Chapter 162: The Six Styles (Part 2)
Boom.
As the earth alchemy activated, the entire Arlong Park immediately began to collapse. The loud rumbling and the violent shaking of the ground alerted the people of Cocoyasi Village, which was not far from Arlong Park.
The villagers, who were working hard around the village, all looked in the direction of Arlong Park upon hearing the noise. Kensuke, the village sheriff, looked toward Arlong Park, hesitated for a moment, and then picked up a pitchfork and started walking towards it.
"Kensuke-san." A blue-haired girl, looking about sixteen or seventeen, chased after him with a stick in her hand, followed by several adults armed with various weapons.
"What are you all doing here? Go back."
"For Nami, I have to go and see," the blue-haired girl said determinedly.
"Nojiko is right. No matter what happens, we should face it together. At worst, it's just death. We've already burdened Nami for too long," one of the adults said.
The villagers of Cocoyasi Village were quite remarkable, with none harboring thoughts of betrayal. If it weren't for Nami's plea for them to endure, they might have already fought the Arlong Pirates, even if they couldn't win.
"Alright, let's go together then." Kensuke nodded heavily after considering for a moment. As they moved toward Arlong Park, more villagers joined them.
Daniel Davis' sudden action triggered the long-suppressed anger of the villagers of Cocoyasi Village.
"Arlong Park has disappeared." As they approached the site of the Arlong Pirates, they found that the once grand Arlong Park was now nowhere to be seen.
Seeing this, the group quickened their pace, rushing forward. At the remains of Arlong Park's entrance, they saw a figure standing there—Daniel Davis, with several large boxes of treasure beside him and a pile of food on the other side.
"Who are you?" Kensuke asked, stepping forward and blocking the others.
"Just a passerby," Daniel replied calmly.
"What happened to the Arlong Pirates?" Kensuke asked, looking at the ruins of Arlong Park.
"You mean the pirates here? I killed them all," Daniel said. The reason he stayed after defeating the Arlong Pirates was to win Nami's favor, hoping to recruit her in the future. As for Luffy's future crew, that wasn't his concern anymore. Before arriving in this world, Daniel had liked Luffy and Ace, but after coming here, his feelings toward them had diminished significantly.
Since coming to the East Blue, he hadn't even considered visiting Windmill Village to see the current Luffy, let alone joining the future Straw Hat Pirates. Strictly speaking, Luffy was quite reckless, constantly challenging powerful opponents despite his lack of strength, nearly getting his crew killed multiple times.
Crocodile, Enel, CP9, and Moria—each battle could have led to the Straw Hats' annihilation if not for sheer luck or timely interventions. It would be better for Nami to be with him, where he could ensure her safety, rather than enduring hardships with Luffy.
"No Nami, Luffy's journey might be much tougher." In the world of pirates, navigators are crucial despite their usually lower combat abilities. Without a skilled navigator, sailing the Grand Line is perilous.
The Grand Line's greatest danger isn't the Sea Kings but its ever-changing natural environments. Nami's navigational talent is top-notch in this world, a talent even the Golden Lion coveted. If she had been with the Flying Pirates, the battle against Roger might have had a different outcome.
"But I'm overthinking it. There are other navigators besides Nami. Even if they aren't as talented, they'll do." This thought reassured Daniel, making him stay to win Nami's favor. Otherwise, he could have left quietly.
As for the potential backlash from defeating the Arlong Pirates, such as offending Jinbei or Rayleigh, Daniel wasn't worried. First, they might not trouble him over this, and second, he could hide with the Revolutionary Army if needed. In time, he wouldn't need to fear them.
"The Arlong Pirates are all dead!" The villagers of Cocoyasi Village, after a moment of stunned silence, began to cheer, throwing their weapons aside and shouting joyfully.
Nojiko, tears streaming down her face, had been holding up a facade of strength for Nami's sake. Now, the burden was lifted, and she could finally show her emotions.
Daniel was warmly invited to the village. Taking the opportunity, he gave them the treasure and food, letting them handle it. Initially, the villagers refused, but after Daniel assured them it wasn't just for their village, they accepted. Cocoyasi Village, despite its hardships, wasn't the worst off, thanks to Nami's efforts. However, other villages suffered more under Arlong's rule.
"These resources should be distributed to those in greater need," Daniel thought, leaving the distribution to the villagers. He wasn't a savior; he could only help a limited number of people.
"Nami will be so happy when she returns. She won't have to suffer anymore," the villagers said, elated. They held a feast with the food Daniel provided.
To gather the 100 million Berries Arlong demanded, Nami had been tirelessly stealing from pirates, earning the nickname "Cat Burglar." But for Nami, reaching 100 million Berries was a monumental task, a mere dream.
