Chapter 81 - Walking on Water

"Here, drink this."

Using the 'Fruit of Art' to visualize the ordinary potion as a marvelous 'Water of Life', Jora handed it to Rosinante, who had long stitches on his chest. Jora sighed helplessly.

"You guys, always love to compete."

Even back in the orphanage, even if she suppressed them, a 'king' would always emerge among the children, and this was essentially the nature of boys... no, men.

"Haha, it's just a friendly spar."

After taking a solid hit from Doflamingo's 'Five Colored String', Rosinante, who didn't have Armament Haki, ended up with almost fractured ribs. However, his mood had improved compared to before.

"I'm sorry, I've been too autocratic in the past."

Although Rosinante did things with the mindset that "this is what's good for the Donquixote Family," he often failed to communicate his intentions to others like Doflamingo.

Facing enemies, he'd always unconsciously take on the enemy's leader himself.

This is what led to the battle today.

"No, I'm also at fault."

Doflamingo also generously admitted his shortcomings,

"Because Rosinante stole the 'limelight' from me, I felt uncomfortable."

"Rosinante is my brother. In the future, the Donquixote Family will exist in the form of 'Dual Kings'. As long as I still have breath, no one can disagree!"

"Yes!"

As everyone answered in unison, the tone of the family was set.

"Yesterday, researchers from Germa 66 came to talk to me. They seemed to want to recruit us."

After completing the treatment, Rosinante looked around at everyone,

"And behind Germa 66 is the Vinsmoke Family."

?

?!

Torepol and the others were bewildered, but only Jora's expression changed.

"The rumored... that Vinsmoke Family?"

"Yes, precisely that Vinsmoke Family."

Afterwards, Rosinante no longer beat around the bush, directly enlightening the puzzled others:

"The so-called 'Vinsmoke Family' was a super royal family that unified the North Blue with force 300 years ago."

"Although under the intervention of the World Government, the North Blue has become what it is today, the Vinsmoke Family didn't disappear after losing their 'country'. They wandered the seas and exist as an 'assassin family'."

Fearing that everyone might think the other side had fallen into decline, Rosinante raised a finger to add on.

"The Vinsmoke Family is still a member of the World Government coalition, possessing the qualifications to attend the 'World Conference'. They can even influence the Marine's bounty system, and their soldiers act as mercenaries in the New World. Their strength is extremely formidable, don't underestimate them!"

"In other words, the strongest opponent we've encountered so far—the White Dragon Pirates—only held out for several minutes against the Vinsmoke Family."

This was considering the fact that Balvarf Tarni, known as the 'White Dragon', possessed both basic Observation Haki and the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, while Arnok had basic Armament Haki.

"By the way, the popular North Blue manga 'Warrior of the Sea, Sola' has its villain organization's prototype based on the Vinsmoke Family."

Ah, this...

It wasn't unusual for a country to join the World Government coalition, but having the qualification to attend the 'World Conference' was extraordinary.

This required a powerful national strength or unique industry. Even Jora's hometown, Acarnania, didn't have the qualifications to attend the 'World Conference'.

The bounty system was the Marine's core focus. Even the World Government's high-ranking officials needed qualifications to be involved, which showed its importance.

And being able to fight in the New World meant that even the foot soldiers had at least several million Berries' worth of bounty strength.

As for taking down the White Dragon Pirates in a few minutes... let's not even think about it.

Lastly, 'Warrior of the Sea, Sola', which was popular in the North Blue, was basically the 'enlightening reading' for all North Blue children. The strength of the evil organization in there—if it truly existed—deserved careful attention.

By the way, the Marine was truly the Marine. Even in the manga used for propaganda, the villain organization was simply called 'Germa', and the high-tech combat suits of the Vinsmoke Family were explicitly depicted. They were so straightforward.

"So, they're that powerful?"

"We actually have such a royal family lurking in the North Blue..."

Torepol and the others were astounded. If Rosinante hadn't said it, they would never have thought that the seemingly calm North Blue actually hid such a colossal entity.

"On the one hand, the Vinsmoke Family's power in the North Blue is extremely strong, and establishing a relationship with them is advantageous for us, who are currently still relatively weak."

"On the other hand, you should know about my and Doflamingo's past experiences. If we don't want to be pursued with bounties after seeking revenge, using their name is also a method."

And Rosinante was very clear that after the 'return from training,' the Vinsmoke Prince, Vinsmoke Judge, had ambitious plans and would soon incite a major event—the 'Slaying of the Four Nations of the North Blue'.

Maintaining a relationship with them would not only avoid bringing the Donquixote Family and Jora's hometown into the crossfire, but would also allow them to exploit the chaos to settle the grudges of the country that had pursued Rosinante and Doflamingo.

"So, I made the decision to accept their invitation. I'm sorry."

Having explained this, Rosinante once again apologized to everyone, while Doflamingo simply waved his hand casually.

"It's okay,"

"As long as you say so, we'll agree to it."

"The Vinsmoke Family? It'll be good to witness their strength—"

"Well, when we encounter things in the future, I'll discuss it with you all before making a decision."

As for why Rosinante would know these confidential pieces of information?

That was, of course, because when he was still a Celestial Dragon, he was 'diligent and studious'~~

As the saying goes, the identity of a Celestial Dragon was like a basket; you could stuff all kinds of unreasonable information into it.

————

"The Vinsmoke Prince's engagement ceremony will take place three months from now."

