Chapter 169: The Strongest

The journey by ship was rather dull, but Luo Ning couldn't simply rush in and save the people. After all, such a leapfrog approach wouldn't be appropriate. While invincible, he still respected the world's basic principles. Ultimately, this was the Revolutionary Army's own operation; he was there to assist them in dealing with it.

During the somewhat tedious ship trip, Luo Ning sought out Betty. He was particularly curious about the Encouragement Fruit's upper limit. After all, it seemed powerful enough for anyone in the East Blue to easily overthrow some figures. It was simply outrageous.

Therefore, Luo Ning requested for Betty to use her Encouragement Fruit ability on him. Dragon and the others were equally curious about the outcome, so they awaited his response.

"So, Mr. Luo Ning, did the Encouragement Fruit have any effect on you?" Dragon inquired curiously. They had also tried the fruit's ability, and it did provide a certain degree of enhancement. In their eyes, Betty was a valuable support asset.

"No, I didn't feel anything at all. It seems the Encouragement Fruit has some limitations," Luo Ning replied."

Devil Fruit abilities were undoubtedly useful to Luo Ning; there was no need to consider that. However, the Encouragement Fruit's effect was too weak to provide any buffs to him, rendering it practically ineffective.

In conclusion, this fruit had a lower limit for those it could affect and a higher limit for the degree of enhancement it could provide. It was suitable for bolstering troops in large-scale battles, but not for top-tier individual confrontations.

"It doesn't work for me, but it's still a very useful fruit for the general public."

Luo Ning believed the fruit held significant value. In a world without high-tier combatants, the Encouragement Fruit would be an unbelievably powerful ability. Even in this world, it could be beneficial for those with lower combat power.

However, the key to victory wasn't sheer numbers. If high-level opponents couldn't be neutralized, even a massive army would ultimately crumble.

"While I had some inkling, Mr. Luo Ning's strength truly is beyond comprehension," Betty admitted. She understood her fruit's capabilities best, and it frustrated her that it couldn't offer any advantage to Luo Ning.

He was indeed an existence on a completely different level, his strength exceeding their understanding by a vast margin.

"This might be a bit presumptuous, but Mr. Luo Ning, could you give us some idea of your strength?" Dragon couldn't help but ask. The question gnawed at his curiosity. In his view, Luo Ning's power surpassed Whitebeard's, making him essentially invincible.

The others posed no real threat.

"How strong am I? That's a difficult question to answer precisely. I don't even know myself."

Luo Ning shook his head. His strength continually increased with the accumulation of free points. It was limitless, in a way. He lacked a reference point to gauge his true power.

However, one thing was certain: he undoubtedly surpassed everyone in this world.

"It is scary, isn't it?" Dragon agreed, shaking his head. Luo Ning's words highlighted the difficulty – a lack of reference made it hard for him to gauge his own strength. Dragon understood this feeling well. When his own power had reached a certain level, without others around him with comparable strength, he too had initially struggled to assess his true potential.

This lack of a clear system for measuring strength was precisely why the sea was such a chaotic place. Moria challenging Kaido, Crocodile challenging Whitebeard – these reckless actions stemmed from a fundamental misunderstanding of their own abilities.

Zoro, on the other hand, was an exception. Even if he had known the vast gulf in power between himself and Mihawk from the very beginning, his determination to challenge Mihawk wouldn't have wavered. His drive to improve was unwavering.

Most others, however, wouldn't be so persistent. Once they grasped the true disparity, they'd likely back down to avoid a guaranteed defeat. This was why figures like Moria and Crocodile were so fortunate to survive their encounters. Moria facing Kaido – even though Kaido wasn't at his peak, he was still a formidable opponent. Whitebeard, in his later years, was simply out of Crocodile's league. Blind confidence, it seemed, could be a major liability.

The worst offenders were the recent generation of Supernova pirates. They all harbored a significant overestimation of their own abilities, evidenced by their plans to confront the Four Emperors. Kid, in particular, was quickly humbled by Kaido before even reaching his target.