One Piece: The sky is azure, I just time-traveled today.

Page 53

The entire underground base was thrown into chaos.

Elder Barton wiped his sweat and asked cautiously, "Young heroes, are you satisfied now?"

Ace looked around, still seemingly unsatisfied, and suddenly pointed to the surveillance screen on the wall: "Those people who ran out look like they're stealing something?"

On the screen, the newly freed people are looting a warehouse, stuffing valuables into their clothes.

Elder Barton understood immediately and turned on the communicator again: "Attention all departments! It's special welfare time! Take as much as you can from the warehouse! This is a parting gift from the organization!"

The entire base was in complete chaos. Cheers, shouts of looting, and the sound of shelves collapsing filled the air.

Sabo watched the chaotic scene on the monitor and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You old man, you're quite the smooth operator."

Elder Barton bowed humbly: "It's nothing, it's nothing. As long as the young heroes have fun, that's all that matters."

Kuina crossed her arms and commented casually, "This saves us the trouble of doing anything."

Robin stood quietly to the side, watching the farce unfold, feeling that there was more to the story.

The other party was so cooperative that it was impossible to find fault with them.

When Ace and the others finally left satisfied, the entire "Black Serpent" base was in complete disarray.

Elder Barton stood amidst the ruins, watching their departing figures, and let out a long sigh of relief—

Finally, those plague monsters are gone! Losing money is a way to avert disaster, a way to avert disaster!

Meanwhile, the group of five who had walked away were having a lively discussion about the upcoming barbecue feast.

Luffy confidently assured him, "Tomorrow, we'll go to the city again, and this time I'll definitely make Sabo pay!"

Sabo retorted, "I'd like to pay, but we just demolished their base, so we need to keep a low profile for a while..."

Ace waved his hand dismissively: "That kind of place, let's just tear it down!"

Chapter 57 Cultivating Domineering Aura

Once he confirmed that the five little devils had really gone far away, Elder Barton's fawning smile vanished instantly.

He straightened his collar, resuming his usual sinister expression.

"Someone come here!" he shouted at the empty control center.

Several trusted subordinates timidly emerged from their hiding place: "Elder..."

Elder Barton narrowed his eyes, his voice icy: "Bring back every single one of those 'goods' who escaped earlier."

The subordinates exchanged bewildered glances: "But Elder, didn't you just say..."

"That was just now!" Elder Barton slammed his hand on the control panel. "Arrest them immediately! Especially those ringleaders; I want them to know the price of toying with 'Black Serpent'!"

He added through gritted teeth, "As for those five little monsters... don't mess with them for now. If you see them later, keep your eyes open and don't try to take anything back!"

The men then realized what was happening and quickly obeyed the order.

Elder Barton stared at the mess on the monitor screen with a sinister look in his eyes.

"Damn it, the East Blue, the weakest of the four seas, actually has such a powerful figure in charge. Doesn't he have any interest in the One Piece, the great treasure of the Pirate King?!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of Mount Colbo.

Liu Jiu's figure silently returned to the outside of the bandit's hut.

Lu Jiu immediately came out of the house to greet them, her face filled with worry: "Mr. Liu Jiu, the children..."

"It's alright." Liu Jiu's tone was as calm as ever. "They just got carried away playing and lost track of time. They'll be back soon."

Rouge carefully observed his expression before letting out a sigh of relief: "That's good... I was quite distracted just now."

"Go and rest," Liu Jiu said, already sitting down in his usual spot in the courtyard, casually picking up a whetstone from the side. "I'll know when they get back."

Rouge nodded, then turned back to the front of the house and couldn't help but ask, "Should I prepare some food for them, in case they're hungry when they get back..."

"We don't need to spoil the kids. We can wait until tomorrow." Liu Jiu didn't even look up and began to slowly sharpen his knife.

The sound of the millstone grinding against the blade echoed rhythmically in the night, carrying a reassuring cadence.

Lu Jiu was finally relieved. Since Liu Jiu said it wasn't necessary, it meant that the children were full.

When Luffy's joyful shouts finally reached her ears in the distance, Rouge looked in the direction the sound came from and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just come back!"

The next morning, Guina found Liu Jiu doing his morning exercise.

"Uncle," she asked bluntly, "what is domineering?"

Liu Jiu continued his seemingly ordinary swordsmanship without pausing. After a while, he slowly came to a halt.

Why are you suddenly asking this?

"Yesterday, some old guy used a strange power," Kuina gestured, "that could disable Robin's abilities and even injure people from a distance."

Liu Jiu thought for a moment: "An inner strength."

"Can I learn it?" Kuina's eyes lit up.

Liu Jiu nodded, walked to the woodpile, and picked up a piece of firewood: "Watch closely."

