The sea breeze surged, pushing the ship instantly away from the docks of Loguetown as it sped deep into the vast ocean.
As Loguetown gradually vanished from sight, the tension on board dissipated.
"I heard that just now! You actually presumed yourself to be the captain again!" Ace protested while manning the helm.
"Haha, isn't that the truth? Only a captain looks out for his crew!" Lius sat cross-legged at the bow, turning back to rest his hands on the gunwale with a faint smile. "Besides, if you follow me to change the world, you'll be famous across the seas in no time!"
"Hmph!" Ace snorted in annoyance, though he conceded the point.
After a long pause, he looked toward Lius curiously "That sword of yours earlier, why was it able to strike the smoke-man? Is that the ability you used to ambush me last time?"
"Ah, you mean Haki?"
"Haki?"
"That's right. Didn't I tell you I spent the last two years training under an old man? Both my swordsmanship and my Haki were taught by him." Lius spoke casually.
In truth, he had undergone training with Shiki, coupled with his own hard work and the system's check-in rewards, allowing him to reach his current level.
"If you want to learn, I can teach you. After all, it's a captain's duty to help his crew grow stronger!"
"Damn it, then teach me!" Ace gritted his teeth. He had wanted to resist, but recalling the scene from earlier, he finally compromised.
Lius smiled faintly and turned toward Nami.
"Armament Haki allows you to touch the true body of Logia type users, but it doesn't nullify their powers. As long as you can dodge in time, you can still avoid a Haki-infused attack!"
Guided by Lius, Nami walked toward Ace, sharpening her knives. She raised her small fist, demanding fiercely, "Did you see the Haki covering my fist?"
"I saw it. It looked like some kind of gas!" Ace looked over, startled, a hint of surprise appearing on his freckled cheeks.
Just as he tried to take a closer look, her fist suddenly descended.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each punch landed solidly, making Ace wince in pain as he immediately leaped away.
"You're just doing this for revenge!" he shouted, clutching the bump on his head.
"Of course I am! If we hadn't arrived in time, you would've been captured by the Navy." Nami's anger hadn't faded, and she lectured him with a motherly air.
After all, in the anime, Nami had begun sailing at a young age, so she possessed a natural talent for managing the affairs of a ship.
After a good deal of bickering, Lius explained the theoretical knowledge and training methods of Haki to Ace. While Ace manned the helm, he began to study on his own. Nami returned to the cabin, beginning to map out the charts for this stretch of the journey. Although they had obtained maps of this world from the Sky Pirates, Shiki had always traveled by air, leaving many islands without detailed information, which Nami had to fill in herself.
Lius sat back down at the bow. Seeing they were still some time away from Reverse Mountain, he decided to use the Marrow Cleansing Pill to strengthen his physique first.
This pill was several times more potent than a Body Tempering Pill, and it was Lius's first time taking one. Confident in his constitution, he muttered silently in his heart.
"System, use three Marrow Cleansing Pills on me!"
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host, usage successful!]
As the system's chime faded, Lius's expression shifted abruptly. A vast, boundless power surged from within his body, crashing into his limbs and bones.
"This medicinal... it's too intense!"
Leaving those words behind, he closed his eyes and tumbled from the bow onto the deck with a heavy thud.
The sound startled Ace at the helm and brought Nami out from the cabin immediately.
"Aha, he's fine. He just needs a nap!" Nami took one look and returned to the cabin.
When the medicinal power was too strong for the body to digest immediately, it caused intense pain. To protect itself, the brain would trigger a self-preservation mechanism, resulting in unconsciousness. Lius was currently experiencing exactly that. Nami had tried it herself before, so she was very familiar with it.
Ace was left stunned, having absolutely no idea what had happened.
"That's the lighthouse! We've arrived at the entrance to the Grand Line!"
Before Ace had time to process everything, the ship lurched violently. In the thick fog ahead, one could vaguely see seawater flowing in reverse, surging upward toward the mountain.
The next moment, carried by the reverse current, the entire ship flew forward like an arrow.
...
Back in Loguetown, the entire town had fallen into chaos after the Navy suffered such a heavy defeat. It wasn't until a dog-headed warship arrived that the disorder began to subside.
"Garp, how much do you know about that Lius?"
Sitting on a wooden crate while a doctor bandaged his wounds, Smoker looked toward the burly Garp with a forlorn expression and a bitter smile. "That guy… he doesn't look like a rookie pirate at all!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if he were a long-renowned great pirate!"
"Hahahaha, I don't know anything about him at all! I only saw from Arlong's territory that this guy possesses some terrifying Haki!" Garp laughed heartily while snacking on a rice cracker.
"Haki? You mean Conqueror's Haki, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Actually, it's not just Conqueror's Haki; he also has very powerful Armament Haki!"
At this point, Smoker lowered his head slightly, looking at the chest that had nearly been cleaved open, his eyes still harboring a lingering sense of dread.
"Oh, so he's a little monster then!" Garp crunched on his snack and nodded casually.
"Also, he uses a two-sword style!"
"What else can this brat do?"
"Nothing else, but I can't imagine that a monster like Fire Fist Ace would actually become a member of his crew!"
"Ace, you say? Hahaha, that brat is a monster too!"
"Indeed. That's why I can't understand why he would join Lius's ship!"
"Oh, so it's Ace..."
The words came to an abrupt halt.
The rice cracker Garp was holding to his lips never made it into his mouth. His expression gradually shifted from amusement to shock and astonishment.
Three seconds later.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY? Ace is traveling with that monster?"
Garp jumped up, his temper flaring like a volcanic eruption, emitting a fierce imposing aura.
"Yeh. They even destroyed the execution platform where the Pirate King was executed!"
Smoker nodded.
At those words, the enraged Garp suddenly calmed down, his eyes reflecting a complex array of emotions.
He turned without a word and walked toward the docks. He appeared calm, but everyone present could sense that a volcano was brewing within Vice Admiral Garp, ready to erupt at any moment.
"I'm leaving now, Smoker. If you want to return to headquarters, I can put in a word for you with Sengoku!"
As he reached the docks, Garp paused and asked without looking back.
"Then thank you in advance!" Smoker said, puffing on his cigar.
Having failed to stop the pirates from entering the Grand Line and being utterly defeated, he no longer had the face to continue his vacation in the East Blue.
Strength!
Only by becoming stronger could he uphold the justice in his heart.
"Captain Smoker, please let me go with you!"
Tashigi, who was clutching her sword nearby, said with a determined face.
She, too, had to become stronger.
Strong enough to force that man to draw his blade!