Chapter 238[Warning: It is time for the Haki Development plan. The host must complete Observation Hakimeditation practice within the specified time...]"!!!"Luffy's body tensed up subconsciously, which tugged at invisible wounds and made him gasp in pain."Does this plan really not care whether I live or die?"Luffy was speechless.Sure, attention can be diverted, but who taught you to divert it like this?He was hungry, in pain, and unable to move his body—even moving a finger was a struggle—yet it wanted him to cultivate Haki?Right now, only his brain could move."Even in this state, I still have to study."He sighed, feeling inexplicably as if he had returned to the moment he first obtained this mysterious plan.Back then, he was also thrown into a frenzy by all sorts of sudden tasks and punishments."No, I can't let the punishment escalate further."Luffy knew very well that the third-stage punishment was already this miserable; he had no idea what kind of hellish experience the fourth stage would be.He didn't want to find out.Moreover, thinking back calmly...The great battle that had just ended, though tragic, had indeed given him many new insights into Haki, especially Observation Haki.When facing Grandpa Garp's Iron Fist and Aokiji's freezing abilities simultaneously, that nearly instinctive prediction of crisis and the subtle capturing of the enemy's attack trajectory were potentials forced out at the edge of life and death.As they say, breakthroughs are easiest to achieve in desperate situations.Now, in this state of extreme pain and weakness, his spirit was instead being squeezed to its limit.He forced himself to ignore his physical pain, sinking his consciousness into reflecting on and organizing his Observation Haki.Gradually, he entered a strange state.The physical pain seemed to be isolated to the edge of his consciousness; though it still existed, it was no longer so aggressive.His concentration was highly focused as scenes of fighting against powerful foes replayed constantly in his mind, sensing those invisible sounds in the air.Under these circumstances, the result of his extreme mental exertion was that he could see his Observation Haki proficiency increasing rapidly.[Mental power severely overdrawn. Your willpower has increased. Observation Hakiproficiency +3][Mental power severely overdrawn. Your willpower has increased. Observation Hakiproficiency +3][Observation Haki proficiency +3]...The cold notification sounds actually seemed a bit pleasant to the ear now.Notifications of proficiency increases kept popping up in his mind; although the amount per increase wasn't large, the constant stream made up for it.Under these extreme conditions, his Observation Haki was improving at a considerable speed.Time passed slowly amidst painful suffering and mental focus.After an unknown amount of time—perhaps hours, perhaps longer—the warning sounded again:[Warning: It is time for the Sleep plan. The host must enter a sleep state immediately to ensure sufficient rest.]Luffy slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and struggled to lift his head. Through the barrier of the shockwave, he could see the bright, clear moon in the sky.The pain remained, but he was surprised to find that he seemed to have adapted to it a little?"Have I become as strange as Vivi?"Luffy's eyes were somewhat dazed.If you asked why, Vivi quite liked being...Vivi: "???"Not only that, a thought naturally popped into Luffy's head: "It would be nice if I could study for a bit longer."This thought didn't appear out of thin air.If he could be just a bit stronger, would there have been a different outcome at the Sabaody Archipelago?Admiral?Navy Hero?If his strength was sufficient, he would just punch his way through!He wasn't joking when he spoke to Grandpa Garp.Since he couldn't make a deal with the World Government to save Ace, he would fight his way into Impel Down!But he wasn't strong enough yet."There's still time anyway."Luffy comforted himself.He didn't know that after Ace was imprisoned in Impel Down, the execution date was already approaching and had been made public."Everyone is training. I'll find a time to contact them later. I'll just wait until I've trained for a while longer, then I'll break into Impel Down, save Ace, and we'll head into the New World together!"This was Luffy's simple plan.The powerful recovery ability brought by the full awakening of the Nika Fruit was slowly repairing the internal injuries and fatigue left by the fierce battle.But this recovery didn't happen out of thin air; it was extremely dependent on energy replenishment.The restoration of physical strength and the healing of wounds were frantically consuming his already nearly depleted bodily energy.So, what Luffy was most worried about right now wasn't powerful enemies or punishments, but whether he