Chapter 136: Everyone Gets Their Own Chance to Make an Entrance

The rocky mountains around the valley stood roughly 150 meters high, about the height of a fifty-story building.

That height was perfect for practicing the Moonwalk he had just learned.

Mord leaped from the edge of the cliff, his body plunging into the mountain wind.

The descent took about ten seconds.

During that time, he had to use the Moonwalk as often as possible.

Mord quickly adjusted his posture. His right foot struck the air first with tremendous force.

Bang!

A faint burst of compressed air sounded overhead, and Mord’s body suddenly tilted to the left.

This time, he did not correct his posture. Instead, he kept his strength and speed within a rough standard, then drove his left foot downward.

Bang!

The thrust produced by stomping on the air caused Mord’s upper body to tilt to the right. He had exerted too much force, however, and failed to straighten himself.

After all, he had only just learned the technique. His control over his strength was still lacking.

Stomping awkwardly through the air, Mord landed crookedly.

While airborne, he had to account for gravity, body weight, direction, force, and numerous other factors, all without allowing the margin of error to grow too large.

If he failed to control even one of those factors, he could not perform a stable Moonwalk.

Clearly, it was not something that could be mastered with ease.

“If your physical strength meets the standard, learning the Moonwalk isn’t difficult. The hardest part is mastering the technique.”

Mord recalled what had happened moments earlier so that he could make adjustments later.

He knew very well that mastering the Moonwalk required ceaseless practice.

Jumping from the cliff was only the first stage. Once he completed it, he would have to practice activating the Moonwalk from a standstill, followed by techniques such as changing direction in midair—not to mention shooting while using the Moonwalk.

Only by mastering all those techniques could he improve the Moonwalk’s practical value.

Otherwise, it would be little more than a skill for slowing a fall.

The ideal outcome, of course, would be to become like Saul: a carefree aerial bombardier, raining bullets from above and making enemies with no means of attacking the sky grind their teeth in helpless frustration.

Still, reaching Saul’s level would take several years at the very least. The only exception would be if he could hunt a large number of dragon-class prey.

“Lafayette.”

Having finished thinking, Mord looked toward Lafayette in the distance.

“Understood.”

Lafayette gave a soft laugh, and a pair of snow-white wings unfurled behind him.

Whoosh!

Grasping Mord’s right hand, Lafayette flapped his wings and flew into the sky. Before long, he had carried Mord back to the edge of the cliff.

Mord nodded at him, and Lafayette descended toward the ground with a smile.

Standing at the cliff’s edge, Mord did not rush to jump. Instead, he first adjusted his breathing.

He would continue practicing until his strength was exhausted.

Over the past three months, he had trained every day. With the assistance of Nutritional Cuisine, he had finally raised his physique to three stars the afternoon before yesterday.

After crossing that initial stage, however, his progress had slowed considerably.

Judging by the current trend, even with the help of Nutritional Cuisine every day, it would probably take around twenty years for his physique to reach the level of Kaido and Big Mom.

And that was only a conservative estimate.

In truth, taking thirty years—or even forty or fifty—would not be surprising.

Fortunately, he had the Hunter’s Notes, which could shorten the process as much as possible.

Mord had not yet jumped from the cliff, but Lafayette had already descended slowly to the ground and folded his wings away.

As for the Moonwalk, although Saul had mentioned it before, Lafayette had little interest in learning it.

After all, he was a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user with the ability to fly. There was no need for him to waste his energy learning the Moonwalk.

Not long after he folded away his wings, Lafayette sensed a familiar gaze coming from behind him.

It was filled with envy.

Without turning around, Lafayette knew that the gaze came from Sunny.

Ever since he had revealed to Sunny that his Devil Fruit was a Mythical Zoan, she had looked at him enviously whenever he used his powers.

Over time, Lafayette had grown used to it.

Several meters away from Sunny, the successfully slimmed-down Bailey was hopping around. Judging from the look of things, he was also working hard to learn the Moonwalk.

Jaya crouched on the ground, cupping her cheeks in both hands as she watched Bailey earnestly practicing the Moonwalk with narrowed eyes.

“Little Bailey, I know a way to help you master the Moonwalk as quickly as possible.”

“Really?”

At Jaya’s words, Bailey stopped moving, stars shining in his eyes.

Jaya smiled. “Try it and you’ll find out.”

“Huh?”

Hearing that familiar catchphrase, Bailey froze slightly, struck by an ominous premonition.

