Chapter 82

East Blue.

Parala Island.

Gao Wen returned to the main base two days later.

Zoro had long since awakened, but the injuries Hawk Eyes left on him were too severe; recovering his mobility would still take some time, and he was temporarily unable to fulfill the duties of a Golden Leek.

However.

Gao Wen was not in a rush for the moment.

With Sanji joining the crew, Gao Wen's subordinates now included Zoro in swordsmanship and Sanji in physique—two Golden Leeks.

As long as nothing went wrong, Gao Wen's development speed would only accelerate further.

Perhaps before entering the Grand Line, he would have the chance to grind his combat power up to the Golden level.

In the world of pirates, most of the famous powerful pirates—Admirals, Three Calamities, Seven Warlords of the Sea, and even elite Marine Vice Admirals and Admiral candidates—all belonged to this tier.

Calling them "powerful" would be no exaggeration.

Thinking of this.

Gao Wen, sitting at his desk, couldn't help but reveal a faint smile on his face.

Immediately, he began calculating the personnel the team would still need during the startup phase after entering the Grand Line:

"Most of the crew members easily recruit-able in the East Blue have already been secured; it is time to start planning the crew recruitment for the Grand Line."

"The vacant positions on the ship currently include: ship doctor, shipwright, sailor, sniper..."

Thoughts churned in Gao Wen's mind, gradually bringing several faces to the surface.

"Moreover, once my combat power truly advances to Golden, enough to bear the title of a Warlord of the Sea, I will need to plan how to forcibly knock one of them off their throne and draw the World Government's attention."

"As for the specific target, I will search for it after entering the Grand Line."

"After all, at this time Ace has just set sail, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea are not yet the same batch as those when Luffy set sail in the future."

"After seizing a Warlord seat, it will be time to conquer a territory of my own, and then begin mass-producing troops..."

After a period of contemplation.

Gao Wen gradually formed a clear train of thought in his mind and stopped thinking further.

He touched the scar on his chest; it still throbbed with a dull pain. The surface had scabbed over, and the flesh beneath was regenerating.

Under the effects of the Balanced Trait and the Captain's Wrath Badge, Gao Wen's recovery speed was far faster than the ship doctor had predicted, and even faster than Zoro's.

These injuries would no longer affect his movement now.

He snatched up Guanshi Zhengzong, walked out of the room, and quickly disappeared into the port. When he reappeared, he was already standing on a flat rock formation at the back of the mountain on Parala Island.

The terrain here was open, the view excellent; one could see the distant sea at a single glance.

Clang!

Gao Wen drew Guanshi Zhengzong from his hand and activated the Armament Haki he had just mastered.

A layer of black aura instantly wrapped around the blade; the silver-white edge turned pitch black, even reflecting light, displaying a unique sense of oppression!

Nowadays, skills like swordsmanship, physique, and Observation Haki could all be farmed by subordinates.

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

As an ability integrating both offense and defense, Armament Haki could be said to be the most comprehensive and most versatile among the three types of Haki.

Whether attached to fists or blades for offense, or wrapped around the body to form a layer of armor to resist damage, or even to counter the effects of Devil Fruit abilities, it was an extremely practical skill.

One could even say.

Only after mastering Armament Haki did one gain the qualification to compete on the same stage as countless powerful Devil Fruit users.

Otherwise, the mere characteristic of Logia-type elementalization, which grants immunity to physical damage, would place one in an invincible position, while Armament Haki could strike the true body of a Logia user.

Gao Wen looked down at Guanshi Zhengzong in his hand, which had turned pitch black due to the attached Armament Haki, and said calmly:

"If I were to fight Smoker Heavy again right now, I am confident I could defeat him with a single slash; even Fire Fist Ace, who is currently still in the East Blue, would likely not be my match."

In his words.

Gao Wen's face revealed unparalleled confidence. Immediately, he put aside his distracting thoughts and turned his full attention to the cultivation of Armament Haki.

Slash after slash.

Cuts imbued with Armament Haki flew out from Gao Wen's hand.

Reaching straight for the sky.

While slicing down birds and mosquitoes, they also left countless gruesome slash marks on the mountain peak beneath his feet.

In just a few short minutes.

Gao Wen felt a wave of fatigue; obviously, the Level 1 Armament Haki, in terms of both quality and total quantity, was insufficient for Gao Wen to squander.

He sat cross-legged, feeling the Haki born of his willpower within his body gradually re-condense.

Although he did not have Rayleigh to guide his entry like the Straw Hat, Hawk Eyes' words had undoubtedly pointed Gao Wen in the right general direction.

In the process of constant consumption and re-condensation.

Gao Wen clearly felt that his Armament Haki, in both total quantity and quality, was slowly increasing.

Time passed in a flash.

It was already deep night.

The sea breeze gradually grew cold, and a full moon had reached its zenith.

Gao Wen looked at the Armament Haki experience notification on his system panel and felt a momentary pang of frustration.

"Grinded all day, and only gained 8 experience points?!"

"According to the system's ratio, if a subordinate with talent close to mine cultivated Armament Haki, they could provide 80 experience points in a single day?"

Gao Wen's mouth twitched:

"As expected, my own efforts are nowhere near as fast as having a cheat; I must find a way to let these leeks touch Armament Haki as well."

"Other ordinary pirates have limited talent; we can ignore them for now. After all, for them, the most important thing is to build up their physique first. Contacting Haki now would do more harm than good."

"However, with Zoro joining the crew, the gains in physique should see a significant increase..."

As Gao Wen spoke,

the familiar system prompt sounded again:

"Physique Experience +216!"

"Swordsmanship Experience +3!"

"Spoon Death Experience +43"

"Observation Haki Experience +77!"

"Physique only increased by a little over two hundred?"

Gao Wen frowned.

Originally, according to his calculations, Zoro and Sanji's potential were both Golden, and they had always been counterparts within the Straw Hat crew, so the experience points provided should have been extremely close.

Counting the total physique experience provided by Xiang Keluo and Arlong, it should have easily exceeded five hundred.

"What's going on?"

This concerned his biggest leek.

Gao Wen could not sit still; he sheathed the Guanshi Zhengzong and walked quickly toward the port.

At this moment,

it was already late at night, and few pirates were active in the port.

As soon as Gao Wen entered the port,

he saw Sanji carrying a tray filled with exquisite, time-consuming, and labor-intensive food, slowly walking toward Nami's room.

His demeanor was elegant and proper; if not for his flared nostrils and Heavy and Coarse breathing, Gao Wen might have truly thought he was just there to deliver a meal.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Sanji knocked on Nami's door.

A few breaths later, a face wearing an expression of helplessness poked out from inside the door. Nami held a pen in one hand and said weakly:

"Sanji..."

"Young Lady Nami, I have prepared some meals. Would you like to come out and have a late-night snack together?"

Seeing this, Gao Wen turned away with a dark face; he already knew the plot that would follow.

As expected.

Just a few seconds later, a clear slap echoed through the port again, followed by the sound of a man spinning three and a half times in mid-air and landing face-first on the stone pavement.

The difference this time was that Sanji had also lost the tray in his hand.

Gao Wen didn't even turn his head; he merely raised an eyebrow:

"Case solved."

"This damn guy has been busy all day acting like a simp, and his target is the only woman on the ship."

"No..."

"I told you to grind, not to simp!"

(End of Chapter)