At this moment, the war in the Belloso Kingdom had ended, and the Sea Transport King's people had won.
Next, Nox only needed to take over the Belloso Kingdom, without losing a single soldier.
"Yes, esteemed Nox!"
Upon hearing Nox's words, that person immediately gathered the remaining personnel and left, not daring to show any slack.
Watching them leave, Nox immediately had his subordinates take over the Belloso Kingdom.
"The kings of the underworld, the Sea Transport King, the Loan King, the Queen of the Pleasure District, the King of Assassins, the Intelligence King, the Warehouse King—are these underworld kings who appeared in the original story now beginning to emerge?"
"It seems the pattern of the New World is about to change."
Nox couldn't help but laugh.
With Rocks's death and the Rocks Pirates's disbandment,
the ties of interest between these underworld kings and the Rocks Pirates also crumbled.
As a result, the interests of those underworld forces who originally supported Rocks suffered a Fault, and they were desperate to find new partners to continue acquiring vast wealth in the New World.
The wealth in the New World is less compared to the Four Seas, but the Four Seas is the World Government's territory, making it difficult for them to gain more profit under the World Government's covert control.
Only the chaotic New World is where they can acquire exorbitant wealth.
And to acquire enough wealth in the New World, one must possess sufficient strength; otherwise, all wealth will become targets for other Pirate Crew to plunder.
After resolving the matters of the Belloso Kingdom, Nox returned to Wano Country, just as Ashura Doji also returned.
"Captain, I've figured it out; I want to eat a Devil Fruit to improve my strength!"
After learning of Nox's return, Ashura Doji came to find him.
"Oh? It seems you've thought it through!"
"Ashura Doji, with your talent, if you don't eat a Devil Fruit and focus on swordsmanship, breaking through to Grand Swordmaster shouldn't be a problem."
"But if you eat a Devil Fruit and become distracted by it, your Sword Intent might waver, making it even harder to break through to the Grand Swordmaster level."
Nox said seriously.
A Grand Swordmaster needs to comprehend Sword Intent, and those who are single-minded in their pursuit of the Way find it easier to comprehend their own Sword Intent.
As a Grand Swordmaster, Nox understood swordsmanship thoroughly.
Swordsmanship emphasizes a Sword Heart that charges forward without hesitation, and it's not to say that Devil Fruit users cannot become Grand Swordmaster.
Rather, after becoming a Devil Fruit user, the reliance on the sword decreases, and thus the original Sword Heart deep within weakens, making it more difficult to comprehend Sword Intent.
To his knowledge, all Grand Swordmaster in the pirate world, after becoming Grand Swordmaster, were not Devil Fruit users.
Of course, Golden Lion was an exception; he ate a Devil Fruit only after becoming a Grand Swordmaster.
"Captain, I've thought it through."
"What I pursue is absolute powerful strength. In the past, because swordsmanship was my only path to becoming stronger, I put all my focus on swordsmanship."
"Now that Devil Fruit can quickly enhance my strength, I won't give it up either."
"So I choose to have both, even if it slows down my progress in swordsmanship, at least my strength will become stronger because of it, and that's enough!"
Ashura Doji also said earnestly.
"Since this is your choice, then I won't say anything more."
"This is a Zoan Croc-Croc Fruit: Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit: Emperor Croc form. A very powerful Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit."
"It can give you incredibly powerful physical strength, as well as physical recovery and self-healing abilities. I think it suits you very well."
"After eating it, you will fear the sea and Sea Stone. Once you fall into the sea, you will become powerless and can only be drowned by the sea."
"Similarly, once you come into contact with Sea Stone, you will also become powerless, and that will be the best time for enemies to kill you. You must remember these two points!"
"As for how to develop the Devil Fruit, go find Karoo or Bullet; they will tell you."
Nox took out a Devil Fruit he had treasured and handed it to Ashura Doji.
This Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit was second only to Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit among the Devil Fruit he collected.
The Emperor Croc is the king among crocodiles; incredibly powerful strength and defense are its characteristics.
"Thank you, Captain!!"
Hearing Nox say this, Ashura Doji gratefully thanked him and immediately ate the Devil Fruit.
"Roar!!!!"
After eating the Devil Fruit, Ashura Doji immediately transformed into a massive ten-meter-long crocodile, its ferocious appearance resembling the resurrection of an ancient Emperor Crocodile.
"Ah, Captain, how do I change back!"
Ashura Doji looked at his current appearance in the mirror, somewhat astonished.
"Through your own will, slowly control the body's power, and then you can change back."
Although Nox had never eaten a Devil Fruit, he knew some of its techniques.
"As expected of an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit, my strength has become so much stronger!!"
After returning to human form, Ashura Doji clenched his fists and said excitedly.
Even without transforming, a portion of the Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit's power had already affected his body.
It significantly enhanced Ashura Doji's physique.
"Develop this Devil Fruit well, and quickly improve your strength. Then our Pirate Crew will have a great battle with those powerful Marine and Pirate Crew!"
Nox nodded in satisfaction.
Once Ashura Doji became familiar with the Devil Fruit's power and integrated the enhancement it brought into his swordsmanship,
his strength would experience a brief period of rapid increase. At that time, he would finally have a formidable combatant under his command.
Immediately after Ashura Doji left, Kano and Karoo walked in, as if they had arranged it.
"Senior Brother, we're here to ask you about being a Swordsman."
Kano and Karoo said somewhat nervously, just as they were nervous back on Asattava Island when Nox guided them and they couldn't learn it no matter what.
"I know why you're here. The main reason you've been unable to break through to the Swordsman realm is that you rely too much on your Devil Fruit."
"You should know that other pure Swordsman can only rely on the sword in their hands."
"Such Swordsman are very confident in their swords; they believe their swords can cut through anything, and all enemies can be defeated with their swords!"
"But ever since you two ate your Devil Fruit, you've reduced your reliance on the sword, and gradually lost that pure heart you had when you first began learning swordsmanship."
"..."
Nox was not angry about this; he patiently taught them, just as he had on Asattava Island.
He knew that his two junior brothers' talents were not great; in swordsmanship, Swordsman was the peak of their lives, and becoming a Grand Swordmaster was almost impossible.
If they wanted to become stronger, besides swordsmanship, they could only put effort into Devil Fruit and Haki.
"As long as you find your original intention when you first started learning swordsmanship, breaking through to Swordsman should be no problem."
"The specific method is to take this Sea Stone, and then use these two swords to cut these two pieces of steel!"
Nox directly took out two ordinary iron swords and two pieces of steel and said.
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Hearing Nox's words, Kano and Karoo joyfully accepted the iron swords and steel.
Although their talent was not great, they trusted Nox's words immensely.
They would do whatever Nox told them to do, never doubting whether Nox's words were correct.
Anyway, in their subconscious, everything Nox said was right, and they just needed to follow his instructions.
"Go, I hope you can reach the Swordsman realm soon."
Nox said with satisfaction.
He liked Kano and Karoo's confidence in him. Lack of talent was not scary; what was scary was not having self-awareness and refusing to work hard according to others' methods.
Sea Stone could suppress the Devil Fruit power within them and also make them weak and powerless.
Practicing swordsmanship with Sea Stone would not only increase their resistance to Sea Stone but also reduce their reliance on Devil Fruit, helping them better rediscover their original intention in learning swordsmanship.
Nox, in a good mood, arrived at the weapon factory in Wano Country. Although the pollution problem here had not been completely solved,
its pollution had been reduced by half, and Scientist Yumazu was working on further improvements.
"General!!"
When Nox arrived at the weapon factory, everyone there, whether workers, blacksmiths, or managers, bowed respectfully.
