Ancient Haki

Haki--

As a power on this sea that is as famous as Devil Fruits, many mysteries still surround it.

Aura, killing intent, fighting spirit, willpower...

These intangible things were forged into weapons, ultimately giving birth to three different colors.

Namely: the innate Conqueror's Haki, the Observation Haki that senses the surroundings, and Armament Haki, which is like armor.

With the power of Haki, even if one is not a Devil Fruit user, it is possible to dominate a region and make a name for oneself on this sea!

This much is common knowledge.

However, as someone who has been at sea for a long time, Crocodile possessed even more information.

After the death of the Pirate King Roger, the Great Pirate Era began, and countless experts emerged all over the world.

Not long ago, the New World was still in a state of chaotic conflict, only recently starting to stabilize.

Among these, four powers, either the strongest or the most influential, gradually came to be known as the "Four Emperors."

Among them were many strong individuals who had mastered special Haki.

Such as Observation Haki that perceives the future, Armament Haki that wraps around weapons, and even Conqueror's Haki that deals physical damage to its surroundings!

But no matter how special, these were abilities derived from the essence of Haki, and their origins could be traced.

Yet, what Crocodile witnessed today was something he couldn't comprehend.

The black cloth that had been wrapped around Aiven Lindsey's entire body had long since dissipated with the wind, leaving no trace.

But Lindsey reached out and, out of thin air, pulled out a pitch-black bandage and quickly wrapped it around his hand.

"Alright, I've almost got it!"

Lindsey nodded, stood up from the ground, and then grabbed Crocodile's shoulder.

Crocodile instinctively elementalized his entire body, only to find his shoulder already grasped by Lindsey's solid hand.

Undoubtedly, that black cloth wrapped around Lindsey's hand possessed the property of touching the physical body of a Logia Type user!

That was one of the abilities of Armament Haki!

"Tch..."

Crocodile's expression changed.

He hated this feeling of uncertainty, but Aiven Lindsey always gave him that impression, so he had gradually gotten used to it.

After carefully observing the black bandages, Crocodile still found it hard to believe.

"You say this is Armament Haki?"

"Yes and no."

"What?"

"It's 'Ancient' Armament Haki."

Lindsey patted Crocodile's shoulder, then removed his hand, flexing his fingers and murmuring:

"Back on Sabaody Archipelago, I was curious. I'd already fought Garp, so why did I only learn a superficial bit of Armament Haki?"

Crocodile: "..."

While his statement was an exaggeration, it seemed quite reasonable considering Lindsey's even more exaggerated learning ability.

Yeah, you've already fought him, so why did you, a Primitive Man, only learn a little bit?

"Heh heh..."

"Tch!"

Lindsey knew he wasn't a genius.

He had simply spent a long period of time in solitude.

During those hazy days, when Lindsey had nothing else to do, he repeatedly conceived countless things in his mind.

Devil Fruit development, techniques and abilities, Haki usage...

And so on.

His mind stored a vast amount of theory, so all he needed was an "opportunity to practice" to turn it into reality!

However, when Lindsey tried to learn Garp's Armament Haki, he hit a bottleneck.

Everything felt right, yet he could only inject a tiny bit of Armament Haki into his roars, leaving Lindsey utterly perplexed.

Now, this problem finally seemed to have an answer.

Garp—and perhaps anyone's Haki today—might not be suitable for Lindsey, because he came from a more distant past!

"The stones inscribed with Poneglyphs were forged through special craftsmanship, and Armament Haki remains within them..."

Lindsey quickly processed the information in his mind, then suddenly thought of something.

"No, it's more than that!"

He looked back at Crocodile.

According to Crocodile, back at Punk Hazard, when Aiven Lindsey awoke, there was a surge of Conqueror's Haki around him!

But when Crocodile asked Lindsey about it, Lindsey looked blank.

He couldn't do it yet?!

He had indeed conceived of how to use Conqueror's Haki in his mind, but he hadn't had the chance to practice it, so he couldn't grasp the feeling at all.

Since that was the case, the surge of Conqueror's Haki then wasn't Lindsey's, but originated from the ancient stone tablet itself!

"It's Ancient Conqueror's Haki..."

