The Navy Has Arrived
People said that women in love were blind.
Nothing could have described the Empress better right now.
Perhaps the Celestial Dragons truly were the Empress's weak spot. With just a light touch, she had completely fallen for him.
When Leo said that he wanted to overthrow the Celestial Dragons, overthrow the system they ruled through, and overthrow the entire World Government, it was far more devastating than Luffy punching a Celestial Dragon away with one blow—especially to a former slave like the Empress, who was tough on the outside but soft within, who hated the Celestial Dragons but lacked the courage to act.
Moreover, Leo was not Luffy. He did not even have the strength to truss a chicken; he could not beat even an ordinary Celestial Dragon guard, let alone punch a Celestial Dragon to vent his anger. Escaping from the Celestial Dragons alive had already been an incredible stroke of luck, so it was only natural that he now wanted to increase his strength.
Although he had once described the structure of this world and explained its top-tier combat power, that did not stop him from wanting to become one of those top-tier fighters himself.
Though he was already twenty-six, about the same age as the Empress and even older than Hancock, his actual strength placed him among the lowest vermin in the One Piece World. Even Nami was probably stronger than him.
It was not his fault. His body truly was that of an ordinary East Asian city dweller from his previous life, with no training whatsoever. After arriving in the One Piece World, he had become twenty years younger, and his six-year-old body had eaten and drunk well under the Celestial Dragons without suffering much hardship, but it simply would not grow stronger.
Even ordinary people could easily surpass him physically.
He had tried Prisoner Training in his room before, but it had not worked. No matter how he trained, his physique remained weaker than ordinary people who did not train at all.
Clearly, humans in the One Piece World were inherently stronger in terms of physical constitution than those from his former technological society.
It was a fundamental difference between the two.
After being examined by Belladonna, the female doctor named after flower language's belladonna, he could only helplessly reach that conclusion.
If that was the case, he did not know whether he could practice Haki or eat a Devil Fruit. That was what made him hesitate the most.
So, he should start by training Haki first.
Gloriosa sat on a tree branch, while the Empress neglected state affairs and simply sat nearby with her two younger sisters, watching Gloriosa teach Leo as though they were watching a play.
There were few onlookers here. Tall walls kept beasts out and prevented the Amazon warrior women from leaving, so only the few of them were present. Gloriosa's teaching was also far gentler than that of the instructors in the Amazon Lily Kingdom.
As Gloriosa slowly explained, Leo gained a clearer understanding of the structure of the Amazon Lily Kingdom.
Even in the Amazon Lily Kingdom, it was impossible for everyone to master Haki. First, they built foundations from childhood and determined which kind of Haki each person was more suited for. From Armament Haki to Observation Haki, they began learning different types from a young age. Those with slimmer bodies were more suited to Observation Haki—Sandersonia's Observation Haki was stronger, for example—while those with sturdier bodies were more suited to Armament Haki, such as Marigold, whose Armament Haki was stronger.
After mastering their first type of Haki, they continued learning the other type they did not know.
Once they had mastered both types and could skillfully apply them to archery, they could become Guardian Warriors.
After serving as Guardian Warriors for several years, when the next generation of Guardian Warriors had matured, the Empress would take them aboard ships and head out to plunder. This was how the Amazon warrior women accumulated experience and grew stronger generation after generation.
Every Amazon warrior woman who boarded the ships knew Haki. Combined with Amazon's distinctive Snake Bows, their arrows flew fast and far with tremendous power, comparable to cannon fire. Forget Pirate crews—even Warships might not be able to bring them down. It would probably take at least a Navy Admiral, working with several Vice Admirals, to keep the Kuja Pirates from escaping.
That was undoubtedly a force of decisive importance.
And Haki was the only reason they could overcome their disadvantage in numbers.
No matter what, he had to master Haki.
It was one of only two paths for him to survive in this world.
Gloriosa was an old-school powerhouse. She was also the one who had brought the Empress and her two sisters back to Nine Snake Island from Shakky at the Sabaody Archipelago. The three sisters had probably learned Haki from her as well.
Like Rayleigh, she naturally had certain tricks for using Haki.
With Leo's intelligence, he understood after hearing it once. Understanding was one thing, however; Haki was an elusive physical power, as fantastical as inner energy, internal cultivation, or true essence.
Rayleigh had only one method for training Luffy: close his eyes and train like his life depended on it.
Leo could understand such a mystical approach. It was like when he had played PUBG in the past—when he was in the zone, getting ten kills in a match was effortless, and that had been at the 5,000-point high rank. But when he was off his game, he could only throw the match away.
Professional players trained year after year, practicing constantly, just to maintain that feeling and keep it until retirement.
If being in the zone was equivalent to Haki, then it became easy to understand.
Understanding it was one thing. Getting into that state was another, and maintaining it well enough to use it freely was yet another.
In short, although he understood the basics, he still had a long road ahead. Ten whole days passed. His body recovered, and after eating plenty of grilled flatbread stuffed with Sea King meat, he still made no progress at all.
He knew that physically strong people excelled at Armament Haki, so someone as frail as him had to begin with Observation Haki. Observation Haki was also a type of Haki that tested talent immensely. A powerhouse like Katakuri could foresee the world several seconds ahead, hear the voices of Sea Kings, and speak with Zunesha, while the weak could not even get through the door.
Observation Haki demanded even more talent than Armament Haki and was even more mysterious.
For a time, he could not help feeling discouraged, but his relationship with the Amazon warrior women in the city grew increasingly harmonious.
After finishing his training each day, he would go to Ren's tavern for something to eat and drink, then tell them adapted stories from One Thousand and One Nights.
Naturally, the Amazon girls grew even fonder of this "rare beast" whose stories never seemed to end.
Then, on the eleventh day, a piece of news brought his training to a halt and gathered all the Amazon warrior women together.
Because, to no one's surprise—
Outside the main gate of Amazon Lily Island.
A warship had stopped there, flaunting its might.
The Navy had finally arrived!
PS: I originally wanted to upload this separately, but after thinking it over, it was more satisfying to read together, so I uploaded it all at once.
PS1: Bonus chapter for 1,000 recommendations. I will not delay it until after the premium release.
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