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

Chapter 393 Energy
Thinking this, Fujitora's smile grew even brighter.

Although Smoker had been a member of the Navy for much longer than him, Fujitora viewed him with the same respect one would show a junior.

"As Mr. Zeff's last and most valued disciple, Smoker is impeccable in terms of his beliefs and character alone."

"He is just a bit impulsive in his actions and needs more experience. This is something he can make up for under Captain Gawain."

"After all, no matter how peaceful the times are, there will always be various security incidents that need to be dealt with."

"Compared to pirates who can be killed directly, these incidents, which are less serious but more difficult to sort out, are undoubtedly more tedious."

"but."

"If all goes well, Britannias may have another figure like Zefa in three to five years."

"It does make one somewhat look forward to it."

between words.

A look of reminiscence involuntarily appeared before Fujitora's eyes.

He still remembers the soul-stirring shock he felt when he first found Zefa and heard about the latter's bold ideas and plans.

After enduring countless hardships, this man's belief became even more radiant.

Fujitora nodded secretly:

"Smoker should be the same..."

Before the words had even finished, a group of shirtless, muscular giants jogged toward the far end of the street.

The group moved in perfect unison, carrying enormous weights, sweating profusely under the setting sun.

But the smiles on everyone's faces looked increasingly eerie.

That wasn't a smile forced out of pain, but a genuine, heartfelt smile.

They...are enjoying it all!
The surrounding civilians had long been used to this and didn't care. Some of the bolder women even whistled at the group of giants.

But it was like casting a seductive glance at a blind man; no one paid her any attention.

The air was hot and dry, and the only thing that hit me was the smell of hormones!

Fujitora's expression froze for a moment.

He sensed Smoker's presence, and the latter also saw Fujitora, but merely nodded to Fujitora before leading everyone in training with an expression of enjoyment!
Smoker...

I've already felt it—that unimaginable pleasure, pushing my physical limits, and witnessing my own growth!
It's simply... simply... simply...

So cool!

If it weren't for Fujitora's presence, Smoker would have been unable to suppress his roar.

He finally understood why Akin and Klo were able to grow to that extent in just two years.

For them, spiritual practice is no longer something that requires arduous perseverance, but rather something they enjoy, anticipating the pain of each muscle tear and the tingling sensation during healing.

That was a pleasure beyond all imagination!

boom!
boom!
boom!
Everyone moved in unison, their feet leaving footprints on the floor that stretched to the horizon.

It was only then that Fujitora came to his senses, turned his head to look in the direction where Smoker had disappeared, and tried his best to sense the completely different aura on the latter.

Fujitora was momentarily at a loss for what expression to make.

It seems like Zephyr's successor has gone astray and has completely turned into the shape of Gawain's gang.
While Gawain's forces are generally good in many ways, the only drawback seems to be the presence of a kind of spiritual pollution that makes everyone who comes into contact with them irrevocably addicted to cultivation.

I……

Fujitora imagined himself shirtless, like those training fanatics, desperately lifting weights, and couldn't help but shudder.

At this moment, he felt more and more that giving up the position offered by Gawain and choosing to travel within Britannias was an absolutely correct choice.

While being able to see more, one can also return to old ways and gamble everything...

I mean, we need to investigate which casinos across the country are not operating properly and are involved in cheating.

Fujitora nodded.

"I am a person who punishes evil and promotes good, and I am by no means a gambler!"

The sound fell to the ground.

Fujitora left the money for the drinks on the table and quickly left, leaning on his cane, afraid that if he was a step too slow, he would be completely assimilated by Smoker and his group.

That kind of thing...

Absolutely not!

……

……

……

Camelot.

Municipal Building.

Gawain, Kuro, Franky and the others gathered here, and standing in front of them was Sentomaru with his hands in shackles.

"Asking me won't help. I have no idea where Vegapunk is right now. He might have already drowned at sea."

Sentomaru said with a self-deprecating tone.

He was captured by Clod more than a month ago and then taken to Britannias.

After seeing that Klo had released Ivankov and his group as agreed, he was relieved.

