Since issuing the warrant for the Western Faction's Kure in the Empire, Jaden had been staying with the Head of the Empire.
The Head of the Empire would give him reports every day, but Jaden generally just glanced at them and threw them aside.
After doing that, Jaden would close his eyes and begin to feel the Haki that grew stronger every day!
Garp's template merged by five percent every day, and as of today, he had merged thirty percent of Garp's template!
Merging Garp's template, in addition to boosting his physical fitness, mostly increased his Armament Haki!
Without merging Garp's template, he truly didn't know, but after merging it, Jaden understood what the name Garp truly represented to the people of the One Piece world.
After merging that thirty percent of Garp's memory, he deduced one thing-the quantity of his original Armament Haki was probably a lot stronger than Luffy's two years after the time skip!
And after merging Garp's template, even at just thirty percent progress-it had already doubled!
If he could also use Luffy's Gear Fourth now, he probably wouldn't run out of Armament Haki even fighting for an hour!
Furthermore, besides Armament Haki, what surprised Jaden the most was his Observation Haki.
Garp's Observation Haki wasn't as strong as his Armament Haki. While thirty percent of Garp's template brought a significant increase to his Observation Haki, it wasn't ridiculously high.
But it was Garp's Observation Haki that caused Jaden's original Observation Haki to fully awaken!
The highest level of Observation Haki, like Conqueror's Haki, cannot be acquired through training alone.
After activating the Demon Brain, when Jaden began to hear people's thoughts, he felt that his talent for Observation Haki might be much stronger than he originally imagined!
And now, with Garp's Observation Haki as a catalyst, Jaden's Observation Haki had begun to fully exert its power!
Hearing others' thoughts, sensing others' emotions-and even being able to directly transmit his will to others through Observation Haki!
Jaden could previously use his will to prevent others from lying to him, but at that time, he thought that power was inherent to the Hanma bloodline, a capability of 'Hanma-Aliens.'
After all, if Yujiro Hanma could make enemies facing him fight each other to avoid him, it didn't seem impossible for Jaden to make others incapable of lying to him.
However, it now appeared that this ability was actually proof that Jaden possessed the highest level of Observation Haki! He was able to directly transmit his will to the other party even back then!
Now that it was awakened, Jaden could even use Observation Haki to speak to people from a distance!
This level of Observation Haki ability, according to Garp's memories, was not something even the Pirate King, Roger, could achieve!
Of course, Jaden did not possess Roger's power to 'hear the Voice of All Things.'
And also...
Because Garp's Observation Haki provided the driving force, so...
Thinking this, Jaden slowly opened his eyes. In the depths of his eyes, a substantial red glow flashed and disappeared.
-His Observation Haki had undergone a qualitative change!
While Jaden was sensing his Haki, Otto, the Head of the Empire, finished a phase of his work nearby. Seeing Jaden casually toss the day's intelligence aside and open his eyes instead of pretending to nap as usual, he slowly spoke up with an inquiry.
"For several days now, hasn't there been anyone among all this Western Faction information that interests you?"
Hearing his question, Jaden shook his head.
"Otto, you've misunderstood one thing-it's not that someone who interests me hasn't appeared yet; it's that there isn't a single person among the Western Faction members who can interest me!"
"If there were even one person among them who could interest me, I probably would have sought them out immediately after arriving in the Empire."
"But since there isn't even one person who interests me, that's why I'm staying here with you instead of seeking trouble with them."
Hearing Jaden say this, Otto blinked.
"But I remember you saying when you arrived that the Kure of the Western Faction possess a technique called Resurrection-the Resurrected created with this technique include the Original Kure, Lu Bu, and even Adam, whom I thought only existed in myths... are even these legendary existences just stepping stones in your eyes?"
Hearing Otto's perspective, Jaden shook his head again.
"Heroes are called heroes because most of them have redeemable qualities-either in spirit, power, or something else... those guys were unique individuals of their respective eras."
"I might be a little interested if they were truly heroes-but just by seeing Jack, I understood that the reason those famous people in history are remembered is because they were unique."
"It's not because of their technique, and it's not because of their power-it's because of themselves... or rather, because of everything about them!"
"That sense of presence is shaped by the era, shaped by the environment, and also shaped by themselves-"
"Technique, power, personality, will, experience, even age, family, relatives, friends, etc... the so-called hero is a word formed by the mixture of all these things, and it's not enough to simply learn their technique, train their power, and imitate their personality!"
"Even if you have the same wrist strength, the same physique, the same technique, and a similar personality-these things alone are not enough."
"The Resurrected are just the Resurrected; puppets are just puppets-they are not the heroes themselves, nor can they inherit the heroes' legends and history... you should just think of them as a group of fanatical fans who worship heroes so much that they believe they are the heroes."
"They're nothing more than a bunch of mentally ill people with screwed-up minds, that's all they are."
Saying this, Jaden casually picked up the small saucer on the table in front of him, which was used as a coaster. He smiled at Otto, and while Otto didn't understand, he tossed the saucer towards a wall like a frisbee.
The saucer didn't fly fast, but Otto didn't know if it was his imagination, he felt that the moment the saucer flew out of Jaden's hand, it seemed to... turn black?
"Just like the real Lu Bu probably wouldn't break in from anywhere but the main entrance."
Following Jaden's words, the instant the saucer he threw was about to hit the wall, the thick, specially-made wall shattered!
But the person who destroyed the wall had only just stepped one leg into the room when he was hit in the head by the saucer Jaden threw, and he was immediately smashed back out!
At this moment, Jaden stood up, stretched, and yawned, facing the intruder.
"I've been staying indoors for the past few days. A little post-meal exercise today wouldn't be bad~"
Therefore.
"I'll play with you for a bit... Mr. Mentally Ill Man who calls himself Lu Bu~"
...