Roger

"He actually dared to go crazy enough to lead a group of recruits in pursuit of Roger!"

But Sengoku had no way to stop him.

They had known each other for far too long and understood each other too well. He knew perfectly well that the other man was a reckless lunatic, especially when facing Roger, toward whom he possessed an almost insane level of stubbornness.

"I hope they're all right!"

Sengoku sighed, helpless.

This had happened many times throughout history, and he had great confidence in Garp's strength.

Meanwhile, aboard the Dog-Head Warship, which had made it through the storm.

At night, thunderous snores filled the air as everyone slept soundly. Xia Le had fallen unconscious the moment his head touched the pillow.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.

No one had the habit of sleeping in. Some were mopping the floor, some were washing and hanging up clothes, and others were working out.

Except for the figure wearing a dog-head hat at the bow.

"I've always admired people who can sleep standing up."

Xia Le sighed softly.

"Talking behind your teacher's back isn't very polite, Xia Le!"

Kuzan chuckled.

"That doesn't count as talking behind his back. It's admiration."

Xia Le replied.

Afterward, he hung his soaked clothes on the rack before beginning his training.

There was still one technique among the Six Powers that he had yet to master.

Likewise, he was intensely interested in Life Return, which lay beyond the Six Powers.

Chapter 24: Roger

Training in Kami-e was somewhat difficult for Xia Le.

He seemed to be born with little sensitivity toward skills involving perception.

He had already mastered the other five techniques of the Six Powers. Shave, Tekkai, and Shigan had even reached Level 2 through training, yet he still felt nothing regarding the remaining technique.

"Xia Le, you don't need to master all six techniques."

"You only need to understand or specialize in one or two of them!"

Kuzan advised.

Because of his friend's request, the two often sparred. Kuzan would demonstrate techniques for Xia Le, allowing him to seek inspiration and comprehend them.

"In the future, if you perform meritorious deeds and get a chance to obtain a Devil Fruit, you'll be able to increase your strength that way too."

Upon hearing this, Xia Le shook his head. "The body is the foundation of a strong person. The power of a Devil Fruit may provide some assistance, but you can't rely on it too much."

"You have a point."

Kuzan nodded with a smile.

The two figures constantly crossed paths and collided rapidly, with the ringing of metal sounding out without pause.

Xia Le had become quite proficient with Tekkai, Shigan, and Shave. He had improved entirely through his own training, without spending any points, and had reached Level 2.

Around noon, everyone finished lunch.

Garp gave Xia Le targeted guidance for his training.

"Not bad. You have a good talent for Hand-to-Hand Combat."

"Next, you can probably begin training your Armament Haki and Observation Haki."

He had always been very satisfied with the progress of this disciple of his.

Mastering five of the Six Powers in such a short time had already surpassed that of far too many geniuses.

"Once you finish mastering Kami-e, I'll teach you a technique beyond the Six Powers—Life Return!"

Garp smiled.

At this, Xia Le's eyes lit up.

Life Return was undoubtedly a very useful skill. It allowed one to control every part of one's body freely, and after suffering injuries, one could recover quickly through food.

Afterward, Garp put Xia Le through Special Training in Kami-e.

But soon—

"How can you be so stupid?"

"No! That's not how it's done!"

"Relax! Withdraw all the strength from your body! Is that how you use Kami-e? You idiot!"

His merciless scolding echoed across the warship, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Xia Le clutched his head, grimacing in pain.

He had realized that he truly had no talent for this final technique of the Six Powers. No matter how Garp instructed him, he could not touch the threshold of comprehension.

"No matter how strong your body is, what use is it if you don't know how to control it and can't freely release and retract your strength?"

Garp's scolding was utterly merciless.

He was so strict when teaching his disciple that Xia Le's heart trembled.

"Do three thousand push-ups!"

"Three thousand squats!"

"Swing your sword ten thousand times!"

"Clear your head!"

Garp roared.

