Chapter 394: Attack! The Devil's Offspring!

Gao Wen fell silent for a moment.

He knew his own situation better than anyone else.

His ability to grow to his current level stemmed partly from several instances where he saw through life and death, facing opponents far stronger than himself.

But mostly, it relied on the foundation forged by the Captain System.

Those individual traits, invisibly, had elevated this body's originally mediocre talent to an astonishing degree.

In other words.

The gap between the upper and lower limits of Gao Wen's physical talent across different periods was immense.

Back when he first awakened, he was at best Silver-level; placed in the New World teeming with monsters, he likely wouldn't have been able to stand steady.

But the current Gao Wen had already grown to the peak of Legendary, becoming invincible across the seas.

Gao Wen murmured:

"I just don't know which period's flesh and tissue sample the World Government obtained."

"East Blue, Paradise, or Britannias?"

"The significance represented by these three is completely different."

"But it doesn't matter."

"If they truly create a Seraphim capable of fighting me, I would actually be delighted."

"After all, our organization's goal for this World Martial Arts Tournament was always to serve as a backup plan in case Pluto couldn't be created, breeding a monster capable of battling me."

"To elevate my personal combat power to a level sufficient to oppose the Ancient Weapons."

Xiang Keluo nodded:

"As long as you are confident, that's what matters."

"Also, after Barrett appeared once at a certain port in the New World, there has been no news since; finding him will be somewhat troublesome."

"It's fine."

Gao Wen said indifferently:

"At this current juncture, the World Government is busy settling the aftermath of the Summit War and the shock brought by the attack on Mary Geoise, and the seas in the future will only become more chaotic."

"They have no leisure to stretch their hands into the New World, let alone spare any strength to interfere with our actions."

"Time is on our side."

"Once Pluto is fully completed, or I advance further and gain combat power sufficient to counter the Ancient Weapons."

"These seas..."

"... will be dyed in my color."

Xiang Keluo grinned, wild ambition burning in his eyes as well:

"Hmph~"

"You really dare to say such things."

"However."

"In these seas, the only one capable of doing such a thing is you."

Along the journey.

Xiang Keluo witnessed Gao Wen's growth.

From an unknown small fry with an eight-million bounty in the East Blue, to one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and then to the uncrowned king of the New World.

His influence radiated across the entire world, second only to the World Government.

Such an achievement, in the eight hundred years dominated by the World Government, was unprecedented if not also unrepeatable!

Even Xiang Keluo himself, in the decades before meeting Gao Wen, had never imagined he could grow to his current state, capable of opposing an Admiral.

Only now did Xiang Keluo realize.

Ah Jin, Zoro, Sanji, Van Auger, Zoro...

Everyone on this ship, after choosing to follow Gao Wen, had their destinies completely altered.

Xiang Keluo couldn't say clearly whether this change was good or bad for the others.

But he knew that if given another chance, he would still board Gao Wen's ship.

After briefly completing his report, Xiang Keluo chatted a few more words with Gao Wen before turning to leave.

Boom!

The office door slammed shut.

Gao Wen turned his head, looking out the window.

The endless inland sea stretched across the center of the Britannias continent.

The massive crater left by Uranus had converged into this inland sea; in a certain sense, this was also a warning from Imu.

"Heh..."

Gao Wen smiled contemptuously, drew the curtains, and blocked the wind blowing from the inland sea outside the window.

Time flashed by.

A few days later.

Within the territory of Britannias.

Inside a small town.

On a small path, two figures, one tall and one short, slowly departed into the distance.

On the vegetation flanking both sides, the dew had not yet fully dried, and some leaves still bore the white frost left from the previous night.

As the two walked through it, the clothes on their bodies were all soaked by the dew.

Such chill was already enough to make an ordinary person of weak constitution fall ill with a minor sickness.

Sabo, however, felt nothing but warmth throughout his entire body.

"Winter is coming."

Fujitora could not help but sigh with emotion.

Sabo, standing nearby, offered no response; he continued to stare blankly at the bread in his hands, which had grown somewhat cold.

This was the bread distributed free of charge by the guards at a recruitment site they had just passed in a small town; basically everyone standing there held an identical piece of bread in their hands.

Seeing this, a trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Fujitora's mouth:

"Quite surprised, aren't you?!"

"I was very surprised the first time I saw it too."

Sabo's gaze momentarily became complex; he tore off a piece from the bread and put it into his mouth.

The taste upon entering the mouth could not be called good, and the texture was even so rough as to be difficult to swallow, yet it was sufficient for an adult's consumption for an entire day.

But Sabo could see that this bread had been intentionally made this way.

He knew the reason for this.

If food used for relief was too exquisite and delicious, aside from increased costs, it would also fail to reach the hands of those who needed it.

This heavy piece of bread in his hand instead gave Sabo a sense of reality.

He had followed Dragon sailing around the world, visiting countless places, and had also witnessed those nobles or kings renowned for their benevolence.

But that so-called benevolence was merely having slightly less taxation and oppression compared to other regions.

Matters like distributing bread for free and providing job opportunities for the impoverished were simply fantasies.

Even the Revolutionary Army could at most achieve only this degree.

After chewing a few mouthfuls, Sabo swallowed the bread in his mouth, and when he looked again at that large piece of bread in his hand, light appeared in his eyes:

"Has something like this always existed in Britannias?!"

Fujitora nodded:

"Originally it did not exist; it came into being only after Gao Wen arrived."

"In fact."

"If you had returned to the East Blue these past few years, you would know that everything here has already played out once in Raven Port."

"That man once said that no matter how tyrannical the rule, people must be given a chance to survive."

"Over these years, his strength has grown stronger and his influence has become greater, yet his will has never changed."

Having said this.

Fujitora turned his head to look at Sabo; the latter was still lost in thought, repeating Fujitora's words with his mouth:

"No matter how tyrannical the rule, people must be allowed to survive."

Sabo lowered his head to look at the bread in his hands, and a trace of self-mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"If such rule must be branded with the name of tyranny, then it is surely this world that has gone mad."

"Issho, you have told me so much, and led me all the way here to witness the changes that occurred in Britannias after that man's arrival..."

As the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, Sabo was naturally not foolish.

Along this journey, Fujitora had made him witness everything in Britannias with his own eyes.

This kingdom might not be called perfect, but it had already surpassed ninety-nine percent of the kingdoms in this world—no, it had surpassed almost all of them.

Even the prosperity of Mary Geoise could not compare to the solidity of Britannias.

After all, the former's prosperity was built upon the exploitation of the entire world, whereas the latter was established entirely by the hands of its own people.