Chapter 316: Born of Desire

"Haki, is it?!"

The red-haired man frowned slightly, lifting his gaze to look at Whitebeard.

At this moment, Whitebeard was entangled in IV tubes; clearly, his physical condition was worse than expected, yet his tiger-like majesty remained.

The aura he unintentionally released was enough to bend the spines of ordinary pirates.

He was old, and he was sick.

Yet in this era, he remained the undisputed strongest man in the world.

Arrogant and domineering as Kaido of the Beasts was, stirring up war everywhere in the New World, he still dared not pluck the whiskers of this tiger, Whitebeard.

This was certainly not because Kaido cherished old ties as a remnant of the Rocks crew alongside Whitebeard, but because the man before him was nearly invincible in this era.

But when it came to Haki, Shanks held absolute confidence in himself!

Shanks lacked the formidable physical gifts of Kaido or Big Mom, nor did he possess the Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities of the Navy's three Admirals that could dominate battlefields on a massive scale.

In his hand lay only Conqueror's Haki, tempered by a thousand hammer blows, perfected to the summit, fearing no opponent!

Yet even possessing what could be called the world's strongest Conqueror's Haki, recalling the battle against the God Knights just a few days prior, Shanks' expression remained utterly Solemn:

"I employed attacks infused with Armament Haki, even Conqueror's Haki, yet I still could not effectively destroy the opponent's flesh; I could only suppress their recovery speed to a certain extent."

"The method was wrong."

Whitebeard shook his head and asked in return:

"What do you think Haki actually is?!"

Shanks answered without hesitation:

"An extension of self, belief, and will; but fundamentally, Haki originates from desire!"

"The desire to defeat powerful enemies, the desire to ascend the Wang Zuo and find the One Piece, or even the desire to dominate this world!"

"Luo Jie did find a worthy successor."

Whitebeard nodded slightly.

He had met Shanks more than once, and more than once he had seen the shadow of an old friend in him, but never so clearly as this time.

Were it not for that head of red hair similar to a certain man's, he would have almost thought the person standing before him was Luo Jie himself.

If Ace had inherited Luo Jie's bloodline, and the talent hidden within that bloodline,

then Shanks, deeply influenced by Luo Jie, had to a certain extent inherited Luo Jie's unfulfilled will, yet it was more than that.

Shanks had witnessed much on Luo Jie's ship and learned much.

The experiences on Luo Jie's ship forged Shanks' foundation, but the over ten years of adventure after setting sail allowed Shanks to see sceneries Luo Jie never saw.

Shanks had already found his own path, a path similar to Luo Jie's of those years, yet decisively different.

For a moment.

Whitebeard took interest; he drank a hearty gulp of strong wine from his flask and spoke freely:

"I once heard a rumor from Luo Jie's mouth."

"Devil Fruits were born from humanity's wish to transcend the limits of the flesh."

"Some wished to transform into mythical zoans, thus Zoan-type Mythical fruits came to be; some wished to possess a body as indestructible as diamond, thus the Paramecia-type Glint-Glint Fruit emerged."

Shanks looked at Phoenix Marco and Diamond Jozu sitting beside Whitebeard, understanding dawning in his heart.

After pondering for a moment, a slight brightness lit up before his eyes, and he spoke:

"Stripping away the external skin, a wish is also a desire."

"From this perspective, Devil Fruits are likewise born from human desire, sharing the same root and source as Haki."

"This is also why Armament Haki can strike the true form of Logia users and even cancel out part of a Devil Fruit's ability."

"Viewed this way, the impact a Devil Fruit has on the environment or on enemies is an extension of one's own will; it is the user's will invading and dominating the environment, even the opponent's body!"

"Correct."

Whitebeard took up the thread and continued:

"Under normal circumstances, the human body absolutely cannot ignore pain; only the influence of a Devil Fruit can achieve such a thing."

"Mary Geoise hides many secrets; perhaps it holds some kind of Devil Fruit capable of granting humans an immortal body."

"But all roads lead to the same destination."

"The immortality granted by a Devil Fruit is, in essence, an invasion of will; naturally, it can be canceled out by another, stronger will!"

"In other words..."

Shanks understood:

"Blast Haki into the opponent's body, using a stronger will to crush the imprint of will the original user left within their body."

"Once the influence left by the Devil Fruit is canceled, the effect of the immortal body will naturally disappear!"

"Correct."

Whitebeard nodded:

"If carried to the extreme, one can even preserve one's own Conqueror's Haki within certain inanimate objects."

"But the imprints within the God Knights are special, far harder to cancel than those left by ordinary users; without sufficient Haki, they cannot be shaken at all."

