Golden Lion: How's that, tough enough?

"Ordinary blades will inevitably chip in a clash, or even be severed by a sharper sword."

Shiki the Golden Lion's expression turned solemn as he continued, "A Black Blade, on the other hand, uses Armament Haki to temper the sword, making it sharper and tougher."

"As long as your Haki is strong enough, your sword will never break!"

"Even centuries later, it can still cut through iron like mud!"

"This is a Black Blade!!"

At its core, the strength of a Black Blade depended on the user's Armament Haki!

As he spoke.

Shiki the Golden Lion drew a long sword from his waist. His arm suddenly turned into something like black metal, reflecting a chilling gleam.

And Armament Haki rapidly spread from his arm onto the once-bright blade.

Turning the blade black in an instant.

Shiki the Golden Lion, a cigar dangling from his mouth, said with great pride, "This is—a Black Blade!"

"Phew~"

He turned his head and blew out a puff of white smoke with flair.

Watching this, Ares's eyes sparkled with golden light, his heart surging with excitement. "With Armament Haki, my body can become harder than swords and blades!"

"As long as my Armament Haki is strong enough, I can surpass those Famous Swords!"

"No!"

"Not just Famous Swords—the Supreme Great Sword Twelve Kizuki!"

His expression grew fervent, his eyes, large as carriage lamps, fixed intently on Shiki. He said impatiently, "Quick! Teach me Armament Haki now!"

The three had unknowingly arrived before Skull Castle.

Whitebeard chuckled and said, "Let's go inside first. With your physique, learning Armament Haki will be fast!"

As soon as they entered Skull Castle.

Whitebeard and Shiki started arguing again, both insisting that Ares stay in their room.

Whitebeard roared, "Yellow-maned lion, your room is in ruins! Are you really going to host Ares there?!"

Shiki shot back, "If my room's broken, can't I use one of my subordinates' rooms?"

"Ares is learning Armament Haki from me. What business do you have butting in, you white-haired geezer?"

"·········"

"You can teach Ares Haki, but I can't?"

"White-haired geezer! Do you even know how to temper a Black Blade?"

"······"

The two were locked in a stalemate.

Once again, they were face to face. If not for the cigar in Shiki's mouth, Whitebeard's face might have pressed right into Shiki's.

"Enough. Let's go to my room."

Ares stopped this pair of "lively rivals" and offered his own suggestion.

Whitebeard and Shiki both looked at Ares, their faces pulling apart as they flanked him on either side.

They both agreed to the proposal.

With that settled, the three slung their arms over each other's shoulders and headed to Ares's room.

The other pirates who witnessed this scene stood dumbfounded.

The room had only the simplest furniture. Whitebeard and Shiki paid it no mind—their sole focus was on "Ares."

Shiki shot a fierce glare at Whitebeard and said to Ares, "This Armament Haki is the—Qi—within the body!"

"To train Armament Haki, you must achieve perfect control over your own body!"

"The strength and potential of the human body can both be unleashed!"

His gaze carried a strong anticipation—how far could a monster like Ares take his "Armament Haki" in the future?

He spoke again, a bit excited, "Ares, place your hand on my arm. Feel how I, Shiki the Golden Lion, use Armament Haki!"

Hearing this.

Ares eagerly placed his large hand on Shiki's arm and said, "Alright, let me see Armament Haki."

The next moment.

Hum!

With a vibrating hum, Shiki's arm completed Armament Haki hardening in an instant, like polished black metal.

"Amazing!"

Ares couldn't help but shout in excitement, his bell-like eyes gleaming as he marveled, "So this is Armament Haki—it can make the body harder than metal!"

"So hard!!"

"This is exactly what I want!!"

His heart instantly began pounding with excitement, as he saw the hope that his body could surpass the Supreme Great Swords of the Twelve Kizuki.

With Armament Haki, his body would surely become even harder than those Famous Swords!!

Seeing the thrilled and excited expression on Ares, Shiki curled his lips and said proudly, "Well? Hard enough, isn't it?"

He suddenly recalled the pleasures of last night, remembering MISS. Bagin's high-pitched, resonant "singing" from the previous evening.

Armament Haki really was both hard and strong—truly useful!

Shiki quickly reined in the springtime visions in his mind and continued, "Ordinary attacks can't break through the defense of my Armament Haki."

"Ares, Armament Haki is a skill you must train in on the path to becoming a strong warrior!"

"It can multiply your power several times over!"

Whitebeard, standing nearby, also grinned and said, "Kururururu... Shiki's right. To become a top-tier powerhouse on this sea, you must possess a powerful—Armament Haki!!"

Their booming words landed in Ares' ears, making the blood in his body involuntarily begin to boil.

His mind also recalled the strange sensation he'd felt when he touched Shiki's arm earlier.

A person's body could grow stronger through constant training.

Repeated strikes and impacts had made Ares' skin, muscles, and bones harder and more resilient—but compared to the transformation of Shiki's Armament Haki?

The difference was clear at a glance!

Ares was certain that Armament Haki was exactly the "hardness" he had been pursuing!

And it was a formidable ability capable of making his body surpass even the Supreme Great Swords of the Twelve Kizuki in hardness.

He began to replay the image of Shiki the Golden Lion using Armament Haki in his mind, the scene playing back like a slow-motion film.

Normally, a person's memory only retains things that leave a "deep" impression, while most are "forgotten."

Unless trained repeatedly or deliberately reinforced, they would all be lost to oblivion.

Hence the saying, "A good memory is worse than a bad pen!"

But Ares was different—it seemed that whenever he wished, Everything that had happened could be replayed in his mind, and he could speed it up or slow it down according to his thoughts and will.

All because of a certain day several years ago.

From that day onward, his soul and brain seemed to have become extremely "special"!

Now.

Ares replayed the feeling and image of Shiki using Armament Haki over and over in his mind.

Sinking into deep thought and recollection.

Shiki looked at Ares in surprise and muttered to himself, "This guy seems to be thinking about how to use Armament Haki, but Armament Haki isn't something you can learn in a day or two."

Then he chuckled lightly, "Back then, it took me over a month just to use Armament Haki proficiently."

"A month? Then I'm much faster than you—it only took me a little over twenty days!" Whitebeard raised his chin proudly, the sound of his voice stirring the mustache on his lips.

Quite amusing.

Shiki's expression turned rather displeased as he looked at Whitebeard, replying with an air of arrogance, "That's because your Body Arts are strong, while I, Shiki..."

"Am a Dual Sword Style—Great Swordsman!!!"

Just then.

A voice broke the two men's argument.

"This..."

"Is Armament Haki, right?"