Special Training: Ryuo and Awakening

Wano Country, Flower Capital Training Grounds.

On the sixth day after the Orochi was killed, just as dawn was breaking, the Training Ground was already completely silent at six in the morning.

Zephyr stood in the center of the arena, not holding a wooden sword. Eight figures stood neatly in front of him: Lin Yuan, Kaido, Bullet, King, Huijin, Kuma, Moria, and Inazuma. The weariness of waking up early was hard to hide in their eyes, but no one complained.

"For the next month," Zephyr's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly penetrated everyone's ears, "Mornings will focus on honing physical skills and cultivating foundational knowledge; afternoons will be dedicated to mastering Haki; and at night, everyone will delve into developing their Devil Fruit abilities. Every Sunday, everyone will have a day off."

His gaze swept over the crowd, and he said solemnly, "Wano Country holds two priceless treasures that are hard to find anywhere else. The first is Seastone, whose purity is unparalleled in the world; the second is the unique Armament Haki technique used in this country— Ryuo."

"You honed your Armament Haki Hardening techniques on Hachinosu using Seastone, but that was just the foundation. From today onward, we will take it a step further and use Seastone to learn the art of Haki circulation. Only by building a solid foundation can we reach higher levels."

Kaido cracked his neck, his knuckles popping, and his signature laugh rang out, "Oh ho ho! It's finally starting. I've been waiting for six whole days!"

Morning Ryuo – Flowing, Invisible Armament Haki

In the center of the arena, there was a fist-sized piece of Seastone with a purity of 99%. Ashura Doji stood in the center of the arena. He had come at the request of Kozuki Oden, which could be considered as repaying the favor that Lin Yuan had done for him in the past.

His gaze swept over everyone present. "Oden said that since you've come to Wano Country to cultivate Haki, it would be a waste of your opportunity not to learn Ryuo. I will only be here to guide you for one day; how much you can comprehend depends entirely on your own destiny."

Having said that, he drew a jet-black short sword from his waist and then opened his left palm. A layer of almost transparent power, like flowing air, quietly emerged. It was not the well-known black Armament Haki Hardening, but the secret technique of Wano Country — Ryuo.

"Armament Haki has two applications," Ashura Doji explained slowly. "The first is hardening, which involves covering the body with Haki to form an indestructible armor. This is the technique you trained on Hachinosu using Seastone. The goal was to ensure that the hardened form remained stable even under the suppression of Seastone."

"The second type is Flow. It releases Haki out of the body and condenses it into an invisible shield. This is Ryuo. Hardening is mainly defensive, using head-on collisions, and a punch is a brute force attack; Ryuo is mainly offensive, with force penetrating the body and able to disintegrate the opponent from the inside."

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved to the giant rock beside him, his palm hovering an inch away from the rock surface. Ryuo surged in his palm, and he suddenly pushed forward. Instantly, a complete palm print appeared on the surface of the giant rock, with smooth and even lines, clearly caused by internal force and collapse.

Kaido's pupils contracted slightly, and he whispered, "To cause destruction from a distance..."

"Today's training goal is to master Ryuo," Ashura Doji reiterated the rules. "The Seastone before you is your trial. Don't simply cover the surface of the stone with Haki; instead, Haki to penetrate into the stone's interior. In the past, you practiced 'resisting suppression'; today, you will practice 'active intrusion'."

Lin Yuan was the first to step forward and try. He had trained Armament Haki Hardening to its limit on Hachinosu, and could even cut through Seastone with it. However, the method of circulating Haki was a completely different approach. It was not about using Haki as Haki to cover external objects, but rather about letting it seep into the depths of the stone like flowing water.

He closed his eyes, not activating his Observation Haki, but instead unleashing his unique Spatial Perception. The textures and veins inside the Seastone appeared clearly in his mind; its internal density was not uniform, but rather crisscrossed with ravines, resembling a parched and cracked earth.

Armament Haki slowly emerged from his palm, abandoning its solidified form and seeping inward little by little along the grain of the raw stone.

Upon seeing this, Ashura Doji's eyes flashed with surprise. "Your Haki... has really seeped in?"

