Capítulo 170: Chapter 170: Training the Crew
"Captain, aren't you a swordsman?" Howard asked, bewildered, as he faced Li Yuan, who was bare-handed.
"Do I need a sword to deal with you?" Li Yuan replied provocatively. "Come on, push me hard enough to make me draw my sword!"
"Then here I come, Captain!" Howard was both challenged and motivated. Being unable to force the world's greatest swordsman to draw his sword was frustrating.
His pride surged, and he charged at Li Yuan with all his might.
"Ah, this must be Howard's first time seeing the captain like this. He must be furious," said Nepal, chuckling awkwardly on the sidelines.
"Yeah, the captain's attitude can be infuriating, makes you want to punch him," Ashura Doji nodded in agreement.
"But that's just wishful thinking. We all faced the same situation before, and instead of beating the captain, he beat us all," Barrett said, his mouth twitching slightly.
"Howard will probably learn something from this experience," Kano laughed.
Indeed, after fifteen minutes of relentless sparring, Howard had picked himself up from the ground countless times.
His body was covered in bruises and swelling, making him look larger than usual.
"Barrett, you're next!" Li Yuan said, seeing Howard unable to stand.
"Gravity Tempest Kick!" Barrett responded, sending a tempest kick infused with gravity, enhancing its power.
"Not bad, you've learned to integrate gravity into your attacks, but your basic martial arts skills are lacking!" Li Yuan commented, effortlessly dispelling the attack.
Though not a martial arts expert, Li Yuan's combat experience with top martial artists like Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr gave him a keen eye for Barrett's weaknesses.
"Boom!!!" Li Yuan appeared before Barrett, his massive fist smashing down.
"Iron Body!!" Barrett instinctively raised his arms, using Iron Body for defense.
"Iron Body's immobility is a flaw. You need to fix that, and remember, offense is the best defense."
Li Yuan's fist shifted, striking Barrett's stomach, nearly making him vomit his breakfast.
"Barrett, your stance is unstable."
"Master the Six Powers first, then develop your own martial arts style. Only then will you be a true martial artist."
"Also, focus on learning Life Return. Without it, you can't call yourself a martial artist."
Li Yuan continued instructing Barrett while sparring, correcting his techniques.
After fifteen minutes, Barrett lay on the ground like Howard, swollen and unable to move, needing help to reach the medicinal bath.
"Ashura Doji, your strength isn't fully integrated into your sword. Your body's power isn't converted into speed."
"Nepal, your Stealth Fruit is underdeveloped. You hide your form but not your presence or sound."
"Karu, your Swordwing Tiger Fruit needs more development!"
"Kano, your Armament Haki is too weak."
"Mari, your feathers lack hardness and flexibility."
"Kumasu, you still haven't mastered the Mink Tribe's Sulong form?"
"Jeral, you've practiced too little Fish-Man Karate. Train in the sea daily. If you don't reach 5,000 watts by the next check, I'll personally train you!"
One by one, Li Yuan called out each crew member for evaluation, leaving them all sprawled on the ground before being moved to the medicinal baths.
"Ah!!!!" Those who had been lying on the ground leaped up in pain as soon as they hit the baths, needing others to hold them down.
"The medicinal bath is excellent. Aside from being painful, it's a perfect concoction," Li Yuan remarked, watching his crew's injuries heal, satisfied.
Lazuli could have improved the bath to reduce pain, but Li Yuan chose not to.
Pain, at times, is a form of training, strengthening their resolve. If they couldn't endure a little pain, how could they become strong?
After training his crew, Li Yuan returned home.
"Li Yuan, according to recent intelligence, the World Government has infiltrated our crew with many spies."
"I've eliminated some, but others remain, though they can't access our critical operations," Shakky reported upon her return.
"What about other pirate crews? Are they facing similar issues?" Li Yuan inquired.
"Yes, nearly all New World crews have this problem, but I don't know if they can identify the spies," Shakky nodded.
"If that's the case, it means the World Government plans to target the New World crews, not directly, but by inciting conflicts through spies, causing them to fight among themselves."
"Once weakened, the World Government and Navy will clean up, aiming to eliminate the great pirates without effort."
Li Yuan quickly deduced the World Government's strategy.
Using spies to incite pirate conflicts is a classic World Government tactic.
In the original story, many great pirates fell victim to this strategy.
However, it wouldn't work on the Infinity Pirates, thanks to Shakky's intelligence network.
She controlled a substantial portion of the former Rocks' network, and Li Yuan invested heavily to expand it.
Since last year, Shakky has been developing a spy network similar to the World Government's CP, though still in its infancy.
"Should we..." Shakky began, understanding Li Yuan's implication.
"No need. Even without the World Government, the New World can't support so many crews. War is inevitable, just a matter of time."
"For the Infinity Pirates to expand, we must seize other crews' territories."
Li Yuan interrupted, knowing that to grow, his crew needed more land.
The New World was only so big, with 11 strong crews, including Roger's.
With so many crews and limited space, conflict was bound to occur.
The Infinity Pirates had begun to mature, with Ashura Doji and Howard as strong assets.
Li Yuan was confident against any crew, unafraid of war.
He only needed to ensure the Navy and World Government didn't swoop in to claim victory.
"Yadina, any issues in our territory lately?" Li Yuan asked. Yadina and Lazuli managed many territorial matters.
Lazuli had initially handled it alone, but Yadina joined, giving Lazuli more time for research.
"No major issues. We haven't harmed civilians, so new territories stabilized quickly."
"Our policies are well-implemented, and our people are becoming prosperous," Yadina smiled, pleased to contribute.
"That's good. Let's introduce incentives for having children. The more children, the greater the rewards. We need to boost our population."
"Many islands are sparsely populated," Li Yuan said, satisfied.
Population growth was key to development, creating wealth and producing future talents for the Infinity Pirates.
"Children? I'll draft some pro-birth policies tomorrow," Yadina replied.
After discussing the Infinity Pirates' development, Li Yuan returned to training.
At 21, he was in his prime, quickly improving his physique and Haki.
For others at his level, progress was difficult, but they were usually older.
Li Yuan, being young, could still grow stronger with dedicated training.
Youth was his greatest asset!
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