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

Chapter 318 Born of Desire
"Isn't that imposing?!"

The red-haired man frowned slightly and looked up at the white-bearded man.

At this moment, Whitebeard was wrapped in IV tubing, and his condition was clearly worse than expected, but his fierce power remained.

The sheer power he unintentionally unleashed was enough to break the back of an ordinary pirate.

He is old and sick.

But in this era, he remains the undisputed strongest in the world.

Arrogant and domineering like Kaido of the Beasts, he stirs up wars all over the New World, yet he still dares not provoke Whitebeard.

This was certainly not because Kaido was mindful of his past friendship with Whitebeard, who were both remnants of Rocks' crew, but because the man before him was virtually unmatched in this era.

But when it comes to domineering presence, Shanks has absolute confidence in himself!
Shanks doesn't possess the formidable physical prowess of Kaido or Big Mom, nor does he have the Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities that allow the three admirals of the Navy to dominate the battlefield on a large scale.

He possesses only the domineering aura that has been honed through countless trials and tribulations, reaching the pinnacle of power, and making him fearless of any opponent!
Even with what is arguably the world's strongest Conqueror's Haki, Shanks' expression remained incredibly solemn as he recalled the battle against the Knights of God a few days prior.
"I also used attacks with added Armament Haki and even Conqueror's Haki, but I still couldn't effectively destroy the opponent's body. I could only suppress the opponent's recovery speed to a certain extent."

"The method is wrong."

Whitebeard shook his head and asked in return:

"What do you think domineering is?!"

Without hesitation, the redhead replied:

"It is an extension of self, belief, and will, but fundamentally, domineering power originates from desire!"

"The desire to defeat powerful enemies, the desire to ascend the throne and find One Piece, or the desire to dominate this world!"

"Roger has found a good successor."

The white-bearded man nodded slightly.

He had met Shanks more than once, and he had seen the shadow of an old friend in Shanks more than once, but never so clearly.

If it weren't for that head of red hair that resembled that of a certain man, he would almost have thought that the person standing in front of him was Roger himself.

If Ace inherited Roger's bloodline, as well as the talent hidden within it...

Shanks, who was deeply influenced by Roger, inherited Roger's unfinished will to a certain extent, but he was more than that.

Red-Haired Shanks witnessed and learned a great deal on Roger's ship.

The experiences on Roger's ship shaped Shanks' character, but the more than ten years of adventures after setting sail allowed Shanks to see scenery that Roger had never seen.

Shanks has found his own path, similar to Roger's path back then, yet completely different.

For a while.

Whitebeard became interested, took a big gulp of the strong liquor in his flask, and began to speak eloquently:

“I once heard a rumor from Roger.”

"Devil Fruits were created in response to humanity's desire to transcend the limitations of the physical body."

"Some people want to transform into mythical beasts, hence the existence of Zoan-type Mythical Beasts; others want to possess bodies as indestructible as diamonds, hence the existence of Paramecia-type Glint Fruits."

Shanks glanced at Marco the Phoenix and Diamond Jozu sitting next to Whitebeard, and understood.

After a moment of contemplation, his eyes brightened slightly, and he spoke:

"Stripped of its outward appearance, a wish is still a desire."

"From this perspective, Devil Fruits also arose in response to human desires and share the same origin as Haki."

"This is why Armament Haki can attack the physical body of Logia-type Devil Fruit users and even neutralize some of their Devil Fruit abilities."

"From this perspective, the impact of Devil Fruits on the environment and enemies is an extension of one's own will. It is the will of the user that is used to invade and dominate the environment and even the body of the opponent!"

"Yes."

Whitebeard picked up the conversation and continued:
"Under normal circumstances, the human body could never ignore pain. The only thing that can do this is the effect of a Devil Fruit."

"Mary Geoise holds many secrets, and may even possess some kind of Devil Fruit that can grant people immortality."

"But the paths lead to the same destination."

"The immortality granted by Devil Fruits is essentially an invasion of will, which can naturally be countered by another, more powerful will!"

"That is to say..."

The redhead understood:

"Blow your domineering aura into your opponent's body, and with a stronger will, break through the original ability user's imprint of will in his body."

"The effects left by the Devil Fruit have been neutralized, and the immortality effect will naturally disappear!"

