Life-or-Death Crisis, Observation Haki

Early the next morning, Roy and his group appeared at the docks. They had already toured the entire city yesterday and exceeded the purpose of this journey—not only had they recruited a capable subordinate, but they had also obtained a Devil Fruit. There was no reason to linger any longer.

"Captain, where are we going next?" Patch asked listlessly. Since there had been no fight yesterday, he seemed rather dispirited today.

"Hmm, I'm planning to find another chef next, so let's head to the nearby city of cuisine—Fallen Leaf Town." As a true gourmand, Roy naturally would not miss such a holy land.

"Huh, Captain, doesn't the ship already have plenty of chefs?" Patch had boarded the ship yesterday and already knew roughly how Roy's fleet was set up. After all, Roy had nearly a thousand people aboard; without chefs, they would have starved to death long ago.

"How is that the same? As the captain, I naturally need a personal high-class chef." Roy glared. The chefs on the ship were merely adequate and could not satisfy his pursuit of fine food at all.

"Fine, you're the captain. Your call," Patch said without much interest.

After spending a day getting to know him, Roy realized that Patch was quite an oddball. With his combat style, one would have expected him to be energetic, yet in everyday life he was practically Zen-like, always lazy and unable to muster any enthusiasm. Only the mention of a fight could revive him on the spot. Still, that was fine. After all, Roy's intended role for him was that of a high-level enforcer.

Just as the large group was about to board the ship, Roy suddenly felt every hair on his body stand on end. A deadly crisis had surfaced without any warning, yet Roy did not doubt it in the slightest. His battle instincts, honed over years, had saved him countless times at the brink of death.

But even though he had sensed the danger this time, it was of little use. He had no idea where it was coming from or what exactly it was. All he felt was an oppressive sense of dread coiling around his heart.

Patch noticed that Roy had suddenly stopped and asked in confusion, "Captain, what's wrong?"

Seeing Roy stop, the person hidden in the shadows decisively pulled the trigger.

The sense of danger drew closer and closer, like a thorn against his back. Roy's heart began pounding violently, like a high-speed pump, sending blood racing through his entire body. A wondrous sensation arose within him. Though his eyes were clearly closed, he seemed able to sense every movement of the people around him, as though he had opened a pair of eyes within the void.

In that instant, Roy's already terrifying battle instincts surged to another level. Sharp ears and keen eyes were no longer enough to describe this state. It transcended his physical senses—by the terms of his previous life, it was the Sixth Sense.

Roy understood. Under the pressure of this life-and-death crisis, he had finally comprehended Observation Haki, and he had directly reached an exceptionally high level. This was mainly due to the beast-like battle instincts he had developed over the years, combined with the Dream-Dream Fruit's enhancement of his soul and will. That was why Roy had been able to comprehend Observation Haki directly to its second stage.

Now Roy could sense where the danger was coming from. A bullet was hurtling toward him. If he had not comprehended Observation Haki at that critical moment, the bullet would have pierced his temple the next second, bringing his journey across the seas to an immediate end.

After all, he was neither a Logia-type Fruit user nor a Zoan-type Fruit user with absurd defensive and regenerative abilities. If he suffered such a fatal injury, death would be his only outcome.

Roy instantly drew his blade and split the bullet apart with its tip. Even so, cold sweat broke out across his body. It was not as though he had never faced death before, but dying miserably to an assassination was something he could never accept.

Shock and fury rapidly rose within Roy. He also knew that this hidden sniper had to be a powerful expert who had comprehended Observation Haki. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to remain completely undetected.

Roy's expression turned icy. If such a dangerous person could not be brought under his control, then he would have to be sent to his death.

Only then did the others realize that Roy had been targeted by an assassination. What was terrifying was that before Roy made his move, not a single one of them had detected the assassin.

"Damn it, I have to retreat immediately." The sniper in the shadows was equally astonished. No one had ever escaped his fatal shots before, but he quickly came to his senses. For a sniper like him, once someone got close, death was the only outcome.

Having comprehended Observation Haki, he was not only formidable at sniping, but his ability to hide was also nothing to scoff at. Yet under Roy's second-stage Observation Haki, he had nowhere to hide. Before he had even taken more than a few steps, he found Roy standing in front of him with a cold expression.

What surprised Roy was that this sniper, who had comprehended Observation Haki, was actually a carefree young man. Even while carrying out the assassination and fleeing afterward, he still had a foxtail grass stem hanging from his mouth.

Even Roy himself had only comprehended Observation Haki during today's crisis. He had not expected to find such a young expert in the North Blue who had also learned Haki.

Although Haki was commonplace in the latter half of the Grand Line, almost no one in the Four Seas or the first half of the Grand Line could learn it.

This frivolous young man was also deeply shocked inside. Anyone capable of evading his killing shot and instantly locating his hiding place had to possess a greater mastery of Observation Haki than he did.

Seeing Roy's unfriendly expression, he sensibly tossed his Sniper Rifle onto the ground, raised both hands, and said, "Buddy, I surrender. You can deal with me however you want."

Roy's expression shifted uncertainly, as though he were thinking about something. Seeing that Roy had not killed him immediately, he knew there was still hope of surviving and hurriedly said, "My name is Tolstoy King. I'm the number one assassin in the killer organization controlled by the Vinsmoke Family. I'm sure you know that you thoroughly offended the manager of Flavie Arena. He paid a huge price to hire me to kill you. But clearly, we both underestimated you."

Roy had already sentenced that manager to death in his heart, but there was no need to rush. The man had nowhere to run anyway.

"Uh, boss, I know you're building a Pirate Crew. It seems your fleet doesn't have a sniper worth mentioning yet, right? What do you think of me? I'm not bragging, but it would be hard to find a better sniper than me in the entire North Blue."

That was not exactly an empty boast. A sniper who had comprehended Observation Haki might not be strong in direct combat, but his support and assassination capabilities were absolutely terrifying. Even Roy had nearly fallen victim to a cheap shot.

But Roy naturally did not believe that his overwhelming charisma had drawn King to join him. This was merely a tactic to save his own life.

"Heh, I wouldn't dare take in someone as dangerous as you. Otherwise, if we encounter a powerful enemy in the future, you'd probably be the first to run away. You might even shoot me in the back," Roy said with a faint smile.

King's face turned bitter as he resigned himself to his fate. "Fine, boss. Do whatever you want. I can't resist anyway."