Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"it is good."

Sora glanced at Luffy, then adjusted his glasses and continued speaking to his crewmates.

"The next stop is the Sabaody Archipelago. Once we pass through the Sabaody Archipelago, it means we've already covered half the distance of the Grand Line."

In an instant, cheers erupted on the Merry.

Even though the Straw Hat Pirates' journey took much shorter than the original route, the battles and hardships they endured were far more arduous.

Therefore, at this moment, the Straw Hat crew, who were cheering, vaguely felt that their dream was no longer out of reach.

"It's too early to cheer..."

However, Sora didn't hesitate to pour cold water on his naive companions, saying, "The real adventure and battle for us haven't even begun yet."

Upon hearing this, Usopp walked over to Sora's side with his long nose upturned, put his arm around Sora's shoulder, and said proudly.

"Alright, Sora, don't always be so calm and serious. We should cheer when it's time to cheer. Besides, we've covered half of the Grand Line in such a short time."

Kong shook his head and said seriously.

“It’s different, Usopp. Compared to the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, the first half of the Grand Line is just paradise.”

What's the difference?

Usopp said dismissively, then patted the specially made mechanical slingshot at his waist and spoke.

"With the great sniper Usopp and your specially made super slingshot supporting you, just keep charging forward."

Usopp paused, patted Sora on the shoulder, and said, "And with the reliable Sora and the powerful Luminous, everything will be fine."

"No, it's different..."

Kong said solemnly, "Luffy, Zoro, you both remember me saying that Haki is a very common power in the Grand Line, right?"

Zoro, who had been listening quietly to the side, raised his eyes slightly, clearly recalling something.

"That's right, it seems you've noticed too, haven't you? In the first half of the Grand Line, aside from a few great pirates and high-ranking Marine officers, most ordinary pirates don't understand Haki at all, but..."

Sora spoke in a serious tone, “In the ‘New World’ seas, even the most ordinary marines possess the power of Haki, and you, Usopp…”

Sora turned to look at Usopp, whose expression was somewhat stiff, and said, "You still haven't mastered Haki, have you?"

In an instant, the Straw Hat crew members present all looked somewhat shocked.

Usopp stammered, "So, you're saying that even a random soldier in the 'New World' is as strong as Zoro?"

Hearing her brother fooling his friends to this extent, Ying couldn't help but giggle. Zoro narrowed his eyes at Usopp and said in a "kind" tone.

"I'll chop you up..."

"I'm...I'm sorry..." Usopp quickly apologized in a firm tone.

"In short, Zoro is definitely stronger, but there are many, many monsters in the 'New World' seas, and there are countless strong individuals with Conqueror's Haki," Kong said seriously.

"Conqueror's Haki? What's that?" Nami asked, puzzled.

"Huh? Haven't I explained it to you in detail yet?"

Kong asked a question with some surprise, but his companions all shook their heads in response.

"In short, this is an ability that only one in a million people can possess, and it is called the so-called 'King's Qualification'. In a sense, a strong person does not necessarily possess 'Conqueror's Haki', but those who possess 'Conqueror's Haki' are basically strong people. The 'Four Emperors' who once dominated the entire 'New World' sea all possessed 'Conqueror's Haki'."

Kong gave a brief explanation.

"sharp……"

Luffy, standing nearby, looked interested and quickly asked, "What exactly is Conqueror's Haki?"

After a moment's thought, Kong took his glasses off his face and slowly said, "Well, that's about it..."

The next moment, a terrifying pressure erupted from Kong's body, surging wildly in all directions.

In that instant, the sea surface, which had been rippling in the sea breeze, seemed to be suddenly smoothed out, and everything within the range of Sora's Conqueror's Haki became quiet.

The Straw Hat crew suddenly felt that the usually gentle and reliable Sora had become extremely terrifying, with a certain pressure pressing down on their hearts, as if he would crush them completely in an instant.

In the next instant, Sora withdrew his Conqueror's Haki, put his glasses back on, and gave a gentle and apologetic smile as he spoke.

"Sorry, it's been so long since I've used it, I seem a little rusty. I hope I didn't scare you?"

However, at this moment, his companions were clearly too exhausted to respond to Kong. They were all panting heavily, and most of them were covered in cold sweat.

A mischievous smile appeared on Kong's lips as he continued to explain apologetically.

"In short, this is what Conqueror's Haki is all about. In the early stages, it can only be used to intimidate those weaker than oneself, like I have done. But if you continue to develop it further, it can form a terrifying power similar to 'Conqueror's Haki Entanglement'."

"So that means..."

Zoro's expression turned serious, and he looked at Ying, asking, "Ying, when you fought Hawkeye, was the power you used Conqueror's Haki?"

Ying glanced at Zoro with her bright eyes and said with a smile, "That's right, so you still have a long way to go, Zoro!"

Zoro didn't speak, but unconsciously tightened his grip on the blade as he wiped it.

However, Usopp, after hearing Sora's description, was almost scared out of his wits. He had already imagined the Straw Hat Pirates being beaten up everywhere they went in the "New World" and even experiencing all sorts of unimaginable and indescribable consequences.

Immediately, Usopp, whose face had turned pale, rushed to Luffy's side and began to persuade him.

