One Piece: The Celestial Dragons' Self-Cultivation

Page 12

Or perhaps it's the plot of the original work at play.

Blake always found Stella more interesting than the queen and princess he brought back from the Kingdom of Taya.

While Blake was living a life of leisure and idleness, the situation on the high seas was undergoing dramatic changes.

Commanded by Admiral Sengoku, the Buster Call fleet, consisting of Vice Admirals including Garp, is heading in a grand procession toward the island where Douglas Barrett is located.

After the Five Elders decided to deal with Barrett, this guy not only did not restrain himself, but also destroyed multiple naval bases in the New World, causing a serious gap in the naval force configuration in the latter half of the Grand Line.

He even openly challenged the World Government, vowing to "destroy the World Government's rule," then kill all the Admirals and Emperors of the Sea, and completely surpass Roger.

That's right. According to Barrett's logic, Roger was even more powerful than the World Government. Destroying the World Government wouldn't even be considered surpassing Roger.

Originally, the doves within the Navy were somewhat hesitant about the World Government's order to send the Navy to the New World to launch the Buster Call.

After all, with the disbandment of the Rocks Pirates, the great pirates of the New World each occupied a piece of sea, forming a situation of mutual checks and balances. The Navy's rash intervention could break this balance.

But after Barrett destroyed several naval bases and killed countless naval soldiers, even some of the most conservative members of the navy could no longer sit still.

After all, there are no deserters in the navy yet.

And so, the Buster Call fleet arrived at Barrett's location: Lakengado Island.

This place was originally the Navy's G4 branch, but now it has been reduced to ruins.

The bodies of the branch navy soldiers lay scattered on the ground.

Sengoku stood at the bow of the command ship, gazing at the imposing figure standing in the harbor in the distance, his brow furrowing slightly.

Clearly, the other side already knew about the navy's impending arrival.

But now is not the time to think about such things. Sengoku, while directing his fleet to surround Lakengado Island, loudly proclaimed:

"Pirate Douglas Barrett, you destroyed a Marine base and provoked the World Government. Surrender now! I will personally send you to Impel Down!"

Barrett chuckled:

"You think you can catch me, you old codger?"

"Since you've come looking for me, you'll be the first general to die by my hand!"

After saying that, Barrett's figure soared into the sky and landed directly on the fleet that had not yet fully dispersed.

His already formidable mastery of Armament Haki had coated his fist with a layer of jet-black light, and he slammed his fist hard into the bow of the foremost warship.

The massive warship was treated like a toy in Barrett's hands.

The bow of the ship crashed into the sea instantly, and the entire ship made a tooth-grinding "squeak" before shattering into pieces.

Countless sailors fell into the sea, bleeding from all seven orifices, like dumplings being dropped into a pot. They were swept away by the waves and disappeared from the surface of the sea.

Instead of drifting on the sea, the fragments of the ship all rushed toward Barrett, instantly forming the shape of a giant on his body.

Sengoku cursed under his breath. He hadn't expected that Barrett, who was only in his early twenties, could have such a high level of attack power.

Garp, who was picking his nose next to Sengoku, saw this scene and still smiled and said:

"Don't be angry, Sengoku. Let me test this kid's skills."

After saying that, he didn't care whether Sengoku agreed or not, and jumped to Barrett's side.

Garp's speed is too fast; even Barrett's Observation Haki cannot predict the future.

By the time he spotted Garp, the man's fist was already hurtling towards him.

Wearing a massive suit of armor made from warship fragments, Barrett held his hands in front of him, using Armament Haki to defend himself.

After a muffled thud, Barrett's body flew backward, crashing onto the island and smashing through several buildings before coming to a stop.

As Karp landed on the beach, preparing to search for Barrett's trail, he saw Barrett's enormous figure emerge from the dust ahead, completely unharmed.

Garp was not surprised but rather pleased:

"Boy! Try my iron fist again!"

"Fist Bone - Galaxy Impact!"

Barrett, not to be outdone, threw a punch to meet the attack:

"I've been wanting to see what this 'naval hero' is really capable of! What makes you think you can go after Roger?"

Barrett's current mindset is somewhat similar to that of the Golden Lion; both are obsessed with Roger and lose their minds instantly whenever they encounter anyone or anything related to Roger.

The two exchanged blows, each collision generating a massive sonic boom that left the already ravaged Lakengado Island teetering on the brink of collapse.

The two fought from morning till evening. Sengoku, who had already deployed all his warships, gritted his teeth and looked at the two men on the island who showed no signs of fatigue, and gave the order:

"Fire!"

"But Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp are still on the island."

The messenger standing to the side hesitated.

"Ignore him, that guy won't die, fire!"

Chapter 18 The Third Test

Following Sengoku's command, the surrounding navy formed a four-sided encirclement, unleashing a barrage of cannon fire toward Lakengado Island, the sky filled with a dense barrage of bullets.

"Sengoku! You bastard!"

He immediately disregarded Barrett and rushed toward the area where the shells were weakest.

Barrett, however, looked at the barrage of bullets flying through the sky and grinned.

As his Devil Fruit power was activated, materials from the broken buildings on the island poured towards Barrett, instantly covering his body and forming the shape of a metal giant.