"It's just a shallow layer," Lin Yuan answered truthfully.

"Is it the effect of Observation Haki? No... it's your Devil Fruit ability, allowing you to see the internal structure of Seastone?"

"Spatial Perception, an ability belonging to the fruit."

Ashura Doji pondered for a moment, then waved his hand. "Using abilities to aid in cultivating Haki isn't considered opportunistic. Let's continue."

Following closely behind was Kaido. His Armament Haki was thick and powerful, surpassing everyone else in quantity, but at this moment it appeared unusually sluggish. His heavy Haki was like cast iron, unable to flow at all, as if a giant hammer was striking flowing water.

"Your Haki is too rigid, like a piece of dead iron." Ashura Doji frowned. "Try to relax, soften your Haki, make it as fluid as water."

Kaido closed his eyes, recalling his training on Hachinosu. Back then, he trained in Hardening, aiming to remain standing under the pressure of Seastone —a passive defense. But now he trains in Flow, requiring him to take the initiative; the two philosophies are completely opposite.

He slowly released the hardened state of Armament Haki, letting the jet-black color in his palm gradually fade, turning into a layer of ethereal black mist. This mist, upon touching the surface of the Seastone, did not dissipate but instead adhered steadily to it.

Ashura Doji's brow relaxed slightly. "Finally, you've got the hang of it. Your Haki aura is extremely strong, but you lack refined control. The fact that the hardening can withstand the pressure of the Seastone proves that its strength has already reached the required level. Now you can focus on refining your control."

Kaido gritted his teeth and calmed himself to continue trying.

Bullet stood before the raw stone, not in a hurry to attack. Back on Hachinosu, he had honed the hardness of his fists through repeated heavy blows, eventually cracking the Seastone. But what he sought today was not brute force destruction.

He extended one index finger, compressing his entire body's Armament Haki to its extreme, concentrating it at his fingertip, as thin as a silver needle. His fingertip lightly touched the stone surface, not striking with force, but slowly pushing. The condensed Haki quietly seeped into the stone body through his fingertip, like a fine needle piercing flesh.

"Your Haki compression technique is quite impressive." Ashura Doji nodded slightly. "Was this honed on Hachinosu?"

"It was taught by Teacher Zephyr."

"Extreme compression is the foundation of fluidity. When Haki is condensed to its extreme, it can naturally flow at will."

A full day of intensive training began, with everyone employing their own methods to gradually grasp the true essence of Ryuo.

Evening meditation summary

As the sun sets, the day's spiritual practice finally comes to an end.

Everyone sat on the ground, their legs aching and numb, even their fingertips trembling slightly. Moria huddled to one side, tightly wrapped in his own shadow, his face pale—not from the scorching sun, but from being suppressed by the power of Seastone for so long. Inazuma crouched in a corner, carefully wiping the scissors in his hands, his hands still trembling uncontrollably.

Huijin closed her eyes gently, and on her palm, the Ryuo cherry blossoms appeared and disappeared, as she repeatedly comprehended them. Ash sat quietly beside her, his gaze fixed on that invisible power, remaining silent.

Ashura Doji stepped before the group, offering his final words of advice. "Your foundations in Haki are all exceptionally solid. The Seastone training on Hachinosu has laid a firm foundation for you. But Hardening is stagnant strength, Ryuo is vitality. This method of Haki circulation is unique to Wano Country; it is impossible for outsiders to learn it. What I teach you today is enough for you to dedicate yourselves to intensive training for a whole month."

After saying that, he turned and left without saying another word.

Each person's future path depends on their abilities developed at night.

Night fell over the Flower Capital, and the open area behind the Castle became the place where everyone honed their Devil Fruit abilities.

Kaido arrived alone, no longer placing Seastone beside him. He took a deep breath, and his body suddenly transformed into a half-beast form: a human body covered in scales, Dragon Head held high, and dragon wings and tail unfurled. The Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon fully Awakening, and wisps of azure lightning coiled around his fist, quickly gathering into finger-thick bolts of electricity that crackled and popped.

"Receive."

