Transmigrating into One Piece: The Peerless King

"It's not just knowing you. I grew up listening to your stories, Lord Bogart, since I was a very young child. Every child in our little village knew you, Lord Bogart, who followed the naval hero Garp and punished evil."

"Your story is our legend. We all admire you greatly, and we all hope that one day we can roam the world with our swords like you, the swordsman, and defend the justice of the navy."

Zhao Hai seized on this point and fully utilized his ability to construct sentences and imagine 'greatness' out of thin air. Since he didn't have to pay taxes for speaking, Zhao Hai was completely at ease and boldly 'revealing his true feelings' at this moment.

"Oh."

Upon hearing Zhao Hai's words, Bogart's eyebrows twitched noticeably, but his expression remained calm and composed.

However, from his noticeably weaker tone, it was clear that Bogart still liked Zhao Hai, the kid who had 'admired' him since childhood.

If Zhao Hai knew what Bogart was thinking at this moment, he would definitely point a disdainful finger at Bogart and say in his heart, "Worship? Worship my foot! In our world, we are taught from childhood to avoid personality cults!"

Suddenly, Bogart changed the subject, his expression turning serious as he asked, "Do you really want to learn swordsmanship?"

Seeing Bogart's serious expression, clearly indicating that he was going to teach him, Zhao Hai was both annoyed and surprised. He had only said it casually, but he hadn't expected to gain the 'favor' of a sword master.

Zhao Hai was on the verge of tears and felt utterly helpless. "How the hell did I get guidance from a master so easily? How are those who beg for a master but can't find one supposed to live?!"

"Brother Hai, tell me you want to!"

Seeing Zhao Hai standing there silently for a long time, Koby became anxious.

Coby had seen Bogart's sword techniques before; they were incredibly powerful. He had even overheard Vice Admiral Garp mention that Bogart was arguably the 'Number One Swordsman of the Marine Headquarters.' Therefore, Coby was eagerly anticipating Zhao Hai's training in swordsmanship under Bogart's tutelage.

Although Koby sees Zhao Hai as a rival, he is not afraid of his rival's strength, because only when the rival is stronger can he improve faster.

At this moment, Gary was extremely agitated. "Damn, this sea is defying the heavens! Just taking a stroll around and kendo masters are actively 'seeking attention' for me, why not me?"

"Let go of that girl—uh—no, that boy, let me handle this!"

As a native of Marineford, Gary couldn't recall Bogart's name, but he had heard of the prowess of the swordsman beside the naval hero Garp.

So Gary was completely absorbed in his own imagination and didn't notice what Coby had just said. He was staring intently in the direction where Zhao Hai was.

Chapter Forty: The Unlucky Grant

What can Zhao Hai do at this point?

reject?

Don't be ridiculous. If you really refused, how would you explain that long speech about your boundless admiration for Bogart?

Refusing would be like slapping yourself in the face, directly proving that you are a person who talks nonsense.

Although that is indeed the case, Zhao Hai would never admit it.

Zhao Hai stared intently at Bogart, his eyes blazing with intense passion. Don't misunderstand, this wasn't the flame of desire, but rather the fire of deep remorse and self-reproach.

"Damn it! Why the hell am I going to waste my breath talking to this clueless, emotionless Bogart?!"

Finally, as if he had just completed a 25,000-mile Long March, Zhao Hai uttered a single word with immense difficulty: "Yes!"

But then Zhao Hai had a sudden flash of inspiration and thought of a crucial question: would this swordsman be able to solve his housing problem? Otherwise, he really couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't get lost if he walked all the way from his dormitory to here by himself.

During the day, Zhao Hai could humbly ask strangers or fellow students for directions, but if he trained at night and didn't know the way, wouldn't he be doomed to sleep on the streets?

In order to completely avoid such problems, Zhao Hai finally decided to take out an insurance policy for himself and not rely solely on Bogart to solve his housing problem.

So after thinking it over and over, Zhao Hai immediately changed his expression, looking at Bogart with burning eyes and a hint of expectation, and said, "But swordsman, I hope you can also teach my good brother Gary. He has always admired you very much."

Upon hearing Zhao Hai's request to Bogart, Gary, who was standing nearby, was extremely excited. He immediately knelt down before Bogart and said loudly, "Please, swordsman, teach me swordsmanship."

Watching Gary's fluid movements, from bending over to landing on his knees, it was all done in one smooth motion, without any hesitation.

Gary also gave Zhao Hai a look of obvious gratitude.

Receiving Gary's deeply grateful gaze, Zhao Hai felt guilty. After all, his original intention was not for Gary to be able to cultivate, but only to ensure his own housing problem.

However, Zhao Hai's acting skills are indeed beyond doubt. Although he felt guilty, he did not show it on his face at all. Instead, he returned Gary's gaze with an encouraging look.

His expression was so calm.

His expression was incredibly majestic.

Although I didn't intend to do it, the fact remains.

Therefore, Zhao Hai didn't have any guilty conscience this time. He just showed off his high-end and classy style to the fullest. Even Bogart next to him nodded at Zhao Hai with an appreciative look.

After sizing up Gary and Zhao Hai, Bogart said with a hearty laugh, "Hahaha... Alright! Your name is Gary, and your name is Caribbean Sea, right? The three of you will come here to practice swordsmanship together starting tomorrow. The location is right here."

"That's right! I am Gary, thank you, swordsman."

When Gary saw that Bogart had agreed to teach him swordsmanship, he excitedly thanked Bogart immediately.

As the saying goes, if you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. Zhao Hai also thanked Bogart with a 'grateful' expression.

After that, Bogart said a few words and left, leaving Zhao Hai and the others on the shore enjoying the sea breeze.

