An Unexpected Awakening of Conqueror's Haki; Dragon Is Amazed! / Dragon Gets Chills; The Revolutionary Army's Spiritual Mentor
A Few Words With Koshiro
Hearing Dongze's words, the corner of Koshiro's mouth curved upward. "Today, that's the only thing you've said to me that sounds right!"
"Haha! Ha! Hahaha!"
"By the way! In a little while, I'm meeting an important guest. He's very fond of geniuses. Would you like to meet him?"
Dongze's eyes narrowed. To visit the Isshin Dojo at a time like this and receive such a solemn reception from Koshiro, it had to be that guy!
However, now probably wasn't the time yet. In this world, martial might was supreme. Without the battle strength to dictate terms to the world, even if he carried a sharp blade in his heart, it would likely be of no use.
So Dongze waved a hand and walked straight away.
"What an interesting little fellow!"
The sun climbed higher and higher, and more and more people gathered at the dojo, beginning a day of training. Koshiro didn't pay excessive attention to the dojo students; everyone's natural talent varied in strength, and time wouldn't permit it even if he tried his utmost to teach everyone.
Yet after making a round, he spotted neither Zoro nor Kuina. So he asked the surrounding students, learning that Koshiro had called Kuina over, while Zoro simply hadn't returned all night.
Thinking of Zoro's tenacious drive for training, Dongze guessed where the other was.
He probably wouldn't see his shadow until lunch time.
Yet for Koshiro to summon Kuina at a time like this, he found himself a bit baffled.
Given Koshiro's temperament, he had nearly kept Kuina locked away; as for letting her join the Revolutionary Army, Dongze hadn't even entertained the thought.
Feeling somewhat puzzled, he inadvertently drifted over to a large tree, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he jumped up onto the trunk. Experiencing the qualities possessed by his physical body, Dongze felt an incomparable wave of emotion.
Probably only in this world could such a formidable physique be trained. And this was merely through ordinary exercise, not to mention those martial arts powerhouses and the bonuses of Devil Fruits. To put it in common parlance, those powerhouses could no longer be simply called humans; they were a bunch of monsters.
Standing steady for a moment, Dongze stealthily released his Mantra, which was his Observation Haki at the present stage.
Step by step, it slowly enveloped the entire dojo, yet he carefully and cautiously avoided the reception room where Koshiro was meeting his guest.
Dongze knew very well that sometimes, the more you knew, the faster you died. With his ability insufficient, knowing more things was not necessarily a good thing.
Suddenly, the heart in Dongze's left chest gave a fierce thump.
He had discovered Kuina's figure in that abandoned warehouse.
Unexpectedly Awakened Conqueror's Haki, Dragon's Astonishment!
Not knowing what he had thought of, Dongze's heart fiercely skipped two more beats.
Thud!
In the span of a brief moment, his hearing directly blocked out all sounds from the outside world, and an unsettling thought appeared very abruptly in his mind.
Damn it—
Before he had time to think it through, Dongze's entire body shot out like an electric arrow, an indescribable anger and grievance surging straight to his head.
With his thoughts racing anxiously, he began to ask himself in his heart, Could this matter truly not be reversed? Then what on earth is my arrival into this world? Is it a joke played by immortal deities, or an arranged path?
Before long, Dongze dashed all the way to this warehouse! Following that, he ran over at top speed.
Looking at the figure lying on the floor, he took two steps in one, arriving by her side and carefully picking up the girl before him.
Looking at the sharpening stone in her hand, that stubbornness and grievance, anger and dissatisfaction, killing intent and hot-blooded fervor deep in his heart surged straight to his brainstem.
Dongze's pupils began to involuntarily contract and dilate, contract and dilate.
"Why?!"
"Why?!"
"Haven't I purposely trained already? How could it still turn out like this?!"
"Destiny?!"
"Order?!"
"Or rules?!"
"Who on earth is it?"
"What harm did she do to any of you? Why must she die?!"
Normally, this little girl had been very good to him. Even back when his performance had been mediocre, she had been like that, and up until now it remained unchanged.
