The Road Ahead!

The Road Ahead!

Just as Casper Layman was feeling pleased with himself for blocking two cannonballs, he suddenly noticed a figure standing at the bow of the rapidly approaching Dog-head Warship.

It was a young boy.

A long sword in a black sheath hung at his waist. His robes fluttered in the wind, and his long red hair danced wildly behind him.

As the warship rapidly drew closer, the red-haired boy expressionlessly drew his sword from his waist. Staring at the pirate ship ahead, he raised his blade and gathered his strength.

"Hmm?!"

"What is that brat doing? Is he a Marine too?"

Casper Layman stared at the figure aboard the warship, his eyes full of confusion. Yet in the next second, that confusion turned to terror.

When the two ships were still nearly twenty meters apart, the red-haired boy aboard the warship suddenly swung his sword through the air at the pirate ship. The next moment, the seawater before the Dog-head Warship split to either side without warning. An invisible slash kicked up towering waves across the surface and shot toward the pirate ship at incredible speed.

Whoosh!!!

In the blink of an eye, the ferocious slash struck the pirate ship, producing a faint, nearly inaudible sound.

The slash entered through the stern and flew out through the bow, piercing the entire ship from end to end.

"What happened?!" Casper Layman could not see the slash. He only saw the wind and waves on the sea gradually subside, leaving him deeply puzzled.

But in the next second, the pirate ship, large enough to hold several hundred people, slowly began splitting apart from the middle. Within mere seconds, it broke cleanly into two. Seawater poured into the cabins, and the divided halves of the ship slowly began to sink.

"W-What!!!!!"

Under Casper Layman's terrified gaze, the Dog-head Warship did not slow down. Its ram struck directly into the separated stern, forcibly plowing through the disintegrating pirate ship at high speed without even pausing.

Casper Layman's pirate ship was like trash blocking the way, kicked aside with a single foot. From beginning to end, no one aboard the departing warship even poked their head out to spare them a glance.

Just like that, the warship quickly vanished from Casper Layman's sight.

The enormous whirlpool created by the sinking ship swallowed the despairing Casper Layman and his crew. They had no way of resisting the immense power of the sea.

The pirates' terrified cries echoed endlessly across the sea.

Several dozen minutes later, the sea breeze blew gently. Only scattered planks floated upon the calm water, telling passing travelers of the despair that had occurred here.

"Oh-ho~~"

"What an amazing slash! It pierced through such a huge ship in one strike."

"Little Tsugikuni is really incredible! If someone as strong as you joins the Marines and doesn't become an officer, I'll be the first to object."

"That's right! Even the rear admirals at Headquarters couldn't possibly do something like that!"

On Garp's Dog-head Warship, the Marines on deck gathered around Tsugikuni Yoriichi, surrounding him as they loudly praised him. Aokiji stood to one side, looking at Yoriichi surrounded by the crowd, and felt deeply moved.

Who could have imagined that only a little over a month had passed since Garp had left Marine Headquarters with Yoriichi, yet Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already grown to such a level?

If Aokiji remembered correctly, when Yoriichi had first set sail, he had not even been able to unleash a Flying Slash.

Just over a month later, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's slashes could already cut through pirate ships like that.

On the journey from the G-10 Branch to Dressrosa, Garp had run into quite a few pirates. Whenever they encountered one, Garp never needed to make a move. Aokiji and Tsugikuni Yoriichi could easily handle them on their own.

At first, whenever they encountered a pirate ship, Aokiji would use his ability to freeze the sea around it, leaving the pirate ship unable to move.

After a round of cannon fire, Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the Marines would disembark and use the ice Aokiji had created to board the enemy ship for close-quarters combat.

But that only lasted a week. After that, the way Garp's group fought changed.

Aokiji, who had originally frozen the sea, stopped making a move. Whenever they encountered a pirate ship, Tsugikuni Yoriichi would use Geppo to leap into the air, rapidly close in on the pirate ship, and engage in close combat.

After another week of fighting like that, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's combat style changed once more. This time, whenever they encountered a pirate ship, Yoriichi would have the warship approach first. When they were still several dozen meters away, he would unleash a Flying Slash.

The terrifying slash could directly render the pirate ship unable to move.