"We can use this time to train and consolidate our strength."

After discussing the main matters, Rosinante suddenly shifted the topic, jumping straight back to the subject of training, leaving the Torepol trio, who were still reminiscing about the grandeur of the Vinsmoke Family, rather frozen in their expressions.

More training?

"Of course,"

When it came to strengthening their power, Rosinante didn't yield an inch.

"There are too many ability users in our family. There might even be more in the future."

Rosinante's 'Silent Fruit', Doflamingo's 'String-String Fruit', Torepol's 'Slime-Slime Fruit', Jora's 'Art Fruit', Pick's 'Swim-Swim Fruit'...

Except for Diament and Virgo, the other five were Devil Fruit users!

As the Donquixote Family continued to grow, there would undoubtedly be even more Devil Fruit users. Even though a hundred million Berries could only buy the most rubbish Zoan-type Devil Fruits, both Rosinante and Doflamingo wouldn't be stingy in spending money on the family's executives.

"What are Devil Fruit users most afraid of?"

Facing Rosinante's question, the others exchanged glances and hesitated for a moment before the honest fellow, Pica, spoke up.

"Seawater?"

"Exactly,"

"Devil Fruit users are most afraid of seawater and Sea-Prism Stone."

Snapping his fingers, Rosinante stood up and led the puzzled group to the other side of the training area.

"This is a swimming pool, and it's filled with seawater."

Wasn't this obvious?

Everyone had eyes, so they could naturally see that it was a massive swimming pool. It was one of the places where 'Big Bucks' Thompson used to play. They just couldn't figure out why Rosinante had brought them here.

"I'll show you the results of my training—"

Before anyone could react, Rosinante dashed straight into the swimming pool!

?!

Once a Devil Fruit user fell into seawater, unless they were among the few ability users who could create objects to isolate seawater, they would sink directly to the bottom without even a chance to struggle!

"Don't panic,"

Doflamingo pushed up his sunglasses and calmly observed Rosinante's actions.

"Rosinante called us here for a reason."

Splash,

As Rosinante took a large step and landed in the swimming pool, the calm water suddenly exploded with a loud noise. Massive splashes of water erupted and showered everyone around.

The scene was as if a bomb had just detonated underwater.

Using the recoil force, Rosinante continued to stride forward, and the water only reached his ankles. With every step he took, the splashes of water rippled out from his feet as the center, creating an explosive pattern!

In this manner, Rosinante's footsteps resembled spreading artillery fire, walking on the water's surface, leaving the other onlookers in awe.

Keep in mind that the depth of this swimming pool was over two meters, and when combined with the 'taboo' seawater for Devil Fruit users, under normal circumstances, no one from the family would even come close to this place.

If they accidentally drowned, dying without any clear reason would be quite comical.

"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated—"

Running directly on the water's surface, doesn't that eliminate the threat of seawater?

It even allows for a solo sneak attack on the sea, seizing a ship single-handedly.

"But this is..."

Virgo furrowed his brow,

"The technique that Baldy Arlong, the Vice-Captain of the White Dragon Pirates, used?"

In the blink of an eye, Rosinante had already 'run' to the other side of the swimming pool. Amidst a series of water splashes, he swiftly turned around and raced back.

Apart from obvious water stains on his pants, he looked as relaxed as if he had just strolled around.

"What kind of secret technique is this?"

Facing the envious gazes of everyone, Rosinante, who had circled the water's surface, shook his head.

"This isn't some incredible secret technique,"

"People who are good in water can use their feet to tread, allowing them to straighten their bodies and expose the parts above their navels above the water's surface."

"If someone's physical fitness is strong, they can even raise their bodies from the water."

After Rosinante explained, the others also understood.

When in water, using the strength of their toes to tread allows them to lift their bodies.

This requires high strength and balance in their toes. In Rosinante's previous life, there were legends of martial arts masters treading water across vast rivers, where the water wouldn't even reach their knees. This should have been the limit in that world.

However, this world was different. The physical fitness of humans here was so exceptional that even a child could easily surpass various world records from Rosinante's past life, so:

"Practice diligently, and all of you will be able to speed across the sea's surface."

"While seawater is a taboo for Devil Fruit users, a small amount of physical contact won't cause any major harm."

Not to mention Green Bull and Oven, these ability users who could extend their hands into water.

Rosinante remembered quite clearly that the CP9 agents, all of them Zoan Devil Fruit users, had been able to move freely even while severely injured, after being defeated by Luffy. They had been forced to flee while stepping on the tracks laid in the sea by Sea-Train.

Back then, the entire CP9 in animal forms had been able to move despite their injuries, which showed that a small amount of seawater didn't have much effect on ability users.

"It's best for everyone to learn this technique,"

"Then you won't need to worry about someone sinking your ship and having everyone on board be fed to the fish, causing an embarrassing situation."

In reality, Rosinante's primary goal for training was to master the 'Moonwalk', a technique that would allow him to step on air. Unfortunately, although he understood the principle, no one had taught him or pointed the way. He could only take an alternative route and develop the skill of 'treading water'.

"Come on, let's begin!"

"About using the strength of your toes, maintaining balance..."

As Rosinante explained the technique of treading water, the family members immediately focused their attention.

Even Diament, Virgo, and Pica, who weren't ability users, listened attentively. The speed of racing across the water's surface was faster than swimming, and although they weren't afraid of seawater, this skill could be useful for launching a surprise attack on the sea.

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(End of this chapter)