Will remained seated for a while longer, but no other items of interest appeared.
Besides, he had no money left to bid on anything else.
It was already almost noon, so he stood up and went to the auction house’s back office to settle the bill.
After paying 102 million Beli, Will finally received the Haki training manual and the black pocket watch.
He flipped through the notebook and skimmed its contents.
More precisely, it was a handwritten set of notes.
Will had no idea who the original author was, but the notebook was divided roughly into two sections.
The first section, which made up about four-fifths of the entire notebook, covered the awakening and training methods for Armament Haki.
The remaining section concerned Observation Haki.
However, it only briefly described how to awaken Observation Haki.
There was hardly any detailed information about subsequent training.
Apparently, the original owner of the notebook wasn’t particularly proficient in Observation Haki.
After taking a rough look through it, Will put the notebook away and headed straight toward the docks.
He knew the Mad Lion Pirates were probably waiting for him there.
Will showed no fear.
If anything, he was faintly excited.
He didn’t immediately draw his swords.
Instead, he shrugged off his black coat halfway.
Inside the coat, around its lower edge, was a series of small metal rings that could be fastened around his belt.
Once attached, the coat hung down to his knees, resembling a battle skirt from ancient times.
Will drew both swords.
Then he activated Lightning Mode.
Before his enemies could even approach, he charged straight toward them.
Will’s principle in battle had always been simple:
Strike first and gain the advantage.
The first enemy he encountered was a burly man wielding a war hammer.
His face was twisted into a vicious expression, but Will was simply too fast.
The man couldn’t react in time and instinctively raised the hammer’s handle in front of his chest.
That might have worked against an ordinary opponent.
Against Will, it was useless.
One slash split the burly man in two.
Will immediately moved on to his next target.
Pale-blue lightning and crimson blood flashed continuously through the crowd.
At first, the Mad Lion Pirates still had some fighting spirit.
But only a few minutes later, none of them could even touch Will.
Their morale completely collapsed.
“Run!
That guy’s a demon!”
“We can’t do this anymore!
Captain, save us!
He’s too strong!”
“Spare me!
Don’t kill me!
I surrender!”
Gatte didn’t even need to give an order.
The pirates turned and fled in panic.
Will didn’t pursue them.
Instead, he remained where he was and gathered a massive amount of lightning into one of his swords.
He stepped forward, braced himself, and hurled the sword.
The lightning-wreathed blade began spinning rapidly through the air.
Faster and faster.
Until eventually, it transformed into a silver-blue wheel and shot toward the fleeing pirates.
Several pirates who had just escaped a short distance were congratulating themselves on surviving.
Then they heard a howling sound from behind them, mixed with the crackling of electricity.
Before they could even turn around, their bodies suddenly felt weightless.
The entire world began spinning.
Their bodies crashed heavily onto the ground.
Then everything went black.
Their lives ended.
The hand Will had thrown the sword with was also surrounded by concentrated lightning.
The silver-blue blade that had just cut through several pirates flew back toward Will in a manner that seemed completely impossible according to the laws of physics.
Will reached out and caught the hilt.
The dense lightning surrounding the sword gradually dissipated and flowed back into Will’s body, leaving the blade at its normal strength.
Will had come up with this technique accidentally while experimenting with his abilities.
It couldn’t really be considered a proper technique.
It was merely a small application of his lightning powers.
He had combined the cutting force of lightning with electromagnetic force to create it.
Whenever Will had free time, he often experimented with developing new techniques.
Unfortunately, his lightning ability was simply too violent.
Sometimes, after activating Lightning Mode at excessive intensity, the resulting speed became so extreme that even Will’s body couldn’t withstand it.
Speed produced force.
And force produced recoil.
That was why Will was so eager to learn Haki.
He believed that once he mastered Haki, his overall strength would increase tremendously.
Instead, he turned his attention toward Gatte, who had been watching him from a distance the entire time.
Will slowly walked toward him, both swords in hand.
“If these are the only men you sent to deal with me, then I’m seriously disappointed.”
“I wonder how strong you are.”
“If you’re too weak, I won’t let you die so easily.”
Will looked coldly at Gatte.
After seeing how confident the man had been at the auction, Will had assumed that the Mad Lion Pirates had some real strength.
“I never expected them to be of much use.”
“They were only there to test your strength.”
“I have countless pieces of trash like them under my command.”
“If my men weren’t busy escorting a shipment of weapons, why would I need to deal with you personally?”
“You arrogant brat.”
Gatte’s words made one thing clear.
Although he claimed not to care about Will’s strength, he was actually extremely wary.
After all, Will’s speed was something Gatte, in his current state, couldn’t keep up with.
Gatte took a deep breath.
His previously thin body suddenly began swelling like a balloon.
Within seconds, the skinny old man who had stood less than two meters tall had transformed into a nearly five-meter-tall, heavily muscled beast.
Gatte was now completely different from the man he’d been moments ago.
His upper clothing had been ripped apart, exposing his powerful torso.
Pale-yellow fur covered his body.
His muscular arms ended in enormous feline claws.
Will could even see the paw pads and razor-sharp nails.
A hairless tail dragged behind him, with a tuft of pale-black fur at its tip.
But the most striking transformation was his head.
It had become the head of a full-grown lion, although traces of his original facial features could still vaguely be seen.
“Hehehe.”
Will immediately recognized the Devil Fruit.
“Zoan-type Devil Fruit—the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Lion?”
“Not a bad Devil Fruit.”
The mane around Gatte’s neck had made his identity far too obvious.
Gatte was surprised that Will had recognized his Devil Fruit so easily—and even knew its exact nature.
