Haki and Swordsmanship

During this time, Roy had also learned a little about Kayou's abilities. He had not expected Kayou to possess five senses far beyond those of ordinary people, or to be able to incorporate his culinary arts into combat, unconsciously controlling his opponents' minds. No wonder he had been so at ease in his previous battles.

The Vinsmoke Family truly deserved its reputation as the Underground Emperor of the North Blue; they even possessed methods for training Haki. After subduing Yonji, Roy quickly sorted out the training methods for Observation Haki and Armament Haki from his Dream Memory.

Fortunately, Haki was inherently something exclusive to the strong. Although the Vinsmoke Family knew how to train it, no one had truly succeeded in cultivating it so far, which made Roy breathe a slight sigh of relief.

The essence of Haki lay in combining one's inner spirit and physical body. Unshakable conviction was strength. Armament Haki primarily depended on physical strength, and Roy discovered that his body was still not strong enough to awaken Armament Haki.

Furthermore, Roy realized that training Armament Haki could indeed be linked to food. By extracting the energy within food and converting it into the source of Haki, one could cultivate it. That also explained why every powerhouse in the Pirate World was such a huge eater.

The higher the grade of the ingredients, the richer their life essence, and the stronger the essence of Haki that could be converted. This reminded Roy of something: in the original story, the place where Rayleigh took Luffy to train Haki seemed to be an island full of prehistoric beasts.

Aside from fighting those giant beasts, Roy guessed that a large part of the reason Luffy had managed to raise his Armament Haki so much within two years was because he had fed on those beasts.

As for Observation Haki, Roy had already reached the peak of the second stage. After reading Yonji's Dream Memory, Roy gained a new understanding of the threshold for one's upper limit of strength. His status panel was roughly as follows.

Name: Roy

Age: 16

Devil Fruit Ability: lv8 (Beginner: Hypnosis, Dream Stealing, Dream Control) (Intermediate: Projection, Illusion, Dream Domain)

Swordsmanship: lv8 (Iron Cutting)

Observation Haki: lv10 (Five Senses Enhancement, Sixth Sense)

Combat Power Rating: North Blue Overlord

It could be said that Roy's talent in Observation Haki was extraordinarily high. In such a short time, it had actually surpassed both his swordsmanship and Devil Fruit Ability development. His overall strength was now simply incomparable to what it had been before.

In his rough estimation, he divided strength in all areas into four tiers. He was now more or less at the peak of the second tier. Not to mention the North Blue—even in the first half of the Grand Line, as long as he did not provoke those few Shichibukai, he would basically be invincible.

He did not yet know much about the latter two tiers, but in his view, ordinary Vice Admirals should generally be able to reach the third tier. Elite Vice Admirals, Admirals, Shichibukai, Four Emperors, and figures of that sort should all belong to the fourth tier.

Even within the same tier, there were strong and weak individuals. Roy could now deal with someone who had just entered the second tier with almost no effort at all, while the Four Emperors and Admirals should be the most powerful figures within the fourth tier.

However, a more precise division required the perspective of more powerful people. Roy did not need much more; in his opinion, as long as he could capture a Headquarters Rear Admiral, he could more or less sort out this world's hierarchy of strength.

But a Headquarters Rear Admiral was considered high-ranking within the Marines, and was almost impossible to encounter in the Four Seas. Roy could only think of taking a look around the Grand Line. Besides, if he really dealt with a Marine Rear Admiral, Headquarters would probably be so furious they would stomp their feet. Roy would likely face a fierce Marine crackdown afterward, so he only dared entertain the thought in his heart.

"Are we almost at the Extreme Sword Dojo?" Roy asked to the side as he emerged from his thoughts.

"Captain, we'll be there soon. Look, that little black dot ahead is Dover City. The Extreme Sword Dojo is quite famous in the city."

"Mm. I hope this dojo master won't disappoint me." Aside from conquering places left and right, what Roy had done most during this period was seek out renowned swordsmen in the North Blue to challenge. Yet most of those so-called "sword masters" could not withstand even a few of Roy's strikes, which disappointed him greatly.

Those worthless "sword masters" were generally killed in Roy's anger. Only the few swordsmen with genuine skill survived after being defeated by him. Of course, Roy only let them go after knocking them unconscious and taking their swordsmanship memories without their knowledge.

As Roy's fleet grew ever larger, every time they arrived in a town for supplies, it caused enormous unrest.

By the time Roy disembarked, the area around the harbor had already been almost completely deserted. Even pirates who had come to resupply there were either hiding or fleeing. After all, the Phantom Sword Pirates had become notoriously infamous even among pirates.

Inside the Extreme Sword Dojo, quite a few students were kneeling before a middle-aged man, crying out, "Kenkon Teacher, you need to leave quickly! That butcher has already come ashore. He must be here for you."

"Countless powerful sword masters in the North Blue have already fallen beneath his blade. He must be afraid that someone's swordsmanship will surpass his, which is why he commits such evil acts. Kenkon Teacher, even if you are powerful, you cannot possibly defeat that enormous fleet under his command. No matter how strong a sword master is, he cannot fight a thousand alone!"

"No, you are mistaken. Anyone who has truly grasped the essence of a sword master is a powerhouse of the current age. Fighting a thousand alone is as simple to them as eating and drinking." The middle-aged man known as Kenkon shook his head.

"Moreover, a true swordsman can never flee from another swordsman's challenge. That would be a swordsman's disgrace. To die on the battlefield is a swordsman's highest honor."

Clap, clap, clap! "Well said! Very well said! I believe someone capable of saying such things definitely won't be like the worthless trash I encountered before." The doors were abruptly thrown open, and a large group of people filed inside behind a black-clothed youth. The students had just wanted to rebuke them, but their words caught in their throats.

Everyone's attention fell upon the man at the front. His eyes shone as brilliantly as stars. He was the kind of person one would never forget after seeing just once, someone who would unconsciously become the center of attention in any setting.

"You must be Captain Roy, leader of the Phantom Sword Pirates." The middle-aged man possessed an old-fashioned air, his expression unchanged even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him.

"No. Today, I am not Roy, captain of any pirate crew. I am Roy, a swordsman." Roy shook his head.

"Good. To fight a swordsmanship expert such as Roy is also this one's lifelong wish. The outcome of today's battle is uncertain. If I am unfortunate enough to be defeated and die, I hope Roy can agree to two conditions. I would be deeply grateful."

"Hm? Go on."

"First, I hope Roy will allow these students of mine to leave. None of them have comprehended the true way of the sword, so they certainly cannot pose any threat to you."

"No problem." With Observation Haki combined with the Dream-Dream Fruit's abilities, Roy could clearly read the thoughts of this group. Not one of them had any intention of taking revenge on him. Cowardly to such an extent, they could never become strong, so Roy naturally had no interest in exterminating them all.

"Thank you. Second, my family heirloom blade—Kikuichimonji—is one of the Great Grade Sword 21 Works. It has long been a pearl gathering dust in my hands. I am willing to tell Roy where Kikuichimonji is hidden, but I also hope that if you one day reach Wano Country, you will return it to the current Himura Family Head."

He stared intently at Roy, waiting for his answer, uncertain in his heart. After all, he knew that the allure of one of the Great Grade Sword 21 Works was unparalleled for a swordsman. If he honestly put himself in Roy's position, he felt that even he would find it difficult to agree.