Overbearing Cultivation

The Eclipse sailed steadily across the surface of the Grand Line.

The morning sea breeze carried a hint of chill. On the spacious aft deck, Leona was swinging two heavy Bone-Cleaving Blades for her daily practice, Carina was checking the accounts nearby, and Buggy was scrubbing the cannons with extreme diligence.

"Everyone, stop for a moment and gather around."

Ace pushed open the cabin door and walked to the center of the deck, his tall, upright frame naturally exuding a composed aura. Hearing this, Sabo set down his navigation log, and the four of them quickly gathered on the deck.

"Before we officially step into the deeper battles of the Grand Line, I need to give you a theoretical lesson on the most core power of this sea."

Ace scanned the group, his tone calm and serious.

Hearing this, Carina closed her ledger, Leona sheathed her blades, and everyone displayed an expression of intense focus.

"Devil Fruits can indeed bring powerful abilities, but in the New World, those who rely too heavily on their fruit powers are the first to die."

Ace extended his right hand. Without any activation of his fruit powers, the muscles of his entire right arm instantly took on a deep, hard luster like obsidian.

"Haki."

Ace looked at this black coating and explained, "This is a latent power hidden within all humans, and indeed all races. It is essentially the manifestation of spirit, aura, and intimidation. It is just that the vast majority of people go their entire lives without ever perceiving or channeling it."

"Haki is divided into three types. The first is Observation Haki."

Ace dissipated the black color on his hand and pointed to his head, "This is the ability to intensely perceive an opponent's aura. Once you master it, you can read an enemy's position, number, and even predict their next attack move from beyond your line of sight."

On the Sky Island ten thousand meters above the Grand Line, this power is known as Mantra. Top-tier powerhouses who have cultivated Observation Haki to its peak can even briefly foresee the future during battle, seeing facts that are about to occur after a period of time. There are also some who are born with special Observation Haki, such as Ace's Voice of All Things, which was how he originally found the Zhuque Fruit.

"The second is Armament Haki."

Ace clenched his fist again, and that pitch-black luster reappeared, "It is like wearing an invisible suit of armor. It not only greatly enhances defense and attack power, but most importantly, it is the universal means on this sea to restrain Devil Fruit users. With it, you can capture the intangible, ethereal entities of Logia-type users."

At this point, Buggy swallowed hard, having experienced this firsthand. Back on the Oro Jackson, he had seen with his own eyes how Vice-Captain Rayleigh used a sword wrapped in black to make those Logia-type pirates cry for their mothers.

"However," Ace shifted his tone, "Armament Haki can capture an entity, but it cannot make the user's ability disappear. For example, if you hit the physical form of a high-temperature flame with a fist covered in Haki, the heat of the flame will still burn you."

"Therefore, this leads to the advanced application of Armament Haki—Flow."

Ace spread his five fingers. Although it was difficult to see with the naked eye, Sabo and the others could keenly sense that an extremely dense current of air was swirling just outside Ace's palm.

"Do not let Haki remain rigidly on the surface of your skin like a block of iron; instead, consciously guide the Haki toward the surface of your fist or weapon to form a flowing wrap," Ace explained. "In this state, you don't need to make direct physical contact with the enemy to strike them, or even drive the Haki into the opponent's body to cause destruction from within!"

This high-level application of flowing Armament Haki is known as Ryuo in the isolationist Wano Country. Whether it is the Marine Science Unit captain Sentomaru or the reclusive Dark King Rayleigh, both have demonstrated this top-tier martial art of striking from a distance with great proficiency.

"Striking from a distance... destroying from within?!"

As a chef proficient in anatomy, Leona's vertical pupils lit up instantly upon hearing this theory. If she could master this power and attach it to her Bone-Cleaving Blades, wouldn't she be able to shatter even the hardest bones of a Sea King in an instant?!

"As for the third type."

Ace's gaze became extremely profound, "Conqueror's Haki."

"This is the qualification of a king possessed by only one in a million. It cannot be improved through acquired training; it only grows stronger naturally as the user's own spirit grows."

Ace said in a steady tone, "Basic Conqueror's Haki can directly knock out the weak with sheer spirit, but in a duel between true experts, simple intimidation is meaningless. The true overlords standing at the pinnacle of this sea can wrap this kingly spirit around their weapons and limbs, just like Armament Haki."

This is the highest-level combat application on the sea—Advanced Conqueror's Haki!

