“Loguetown in the East Blue?”
Leon paused when he saw the system’s newly assigned check-in location.
Then his attention moved to the reward.
Armament Haki?
And not just from one person, but from three of the greatest fighters in the world.
The first was Monkey D.
Garp at his peak.
Marine hero.
Garp the Fist.
Regardless of his eventual fate after invading Hachinosu to rescue his disciple Koby, there was no denying how terrifying Garp had been in his prime.
Even in old age, he had confronted several members of the Blackbeard Pirates while also fighting Kuzan, a former Marine Admiral.
The raw power Garp had displayed throughout his career placed him among the greatest fighters of the previous era.
His Armament Haki was unquestionably among the finest on the seas.
At his peak, Garp had repeatedly fought Gol D.
Roger and other legendary pirates without relying on a Devil Fruit.
That alone demonstrated how extraordinary his Haki had been.
Receiving Garp’s peak Armament Haki would cause Leon’s strength to rise dramatically.
The second source was the Pirate King himself—
Gol D.
Roger.
Roger was most famous for his overwhelming Conqueror’s Haki, but he had been an exceptionally complete fighter with almost no obvious weakness.
Observation Haki.
Armament Haki.
Conqueror’s Haki.
Swordsmanship.
Each ability had reached the highest level of the era.
His physical body might not have possessed the unnatural durability of monsters such as Whitebeard, Kaido, or Charlotte Linlin, but his Haki and combat ability had still allowed him to stand at the very summit of the world.
The final source was Silvers Rayleigh.
Rayleigh had served as Roger’s right-hand man and later became the teacher who introduced Luffy to all three forms of Haki.
Even in old age, the Dark King could still confront a Marine Admiral.
That strength came not only from his swordsmanship but also from his profound mastery of Observation, Armament, and Conqueror’s Haki.
His Armament Haki had reached an exceptionally advanced level.
All Leon had to do was travel to Loguetown and complete the check-in.
Then he would receive the combined peak Armament Haki of Garp, Roger, and Rayleigh.
Even inheriting the mastery of any one of those men would produce an enormous transformation.
Receiving all three at once would almost certainly grant Leon Armament Haki unmatched anywhere in the world.
When that happened, he would possess—
The world’s strongest physique.
Swordsmanship surpassing the boundaries of any single era.
And the world’s greatest Armament Haki. Get faster updates on g.com.
What kind of strength would those three gifts create when combined?
The thought alone filled Leon with anticipation.
He slowly exhaled and forced himself to calm down.
Standing beside him, Caron noticed that Leon had remained motionless for some time.
He turned toward him with a puzzled expression.
The instant their eyes met, every hair on Caron’s body stood on end.
A razor-sharp presence seemed to surge from Leon’s gaze.
It swept over Caron like a wave of invisible blades, leaving his body stiff and unable to move.
The oppressive aura resembled that of a savage beast, yet it carried a distinct sharpness that seemed capable of cutting through everything before it.
Caron swallowed.
What had happened to Leon in those few moments?
Why had his presence suddenly become so terrifying?
The edge in Leon’s eyes seemed capable of piercing straight through him.
Unable to withstand it, Caron instinctively took half a step backward.
“Mr.
Leon…”
“What happened?”
He forced himself to speak despite his unease.
“Nothing.”
Leon shook his head.
He adjusted his breathing and gradually drew the overflowing pressure back into his body.
Having only just absorbed the peak swordsmanship of three legendary masters, he had not yet perfectly restrained the sharp presence that naturally accompanied it.
Once he understood the sensation, however, controlling it became simple.
“Lend me your sword.”
Leon looked toward Caron.
Although confused by the request, Caron did not question him.
He immediately drew the katana at his waist and handed it over.
Leon wrapped one hand around the hilt.
The moment he held it, the weapon felt like an extension of his own body.
As natural as moving an arm.
Leon had never trained seriously in swordsmanship before.
He had barely even used a katana as a conventional weapon.
Yet now the blade felt completely familiar.
After inheriting the combined mastery of Mihawk, Ryuma, and Oden, Leon felt an instinctive confidence the moment the weapon entered his hand.
He raised his eyes toward the prosperous Mushroom Town ahead.
The streets were crowded, and the settlement was filled with life.
Yet Leon felt certain of one thing.
One slash would be enough to split the entire town apart.
Mushroom Town stood on an island roughly forty kilometers across.
One strike was sufficient.
A single slash could travel across the island and divide it in two.
It could sink the entire settlement into the sea.
That was the terrifying power produced by his unmatched physique and newly acquired swordsmanship.
Even before receiving the future Armament Haki reward, Leon believed he had already reached the level where one man could destroy an island.
Beside him, Caron continued observing every movement he made.
The moment Leon took hold of the katana, Caron’s heart tightened.
His breathing stopped.
The sharp pressure radiating from Leon was more terrifying than that of any swordsman Caron had encountered before.
An alarming thought emerged in his mind.
Several years earlier, Caron had witnessed Dracule Mihawk, the World’s Strongest Swordsman, take action.
Yet the presence Mihawk had displayed at the time did not seem as overwhelming as the aura now radiating from Leon.
For one brief moment, Caron felt that the young man standing beside him appeared more like the world’s greatest swordsman.
“That’s impossible…”
“A sixteen-year-old World’s Strongest Swordsman?”
The idea left Caron frozen in disbelief.
It had to be an illusion.
Mihawk was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
More importantly, he was universally recognized as the World’s Strongest Swordsman.
No matter how powerful Leon was, he could not possibly surpass Mihawk in swordsmanship.
Surely no one could exceed the man who already stood at the summit of that discipline.
“Let’s go.”
Leon casually returned the katana to Caron and walked toward the Mushroom Town Marine Branch.
Although he believed he could split the island apart, he had no intention of testing the theory on a town inhabited by hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Now that he possessed extraordinary swordsmanship, however, Leon began considering the need to acquire a proper blade.
Caron remained motionless until Leon had already walked some distance away.
Only then did he recover.
He hurriedly dismissed the absurd thought from his mind and rushed after him.
That same day, Leon entered the Mushroom Town Marine Branch and completed his formal registration.
An official appointment document from Marine Headquarters had already arrived.
In recognition of his destruction of the arms transaction and the capture of the surviving weapons, Leon received an exceptional promotion.
He officially joined the Marines with the rank of Marine Captain.
A captain from the very day of his enlistment.
Leon became one of only two Marine captains stationed at the Mushroom Town branch, placing him at the same rank as Caron, the branch’s commanding officer.
Outside the Grand Line, the rank of captain was already close to the highest position normally stationed within the four Blues.
Officers promoted to commodore or rear admiral were generally assigned to the Grand Line or other strategically important regions.
Leon had only just joined the organization.
Yet he already stood among the highest-ranking Marines in the North Blue.