Zoro's Frenzied Cultivation

On the rapidly sailing Imperial fleet.

"Your Majesty, according to the latest intelligence, Buggy the Clown has already escaped our Goa Empire's territorial waters and was spotted yesterday in the waters of the Glass Bead Kingdom."

"That guy runs fast!"

Wang Shi was completely out of patience regarding the escaped Buggy the Clown.

This fellow was truly slippery.

He was worthy of being an apprentice on the Roger Pirates, a man possessing Conqueror's Haki-level luck; he had traveled the world with the Roger Pirates, evaded the encirclement of Golden Lion Shiki, and dodged the pursuit of Fist Garp...

And now, he had managed to slip through the dragnet of the Goa Empire's fleet as well.

If this Buggy the Clown had eaten the Paramecia-type Lucky Fruit instead of the Chop-Chop Fruit.

Then, given his luck, there probably wouldn't be many people in the world capable of killing him.

"Forget it! Full speed ahead to suppress the El Drago Pirates."

Wang Shi waved his hand dismissively; a Buggy the Clown didn't have much of an impact.

In any case, this tour of the four new provinces was meant to consolidate the rule of the Goa Empire.

It was to spread the majesty and the ideology of unification of the Goa Empire across the four provinces and intimidate the remnants and old officials of those four kingdoms.

"Yes!"

Zoro, who had been injured a few days ago during a fierce battle with the Cat Brothers.

After recovering, he trained even harder.

He took on the appearance of a madman, training as if he were trying to kill himself.

If he had been beaten into such a sorry state by the Cat Brothers, who only had a bounty of 7 million Berries, then what right did he have to challenge the World's Greatest Swordsman?

According to Wang Shi's words.

If the World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk, were to have his bounty reinstated today, it would be at least 3 billion Berries.

This exaggerated bounty made Zoro feel the chasm-like gap between them.

If the 7-million-Berry Cat Brothers were that difficult to handle, what could he possibly use to fight Hawkeye Mihawk, who was worth over 3 billion Berries?

However, Zoro did not lose his conviction to become stronger.

On the contrary, he felt that Hawkeye Mihawk was truly worthy of being the World's Greatest Swordsman.

The World's Greatest Swordsman should be worth a bounty of that magnitude.

If the World's Greatest Swordsman were only worth a few hundred million Berries, wouldn't that be quite demeaning?

He would even feel ashamed to seize the position of World's Greatest Swordsman.

The stronger the World's Greatest Swordsman and the higher the bounty, the more it proved the value of the title; this was precisely the ambition and dream Zoro pursued.

He wanted his name to ring out across the world, to ring out to the heavens, so that Kuina could hear his great name.

The others were terrified when they heard that Hawkeye Mihawk's bounty was over 3 billion Berries.

After all, Arlong, with a bounty of 20 million Berries, was already the strongest in the East Blue and had turned the villages of Nami and Nojiko into hell on earth.

Seeing Zoro training so desperately, Saka also began to train with all his might; he didn't want to fall too far behind Zoro.

He also possessed his own dignity and dreams.

Eric watched Wang Shi, Zoro, and Saka training frantically on the deck, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Do these monsters have to be so desperate?!

He couldn't keep up with such terrifying training intensity at all.

Even Van Augur watched with a sense of panic.

He was truly afraid that Wang Shi would drag him into training at such an intensity.

Jango, Sam, and Buchi, the pirate slaves, followed suit in training to earn Wang Shi's forgiveness.

But they only lasted for a short while before they couldn't keep up with the training intensity of those three monsters.

"Isn't this too exaggerated?"

Nami, Nojiko, and Kaya whispered to each other, though their eyes lit up as they watched Wang Shi's sweat-drenched muscles while he trained.

With a self-disciplined training fanatic like Zoro around, even Wang Shi became more proactive.

"That was a truly thorough workout."

Wang Shi took the towel and water handed to him by Kaya and Nojiko; Kaya and the ship's doctor immediately checked Wang Shi's body, while Nojiko prepared a nutritious meal for him.

"It is truly admirable that Your Majesty, as the ruler of a nation, is so diligent."

Saka finally understood why Wang Shi was able to conquer four kingdoms and become the King of Exile who shook the East Blue.

Beyond that bizarre Exile Ability, this level of effort and perseverance were both indispensable, essential qualities.

"Because in this world, there are far too many monsters."

"If you don't become stronger, you will end up as someone else's meal."

Wang Shi's expression turned solemn; the power of the Toki Toki no Mi alone was not enough to allow him to live freely.

He needed to grow stronger; he had to cultivate powerful physical techniques and Three-Color Haki.

Moreover, activating the Toki Toki no Mi also required a powerful physique and strength.

"Your Majesty will surely one day become a powerhouse on the level of the Shichibukai, or even the Four Emperors."

Van Augur's expression was incredibly earnest, as if he had caught a glimpse of destiny's choice.

"Haha, as you wish, Van Augur!"

"I hope you also become a big shot on the level of the Three Disasters or the Four Sweet Commanders."

Wang Shi laughed heartily. His goals went far beyond the Shichibukai or the Four Emperors; his ultimate goal was to replace Imu, sit upon the Empty Throne, and become the new King of the World!

"I will strive for it."

Van Augur smiled. The green-haired Zoro's dream was to be the World's Greatest Swordsman, and why shouldn't his own dream be to become the world's greatest sniper?

Yasopp, the pursuer who also hailed from the East Blue and served as a high-ranking officer in the Four Emperors' pirate crew, was precisely Van Augur's target.

It was fortunate that Van Augur did not yet know that Yasopp's son was the very same slingshot-wielding brat he had encountered in Syrup Village.

Otherwise, there was no telling if this guy would be disappointed by Usopp, a son so unlike his tiger of a father, and shoot the bed-wetting weakling dead.

Eric felt that Wang Shi placed great importance on that green-haired brat Zoro and that bastard Van Augur.

One wanted to be the World's Greatest Swordsman, the other wanted to become the world's greatest sniper...

Could it be that one must have the ambition to be the best to gain Wang Shi's favor?

Perhaps he should come up with a "world's greatest" dream of his own.

Never mind whether it was actually achievable.

He just needed to put on a show in front of Wang Shi.

In any case, Eric didn't believe that the brat Zoro could become the World's Greatest Swordsman, nor did he believe that a guy like Van Augur could become the world's greatest sniper.

It seemed His Majesty Wang Shi just liked guys who shouted their dreams from the rooftops.

"Your Majesty, I also aspire to become the world's greatest slasher!"

Eric's eyes darted around; regardless of whether it was feasible, he decided to shout out his dream first.

"The world's greatest slasher?"

Wang Shi looked at Eric strangely. What on earth was that? The world's greatest slasher?

That sort of thing was usually the standard equipment for the World's Greatest Swordsman.

"Yes! I will definitely cultivate my Scythe Wind Blade ability into the world's strongest flying slash technique."

Eric wore an incredibly determined look on his face, attempting to mimic the style of Zoro and Van Augur, though the traces of his performance were a bit too obvious.

"Very well, I look forward to your performance."

Wang Shi chuckled without exposing Eric. A sycophant eager to perform might actually be capable of producing unexpected results.

Throughout history, those treacherous officials were often no less capable or resourceful than the virtuous ones.

Perhaps Eric, in his single-minded desire to perform, could be stimulated and pushed by guys like Zoro and Van Augur to reach heights he otherwise could never attain.

Either way, for Wang Shi, there was no downside.