Plans

Few minutes later...

Ray made his back onto his ship and made headed inside his own cabin.

Sitting down next to his desk, he picked up the Den Den Mushi to contact Headquarters.

purupuru

purupuru

"How was your mission Ray?" asked Sengoku over the Den Den Mushi.

"Not bad, I delivered a very clear message to Doflamingo, Sengoku" replied Ray

"I see, well done Ray" said Sengoku in a pleased tone.

"No problem, ah can I ask a favour Sengoku?" 

"What is it?" 

"A vacation, it's been long overdue"

"Hah, fine... but don't make this a regular occurrence Ray"

"I won't old man, relax" 

"How long do you need?"

"Possibly a few months, I have something I want to do" 

"Alright, I'll grant your request, take care boy" said Sengoku before ending the call.

Gacha

Ray put the Den Den Mushi down as sat back on his chair and thought about his plans for the future.

Ever since he managed to grasp Advanced Conqueror's Haki, Ray's progress had plummeted. 

He was nearing the peak in terms of Haki mastery for all three types but that's where his problems lied currently.

His physical abilities were only slightly inferior to Garp's but it would take a few years for him to match him in that regard. It was a slow process.

Having already reached full mastery in Rokushiki, it only left him with his swordsmanship skills which could be improved. He didn't consider himself a 'pure' swordsman like Zoro or Mihawk, but his skills were certainly among the very best. 

'I wonder how a black blade is actually formed' thought Ray,

'Mihawk stated that it was by infusing Haki into your blade but how come neither Shanks or Roger had it?'

This left him with a few options, a devil fruit, Fish-Man Karate and finally a supreme grade blade. All three were difficult to achieve but Fish-Man Karate was the easiest. 

Devil fruits users were prominent in the New World but finding a powerful one that hadn't already been eaten was unlikely and he preferred not having a weakness. 

As for a supreme grade blade, even less likely. Only Roger, Whitebeard, Mihawk and Fujitora were confirmed to possess them, showcasing how rare they were/

Fish-Man Karate complemented his close combat capabilities and if he could implement it with his current technique's as well as his Haki, then his strength would leap to another level.

Ray estimated that he was currently stronger than an Admiral, although they had their awakenings, in front of Conqueror Haki infused attacks and his superior mastery of Haki, he felt he had an edge over them.

'Akainu was the only one I haven't seen in action, likely he's the strongest out of the original 3 though' thought Ray.

Moreover, Yonko's strength varied a bit from one another. Kaido and Big Mom had insane durability/strength, lethal devil fruits as well as mastery over all 3 advanced forms of Haki. 

Whitebeard was sick and old while Shanks was only recently hailed as a Yonko. However, Ray was certain Shanks would get a lot stronger in the next 4 years, possibly stronger than even Kaido by the time Luffy sets out on his journey.

Until he fought against all of them, he couldn't entirely be sure of his chances. 

Sighing, Ray concluded his thoughts and made a decision, 'I'll just head to Fish-Man Island and attempt to learn their famous martial art'

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Fish-Man Island is an underwater island which dwells 10,000 meters below sea level in a giant hole that goes under the Red Line at the bottom of a deep trench. The island resides in a giant double-layered bubble floating above the sea floor, seemingly filled with about half water and reef and half air.

Fish-Man Island is the home of the fish-men and merfolk. It serves as an underwater gateway to the New World for those who do not wish (or are not legally permitted) to cross over the Red Line above.

To actually get to Fish-Man Island, Ray had to coat his ship as well as acquire their log pose so he had to head towards the Marine Base in Sabaody Archipelago.

Coating is a process in which a ship is coated with special resin, enabling it to sail underwater and survive the crushing depths of the ocean, such as at the bottom of the Red Line.

The journey took a few days as Sabaody Archipelago was in Paradise and having his ship coated took about another week, the Marines had an expert who was a dedicated coating mechanic. It saved him a lot of hassle as he couldn't just head over to Rayleigh and ask him to do it.

As his ship sunk into the Ocean, Ray used his Observation Haki as he tried to spot any Sea monsters nearby, he wasn't worried about them but rather he wanted to tame one. Navigating underwater would then be much simpler.

After a few hours, Ray spotted a large monster heading for his ship. It was a kraken like creature and simply humongous. Unleashing a powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki, Ray attempted to tame the Sea King. 

ZzzzZt

It halted for a moment as Ray enforced his will and tried to get it to calm down. The Sea King struggled but ultimately Ray's will prevailed.

Commanding it to gently guide the ship according to the direction of his log pose.