Chapter 67: Strength Is Not What It Used to Be [Seeking Follow Reads]

"Once we get this ship, we can cross the Reverse Mountain and head to the Grand Line..."

Siano cast a calm gaze toward the system panel.

He simply couldn't be bothered to keep struggling in the small pond that was the East Blue.

Counting the period of bitter cultivation before Arlong's arrival, he had already stayed hidden in the East Blue, developing steadily for four years; if not for wanting to spend a bit more time with his family before coming of age, he would have ventured out to the Grand Line long ago.

As for his current strength, it was far beyond what it had been in those days.

【Name: Siano】

【Age: 18】

【Height: 185/370cm】

【Strength: 6.8】

【Agility: 6.6】

【Stamina: 6.4】

【Mental Power: 5.2】

【Skills: Six Styles (Perfected), Armament Haki (Mastered), Life Return (Mastered), Breathing Fist Style (Perfected), Ripple Fist Style (Mastered), Occlumency (Mastered), Flesh and Blood Furnace Method (Mastered), Dust-Severing Mind-Cutting Slash (Mastered), Fishing (Mastered), Mining (Mastered), Stealing (Mastered)】

【Remaining Points: 29000】

Three years ago, when several of his stats were still basically in the 3–4 range, he could already single-handedly and easily crush the Arlong Pirates.

And now.

All his basic stats had now risen to a truly terrifying level.

His entire physical technique, represented by the Six Styles, under the bolstering of his formidable physique, was now nearly at the pinnacle of perfection.

One could say.

If his former self from the time he defeated the Arlong Pirates were standing before him now, that version would last at most a few seconds before being casually torn to shreds.

It wouldn't be much harder than slaughtering small fry like Hatchan or Kuroobi.

The East Blue could no longer keep up with his version at all.

At this point, let alone the first half of the Grand Line; even if he went straight to the New World, he was confident he could carve out a place for himself!

"I wonder, by the standards of my past life's One Piece, what realm I could be classified into now."

Vice Admiral level?

Or perhaps some kind of 'Half-Step Emperor-Subordinate Great Perfection'?

These memes, born from xuanhuan novels, were quite amusing when thought about now.

Siano grinned slightly, then shifted his gaze to the item inventory.

Over these years, he had bought quite a few things; besides various cultivation manuals, there were also some gadgets that had caught his interest.

Points flowed out like water, but fortunately, leeks like Luffy were of such high quality that the points replenished yearly trickled in continuously, filling the gaps.

By now, compared to two years ago, he had lost less than ten thousand points.

Among the manuals he had purchased, the most expensive was 'Ripple Fist Style', costing 2800 points, a complete superior replacement for Breathing Fist Style.

It not only further expanded the upper limit of Siano's bodily growth but also allowed him to concentrate his entire body's strength into his fists and palms with greater efficiency.

The Fist Style possessed numerous moves; once deconstructed, they could be combined and transformed at will according to the combat situation; a single punch struck with terrifying momentum, even causing the air to vibrate violently like ripples.

Additionally.

He had also cultivated 'Dust-Severing Mind-Cutting Slash' to mastery.

Yes, he had successfully exploited a loophole, bypassing the prerequisite threshold of requiring the Swordsmanship Master realm.

Relying on his proficient 'Life Return' skill, he could now transform his arms into sharp steel blades at any time, cutting through steel as easily as a hot knife through butter.

Therefore, to be precise.

Besides Sister Sister Guyina, he was now also a standard Swordsmanship Master on the ship—a Dual-Blade Swordsmanship Master.

—If others wanted to question it, he didn't care; you just say whether a hand-blade is a blade or not!

As for the items he had purchased.

The most noteworthy one was called the 'Devil Fruit Detection Radar', sold directly by the system and bought for 2500 points.

On the outside, it looked very similar to the Seven Dragon Ball Radar made by Bulma in Dragon Ball, and was about the same size.

It could be used a total of ten times; there was no need to take it out specifically—as long as it remained in the backpack slot, if a Devil Fruit entered within a hundred-kilometer range, it would automatically light up with a green lamp;

whereas if it entered within a ten-kilometer range, it would flash with a high-brightness yellow lamp.

If multiple Devil Fruits were detected simultaneously, the corresponding number of lamps would light up on the radar screen, yet it would still count as only a single use, so there was no need to worry about wasting uses.