Xia Le pursed his lips, then obeyed.

He glanced to the side and saw that Kuzan, Sakazuki, and the others had retreated far away at some point. The chicken-brother who noticed his gaze even deliberately began whistling, pretending he had seen nothing.

Days passed, yet there was no sign of Roger's crew anywhere on the warship.

But Garp seemed extremely confident. He ordered Bogard to keep sailing, certain that he would encounter the other side.

During this period, Xia Le suffered the greatest setback of his life and even began seriously doubting himself.

He still had no feeling for Kami-e, and instead was cursed out by Garp every day until he was utterly humiliated.

"You've encountered a bottleneck in talent. Everyone has areas they excel in."

"There's no doubt about it—you're not suited to a technique like Kami-e."

Kuzan secretly found him and spoke in a low voice, sounding very understanding.

Xia Le bared his teeth and punched him in the head without the slightest hesitation.

"Ow!"

Kuzan grimaced in pain. He had not expected the other man's fist to be as hard as Garp's.

"I'll master it!"

Along the way, they also encountered pirates and fought them.

Garp was an extremely thickheaded man. His favorite thing to do was stand on the ship and let them handle the enemies however they wished, using battles between life and death to train the recruits.

After experiencing battle, Xia Le's improvement became obvious. Whether in mindset or combat experience, he was rapidly catching up to Kuzan, Sakazuki, and the others.

This put him in an excellent mood. He truly could grow rapidly through battle.

The stronger the enemy, the greater the gains.

"A big shot with a bounty of 580 million. As expected, he was formidable."

"Adding the other crew members, their total bounty reached 1.5 billion."

"I took out the entire pirate crew by myself."

Xia Le sighed softly.

"At the same time, I gained system points."

After maxing out Conqueror's Haki, the second thing he chose to invest in was Shave from the Six Powers.

In his opinion, once Shave reached the maximum level, its terrifying speed would probably be no slower than teleportation. Combined with fists infused with Conqueror's Haki, he could instantly kill and defeat anyone.

It was practically an instant-kill combination.

"Xia Le, keep training!"

Garp's loud shout rang out.

Xia Le's expression shifted slightly, and a trace of helplessness surfaced in his eyes.

He was still insensitive to Kami-e and could not find the slightest trick to it. He also had a feeling that he might be stuck here for quite some time.

According to Garp, he would not teach Xia Le Life Return until he had mastered the Six Powers.

As for Observation Haki and Armament Haki, those were even further out of the question.

In the blink of an eye, nearly ten days had passed since they sailed after the Battle of Edd War.

That afternoon—

The officer in the Lookout suddenly blew the warning whistle.

"A pirate ship has been spotted ahead!"

Because of the distance, they could not yet make out the exact design on the other ship's flag.

But Garp laughed at that moment. "Hahahaha!"

"Bogard, do you see it?"

"That's Roger's ship!"

Bogard was stunned. He raised his telescope and looked ahead, but could still see only a black dot. He simply could not understand how his superior had identified the other side.

"That's the mutual recognition between strong people!"

"I believe he's sensed that I'm here too!"

Garp threw his head back and laughed.

Hearing this, everyone aboard the ship looked toward the front.

"Is it Roger?"

"Wow, are we really about to face one of the world's three legendary Great Pirates?"

Kuzan rushed over excitedly and threw an arm around Xia Le.

Xia Le looked up at him and curled his lip.

This guy really believes Garp one hundred percent.

As the two sides drew closer, the officer in the Lookout relayed the target ship's identity in shock.

"It's the Oro Jackson!"

"The other side is the Roger Pirates, one of the three great pirate crews!"

Upon hearing this, Garp laughed loudly and slammed his fists together.

"An exhilarating moment is coming!"

"Everyone, get ready for battle!"

"We're going to capture Roger!"

Everyone aboard the ship answered in unison. Xia Le silently accepted the Military Saber Bogard handed him, then strapped it to his waist and looked ahead with both eyes.