Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

If Reina were to observe closely, he would notice that Whitebeard's body is now covered in Conqueror's Haki, used to resist the aftershocks of their battle.

"Prism-like Ice Array!"

"cut!"

"Boom boom... Boom~~~"

The aftershocks of their battle caused extensive damage to the surrounding environment, but the rocks beneath Whitebeard remained intact.

"It's been so long since I've felt this good, Hyōrinmaru~ Bankai!" Reina laughed loudly and immediately activated Hyōrinmaru's Bankai state.

"These two bastards!" Just ten minutes later, Whitebeard's expression changed. The two of them were no longer sparring. Even he could feel the pressure. At least he couldn't keep the rock beneath him.

Chapter 231 Self-Reflection

"Cough cough..." As the smoke cleared, Shanks, supporting his arm, coughed incessantly, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.

"It hasn't been that long... I never expected you to have grown to this level!" On the other side, Reina was also dressed in rags, with blood flowing directly from his forehead to below his cheek.

The battle between the two lasted for a full day and night, but no victor emerged.

"I lost this time. I can sense that you didn't go all out!" Shanks shook his head and said softly.

“Hey… let’s call it a draw! I didn’t actually beat you. Although I held back, you should still have some tricks up your sleeve!” Reina chuckled and replied.

Shanks smiled noncommittally but didn't reply.

After the two men stopped fighting, their respective crews slowly approached.

"Reina, are you alright?" Marco stepped forward and asked.

“It’s nothing!” Reina shook his head and deactivated his Sharingan.

Although he possessed a system, Shanks was no ordinary person either; in recent years, the opponent's growth rate of strength had been much faster than his!

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he has missed several check-in sessions in recent years. He has been in this world for almost 25 years now, but he has not even received the five-year consecutive check-in reward package.

If it weren't for this unexpected discovery that he managed to gather all the fragments of Conqueror's Haki, his strength wouldn't have increased much at all.

After his battle with Shanks, Reina realized that although he was still doing basic training every day, his strength was no longer increasing as rapidly as before.

I don't know when it started, but I've become somewhat complacent about my abilities and lost my original drive to constantly improve.

Over the years, he has spent most of his points on enjoying life, such as exchanging for food and supplies. He has hardly ever exchanged for things that could increase his strength.

Of course, this is also related to his growing strength. As his strength increases, the points required to become even stronger also increase exponentially. However, if he saves the items he usually exchanges, he can still exchange for some items that can increase his current strength.

"Brother... tell me... have I been neglecting myself lately?" After Marco wrapped bandages around his body, Reina asked the white-bearded man beside him.

"???" Before Whitebeard could speak, Marco looked at Reina with a completely bewildered expression.

Reina's perseverance and hard work are best known to his teammates. For over twenty years, he has maintained his daily exercise routine and fulfilled his duties. If such a person is considered lazy, then what are they? Salted fish?

"Is it because of Shanks?" Whitebeard asked after a moment of contemplation.

Reina nodded and said, "The first time I saw him was when he was on Roger's ship, in God Valley with Roger! Although I wasn't strong then, I still defeated him. Later, my strength gradually increased, and I was always able to suppress him! But this time... I can clearly feel that if I want to defeat him... I can't do it without paying a price!"

"Gurarararar... You idiot... This is what growth is all about! That red-haired brat is no ordinary kid, otherwise why do you think Roger would have given him the straw hat? That's something Roger also really liked!"

"And as for yourself... I don't need to say more, right? If you hadn't been so diligent all along, you wouldn't even have reached your current level based on talent alone! That's just how unfair things are!" Whitebeard smiled and said to Reina.

After listening, Reina remained silent. He knew his own aptitude, of course. If it weren't for the system's help, could he have become a strong person? He would probably have died somewhere long ago.

"Hey... why are you making that face? You're already incredibly powerful, okay? If you're like this, then what are we?" Marco, seeing Reina deep in thought and seemingly still not understanding, spoke up.

"You...? If you had worked a little harder, you could have killed me long ago! My talent is not even as good as yours!" Reina said, pursing his lips.

"Talent isn't everything, strength is! I consider myself lucky and talented, but I still can't beat you! Shanks, you saw it yourself, even the old man said that he's someone recognized by the Pirate King Roger... and you still beat him up several times!" Marco rolled his eyes and said.

