Zen

Yaen naturally had no idea that Little Robin had begun displaying her talent for scheming at such a young age. Instead, he was deep in thought within the Mental Space.

In fact, Little Robin was the first person Yaen had granted the Void Soul Reaper Blade to, so he was not entirely sure what would happen after granting someone the Void Soul Reaper Blade.

However, judging from the current situation, Little Robin could first use the Void Soul Reaper Blade within her body to communicate with Yaen mentally. Secondly, she could indeed use the power of the Void Soul Reaper Blade.

Based on Yaen's understanding, the ability of the Cursed Eye Sangha was domination. Its eyes possessed the power to seize control over whatever they gazed upon.

However, one eye could only dominate a single object. For example, looking at a hand allowed control over the hand, while looking at a foot allowed control over the foot. Only by looking at the head could one control the consciousness and thereby control the entire body.

And this ability was practically a perfect match for Little Robin.

After all, the Flower-Flower Fruit could cause any part of the body to bloom within the range of one's sight, growing on any tangible object.

The eyes were naturally included.

For that very reason, Little Robin could secretly activate the Cursed Eye Sangha through the Flower-Flower Fruit, thereby dominating the Marine Division Lieutenant without him realizing it.

"So the Void Soul Reaper Blade directly grants the recipient some special trait? It isn't like my case, where I truly acquired a Zanpakutō and can use the Zanpakutō's own power?"

Yaen muttered to himself. His understanding of the Void Soul Reaper Blade had increased by leaps and bounds, and he now understood its true value.

In a sense, the Void Soul Reaper Blade was completely comparable to a Devil Fruit without any side effects, allowing its recipient to gain a second special ability in addition to a Devil Fruit.

In Little Robin's case, the Flower-Flower Fruit combined with the Cursed Eye Sangha had practically produced an effect greater than one plus one.

"Sigh... If I get the chance, I still need to collect as many Devil Fruits as possible."

Lying on the large sofa inside the Castle, Yaen could not help letting out a deep, poverty-stricken sigh at that thought.

Then, Yaen steadied his mind and continued the cultivation that had been interrupted, learning Shunpo techniques from Senbonzakura.

The Four Combat Techniques of the Soul Reapers—Zankensouki—were swordsmanship, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō.

Because it had inherited the knowledge of its previous master, Senbonzakura was completely proficient in all four of the Four Combat Techniques.

However, Yaen understood the shortcomings of his own body very well.

Therefore, he placed particular importance on Shunpo, regarding it as the foundation of his survival. Next came Kidō, which could make up for his limited attack methods and help him deal with various unexpected situations. Swordsmanship came after that, while his study of Hakuda was almost entirely limited to theory.

After all, Yaen knew perfectly well that using Hakuda against a monster like Vice Admiral Garp with his own physique would truly be utterly ineffective—if not outright giving his life away.

The next day.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Lord Yaen, are you in there? Lord Yaen!"

Awakened by Second Lieutenant Hope's rough shouts, Yaen emerged from the Castle inside Xiao Jin and opened the door. He rubbed his bleary eyes and asked,

"Second Lieutenant Hope, it's early in the morning. Is something wrong?"

Seeing that Yaen was safe and sound, Second Lieutenant Hope immediately let out a long sigh of relief. His anxious expression eased as he said, "That's wonderful, Lord Yaen. I was worried that Golden Lion Shiki had taken you away."

Yaen waved his hand. He could not be bothered to explain the events surrounding Golden Lion Shiki to Second Lieutenant Hope, who now served as his adjutant, and simply asked, "Are the rest of the soldiers on the warship awake?"

"Reporting! We're ready to take part in battle at any time!" Second Lieutenant Hope answered loudly, full of energy.

"There's no need to take part in any battle. Golden Lion Shiki has already left. Go confirm which waters we're currently in and find a route so we can continue toward the North Sea," Yaen said.

Second Lieutenant Hope showed a hint of confusion at that, but he still answered loudly, "Yes, Lord Yaen."

Then, Yaen washed up briefly in his room before walking leisurely toward the warship's deck with his hands behind his back.

Once again, the weather was clear, with blue skies and a bright blue sea.

Yaen wandered around the warship like a retired old man, taking a walk and loosening his muscles a little before lying back down on a deck chair on the beach.

Drinks, fruit, snacks...

The only unfortunate thing was that, apart from watching seagulls, nearly all Yaen had to look at were a bunch of burly Marine soldiers.

These Marine soldiers certainly qualified as elites, but they were ultimately not much to look at. Whenever they stirred up the atmosphere, they always made Yaen feel as though an overly masculine aura was forming.

"Speaking of which, why didn't Old Man arrange a female adjutant for me? Could it be... he doesn't want his son to have a slightly better life?"

Just as Yaen was pondering this philosophical question, Second Lieutenant Hope approached him with a set of clothes in his hands and said,

"Lord Yaen, we unexpectedly encountered Golden Lion Shiki yesterday, so I forgot to give you your uniform."

"Uniform?"

Yaen glanced at it and saw a wave-white Marine suit, along with a cape bearing the two characters "Justice."

He had to admit, it was incredibly chūnibyō! And highly brainwashing!

Wearing the words "Justice" on one's back every day, while gradually becoming accustomed to such chūnibyō behavior, would probably lead to being assimilated without realizing it, ultimately causing one to wholeheartedly accept the will to uphold "justice."

Then, Yaen pointed at the Justice cape and asked, "Second Lieutenant Hope, do I have to wear this Justice cape?"

Second Lieutenant Hope looked troubled at that and said,

"Lord Yaen, the Justice cape is one of the important symbols of our Marine officers. According to regulations, it must be worn."

"Then can we change the words on it?" Yaen asked.

"May I ask what words Lord Yaen would like to replace them with?" Second Lieutenant Hope asked hesitantly.

Yaen fell into thought. Various words flashed through his mind—serious ones, unserious ones, ordinary ones, and unconventional ones...

Finally, Yaen said, "'Zen.' Just write the two characters for 'Zen.'"

"Huh? Lord Yaen, what does that word mean? I need to file a report." Second Lieutenant Hope asked in confusion.

Yaen thought for a moment and realized that Second Lieutenant Hope might not yet understand that level of enlightenment, so he simply explained, "The 'Buddha' in 'Zen' refers to the Buddha in Buddha Sengoku. Understand?"

"I see..."

Second Lieutenant Hope immediately wore an expression of sudden realization and muttered,

"So Lord Yaen wants to change it to these two characters to show that he firmly stands on the side of the Marshal?"