Brain Seal Technique.
Nao rembered it as a form of magic from the Harry Potter universe — once mastered, it could protect the mind from being invaded by a wizard's Legilincy.
But judging by the description in the item shop, this version worked a little differently than the original.
"A brain completely sealed off, even at a rule-based level..."
Nao didn't hesitate. "It's a bit pricey, sure — but this one's a must-buy."
Think about it. In this world, there are Devil Fruit powers that can ss with your mind in absurd ways — like the mo mo Fruit or the Hobby-Hobby Fruit. Straight-up broken abilities.
Even the strongest can fall if they get caught off guard.
With the Brain Seal Technique, he wouldn't exactly be invincible, but it'd be more than enough to shut down most sneak attacks of that nature.
In summary?
Out of the six items available this week, only the toilet and the toy wooden sword weren't worth buying. He purchased the remaining four.
Total expenditure: 97,000 points. Remaining balance: 63,500 points.
"Back to being broke again…"
Nao let out a sigh, though he didn't really mind.
Unlike in the beginning, things were different now. With a whopping 13 points in Charm, he was earning anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand points per day.
Most of those points ca from young female Marines who secretly watched his training sessions, drawn by his growing reputation. As for the rest… well, best left unspoken. He knew the source, but there was no need to call it out.
Besides…
Ever since he and Shia beca a couple, he received a daily bonus of 100 points just for maintaining their relationship. And once their streak hit thirty days, there would be additional rewards.
[Clongarde Shia: Consecutive check-in days — 14]
"Sixteen more days to go…"
Nao stroked the stubble on his chin, feeling a strange déjà vu. "What is this, interest on a long-term savings account?"
The Brain Seal Technique was imdiately activated and added to his skill list, while the remaining three items went into his inventory.
Now that everything was handled, it was ti to focus on finishing his lunch.
He closed the system panel and had just picked up his borscht again — barely a couple of sips in — when a loud argunt suddenly erupted from a nearby table.
"Warlord system my ass! What the hell is the Marine HQ thinking, trying to ally with pirates?!"
"Exactly! They're giving pirates legal raiding rights now — legal! What happened to our pride as Marines? How can we still claim to stand for justice?!"
"Let's not be too quick to judge. The idea is to keep pirate factions in check — let them fight among themselves."
"Yeah, and don't forget, the order ca from Mary Geoise. HQ didn't have a choice."
"Bah! What kind of 'check' is that? It's disgusting — plain disgusting! I swear, if I could, I'd storm Mary Geoise right now and wring the necks of those puffed-up bubble-headed ba—"
"Shhh! Maynard, are you insane?! You can't say that kind of thing out loud!"
The voices gradually died down, though quiet muttering could still be heard.
Nao glanced over.
Maynard — who would one day beco a Marine Vice Admiral — was red in the face with rage, so angry he'd slamd his hat on the table.
"Looks like word got out."
Shiryu had noticed too. Lighting a cigarette, he said quietly, "People have been murmuring about it since yesterday. Even the higher-ups have been fighting over this at HQ. I didn't think it would spread all the way down to our recruit barracks so fast."
"Can't bla them," Rosinante said, shaking his head. "A lot of people just can't stomach it. But with Mary Geoise having already made the call, it doesn't matter how many of us object. Nothing's going to change."
"True."
Shiryu exhaled a puff of smoke. "I heard it's tied to a recent shift in the New World. The Marines took a big hit, and the higher-ups had to make concessions."
Nao kept eating silently, not joining the debate.
For regular Marines, the creation of the Warlord system was indeed a major incident — the shock and outrage were understandable.
But for Nao, it didn't co as a surprise. Just a few days ago, he'd already sensed it coming from Zéphyr's reaction. He had no interest in getting involved in the argunt.
However, what Shiryu said about the New World — and the heavy Marine losses — piqued his curiosity.
"The Marines suffered serious losses? What exactly happened?" he asked.
