After confirming that the handwritten manuscripts were far more detailed than the manuals recovered from the ship, Kaito Arisawa carefully read through every page until he finished them all.
"Robin, make copies of these materials," he said as he handed the letters back to her. "After that, we'll distribute the cultivation methods to the men. Also, notify everyone to assemble. It's time for a change."
He looked at her steadily.
"We're no longer gangsters. We're setting sail as pirates."
A glint flashed in Robin's beautiful eyes.
"So you've finally decided to go to sea," she said with a faint smile. "That's wise. After what happened with the Eight Treasures Navy, staying here isn't ideal."
Kaito gave a slight nod.
"I'm not ready to fight Don Chinjao yet. For now, we'll avoid his edge."
Memories from his previous life could serve only as reference. Until he personally measured Don Chinjao's strength, he couldn't truly assess the gap between them.
Kaito had confidence in himself.
But confidence did not mean recklessness.
Compared to Don Chinjao—whose era was already fading—Kaito was the rising sun.
The longer he delayed a direct confrontation, the more advantageous it would be for him.
Robin understood immediately.
After years together, she had long since aligned herself fully with Kaito. She regarded his ambitions as her own and supported his decision without hesitation.
Without wasting time, she left the training room to carry out his orders, summoning the Sword Gang members to assemble.
Once alone again, Kaito resumed his training.
The decision to go to sea did not trouble him.
Even without the clash with the Eight Treasures Navy, he had already been preparing to depart.
Before awakening his past-life memories—and before gaining the Infinite Talent System—both his own strength and the development of the Sword Gang had reached a bottleneck.
Remaining in Rumtown would only waste time.
If he did not intend to remain entrenched in the underworld, then sailing out was the only path forward.
Logistical preparations had already been made.
Navigators. Ship doctors. Supplies. Even the vessel itself.
If he chose to depart now, he could do so immediately.
"The effect of talent concentration is extraordinary," Kaito murmured to himself as he moved. "Although the other talents don't produce the same overwhelming surge in raw power as Constitution, each has its own distinct advantages."
What he was practicing now was swordsmanship.
Compared to the previous day's battle, the twin golden sabers in his hands no longer radiated that overwhelming, oppressive force when swung.
Instead—
They felt like extensions of his own body.
Every movement was fluid. Seamless. Natural.
As the blades cut through the air, subtle ripples followed in their wake.
If he willed it, those ripples could condense into violent slash waves.
Yes.
Although he was not currently in a Constitution-concentrated state, his swordsmanship had advanced to a new realm.
He could now produce slash waves with ease.
More precisely—
He had comprehended the realm of cutting steel.
He had become a true swordsman.
Just days earlier, while strong, he could only be considered a skilled practitioner. He had not yet crossed into that coveted realm.
If one needed a comparison, then his former level in swordsmanship was roughly equivalent to Roronoa Zoro during his time as a pirate hunter.
So why the sudden leap?
The answer lay in the talent panel.
At this moment, his talent distribution looked like this:
[Constitution: 0.1 (1.4)]
[Fighting: 0.1 (1.3)]
[Weapon: 7.9 (1.8)]
[Armament Haki: 0.1 (1.3)]
[Observation Haki: 0.1 (1.5)]
[Conqueror's Haki: 0.1 (1.1)]
Swords and blades both fell under the "Weapon" category.
After experimenting with other talent concentrations the previous day, Kaito had gained a deeper understanding of the system.
With Weapon talent concentrated to 7.9, the enhancement went beyond basic amplification.
It gave him something he called—
An Innate Sword Heart.
The name was his own creation.
Under this state, his comprehension of swordsmanship became extraordinary. He could perceive the essence of techniques at a glance, analyze them, and reorganize them into a style perfectly suited to himself.
It was not merely improved practice speed.
It was instinctive insight.
That was why he had been able to grasp the realm of cutting steel in less than a day.
He had already been close.
But with the Innate Sword Heart amplifying his understanding and refining every technique he had ever seen, the breakthrough became inevitable.
And that was only one example.
Each concentrated talent revealed unique characteristics.
Constitution Concentration:
Beyond raw physical amplification, it granted him a defensive capability comparable to Charlotte Linlin's "steel balloon."
Unlike her, however, he was not corpulent.
So he named his version—
Man of Steel.
At least so far, whether it was blade or bullet, nothing had managed to pierce his body—even when he made no effort to defend.
Fighting Concentration:
This brought what he termed Absolute Mastery.
Under this state, he gained unparalleled control over his body.
He could regulate muscles, organs—even subtle internal movements at will.
He had even discovered that he could mimic techniques akin to Life Return without formal instruction, manipulating any part of his body freely.
Armament Haki Concentration:
This one surprised him the most.
It granted him a special trait he named—
Shock.
And yes.
He had already awakened Armament Haki.
Not by studying the Eight Treasures Navy's manuals.
Not through gradual training.
But naturally—instantly—after concentrating his Armament Haki talent the previous day.
Under talent concentration, he had become a natural awakener of Armament Haki.
The Infinite Talent System did not merely accelerate growth.
It rewrote the rules of how growth occurred.
And Kaito Arisawa—
Was only beginning to explore its depths.
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