Just as Casper Lehmann was gloating over his ability to block two cannonballs, he suddenly spotted a figure on the bow of the rapidly approaching Doghead warship.
It was a young man.
A long, black-sheathed sword hung from his waist, his robes fluttering, his long red hair dancing freely in the wind.
As the warship rapidly approached, the red-haired boy, expressionless, slowly drew his sword from his belt, gazed at the pirate ship ahead, and raised it with his sword ready.
"Huh?!"
"What does that guy do? Is he also in the navy?"
Casper Lehmann saw the figure on the warship, his eyes filled with confusion. The next second, his confusion turned to fear.
With the two ships nearly twenty meters apart, the red-haired boy on the warship suddenly swung his sword towards the pirate ship. The next second, the water in front of the Doghead warship suddenly parted, and an invisible slash of wind ripped through the surface, sending a massive wave hurtling towards the pirate ship.
"Swish!"
In the blink of an eye, a ferocious slashing blow struck the pirate ship, emitting a barely audible sound.
The slashing blow penetrated the stern, exited from the bow, and pierced the entire hull from stern to bow.
"What's going on?!" Casper Lehmann couldn't see the slashing blow, only watched the wind and waves gradually die down on the sea surface, wondering.
But the next second, the pirate ship, capable of accommodating hundreds of people, began to slowly separate from the middle. In just ten seconds, it split in two, flooding the cabin with water. The two halves of the ship began to slowly sink.
"WHAT!!!!"
As Casper Lehmann watched in horror, the dog-headed warship continued its speed, its ramming horn directly impacting the split stern, forcing its way through the disintegrating pirate ship without even stopping.
Gaspard Lehmann's pirate ship was like a piece of trash blocking the road, kicked aside. From beginning to end, no one on the departing warship even glanced out to look at them.
And so, the warship quickly vanished from Gaspard Lehmann's sight.
The massive vortex created by the sinking ship engulfed the desperate Gaspard Lehmann and his crew, who were powerless to withstand the might of the sea.
On the surface, the pirates' cries of terror lingered for a long time.
After dozens of minutes, the breeze gently caressed the calm sea, leaving only scattered wooden planks drifting across the surface, a message of despair to the casual passerby.
"Oh wow!"
"What a powerful slash! It pierced such a huge ship with one strike."
"Brother Tsugikuni is truly amazing! You're so strong. If you join the navy and don't become an admiral, I'll be the first to disagree."
"Yes! Yes! The rear admirals at headquarters couldn't possibly do such a thing!"
Aboard Garp's dog-headed warship, the marines on the deck gathered around Tsugikuni Yoriichi, huddled around him, and praised him loudly. Aokiji stood aside, watching Tsugikuni Yoriichi surrounded by the crowd, feeling deeply moved.
Who could have imagined that in just over a month since Garp took Yoriichi away from Marine Headquarters, Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already grown to this level?
If Aokiji remembered correctly, Tsugikuni Yoriichi couldn't even perform a flying slash when he first set sail.
Just over a month later, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's slash could actually cut through a pirate ship like that.
On the way from G-10 to Dressrosa, Garp encountered numerous pirates. Each time, Garp didn't even have to intervene; Aokiji and Tsugakuni Yoriichi easily dispatched them.
Initially, whenever he encountered a pirate ship, Aokiji would use his ability to freeze the surrounding sea, immobilizing it.
After a round of bombardment, Yoriichi Tsugakuni and the marines would disembark and, using the ice created by Aokiji, approach the enemy ship for close combat.
But after a week, Garp's fighting style changed.
Aokiji, who had previously frozen the sea surface, stopped using it. Whenever he encountered a pirate ship, Yoriichi Tsugakuni would use his moon steps to soar into the air, quickly approaching the ship and engaging it in close combat.
Another week of these battles continued, and Yoriichi Tsugakuni's fighting style evolved again. This time, Yoriichi would allow his warship to approach the pirate ship first, and when he was within ten meters, Yoriichi Tsugakuni would unleash a flying slash.
The terrifying slashing blow could directly disable the pirate ship's ability to move.
