"Get lost!"
Zane spoke the single command, his eyes flashing with a sharp glare at the wolf pack.
Boom!!!
A surge of crushing Malice swept out.
"Awooo..."
Under the overwhelming pressure of his Malice, the once-ferocious wolves instantly turned into whimpering pups, turning tail and fleeing in terror.
He continued his exploration.
The wild beasts on Newcastle Island were certainly formidable to ordinary people.
But for Zane, they clearly weren't enough to pose a threat.
After a rough exploration of the entire island, Zane returned to the coast, satisfied.
'It doesn't compare to Rusukaina, but this is still a decent training ground.'
Zane specifically sought out islands filled with beasts, not only to evade Doflamingo's reach but also for the sake of his training.
Not just him—Manlong and the rest of the crew needed to undergo so serious training as well.
...
"Is this the place?"
"G! That's right. Our n gathered intel that after Bellamy lost contact, his ship and subordinates resupplied here."
"Tch... what a total pain in the neck!"
"He's just a street thug; you can't rely on guys like that."
"..."
In the sky, three figures looked down upon the island below.
One of them had hair that functioned like a propeller, allowing him to fly by spinning it at high speeds.
A beautiful woman in a maid outfit sat on the propeller-man's back.
An old man dangled from the propeller-man's hands.
If Zane were here, he would have recognized these three instantly.
They were officers of the Donquixote Pirates: Lao G, Baby 5, and Buffalo.
Furthermore, the island they were overlooking was the very place where the Riding the Wind and Waves had resupplied before heading to Newcastle.
Doflamingo was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
At the sa ti, his status as a Celestial Dragon had helped him cultivate a massive industrial network.
This included a vast intelligence web.
Now that Lao G and the other two had appeared here, it was undoubtedly to find Zane.
When Doflamingo realized Bellamy had gone silent, he imdiately ordered the trio—who were on their way to the Sabaody Archipelago for a hand-off—to investigate.
Thanks to their powerful intelligence system, the three had tracked the trail all the way here.
"You think soone took Bellamy out? Otherwise, how would he dare to just drop off the map?" Buffalo, acting as the human aircraft, couldn't help but ask.
"Who cares about him? He's just a small-ti thug. We're here to find that Three-Eye," Baby 5 said nonchalantly.
"G! Exactly. That Bellamy brat isn't important at all. The key is the Three-Eye. The Young Master ordered us to find them and bring them back to Dressrosa no matter what," Lao G stated, making his stance clear.
Buffalo sighed. "Fine, let's go down and check things out."
As he spoke, he began descending toward the island below.
Given their strength and pirate nature, investigating was naturally a simple task.
However, despite their efforts, the locals couldn't provide any real leads.
Or rather, Zane had made it a point to lock down information during their resupply.
Beyond the fact that they had bought supplies, Zane hadn't leaked a single word about where they were headed next.
"If this doesn't work, let's go back to Mock Town and look there!"
"Whatever!"
With no leads, Buffalo's group had no choice but to leave, heading toward the Bellamy Pirates' ho base: Mock Town.
...
Zane was completely unaware of the movents in the outside world.
After setting up camp, he spent his days guiding Manlong's Armant Haki training and pushing the rest of the crew to fight wild beasts, all while focusing intensely on his own cultivation.
His training regin focused primarily on two areas: Nen aura and Haki.
Specifically, Nen techniques, the fusion of Nen and Haki, and the awakening of Observation Haki.
Regarding Nen techniques.
He was still following an unorthodox, self-taught path, with his knowledge primarily derived from what he rembered of the original story.
While 'unorthodox' might not sound impressive, it didn't necessarily an it was inferior.
What was truly bad was an unorthodox path that went in the wrong direction.
On the contrary, being self-taught didn't an one couldn't beco a master.
Take the Phantom Troupe, for example.
Those villains from teor City were essentially all self-taught.
Yet who could deny their overwhelming power?
Then there was the fusion of Nen and Haki.
Although there hadn't been any progress yet, the potential was promising enough that Zane was willing to invest ti in experinting.
Finally, there was Observation Haki.
Compared to Armant Haki, Observation Haki relied far more on natural talent.
Those with extraordinary talent could even awaken it naturally at birth.
Currently, Zane had only mastered Armant Haki and had yet to awaken Observation Haki.
He was naturally dissatisfied with this state of affairs.
While Observation Haki didn't provide the direct offensive and defensive boosts that Armant Haki did, its utility as a support ability was indispensable.
Especially the 'Future Sight' of top-tier Observation Haki—that would be an imnse help.
Speaking of which, the training thods for Armant and Observation Haki were quite similar.
The simplest way for both was to take a beating.
That's right.
Armant Haki was about stimulating the will's protective consciousness through being struck.
Observation Haki was about stimulating the will's evasive consciousness through being struck.
Consequently, such a scene was often witnessed during their days on Newcastle.
By the shore, Zane and Manlong engaged in extrely brutal brawls every day.
Zane would blindfold all three of his eyes, relying entirely on hearing and intuition to dodge and counterattack.
Manlong, on the other hand, wouldn't dodge at all, tanking Zane's counterattacks while standing his ground and dishing out damage.
If it were anyone else, fighting like that would have them in a coffin within days.
But Zane and Manlong were clearly not ordinary people.
After each brawl, they would simply apply so dicine, wrap themselves in bandages, eat a massive al, and be back to hitting each other with full vitality the next day.
The days passed one by one.
Quietly, three months had gone by.
"Hahaha, I finally caught you! Waaaah... You bastard, do you have any idea how much it hurt when you bit ?!"
"Hurry, grab this thing! I don't care what happens, I'm eating its at today."
"Ah! My beauties and my wine, when will I ever see you again?"
"..."
Three months was enough ti for many things to change.
For instance, the crew of the Riding the Wind and Waves had gone from being terrified upon arriving at Newcastle to howling like savages as they hunted down the island's beasts.
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comnt ans the world!
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