Chapter 453: Lifting Up Britannias with One Hand!

"Rest assured, Absalom."

"With me here, there will be no danger."

Moria spoke, soothing his three subordinates.

After Kaido's death, the resentment in his heart dissipated, and he realized more clearly that what was most precious to him was not the so-called One Piece, but the companions who had always followed him.

He now possessed the resolve to stake his life to protect these people.

Choosing to join Britannias, aside from submitting to Gao Wen's power, was also due to his clear vision that the future hegemon of this sea would inevitably emerge between the World Government and Britannias.

And this time, he was betting everything on Britannias, or rather, on that man!

Moria slowly set down the apple pie in his hand; seeing the three calm down, he turned to gaze at the distant inland sea.

The seawater churned violently, waves rolling and tumbling.

A colossal amount of seawater, visible to the naked eye, seemed to have gained a spirit of its own, transforming freely in midair to forge scene after scene of miracles.

Even Moria, with over forty years of seafaring experience, was momentarily rendered speechless by such a sight.

"This... wait!"

Amidst the rolling seawater, a familiar aura made Moria's whole body tremble.

The figure that had once fought eight alone and crushed the strongest eight at the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament floated before Moria's eyes once again.

Moria instantly judged that the owner of that aura was none other than Gao Wen.

But if the original Gao Wen, though possessing an unprecedentedly powerful aura, was still within the realm of understanding and held the possibility of being defeated,

then the aura within the seawater at this very moment made Moria feel as though he were staring directly into an abyss.

One glance revealed nothing but bottomless darkness.

It was a strength that transcended the human category, even surpassing rational cognition!

"Is that... Captain Gao Wen?!"

Moria's tone was filled with shock and uncertainty, yet before the final syllable had even fallen, it became incomparably firm:

"It must be him!"

Such magnificent power could only belong to Gao Wen, and could only be Gao Wen!

But what truly terrified Moria was that ability to manipulate a colossal amount of seawater with a mere raise of the hand, crushing all enemies with unstoppable force—he had seen it before!

Absalom, who had followed him for many years, also knew this:

"Impossible!"

"Captain Gao Wen's ability is the Mythical Zoan Red Dragon; its power is undeniable, but he absolutely cannot dominate the entire ocean with a wave of his hand."

"And this ability..."

"The Paramecia Float-Float Fruit?!"

Absalom's pupils shook violently.

That one person cannot consume two Devil Fruits is another ironclad rule, aside from the fact that ability users are rejected by the sea.

From ancient times to the present, no one has ever overturned this...

Wait!

There is!

Absalom suddenly recalled intelligence he had heard within Britannias.

The situation of breaking the iron rule and mastering dual Devil Fruit abilities did exist; in fact, in this era, before Gao Wen, it had already occurred.

That was Blackbeard Teach!

The special structure of his body allowed him to master multiple Devil Fruit abilities.

If others could do it, then that monster standing at the world's peak in Britannias...

There was no reason he couldn't!

"Lord Moria, the Captain he..."

Absalom turned to look at Moria beside him, only to see the latter nodding seriously.

Moria strove to maintain a calm expression before his subordinates, but his shocked gaze and his suddenly clenched fists could not lie.

At this moment, his feelings were little different from Absalom's, even more convinced that Gao Wen had mastered a second Devil Fruit ability.

After all, that was the strongest individual unseen in eight hundred years, and very likely the strongest who would never appear in the future either.

If anyone could break common sense, that person could only be Gao Wen!

"I'm afraid so."

"The Captain has mastered a second Devil Fruit ability."

"But..."

"Why?!"

"If he were simply pursuing power, he is already strong enough on his own; the comprehensive abilities of the Red Dragon do not require the Float-Float Fruit for supplementation."

"On the contrary, borrowing another special Paramecia to cover his shortcomings would be a more reasonable choice."

Moria's pupils contracted slightly; for a moment, he was somewhat baffled.

Suddenly.

Perona, hugging her teddy bear plushie nearby, muttered softly:

"Don't tell me he wants to lift this entire country up into the sky!"

Absalom twitched, then sneered:

"Perona, you've taken that joke too far!"

"Even a monster like Captain Gao Wen absolutely cannot accomplish such a thing..."

Just as he was speaking.

Absalom felt the aura erupting uncontrollably from Mo Li beside him, distorting the very air around them.

"Lord Mo Li?"

Mo Li paid him no heed, staring intently at Perona as he said:

"What did you say?!"

Perona panicked for a moment, trembling as she replied:

"I... I was saying, could Knight Gao Wen possibly intend to lift this entire nation into the sky?!"

"That's it!"

Mo Li whipped his head around to gaze at the distant sea, now calm once more.

The serpent-like dancing waters had subsided, yet contrary to what most had expected, they did not trigger a violent tsunami; only the waves stood slightly higher.

The inland sea of Britannias remained tranquil.

But within Mo Li's heart, a storm of towering waves was rising at that very moment.

This conjecture was so absurd that he found it hard to believe.

Yet the more he pondered, especially recalling the recent rampant rumors of the world's impending submersion, the more this speculation refused to fade!

A long while passed.

Mo Li opened his mouth, muttering:

"To lift this nation into the sky, just how colossal a power would be required?!"

The three exchanged glances, convinced that Mo Li had gone mad.

For Jin Shizi to float several islands dozens of kilometers in diameter was already beyond imagination.

Gao Wen's combat strength naturally far surpassed Jin Shizi's, but regarding his development of the Float-Float Fruit, he surely fell far short.

Moreover, the mass of an entire nation, a whole continent, far exceeded that of a few islands; this was no longer something existing on the same dimensional plane!

And yet.

What the three did not know was that, at that same moment, countless powerful figures had also noticed the anomaly in the inland sea.

Hawkeye and Redfield stood atop Shanfeng, gazing out at the distant sea that had calmed, their hearts still shaken by the miraculous spectacle they had just witnessed!

"That man has actually mastered a second Devil Fruit ability?!"

"Is he... truly still human?!"

Redfield could not help but sigh, shaken by his own speculation:

"Recently, the sea level near Britannias has risen again, causing many residents of coastal areas to migrate inland."

"The rumors of the world's impending submersion are likely true."

"Therefore..."

"Is this the method of salvation that man has devised?! To hold up this nation with one hand—no, the future of this entire world?!"