One Piece: Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

Thanks to the experiences from my previous life, Sage has always had a solid plan for his career.

Unfortunately, luck has not been on his side, and he has never completed it.

Now, as a pirate, he finally sees some hope.

"Grand Line?" 

Lily murmured, even having grown up in the palace, she had heard of the Grand Line's reputation.

"The Pirate's Graveyard, also known as 'Paradise', but in any case, it's a very dangerous place. Can we really go there now? Only you can, Sage."

He is powerful, that is beyond doubt.

Like the warships that have been pursuing them these past few days, Sage dealt with them all by himself; they couldn't help much.

But such days cannot last forever; there will always be situations like when they encountered Ennio, where Sage gets entangled. "Teach me to become stronger, Sage." Lily said firmly, "I want to be as strong as you."

"I would teach you even if you didn't ask."

Sage smiled slightly, "At our level, encountering someone strong in the East Blue, we might not even make it through, let alone the Grand Line."

Originally, he wanted to wait a while, until Lily adapted to the pirate life before discussing this, and also to improve the strength of his subordinates, but since Lily brought it up first, he had no reason to refuse.

"I will teach you the Six Styles, but how much you can learn depends on you. These techniques have high physical requirements. However, since you are a swordsman, you don't need to learn them all; what suits you best is what matters."

The Six Styles are indeed practical, but there is no need to master them all.

Sage can grasp them at a glance due to the underlying principles.

But others may not be able to do so.

In Sage's eyes, currently, only Lily, Akin, and Paru have the potential for the Six Styles.

Lily is very fast and can start with Shave, then master Moonwalk.

Akin has a good physique and is a well-rounded type, so he can try to master all the Six Styles.

Paru is a natural at being a heavy hitter.

"I understand, I will study hard!" Lily nodded vigorously and left the captain's cabin.

Sage then picked up a bottle of wine, opened the cork, and poured a glass into the gemstone cup he had just seized, but he didn't drink it; instead, he stared at his hand.

"Haki."

Compared to the Six Styles, which can be learned, Haki is much harder to cultivate.

To go to the Grand Line, even in the first half, not knowing Haki would lead to trouble.

Being called 'Paradise' is certainly a term used by those who have failed in the New World when they return to the first half.

Moreover, there is the Navy Headquarters there; one cannot say that a major headquarters would not have Haki, right? Without mastering Haki, Sage cannot venture into the Grand Line.

But this thing is indeed a bit difficult.

Sage has undergone targeted training; within the Big Dipper Fist, there are methods related to 'Fighting Qi', but he still cannot cultivate Fighting Qi. Without Haki, he cannot use Fighting Qi; the two should be one and the same.

Both are manifestations of willpower.

In terms of willpower, Sage is certainly not weak.

He has not given up on his dreams despite his bad luck for so long, no matter how many times he has failed in his ventures, he remains steadfast.

Whether in terms of action or willpower, he has no issues.

But he has not grasped either Armament Haki or Observation Haki.

As for fear and slackness, that kind of loss of spirit, he gazed at the wine glass, and under the light, the wine reflected his white hair and the glint of red in his pupils, which quickly vanished into the wine.

Sage downed the red wine in one gulp, turned to look at the sea outside the window, his voice light yet filled with an undeniable confidence.

"I have never been afraid."

From the moment he was born, he had willpower; since then, he has never been afraid, not even of death.

Being poor is scarier than dying, especially being a poor wretch plagued by bad luck!

Sage poured himself another glass of wine and said to himself, "Old man, the peaceful life you wanted is also my dream, but there's no way around it. I've done both legal and illegal things; I can't really let myself die poor."

Under the swaying light, Sage's self-pouring figure stretched infinitely in the light, amidst the lively laughter of those drinking outside, as if something was brewing.

"I can only stir things up."

...

With the navigation chart, Sage was not blindly groping around. Early the next morning, he headed straight for Natia, and after a day of travel, he saw the island at night.

Natia Kingdom is an island kingdom, a high island surrounded by massive rock walls, with only one shallow area serving as a port.

