Rayleigh's Explanation, Ace's Flaw

"Because of Armament Haki!" Xi Yan said.

Perona paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "So... you were able to touch me in my Spirit Form because of Armament Haki?"

Perona's expression turned somewhat unpleasant as she recalled some of the things Uncle Mihawk had told Zoro.

Did she miss something?!

"Yes."

Xi Yan nodded, then asked with some doubt, "Didn't you live with Zoro for two years? Don't you know the effects of Armament Haki?"

"I know some..."

Xi Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then tentatively asked, "You wouldn't... possibly have never used your ability on Zoro?"

If you were to use your powers on Zoro, you'd probably understand the effects of Haki.

"He...he didn't resist..." Perona said somewhat awkwardly.

Although she didn't tease Zoro many times, he never actually used a sword imbued with Haki to cut her.

"Oh~"

"I see," Xi Yan said, Satori.

It seems Zoro has been letting this Ghost Princess go these past two years; otherwise, she wouldn't be unaware of the special effects of Haki.

'That makes sense. After all, this girl is Zoro's savior, so it's normal for Zoro to give way to her a little,' Xi Yan murmured to himself.

Thinking about this, Xi Yan felt it made sense.

Then, Xi Yan said, "Now you know the power of Haki, right?"

"Knew..."

Perona first replied with her head down, then suddenly looked up and said, "If I don't let the other person touch me... will it be okay?!"

"Hmm... that's true."

Xi Yan nodded and said, "If you can stay high in the sky, you can indeed have a significant advantage."

Hearing Xi Yan's words, Perona regained her confidence.

Before she could say anything, Xi Yan continued, "However... quite a few people can use their abilities to fly into the air and launch attacks, so you have to be careful of these guys."

Perona paused for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

Flying enemies...?

As if recalling a certain scene, Perona's expression turned somewhat serious.

Nami glanced at Perona, whose expression had become somewhat serious, and said, "Does that mean I also have to be careful of people with Haki?"

"Yes." Xi Yan nodded and said, "The Elementalization of Logia abilities can also be detected by Armament Haki."

If Nami doesn't dodge the attack imbued with Haki in time, Nami will be injured!!

Of course, if Nami could Elementalization beforehand, she wouldn't need to worry about this.

However... achieving that level is not an easy task.

Recalling what Uncle Rayleigh had said when he explained Haki, Xi Yan reaffirmed his thoughts.

After hearing Xi Yan's words Nami paused for a moment, then asked, "Are there many people in the New World who know Armament Haki?"

This time, Xi Yan didn't speak, but instead glanced at Rayleigh.

Seeing this, Rayleigh calmly said, "In the New World, people who Armament Haki... are as numerous as hairs on a cow!!!"

Nami:...

Nami, who had just felt invincible, suddenly realized that she was actually quite weak.

Shakky, who had observed the two girls' reactions, said softly, "Don't be discouraged. They were just saying that to prevent you from relying too much on your Devil Fruit abilities, not that you're not strong."

It wouldn't be good if these two girls were really discouraged and lost confidence, so she had to say these things.

"That's right." Rayleigh nodded. "I'm just saying this to give you a heads-up."

If you're targeted by Haki enemy, relying too much on Elementalization or Ghost State can lead to your death!

Perona and Nami exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison, saying, "Okay, we understand."

It seems I'll have to work even harder to survive in a place like the New World!

Seeing this, Xi Yan smiled, then turned his gaze to Shakky, signaling her to continue explaining the information.

Shakky nodded, then turned around and placed the information she found useful on the table.

"Here, take a look. This is some information about the Four Emperors Crew," Shakky said, a cigarette dangling from her lips.

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan did not speak, but instead picked up the intelligence report on the table and looked at it.

A moment later, he looked up at Shakky and exclaimed in surprise, "The Whitebeard Pirates have disbanded?!"

"Right."

Shakky nodded and said, "They disbanded about six months ago."

Hearing Shakky's words, Xi Yan's expression became somewhat complicated.

Although he had suspected this two years ago, he still felt quite conflicted after actually hearing the news.

"Whitebeard Uncle's pirate crew has disbanded?" Luffy asked Shakky, puzzled. "What about Ace?"

Could it be that they went back to the East Blue?

Luffy thought about it for a moment and then dismissed the idea.

After all... Ace could never give up being a pirate!

"Little Ace..." Shakky tapped her cigarette ash, while simultaneously reviewing information about Ace in her mind.

She then said, "After the Whitebeard Pirates disbanded, the pirate crews under its command went their separate ways."

"As for Little Ace, he formed his own pirate crew."

"So he's formed his own pirate crew..." Luffy nodded upon hearing this, then grinned and said, "He really hasn't given up on being a pirate!"

As expected of Ace!

Hearing Luffy's words, Shakky smiled and said, "He is, after all, that man's son."

As the Son of the Pirate King, what else can he do besides be a pirate?

This time, Luffy simply nodded and said nothing more.

Rayleigh, however, wore a somewhat complicated expression, thinking to himself: 'The captain's son...'

This man may have inherited the captain's bloodline, but that doesn't necessarily mean he can inherit the captain's will.

Thinking of this, Rayleigh sighed silently.

However, his mood gradually calmed down after he saw Luffy.

Oh well, there are better options now, so there's no need to dwell on this.

Watching the man diligently eating, Rayleigh's lips unconsciously curled into a smile.

"I remember the Whitebeard Pirates had many powerful Squad Captain, right?" Perona said. "Did they also form their own pirate crews?"

"No."

Shakky shook her head and said, "Apart from those who died in battle or retired, all the other members followed Ace."

It was precisely because of this that Ace was able to gain a foothold in the New World.

Otherwise, he would have been completely taken advantage of long ago!

After all... there are many people in this world who don't acknowledge the Roger Pirates!