"Just because they cannot do it does not mean I cannot!"

"Arrogant brat."

"Gurarararararara—!"

Amidst Whitebeard's hearty laughter, Shanks voiced his thanks, then flashed away, vanishing from the deck of the Moby Dick.

A few breaths later.

The Red Force, anchored in the distance, slowly raised its sails and soon vanished beyond the horizon.

Whitebeard watched this scene, his gaze strangely complex, unknown what thoughts were running through his mind.

He turned his head.

Surrounding him were his crewmates, who were also his sons; they were what he had initially longed for, and what he had found after decades of roaming the seas—his One Piece.

"Lads, let's start the banquet!"

"Oh, right."

Whitebeard looked at Ace and Thatch:

"Ace, Thatch, the Deulcan brothers caused trouble in our territory; apparently, they were fighting over some rare Devil Fruit. After the banquet, those two are yours to handle."

Thatch hooked his arm around Ace's shoulder, casually waved at Whitebeard, and said:

"Understood, Pops."

"But for now, the most important thing is obviously the banquet!"

Excited shouts immediately erupted from the crowd all around.

Very soon.

The group found a deserted island, and the Moby Dick smoothly docked in a bay.

Diamond Jozu led his subordinates to find a deserted island nearby.

They lit a bonfire, sat around it together, drinking, singing, and telling nonsensical cold jokes.

Whoosh—!

Blown by the sea breeze, the flames instantly burned even more fiercely!

Bursts of hearty laughter occasionally erupted from the crowd; the red glow shone on everyone's faces, warm and relaxed.

Only Blackbeard sat off to the side, looking somewhat out of place.

"Teach, what random nonsense are you thinking about all by yourself?!"

Without waiting for an answer, Thatch shoved a mug of ale into Blackbeard's hand:

"Leave those annoying matters for tomorrow; today, the most important thing is being with your comrades!"

"That's true."

A familiar smile appeared on Blackbeard's face; he lightly clinked his cup against Thatch's and drained the ale in one gulp:

"Thatch... thank you."

"Well, after all, we are best friends, aren't we?!"

"Of course!"

"Zehahahaha—!" The New World.

Within a turbulent sea region.

The seawater churned, and massive waves surged sky-high.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, while beneath the surface, a colossal beast revealed its massive shadow.

Even setting aside how the chaotic magnetic field rendered compasses completely useless, navigating such weather in an ordinary pirate ship was nearly impossible.

This place was already virtually a forbidden zone for normal humans; only the elite gathered from across the world could survive within these seas.

Boom!

Startling thunder exploded, and the seawater churned violently.

The Lionheart Knight, over a hundred meters in length, floated up from the seawater.

The coating, capable of withstanding water pressure at depths of ten thousand meters beneath the sea, seemed exceptionally fragile in the air, easily torn apart by a stray flash of lightning.

"So this is... the New World?!"

Gao Wen stood on the deck, casually slicing through an oncoming giant wave as he gazed at the surging sea in the distance.

"Weaker than I imagined."

In the past, merely a storm in the East Blue had left both Gao Wen and Xiang Keluo in a sorry state.

Two years had passed; even the absurd, almost sci-fi weather of the New World failed to stir the slightest emotion in him.

This was the confidence brought by one's own strength.

"The next target is Britannias."

Gao Wen murmured softly.

Recalling the legends of Britannias and Morgan's words, he felt a degree of anticipation.

Moreover, Britannias was not merely the place Gao Wen had chosen to settle; it was the battlefield most suitable for unleashing the Red Dragon's abilities.

Indeed, even the very idea of Gao Wen heading to Britannias might have been subtly guided by the will residing within the Red Dragon Fruit.

After all, in a world where over ninety percent of the area was covered by ocean, finding a place like Britannias—which possessed vast landmasses while also containing far more ley line energy than Alabasta—was extremely difficult if one wished to maximize the Red Dragon's ability to manipulate ley line energy.

This was almost an open conspiracy.

But the current Gao Wen already possessed the confidence to shatter any obstacle.

"I'm actually looking forward to seeing what kind of drama awaits me there!"

At this moment, it seemed even the sea was responding to Gao Wen's will.

A storm that had been brewing vanished without a trace in just a few breaths.

A great sun shone brightly.

The deck was quickly occupied by a group of cultivation maniacs; bare-chested and sweating profusely, they freely displayed their muscular pectorals and bronze skin.

"Hoo—!"

"Hah—!"

"Not enough, not enough, not enough! Not intense enough!"