Faced with a barrage of shells, Barrett neither dodged nor flinched.

The moment the cannonballs touched the metal giant, they melted like ice and snow, gradually merging into the giant's body, making his size even larger.

Garp burst out from the barrage of bullets, unharmed but looking rather disheveled.

He grabbed Sengoku by the collar, roared, and spat all over Sengoku's head and face.

Sengoku was somewhat embarrassed, after all, he not only dealt a heavy blow to his teammates, but also gave the opponents a buff, truly making him the best sixth man.

Seeing that Garp was determined not to give up, Sengoku immediately changed the subject:

"Now is not the time to talk about this. Let's join forces and defeat this guy first!"

Without waiting for Garp's reaction, Sengoku transformed into his Buddha form and descended towards Barrett.

"Buddha Palm Impact!"

Seeing that Sengoku had already charged forward, Garp, who had nowhere to vent his anger, had no choice but to charge forward as well.

The three resumed their fierce battle.

But in this world, the worst thing you can do in a battle is to be surrounded.

Even someone as powerful as Lox single-handedly stormed into Mary Geoise, making his way to the flower garden, and even managed to kill a general during his retreat.

Even such a strongman was defeated when faced with the combined attack of Garp and Roger, let alone Barrett who had not yet reached his peak.

It has to be said that 22-year-old Barrett's strength is truly terrifying. Even when facing the combined forces of Sengoku and Garp, he still managed to hold out for several hours before finally being defeated.

While unconscious, he was handcuffed with seastone and imprisoned in a cell at the bottom of the ship, with the intention of being taken directly to Impel Down.

The situation at sea did not affect Blake's life; he remained under house arrest.

The impact of Barrett's arrest was smaller than the World Government and Navy had anticipated, and even had a somewhat counterproductive effect.

To many great pirates, Barrett was just a kid in his early twenties.

Although it is rumored that Barrett was able to fight Rayleigh to a draw when he was on Roger's ship.

However, this rumor has only been passed down orally and there is no concrete evidence. It is unknown how much effort Rayleigh put in back then.

Barrett's most well-known achievement is his draw against Crocodile.

This immediately lowered the prestige of the name Barrett.

Crocodile?

Isn't that just a small-time pirate who was defeated by Whitebeard in a few moves?

Is this all the Barrett is capable of?

I can do it too!

The navy actually had to deploy a naval admiral and a naval hero to deal with such a scoundrel; it took the two of them working together to take him down.

It seems the navy is truly incapacitated!

Under such thinking, the situation at sea not only did not calm down, but escalated further.

The Celestial Dragons could not be released at this time.

What if I get killed by some clueless pirate?

But it's not all bad news.

Robin and Perona have fully adapted to life in Mary Geoise and are gradually developing some of the awareness of being upper class.

Time flies, and three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The year has now reached 1500 of the Haiyuan Calendar.

In the system space, Black clenched his fists, his Armament Haki coating them.

Unlike before, this time, there seemed to be dark energy surging within the Armament Haki, and a buzzing sound came from the fist.

It is a high-level application of Armament Haki—internal destruction.

In three months, Blake had pretty good luck with the gacha pulls, drawing three elite lieutenant generals.

They are flying squirrel, Doberman, and Ghost Spider.

The ability cards revealed by Momonga and Doberman both contained Armament Haki, which allowed Black's Armament Haki to reach the level of internal destruction.

Onigumo then unleashed his most proficient swordsmanship.

Blake didn't intend to use his head to wield the eight swords, but Onigumo's understanding of swordsmanship could serve as resources for Blake.

He successfully elevated his swordsmanship to a level that would make him a strong contender even among sword masters.

In mid-January, Wild Shepherd, who had been sent to the East Sea by Blake, finally returned.

Looking at the Devil Fruit in his hand, which resembled a burning dragon fruit, Black was quite satisfied.

It wasn't just because he had obtained a Logia-type Devil Fruit, but also because Aramaki had successfully passed his test and could now be entrusted with important responsibilities.

"Huang Mu, you did a good job this time."

Blake lay on the edge of the fish tank, teasing the mermaid Ida while being fed by Stella, looking quite content.

Wildgrass stood quietly to one side:

"Your Highness's information was very accurate. I dare not take credit for the success of this operation."

Blake smiled:

"Your credit is yours, and I will keep a record of it. When the time is right, you will receive the reward you deserve."

Black's overall strength has now reached the top tier below the Emperor, and the ability cards of the minor pirates in the New World are becoming increasingly limited in improving his abilities.

He has decided that any new, low-level ability cards that appear in the future will be used to train his subordinates.

However, while Huangmu's abilities have been confirmed, his loyalty remains to be seen.

After all, this guy's fundamental nature is to uphold the rule of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

It's hard to say whether Aramaki would be able to maintain his loyalty to him when facing other Celestial Dragons, or even the Five Elders.

Blake naturally couldn't let him access core secrets so quickly.

However, some common secrets can already be left to Aramu to handle.

"I plan to send you out to sea to select promising young people and form a team similar to CP, as my exclusive intelligence agency."

Blake remained lying on the recliner, seemingly indifferent to everything.

However, Huang Mu's heart was racing.

"What does this mean, Your Highness?"