Whitebeard was buried by Shanks in the same place as in the original story. This time there is only one grave, and even if he is alone here, Whitebeard should be happy!
After the funeral, Vic took Ace away. Although Ace wanted to stay with Marco and the others to lick their wounds, Ace and Marco all agreed after Vic said he would train Ace for two years.
Marco and the others placed their hopes on Ace, waiting for Ace return so they could support Ace as the new captain.
Marco is already quite old and doesn't have much room for growth. No matter how hard he tries, he can't reach the level of a royal-level fighter. Only the younger Ace has that potential. If a strong person like Vic were to train Ace, it would be even more possible. So Marco and the others agreed without hesitation.
After this major change, Ace understood many things and his views also changed. To put it bluntly, he matured a lot and knew that Vic was doing it for his own good, so he did not refuse Vic's arrangements.
When Vic brought Ace back to Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy was still asleep. The encounters at Impel Down and Marine Headquarters had taken a heavy toll on Luffy's body, even affecting his lifespan.
So Luffy was unconscious for several days before waking up after Vic treated him. This amazed Ivankov, who was watching the spectacle. Hormones do have a significant impact on the body, but not a comprehensive one, so Ivankov couldn't solve Luffy's physical problems.
However, by transmitting various information to the brain through bioelectricity, Vic can control Luffy's body in all aspects, so he can achieve any effect and easily solve the hidden dangers on Luffy's body.
It was also because Vic had laid a good foundation for Luffy that Luffy did not lose as much lifespan in Impel Down as in the original story. When he woke up and saw Ace by his side, Luffy was so happy that he jumped up!
He had been having nightmares where Ace was punched through the chest by Akainu, and he lost Ace forever. Now that he saw Ace was still alive, his heart was finally at peace. However, after the excitement of reuniting with Ace wore off, he thought of his comrades and became restless, wanting to go out to sea to find them.
" Luffy! Don't worry, the places Nami and the others are in are excellent training grounds. After what's happened recently, haven't you figured it out yet?"
With your pirate crew's current strength, you can't even reach the New World, and even if you did, you wouldn't get far. Do you want to see Nami and Robin perish at sea with you?
Therefore, you should stop and focus on your cultivation. It's not too late to go to the New World after your strength has greatly improved. The One Piece is still there; no one has taken it for over twenty years, and it won't change even if you wait a few more years. So there's no need for you to rush."
Seeing Luffy's impulsive desire to set sail to find his crew, Vic immediately stopped him. In the original story, Ace died, Luffy was on the verge of collapse. In the end, it was his crewmates who supported his will to live. At that time, he also realized his own weakness!
Even if he was lucky enough to rescue Ace, so what? Without sufficient strength, he still couldn't take him away. That's why he focused on becoming stronger. This is why, two years later, many viewers said that Luffy had changed a lot and could no longer bring them the same joy!
After experiencing major changes, people will definitely grow. Even someone like Luffy will grow. This is a transformation from a boy to a man. Luffy has become more mature and composed, and naturally, he has less of the joyful aspects of life.
Since Ace is still alive, Luffy's understanding of strength is not yet thorough. He also knows that Kuma was sent by Vic, so he has even less to worry about, which makes Luffy still a bit impulsive.
If Luffy continues to be so carefree, then Vic's plan will really run into trouble. In that case, we'll have to do something drastic to Luffy. After all, Vic can create illusions, and Luffy is likely to fall for them.
"I'm definitely not strong enough! If we encounter a real enemy, I can't protect them! Uncle Vic! How long will it take me to train before I can defeat Marine Admiral?"
After hearing Vic's words, Luffy had been somewhat excited, immediately quieted down. He wasn't truly heartless; he still cared a lot about his crewmates.
Since setting sail, they have encountered many crises. Some they managed to overcome with all their might, some they escaped by luck, and some were protected by Vic. Many of these near-death experiences stemmed from their lack of strength.
Coupled with his previous dream, Luffy fell silent for once. Thinking about the Navy he would have to face in the future, Luffy's first thought was that he would be able to defeat Marine Admiral after his training.
"You are very talented and learn everything quickly, but sometimes it's not enough for you to learn quickly. Some strengths require time to accumulate. No matter how talented you are or how fast you accumulate, you can't stop others from accumulating over decades."