"Knew you'd be clueless, you training freak." Shiryu stubbed out his cigarette and handed him a newspaper. "Here, it's all laid out in there."
It was the World Economy News, the most widely circulated paper in the pirate world — no competition.
Nao checked the date. It was from a little over ten days ago — the sa period he'd been buried in Haki training after acquiring the Limb Regeneration skill.
The front page was dominated by a massive headline photo.
Wreckage everywhere. Corpses scattered across the ruins. Grinning pirates stared straight into the cara, triumphant. Behind them, the remains of a large white building — the blue letters "G7" still faintly visible.
[BIG MOM Pirates Join Forces with Beasts Pirates to Destroy Marine G7 Base!]
That was the bold, eye-grabbing headline.
Beneath it, a smaller subheading read:
[Marines in Retreat? Heavy Losses Reported; New World Presence May Shrink Further]
"G7's gone."
Shiryu's somber voice echoed beside him. "HQ decided to abandon it and rebuild closer to Paradise. Now in the New World, only G1 and G5 are left."
Nao frowned and continued reading.
The article opened by describing how volatile the New World had beco.
Ever since Roger's execution and Shiki's capture, the sea had descended into chaos. But over the past two years, things had started to stabilize.
Three powers — the so-called "silver dalists" of the previous era — had split the New World among themselves. Whitebeard, Edward Newgate; and two forr Rocks Pirates rising to prominence: BIG MOM and Kaido of the Beasts. Together, they ford the "Three Emperors."
A scenario the Marines absolutely did not want to see.
In response, HQ had dispatched countless scout fleets deep into the New World to gather intel and try to spark conflict between the pirate factions — hoping to trigger a "War of the Emperors" and reap the benefits.
However…
No one expected the BIG MOM Pirates and the Beasts Pirates — bitter rivals fighting over territory — to suddenly team up and launch a joint surprise assault on the G7 base.
It was as if the Marines' ddling had triggered a shared nerve, prompting the two Yonko crews to temporarily ally in a "clear external threats before settling internal disputes" strategy.
The battle report read:
[G7 was caught completely off-guard and suffered heavy losses right at the start. Even with reinforcents from HQ and G1, they couldn't hold the base. It was overrun and destroyed…]
[Vice Admiral Millar, the base commander, was killed in action. Captain Cass was captured. Reinforcents from HQ also took serious casualties — Rear Admiral Koi, Rear Admiral Mozambia, and Rear Admiral Gion were all critically injured and fell unconscious.]
[In the end, Vice Admiral Sakazuki arrived just in ti to rescue the surviving reinforcents and evacuate the wounded officers.]
[But without a doubt, this was a devastating defeat for the Marines…]
Nao couldn't read any further.
His grip tightened on the newspaper, eyes frozen on a single na.
Gin… critically injured?
He rembered vividly — twenty days ago, they had parted with smiles at the port. She had told him she was headed on an ergency mission to the New World and wouldn't be back for a while.
So that "ergency mission"… was to reinforce the G7 base?
All that ti he'd been waiting, thinking about her — and now, this was the news he got?
He read that part over and over again. Finally, Nao lowered the newspaper, face blank, mind racing.
He didn't care about when the Warlord system was implented.
Compared to that, Gion being gravely injured and unconscious — that was the real "Big Incident."
The paper was from ten days ago.
Assuming she was rescued, she'd likely been brought back to Marineford and was now recovering in the dical wing.
That thought alone made him restless.
Nao hurried through the last bites on his plate, then stood up and pushed his tray aside, ready to leave.
"Nao, what's the rush? Where're you going?" Rosinante called out, confused.
"The hospital."
Nao didn't even turn around. He just tossed the words over his shoulder.
"Ohhh…"
Rosinante's face lit up in sudden understanding.
—As expected of kind-hearted Nao.
He must be feeling guilty about Instructor Brandon still being in the hospital because of him. Couldn't even finish his lunch, so he's going early to visit and check in, huh?
PS: Read Advance Chapters at spatreon/c/ReadJin
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