Armament Haki

Seven's days of training on Skypiea were comfortable and carefree.

As the island's current god, he didn't have to suffer from hunger or cold. In his free time, he could sit atop Thunder God Palace and watch the dawn pierce the sea of clouds, or the sunset melt into gold and stain the sky.

When night fell, he could fall asleep beneath a star-filled sky, bathed in the silvery light of the Milky Way.

There was only one regret: news rarely reached him.

The News Birds' wings simply couldn't cross the White Sea, ten thousand meters above the ocean.

The waves stirring across the seas were all blocked by the thick clouds, severing his connection to the rest of the world.

Of course, that also allowed him to quiet his mind completely and devote himself to training.

He wanted to fuse with the Iron Balloon physique as quickly as possible.

Seven poured nearly all his passion into his various training regimens.

It was better to sweat now than bleed later.

The truly powerful figures at the top of the world were almost all well-rounded monsters.

Whether it was the Three Types of Haki, physical prowess, Devil Fruit abilities, or the swordsmanship unique to Great Swordsmen, they covered every base, each ability complementing the others. None could be lacking.

They never relied on a single method to win. Instead, they forged all their abilities into an impregnable combat system.

Only then could they establish themselves on the seas and pursue their dreams.

The weak could only drift with the tide, with no right to choose.

Having lived two lives, Seven had experienced that helplessness firsthand. He'd had enough of the misery of hunger and cold.

Before, he'd had no choice. Now, he was going to be the strongest.

Three months later.

Beneath the setting sun over Golden City Shandora, Seven stood before a Poneglyph, shutting out every distracting thought.

Thud! Thud! Thud! His fists cut through the air.

The dull impacts echoed through the ruins.

His fists collided with the stone, numbing his arms, but he didn't lessen the force.

Sweat dripped from his jaw and soaked his clothes. He barely noticed, driving his fists onward by sheer will, striking again and again.

The stone stood silent, bearing the weight of history.

After spanning a thousand years, it had become the perfect training ground for Seven's attempt to awaken Armament Haki.

Each impact pushed his body to its limits. He poured his will into his fists, trying to break through his physical constraints and pound open the door to awakening Armament Haki.

If he had a cheat, why was he still putting himself through all this hardship?

Because he was broke.

Since Warhammer Bro bought from him, only four of the shells listed on the Trading Platform had sold. Meanwhile, more and more posts had appeared offering to buy shells at rock-bottom prices.

Three months had passed. He'd finished fusing with the Iron Balloon, but had only managed to save up 4,300 points.

He suspected users from other worlds had guessed he'd taken over Skypiea after he bought Dream One Heart for 88,888 tons of gold and listed Sky Island Shells for sale.

That was why they were aggressively driving prices down.

Fortunately, Sky Island Shells only existed in the Pirate World, and as Skypiea's god, Seven controlled their price.

Besides, Seven needed points, but not so desperately that he had to lower his prices.

He'd rather not sell at all than lower them.

Having a cheat was certainly great, but outsmarting users from other worlds on the Trading Platform was even more addictive.

In theory, every world had unique items for sale, so users from that world should naturally control their prices.

In practice, it didn't work that way.

Because it all came down to urgency.

Seven wasn't in a hurry. If he couldn't buy Armament Haki, he could train it himself.

And it didn't matter if he couldn't awaken Armament Haki yet. He still had the training experience for the Thoughtless Sword in his mind, and he hadn't fully fused with it.

Since he wasn't in a hurry, he could take it or leave it. That was how he'd taken control of the prices.

If Seven had been desperate to get points, he would've had no choice but to accept the prices set by those lowball offers.

And he would've lost control over the prices.

Only rich guys like Warhammer Bro didn't care about the price. He bought whatever he liked.

The only thing that could restrain Warhammer Bro was the platform's rules.

Taking a cue from the platform users who tried to drive prices down, Seven had also started posting lowball offers for Flying Capes, physical combat techniques, and the like.

The idea was simple: he wouldn't lower the price of his own goods, but he'd still buy what you had for cheap.

A crisp sound rang out before the stone.

Seven's chest heaved. His clenched fists had turned black, as though they were coated in black glaze.

"Phew..."

"I finally awakened it."

Even though Seven had already mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion, making basic Armament Haki seem a little underwhelming—

Well, it was better to have it than not.

The 5,000 points he'd saved could be used to strengthen his other abilities or buy a Flying Cape.

Armament Haki—

Its core functions were to strengthen attacks and defense, and to let its user touch the physical bodies of Logia Devil Fruit users.

It had three forms: hardening, flowing emission, and internal destruction.

Hardening was the most common and basic form of use. It involved coating the body or a weapon in Armament Haki, greatly increasing its defensive and offensive power.

Flowing emission involved letting Armament Haki flow around the hands or a weapon and releasing it as a shock wave.

Internal destruction was one application of flowing emission. It involved projecting Armament Haki through an object's surface to directly damage its interior.

Because of its flowing nature, flowing emission and internal destruction were known as Ryou in Wano Country.

In the New World, where almost everyone knew Armament Haki, Seven's failure to awaken it before made just how weak his physique had been obvious.

But now—

With Big Eater, Innate Divine Strength, and the Iron Balloon backing him, Seven had gone from a musket to a planet-buster. He was practically a human giant, nothing like he'd been before.

Thrilled by his successful awakening of Armament Haki, Seven drew his Paired Saber, Dream One Heart, and swung it at the top of the Poneglyph.

Crack!

A smooth, clean cut appeared at the top of the stone, and Dream One Heart neatly sliced off one corner of the Poneglyph.

"That's more like it. No wonder you're called a Divine Artifact."

Seven had spent three months punching the Poneglyph, and it hadn't suffered so much as a scratch. He didn't even know what kind of stone it was made of.

He'd almost thought it was some priceless treasure.

And that was it?

Putting away his saber, Seven transformed into lightning and flashed to Thunder God Palace in the space of a breath.

A woman who looked to be about twenty, wearing a pale-yellow miniskirt, with long blonde hair, long legs, and a voluptuous figure, hurriedly bowed. A pair of small wings sprouted from her back.

"Lord Thunder God."

Even her simple bow seemed to reveal the fiercest waves on the ocean.

Seven hurriedly looked away. I'm not the Thunder God, Shani. You're the real Thunder God!

As Skypiea's god, Seven naturally had beautiful maids around him. That fellow Gan Fall had even wanted to send his granddaughter over.

He'd practically put his intentions on display.

Unfortunately, Seven had spent so long living in poverty that he wasn't used to being waited on. He'd kept only the sisters Shani and Shalou at Thunder God Palace, and they took turns serving him.

"My lord." Shani lowered her head.

"Because... because you came back earlier than usual today, the kitchen hasn't prepared dinner yet. What would you like...?"

Seven waved a hand. "I'm going to take a bath. Serve dinner at the usual time."

"And from now on, lift your head when you speak."

"I'm not going to eat you."

Shani pressed her lips together. Whether you'd eat me or not, I can't say. You've snuck more than a few glances at me.