Aftereffects and Recuperation

Within the sea of consciousness, in the Mind Garden.

Zhong Hao roared, "Five or six months? How could it take that long? I have to endure this floaty feeling, this sluggish sensation of barely being able to control my body, for five or six months? What about training?"

Zhong Yunxi wanted to see him panic, so she deliberately waited two minutes before saying leisurely, "The estimate shouldn't be wrong, but the soul recovers bit by bit. The first two months will inevitably be uncomfortable, but as time passes, this condition will gradually lessen. And..." She deliberately trailed off.

Seeing her old habits return, Zhong Hao rolled his eyes. "Enough, you brat. I already know."

Zhong Yunxi asked curiously, "You know?"

Zhong Hao said, "And—although my soul is injured, my body is still intact. I can't train the Six Powers, but simply exercising my physical strength shouldn't be a problem."

Zhong Yunxi clicked her tongue in displeasure. "No fun."

Two days later, Zhong Hao gradually woke up in a hospital bed, though he was still mentally exhausted. After getting out of bed, he looked around.

It was a private ward, lavishly furnished and fully equipped with all kinds of furniture. Even the hospital bed was a double bed.

He tried controlling his body, but his reactions were somewhat sluggish. Whenever he formed the intention to walk, his body would only move half a second later. He scratched his cheek in frustration.

There seemed to be a surveillance Den Den Mushi in the room. While he slowly walked around the room to coordinate his body, Zephyr was the first to arrive, bursting through the door. Garp and Sengoku came soon after.

"How are you? How's your body? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Zephyr hurried over and asked. He had already resolved to fight Garp to the bitter end. Such a fine prospect absolutely could not be allowed to slip away. Even if they could not become master and disciple, he still had to leave his mark on the boy's future.

"Uh... I don't feel uncomfortable anywhere. My body just feels a little uncoordinated." A huge face suddenly looming close gave Zhong Hao a fright.

Zephyr was not ugly. On the contrary, he had the air of a tough man, his face full of resolve. At the very least, he looked far better than Sengoku's bizarre hairstyle. But compared to Garp, he still fell a little short. Though Garp was scatterbrained and always did things that left people laughing and crying, in terms of looks, he was definitely among the best in the Navy's upper ranks.

Especially those two hawk-like eyebrows slanting into his temples, making him look exceptionally heroic.

"Zephyr, seeing you like this makes this old man very proud! Wahahaha!" Garp sat on the sofa by the bed, one leg crossed over the other as he grinned.

Sengoku had no time to pay attention to him. He stepped forward and said, "Zhong Hao, I want to know about the Conqueror's Haki from two days ago. Can you release it at will?"

Zhong Hao glanced at Garp and said, "No. I haven't mastered Conqueror's Haki. It requires external stimulation, and the range is not normally that large either. What happened two days ago was an accident."

"An accident? What kind of accident? Can you explain it?" Sengoku immediately pressed. Such a vast-range Conqueror's Haki was simply too important. If it could be released at will, then in future large-scale wars, it could greatly reduce casualties among the lower-ranking soldiers and firmly place the initiative in the Navy's hands.

"It's dangerous. This time, I really walked right up to death's door. My mind was nearly drained dry, and even now my reactions are sluggish and my body feels weightless." Zhong Hao understood what Sengoku meant and told him the truth. It was as good as a refusal. He had no desire to go through that again. At least until he had fully mastered it, he would not draw upon the energy of endless space-time to release Conqueror's Haki again.

"So it can't be used? That's a pity." Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then composed himself and comforted him. "Your lack of coordination should be due to excessive mental depletion. A few months of recuperation should be enough."

After speaking, he sighed. The conflicts among the major pirates of the New World were growing increasingly intense, and the Navy's influence had been completely driven back to the first half of the Grand Line. Once the struggle in the New World ended, who knew what kind of balance would emerge? What he feared most was the birth of another One Piece. If that happened, war could come at any time. He could not help worrying.

"Maybe in a few years. Once my mind is strong enough to withstand such enormous consumption, the side effects probably won't be so severe."

