Cooperation

"Haki? Garde knows Armament Haki, so why did Gat still buy Haki at the auction house?" Werther found this rather strange. If Ferdinand could not explain it clearly, then this matter would end here. In the future, Werther would definitely come back to take revenge on this Dragon Person.

"Uh, it's kind of funny. Garde really can use Armament Haki, but because of his brain, he can't teach it. That's why Gat was so desperate to learn Haki. After all, he saw its power with his own eyes. You should know that sending people to intercept my auction house's customers at the docks—whether they succeed or fail, I won't let it go easily. That was my auction. If things went on like this, how could I keep doing business? Who would dare come to Tutu Island for an auction?" Ferdinand rarely showed such anger as he spoke.

This also answered another question in Werther's heart. Would such a large Auction really let its customers get robbed before they even left the island? How could it keep doing business afterward? Who would still go there?

After thinking it over, Ferdinand's words did make sense. If everything was true, then Werther really should consider working with Ferdinand. Garde would be back soon enough, and if Werther fled right now, Ferdinand might very well betray him to avoid getting implicated. After all, this world had something as miraculous as a Vivre Card. When Werther had been surrounded and attacked, his head and blood had been left behind on Tutu Island.

So Werther decided to work with Ferdinand and deal with Garde, the genuine lunatic, together.

Once everything had been settled, the atmosphere became much more pleasant. They agreed to meet again in ten days. Since Garde would need nearly twenty more days to return to Tutu Island, there was no rush.

In the end, Ferdinand generously offered to find a beautiful girl and send her over to Werther, only to be thoroughly scorned by him for his lack of sincerity. I'm covered in wounds right now. Even eating hurts like hell, and you want to send me a girl? What am I supposed to do, just stare at her?

After mercilessly mocking Ferdinand, Werther hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Werther's lips curled slightly as he muttered, "Interesting Dragon Person."

Thinking about it, that was true. If all the Dragon People of Mary Geoise were idiots with bubbles on their heads, the World Government would have been wiped out long ago.

One should not forget that aside from the royal families currently in Mary Geoise, there were many other royal families scattered across the world, such as the Vinsmoke Family and the Donquixote Family. There were also ambitious families, revolutionaries, and Pirates of the New World.

If all Dragon People were useless, then they truly would not be far from destruction.

Werther stopped thinking about it and picked up a bag beside the bed. From it, he took out the Haki notes he had obtained after narrowly escaping death this time.

He opened the notebook and skimmed through the beginning. Just like in the original story, it said that Haki was a power everyone possessed from birth, but ordinary people could never awaken it in their entire lives. All nonsense. He skipped straight to the later sections.

He began studying Armament Haki in detail.

What was Armament Haki? It was essentially a kind of bodily energy. The stronger a person was, the stronger this energy became. For some unknown reason, this power could strike the physical bodies of Logia users.

But that was not Armament Haki's only use. When it covered the body, it formed armor-like protection. The stronger the Armament Haki, the sturdier that armor became. That was what Werther wanted.

He carefully began researching how to awaken Armament Haki. The notebook had written one extremely frustrating sentence: to awaken Armament Haki, one's physical constitution had to be strong. As for how strong, it said absolutely nothing.

Werther resisted the urge to throw the notebook away and continued reading.

Even after dinner that evening, Werther was still studying methods of training Armament Haki.

Werther discovered that trying to learn Armament Haki quickly was nothing but a fool's dream. At least, he could not learn it that way.

One had to fight constantly, and during battle, consciously gather Armament Haki. That gathering process could never be completed overnight. It required long-term, repeated practice until one's body truly sensed Armament Haki. Only then could it be considered truly awakened.

To accelerate that process required all kinds of external stimulation, such as harsh weather and fierce battles.

Places with harsh weather were truly difficult to find, but there should be plenty of uninhabited islands where he could fight. Once Garde was dealt with, he would ask Ferdinand where there were suitable islands nearby.

He had originally wanted to awaken Armament Haki before dealing with Garde and increase his combat strength, but that now seemed impossible. He did not possess some heaven-shaking talent, so Haki would have to be set aside for the moment.

The biggest problem now was dealing with Garde, a man he had never met and who was destined to become his enemy.

In the end, the foundation of everything was still recovering his body. Otherwise, how could he fight?

