Two-Color Haki Basics, Target: Celestial Dragons

"Getting started had been pretty quick, but the next step—emission—was somewhat difficult."

Brando found an uninhabited island, not even as large as a football field. Still, it was enough for him. Since he could walk on water, he had a vast area in which to train.

After giving a Marine vice admiral a brutal beating, he obtained the technique called Lariat.

He mastered Armament Haki coating in just a few hours. Most of the time had been spent locating that flow of energy.

However, the subsequent emission of Armament Haki was somewhat more difficult. Brando could release it, but he could not do so precisely. What Brando wanted to learn, though, was internal destruction—the power only obtainable at the highest level of Armament Haki.

After training in Armament Haki for two days, Brando stopped. Training by himself was too slow; he might as well find stronger enemies and farm some experience, just like playing a game. Once he won, he could directly refine their memories.

Next, Brando began training his Observation Haki.

He created two Shadow Clones. The original body covered his eyes while the two clones threw stones at him from afar for preliminary training.

However, Brando's senses had already been strong to begin with, and he quickly got the hang of detecting fluctuations in auras.

Haki Crane watched from the side, eager to give it a try. Using its small body formed from chakra, it secretly controlled sand to attack Brando as well.

But that was far too obvious. Brando's sensory abilities were already powerful due to his Uzumaki Bloodline, and the sand controlled by Haki Crane contained chakra. He sensed it immediately, so it was completely useless.

"I refuse to believe it!"

Seeing that none of its attacks worked, Haki Crane grew anxious and began controlling even more sand, gathering it into masses and hurling them at Brando.

Four days after Brando dealt with Vice Admiral Doro, the photographs finally made the papers. It had taken quite some time for the Shadow Clones to find an inhabited island.

[Red Eye Brando Provokes the World Government Once Again!]

The World Economy News Paper had already put Brando on its front page for the third time.

Originally, the Marines did not have any particular intentions toward Brando, since their primary enemies were pirates. Brando's bounty had been issued entirely because of the Celestial Dragons.

But this time, what Brando had done truly angered them.

At present, the most active and attention-grabbing figures on the seas were Brando and Red-Haired Shanks.

"Garp, look at your fellow townsman!"

Sengoku slammed the newspaper heavily onto the desk.

"That bastard really went too far this time!"

Garp was displeased as well.

Couldn't that brat have captured a Celestial Dragon and photographed him like that? Why did he have to capture a Marine?

Moreover, Garp knew full well that Doro had no sense of justice. He only cared about profit and power, and he truly was a Celestial Dragon's lapdog.

But he could not say that out loud.

"That guy is troublesome. He is alone and has no attachments, unlike those pirates."

"Moreover, his strength is growing quickly. According to the intelligence sent back by Kuzan, ordinary vice admirals are probably no longer a match for that kid."

Sengoku removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had roughly guessed why Brando attacked the Marines. It was likely revenge for Kuzan specifically targeting him.

However, the order had come from the Five Elders, and Sengoku could not refuse it. Still, he had never expected Kuzan to fail.

"He is already that strong?"

Garp was somewhat surprised.

Back in Foosha Village, he had thrown a punch at Brando. At the time, he felt the kid was only about as strong as a non-headquarters rear admiral. How long had it been?

It did not seem to have been three months.

"That guy is a lone wolf. If he continues retaliating against the Marines, it will be troublesome. Hawkeye Mihawk caused the Marines to lose a great deal of face before."

Sengoku could accept a single vice admiral being humiliated.

But what he could not accept was what might happen afterward. If another Marine Hunter appeared, the Marines' face would be thoroughly swollen from all the slaps.

Furthermore, this "Red Eye" was extremely good at escaping. His abilities were numerous and strange; he seemed to possess both Paramecia and Zoan powers. No one could see through his Devil Fruit ability at all.

"The Shichibukai should never have existed."

Garp was also deeply dissatisfied with the Shichibukai system.

That Marine Hunter had been recruited as a Shichibukai, leaving the Marines unable to take revenge.

Then there was the man who attacked Zephyr. He had somehow become a Shichibukai too, leaving Garp unable to avenge him!

"Garp!"

Sengoku's voice suddenly rose.

He did not want a system like the Shichibukai to exist either, but it was a policy set by the Five Elders. They could not defy it, so it was best not to say such things.

During his conversation with Kuzan several days earlier, Sengoku had felt Kuzan's exhaustion—not physical exhaustion, but exhaustion stemming from his justice.

"Treat that kid like an ordinary pirate. He also happens to be in the New World."

"And that guy has something wrong with his head. He probably will not deliberately target the Marines. Perhaps he will choose an even bigger target."

Garp spoke with a calm gaze.

It was not worthwhile for the Marines to specifically dispatch personnel against Brando. He was alone and difficult to find, and sending anyone weaker than a Marine Admiral could easily backfire.

Garp had no interest in making a move against anyone other than pirates.

"Then let's do that."

Sengoku could not come up with any better solution either. The Marine Admirals all had their own duties, making it difficult to send one specifically after Brando.

Furthermore, with the Shichibukai and Celestial Dragon incidents happening first, the public pressure on the Marines was actually manageable. The World Government was the one primarily being questioned.

The Marines were supposed to deal with pirates. A madman like this should be handled by the higher-ranking World Government.

Brando emerged from seclusion after fifteen days.

"Celestial Dragons, here I come!"

Brando prepared to gather intelligence on the Celestial Dragons and see which "god" would be lucky enough to be chosen by him.

Over those fifteen days, Brando had gotten started with Armament Haki while also gaining deep control over Observation Haki, directly reaching the second stage.

He had chosen to specialize in large-scale perception.

At the second stage of Observation Haki, some specialized in close combat and could more quickly catch sudden movements. Others specialized in extremely long-range perception, which snipers often chose.

The third path was large-scale perception. Few trained in that direction; Enel had developed it himself.

At close range, Brando's Sharingan was more useful than Observation Haki, and the same was true for long-range sniping.

Large-scale perception suited Brando better. His Uzumaki Bloodline also gave him an advantage in that regard, which was why he had picked it up so quickly. That was the main reason.

"I remember Doflamingo used to be a Celestial Dragon too."

"Forget it. This time, I'll take revenge on the World Government first. I'll capture a real Celestial Dragon and broadcast it live. Doflamingo can wait."

Doflamingo did not know that he had escaped a disaster.

The New World was chaotic, and there were many underground black markets as well. The memories Brando obtained from Doro's mind contained information about those black markets.

Information on the Celestial Dragons was not particularly highly classified, because their travel processions were so grand that it was difficult for anyone not to notice them.

Besides, apart from a handful of madmen, no one on these seas wanted to make a move against Celestial Dragons. Brando was one of those few madmen.