"Those who are lost and weak cannot use it well. Conqueror's Haki is the power of body and mind as one. As long as you have a firm will, you can…"
Garp sat under the mast and explained this to Valthior.
Valthior's cheek twitched twice, and he cut him off. "Do you have any special tricks or not? I already know all this. Do not treat me like some backwater pirate…"
"What else is there to say? That is what Conqueror's Haki is. It cannot be improved through normal training. It depends entirely on talent and experience. And you are already a damn monster when it comes to talent…" Garp cursed.
In Garp's view, Valthior's Conqueror's Haki was so strong partly because of his natural gift. He had already felt that back on Linderland Island.
The other reason was probably that Valthior had followed the Roger Pirates and seen too much. His own experiences had helped shape it.
Conqueror's Haki was basically that kind of thing.
As for deeper techniques, the only real one was coating it onto attacks.
But Valthior clearly already knew how to do that, so what else was there to say?
"Look at this…" Valthior handed another notebook to Garp.
Garp took it and opened it. "Jio-Ken? What is this?"
"Read it and you will know. It talks about techniques for turning stamina, spirit, and other things into Ki and storing them inside the body. Following that idea, I wrote down some guesses about Conqueror's Haki too. See whether it gives you any ideas," Valthior said.
This had been sent to him not long ago by his nephew Doflamingo. Valthior had studied it for a while and had indeed gained some thoughts from it. Since Garp was here now, it was a good chance to discuss it with him.
At the same time, Valthior also planned to send a copy to Roger, Gaban, and Rayleigh after returning to Frost Island, to see whether those top fighters had any good ideas.
More minds meant more chances.
By gathering the thoughts of these top fighters on the sea, perhaps they really could research something useful.
"Ki?" Garp looked at the notebook seriously and began thinking.
For him, the core ideas of this Jio-Ken were not that meaningful. Once one reached a certain level, many things became connected, and he had already understood much of it himself. However, the secret art called Battle Insurance Fist was indeed very interesting. It had a unique view that was far from ordinary, and even Garp gained something from it.
"This is good stuff…" Garp commented. "Although the fist techniques inside are a bit flashy and mostly pointless, this method of gathering spare strength from ordinary days, storing it inside yourself, and releasing it when needed is very insightful. It also fits with many deeper ideas of the Six Powers. It has real value."
"Would I study it if it had no value?" Valthior smiled. "Isn't it similar to your modified Life Return?"
"I figured mine out on my own. Compared to this, mine may even be worse. It is too rough. This thing is useful even to me. I owe you one," Garp said with a nod.
After a short pause, Garp said, "Let me copy this. I cannot give you any good advice in such a short time. Once I go back and spend some time studying it properly, I will tell you right away if I get any ideas."
Valthior had no intention of keeping it to himself. He had never treated Garp as a true enemy to the death. On the contrary, he admired Garp a great deal. Perhaps one day, Garp might even become a useful ally.
So he did not refuse and said directly, "Fine. Go ahead and copy it."
After that, Valthior and Garp also exchanged Den Den Mushi frequencies. From now on, they could speak directly through Den Den Mushi.
"This is the first time I have stored a pirate's contact in my Den Den Mushi," Garp said with some emotion as he looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Mine's different. I've even got your Marine Fleet Admiral Kong's frequency saved," Valthior said with a loud laugh.
Garp was a little speechless.
But just as he was about to say something, he saw Valthior suddenly turn his head toward the distant sky.
Then Garp also seemed to sense something and looked over as well.
Clearly, Valthior was currently in better condition than him and had noticed the change first.
Far away in the sky, a black dot was chasing after them at great speed.
"Shiki…" Valthior said softly.
"As expected. That guy came running the moment he smelled blood," Garp said with a frown.
His own condition was not very good. Asking him to deal with Shiki in this state was clearly unrealistic.
At that moment, he was very glad Valthior had some way to recover so much in such a short time. With that, if the two of them joined forces, they would not have to fear Shiki even in peak condition.
"Jihahahahaha! Garp! Valthior! It has been a long time!"
Shiki's voice arrived before he did. His arrogant, wild laughter carried across the distance.
Moments later, the black shadow descended and hovered above the warship. It was indeed Shiki—alone.
"You are a little late, Shiki," Valthior said with a grin, greeting him.
Garp clearly had no fondness for Shiki at all. His face was dark, and he said nothing.
Still in midair, Shiki carefully observed both men's conditions. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
"You beat Garp?"
