How can I become the Pirate King if you don’t work hard?.

Chapter 288 Sword Master, Tempering the Black Blade!

In his mind, he could even see himself awakening before Gawain, and the defeated expression on the latter's face!

You should know that in Chloe's eyes...

From the East China Sea, Gao Wen displayed an astonishing learning ability and growth rate.

He first encountered the technique of breaking the Dipper Death, and within just a few days, he mastered it and integrated it into his own fighting style.

Later, he even saw through the secrets of the Six Styles by observing from the sidelines, and organized them in less than a month. He even quickly mastered Life Return, which took Lucci more than ten years to master.

That was the culmination of countless powerful individuals' lifelong learning within the World Government, yet Gawain deciphered it in such a primitive way. Kuro still vividly remembers the look of utter disbelief on Lucci's face when he learned that Gawain had mastered the Six Powers!

Since boarding Gawain's ship, he has experienced one defeat after another. Although he had long since given up on the idea of ​​defeating Gawain and becoming captain, how could he possibly be willing to endure Gawain's exhaust fumes?!
Now he truly saw a glimmer of hope to surpass Gawain!

Even if it's just in terms of developing capabilities!
"Hmph~ Gawain."

Kro crossed his arms, his tone abrupt, and his chin slightly raised:
"I have already sensed it; the consciousness hidden within the Devil Fruit."

"Once I completely tame it, my abilities will reach a new level, and I will awaken before you."

Gao Wen's eyes twitched uncontrollably as he heard the words "ahead of you" clearly emphasized.
“If you want to awaken through pressure again, I don’t mind helping you one more time.”

Gawain held Kanze Masamune down with one hand, determined to make Crow distinguish who the real king and queen were this time.

But Chloe wasn't fooled at all, and her face grew even more smug:

"Even if I could do it on my own, how could the pressure you bring possibly outweigh the motivation?"

After saying that, Kro turned and drifted away, disappearing without a trace in a few breaths, fearing that Gawain might break the rules and make a move against his old comrade.

"A man's competitive spirit?!"

"boring."

Gao Wen chuckled and cursed, pretending to be completely unconcerned, but his hand unconsciously tightened around the Kanze Masamune at his waist.

No!

We can't let that old bastard get there first!
Gao Wen's heart tightened. He brought up the system panel and quickly scanned his various data:

[Host - Gao Wen]

[Age - 25]

[Identity - Captain of the Gawain Pirates]

【Skill:
Swordsmanship - LV-14: 74231/75000 (Swiftness, Ultimate Weapon)
体魄-LV-16：111315/300000（均衡、调和、天人）（魔人形态：LV-18/人兽形态：LV-18/兽形态：LV-19）

Shokushi-LV-9: 45/20000 (Instant Step)
Red Dragon Fruit - LV-7: 45342/100000 (Battle Armor)
Six Styles (Complete) - LV-8: 2312/150000 (Life Return)
Observation Haki - LV-7: 24897/50000 (Foresight)
Armament Haki - LV-6: 17650/30000 (Kongo)
Conqueror's Haki - LV-5: 413/50000 (Super Armor)
Sailing - LV-5: MAX
Sniper - LV-5: MAX (Accuracy)
】

【badge:
Captain's Wrath - Subordinates' stamina recovery speed increased by 20%.
Rising to Fame - Explore Potential Abilities
Bounty over 100 million - The Blessing of the Sea (Already used)
Shichibukai - Experience Storage Pot (Assigned: Navigation, Sniping, Paramecia-type Devil Fruit)

】

[Rating - Legendary:]

Emperor of the Sea, General of the Army!
】

Compared to a few months ago, Gao Wen's stats have all skyrocketed, and his strength has improved significantly, making him several levels stronger.

According to Gawain's own rating criteria, his stats are roughly between mid-to-high level of Legendary, but due to the almost abnormal hand-to-hand combat ability of the Red Dragon Fruit, Gawain's actual combat ability far exceeds his stats.

If the battlefield is suitable, there is almost no possibility of being defeated head-on, unless the opponent can limit the use of the Red Dragon Fruit's power. But there is no doubt that Gawain is one of the people closest to the pinnacle of this era.

Previously, his swordsmanship had been progressing slowly and steadily, but with Luo's addition, it has accelerated significantly and is about to reach LV-15, awakening a brand new attribute.

It will happen sometime tonight.

but.

What Gawain was most concerned about now was not the panel data he had already looked at countless times; his gaze was fixed on the Crimson Dragon Fruit.

"To reach LV-10, the amount of experience required will be enormous, and even based on the current earnings, it will take at least one or two years."

"As for relying on my own awakening, I haven't even gotten to the door yet, so it's better not to look at it at all."

