Chapter 78: Golden Potential

The wound was not deep, far from affecting combat capability.

But the shock it brought to Hawkeye at this moment was indescribable, especially when he noticed that glaring streak of bloody red on the blade of Guanshi Zhengzong.

Amidst the downpour.

Hawkeye raised his hand to press the wound on his shoulder, letting fresh blood flow from between his fingers, only to be washed away by the rain.

"Was I careless?"

"However."

"How long has it been since I felt this familiar pain?"

"That's right. Ever since that fellow lost his right hand, no one has been able to leave a scar on me with a sword or blade."

"This is truly..."

"Something to look forward to!"

"Did he survive?"

When Gao Wen woke up, it was already the afternoon of the second day.

He turned his head to the side, saw Zoro sleeping soundly with bandages wrapped around his body, and only then let out a long sigh after noticing his chest rising and falling steadily.

The downpour last night came quickly and left even faster.

Apart from leaving a faint scent of seawater in the air, it left no other traces.

Even the tightly closed curtains now could not block the bright sunlight outside the window.

Gao Wen struggled to sit up, lifted the curtain with one hand, and let the warm sunlight fall on his body, dispelling the chill.

His mind quieted down for a moment, with only that battle against Hawkeye lingering in his thoughts.

That overwhelming power, which effortlessly deflected all his attacks and slashed the sea directly with a single sword swing, gave him a concrete understanding of the top-tier combat power in this world.

These existences standing at the pinnacle were each equivalent to a walking nuclear weapon; no wonder the World Government dared not act rashly against the Four Emperors.

"I am still too weak!"

Even without anyone telling Gao Wen the truth, he now roughly understood why he had survived; it was likely that he had been given the same script as Zoro.

"This sense of powerlessness, entrusting one's life to another's mercy, is something I never want to experience a second time in my life!"

"However, awakening Armament Haki can be considered an unexpected bonus."

"More importantly, combining the insights provided by Hawkeye, I now know how to further awaken my Conqueror's Haki."

Saying this.

Gao Wen summoned the system interface:

【Host - Gao Wen】

【Age - 24】

【Identity - Captain of the Gao Wen Pirate Crew】

【Skills:

Swordsmanship - LV-9: 201/7000 (Divine Speed)

Physique - LV-9: 1734/7000 (Balanced)

Shunpo - LV-5: 17/5000 (Instant Step)

Observation Haki - LV-3: 401/3200

Armament Haki - LV-1: 0/1000

Navigation - LV-3: 351/800

】

【Badges:

Captain's Wrath - Subordinates' stamina recovery speed +20%

Rising Fame - View latent potential

】

【Rating - Bai Yin: Realize your true heart, temper your will; you have taken the first step on the path to supreme strength!】

Over the past few days, the experience points for various skills had increased slightly; not much, but solid.

What truly caught Gao Wen's eye, however, was the evaluation in the rating column:

"Realize your true heart?"

He knew the significance of this all too well.

According to the system, latent potential is the growth ceiling calculated based on the host's current abilities and physical talents.

Under normal circumstances, the limit of potential is the individual's growth limit.

Once this barrier is touched, unless one breaks through the upper limit of one's potential through special means, no amount of effort in cultivation will yield progress; at best, one can only maintain the current state without decline.

Just like those pirates under Gao Wen's command whose latent potential had been exhausted before.

But realizing one's true heart is a method already verified by Xiang Keluo to break through one's own potential ceiling; this was also one of the reasons Gao Wen had previously attempted to fight Hawkeye to the death.

He could not abandon the Mink brothers, and he also wanted to try whether he could use the pressure from Hawkeye to help himself break through this ceiling.

Now it seems the result is not bad.

Gao Wen immediately used the badge ability to cast a detection on himself:

【Name - Gao Wen】

【Potential - Gold】

【Rating - Bai Yin: Realizing the True Heart...】

Seeing the prominent gold characters on the Potential column, Gao Wen's lips curved upward, and even the gloom from his severe injury by Hawk Eyes diminished considerably.

Originally, when his combat power gradually approached the growth limit calculated by the system, he had been somewhat worried whether his own growth would tend toward stagnation.

Just like those pirates under his command whose potential was only Iron, unable to advance further.

Now, having realized the True Heart, the breakthrough in potential directly solved Gao Wen's pressing emergency.

Even if the potential does not advance further subsequently, merely stacking combat power step-by-step to the Gold level would be enough to seize the title of Warlord of the Sea according to the original plan.

Moreover, with Hawk Eyes' guidance, Gao Wen already has his own train of thought regarding future Haki cultivation; with a bit of effort, he can surely touch the threshold of Legend.

By that time, it would truly be: the sea is vast for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly!

With combat power strong enough, the choices one can make are countless.

As Gao Wen pondered...

Creak~!

The room door was pushed open.

Sanji casually extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, slowly walked in carrying a tray, and skillfully placed a bowl of tomato beef soup and several pieces of bread before Gao Wen.

Gao Wen smelled the fragrance in the air, and his appetite was instantly aroused.

For him, whose physique far exceeds that of ordinary people, there is no faster method of treatment than eating to recover from injuries quickly.

Especially since the cook was a first-class chef like Sanji.

However.

Before Gao Wen could start eating, Sanji's voice interrupted Gao Wen's action first:

"You clearly possess such immense power, and also the will to face that kind of monster for your subordinates, so why did you abandon Wang Fei and flee alone back then?"

He ultimately could not hold back the doubt in his heart.

It was simply because the image this man in front of him displayed differed far too much from the image he had been constructing in his heart all along.

He possessed the belief to fear neither life nor death, and also power fierce to the extreme.

Although he ultimately suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of Hawk Eyes, that depends on who you compare him to; Gao Wen's combat power, placed in the East Blue, was already sufficient to sweep away everything.

Everyone who witnessed that battle clearly understood this point.

Gao Wen was slightly stunned, then raised his head to look at Sanji.

The face before him gradually overlapped with the more youthful face in his memory.

"I remember now, I have seen you, but that was already several years ago."

"Back then, that woman ate what you cooked and had diarrhea for half a month upon returning, losing a great deal of weight."

A layer of red flush rose on Sanji's face, and he gritted his teeth, saying:

"Now I am the one asking you questions!"

Gao Wen dipped the bread in his hand into the soup, then took a bite, before speaking calmly:

"If it is you, you should know better than me that beautiful women all lie, especially a woman as beautiful as Princess Guinevere!"

"Didn't she lie to you too?"

(End of Chapter)