Chapter 52: Minor Uses of Life Return
Almost immediately after Nicholas left, the Sanbao Navy personnel, carrying their Pillar and Zhun, who had stubbornly endured Nicholas's Esoteric Art Prototype, hastily departed Qiu Chong Island.
After all, for them, the Sanbao Navy, having lost its primary combat power, had no need to remain here. As for whether the Flower Country would send another of its navy branches after receiving the news, that was no longer their concern.
Upon returning to the Tavern, Nicholas went straight to his Room and locked himself in.
He even specifically reminded Callett and the others that before the Wine God officially erupted, they should not disturb him unless they were delivering Food.
He needed to refine his conjectures and some ideas.
In the blink of an eye, half a day passed, punctuated by a knock on the door.
Nicholas dispelled the Lightning crackling around his Body, got up, and opened the door, bringing the Food placed at the doorway into the Room.
A moment later, after finishing his Meal, Nicholas took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Buru buru~ Buru buru~"
To Nicholas's surprise, the face that slowly formed on the Den Den Mushi after it connected was not Bell-lin's, but a creature with wise eyes, looking particularly foolish.
Just as Nicholas was puzzled, he heard a Free-Range Chicken's miserable cry from the Den Den Mushi, and then the Den Den Mushi's face transformed into Bell-lin's features.
"What's wrong, Nicholas?"
Bell-lin asked casually.
"Nothing much, it's just that things here will probably take a few more days to resolve. Contact Sister Shakky and have her take our Reward from the Captain first, and we'll get it from her later. Also, how's the search for a Base going?"
Hearing Nicholas's words, there was a long silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. After a while, Bell-lin's helpless voice came through, "Nicholas, are you really determined to have us stay in the East Blue while you go to the New World alone? You should understand that with my Ability, even if..."
Bell-lin's words were cut off directly by Nicholas.
"I know your Ability, but this matter is very Complex. Many forces will be involved, and even those guys within the Rocks Pirates have different ideas.
Moreover, if it's just me alone, I'm confident I can escape unscathed, but if you guys come along, I'm not sure I can take care of you all."
Hearing Nicholas's words, Bell-lin was taken aback.
Vistad and Simon next to the Den Den Mushi also fell silent. What Nicholas said was indeed the truth. They had witnessed the battles between Division Commanders, battles that could be described as world-destroying.
In the upcoming battle, even these Powerful Figure might fall, let alone them.
"I understand, I'll contact Sister Shakky as soon as possible."
Afterwards, they briefly discussed a few things and ended the call.
Then, he dialed another number. After a short while, he heard screams and dull thuds from the Den Den Mushi.
Listening to the sounds from the Den Den Mushi, Nicholas wondered if he should have made this call. However, looking at the sun still hanging in the sky, Nicholas could only say, as expected of the overlord of the Sea, his kidneys are truly extraordinary.
Clearly, the Ox in the Pirate World could really plow the land to waste.
"Yo, Little Nicholas, what do you need me for?"
Just as Nicholas was distracted, Rocks's voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Captain, I'm on Qiu Chong Island right now and won't be able to return to the New World for a while. Please have Sister Shakky keep my Reward safe for me."
"Alright, no problem. Also, Nicholas, you better resolve your matters quickly, or you'll miss the world-shaking performance that's about to begin."
Hearing Rocks's words, Nicholas was speechless.
This guy is in such a hurry to die, and talking about a world-shattering Stage like it's nothing. He'd rather be invisible. After all, he's still young and hasn't truly reached the peak of his Strength. Showing up too early will only attract unwanted attention.
He's not Monkey D. Luffy, a relation who can cause big trouble and just have his Bounty increased.
"No problem, then I won't disturb you."
Listening to the indistinct sounds coming from the other end, Nicholas hung up the Den Den Mushi directly.
Then, he began to explore the Navy Six Forms.
It could be said that the Navy Six Forms is a deep development of the Body, allowing Ordinary People to possess Physical Prowess like those Monsters.
In the Pirate World, there are Powerful Figure who can destroy the world with every move, and there are also Ordinary People just like in the real world. Just like Fishman Arlong once proudly claimed that Fish-man were naturally stronger than humans, but in terms of Body development, Fishman were completely relying on their natural advantages.
What Nicholas truly coveted was Life Return after the Six Styles. Six Styles, it could be said, can be used as long as Physical Prowess meets the standard and the basic principles are grasped, but Life Return depends on Talent.
After learning Life Return, one can infuse consciousness into a certain part of the Body to achieve the purpose of manipulation.
It could be a hair on the Body, or a Muscle in the Body.
Even.
It could even be said to be a simplified version of the Rubber Fruit Ability.
Cough cough, rather, it allows one to store a large amount of Food Energy in the Body during normal times and release it during battle for sustained combat.
Or, after a battle, accelerate the Body's recovery by ingesting a large amount of Food.
To initially master the skill of Life Return, not only is Physical Prowess required, but mental strength is also a prerequisite. This is why only Rob Lucci and Kumadori among the later CP9 mastered this skill.
In other words,
Unlike mastering Armament Haki, which requires Body and stamina to meet the standard, and Observation Haki, which requires mental strength to meet the standard.
Life Return is a skill that requires both Body and mental strength to meet the standard. Once mastered, it means applying a permanent Enhancement Buff to oneself.
However, learning this skill is not easy.
Nicholas didn't think he could learn it in a day or two, and had even prepared himself for a long-term effort.
A week later.
Early morning, Nicholas sat at the Bar counter, sipping wine while looking down at the latest Newspaper he had just received from the Newspaper Delivery Seagull.
It could be said that newspapers are one of the few ways to obtain Intelligence on the Sea by paying only a small amount of money.
Of course, this Intelligence is basically not top-secret Intelligence, but being able to receive the latest News in a timely manner on the vast Sea is already very good.
Therefore, Nicholas had also developed a good habit of reading newspapers.
Basically, recent reports were all about the New World. After all, whether it was the World Government, the Navy, or the Rocks Pirates, they were all showing signs of an impending all-out War.
Apart from this, the Supernova who would attract attention every year had become irrelevant. Unless they joined the Rocks Pirates, were captured by the Navy, or were killed in battle with other Pirates and made it to the Newspaper, no one paid attention to them at other times.
(End of chapter)