Chapter 82: I Told You to Grind, Not to Lick!

East Sea.

Parra Island.

Gao Wen returned to the base two days later.

Zoro had long since awakened, but the wounds left by Dracule Mihawk were too severe; he still needed time to regain mobility and could not yet fulfill the duties of a golden-level Jiucai .

But.

Gao Wen was in no hurry for now.

With Sanji joining, Gao Wen now had Zoro for swordsmanship and Sanji for physique—two golden-level Jiucai .

As long as nothing went wrong, Gao Wen’s growth rate would only accelerate.

He might even reach golden-level combat power before entering the Grand Line.

Most renowned powerful pirates in the pirate world—Star Generals, Three Disasters, Seven Warlords, even Marine elite Vice Admirals and Admiral candidates—were at this level.

Calling them strong would be an understatement.

Thinking of this,

a faint smile crept onto Gao Wen’s face as he sat at his desk.

He immediately began calculating the personnel still needed for his crew after entering the Grand Line:

“All easily recruitable crew members in the East Sea have already been secured; it’s time to plan recruitment for the Grand Line.”

“Current vacancies on the ship: ship’s doctor, shipwright, sailors, sharpshooter…”

Gao Wen’s mind churned, and several faces gradually surfaced in his thoughts.

“Moreover, once my combat power truly advances to golden-level and I’m strong enough to bear the title of Warlord, I’ll need to plan how to forcibly remove one of them and draw the World Government’s attention.”

“The specific target will have to be chosen after we enter the Grand Line.”

“After all, Ace has only just set sail; the current Warlords aren’t the same group as when Luffy later set out.”

“After seizing a Warlord title, I’ll claim my own territory and begin mass-producing troops…”

After some thought,

Gao Wen gradually formed a clear strategy and stopped overthinking.

He touched the scar on his chest—it still throbbed faintly; the surface had scabbed over, and the internal flesh was regenerating.

Thanks to the Balanced Term and Captain’s Fury badge, Gao Wen’s recovery speed far exceeded the ship’s doctor’s estimates—and even surpassed Zoro’s.

These wounds no longer hindered his movement.

He grabbed Observing the World, stepped out the door, and hurried away into the harbor; when he reappeared, he stood atop a flat rock ledge on the back of Parra Island.

The terrain here was open, offering an excellent view—far across the sea was clearly visible.

Clang!

Gao Wen drew Observing the World and activated his newly mastered Armament Haki.

A layer of black energy instantly enveloped the blade; the silver edge turned pitch black, gleaming with an eerie, oppressive aura.

Swordsmanship, physique, Observation Haki—all these skills could be farmed by subordinates.

Gao Wen naturally focused his attention on Armament Haki, the only ability in his crew he himself possessed.

As a skill combining offense and defense, Armament Haki was the most comprehensive and versatile of the three Haki types.

Whether channeled into fists or blades for attack, wrapped around the body as armor to resist damage, or even countering Devil Fruit abilities, it was extremely practical.

One could even say,

Only after mastering Armament Haki did you gain the qualification to compete against countless formidable Devil Fruit users.

Otherwise, merely the natural-fruit ability to phase into elemental form and become immune to physical damage made one invincible—yet Armament Haki could strike the true body of a Logia user.

Gao Wen looked down at Observing the World, now entirely black from Armament Haki, and said calmly:

“If I faced Smoker again now, I could crush him with a single slash. Even Ace, still in the East Sea, is unlikely to be my match.”

As he spoke,

Gao Wen’s face radiated unshakable confidence; he then set aside distractions and focused entirely on training Armament Haki.

Slash after slash,

slashes coated in Armament Haki shot from his hands.

Reaching the heavens.

Cutting down birds and insects, while leaving countless jagged gashes on the mountain beneath him.

Within mere minutes,

Gao Wen felt fatigue set in—clearly, his Level 1 Armament Haki, in both quality and quantity, was insufficient for such reckless expenditure.

He sat cross-legged, sensing the Haki generated by his conviction slowly reforming within him.

Though he lacked Rayleigh’s guidance like the Straw Hats, Mihawk had undoubtedly pointed him in the right direction.

In the cycle of constant depletion and regeneration,

Gao Wen clearly felt his Armament Haki slowly increasing in both quantity and quality.

…

Time slipped by.

Night had deepened.

The sea breeze turned cold; a full moon had reached its zenith.

Gao Wen stared at the system panel’s Armament Haki experience prompt and winced.

“I trained all day—and only gained 8 experience points?!”

“According to the system’s ratio, if a subordinate with talent similar to mine trained Armament Haki, wouldn’t they generate 80 points per day?”

Gao Wen’s lip twitched:

“Of course—personal effort can’t match cheating. I need to find a way to get these Jiucai to learn Armament Haki too.”

“Other ordinary pirates have limited talent; I can ignore them for now. For them, the priority is building physique first—exposing them to Haki now would do more harm than good.”

“But with Sanji joining, physique gains should rise sharply…”

As Gao Wen spoke,

the familiar system alert sounded again:

“Physique experience +216!”

“Swordsmanship experience +3!”

“Killing experience +43”

“Observation Haki experience +77!”

…

“Only two hundred-plus physique points?”

Gao Wen frowned.

He had expected Sanji and Zoro, both golden-level potentials and direct counterparts in the Straw Hats, to provide nearly identical experience.

Even accounting for Keluo and Akin’s physique contributions, the total should’ve exceeded five hundred.

“What’s going on?”

This concerned his most valuable Jiucai .

Gao Wen could no longer sit still—he sheathed Observing the World and hurried toward the harbor.

…

At this hour,

few pirates remained active in the harbor.

As soon as Gao Wen entered the harbor,

he saw Sanji carrying a tray laden with delicate, labor-intensive dishes, slowly approaching Nami’s room.

His demeanor was elegant—had it not been for his flared nostrils and heavy breathing, Gao Wen might have believed he was merely delivering food.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Sanji knocked on Nami’s door.

Moments later, a weary face peeked out; Nami held a pen in one hand, voice weak:

“Sanji…”

“Miss Nami, I prepared some snacks—would you like to join me for a late-night meal?”

…

Seeing this, Gao Wen turned away with a dark expression—he already knew what came next.

Sure enough,

mere seconds later, a sharp slap echoed through the harbor, followed by the sound of a man flipping midair three and a half times before his face met a stone slab.

This time, Sanji had also lost his tray.

Gao Wen didn’t turn back; he raised an eyebrow:

“Case solved.”

“This bastard spends all day groveling—and his target’s the only woman on the ship.”

“Come on…”

“I told you to grind, not to lick!”

(End of chapter)