Facing the sea breeze, and with the unexpected addition of a 'master', Zhao Hai couldn't help but shiver.

Gary and Coby, however, felt no chill from the sea breeze; instead, they felt hot and their blood was boiling.

"By the way, Gary, do you know why Bogart knows my name?"

Zhao Hai was still somewhat puzzled as to why Bogart was able to call him by his name directly.

Zhao Hai was able to call out Bogart's name because he was familiar with the characters in the One Piece world. However, it was quite unusual that Bogart, a 'native' he had only met once, could call out his local name so readily.

"Lieutenant Admiral Garp told me on the ship about Haige beating up the bullies in town," Coby replied casually.

"Oh."

After hearing Koby's reminder, Zhao Hai finally understood the gist of it.

It turns out that it was old man Garp who said it. Besides, Bogart has always been by old man Garp's side. When Zhao Hai killed the bully in the East Sea town, Bogart might have been observing from that corner.

Moreover, Zhao Hai believed this was highly likely. Otherwise, even if Garp had mentioned him, it would be difficult for him to immediately name Zhao Hai without having met him in person.

"Come on, we guys rarely have any free time today, let's go to the hotel in town to celebrate, it's on me."

Finally, Zhao Hai stopped thinking about it and called his two underlings, Gary and Coby, to go to the town.

Zhao Hai has been finding the food at the academy rather bland these past few days. It was alright a few days ago, but the same few dishes every day have become unbearable.

……

By the time Zhao Hai and his group arrived in the town from the naval academy, the sun was high in the sky, and it was lunchtime.

I had planned to treat my underlings to a big meal, but the Navy Headquarters was different from other branches and sub-branches. It had more people and more money, and the hotel was basically packed with people.

Zhao Hai patted Gary on the shoulder, pointed to a hotel ahead, and said, "Gary, didn't you used to work as a waiter at this hotel? Go and try to smooth things over."

"I used to be just a lowly waiter, how could I possibly make an exception?"

Gary lowered his head, somewhat embarrassed, after hearing Zhao Hai's words.

"Damn it! Let's go! We're now elite students at the Naval Academy, and we even have the naval hero Garp protecting us. What are we afraid of!"

How could Zhao Hai possibly leave empty-handed? He immediately beckoned Gary and Coby to go inside, completely ignoring the doorman's attempts to stop them.

Zhao Hai walked into the restaurant, scanned the area, and spotted a young man wearing a blue hat eating alone in a corner.

"You're the one. Don't blame me, okay? The world is so dangerous. Who told you to dare to run around alone like that?"

Zhao Hai immediately identified his target.

With Gary and Coby by his side, Zhao Hai walked arrogantly toward the kid in the corner.

Finally, Zhao Hai slammed his hand on the table, mimicking a pose from a movie, and shouted, "It's you! Get up now, I've got my eye on this position. Get up and get out of here!"

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

In an instant, the surrounding diners, hearing Zhao Hai's arrogant and domineering words, all turned their attention to the corner where Zhao Hai and his group were, with expressions of watching a good show.

"what?"

The boy in the blue hat, upon hearing someone tell him to get lost, instinctively thought he had misheard.

However, after a few seconds, the boy in the blue hat realized he hadn't misheard.

He pointed at Zhao Hai and the others with an incredulous look on his face, as if to say, "Are you talking about me? I'm a super genius from the Marine Headquarters, you're not kidding me!"

The boy in the blue hat was none other than the red-haired rooster-headed Gurant, who had been made a big splash by Zhao Hai at the Buddha's Warring States speech.

He was already embarrassed by Zhao Hai's "mythical legend" a few days ago, so now he has to wear a hat to cover up the tuft of red hair that he used to be so proud of whenever he goes out.

Now that Zhao Hai had actually come to their doorstep to bully them, Gulant was trembling with rage.

He was a top-tier naval genius.

When do we always need to hide when we go out?

When did it become possible for someone to tell you to get out of the house just because you're eating a meal?

Zhao Hai saw Grante look up at him and immediately recognized him. However, he couldn't take back the show he had already put on.

So Zhao Hai decided to go all in and pretend he didn't know him. He yelled at Gulant with a fierce look on his face, "Kid, what are you pointing at? I'm talking to you! Get lost! Do you want me to come and drag you out myself?"

Upon hearing this, Gurant became so angry that his body began to sway. "Kid, I know you, Caribbean Sea, right?"

"Wow! Where did this kid come from? He's so domineering."

"Not bad! You have the potential to be a disciple of my Evil Ghost Gang."

"..."

The surrounding diners were all talking amongst themselves when they saw Zhao Hai's domineering words.

"Hehe... Not bad, you have potential. You've got a bit of the domineering spirit I had when I was young." An old man with a full head of white hair walked out and nodded "gratified" at Zhao Hai.

"Grandpa, don't talk big. Grandma already told me that you've spent your whole life on this island."

Suddenly, a cute little girl ran out and tugged at the old man's sleeve, pulling the embarrassed old man away.

Feeling the mockery from all around, Granter became enraged and roared at Zhao Hai, "Caribbean Hai, die!"

As he spoke, Gurant also made a move with his feet, stomping heavily downwards and using the recoil to deliver a powerful side kick towards Zhao Hai's knee joint.

Seeing Gurant's kick filled with resentment, Zhao Hai did not react immediately, but instead observed Gurant's trajectory.

After recovering from his injuries over the past few days, Zhao Hai discovered that through his understanding of the Fish Leap Transformation Technique and the practice of the White Tiger Body Defense Technique, he seemed to be able to detect and predict the movement trajectory of others, just like the Observation Haki in the One Piece world, which allows one to predict the opponent's moves.