One Piece Dragon King - Chapter 54

“Halse, do you know about Kizaru?”

“Yes, he visited me today.”

Halse waved his hand, and a few plants sprouted from the ground, quickly flowering and bearing bright red fruit—cherry tomatoes.

“Grandpa, have some.”

Halse picked one and started eating it.

It tasted good, sweet but not cloying.

The plants grown with plant magic were very delicious and healthy. Even ordinary fruits tasted as good as foie gras.

The old man didn’t want to eat, or rather, seeing red things made him uncomfortable now.

Seeing his grandfather’s expression, Halse realized his mistake, picked the red fruit, and ate it himself. Then he waved his hand again, and some plants appeared on the ground, bearing blue-purple fruit—blueberries.

“Blueberries can improve vision.”

Halse picked a blueberry and ate it.

The old man also took one and ate it. It tasted good, but he was lost in thought, wondering if these fruits were grown with his grandson’s blood or something similar.

“Let’s talk business.”

“Now that everyone knows you’ve awakened Conqueror’s Haki, you shouldn’t graduate this year.”

If Halse graduated, he would go from a third-class soldier to an unknown rank in the Navy.

“Conqueror’s Haki?”

“What’s wrong, Halse? Didn’t you know?”

“I knew about it.”

In his grandfather’s mind, Halse was a very mysterious guy. Despite being a child, he knew a lot of things. Although not everything, he was familiar with techniques like Rokushiki and the three types of Haki.

“It’s just that, I haven’t awakened Haki yet.”

Halse felt a bit embarrassed.

He wondered if he should just not explain, but that would make others think he had trained Armament Haki to a very high level.

That wouldn’t be good.

It would be quite awkward.

After all, only Shanks could currently use Conqueror’s Haki to destroy objects. Halse’s dragon might was stronger than Conqueror’s Haki.

But those were two different things.

People with Conqueror’s Haki were often targeted.

Just like in the Marineford War, when Luffy used Conqueror’s Haki, people immediately said, “This child must not be allowed to live, or he will become a major threat,” and then tried to kill him.

Although Chinjao later said that Conqueror’s Haki was common in the New World, it wasn’t that widespread.

Conqueror’s Haki was still a significant power.

It wasn’t just the effect of the Haki itself that made it important. It was the people who had it, their charisma, and their ability to achieve great things.

It was also a symbol of genius.

Such people becoming pirates was a big problem.

That’s why the old man was so concerned.

The news was being kept under wraps, and if Halse didn’t graduate, it would send a message that he was the Navy’s new generation of talent.

So Halse had to graduate but couldn’t take on dangerous missions.

Halse felt a bit troubled and uncertain.

But this didn’t affect his training.

So Halse agreed, but he wanted to learn Rokushiki quickly. Otherwise, it would be hard to collect military achievements, and his grandfather wouldn’t give him any shortcuts.

“During this period, you can’t gain military achievements by capturing pirates, so you’ll be directly taught one of the Rokushiki techniques. You can choose.”

“That’s great.”

Another Rokushiki technique to learn.

Halse chose **Kami-e (Paper Arts)**.

It would enhance his evasion, making it difficult for enemies to hit him, which was very useful.

**Tekkai (Iron Body)** increased defense to a certain level, but if someone could break through that defense, they could still hit him.

**Kami-e** increased his evasion rate significantly.

Thus, Rokushiki was a very comprehensive set of techniques that covered attack, defense, evasion, and speed.

The ultimate Rokushiki technique, **Life Return**, could restore health and energy, though it required food.

Halse and the old man continued talking for a while. Halse explained the situation, and his grandfather told him to stick to the original plan and that he would send the materials over the next morning.

As for why he wasn’t sending someone else.

Did he want them to be attacked by the bloodsucking vine?

It was also an excuse to see his grandson.

Great.

Next month was the graduation exam.

There were two types of graduation exams: a standard version and an elite version.

The standard version involved living on an island full of wild beasts for a period, with vice admirals escorting them and Den Den Mushi monitoring the whole time. The examinees could use signal flares to choose to escape.

The standard version was scored based on the number and strength of beasts killed. The strongest beasts weren’t too powerful; there weren’t any like in some fanfics where they reached vice admiral levels.

The elite version was only for those who passed the standard version.

The elite exam involved hunting pirates, randomly selecting a pirate crew to fight. As long as they fought and survived, they passed. Deserters weren’t accepted.

These were the elite camp exams.

Halse wasn’t familiar with the other training camp exams and wasn’t interested.

He could pass both, but the elite version was more critical. The old man didn’t highly recommend Halse participate.

What if they set a trap?

But looking at his grandson’s strength, it should be enough.

After transforming into a dragon, Halse had over 50,000 Doriki, which meant he could take on anyone.

Halse could now defeat Rob Lucci.

Currently, Lucci probably didn’t even have 4,000 Doriki, and Halse could win with one slap.

Halse’s pure physical strength was close to a vice admiral’s level.

However, a vice admiral needed to master two types of Haki and have enough combat experience and military achievements.

Because of his body training, Halse wasn’t just ordinary muscle. His body’s defensive strength was probably comparable to an admiral’s.

Halse thought for a moment and wasn’t scared.

He would participate in the elite version of the exam.

Yes, continue training.

Shortly after the old man left, Ain came over.

“Halse, let’s continue from where we left off yesterday.”

So, it was time for meditation.

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