Chapter 421: Fish-Man Island Garrison

One week after Leijiutui Sect and the others arrived.

Lin Yu sat at the desk in the captain's cabin, carefully studying the chart before him.

This was a crew combat-power chart he had made using the system, containing the combat strength of every one of his crew members.

After several months of training, and with the cultivation room's several-times efficiency boost, Lin Yu's crew members had all seen tremendous improvements in their strength.

Currently, the total number of people he had pulled into the pirate crew was 39, six short of the next upgrade.

Adding the Ice Witch Wadibe and Kuhla, who had not yet officially joined, that made 41.

Among the 39 already aboard, the strongest were naturally Hancock, Smoothie, and Runting—three whose power far surpassed ordinary elite vice-admirals but had not yet reached the level of an Admiral or an Emperor.

After them came Leijiutui Sect, Black Maria, Sandersonia, and Marigold—four whose combat power had reached ordinary eight-star, on par with elite vice-admirals of the Marines.

The weakest were Isshili and Camie, whom he had only just pulled aboard.

After two or three months of training, Isshili and Camie's strength had already reached the level of a two-star Marine lieutenant; though their growth rate was fast, it was still a bit lacking.

As for Lady Xia Li and Bai Xing, because they had eaten Devil Fruits, their strength had already reached three-star.

Among the older members, Anna and Shalria's combat power had already reached five-star; Makino and Kaya's strength had already reached the level of a four-star Marine colonel; the rest were mostly at the five- or six-star Marine commodore/rear-admiral stage.

Of course, it was worth mentioning that Nami, Luo Bin, Nokko, Miss Valentine Mikita, Sister Tina, Miss Kalifa, Kikyou, and others had already reached seven-star combat power, and were not far from eight-star.

In other words, the current combat power aboard Lin Yu's ship was already enough to make him one of the Four Emperors; the only thing lacking was territory.

Of course, the fact that Nami, Vivi, and the others had grown so rapidly was entirely thanks to the terrifying boost of the cultivation room.

However, once combat power surpassed six-star, the rate of improvement would slow down.

If Lin Yu wanted the entire crew at eight-star, it would likely take quite a long time yet.

Knock knock knock!!!

A knock sounded at the door; Leijiutui Sect pushed the door open carrying a plate of pastries, walked over to Lin Yu, and sat in his lap.

"Here, these are pastries Jessica made—they're really good." Leijiutui Sect said with a smile as she fed the cookies from the plate in her hand to Lin Yu.

"Not bad at all." Lin Yu ate the cookie and nodded in agreement.

Leijiutui Sect glanced at the chart in Lin Yu's hand and said, "Are you really planning to leave Kikyou, Xia Li, Camie, Sara, and the others behind on Fish-Man Island?"

Lin Yu nodded and said, "We must keep Fish-Man Island in our grasp, and I'm not confident in the island's current defensive strength."

Although Bai Xing's three royal brothers had already mastered the most basic level of Armament Haki, their strength was still far too inferior compared to those great pirates; they were nowhere near enough to protect Fish-Man Island.

With Kikyou and the others there, Lin Yu could at least feel a little more at ease.

Kikyou, as the captain of the guardian warriors of Shedao, had rich combat experience, and Lady Xia Li's Prophecy Arts could minimize the dangers Fish-Man Island faced.

Of course, the most important thing was that once Fish-Man Island's garrison strength improved, Kikyou and the others could return to the ship—this period would not be too long.

Moreover, Lin Yu had already set up a cultivation room and a specialization room on the Ark Maxim, where Kikyou, Bai Xing, and the others could likewise train.

This was a forced choice; once Lin Yu established a force in the New World, he would naturally have to dispatch combatants to guard the islands he occupied, and as for Fish-Man Island, Lin Yu absolutely could not afford to lose it.

Leijiutui Sect said, "In that case, in a few days I'll help Fish-Man Island research weapons that specifically use seawater against ability users."

Fish-Man Island lay deep beneath the sea, and its residents could all breathe in the ocean; it would truly be a shame not to take advantage of this geographical edge.

Lin Yu grinned. "Leijiutui Sect understands me best after all."

He had already had such thoughts earlier; it was just a pity he had no talent or foundation for researching weapons.

"Hmph!"

Leijiutui Sect snorted, gently bit down on a cookie, and leaned toward Lin Yu.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, ate the cookie from Leijiutui Sect's lips, then picked her up and set her on the desk.

A little over an hour later.

Leijiutui Sect tidied the clothes on her body, confirmed nothing looked amiss, and only then left the room to go notify Kikyou and Long Dan.

Not long after, Shedao's guardian warrior captain Kikyou and Long Dan arrived at Lin Yu's room.

Catching the scent in the room, Kikyou and Long Dan froze, then both grew a little nervous.

After that, the two exchanged a glance, and Kikyou spoke up: "my lord Lin Yu, were you looking for us?"

Lin Yu got straight to the point:

"Kikyou, Long Dan, you two will stay on Fish-Man Island for a while first, to oversee the soldiers' training up there; I'll send Sara and the others to assist you…"

Hearing the order, Kikyou and Long Dan said solemnly, "We guarantee the mission will be completed."

Lin Yu nodded and took out two Devil Fruits from his interdimensional storage box.

Seeing the Devil Fruits Lin Yu had taken out, Kikyou and Long Dan both caught their breath, their eyes instantly lighting up.

Seeing their expressions, Lin Yu beckoned to Kikyou and said, "This is the Paramecia-type Liquor-Liquor Fruit; it should let your strength, Kikyou, rise another level."

The Liquor-Liquor Fruit was a Devil Fruit Lin Yu had obtained from Blackbeard's subordinate, the big drunkard.

And the Liquor-Liquor Fruit could create alcohol bubbles, making it very suitable for Kikyou's activities on Fish-Man Island; moreover, Kikyou was quite fond of drinking, so it suited her very well.

Kikyou pressed her lips together, came to Lin Yu's feet, knelt down obediently, and waited for him to feed her.

Seeing how tactful Kikyou was, Lin Yu peeled open the Devil Fruit in his hand and began a little feeding game.

"Ugh…"

The moment she swallowed the first bite of Devil Fruit, Kikyou could not help but feel her stomach turn.

Devil Fruits really were too disgusting to eat.

Seeing Kikyou's pained expression, Lin Yu grinned, did not continue feeding her, and instead took out another Devil Fruit from his interdimensional storage box, beckoning to Long Dan, who was standing beside her staring dumbfounded.

"Long Dan, come here."

This Devil Fruit was the Candle-Candle Fruit of Candle Man Mr. 3 Galdino; if developed well, the boost to one's strength would also be quite decent, and on Fish-Man Island it might even produce some unexpected effects.

"Yes, sir."

Long Dan glanced at Kikyou with a flushed face, then knelt obediently on Lin Yu's other side.