One Piece Gunslinger

Therefore, a dish is never perfect when it is served. Experience can only bring it closer to perfection, but it can never be perfect. Maybe 55 minutes is the best time this time, but experience will tell you to simmer it for an hour. Maybe it needs to be simmered for 65 minutes this time, but experience tells you that an hour is enough.

But Li Ang completely disregarded any experience and used his Observation Haki to judge on the spot when to put the food in the pot, how high to turn the heat, and when to take it out of the pot.

This is the benefit of Observation Haki; without Observation Haki, it would be absolutely impossible to reach this level.

However, Li Ang was also quite exhausted. He had been using Observation Haki almost the entire time, meticulously observing the changes in the ingredients. This competition even left Li Ang feeling completely drained.

Sanji was bound to ask this question, so Li Ang could only explain Haki. Since he was going to explain Haki, Li Ang decided to give everyone a basic introduction to it, allowing them to understand in detail this inner potential that originates deep within everyone's body.

"Domineering aura?" After hearing Li Ang's explanation, everyone was still a little incredulous. Sanji frowned and asked, "This person's body has such latent power? To manipulate power such as aura and emotions, expand their senses, or condense them into weapons. You're not lying to us, are you?"

"Hey, why would I lie to you?" Li Ang said to Luffy. "Come on, put that rock in my hand."

The so-called stone, as everyone knows, is the hideous Seastone pendant Luffy always wears around his neck. By taking this stone, Leon is telling them that his power doesn't come from a Devil Fruit; Leon isn't a user of the Black Iron Fruit. This Haki stems from his own strength. Because Seastone can seal Devil Fruit abilities.

Then, holding a piece of seastone in one hand and turning his other hand completely black, Li Ang said, "Come on, Zoro, try cutting into my hand and see if you can cut through it."

"Okay, it seems that the kind of domineering aura you're talking about does exist, but can it withstand the slashes of swords?" Zoro asked with a doubtful look.

When Li Ang's other hand gleamed black, everyone believed in the existence of this ability, but they still had reservations about its strength.

This really shows how amazing Nami and Robin are. They say women are natural actresses; they can follow the crowd's train of thought as if they're hearing this for the first time. They might even end up joining everyone in being amazed by this power.

"Don't worry, I told you to cut, so cut. I'm not going to be stupid enough to imitate Yang Guo." Although he didn't know who Yang Guo was, since Li Ang looked so confident, Zoro didn't hesitate any longer and slashed at him.

"clang!"

A metallic clang came from Li Ang's arm, but his arm remained unchanged, smooth and shiny, without even a scratch.

"Hey, Zoro, you really don't hold back," Li Ang laughed. "That last blow would have cut off even an iron hand."

Wow, it turns out Zoro used his full strength directly, intending to cut it in half, but he failed to cause any damage.

Feeling the shockwave in his hand, Zoro frowned: "Is this Haki? It's harder than steel."

All of Zoro's companions are well aware of his strength; Zoro can cut through steel, but he can't break through this Haki, which means that Haki is indeed much harder than steel.

Then Li Ang demonstrated his Observation Haki in a direct way, accurately describing their movements even with obstacles in the way, and easily detecting their actions.

"Now you believe me, right?" Li Ang shrugged. "So you're still far from it. Mastering Haki is the foundation of all strong people, and it's also the standard that distinguishes the strong from ordinary people. I've heard that you defeated Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and Luffy's bounty is already 100 million, but if you think you're invincible just because of that, you won't even know how you died one day."

Li Ang was using this display of skill to give the Straw Hat crew a warning, to prepare them mentally in advance. This trip to Skypiea was also the first time the Straw Hat crew had encountered Haki, and they were thoroughly outmatched by Enel and the four Grand Priests' Observation Haki.

To be honest, if it weren't for the protagonist's halo, these weaklings who hadn't even grown up would have been slaughtered by an opponent who had mastered domineering power. The fact that they were able to turn the tables and kill him is just illogical.

Seeing that everyone seemed to be deep in thought, Li Ang continued, "You can imagine, if I were your opponent, how would you defeat me? I am not a Devil Fruit user, and I do not have the weakness of being afraid of water."

