Exchange

As time passed, the two showed no signs of exhaustion!

This battle lasted for more than ten hours, until the early hours of the morning.

Thump! 

As the deafening collision sounded between the two, two falling sounds were heard almost at the same time.

Kuro fell down exhausted at the same time as Gin and lost consciousness.

No one stood up until Jango finished the countdown.

The spectators at the scene were at a loss for a moment, and Zoro and others were also stunned.

"Who wins this match…?!"

"Kuro, I think he fell down a little later."

"Nonsense! It's obviously Gin!"

On stage, after discussing with Jasmine beside him, Jango immediately announced that the two were tied, tied for first place, and would enter the hall of fame at the same time.

The bonus and devil fruit would be divided between the two.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Jango's voice fell, Kuro struggled to stand up.

But his action was a step too late, and the battle had already ended.

"Lucky guy, but…"

Kuro sighed, his eyes fell on his palms, feeling the rhythm in his body; an unconcealable joy appeared in his eyes: "I seem to feel a new power flowing through my body, as Gawain said, but it will take time to fully awaken it."

Gin groaned, opened his eyes, and saw Kuro's figure. Then, he realized that the battle had already ended.

"Did I lose?" 

"Don't be silly; according to the rules, this match is a draw."

Gin was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "In the real battle, I would have already died."

"I have no intention of taking your life. After all, we are… Companions, right?"

Kuro smiled slightly and said: "Didn't you say you would help that guy ascend the throne? Then prove it to me!"

"Okay!"

Gin struggled to stand up, but he collapsed several times due to exhaustion. It was obvious that his body had reached its limit, and he couldn't squeeze out even the slightest bit of strength.

At this time, Kuro stretched out his hand; Gin was stunned for a moment, then grabbed it and barely stood up to greet the last cheers on the field.

After a few minutes, on the podium.

Gin looked at the Devil Fruit in front of him with an unconcealable desire in his eyes.

Seeing this, Kuro on the side smiled and said: "I have no interest in this kind of thing. The money is mine, and the Devil Fruit is yours."

After hearing that, Gin grabbed the Bone-Bone fruit and took a big bite.

"Hmm!"

His face flushed instantly, and he immediately leaned over to the side and retched, but nothing came out.

Only bone spurs emerged from his body, like countless blades; it was sharp and flashed with a cold light.

These bone spurs are pure white and crystal clear, with a texture like jade.

Even without touching them, Kuro could tell that these bones were completely different from ordinary bones, and their hardness and toughness were no less than that of steel.

"The power to manipulate bones?"

Kuro was slightly stunned and smiled: "Maybe you can change your name in the future. What do you think of Gin the Bone Demon?"

At the same time, somewhere in East Blue.

A warship sailed through the wind and waves and sped towards Raven Harbor.

Countless sea beasts in the surrounding area, just by sensing the breath of this ship, fled away at high speed as if frightened.

"The hull structure is mixed with Sea Prism Stone, which can mask the presence of the ship. But will the Sea Kings regard it as their own kind or even a kind that is far more powerful than themselves when they actually see it?" 

"It is also durable enough to sail in the New World. In terms of performance, it is much better than the ship that is still being built in Raven Harbor."

Gawain looked at the frightened sea beast in the distance, and different thoughts surged in his mind: "Instead of continuing to invest more money in it, it is better to invest the remaining funds directly into this ship, transform it, and use the existing ones directly."

After speaking, Gawain's eyes narrowed slightly, and a familiar prompt suddenly popped up in front of him: "Crew member Gin ate the Bone-Bone fruit."

"Potential increases."

… … …

"The final winner of the Martial Arts Tournament is actually Gin? After training for more than two months, has Kuro's strength did not improve that much?"

After a brief thought, Gawain shook his head and roughly guessed what had happened: "It's unlikely that he will take the initiative to lose the match. After all, that's a bit insulting."

"Then there are only two possibilities."

"Either Kuro was exhausted by the others in the previous battle, or Gin tried his best to hold on until both sides were exhausted."

"However, to be able to do this, Gin has indeed risked his life."

After saying this, Gawain's attention was drawn to the system prompt in front of him: "The potential has been increased, but it has not exceeded the limit of the Silver level?"

This was not surprising to Gawain.

After all, even the gap between Iron levels is so big that it is almost an instant kill.

Although the difference between the Silver levels is not that exaggerated, there is still a big gap between them.

To use a more mysterious adjective, it would be something like a lower Silver level being promoted to an upper Silver level or even an extreme level.

"But Gin's potential has undoubtedly gone a step further and become even stronger."

"As long as it is developed to its limit, it will be at least at the level of a Vice-Admiral in the Marines. If converted into the bounty place by the Cross Guild later, it will be at the level of 500 million Belly."

"Compared to his previous potential at the Bronze level, it is undoubtedly a complete transformation."

"And I…"

Gawain looked at the system panel, and his sight fell on a new item in the skill column. 

> Conqueror Haki: Level 1(30/5000)

There are also new changes to character rating: [Rating: Gold, a strong man who has the qualification of a King.]

Looking at the two most obvious changes, Gawain's mouth curled up into a smile unconsciously.

Before, when he ate the Red Dragon fruit, his potential had already reached the Diamond level, but he lacked the Conqueror Haki that was essential for the top strong men. Even if he realized his full potential, his combat power would probably be the weakest among the Diamond ones.

But now, the last piece of the puzzle has been completed. Even if there is no further potential improvement, Gawain is confident that he will become one of the strongest people in the world.

With the bug-level ability of the Red Dragon fruit, when Gawain reaches the Diamond level, if the battlefield is suitable, he will not be afraid of any opponent, including the Five Elders, who are suspected to possess immortality.

Besides, Gawain didn't believe that he would really stop there.

"Unconsciously, my strength has already approached that of the best people in the world?"

Gawain smiled faintly.

The sea breeze howled.

Fujitora walked out of the cabin and said to Gawain: "I have already applied a hundred times gravity to Zephyr and the two seriously injured marine officers. Even with their superhuman physiques, they cannot move freely."

"But, do you really intend to use Zephyr in exchange for the position of Warlord?"

Fujitora frowned slightly.

He traveled from the New World and witnessed countless tragedies, and his feelings about the seven warlords of the sea were quite hostile.

Among those who become pirates, the vast majority are ordinary people who are forced into a desperate situation, but there are also some who do so for their own ambitions.

Especially for the powerful pirates at the top of the food chain; almost all of them are like this. In comparison, Gawain is an outlier among them.

"Um."

Gawain nodded and explained: "The title of Warlord can help me save countless troubles, especially for Raven Harbor."

"Besides, shouldn't you feel more at ease with me being the Warlord?"

Fujitora was slightly stunned, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "That's true, but next, it depends on the reaction of the Marines."

Gawain said calmly: "They'll agree."

"Zephyr's position in the Marines is different. His importance in the hearts of the Marines officers is even higher than that of Garp."

"Unless such a person actively betrays the Marines, neither the World Government nor the Marines will easily give up on him."

=============

If this fanfic reaches the top 50 in Power Ranking, I'll publish 8 chapters (2 regular and 6 bonus).