However, feelings between people were never one-sided; only true sincerity could exchange for genuine affection.
Just as Dongze's emotions churned violently, outside the warehouse, outside the dojo, all the way to the entire Shimotsuki Village and the whole island.
The air suddenly became incomparably heavy, and even that group of monkeys in the mountains felt a sense of oppression, an incomparable oppression.
At this moment, the group of the Revolutionary Army visiting Shimotsuki Village also appeared somewhat restless.
Monkey D. Dragon, seated in the main guest seat, suddenly stood up, an expression of peerless solemnity revealing itself in his eyes.
Seeing this situation, the group—Ivanov the Okama King and Koshiro—felt some shock and suspicion.
Unable to help themselves, they asked aloud, "Dragon, what is it?"
Before Dragon could even speak, a soul-shaking, mind-crushing force struck like heaven-shaking, terrifying waves, crashing over one wave after another.
Just what kind of force was this?
The clouds high above the myriad miles were entirely dispersed, and the seawater along the shore retreated outward as if driven by some force.
The living creatures in the mountains collapsed to the ground entirely, rolling their eyes; it was evident they had already passed out.
Then the disciples of the dojo, Zoro training in the distance, the fighters of the Revolutionary Army, and the villagers of Shimotsuki Village collapsed onto the ground in batches like dumplings being dropped, losing consciousness.
Inside the warehouse, Dongze clenched his teeth tight, his two fists gripped so hard they turned white, and a single line of clear tears streamed down.
Immediately following that, an invisible wave swept outward, and the entire warehouse instantly turned into ruins.
Dongze's Conqueror's Haki.
Right at this moment.
Awakened!
Meanwhile, Dragon in the reception hall narrowed his eyes slightly, and a matching Conqueror's Haki surged forth, protecting the few people present before clashing from afar with Dongze's Conqueror's Haki.
Watching the few people return to their normal states, he said with utmost solemnity: "It's Conqueror's Haki!"
At the same time, he muttered inwardly: Both the quality and quantity are quite high! It's almost on par with the strongest people I've ever seen! I didn't expect the East Blue to still have such an existence!
The collision of Conqueror's Haki was extremely rare, especially in the first half of the Grand Line, let alone the East Blue, which was famed for its peace; it could be considered unheard of.
Looking up, the entire sky for some reason became covered in dark clouds once more, and a deep, fathomless crack led straight to the firmament, as if someone had split the sky apart.
"Hey, hey! Dragon!"
"You aren't joking, are you? In the East Blue, could there really be a monster that can rival your Conqueror's Haki?"
Feeling the increasingly heavy pressure, Dragon gave a bitter smile and remained silently mute.
A trace of astonishment flashed across the depths of his eyes, however, and he said inwardly: Rival? No, it should be called overwhelming.
Beneath that surge of Conqueror's Haki, his own Conqueror's Haki seemed to be battered back and forth by a giant force, something he found somewhat hard to believe. Truly, this level of Conqueror's Haki was probably something only that legendary Rocks would possess afterward!
In the end, he simply gave up the confrontation, merely protecting the few people by his side in a basic manner.
Dongze had been reborn, accidentally awakening the Golden Finger, coupled with the extraordinarily advanced thoughts in his mind and the fact that he had crossed worlds, his perspective was no longer confined to the entire pirate world.
Such bold vision forged a Conqueror's Haki of his that could be called terrifyingly peerless!
This was an overwhelming suppression from a different dimension!
Tears slipped down, striking Kuina's eyelids, her cheeks, and her forehead, then scattering in all directions like bursting silver light.
In the silent dojo, a soft voice suddenly drifted over.
"Dongze! You cried~~"
The voice wasn't loud, but to Dongze, it sounded like a deafening thunderclap, instantly waking him up.
Seeing the girl in his arms blinking her eyes and looking at him in wonder, Dongze's eyes revealed wild joy.
"Kuina, you're alright~~"
"That's great! So great!!"
After speaking, he abruptly pulled her into his embrace.
Kuina seemed to have understood something, her little face turning red.
