Ronan looked at Zoro, then at Luffy, and could not help but sigh inwardly.
The physical talents in this world of Pirate King were truly unreasonable...
In his previous life, the first stage of Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Refinement, "Initial Membrane Formation," would take an ordinary person three to five years of grueling training even with medicinal baths to assist them.
Yet these two had trained for only one day and, relying on their monstrous physiques and protagonist halos, had actually entered the discipline directly?
Rough, resilient skin; tightly closed pores; rebounding upon impact—these were precisely the signs of "Initial Membrane Formation."
Ronan suppressed his inner amazement and said calmly, "Your talents are indeed quite good. Though you have only just started out, your physical foundations far surpass those of ordinary people."
He paused, his gaze turning sharp.
"Since the first stage has already been completed, there is no need for us to waste time.
"Starting today, we will move directly into the Second Stage of the Thirteen Protectors—Bronze Skin Iron Bones!"
"Bronze Skin Iron Bones?" Zoro repeated, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
"That's right."
Ronan clasped his hands behind his back and explained into the sea breeze,
"At this stage, not only will your physical strength surge once more, but your muscles will become as firm as iron, your bone density will greatly increase, and your resistance to blows will undergo a qualitative transformation."
"Ordinary people's swords cannot do more than leave a white mark on your bodies. You may even shatter their weapons through the impact! This is what is known as—Horizontal Refinement Generates Divine Strength, the Indestructible Vajra Body!"
"Shatter weapons?!"
Zoro clenched his fists. As a swordsman, he knew better than anyone how difficult it was to cut through steel. Conversely, using one's physical body to withstand steel was an ultimate temptation.
Luffy's eyes shone with excitement, and he was practically drooling.
"Impervious to blades and spears! What are we waiting for? Ronan, let's start already! I want to get stronger! I want to become a steel rubber man!"
"Don't rush."
Ronan turned and walked to the ship's rail, lifting the hundred-pound Zhangba Iron Spear with one hand.
"Bzzzz—"
The iron spear gave a deep, trembling hum as it entered his hand.
Ronan's aura changed instantly. The gentle mentor became a god of war radiating a powerful sense of oppression.
"Once you reach the Second Stage, ordinary punches and kicks will offer you almost no improvement."
Ronan stroked the cold shaft of the spear, his gaze stern.
"Next, I will use this Zhangba Iron Spear to attack you."
"Throughout this process, you must not only cover your eyes and practice evading with Observation Haki."
"You must also, at the moment when you cannot evade and are struck by me, use the breathing method to instantly guide your 'qi' to the point of impact!"
"Use your qi, blood, and muscles to clash head-on with steel!"
"This will hurt badly. You may even bleed. Are you afraid?"
"Nothing could be better!" Zoro tied on his bandana and immediately took out a piece of black cloth to cover his eyes.
"Bring it on!" Luffy pulled down his Straw Hat over his eyes as well and assumed a fighting stance.
For the entire following week, the Merry seemed to become a drifting purgatory upon the Great Sea.
Whether beneath the blazing sun or in pouring rain, the deck constantly echoed with the clang of metal and dull sounds of bodies being struck.
"Bang! Bang! Smack!"
Ronan wielded the iron spear without using its sharp tip, turning its shaft into the most merciless of training rods.
Enhanced by the threefold multiplier of combat mode, his strength grew greater and greater, while his spear techniques became faster, trickier, and more vicious.
"Left!"
Zoro instinctively dodged to the right, but the iron spear clung to him like a Bone-Grafting Sore, changing direction in an instant and lashing viciously across his back.
"Smack!"
"Urgh!" Zoro let out a muffled groan, but he did not shrink back. The instant he was hit, his back muscles bulged sharply as he forcibly endured the blow.
"Breathe! Don't lose control!" Ronan shouted. "Sink your qi into the Dantian, and focus your intent on the point of impact!"
On the other side, Luffy was in an even more miserable state.
Luffy tried to inhale and defend himself, but Ronan's spear shaft carried a penetrating trembling force that jabbed directly into Luffy's stomach, knocking all the air he had inhaled out of him.
