https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-458-How-Could-Someone-Be-Flying-in-the-Sky/13537771/
Chapter 459: How Will Further Awakening Manifest?
Chapter 459: How Will Further Awakening Manifest?
A colossal continent plummeted from the heavens like a meteor, hurtling downward at breakneck speed.
Kuro himself didn't even know how vast his Heavenly Treasure Vault truly was.
After all, it couldn't be seen from Mariejois.
It definitely surpassed Skypiea.
Even reaching outer space would be pointless.
He wasn't Yi Xiao, after all—his abilities were different.
One was using gravity through Observation Haki to pull things downward directly, with a range so vast it could scare people to death.
Kuro's abilities hadn't reached that level of Awakening yet.
He'd once divided the Float-Float Fruit's abilities into three stages.
The first stage required physical strength to activate and maintain.
The second stage was like Shanks—exerting a bit of physical strength to activate the ability, then no longer needing to maintain it.
The third stage was his envisioned 'Devil Fruit Awakening'—no physical contact needed, with the ability range expanding alongside Observation Haki like Yi Xiao's, allowing him to activate abilities anywhere within his perception.
Currently, Kuro had just brushed the edge of this third stage.
But he still needed to 'touch' the air to make it work.
The Telekinesis Blade series were techniques developed precisely from this principle.
However, the physical strength consumption... was actually much higher than before.
But there was no helping it. To survive safely in the Grand Line, one had to keep strengthening themselves.
He remembered clearly—within a year, the appearance of that 'One Piece' would shock the world.
He defeated Donquixote Doflamingo!
What a joke!
The current Seven Warlords of the Sea Kuro didn't care to mention, but the veteran ones were no pushovers.
That's why he had been furious at Dressrosa but ultimately didn't confront that flamingo.
First, once his anger passed, his fighting spirit would fade. Coming alone to confront Big Mom required immense courage.
Second, Donquixote Doflamingo was genuinely difficult to deal with.
He'd been a Seven Warlord of the Sea for years, with a formidable reputation. If he hadn't become a Warlord, his bounty would've been astronomical.
As for bounties...
They were just for show. Kuro never put much stock in them. Someone worth 100 berries could defeat someone worth hundreds of millions. Someone worth hundreds of millions could be defeated by a 30 million bounty.
Bounties determined strength?
That was a joke.
The current monsters of the New World—none of them had earned their astronomical bounties overnight. They'd spent years proving their strength.
Bounties recognized their power, but for newcomers, the unknown, or veterans like the Seven Warlords whose bounties had stagnated, bounty didn't equal strength.
Donquixote Doflamingo was a real headache—truly a massive problem.
So strengthening his abilities was absolutely necessary.
The Heavenly Treasure Vault that could make him feel secure was equally essential.
Developing his abilities was the top priority.
He didn't want to end up like that old man Shanks—careless for a moment, his arm destroyed by a storm, then getting his head smashed by a ship's rudder.
Float-Float Fruit afraid of storms?
Back then, Shanks had played with seawater casually!
Seawater and rainwater were practically the same thing.
As for wind...
I, Lucius Kro, specialize in wind.
Whether it was the Shinmeiryu Style or the swordsmanship he developed from it, both were based on 'wind'.
That's why he was fast.
Not as fast as Gramps, but fast enough.
Even now, the Float-Float Fruit's inherent speed wasn't slow, but for high-speed flight at his level, he knew even Shanks couldn't match it—though at his peak, who could say?
If an ability could be developed further, it must be developed. If there was potential, it must be exhausted. If there were gaps, they must be filled.
Until he reached Kuro's envisioned 'Awakening'.
Then nothing would be beyond his control. With a mere thought, mountains, seas, clouds, and mists would all obey his will. Across the world, nothing would resist his command.
Only then would he achieve absolute safety.
Bullets? Weapons? As long as they were inanimate, he'd show you what control meant.
Even living beings weren't a problem. Manipulating air currents, there was no shortage of things he could do.
Like that current 'lion bite' technique—using his ability to indirectly affect living beings had already broken the Float-Float Fruit's traditional limitations.
From the first time he manipulated seawater to lift seafood and Sea Kings, he'd realized a truth.
Living beings couldn't be directly controlled, but they could be indirectly affected.
There was no need to stick to Shanks' old man's control methods, even if he'd grown accustomed to them and used them well.
"Swordsmanship can't rely solely on the Shinmeiryu Style for further development. Even after trying Netero's methods, I still needed to combine abilities and Lucius' speed to achieve Mystic Arts. True strongmen should seamlessly integrate unarmed combat techniques, swordsmanship, and abilities. There's no need for rigid classifications—any perceived weaknesses only matter at that level, and even then, they're negligible."
Kuro looked at his hands and murmured.
Like Vegapunk Hazard, Kuro had watched that battle from start to finish.
Sakazuki and Kuzan were both formidable, but Sakazuki had the edge because he was at his peak. Kuzan still had room to grow.
But now that he'd lost a leg, his growth ceiling had dropped significantly.
However, this 'drop' only mattered for someone at the Admiral and Four Emperors tier.
At that level, strength was irrelevant. A head-on battle lasting ten or twenty days might eventually decide a winner—based purely on who could endure longer.
But this wasn't a duel.
It wasn't an internal Navy competition where they had to prove superiority.
Navy and pirates—how could they compare?
There were plenty who fled when outmatched.
No one needed to fight to the death. Everyone wanted to preserve their strength—Navy to crush more pirates, pirates to live long enough to chase their ambitions.
Just look at Kaido—why hasn't he died yet?
Was it because he's a Gyarados?
He was crazy, not stupid.
Everyone who survived in the Grand Line for this long wasn't stupid.
The stupid ones were already dead.
Either eliminated by the times...
Or killed by their own hands.
Even Roger had gotten sick before passing his dream to the next generation.
If he were still alive...
Well, better he stayed dead.
Thinking about it was terrifying.
"What a joke!!!"
As Kuro's thoughts wandered, a thunderous roar erupted from the island below. A figure with a head resembling a flaming axe was engulfed in scorching flames, emitting a crimson aura. His fists ignited with fire as he raised both palms to the sky, seemingly trying to block the falling meteor.
Kuro glanced at him and muttered, "Who's this guy? Can he produce fire? Is it 'Sabo'? No, Sabo's whereabouts are still unknown. Another subordinate? But to be developed this far, he's still impressive. Indeed, no pirate in the New World is easy to deal with."
(End of Chapter)
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