The mere thought of Crow's arrogant demeanor made Gawain's eyes twitch uncontrollably. He shook his head, his gaze falling on swordsmanship, before nodding in satisfaction.

"The awakening of the Crimson Dragon Fruit is still a long way off, but the advancement of swordsmanship will happen tonight. I just don't know what kind of 'keywords' will be unlocked."

As Gao Wen pondered, the battle below intensified once again.

After a brief respite, Zoro and Sanji launched another attack. Flying sword energy and surging flames raged across the battlefield, bringing the atmosphere to its peak!

The fierce battle continued until late at night before the two men collapsed from exhaustion.

Their strengths were similar, and after a day and a night of fierce fighting, their mental and physical limits had been reached. At this moment, they were only holding on by sheer willpower.

Franky, acting as a guest referee, entered the ring and began the countdown. Until the very last moment, Zoro stood up, but Sanji was a step too slow and lost due to the rules, leaving the ring in disappointment.

"Qi!"

Sanji pursed his lips, then plopped down on the floor and took a deep breath of fresh air.

He was in a terrible state, but he refused to admit defeat only when facing Zoro.

"We were careless?!"

"Ha~"

Zoro wasn't much better off, but even when he was getting humiliated by his old rival, he had to hold on no matter how badly he was being treated.

Ignoring the aches and pains all over his body, he forced himself to adopt a relaxed posture and calmly sheathed the long sword at his waist.

"A difference of even one second is still a difference!"

"Again?!"

Sanji's eyes were blazing.

Just as the two were about to start their second match, Gao Wen appeared in the center of the battlefield in an instant, kicking them both out of the battlefield with one foot each, which unsurprisingly caused a burst of laughter.

Gao Wen glared at the two troublemakers with annoyance.

Seeing that the clash of high-end combat forces had basically ended, Wen Gao simply handed over the task of maintaining the scene and interrupting the battle in time to avoid casualties to A Jin, and turned back to his office.

Time flies, and it's already late at night.

Outside the port, the internal ranking battle of the Gawain Pirates continued.

Every now and then, bursts of enthusiastic cheers would erupt from there, and everyone was clearly engrossed in the excitement.

Gao Wen glanced at it briefly.

Seeing that the opponents in the arena were not the main cadres, and having no interest in watching the inexperienced fight, they turned their attention back to the captain's system panel, looking forward to midnight.

soon.

As the clock hands passed twelve, the system notification sounded at the same time.

"Physical Experience +1809!!"

"Swordsmanship experience +897!"

……(slightly)
"Conqueror's Haki experience +5!"

……

【剑术-LV-14：74231/75000——>剑术-LV-15：128/150000】

……

"Host's swordsmanship has reached LV-15. New branch ability unlocked:"

"Grandmaster!"

……

"?!"

Gao Wen was slightly taken aback, because the significance of those two words was self-evident.

"A grandmaster of swordsmanship?!"

The next moment, Gawain felt the change within himself.

However, this change is different from his previous experiences when he awakened various entries.

Almost all other entries are upgrades to their own basic panel, which is equivalent to the iteration of their own hardware, while the Grandmaster is an update to Gao Wen's software!
A massive amount of swordsmanship-related memories flooded into Gawain's mind.

The Iaido style emphasizes striking the enemy with a single blow, killing instantly with a drawn sword...

The two swords, one long and one short, one orthodox and one unorthodox, complement each other perfectly in the Niten Ichi-ryu style...

A naval style characterized by concise movements and a focus on efficiency... even the free control of three swords, reminiscent of the three-sword style of a certain green-haired man that Gawain immediately recognized...

Lots and lots of them.

It encompasses all forms of swordsmanship that have ever existed in this world.

It was digested and absorbed by Gawain at an astonishing speed, to the point that his hands were getting hotter and hotter, and his heart was getting hotter and hotter.

a moment.

Gao Wen opened his eyes and disappeared from the office in a flash. When he reappeared, he was already in a desert near the rapeseed flower port.

Zheng!
The true essence of Kansei is unsheathed.

As soon as he started using the supplement, Gao Wen sensed something different.

Not only was the long sword in his hand as light as a feather, but more importantly, his sense of touch seemed to extend to the blade of Kanze Masamune's sword, and he could even faintly feel the airflow being broken by the blade.

"The so-called unity of man and sword?"

"But the concept of man and sword becoming one in martial arts novels isn't presented like this!"

Gawain muttered a complaint, and his body instinctively began to swing his knife.

He verified each move in his mind, and then constantly changed and innovated them, evolving them into his own unique techniques.

His movements were slow, like an old man wielding a sword.

Yet it possesses a unique rhythm, brimming with beauty.

But when you try to follow the knife with your eyes, you find that your focus can never keep up with Gawain's speed.

This represents a transformation in both technique and understanding of swordsmanship.

