On the boundless sea, a ship pulled by a giant sea snail was sailing swiftly.
"That Genrou actually joined a rookie pirate crew?"
"Straw Hat Luffy… what kind of charm does that man have?"
Vinsmoke Reiju frowned slightly as she stared at the newspaper she had just bought from the News Coo.
"You said… Genrou? Where is he now?"
A slightly weak voice spoke beside her.
"So you're awake."
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Gion. That man who captured you is long gone."
Reiju turned around and smiled at the newly awakened Gion.
"He left?" Gion pursed her lips. "He actually let me go?"
"Genrou said he respected you. He only took your sword."
"My sword?" Gion blinked, finally realizing that her Konpira was no longer with her. "That man doesn't even use swords—what would he want with mine?!"
"Who knows?" Reiju shrugged. "Maybe he wanted its value… or maybe it was revenge for you chasing him for so long."
"I see. I didn't expect him to grow so strong. What a shame…"
Gion sighed.
She genuinely felt regret.
During her pursuit of Genrou, he never acted like a typical pirate.
In fact, the only "evil" thing he had done was attack a Celestial Dragon.
Even capturing her had only been a means of escape, which made Gion not truly resent him.
"…Huh? What's this?"
Just then, Gion noticed the word "正" marked on her thigh.
Of course, she didn't recognize the symbol, but she was clearly disturbed by strange markings suddenly appearing on her body.
"Oh that? Yeah… I don't think you really want to know."
Reiju's lips curved into a smile that made Gion uneasy.
Then, Reiju explained the meaning of the "正" mark—just as Genrou had told her.
"No… no way! That man did that to me?! And the symbol shows how many times?!"
Gion's eyes widened in disbelief, and she frantically started checking her body.
"Beats me," Reiju said calmly. "I was just a hostage like you, after all."
"If you really want to know the truth, you'll have to ask Genrou yourself. Maybe you'll even get your sword back."
Reiju smiled again and sat down on the sofa.
"Damn it… and to think I thought he was a decent guy. I won't forgive him!"
Even someone as composed as Gion couldn't help but blush, vowing in her heart to bring Genrou to justice.
Meanwhile, the very man she was angrily cursing—Genrou—was leisurely sailing across the sea toward Orange Town.
"Hey Genrou, can't you summon the Golden Stag?"
"Do we really have to ride in this tiny boat?"
Luffy rolled lazily across the deck, looking at Genrou with hopeful eyes.
"Yeah, Genrou. Since you can use Captain Drake's power, you should be able to summon her massive Golden Stag ship, right?"
"With that ship, we'd reach Orange Town a lot faster—and find that bastard Buggy."
Nami sat down next to Genrou, her tone serious.
Just thinking about the message she'd found in the Marine base regarding Buggy made her blood boil.
In her mind, the treasure Buggy took should've belonged to her.
"You guys have been going on and on about the Golden Stag and fleets… what are those, anyway?"
Zoro asked, glancing over.
"Come on. Didn't I already explain?"
"Keeping Drake's ship manifested drains my stamina constantly."
"This open sea? You trying to kill me from exhaustion?"
Genrou shook his head and turned them down once again.
If he sailed across the sea with the Golden Stag active, he'd be drained before even reaching the next island.
And if enemies attacked when he was exhausted, they'd be screwed.
"Lame," Luffy pouted. "This is so boring."
Genrou just chuckled and gave Luffy a playful bonk on the head with a "love punch."
"Ow! But I'm made of rubber! Why does it still hurt?!"
Luffy clutched the bump on his head, baffled.
"Even if you're rubber, a fist coated with Busōshoku Haki (Armament Haki) still deals real damage."
Genrou raised his fist, showing Luffy the black energy coating his knuckles.
"Busōshoku Haki? What's that?"
"Is it another Heroic Spirit's power or something?"
Nami asked curiously.
Now that she'd seen Genrou use the powers of Toriko and Drake, she was beginning to suspect he could use even more Heroic Spirits' abilities.
"You don't need Heroic Spirits to use Haki."
"To be precise, Busōshoku and Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) are latent powers everyone possesses."
"With intense training, anyone has the potential to awaken them."
Genrou began to explain in detail, soon educating Luffy, Zoro, and Nami about the three types of Haki and their applications.
These were powers the Straw Hats would eventually gain anyway, so Genrou wanted them to grasp Haki early while learning from their Heroic Spirit templates.
"So that's what it was… Grandpa was using Busōshoku Haki to hit me. No wonder it always hurt."
"But Genrou, you're really amazing. You can even use Grandpa's powers."
Luffy said with admiration.
"Busōshoku, Kenbunshoku, and Haōshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki)… I wonder if I can master those too."
Zoro gripped his sword tightly. Any power that could make him stronger was something he cared deeply about.
"If you're interested, Zoro, I could share my Haki training experience with you."
"But training Haki isn't something you master overnight. It'll take long-term, intense effort."
"Instead, how about trying out the power of a Heroic Spirit first?"
Genrou turned his gaze to Zoro, looking at him with interest.
…
(End of Chapter)
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