The five of them drank to their hearts' content, not stopping until they had finished all the food and wine and the bright moon hung high in the sky.
Full and satisfied, everyone was thoroughly drunk. Carlos took the opportunity to say his farewells and left Red-Haired Shanks and the other three.
Although the two sides had formed an initial friendship, they were still far from trusting each other. If he stayed any longer, Shanks and the others would probably not sleep well.
After leaving, Carlos did not return directly to Paradise Island. He remained within Peach Blossom Island's territory, merely hiding inside the Kamui Space.
This was the safest place. Within the Kamui Space, Carlos could rest completely at ease without worrying about being ambushed.
After resting well for an entire night and morning, Carlos woke up full of energy. Carrying breakfast, he stepped out of the Kamui Space and strolled through the peach grove. Peach blossoms blazed brightly, green grass spread in clumps beneath them, and he leaped onto a peach tree, happily finishing his breakfast.
After drinking some water and smoking a cigarette, Carlos jumped down from the tree. Leaning against its trunk, he sat cross-legged on the grass with his eyes closed.
Before this, Carlos's Conqueror's Haki had already been stirred into vigorous life by Shanks's overwhelmingly powerful Conqueror's Haki. What Carlos wanted was to fully awaken this Conqueror's Haki and bring it forth completely.
Few people possessed Conqueror's Haki, but there was more than one way to awaken it. The most common method was receiving a powerful stimulus, when one's mental fluctuations reached unprecedented heights, such as when Luffy and Doflamingo awakened theirs.
However, this method did not guarantee awakening. Everything carried risks, great or small. If someone with Conqueror's Haki lacked sufficient spirit in