Looks Pretty Awesome.

Chapter 50: Seems Pretty Awesome

An hour later.

Redwood Area No. 8.

A lavishly decorated tavern.

Still on the rooftop, Chaos rested his feet on the table, holding a glass of red wine in one hand and flicking ash from a cigarette with the other, gazing at the distant street, lost in thought.

Opposite him, Crocodile ate glumly, white bandages wrapped around his body.

He had compromised, after all.

But he wouldn't give up hope; he would wash away this humiliation given the chance.

"Get a good rest today. Tomorrow, we'll pay a visit to a Marine base. I need some Seastone."

Standing up from his seat, Chaos finished his wine. He had no intention of heading to the New World yet.

Instead, he wanted to obtain some Seastone from the Marines to use for training.

While Seastone was the bane of Devil Fruit users, it also served as a training aid.

Besides temporarily nullifying Devil Fruit abilities, it also sapped the user's strength. Furthermore, Seastone was exceptionally hard, comparable to diamond.

Crucially, Seastone came in varying purities, with higher purity exerting a stronger suppressive effect on Devil Fruit users.

However, Devil Fruit users could train with Seastone. While it wouldn't restore their Devil Fruit abilities, it could negate the strength-sapping effect.

For powerful individuals like the Four Emperors, Seastone had limited utility.

Its only effect was to nullify their Devil Fruit powers, but it couldn't drain their strength.

These top-tier fighters, besides their formidable Devil Fruit abilities, possessed peak physical prowess and combat skills. Even without their powers, they could still fight.

Chaos intended to overcome this weakness.

To avoid future stumbles.

He also recalled reading on various forums and message boards that Luffy used Seastone to train his Armament Haki when fighting Kaido.

He wasn't sure if it was true.

This was another reason Chaos wanted to train with Seastone: to quickly improve his Armament Haki.

Due to the slow pacing and drawn-out nature of the anime's updates, Chaos had only watched up to Luffy's fight with Katakuri, holding off on later episodes.

He usually kept up with the plot by browsing his phone, using search engines, and visiting forums and message boards.

For example, he learned about Armament Haki's "Ryuō" through these channels.

It sounded incredibly powerful.

The description claimed it could cause internal damage without direct contact with the opponent, and that Armament Haki could flow around the body like liquid, creating a visually impressive effect.

If he wasn't mistaken, the Armament Haki Garp displayed last time was likely at the "Ryuō" level, or perhaps even beyond it.

Many One Piece fans had even categorized Armament Haki into different stages.

Stage 1: Newly awakened, capable of localized hardening.

Stage 2: Able to coat weapons with Armament Haki, known as "wrapping."

Stage 3: Altering weapon forms, creating shockwaves, and forming distinct edges, allowing for remote Armament Haki application, known as "emission."

Stage 4: Armament Haki flows like a 3D liquid, capable of penetrating surfaces and causing internal damage.

These categories were rather vague, as they were fan theories without official confirmation.

Stages 1 and 2 were easy to understand, but Stage 3 seemed a bit flashy.

For instance, the ability to alter weapon forms was seen in the One Piece special: Adventure on Fog Island, wielded by a Marine Vice Admiral named Kong Ming.

He could transform a simple feather fan into various weapons with immense destructive power using Armament Haki.

This implied that even a blade of grass, a twig, or a strand of hair could be transformed into any of the eighteen traditional weapons through Armament Haki, which felt excessive.

The shockwave aspect was self-explanatory – pure Armament Haki impact.

Katakuri's Armament Haki, when used, appeared solid and sharply defined, looking incredibly tough just by observation.

These were likely advanced applications of Armament Haki.

Furthermore, some fans disagreed with this four-stage classification.

Especially regarding "Ryuō."

Some fans proposed that Ryuō wasn't the strongest form of Armament Haki but rather a specific application of force and technique. After all, in the Wano Country arc, Armament Haki was referred to as Ryuō.

It was possible that Stage 3 represented the pinnacle of Armament Haki.

It encompassed shockwaves, distinct solid edges, and the ability to alter weapon forms.

Ryuō, on the other hand, might just be a name for a technique, not a distinct level.

However, the "internal destruction" aspect was undeniable and impressive.

These classifications were merely rough estimations and, ultimately, speculation.

In the late stages of the Pirate King era, Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki were commonplace, with various flashy applications of Armament Haki.

Monkey D. Luffy, who had already become one of the Four Emperors, possessed Conqueror's Haki, yet he struggled against a few mere soldiers, needing several minutes just to catch his breath.

Chaos didn't overthink things. He just relentlessly trained his Armament Haki. Regardless of the stage, as long as he was stronger and tougher than his enemies, that was all that mattered.

"Do you even know..."

Crocodile stopped eating and looked at Chaos as if he were an idiot. However, before he could finish speaking, Chaos interrupted him.

"What do you call me?"

"BOSS."

Crocodile's face darkened. He found it incredibly difficult to change the title. Taking a deep breath, he emphasized his words and continued, "Quite a few people want to capture you right now. And we're very close to Marineford. Isn't going to a Marine base too conspicuous?"

Crocodile felt that Chaos was courting death.

He completely misunderstood the current situation.

If he weren't weaker than this guy, he would have already captured him and made him dig for gold.

Now, obtaining the Golden Emperor meant obtaining wealth, power, women, fame, and even the world!

One could imagine Chaos's current predicament; everyone wanted a piece of him.

"Conspicuous?"

"My pursuit is precisely to be high-profile and conspicuous!"

Chaos looked at Crocodile with disdain, coldly stating without reservation, "Follow me, and your life will surely be colorful. I know you're not a man who fears trouble, otherwise, you wouldn't have become disabled later on."

"Call me BOSS, and I will protect you."

"Now, unleash your courage, or you won't be able to keep up with my pace, and you'll be eliminated!"

Crocodile didn't know what to say.

He felt Chaos was increasingly mentally unstable and prone to bragging.

A colorful life? He'd probably be wandering the seas.

And protect me?

He might not even survive a month.

I'm timid?

What a joke!

Crocodile's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. He seemed to foresee a future of being a rat scurrying across the street, with everyone shouting to get rid of him.

His ambitions were high, but he wasn't stupid.

His intelligence was still online.

The person in front of him was a hot commodity; all the major powers on the sea wanted a piece of him. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was an enemy to the world.

Following him would lead to a bad end.

The more Crocodile thought about it, the colder his heart became.

He wasn't even twenty years old; he shouldn't die so soon.

"Old Sand, it's time for you to make your move."

Just as Crocodile's heart grew cold, Chaos stood at the edge of the rooftop, smoking a cigar. His golden spiky hair and unbuttoned shirt fluttered in the wind.

"What?"

Crocodile snapped back to attention, not understanding Chaos's meaning.

--

The above speculations about Armament Haki were all found online.

If you have any opposing or discussion-worthy opinions, please leave a comment!

I will incorporate the viewpoint that gains more support.