Conqueror's Haki

Even after so many days had passed, Oak, now a prisoner, still burned with resentment over being stabbed in the back.

Ever since arriving in this world, he had never suffered such a loss. But now that things had come to this, there was nothing he could do. He could only comfort himself by thinking that he had not merely lost out this time; he had gained something as well. During this incident, he had inadvertently awakened...

"Begin!"

While Oak was lost in thought, the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents outside the cell stirred again. One of the agents who had entered from outside spoke, then pressed a button beside the cell. With a hissing sound, large amounts of pale red gas were pumped into the cell enclosed in transparent glass. It quickly filled the entire chamber, swallowing Oak's figure from view.

The gas was a powerful anesthetic. Although Oak had become their prisoner, the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents still had lingering fears from their battle with him that day.

Even though less than a tenth of his strength remained, and he had clearly been weakened, even though the anesthetic he had taken beforehand had flared up by the end and left him swaying unsteadily, he had still made them suffer dearly.

Their injuries alone made it clear that every one of them had been wounded in that battle, and not lightly. Without one or two months of recuperation, they would never fully recover. Yet Oak, despite becoming their captive, was completely unscathed. Forget injuries; he did not even have a scratch. They had fought for so long without breaking through his defenses. Rather than saying they had defeated him, it was more accurate to say that they had stalled him until the high-intensity battle prevented him from suppressing the anesthetic in his body, causing him to collapse.

That was why, at fixed times every day, these Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents pumped large amounts of anesthetic gas into the cell to keep him weakened. They knew perfectly well that if he recovered, even the current airtight security measures would not stop him from escaping. He was a monster through and through. Ordinary steel chains were no different from rotten mud in his hands; he could break free whenever he wanted.

"So it's starting again..."

Inside the cell, Oak looked at the gas filling the air around him and curled his lip disdainfully. These World Government lapdogs only knew how to use such lowly tricks. In a head-on fight, he could beat the shit out of them.

Still, as underhanded as this method was, it had to be said that it was extremely effective. His body was impervious to blades and bullets, with muscles and bones like steel. When he had first been captured, the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents had tried to inject drugs into him while he was unconscious. No matter what they did, they could not pierce his skin with a needle, so they had switched to gaseous drugs instead. He could not stop breathing forever. As long as he breathed, the anesthetic gas would enter his body in large quantities and keep him weak.

"Hmph!"

Oak held his breath stubbornly for a while, his face turning bright red. In the end, he had no choice but to breathe again, allowing large amounts of anesthetic to enter his body with every breath. The little strength he had painstakingly accumulated began to drain away bit by bit as the drug took effect.

"If you won't let me recover, then I won't let you have it easy either!"

Just before he lost all his strength and consciousness, Oak gritted his teeth and erupted with power from within. Black lightning flashed through the cell as an overwhelmingly powerful presence spread outward.

Crackle!

That presence shattered through the cell at astonishing speed and spread across the entire ship.

"I knew he wouldn't submit so obediently to the anesthetic. Just as expected..."

"Conqueror's Haki!"

The Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents outside the cell seemed to have anticipated it long ago and were already on full alert.

They had grown used to it. Every time before the anesthetic knocked him out, Oak would struggle like this, releasing Conqueror's Haki indiscriminately to cause them trouble.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

This Conqueror's Haki was not enough to harm experts of Cipher Pol Aigis Zero's caliber, but the rest of the people aboard were another matter. Amid a series of collapsing sounds like dumplings dropping into a pot, all the other armed personnel on the ship fell unconscious, bringing the armed prison transport to a temporary standstill.

At last, after a short while, Oak's consciousness slipped into unconsciousness, and the Conqueror's Haki vanished. The ship, which had seemed to be battered by raging winds, returned to calm.

"What terrifying talent. He only awakened Conqueror's Haki not long ago, yet he can already release it at will in such a short time!"

One of the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents sighed as he looked at the chaos below deck caused by that presence.

Speaking of which, Oak had them to thank for awakening the one-in-a-million Conqueror's Haki.

Ever since the original Oak arrived in this world, everything had gone smoothly for him. He had never encountered any danger, so even though he possessed the qualities of a king, there had been no external stimulus to awaken them. But when his own country betrayed him and these Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents besieged him, he had faced a grave crisis for the first time in his life. At the brink of despair, his potential had erupted, awakening and releasing his Conqueror's Haki for the first time. That was why he had initially thought he had not suffered a complete loss this time; he had gained something from it as well.

The Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents were not marveling at the fact that he had awakened Conqueror's Haki. Though it was a one-in-a-million gift and rarely seen, it was hardly surprising for a freakishly talented monster like him to possess such potential. What shocked them was that Oak could wield this power freely after such a short time. Not everyone who awakened Conqueror's Haki could do that. For most people with the potential for Conqueror's Haki, there was still a long road from awakening it to controlling it. Yet Oak had mastered it in so little time, further proving how terrifying his talent was. He was a monster in every respect.

"Over these past few years, it feels like there have been more and more monsters on the seas!"

Watching Oak sleep through the glass, several Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents conversed quietly.

"Starting with Charlotte Linlin, whom Mother Carmel once intended to sell to the government, then Edward Newgate, Shiki, known as the Golden Lion, and John, Ochoku, Maron, Fierce, known as Silver Axe, and the rest... Monsters have been emerging one after another. Following the greatest monster of them all, Rocks, they have turned the seas upside down over these past few years!"

When these monsters of the seas were mentioned, even the powerful Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agents could not help showing fear. When Rocks was brought up in particular, their legs even began to tremble.

A mere name frightened them this badly. If they ever encountered Rocks himself, who knew whether they would collapse to the ground in terror?

A man's reputation cast a long shadow. Rocks' fame had simply become too overwhelming in recent years. During the Reverie, he kidnapped five kings and stormed deep into Mary Geoise alone. Not only did he escape unscathed, but he also severely wounded an Admiral, one of the World Government's greatest military powers, leaving him beyond treatment. He had repeatedly seized the Heavenly Tribute, destroyed the Gates of Justice with a single slash, and then gathered some of the most notorious villains on the seas under his banner...

Every single deed sent chills down the spine of anyone who knew of Rocks' exploits.