Half a Year

"This Conqueror's Haki powerful enough to affect reality... Has that bastard Roger come back to life? Or has Whitebeard come charging in?!"

"Hahahaha, it's been years since I've encountered Conqueror's Haki this outstanding." Garp sat with his legs spread wide and laughed heartily.

Vice Admiral Tsuru shot the two of them a sidelong glance and said irritably, "Why aren't you going to see what's going on?"

Above the Red Line, in Mary Geoise.

In Pangu City, atop the Void Throne, sat a shapely woman dressed in a sheer veil.

Im lowered her wheat-colored legs, her three eyes narrowing as she gazed, seemingly absentmindedly, toward Marineford below.

Her lips parted slightly as she murmured, "The qualities of a king?"

"I've found what I wanted."

Under the influence of Conqueror's Haki, Lin Qi reached out as if grasping a target in the void, his eyes scarlet as blood.

"What I want... is everything!"

Since the incident had occurred in the center of the Marine Base, two Admirals arrived within moments.

"Oh~ What a frightening young man."

"This brat is the one releasing Conqueror's Haki?!"

About half an hour later, the unconscious people gradually woke up, while Lin Qi was "invited" into the Navy Supreme Conference Room.

Besides him, the Admirals, Garp, Sengoku, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and Zephyr were all present.

Momousagi, who had also been summoned, felt a little flustered when she saw this lineup.

Why had they called her to a meeting like this?!

Weak, pitiful, and helpless.

"Ahem... Gion, explain to everyone again how this kid awakened Conqueror's Haki."

Even at her age, Vice Admiral Tsuru found the whole thing utterly absurd.

"Alright, Sister Tsuru." Momousagi rose to her feet. Her pretty face was flushed red as she explained concisely:

"I got drunk and forcibly kissed Lin... Qi, then he awakened Conqueror's Haki."

After saying that, Momousagi was so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the floor.

Everyone could only stare at Momousagi with strange looks in their eyes.

Kissing someone into awakening Conqueror's Haki really could be called a Supernatural Incident.

Why had they never gotten treatment like that?

Conqueror's Haki was an innate quality of kings, possessed by only one person in a million.

Not even the current Admirals possessed Conqueror's Haki, showing just how rare it was.

"Hahahaha, Little Gion, you kissed someone into awakening Conqueror's Haki. You're going to be famous." Garp was the only one still in the mood to joke at a time like this.

Less than three seconds later, though, Tsuru punched him in the back of the head.

"Be serious." Tsuru watched her little sister from the corner of her eye. It was obvious Momousagi wanted to flee in utter defeat.

Sengoku hammered the table twice, drawing everyone's attention, then said seriously:

"Everyone knows that Conqueror's Haki can only awaken from within the body at the brink of life and death, or after one suffers a tremendous shock."

Kizaru drawled, "So, Gion's forceful kiss gave Lin Qi an intense mental shock, causing him to awaken Conqueror's Haki?"

Everyone still found it unbelievable.

How great of a shock would it take to compare with a life-or-death situation?

Yet that was the only explanation.

All they could say was that Little Gion was amazing!

"Gion, you gave Lin Qi a severe mental shock. Remember to visit and comfort him often when you have nothing to do." Zephyr suddenly threw out a remark.

Tsuru frowned, then relaxed.

It was obvious Gion had forcibly kissed Lin Qi because she liked him. She should just let things take their natural course.

After this incident, Lin Qi would likely be listed as a key training prospect. He was worthy of Momousagi, too.

Sengoku looked at the main person involved in this incident. "Lin Qi, is what Gion said correct?"

"More or less."

Lin Qi rubbed his nose. This incident had caused quite a stir.

"Good."

Sengoku's gaze swept across every face present. "Lin Qi's Conqueror's Haki is unprecedented. I propose we invest resources and train him vigorously. Does anyone object?"

Ever since entering the age of Great Pirates, Pirates had become increasingly rampant.

It was time to cultivate an Admiral proficient in Conqueror's Haki to deter the Pirates.

"Agreed."

"No objections."

"Whatever."

The opinions were quickly gathered, and Sengoku slammed his hand on the table to make the decision.

"Good. From now on, Lin Qi will withdraw from the Elite Camp and be taught personally by Zephyr and Garp."

These two were the best instructors in the Navy.

The former had trained the Admirals, while the latter had trained Dragon.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Lin Qi said.

Even after returning home, Lin Qi still felt as though he had been dreaming all day.

Lin Qi also gave Tom a stern warning: from then on, he was not to drug their own people without permission.

Luckily, nothing had happened today. Otherwise, it would have been over.

Time passed swiftly, like a white colt flashing past a crack.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

Many things had happened over those six months.

First was Momousagi. She seemed to genuinely believe that day had been her fault, as though she felt guilty toward Lin Qi.

Basically, Momousagi came to see Lin Qi every day or two, helping clean the house and cook.

On some days, she even came several times. Momousagi seemed to enjoy staying at Lin Qi's place.

Officially, she claimed she was there to see Tom and had nothing to do with Lin Qi.

Lin Qi did not expose her, simply eating the meals Momousagi cooked with gusto.

The two tacitly agreed not to mention what had happened that day again.

With their frequent intimate contact, their relationship rapidly deepened.

It often made Lin Qi feel that the way Momousagi looked at him was a little off.

Compared to a woman looking at a man, it felt more like an older sister looking at her little brother, though there was something else mixed in. It was strange.

Hina came even more often, since Momousagi was a rear admiral and was usually quite busy.

Cleaning the house, cooking, doing laundry—Hina was skilled at everything. It was hard to believe she was a noble young lady from the East Blue.

Sometimes, Lin Qi thought it would not be bad to marry Hina. He wondered whether she would agree.

With the two mature women of the Navy constantly feeding him, he rarely went out to eat anymore.

Smoker often came to spar with Lin Qi.

But starting three months ago, Smoker was no longer a match for Lin Qi.

Among those of his generation, Lin Qi was only close with those three.

For those six months, Lin Qi devoted himself wholeheartedly to training with Zephyr and Garp every day.

Even those two useless fools from the original story had undergone earthshaking changes after training under Garp for half a year, let alone Lin Qi.

His strength changed drastically almost every day.

It was worth mentioning that Chaton had actually given up harassing Momousagi.

Moreover, Chaton was rarely seen at the Marine Base now. He spent most of his time at sea hunting Pirates.

After half a year, every Marine in the Elite Camp had graduated and been assigned to different units throughout the Navy.

Lin Qi kept Smoker and Hina behind as the foundation of his own crew.

Lin Qi had submitted his request to head out to sea on his own long ago.

Sengoku's reply at the time had been that Lin Qi was not yet qualified to serve as the highest commander of a Warship.

Yesterday was the day he graduated from under Teacher Zephyr and Garp.

The two said they had taught him everything they could, and the rest would depend on his own comprehension.

Over those six months, he had taken no small number of Garp's loving Iron Fist punches in order to learn Observation Haki.