The White Tiger Fruit and the Demon Blade Hupo

After reading everything, Lind was at a loss for words. Could a method like this really bring along the right person?

According to the writing on the wall, seven hundred years had passed since the owner had hidden the treasure.

Seven whole centuries. If the original owner had been one of Ochoku's ancestors, then Ochoku's family had really drawn the short straw, saddled with an ancestor who had screwed them over like this.

They had failed to find it after seven hundred years of searching. No wonder Ochoku had shared the treasure map with him so casually. After all that time, the history behind it might have been completely forgotten.

The owner of the treasure map might not even have been Ochoku's ancestor. It could have changed hands countless times before finally reaching Ochoku, who then gave it to Lind.

Still, this treasure really is precious. It's practically priceless! Lind marveled inwardly.

He quickly stepped forward and opened the treasure chest.

Just as Lind had expected, a white fruit rested inside. Black and gold patterns covered its surface, and its stem bit into the fruit like a tiger's fang.

There was also a dark-gold blade, with a ridge resembling a tiger's bones running through it, giving it a fierce, imposing appearance.

This fruit and blade were the secret treasures of the Flower Country: the White Tiger Fruit, a Mythical Zoan of the Cat-Cat Fruit line, and the Demon Blade Hupo.

The treasure's original owner, meanwhile, had possessed the Black Tortoise Fruit, which had given him the ability to manipulate the terrain.

Unfortunately, after the original owner's death, there was no telling where the Black Tortoise Fruit had reincarnated. Lind found that a little disappointing.

Still, obtaining the White Tiger Fruit and the Demon Blade Hupo was an enormous windfall. The White Tiger Fruit in particular could produce an Admiral-level fighter if used well.

In fact, the moment he obtained the White Tiger Fruit, Lind had already settled on its recipient.

Just a few days earlier, Lind had received intelligence from Hachinosu: Charlotte Linlin was pregnant again!

And since Charlotte Linlin had not taken a new husband, the identity of the child's father went without saying.

I knew Charlotte Linlin had been after my genes. And for her to get pregnant in one shot, she probably used some trick I don't even know about, Lind cursed inwardly.

Unfortunately, this was his first child across two lifetimes. No matter what, Lind could not stop worrying and wanted to give the child the best possible start.

After obtaining the White Tiger Fruit and the Demon Blade Hupo, his child had been his first thought.

With Charlotte Linlin's genes and the powerful White Tiger Fruit, the child could become an Admiral-level powerhouse with just a modest investment of resources from Lind.

That would give the child enough strength to survive on these seas, and even stop Charlotte Linlin when her hunger pangs flared up.

Looking on the bright side, Lind had also gained a steadfast ally. With their child as a bond, their two forces could stand together to a considerable extent.

After Rocks died, they would also have an easier time facing the chaos at sea and reaping greater benefits from it.

"Boss! Is this the White Tiger Fruit?" The two women beside him had also finished reading the writing on the wall and exclaimed in shock.

"That's right. It really is the White Tiger Fruit. We owe Ochoku a huge favor this time!" Lind said, troubled.

He certainly could not give the White Tiger Fruit to Ochoku, but figuring out how to repay the favor was a real headache. Pretending the debt did not exist was not in Lind's nature, either.

Well, I'll worry about it later. If nothing else works, I can give Ochoku some more Angel's Hearts. Or once the secret of the Divine Dragon Coconuts gets out, I can give him some of those, Lind thought.

"Let's call it a day and head back!" Having obtained the White Tiger Fruit and the Demon Blade Hupo, Lind had lost all interest in further exploration, so he called to the two women, ready to leave.

Allison and the other woman had no objections. They nodded, and Lind carried them out of the treasure chamber with telekinesis.

Come to think of it, the temple's high priest's corpse had not been in the treasure chamber. He had probably left after hiding the treasure. That saved Lind some trouble, since he would not have to give his predecessor a proper burial.