"I never expected Ace to become the captain of these people," Xi Yan laughed. "It seems he has a unique personal charm."

"If that weren't the case, why would he have people follow him?" Shakky said.

To become the captain of those people, it's not enough to just meet the skill requirements; you also need to win them over with your personal charisma.

Otherwise, he would never have been able to become the captain!

"That makes sense." Xi Yan nodded, then asked, "Did Ace become one of the Four Emperors?"

Ace, who brought together the Core Strength of the Whitebeard Pirates, should have a chance to become a new Four Emperors).

"No," Shakky shook her head and said.

"No?"

Xi Yan was somewhat surprised; he had thought Ace would be able to take that position.

"Do you think Ace can grow to the level of Four Emperors in the next two years?" Rayleigh asked.

"I don't know him very well," Xi Yan said, "But he's still the Son of the Pirate King, so his potential should be..."

"It should be quite big, right?" Rayleigh said the rest of the sentence for Xi Yan.

Xi Yan nodded, agreeing with Rayleigh's statement.

"Normally, your idea is correct," Rayleigh said, "But..."

Seeing Rayleigh suddenly stop speaking, a question mark appeared above Xi Yan's head.

"But what?"

What does it mean to say something only halfway through?

Rayleigh, with the image of Whitebeard appearing in his mind, sighed silently.

He then continued, "But Ace's environment over the years has been so unique that it has prevented him from growing up quickly."

Upon hearing this, a hint of doubt flashed in Xi Yan's eyes, and he asked, "What do you mean?"

What do you mean by saying Ace's living environment these past few years has been too special?

Rayleigh didn't answer the question immediately, but instead asked, "Xi Yan, what do you think is most important for becoming a top-tier powerhouse?"

Xi Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "I remember you asked me this question two years ago, didn't you?"

"Right."

So what's your answer?

"I'll say it again," Xi Yan said, "To become a top-tier expert, conviction is the most important thing!"

Without a strong enough belief, even the greatest power cannot be unleashed.

Moreover, Haki is inherently related to belief, so belief is truly extremely important!

"That's right, it's about belief." Rayleigh nodded and said, "Without a strong and unwavering belief, one can never become a true powerhouse."

After saying that, he picked up the drink on the table, took a sip, and his expression gradually became somewhat melancholy.

Seeing Rayleigh's melancholy expression, Nami asked, "Uncle Rayleigh, are you saying that Ace didn't have a strong enough belief?"

"No, he still has faith, but... it's not enough!"

A look of confusion appeared in Nami's eyes. So what exactly was Uncle Rayleigh trying to say?

Rayleigh didn't keep him in suspense, but said directly, "Ace certainly doesn't lack the conviction that a strong person possesses, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to defeat that Shichibukai years ago."

After recalling the Shichibukai named Hanafuda, Rayleigh nodded affirmatively.

He then continued, "But the moment he became Whitebeard's son, his faith was no longer enough."

"Why?"

"Because after he fully accepted his identity, he abandoned his belief in becoming king and instead wanted Whitebeard to become the Pirate King!!!"

Recalling the information Shakky had previously gathered, Rayleigh's expression gradually became complicated.

"I think I understand what you mean," Xi Yan nodded.

Ace originally wanted to become the Pirate King, abandoned his faith and instead wanted someone else to become the Pirate King.

How Haki could someone like that possibly be?

Perhaps his Two-colored Haki is decent, but his Conqueror's Haki is definitely not up to the level of Four Emperors!

This is probably why he hasn't been able to become New Four Emperors in the past two years.

"What does that mean?" Nami looked at Xi Yan, confused. "I still don't understand."

"Let me put it this way," Xi Yan said, raising his hand and wrapping it with Haki, "Haki is a manifestation of belief!"

"The stronger the power of belief, the stronger the Haki!"

"Ace voluntarily abandoned his original beliefs, so his Haki could not reach the top level, and therefore he could not become one of the Four Emperors."

"Do you understand what I mean now?"

Nami paused for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and said, "I understand..."

She could understand such a simple and straightforward explanation.

but...

Ace became like this, what will Luffy do...?

"Um?"

Nami glanced at Luffy's calm expression and a few question marks popped up above her head.

Why is Luffy so calm?

Doesn't he care about what happened to Ace?

Thinking about this, Nami voiced her doubts.

Upon hearing this, Luffy calmly glanced at Nami and said, "This is Ace's own choice, so I won't interfere."

They are brothers, no doubt, and they would risk their lives to save each other if one were in danger.

However... when the other is going down the path they want to take, they won't interfere with each other's lives; this is the tacit understanding between the brothers.

"My own choice..." Nami murmured.

Then she nodded and said, "I understand."

Since Luffy had already said that, she couldn't say anything more.

Perona looked at Luffy with some surprise; she hadn't expected him to be so insightful!

Then, she murmured to herself, 'Everyone has their own choices...'

Lord Moria, may I also choose my own life?

At this moment, a rare sense of confusion appeared in Perona's heart.

"So... that's why Ace couldn't become one of the New Four Emperors?" Xi Yan said, stroking his chin.

"That's one of the reasons."

Rayleigh, taking a sip of his drink, continued, "Another reason is that he was living too comfortably."

"Too comfortable?"

"Um."

Rayleigh nodded and said, "Simply put, Whitebeard protected him too well."

Upon hearing Rayleigh's words, Xi Yan immediately understood.

The Whitebeard Pirates are Four Emperors Crew, and Whitebeard Uncle is the World's Strongest Man, so... naturally very few people would dare to challenge them!

This reduces Ace's opportunities to participate in battles.

And this... is the main reason why Ace gradually lost his ambition!

Thinking of this, Xi Yan said with some emotion, "People who always live under someone else's wing... really can't grow up."