Between the New World and the West Blue lies the Calm Belt.
"Flying straight across the Calm Belt—Fang Huo, Shiki, your powers are way too convenient!"
"You sure you don't want to set up a sky route?"
"We team up, we'll rake in money and corner every smuggling job in the underworld."
The smuggler Ganzi excitedly painted his dream of a transport empire for Fang Huo and Golden Lion Shiki.
Aerial crossing of the Calm Belt was fast and safe.
No fear of the giant Sea Kings that haunt the belt.
Ganzi's smuggling fleet and the Underworld Ocean King's Deep Current fleet both gamble their lives when sailing to the West or North Blue.
After years of trial and error Ganzi had only mapped a few relatively safe routes with fewer Sea Kings.
The Ocean King's clan had spent centuries staking out safe ocean-current lanes, keeping them secret from outsiders.
Sometimes even the World Government and its kingdoms hired the Deep Current fleet to move supplies.
In Ganzi's eyes, being a smuggler and pirate was just temporary.
He dreamed of founding a lasting family like the old underworld houses.
Pirate overlords and emperors rise every era, but they all die in the end.
Their children are usually wiped out, erased from history.
Only the old underworld clans pass themselves down like royal families.
The underworld emperors who control shipping, black-market banking, news, assassination… those clans endure.
So Ganzi would rather be a gray-zone emperor of the underworld than a sea king the World Government can erase overnight.
"Ganzi! Quit the nonsense! Our target is the whole world, not some shipping business!"
Rocks didn't even wait for Fang Huo to speak; he warned the money-minded Ganzi at once.
He would not allow any crewmate to stray from the main objective.
"Captain Rocks, that's not how it works—only with money can we recruit more troops."
"We can't just rely on the handful of us to storm Mary Geoise and bring down the Celestial Dragons."
Ganzi still clung to his steady profit plan.
"In front of true power, numbers mean nothing!"
"As long as every officer on my ship is top-tier, I can crush Mary Geoise!"
Rocks shot Ganzi a cold glare; the smuggler's eyes were full of coins—no wonder he'd never awaken Conqueror's Haki.
"…"
Ganzi had no retort; few could stand against that overwhelming Haoshoku.
"Prometheus! Zeus! You'll soon have a new friend—Napoleon, the emperor blade."
Charlotte Linlin happily told her two Homies the news: Fang Huo had finally started helping her.
Now he'd told her about weapons; soon he'd tell her about Sister Carmelo.
Once she grew strong enough she'd snatch Fang Huo from Rocks and build their own Totto Land.
"Gahaha, Newgate, my sakura jū and kogarashi are no worse than your Murakumogiri!"
Golden Lion Shiki and Whitebeard Newgate crossed blades again.
Shiki now disdained sparring with Silver Axe; he wanted equals like Fang Huo and Newgate.
Silver Axe had to sit with Babel and Bolo Gram.
"Some progress, but not enough."
Newgate overwhelmed Shiki in raw strength; even without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit his muscle and swordplay made Shiki howl.
Fang Huo studied intel on various ability users while Stussy stuck to his side as usual.
'The Teleport-Teleport Fruit feels one-note—wasting a Soul Fire slot?'
'If I scored the Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit, teleportation would be child's play.'
'Vampire blood-shadow shift plus the Momo Fruit's hundred-fold speed is already insane.'
'Teleportation's only perk is group transport—its utility is limited.'
With more powerhouses surfacing, Fang Huo's obsession with an escape skill waned.
Slots were limited; he had to choose carefully.
Devil Fruits with broader utility could build a more complete combat kit.
'Byrnndi World, we've no grudge, but your power is just too sweet.'
Reading how the World Destroyer rampaged across the Grand Line, Fang Huo drooled over the multiplier Paramecia.
Paramecia: Momo Fruit, also called the More-More Fruit.
Whether enlarging or speeding non-living things a hundredfold, or accelerating oneself a hundred times, the numbers are absurd.
Even World's own ten-fold speed training made him five times faster than the Six Powers' Shave.
With a solid base, ten- or hundred-fold boosts become downright broken!
Yet World was mediocre; his top natural speed was only half of Shave.
He'd obtained the fruit too early and grown reliant on its multiplier.
If monsters like Rocks or Garp had the Momo Fruit…
The numbers would be insane!
Perhaps the world's balance at work.
The stronger and more broken an ability, the likelier it lands in weaker hands.
Mighty powers plus mighty users birth Four Emperors like Whitebeard Newgate, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, and Beast Kaido.
'Moonlight, Gravity, Vampire, Momo, Magnet, Logia Rumble, and faith-based Azure Dragon… that's seven already…'
'I'm spoiled for choice.'
Previously coveted teleport and barrier fruits now ranked low.
He still wanted Castle, Munch-Munch, Surgery, Tanuki, Glint, Time, Space, Luck, even Darkness and sun god nika… a long list of candidates.
'Rocks is right—keep this up and my mindset will crack.'
Fang Huo forced himself to quiet down.
For now, focusing on the Three Types of Haki was smarter.
Once Conqueror's Haki awakened, Observation and Armament came easily.
Awaken Haoshoku and the other two colors usually followed.
If progress felt slow and talent felt lacking, just look at the other monsters.
This world has always been one that devours the weak.
—