Her love for money stemmed from these hardships, and she took charge of the Straw Hat Pirates' finances. Yet, she could also be selfless, as shown on Sabaody Archipelago when she was willing to give up all their money to save a mermaid.
"Seems like I won't see Nami this time." Nami's whereabouts were unknown, even to Nojiko. Daniel couldn't wait indefinitely, so after a day in Cocoyasi Village, he left.
Boom.
Near the Calm Belt, on an uninhabited island about a kilometer in diameter, Daniel shattered a boulder over two meters in diameter with a kick. After leaving Cocoyasi Village, he found this island to train, focusing on the Six Styles techniques, especially Shave and Tempest Kick.
In the Six Styles, Shave, Moonwalk, and Tempest Kick are primarily leg techniques. Daniel planned to master these first before moving on to Iron Body, Paper Art, and Finger Pistol.
To Daniel, Moonwalk was the best technique, especially in this ocean-centric world. Initially, he chose a larger island within the Calm Belt for training, but the creatures there were too powerful. With his current strength, he couldn't defeat them using just physical techniques. If not for his ability to Apparate, he might have been in serious trouble.
Although he could clear the island using the Ope-Ope Fruit and dimensional magic, it wouldn't serve his purpose of training physical techniques. So, he found this smaller island near the Calm Belt to train, occasionally venturing to the larger island to fight its creatures.
In a way, his training mirrored Luffy's original training. The main difference was that he had no mentor like Rayleigh or a strong guide like Zoro did.
"Luffy's body is remarkable. He could replicate Shave using Gear Second after just seeing it, surpassing most of CP9 in speed."
"Shave." Daniel shouted, his figure disappearing and reappearing twenty meters away. He repeated this six times before stopping, panting heavily.
"With my current physical condition, I can only use Shave six times consecutively. I'm far from being able to use it infinitely."
Clap, clap, clap.
As Daniel pondered this, he heard applause. Turning, he saw Dragon clapping, accompanied by a giant about six or seven meters tall, holding a book in his right hand—Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Bringing a Warlord along, Dragon is really confident," Daniel thought, walking towards Dragon.
"Are you ready?" Dragon's presence meant everything was prepared on his end.
"Yes, I'm ready anytime," Daniel replied.
"Let's go then. Kuma, if you please," Dragon said, looking at Kuma, who nodded and raised his left hand. In an instant, they appeared on a different island.
"The Paw-Paw Fruit's ability is truly powerful," Daniel noted, recognizing Kuma's power. Thinking about Kuma's future, Daniel couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"This is an island in the Calm Belt. Dragon is cautious," Daniel observed, noticing a giant Sea King in the distance.
Nearby, there were several piles of raw materials—iron blocks, iron ore, various broken swords and guns, and gunpowder, all arranged in piles. Underneath the piles were pre-drawn transmutation circles.
For large-scale transmutations, having transmutation circles makes a significant difference. Even someone as powerful as the Dwarf in the Flask needed a national transmutation circle to perform large-scale alchemy.
Dragon had already explained the weapon transmutation process to Daniel over the phone, resulting in these pre-drawn circles. Revealing the transmutation circles wasn't an issue for Daniel; no one else in this world could activate them.
"Let's begin." Daniel clapped his hands and placed them on the ground. The raw materials glowed with a strange light, transforming into swords, spears, and other cold weapons.
Repeating the process, this time he created firearms, mainly the Navy's standard weapons. Daniel considered making the legendary AK-47 but decided to leave it for another time.
Besides firearms, he also transmuted numerous naval cannons. Cannons were formidable in this world, as the Buster Call relied on cannon fire.
The gunpowder was transmuted into a large supply of ammunition.
Kuma watched the transmutation with a look of
surprise. Devil Fruits had myriad powers, but this was the first time he had seen one like this.
Dragon and Kuma assumed Daniel's powers came from a Devil Fruit, which Daniel didn't correct. Any future abilities could be attributed to his "Alchemy Fruit," even teleportation.
Seeing the multitude of weapons, Dragon's normally calm demeanor showed a hint of excitement in his eyes.
"Thank you." Dragon nodded at Kuma, who then moved towards the weapons. Kuma's left hand created an invisible barrier, compressing the air around the weapons into a large protective bubble. A moment later, Kuma touched the bubble, sending the weapons flying away.
"Such a convenient ability," Daniel thought, watching Kuma repeat the process until all the weapons were sent away. Even with his Ope-Ope Fruit and dimensional magic, Daniel couldn't help but feel envious.
With all the weapons sent off, Kuma nodded to Dragon and then vanished.
"The next batch of materials will take some time. As per our agreement, I'll train you, but are you ready for the hardship?" Dragon asked, not leaving.
"Of course, no problem." Being trained by a Four Emperors-level character, especially one with a background in the Navy, was an opportunity Daniel couldn't pass up.
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