Goals and dreams are not the same thing. Luffy's dream is a very special one, something Hercules found difficult to judge.
But what it was sure of was that Luffy's goal had not changed since he met Red Hair. He wanted to become the Pirate King.
No matter who it was, if they wanted to become the Pirate King, there was no way around the towering mountain called Beasts Pirates.
They already possessed two Road Poneglyphs, and even had the stone rubbing of the one in Charlotte Linlin's possession. Even counting Charlotte Linlin, with whom they had traded before, she still had one less Road Poneglyph than Kaido.
The Poneglyph once located on the back of Zou Island had long since become the private property of the Beasts Pirates. To piece together the map leading to Laugh Tale, this Road Poneglyph was indispensable.
As long as Luffy's goal remained unchanged, conflict was inevitable. Kaido won't just give someone a copy of a Poneglyph for no reason. Becoming the Pirate King wasn't his ultimate goal, but he already considers it as good as his.
Unless Luffy and others tried their luck with some esoteric gamble, like having Zoro steer the ship with the goal of not reaching Laugh Tale, maybe then they could end up at the destination directly.
Of course, such a gamble with their lives was not advisable. Zoro himself might not even know where he was going, and besides, he firmly believed he wasn't directionally challenged. It wasn't realistic to have him do such a thing.
Based on Hercules's analysis, the greatest possibility was Luffy losing the battle and then being sent to dig in the mines.
It still retained some memories of Onigashima. Innocent types like Luffy generally wouldn't be killed outright; if he kept digging, new developments might eventually arise.
"Heraaacross."
Halfway through swinging its pickaxe, Hercules recalled some less pleasant things. In Onigashima's mines, aside from those who had willingly surrendered, hardly any pirates thrown inside had ever been released of their own accord.
It is just a Heracross that took on its role passively, and there are many other Pokémon like it. It wasn't even the strongest among its kind, unlike Nereus, who had been designated as the queen with greater authority.
And it was far from being a special individual like Darkrai or Zeraora, treated as a favored "son."
From this perspective, everything would depend on whether someone kindhearted might step up to redeem Luffy. Thanks to being a Pokémon, it probably wouldn't be thrown into the mine alongside him.
Even if this matter wasn't reported publicly, it could always find some "big shot" to pull strings and bail him out. If the person had enough influence, the Beasts Pirates wouldn't care about someone as minor as Straw Hat.
Who knew, if Luffy performed well enough, he might even bulk up a bit in the mines.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, several trees snapped in half as Luffy was sent flying, the Haki covering his body completely dissipating.
Glancing at the stick inserted in the ground beside him, Hercules estimated that only about ten minutes had passed.
This desolate island had nothing at all. In the original timeline, Hancock had supplied them with provisions, bringing all sorts of strange things.
Now, without Hancock's support, all their food came from Sea Kings in the ocean and the island's native plants and beasts.
Due to the intensity of the training, the wristwatch had long since broken.
Rayleigh had no intention of providing them with another time tracking tool, only occasionally checking the time himself.
Moreover, Rayleigh had no particular rapport with Hercules. While he was training Luffy, Hercules couldn't easily interject, so it had to rely on itself.
At this point, Hercules had already resorted to using one of the most primitive time tracking tools.
As a highly intelligent beetle, it was perfectly normal for it to be able to make a sundial with low precision.
"Already out of steam? That won't do, Luffy. Your strength in this state is good…"
"But ten minutes? That's nowhere near enough to clash with the monsters of the New World."
"I'm trying… it's just that Gear 4 consumes too much Haki."
At this point, Luffy was already able to skillfully wield Haki and had developed a new ability - Gear 4.
Infuse Haki into the muscles to form a special rubber balloon.
Whether in strength or speed, it far surpassed Gear 2 and Gear 3, but the price was the massive consumption of his Haki.
A person's Armament Haki reserves had an upper limit, and Luffy's Haki could only sustain ten minutes of use.
In the original timeline, during his battle against Doflamingo, once Luffy's first Gear 4 ended, he immediately fell into a weakened state.
Actually, he could have chosen to escape on his own or continue fighting with Gear 2 and 3, but that would have further drained his stamina, slowing down his Haki recovery.
Being carried by someone else allowed him to better conserve stamina and accelerate his Haki's recovery, which was why he made that choice.
"The monsters of the New World…"
"Scared? To be honest, even though you are now able to hold your own in the New World, you're still not strong enough to go up against those powerful monsters.
Even their subordinates are no exception."
"I'm not scared at all! I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"
"Ace has been in the New World for two years, and everyone's been working hard. If I give up without even setting foot there, I'd be letting down everyone's efforts!"
"Good. Courage is a good thing, but you must remember. These past two years, you weren't the only one growing.
Among the pirates from the same generation… Trafalgar Law has already become a Shichibukai, and the bounties of the others have long since surpassed yours.
As for the Marines… forget it. It's far too complicated. I can't explain it clearly in just a few words. Beetle! You listen carefully!"
In these two years, the world had gone through tremendous upheavals: the battle for the position of Marine Fleet Admiral, the World Military Draft, Vegapunk's death, the revolutionaries' movements…
If the Straw Hats were all together, Rayleigh might have explained things in detail, but with just Luffy, that naive gaze of his already said it all.
Rayleigh didn't want to waste his breath. He chose to keep things simple, telling Hercules a few points. The rest could wait until the crew reunited.
Watching the beetle diligently take notes, Rayleigh couldn't help but feel a little helpless. If he'd had such a beetle aboard his ship back in the day, a lot of things would have been far easier.
Meanwhile, Luffy's other companions were also diligently training.
Sky Island Weatheria, a very special country and the place where Nami was undergoing her training.
It was a special country formed by scientists who had gathered together solely to study meteorology. Unlike other Sky Islands that remained fixed in place, Weatheria drifted with the winds.
The people of the island used this opportunity to study the ever-changing weather and had even made some breakthroughs. Without any wealthy patrons backing them, they relied on weather balloons and their expertise to provide meteorological services to nations in need, thus earning funds.
Nami's arrival added a touch of orange vitality to this group of old scholars. They warmly welcomed this child who was eager to learn. But today, the meteorologists were nearly having a breakdown, as their years of knowledge had been shaken to the core.
"Why?! Why can this ball-shaped whale make it rain from the sky?!"
Staring at the Wailmer before them, which looked like a ball, one meteorologist was so shocked that he yanked his own beard clean off.
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