The Great General Returns

For the entire day that followed, Zhu Mang remained in "seclusion," pondering the [Paper Art] and [Observation Haki].

As for the other five of the Six Powers, he had naturally mastered them completely, even deducing a few advanced applications.

Then there was the so-called Armament Haki; with his foundation already meeting the requirements, he guided it out quite naturally.

However, it had to be said that this stuff was truly inferior to his Qi.

Whether in terms of quality or effect, it fell short.

Furthermore, this power did indeed share certain commonalities with his Qi.

The moment Zhu Mang's Armament Haki awakened, its density already surpassed that of Hawkeye.

According to the rating system he had devised himself, this was already top-tier Armament Haki.

Compared to the likes of Garp, the only things he lacked were the minor technique of hardening it into armor and the flowing, internal-destruction effects of Wano Country's [Ryou].

Yet, for Zhu Mang, these things were of little significance.

Whatever Armament Haki could achieve, his Qi could do as well.

Conversely, there were things his Qi could do that Armament Haki could not!

Zhu Mang stopped worrying about it, focusing his primary energy back onto [Paper Art] and [Observation Haki].

He felt that if he were to start training according to the methods described in the manuals, or use the "get beaten up" training method Luffy used in the original story to cultivate Observation Haki, it wouldn't be very effective for him.

There was no helping it; his physique was too strong. Simple methods simply couldn't make him feel a sense of danger.

Without a sense of danger, his body's defensive mechanisms wouldn't trigger, and it would be impossible to give birth to Observation Haki.

Therefore, he decided to start with [Paper Art].

Moreover, he used his own understanding to divide the entire process into two parts.

The first part was "micro-manipulation of Qi."

In this regard, he was already significantly better than when he had first arrived in this world yesterday.

When he first arrived, he would even burn the fish he tried to grill.

But now, having absorbed the experience of the Navy's Six Powers and the insights into using Armament Haki, his control over his own Qi had reached the point where he could steadily condense it onto his fingertips, maintaining it in a state of being concentrated without being released.

The second part was "Qi coverage."

He wanted to bring every shred of Qi within his body under his true control, then cover every organ, every piece of flesh, and even every cell in his body with it.

In truth, this was also a form of complete control over his own body.

Once he truly achieved this step, the harvest would be far more than just a move like the "Navy Six Powers" or Observation Haki.

In reality, his current training had already diverged significantly from [Paper Art]; it was more like taking a shortcut to cultivate the ultimate Six Powers technique, [Life Return].

This was complete control over his own body!

It would also provide a massive boost to his future cultivation!

However, to those who had been keeping an eye on him—like Doflamingo and Hawkeye—this monkey-tailed man, who possessed formidable strength, a mysterious background, an insatiable appetite, and a penchant for women, had not stepped out once all day, save for an afternoon outing to consume a Navy meal portioned for two hundred people.

It was truly bizarre.

Why had he suddenly become such a shut-in?

On this day, while Zhu Mang was in seclusion, the entirety of Marineford had entered a state of true warfare.

Because tomorrow was the day set for the execution of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace!

If nothing went wrong, the overlord who had entrenched himself in the New World for many years, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the man hailed as the strongest in the world—Whitebeard—would also descend upon Marineford tomorrow.

This would be an unprecedented, earth-shattering battle!

The elites drafted from Navy bases across the Grand Line were doing alright; although they were terrified by the prestige of the Whitebeard Pirates and Whitebeard himself, they were accustomed to dealing with formidable pirates in their daily duties.

They were still able to maintain their composure.

However, relying solely on the Navy elites pulled from the Grand Line was clearly insufficient to support this war.

After all, the Grand Line itself required many Navy personnel to garrison it; it was impossible to drain it completely.

Consequently, a large portion of the Navy came from the Four Seas branches.

In the relatively peaceful Four Seas, the Navy personnel there were naturally three ranks lower than those at Marine Headquarters.

The pirates they dealt with on a daily basis were merely small-time characters with bounties of a few million or ten to twenty million.

Pirates with bounties exceeding fifty million, or even one hundred million, generally wouldn't linger in the Four Seas.

The likes of Kid and Law, the Supernovas who had reached bounties of over one hundred million in the first half of the Grand Line, were merely the exception.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be called the "Worst Generation."

You must understand, in recent years, only two people had managed to reach a bounty of over 100 million before even entering the New World.

One was Fire Fist Ace, who had just been captured.

The other was Cavendish, known as the "White Horse."

And now, suddenly learning that they were to face the Four Emperors Whitebeard, whose bounty reached a staggering 5 billion, along with his sixteen division commanders and the key members of his 43 subordinate fleets—all of whom were super-powered individuals with bounties exceeding 100 million, and most even surpassing 500 million—one could only imagine the psychological pressure this placed on the ordinary marines.

Yes.

Even the elites brought in from the Four Blues were nothing more than ordinary marines here.

At this moment, although these ordinary soldiers were performing their duties under the direction of their respective officers, the anxiety in their hearts was practically overflowing.

Just then, a tsunami of exclamations erupted from the direction of the harbor.

"Look, it's Admiral Akainu!"

"Admiral Akainu!!!"

"Admiral Akainu!!!"

Akainu's prestige within the Navy was incredibly high; in fact, many marines preferred this admiral, who was renowned for his iron-blooded nature.

A massive naval warship slowly approached the docking port, and then, a tall, imposing figure soared into the sky, transforming into a brilliant flash of fire before crashing heavily onto the ground and resuming human form.

Scalding magma dripped from the back of his cape, sizzling against the ground and sending up wisps of steam.

A young captain standing nearby instinctively took two steps back, forced away by the oncoming heatwave.

But he quickly regained his composure, stepped forward once more, and with his steel boots striking the ground with a dull thud, he offered a crisp, straight military salute.

"Admiral Akainu, welcome back!"

"Hmm." Akainu glanced at him indifferently, then turned his head with a cold expression and began walking toward the Fleet Admiral's office.

Suddenly, he paused, lifting his head slightly to look at the sky.

Whoosh!

A golden light pierced through the clouds.

Kizaru's tinted sunglasses shimmered in the sunlight, and his figure, hovering in the air, cast a shadow over the plaza below.

The marine soldiers in the plaza spotted the "Flash Admiral" once again.

"It's Admiral Kizaru!"

"Great, all three admirals have appeared!"

"I saw Admiral Aokiji just yesterday!!!"

"I still like Admiral Akainu the best; I want to follow his Absolute Justice!! Kill all the pirates!!!"

The entire harbor was in an uproar, and the atmosphere grew heated.