When he was used as bait to lure away the World Government's pursuers, he was already prepared to die, but it would be completely unacceptable for him to implicate his benefactor because of him.

Therefore, the last resentment he harbored towards Gao Wen and his gang dissipated.

Seeing that Gawain and the others were still unwilling to give up, Sentomaru sighed and directly pointed out:
"Two years ago, a war broke out in Water Seven over the blueprints for Hades, which even drew the attention of a powerful figure like Lion.

"The old man had seen the design drawings of Hades that were leaked among them."

His assessment was that it was a mixture of truth and falsehood.

"At the time, the only ones who had the ability and the motivation to do such a thing were Gao Wen and his gang."

"In other words, the reason you want to find the old man is to get him to help build Hades, right?!"

Kro was slightly taken aback, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

The construction of Hades to counterbalance the ancient weapon controlled by Im is arguably Gawain's group's biggest secret.

Once exposed, even at the risk of the world spiraling out of control, the world government will immediately target Gawain and his gang.

No one knew the power of that ancient weapon, which was suspected to belong to the Heavenly King, better than Britannias, who had witnessed the Heavenly King's attack firsthand!
Only ancient weapons can fight against ancient weapons.

This was the biggest lesson that disaster taught Gawain and the entire Britannias.

Even someone as strong as Gawain didn't believe he could directly confront the King.

While Gawain had no problem escaping, the fate of most of his men was certain: to perish in the Heavenly King's pillar of light!
Neither Gawain nor Kro could accept this, which is why they chose to remain silent and bide their time.

But now his plan has been seen through at a glance...

"Gawain!"

Kro raised his hand and adjusted his glasses with his palm. A thick, almost tangible killing intent rose in the air.

He clearly intended to kill.

"Put away your terrifying killing intent, Kro!"

Gawain reached out and placed his hand on Kro's shoulder, and an invisible aura of dominance immediately emanated, suppressing the killing intent surrounding Kro.

Chloe reluctantly pouted:
"Understood, Captain."

Gawain responded, then turned to Sentomaru and asked:
"Besides that, what else did Vegapunk say?!"

"The old man also said that after you saw the blueprints for Pluton, you were probably planning to use the power of Devil Fruits to overcome the technical and material difficulties, right?!"

Gawain nodded.

Vegapunk is, after all, one of the most intelligent people in the world, so it's not surprising that he could see this.

But Sentomaru's next words made Gawain's expression darken:
"It's no use." "The old man said that if we could get the blueprints, we could indeed create Hades this way."

"It's not impossible to even build a warship more powerful than Hades."

"But if the most critical problem cannot be solved, even if it is manufactured, it will be nothing more than a toy that can only stay in the port."

Gawain came to his senses:

"energy?!"

"Yes."

Sentomaru continued:

"That's the most crucial point."

"If there is enough energy to support it, then any warship can be Hades."

"If we mastered the technology of the ancient kingdoms that provided almost unlimited energy, even a simple outpouring of energy would be enough to destroy a country in an instant."

Gawain asked tentatively:

"What about ability users? What if they provide the energy?!"

Sentomaru shook his head again and sighed:

"That's meaningless. Even if you completely drain the user of the Logia type, which has the greatest control over energy, it's not enough to support Hades' full power output for even a moment."

"Even the cannon that destroyed half of Britannias more than a year ago was not the full power of the ancient weapon."

"It's not even half the power the old man predicted."

Gao Wen paused for a moment, but didn't say much. He simply raised his hand, which had transformed into a dragon claw, and the surroundings quickly changed.

Pale blue ley line energy drifted in from outside the window, gathering at Gawain's fingertips and becoming thicker and denser at a visible speed.

Ultimately, this ley line energy transformed into a drop of liquid, like a blue crystal, in Gawain's palm, continuously radiating light in all directions.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the liquid ley line energy in Gawain's palm, feeling a chill run down their spines.

Even Sentomaru, who was seeing Gawain's move for the first time, instantly realized that if the blue liquid in Gawain's hand exploded, everything within a radius of several hundred meters centered on the building beneath his feet would be instantly evaporated.

