Armament Haki?
Kuina and Zoro both froze, clearly unfamiliar with what Dragon had mentioned. They turned to Dunn.
Ivankov's eyes widened as he stared at Dunn.
He knew Koshiro could use Haki, but mastering it required a certain foundation, and using it frequently placed a strain on the body.
Had this kid already reached the point where Koshiro thought he could awaken Haki?
Dunn looked at Dragon, whose head was topped by three blood-red question marks, then nodded.
"I see!"
Dragon spoke, then sat down.
"Training in Haki isn't actually difficult. There's an island called Amazon Lily in the Calm Belt of the New World. Most of the people there have mastered a respectable level of Haki."
"Amazon Lily!" Dunn said with a nod.
"You know about it? You certainly know a lot."
Dragon smiled.
"Before I came to Shimotsuki Village, I saw a newspaper report that the empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom had become one of the Shichibukai."
Dunn nodded, bringing it up.
"If all you want is to guide someone into using Armament Haki, it's not that difficult."
As he spoke, Dragon suddenly reached for Dunn, his hand coated in dark Armament Haki.
Dunn's heart skipped a beat. With Observation Haki already active, he reflexively raised his hand to block Dragon's grasp. Then Dragon seized his wrist.
Dunn instinctively tried to turn his body into an element, but the part Dragon held wouldn't transform.
Dragon paused, then smiled. The Armament Haki on his hand flowed around Dunn's wrist.
A moment later, Dunn felt an energy within his body resisting the Haki flowing into him.
Before he could examine that energy, Dragon had already withdrawn his hand.
"That's your own Armament Haki. Most people can't use this method."
Dragon smiled, looking at Dunn as if there were more to his words.
A Devil Fruit user—and a Logia, at that.
Dunn said nothing. After a quiet moment under the gazes of the other four, he raised his arm. Armament Haki appeared on it.
Zoro and Kuina couldn't sense it, but Dragon and Ivankov could.
"That works?"
Seeing that Armament Haki had appeared on the Panel, Dunn was just as surprised.
"You still need to train your Armament Haki. To use this method to help others, you'll need to master it much more thoroughly."
Dragon didn't hide anything.
Even without his explanation, Dunn had more or less figured it out.
He hadn't expected Armament Haki to be able to flow onto someone else's body. Nor had he expected the Armament Haki—or whatever that energy was—hidden within him to react on its own when another person's Haki flowed into him.
"Thanks."
No matter what, Dragon had helped him. The least Dunn could do was thank him.
"No need. Consider it my way of returning the favor."
Because of Dunn, Koshiro had managed to gather more food, which had greatly helped the Revolutionary Army. That was why Dragon said this.
With that, Dragon stood, waved, and headed toward the dojo with Ivankov.
Dunn and the other two watched them leave.
"Dunn, what were you talking about just now?" Kuina asked, turning to him after watching Dragon and Ivankov go.
"Haki. It's a power people possess within themselves. If you want to become a swordsman, or even a Great Swordsman, you'll have to master it eventually.
"The strongest people on the sea have all trained their Haki to a high level."
Dunn thought for a moment, then explained it to them.
Haki training required a foundation and put some strain on the body. Frequent use could be harmful, so it made sense that Koshiro hadn't told them about it yet.
As for Zoro, if he hadn't gone out to sea and gotten lost, unable to find his way back to Shimotsuki Village, Koshiro might have taught him how to use Haki.
And as for Kuina...
Dunn glanced at her, then stood up.
"It's too soon for you to worry about Haki. When you're ready, the dojo master will teach you."
With that, Dunn left.
Kuina and Zoro looked at each other.
"This is a power all the strong possess. I'll definitely master it," Zoro said, his face full of longing.
Kuina nodded silently.
So physical strength was only one of the things needed to become strong!
Haki?
Kuina decided to ask her father about it.
Meanwhile...
Dragon and Ivankov returned and found Koshiro.
"How did it go?"
Seeing them return, Koshiro smiled and asked.
"He's a promising young man," Dragon said with a nod.
"Then..." Koshiro looked Dragon in the eyes, only to see him shake his head.
"He has no plans to go out to sea right now."
Koshiro nodded at that.
"But he is a Devil Fruit user. Most likely a Logia," Dragon said.
Ivankov had been listening. When he heard Dragon say that, he nearly jumped.
"That kid is a Logia user?"
Ivankov was stunned.
Devil Fruits weren't exactly common, let alone Logias.
The three Logia users among the Navy's top forces were famous across the sea, and all were incredibly powerful.
"Most likely," Dragon said with a nod.
"Boss, should we recruit him into the Revolutionary Army?" Ivankov was clearly interested.
A Logia user—unless he wasted his potential, he'd become a top fighter someday.
"That'll be difficult. There's something off about that young man's eyes, just as Koshiro said."
Dragon shook his head.
"I don't know why he looks at everyone like that. He may be trying to hide it, but that innate sense of superiority is always there."
Dragon sighed.
He was a little disappointed, for much the same reason as Ivankov.
"It's not impossible, though. He's still young," Koshiro said with a smile, changing the subject.
"True," Dragon said with a nod. He didn't dwell on the matter.
After returning, Dunn brought forth his Haki and maintained it.
It was naturally nowhere near as powerful as Koshiro's or Dragon's.
But having just gained this power, Dunn was deeply curious about Armament Haki.
He even tried coating Flame with it, but naturally, he failed.
Aside from asking Koshiro for guidance later, Dunn planned to keep his Haki active as much as possible.
The more he used it, the more he would improve and learn how to use it.
Of course, his health was also declining as he used Haki, though not very quickly.
Unlike Observation Haki, Armament Haki consumed a great deal of stamina.
The next day, before dawn, Dunn left the dojo after staying up all night. By sunrise, he was drenched in sweat and carrying a sea fish several meters long back to the dojo.
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