Great Pirate Era! A Frenzied Surge in Power

Setting out to sea, they encountered a blockade by a Marine warship, but the interception was not particularly forceful.

Led by Moria, the pirate ship broke through the blockade and sailed away, leaving behind his "Heh-shi-shi-shi" laughter and the arrogant laughter of the other pirates.

Several other pirate ships broke through the blockade alongside them.

Meanwhile, Loguetown rang nonstop with shouts, gunfire, and cannon blasts.

This chaos seemed to herald the coming Great Pirate Era.

Marine Headquarters.

"Didn't find him?"

Sengoku frowned in thought as he looked at the photographs transmitted by the Fax Transponder Snail in his hand.

Garp craned his head for a look, then stroked his chin.

"Enough. It's not him!"

Garp shook his head as he spoke, reeking of alcohol and making Sengoku frown.

"What? You don't believe me? Little Tsuru, take a look!"

Seeing Sengoku's expression, Garp immediately glared.

The dejected air he had shown earlier over Roger's execution had now vanished completely.

At his words, Vice Admiral Tsuru took the pictures Sengoku handed her and examined them one by one.

There were corpses photographed from every angle, as well as sword marks left on the walls.

Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned slightly.

Her reaction made Sengoku curious.

"Well?"

"It really doesn't seem likely. King of the Pirates Roger was immensely powerful; both you and I know that. Every move he made carried tremendous force, because he had cultivated his Haki to its limit."

After placing the photographs on the table, Vice Admiral Tsuru lightly tapped them with her fingers.

"See? Even Little Tsuru figured it out, but you, the so-called wise general, couldn't. More like an idiot general!"

As Garp spoke, he even picked his nose with his pinky.

Veins bulged on Sengoku's forehead.

His earlier look of utter despair had been exasperating enough, but his usual personality was even more maddening.

Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at Garp without saying anything, then turned back to Sengoku.

"Roger's sword strike was a Flying Slash enhanced with Conqueror's Haki Coating. Anyone capable of unleashing that strike naturally possesses extraordinary mastery over Conqueror's Haki."

"You mean someone with that level of strength wouldn't use such a slash against some insignificant pirate?"

Sengoku nodded slightly.

"That is one reason. More importantly, its power was too weak."

At Sengoku's words, Garp grinned broadly.

After the battle at God Valley, he had begun pursuing Roger, and the two had fought countless times.

If anyone in this world knew Roger's strength best, it was undoubtedly him.

That strike looked similar, and according to the reports from his subordinates, its presence had been somewhat similar as well, but he did not believe it was Roger.

"If someone could coat a sword with Conqueror's Haki and unleash that slash, Loguetown would probably have been split open by now."

Seeing Sengoku's hostile gaze, Garp added another sentence.

Sengoku's expression stiffened.

"If someone could truly unleash that strike, then he could also control its power."

Tsuru shook her head, then changed the subject.

"But that is not what we need to focus on now. Roger's final words before his execution—you can both guess what will happen next."

After Tsuru said that, Sengoku and Garp both turned grim.

Of course they knew. Their earlier conversation had merely been a way to ease their minds before facing the real issue.

"He's already dead, and he still had to cause such enormous trouble."

After a long while, Sengoku finally spoke in a low voice and rose to his feet.

"Come on, Garp. You cannot miss this meeting."

Garp's expression stiffened, but he did not refuse. He left together with Sengoku and Tsuru.

The situation the Marines would face next would be even more severe.

A year was enough for many things to happen.

The impact of King of the Pirates Roger's execution had not faded. Instead, it had only intensified.

The number of pirates setting sail had increased explosively.

The entire sea seemed to be filled with pirate ships everywhere.

Beneath low, heavy thunderclouds and amid the raging waves, a colossal warship like a small island cleaved through the towering waves charging toward it.

"Heh-shi-shi-shi."

Gecko Moria's familiar, strange laughter rang out from the bow.

Still not yet bloated, his body was lean and muscular. Wielding a sharp blade, he sent out Flying Slashes one after another, severing the waves crashing toward him.

Lin Ye stood straight upon the ship, utterly unaffected by its violent rocking.

He looked toward Gecko Moria at the bow and raised a hand to wipe the rainwater from his face.

A pirate was, in the end, still a pirate.

The current Gecko Moria was far stronger than he would be when he encountered Straw Hat in the future.

Moria was now at the height of his strength. Even in the New World, it would be difficult for him to find an opponent.

Many accounts claimed that before encountering Kaido, Moria had also been a bold and powerful hero of the seas.

But after traveling with him all this way, Lin Ye had learned that a pirate was, in the end, still a pirate.

He had done every single thing pirates were supposed to do.

Over the course of the year, they had fought dozens of battles of all sizes, including raids on islands and clashes with other pirate crews.

Lin Ye had also established an image for himself: someone who never attacked the weak and had a somewhat rigid personality.

Over the course of that year, Lin Ye had grown much taller.

He could not compare to Moria, but at eleven years old, he was already nearly 1.8 meters tall.

[Lin Ye]

[Eleven years and one month old]

[Abilities: Term Pickup, Term Shatter]

[Conqueror's Haki: Level 6]

[Armament Haki: Level 6]

[Observation Haki: Level 6]

[Divine Departure: Level 7]

[Voice of All Things: Level 3]

[Mighty Physique: Level 3]

[Calm: Level 3]

[...]

[...]

[Blank Entries: 3]

There had been enough battles and enough deaths, so Lin Ye's gains had naturally been immense.

Whenever they encountered another pirate crew in battle, Lin Ye never showed mercy.

His swordsmanship had also been tempered greatly.

However, his focus had always been on the Three Types of Haki and Divine Departure.

Aside from truly worthless terms, he kept everything else. Some useful ones had even been raised by one or two levels.

They had also improved his own strength considerably.

More importantly, though, these were backup energy sources for Lin Ye. The upgraded terms could also be shattered, and once shattered, the Blank Entries spent on them would be returned directly.

That was why Lin Ye was willing to spend Blank Entries on these terms.

Of course, that was not his only gain.

What concerned Lin Ye even more was abilities.

Ever since boarding the ship, Lin Ye had been considering whether he should eat a Devil Fruit in the future.

However, after picking up an ability—or rather, a move developed through an ability—from a Devil Fruit User Moria had killed, Lin Ye changed his mind.

That person had probably eaten a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit related to strength.

The manifested ability Lin Ye picked up was [Mighty Arms].

It could increase the strength of his arms severalfold.

And that was only its Level 1 effect.

After being raised to Level 3, activating the ability could increase his strength more than tenfold.

But it also placed a greater burden on his body.

That was also why he had raised Mighty Physique to Level 3.

Of course, for Lin Ye, its significance was not merely an increase in strength. It meant that abilities could be manifested by themselves and then picked up.

If killing a Logia user could make their ability drop, then if he raised that ability, could he obtain the Devil Fruit's full power?