Having grown up around it, Shanks had gained a deep understanding of his captain's techniques.
Compared to his captain's, that aura from earlier had naturally been much weaker, but it was unmistakably a Flying Slash unleashed after his captain had infused it with Conqueror's Haki.
But he had never heard that his captain had an heir!
And to unleash that strike, one needed Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
If someone could do that, then there was no need to question their mastery of Conqueror's Haki, was there?
With that thought, Shanks changed direction 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 astonished.
He had already anticipated it, but after truly using Divine Departure, he still found it incredible.
So his cheat had turned Gol D. Roger's abilities into separate traits.
They could be strengthened individually without affecting one another.
Even if his Conqueror's Haki did not rise by a single level, raising Divine Departure to a high level would allow him to unleash the power Gol D. Roger himself had displayed.
In that case, he could first focus on improving a single ability and become 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.
[Obtained Cowardly and Timid: Current Level 1] [Obtained Strong and Sturdy: Current Level 1]
Shatter Traits!
Without hesitation, Lin Ye directly shattered the traits.
[Shattered Cowardly and Timid Level 1. Obtained Blank Trait x1] [Shattered Strong and Sturdy Level 1. Obtained Blank Trait x2]
Three Blank Traits!
It seemed that trash traits could only be broken down into one.
Perhaps after traits were upgraded, even this kind of trash trait could become powerful.
But clearly, he could not waste resources on such garbage traits right now.
[Upgrading Divine Departure to Level 2 requires Blank Trait x2 or Divine Departure Level 1 x2. Upgrade?]
Confirmed!
[Divine Departure upgraded to Level 2.]
A gleam flashed through Lin Ye's eyes, and the ordinary longsword in his hand turned black.
Suppressing the urge to swing his blade, Lin Ye turned and left with the sword in hand.
He could not stay in Loguetown for long.
However, this encounter had given him an even deeper understanding of his cheat.
It seemed that he would need to find ways to obtain as many traits as possible in the future.
He could only seek out battlefields, join a pirate crew, or perhaps the Marines.
Whether he joined a pirate crew or the Marines, he would encounter battles regularly.
But pirates were better. The Marines would not let him act freely unless he made a name for himself within their ranks.
As he left, Lin Ye rapidly weighed his options.
Just as Lin Ye departed, the red-haired man's figure appeared. He was carrying a red-nosed fellow in one hand, though the red-nosed man was currently crying his eyes out.
Standing atop a nearby roof, the red-haired man looked at the corpse on the ground and the mark left by the slash on its body.
"Could it really be?"
Shanks' eyes widened. Just as he turned to survey his surroundings and activated his Observation Haki, he sensed a group of Marine soldiers rushing in.
Shanks hesitated, then looked at the red-nosed man beside him.
Their identities could not be exposed.
After all, once the Marines discovered that they were crew members of the Pirate King, they would never stop hunting them down.
With that thought, the red-haired man patted the red-nosed man's shoulder, grabbed him, and vanished behind the elevated buildings.
The conflict between the Marines and pirates had already erupted.
This time, anyone found here would be arrested first, whether they were pirates or not.
Roger had caused such an enormous incident that the vice admiral in charge of his execution had issued a strict order.
"Search!"
The arriving Marine officer spotted the corpse on the ground, but did not spare it another glance before waving his hand.
The Marine soldiers behind him immediately gave chase through the alleyways.
Many young people who would one day become famous across the seas had sensed the aura of Conqueror's Haki, but the Marine operation made them unwilling to linger.
Even if they were not pirates, they would still inevitably run into plenty of trouble.
"Fufufufufu, how interesting!"
Donquixote Doflamingo, who also possessed awakened Conqueror's Haki, gazed in one direction and let out a strange laugh.
"Interesting. Far too interesting."
It was someone with the disposition of a king, a ruler born only once in a million people.
He had not expected that there was someone like that here besides himself.
Then again, it made sense. After all, this was where the Pirate King had just been executed.
"Young Master, the Marines have begun moving."
A slovenly middle-aged man with two streams of snot hanging from his nose spoke up.
"Let's go. It's time to leave, Trebol. A new era has arrived."
Doflamingo nodded at those words. He withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace.
Trebol looked at Doflamingo's back, his eyes filled with fervor.
The Young Master was the one who truly possessed the disposition 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 Pirate King's execution today and heard Roger's declaration, he knew that from this moment onward, the entire world would undergo enormous changes.
As a former Marine, he knew very well that there had already been countless pirates.
After today, even more people would set sail to become pirates, seeking the One Piece treasure.
This might shake the World Government's rule.
"Heyshishishi, boys, prepare to head for the New World!"
Moria, who had not yet suffered his crushing defeat and was immensely powerful himself, let out a strange laugh and waved his hand as his tall body turned away.
Then a group of pirates followed behind Moria toward the harbor.
In Moria's eyes, the death of Pirate King Roger symbolized the decline of the older generation of pirates.
And his ambitions were bursting forth as well.
Reach Laugh Tale and become the new Pirate King.
Moria's heart surged with excitement.
As Hawkeye turned to leave, he glanced at Moria, then looked back at Roger's corpse atop the platform.
What a pity.
The Pirate King had been the goal of his swordsmanship training.
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 strongest swordsman.
What a pity he would never see the legendary sword strike of the Pirate King.
The Marines were clashing with the resisting pirates.
A rear admiral appeared and swiftly brought down more than a dozen pirates. Then his expression shifted as he turned to look into the distance.
His feet rapidly struck 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 body, then turned to look at the sword mark on the nearby wall.
"This aura?"
The rear admiral frowned.
The aura of the slash that had killed this man was not powerful, but it felt familiar.
It felt as though he had encountered it somewhere...
This rear admiral had previously followed Marine hero Garp on many occasions in pursuit of Pirate King Roger. As he pondered, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
It was an aura similar to the Pirate King's sword strike.
The rear admiral's face turned livid. He took out a Den Den Mushi and immediately called Marine Headquarters.
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