"Since we've met, let's go ashore and talk, Dark Dragon!"
Just as Vic was deep in thought and Ace was on guard, a slightly hoarse, aged voice reached their ears. The voice was not loud but very clear.
Upon hearing this voice, Ace's expression changed drastically, and Vic also became serious. The warship was still several nautical miles away from the island, so how could such a leisurely voice be coming from there?
If it were a shout, it might be possible for the sound to travel over, but this sound couldn't have been a shout; it was the sound of normal conversation. Ace simply assumed that the person was very strong and had used some kind of method to achieve this.
But Vic knew that it had nothing to do with strength; what made him serious was that the person could also Observation Haki to Secret Sound Transmission!
He never Secret Sound Transmission to outsiders. At most, he passed it on to Rebecca and the others. It's impossible for Rebecca and the others to pass it on to outsiders, especially such a powerful person, without asking. That can only mean one thing: this person, like him, also figured it out on their own!
The Secret Sound Transmission the Observation Haki is not a particularly sophisticated technique. Anyone with decent Observation Haki can learn it as long as they find the right direction. However, creating something new is the most difficult part. Developing and extending it is much simpler, and they are not even in the same league. Anyone who has such a way of thinking is definitely a genius-level powerhouse!
" Dark Dragon! It's been so long since anyone called me that!"
Since Vic left the Navy, the title "Dark Dragon" has become somewhat distant. At least in Vic's presence, few people call him that, but behind his back, many still refer to him as such.
"Dark Dragon" is just a title. Even after Aokiji left the Navy, many people still called him that because it was Kuzan's most famous nickname. However, Vic also has the title of "Thunder God," which is even more well-known than "Dark Dragon," so Vic is called "Thunder God" more often.
Vic did not use Secret Sound Transmission reply, but the warship's course had already subtly changed, with its bow pointing directly at the island.
In less than fifteen minutes, the warship anchored at a vertical shoreline on the island. The cliff was as smooth as if it had been carved by a knife and axe, as if someone had practiced swordsmanship here many years ago. However, due to the passage of time, the traces of human intervention have been blurred by nature.
The two didn't pay much attention to these things, easily leaped ashore, and followed the senses they could perceive through their Observation Haki.
"Hmm? Is this a show of force? Or..."
However, before Vic and Ace had gone far, a powerful Conqueror's Haki rushed out from the center of the island. Vic's expression remained unchanged as he continued forward, but Ace felt a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward, determined not to give up easily.
As the two continued forward, the Conqueror's Haki that surged forth grew stronger and stronger. Vic was unaffected, but Ace's body was already swaying and he could no longer stand steadily.
Ace's Observation Haki and Armament Haki were pretty good, but his Conqueror's Haki was not so good. Especially after he joined Whitebeard's faction, his Conqueror's Haki basically went dormant. Although he accidentally Awakening it when he was a child, it never reappeared afterward. So Ace never really mastered Conqueror's Haki!
Now, encountering such a powerful Conqueror's Haki, it's suddenly becoming a bit overwhelming; this is the result of not having undergone specialized training.
Back when Vic hadn't Awakening Conqueror's Haki, he was often trained with Conqueror's Haki by Garp. However, Ace was never trained like that by Whitebeard and rarely came into contact with other powerful individuals who possessed Conqueror's Haki.
Whitebeard's status was undeniable; Ace, in the two or three years since joining the Whitebeard Pirates, had never experienced a battle at the Emperor level.
From what Whitebeard, Shanks, and Sengoku said, we know that the Whitebeard Pirates have been stable for many years, without even a significant major battle.
Of course, there were challengers, but they were all greenhorns like Ace who had only recently entered the New World, so their strength wasn't that great. Many of them were taken in by Whitebeard as his sons.
Therefore, Ace's strength didn't improve much after joining the Whitebeard Pirates. That's how pirates are; when there's no fighting, they just eat, drink, and have fun. Who would put their mind to training?
Strong people all have their own goals, or they are forced into them. Whitebeard was clearly the latter. He was forced into becoming a strong person step by step by this cruel world!