He couldn't be blamed for the misunderstanding—the difference in their states was too obvious. Garp's aura was weak and fluctuating, his injuries were severe, and he was still wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
Valthior, on the other hand, only had some surface wounds left. He looked full of energy, his eyes bright, as if he had not used much strength at all.
How could Shiki not be shocked?
According to the information he received, Valthior and Garp had fought for three days and two nights.
He did not know who had won, but normally, if they had fought that long without a clear winner, their conditions should be similar.
When Garp heard this, he wanted to argue, but as soon as the thought appeared, he forced it back down.
If he said nothing, Shiki would keep overestimating Valthior's strength. That would make him hesitate.
Valthior clearly realized this too. Seeing that Garp did not speak, he smiled and said, "What? Do you want to try me too? I have not had enough yet. I am ready anytime."
Shiki's expression shifted between doubt and suspicion.
He did not really believe Valthior could beat Garp. After all, Garp's reputation was there, and Shiki had personally experienced his strength before.
Even in the New World, where monsters appeared one after another and powerful fighters were everywhere, Garp was still one of the most outstanding among them.
Aside from one-of-a-kind monsters like Rocks and Harald from back then, who would dare say they could firmly stand above Garp?
Even someone as arrogant as Shiki, or as powerful as Whitebeard, would not say that.
So Shiki was very unwilling to believe that Valthior could suppress Garp to this extent.
But the condition the two of them showed right now made no sense to him.
Are these two acting? Shiki thought to himself.
Was this a trap?
On the surface, they had fought to the death for three days and two nights without a winner. But in truth, were they waiting to see who would come out and try to take advantage?
Once this thought appeared, Shiki became even more cautious.
Thinking carefully, Garp and Valthior did not seem to have any deep grudge between them. From far away just now, he had even seen the two of them talking and laughing, as if they were discussing something.
For two people like that to suddenly start fighting in the New World was already strange.
And now, their current condition was even stranger.
If someone said there was no scheme here, Shiki would not believe it.
He was already a deeply suspicious man. The smarter a person was, the more they tended to overthink things. At this moment, the more Shiki looked at Garp and Valthior, the more he felt these two bastards had put on a show just for him.
They had even chosen a place not too close and not too far from his base, Merveille, to fight.
Had they already guessed he would come?
Thinking of this, Shiki pushed down his original plan to take advantage of them. He grinned and said, "How could I, the Golden Lion, be the kind of shameless man who strikes while others are weak? Looking at your condition, neither of you seems to be at your best. Fighting now would be meaningless. When it is convenient, you are both welcome to visit Merveille anytime."
Then, before Valthior could speak, Shiki immediately asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Valthior, tell me the truth. Did that bastard Roger really leave more than sixty billion Berries on Laugh Tale, that so-called final island?" Shiki asked with a serious expression.
He believed his relationship with Roger had been good. Setting aside their rivalry, they could be considered close friends.
Because of that, Shiki felt he understood Roger fairly well. And the more he understood that bastard, the harder it was to believe Roger would leave behind all the treasure he had saved over his years as a pirate on Laugh Tale.
Was that not nonsense?
Seeing how serious Shiki looked, Valthior sighed softly. "That is right. Captain Roger did leave all his treasure there."
As soon as he said that, Shiki's expression became complicated. His lips moved slightly as he muttered, "Pirate King… Pirate King… Damn it. That bastard really had that much spirit…"
More than sixty billion Berries was no small amount, but to Shiki, if he truly set his mind on plundering, he could gather that much. He had been a pirate for many years, managed his territory well, and even invested in research. From that, it was clear that the money passing through his hands had long exceeded sixty billion Berries.
What shocked him was not the amount of wealth.
It was that, as a pirate, Roger could actually let go of his own treasure.
That kind of spirit was something Shiki could never do.
After gathering his thoughts, Shiki looked at Valthior with serious eyes. "I will find Laugh Tale, Valthior. I want to see with my own eyes what kind of great treasure could make Roger willingly bet everything on the future…"
Valthior really wanted to say, You misunderstood. He was not willing.
But the mood was already like this. Would saying that hurt Shiki too much?
After thinking for a moment, Valthior smiled and said, "It is the most magnificent treasure on the sea. Once you see it with your own eyes, you will understand."
"Farewell!" Shiki nodded, gave a quick word, then turned and flew away at high speed.
Before this, Shiki had been unwilling to admit that Roger was the Pirate King, so he had no interest in searching for Laugh Tale.
But now, he had decided to see it with his own eyes.
He wanted to know what kind of future had made Roger let go of everything.
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