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As the morning sun rose, the Endless Dream set sail from Twin Cape, with the crew waving their final goodbyes to Brook.
Despite their reluctance to part ways, they understood his decision.
Having witnessed some of the World Government's methods firsthand, Zyhark realized even more deeply the urgency of summoning new comrades and strengthening his crew's power.
In a world where "might makes right," having a strong enough fist was the only way to truly stand firm!
The conditions for the Wish Fountain were three Devil Fruits and a Red Poneglyph. Before heading to Fish-Man Island, where the Poneglyph might be found, Zyhark decided to first acquire the Devil Fruits, which were not as difficult to obtain.
So, he contacted the World Economic News Agency's president, Morgans, through a series of reports from nearby islands.
As a Warlord of the Sea, Zyhark's request was given considerable attention—no power in the world would dare to treat such a request lightly without reason.
The reason he sought out Morgans was simple: among the emperors of the underworld, Morgans was the one Zyhark knew best, and frankly, the only one he was familiar with.
The two did not meet in person but communicated and negotiated through a secure Den Den Mushi.
Upon hearing that Zyhark wanted to purchase three of the most ordinary and useless Devil Fruits, the sly Morgans expressed great sincerity, promising to have the fruits delivered by newspaper gulls within a week.
Yes, delivered free of charge!
According to Morgans, this was his way of thanking Zyhark, his temporary ally, for the various explosive news stories provided during this period, from which he had indeed reaped substantial profits.
Of course, the deeper meaning was that this shrewd old-timer had recognized the potential in Zyhark and his crew.
Being able to exchange three practically worthless Devil Fruits, collectively worth less than 500 million Berries, for an alliance with a Warlord of the Sea whose potential and strength were immeasurable was a deal where he had everything to gain and nothing to lose!
Zyhark naturally understood Morgans' thinking, and considering the global influence of the World Economic News Agency, he didn't refuse but instead accepted the "gift" directly.
The two smart men reached a tacit understanding without the need for words, solidifying their previously informal verbal agreement into a firm partnership.
"This is my private line. If you need to get in touch, just call directly."
"Well then, it's settled. A pleasure doing business with you."
Aboard his skyship, Morgans hung up the phone with a sly smile naturally etched on his face.
"You dare to use this goddess's title... beep beep beep."
"Hmm, did I just hear a woman cursing?" Morgans frowned, trying to recall where he had heard that vaguely familiar, harsh voice before.
What he could not have anticipated was that the voice was actually cursing him, blaming him for something he hadn't done!
After wrapping up the Devil Fruit transaction, Zyhark briefly explained the situation to his crew before transforming into lightning and disappearing from the deck of the Endless Dream.
His solo mission this time was to head to the Navy Headquarters at Marineford to collect the Navy's Six Styles training and technique manual.
While he knew several people at Marineford, bringing the entire crew and ship to the headquarters carried certain risks—especially considering the trouble-prone nature of the silly goddess, who seemed to stir up chaos wherever she went.
...
At Marineford, in the spacious admiral's reception room...
"Saturn from the Five Elders mentioned this yesterday. Thunder of Evil, Zyhark—this is a copy of the Navy's Six Styles training manual you wanted."
Fleet Admiral Kong sat at the head of the room, handing a booklet to Zyhark, which he had received from Kizaru, who stood behind him.
Aside from Kizaru, who preferred to relax in the headquarters, the room also held Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru. As for Garp, Zephyr, Aokiji, and Akainu, they were all away on missions.
"Thank you."
While thanking them, Zyhark carefully observed the man in front of him, the Navy's Fleet Admiral and future Supreme Commander of the World Government's forces.
Even though it was ten years before Luffy would set sail, this old man, whose body was brimming with muscles, hadn't changed much in appearance.
With his white hair styled into sharp points, merely sitting there, he exuded a powerful, oppressive aura.
Anyone who could hold the position of Fleet Admiral during the era of Roger and Whitebeard had undoubtedly formidable strength.