"Luffy, how about we turn back? Now that I think about it, we've been sailing a bit too hastily. How about we go back and travel around the first half of the Grand Line a couple more times? Oh right, I suddenly remembered that I forgot something important on the last island. Let's turn back and get it."

[Chapter 740. Sabaody Archipelago]

"do not want!"

Luffy answered almost without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Usopp became so nervous that he almost grabbed Luffy's shoulder and shook him violently, saying...

"Luffy, do you even understand how terrifying the New World is? People like Zoro are just small fry. Even someone as strong as Sparkle is everywhere. They'll die, they'll be wiped out..."

Before Usopp could finish speaking, Zoro's blade flashed, silencing Usopp and causing him to stop what he was doing.

“Usopp, the captain’s decision is absolute,” Zoro reminded him.

"I... I was just giving a suggestion, and it was for everyone's good," Usopp said somewhat reluctantly.

However, Luffy maintained a carefree expression, smiling brightly as he said, "How can we back down from an adventure? Don't worry, Usopp, I'll protect you."

Chopper, who was also somewhat timid, was a little frightened and couldn't help but whisper a suggestion.

"Luffy, how about we rest and recuperate on the next island for a while, and then head to the 'New World' after we've made full preparations?"

"That is impossible."

Just then, Sora spoke up. "The next island is the Sabaody Archipelago, which is probably one of the most dangerous islands in the entire sea for pirates."

"what?"

Usopp, Nami, and Chopper, the "cowardly trio," turned deathly pale.

"However, the danger doesn't lie in the Sabaody Archipelago itself, but rather in its proximity to Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, in addition to being located directly beneath the Holy Land Mary Geoise. Therefore... in the event of an accident, it wouldn't be surprising if even a Marine Admiral were to appear..."

At this point, Kong spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Therefore, to ensure safety, we must pass through the Sabaody Archipelago as quickly as possible. However, since the next stop after Sabaody Archipelago is Fishman Island, which is located deep in the sea, we must stay there for a few days."

"Fishman Island?!"

Sanji, who had been smoking on the sidelines like an elegant and sophisticated gentleman, could no longer hold back. He appeared in front of Sora in a flash and asked with shining eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey, Sora, you just said Fishman Island, right? Fishman Island with countless beautiful mermaids."

"boom!"

The next moment, Sanji was kicked hard on the head and flew to the side in a spinning motion.

As Reiju gracefully withdrew her foot, she said apologetically, "Sora, you can continue. Don't mind Sanji."

Sanji, now terrified by the footprint on his face, spoke passionately.

"Hey, Reiju, don't stop me! That's Fishman Island, the Fishman Island of my dreams!! What reason do you have to stop a man from pursuing his dream?"

Seeing this, Usopp couldn't help but retort, "Sanji, isn't your dream to find 'All Blue'?"

Who says a person can only have one dream?

Shan Zhili answered matter-of-factly, as if he had been given a shot of adrenaline.

"boom!"

Reiju didn't hesitate to kick Sanji again, sending him flying into the sea. She then announced, "Sanji, I declare your filthy dream over. Go calm down in the sea..."

"The flame of human dreams cannot be extinguished by the sea..."

Hearing Sanji's voice still echoing in the sea, Sora coughed a few times and then continued.

"In short, that's the gist of it, so once we arrive in the Sabaody Archipelago, we must keep a low profile as much as possible, and there's one thing we especially need to know..."

He raised a finger in the air as a warning.

"The Celestial Dragons, the 'world nobles,' often appear in the Sabaody Archipelago. Never clash with them, or you may very well attract the attention of a Marine Admiral."

After a pause, Kong added.

"Perhaps you don't understand what a Marine Admiral represents. They are the 'strongest fighting force in the Navy,' terrifying figures whose strength surpasses even that of 'Hawkeye' Mihawk and Enel, whom you have ever seen. For us, they could be a catastrophic disaster."

Then, Sora took out a pre-prepared map of the Sabaody Archipelago and explained the remaining matters and their respective procurement tasks to his companions in detail.

……

Two days later, the Merry successfully docked at the Sabaody Archipelago. The strongest member, Ying, stayed behind to guard the Merry, while Kong went to find a coating craftsman to coat the Merry as soon as possible. The rest of the crew formed teams to purchase necessary supplies and undertake simple adventures on the Sabaody Archipelago.

After all... for the Straw Hat crew, the meaning and fun of sailing lies more in constantly experiencing and exploring the unknown of different islands.

Therefore, even if Sora knew the dangers of the Sabaody Archipelago, there was absolutely no reason for him to stop Luffy and his crew. Otherwise, if they stopped adventuring and exploring because of the dangers, then there would be no point in sailing.

Therefore, after giving Luffy and the others a lot of instructions, Sora quickly headed towards a secret base of an organization in the Sabaody Archipelago.

After successfully locating the organization's base in the Sabaody Archipelago and going through a series of identity verification procedures, Sora finally met with the person in charge of this Sabaody Archipelago base.

"Comrade, hello. I need the best coating craftsmen to coat a medium-sized ship. I will pay for everything." Kong stated his request directly.

"No problem, comrade."

Although the person in charge of this outpost did not know Kong's true identity, he agreed without hesitation and then arranged for Kong to work with the best coating craftsmen from the Sabaody Archipelago.

Just as Kong was hastily preparing to return to the Merry with the coating craftsmen, the person in charge suddenly spoke up.