Even after returning to Oran Island, Lind had still not quite recovered from the enormous surprise.

Who could have imagined that a spur-of-the-moment treasure hunt would yield such precious treasures?

After finding a separate safe and putting the two treasures away, Lind did not stay in his room to read.

Instead, he decided to practice his swordsmanship by the sea for a while. Everything that had happened that day had shaken him quite a bit.

In Eastern martial arts and immortal cultivation, practitioners needed to keep their minds calm to avoid cultivation deviation.

In this world, however, the more violently one's emotions fluctuated, the easier it was to break through and grow stronger.

Lind felt certain that practicing swordsmanship in his current state would bring results.

Standing by the shore, Lind gazed out at the vast sea before him. It felt as though he had returned to those early days after arriving in this world, when he had trained alone on the shores of a deserted island.

His past experiences surfaced in his mind one by one, and his emotions rose and fell with them.

Amid those emotional fluctuations, Lind recalled the Iron-Cutting techniques Shiki, John, and the others had explained to him.

"The Breath of All Things?" Lind murmured.

Then he unleashed a Flying Slash dozens of meters long with Kunpeng, cleaving the sea before him.

As Lind comprehended Iron-Cutting and broke through to become a Swordsman, his powerful underlying strength came into play, allowing him to execute a Flying Slash immediately.

Compared with the more mysterious realm of Iron-Cutting, a move like Flying Slash, which relied more on strength and the weapon itself, was actually easier to master.

"Now I can finally call myself a proper Swordsman!" Lind said excitedly.

Lind had originally thought he might need to mutate a fruit that improved his comprehension before he could grasp Iron-Cutting. He had never expected this chance opportunity to let him break through on his own, without relying on outside help.

In truth, thanks to his powerful mental strength, Lind's mastery of various sword techniques had long since reached its peak. All he had lacked was a catalyst.

Now that the catalyst had arrived, the breakthrough had followed naturally.

"Looks like my comprehension isn't bad after all. I've become a Swordsman after less than three years of training!" Lind said with some pride.

"With my age and current strength, I feel like I could actually compete for the title of World's Greatest Swordsman." As boundless ambition surged within him, Lind's Conqueror's Haki erupted involuntarily.

This burst of Conqueror's Haki had already reached the level of John and the other two. Combined with his telekinesis, martial arts, and swordsmanship, Lind had officially reached the level of a Yonko First Mate and touched the threshold of Admiral-level strength.

"And there's this!"

As he spoke, Lind gripped Kunpeng and slashed upward through the air, splitting the sky itself.

"Hahahaha! I've finally mastered Conqueror's Coating!" Lind laughed aloud, and his Conqueror's Haki improved by another tiny fraction.

If I fought Zephyr again now, I should be able to last a full day without taking any drugs, holding out until Axel and the others finish their fight. Lind assessed his strength inwardly, feeling that he finally had the power to keep this stretch of sea under control.

(This is just my personal setting, based on the original work and the many One Piece fanfics I've read. I consider the Four Emperors, Admirals, and Yonko First Mates to be the very highest tier of Admiral-level combatants, differing only in whether they occupy the early, middle, or late stages.

Slightly below them is the Admiral Candidate tier. Ordinary All-Stars and Sweet Commanders, standard Shichibukai, and Admiral Candidates fall into this category.

In the original work, Vergo should count as an upper-middle-level Vice Admiral, but Luo defeated him in a single move, only to be crushed by Doflamingo later. That shows that a standard Shichibukai is definitely a whole tier above a Marine Vice Admiral.

Yet Doflamingo was bullied that badly when faced with Admirals and the Four Emperors, so fighters at his level should form a separate tier: Admiral Candidate level. That was Lind's previous level. He could slaughter Vice Admirals with ease, but could only run when he encountered an Admiral.

Below that is Vice Admiral level, the backbone of the seas. The Marines' elite Vice Admirals and Headquarters Vice Admirals, along with pirates whose bounties run into the hundreds of millions, fall into this category.)