"Luffy! You can't rely on your Devil Fruit ability!" Ronan's iron spear moved like a Dragon as he attacked and instructed at the same time. "Use Observation Haki to 'see'! Use your body to 'hear' the wind from my spear!"
Nami stood on the second level of the Merry, watching the scene below where flesh and blood flew everywhere—though it was mostly bruises—and trembled in fear.
"Th-this is a warrior's training? Isn't this way too brutal?!"
For Ronan, however, this was also an exhilarating training session.
As he continuously fed them moves, his strength steadily increased, and his attributes rose by leaps and bounds.
Before he knew it, Ronan's strength attribute had already risen to 16 points.
The sun rose and the moon fell, while the waves churned.
The sweat of the three men nearly soaked every plank of the Merry's deck.
Morning.
The sun shone brightly, and the sea breeze was gentle.
At the center of the deck, the atmosphere was grave to the extreme.
Ronan stood silently with the Zhangba Iron Spear in hand.
Across from him, Luffy and Zoro both had their eyes covered. Their Bare Upper Bodies were covered in purple-blue bruises, the badges left behind by a week of "hellish special training."
Yet upon closer inspection, one would find that beneath those bruises, their muscles carried a bronze-colored sheen, like refined steel tempered through countless hammerings.
"Are you ready?"
Ronan's voice was soft, yet it thundered in their ears.
"Come on." Zoro's voice was low and hoarse.
"Whoosh—!"
Without any warning, Ronan moved.
This time, he did not hold back. The iron spear in his hand became a bolt of black lightning, hurtling toward Luffy's throat with a piercing shriek through the air!
This thrust was as swift as thunder and as fierce as a fierce tiger!
Nami, watching from the side, could not help crying out, "Luffy!!"
Just as the spear tip came within less than three inches of Luffy's throat—
Luffy's blindfolded face tilted ever so slightly to the side.
There was not a single unnecessary movement, as though he had been standing there from the beginning.
"Hiss—!"
The fierce wind swept across Luffy's neck without even scratching his skin.
Ronan's killing thrust had missed!
"Good!"
A sharp light flashed in Ronan's eyes. With a fierce flick of his wrist, the spear shaft instantly bent into an astonishing arc. Borrowing the rebounding force, it transformed into three afterimages that stabbed toward Zoro's brow, heart, and lower abdomen!
This move sealed off the upper, middle, and lower routes. If it had been the Zoro of a week ago, he would never have been able to evade it.
But at this moment, Zoro seemed to enter a wondrous state.
Within his sensory world, the darkness around him vanished, replaced by one red point after another.
He "saw" the movement of the air. He "heard" the killing intent of the iron spear.
"Whoosh—"
Zoro's body moved like a falling leaf in the wind, his footwork shifting strangely.
Tilt his head, draw in his abdomen, slide away.
The three movements flowed together in one smooth motion.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
All three spear shadows brushed past Zoro's body. The closest even severed the cloth belt tied around his waist, yet did not harm him in the slightest.
Silence.
The entire deck was deathly quiet.
Ronan slowly withdrew his spear and set it heavily on the deck.
"Today's training ends here."
Ronan looked at the two of them, a gratified smile appearing at the corner of the mouth. "Take off your blindfolds. Congratulations. You have entered the basics of Observation Haki."
Luffy and Zoro slowly pulled off their blindfolds. Having remained in darkness for so long, the sunlight made them squint slightly.
But soon, unprecedented excitement burst from those eyes.
"I... I dodged it?"
Luffy looked at his hands, his face full of disbelief. "For that instant just now, I think I really 'saw' it! Ronan's spear looked like it was moving in slow motion!"
"So this is Observation Haki..."
Zoro clenched his fists, savoring that wonderful sensation of having everything under control. "Hard work pays off. At last... I've mastered it."
This was not merely an improvement in technique, but a leap in the level of life itself.
Upon this Great Sea filled with danger at every turn, they had finally gained a trump card that could save their lives.
Before you continue