Chapter 336: Martial Pavilion
Barrett looked down at the manual in his hands, clearly astonished.
It was a technique very similar to the Navy's Six Styles—specifically focused on palm strikes, capable of unleashing shockwaves to deal damage.
He still remembered vividly…
Two years ago, when Captain had fought Admiral Zephyr,
Zephyr had used advanced Six Style techniques to clash evenly with the Captain for four or five days straight—every exchange shook the heavens and split the earth.
Now, seeing a similar technique, Barrett's blood surged with excitement.
Charlotte caught the look on Barrett's face and smiled.
This guy was never good at hiding his feelings—his thoughts were always written all over his face.
"Take it. Train hard. This will be a big help to you."
As he spoke, Charlotte shoved the manual into Barrett's hands.
"Thank you, Captain!"
Barrett gave a respectful bow.
Soon, everyone was immersed in their own training manuals.
And these manuals… spread quickly throughout the ship.
—
"What?! The Captain brought back a whole stash of secret techniques and is letting us train with them freely? Is that for real?"
"Of course it's real! Go to the third floor right now! The Captain cleared out an entire room for this—it's stacked full of manuals. If you're late, you might miss the good ones!"
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"
The news about the manuals spread like wildfire among the crew, and soon a flood of pirates rushed toward what was now being called—
The Martial Pavilion.
That was the name Charlotte gave the manual room.
—
"Holy crap, there's so many people here. How are we supposed to squeeze in?"
Late arrivals stared at the packed corridor outside the third floor, their faces full of disbelief.
"One at a time! One at a time!"
A small girl stood atop a table, shouting through a megaphone.
"All crew members can borrow a manual—but they can't copy or damage them! Treat the books with care!"
This was Olga—idle and restless, she had been assigned by Charlotte to act as the pavilion's librarian and keep things orderly.
But clearly, it wasn't going smoothly.
"Ugh! You animals are going to destroy this place!"
—
"Ha ha ha! I found one! A sword technique!"
Someone yelled out triumphantly.
Everyone turned to look. A crewman was waving a sword manual excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.
He rushed over to Olga's table to register the loan.
"'Gale Quick Sword,' huh? Name? What unit are you from? How many days do you need it for?"
Olga sat down with a clipboard and started writing furiously.
The man quickly filled in the form, hugged his prize, and scurried off.
"Remember! One manual per person!"
Olga stood up again and bellowed.
"Captain said it himself—'chew one bite at a time, don't stuff your face.' Master one before you grab another!"
Everyone nodded, scrambling through the shelves looking for a style that suited them.
With hundreds of books on offer, it was dizzying.
Some people had been in the Martial Pavilion for hours and still hadn't picked one.
Those waiting in line outside were boiling with frustration.
—
Charlotte, watching everything unfold from his captain's quarters via surveillance Den Den Mushi, grinned.
"Not bad. That's the kind of enthusiasm I want to see."
He could tell.
Ever since the Rockefeller Pirates swept across the North Blue and West Blue—especially after defeating Admiral Zephyr—his crew had gotten cocky.
Their training had grown lax.
Charlotte had noticed it too.
To combat that, he'd arranged battles and expeditions to keep their edge sharp.
But he didn't want to burn them out, either.
Now, with these martial arts manuals, they had new goals—fresh ways to improve their fundamentals.
After all, these were his elites—the equivalent of the Navy's top soldiers. He couldn't afford to let them rot.
—
"Captain!" Caesar Clown came over and flattered him with a grin.
"With these manuals, our crew's strength will skyrocket!
When we return to the New World, we'll shock everyone!"
"Hahahaha! You make it sound exciting!"
Charlotte chuckled.
"By the way—how's your Devil Fruit research going?"
At that question, Caesar's face immediately froze.
"Captain… With the specimens you provided, the results have been… underwhelming.
The artificial Devil Fruits I've developed only have about a 10% success rate,
and most of those are Zoan-type.
Some only grant partial transformations… they're defective."
Caesar reported honestly, not daring to sugarcoat it.
Charlotte's smile faded.
"Take me there. I want to see it myself."
He stood up and started walking.
Caesar quickly followed.
—
They arrived on the seventh floor, which Charlotte had converted into a massive laboratory—complete with holding cells.
The moment they stepped inside, a strong chemical stench hit them.
Several researchers turned from their work.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Everyone saluted. Charlotte just nodded and continued forward with Caesar.
Soon, they reached the cells.
Inside were dozens of prisoners locked in Sea Prism Stone cages.
The moment they saw people approaching, they started yelling.
"Let me go! Please, I beg you! I won't do it again!"
"Damn you, Rockefeller Pirates! Damn you, Charlotte!"
The air was full of curses and pleas.
Charlotte calmly walked past one of the louder prisoners and glanced inside.
"That one. Use him for the next experiment.
Looks like he's full of energy—should be a good test subject."
He said it casually and kept walking.
The man inside froze with terror, his body trembling violently.
Caesar just sighed with pity.
Why poke the tiger's butt?
These prisoners were slavers and notorious criminals—scum of the seas.
Charlotte had ordered them captured specifically to serve as test subjects for Caesar's work.
For Charlotte, trash like them was as plentiful as seawater.
If they died, he'd just go get more.
Thanks to their availability, Caesar's research had accelerated quickly.
Though the results were flawed, true artificial Devil Fruits weren't far off.
—
Eventually, they reached a special chamber.
Inside, a man was suspended mid-air in a large cell, his arms and legs shackled with Sea Prism Stone.
He hung there, limp and unconscious, in a giant X-shaped harness.
"Captain, this one's mental state has collapsed.
He's lost consciousness, so I put him into forced sleep."
Caesar gestured to the restrained subject.
Charlotte stepped forward and studied the man.
"Wake him up. I want to see the results."
"Yes, sir!"
Caesar immediately began the revival process.
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