Testing the Blade

The Golden Crow was a divine bird from myth, its flying speed among the very best of all avian creatures. In China's ancient myths, perhaps only Kunpeng and the Golden-Winged Roc could rival it.

Although Nangong Yan had not transformed into his true Golden Crow form, he was still incredibly fast. A golden beam streaked across the cloudless sky, lingering for a long while before fading.

The Sabaody Archipelago was not far from Marineford. In the original story, Kizaru had reached the Sabaody Archipelago in no time by standing atop a cannonball, leaving the Supernovas in a miserable state.

Nangong Yan reached the Sabaody Archipelago in just a quarter of an hour. When he was still some distance away, he retracted his wings and used Geppo from the Marine Six Powers to step onto the archipelago's soil.

Over the past six months, Nangong Yan had copied nearly all the training methods of the Marine Six Powers. However, with limited time, he had focused mainly on Soru and Geppo, learning only those two techniques.

As for Tekkai, Kami-e, Shigan, and Rankyaku, Nangong Yan was not particularly interested. He merely wanted to learn their body-tempering methods to strengthen his physique.

The Sabaody Archipelago, also known as the Soap-Bubble Archipelago, was home to the largest mangroves in the world, the Yarukiman Mangroves. Their roots remained exposed above the water, forming the islands of the Sabaody Archipelago.

The entire archipelago consisted of seventy-nine mangroves, each assigned a number. Every tree had its own towns and facilities. Groves 1 through 9 were lawless areas with places such as human trafficking shops; groves 10 through 19 held amusement parks; groves 40 through 49 were sightseeing areas selling local specialties; groves 50 through 59 housed shipyards and coating craftsmen; groves 60 through 69 served as entry and exit zones for the Marines and the government; groves 70 through 79 contained hotel districts and other such places.

The Sabaody Archipelago's greatest feature was the special resin secreted by the roots of the Yarukiman Mangroves through respiration. The resin expanded in the air to form bubbles, which then floated into the sky. However, the bubbles could only exist within the climate range of the Yarukiman Mangroves. Once they left the Sabaody Archipelago's climate zone, the resin would explode because it could no longer fully exert its power.

Bubble cars, bubble Ferris wheels, houses built upon bubbles... Bubble culture had seeped into every corner of Sabaody.

Thus, the Sabaody Archipelago was one of the most distinctive islands in the entire world of One Piece. As it was also an essential route to the New World, it was prosperous yet chaotic, with civilians, merchants, nobles, Marines, pirates, and bounty hunters all mixed together in a complicated situation.

After half a year of training, Nangong Yan was eager to test his skills. Thus, after arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago, he headed straight for the most chaotic lawless area. There was no better place to try his hand.

It had been a year since Nangong Yan came to the world of One Piece. A year of relentless training had made him grow quickly, bringing him close to 1.7 meters tall. He wore a black shirt, black trousers, and a black coat embroidered with red clouds. Evilbane, Akainu's treasured blade, hung at his waist. With a lazy, casual expression, he held a bottle of premium beer while a bulging money pouch hung openly at his side.

Nangong Yan spent lavishly in the lawless area, as if he were afraid no one would notice how rich he was.

His unusual behavior quickly caught the attention of several local gangs and pirate groups in the lawless area. Although they sensed that Nangong Yan was no ordinary person and that his actions were suspicious, wealth moved people's hearts. Men died for wealth, birds died for food. The considerable fortune was enough to make them risk their lives.

Before long, Nangong Yan had barely stepped out of a shop when several groups surrounded him. Pirates, thugs, hooligans, and human traffickers brazenly encircled him with blades and guns, each wearing a vicious expression, the greed in their eyes undisguised.

"Hahaha, brat, hand over all the Beli on you, and maybe we'll let you leave alive." A vicious-looking pirate laughed grimly. He had his chest exposed and held a large demon-head saber.

Rather than showing fear at being surrounded, Nangong Yan's face brimmed with fighting spirit. He casually tossed the bottle in his hand onto the ground, slowly drew the great-grade blade Evilbane, its gleaming blade flashing with cold light, then grinned. "Want Beli? Sure. Kill me, and everything I have is yours."

As soon as the words fell, Nangong Yan moved without waiting for an answer. His figure flashed, and Evilbane's brilliant blade light tore through the air toward the pirate who had spoken. A head, shock still frozen in its eyes, shot into the sky. Blood erupted like a fountain as the headless body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Nangong Yan's sudden attack kicked off the battle. Those wielding cold weapons charged at him, while those with muskets fired at him madly.

