15: Chapter 015 He Is an Invincible God!
15: Chapter 015 He Is an Invincible God!
“Although I really want to argue against the higher-ups’ decision, I know my words would still be useless.” Zephyr shrugged and embarked on their latest campaign.
This time, entering the latter half of the Grand Line, the main objective was to hunt down the remnants of the Rocks Pirates.
According to intelligence gathered by the Cipher Pol agency with significant manpower and resources, there were currently three pirates roaming those waters who had already established formidable forces.
Edward Newgate, known as Whitebeard.
The strongest creature, Kaido of the Beasts.
And Charlotte Linlin, who possessed the powerful Soul-Soul Fruit ability.
Among them, the most prominent was naturally Newgate.
Even before the Rocks Pirates had disbanded, he had been a top officer on the ship, and his reputation was immense.
He had fought Garp and Sengoku many times, and both sides knew well the other’s power…
enough to shake the world.
Especially in terms of Devil Fruit development.
Whitebeard, who had just passed his prime, showed no signs of decline…
he remained vigorous and formidable.
So this time, they had to dispatch two Admirals from Marine Headquarters…
originally it would have been three, but Garp had once again refused the appointment of Admiral, much to the frustration of Fleet Admiral Kong and Sengoku.
But he had always been the most willful man in the Marines, known as “Iron Fist.” He lived just like his fists…
straight and unyielding, never crossing his own bottom line.
As they set out, Zephyr stubbornly applied to Headquarters for 40 million Berry in bounty money, but only half was approved, so he only received half the funds.
Apart from still owing Richard a debt of gratitude, he had basically made up the shortfall.
Otherwise, the frugal Zephyr wouldn’t have known how long it would take to repay 20 million Berry.
…
Seventeen days passed.
The Order Keeper, heavily laden with cargo and sitting deep in the water, took a few extra days to return.
But for Richard and Mihawk, it made little difference.
They still practiced swordsmanship every day.
Mihawk’s biggest puzzle was that his brother never seemed to tire.
Richard, who stood a head taller than him, swung his blade with bulging muscles and condensed energy, combining footwork and horizontal slashes.
Every time golden light burst forth, it would stir up massive waves across the sea.
Yet he appeared tireless…
no matter how much he sweated, he kept swinging Shintei without pause.
He was a monster through and through.
Mihawk was stunned.
His eyes trembled countless times.
He, too, was a swordsman…
and had already reached the level of a Great Swordsman…
so he understood perfectly how much stamina was required to sustain such intense, high-powered sword beams.
But his brother seemed utterly unaware of exhaustion.
“Is brother…
a monster…?” Gulp!
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
He struggled to his feet, determined to keep up with Richard…
but his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
Liam, tall and sturdy as an iron tower, said softly: “Young Master…
don’t push yourself too hard.
You’ll injure your body.” Don’t ask how he knew.
The thirty-five-man guard unit had all gathered around Richard over the years, each of them trying to match his training intensity, and through that, they had constantly pushed their own limits.
But they could never even come close to catching up.
Richard had no training ceiling, no stamina drain…
he gave the impression that the more he trained, the more enthusiastic he became.
Terrifying.
It was simply terrifying.
But if they didn’t train, they felt an even worse sense of defeat…
as if Richard had them tied to a fifth-gear electric fan and was smacking them around.
Forget fighting…
they couldn’t even keep up in practice.
So they couldn’t blame others for being strong.
No one becomes strong for no reason.
No one becomes weak for no reason.
Fortunately, the awkwardness was dispelled.
“Young Master,” Rowling, dressed in black-and-white maid attire, her blue eyes shimmering with rippling light, walked briskly to a spot not far from Richard.
The wind from his training whipped her clothes and hair, but she seemed long accustomed to such scenes and said calmly: “We’re home.
Please go wash up and change.” “Alright.” He sheathed his blade.
Shintei’s golden light faded, its edge hidden in the scabbard.
Richard’s muscular physique was sharply defined, glistening with sweat, making Rowling swallow involuntarily.
Richard took the towel, went into the cabin for a quick wash, and changed into his spacious lordly noble robe.
This voyage was essentially complete.
Around this time every year, as December approached, he would take the Order Keeper out for a trip.
Each time, he would bring back a wealth of resources and novel, interesting items.
His three thousand subjects at the Black Rose Castle called it the “Divine Gift Festival.” Among them were orphans left behind by the Shikkearu war, as well as refugees from elsewhere who, after passing Richard’s rigorous screening, were allowed to settle here and receive his protection.
“One man equals an army”…
that was how people had described Richard from the very beginning.
There had once been a pirate fleet that tried to attack, but after an hour of fierce fighting late at night, flames had engulfed the entire perimeter of Kuraigana Island.
Every pirate from the entire fleet was buried at sea.
Their ships became usable resources, placed in the shipyard for the newly trained shipwrights to practice on.
So Richard had always been called the “Demigod” of Kuraigana Island…
the invincible one.