Background

Life Return was a skill Gray envisioned as an essential part of his repertoire.

However, aside from physical powerhouses who grasped it through sheer mastery after reaching a certain level, the easiest way to acquire Life Return was to master the Six Powers of the Navy.

Unfortunately, no one in the current Donquixote Family knew the Six Powers. Dellinger would learn them later, likely sent over by Vergo, who was still acting as an undercover agent.

The Donquixote Family, still drifting through the North Blue, might have heard of the Six Powers or perhaps not; regardless, they had never placed any importance on them.

Otherwise, given the Donquixote Family's influence in the North Blue and the number of naval officers and nobles they had bought off, how could they have failed to obtain them?

Without access to the Six Powers, Gray had no choice but to build his physical foundation while brainstorming ways to get Doflamingo to handle it.

The Six Powers were, after all, superhuman techniques.

Without a certain level of physical fitness, one could not only fail to master them but also risk serious bodily injury.

Therefore, regardless of whether he could obtain the Six Powers, training his body was never a mistake.

With the help of the gravity field, I don't need to worry about physical enhancement. But what excuse can I use to get Doflamingo to find a way?

As the underground king of the North Blue, the number of nobles and naval base commanders the Donquixote Family had bribed for their arms business was beyond anything Gray could imagine.

Moreover, the arms trade in the North Blue had already begun to expand toward the Grand Line, and the number of underground forces connected to this network was countless.

If they truly valued the Six Powers, simply buying them should have been quite easy.

After all, not every naval officer was a man of justice like Zephyr or Smoker.

Whether to support their families or fulfill the dying wishes of comrades, there were always naval officers willing to sell information for Berries.

"Got it!" After much deliberation, Gray instantly found a good excuse: "Who the hell isn't a prince these days!"

"As a prince, it's perfectly normal to know a thing or two, right?"

"If you, Doflamingo, can know about the Celestial Dragons' national treasure, isn't it perfectly normal for me to know a little bit about the Six Powers?"

Gray's predecessor was much like Doflamingo; both had lived in wealthy families before a sudden, catastrophic upheaval changed everything.

The only difference was that Doflamingo's disaster was caused by his father's refusal to remain a Celestial Dragon.

As for the country where Gray's predecessor lived, it had fallen into ruin after catching the eye of a Celestial Dragon.

When the disaster first struck, the predecessor didn't know the reason, but his parents entrusted him to Shark Chili, and the two were forced to flee by sea.

On the run, the predecessor had received information; the newspapers clearly recorded that the Tartarus Kingdom had been conquered by pirates, and Saint Ross, who happened to be passing by, led the Navy to "liberate" it.

Because all the citizens had been killed by pirates, the Tartarus Kingdom became the personal territory of Saint Ross.

This was the information the predecessor had gathered.

But once Gray learned of this, he saw through the conspiracy at a glance.

Based on his understanding of the darkness of the pirate world, this incident could only have happened because the Tartarus Kingdom had caught the eye of a Celestial Dragon, and those lackeys had colluded with pirates to stage a setup.

After all, how could such a coincidence exist?

The pirates ravaged the land, and just like that, a Celestial Dragon arrived with the Navy?

Furthermore, the Tartarus Kingdom was not a member of the World Government; it was a country that couldn't afford the Heavenly Tribute.

The only good thing about this country was that it was a sea of flowers, and a unique type of bee lived there, producing honey that had the effect of nourishing the body.

Regardless of whether that was the reason, no matter what, once they were targeted by those pigs with twisted logic, the powerless Tartarus Kingdom became history.

Gray would naturally not let go of his predecessor's hatred. As someone from Blue Star, he believed that if he had the strength, he would kill every one of those Celestial Dragon pigs he saw.

People from the Huaxia of Blue Star didn't care about bloodlines like the islanders did.

Are kings and nobles born with a different seed?

That was the soul and philosophy of every individual.

If you bully me, I'll kill you!

The main theme was: I'll be a hero again in eighteen years!

Just wait! I won't keep you waiting too long! Touching his chest, Gray made a solemn promise to his predecessor.

Regardless of whether his predecessor still held any lingering attachments, Gray would resolve this matter for him.

After all, he had inherited his predecessor's karma.

"Wait! No!" As Gray walked toward the cafeteria, he suddenly spotted Corazon and instantly overturned his previous plan.

If I bring up the Six Powers now, this undercover rat will definitely report it to Sengoku.

If that draws too much attention, Doflamingo might not escape Tsuru's pursuit. In the original story, Doflamingo's actions had already attracted enough attention; adding more was something Gray feared the Donquixote Family couldn't handle.

After all, he was still weak and needed the protection of the Donquixote Family.

Thinking of this, Gray had to temporarily shelve the matter of the Six Powers: "Nothing to be done; it's only a two-year wait!"

"During this time, I can focus on growing stronger."

Bang!

Lost in thought, Gray didn't notice that Corazon had stopped in front of him, and he slammed straight into his abdomen.

Gray looked up, bewildered, and snapped, "What are you doing!"

Whether for the sake of his predecessor or to maintain his own disguise, Gray had to act as if he couldn't stand the man who was the culprit behind his predecessor's death.

In truth, Gray didn't care about Corazon at all; after all, he wouldn't hold a grudge against a dead man.

Unfortunately, he still had to continue playing the part of a child with the appropriate emotions.

Faced with Gray's hostility, Corazon, who was playing the role of a mute, could only try to make amends in his own way; being kind-hearted, he still felt very guilty about what he had done.

He had come to see Gray this time because he thought Gray might have cooled off, so he ran over to explain himself.

But after a flurry of wild gestures, Gray didn't understand a single thing.

"Get lost! Whatever you're trying to do, I don't want to see you again!" Unable to push the tall Corazon aside, Gray walked past him.

Regardless of whether it was intentional, his predecessor was dead, and Gray had no right to forgive Corazon on his behalf.

He walked straight into the cafeteria and sat in his seat, waiting for the meal to be served.

It was at this moment that Gray finally sorted out the reason why things were the way they were between his predecessor and Corazon.

Actually, it was quite simple: Corazon beat these children to drive them away from the Donquixote Family, hoping to prevent them from being corrupted by the darkness.

His intentions were good, but he didn't realize that these children who joined the Donquixote Family were already unable to survive on their own; without the protection of the Donquixote Family, how many could have lived to adulthood?

As for Gray's predecessor, when he was sent flying by a punch, he encountered the Supreme Stone, which was just as infamous as Kuina's Supreme Staircase. His head was pierced by a sharp rock, causing him to lose his life instantly, which allowed Gray's soul to take over the body.