"Pioneer! I will become the strongest Pioneer!"

"Ura~!"

……

Gao Wen swept a glance at them, finding the sight rather painful to his eyes, so he simply returned to the cabin.

He did not expect that just as he had sat down in the captain's quarters, Miss Kalifa would hurriedly push the door open and enter right after him.

"Captain, new intelligence has come back from Roubo Luqi regarding the previous incident with Ah Jin, as well as concerning our voyage ahead!"

Nowadays, on the surface, Miss Kalifa remained an undercover agent planted by the CP organization within Gao Wen's group; thus, whenever Roubo Luqi transmitted intelligence outward, it was all processed through her.

After all, the darkest place is right under the lamp, making the probability of discovery by the CP organization even smaller.

"What's the situation?"

"Roubo Luqi has already traced which Celestial Dragon was behind the previous attack on Ah Jin, but the matter is even more troublesome than we imagined."

Miss Kalifa's expression was incomparably solemn:

"Captain, have you heard of the Holy Knights?!"

"Continue."

Gao Wen slowly straightened his body, yet his brows knitted tightly together.

Of course, he had heard of the Holy Knights.

They were an elite Celestial Dragon force directly subordinate to Imu, whose members possessed at least Gold-level combat strength, with abilities ranging far and wide.

Whether it was Gunshi manipulating direction with the Arrow-Arrow Fruit, truly the One Piece version of One Way, or Saint Charlos, who ate the Dragon-Dragon Fruit: Mythical Zoan: Qilin Form and could materialize dreams, both were truly defying the heavens.

Furthermore, the captain and vice-captain of the Holy Knights were figures of immense weight.

The former was Figarland Garling Saint, who once left a scar on Whitebeard during the Battle of God Valley and later inherited the position of one of the Five Elders after Saturn was abandoned by Imu.

The latter was none other than Shanks' twin brother; his exact combat strength was unknown, but the gap between him and Shanks could not be too large, and he even wielded a famous blade that had eaten a Mythical Zoan: Cerberus fruit, which had already awakened.

Merely the overt strength displayed by the Holy Knights was sufficient to suppress an Emperor's crew, not to mention the truly troublesome aspect of the Holy Knights' members: they likely all possessed an immortal body bestowed by Imu.

In other words, it was almost equivalent to Gao Wen simultaneously facing various versions of himself!

Of course, such an overly heaven-defying ability certainly carried corresponding risks.

During Jabra's clash with the Holy Knights at Elbaf, he was able to injure them without them recovering in a short time, which most likely meant he had mastered a corresponding method of counteraction.

Miss Kalifa continued:

"They have set their sights on Captain Ah Jin's ability, or more precisely, on the immortal legend of Britannias."

"Perhaps certain Celestial Dragons, whose lives are nearing their end, wish to obtain immortality through such means."

"As for more specific intelligence, Roubo Luqi cannot investigate it for now; after all, based on our previous assessment, the other party's actions should be conducted in secret, as if guarding against something."

Gao Wen nodded, momentarily falling into deep thought.

His fingertips instinctively tapped on the desktop, emitting a crisp sound.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Naturally, Gao Wen did not fear the Holy Knights, but his companions on the ship would undoubtedly suffer a heavy loss when facing opponents who were nearly immortal.

Before finding a corresponding method of counteraction, Gao Wen did not wish to waste effort clashing with the Holy Knights.

The most correct choice at present should be to temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

At the very least, before finding a way to counter the Holy Knights' immortality, they must avoid direct conflict with them.

But since the mastermind behind the scenes had set their sights on Ah Jin, even if he took no action, the other party might still come knocking proactively.

"This is somewhat troublesome."

Gao Wen murmured, then beckoned to Miss Kalifa:

"You go out first and call Xiang Keluo over for me."

"Understood."

Miss Kalifa nodded, then turned and left.

Creak~!

The door was pushed open.

Unexpectedly, Morgan, now dressed in a black cloak with the hood up, was standing at the doorway, appearing to have been there for quite some time.

Morgan nodded to Miss Kalifa, the corner of his mouth curling into a gentle smile:

"I have something to discuss with Mr. Gao Wen."

"Regarding Britannias, and also regarding your future journey."

Miss Kalifa's gaze swept up and down, and she could not help but inhale sharply.

A height similar to her own, curves that even a cloak could not conceal, paired with a face that was thirty percent pure and seventy percent seductive...

Coupled with the fact that the 'hero saves the beauty' script had already passed, wasn't this woman here to throw herself into his arms?!

Hiss!

A formidable rival! She is a formidable rival!

(End of Chapter)