Two days later, above an island in the first half of the Grand Line, the figure of a green dragon soared past the clouds.
Inside the wooden house, Luo Chen opened his eyes, a powerful aura emanating from his body.
[Taijutsu: Lv8 (Calamity Level ≈ Pirate with an 800 million Berry bounty)]
[Cultivation Point Balance: 1,257,300]
In two days, he had spent four hundred thousand cultivation points, and had passed four hundred hours in the taijutsu space.
His taijutsu had been upgraded from Lv7 to Lv8.
The Calamity Level, as defined by the system, was in reference to the "Three Calamities" of the Beasts Pirates and the "Three Sweet Commanders" of the Big Mom Pirates.
However, it did not include "King the Conflagration" from the Three Calamities, or Katakuri from the Three Sweet Commanders.
Those two were each the right-hand men of their respective Yonko.
Their strength was a level higher than the "Calamity" as defined by the system.
'Doflamingo, Ace, the other two Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, and the other two Calamities of the Beasts Pirates should all be at the Calamity level.'
'With my taijutsu alone, I can now fight them without being at a disadvantage.'
'If I were to use all my techniques, such as ninjutsu and Haki, my strongest combat power could squeeze into the first-mate level.'
Luo Chen thought.
In the world of One Piece, there were many powerhouses at the first-mate level.
The stronger ones, like Zoro two years later, Marco of the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Warlord Boa Hancock, could even clash with and injure an Emperor.
'I probably can't threaten an Emperor or an Admiral yet. I'm still a ways off from a strong first-mate level. My taijutsu will need to go up another level.'
Luo Chen was not impatient.
He still had over one million two hundred thousand cultivation points left.
According to the leather-clad female teacher's analysis, that was enough to raise his taijutsu by another level.
'Eight hundred thousand cultivation points, and my taijutsu can be upgraded to level nine. My strongest combat power will be on par with a strong first mate.'
'At that time, I'll be able to fight Aokiji head-on. It will be absolutely impossible for him to take me down on his own.'
Previously, Luo Chen had thought that the Admirals were weaker than the Emperors.
But as the One Piece story had gradually unfolded, he had discovered that the Marine Admirals, especially Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru, were not necessarily inferior to the Emperors.
On the other hand, Fujitora and Ryokugyu, who had joined the Marines and become Admirals two years later, might be a little weaker than the original three.
'Two years later, Ryokugyu was intimidated into surrendering by Red-Haired Shanks' Conqueror's Haki. The power gap between those two is obvious.'
'Of course, Red Hair's strength, even among the Four Emperors, is top-tier. One might even say he is the strongest of the current Four Emperors.'
Luo Chen concluded that if he raised his taijutsu by another two levels, his strongest combat power would officially step into the Admiral/Emperor tier.
With this in mind, he felt he had to go to the sky island.
He didn't have enough cultivation points to raise his taijutsu by two levels.
On that sky island occupied by Enel, lay the golden city of Shandora.
'I wonder how the system will value the gold of Shandora.'
Luo Chen was a little curious.
A city of gold, how many Berries would it be worth?
If estimated according to the current market value of gold, it would be at least in the trillions.
The problem was, there was too much gold on the sky island, and it was not in the circulating market of the Blue Sea.
The system's judgment of a fortune's value was based on the average market price.
If a huge amount of gold were to flood the market, it would probably drive down the price of gold throughout the entire world.
'Trillions' worth of gold, even if it depreciates, should still be worth hundreds of billions, right?'
Luo Chen wasn't too worried.
There was too much gold on the sky island. As long as he could obtain ownership, his taijutsu would surely be able to be upgraded by two levels or even more.
'I hope Luffy and the others haven't gone to the sky island yet. As long as Enel doesn't run off with the gold, it'll be fine.'
With that, Luo Chen once again entered a state of training.
Of the remaining one million two hundred thousand-plus cultivation points, eight hundred thousand would be used to upgrade his taijutsu.
The remaining four hundred thousand-plus, Luo Chen prepared to use to improve his Armament and Observation Haki.
His next opponents would be Admirals or even Emperors.
If his two types of Haki weren't raised to the top level, the drawbacks would be too great.
...
Time slowly passed, and another four days went by.
A wooden house was being carried on the back of the Wood Dragon, which slowly came to a halt in the air.