Still, he did not want to miss any possibility. He immediately asked cautiously, “What method?”

With a smile, Jaya pulled an axe from behind her and stood it upright, its sharp blade pointing toward the sky.

Bailey stared blankly at what she was doing.

Pointing at the upward-facing blade, Jaya explained, “This method uses your survival instinct to draw out your potential. Come on. If you practice on the axe, you’ll definitely learn the Moonwalk in a short time.”

“I don’t believe you! You definitely want to—!”

Thinking of several horrifying possibilities, Bailey shuddered.

“Oh, my.”

Jaya studied Bailey’s unusually constructed body as if she were examining some rare ingredient.

After being fed Nutritional Cuisine for three months, his already unique body must have undergone some marvelous changes.

Thinking of this, Jaya refused to give up. “Come on, Little Bailey. Just give it a try.”

Bailey let out a shriek and immediately hid behind Sunny.

Seeing this, Jaya could only put away the axe in disappointment.

Nearby, Saul glanced at the axe hanging behind Jaya and sighed. “I think Little Jaya would be better suited to using a gun.”

Jaba snapped irritably, “Get lost!”

While they were chatting, Mord once again descended from the sky and landed crookedly.

Afterward, with Lafayette’s assistance, Mord reached the mountaintop in the shortest time possible, then jumped down again.

The cycle repeated as he painstakingly practiced the Moonwalk.

Sunny and Bailey were not idle either. They were training as well.

Watching Mord land once again, Jaba asked, “Saul, didn’t it take you about two years to master the Moonwalk?”

“Yes.”

“How long do you think it will take Mord?”

“With me watching over him, about six months.”

Saul puffed on his cigarette and said calmly, “However, if he wants to progress further, hard training alone won’t be enough. Many things, including talent, can only be drawn out through battle.”

As he spoke, Saul glanced at Lafayette in the distance.

Training with an opponent was effective, but it was still only a battle that posed no threat to one’s life.

Perhaps hundreds or even thousands of training matches could not compare to a single battle fought for survival.

For training battles to achieve the same effect as life-and-death combat without endangering anyone’s life, both sides would have to be awakened Zoan Devil Fruit users.

They would not need to worry about fatal injuries, and they could recover from their wounds in a short time.

Those two advantages alone were enough to let them accumulate strength through daily battles to the death.

In fact, someone had already put this idea into practice.

……

Time passed, and night fell.

A bonfire burned on the open ground, with a whole roasted sheep mounted above it.

Saul held a newspaper open in his hands.

Illuminated by the firelight was a headline accompanied by a photograph of Ace.

“Fire Fist…”

Saul softly murmured the epithet.

Beside him, Jaba studied the photograph in the newspaper and said seriously, “This fellow should be the most dazzling new star of the year. He has real courage—to challenge Whitebeard at such a young age.”

Saul nodded in deep agreement.

“Pirates with epithets all seem to be amazing.” Sunny came over to join the discussion. She was the one who had provided the newspaper.

“Not necessarily.”

Saul looked at Sunny and smiled.

“Oh.” Sunny nodded. “I remember Lafayette’s epithet is Devil Sheriff.”

Hearing this, Mord could not help glancing at Lafayette and teasing him. “To be honest, that epithet is pretty lame.”

“…”

Lafayette silently withdrew from the conversation.

Sunny let out a laugh before turning to Mord. “Mord, if it were you, what epithet would you give yourself?”

“I’ve never really thought about it.”

Prompted by Sunny’s question, Mord began to ponder.

As if he had thought of something, he slowly turned his gaze toward the small figure sitting before the bonfire.

A distant memory suddenly flashed through his mind: Saul’s face, filled with dejection and unwillingness, when he had faced Garp.

It was a kind of… profound unwillingness that came from suddenly realizing, after spending an entire lifetime, that all one’s efforts had been in vain.

He had exhausted himself trying to climb over a towering mountain, only to discover that the mountain had always remained there.

“Saul.”

Mord looked at him and said seriously, “Let me borrow the epithet Ghost Gun for a few years.”

Crackle.

A few sparks rose from the bonfire.

The entire scene suddenly fell silent.

Saul froze.

Then, several long-buried memories stirred within his mind.

Gradually, a voice became clear.

It was the captain’s voice.

“Everyone gets their own chance to make an entrance…”

Saul raised the newspaper and held it in front of his face.

“My entrance…”

“Is this moment… what it was all for?”