Shatter Traits! Conqueror's Haki and Divine Departure

Having learned by watching and listening, Shanks had gained a deep understanding of his captain's techniques.

Compared to his captain's, that aura from earlier had naturally been far weaker, but it was unmistakably a Flying Slash unleashed after his captain had infused it with Conqueror's Haki.

But he had never heard of his captain having a successor!

Moreover, that attack required Conqueror's Haki Infusion to pull off.

If someone could do that, then their mastery of Conqueror's Haki naturally went without saying, didn't it?

With that thought, Shanks turned and headed toward where he had sensed the aura.

"So even if my Conqueror's Haki level isn't high, I can still unleash this move?"

Lin Ye looked somewhat surprised.

Though he had already suspected as much, he was still amazed after actually using Divine Departure.

So his cheat had turned Gol D. Roger's abilities into separate Traits.

They could be strengthened independently, without interfering with one another.

Even if his Conqueror's Haki never rose a single level, raising Divine Departure to a high level would still let him unleash power equivalent to Gol D. Roger's personal use of it.

In that case, he could focus on improving one ability first and grow stronger.

With that in mind, Lin Ye's gaze fell upon the corpse before him.

Two transparent bubbles appeared.

As Lin Ye watched them, the bubbles floated directly toward him.

[Picked up Cowardly and Timid: Current Level 1]

[Picked up Strong and Sturdy: Current Level 1]

Shatter Traits!

Lin Ye did not hesitate and 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 trash Traits could only be broken down into one.

Perhaps after being upgraded, even such trash Traits could become powerful ones.

But it was clearly impossible to waste resources on such trash 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 glint flashed through Lin Ye's eyes, and the ordinary-quality long blade in his hand turned black.

Suppressing the urge to swing it, 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 cheat once more.

It seemed he would need to find ways to obtain as many Traits as possible from now on.

He could only seek out battlefields, join a pirate crew, or join the Marines.

Whether he joined pirates or the Marines, he would encounter combat frequently.

But pirates were better. The Marines would not allow him to act freely unless he made a name for himself among them.

As he left, Lin Ye rapidly calculated in his mind.

Just after 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 crying miserably.

Standing on a rooftop nearby, the red-haired man looked at the corpse on the ground and the slash mark left on its body.

"Could it really be?"

Shanks widened his eyes and was about to inspect the surroundings when he used Observation Haki and sensed a group of Marine soldiers rushing in.

Shanks hesitated and glanced at the red-nosed man beside him.

Their identities could not be exposed.

After all, as crew members of the One Piece, once that identity was discovered, the Marines would never stop pursuing them.

With that thought, the red-haired man patted the red-nosed man's shoulder, grabbed him, and vanished behind the buildings above.

The conflict between Marines and pirates had already erupted.

This time, anyone who came here would be arrested first, whether they were pirates or not.

Roger had caused such a huge incident this time that the vice admiral who had carried out his execution had issued a strict order.

"Search!"

The arriving Marine soldiers saw the corpse on the ground. Without giving it a second glance, one of them waved his hand.

The Marine soldiers behind him immediately pursued along the alley.

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 those who were not pirates could not avoid all sorts of trouble.

"Fuffuffuffuffu, how interesting!"

Donquixote Doflamingo, who also possessed awakened Conqueror's Haki, stared in one direction and let out a strange laugh.

"How interesting. Truly fascinating."

It was someone with the qualities of a king, a ruler found only once in a million people.

He had not expected that, aside from himself, there was someone like that here.

Then again, it made sense. After all, this was where the One Piece had just been executed.

"Young Master, the Marines have begun moving."

A slovenly middle-aged man with two strands of snot hanging from his nose spoke.

"Let's go. It's time to leave as well, Trebol. The new era has arrived."

Doflamingo nodded at those words, withdrew his gaze, and quickened his pace.

Trebol watched Doflamingo's back, his eyes filled with fervor.

The Young Master was the one who truly possessed the qualities of a king.

Dragon, who had not yet officially founded 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 One Piece's execution today and heard Roger's shouted words, he knew that from this moment on, the entire world would undergo enormous changes.

As a former Marine, he knew very well that there had already been many pirates.

After today, even more people would set sail to become pirates, seeking the One Piece's treasure.

This might shake the World Government's rule.

"Hehishishishi, 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. With a wave of his hand, his towering body turned around.

Then a group of pirates followed behind Moria toward the harbor.

In Moria's eyes, the death of One Piece Roger symbolized the decline of the older generation of pirates.

And his ambition was bursting forth.

Reach Laugh Tale and become the new One Piece.

Moria's heart surged with excitement.

As Hawkeye turned to leave, he glanced at Moria, then looked back at Roger's corpse on the platform.

What a pity.

The One Piece had been the goal of his swordsmanship training.

Now, that goal was dead.

Then from now on, he would advance toward the position of the world's greatest swordsman.

One day, he would become the world's number one swordsman.

What a pity he would never see the legendary sword strike of the One Piece.

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.

His feet rapidly struck the ground, and his figure vanished from where he stood.

When he reappeared, a corpse lay before him.

He lowered his head to inspect the corpse, then turned to look at the sword mark on the wall beside him.

"This aura?"

The rear admiral frowned.

The aura behind the sword strike 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 followed the Marine hero Garp many times in pursuit of One Piece Roger. As he pondered, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

It was an aura similar to that sword strike of the One Piece.

The rear admiral's face turned livid. He pulled out a Den Den Mushi and directly contacted Marine Headquarters.