Seeing Sengoku like this, Zhong Hao's heart stirred. He recalled the state of the world Garp had told him about. The fierce struggle in the New World was precisely a sign that the Four Emperors were about to emerge. Sengoku did not know what the future held, but Zhong Hao knew it all too well. Conflict would never cease, yet the true large-scale battlefield would not come until the Paramount War. Before then, there would be almost no use for such vast-range Conqueror's Haki.

If Zhong Hao said this, Sengoku would surely regard him as a strategic asset and raise his level of importance by several degrees. This importance might not be noticeable in ordinary times, but at critical moments, it would absolutely bring unexpected benefits. After all, he was the Navy's highest leader.

"That's good too. Don't be hasty. Strength is accumulated bit by bit in everyday life, and the same is true for the strong. Those who rise to the heavens in a single step are often all show and no substance." Sengoku was clearly quite satisfied with this outcome and consoled him.

"Would you like to come to the recruit training camp at my headquarters? We have all kinds of resources there, as well as the best... Hey! Sengoku, don't pull me! I haven't—"

The moment Sengoku finished, Zephyr jumped out with an invitation. Sengoku could not stand watching any longer and dragged him outside. "Zephyr, the way you're acting is truly... You've disgraced the Navy."

After Zephyr was dragged out by Sengoku, only Zhong Hao and Garp remained in the room.

"Kid Zhong Hao, this old man brought you donuts." Garp lifted the bag in his hand. Only one last donut remained in the deflated bag.

"Teacher, is that any way to visit a patient? You ate the gift yourself before even giving it to me." Zhong Hao complained, but still took the bag and tossed the donut into his mouth.

"Hey! Don't be so stingy! If you eat this old man's donut, next time you have to bring this old man a big bag in return! Hahahaha!"

Three months later.

At the harbor, a squad of soldiers stood watch, repeatedly glancing out at the sea.

"Hey, hey, is he still in the water? It's been more than nine hours."

"Every time, he goes in here and comes back out here. Since he hasn't surfaced, he should still be in the sea."

"From morning until now... isn't that guy a monster?"

"You still dare call him a guy? Talk again once you can catch even one of his blows."

"Who said I can't catch—ah, Vice Admiral, you're here."

As the soldiers talked, Garp approached with his feet splayed outward. They hurriedly saluted.

"Don't mind this old man. I came to pick up my disciple." Garp smiled. He had never put on airs around low-ranking soldiers.

"The Vice Admiral comes every day."

In the sea, Zhong Hao moved as swiftly as a fish, rapidly swimming around the island.

Every day, he entered the sea after breakfast and came ashore before dinner. He had kept at it for three months without ever slacking off. As time passed, the aftereffects had gradually diminished, and he was already able to fight.

While still some distance from the harbor, Zhong Hao took a deep breath, flipped over, and dove into the sea, heading straight down. He planned to catch a sea fish to bring back.

Marine Headquarters never lacked food, but mealtimes were always punctual. Sometimes, if his training ran late, he would miss the meal. So before coming ashore each time, he would dive down to hunt. If he missed the meal, it would be dinner; if he made it in time, it would be a late-night snack.

Every evening, he would call Garp over, light a bonfire on the beach, and enjoy delicious food amid the tranquility of the night. Bogart occasionally joined them, while Zephyr often brought Smoker, Hina, and his other disciples over to join the fun.

As usual, Zhong Hao fixed his gaze on a sea fish and chased it recklessly. Only after catching up and knocking it unconscious did he realize that he had neared the seafloor.

Because he was not far from the island, the seafloor was less than five hundred meters below the surface.

At that moment, Zhong Hao spotted something strange on the seabed. He swam closer, and by the faint glow emitted by the seaweed, he saw that it was a sunken ship. It was even a sunken warship, covered in rust and tangled in seaweed, clearly having been there for quite some time.

Yet he had visited this stretch of seabed several times and had never seen a sunken ship there before. Suddenly finding one that had apparently been there for years filled him with doubt. Still, in the world of One Piece, anything could happen. Even if someone lived inside, it would not be surprising.

In this world, discovering a mysterious sunken ship was definitely something to be happy about. Who knew whether there might be treasure inside?

The urge to search for treasure suddenly rose within him, but after a full day of training, his stamina was lacking. He could only wait until the next day to return.