He focused his mind and tried his best to restrain the raging lightning on his arm, preventing it from erupting uncontrollably. The lightning crackled across his skin, scorching patches of burn marks, but he never let up.

Back on Hachinosu, his Devil Fruit Awakening was extremely difficult to control; after unleashing it at full power, he would collapse from exhaustion. Now, however, his goal is no longer just to avoid exhaustion, but to make the Awakening power a normal part of his life, controlling it at will.

Zephyr slowly emerged from the shadows. "The power of the lightning has stabilized."

"We've stabilized, but we can't yet play at will."

"Only by regaining control of the power unleashed can one truly master it."

Kaido said no more, and punched the ground with all his might. Lightning exploded from his fist, instantly creating a scorched crater in the ground. What was alarming was that the scattered aftershocks of lightning did not dissipate, but were instead drawn back by his Haki —like practicing Ryuo, he brought the released power back into his body.

In an instant, lightning once again condensed on his arm, its radiance even greater than before, yet his figure only swayed slightly.

"Rising and then withdrawing Haki... is this the true essence of Flowing Armor?" Kaido breathed heavily, his legs trembling slightly, yet he stood firmly. "Before, when I trained Hardening Armor, I locked Haki inside my body. Now, training Ryuo is about releasing and then withdrawing it; they are completely different paths."

"Which one is more difficult?" Zephyr asked.

"None of them are simple."

Upon hearing this, Zephyr did not press the matter further.

On the other side of the Training Ground, Jin was fully utilizing his power. Thirty giant rocks were suspended in mid-air, rotating in a ring. The trajectories of the rocks were intertwined and their speed was constantly increasing, yet they remained in pairs, never colliding.

Back on Hachinosu, he used the Float-Float Fruit to lift much heavier objects, but he had never tried manipulating a large number of heavy objects to rotate at high speed.

"Compared to on Hachinosu, your control precision has improved considerably." Huijin walked to his side and spoke, gazing at the flying rocks.

"Before, we only competed on the weight we could bear; now, we need to practice absolute control." Fine beads of sweat appeared on Jin's forehead, his gaze fixed on the boulder in the air. "We have enough strength; now, it's about making sure there's not a single leak."

The Huijin stood silently, saying nothing more.

On the highest terrace of the Castle, only Lin Yuan remained. The cold moonlight cast long shadows on him.

Looking back, the Seastone on Hachinosu was used to break through the limits of Armament Haki Hardening and resist suppression; while the training in Wano Country was to use Seastone to comprehend the flow of Haki, achieving infiltration and penetration. One is defense, the other offense; one is containment, the other release—the difference is like heaven and earth.

He closed his eyes and focused all his Spatial Perception. He no longer sought to know the location of others, but instead tried to understand the spatial structure of the entire world. The sea breeze on his face, the clouds in the sky, the surging waves, the heat waves from the magma underground... everything left its unique mark in the space.

The weak points in the space are like the texture inside the Seastone, uneven and varied, with a main trunk and branches. And his Door-Door Fruits rely on these points to complete the Space Folding and shuttle between the two places.

Footsteps sounded, Zephyr slowly walked onto the terrace.

"How is Ryuo's training progressing?"

"It can penetrate into the interior of the Seastone, but the depth is still insufficient," Lin Yuan replied, opening his eyes.

"That's enough. With the foundation laid on Hachinosu, Wano Country has embarked on its path to advancement. The rest can be honed along the way."

Lin Yuan's eyes flickered. "We're setting off for Zou tomorrow?"

"That's right, we'll depart tomorrow."

Lin Yuan looked up at the bright moon in the night sky and remained silent.

Late-night chat under the moon

In the stillness of the night, on the rooftop terrace of the Flower Capital Castle.

Kaido walked up, carrying a large piece of beast meat, and leaned against the railing, taking a big bite. After chewing for a moment, he looked at Lin Yuan beside him and said, "On Hachinosu, we used Seastone to train our hardening, cutting and smashing rocks, doing our best to resist the suppression. In Wano Country, it's still Seastone, but we have to learn how to circulate Haki."

Lin Yuan gazed at the distant night sky and replied calmly, "Hardening is sealing, Ryuo are releasing."

End of Chapter 87