When Conqueror's Haki is used as a means of attack, it produces a clear visual marker: streaks of black lightning, as if substantial, will violently tear and pull through the air along the trajectory of the weapon's swing. Whether it was the Pirate King Roger of the past or Kaido of the Beasts who now occupies the New World, both are proficient in this destructive power that perfectly combines spiritual intimidation with physical impact!

After listening to Ace's explanation, the entire deck fell silent.

"Captain, that Advanced Conqueror's Haki you just mentioned..." Buggy wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked tentatively, "Have you already mastered it?"

"Still a long way off."

Ace did not shy away from admitting his current progress. "At most, I can achieve a certain degree of internal destruction with Armament Haki. As for Advanced Conqueror's Haki, that requires absolute control over one's spirit, which I cannot yet do."

Ace looked at his palm, a flash of clear fighting spirit in his eyes. He knew very well that although this body had been honed to be extremely formidable, reaching the realm where one could swing out black lightning like Roger or Kaido would require the tempering of extremely brutal life-and-death battles.

"So, this is our next sailing goal."

Ace turned around, his gaze gentle yet firm as he looked at his crew.

"Sabo, your foundation in Armament Haki is the most solid. With the assistance of the Mera Mera no Mi, strive to reach the threshold of Flow before we arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago. In the upcoming practical sparring, I will personally feed you moves to help you find that feeling of projecting Haki."

"No problem, I wouldn't have it any other way." Sabo smiled and tipped his hat, a light of excitement burning in his eyes.

"Buggy, Carina, Leona." Ace shifted his gaze to the three of them. "Your primary task now is to continue honing your bodies crazily. Only when the vessel of the body is strong enough can it perceive and withstand the awakening of Haki. During your training, Sabo and I will guide you and help you force out your Observation and Armament Haki."

Ace looked at them, a contagious, sunny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"You are the partners I have chosen. The New World is crawling with monsters, and I don't want to see any of you fall on the battlefield of the future. If we are to reach the top together and turn this world upside down, every single one of us must possess the power to tear our enemies apart!"

Hearing these words, Carina and Leona exchanged glances, their eyes slightly moist. Even Buggy, who was always afraid of death and greedy for money, couldn't help but straighten his back, feeling something burning in his chest.

"However," Ace shifted his tone, a hint of devilish instructor-like playfulness entering his voice, "conventional training is too slow for fruit users. Sabo, bring out the Seastone."

Hearing this, Sabo turned and pulled a heavy metal box from the cabin.

"Clang."

The box opened, revealing several neatly arranged, heavy-looking, dark-gray special handcuffs and leg shackles.

"These are Seastone handcuffs I spent a fortune to get on the black market at Roana Port," Ace explained with a smile.

"Seastone?!" Buggy took a big step back in fear.

"That's right." Ace stepped forward and, with complete naturalness, picked up the heaviest pair of Seastone handcuffs and clicked them onto his own wrists.

In an instant, a wave of intense weakness washed over him, causing Ace's body to sink slightly, yet he forced himself to stand straight through sheer, terrifying physical strength.

"While Devil Fruits grant power, they also breed dependency."

Ace flexed his wrist, which was shackled in Seastone, and said in a low voice, "Once Seastone is applied, a user is stripped of their fruit abilities and their stamina is drained significantly. But it is precisely in this state of extreme weakness, like being mired in deep mud, that one can push their physical potential to the limit through weighted training!"

"Once you grow accustomed to throwing punches while wearing Seastone, the moment those restraints are removed, your base physical strength will see a terrifying surge."

Ace looked at Buggy. "Especially for fruit users. Buggy, put it on, then run five hundred laps around the deck. Sabo, you too."

"It's not just for fruit users." Sabo picked up two pairs of slightly lighter Seastone leg weights and handed them to Leona and Carina. "The density and weight of Seastone far exceed ordinary steel, making it top-tier weighted equipment even for non-users."

"Let's go!"

Leona took the leg weights and strapped them on without hesitation. She picked up her two Bone-Cleaving Blades, gritting her teeth as she felt the staggering weight, yet a fanatical fighting spirit ignited in her eyes. "As long as it doesn't kill me, I can become stronger, right?"

"It won't kill you."

Ace watched as the entire crew donned the instruments of torture and smiled with satisfaction.

"My flames will repair every torn muscle and hidden injury you sustain. From today on, the deck of the Eclipse is your training hell."

Following Ace's command, the deck of the Eclipse was immediately filled with the sound of heavy footsteps and the ragged breathing of those drenched in sweat.

The sea breeze swept across the black vessel. On this perilous Grand Line, a pirate crew transforming into monsters was growing at a hardcore and incredible speed.