The Captain System used an extremely crude method, stuffing a massive amount of swordsmanship essentials into Gawain's mind, and then guiding him to comprehend his own understanding from them...

Road!
Yellow sand is flying all over the sky.

The sand and dust that blew several meters around Gao Wen were blocked by the long sword.

He could have done something like this with his domineering aura, but now he did it with just the most basic swordsmanship, a feat that was almost divine.

Gao Wen became increasingly engrossed in it, unaware that Kanze Masamune's silver-white blade was gradually being stained black.

……

In the harbor.

Many swords emitted a slight hum at this moment, and even ordinary people could sense the unusual excitement in them.

Om-!
The patrolling guard grabbed the sword that wasn't at his waist, looked around, and seeing nothing there, exclaimed that he'd seen a ghost.

He then quickly left while still looking at the screen.

Port Hospital.

Zoro, whose wounds had just been bandaged, suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at the three long swords trembling incessantly at his waist:

"This is... an ability user?!"

"wrong!"

"It is the will residing within these swords that is excited by something that has just been born!"

"What on earth is that?!"

Zoro had a strange intuition.

What excites these swords at this moment is perhaps the destination they have been pursuing all along.

The pinnacle of swordsmanship!
"The same kind of being as Hawkeye!"

boom!
The doors and windows were broken.

Ignoring his injuries, Zoro leaped from the top floor and sped toward the location from which the aura was emanating.

"You felt it too?!"

"Roronoa!"

Luo gripped the Ghost Blade at his waist tightly. He still had the wounds from the ranking battle during the day, but his eyes were filled with extraordinary excitement.

Although he doesn't pursue swordsmanship as his life's work like Zoro, he is still a swordsman and has experienced the pressure from top swordsmen.

In Luo's mind, the Golden Lion was once the pinnacle of swordsmanship, but tonight his understanding was completely shattered.

Even the Golden Lion had never made him and the Ghost Cry feel such a near-worshiping emotion!
"what."

Zoro nodded, gazing intently into the distance, where all he could see was endless yellow sand.

He knew that some kind of monster was being conceived there—no, something extremely sacred to the way of the sword—and that it was on the verge of being born.

These swords and knives are for attending the ceremony!
"go!"

The two fell silent and sped off into the distant desert.

soon.

They then saw Gawain wielding his knife alone in the desert.

The clanging of the three swords at Zoro's waist reached its peak at this moment, almost flying out uncontrollably!

Luo's pupils shrank dramatically:
"That's... the captain?! He can do something like that just by swinging his sword?!"

In a trance.

A title representing the pinnacle of swordsmanship appeared in Luo's mind, and he swallowed hard.
"Can Hawkeye do it?!"

"I also want to know."

Zoro opened his mouth.

He clearly remembered that when Gawain fought Hawkeye at the Baratie sea restaurant more than a year ago, his swordsmanship was far from reaching this level.

Before this, it would have been difficult for Hawkeye to judge whether he or Gawain was stronger in overall combat.

However, there is still a huge difference in swordsmanship between Gawain and Hawkeye, which is the result of their accumulated experience from fighting countless sword masters.

The only way to make amends is to clash with the strong and accumulate experience through the sword in one's hand.

Everything was supposed to be like this, and Zoro believed he was destined to walk this path and eventually surpass Mihawk, but the current situation has completely shattered Zoro's understanding.

It turns out that a person can achieve this level of accomplishment on their own.

Ode!
The wind howled like knives as Kuro landed steadily beside Zoro and the other two.

The previously stable airflow around him became restless, and even the sand beneath his feet showed signs of cutting.

Even though Kro is not a swordsman, aside from Akin, in the few battles he fought with all his might, he faced opponents who were all at the level of swordsmen.

Wang Zhi from the city of seven waters was one of the best among them.

But at this moment, the gap between Gawain and Wang Zhi of Water City seemed to be between two different dimensions!
"This guy has made another breakthrough?!"

Kro recalled his smugness during the day and suddenly felt his mouth go dry.

What the hell? This brat reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship in a fit of anger, didn't he?

Wait a minute……

In comparison, my self-satisfied ability awakening is only just beginning. If this guy awakens it before me, that would be a huge mess!

The thought of this.

A sense of urgency rose in Kro's heart.

Practice more!

We'll do extra practice tonight!
He didn't care about Zoro and Law, and turned into a howling gust of wind to leave.

……

in the desert.

Gao Wen continued swinging his knife for several days and nights before finally stopping.

He did not feel tired at all; his spirit and will seemed to have been nourished, undergoing a transformation and becoming even stronger.

The Kanze Masamune in his hand had also undergone a transformation; its once silvery blade was now pitch black, which was what was known as...

Black knife!

(End of this chapter)