Unfortunately, in the original story, there were no descriptions of his abilities or much about his personality, and he appeared even less frequently than the Five Elders.
Zyhark's advantage of foreknowledge was limited in front of him, leaving only a vague understanding based on hearsay.
"I've heard a lot about you from Sengoku and Garp, and seeing you in person, you truly are an impressive young man," Kong spoke first, his deep eyes revealing his curiosity.
Zyhark sipped the tea prepared for him, then set the cup down gently.
"You flatter me. Compared to you old monsters from another era, I still have a long way to go."
Kong's gaze sharpened at Zyhark's slippery demeanor, and he didn't mince words. "I heard you caused quite a stir in Mary Geoise yesterday and even clashed with the leader of the God's Knights, Figarland Garling, in a battle of Conqueror's Haki?"
Although the Five Elders had tightly sealed the information, it was clear that as Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Kong was privy to many inside details.
Hearing this, Sengoku and Tsuru were taken aback.
Even Kizaru, who had been nonchalantly clipping his nails in the corner, paused and perked up his ears.
They had received only limited information, and now that Kong had brought it up, their curiosity was piqued.
For centuries, no one had dared to recklessly confront the Celestial Dragons and the God's Knights in Mary Geoise!
"That was unavoidable. That knight was trying to kill me, so I had no choice but to fight back."
Seeing how interested they were, Zyhark didn't hold back and described the situation in detail—though, of course, omitting the part about his dealings with the Five Elders.
"I see... it seems there are even more secrets to you than we know," Kong sighed deeply.
He had brought up the issue hoping to extract some valuable information for the Navy. But the cunning youngster in front of him deflected by focusing on the balance of their Conqueror's Haki clash.
"Since you're a Warlord of the Sea with some alignment of interests with us, we hope you'll try to avoid causing too much trouble. The New World is already troublesome enough as it is."
After a serious sigh, realizing he wouldn't get much more, Kong excused himself to handle other matters and left the reception room.
Though he was only two or three years away from stepping down and passing the position of Fleet Admiral to Sengoku, the actions of the Warlords and Emperors were growing increasingly intense at this time!
Staring at the paperwork piled high on his desk, Kong cursed silently in his heart.
Back in the reception room, the heavy atmosphere dissipated with Kong's departure.
With Sengoku and Kizaru being half-familiar faces and Tsuru not being a particularly strict elder, the tension lightened considerably.
If this weren't the Navy Headquarters, the usually lazy Kizaru might have taken the initiative to challenge Zyhark, seeking to settle the unfinished battle of light versus lightning from their last encounter!
Since the incident at Water 7, Kizaru had often discussed with Akainu the possibility of directly interacting with seawater without being affected.
The conclusion they reached was... It was impossible; the curse of the sea couldn't be overcome!
Given that premise, Kizaru's curiosity had only grown. He was eager to engage Zyhark in a second battle to uncover some clues from him!
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Sengoku and Kizaru, Zyhark, under the watchful and awed gazes of numerous Navy rookies, transformed into a bolt of lightning and left Marineford.
Returning to the Endless Dream, he gathered his crewmates and pulled out the Navy's Six Styles training manual from his chest.
"This is the Navy's Six Styles I mentioned earlier. Meowth, make two more copies later," Zyhark instructed.
Before departing, he had given a brief overview of the Navy's Six Styles as a highly practical set of combat techniques.
"Got it! Six Styles, huh? Sounds exciting!"
Meowth, without hesitation, renamed the Navy's Six Styles, asserting that whatever came into his hands was his.
He was the most eager among the crew to learn the Six Styles, aside from the ordinary human, King.
Getting stronger had always been his primary goal since arriving in this strange pirate world!
"Hey, Zyhark, Kanna wants to learn these awesome combat techniques too!"
Kanna, her head almost pressed against Meowth's face, blinked her cute dragon eyes, curiously staring at the small booklet in Meowth's hands.
It was clear that, for the young dragon who was only 14,000 years old, this was more about novelty and fun than the desire to become stronger.
Given this premise, there were two possibilities for Kanna training in the Six Styles.
