"So that's how it is. You're even stronger in hand-to-hand combat than in swordsmanship?"
Onigumo studied the red-haired boy before him, a hint of wariness finally appearing in his eyes.
This pirate brat was far stronger than he'd expected.
Especially that punch just now. It had been powerful!
After Bastille and his men lost to Rod, they had submitted a complete report on him to Marine Headquarters.
Especially Rod!
After all, he'd made the same mistake during his fight with Rod. He'd thought Rod was just a swordsman and that knocking away his weapon would cost him most of his combat strength.
He hadn't expected Rod to be even stronger without his weapon than with it.
Still, Onigumo had only come to capture Rod and his crew at the Ernest Family's request.
More importantly, he hadn't thought there was anyone among the pirate crews of North Blue worth his attention.
"However, whether it's swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat, they're both just means of fighting."
Holding a sword in each hand, Onigumo walked toward Rod step by step. With every step he took, his presence grew stronger.
"Only Haki decides the victor, and my Haki is far superior to yours!"
As he spoke, Onigumo's sword slashed down. The instant he swung it, Haki wrapped around the blade, turning it pitch-black.
I need to make Haki flow.
Watching Onigumo's weapon come slashing toward him, Rod's thoughts raced.
There was no doubt Onigumo had mastered the technique of making Haki flow and projecting it outward. And in terms of the amount of Haki they had, Rod, who had only just begun to master it, was no match for someone as seasoned as his opponent.
If he wanted to win this fight, he had to master the technique of flowing and projecting Haki.
Surging Haki wrapped around Rod's fist and collided with Onigumo's descending sword.
Boom!
Without a weapon, Rod's attacks were even more threatening. After smashing Onigumo's attack aside with a punch, he quickly drew back his fist, lowered his body, and closed in. The Haki around his fist vanished in an instant, then gathered again beneath his feet.
Thud!
Rod stamped down hard. Fueled by Haki, he launched himself upward with tremendous force.
Haki flowed swiftly through his body and gathered around his fist, turning his clenched knuckles completely black.
Thump—
His powerful strike slammed into Onigumo's chin, but landed with a heavy, muffled sound. A layer of black Haki had covered Onigumo's chin at some point.
A red gleam flashed in Rod's eyes. He quickly retreated, dodging Onigumo's slash, then sprang forward again. Flowing Haki flickered across his body like a layer of black flame.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—
Red light flashed in Rod's eyes as he swung his fists again and again, clashing fiercely with Onigumo's twin swords and sending out a series of sharp clangs.
With every attack, Rod wrapped all the Haki in his body around his fists to increase his striking power. When he couldn't dodge Onigumo's attacks in time, he used Observation Haki to predict where they would land and gathered all his Haki over his body to defend himself.
When fighting with Haki, if they didn't have enough to go around, most people chose to use it for offense and neglected their defense;
But Haki masters had enough to cover their entire bodies, forming a 360-degree, gapless Armament Haki defense. Their offense and defense were both flawless.
However, this approach had a drawback. The total amount of Haki was limited. Spreading it evenly over the entire body inevitably diluted its strength. That might work against ordinary enemies, but covering the whole body with Haki when facing a master was tantamount to courting death.
A true master could adapt on the fly during battle, adjusting how their Haki was distributed to suit the situation. This wasn't easy to do. It required an exceptionally high level of skill in using Haki.
Even masters of this caliber wouldn't choose such an extreme approach as Rod's during a fight. Concentrating all his Haki in one place demanded absolute control over the battle. The slightest lapse would mean certain defeat.
Rod could pull off such a daring approach entirely thanks to his powerful Observation Haki.
He had awakened it in childhood and trained it ever since. Though it hadn't yet reached the level of foreseeing the future, he had still honed it to a remarkable degree. It let him accurately predict his opponent's movements in battle and execute this audacious fighting style.
That's it!
Feeling Haki flow freely through his body, Rod's smile grew wider.
Using Observation Haki continuously kept his nerves taut, leaving him no room to relax. At the same time, improving his Armament Haki skills kept his mind in a constant state of excitement.
He let Haki flow freely according to his will, adjusting how much he had in each part of his body to match the rhythm of the fight. With Observation Haki, he could shift it instantly between offense and defense, making the most of every bit of Haki.
This was a lot like Nen!
Even though he was still fighting, Rod couldn't help letting his thoughts wander.
Constant fighting and day-after-day training to hone one's Haki—that was Ten;
Releasing Haki and letting it wrap around the body—that was Ren;
Letting Haki flow freely through the body and adjusting its distribution to suit different situations—that was Ryu;
Gathering a large amount of Haki in one place to strengthen both offense and defense—that was Ken;
If that was the case...
Though all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, Rod's attacks didn't lose their rhythm. His Observation Haki continued to accurately predict the timing of Onigumo's attacks, while his Armament Haki flowed ever more smoothly.
There was no reason he couldn't project Haki outward!
Thud!
Rod's blackened fist collided violently with Onigumo's slash once more.
Haki flowed rapidly through his body. Beneath Rod's frenzied assault, it looked like streaming flames, setting off Onigumo's fierce, soot-blackened face.
As the fight went on, the killing intent in Onigumo's heart grew stronger.
The red-haired brat before him was getting stronger at an astonishing pace!
At the start of the fight, he'd been no more than an inexperienced boy with a powerful body but no way to bring out its full potential. Now, he was already strong enough to be called a true fighter.
The kind who could thrive even in the second half of the Grand Line.
Why did pirates like him keep appearing?
Why did someone always have to get in the way of justice?
A flash of steel reflected the light onto Rod's head. Seeing the boy's red hair, Onigumo suddenly remembered another face.
The same red hair. The same young age, and the same fearsome strength. Could this brat grow into the next Red-Haired?
"You're open!"
A glint flashed in Rod's eyes as Haki surged wildly through his body and gathered around his arm.
I can project Haki outward!
A technique that projected it to tear an enemy apart from a distance.
He'd call this move—
"Sky Rend!"
As Rod swung his fist, the Haki gathered around it burst forth like a shock wave, unleashed at full force toward Onigumo. The invisible force struck him in the chest before he could react.
Then, in the next instant, Rod's fist slammed hard into Onigumo's chest.
Bang—
Onigumo's body flew backward, blood spraying through the air.
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