Chapter 20: Mission
Half a month later.
In the open clearing.
Rhodes stood relaxed, like a graceful cheetah ready to explode with power, his gaze fixed on his intended landing spot in the distance.
"Soru!"
In a flash, Rhodes shot forward, transforming into a barely discernible afterimage that tore through the air and stirred up a gust of wind. Then, with incredible precision, he landed on his intended target, almost dead center!
"This level should be enough for actual combat."
With a soft sigh, Rhodes nodded with a hint of satisfaction.
In just one month, he had mastered the explosive, advanced physical technique of Soru. This speed even exceeded Rhodes' own expectations.
While he had various advantages, such as accelerated learning and enhanced recovery, physical skills ultimately required relentless practice to achieve mastery.
"It's probably because my physical capabilities have increased significantly."
"After all, it's a physical technique. The stronger your body, the easier it becomes to master."
Putting aside these scattered thoughts, Rhodes looked up at the sky and leaped into the air.
Whoosh!
His physique had already surpassed normal human limits, and his jumping power was astonishing. With barely any effort, he reached mid-air, then, under the influence of gravity, began to plummet uncontrollably.
Under normal circumstances, a human could not remain airborne, let alone fly. However, Geppo, one of the Rokushiki techniques, granted humans the ability to briefly stay aloft.
Rhodes stamped his feet, seemingly stepping on solid matter, and with a thud, his body soared upward a short distance.
After several repetitions, Rhodes landed back on the ground.
"Geppo is an advanced application of Soru, allowing humans to leverage momentum and briefly remain airborne. Its tactical significance is immense."
"The downside is that it's very inflexible, consumes more energy than Soru, and can't be used for long-distance travel."
Rhodes analyzed thoughtfully.
Ultimately, the sky wasn't humanity's domain. Geppo's ability to grant humans brief flight was incredible—truly a high-level physical technique that transcended human bodily limits.
"However, the squad captains all have at least two or three Rokushiki techniques. My mastery of them only fills a gap in my arsenal, preventing me from being outmaneuvered in battle."
"The most important improvements are still in my lightning power and swordsmanship!"
Level 2: Book of Knowledge
Attributes: Intelligence +2, Perception +1
Talents:
Sword Mastery - Become one with the sword, significantly enhancing your understanding of swordsmanship!Thunder Mastery - Thunder God's blessing, freely manipulating the power of lightning!
Energy: 149/1000
Breaking through the 100 energy barrier and taking a major step forward—a full 149 energy points!
Rhodes' lightning power was now twice as strong as when he had visited the Monster Island!
At this stage, even without integrating it into his swordsmanship, his lightning power, when used independently, was a formidable technique possessing immense destructive potential.
At the same time, in terms of swordsmanship, after his physical strength finally reached a certain threshold, his sword energy finally possessed considerable power. If he faced the ferocious beasts of Monster Island again, he could cut them down with a single slash using only his sword energy, significantly increasing his destructive capabilities.
Before becoming a great swordsman, the most significant factor influencing sword energy power was the swordsman's own physical strength.
Physical strength was the foundation of everything—this statement was no mere rhetoric.
"Taking everything together, my current combat power should give me over a 90% chance of defeating captains like Nia."
"As for Shanuo from Squad One, I've heard she is also a swordsman, but having never seen her in action, it's difficult to judge..."
After a moment's consideration, Rhodes felt confident that as long as Shanuo hadn't mastered dual-type Haki, he would be confident enough to defeat her!
It could be said that after more than two months of intense training, Rhodes had finally gained the initial strength to establish himself in this world. He could even easily defeat the elite reserves and officer candidates of a major organization like the Revolutionary Army.
If he mastered dual-type Haki, Rhodes' strength would skyrocket exponentially.
This progression speed seemed terrifying.
In reality, in the pirate world, ascending from ordinary to moderate power wasn't particularly difficult. With a bit of luck, even a single Devil Fruit was sufficient.
A rare Logia-type fruit could even grant someone the power to traverse the vast seas, at least throughout the first half of the Grand Line.
However, after reaching a certain level, further advancement became extremely difficult.
For example, Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the commanders of the Four Emperors' crews could all battle against Navy Admirals without immediately losing. But truly standing on equal footing with them, or even surpassing them, was incredibly difficult—something that might be impossible to achieve in a lifetime.
But Rhodes was different.
The Book of Knowledge granted him endless possibilities, allowing him to improve almost without limitation.
There was no bottleneck!
The highest floor of the coastal base.
Gildeo had been standing by the window for quite some time.
"In just one month, he's learned Soru and Geppo, and can control them with proficiency."
"With such physical talent, even Sabo is probably far behind."
After a moment's reflection, he shook his head, his eyes gleaming with wisdom as he muttered, "No, it's not just physical talent."
"Is it his learning speed? Quickly noticing mistakes and easily correcting them—such keen analytical ability..."
"And that lightning power, or rather, that thunder-infused sword technique, can actually be applied like this?"
This was the most astonishing discovery. He had never expected that sword techniques could be developed in this manner, to become a versatile combat ability.
With his experienced eye, he could naturally see that Rhodes could use lightning to rapidly recover his physical strength, thereby accelerating his training progress significantly.
"A true genius defies common understanding."
Gildeo shook his head, returned to his desk, and continued organizing intelligence reports.
"Sir!" a voice called from outside the door.
"Enter."
Gildeo nodded slightly as he saw the Revolutionary Army soldier hurrying in.
"A pirate crew has landed on the eastern coast, numbering 127 members."
"Judging from their pirate flag, it's the Silver Sword Pirates, quite notorious in the nearby waters."
"However, Captain Silver Sword isn't present. The leader is the Silver Sword Pirates' First Division Commander, 'Black Fist' Slott, with a bounty of 83 million berries. There are seven or eight other division leaders with them."
The Revolutionary Army soldier reported quickly.
"..."
Hearing this, Gildeo pondered for a moment. Just as he was about to respond, Hack's voice suddenly came from outside the door:
"Are pirates finally showing up?"
As soon as he spoke, Gildeo shook his head helplessly, knowing that this guy was planning to take the trainees out to fight pirates.
"I'll leave this matter to you."
"Leave it to me—those kids have been getting restless lately anyway."
The fish-man Hack laughed and turned to walk out.
Judging from his casual confidence, this was obviously not the first time he'd done this.
(End of Chapter)
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