"You have plenty more things to thank me for."
Beltz didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed.
Although he was the one who had taken Rukia away, he had also revealed many secrets to her.
"You don't need to worry too much. In a while, I'll head to Hueco Mundo. I'll transform into my dragon form and tell the Soul Reapers that I didn't eat you, but that you managed to escape. That way, your Brother and Captain won't have to worry anymore."
"Can you take me back with you?" Rukia asked.
"You want to go back to the Seireitei?"
"No, I've never been to Hueco Mundo before; I'd like to go there and see it. Besides, if I leave traces of my Reiatsu in a place like that, won't it be more convincing?"
"Fair point." Beltz nodded. "By the way, how has your training been going recently?"
While Beltz was learning Haki, Rukia hadn't been idle either. She was also working hard on her cultivation. After all, she could only return once she achieved Bankai.
Rukia said, "Although the power of this world differs from the Reishi system, there are some commonalities. I've basically grasped the basics."
Rukia was also learning Haki, and she had been sparring frequently with the pirates on the ship.
"No rush; just take it slow."
Beltz was relatively at ease regarding Rukia. Her talent wasn't top-tier, but it was at least upper-middle—or rather, a high-grade talent.
She was unlike him, someone who would likely remain a foot soldier for life if nothing unexpected happened.
In One Piece, her talent would translate over proportionally.
The people with the highest talent in One Piece were naturally those in the protagonist's crew. Those people were in their twenties, and every single one was either a Yonko, a Yonko Commander, or an All-Star.
Look at the others—Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom were still "young Yonko" in their thirties. Compared to the protagonist's crew, they could only be described as very late bloomers.
Of course, the protagonist's crew definitely had "cheats"—there's no denying that.
If you exclude them, then the Yonko were the group with the highest level of talent in One Piece. Rukia couldn't match them, but she should be roughly on par with their top officers.
In other words, she would likely reach her peak in her thirties or forties. If Rukia trained in One Piece for ten or twenty years, she would be able to fully realize her talent. As for simply achieving Bankai, it wouldn't even take that long—perhaps ten years at most.
And that was the most generous timeframe Beltz could give, as it only accounted for training.
Battle is the best path to improvement.
And a battle was coming up next.
They were nearly at Hachinosu.
After the Rocks Pirates were wiped out, Ochoku had occupied Hachinosu and turned it into a Pirate Paradise. If Golden Lion wanted to take down Ochoku, his subordinates certainly wouldn't agree, and the two sides would inevitably clash.
"So, you want me to participate too?" Rukia asked.
"If you don't want to, you can stay in the cabin and protect Vegapunk."
"No, I'll go out." Rukia shook her head.
She didn't want to stay the way she was forever. After learning about Aizen's plot, she felt a sense of urgency. She had to become strong; she had to expose Aizen's conspiracy before he caused a massive crisis!
"Good."
Beltz expressed his approval. "But don't push yourself too hard. If you're outmatched, retreat to the ship immediately. Since you can fly, you're already ahead of most of them."
"Alright."
As Beltz was speaking, the ship suddenly came to a halt.
Beltz's heart stirred, and he said, "It seems we've arrived."
Beltz led Rukia out of the room and found Shiki's subordinates rubbing their hands together, already fully prepared for battle.
"Jihahahaha!!"
Shiki laughed loudly. "Lads, today we're cleaning house! We're taking down the traitor among pirates!"
"Ohhh!!!"
The people of One Piece were easily stirred up; they cheered excitedly. After all, taking down other pirates also meant plundering their wealth. They had long heard that Hachinosu held immense treasure—charging in now was the perfect time to exercise their pirate skills!
"Beltz."
Shiki looked at Beltz and said, "I'm leaving Ochoku to you!"
"?"
Beltz was stunned and pointed at himself. "Me?"
"What?" Seeing Beltz's reaction, Shiki asked, "Are you afraid?"
Beltz shook his head and said, "Shouldn't this be your job?"
"What does a guy like Ochoku even count for?" Shiki clearly looked down on Ochoku. He said, "This is the perfect chance to test your training results. Since step-by-step training isn't working, then master Internal Destruction in battle!"
"You guy..." Beltz was somewhat speechless.
He hadn't mastered Internal Destruction, but wasn't Shiki being a bit too impatient? How many days had it even been? He truly wasn't a genius, but even for a genius, mastering Armament Haki at the Internal Destruction level in such a short time would be impossible.