"Yes."

Whitebeard nodded:

"To achieve the ultimate, one can even preserve one's Conqueror's Haki within certain inanimate objects."

"But the mark within the God Knights is very special, far more difficult to erase than the mark left by ordinary ability users. Without enough domineering aura, it is impossible to shake it."

"Just because they can't do it doesn't mean I can't!"

"Arrogant brat."

"Gola la la la la la la—!"

Amidst Whitebeard's hearty laughter, Red Hair thanked him and then vanished from the deck of the Moby Dick in a flash.

After counting the breaths.

The Redfords, anchored in the distance, slowly raised its sails and soon disappeared on the horizon.

Whitebeard watched this scene with a strangely complicated look in his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

He looked back.

Surrounding him were his crew members, who were also his sons, the one he had initially longed for, and the one he had found after decades of navigating the seas.

"Young men, it's time for the party!"

"correct."

Whitebeard looked at Ace and Thatch:
“Ace, Sachi, the Deer Caban brothers are causing trouble on our turf. They’re supposedly fighting over a rare Devil Fruit. After the banquet, you’ll be handling these two.”

Thatch hooked his arm around Ace's shoulder and casually waved to Whitebeard:

"Understood, Dad."

"But the most important thing right now is, of course, the banquet!"

Excited voices immediately filled the air.

soon.

The group found a deserted island, and the Moby Dick anchored in a bay.

Diamond Jozu and his men searched for a deserted island in the surrounding area.

They lit a fire, sat around it, and drank, sang, and told nonsensical, lame jokes.

call--!
The sea breeze made the fire burn even brighter!

Laughter occasionally erupted from the crowd, and the red light shone on everyone's faces, creating a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

Blackbeard sat to the side, looking somewhat out of place.

"Teach, what are you thinking about all by yourself?!"

Without a word, Thatch shoved a glass of ale into Blackbeard's hand:

"Leave those worries for tomorrow; the most important thing today is to be with your friends!"

"makes sense."

Blackbeard smiled familiarly, lightly clinked his glasses with Thatch's, and downed his ale in one gulp.

“Sachi… thank you.”

"Well, we're best friends after all, aren't we?!"

"Of course!"

"Hahahaha—!" New World.

In a turbulent sea.

The seawater surged, and the waves were towering.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and a colossal beast revealed its massive shadow beneath the water.

Even disregarding the fact that the chaotic magnetic field rendered the pointer completely ineffective, it would be virtually impossible for an ordinary pirate ship to sail in such weather.

This place is practically off-limits to normal humans; those who can survive in this sea area are the cream of the crop from all over the world.

boom!
A thunderclap boomed, and the sea surged.

The Lionheart Knight, which is over 100 meters long, floated up from the sea.

The coating, which could withstand the pressure of seawater at a depth of 10,000 meters underwater, appeared extremely fragile in the air and was easily torn apart by a stray bolt of lightning.

"Is this...the new world?!"

Gawain stood on the deck, casually cleaving through the oncoming giant waves, gazing at the surging sea in the distance.

"It's weaker than I expected."

Once, a mere storm in the East China Sea left Gao Wenke and his companion in a very sorry state.

Two years have passed, and even the absurd, almost sci-fi-like weather of the new world cannot move him in the slightest.

This is the confidence that comes from one's own strength.

"Our next target is Britannias."

Gao Wen murmured softly.

Recalling the legend of Britannias and Morgan's words, he felt a certain anticipation.

Moreover, Britannias was not only the place Gawain chose for himself, but also the battlefield most suitable for the red dragon's abilities to be fully utilized.

Even Gawain's idea of ​​going to Britannias might have been secretly guided by the will residing within the Red Dragon Fruit.

After all, in a world where more than 90 percent of the area is covered by ocean, it would be difficult to find a place like Britannias that has both vast landmasses and far more ley line energy than Alabasta, in order to maximize the Red Dragon's ability to manipulate ley line energy.

This is almost an open conspiracy.

But now, Gao Wen has the confidence to crush all obstacles.

"I'm actually looking forward to it; I wonder what kind of show awaits me there!"

At this moment, even the sea seemed to be responding to Gawain's will.

What was brewing a storm vanished without a trace in just a few breaths.