There are countless people like Whitebeard in this world, but many of them fall along the way. Only a few with talent, luck, and intelligence make it to the end and become the strong!
Whitebeard didn't want to become the Pirate King, and when Ace joined, he was already the World's Strongest Man. Would a pirate crew with no one to mess with still pursue strength? Would they still prioritize increasing their power?
They certainly wouldn't be placed in the main position, right? They didn't have any grand goals to achieve. It can be said that Ace wasted a lot of time in the Whitebeard Pirates, which is why Vic was initially unwilling for Ace to join the Whitebeard Pirates. But fate is so magical; after many twists and turns, Ace eventually joined the Whitebeard Pirates!
Seeing that Ace was struggling, Vic immediately released his Conqueror's Haki, deflecting the incoming Conqueror's Haki.
From a distance, you could see two translucent, blood-red spheres, one large and one small, filled with crimson Inazuma, colliding and squeezing each other, releasing even more intense crimson Inazuma. The surrounding vegetation was suppressed and pulled haphazardly by an invisible force, and the animals in the forest were already lying on the ground foaming at the mouth, unable to even escape!
Vic didn't unleash his Conqueror's Haki over a large area; he only needed enough to resist the opponent's Conqueror's Haki and protect the two of them. He used his Conqueror's Haki to protect Ace as they moved forward.
As they advanced, Vic's Conqueror's Haki was frantically squeezing out the Conqueror's Haki of the opponent; the closer they got, the more intense the squeezing became.
The range of the Conqueror's Haki released by the opponent was large, but the intensity was average. The opponent also felt the pressure from Vic, and the Conqueror's Haki was no longer released so recklessly. Instead, it was contracted a lot, and it made contact with Vic's Conqueror's Haki and fought like two balloons squeezing each other!
" Mr. Vic! Is this a clash of Conqueror's Haki between top-tier powerhouses? So powerful!"
Protected by Vic's Conqueror's Haki, Ace was no longer under pressure, but the surrounding scene was very clear: uprooted and fallen trees were everywhere, small trees and shrubs were continuously shattering under the invisible force, various wild beasts were foaming at the mouth on the ground, and the ground was full of cracks, all of which told the story of the intensity of the two's confrontation!
The changes in the sky, in particular, were striking. Just moments ago, the sky was clear, but now it was covered by clouds, and blue Inazuma struck intermittently. The clash of their Conqueror 'Conqueror's Haki even attracted heavenly lightning! This gave Ace a new understanding of Conqueror's Haki!
Wherever Vic and Ace passed, the scene was already a mess. Due to the intense clash of their Conqueror's Haki, most of the tall trees in the forest had collapsed, and Vic could already see the back of the person in front of him through the gaps in the trees.
A high-necked black cloak covered most of the body, but overall, the person's figure was still very slender. A tuft of white hair could be seen sticking up on the top of the head, while the rest was hidden by the high collar. There was probably an umbrella standing at the foot of the person.
Vic had never seen such an outfit before, but strange clothes were common in this world, so it wasn't anything unusual. You can't stop people from changing their clothes, can you? This is the real world, not a two-dimensional world where you don't have to change clothes.
Once Vic led Ace to within thirty meters of the man, they stopped advancing, and the clash of their Conqueror's Haki intensified.
The man seemed to want to test the quality of Vic's Haki, so he shrunk his Conqueror's Haki to a level similar to Vic's and then kept increasing it.
As his opponent intensified his Conqueror's Haki, Vic also enhanced his Conqueror's Haki. In this world, apart from Imu, who seemed to have lived for a very long time and was the most mysterious person, Vic was not afraid of anyone's Conqueror's Haki.
Everyone else improves naturally, but Vic has the Soul Fruit, an external object that enhances mental strength. This is practically like having a cheat code, so Vic only gradually increases the intensity of his Conqueror's Haki to maintain a balance with his opponent. He doesn't need to overwhelm his opponent right away. Since his opponent hasn't shown any hostility, he'll just play along.