Whitebeard: You're a Genius

The air suddenly fell silent.

Shiki the Golden Lion and Whitebeard turned their heads in unison to look at Ares's arm, their eyes widening in exaggerated shock.

"Huh?!"

"Nani?!"

Shiki the Golden Lion looked utterly shocked, his mouth agape as he exclaimed, "He's already using Armament Haki?!"

Instantly.

As his mouth widened, the cigar fell onto the tatami mat.

He hastily reached out and picked up the cigar, blowing on it to remove the ash.

Whitebeard also reached out and lifted Ares's arm, which had become "big and black," "thick and strong," in front of him. The arm was as thick and sturdy as an elephant's leg.

"It really is Armament Haki hardening!!!"

Whitebeard looked as if he had seen a ghost, his gaze shifting from the arm to Ares's face, noticing his expressionless demeanor.

His lips twitched unnaturally, and a pang of sourness rose in his heart: What a show-off, he's already learned to use Armament Haki!

He reached out and patted Ares's shoulder, saying with great emotion, "Ares, you may be a bit dull, but you truly are one in a million—a genius!!"

If this guy hadn't been assigned to Ochoku's command by Captain Rocks, he would have shamelessly taken Ares into his own division.

Too bad...

Whitebeard was now filled with regret!

Shiki the Golden Lion took a deep puff of his cigar, calming his deeply shocked heart, and exclaimed, "You learn Armament Haki like drinking water."

"I've never seen someone with such a powerful learning ability. You're definitely more of a 'monster' than Linlin!!"

The Rocks Pirates had no shortage of "monsters," and they were all monsters themselves.

But there was a difference between monsters.

This was the first time he had seen a "monster among monsters" like Ares!

A pervert among perverts!

Ares suddenly frowned and said, "This Armament Haki..."

"Strange..."

"Why do I feel like my body is resisting it?!"

"..."

Ares's muttering left Shiki the Golden Lion and Whitebeard looking utterly bewildered.

"This guy's mind... seems a bit different from ordinary people," Shiki the Golden Lion said, looking at Ares with a strange expression.

Whitebeard's expression also changed as he said, "Indeed, he has always been different from others. Remember when Ares challenged the captain?"

"That guy is obsessively persistent!"

Shiki the Golden Lion reached out and removed the cigar from his mouth, exhaling a puff of smoke: "That old man said that Ares has been abnormal for years."

"I don't know what caused it, but it might be a good thing!"

He believed that in this world, being strong was all that mattered.

The two conversed.

Meanwhile, fragments of memories flashed through Ares's mind, memories of his recent "drunken state." The blurry and chaotic fragments caused his brain to become confused once again.

Following his body's instincts.

He used "Reverse Armament Haki"!

The black arm instantly turned red and hot, with wisps of white smoke rising from it.

Whitebeard, who was holding Ares's arm, immediately felt a burning pain in his hand, and his body instinctively let go.

He quickly shook his hand.

Whitebeard opened his mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "This is the state Ares was in when he was drunk before!!"

Ares's arm slammed down, smashing the small table on the tatami mat in front of him.

Seeing this, the bump on Shiki the Golden Lion's head throbbed again, and he asked with a surprised expression, "Ares, is this state your own special fighting technique?!"

Having followed the Rocks Pirates, Shiki the Golden Lion had seen many races with unique abilities.

There were even some on the Rocks Pirates ship, such as those who could unleash the power of lightning and the Mink tribe who turned into Sulong under the full moon.

As well as the Fish-Man race, which could control seawater as weapon bullets.

Whitebeard also stared at Ares, his eyes full of questions, and said, "Yes, when you were drunk before, this state greatly increased your strength!"

"I've never seen this kind of power before."

"Very strong!"

For Whitebeard, the captain of the Rocks Pirates' Second Division, to say "very strong" twice, it naturally meant it was exceptionally strong.

"This is... the power of Armament Haki!" Ares looked at his red-hot arm, his face filled with intense surprise.

This "Armament Haki" has scorching attributes, and it's even harder!

The amplification it provides is even more powerful than "Armament Hardening."

Ares' eyes shone brightly as he excitedly said, "I love this feeling!!"

"This feeling is like putting Tekkai into a furnace, constantly tempering and melting it, extracting impurities!!"

Memories of his childhood also surfaced in his mind.

Ares' father was a very famous swordsmith, who had forged Great Grade Swords.

Having been influenced by what he saw and heard, he naturally had a very deep impression of some aspects of sword forging.

The process of forging a sword naturally includes the step of melting Tekkai.

And his usual "self-abuse" behavior is also one of the processes of forging a sword.

Golden Lion raised an eyebrow, quite surprised: "You're saying this is... Armament Haki?!"

"I don't believe it!!"

"I've never seen Armament Haki like this!"

Looking at Ares' red-hot arm, which was even emitting white smoke, his heart trembled.

This can be Armament Haki?

This is more like a Devil Fruit ability!

And Whitebeard also thought of this, and immediately asked somewhat excitedly: "Ares, have you ever eaten a strangely shaped fruit before??"

"It's just that the color is very different from ordinary fruits, and there are spiral patterns on it!"

"A fruit that tastes terrible and makes people want to vomit!"

"Think about it carefully, have you ever eaten such a fruit?"

Thinking of the taste of the Devil Fruit, Whitebeard's face suddenly turned a grassy green color.

His eyes stared nervously at Ares, because this "blockhead" Ares might not even know that he had eaten a Devil Fruit.

He doesn't even know that he possesses an extremely special Devil Fruit ability!

Maybe he ate a Devil Fruit inadvertently yesterday or today.

After all, Ares had trained in the sea before, so it might have happened in the last couple of days.

Ares' face became blank, and he frowned as he tried hard to recall the past.

The more he recalled the past, the more the fragments of memories in his mind intertwined, causing his brain to ache.

"Ah!!!"

He reached out and hugged his head, his fingers inserted into his hair, and clumps of black hair fell down.

That was pain from the brain's nerves being out of order.

That was inhuman torture and pain from a soul being torn apart!

Even Ares, with his incredibly thick nerves and ability to withstand pain, couldn't help but howl.

Golden Lion shouted anxiously and worriedly towards Ares, "Hey, hey!!"

"Ares, what's wrong with you?!"