Who do you think I am, Luffy?
If it were that easy to master, the world would be crawling with advanced Armament Haki users.
However, he didn't refuse. Fighting a great pirate like Ochoku was indeed a path to progress. Don't be fooled by Shiki's disdain; Ochoku's strength was quite significant.
The future Ochoku would require the combined efforts of Blackbeard (with two Devil Fruits) and Koby to be killed. Although Koby's combat power was negligible, the fact that Blackbeard said "it's all thanks to you" implies he couldn't easily take down Ochoku alone.
In reality... Blackbeard usually starts every fight looking like he's about to get his ass kicked.
Beltz felt that with his current strength, he should be able to handle Ochoku. One crucial point was that the current Ochoku was likely far from his peak. After all, in One Piece, people are still improving in their thirties and forties—even future Yonko like Big Mom hadn't reached their peak yet, so why would Ochoku be any different?
"Fine, I'll go kill Ochoku. What will you be doing?"
"Watching you fight," Shiki said righteously. "If you're not his match, I'll wait for him to finish you off before I step in to kill him."
"Then you likely won't get that chance."
Beltz stretched his body. The recovery ability of the Azure Dragon fruit was incredibly strong. He had rested for a while in Vegapunk's and Rukia's rooms, and he felt his stamina was fully restored.
Without waiting for Shiki, he jumped straight off the flying ship!
"Eh?!"
The other pirates were shocked. "Vice Captain Beltz... he jumped straight down?!"
"We're thousands of meters in the air!"
"Vice Captain Beltz!"
Roar!
Amidst their shocked cries, Beltz simply transformed into a giant dragon! The massive Azure Dragon vanished into the clouds and then lunged out, revealing its majestic draconic form in the sky!
"A dragon...!!"
Seeing that enormous dragon body, the men were shocked once again! This was the first time they had seen Beltz use his fruit ability!
Shiki also looked at the Azure Dragon and clicked his tongue. "That kid sure has good luck."
The Azure Dragon fruit was a top-tier Devil Fruit that the Celestial Dragons had meticulously prepared for themselves. Within the Rocks Pirates, many people had hoped to get their hands on it. But neither Linlin nor Kaido got it; instead, this kid ate it.
People say there are no useless Devil Fruits, only useless users—that's obviously nonsense. If two people of equal strength fight, and one has the Magma Fruit while the other has the Flame-Flame Fruit, the one with the Magma Fruit wins! If one eats the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon and the other eats the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dachshund, would anyone say the latter is stronger?
Whether it's a Devil Fruit or the development of one's own abilities, there are limits. That "no limit" talk is just a scam.
The power of the Azure Dragon fruit was undeniable. After transforming, Beltz flew straight down, and Hachinosu grew larger and larger in his vision!
Boom!
From a distance of several hundred meters, he breathed out a Blast Breath from his mouth! With a massive roar, a giant explosion occurred right on Hachinosu!
Since Hachinosu was mostly populated by wicked pirates, Beltz didn't hold back at all and used his maximum-level Blast Breath. The massive explosion destroyed numerous buildings, and a large number of pirates were caught in the blast, being swallowed by the dragon's breath in agony!
"Who's there?!"
Ochoku shouted in rage. "How dare you cause trouble in Hachinosu!"
Ochoku was an odd-looking man; the first thing people noticed was his neck. Double chins are common, but having layers wrapped around the neck like he was cosplaying Scarlet King was rare. However, Beltz already knew what Ochoku looked like, so he wasn't surprised.
"Azure Dragon?"
Ochoku saw Beltz in the sky after speaking. His face darkened, then turned excited as he said, "The guy wanted by the World Government! I heard you're the one who took all the treasure from God Valley!"
Ochoku was a man who valued money above all else. He had helped the World Government capture Shakky just for the money, and now, seeing Beltz, his eyes almost turned into berry symbols! This guy was a walking mountain of cash!
The Celestial Dragons had so much treasure at God Valley—roughly estimated at over 100 billion! If he killed this guy, all that money would be his!
"Everyone, get him! Kill him!"
Ochoku couldn't immediately gauge Beltz's true strength, so he sent his subordinates in first. But soon, a large number of pirates jumped down from the sky, holding swords or guns and wearing bloodthirsty expressions.
Seeing this scene, Ochoku's heart skipped a beat. He looked up, and his face changed drastically:
"Shiki, it's you!"
☰