Chapter 227: Zoffy's Expectation
Following the passage underground, they boarded the subway.
Many of the Pirates looked very curious; for many, it was the first time seeing such a vehicle.
They continued along the railway.
Time quickly passed, and the group successfully arrived at the Military Base located outside the Royal Capital.
The Kingdom's various Military Bases are interconnected.
However, Marine Bases are usually located on the Kingdom Coast and Nearby Islands, while the interior houses the Army Bases.
So, at a glance, the Army soldiers were all in exquisite black military uniforms.
"These military uniforms are much better looking than the rags the Marines wear."
A Pirate couldn't help but exclaim.
His words drew agreement from the other members.
Naturally, he wasn't talking about the Marines of the Kronos Kingdom.
A smile appeared on Hades's face; he felt a familiar aura.
Accompanied by footsteps, an Elite Unit walked over.
The expressions of the many Pirates couldn't help but turn serious; they felt a powerful, highly threatening aura.
This was a man with the height of an Admiral, wearing a court-style Army military uniform with black and gold trim, and a long saber at his waist.
His seemingly ordinary body contained astonishing strength, subtly radiating a sense of sharpness.
This was a powerful Swordsman, a Top Tier Combatant.
Top Tier Combatants are incredibly rare.
Besides the Rocks Pirates, the Marines, and the World Government, they knew of very few on Great Sea.
They hadn't expected to encounter such a Top Tier Combatant upon arriving at the Kronos Kingdom.
What kind of Kingdom is this?
Some members were filled with doubt, their hearts even somewhat shaken.
"His Highness, you have finally returned."
The man respectfully lowered his head before Hades.
"General Zoffy, no, I should call you Army Marshal now. It's been a long time."
Looking at this pillar of the Kingdom, Hades smiled.
Zoffy, the pillar of the Kingdom, the former Grand General of the Kingdom.
However, following the reform of the Kronos Kingdom's military, which split into the Marines and the Army, Zoffy became the Army Marshal.
They indeed hadn't seen each other for many years, roughly over a decade.
Every time he returned to the Kronos Kingdom, he would stay hidden for a period.
Perhaps Zoffy knew he had returned.
His gaze fell upon Zoffy's side, but he didn't see the familiar figure.
"Is that guy Zoro not here?"
The news of his return wasn't a secret.
Zoro is Zoffy's son, possessing great potential.
Like Titan, he was trained by Hades as one of his Confidants, having followed Hades since childhood.
However, when Hades went to sea and took Titan with him, Zoro was left behind alone.
Given Zoro's personality, if he knew Hades was here, he would definitely rush over.
Since he's not here now, there's probably something important happening.
"Ah, he still has a patrol mission. I will have him come visit you later, His Highness."
As a father, Zoffy understood his son.
The stress that Hades and Titan put on Zoro was truly immense.
Whether it was Hades or Titan, their growth rate was astonishing! They had made such big names for themselves on Great Sea.
Feeling Hades's unfathomable aura, and looking at Titan beside him, if a great battle truly broke out, he wouldn't be a match.
Because of this, Zoro had no choice but to make an effort to become stronger, to catch up to the pace set by Hades and Titan who had surpassed him.
This was actually nothing; for the Kingdom, having stress was a good thing.
Hades and Titan had battled many Strongmen from the World, and the accumulation gained from that was something Zoro lacked.
He didn't possess a monster-level innate physique like Hades and Titan, nor did he have a powerful Devil Fruit ability.
He could only rely on his own effort to improve.
The Kingdom was very clear about Zoro's situation.
As his father, Zoffy was also very clear; the two of them were quite similar, and their experiences were somewhat alike.
In reality, Zoffy and the Kingdom were already very satisfied with Zoro's current situation.
Now thirty-one years old, Zoro already possessed the powerful strength of a Quasi-Admiral Level, infinitely close to a Top Tier Combatant.
In terms of basic physique, it was the foundation of everything.
Although it wasn't Zoro's weakness, it was the direction Zoro had always put effort into training.
Now, he already possessed a powerful, monster-level physique.
In terms of Armament Haki, Zoro had already mastered the Haki Emission Technique.
There was no need to deliberately pursue Haki Internal Destruction, as he was a Swordsman after all.
In terms of Observation Haki, Zoro possessed outstanding talent and it was also Zoro's main focus direction.
However, he was still half a step away from the degree of "Future Sight".
"Future Sight" actually involves technique and can be learned, but the difficulty is very high.
Its essence is to use powerful Observation Haki to perceive everything around, and then perform processing and calculation on the collected information.
During this process, it's necessary to ensure the brain maintains clarity, only then can information processing truly be achieved.
For Zoro, reaching this degree of Observation Haki within five years was not a problem.
In terms of swordsmanship, Zoro reached the realm of Peak Swordsman very early, just one step away from Great Sword Master.
Perhaps the stress he put on himself was too great, preventing him from breaking through, but he had been accumulating all along.
Currently, Zoro had undoubtedly reached a bottleneck.
The return of Hades and the others would be the key for Zoro to break through this bottleneck.
Under immense stress, Zoro would soon undergo a great transformation: a further increase in Haki quality, Observation Haki reaching the top tier, and breaking through to become a Great Sword Master.
Such a Zoro would undoubtedly surpass Zoffy, his father.
Zoffy was a Top Tier Combatant, but at this level, he could only be considered ordinary, mid-tier.
Within the Rocks Pirates, he could only be compared to the "Demon King" Nash and the "Tyrant Dragon" Zak, who ranked at the bottom rank in terms of strength.
The eventual Zoro would clearly be a notch stronger than Zoffy.
As a father, Zoffy held such an expectation in his heart.
He wasn't very old yet and could still exert some strength.
And in the next generation, someone capable of taking over had already appeared.
Hades, who controlled the "Underworld Prison", also had some understanding of Zoro's situation, but this wasn't a bad thing.
Bottlenecks were difficult to break through.
During the process of accumulation, Zoro focused his energy on basic strength, which is physique, in order to improve his strength.
This was a good thing.
The current accumulation was already completely sufficient; what was missing was an opportunity.
Later, finding some Strongmen to spar with Zoro, or even directly engage in a group fight, the increased stress would naturally promote his breakthrough.
(end of chapter)