Your ordinary attacks cannot break through my Armament Haki and cannot harm me. However, I can repeatedly find opportunities to exploit your weaknesses under the influence of Observation Haki, and then easily take you down one by one.

"If you encounter someone like me who possesses both kinds of domineering power, even if you all attack together, you won't have a single chance."

That makes so much sense, I can't even argue with it.

Li Ang's statement here is somewhat exaggerated, elevating the concept of Haki to an unrealistic level. After all, the use of Haki requires physical strength and relies on a powerful body. Li Ang cannot operate it indefinitely; given enough time, he will eventually tire and lose the ability to use Haki.

However, they are still far from mastering Haki. Li Ang is just giving them some basic introductions to Haki so that they won't be completely confused when they encounter it, and at the same time, he is also giving them a direction to improve and strive for.

Take Usopp, for example. His sniping skills have almost no room for improvement. But if he mastered Observation Haki, it would be a different story. Sniping ability is completely linked to Observation Haki. Even the high-speed sniper bullets that Usopp couldn't detect before, he might have been able to intercept with Observation Haki.

"To be honest, I'm no match for you when it comes to cooking," Li Ang admitted. "Once you acquire Observation Haki, you'll be able to do even better than me."

"Hmph, don't bother with that. Observation Haki is also part of the competition. I failed this time, but we'll have another match next time when I've mastered Haki," Sanji said stubbornly.

It's not like you're guaranteed to master Observation Haki. It takes more than just hard work; it also requires talent. However, Li Ang understands that becoming stronger and mastering Haki is simply a matter of course for this group of protagonists.

While everyone understands that Sanji didn't lose because of his cooking skills, but rather because of his rare and powerful ability, Sanji himself doesn't see it that way. He believes that a loss is a loss, and since he lacks Haki, it simply means he's outmatched. There's no rule against using Haki while cooking.

However, to be fair, while it's not unheard of, someone like Li Ang who uses Observation Haki to cook is truly unheard of. And it seems Li Ang has even influenced Sanji; Sanji will likely become a cook who uses Observation Haki in the future.

As for a rematch, let's not even talk about whether there will be a next time or whether there will be another opportunity. Just look at the gap between Li Ang and Sanji, there's no need to even compare them. Li Ang himself admitted that Sanji could defeat him once he developed Observation Haki.

Although both possess Observation Haki, Sanji is far superior to Leon in terms of understanding and innovation in cooking. At that point, it would be virtually impossible for Leon to win.

Is this some kind of cunning scheme? Does it mean we have to make something like a giant panda magic mapo tofu, based on the anime "Cooking Master Boy" that we watched as kids? We need to come up with some wildly imaginative dishes from food manga, otherwise there's absolutely no hope.

But let's say

Chapter 358: Overcoming the Tribulation

Li Ang and the Straw Hats spent half a day having fun together, but the others weren't idle; they continued with their usual routines. For example, the original inhabitants of the Golden City and the warriors of Shandiya.

Their plan was to attack Enel today, reclaim Shandea, and fight to ring the Golden Bell. However, with their strength, fighting Enel and his priests was undoubtedly like throwing an egg against a rock.

So Leon bid farewell to Luffy and the others, deciding to postpone their trip to Angel Island. He headed straight for Apayado, Enel's holy land, the only place on the sky island with soil, where the dagger had been washed ashore by the ocean currents.

Li Ang didn't know where Cloud Village, where Waver and the other Shandaria warriors were, was, but Enel's location was still very conspicuous. Li Ang planned to intercept and persuade these (physical) people right there.

We absolutely cannot let these people go to their deaths in vain. They are all talented individuals, not only courageous but also intelligent, knowing how to utilize tools and weapons. They also adhere to ancestral precepts from four hundred years ago and have their own beliefs. Of all the people on the entire Sky Island, Li Ang admires most.

Waver and the others' actions were already very successful, but Enel's power was too strong; he could even use his power to give himself a heart pacing.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Ang arrived below the Isle of Gods, he discovered these Shandia warriors, who were engaged in a fierce battle with Enel's army of sheep.

