Because Dragon was unable to return to Marine Headquarters, Longinus's stint as a substitute instructor had extended from two months to half a year.
Of course, he had not wasted those six months. Aside from forging this class of recruits into a unified whole, he had spent most of his time seeking Teacher Zephyr's guidance on Armament Haki training. At last, he had raised his Armament Haki to a level that barely matched his own strength.
The gains from the Impel Down riot had also been fully consolidated. Though strengthening his soul did not bring any tangible increase in power, it offered many hidden advantages.
For instance, Longinus could easily reproduce the oppressive aura Cracker possessed. While it could not stun groups like Conqueror's Haki, its intimidation against a single target was even stronger.
In a sense, it was somewhat similar to Hawk Eyes' Sword Intent, which could make enemies lose their will to resist with a mere glance.
Furthermore, the strengthening of his soul had given Longinus, whose Observation Haki had reached a bottleneck, some new insights. Perhaps before long, he would be able to touch upon an even higher realm.
Lastly, his mastery of Life Return had greatly improved. Longinus could now even alter his life form for a short time, such as temporarily restructuring his body into a biological form suited for the deep-sea environment. Though he could not maintain it for long, he had found the general direction.
Though none of these improvements greatly increased his strength on their own, taken together, they amounted to a stage of substantial growth.
In Longinus's view, he was currently on the same level as Katakuri, who had fully mastered Devil Fruit Awakening. Even without the advantage of the sea, he was confident he could fight Katakuri once more.
Standing