Nameless Divine Wind Style

King the Conflagration belonged to the Lunaria, a race that had once lived in a place on the Red Line known as the Land of Gods—a race called "gods."

Members of the Lunaria could produce flames from their bodies and survive under all manner of natural conditions. Their vitality was incomparably formidable, and they were called "gods" precisely because of their powerful physiques!

What others did not know was that within that Land of Gods, there had been another race capable of rivaling the Lunaria—the Olycia Tribe.

The two races had once been hailed as the twin poles of the Land of Gods!

The Lunaria were born with control over flames, while the Olycia Tribe were born with control over ice.

Moreover... the two races were hostile toward one another, sworn mortal enemies with the kind of hatred that demanded one side die whenever they met!

They were called twin poles for those very reasons!

The territory of the Four Emperor Red-Haired.

Red-Haired looked at the newspaper, unable to stop a smile from appearing at the corner of his lips. "The era Captain Roger ushered in really is a stormy one..."

The territory of the Four Emperor Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard put down the newspaper and could not help shaking his head. "Roger, is this the new era you wanted?"

Any major power with even slightly well-informed sources had learned of this matter, and it set off a series of tremors!

Ian's photograph had also appeared on the desks of many influential figures...

World Government, Holy Land Mary Geoise.

The Five Elders' office.

At that moment, the five men were sitting or standing as they discussed this incident.

One of the Five Elders spoke gravely. "That symbol and those ice abilities... there can be no mistake. He is one of the Olycia Tribe, one of the twin-pole races of that ancient kingdom!"

"I never expected that, besides King the Conflagration, someone else had survived."

"The changes in his body... he should be a Zoan ability user, right?"

"For their race, Zoans are the best Devil Fruits, since they already possess the ability to manipulate flames and solid ice."

"He was able to defeat Donquixote Doflamingo. There is no question about his strength. Should we recruit him as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea? He could fill the vacancy left by Donquixote Doflamingo."

"Let us try. The Seven Warlords of the Sea are of great importance—not only for dealing with the Four Emperors structure forming in the New World, but also for another reason..."

"The Pacifistas..."

"Vegapunk's research has stalled recently. His reason was that he needed people with powerful physiques and firm wills to serve as test subjects."

"Wouldn't people from the Marines work?"

"The Marines are, after all, one of our subordinate forces. Sengoku would never agree, and if we push too hard, it will make the Marines dissatisfied."

"Then should we try the criminals in Impel Down?"

"Vegapunk has said that the test subjects need to cooperate wholeheartedly. The people above Level Five are not strong enough, while the monsters in Level Six... do you think they would cooperate? Do not forget that King the Conflagration escaped during an experiment in the past!"

"There is no need to rush this matter. First, let us finalize the Seven Warlords of the Sea appointments."

"Send word to the Marines. Have them approach that man and test the waters." One of the Five Elders made the decision.

"That is all we can do."

"Besides that member of the Olycia Tribe, there is still one vacancy..."

"How is Fire Fist Ace doing recently? He is a Logia ability user, so his strength should not be weak."

"Have the Marines approach him as well."

"..."

Ian, who had already left Al Island, had no idea that many major powers had set their sights on him...

At that moment, Ian was sailing alone across the sea in a small boat.

With Ian's strength, he could already cross the seas by himself, so even with only a small boat, he could come and go freely.

Ian drifted across the sea without any particular destination. He had a Dimensional Space packed full of food, so he did not need to worry about running out even if he drifted at sea for several months.

"Since I have nothing better to do, I might as well draw a prize."

Ian yawned and lay down on the deck of his small boat.

His consciousness sank into the system. "Start the draw."

[Lottery draw started...

Ding! Obtained skill—Nameless Divine Wind Style!]

"Nameless Divine Wind Style? What kind of skill is that? Swordsmanship?" Ian had never heard the name of this skill and was somewhat puzzled.

But it did not matter. Once he fused with the skill, he would understand.

Countless streams of information surged into Ian's mind like a rushing flood, allowing him to master the skill in an instant.

So it really is swordsmanship? Ian stroked his chin. Hyorinmaru slid from its sheath at his waist, and his gaze sharpened as a sword aura rose from his body.

"Nameless Divine Wind Style: White Tiger!" Ian pushed his sword aura to its limit, then slashed Hyorinmaru down toward the sea ahead!

With a hum, a slash burst from Ian's blade, transforming into a ferocious roaring White Tiger as it charged forward!

Its razor-sharp claws and fangs seemed capable of tearing everything apart. The soaring slash broke through layer after layer of obstruction, pierced through space, and plunged into the sea!

Boom!

The slash exploded as it entered the water, making the entire sea seem to boil. Then, the exploded slash directly carved through the surface, forming ravines that looked as though they had been torn apart by turbulent currents!

Waves crashed and surged outward, rushing toward Ian's small boat.

Ian blew apart the waves with a Thunder Roar Cannon and frowned. "Too flashy!"

"Swordsmanship values intent, not form..." Ian narrowed his eyes. His sword aura condensed upon the blade, and Hyorinmaru drew the slash along as he brought it down once more.

Roar!

A tiger's roar rang out. Immediately afterward, the phantom of a White Tiger appeared above Ian's blade. In the next moment, a thousand-meter crescent slash shot forth and descended into the sea!

With a hiss, sword energy swept through the water. The turbulent surface was cleaved apart, and a long ravine stretched out for several thousand meters!

The sea surface... had been cut open!

Rumble!

The sea closed in and crashed together, sending water soaring into the sky. A wave dozens of meters high surged toward Ian.

"Now that is more like it..." Ian nodded in satisfaction, casually smashing the wave apart with a strike as his small boat continued onward.

A fused skill could be used according to Ian's will, as if he had already mastered it completely and was no longer bound by the patterns of its techniques.

Ian could use it however he pleased.

That previous strike had simply been Nameless Divine Wind Style: White Tiger delivered in a different manner, with roughly the same power.

But this was the effect Ian wanted. The previous version had been a little too flashy.

A few days later, Ian spotted an island in the distance.

"Finally, an island?" Ian smiled. After several days of sailing, there had been nothing but sea after sea. He was already getting sick of it.

Guiding his small boat toward shore, Ian landed at the harbor and headed toward the town.

But as he walked, he overheard the conversations of people around him.

One person said, "I heard that Hawk-Eye Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the world's greatest swordsman, is on this island."

The other person grew interested as well. "What happened?"

"Apparently, a renowned swordsman wants to challenge his position as the world's greatest swordsman."

"This is interesting. Will we get to see Hawk-Eye fight? Who is challenging him?"

"Apparently, it is Ghost Hunter Thorne, the man with a bounty of seven hundred million Beli!"

"Hiss, I remember that guy had already gone to the New World, right? Why did he come back from the New World?"

"He came specifically to the first half of the Grand Line to challenge Hawk-Eye."

"Hawk-Eye?" Ian listened to the two men's conversation, surprise appearing on his face.

Someone wanted to challenge Hawk-Eye?

This could be interesting...