With a casual flick of his wrist, the firewood landed lightly on Kuina's shoulder. Despite the slow movement, Kuina found herself unable to dodge it. To her even greater surprise, the instant the firewood made contact, a familiar force surged through her, causing her entire arm to go numb once more.

"Is this what domineering power is?" Kuina moved her numb arms, her eyes shining.

"That's just the beginning," Liu Jiu said, putting down the firewood. "So-called domineering aura can enhance both attack and defense, and also predict the enemy's next move."

Guina asked thoughtfully, "Then how do we train?"

Liu Jiu didn't agree immediately: "Are you sure you want to learn now? If you learn it, Ace and the others will be even less able to beat you."

Kuina froze on the spot, then flashed a sly smile: "Then we should learn even more!"

Ace and Sabo, who were washing up in the distance, suddenly sneezed and felt a chill run down their spines for no apparent reason.

As the days went by, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy gradually noticed the changes in Kuina.

She stopped sparring with them all the time and instead stayed by Liu Jiu's side all day. What puzzled them even more was that Guina started sparring with Liu Jiu using a real sword, and each time she was beaten until she was covered in bruises.

"Is Liu Jiu bullying Kuina?" Luffy mumbled between bites of meat.

Ace frowned. "I also feel something's wrong. Kuina's been covered in injuries lately."

Sabo finished his food and said, "How about... we go take a look?"

That afternoon, the three of them quietly crept to the backyard and saw Guina being knocked to the ground by Liu Jiu's wooden sword, her wrist red and swollen.

"Stop!" Ace was the first to rush out. "How could you do this to Kuina!"

Sabo and Luffy followed closely behind, the three of them assuming a fighting stance to protect Kuina behind them.

Liu Jiu merely glanced at them indifferently, casually swinging the wooden sword in his hand.

A suffocating pressure instantly enveloped the entire courtyard. Ace and his companions felt their bodies stiffen, even breathing became difficult. The feeling was exactly the same as when they faced Grandpa Garp!

Kuina got up from the ground and looked helplessly at her three friends who were frozen in place: "What are you doing here? I'm doing special training."

"Special training?" Sabo managed to say, "This is clearly just being beaten..."

"You don't understand." Kuina cracked her knuckles, then raised her sword again. "This is the fastest way to become stronger."

From then on, Ace and his two companions never dared to interfere rashly again. They finally understood that Kuina was simply asking for trouble.

Occasionally, when passing by the courtyard, one could always hear the sound of wooden swords clashing, mixed with the sounds of Kuina being knocked down and getting up again and again.

"What a masochist," Ace muttered to himself, pulling Luffy away quickly.

Sabo glanced back at the determined figure in the courtyard, lost in thought. He had a feeling... Kuina was stronger now?

That morning, Kuina pulled Robin to a corner of the yard.

"Bookworm, you should learn some Haki too," Kuina said enthusiastically. "Uncle said there are three types of Haki. Conqueror's Haki is innate, but Armament Haki and Observation Haki can be trained."

Robin looked up from between the pages of the book: "I have no interest in fighting and killing."

"I'm not telling you to fight." Kuina snatched her book. "Armament Haki enhances defense, and Observation Haki allows you to foresee danger. It's perfect for someone like you who always reads on the battlefield."

Robin raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly somewhat tempted.

"Look," Kuina continued, "if only you had learned Observation Haki sooner, you could have sensed that old man's attack beforehand when you were with the human traffickers."

Robin pondered for a moment: "How do I learn?"

"Easy!" Kuina's eyes lit up. "First, practice Armament Haki. Uncle said to concentrate the energy inside the body to the surface..."

As she spoke and demonstrated, a faint aura appeared on her arms.

Robin tried to mobilize the energy within his body, but he always felt that something was missing.

"Don't rush." ​​Guina patted her shoulder. "Uncle said it takes time to accumulate experience. Let's start with the basics..."

When Ace and his two companions passed by, they were stunned by what they saw.

"Even Robin has started training?" Sabo exclaimed in astonishment. "Looks like we can't fall behind."

Luffy scratched his head: "Training is so troublesome... but if it can make me stronger, I want to learn too!"

Ace stared intently at the faint aura emanating from Kuina's arm.

"Do you think this... could be what they call domineering?"

"What was the move that old human trafficker used to defeat us last time?"

"Haki?...Ace, Sabo, does Haki taste good? Does it taste like grilled meat?!"

Chapter 58 Ace Awakening

That afternoon, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy secretly found Rouge.

"Mom," Ace said, a rare serious expression on his face, "we want to learn how to be domineering."

Lu Jiu was preparing dinner when she heard this and stopped what she was doing: "Why did you suddenly want to learn this?"

Sabo chimed in, "Kuina and Robin are both training; we don't want to fall behind."

Luffy peeked out from the side, picked up a piece of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth: "I want to learn too! If I learn, I can defeat even more bad guys! And become the Pirate King!"