Marco's strength is now no less than it was during the Marineford War in the original work. It's because of Reyna that Captains Vista, Jozu, Laco, and others are much stronger than they were in the original work.

This is also why the Whitebeard Pirates have become increasingly mythologized in recent years; it's because each of their captains, even if taken out individually, is a figure who would be renowned in their own right.

Reina glanced at Marco, knowing that the other was also worried about him, so he didn't say anything more. But he secretly made up his mind that he absolutely could not continue like this. There were still quite a few strong people in this world.

On the other side, after receiving treatment from the ship's doctor, Shanks exclaimed to his companions, "Reina's strength is getting stronger and stronger. With him and Whitebeard in the Whitebeard Pirates, basically no one can shake their dominant position!"

"I never expected Reina to also possess Conqueror's Haki. He had never shown such an ability before!" Ben Beckman said with a solemn expression.

"Maybe he just hasn't met an opponent he needs to use his skills against! After all, the boss's Conqueror's Haki is no joke! Apart from the same Conqueror's Haki, no other ability can withstand it!" Lucky Roux guessed from the side.

"No matter what, we're still a bit behind the Whitebeard Pirates. Reina's visit here is probably to remind me that this trip to the East Blue won't be too smooth!" Shanks sighed and said.

“Boss, since Reina said so, how about we go at another time?” Raki Lu said after thinking for a moment.

"These things can't be avoided. Going at a different time might result in a worse outcome. Didn't Reina say that as long as I don't take any chances, there shouldn't be any problems?" Shanks smiled and said.

Ben Beckman, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, nodded and said, "Once we get to the East China Sea, you must stay within our sight!"

"Huh? Isn't this a bit much?" Shanks' face fell, looking very unwilling.

“There’s no way around it, you’re too careless! That’s why we feel safer when you’re with us!” Ben Beckman said firmly, completely ignoring the pitiful Shanks.

"But why did Reina suddenly come to warn us? We don't seem to have any connection with the Whitebeard Pirates, do we?" asked the sniper Yasopp, who was standing nearby, with a puzzled look.

"Do you remember when we were led to fight Kaido's Beasts Pirates? Kaido was supposed to attack Crescent Moon Island, but we delayed him, so they got nothing!" Ben Beckman said with a light laugh.

"Huh? Doesn't that mean we indirectly helped the Whitebeard Pirates?" Shanks asked, surprised.

“So! Why do you think Reyner came to warn us?” Ben Beckman glanced at Shanks and said.

"I thought he meant well!" Shanks replied with a matter-of-fact expression.

Ben Beckman and his crew looked at their captain as if he were an idiot.

The Whitebeard Pirates, who had already left the island, were now heading towards the next island. They had no particular purpose; they were simply sailing aimlessly, enjoying the freedom and adventure.

"Phew~ There's practically nothing to exchange for!" Inside the cabin, Reina carefully looked through the items in the shop. Either he didn't need them right now, or they were too expensive to exchange for.

What he really wants to exchange for right now is the Bloodline Ability Advancement Scroll. His Sharingan has already evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan, but he doesn't know if, like in the original work, excessive use will lead to blindness.

Therefore, he rarely uses his pupil technique until the very end, for fear of overusing it.

However, once he evolves his Sharingan into the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, he won't need to be so cautious.

"200,000 points each, and you need at least two to advance to the Eternal Kaleidoscope, which is 400,000 points..." After looking at the advanced bloodline ability evolution scrolls that could be exchanged in the shop, Reina said he didn't want to look any further.

His Sharingan originally required a high-level bloodline evolution scroll to advance to the Mangekyou Sharingan, but because of Olvia's death, he activated it himself, thus saving 20 points.

Given the system's nature, advancing to the Eternal Kaleidoscope requires at least two advanced evolution scrolls, which is equivalent to 40 points.

Reina currently has less than 20 points, not even enough to buy one, let alone two.

Actually, if he hadn't been buying large quantities of liquor and daily necessities over the years, he should have accumulated enough by now.

Don't be fooled by the small number of points required to redeem baijiu; the sheer volume is staggering! A single banquet can easily consume tens or even hundreds of kilograms, especially for Whitebeard, who hasn't liked drinking any other alcohol besides baijiu in recent years, forcing Reina to keep redeeming it.

