Understanding, Step by Step

Over the next few days, the ship sailed slowly across the sea, surrounded by silence.

The ocean swells rose and fell, as though echoing the feelings of everyone aboard, their calm concealing a force poised to erupt.

Sengoku and the other wounded Marines rested quietly in the ship's recovery area. Although their injuries had been treated promptly, weakness and pain still haunted them.

Whenever night fell and all was quiet, Sengoku would unconsciously clutch his chest. The pain left his eyes hollow and distant, as though an emptiness that could never be filled was spreading through his heart.

Garp stayed beside Sengoku's bed every day, gently urging him to rest more, while Tsuru often stood quietly at the bow, gazing into the distance with a heavy heart.

Even without saying it aloud, everyone knew that the situation ahead would be more complicated and dangerous than they had imagined.

Yet Jin An, the ship's sole commander, did not let the somber atmosphere shake his resolve.

He maintained his daily training routine, using what little time he had to explore the secrets of power.

To improve his strength as much as possible, Jin An spent time each day in a corner of the cabin, quietly honing himself.

Through meticulous meditation, he sought the limits of his body and mind, then broke through them again and again.

Every bead of sweat that slid down his forehead and every deep breath seemed to compress time, forcing him to grow rapidly.

He stood in the corner of the cabin, closed his eyes, and sensed the fluctuations around him.

That powerful sense of impending danger still lingered in his heart, like a ghost drawing ever closer.

He knew that the shadows of Imu, Blackbeard, and the World Government still loomed over them. Only by growing stronger