Chapter 317: Unrivaled Prestige (Revised)

However.

After a brief moment of thought, Miss Kalifa instantly calmed herself down.

A woman should know when to stop; acting like a shrew screaming in the streets would only damage her image in Gao Wen's heart.

A true mistress of the house should be magnanimous and possess an invisible dignity, what is known as the aura of the principal wife.

From Gaza to Robin, and now this wild woman who knows not where she came from, so...

Is this palace intrigue?

What a pity.

You will never understand that in Captain Gao Wen's heart, there is only one person, and that is me!

Recalling the words Gao Wen had spoken to her while drunk back then, a flush of red inevitably rose on Miss Kalifa's pretty face.

Previously in Alabasta, Gao Wen had not wavered even half a bit when faced with Robin's nearly direct approach, which further confirmed her conjecture!

The Captain has me in his heart!

Thinking of this.

Miss Kalifa's heartbeat quickened slightly, yet not a trace of it showed on her face.

She gave Morgan a slight nod, then stepped aside to make way, swaying her willow-like waist as she departed quickly.

Morgan glanced strangely at Miss Kalifa's retreating figure, then immediately stopped paying attention to her and walked straight toward Gao Wen.

Bang!

The door to the captain's cabin shut.

Miss Kalifa, who had been leaving so composedly, instantly could not hold it together; she immediately crept back to the doorway, pricking up her ears and pressing them against the door.

Damn it!

I cannot let these bitches snatch the food from my mouth!

"What exactly is your purpose in going to Britannias?!"

Without much nonsense, Morgan asked directly.

Gao Wen did not answer immediately; instead, he turned to look at the doorway, shook his head with a hint of helplessness, and only then looked at Morgan.

Although Morgan's face still maintained its calmness, those eyes could not lie.

Perhaps it was because of that battle on Fish-Man Island, or perhaps for some other reason, that she had decided to seek him out, leading to this current conversation.

This was the best opportunity to obtain intelligence regarding Britannias.

Gao Wen simply decided to be open and honest:

"I have already told you."

"That place is our chosen settlement, serving as our future headquarters."

"Any pirate crew, once it develops to a certain scale, must break free from the model of roaming everywhere to plunder, eating one meal and starving the next, and instead seek stability."

"Moreover, you should have seen my abilities back on Fish-Man Island; to exert my abilities to their utmost, there is no better place than Britannias."

"A place where ley line energy converges; so it really is the Red Dragon..."

Morgan murmured softly, her gaze falling upon Gao Wen's face, yet what she saw was another countenance.

"I once had a younger brother named Arthur, who was the previous user of the Red Dragon Fruit; originally, he was supposed to be the new king of Britannias."

Gao Wen was slightly stunned, his gaze condensing a little.

Only after the previous user dies will a Devil Fruit randomly reincarnate somewhere in the world.

The fact that he had obtained the Red Dragon Fruit meant that Arthur was already dead.

But given the Red Dragon's vitality, and being in a place like Britannias where ley line energy is extremely abundant, how could he possibly have been killed?!

"The White Dragon?!"

"No."

Morgan denied it:

"The one who killed Arthur was not the legendary White Dragon, but Wales!"

"A thoroughgoing beast!"

"It is also because of him that Britannias has become a hell, where the spirits of almost everyone have been twisted!"

Morgan raised her head, her eyes filled with crimson bloodshot veins, resentment and fury nearly bursting forth:

"Help me retake Britannias, help me kill Wales!"

"If your future goal is to establish a stable base, there is no region more suitable than Britannias."

"In return, I can designate an area for you to serve as your base."

"Even if you wish..."

Morgan looked up at Gao Wen, her cheeks slightly flushed, and raised her hand to remove her outer garment, exposing large patches of snow-white skin to the air.

Just as the outer garment was about to slide down past her chest...

"Stop!"

The corner of Gao Wen's mouth twitched; he raised his hand to halt Morgan's action, momentarily unsure where to begin his complaint.

He had truly never seen such a scene before!

Even Robin back then had not gone to this extent!

"Even without you, Britannias is our predetermined destination and will not change for any reason."

"Mm."

Morgan's face turned red up to her earroots; she nodded gently, her eyes containing both shyness and an indescribable sense of being moved.

When her gaze touched upon Gao Wen's upright and righteous face, her pupils trembled imperceptibly, and suddenly she understood why Miss Kalifa had looked at her with such an expression.

This man has a heart of gold!

"Phew~"

Morgan took a deep breath, shook off the distracting thoughts in her mind, dared not look directly into Gao Wen's eyes, and hurriedly changed the subject:

"Regarding the intelligence on Britannias and Wales, I will need a little time."