After making a rough plan for his future, Reina stepped out of the cabin, but as soon as he did, his expression changed, and he shouted, "Where's the navigator? Where did he go? What are you bastards doing?"

At Reina's shout, the crew members who were either sleeping or playing board games looked at him in confusion, not understanding what was wrong with him.

"The navigator has gone to draw up the nautical charts. He told me to keep an eye on the logger. First mate, what's up?" A crew member wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and came to Reina's side to ask.

"What's going on? Look for yourself!" Reina shouted, pointing ahead.

Ahead of the Moby Dick, a massive tornado was visible on the sea, sucking in the surrounding water and turning the sky there into an eerie black.

"What...what is that?" After hearing Reina's words, the crew members looked ahead and were terrified when they saw the huge tornado.

"Joz, turn immediately! Where's the navigator? Get out here right now! You guys, take down the sails, and get someone else to go to the cabin and deploy the outer wheels to help the Moby Dick turn! Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Rainer said as rain began to fall.

The crew knew what time it was and immediately sprang into action. If the Moby Dick were to collide with it, they would be destroyed and everyone on board would perish.

Chapter 232 The Terror of Nature

The massive Moby Dick sailed through the wind and waves, with the waves rising to heights exceeding twenty meters.

On deck, the crew members were busy working, but the Moby Dick was in danger of capsizing at any moment, so it was already difficult for the crew members to even stand on the deck, let alone do anything else.

"This won't do! Namur, go down and see what's going on underwater!" Reina shouted to Namur, the captain of the 8th Division of the Fish-Man Clan, as the Moby Dick got closer and closer to the tornado.

“Okay!” Namuel nodded and jumped off the deck into the sea.

The surging waves quickly engulfed Namur's figure; if he hadn't been a fish-man, he would have been certain death.

"Father, if all else fails, we'll have to abandon ship. We're way too close!" Marco wiped the rain off his face and shouted to the white-bearded man standing in the middle of the deck.

"Abandon ship? What nonsense are you talking about?" At this moment, Reina stepped forward, looked at the huge tornado not far behind them, and said, "It's too late to abandon ship now!"

"What should we do then?" Marco asked helplessly.

"Phew~ I'll summon Liuliu and Hardshell over and have them pull the boat! Big brother, let's see if we can influence the tornado!" Reina said after thinking for a moment.

Whitebeard nodded. He shared the same thought as Reina: if they abandoned ship now, they might be safe, but many of the crew members would likely perish.

The two then went to the stern of the ship. Whitebeard began to charge up his naginata, and a transparent energy circle appeared on the naginata. The energy contained within it gave people a feeling of dread.

Reina, on the other hand, directly activated Hyōrinmaru's Bankai state, with a huge ice dragon appearing behind him. Moreover, since he hadn't activated his Sharingan, Reina's eyes emitted a faint icy blue light.

"Big brother, I'll go first! Ice Dragon Whirlwind Tail - Skybreaker!" Reina slashed the Ice Wheel Ball in his hand towards the huge tornado. The slash merged directly with the giant dragon behind Reina, turning into an even larger ice dragon. Wherever it passed, the rain in the heavenly dragon turned into ice.

"Click~ Click~~ Crack..."

When the dragon came into contact with the massive tornado, the entire tornado began to freeze.

"Oh~~~"

"The first mate is so reliable!"

The crew cheered when they saw the massive tornado frozen in ice.

"Don't be careless... it won't be that simple!" Marco, who was standing to the side with his eyes drooping as if he hadn't woken up yet, stared at the frozen tornado and said softly.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the frozen tornado began to crack.

"Crack! Crack! Bang!"

The ice shattered, and the tornado began to spin again, though at a much slower speed.

However, due to the breaking of the ice, the rainwater carried by the tornado turned directly into broken ice. The scattered ice was blown everywhere by the tornado, and some of it was heading directly towards the Moby Dick. If it were hit, they would be sunk without even touching the tornado.

"Ah!" At this moment, Whitebeard finally unleashed his naginata, a massive slash several times larger than Reina's.

When Whitebeard unleashed his slash, the seawater seemed to split in two, and the space around the slash seemed to be affected, cracking open. The ice flying through the air melted away before it even touched the slash.