Fists, feet, blades, and skills passed down through generations were the measure of strength.
By comparison, machinery and ** were merely fringe pursuits; even scholars poring over ancient texts commanded greater respect.
But the age of the seas had changed.
Tides surged in from every direction, bringing new rules with them.
Along the coasts of the West Blue, families without any historical foundation were springing up like vines.
They wore matching dark coats and held metal creations imported from elsewhere, proclaiming their existence.
Somewhere in a small country on the fringes of the West Blue, a young man named Capone Bege, about the same age as Rossi and Doffy, was said to have already begun weaving a similar network.
Ancient countries like the Flower Country, however, still clung tightly to tradition.
The Happo Navy was a microcosm of this: almost no one, from top to bottom, used firearms, and its officers regarded barehanded combat as a badge of honor.
But honor could not stop the wheels of the age.
Their leader, "Chinjao"-
His once pointed, cone-shaped head had caved in and twisted beneath the Marine hero's iron fist, nearly killing him on the spot.
Although his men had risked their lives to rescue him, their decline was already inevitable.
Their enemies scented blood and pounced from every direction.
The family's strongest fighters could still struggle on, but those at the bottom were falling like autumn leaves.
The future was losing its color.
That was precisely why the girl stood here, seeking the power of steel and ** for her family.
After all, it took years of sweat to gain even an introduction to a martial art, while pulling a trigger required learning only one simple movement.
Guns and cannons would suffice to strengthen the Happo Navy's defensive lines-they did not