On an unnamed sea, a dilapidated sailboat sailed against the wind.
By creating an angle between the sail and the wind direction, the wind generated a pressure difference on either side of the sail. Even against the wind, it could propel the vessel forward.
However, Magnus deliberately controlled the angle, making the sailboat crawl forward at an incredibly slow pace. Sometimes, it even drifted backward, and whenever it did, Rocks suffered the most.
"You damned old man, you'll get what's coming to you!!!"
At the bottom of the sailboat, Rocks panted like a bull. On either side of him were oars Magnus had specially lengthened, forcing him to provide power for the ship by rowing.
Magnus called it physical training.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
Hearing Magnus's words, Rocks's expression relaxed, and he nearly collapsed.
A month had passed since Magnus was attacked by the Blood Skull Pirates. During that month, he had passed through two islands and two countries marked by his Log Pose.
Unfortunately, both countries were non-Affiliated Nations, so he could not exchange Farrell's head for the bounty.
That was 170 million Beli!
After parting ways with his old crew, Magnus had less than 5 million Beli in his pocket. If he had been retiring normally, that money would have been enough.
But if he wanted to make a comeback, it was nowhere near enough.
Of course, Rocks, a rookie pirate with no criminal record whatsoever, would have to collect the bounty. If Magnus went instead, he would be surrounded by a Marine fleet in minutes.
"Captain, is this kind of training really useful?"
Rocks lay sprawled on the ground, staring lifelessly at the ceiling beneath the sailboat. This felt far too different from the image he had imagined of freely riding the waves.
"Of course it's useful!"
Magnus raised a brow and said bluntly, "With your current strength, you couldn't beat just any Marine officer. Your physical abilities are far too weak. The foundation for using techniques is possessing matching strength and a strong body!"
"Then when will I be able to learn that move you use?"
Rocks barely lifted his sore arm. Naturally, Magnus knew what he meant, but an ordinary person wanted to use a Giant race secret technique without eating a Devil Fruit?
"At least wait until you learn Haki."
The current Rocks could be described as an "ordinary person." Ordinary by this world's standards, of course, but that at least meant his strength had not yet reached the realm of "monsters" in ordinary people's eyes.
Still, although Rocks was not yet a "monster," his rate of improvement was practically monstrous.
A month ago, he could barely move the lengthened oars.
Now, he only felt tired after rowing continuously for half an hour.
The bearing of a conqueror was truly terrifying!
In truth, if Rocks had not provoked the Celestial Dragons in the future and started a war against the Marines, the Celestial Dragons, and the Roger Pirates all at once, One Piece might not necessarily have had anything to do with Roger.
At this rate, Magnus felt that Rocks would be able to learn the Marine Six Powers before long.
Haki was also on the agenda.
What if he awakened Conqueror's Haki as well?
Hiss—
Just thinking about it made Magnus feel enormous pressure.
He was old, after all, and his potential had already been exhausted. Even if the system restored him to his prime, he would still be somewhat weaker than the Four Emperors of later generations.
Unless he completely mastered Conqueror's Haki and at least learned Conqueror's coating.
In this world, Haki was divided into three types.
Observation Haki, which enhanced perception and could foresee the future when developed to its peak.
Armament Haki, which enhanced attack and defense and could, at its peak, be emitted to attack from afar or even cause internal destruction.
And Conqueror's Haki, which could intimidate fodder and mentally suppress the weak.
The true mark of mastering Conqueror's Haki was using it to affect tangible things, using one's spirit to interfere with reality. It was proof of a conqueror.
Haki was a latent ability all people were born with in this world. Everyone could train Observation Haki and Armament Haki, but only a tiny handful possessed the aptitude for the highest level of Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
Before the system appeared, Magnus had not possessed the aptitude for Conqueror's Haki.
So now, Magnus had changed his opinion of the system.
His system had some problems, but if it had not malfunctioned, he might not have obtained the aptitude for Conqueror's Haki so easily.
Now that he had the aptitude for Conqueror's Haki, could aptitude for the highest level of Observation Haki be far behind?
Magnus thought happily to himself.
"Captain, how much farther is Elbaf?"
After a brief rest, Rocks got up from the ground. With one hand on his hip, he scooped water from a barrel and drank while asking the question.
Although he had always wanted to become a captain and strike out on his own, after witnessing Magnus's strength, Rocks had a new idea.
That old bastard doesn't have many years left. I'll stay by his side, learn everything he knows, then kick him aside and send him off to retire.
Born in a small place, Rocks understood very well that talent alone was useless in this world. He also needed a qualified teacher to show him how to use that talent, which would let him avoid many detours.
For example, although this past month of training under Magnus had left him wishing he were dead, Rocks could clearly feel it.
The current him could beat several versions of himself from a month ago!
"Soon."
Magnus glanced at the Eternal Pose in his hand and answered without looking up.
After sailing the seas for so many years—
He had nothing else.
But he had collected a whole pile of Eternal Poses, including one for Elbaf, the land of giants.
As for why he was going to Elbaf—
"Old friend, you've worked hard all these years."
Magnus gently stroked the deck of the Black Pearl. The name had only been chosen on a whim, yet no one had expected this ship to stay with him for so long.
The weather in this world was far harsher than in the other world. Therefore, the sailboats built here could not last for more than a hundred years like those in the other world.
Forget fifty years. If a ship's keel was poor, a single storm might make the entire vessel fall apart.
Yet the Black Pearl had accompanied him for forty-five years.
This was the ship he had finally saved enough money to build in his seventh year of venturing across the seas. Its keel came from a piece of Adam Wood Magnus had found by accident, the toughest wood in the world without equal.
But forty-five years was enough even in this world. Even Adam Wood, as sturdy as it was, could not avoid damage.
The Black Pearl had completed its mission!
The Black Pearl could not accompany him on another new adventure, so Magnus was going to Elbaf to build a new ship.
As a Great Pirate, he had no interest in ships made from ordinary wood.
If he was going to build one, he would build the best!
Was there any better material for building ships than Adam Wood?
Elbaf had an Adam Tree!
That was one of Magnus's reasons for heading to Elbaf.
As for the second reason—
"At this point in time, Charlotte Linlin, one of the future Four Emperors, should have arrived in Elbaf by now, right?"
Magnus thought expectantly.
Before you continue