"Two hundred and fifty million Belly…"
Inside the hotel room, Carina held the newly issued bounty poster, her expression filled with confusion.
"A sudden increase of nearly sixty million Belly," she muttered.
"Nii-san only wiped out a group of trash in a single second. Yet for the first time, you overshadowed Sister Kuina, made the front page of the World Economy News Paper, and even triggered a new bounty from the Navy…"
She looked up at El.
"Is Conqueror's Haki really that terrifying?"
"I'm curious too."
Lying on the bed with a magazine in hand, Nami raised her head.
"I've read the Armament Haki training notes that Sister Kuina's father gave you. They explain future sight—the highest level of Observation Haki—and Emission and Internal Destruction, the strongest forms of Armament Haki."
"But for Conqueror's Haki, it only mentions mental shock, and says it's effective mainly against the weak-willed."
"After getting used to that pressure," Nami continued seriously,
"I don't feel it's anywhere near as destructive as your Flying Slashes or Sister Kuina's lightning."
El sat on a chair, eyes half-closed, while Kuina stood behind him, gently drying his long hair.
After a moment, he spoke calmly.
"Conqueror's Haki has no effect other than domination of will."
The girls blinked.
"But," El continued,
"once you truly master it, facing a fleet becomes equivalent to holding a strategic-level weapon."
"Because a strong Conqueror's Haki user can precisely avoid allies and target only enemies."
"And not every fleet walks the elite path like we do."
He raised a finger.
"In this world, ninety-five percent of any fleet are cannon fodder. Only five percent are true elites."
"If two fleets of equal size clash—on sea or land—and one side has a Conqueror's Haki user…"
El paused slightly.
"They win without effort."
Then he added another bombshell.
"And Conqueror's Haki can also be used like Armament Haki—wrapped around the fist or weapon."
"When applied that way, its power far exceeds Armament alone."
"The number of people who know this is extremely small," El said quietly.
"So small that only a handful of top figures in the sea understand the highest application of Conqueror's Haki."
"I see…"
The three girls were stunned.
Carina looked down at the bounty poster again and nodded slowly.
"If that's the case, then this bounty increase makes sense."
"Nii-san," she said seriously,
"you mastered Conqueror's Haki at such a young age. In the future, you'll definitely awaken its advanced form and crush all our enemies."
After Kuina tied El's long hair into a neat ponytail, he picked up another bounty poster from the table—
Kuina's 200 million Belly bounty.
"In the past few months, our bounties have risen again and again," El said calmly.
"That's not a good thing."
"The higher the bounty, the more our threat level rises in the eyes of the Navy and Mary Geoise."
"Because of Morgans' hype, the world already knows my potential—and Kuina's."
"If we had no bounty, the Navy would still be restrained by the word justice. Our voyage wouldn't be hindered."
"But now…"
El's gaze sharpened.
"We're not just this year's most dazzling Supernovas."
"We're epoch-making Supernovas—something that hasn't appeared since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era."
"They won't allow us to enter the New World freely and grow into pirates no one can deal with."
"Mary Geoise and the Navy will either try to recruit us—or eliminate us early."
His eyes shifted to Kuina.
"Especially Kuina."
"Any high-level Logia user, as long as they don't die young and reach their golden stage, will at minimum reach the level of a Vice Admiral."
"And Kuina's Devil Fruit is the Goro Goro no Mi."
"Even without refined Haki, martial arts, or swordsmanship—
as long as her physique is strong enough and the enemy can't suppress her electric field…"
El spoke with absolute certainty.
"Even an Admiral or Fleet Admiral can only defeat her."
"They cannot capture her."
"If Kuina were alone," El said quietly,
"she would have almost no weaknesses."
"But right now—this is the best possible stage to deal with her."
"Because beside her…"
He looked at the three girls.
"There are burdens."
Silence filled the room.
After a long while, Carina finally spoke.
"In the eyes of the world, we're already labeled as pirates."
"If Mary Geoise and the Navy want to recruit us, the only option is the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"But that's unlikely."
"To become a Warlord, one must already be a major pirate acknowledged by the seas—or possess overwhelming authority."
"Like last year's Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock."
"With our age…"
Carina shook her head.
"Even if Sister Kuina is a Logia user, and even if your talent is unmatched, Nii-san—you don't qualify."
"For the sake of balance and prestige, Mary Geoise would never invite children."
"Otherwise, the authority of the Seven Warlords would collapse."
She paused, then spoke gravely.
"So…"
"Rather than recruiting us, they're more likely to kill us early."
El nodded, visibly relieved.
"That's exactly my biggest concern."
"Hehehe~"
Seeing how calm El was, Carina suddenly laughed.
"Nii-san… you already have a solution, don't you?"
El grinned.
"My solution is closed-door training."
"The only reason this is dangerous…"
"Is because we're still too weak."
"If that's the case, we won't give them a chance to scheme against us."
"We'll retreat. Train. Improve."
"When our strength reaches a level where we're no longer afraid of calculations…"
El's eyes gleamed.
"Then we'll be free to do whatever we want."
"Great idea!" Carina said immediately, her eyes lighting up.
Indeed—
All problems stemmed from weakness.
Weakness was the original sin.
There were four of them.
Each possessed top-tier talent acknowledged by the world.
And yet—
The eldest, Kuina, was only eleven years old, still two months away from turning twelve.
The other three weren't even ten.
If they were eighteen—or adults in their twenties or thirties—their talents would already be fully realized.
By then, they would be figures no one dared to ignore.
The mere threat of Mary Geoise and Marine Headquarters would be laughable.
Carina took a deep breath and asked quietly,
"Then… when do we begin the retreat?"
"And how long will it last?"
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