would become the first Nika Fruit user to starve to death?That would be too embarrassing to tell anyone!As his consciousness was about to sink into a dream, he dragged Nika out of his mental space.If he fell asleep, at least someone would be watching the outside.He didn't know when he would land.During several critical moments, Nika had served as a backup hidden energy source for him to draw power from, which had been a huge help.At this moment, the Sun God also looked like his vitality was severely damaged."Hey, Nika."Luffy called out weakly.But Nika also looked all shriveled up. The first time she saw Luffy, she gritted her teeth. "Are you trying to suck me dry, you bastard?!""Sorry, sorry. There really was no other way."Nika was furious, but Luffy also looked all shriveled up right now; this was the aftereffect of using Gear 5.What could she say?There was absolutely nothing to be done for now. She even suspected that Luffy had called her out because he wanted to use her as emergency rations.The thought gave her goosebumps, and she didn't dare provoke him."What do you want?""Well, I need you to do me a favor."Nika looked up and saw the green light in Luffy's eyes. She was so startled that she flinched and gritted her teeth. "You bastard! Do you really want to use me as emergency rations?!""Of course not, of course not."Luffy pulled a forced, ugly smile. "Having this little bit of you is about the same as having nothing."It wouldn't even get stuck between his teeth.Nika was so angry she wanted to stomp her feet.What did that mean?Is he insulting me?Who says I'm small? I can get big anytime!But seeing that Luffy himself looked like he was about to starve to death and was all shriveled up, she ultimately didn't say anything more unpleasant.She was even a little afraid that if this guy went crazy with hunger, he wouldn't mind even if she only got stuck between his teeth.Thinking this, she suddenly felt uncomfortable all over and didn't dare provoke Luffy further."It's time for the Sleep plan."Luffy felt his eyelids grow heavy. "If I enter the dream, I shouldn't feel hungry anymore, right? That way, I should be able to hold out a bit longer."This thought became his only solace at this moment.He no longer resisted the onset of sleepiness and slowly closed his eyes. Almost instantly, his consciousness was pulled into the dream space constructed by the [pirate king training plan].Then, he saw Garp's fist.Luffy: "Idiot."...Just as Luffy was facing his grandpa's Iron Fist of Love again in his dream, the companions he was worried about were also arriving at their respective destinations one after another.The first to arrive was the Princess of Alabasta.Nefertari D. Vivi.She didn't appear in some desolate wilderness; instead, by a huge coincidence, she crashed through the luxurious ceiling of the office belonging to the President of the World Economic Journal, Big News Morgans.Amidst the wreckage and flying papers, she landed gracefully."What exactly was Kuma thinking? Was this also part of his deal with Luffy?"Vivi brushed the dust off her skirt and looked around. Her gaze soon locked onto the white bird in a well-tailored suit sitting behind the desk, staring in shock."Is this the World Economic Journal office?"Vivi immediately recognized this place and the identity of the person in front of her.Having once gone undercover in Baroque Worksand being skilled in intelligence work, she was no stranger to this giant of the media world.Morgans looked at this uninvited guest, and relevant information quickly flashed through his mind.He soon recognized her signature blue hair and her special identity from the bounty poster worth up to 500 million Berries.Chapter 324: Amazon Lily, the Princess, and the EmpressMorgans' beak hung open wide enough to fit an egg."Princess Vivi? Why are you here?!" Morgansshrieked.In that instant...Morgans' first reaction was that World Government agents had come knocking on his door.He was so scared he almost couldn't catch his breath.No one understood the World Government's methods in these matters better than he did.But after collaborating with the World Governmentfor so long, Morgans had always been fine despite dancing back and forth on their red lines.This time, things shouldn't have escalated to that point. If they didn't like a report, they could just have it recalled.They could talk things out!Vivi didn't answer immediately. Her gaze was drawn to an urgent news draft scattered on the floor.She bent down to pick it up, scanned it quickly, and her pupils suddenly constricted."Fire Fist Ace will be publicly executed at Marineford in one week?!"She whispered the headline, her face full of disbelief.Why was Fire Fist Ace being publicly executed?One must know that the only pirate publicly executed by the Navy in all these years was the Pirate King Roger.
