Mu Chen's words were extremely hard for Ace to hear. He had thought that, now that he was known as the Flame Emperor and his Devil Fruit had awakened, he possessed the strength to fight Mu Chen. But now Mu Chen was saying that Haki was the strongest. It made Ace feel as if all his efforts had gone in the wrong direction. It seemed he had relied too much on his Devil Fruit!
If you give me a little more time, I'll definitely surpass you!
Isn't it just Haki?
I'll master it for sure!
Ace suddenly roared. A burst of strength from nowhere let him force himself upright in an instant, and immediately afterward, Ace's own Conqueror's Haki erupted.
Mu Chen watched the determination rekindle in Ace's eyes, and a faint, imperceptible smile curled across his lips.
Seeing this, Mu Chen knew that his goal had more or less been achieved—and achieved to an exceptionally high standard.
Whitebeard, is he your son or mine?
Man, there's no teacher more dedicated than me.
After grumbling inwardly, Mu Chen turned and left, tossing out one final sentence. "Then I'll give you a chance to grow. Practice your Haki properly. Don't disappoint me next time."
With that, Mu Chen's figure transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished beyond Yanko Island's horizon.
In the blink of an eye, another eleven months passed. There was only one month left before Mu Chen assumed the position of Fleet Admiral, and Luffy's crew was also about a month away from gathering as they had in the original story.
Mu Chen had just returned from the New World to Kamabakka Kingdom. He sat across from Whitebeard with one leg crossed over the other, staring intently at him.
"I'm an old man too. Shouldn't you give