Observation Haki Improvement

This time, he held nothing back.

Sam's entire body transformed into a gray whirlwind, spinning and leaping madly around Ronan.

His Cat Claws waved into a dense net of blades, launching a storm-like assault from every tricky angle—above, below, left, and right!

"Die! Die! Die! Just die already!"

Sam roared, each claw aimed directly for vital points.

However, Ronan, at the center of the storm, moved as if strolling through a leisurely garden.

He employed Xingyi footwork, his body swaying like a willow branch in the wind.

Sometimes sidestepping, sometimes ducking, sometimes sliding, sometimes turning.

Each evasion was perfectly timed, not a moment too soon or too late.

It was a despair-inducing elegance.

No matter how fierce or cunning Sam's attacks were, Ronan always seemed to know they were coming, moving his body before the claws even landed, as if he had foreseen it.

Ronan even had the leisure to observe the surrounding scenery.

The light spots reflecting off the rock face from the sunlight, the distant shadows of seagulls skimming the sea, even the beads of cold sweat on Sam's face were all clearly visible in his perception.

Ten minutes passed.

The high-intensity, continuous burst left Sam panting like an ox, his body soaked in cold sweat.

He stopped, hands on his knees, staring intently at the man whose clothes weren't even ruffled. A hint of fear finally appeared in his eyes.

"You bastard..." Sam's voice trembled slightly. "Are you just going to dodge?! Why aren't you fighting back! Are you trying to humiliate me?!"

Clearly, he had also realized that the man before him was simply toying with him.

That all-seeing gaze made him feel like a clown dancing in the palm of a giant.

Ronan slowly exhaled, savoring the warm current flowing through his body from the triple Cultivation Multiplier.

The microscopic tearing and reassembly of his muscle fibers, the enhancement of his neural reaction Speed, intoxicated him.

Hearing Sam's question, Ronan put on an "innocent" expression and shrugged:

"I wanted to fight back too. But... your Speed is just too fast. I'm already giving it my all just to dodge, I don't have any spare energy to counterattack."

"You--!!"

Upon hearing this extremely perfunctory lie, Sam's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Bastard! Do you think I'd believe such nonsense! You're clearly doing this with ease!"

This humiliation of being treated like an idiot made Sam completely lose his reason.

He let out a scream, his eyes bloodshot, and charged at Ronan again without regard for anything else!

"I don't believe I can't catch you!!"

On the hilltop.

Watching this scene, Luffy scratched his head and asked with some confusion, "Why isn't Ronan still fighting back? He could knock that cat-like guy away with one punch."

Zoro crossed his arms, his gaze deep, and said with a hint of admiration, "Luffy, don't you see? Ronan isn't not fighting back, he's training."

"Training?" Luffy blinked.

"That's right," Zoro pointed to the battlefield below. "Don't you see Ronan's eyes? He has completely seen through all of Sam's attack trajectories."

"He's using his opponent's attacks to hone that skill called Observation Haki."

Zoro tapped his sword hilt lightly, a fire igniting in his eyes. "He's forcing himself into danger, using his body to memorize that state of perception. Such courage... he's a madman."

Luffy suddenly understood, and then his eyes shone brightly. "You mean, Ronan is practicing Observation Haki using that guy?!"

Zoro nodded heavily and said gravely, "Yeah, we need to quickly ask Ronan to teach us this skill too."

"On this sea, the ability to predict attacks truly has a decisive impact on combat."

"If I learn this, my swordsmanship... will advance further!"

In the battlefield, Ronan was unaware of his companions' discussion.

His entire mind was immersed in the changes on the system panel.

With each extreme dodge, with each near-miss of danger, he could clearly feel the shackles on his body loosening bit by bit.

Finally, after dodging Sam's deadly strike one more time, a pleasant notification sound echoed in his mind:

[Ding! Under the boost of battle mode, the host's Speed attribute has increased!]

[Speed: 12 - 13]

At the same time, the number on the skill bar also flickered:

[Observation Haki: Beginner (10/100)]

"Hoo..."

Ronan rejoiced inwardly. His Speed attribute had finally broken through to 13!

Furthermore, his Observation Haki proficiency had increased by 3 points in these mere ten-plus minutes, which was equivalent to several hours of arduous training!

However, as time went on, Ronan gradually discovered that the familiar "warm current" began to weaken.

No matter how frantically Sam attacked, that sense of danger grew fainter and fainter.

His body had completely adapted to this intensity of attack rhythm, like a game level he had grown tired of, no longer bringing any stimulation.

The progress bar for Observation Haki, stuck at 10/100, grew as slow as a snail's crawl.

"It seems..."

Ronan sighed inwardly, looking with some regret at Sam, who was now exhausted, foaming at the mouth, and whose movements were becoming distorted.

"The potential of this 'sparring partner' has been completely squeezed dry. Further training will likely require the accumulation of time, or... a stronger opponent."

With that thought, the playfulness in Ronan's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a cold sharpness.

The battle on the slope, due to Ronan's dodges like a precision machine, had fallen into a strange stalemate.

Sam, one of the cat-man brothers, was currently supporting himself with his hands on his knees, gasping for air.

Sweat dripped from his sharp, rat-like chin onto the gravel, which was stained with oil and blood.

His eyes, originally filled with cunning and killing intent, now held only deep powerlessness and terror.

No matter how he increased his Speed, no matter from which tricky angle he swung his Cat Claws, that man could always be one step ahead—

Just a small step was enough to make his attacks miss.

This feeling of powerlessness, like hitting a ball of cotton, was more soul-crushing than being beaten up directly.

Ronan picked up his spear, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, his aura still frighteningly steady.

He looked at the stationary Sam, his brow furrowing slightly, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction: "What? Giving up already? My warm-up has only just finished."

These words, full of humblebragging, slapped Sam's face like a resounding blow, but he no longer had the strength to retort.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Just then, an enraged roar came from the bottom of the slope.

Jango, who had been observing the fight, could no longer hold back.

He pushed up his heart-shaped glasses and produced a strange ring in his hand.

He looked at the fat cat-man brother who had not yet joined the fight—Buchi.

"Buchi! Stop watching the show! If we don't take this kid down, Captain Kuro will skin us alive!"