The entire kingdom resembles a giant staircase, where one can see villages, towns, and the castle at the highest point.

Lily put down the telescope and said, "Sage, this seems hard to attack."

Even though it was night, the enemy's port was brightly lit, and there were many cannons set up nearby. Through the telescope, they could see the heavily guarded soldiers.

"Even if it's hard to attack, we must attack; otherwise, I won't be able to swallow this anger."

Sage also put down the telescope, casually tossed it to the pirates behind him, and stepped onto the bow of the ship. "I'll go first and take down the cannons; you all can follow in after!"

It was clearly not feasible for the pirate ship to charge in; it would easily be shot down by the cannons. He only had this one ship, which still carried Berries and treasures.

It was better for him to go up first.

"Wait, Sage, it seems a ship is coming."

Just as Sage was about to use Moonwalk to fly over, Lily suddenly spoke again. She picked up the telescope and looked to the left, saying, "It's the Black Sail Pirates."

"Mm?"

Sage turned to look and saw a black-sailed fast ship approaching quickly from the sea.

Akin tightened his grip on his cane, and the other pirates drew their swords and firearms, their expressions unfriendly.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

But before they could act, the black-sailed ship called out.

A pirate stood at the bow and shouted, "You dare to disobey orders and go out to plunder, and this ship... you stole a warship?!"

As the sailing ship drew closer, the pirate confirmed it was indeed a warship and exclaimed in fear, "You are too bold, daring to sail openly towards the port. Quickly retreat, through the secret passage... wait, who are you?!"

As the sailing ship approached, the pirate at the bow could see the people on the black-sailed warship; he did not recognize any of them.

"Enemies!"

"Flying Finger Gun!"

Just as the pirate was about to shout, Sage flicked his index finger sharply, and the opposing pirate fell back as if shot, collapsing to the ground.

"Moonwalk!"

He stepped into the air, leaping as if climbing stairs, and in a few agile movements, he quickly landed on the bow of the sailing ship, looking down at the pirates who had just become alert due to the attack.

The sea breeze blew, ruffling Sage's hair, and he grinned, revealing his white teeth, which looked particularly fierce in the night.

"I've been looking for you for a while; finally found your lair!"

"You are..."

"Shave!"

Before the pirates could react, Sage's figure swiftly vanished from the bow, turning into a shadow that zipped past the pirates, instantly reaching the stern of the ship.

The wind whooshed past, causing his 'Sword Mountain Cloak' to flutter.

"Don't be in a hurry."

Sage turned back to look at the terrified yet motionless pirates and said lightly, "I will ask one by one."

Secret Point Acupoint, Sage instantly immobilized the bodies of these pirates.

This move actually has a name, called 'Big Dipper Qi Shelter Fist'. Generally speaking, hitting the shoulder area can paralyze a person.

But at his level, it no longer matters where he hits; the forehead, shoulders, chest, back, and thighs all have similar secret points for paralysis.

After all, it's just a secret point technique, not as unique in effect as the Hundred Crack Fist; whether it has a name or not is just the same.

The black-sailed warship docked alongside the sailing ship, and Lily jumped onto the deck, drawing her slender sword, coldly surveying the pirates. "Should we kill them?"

"Not for now; I still need them to guide us."

Sage walked towards the nearest pirate, smiled at him, and quickly tapped his fingers on his face and chest. Instantly, the pirate's face contorted, and his previously motionless body began to twitch slightly, sweat pouring down as if he were enduring extreme pain.

"Remember this feeling."

Sage tapped a few more times, and the pirate suddenly collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes filled with fear.

In that brief moment, the pain felt as if his body were being forcibly twisted, like countless knives scraping inside him, yet he couldn't even scream.

"Good reaction."

Sage nodded, "Tell me, how do we get to that secret passage?"

He didn't want to play any life-threatening games with these pirates; he had better methods.

As long as he made them feel pain, that was enough, and this pain wouldn't kill them; they could only silently endure it.

A group of ordinary pirates, no one could withstand this. Even if someone had a strong will, they could only endure. Sage glanced at the other pirates who remained frozen in place.

There were still others.