Combat Lesson

Sirius was dumbfounded. Yamato had just awakened Conqueror's Haki?

Although in the original story Yamato awakened Conqueror's Haki around this time as well, it certainly wasn't because of a mace!

This was just too absurd!

However, the Conqueror's Haki that surged from Yamato was merely a flash in the pan, vanishing completely almost as soon as it appeared.

Yamato herself didn't even notice it; she was still clutching the broken half of her mace, sobbing.

Between Yamato's hiccups, Sirius finally understood: Aken was the name she had given her mace. He had no idea what she had been thinking.

"So, is there something special about this mace?" Sirius couldn't help but ask. She had been so emotionally agitated that she'd awakened Conqueror's Haki, after all.

"This is a gift from Father!" Yamato wiped her eyes, still looking very aggrieved.

This mace did indeed have special significance. It had been commissioned by Kaido when Yamato was even younger; it was the first gift her old father had ever given her.

Hearing this, Sirius felt a sense of irony. Should he say he expected nothing less from Uncle Kaido? The first gift he gave his precious daughter was a weapon.

He and Charlotte Linlin were truly a match made in heaven—they could be collectively called a tiger father and a wolf mother.

However, looking at Yamato, who was still pouting, Sirius felt a headache coming on. Even though she possessed astonishing brute strength and a vicious fighting style—always aiming for his face—she was ultimately just an eight-year-old girl, a child who would cry when her treasure was broken.

Sirius walked over and said sincerely, "Sorry, Yamato—"

Before Sirius could finish his apology, Yamato shook her head and sniffled. "It's okay. Sirius didn't mean to do it. Besides, I would have been angry if Sirius hadn't gone all out!"

In battle, anything could happen; Sirius's reaction had simply been for the sake of victory.

Sirius knew that Yamato didn't truly blame him, but she was definitely still feeling very sad.

Just as Sirius was about to say something more, King walked over, completely lacking any tact. His voice was cold and indifferent. "Yamato, are you going to continue the fight?"

"I lost. Sirius is really amazing!"

Yamato shook her head, looked at Sirius, and grinned. "But don't get cocky, Sirius!"

She wrinkled her little nose and shook her fist. "I will become even stronger! I will definitely catch up to you!"

Sirius reverted to his human form and smiled. "Bring it on."

King nodded. "Then the test ends here." He looked at Sirius. "I have a general understanding of your situation, kid. It is indeed a remarkable ability, but—"

The man's eyes were deep and inscrutable, making Sirius feel a chill in his heart. "This ability alone is far from enough. I will prove that to you."

With that, he turned his head to look at Jack, who was standing off to the side. "Jack, what are you standing there for? Wake up Black Maria! Training begins now!"

Jack, who had been left sitting on the ground, stunned by the sudden burst of Conqueror's Haki from Yamato, scrambled up. He grabbed Black Maria by the shoulders and shook her, finally managing to wake her up after she had been knocked unconscious.

The two guys, still feeling a bit dizzy, wobbled their way onto the training ground.

Black Maria still looked bewildered, having no idea why she had suddenly passed out.

Unlike her, Jack had witnessed exactly what happened to Yamato with his own eyes. As soon as he approached, he asked anxiously, "Yamato, what was that just now? When did you eat a Devil Fruit?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Jack?"

Yamato looked bewildered, completely unaware of just how incredible the power she had just unleashed really was.

To be honest, Sirius was a little envious.

That was Conqueror's Haki!

It was the strongest of the Three Colors of Haki. It had nothing to do with strength, lineage, or hard work; it was purely a manifestation of one's personal capacity—the mark of a king, one in a million.

The key point was that Sirius knew Conqueror's Haki wasn't just a symbol of status; it possessed power that far surpassed Armament Haki! Conqueror's Haki Infusion was the sharp blade that even The Strongest were proud to wield!

Sirius didn't think he would be able to awaken Conqueror's Haki. After all, he didn't have any grand dreams, nor was he looking to dominate or become the strongest. He figured Conqueror's Haki was probably a long way off for him.

But it didn't matter. Weren't the Marine Admirals top-tier powerhouses of the sea even without Conqueror's Haki?

As for his own ability, as long as he had enough to eat, he could get stronger just by lying around!

"Stop the idle chatter! Training has already begun!"

King's voice interrupted Sirius's wandering thoughts. The man's eyes were locked onto Jack, causing Jack, who had been so curious about Yamato's Conqueror's Haki, to instantly fall silent in fear.

Then, the afternoon training began.

The afternoon was dedicated to combat training, which meant King was teaching combat techniques to Sirius and the others.

It was divided into two parts: hand-to-hand combat and weapons.

The curriculum was about what Sirius had imagined. Basically, King would demonstrate a move, they would learn it, and after practicing for a while, they would spar with each other.

However, calling them "moves" was perhaps less accurate than calling them "routines"—they were essentially how to attack, defend, and counter in various specific situations.

"Engrave all these routines into your bones, and at the very least, you'll know what you can do when you're in a fight," Teacher King said.

Sirius felt that Teacher King made a lot of sense.

The moves in this world were mostly plain and unadorned. Even for that moss head who liked things flashy, his different moves were really just different ways to cut people.

The routines King taught were the optimal solutions for different situations. While they couldn't be said to apply to every scenario, if one could turn these routines into instinct, they would at least have some level of accomplishment in martial arts.

Sirius was the most unique of the four. Because King judged that he was just relying on his Devil Fruit Ability and had zero combat foundation, he specifically taught him from the most basic parts, such as how to exert force properly.