And during this period, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's Flying Slashes became increasingly terrifying. A few days ago, he had already been able to easily cut apart massive pirate ships over a hundred meters long.

From then on, Garp's warship began to travel faster.

Whenever they encountered another pirate ship, Garp no longer needed to stop the warship for a cannon barrage, nor did they need to close in for boarding combat. They only needed to accelerate toward the pirate ship. Once they drew near, Tsugikuni Yoriichi would naturally clear a path for the warship.

Aokiji had watched Tsugikuni Yoriichi rapidly grow stronger aboard the ship. During this time, Yoriichi's Armament Haki could not only coat his sword, but also cover his entire right arm.

It was precisely because of Tsugikuni Yoriichi's improvement in Armament Haki that his slashes had become so terrifying.

As mentioned before, when Armament Haki coated the body, it could increase strength and defense, while also allowing one to touch the bodies of Logia Devil Fruit users.

At first, Yoriichi's Armament Haki could only coat his weapon, making it harder and sharper while also allowing him to attack Aokiji.

But now, Yoriichi's Armament Haki could coat both his arm and sword at the same time, increasing both his muscular strength and the power of his blade. Only through the combination of the two had Tsugikuni Yoriichi's slashes reached their current level.

Having reached this point, Tsugikuni Yoriichi could be considered to have truly entered the door on the path of Armament Haki.

But from here on, it would not be so easy for Yoriichi to further increase his strength.

Even if Yoriichi trained his Armament Haki until it covered his entire body, the power of his slashes would only increase by a limited amount.

If Yoriichi wanted to pursue a qualitative transformation, he would need to find ways to strengthen the amplification effect of his Armament Haki. Simply expanding the area it covered no longer held much meaning.

Even if he could cover his entire body with Haki, the limit would only be ending up like Virgo, whose body had been cut apart by Law's ability.

But truly powerful Haki could ignore the effects of Devil Fruits.

Virgo's fate constantly reminded Yoriichi that Haki with coverage but no quality was meaningless.

But strengthening the amplification effect of Armament Haki was not easy.

Garp actually had a way to train Yoriichi in that regard. However, seeing that Yoriichi's Armament Haki still had room to improve in terms of coverage, he was in no hurry to begin Yoriichi's second stage of training. He simply had Yoriichi strengthen his physique and expand the coverage of his Haki.

As for what the second stage of training involved? Simple. Level eight mountains with his fists.

Back then, that was how Garp had trained in order to cave in Chinjao's head.

But there was no rush.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi's growth rate had already far exceeded Garp's expectations. When it came to training Haki, he still needed to take things one step at a time. Only then could he become a top-tier powerhouse.

Once Yoriichi's Haki could no longer cover a wider area, they could begin the next stage of training. There was still plenty of time!

As Garp watched his subordinates flatter Tsugikuni Yoriichi, he picked his nose and walked over, roaring at the crowd.

"Don't you all have anything better to do than stand around here yapping?"

"He's only managed this much. He's still far from enough!"

After dispersing the subordinates gathered around Yoriichi, Garp spoke to him earnestly.

"Yoriichi, don't let these idiots' flattery cloud your eyes."

"You're still a long way from being strong!"

"Your foundation is excellent. You only just came into contact with the Six Powers and Haki, so it's natural that your strength has skyrocketed."

"But you need to understand that you're still far from reaching the end. Don't get complacent."

"You still have a long road ahead, and the road you'll walk next will be even rougher and harder. Even you might not necessarily grow into one of the strongest!"

"On this trip to Dressrosa, you might get the chance to see what a true powerhouse is!"

Listening to Garp, Yoriichi silently nodded. He still possessed that much self-awareness.

In this world, Conqueror's Haki Coating was the ultimate ability of the strong.

As for swordsmanship, he believed he had already reached the pinnacle. If he wanted to rise to an even greater height, he would need Haki that stood above all else. That was the new goal Yoriichi sought.

He knew very well that he had only walked a short distance down the path of Haki.

Turning around, Yoriichi walked to the railing, placed both hands on it, and gazed out over the sea.

The sea breeze blew, and his vivid red hair drifted through the air. As Yoriichi looked out at the ocean, his eyes were filled with anticipation.

"I really want to see it soon!"

"The future Pirate King—Roger!"