Nox was now the most beloved General in Wano Country, respected wherever he went.
"How is the weapon manufacturing progressing?"
Nox found the person in charge of the weapon factory and asked.
"General, the weapon factory has already produced many weapons. The best weapons have reached the quality of the Wind Cutter you previously gave us as a reference; there are two of them."
"However, due to material limitations, we can only produce these two for now, and then all the best materials were used up."
The person in charge said, then took out the two swords.
"Oh? They really made them."
Nox stroked the two swords in his hand; their quality had reached the level of a Fifty Excellent Grade Swords.
Fifty Excellent Grade Swords doesn't mean there are only fifty such swords in this world; Excellent Grade Swords is just a rank, which Nox could clearly confirm.
As for whether there are only twenty-one Grand Swordmaster or only twelve Supreme Grade Swords,
Nox was unsure because he had never seen more than twenty-one Grand Swordmaster or more than twelve Supreme Grade Swords.
Furthermore, he couldn't forge Grand Swordmaster and Supreme Grade Swords, so he couldn't confirm this matter.
Now, with his weapon factory and Wano Country's technology, as long as he had enough materials, he could continuously produce Excellent Grade Swords.
He remembered when he first went to sea, he didn't even have an Excellent Grade Swords. Thinking about it made him feel a bit emotional.
"I'll figure out the material issue; you've done very well."
"I'm very satisfied with your performance. All workers in the weapon factory, your salaries will increase by fifty percent, and this month's salary is included!"
Nox praised.
"Thank you, General!!"
Hearing Nox's words, everyone present cheered.
Their salaries at the weapon factory were already high, and now with a fifty percent increase, it was a pleasant surprise for them!
Nox watched the crowd's reaction with satisfaction. He was quite willing to spend money to make these craftsmen work wholeheartedly for him and win their loyalty.
Moreover, the techniques of these people were worth the money he spent to win them over; this forging technique was probably unique to Wano Country.
"Emil, how are you learning here?"
Nox came to a young man's side and asked.
Emil was an Iron-Iron Fruit user. As for how to develop this Devil Fruit, Nox directly sent him to the weapon factory to learn how to forge iron from the craftsmen.
"Captain, I've just learned to refine ordinary iron blocks."
Emil scratched his head.
"Hmm, study hard here. Your Devil Fruit is the Iron-Iron Fruit. Although it initially grants you an iron body, in this world, there are too many powers that can cut through and shatter steel."
"I had you come here to learn how to forge weapons because I want you to forge your own iron body just like you forge weapons."
"Once you learn how to apply weapon forging techniques to developing your Devil Fruit, you can leave here."
Nox nodded.
"Thank you for your guidance, Captain."
Emil wasn't foolish; he naturally understood Nox's intention.
And after he came to the Limitless Pirates, he clearly realized how weak he was, so he had an immense desire to become stronger.
"Huh, why haven't I seen Valent and those other kids today?"
After returning to the General's mansion, Nox looked at Athena, who was handling affairs, in surprise.
Before, every time he came home, he would see those kids running over for hugs, but he hadn't expected them not to be home this time.
"Oh, they all ran out to play with the other child in Flower Capital."
"Back on Amazon Lily, they didn't have any child their age to play with. Now that they've come to Wano Country and met many child their age, they naturally play together."
"But you know, they inherited your excellent bloodline and have great strength at a young age. They beat up the other kids and took them as their subordinates, becoming the child's king."
Athena covered her lips and chuckled softly.
"Hehe, let them play if they want to."
"We haven't played games in a long time either. It's perfect that the kids aren't here today; let's play too."
Nox looked at Athena, who was wearing a short black shirt, revealing her slender waist, with skin as white as snow, and long blue hair flowing freely, giving her a unique charm.
"It's daytime now, what if Valent and the others come back!"
Seeing Nox's fervent eyes, Athena's body also warmed up, but she thought it would be bad if the child saw them.