Amid the smoke and dust.
Ares's body smashed into the ground, creating a huge crater as the earth cracked apart.
Lying in the crater, he wasn't discouraged in the slightest. Although Rocks's punch had tremendous power, Ares's own punch had canceled out most of it. The remaining force was nothing to his indestructible body, which was harder than steel.
Ares devoted all his thoughts to the "battle replay" in his mind.
He refused to waste even a second that could be used to grow stronger.
"Conqueror's Haki coating can increase attack power, whether it's applied to a weapon or an attack..."
"Rocks's punch had dense, powerful Advanced Armament Haki, and he could use it with complete ease. I have to keep learning from his strengths. At the same time, I need to find a way to improve my Conqueror's Haki."
Ares knew that merely learning Rocks's technique for using Advanced Armament Haki wouldn't be enough to surpass him. Rocks had cultivated it for many years, and the passage of time had given his Conqueror's Haki an overwhelming advantage in both quality and quantity.
Besides learning the technique, he needed to come up with another trump card.
In his mind.
Rocks's punch from moments ago played back again and again. Ares didn't overlook even the slightest detail.
At the same time, he replayed his own punch, examining himself and searching for his shortcomings.
At that moment, Ares was like a sponge, tirelessly absorbing the Advanced Armament Haki techniques he had learned from Rocks.
That continued until he felt it was time to use battle to put his newfound knowledge into practice.
Ares suddenly came back to himself.
He walked out of the smoke and dust, only to be met head-on by Rocks's fist, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki.
The howling wind, the