalifa; seeing her immediately flip through it, Nami confirmed her guess was correct.

Following the principle of squeezing every possible advantage, Nami tiptoed and whispered close to Miss Kalifa's ear:

"Miss Kalifa, this encyclopedia isn't complete—I have another, more detailed, up-to-date version… but…"

Miss Kalifa glanced at her, coldly smiling:

"Price."

"It's not about money—it's a gift from Gasha! You know Gasha is my dearest friend…"

"Do you think I don't know you?"

After being swindled out of tens of millions of Beli before, Nami's credibility had already collapsed in Miss Kalifa's eyes.

This seemingly sweet, adorable girl had once dared to steal Gao Wen's entire hundred-million-Beli fortune—how could she possibly show mercy?!

"I won't be fooled again—I'm not a pig!"

"Tell me your price!"

"Miss Kalifa… even you see me this way…?"

Nami covered her gradually swelling chest with one hand, putting on a tearful expression, while her other hand had already extended two fingers, then a third, then a fourth...

"That's enough!"

Miss Kalifa's eyelid twitched, and she hurriedly raised her hand to stop Nami's fingers.

This little brat actually dares to extort!

Nami felt not the slightest shame:

"Then I'll give you a friend's price, four million Berries!"

Miss Kalifa sneered coldly, turned around, and walked away.

Are you kidding me?

The funds I requested from Spandam last time still haven't been approved, and you want to sell me a worthless encyclopedia for four million?

Even bank robbers aren't as ruthless as you!

Seeing this, Nami immediately panicked:

"Don't go~"

"Two million, no, one hundred! Just one million! Final price!"

"If I fall for your trick again, I'm a pig!"

A few minutes later.

Miss Kalifa sat on the deck, hugging a terrifyingly thick Devil Fruit Encyclopedia; as she flipped through it, her mouth cursed a certain orange-haired female thief.

"I must have been possessed by evil spirits to spend several hundred thousand Berries buying this worthless book!"

"Forget it, you can't catch a wolf without losing a lamb; as long as I can handle the Captain, a mere few hundred thousand Berries is just like feeding a dog!"

"Besides, I can just submit another funding application form to Spandam; if he doesn't give it to me, I'll expose all his dirty little secrets."

"Hmph!"

While cursing under her breath, Miss Kalifa continued flipping through the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

Under the World Government.

CP Organization Headquarters.

Roubo Luqi changed into a black suit, draped a coat over his shoulders, and stood in Spandam's conference room.

He had already returned to the CP Organization half a month ago.

Originally, for an agent like Roubo Luqi returning from an undercover mission, the Headquarters would inevitably conduct a rigorous investigation.

The investigation time could range from a few months to one or two years, and there were even cases where the investigation lasted over ten years.

But to his surprise, Roubo Luqi's investigation passed in just a few days; the reason was Spandam, who was currently sitting leisurely before the desk in a pure white suit.

Spandam had now been promoted to CP0 and become a powerful figure within it.

According to Spandam himself, he had gained the appreciation of a certain big shot in Mary Geoise, who directly promoted him.

But the price was that he must handle certain unsavory matters for that person.

Roubo Luqi understood.

The "light" here did not refer to the gaze of the common people, but to the gaze of certain people within Mary Geoise.

It might even be the gaze of those few standing at the pinnacle of power.

"Yegihahahaha!"

Spandam propped his legs on the desk, laughing loudly, striking the pose of a villain who had achieved his ambitions:

"Saxi Ridana~"

"Roubo Luqi!"

"After such a long time, you give me a feeling far more dangerous than before."

"Even my Funkfreed senses unease!"

Roubo Luqi did not respond, standing aside with a calm expression, waiting for what he would say next.

"You are still as boring as ever."

Seeing this, Spandam sighed helplessly, then his expression changed and grew grim:

"However."

"Since the mission to infiltrate the Gao Wen Pirates has been fully entrusted to Miss Kalifa, you may rest assured and stay at Headquarters; I happen to have a new mission for you."

"How much do you know about the Ghost Man Alvin?!"

Roubo Luqi's heart tightened, but his face revealed nothing:

"The number three figure under Knight Gao Wen; cold-blooded by nature, never hesitates to strike, and his strength is above mine."

"If you intend to make a move against that fellow, I'm afraid only the top-tier existences of CP0 would have a chance, and that's without even considering the others in the Gao Wen Pirates."

"Is that so..."

Spandam sighed:

"As expected, it won't be that easy to handle."

Concerning Gao Wen's group, Roubo Luqi couldn't help but ask:

"Regardless of the purpose, making a move against Gao Wen's group at this point in time cannot be considered an appropriate opportunity."

Spandam shook his head:

"If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to execute this kind of mission either, but Roubo Luqi, do you know what I sacrificed to climb to my current position?!"

"This is a high-stakes gamble; win, and I soar straight to the clouds; lose... I will not lose!"

(End of Chapter)