The moment he killed the first pirate, Nangong Yan had silently activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. As his physique grew stronger, the Mangekyo Sharingan could remain active for increasingly longer periods.

Nangong Yan had tested it before. With his current physique, he could keep the Mangekyo activated for an hour.

Those demonic eyes shook the hearts of everyone who caught a glimpse of them. Their mind-disturbing ocular power struck terror into the pirates, hooligans, and thugs. Combined with the extreme speed of Soru and the Mangekyo Sharingan's insight, Nangong Yan moved through the crowd with ease.

Brilliant blade light crisscrossed through the crowd. Whenever a slash flashed, a spray of crimson blood burst forth, or an arm or limb flew into the air. Miserable screams, furious roars, and courage-boosting howls intertwined with gunfire and the sound of weapons breaking.

Nangong Yan did not use his Devil Fruit abilities. Relying solely on martial arts and the swordsmanship he had learned, he rampaged through the crowd, slaughtering the pirates, thugs, and hooligans until they cried for their fathers and mothers.

There were no truly formidable people among this group. They were merely a little stronger than ordinary people. Even with muskets, they could do nothing against Nangong Yan's keen perception and reaction speed.

Without Observation Haki or Armament Haki, ordinary firearms could do nothing to an expert once their strength reached a certain level.

Sword Secret Art: Random Blades!

When only around ten pirates, thugs, and hooligans remained, Nangong Yan focused his mind and calmed his breath. The power of his entire body traveled through his bones and muscles into his arms. Almost simultaneously, he unleashed four heavy slashes. Before the air could disperse, four silver-white sword energies nearly three meters long ripped through the void, flashing through the air with piercing shrieks as they swept across the remaining people.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft... A bloody and violent scene unfolded. The domineering sword energy cut through all ten people, their bodies splitting in two alongside the swords, daggers, and muskets in their hands.

Foul-smelling blood, internal organs, and severed limbs scattered across the ground. The bodies cut in half let out miserable howls, like wailing ghosts and shrieking night owls.

Those lying on the ground with stronger vitality suffered even more. Unable to die immediately, they desperately tried to reattach their severed limbs and bodies.

Unfortunately, it was all futile, doing nothing but adding to their pain.

This was real combat. It was not like anime or television, where a small spurt of blood meant death and pain was barely felt. Real combat was bloody and cruel.

Faced with such a miserable sight, Nangong Yan was not entirely unmoved, but neither was he afraid or disgusted. He merely reminded himself that he must never stop training, so that scenes like this would only happen to others.

Pale golden Solar True Fire ignited in his left hand. With a casual flick, the fierce and domineering flames instantly engulfed every corpse, reducing them to ashes within a few breaths.

Nangong Yan's brutal methods intimidated those still watching from the shadows. They concealed themselves and rapidly withdrew their presences.

He cleanly sheathed Evilbane, his Mangekyo Sharingan faded, and Nangong Yan disappeared.

This was not the end, but the beginning. Over the next half month, Nangong Yan remained in the lawless area, openly displaying his wealth and luring in two more groups of fools blinded by greed. Another fifty or sixty people died by his hand.

Later, flaunting his wealth stopped working. Nangong Yan simply went looking for trouble with all sorts of people in the lawless area. If there was no excuse, he made one. In just half a month, nearly five hundred people died at his hands.

The half month of bloody slaughter did not go entirely smoothly. Along the way, he encountered two Zoan Devil Fruit users on two occasions: one with the Boar-Boar Fruit, and one with the Mantis-Mantis Fruit.

Those were Nangong Yan's hardest-fought and most satisfying battles. Fighting solely with martial arts and swordsmanship, he suffered serious injuries both times.

Once, three of his ribs were broken. Another time, his back was slashed. Fortunately, he ultimately relied on his broad mastery of swordsmanship to kill both opponents.

The half month of slaughter gradually allowed Nangong Yan to fully integrate the swordsmanship he had copied. He had begun to develop his own swordsmanship style and techniques, and had even touched upon the threshold of a swordsman's realm of cutting steel.

The swordsmanship Nangong Yan copied had belonged at the very least to Marine rear admirals, with most coming from Marine vice admirals. Their sword techniques were exquisite and profound. Combined with the Sharingan and his own hard work, that was why he had improved so quickly.

Nangong Yan's conventional combat strength had also risen from the level of a Marine commodore to that of a Marine rear admiral. He could now be considered an expert, and his gains had been considerable.