Earlier, Koshiro had handed the Wado Ichimonji to her. After a night of fierce combat, the blade of the Wado Ichimonji had become somewhat dull, and seeing this situation, she had thought of taking a grindstone to sharpen the sword. She hadn't expected that while fetching the grindstone, she would misstep and fall from the second floor, immediately losing consciousness.
At first, she was still complaining that Dongze always made jokes about her physique, but this time it caused a lingering fear to rise within her!
When she woke up once more, she found herself lying in Dongze's embrace, with tear-drops still hanging at the corners of Dongze's eyes.
Looking at the two people sitting in the ruins, Monkey D. Dragon, Ivanov, Tyrant Kuma, and Shimotsuki Koshiro all wore expressions of sheer disbelief.
"Hey, hey! Koshiro! That kid couldn't possibly be your disciple, could he!"
"It's truly unbelievable that that level of Conqueror's Haki was actually released by such a little brat!"
"Hey! Shiro! Let's talk business, alright!"
"Don't even think about it! That is my own biological daughter!"
"I'm not talking about that!"
"That won't work either! Didn't you see my daughter fancies him?"
"You old fellow, have you no shame at all? How old is Kuina, and you're already trying a beauty trap!"
"Then use one yourself if you've got the ability!"
"Shiro! I've found that you are truly a genius. How about you come and be the chief of staff for our Revolutionary Army?"
As the Conqueror's Haki was slowly reeled back in by Dongze, this small island finally returned to its original appearance.
If there was to be said to be any difference, it was probably just that warehouse which had already turned into ruins, though at this moment, no one cared about it anymore.
Chapter Twelve: Scalp-Tingling Dragon, Soul Mentor of the Revolutionary Army
Subsequently, Dragon and the others arrived at the warehouse. Looking at the tender-faced little fellow before him, Dragon spoke up: "Hey! Hello there, little fellow! I heard your name is Dongze! My name is Monkey D. Dragon, and I am the leader of the Revolutionary Army!"
Dongze sighed inwardly. Ultimately, he failed to avoid them, and the Conqueror's Haki he had inadvertently awakened earlier had probably caught the attention of these people.
"Hello!"
"Hey! Kid! Do you want to join our Revolutionary Army?"
Hearing Dragon's words, the corners of Dongze's mouth twitched slightly. Should he say it was only fitting for someone with a Marine background? He spoke without any hesitation, cutting straight to the point.
Ivanov's eye twitched wildly. "Hey! Dragon! That's too direct!"
"Haha! Small matter, small matter!"
Although the Revolutionary Army coincided with his own thoughts, it was still too early for him. In this era where Marines, pirates, and the Revolutionary Army stood in a tripartite balance, things were not as wonderful as imagined.
Without strength, rashly participating in the game of the three major forces, especially in the second half of the Grand Line, would result in being smashed to pieces at the slightest mistake.
Didn't the original story show that even Ace, who joined Whitebeard, died a miserable death in the Paramount War? The general trend of history was like an unstoppable torrent, and things standing in its path could not even stir up a single splash of foam—this was the sorrow of the weak!
Just imagine, if during the Paramount War, Ace himself possessed the combat strength of a top-tier Four Emperors, the ending probably would have been rewritten! But come to think of it, if he had the combat strength of a top-tier Four Emperors, he wouldn't have been captured by that traitor Blackbeard in the first place.
"Sorry! I don't want to join any faction right now!"
Ivanov was somewhat puzzled. Just now, that was a personal invitation from the top leader of the Revolutionary Army; an ordinary person would have been ecstatic long ago.
"Could it be that the love-struck boy wants to become a pirate?"
"No! I won't join any faction right now. My strength is still too weak, and I don't possess the qualifications to venture across the sea!"
Hearing Dongze's words, Dragon could not help but take a deep look at the little fellow in front of him.
He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is enlightened!
There were not a few clever people in this world, but there were not many who could rationally view themselves and clearly recognize their own selves.
Hearing Dongze's words, Dragon could not help praising, "What astonishing rationality!"