"However, concerning Conqueror's Haki, which you call Supreme Might, I did hear Arthur mention some things about it that might be helpful to you."

"Outsiders' application of Conqueror's Haki is extremely crude; they merely use it as a means to mentally intimidate opponents."

"Even those powerful enough to dominate all directions only simply infuse it into their weapons or bodies to enhance their attack power."

"But in reality, Conqueror's Haki has even more refined uses, namely concentrating it into a single point and striking it directly into an opponent's body."

"Concentrate into a single point, blast into the opponent's body..."

Gao Wen repeated Morgan's words, vaguely feeling he had grasped the key element, to the point where he momentarily forgot to press for intelligence regarding Britannias.

This was a usage he had never attempted before.

After all, unlike Armament Haki which is based more on physical constitution, Conqueror's Haki belongs to an extension of one's own will.

Whether directly concentrating it into a single point and blasting it into an opponent's body, just like Ryuo, would produce what kind of effect was still up for debate.

But what truly made Gao Wen concerned were Morgan's subsequent words.

"There are even rumors that experts who cultivate Conqueror's Haki to its utmost limit can leave their Conqueror's Haki within inanimate objects."

Gao Wen recalled the Conqueror's Haki that Joyboy left inside the giant robot Emeth, which had been preserved for a full eight hundred years!

The strength of that Haki was such that it could even destroy the projection of a Legendary-level Elder Star in an instant!

But this was not even the most outrageous part; what was truly absurd was that this Conqueror's Haki had actually been preserved for a full eight hundred years!

Then if I blast my own Haki into an opponent's body, could it also be preserved for eight hundred years?!

Or even...

When Jaguar D. Saul fought against the God Knights on Elbaf, was the reason he broke through their immortality with a single move because he had mastered this technique?!

Highly likely!

Even if not, mastering this technique would still provide a tremendous amplification to my combat power!

Thinking of this.

Gao Wen was extremely excited; after thanking Morgan, he quickly walked out of the cabin.

"Mr. Gao Wen..."

Morgan clutched her clothes with her hand, watching the departing Gao Wen, while a spring-like flow turned in her eyes.

She could no longer tell whether she felt more gratitude or more regret at this moment.

A few minutes later.

Morgan walked out of the captain's room door, raised her eyes, and saw Miss Kalifa with an expressionless face; she subconsciously gave Miss Kalifa a slight smile, straightened her chest, and intentionally or unintentionally revealed the skin beneath her clothes.

"Hmph!"

Miss Kalifa raised an eyebrow, turned and left in a huff, yet her heart had already reached a point of extreme urgency:

Damn it!

This bitch really intends to snatch food from my mouth, and she nearly let him succeed!

No way!

We cannot let this continue!

Gao Wen walked out of the cabin and saw that the deck was already packed with people, so he simply leaped up and stood at the very tip of the flagpole.

"Concentrate into a single point..."

Feeling the Conqueror's Haki gradually churning around him, Gao Wen slowly placed his hand on the Guanshi Zhengzong at his waist.

Hiss—!

After a distinct sound of inhaling.

Gao Wen opened his eyes, and a trace of crimson Lei Guang flashed within his gaze.

He raised his hand.

He swung his blade. Thick as lead, the Conqueror's Haki pushed horizontally toward the distance.

Boom!

The sea surface suddenly sank dozens of meters, and the clouds gathering in the sky dispersed in an instant.

A howling wild wind struck.

Even the crowd diligently cultivating on the deck momentarily found it difficult to stand steady; they could only tightly grasp the ropes to barely avoid being flung off the ship.

"Although this isn't the first time seeing it, every time I feel my soul trembling!"

"This power that shakes heaven and earth, how is it any different from that of a ghost or god? This is the absolute military force that a true pioneer should possess!"

"Correct!"

"This kind of pure strength is exactly what we pursue!"

The crowd could not help but let out cries of admiration.

Only Xiang Keluo, hovering in mid-air, looked at Gao Wen atop the mast, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly:

"This guy... has he comprehended something new again?!"

Very soon.

Another wave of Conqueror's Haki impact erupted once more.

Yet it did not possess the same powerful impact force as the previous Conqueror's Haki impact; the swaying of the ship's hull was obviously much smaller.

The crowd assumed Gao Wen was deliberately restraining his power, and for a moment, they could not help but feel deeply moved.

"Is the Captain going to such lengths just to take care of us?!"

"He truly... is too gentle!"

"But it is precisely this kind of man who is worth following!"

"Ura~!"

However, the officers, who had mastered Observation Haki and possessed outstanding perception, detected far more.