Very practical, and the effect was also very powerful.

After buying it last year, during Siano's final wool-gathering trip, he had specifically paid attention the whole way, but unfortunately, he hadn't found anything along the route.

But that was normal; after all, his wool-gathering round trip took only about twenty days, and the shipping route was fixed.

In the future, since he would be roaming and adventuring all over the seas for years to come, he was bound to reap some rewards eventually.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.

The sailing speed of the New Gat was obviously much faster than that of the old ship; on the afternoon of the eighth day, they smoothly arrived at Shelly Island.

From afar, one could see the huge neon sign belonging to the 'Giant Whale Shipbuilding Company' on the dock.

Jin Guang glittered brilliantly, flashing on and off; it was larger than all the other shipyard signs combined, quite eye-catching.

"Finally here?"

Sister Sister Guyina stretched her arms, yawned, and disembarked; having ridden on Siano's coattails, she too had been arranged a first-class luxury suite.

The bed was large and soft, making for an incredibly sweet sleep at night; it was her first time having such a comfortable shipboarding experience.

Thinking back, sailing out on her grandfather's small cola-powered boat before had simply been pure torture.

"Haha, rest assured, your new ship will absolutely be far better than this old vessel of mine!"

Old Gat puffed on his dry tobacco pipe with a clacking sound nearby, saying with a chuckle.

"How do you know? Could it be you've already seen our ship in advance?"

Nojiko asked curiously.

"Not exactly, but one can guess! Rest assured, given your brother's reputation, the Great Whale Shipbuilding Company would absolutely not dare to be negligent; they will even adopt an attitude of twelvefold seriousness to craft this ship into their proudest work!"

Old Gat turned his head to look at Siano.

"If you don't believe me, just ask Lord Siano; when we contacted each other by Den Den Mushi back then, wasn't the other party's attitude especially sincere and enthusiastic!"

"Sincere and enthusiastic?"

Siano paused slightly, pinching his chin as he recalled, "It does seem they were quite enthusiastic; they even voluntarily wiped off a twenty million zero for me, though I didn't pay it much mind at the time, thinking this was a treatment all major clients received..."

"It's not what you think!"

Old Gat exhaled a ring of smoke, "If it were any other shipyard, they would certainly have to cater to those major clients, but the Great Whale Shipbuilding Company is an established giant factory with over a hundred years of history, boasting a golden signboard!"

"Those veteran shipwrights are each extremely arrogant; with large orders from the Four Seas coming one after another into their hands, they wouldn't be so polite to just any major client, let alone voluntarily wipe off a zero worth tens of millions of Berries? Hey, that's a treatment only possible if the sun rose in the west!"

"Those words are correct."

Zeff nodded with deep agreement, "When I was young, my first ship was crafted by the Great Whale Company; their service attitude was what you call cold."

"So in my brother's case, how did the sun come up from the west?" Nojiko teased with a giggle.

"Of course it's because the pirates of the East Blue have basically all been wiped out by your brother!"

Old Gat laughed heartily, "Though this is clearly the hometown of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the pirates here nowadays are so weak they amount to nothing; isn't that amusing!"

"Merchant caravan trade flows much more comfortably than before, and the days for their shipyard are more stable too; shouldn't they all be grateful to your brother! The Great Whale Shipbuilding Company is no exception in this regard!"

Siano was speechless.

This was indeed true; over the past few years, nearly every pirate emerging in the East Blue with a bounty exceeding ten million Berries had died at his hands.

It felt somewhat like sustainable overfishing, yet ultimately, the speed at which the fry grew still failed to keep up with the speed at which they came to die.

As a result, throughout the entire East Blue nowadays, aside from big fish, there aren't even many small fish or shrimp left; those with bounties exceeding five million Berries are few and far between.

"Time truly flies."

Old Gat sighed with emotion, "When I first met your brother back in the day, he was still a little runt under one meter sixty tall; who could have imagined then that within a few years, your brother would become a great figure respected throughout the entire East Blue!"

Speaking of these matters, Old Gat's face glowed with radiance, filled with a sense of shared honor.

After all, this strongest swordsman with a formidable reputation in the East Blue, on his first long-distance journey, had sailed on his ship, and moreover, they had fought side by side against Sea Kings.

Over these years, every time he boasted about these matters to his old colleagues in the trade, it would draw a crowd of envious gazes, giving him immense face.

(End of Chapter)