Days always slipped away from people unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, it was now year 1497 in the One Piece calendar.
Year 1497 was the day Gol D. Roger became the Pirate King, and also the day the "cheater" Lucifer turned ten.
On this day, the same sun shone on the same beach, but Lucifer was different—he was ten years old!
Time really flew.
Looking back, Lucifer was already ten.
Two years was neither too long nor too short.
For Lucifer, these had indeed been two years of rapid growth, not only in strength but also in height.
He had grown to over 1.8 meters tall—the height of a normal adult but still short for the monsters of the sea.
Just past his tenth birthday, Lucifer came to the beach to train his body and practice swordsmanship, as usual.
Of course, unlike two years ago, now he had two new focuses: developing his fruit powers and unlocking his Zanpakuto abilities.
Speaking of which, Lucifer had to thank his master, the great Daniel, the Lord of the Universe.
Daniel was not only his master but also like a father to him.
Lucifer was indeed grateful to Daniel, who had put so much effort into him.
Two years ago, when Lucifer obtained the famous sword Star Sea, the first thing he did was activate his Zanpakuto.
Before that, lacking a proper weapon, he had only nurtured it silently within his soul.
Receiving the Star Sea finally allowed him to fully develop his Zanpakuto ability.
To his surprise, as soon as he activated it, his Zanpakuto had already reached the initial release stage.
Thinking of this, Lucifer imagined that all this had been prepared by his master Daniel, saving him a lot of development time.
With his already powerful soul, it wouldn't take him long to reach the "Remnant Flame Longsword" level.
Over the two years, Lucifer devoted much energy to developing his fruit powers and Zanpakuto.
Yet, with the Earth Fruit supplementing his foundation, he didn't neglect his basic cultivation.
These two years had been more effective than the previous seven or eight years combined.
Two years ago, he was at most at a level comparable to CP9's strongest warrior.
Now, he was like Rob Lucci himself—the difference was obvious.
This standard was not mere bragging; Lucifer truly reached that level of strength.
Though he hadn't mastered Marine Six Techniques, Haki was already developing.
A strong soul corresponded to Observation Haki, controlling energy corresponded to Armament Haki.
As for Conqueror's Haki, Lucifer neither needed it nor expected to awaken it.
After two years, Lucifer was nearly awakening Armament Haki.
Observation Haki had already awakened right after eating the Earth Fruit and starting Zanpakuto development.
His soul advantage was far greater than his previous physical constitution.
Early awakening of Observation Haki was no surprise.
However, without active training, Lucifer's Observation Haki was still at a beginner stage—able to sense movement nearby but not at intermediate or advanced levels.
The main reason was he planned to awaken Armament Haki first and then train both simultaneously.
Anyway, it wasn't his "set sail" time yet, so he took it slow.
Besides, in the Four Seas, having fruit powers was enough for Lucifer to walk boldly—assuming he didn't meet foes at Shanks' level.
Shanks wasn't yet a big deal.
In year 1499, Gol D. Roger became King, and Shanks reached the final level of the Grand Line.
He arrived at the final island, Raftel!
At that time, Shanks was only an apprentice crew member on Roger's ship.
Clown Buggy was the same.
Lucifer calculated the time; Roger was about to become King.
Though busy training, Lucifer never missed the news.
Every day, the newsbird delivered the latest papers.
Sometimes, Lucifer couldn't help but admire Morgan's efficiency.
---To be continued---
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T/N:
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