Luo Chen was awakened by the Wood Clone beside him.
"Carina and the others are on that island below."
The Wood Clone pointed out the window.
Luo Chen looked out and was slightly taken aback.
Although they were still very far away, he could see that it was almost a city built on water.
Inside the city, a network of waterways crisscrossed.
From the higher parts of the city, numerous waterfall-like waterways also flowed down, converging into the sea.
Near the shore, besides the many ships moored at the port, there was also a sea train in the distance, rumbling as it headed away.
Luo Chen and the Wood Clone exchanged a look.
"It's Water 7," the Wood Clone nodded.
"Luffy and the others got here so fast?" Luo Chen was a little helpless.
The Water 7 arc took place after the Skypiea arc.
The Wood Clone smiled. "They might not have gone to the sky island. There wouldn't have been enough time."
"Besides, even if they did, Enel couldn't possibly have moved that entire golden city."
Luo Chen felt that made sense.
He looked at Water 7 but did not control the Wood Dragon to land.
The Wood Clone asked with a smile, "Worried about the World Government agents in Water 7?"
"Yeah. Rob Lucci and the others are lurking in Water 7, looking for the blueprints for Pluton."
Luo Chen sighed. "If Nami entered this city with Luffy and the others, she has probably already been discovered by the World Government."
"I don't know how many days they've been here. If it's been a long time, the Marines and the World Government might have set up an ambush with many people."
These past few days, he had been flying in the sky, but he could still see many Marine and World Government search fleets on the sea.
Needless to say, they were definitely looking for him.
As someone who had been by his side, there was a ninety-nine percent chance that Nami was also being targeted by the Marines and the World Government.
They had either already been captured, or they were lurking in the shadows, waiting for him to show himself.
"Let's send a clone to take a look," the Wood Clone suggested.
Luo Chen's main body definitely couldn't go.
Water 7 could very well be a lion's den right now.
Luo Chen looked at the Wood Clone.
"Alright... I'll go," the Wood Clone said, speechless. He transformed into a young man with ordinary features.
He possessed all the abilities of Luo Chen's main body. He raised a hand and created a Wood Dragon, which descended toward the sea.
After touching the water, the Wood Dragon slowly turned into a simple fishing boat.
The Wood Clone rowed the boat toward the water city in the distance.
Luo Chen, meanwhile, gazed at Water 7 from afar, deep in thought.
'What enemies are lurking in Water 7? Will there be a Marine Admiral?'
He opened the system panel.
[Host: Luo Chen]
[Taijutsu: Lv9 (First-Mate Level ≈ Pirate with a 1.2 billion Berry bounty)]
[Skills: Observation Haki (Introductory), Armament Haki (Introductory), Six Powers - Shave, Six Powers - Moonwalk]
[Ninjutsu: Shinra Tensei, Tengai Shinsei, Susanoo, Sage Mode, Flying Thunder God Technique, Wood Style Ninja Technique Collection]
[Cultivation Point Balance: 457300]
[Next Cumulative Deposit Reward Tier: Thirty Billion Berries]
In four days, Luo Chen had done nothing but train his taijutsu.
Compared to four days ago, his taijutsu had risen by another level.
Combined with the various ninjutsu rewarded by the system, Luo Chen's current strength could be said to be at the highest tier below an Admiral or Emperor.
If he encountered an Admiral or an Emperor, he could trade a couple of blows. The outcome would be hard to say in the short term.
Of course, he definitely couldn't beat a top-tier Emperor like Red-Haired Shanks.
'Aokiji, I can totally take him on. Even if I can't win, I can run away with the Flying Thunder God.'
With his taijutsu raised from Lv7 to Lv9, the teleportation range of his Flying Thunder God had also expanded from five hundred meters to three kilometers.
It could be said to be a qualitative leap.
There was a one hundred percent chance that Aokiji couldn't catch him now.
If he were to face the Glint-Glint Fruit user, Kizaru, Luo Chen felt it was still necessary to be cautious.
In terms of frontal combat power, Aokiji and Kizaru should be about the same. But Kizaru could move as light, his speed was too fast. Once he was entangled, it would be absolutely impossible to escape.
'Akainu is a little stronger than Aokiji. I can't beat him.'
Luo Chen rubbed his chin.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]