Six Powers

For a small nation like Gilia, pirates would normally come by often to pick up easy spoils. But ever since that terrifying naval battle, let alone raiding the place, very few pirates were even willing to come here for ordinary supplies.

They would rather take a detour to another kingdom to rest and resupply than come to this island and tug at the Phantom Sword Pirates' whiskers. Aside from North Blue's three long-established overlord pirate crews, Roy's Phantom Sword Pirates had already been recognized as the fourth overlord-level pirate crew of the North Blue.

In fact, in most people's eyes, Roy's Phantom Sword Pirates were far more terrifying than the other three overlord crews. After all, those three pirate crews had retreated from the Grand Line long ago and had already lost their ambition to advance. They only dared to throw their weight around within the North Blue.

Of course, Roy scoffed at these so-called overlord-level titles. Calling oneself king in a place like the Four Seas was nothing more than arrogant self-delusion, a laughingstock waiting to happen.

"Tut, tut. Ten days have already passed. I wonder how our Marine gentleman is doing? The outside world is spreading rumors that he already died beneath my butcher's blade, having died in the line of duty."

"His condition is extremely poor right now. Captain, your method really is miraculous. I never imagined that a tiny Black Room could drive a strong-willed Marines Commodore to the brink of collapse. But Captain, since you say that, are you thinking of bringing him under our banner?" King asked, adjusting the beret on his head.

"Heh, forget it. A hard bone from the Marines Hawk Faction isn't easy to chew through. Trying to subdue him would be more trouble than it's worth. What I value is mainly his experience training in the Six Powers. Once we've drained him of his value, we'll just let him 'die.'"

Akainu's hawkish ideology actually had quite a market within the Marines. Moreover, those who could uphold their convictions possessed exceptionally firm wills, so it would be difficult for Roy to change their minds at the root through dreams. Still, one man's hero was another man's enemy. Naturally, Roy had no intention of playing the hero-respects-hero game and letting them go.

When they entered the Black Room, Arita's eyes were already vacant. Drool even hung from the corner of his mouth, yet he seemed unaware of it. He looked as though he had become a complete idiot. Even King felt a chill in his heart at the sight. For a Black Room to reduce a strong-willed pirate to such a state, it was simply too terrifying. He silently swore that even if he died, he would never enter the Black Room.

Roy felt somewhat emotional, but he was not the sort to indulge in sentimental musings. Before long, he began skillfully exploring Arita's Dream Memory.

Most of the memories inside were dull and tedious. Fortunately, he had his homemade crappy system. Otherwise, it would probably have taken more than half a day to sort out the useful memories.

As the memories were gradually organized, Roy's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He had not expected Arita to truly give him such a great gift.

Roy had originally assumed that Arita specialized only in Iron Body. After all, the Six Powers were broad and profound. Even among the Marines, few dared claim that they had mastered all Six Powers.

Yet Arita's memories contained not only the complete training method for Iron Body, but also partial training memories for Soru and Geppo. That made Roy understand why Arita, despite his strength, had managed to escape from Big Drunkard.

Moreover, Arita had not expected Yonji's sudden attack to severely injure his calf, leaving him completely unable to use Soru or Geppo. That was why he had ultimately been left without even the slightest ability to resist Roy's attacks.

The principle of Iron Body was to accelerate the flow of blood and speed up muscle movement. Roy had long known that. However, the human body was the most precise of instruments. Knowing the general principle did not mean one could easily reverse-engineer the secret technique. If it were truly that easy, the Six Powers could not have become the Marines' inherited Body Technique.

Even with Sanji's talent, it had taken him two years, along with intense external pressure, to finally comprehend Sky Walk. That showed just how difficult it was to train in the Six Powers without a proper inheritance.

Many claimed that the Six Powers were of little value, especially after Armament Haki appeared, when they were practically relegated to the bench. But in Roy's eyes, the opposite was true. The value of the Six Powers had never diminished.

Armament Haki was essentially like internal energy in martial arts novels, while the Six Powers were martial techniques. The two complemented each other, and neither could be lacking. Furthermore, training in the Six Powers tempered the body and could better awaken Armament Haki.

In truth, the Marines' Six Powers, the Eight Treasure Navy's Hasshoken, and Lao G's Earth Weng Fist were all extremely similar. They were all inherited Body Techniques. Since Hasshoken could fuse with Armament Haki, there was no reason the Six Powers could not do the same.

In Roy's view, Geppo should have been the most valuable of the Six Powers. Even though he could achieve an effect similar to Geppo through his Devil Fruit Ability, this Body Technique was still extraordinarily meaningful to him.

Given Roy's talent for speed, learning Geppo was not particularly difficult, and he quickly grasped its intricacies. Iron Body, on the other hand, was different. Roy had only managed to learn the most basic technique, and that was after obtaining all of Arita's training memories.

Still, Roy was not overly disappointed. Everyone had things they excelled at and things they did not. Being a jack of all trades either meant being the strongest or being mediocre. No matter what, he now finally possessed a defensive skill for his body, and he was already very satisfied.

After initially mastering Iron Body and Geppo, Roy did not keep them to himself. Instead, he taught the two techniques to Patch and the others, allowing the entire crew's strength to undergo another tremendous increase.

"This is strange. It's been more than ten days already, yet the Marines haven't made a move. I thought a large force would soon come to surround and suppress us." Standing at the harbor, Roy watched the fleet preparing to set sail and spoke with some feeling.

"Captain, you think too highly of those Marines. That Marines Commodore was practically the highest-ranking officer in the North Blue. Since even he was defeated, it would already be commendable courage if the other Marines didn't run the moment they saw us," King replied as he wiped down his Sniper Rifle.

"But this isn't a good sign. Our existence has severely harmed the Marines' interests in the North Blue. If they still aren't acting, then there's probably only one possibility."

Roy swept his gaze over his subordinates. Patch was rubbing his bald head with a foolish grin, Kayou was still playing up his brooding persona, Yonji's eyes burned with fervor, and Kenkon looked serious—but one glance at his unfocused eyes made it clear that he had not been listening at all.

Seeing this, Roy felt utterly exhausted. He increasingly felt that he needed to find a strategist-type person. Otherwise, he would not even have anyone to discuss matters with.

Roy glanced at King and felt deeply comforted. Fortunately, there was still one honest man here. Everyone, hurry up and bully him.

When King saw Roy looking at him, he rubbed his forehead and wearily picked up the thread. "That possibility is that Marine Headquarters has already begun to act."

To pirates, Marine Headquarters was practically a taboo term. Yet here with Roy, it did not even stir the slightest ripple.

Looking at the utterly unmoved crowd, Roy sighed. This bunch of disabled children was hopeless. He could only clasp his hands behind his back and say in a deliberately profound tone, "It seems advancing into the Grand Line can be put on the agenda."

An autumn breeze swept past, and Roy felt a slight chill. Only after a long while did scattered voices ring out. "Captain is amazing! Captain is wise!"

"Hehehe!"