Austin: Iron Body!!!

"It's starting, it's starting!!!"

"How long do you think Austin can last this time?"

"He lasted one minute last time. This time... he should manage at least a minute and a half."

"I'm betting on two minutes."

"Anyone want to place another bet, minna-san?"

"...Don't make me slap you, Bitam!"

Perhaps because they were too bored, a group of rough men aboard Roger's pirate ship eagerly gathered around to watch a battle about to begin.

Austin wore a shrunken black military uniform he had scavenged from who knew where, with a Black Spear strapped to his back. He stared solemnly at the figure before him.

His black long hair fluttered in the wind. Though his determined face was still youthful, it could not conceal his handsome looks.

That face had a unique beauty somewhat reminiscent of the Uchiha clan.

Standing opposite him was a blond middle-aged man. Although he was merely standing there casually, he still put considerable pressure on Austin.

"As expected of Dark King Rayleigh. Just looking at his stance tells me this guy is terrifyingly strong."

Austin understood that not a single strong person in the One Piece World had become powerful without fighting. Blindly training was how low-tier pirates improved themselves.

As for Austin—

His specialty was being hardheaded!

If you were afraid of pain, why the hell would you become a pirate?!

Seeing that Rayleigh made no move, Austin decided not to wait any longer. Before Buggy and Shanks's bewildered eyes, his figure flashed and vanished from the spot.

"Huh? He disappeared instantly?"

"When did Austin eat a Devil Fruit?"

They knew about Austin and Uncle Bitam teaming up to swindle someone. Naturally, they also knew that the treasure Captain Roger had lost in that bet had actually been a Devil Fruit.

Yet when they divided the spoils, Austin had not wanted any money. Instead, he had taken only that Devil Fruit.

According to Vice-Captain Rayleigh, the fruit's name seemed to be...

The Warp Fruit?

"No, it wasn't!"

At some point, Captain Roger had appeared behind the two little brats. Rubbing their heads with his large hands, he laughed. "You should have seen it before. Austin used the Marine Six Styles."

"Huh!!??"

Shanks and Buggy gaped in disbelief.

Of course they knew the Six Styles. It was an advanced application of physical techniques, or rather, a preschool version of Haki. But the key issue was...

This was one of the signature skills of Marine officers. That guy Austin had learned it at nine years old?

Sure enough, when they looked back toward the battlefield, Austin had already appeared behind Rayleigh. He launched a vicious kick toward Rayleigh's kidneys.

Miss Shakky, don't blame me!

But just as his kick was about to land, Austin suddenly withdrew his leg for some reason and rapidly retreated from Rayleigh instead.

Rayleigh slowly turned around and looked at Austin, whose eyes were full of solemnity. A mischievous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Why did you pull your leg back halfway through?"

Austin looked irritably at Rayleigh's wicked grin, like that of some creepy old man, and curled his lip. "Nothing. I just felt that if I kicked you, something very bad would happen."

Actually—

For that instant, he had vaguely seen a scene of his leg bone breaking.

With the mindset that it was better to believe than not, Austin had pulled his leg back and tried to recapture that feeling.

"Observation Haki that's too developed can sometimes hinder your growth, boy!"

Rayleigh said with a smile, then appeared before Austin almost instantly.

Nani?!

Austin's Observation Haki issued an emergency warning!

Observation Haki: There's an enemy!

Brain: React quickly!

Body: Nice, you come over here and react, then! Poet's Grip!

This was one of Austin's weaknesses. His overly powerful Observation Haki naturally gave him the perspective of a strong person—or rather, a god's-eye view.

But that still could not change the fact that he was just a kid. His body could not keep up with his reactions, and the gap between the two was his weakness.

This had nothing to do with talent. He could only temper himself through constant combat until he possessed monstrous combat reflexes and instincts.

Only then could he wield more advanced power.

Such as Haki.

In other words, fight more and get beaten more. That was the best crash course for Armament Haki.

His naturally powerful physique could only help Austin shorten that process; it could not let him skip it.

So when faced with Rayleigh's sudden attack, Austin quickly realized that there was no way he could dodge it. He might as well stand straight and take the hit.

Thus, he decisively chose to use it to temper himself. His heart hardened at once.

He used the bargain-bin version of Armament Haki he had just learned recently—

"Iron Body!!!"

I refuse to believe I can't even block a mere kick—

"Austin, you're finally awake!"

"Fuck..."

Austin slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the two boys standing by his bed, it took him only two and a half seconds to understand what had happened.

Uncle Rayleigh had kicked him to sleep again.

Should he say Rayleigh's kicks were just that powerful, or that being kicked to sleep was the passive effect of that shitty skill?

If I use Iron Body again, I'm a dog.

Austin silently swore to himself.

"Hey! Austin, are you really okay?"

Seeing Austin get straight up from bed, Buggy and Shanks asked with concern.

After all, they had clearly seen it. After Austin had passed out, the Armament Haki on Vice-Captain Rayleigh's foot had been so black it looked purple. Even Captain Roger had broken out in a cold sweat and asked Rayleigh whether he had hit a little too hard.

Austin might be a monster, but after taking a solid kick like that, he should have been bedridden for several days at least. They could not imagine how Austin had endured it.

Besides, as Austin's good brothers, they were worried that something might be wrong with him.

That guy Austin... was being far too reckless.

Yet Austin, the center of the incident, clearly did not take it to heart. Instead, he stretched his limbs.

"I'm fine. By the way, how long was I asleep? It wasn't a whole day, was it?"

Austin acted as though nothing had happened, only sucking in a sharp breath when he touched his chest.

It really hurt!

Seeing his expression, Shanks and Buggy thought his injury had flared up or something, and hurriedly supported him.

"Don't force yourself, Austin!"

"Yeah, if you're hurt, get some proper rest, bastard!"

Austin grimaced as he unfastened the buttons over his chest. Looking at the dark bruising across it, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Huh? When did you master Armament Haki, Austin?"

Seeing this, Shanks opened his mouth wide and shouted in shock, his eyes full of disbelief.

Buggy was immediately annoyed by his reaction and cursed, "Are you an idiot? That's obviously a bruise!"

"Oh... hahahahaha, so that's what it was!" Shanks belatedly realized, then burst into laughter. "Turns out I saw it wrong."

"You bastard, you really piss me off!"

Buggy could not stand this about Shanks. He often stupidly failed to get the point of what others were saying, then calmly watched Buggy get angry.

And at times like this, Austin would usually laugh heartily as he watched the show. Once they were done arguing, he would hook an arm around each of their necks and skillfully change the subject.

"Don't be angry, Buggy. Let's go eat together."

"Tch... I'm only doing this to give Austin some face, not because of you, Shanks!"

"Okay, okay... I got it."