"This is……"

"I can manipulate the energy of the earth's veins."

Gao Wen explained:
"Could this be used as the energy source to power Hades?!"

Sentomaru opened his mouth, for the first time wavering in his judgment of Vegapunk:
"How much can you control?!"

"If roughly one-tenth of the country's total output were to explode simultaneously..."

Gao Wen turned to look out the window:

"Although it cannot compare to the power of the Heavenly King, leaving a lake with a diameter of more than 30 kilometers on the land of Britannias is not a problem, and this may not be the limit."

"My current abilities are still one step away from awakening."

"If I can get over it, I will be able to control even more of the earth's ley line energy."

Sentomaru's expression changed drastically, and he looked at Gawain as if he were looking at some inhuman monster.

Leaving a crater 30 kilometers in diameter on the territory of a country is not much different from erasing a city.

As far as he knew, the diameter of Mary Geoise was far from reaching that order of magnitude.

"If you can do this much, what do you need Hades for?!"

"This power is enough to wipe the Marine Headquarters off the map and is sufficient to counterbalance the World Government."

Gawain shook his head and explained:

"The ideal is lofty, but it's impractical."

"Such immense earth vein energy is something even my body can only withstand for a fleeting moment."

"And even the portals that Bevel's abilities could create could not transfer beings with such high energy density to Marineford, which is tens of millions of miles away."

"In other words, this is an attack that can only be used on Britannias' home territory."

"perhaps……"

Gao Wen paused, his brows furrowing slightly;

"The reason why Mary Geoise chose to target Britannias with that ancient weapon was partly due to her fear of the Red Dragon's power."

"The fact that nearly half of Britannias's mainland was wiped out also means that the ley line energy that the Red Dragon could control was reduced by at least half."

"Moreover, the red dragon's endless extraction of the earth's ley line energy will turn the land into a desert, which is why Alabasta came about."

Sentomaru understood why Gawain was so determined to create an ancient weapon like Hades.

But they were equally terrified of the terrible consequences caused by the Crimson Dragon's power.

"From this perspective, it's probably unrealistic for you to rely on the Crimson Dragon's abilities as a source of ley line energy."

"That would undoubtedly put him on the opposite side of the whole world."

"The ultimate goal is still energy!"

"But the thing that the old man created is still in the hands of the World Government. It was that thing that powered that ancient weapon, which caused the tragedy in Britannias."

"Given the old man's personality, even if he had the ability and the means, he probably wouldn't want to create a second one."

"Ah."

Gao Wen responded.

Sentomaru's attitude towards him was almost frank, and he did not hide anything from him regarding many things that involved the core of Future Island.

Or rather, it's unnecessary.

After all, those things are already under the control of the world government.

However, to seize the Holy Flame from Mary Geoise is almost the same as to directly attack Mary Geoise.

Britannias will also have a very high chance of facing another attack from the King of the Sea.

Gawain, of course, would not choose to gamble. He looked at Sentomaru and said:
"If you can get in touch with Vegapunk, tell him I want to see him."

The sound fell to the ground.

Under Sentomaru's astonished gaze, Franky stepped forward and unlocked the shackles on his hands and feet.

"you're free."

"boy!"

Sentomaru was momentarily dazed, looking at Gawain in disbelief:

"Are you just going to let me go so easily?!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell the world government what you're planning?"

Gawain's lips curled into a smile, and he said in an unquestionable tone:
“You would risk your life for Ivankov, whom you’ve only met once, but you would never betray me to please the World Government.”

"You're not smart, and you don't know how to be flexible, but you're passionate."

"You have it!"

Sentomaru clenched his fist, then took a deep breath, savoring the taste of freedom, his eyes gradually warming up.

This is……

The spirit of the world's strongest man?!
not bad!

Perhaps cooperating with him would be a good choice for the old man, since the only ones in the world who can protect him right now are Gao Wen's group!

The title of the world's strongest is enough to intimidate the seas, and the privileges of the Seven Warlords of the Sea have a blinding effect on those in power.

There is no better place to live than here!

"I will pass on the message."

(End of this chapter)