After the instruction on moves was finished, they sparred with each other. Naturally, Sirius was paired with Yamato, and Jack was paired with Maria.

"That's great, Sirius! Before you got here, I only had Uncle King to spar with!"

Yamato said this while throwing a punch toward Sirius, nearly giving him a black eye.

"Hey! Yamato! Take it easy!"

Sirius's fundamentals were truly poor. Without the boost from his Devil Fruit Ability, just trying to block Yamato's punches in his human form was a struggle.

Yamato finally reined in her strength; after all, it was just a practice session, and there was no need to be as serious as they were in previous battles. The scene remained quite harmonious.

However, once they moved from sparring with each other to training with King, the scene became far less harmonious.

"Too slow!"

King kicked Jack, who hadn't had time to defend, causing him to spit out blood.

"Tighten your muscles!"

King grabbed Black Maria and threw her, slamming her heavily into the ground.

"Did I teach you to launch such an obvious sneak attack from behind?"

King shifted his body to the side, dodging an attack from Yamato behind him, and punched her on the head, raising a large bump. He sent her sprawling to the ground, where she curled up and rolled around, clutching her head.

Training with Teacher King involved the group ganging up on him, unleashing the techniques they had learned that day, while Teacher King would feed them openings to practice against.

But this scene—

Sirius couldn't help but swallow hard. His good brother Jack really hadn't been wrong; Teacher King was truly excessively diligent! Jack's nosebleed wouldn't stop at all! His good brother must have reached that conclusion through firsthand experience.

Even though King wasn't using much more power than the others, that didn't mean it didn't hurt when it landed!

It was at this moment that King turned his head to look at Sirius. "What are you standing there for, kid? Are you scared?"

There was no other way, was there?

Sirius gritted his teeth. Forget it, the worst that happens is I get beaten up!

He launched himself forward, throwing a punch toward King.

"Who do you think you're going to hit with such a limp punch? Is that how I taught you to exert force?"

Sirius didn't even see what King did; he just felt the world go dark as he was sent flying by a single punch.

The gap in their strength was far too vast. Sirius might be able to dominate among six-year-olds, but compared to a genuine monster like King, he still had a long way to go.

Just as Sirius landed, a black shadow loomed over him. He looked up in alarm to see Teacher King's massive fist descending once again.

"Your adjustments are too slow! Are you afraid the enemy isn't fast enough?"

Before he could even put up a resistance, Sirius was sent flying once again.

Next, Sirius finally understood what Teacher King had meant earlier. He was truly practicing what he preached, using visible favoritism to prove to Sirius that his combat techniques were genuinely subpar.

Sirius wanted to cry.

The sparring session with Teacher King lasted for an hour. Without a doubt, all four of them were beaten black and blue, especially Sirius, who had swollen up a full size.

However, thanks to his abilities, Sirius recovered most of his strength after eating some food.

Although the strikes were ruthless, it had to be said that the teaching results were excellent. At the very least, by the final stage of the sparring, when King fed him moves, Sirius was already able to subconsciously use the techniques he had learned today to defend or counterattack.

After the hand-to-hand combat lesson came weaponry.

The process was similar to the hand-to-hand combat; the only difference was that the four of them each chose different weapons, so Teacher King had to instruct them separately.

Yamato chose a mace, Jack a scimitar, and Maria, quite boldly, chose a long staff with a wheel-like object embedded at the front, which she called the Wheel-Entering Monk. As for Sirius, he still chose the greatsword. There was no other reason—it had enough weight, and it was cool.

Teacher King was indeed versatile. Whether it was Yamato, Jack, or even Black Maria, who used an unconventional weapon, he was able to provide high-level guidance to them all.

Finally, it was Sirius's turn.

King looked at Sirius, who was holding the greatsword. "Kid, you made a good choice. Although I am not a swordsman, I am indeed most proficient in swordsmanship."

"Next, I will teach you properly how to use a sword."

Sirius felt a chill down his spine. If the hand-to-hand combat was already like that, wouldn't he be sent flying when facing Teacher King in his area of expertise?

Should he switch weapons?

The greatsword instruction was similar to before, starting from the basics. He taught Sirius how to grip the sword and how to exert force when swinging it, then had Sirius continuously practice various swings on that foundation until all of it became muscle memory.

Then, it was time to spar with Teacher King again.

This time it was one-on-one. The four of them each faced off against Teacher King, who used the same weapon as them. Sirius was trembling with fear.

As expected, he got a good beating again.

But to Sirius's surprise, Teacher King was using a wooden weapon. He didn't actually carry a greatsword and hack away at him, nor was there any special "extra care." It was a world of difference compared to before.

Had Teacher King suddenly developed a kind heart?

By the time this session ended, the sun was already setting.

Sirius thought he could finally take a break, but Teacher King said, "Now, let's begin the final physical training."

Sirius said in astonishment, "There's still physical training? Didn't we already do that this morning?"

"Don't talk nonsense. That was just a morning warm-up."

King said coldly, "The real training is only just beginning!"

"Physical strength is the foundation of everything, and physical conditioning is the most important priority of all training!"

And so, the various training equipment placed on the side of the training ground finally came in handy.

Sirius was rendered unable to continue several more times.

Thanks to the two big bosses 'Lin Shen' and 'Qian Lengfeng' for their 100-coin tips, and thanks to the big boss 'Yi | Hongye' for the 500-coin tip!