With that thought, Werther changed the bloodstained blanket on his bed, then changed the medicine on his wounds. After another round of torment, he lay quietly in bed and slowly used the Lightning Stimulation Method to stimulate his cells and improve his recovery ability.

In the blink of an eye, the time of his appointment with Ferdinand arrived. Ferdinand had not arranged to meet Werther on Tutu Island, first to show sincerity, and second to avoid the spies of the Furious Lion Pirates.

Ferdinand had brought only one person with him—the cold beauty Werther had seen by the sea.

After the two ships drew close, Ferdinand came aboard Werther's ship. The cold beauty followed him without leaving his side, apparently acting as some kind of bodyguard.

"Werther, you look like you're recovering well. This is my younger sister, Gabriel Catarina." Ferdinand seemed quite satisfied with this cooperation and even introduced his sister to Werther.

Werther's first reaction was actually, That color doesn't match. Then he felt a burst of discomfort. The name Catarina was far too misleading.

But he had not expected this cold beauty to be Ferdinand's sister. That meant she should also be a Dragon Person, which once again overturned Werther's worldview.

Ferdinand at least resembled a Dragon Person in every way except his personality, but Catarina did not have the slightest trace of one.

"Hello, Sister Catarina. I'm Werther. We met before. Let's talk in the Restaurant. I made some food." With that, he led the brother and sister, Ferdinand and Catarina, toward the Restaurant.

When he was not fighting, Werther was perfectly normal. So he decided to use a method from his old hometown: if there was something to discuss, discuss it at the dinner table. At the very least, the atmosphere would be much more relaxed.

Catarina merely nodded and said nothing. Perhaps because of her voice, she did not like speaking.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to know how to cook, Werther. That truly surprises me. If your cooking is as good as your killing, then I'm in for a treat today." Ferdinand also found it rather strange.

Shouldn't assassins usually have icy expressions and never smile, especially someone as abnormal as Werther?

Before coming, Ferdinand had prepared himself to be ignored. But after arriving, he discovered that the person before him was completely different from what he had imagined. The madness and bloodlust he showed while killing were gone, replaced by a smiling, polite man.

Ferdinand was even more satisfied. After all, no one wanted to cooperate with a madman. Although the man before him would still become that way in battle, he seemed easy enough to get along with now. With the terms Ferdinand had offered, there would definitely be no problem.

The three arrived at the Restaurant on Werther's ship. When Ferdinand saw the food Werther had made, he was surprised—not because it was shabby, but because it was far too lavish. There were even several uncommon delicacies.

Although Werther was not a professional chef, he was a foodie. During his previous missions, he had tasted delicacies from many places and occasionally used "special" methods to ask chefs for cooking tips. Naturally, his cooking was not bad. More importantly, Werther had spent a great deal of money stocking his ship with many precious ingredients.

After the three sat down, Werther and Ferdinand chatted while eating. Ferdinand repeatedly praised Werther's cooking, while Catarina praised it through her actions—by keeping her head down and eating.

After some casual conversation, Werther learned that the siblings could only barely be considered Dragon People. More accurately, they were exiled Dragon People. Ferdinand did not elaborate much on the reason. He only said that the two had been driven out of Mary Geoise before they were ten years old and had lived outside for more than ten years. As for why they had previously lived in Mary Geoise, it had merely been to keep up appearances.

Otherwise, how could such an unglamorous business be run by a Dragon Person? It was impossible just thinking about it. The siblings were also special figures within the World Government. They did not hold high status, but because they had once been Dragon People, they were deeply trusted by the World Government.

After making their identities clear, the three began further negotiations. Because Ferdinand had once arranged the attack on Werther, he was willing to offer a Human-type Devil Fruit as compensation. In exchange, Werther would join forces with Catarina to kill Garde.

Afterward, the three formed an alliance. Werther could assist the siblings with force, while Ferdinand could provide Werther with channels to purchase all kinds of rare items and some top-secret information whenever he needed them.

Both sides were quite pleased with the alliance, and Werther specially brought out a bottle of fine wine to celebrate.

As for how much of it was true and how much was false, only the two men knew. Catarina, who appeared cold, was actually the least calculating of them all. She kept eating with her head down, fighting on her own battlefield: the dining table.

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