Ace's development of his Devil Fruit was indeed impressive. His Haki, on the other hand, was a bit underwhelming. After joining the Whitebeard Pirates, his training clearly went downhill. Even by the time of the Summit War, he had never truly reached his peak.
Tenryū Yuto calmly used him as a whetstone for his swordsmanship.
He did not want to end up as one of those so called powerhouses with great stats and zero real combat experience. That woman who only stacked raw numbers and never polished her technique was his biggest cautionary tale.
So even though the gap in strength between Ace and Yuto was obvious, their fight still dragged on for half the night.
When Yuto returned to the deep blue system space, he was holding a new ability card between his fingers.
Ability Card Conqueror's Haki (Young Ace)
"As expected of the Pirate King's son. Even what he drops is different from everyone else."
This was the first time Yuto had ever gotten a Conqueror's Haki ability card.
Of course, that was also because he had not challenged many Conqueror's users. Strictly speaking, there had only been Charlotte Linlin.
"System, use ability card."
Yuto impatiently crushed the card.
A fierce, overwhelming Conqueror's Haki erupted through the system space.
Dark red bolts of lightning crackled as if they would tear everything apart. Invisible pressure poured into the ground.
Yuto nodded in satisfaction.
With Ace's Conqueror's stacked on top of his own, his Haoshoku had practically doubled. It was on a completely different level from before.
But raw strength was one thing. Technique was another.
Even if Yuto felt his current Conqueror's Haki was not inferior to people like Shanks, he still had not personally awakened the more advanced applications of it.
Yuto was not anxious.
Judging from how things had gone with Observation Haki, as long as he kept using more ability cards in the future, he would eventually grasp techniques like Conqueror's coating, long range pressure strikes, and even advanced tricks that could interfere with Observation itself.
By the time he left the card space, it was already late at night.
He swept his senses over the ship.
Stella was fast asleep, hugging Perona in her arms. Robin sat by the window, staring out at the starry sky, clearly lost in thought.
Which was normal. What she had gone through today was a huge shock for a child her age.
Yuto did not disturb her.
He turned over and closed his eyes to rest.
Training in the card space could replace sleep, but Yuto did not feel that kind of urgency.
Come on. In his past life, he had to crunch nonstop because he had no choice. In this life, he had reincarnated as a Celestial Dragon. If he still had to grind like that, what was the point of crossing worlds?
…
This world was enormous, but for those with status, power, and connections, travel was not really a problem.
Because ships here were very fast.
Most vessels might look like simple sailing ships, some even being island sized behemoths, but at full speed they could rival high speed trains.
With everyone focused on making good time, it took just over ten days for the Sanctuary to return from Ohara to the Red Port beneath Mariejois.
Standing on the automatic moving walkway unique to Mariejois, Perona was the only one whose mood truly matched her age.
Stella's expression was calm. Robin remained cautious.
Perona, not yet three years old, forced her eyes as wide as she could, curiously taking in every detail of the Holy Land.
Yuto clamped a hand on her wandering little head and warned her,
"Behave yourself while you are in the Holy Land. Otherwise I will throw you down there to help push the walkway."
"Huh?"
"No way."
Perona and Robin both stared in disbelief. Even Stella, who almost always wore a gentle smile, showed a rare hint of surprise.
"There are people underneath this thing pushing it?"
Perona stared hard at the ground beneath her feet, as if trying to see right through the floor and glimpse what lay below.
Robin's focus was different.
"With the level of technology the World Government possesses, it seems unnecessary to rely on something like that."
Yuto shrugged.
"My foolish kin think this is the only way to show their noble status."
"In truth, it is just rejection of advanced civilization and extreme dependence on slavery."
His tone held open disdain.
Your position decides your perspective.
As a beneficiary of the system, he was not about to undermine his own interests just to free a bunch of slaves.
Even if he one day became king of the world, he would not waste effort on this kind of issue.
A ruler should not destroy the stability of the social structure, unless there was greater profit to be made from the change.
Perona made a noncommittal little sound, then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"So when we leave the Holy Land, we can play however we want?"
You really do know how to grab the important part.
Yuto was a bit helpless, but he did not deny it.
He actually liked Perona's personality. If everyone was always deferential and respectful around him, he would be bored out of his mind.
Yes. He was a little twisted like that.
When they returned to the manor, the first thing Yuto did was rip the bubble helmet off his head.
"Finally, I can take off this damned fish tank."
Stella accepted it with a smile.
"If Your Highness dislikes it so much, why do you still wear it?"
"Because I cannot breathe the same air as the people of the lower world."
"Of course, I also have no need to make myself stand out just to rebel over something so trivial."
Yuto pinched Stella's cheek, waved his hand tiredly, and said,
"Alright, go do whatever you like. After drifting at sea for so long, I need a proper rest."
He headed for the massive fish tank that could hold tens of thousands of tons of water.
Inside, there was only a single mermaid.
The Celestial Dragon hoof mark on her left arm made her identity painfully clear.
This was the mermaid Yuto had bought from the slave auction house.
"Ada."
Answering his call, Ada swam over at once and pressed her delicate face into Yuto's palm.
"Are you getting used to it here?"
His voice was soft and gentle.
Ada nodded, a little nervously.
"It is very spacious here. The maid sisters talk with me every day. I am doing very well."
"It is just… just that the maids are usually very busy, so sometimes I feel a little bored."
Her simple mermaid heart could not help but let a bit of her true thoughts slip out.
Ada realized she had misspoken and stuck out her tongue playfully.
She did not realize what she was doing, and that small lilac tongue brushed right across Yuto's palm.
Ada's face flushed crimson. She shot back under the water with a splash, her tail whipping up a sheet of spray.
Yuto was stunned for a moment by the unexpected move, then could not help but laugh and shake his head.
"If you are bored, I will find you a few more companions another day."
With that, he turned and headed back to his bedroom.
"Eh? Eh?"
Ada forgot her embarrassment and popped her head above the surface.
But Yuto was already gone.
She slapped her tail against the water with a mix of frustration and worry.
"This is bad. More of my people are going to get caught by this guy."
"But… I guess it is not that terrible. He is only keeping me like a pet fish. That does not really count as harming my people, right?"
After working hard to talk herself around, the mermaid girl successfully eased her guilt.
Feeling much lighter, she happily went back to swimming in circles.
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