For the entire next day, Zhu Mang remained in "seclusion," studying [Paper Art] and [Observation Haki].
As for the other five forms, he had naturally mastered them completely and had even worked out some advanced applications.
As for the so-called Armament Haki, once his foundation met the requirements, he had naturally drawn it out.
Still, this thing really couldn't compare to qi.
Whether in terms of quality or effect.
Besides, it truly shared certain similarities with qi.
The moment Zhu Mang's Armament Haki awakened, its density had already surpassed Hawkeye's.
By the rating system he had devised before, this was already top-tier Armament Haki.
Compared to Garp and the others, he was only lacking the little trick of hardening it into armor.
As well as Wano Country's [Ryou], with its flowing and internal destruction effects.
But that truly did not mean much to Zhu Mang.
Anything Armament Haki could do, his qi could also do.
On the other hand, Armament Haki might not be able to do everything his qi could!
Zhu Mang stopped paying attention to it and continued devoting most of his effort to [Paper Art] and [Observation Haki].
Because if he simply followed the training method directly, or used the "get beaten up to train" method Luffy had used for Observation Haki in the original story, Zhu Mang felt it probably would not do much for him.
There was no helping it—his physique was too strong. Simple methods could not make him feel endangered at all.
Without a sense of danger, his body's defensive mechanisms would naturally not be triggered, nor could Observation Haki be born.
So, he decided to start with [Paper Art].
Moreover, based on his own understanding, he divided the entire stage into two parts.
The first part was "fine control of qi."
In that regard, he was already much better than when he had first arrived in this world yesterday.
Back then, he would even burn grilled fish.
But now, after absorbing the experience of the Navy's five forms and the know-how of using Armament Haki, his control over his own qi had reached the point where he could steadily gather it on his fingertips and maintain it in a condensed but unexpelled state.
The second part was "qi coverage."
He wanted to bring every bit of qi in his body completely under his control, then spread it over every organ, every piece of flesh and blood, even every single cell.
In truth, this was also complete control over his own body.
Once he truly reached that point, what he gained would be far more than merely one of the "Six Powers" or Observation Haki.
In fact, his current training had already diverged noticeably from [Paper Art]. Instead, it was more like directly training the ultimate secret of Rokushiki, [Life Return].
This was complete control over his own body!
It would also provide tremendous benefits to his future training!
But in the eyes of Doflamingo, Hawkeye, and the others who had been watching him, this powerful, mysterious, monkey-tailed man with an enormous appetite and a fondness for women had not left his room all day, aside from coming out in the afternoon to eat a Navy meal meant for two hundred people.
It was simply too strange.
Why had he suddenly become such a shut-in?
And on this day.
While Zhu Mang was in seclusion, all of Marineford had entered a true state of war.
Because tomorrow was the day Fire Fist Ace, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, would be executed!
If nothing unexpected happened, the Whitebeard Pirates, the overlords who had ruled the New World for many years, along with Whitebeard, the man known as the strongest in the world, would arrive at Marineford tomorrow.
This would be an unprecedented battle!
The elites transferred from Navy bases throughout the Grand Line were doing relatively well. Though they also feared the reputations of the Whitebeard Pirates and Whitebeard, they regularly dealt with quite a few formidable pirates themselves.
They could still remain calm.
However, relying solely on Navy elites transferred from the Grand Line was clearly not enough to support this war.
After all, the Grand Line itself required a large Navy presence. It was impossible to drain every base dry.
Thus, a large portion of the Navy forces came from the branches in the Four Seas.
In the relatively peaceful Four Seas, Navy officers were naturally ranked three grades below their counterparts at Marine Headquarters.
The pirates they dealt with on a daily basis were merely minor figures with bounties of a few million, or ten to twenty million.
Pirates with bounties exceeding fifty million, or even one hundred million, basically did not remain in the Four Seas.
Supernovas like Kid and Luo, whose bounties had exceeded one hundred million in the first half of the Grand Line, were only a minority.
Otherwise, they would not have been called the "Worst Generation."
Before this, in recent years, only two people had reached bounties above one hundred million before entering the New World.
One was Fire Fist Ace, who had just been captured.
The other was Cavendish, known as the "Pirate Prince."
And now, they had suddenly learned that they would be facing Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors with a bounty as high as five billion. Under him were the captains of sixteen divisions and the key members of forty-three allied pirate crews, all superhuman powerhouses with bounties exceeding one hundred million—most of them over five hundred million!
One could imagine the psychological pressure this placed upon ordinary Navy soldiers.
That was right.
Even the elites from the Four Seas were merely ordinary Navy soldiers here.
At this moment, though these ordinary Navy soldiers carried out their duties under the command of their respective superiors, the unease in their hearts was practically overflowing.
Then, tsunami-like cries of alarm rose from the direction of the harbor.
"Look, it's Admiral Akainu!"
"Admiral Akainu!!!"
"Admiral Akainu!!!"
Akainu held considerable prestige within the Navy. In fact, many Navy soldiers preferred this admiral renowned for his iron-blooded methods.
A massive Navy warship slowly approached the harbor. Then, a tall and imposing figure shot into the sky, transformed into a blazing mass of fire, and crashed heavily onto the ground before returning to human form.
Scalding magma dripped from the cape behind him, scorching the ground and sending wisps of steam rising.
A young captain standing relatively close was forced by the oncoming heat wave to instinctively retreat two steps.
But he quickly recovered, stepped forward again, and planted his steel boots firmly on the ground with a dull thud as he gave a crisp salute.
"Admiral Akainu, welcome back!"
"Mm." Akainu gave him an indifferent glance, then coldly turned away and headed toward the Fleet Admiral's office.
At that moment, his steps halted, and he slightly raised his head to look into the sky.
Whoosh!
A beam of golden light pierced through the clouds.
Kizaru's brown sunglasses glimmered beneath the sunlight. His hovering figure cast a shadow over the plaza below as the sun shone upon him.
The Navy soldiers in the plaza spotted the "Light Admiral" once more.
"It's Admiral Kizaru!"
"Great! All three admirals are here!"
"I saw Admiral Aokiji yesterday too!!!"
"I still like Admiral Akainu the most! I'll follow his Absolute Justice!! Kill every pirate!!!"
The entire harbor erupted in an uproar, and the atmosphere became feverish.
Before you continue