During this period, Tsugakuni Yoriichi's flying slashing blows became increasingly terrifying. A few days ago, Tsugakuni Yoriichi could easily cut through a large pirate ship that was a hundred meters long.
At this point, Garp's warship began to move faster.
When encountering a pirate ship again, Garp didn't need to stop the warship to fire, nor did he need to approach the boarding to engage in combat. He only needed to accelerate towards the pirate ship, and when approaching the enemy ship, Tsugakuni Yoriichi would naturally clear a path for the warship.
Aokiji watched Tsugikuni Yoriichi's rapid growth from the boat. During this time, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's Armament Haki was able to attach not only his sword but also his entire right arm.
This improvement in Armament Haki made Yoriichi's slashing attacks incredibly formidable. As
mentioned earlier, when Armament Haki is attached to a person, it enhances strength and defense, while also allowing it to reach the bodies of Nature-type Devil Fruit users.
Initially, Yoriichi's Armament Haki was limited to attaching weapons, making them harder and sharper, while also being able to strike Aokiji. Now
, Yoriichi's Armament Haki can attach to both his arm and his sword, increasing both muscle strength and the power of the sword. This combined power has allowed Yoriichi's slashing attacks to reach their current level.
At this point, Yoriichi has truly mastered the art of Armament Haki.
Further improvement in Yoriichi's power will be more challenging.
Even if Yoriichi could cultivate Armament Haki to cover his entire body, the increase in his slashing power would be limited.
If Yoriichi desired further transformation, he would need to find ways to enhance the amplification power of Armament Haki. Simply increasing its coverage was meaningless.
Even if he could achieve full coverage, his limit would be to being severed by Law's power, as happened with Vergo.
Truly powerful Haki, however, could bypass the effects of a Devil Fruit.
Vergo's fate served as a constant reminder to Yoriichi that Haki with coverage alone without mass was meaningless.
However, enhancing the amplification power of Armament Haki was not easy.
Garp did have a way to train Yoriichi to improve this ability, but seeing that Yoriichi's Armament Haki still had room for improvement in coverage, he hesitated to initiate the second stage of training. Instead, he simply strengthened his physique and expanded the range of his Haki.
As for what the second stage entailed, it was simple: moving eight mountains with one's fists.
Garp had previously trained in this way to deliver a headshot to Pepper.
But there's no rush.
Tsugukuni Yoriichi's growth rate has far exceeded Garp's expectations. He still needs to cultivate his Haki step by step. Only in this way can he become a top-tier expert. There's still time to
wait until Yoriichi's Haki can no longer cover a wider area before moving on to the next stage of training!
Garp watched his subordinates praising Tsugikuni Yoriichi from the side, walked away while picking his nose, and shouted at everyone:
"Don't you have anything to do? Why are you sitting here complaining?"
"That's all you can do, you're still far from it!"
After dispersing the subordinates surrounding Yoriichi, Garp said to Yoriichi earnestly:
"Yoriichi, don't be blinded by the flattery of these idiots."
"The word 'strong' is still far away from you!"
"You have a good foundation. You have just been exposed to the Six Styles and Haki, so it's normal for your strength to skyrocket."
"But you have to understand that this is far from the end. Don't be complacent."
"You still have a long way to go, and the road ahead will be even more rugged and difficult. Even you may not be able to grow into the top!"
"This time when you go to Dressrosa, you might have the opportunity to see what it means to be a strong person!"
Yoriichi listened to Garp's words and nodded silently. He still had this self-knowledge.
In this world, the entanglement of Conqueror's Haki is the ultimate ability of the strong.
He believed that he had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship. If he wanted to take it to the next level, he must possess the Haki that surpasses everything else. This is the new goal that Yunyi pursued.
He knew very well that he had only walked a short distance on the road of Haki.
Turning around, Yunyi walked to the railing, held the railing with both hands and looked out to sea.
The sea breeze blew, and his bright red hair fluttered in the air. Yunyi looked at the sea with a strong expectation in his eyes.
"I really want to see it soon!"
"The future Pirate King - Roger!"
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(End of this chapter...