"Rosen."
"Come with me."
After calling Kizaru over to substitute for him, Zefa immediately summoned Rosen and led him out of the classroom to a room filled with several devices resembling wooden training dummies, except they were made of steel.
"This is a Doryoku Device made by Vegapunk, head of the Marine Science Division, to test Doriki Value."
"The upper limit is 10,000."
"With it, students can clearly see their own progress during the early stages."
Zefa pointed at one of the Doryoku Devices.
"What you need to do now is use Haki and strike the Doryoku Device with all your strength."
He folded his arms and watched Rosen.
"Alright."
Hearing this, Rosen immediately poured his consciousness into his Haki, coating his right arm with all the Armament Haki in his body and hardening both his fist and forearm.
Then he dashed forward. His spine bent like a bowstring, his fist shot out like an arrow, and he struck without hesitation.
The instant his fist slammed into the Doryoku Device, a string of numbers flashed across the small display on it.
260.
"Not bad. According to the World Government, anyone who learns the Six Styles and surpasses 500 Doriki is a superhuman."
"You currently lack offensive Physical Techniques, yet with the Armament Haki you just awakened, you can still strike with 260 Doriki in one blow. That makes you half a superhuman."
"By the way, even a well-trained Marine soldier only has around 10 Doriki when armed."
Zefa explained the significance of 260 Doriki.
"Do you understand?"
"This is where Haki's power and value lie."
Zefa said with a grave expression.
Clearly.
The real purpose of having Rosen throw that punch was to make him take Haki seriously.
"I understand, Teacher Zefa."
Rosen nodded.
Even without Zefa telling him, he knew how important Haki was.
After Zefa's demonstration and his own firsthand experience, he felt even more keenly how valuable Haki was.
He did not even know the Six Styles and had only just awakened Armament Haki, yet through the absolute control over Armament Haki granted by the Haki Supreme Art, he had forcibly struck with the Doriki Value of half a superhuman.
This was Armament Haki.
"If I used Thousand Cherry Blossoms and coated it with Armament Haki, what would its Doriki be?"
At that moment, an idea emerged in Rosen's mind.
Handcraft Thousand Cherry Blossoms, then cover it with Armament Haki.
That was the proper way to use a Paramecia Ability.
"Good that you understand."
"Then."
"There is one more thing."
Zefa lowered his folded arms, clenched his five fingers into a fist, coated and hardened it with Armament Haki, and threw a punch like a dark cannonball.
The air before his fist seemed compressed to its limit, then exploded with a deafening blast when it could no longer bear the pressure.
A tangible Haki shockwave burst from his fist and struck the Doryoku Device from afar, smashing the device, which had a testing limit of 10,000, into a flat slab of iron.
"Did you understand that?"
Zefa turned to Rosen.
"Flowing Emission."
Rosen's eyes brightened, though his heart remained perfectly calm.
The moment he had comprehended the Haki Supreme Art through his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, he had already been able to control Armament Haki as he pleased.
In other words.
Coating, hardening, emission, and Internal Destruction.
He could use all four techniques after seeing them once. In fact, with a little experimentation, he could master them in just a few minutes.
That was the value of the Haki Supreme Art.
Just as Life Return allowed one to control one's body at will, Rosen could pour his consciousness into Armament Haki through the Haki Supreme Art and control it freely, using all kinds of techniques.
"Not bad."
"It is Flowing Emission."
"This is also the third Armament Haki technique I intended to teach you."
Zefa nodded at first, but then immediately shook his head.
"However, this still isn't everything."
"Look at the Doryoku Device."
"Other than Flowing Emission, what difference was there between my punch and yours?"
He looked intensely at Rosen.
"Armament Haki techniques have their own levels, but they do not represent the strength of one's Armament Haki, much less the strength of one's overall power."
Rosen's mind turned, and he immediately grasped the point Zefa wanted him to understand.
"Not bad."
"Besides Coating Hardening and Flowing Emission, Armament Haki also has the technique of Internal Destruction. But even if you master all four techniques, it only means that your Armament Haki can be used in more ways."
"It is like a sword. It can slash, stab, or sweep upward, but no matter how you use it, the sword's hardness and sharpness remain unchanged."
A trace of satisfaction flashed through Zefa's eyes.
"Do not blindly worship Armament Haki techniques. You should focus on increasing the strength of your Armament Haki."
"Take you and me, for instance. Even if you used all four Armament Haki techniques, I could still kill you in one punch using only the most basic coating."
"This is the qualitative gap between our Armament Haki. No technique can make up for it."
He spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.
"I will remember your advice."
"Teacher Zefa."
Rosen nodded seriously.
He agreed with Zefa.
Monkey D. Luffy was the best example.
Observation Haki could see the future.
Armament Haki could coat, harden, emit, and even perform Internal Destruction.
Instant God Conqueror's Haki could also be coated.
Yet in the end, he still could not defeat Teacher Kai.
Ultimately, aside from the gap in physique, the most important factor was the gap in Haki strength.
In terms of techniques, Monkey D. Luffy had caught up to Teacher Kai, but the quality of his Haki had not.
"Go."
"Master Flowing Emission first. Then I'll teach you Internal Destruction."
"Once you have mastered all four methods of using Armament Haki, I will teach you how to improve its strength."
Zefa had just been about to explain the techniques and learning tips for Flowing Emission when Rosen suddenly raised his hand and extended a finger.
With a piercing whistle through the air, a Haki shockwave burst from his fingertip and struck a Doryoku Device not far away.
Of course.
It did not shatter the Doryoku Device from afar like Zefa's punch had. It merely produced a Doriki Value of 260.
"Just as expected."
"Just as Teacher Zefa said, Armament Haki techniques are not the same as strength."
"Whether I use Coating Hardening or Flowing Emission, the Doriki Value is the same."
Seeing this, Rosen could not help sighing at how good it was to have a famous teacher guiding him. There was simply no chance of taking a wrong turn.
"You learned Flowing Emission?"
Zefa's tiger-like eyes widened in shock.
As a former Navy Admiral, he knew very well that among the techniques of Armament Haki, Flowing Emission was far more difficult to learn than Coating Hardening.
Yet he had only thrown one punch, and the student before him had already mastered it. There was not the slightest awkwardness in Rosen's use of it. Instead, it felt as though he had practiced it for years.
"I learned it."
Rosen nodded.
"Not just Flowing Emission."
"Even the Internal Destruction Teacher Zefa just mentioned."
"I learned that too."
Before Zefa could speak, Rosen made another shocking declaration.
"Impossible."
The moment Zefa's words fell, he heard a sound of metal cracking from not far away.
He turned to look and saw that the Doryoku Device Rosen had just struck from afar with Armament Haki was producing repeated sounds of shattering from within. At the same time, the number 260 on its display began to blur before finally disappearing.
"Internal Destruction?"
"I never demonstrated that in front of you!"
"How did you do it?"
Zefa muttered to himself.
Coating, hardening, emission, Internal Destruction.
In the span of one lesson, Rosen had mastered all four Armament Haki techniques.
Especially Internal Destruction, the most profound Armament Haki technique—he had actually figured it out on his own.
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