They one after another halted their actions, staring blankly at the figure on the mast, carefully pondering the differences between the two bursts of Conqueror's Haki.

"More concentrated, more pure!"

Xiang Keluo exchanged a glance with Ah Jin beside him; both saw shock reflected in each other's eyes:

"Concentrating the erupted Haki into a single point to exchange for greater power?!"

"Indeed!"

"This allows one to obtain similar power while drastically reducing consumption."

"If Conqueror's Haki can do it, then can Armament Haki be used the same way?!"

"Let's try!"

"Agreed!"

Inspired, the two immediately began experimenting nearby.

Behind Xiang Keluo, a long tail extended, the blade at its tip slicing through the air.

Originally, he would subconsciously cover the entire blade with Armament Haki, but now the coverage of Armament Haki was slowly contracting, until only an area less than one millimeter wide at the very edge remained.

Swish!

The tail-blade slashed through the air, shooting forth streams of air blades that sliced apart the oncoming waves!

"The power hasn't diminished much, yet the consumption has become even smaller!"

"It really works!"

"So... is this what Gao Wen has comprehended?!"

The corner of Xiang Keluo's mouth curled up slightly.

For the first time.

He felt he was catching up to Gao Wen's footsteps; in his mind, he could not help but conjure a scene of himself standing shoulder to shoulder with Gao Wen.

Or even...

Him surpassing Gao Wen, becoming stronger first!

But in the next instant, Xiang Keluo's expression froze on the spot.

This was solely because Gao Wen, at the top of the mast, had somehow found several bullets and was now looking down at the bullets in his hand, dazed.

Invisible Conqueror's Haki converged upon the bullets, causing crimson Lei She to roll through the void!

After several breaths.

The movements around gradually subsided, yet the bullets in Gao Wen's hand showed no change whatsoever, remaining pitch black.

"Wrong!"

"Something is wrong!"

Gao Wen fell into deep thought, standing on the mast for over ten hours.

This time, even Xiang Keluo could not understand what exactly Gao Wen was trying to do.

He only saw bullet after bullet being casually tossed by Gao Wen into the seawater, yet not a single splash was raised.

And Gao Wen, as if possessed, neglected food and drink, nearly frantically manipulating the bullets in his hand.

"Concentrating Conqueror's Haki is far simpler than imagined, yielding greater power with less consumption."

"Perhaps this can be called 'Peerless Might'."

"But another characteristic of 'Peerless Might' is always just a little bit lacking."

Time flashed by.

Several days later.

Late night.

Gao Wen still stood atop the mast, lost in anxious thought.

Almost everyone on the ship had grown accustomed to their captain's peculiar style, so they did not disturb him.

After all, with Gao Wen's monster-like physical capabilities, staying awake for several days and nights was no big problem.

Just as the crowd was still discussing how long their captain would remain possessed, the situation suddenly took a turn.

Whoosh—!

A sea breeze blew past, and another bullet fell from the top of the mast onto the deck.

Gao Wen's figure also vanished in the next instant.

Seeing this scene, Xiang Keluo could not help but step forward and pick up the bullet Gao Wen had dropped.

"Hmm?!"

"It doesn't seem to have anything strange about it."

"Wait..."

While pondering.

A Haki so violently fierce that it drove one mad erupted with a boom.

Boom!

Air currents churned violently.

The Lion Heart Knight was instantly struck by this force, plunging several meters downward with violent shaking, waking everyone aboard.

Xiang Keluo, situated at the epicenter of the Conqueror's Haki eruption, was blasted hundreds of meters away, his consciousness growing blurry!

"This is... Conqueror's Haki?!"

The corner of Xiang Keluo's mouth twitched.

He finally understood what Gao Wen had been doing these past days, neglecting food and drink.

But no matter how one thought about it, such a thing exceeded the bounds of ordinary human comprehension!

"Conqueror's Haki stored within a bullet!"

Xiang Keluo opened his mouth, then glanced toward Gao Wen's room; he didn't even want to speak anymore.

At the same time.

Somewhere in the New World.

A magnificent giant ship sailed across the sea.

A group of God's Knight members lay on the deck, leisurely accepting the service of servants.

"Mama~ Mama~"

Big Mom, now awake, sat nearby, happily eating mountain desserts piled high, yet feeling not the slightest bit full.

After all, these were not real desserts, but food conjured by the ability of Chiringomu Holy.

Yet precisely because of this, Big Mom could endlessly savor the taste of sweets.

She was so immersed in it that she didn't even notice several more God's Knight members appearing beside her.

"So Charlotte Linlin's mind really has gone wrong?!"

"We have tested it many times; it indeed appears so, though we do not know when she will recover."

(End of Chapter)