Qiu Xia nodded and looked at Koushirou. "That's right. Congratulations, Mr. Koushirou. Kuina has awakened Conqueror's Haki. Her future achievements will surely surpass yours!"
"Surpass me? Even without awakening Conqueror's Haki, Kuina's future achievements would have eventually surpassed mine. Having it now just means she'll get there even faster."
Qiu Xia reached into his ring and withdrew a crimson longsword, handing it to Koushirou. "Mr. Koushirou, I prepared this sword for Kuina. Give it to her when she reaches adulthood and prepares to set out to sea. Also, you should teach her Armament Haki and Observation Haki."
Koushirou's Shimotsuki Family was a renowned lineage of swordsmiths. Although he had never displayed his own smithing skills, he was undoubtedly an expert who could discern the grade of any weapon. However, after taking the sword from Qiu Xia, Koushirou found himself unable to determine its exact rank. He could only be certain of one thing: this sword was incredibly powerful.
"What is its name?" Koushirou asked, observing the blade closely.
"The sword is called Huohuang," Qiu Xia replied. "It signifies a phoenix reborn through fire. I am giving it to Kuina in the hope that whenever she faces danger, she can rise again like a phoenix, reborn time and time again. Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. Hurry up and head to the mountain to bring Kuina back. I'm leaving."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Xia vanished mysteriously from Koushirou's room, just as abruptly as he had arrived.
"He just left like that? And what kind of technique was that? A Space-type Devil Fruit user? Who exactly is this Qiu Xia? Why have I never heard his name on the high seas before? Forget it, no point overthinking it. I need to go get Kuina!"
After handing over the Huohuang and finishing his business, Qiu Xia left Shimotsuki Village, where he had stayed for nearly a year. He reached the waters outside the village and released his ship from his Small World. For the time being, he intended to let the ship drift wherever the currents took it.
Lying on a rocking chair he had made himself, Qiu Xia enjoyed the sea breeze while snacking on fruit grown in his Small World. He was thoroughly relaxed. He had expected to drift peacefully until he reached the next island,
but his enjoyment only lasted three days. On that day, while he was lounging as usual, a stray cannonball suddenly came flying toward his ship. It crashed into the water nearby, sending a spray of seawater directly onto his face.
Startled from his leisurely rest, Qiu Xia stood up from his rocking chair, his expression darkening. He looked toward the direction the shot had come from and saw a massive, luxurious ship. Many people stood on its deck: some in suits, some in Marine uniforms, several servants, and one person wearing a space suit with a fishbowl over his head.
As Qiu Xia observed the massive vessel, another shot was fired, hitting his ship directly. Because Qiu Xia's ship had been refined into a Dharma Artifact, the explosion did no damage to the hull. Although there was no loss, Qiu Xia was absolutely livid.
When an ordinary person gets angry without revealing their Dharma Power, their aura might only be intimidating within a range of dozens of meters. But in the world of pirates, a king who possesses Conqueror's Haki can automatically change the color of the heavens and earth through the sheer force of their rage.
As Qiu Xia's fury surged, the entire sky turned a deep violet-red. The powerful Conqueror's Haki caused the surrounding sea to churn violently. Cracks began to spiderweb across the hull of the ship that had attacked him, as if it were being struck by an invisible force.
Under the weight of Qiu Xia's immense Conqueror's Haki, the people on the other ship began to collapse into unconsciousness one after another. Only a man in a black suit and a Marine officer draped in a "Justice" cloak managed to remain standing, gritting their teeth against the pressure.
"Who are you? How dare you use Conqueror's Haki to attack the Celestial Dragons? Do you intend to make an enemy of the World Government?" the man in the black suit barked, staring at Qiu Xia through clenched teeth.
"Make an enemy? I'll make an enemy of your mother! Damn it, I was minding my own business on the sea and you dared to bomb me? You must be tired of living!"
It would have been better if the Cipher Pol agent hadn't spoken. His words only fueled Qiu Xia's rage. Without another word, a large hammer glowing with blue light appeared in Qiu Xia's hand.
The Conqueror's Haki filling the sky was suddenly drawn toward the hammer like smoke into a vacuum. As the Haki merged with it, the hammer turned from blue to violet-red, with crackling bolts of purple lightning coiling around it.
"Holy shit!" The Marine general and the CP agent were dumbfounded. Although they knew that users capable of Conqueror's Haki Infusion were exceptionally rare, they weren't non-existent. Unfortunately for them, they were among the few who recognized exactly what they were looking at.
What "honor" it was to have provoked a master of Conqueror's Haki Infusion. The boy looked like a mere child, but he turned out to be a monstrous powerhouse. Had he been training since he was in the womb?
Facing Qiu Xia's heavy hammer strike, their fate was sealed. The massive ship was smashed into splinters. The power of the impact sent a wall of water hundreds of meters into the air. The resulting tidal force pushed Qiu Xia's small ship back a hundred meters. It was lucky that Qiu Xia was the one swinging the hammer and that his ship was a refined Dharma Artifact; otherwise, he would have capsized himself.
"Dumbasses. I was in a perfectly good mood until you lot ruined it. If you had just apologized, I might have let it go. But you had to threaten me? Don't you know the thing I hate most is being threatened?"
After cursing for a while, Qiu Xia took a bottle of Laobaigan from his Small World, took several long gulps, and then lay back down to continue his "playing dead" routine.
What Qiu Xia didn't know was that the moment the Celestial Dragon and the general were finished by his hammer, the World Government and the Marines received the intelligence. Qiu Xia hadn't watched the One Piece anime or manga in a long time and had forgotten about the existence of Vivre Cards. Created from hair and fingernails, a Vivre Card burns when its owner is in danger and turns to ash upon their death.
Most people didn't use them, but whether it was a coincidence or the interference of the One Piece Heavenly Way, both the Marine general and the Celestial Dragon possessed them.
Qiu Xia had been careless. He hadn't considered that if Celestial Dragons were truly that easy to kill, pirates would have been assassinating them left and right. It was precisely because nearly every Celestial Dragon had a Vivre Card that the World Government would receive immediate intel of their death and order a Buster Call.
Stalked by the One Piece Heavenly Way, Qiu Xia's path to a peaceful life was not going to be smooth. When Celestial Dragons traveled, they were accompanied by more than just shipboard bodyguards. This time, the ones responsible for following them were Kizaru and Garp.
There were two of them for a simple reason: Kizaru was the assigned escort, while Garp had come along because the Celestial Dragon wanted to visit Garp's hometown. Fearing the bastard would cause trouble in his home, Garp didn't trust the situation and followed along. Otherwise, given Garp's hatred for the World Nobles, he would have loved nothing more than to punch them himself.
Consequently, as soon as Qiu Xia settled the Celestial Dragon and the Marine general, Garp and Kizaru knew before the World Government could even place a call. They had felt the Conqueror's Haki the moment it appeared and were rushing toward the location at full speed. Less than a minute after Qiu Xia lay back down, two silhouettes blurred through the air and landed on his ship.
"How scary! What terrifying methods... and such a big hammer," Kizaru said, looking at Qiu Xia on his rocking chair with a serious expression. While he often said those words mockingly, this time he was sincere. As a Marine Admiral, he was well aware of what Conqueror's Haki Infusion implied.
Beside him, Garp's face was dark. "Kid, do you have any idea what you've done? You actually killed a Celestial Dragon!"
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