“You’re pretty knowledgeable, kid.”
“But you’re still going to die here today.”
Will didn’t bother exchanging any more words with the half-beast.
Lightning began gathering beneath his feet.
He shot toward Gatte at tremendous speed.
Just as Gatte prepared to meet Will’s slash head-on, the electricity beneath Will’s feet suddenly crackled.
Then his trajectory abruptly changed.
At this speed, Will normally shouldn’t have been able to change direction so violently.
But after developing his application of electromagnetic force, he’d found a way.
He forced electricity deep into the large patch of soil beneath his feet, then used electromagnetic force to halt his forward momentum and redirect his body.
That allowed him to make an instantaneous change of direction.
Normally, dry soil was a poor conductor of electricity.
But Will wasn’t trying to transmit electricity through the ground.
He was directly driving the lightning into it.
As a result, the technique consumed a considerable amount of energy and couldn’t be used continuously.
Will appeared at Gatte’s flank and immediately slashed at his arm.
This was the first time Will had ever struck someone without cutting them cleanly in two.
Even he was somewhat surprised.
That brief moment of surprise was enough.
Gatte’s other claw came sweeping toward Will’s head with a sharp gust of wind.
Will hurriedly retreated.
Unfortunately, his sword was still lodged between Gatte’s arm and claw.
Abandon the sword?
Impossible!
So Will could only desperately leap backward.
Gatte wasn’t as fast as Will, but he was still incredibly quick.
While Will was suspended in midair, one of Gatte’s claws tore into the side of his neck.
Will finally broke free.
He felt a cool sensation along his neck.
Then came the searing pain.
He immediately knew he’d been wounded.
Fortunately, the injury wasn’t deep.
The sensation was all too familiar.
Getting injured had practically been part of Will’s daily life in the past.
The scars covering his upper body were proof of just how many battles he’d experienced.
He was no longer the inexperienced novice who had first arrived in the world of One Piece.
He was now a battle-hardened swordsman.
Will didn’t touch the wound.
His eyes remained fixed on his opponent.
This opponent was strong.
He might not have been as fast as Will, but his strength was considerably greater.
Then Will noticed something even more troublesome.
It wouldn’t be long before it healed completely.
“Awakened Zoan?”
“That’s troublesome.”
Will’s lips curled into a grin.
“But I like it.”
He charged toward Gatte again.
An awakened Zoan possessed extraordinary recovery and vitality.
Will couldn’t afford to fight him in a battle of attrition.
The clash of swords and claws rang out so loudly that it could be heard several streets away.
Will’s swords moved so quickly they were almost impossible to see.
Gatte, meanwhile, relied on his overwhelming strength and regenerative ability.
If Will targeted a vital area, Gatte would block with his claws.
If the attack struck somewhere non-vital, he would simply endure it and use the opening to counterattack.
On the surface, Gatte was covered in blood from Will’s slashes.
But only Will knew the truth.
He wasn’t actually at an advantage.
He’d been unable to dodge one attack earlier and had taken a punch to the chest.
Even now, his chest was still numb.
As for the wounds on Gatte’s body…
They were all fresh.
Every wound he’d suffered earlier had already healed.
What incredible regenerative power!
Realizing this, Will stopped attacking and retreated several steps.
His expression became solemn.
He tightened his grip around his swords as though he’d made some kind of decision.
Gatte wasn’t feeling particularly good either.
But he was an awakened Zoan.
If he could use this opportunity to recover, it wouldn’t take long for him to return to peak condition.
Then it would be Will’s death.
Will couldn’t read minds.
He had no idea what Gatte was thinking, nor did he care.
He intended to settle the battle with a single move.
He couldn’t drag this out any longer.
Will let both arms hang naturally at his sides, his two swords pointing straight toward the ground.
Then he pushed Lightning Mode to its absolute maximum.
This time, things were different.
Previously, even when Will pushed Lightning Mode to its maximum, only his swords changed color.
But this time…
His entire body turned silver-blue.
“Secret Sword Technique: Swallow Return.”
Every hair on Gatte’s body stood on end.
He sensed that something terrifying was about to happen.
Before he could think any further, his vision suddenly went completely dark.
It was as though everything else had disappeared.
Four intersecting blue-violet sword slashes appeared before him and shot toward him at incredible speed.
There was no time to dodge.
Gatte knew that if he didn’t stake everything on this attack, he would never get another chance.
He gathered every ounce of strength in his body and threw a punch.
He unleashed his ultimate technique with a furious roar.
“Mad Lion Heavy Cannon!”
Fist and sword slashes collided.
BOOM!
A massive impact blasted a huge crater into the ground between the two men.
Dust filled the surrounding area.
After some time, the wind finally dispersed the dust, revealing what had happened.
Only one person remained standing.
Will.
He had broken through his own limits and unleashed two sword strikes in an instant, producing four sword slashes.
But he wasn’t in good condition either.
Using Lightning Mode beyond its normal limits had left his entire body wracked with pain.
He could barely remain standing.
But it had all been worth it.
He had defeated a powerful opponent.
“Hehehe…”
Will threw his head back and laughed.
“What an exhilarating fight!”
But just then, a voice interrupted him.
A young man dressed like a noble was looking at Will with a faint smile.
“Oh?”
“You seem quite happy.”
“You killed a pirate under my trade association’s control on my territory.”
“Do you really think you’re going to simply walk away?”
“If I allowed that, how would I continue doing business in these waters?”
“So die here and keep Gatte, that greedy fool, company in the afterlife.”
The young noble smiled as he spoke.
Then he calmly straightened his bow tie.