Lindsey stroked his chin and muttered, "My stone tablet contains Conqueror's Haki."

"And this Poneglyph in Alabasta has Ancient Armament Haki integrated into it."

"Then what about Observation Haki?"

"There are only three types of Haki, but there are far more than three Poneglyphs..."

Lindsey reached out towards where the Poneglyph was buried, but he no longer felt the same sensation as before.

In other words, the Ancient Armament Haki within this Poneglyph was all there was; Lindsey couldn't learn anything more.

"Are there other Poneglyphs that have other Ancient Armament Haki built into them?"

"If I interact with them more, I'll be able to learn more..."

"..."

"And what about those memories?"

"..."

The more he pondered, the more interesting Lindsey found it.

The pupils on one side of his eyes began to spin and expand, the whites of his eyes and the black irises becoming sharply defined.

He formed his fingers into a claw and made a forceful slash in the air with two of them, as if tearing off a large piece of space, which turned into Armament Haki like a black bandage.

Lindsey wrapped that strand of Armament Haki around his arm, flexed his wrist slightly, and then threw a casual punch at the empty space in front of him.

WHOOSH!

An unusual sound of air being torn apart erupted, and the surrounding air seemed to be disturbed by an inexplicable force, trembling a few times.

"Ha!"

Lindsey's black eyes gleamed, and he looked at Crocodile, exclaiming excitedly, "This sea is truly marvelous, isn't it!"

"..."

Crocodile was speechless.

But upon closer thought, he found Lindsey's words to have some truth to them.

"Marvelous?"

"Hehehehe..."

Crocodile took a puff of his cigar and let out a few sinister laughs.

He pursued the ultimate military power, and the endpoint of this power was the legendary Ancient Weapons.

The clues to the Ancient Weapons were inseparable from the Poneglyphs, so Aiven Lindsey's desire to find the Poneglyphs coincided with his own!

He just wondered, if Aiven Lindsey were to further learn Ancient Haki, to what extent would this unknown ancient creature "evolve"?

It would likely be quite troublesome.

But for now, this "trouble" wouldn't cause Crocodile any grief; instead, it would divert the World Government's attention.

"Hehehehe, it truly is interesting..."

"..."

After some time.

Cobra and the others had resolved the issues in the secret chamber, ensuring that the buried Poneglyph would not be discovered.

Afterward, they called Lindsey and Crocodile, who were not far away, back to the royal capital.

The existence of the Poneglyph had been confirmed; the next step was to resolve the current matter.

That is, the "war" between Alabasta and the Drum Kingdom.

While it's being called a war, it currently looks more like the Drum Kingdom's unreasonable provocation against Alabasta.

The Royal Capital, Alubarna.

Inside the Royal Palace's conference room.

Several important figures gathered, while the young princess Vivi busied herself nearby.

Although this was Alabasta's internal affair, it was highly likely to involve underground forces. Cobra knew very little about this, so he needed Crocodile's advice.

Crocodile, for his part, didn't find it troublesome.

He was after the Poneglyphs, and indeed, all of Alabasta. Naturally, he didn't want others coveting his goals. Furthermore, the more Cobra trusted him, the better.

Aiven Lindsey had indeed discovered something, but the information was too vague and disorganized to be considered a clue yet.

Therefore, Crocodile could only find another way. He would deal with the Drum Kingdom first, and then find someone who could decipher the Poneglyphs!

As he pondered, Igaram had finished compiling the recent battle reports and handed them to Crocodile.

Crocodile took them and glanced over them, immediately noticing something unusual.

"Heheheh, I knew it. That small country wouldn't dare provoke you without someone egging them on."

Crocodile spread the battle reports on the conference table, tapping a section with his finger.

"The specifications of these weapons are rarely seen in the first half of the Grand Line. They're favorites among the warmongers of the New World."

"So the most likely truth is--"

"For some reason, perhaps a Poneglyph, or maybe something else, you've been targeted by a warmonger."

"..."

After his words fell, everyone understood and fell into thought.

Meanwhile, Lindsey clapped his hands in agreement, exclaiming, "Wow, as expected from someone who often works with warmongers..."

THUMP!

Crocodile slammed the table, several veins bulging on his forehead yet again.