Okay, this sheep army is actually Enel's divine army, but everyone in it likes to bleat.

But seriously, one captain, two vice-captains, plus forty-seven other men, that's only fifty people in total. You call that an army? Our village's army is bigger than yours. I simply don't know what Enel was thinking, pretending to be an army.

In the end, this army of only fifty men did not fare well either, and almost all of them were wiped out.

However, in terms of combat strength alone, this army of only fifty men was no ordinary people. On this battlefield, they fought to a standstill with the warriors of Shandiya, and for a time neither side could gain the upper hand.

Wait a minute, at least that village sent fifty people, and you don't even have fifty? Is this considered a war? A war with less than a hundred people is practically a mob brawl. I could have more people in one game on PUBG than here.

Li Ang watched with utter dismay. Having witnessed countless battles involving tens of thousands of men and all sorts of grand scenes, this was like watching chickens fighting amongst themselves. Any random unit from the revolutionary army could easily crush their less than one hundred men.

To be honest, if Enel had a force of over a thousand men instead of just fifty soldiers and four priests, he wouldn't have been defeated by Luffy. Even a thousand ordinary people could have exhausted the Straw Hat crew.

However, Li Ang didn't intend to just watch indefinitely; instead, he chose to act decisively. For soldiers of this caliber, Li Ang's Red 9 pistol was sufficient.

Two sharp "bangs" were heard, and two members of the divine army fell to the ground. "Where did this sniper come from? Who did this?"

The soldiers of God's army were startled. It looked like two people had fallen, but it was actually a 4% reduction in their numbers. It only took two seconds. How could they not panic?

The warriors of Shandiya were equally bewildered, as they hadn't assigned anyone to do such a thing. In fact, their Hidden Cloud Village didn't have any snipers.

Before anyone could react to what was happening, the crisp sound rang out again, rhythmically. Each time it rang out, a burst of blood would erupt from the forehead or heart of someone in the divine army, resulting in a two percent casualty.

Well, Li Ang can brag about this for the rest of his life. He wiped out two percent of an army with a single bullet. Fifty bullets could completely destroy an entire army. Only Enel could achieve that.

Seeing his men fall one by one, the leading sergeant knew that if they didn't eliminate the sniper, they were doomed. However, he was entangled with Webber and unable to break free. The other two vice-captains were in similar situations. They couldn't find anyone to deal with the sniper.

So after several unsuccessful attempts to get past Weber, they had no choice but to retreat, otherwise their entire army would be wiped out here.

Once they retreat, priests will naturally come to their aid. As for being punished by Enel, that's better than losing their lives here.

"Chase!"

Webber wasn't about to let them escape, so he quickly gathered his teammates and followed them.

However, Leon's intervention to help them deal with the divine army wasn't to send them in, but to bring them out. So, right after Webber ordered a pursuit, Leon fired two shots, hitting Webber in front of him and creating two small craters.

Weber then came to his senses. He had been blinded by hatred, but now he suddenly remembered that there was a sniper hiding nearby, and he didn't know whether he was friend or foe.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

We know that if it's the enemy, shouting won't do any good; it will only make them move to another hiding place. For a sniper to openly appear in front of the enemy is suicidal.

However, Li Ang was not Shandiya's enemy, and even if he were, he wouldn't be afraid to step forward. So, Li Ang walked out of the woods openly and confidently: "Hey, don't be nervous, we're not enemies."

The warriors of Shandiya then saw what Li Ang looked like. Upon seeing Li Ang, Weber became even more wary and asked, "You're not from Sky Island? You're from Qinghai?"

Qinghai is the sea below, and it's obvious that Li Ang doesn't have the distinctive small wings of the Sky Island people. Even these people who originally belonged to Shandiya below, after multiplying on the Sky Island for hundreds of years, have all developed small wings. It's unclear whether they developed them through intermarriage with the locals or through evolution.

“That’s right, I came from below,” Li Ang nodded in acknowledgment. “I came here to search for the Golden Land of Shandiya.”

Upon hearing Li Ang's purpose, Weber's expression turned complicated: searching for the golden land of Shandiya? Weber was a Shandiya native, but he couldn't say that Shandiya was the golden land.

