Chapter 654: SFDI - 654
Although they planned to seek out the Whitebeard Pirates to learn Haki, it wasn’t exactly an urgent matter.
So everyone decided to search while enjoying the journey.
Whenever they encountered an island along the way, they would go ashore to take a look, experiencing the local customs and atmosphere of this world.
One day, on a small island, everyone was watching Stella and Erza’s fight.
The two large swords clashed, and the scene of two girls fighting fiercely, neither giving way, made the spectators shrink back nervously.
In terms of violence, few in the guild could match these two seemingly delicate "girls."
Erza was only wearing her usual armor, and Stella hadn’t transformed into her Dragon-human form.
According to common sense, without using magic, Erza shouldn’t have been able to fight on equal footing with Stella, who was essentially a humanoid dragon, but now she was clearly not at a disadvantage.
The reason lay in the facets on her face.
Those are the striped patterns, special markings formed by running her Breathing Technique to its limit.
Although they hadn’t formally started learning Haki in recent days, everyone was training on their own.
It had been a few days since the battle with BIG MOM’s crew, and the next day, everyone saw the news in the newspapers!
"After a year of disappearance, Fairy Tail is back in full force! Clash: Newcomers and BIG MOM’s officers are evenly matched!"
Morgan, a master of journalism, knew how to craft eye-catching headlines. Anyone reading it would definitely be surprised by the many explosive points in the news!
When Drake saw the news, his first thought was: where did Morgan get those battle photos?
Even the scene of Drake fighting BIG MOM was printed on the front page! From the angle of the photo, it looked as if it was taken right in their faces.
At that time, Drake didn’t sense anyone nearby. As expected, the reporters and the people issuing the navy wanted posters were truly insidious and invasive.
But for everyone in Fairy Tail, it was just a battle that ended prematurely without a clear victory, yet it was hyped up like a major victory.
Not losing to the Sea Emperor was a glory for others, but for Fairy Tail, it was a different story.
So everyone was holding back their frustrations, working hard, and looking forward to meeting their old rivals again.
Erza was also preparing for her next fight with Katakuri.
To defeat Katakuri, the most important thing was how to deal with his foresight ability, the Kenbunshoku Haki.
Besides using the same level of Observation Haki to counter his, which was currently impossible, Erza thought of another method.
That was when she remembered what Drake said when introducing this power, while watching Sasuke practice breathing techniques.
By learning breathing techniques, one could reach the ultimate realm of harmony between heaven and man, in which one could not only gain insight into the world but also fully merge with nature.
Katakuri’s foresight came from seeing through breath patterns with his Kenbunshoku Haki, which meant that once he entered the ultimate realm, he could be immune to his foresight.
Though just a guess, Erza immediately took action.
She also demonstrated her talent, mastering and improving her own Steel Breathing, and quickly achieved her Striped Pattern Mode.
Hard and sharp—these are the unique features of Erza’s breathing style, so even Stella’s dragon strength couldn’t break through her sword style.
Meanwhile, Erza’s increasingly faint aura indicated that she was approaching the ultimate realm.
Drake couldn’t help but shake his head, marveling at these overpowered players. Still, he looked forward to seeing what new powers would emerge from the combination of insight into the world and Haki.
The others’ eyes lit up as well, silently adding developing their own breathing techniques to their agendas.
Previously, during Sasuke’s special training, everyone had learned about the method of practicing breathing techniques. But due to the difficulty and the low return, no one had invested much effort.
Now, seeing the potential of breathing techniques, everyone had ideas.
Drake didn’t interfere. After all, the effort wouldn’t be wasted. Learning breathing techniques could also enhance perception of one’s own life force, and even if they couldn’t reach the ultimate realm, it could serve as a prerequisite for practicing Haki.
After their routine training, the Reimei (Red Light) continued flying with everyone towards Whitebeard’s territory.
But before long, the highly sensitive Natsu sniffed and said, "What’s that smell?"
Gajeel also nodded and said, "It smells like metal, but it’s very strong!"
Drake also caught the same scent and pointed ahead, "If it’s a small amount, that’s strange. That ship, the size of an island, is made of gold."
Everyone looked ahead and saw a glittering "small island."
Natsu opened his mouth wide and exclaimed, "What? That town is a ship?"
Drake recalled what he knew about that ship and nodded, "Yes, it’s a ship ten kilometers long.
It’s also the largest entertainment city in this world, recognized as an independent country and a non-military zone by the World Government. Even the Marines can’t make a move there — it’s an absolute sanctuary.
This is what they call the Golden City, Guland Tazoro!"
Stella spoke up, "Sounds like a very interesting place."
At this moment, her eyes showed one character reading "Good," and the other "Strange," revealing her thoughts openly.
Natsu also said, "Drake, let’s go and have fun there!"
Erza added, "There must be a lot of people gathered there. Maybe there’s information on the person we’re looking for!"
Although she said that, she clearly looked excited. The others shared the same anticipation, looking expectantly at Drake.
Drake sighed and said, "That place isn’t exactly a good one! But since everyone’s interested, let’s go take a look! It shouldn’t be too much of a problem."
The master of Guland Tazoro was Gild Tesoro, who held the title of the Gold Emperor. His ability with the Superhuman Gomu Gomu no Mi (Gold Gold Fruit) had been developed to the level of awakening, making him one of the top-tier powerhouses in the sea.
Especially in Guland Tazoro, where he had absolute dominance, few could stand against him.
But more than strength, his real power was his "money ability," which was literal — he controlled twenty percent of the world’s Beli.
That was an unfathomable fortune, enough for Tesoro to influence the entire world’s economic system.
This was also why the Celestial Dragons and the World Government were under Tesoro’s control.
It perfectly reflected Tesoro’s view: "A guy without money can do nothing, only be controlled."
And it was easy to imagine what kind of place Gild Tesoro, run by someone with such a mindset, would be.
That place, although banning fighting, was even more brutal because of the "law of the jungle," where strength and wealth dictated everything.
Drake looked around at everyone, realizing that this time, it wouldn’t just be about having fun!
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