A bright sun shines.

The deck was quickly occupied by a group of cultivation fanatics, who were shirtless, sweating profusely, and showing off their muscular chests and bronze skin.

"call--!"

"ha--!"

"Not enough! Not enough! It's not powerful enough!"

"Trail Blazers! I want to become the strongest Trail Blazers!"

"Hurrah!"

……

Gawain glanced at them and found it rather offensive, so he simply went back to his cabin.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had she sat down in the captain's cabin than Kalifa hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.

"Captain, Lucci has sent back new intelligence about what happened with Akin, and also about our upcoming voyage!"

Kalifa is still outwardly a CP spy planted in Gawain's group, so Lucci's intelligence outreach is handled through her.

After all, it's darkest under the lamp, so the probability of being discovered by the CP organization is even lower.

"what's the situation?"

"Lucci has tracked down who the Celestial Dragon who targeted Gin was, but things are more complicated than we thought."

Kalifa's expression was extremely grave:

"Captain, have you ever heard of the Knights of God?!"

"continue."

Gao Wen slowly sat up straight, his brows furrowed tightly.

He had naturally heard of the Knights of God.

The elite Celestial Dragons directly under Im's command consist of members who are at least Gold-level fighters with a wide variety of abilities.

Whether it's Junzi's ability to control direction, which is comparable to the Arrow-Arrow Fruit of One Piece, or his ability to materialize dreams by eating the Dragon-Dragon Fruit - Mythical Zoan - Kirin form, both of which are incredibly powerful.

The two commanders of the Knights of God are even more important figures.

The former is Figarando Grin, who left a scar on Whitebeard during the God Valley battle and later succeeded Im as one of the Five Elders after Saturn Satan was abandoned by him.

The latter is Shanks' twin brother. His exact combat strength is unknown, but the gap between him and Shanks is not too large. He also possesses a famous sword that devoured the Mythical Zoan type Cerberus, and has even awakened.

The sheer power of the Knights of God alone is enough to suppress the Four Emperors' forces. Not to mention, the real problem with the members of the Knights of God is that they probably all possess immortality bestowed upon them by Im.

In other words, it's almost like Gawain facing off against all versions of himself at the same time!
Of course, such extraordinary abilities inevitably come with corresponding risks.

Jabba was able to injure the God Order in Elbaf and prevent them from recovering quickly, which most likely means he had mastered a counter-strategy.

Kalifa continued:

"They have their eyes on Captain Arkin's abilities, or more precisely, the legend of Britannias' immortality."

"Perhaps some Celestial Dragons whose lives are coming to an end want to gain immortality in this way."

"As for more specific information, Lucci's side can't find it for the time being. After all, based on our previous judgment, the other side's actions should be carried out in secret, as if they are guarding against something."

Gao Wen nodded and fell into deep thought for a moment.

His fingertips instinctively tapped on the table, making a crisp sound.

Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
Gawain was naturally not intimidated by the Knights of God, but his companions on the ship would undoubtedly suffer a great loss when facing these near-immortal opponents.

Gawain didn't want to waste his energy fighting the Gods until he found a way to counter them.

The best course of action right now is to temporarily avoid their sharp edge.

At least until a way to counter the immortality of the Gods is found, direct conflict with them should be avoided.

But since the person behind the scenes has their eye on Ah Jin, even if I don't take any action, they might come knocking on my door.

"This is a bit troublesome."

Gawain murmured something and waved to Kalifa:

"Go out first and call Kro over for me."

"it is good."

Kalifa nodded and turned to leave.

Squeak~!
The door is pushed open.

Unexpectedly, Morgan, dressed in a black cloak and wearing a hood, was standing at the door, seemingly having been there for quite some time.

Morgan nodded to Kalifa, a gentle smile playing on his lips:

"I have something I'd like to discuss with Mr. Gao Wen."

"About Britannias, and about your future journey."

Kalifa scanned up and down, and couldn't help but gasp.

She was about the same height as me, and even wearing a cloak couldn't hide her curves, paired with a face that was three parts innocent and seven parts alluring...

Besides, the hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scenario is over; this woman is probably just throwing herself at him, isn't she?!
hiss!
A formidable rival! A truly formidable rival!

(End of this chapter)