First, she might practice for a couple of days, find it too boring, and give up, moving on to something more fun; Second, with her racial talent, she could master it within a few days...
In reality, for an ancient dragon who was already an all-around warrior, the boost provided by the Navy's Six Styles was quite limited.
"No need to rush. There's a copy for you too."
Zyhark reached out and patted Kanna's smooth, gradient-purple hair.
He didn't hold out much hope; he just wanted to let Kanna play around, figuring it was better than nothing.
"Mmmph mmmph... mumble mumble..."
Aqua, her cheeks puffed out like a toad from overeating, walked over, mumbling incoherently with her mouth full.
"What are you babbling about in some otherworldly language, Aqua?" Zyhark was utterly exasperated with the silly goddess.
In some ways, she was even more troublesome than Kanna...
Luckily, he was already used to it.
Aqua hastily chewed and swallowed a huge mouthful, nearly choking herself in the process.
It's a good thing this silly goddess was the Water Goddess.
"What I meant to say is, this doesn't make sense! Even with the original, there are only three copies—how are we supposed to split them among five people?"
Finally recovering from the risk of choking, Aqua voiced her question.
"I have more important things to train."
Zyhark raised his hand and counted off on his fingers, "Meowth, King, Kanna—that makes three copies, just right."
Rather than wasting time on the relatively less beneficial Six Styles, focusing on the three types of Haki—especially Conqueror's Haki—would yield greater results for him.
After all, aside from the Wish Fountain, it was the fastest way to strengthen himself!
"Now that you mention it, three copies do seem enough."
Aqua blurted out without thinking.
Something still felt off to her, but it took her a few moments to figure it out. When she did, she was furious.
"Wait! What about me?!"
"You?"
Zyhark looked up at her, noting the various food crumbs around her mouth that made her look quite ridiculous, and let out a mocking chuckle.
"Huh?! What's with that mocking laugh full of scorn and ridicule?" Aqua protested.
"Forget it, Aqua. If you're bored, go fishing more often. The idea of you mastering the Six Styles is ridiculous," Zyhark shrugged, feigning helplessness.
Getting the lazy, overconfident, and highly unpredictable goddess to learn the Navy's Six Styles—teasing her was the most effective way to motivate her.
Zyhark had long deliberated whether to have Aqua learn some combat techniques.
Her lack of mobility had already caused enough trouble along the way, and if she learned techniques like Soru and Geppo, wouldn't that turn every place they visited into chaos?!
However, considering that their next destination was the dangerous New World, Zyhark ultimately decided it was necessary, if only for Aqua's own safety.
If they clashed with the Emperors, he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her at all times.
Causing trouble in someone else's territory was better than being a walking disaster at home!
"What a joke! This boring stuff—I'll master it in seven days, no, three days, just you watch!" Aqua, predictably, took the bait and, with a huff, snatched the manual from Meowth's hands and stormed off to a corner to start studying.
"Isn't that a bit too eager?"
Meowth, once again raising his estimate of Aqua's capriciousness, watched her go.
And so, as the calm voyage continued, the crew immersed themselves in training: Meowth Six Styles, Kanna Six Styles, King Six Styles, and Goddess Six Styles.
Meanwhile, Zyhark reflected on his Conqueror's Haki clash with Garling in Mary Geoise, gradually honing his mastery of the three types of Haki.
During the short time they had before acquiring the Devil Fruits from Morgans and heading to Fish-Man Island, Zyhark decided to make a stop at Amazon Lily.
Following the Sabaody Archipelago incident, Rayleigh and Shakky had moved from Shakky's Rip-Off Bar to Amazon Lily to lay low after helping him.
Once they reached the New World, opportunities to meet would become less frequent, so Zyhark wanted to express his gratitude in person for their assistance.
Also, while he was there—just as an aside, really—he planned to ask a few questions about Haki.
Although fans often joked that Rayleigh was a "mediocre teacher," the truth was that as the Pirate King's first mate, Rayleigh was a top-tier expert in the three types of Haki!
(End of Chapter)