Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.c(o)m/inkshield <<
----------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 49: Sign-In: Voice of All Things! The Aura of an Emperor
As soon as these words were spoken,
The pupils of the other Five Elders shook violently in an instant.
"Inform Lord Im?!"
"It's just such a trivial matter—there's absolutely no need to inform Lord Im!"
"In the end, it's only a kid who hasn't even grown up yet."
"You're overthinking it!"
The rest of the Five Elders immediately refuted without hesitation.
After all, if they had to ask Lord Im for help just to deal with a single newcomer,
It would mean Lord Im would be disappointed in them!
This was something
The Five Elders absolutely could not tolerate!
After being refuted by the others,
The long-bearded Elder hesitated slightly, then maintained his calm and nodded.
"You're right. In the end, it's only a kid who hasn't grown yet. Even if he has awakened his ability, his three-color Haki is still far too weak."
"He's still a long way from being able to contend with an Admiral."
The other Five Elders nodded in agreement.
"In that case, leave this matter to Steel Bone Kong to handle."
"With CP0's cooperation, there shouldn't be any mistakes."
With the end of the Five Elders' meeting,
The matter concerning Tree Demon Lotte was temporarily put to rest.
At this moment, the Five Elders still had no idea
Just how disastrous the consequences of their decision would be.
A few more days passed in the blink of an eye.
Whitebeard, Lotte, and the others finally arrived at their destination.
.....
Sabaody Archipelago.
Located just before the Red Line in the middle of the Grand Line.
The islands are formed from giant trees, with the ground consisting of tree roots, and bubbles constantly rising from the surface.
The entire archipelago is composed of 79 trees (each numbered), with towns and facilities built on every tree. People refer to these 79 connected islands collectively as the "Sabaody Archipelago."
It is also the place where the Supernovas Eleven first gathered in later years.
Seemingly crystal-clear bubbles floated across the entire archipelago, completely enveloping the islands.
As Whitebeard and Lotte stepped onto the island,
A long-awaited, familiar mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Lotte's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for arriving at Sabaody Archipelago. Current location is eligible for sign-in!]
[Would you like to sign in? Yes/No!]
When Lotte heard the voice,
He was momentarily stunned, then his face lit up with delight.
The last time he came to Sabaody for coating, he had only stayed on the ship and never stepped onto land.
Now it seemed that for land-based islands,
Simply arriving in the surrounding sea wasn't enough—he had to physically stand on the ground.
This was an unexpected surprise for Lotte, and he immediately chose to sign in without hesitation.
[Sign-in successful!]
[Reward obtained: Voice of All Things! (Improved version)]
As the voice fell,
A mysterious energy instantly surged into Lotte's body.
A smile couldn't help but curl on the corner of his mouth.
Voice of All Things.
Among the many abilities in One Piece,
Voice of All Things was undoubtedly one of the most iconic.
Though it didn't significantly boost combat power, the effects it granted were not to be underestimated.
According to the knowledge that had just flooded his mind,
The Voice of All Things he received
Wasn't limited to hearing the voices of animals and Sea Kings like Roger and Luffy.
It also allowed him to see into the deepest thoughts of people's hearts.
This would be immensely useful for Lotte in the future when recruiting crew members.
So even though it didn't greatly increase his strength,
He was still very satisfied.
[Name: Lotte]
[Age: 18]
[Bloodline Ability: Hashirama Cells (Mastery: 45%)]
[Skills: Wood Release (Current Power Limit: A rank), Three-Color Haki (Proficient 100%), Flame Dance Dual Sword Style (Proficient 90%), Sun Breathing (Mastery 35%), Voice of All Things (Mastered)]
[Inventory: Flame King (Supreme Grade Sword)]
[Combat Power: 10000–12000]
[Overall Evaluation: At the current stage, the Host's strength can contend with some of the weaker Seven Warlords. Although he has mastered Voice of All Things, there is still a considerable gap to the top tier. Perhaps after breaking through three-color Haki, there will be significant improvement.]
[Special Remark: The Aura of an Emperor!]
Lotte glanced at the overall evaluation.
Then, as usual, he ignored the special remark—none of them were ever reliable.
Though "The Aura of an Emperor" sounded like a compliment,
He knew perfectly well what meme that was referencing.
Anyway.
Lotte was quite satisfied with his current strength.
After all, reaching this level had only taken him a few months.
Whitebeard saw him smiling happily
And couldn't help but pat his shoulder, asking curiously,
"What are you grinning about?"
"You look really pleased."
Lotte snapped back to reality, coughed lightly, and smiled evasively.
"Nothing, just thought of something happy."
"Let's keep moving."
Whitebeard saw that Lotte was changing the subject.
He turned his head toward the giant tree marked with the number 19 and sneered.
"The so-called 'justice' of the World Government becomes protection in places like this—truly laughable."
This seemingly prosperous archipelago was rotten to the core.
The buying and selling of humans and fish-men was completely condoned, and to cater to the Celestial Dragons, human auctions were held regularly.
Yet both the World Government and the Marines turned a blind eye.
All because those people were Celestial Dragons.
To this day,
The reason there hadn't been any Celestial Dragon casualties
Was entirely thanks to Marine Headquarters' "justice"!
In Whitebeard's eyes, such justice would be better off nonexistent.
How many nations had already been destroyed because of the Heavenly Tribute? Probably too many to count!
"Well, it's not surprising."
"But it has nothing to do with us. We can just rescue them along the way."
"Anything that makes the Celestial Dragons unhappy is a good thing."
Lotte patted his suit and spoke calmly.
To infiltrate Sabaody this time, both of them had changed clothes.
Lotte wore a brand-new suit and sunglasses, with a black hat on his head. His eye-catching Flame King was stowed away.
Whitebeard wore a large black cape coat.
As for Murakumogiri, there was no helping it—he simply wrapped it up and carried it on his back.
Fortunately, barring any accidents,
Neither the Marines nor the Celestial Dragons
Would ever imagine that they had come to Sabaody Archipelago.
After all, this place was extremely close to Marine Headquarters. As long as nothing unexpected happened, this "hiding in plain sight" tactic had a high chance of success.
Moreover, Sabaody's Areas 1–29 were basically lawless zones.
Marine Headquarters didn't have the manpower to search every single one.
Time to move.
Lotte and Whitebeard exchanged a glance and headed deeper into Sabaody together.
Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for only $7 to get early access to upcoming chapters!
> > Patreon.c(o)m/inkshield <<
----------------------------------------------------------