Chapter 148 Flow, A Twist of Fate
After the seastone mining operation got on the right track, Brett's main focus returned to training.
Many affairs of this country required his decisions, but that was the extent of it. The specific details and implementation were handled by people specially responsible for those areas, and if all else failed, there was still Dragon Palace.
Brett had always maintained one core belief: Fish-Man Island's prosperity depended on economic development, but true strength could only come from becoming stronger himself.
Though this might sound somewhat too self-centered, that's just how this world worked.
The impact a top-tier powerhouse could bring was enormous—so great that even one country, or even dozens of countries combined, couldn't compare.
Just as Kaido alone could prevent the Marines from daring to invade Wano Country, if Fish-Man Island wanted true stability, short of acquiring an Ancient Weapon, it could only rely on him becoming stronger.
That's what Brett believed.
His training, naturally, involved sparring sessions with Jinbei.
Even though he'd received Rayleigh's guidance over the past year, there was no doubt that Jinbei's mastery of Armament Haki was still no weaker than Brett's—if anything, it might even surpass his. Their training progress seemed roughly equal.
This made them perfect sparring partners.
At the training ground in the Sea Forest of Fish-Man Street, with no new recruits enlisting recently, the facility was free for Jinbei and Brett to use for their practice sessions.
Brett wasn't using electrical propulsion, since this was Haki training rather than actual combat.
However, their current sparring looked quite bizarre.
Though both were robust, muscular men, when they threw their punches, they moved sluggishly, as if in slow motion.
Tap.
Brett's fist could no longer be described with words like "strike" or "smash"—it could only be called a "touch" as it made contact with Jinbei's chest.
"You're getting the feeling, but you're still far from there, Brett!"
Jinbei stepped back two paces, then pushed back against Brett's body with his palm. The effect wasn't great either—it only made Brett stumble slightly.
"You're not doing much better yourself, brother Jinbei"
Brett threw another punch.
Their sparring involved hardly any real force, making it look like they were giving each other massages.
This was to let their Haki provide the power.
Hardened Armament Haki could greatly increase destructive force, but like swinging a hammer, it required physical strength.
But flowing Armament Haki was different—it was destructive power in itself, delivering tremendous force even without the body exerting effort.
However, neither of them could yet convert their Haki directly into impact force. They could only manage to make their Haki move slightly.
The extent of their power was roughly Brett making Jinbei step back two paces, and Jinbei making Brett lose his balance—and that was while neither was really defending.
Though it looked pathetic, neither felt discouraged in the slightest.
After all, this meant they had already entered the fundamentals.
They could already make their Haki flow slightly—it was just a matter of proficiency and control that kept the Haki's intensity from keeping up.
But that was fine. Both proficiency and control could be improved through constant practice.
However, there were ways to improve quickly.
Just as Rayleigh had said, after personal training, battle was needed to catalyze progress.
Using crisis to temper one's will, using powerful enemies to enhance Haki.
Brett didn't really mind this approach, but the problem was that there were currently no enemies available to sharpen his Haki against.
So they could only adopt this slightly slower method.
While the two were training, somewhere on Fish-Man Island, a certain individual was already taking action.
Fish-Man Island's vigilance toward outsiders hadn't diminished much. The port remained under strict control, and even in other districts, Dragon Palace soldiers never ceased their patrols. It had been a long time since anyone dared cause trouble on this island.
However, if someone was just casually gathering information without incident, it would be quite difficult to detect anything amiss. After all, there were too many outsiders on Fish-Man Island now—who had the time to track and investigate every single person in detail?
And so, in a certain tavern on Fish-Man Island...
"Oh, so Fish-Man Island still isn't under the control of that Director Brett?"
A man with a benevolent appearance, plump build, and round cheeks asked with apparent surprise. "I've heard many legends about him at sea and thought he'd already become the uncrowned king of this country."
After coming to this bar for several days running, his groundwork should be in place.
The fish-man bartender behind the counter replied casually, "Director Brett is indeed the great contributor to Fish-Man Island's transformation, that's true, but King Neptune is also royalty who has ruled Fish-Man Island for generations. He's still the ruler of this country, right?"
The round man's eyes darkened slightly. So—
"But there are indeed many people now who believe the one leading Fish-Man Island forward is Director Brett," the bartender added. "After all, everyone knows all the changes were brought about by him. He made this country wealthy, strong, and dignified. He really has done much better than King Neptune—it wouldn't be bad if he became king."
Brett himself didn't even know about this. His prestige in this country had unknowingly soared beyond measure.
It couldn't be helped—he was Fish-Man Island's first reformer to truly bring tangible progress.
"Eh?" The man was startled. "Is that so?"
That guy didn't deceive Mama?
"It's no secret on Fish-Man Island anymore," the bartender shrugged. "Though I don't really care. Whoever takes power is the same to me, as long as they can continue ensuring this country's development."
"In that case, won't there be problems?" the man lowered his voice. "Like, civil war or something?"
Realizing he might have misspoken, he quickly tried to cover, "I-I'm just speculating, talking nonsense."
The bartender paused, then leaned forward as well. "Honestly, quite a few people are worried about that, especially after last year—"
He stopped, not saying everything. "But Director Brett and King Neptune haven't shown any signs of opposition."
"And Boss Jinbei is mediating between them," the bartender sighed. "It should be fine, but—who can say for certain?"
Between Director Brett, whose prestige now soared, and King Neptune, who inherited the throne through bloodline—were they really as harmoniously close as they appeared?
Many of Fish-Man Island's residents were somewhat worried.
"I see." The man nodded.
This was troublesome. How should he report this to Mama?
Had that guy violated his promise or not?
Brett would never imagine that a lingering bit of unease from that performance a year ago could actually be helpful now.
"Anyway, I'll report to Mama first and go with her judgment."
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