Having watched and learned from him for so long, Shanks had gained a deep understanding of his captain's techniques.
That aura had naturally been much weaker than his captain's, but it had clearly been a Flying Slash infused with his captain's Conqueror's Coating.
But he had never heard of his captain having a successor!
And to unleash that strike, one needed to coat it with Conqueror's Haki.
If someone could do that, there was no need to question their mastery of Conqueror's Haki, was there?
With that thought, Shanks turned and headed toward the source of the aura he had sensed.
"So even if my Conqueror's Haki level isn't high, I can still use this move?"
Lin Ye looked somewhat surprised.
He had already expected it, but after truly using Divine Departure, he still found it astonishing.
So his Golden Finger had turned Roger's abilities into separate Entries.
They could be strengthened independently, without interfering with one another.
Even if his Conqueror's Haki did not rise a single level, raising Divine Departure to a high level would still allow him to unleash power equal to Roger's own attack.
In that case, he could first focus on improving one aspect and becoming stronger.
With that thought, Lin Ye's gaze fell upon the corpse before him.
Two transparent bubbles appeared.
As Lin Ye stared at them, the bubbles drifted directly toward him.
[Pick up Cowardice: Current Level 1] [Pick up Strong and Healthy: Current Level 1]
Shatter Entries!
Without hesitation, Lin Ye directly shattered the Entries.
[Shattered Cowardice Level 1, obtained Blank Entries x1] [Shattered Strong and Healthy Level 1, obtained Blank Entries x2]
Three Blank Entries!
It seemed trash Entries could only be broken down into one.
Perhaps after being upgraded, even such trash Entries could become powerful ones.
But clearly, he could not waste resources on garbage Entries like these right now.
[Upgrading Divine Departure to Level 2 requires Blank Entries x2 or Divine Departure Level 1 x2. Upgrade?]
Confirmed!
[Divine Departure upgraded to Level 2]
A glint flashed through Lin Ye's eyes, and the ordinary longsword in his hand turned black.
Suppressing the urge to swing his sword, Lin Ye turned and left with the blade in hand.
He could not stay in Loguetown for long.
But this encounter had deepened his understanding of his Golden Finger once again.
It seemed he would need to find a way to obtain as many Entries as possible in the future.
He could only seek out battlefields, join a pirate crew, or enlist in the Marines.
Whether he joined pirates or the Marines, he would frequently encounter battle.
But pirates were better. The Marines would not allow him to act freely unless he distinguished himself among them.
As he left, Lin Ye rapidly calculated in his mind.
Just as Lin Ye departed, Shanks appeared, carrying a red-nosed fellow in one hand. The red-nosed man was crying miserably.
Standing on a rooftop nearby, Shanks looked at the corpse below and the slash mark left on its body.
"Could it really be?"
Shanks widened his eyes and was about to survey his surroundings. The moment he used Observation Haki, he sensed a group of Marine soldiers rushing in.
Shanks hesitated and looked at the red-nosed man beside him.
Their identities could not be exposed.
After all, once the Marines discovered they had been crew members of the King of the Pirates, they would never stop pursuing them.
With that thought, Shanks patted the red-nosed man's shoulder, grabbed him, and slipped behind the buildings above.
The conflict between the Marines and pirates had already erupted.
This time, everyone who had come here would be arrested first, whether they were pirates or not.
Roger had caused such a massive incident that the Vice Admiral responsible for carrying out his execution had issued a strict order.
"Search!"
The arriving Marine soldiers saw the corpse on the ground but did not spare it another glance. With a wave of his hand, they moved at once.
The Marine soldiers behind him immediately pursued along the alleyways.
Many young people who would one day become famous across the seas had sensed the aura of Conqueror's Haki, but the Marines' actions made them unwilling to linger.
Even if they were not pirates, they would still inevitably run into plenty of trouble.
"Fufufufufu, how interesting!"
Doflamingo, who also possessed and had already awakened Conqueror's Haki, looked in one direction and let out a strange laugh.
"How interesting. Truly fascinating."
It was someone with the qualities of a king, a ruler born only once in a million people.
He had not expected there to be someone like that here besides himself.
Then again, it made sense. This was where the King of the Pirates had just been executed.
"Young Master, the Marines have begun moving."
The sloppy-looking middle-aged man with two streams of snot hanging from his nose spoke.
"Let's go. It's time to leave, Trebol. A new era has arrived."
Doflamingo nodded at his words, withdrew his gaze, and quickened his pace.
Trebol watched Doflamingo's retreating figure, his eyes filled with fervor.
The Young Master was the one who truly possessed the qualities of a king.
Dragon, who had yet to formally establish the Revolutionary Army, was also feeling deeply conflicted.
During his years in the Marines, he had come to understand more and more of the darkness within the Marines—or rather, the World Government.
This world needed to change.
Having witnessed the King of the Pirates being executed today and heard Roger's shouted words, he knew that from this point on, the entire world would undergo tremendous changes.
Having once been a Marine, he knew very well that there were already many pirates.
After today, even more people would set sail to become pirates, seeking the King of the Pirates' treasure.
This might shake the World Government's rule.
"Hehehehe, boys, prepare to head for the New World."
Moria, who had yet to suffer his crushing defeat and whose strength was still formidable, let out a strange laugh and turned his towering body with a wave of his hand.
A group of pirates immediately followed behind Moria toward the harbor.
In Moria's eyes, the death of King of the Pirates Roger symbolized the decline of the old generation of pirates.
And his ambition was surging forth.
Reach the Final Island and become the new King of the Pirates.
Moria's heart swelled with excitement.
As Hawkeye turned to leave, he glanced at Moria, then looked back at Roger's corpse atop the execution platform.
What a pity.
The King of the Pirates had been his goal in the pursuit of swordsmanship.
Now, that goal was dead.
Then he would advance toward the position of the world's greatest swordsman.
One day, he would become the world's greatest swordsman.
It was a pity he would never get to see the King of the Pirates' legendary sword strike.
The Marines were clashing with the resisting pirates.
A rear admiral appeared and swiftly knocked down more than a dozen pirates. Then his expression shifted, and he turned to look into the distance.
He rapidly stomped against the ground, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, a corpse lay before him.
He lowered his head to examine the corpse, then turned to look at the sword mark on the nearby wall.
"This aura?"
The major general frowned.
The aura within the strike that had killed this man was not strong, but it felt familiar.
It felt as though he had encountered it somewhere before...
This rear admiral had previously followed Marine Hero Garp many times in pursuit of King of the Pirates Roger. As he pondered, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
It was an aura similar to that of the King of the Pirates' sword strike.
The rear admiral's face darkened. He pulled out a Transponder Snail and directly contacted Marine Headquarters.
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