Therefore, your training period cannot be too short, otherwise your companions will not be able to keep up; nor can it be too long, otherwise the One Piece will not wait for anyone. So let's set a two-year period. Two years later, the Straw Hat Pirates will reunite at Sabaody Archipelago! Mr. Rayleigh! What do you think?"
"Good! Very reasonable."
Luffy has already Awakening his Conqueror's Haki and Observation Haki, and Armament Haki is just around the corner. With Luffy's talent, it won't be long before he masters them all.
However, Haki requires accumulation. Even though Luffy has a great Haki and accumulates it faster than ordinary people, he can't catch up with the older generation's decades of accumulation in just a year or two of training.
Although Vic felt that training in Armament Haki was somewhat similar to internal energy in martial arts novels, there were differences.
The cultivation of Armament Haki is similar to the internal energy cultivation in martial arts novels. Both require gradual accumulation. The cultivation of Armament Haki is also related to talent. Just like the martial arts prodigies in martial arts novels who have exceptional talent, such people can accumulate internal energy faster, but it is only relatively fast. They cannot catch up with the accumulation of older generations of strong people over many years in a short period of time, and it is even more difficult for ordinary people to surpass the older generations of strong people.
However, in martial arts novels, some people can catch up with or even surpass older generations of experts in a short period of time by relying on top-level martial arts techniques, rare and precious materials, or the transmission of skills from masters. This is something that can only be achieved in martial arts novels.
However, in the cultivation of Haki, there is no such thing as a technique, let alone a top-level technique. There are no rare and Haki materials that can drastically enhance Haki, and there are no masters to pass on their skills. It has never been heard of Haki being able to be passed on to others. At most, one can store and use Conqueror's Haki, but that will not become one's own; it is merely a one-time product.
If we have to rank it high, Vic's method of cultivating Armament Haki can be considered a top-tier technique. It's much faster than mindless cultivation, but it also has its limits. He can't catch up with the older generation of experts in a short time.
As for rare and precious materials, the only thing that can be called "Elemental Spirits" in this world is probably the Primal Spirit. However, ordinary people can only obtain them from food, and even then, only from very powerful Sea Kings. Rayleigh can handle that.
Even with a sufficient supply of Primal Spirit, the amount of Haki that can be increased each day is limited. It's not like in martial arts novels where consuming some rare and precious treasure can instantly boost one's power for decades. So this isn't very effective, and it's impossible to catch up in a short period of time.
As for the transmission of internal energy in martial arts novels, Vic's understanding is that a senior master uses their powerful internal energy to help you expand your meridians and dantian, so that your dantian can store more internal energy and your meridians can also circulate more internal energy.
Instead of a senior master directly passing on their skills to you, making you a master with decades of accumulated power, wouldn't that power be depleted after just one fight with another master? What would you do then? A one-time master?
Therefore, the principle of power transfer is actually the process of expanding the dantian. The internal energy that can be used is all cultivated by oneself after the dantian has expanded. Only this kind of internal energy belongs to oneself, and even if it is consumed in battle, it can be replenished through meditation.
There won't be a situation where a senior master loses all their power and can still cultivate it again, rather than directly transferring their internal energy to you.
This is somewhat similar to how Vic used his Haki to penetrate Rebecca's body, stimulating her Haki to resist and become stronger. However, what Vic can do is to make people gradually stronger, which is not as good as increasing one's power by decades in a short period of time in martial arts novels.
Therefore, Luffy can no longer rely on his Haki reserves to win battles; he simply cannot win. Not every enemy will give him the time to recover his Haki through sit-ups. What he can rely on is the total amount of Haki he can mobilize each time.
As long as he can mobilize more Haki than his enemy and defeat him in one blow, that's enough. The amount of Haki stored up is one thing, but how much Haki can be mobilized in each move is another. This has nothing to do with accumulation, but rather with each person's will!
A strong will can mobilize more Haki within the body, so Luffy can ultimately rely on is his will that has been tempered to the point of being as tough as iron. This is also the targeted training that Vic has given Luffy since he was a child, so that he can avoid the accumulation of Haki and challenge the older generation of strong people!
Luffy was born at a rather awkward time; he didn't have much time to develop. In this chaotic world, drastic measures were needed, and for a serious illness, strong medicine was required!