The so-called Golden City has now fallen into Enel's hands, and he is preparing to use the gold from the Golden City to build a spaceship. Without the gold, can it still be called the Golden City?

"You've come to the wrong place. There's no Golden Land here. Go back now."

It's truly tragic. His life's goal was to reclaim the Golden Land and ring the Golden Bell, but all he could do was tell others that the Golden Land didn't exist.

“Really? But…” Li Ang was about to say something when suddenly a huge pillar of light appeared in the sky and pressed down on where Li Ang and Weber were.

"This is... Divine Judgment." Li Ang recognized the move at a glance; it was one of Enel's signature moves. This pillar of light was actually a pillar of lightning. Thanks to Enel's powerful Observation Haki, he could unleash this attack anywhere on the Sky Island while remaining in his palace.

It seems that the escaped army of gods alarmed Enel, so Enel decided to directly unleash a powerful attack without activating the four priests, and personally eliminate Waver.

Yes, that's the wise approach. Use piecemeal tactics to disperse the forces, and let the priests come one by one only to be sent to their deaths. In the end, we'll have to deal with them ourselves.

"Run!" Weber could only shout at this moment, and then fled out of the area covered by the lightning pillar.

Even without Weber's prompting, everyone's first reaction upon seeing this was to run. However, by the time those in the middle saw the massive pillar of lightning, it was too late to escape. This attack was so devastating that Shandiya's warriors were either grazed or killed instantly. Few could withstand it.

Fortunately, Li Ang reacted quickly. The moment he saw the lightning pillar, he used his legs to leap high into the air and rushed straight towards the falling lightning pillar.

"What are you doing?!" Weber shouted when he saw Li Ang's actions. It was rare for someone from Qinghai to come looking for the Golden Land, and given Li Ang's previous assistance, he already had a certain degree of goodwill in the hearts of the people of Shandiya.

However, Li Ang didn't need to worry. Even without Luffy's immunity to electric attacks, a single move, God's Judgment, wouldn't be able to do anything to Li Ang. He simply covered his entire body with Armament Haki and plunged headfirst into the lightning pillar.

Faced with this energy attack, Li Ang had no good way to intercept it halfway. He could only use his own body to withstand the attack and use Armament Haki, a versatile defense, to block it.

As expected, the moment Li Ang came into contact with the lightning pillar, it detonated the attack, causing the lightning to scatter and explode, creating small craters in the ground. However, this was much better than being directly struck on the ground, and Li Ang managed to withstand most of the attack.

Surprisingly, only two people sustained minor injuries after this attack, and were otherwise unharmed.

"Phew!" After landing, Leon touched his hair, which was standing on end from the electric shock, and let out a deep breath. The power of lightning was indeed not to be underestimated; Enel was arguably the strongest enemy Leon had ever faced.

"Who exactly are you?" The fact that you could withstand Enel's attack head-on was unimaginable to everyone.

"Don't just stare at me, we'll discuss that later. Let's keep a low profile and hide for now," Li Ang suggested quickly, ignoring the others' bewildered expressions.

Just because Li Ang can withstand one hit doesn't mean he can withstand a hundred. If Enel attacks a few more times, he'll be finished. So it's best to leave this place as soon as possible and find a place to hide.

Enel's Observation Haki covers the entire island, but it's not very detailed. Unless you make some big moves and keep a low profile, Enel generally won't be able to detect you. Otherwise, what's the point of Hidden Cloud Village being hidden? It would have been blown up long ago.

Chapter 359 Planning

Webber understood the logic: if they stayed here and Enel discovered that their previous attack hadn't killed them, then another attack would be launched immediately.

"Go!" Weber ordered, leading the remaining Shandiya warriors into a nearby grove. He took out several "flavor shells" and sprayed them on everyone, including Li Ang, who was also covered in the scent.

One of the unique features of Sky Island is its various special-purpose seashells. These seashells can store all sorts of things and are classified into more than ten types of shellfish, such as water shellfish, fire shellfish, wind-blown shellfish, flavor shellfish, and impact shellfish, depending on what they store.