Rokushiki Advancement, Observation Haki Mastered!

Bane had originally planned to recruit some sailors in Loguetown to properly operate his ship.

However, Loguetown was under martial law, so that plan naturally fell through.

Without lingering any longer in Loguetown, Bane and his group quickly departed after purchasing some supplies.

It is worth mentioning that although Zoro didn't manage to pick out a fine blade for Bane, he successfully acquired the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri, leaving Tashigi envious for quite a while.

As for Nami, she bought a pile of designer clothes. You have to admit, Nami was naturally beautiful, and with her excellent taste in fashion, once she changed her attire and had the support of wealth, her entire aura was significantly elevated.

"The Log Pose Smoker gave us points exactly to Whisky Peak, which is at the entrance of the Grand Line. Now that the direction is set, the next issue is the voyage. If we want to bypass the Holy Land Mary Geoise and enter the Grand Line, we have no choice but to proceed through Reverse Mountain, where..." Bane sat on a barrel on the deck, explaining the upcoming situation to Nami and Zoro.

Zoro, that guy, didn't even listen for two sentences before feeling bored and walking to the other side of the deck to start practicing his Sword Arts.

After Bane finished explaining the situation to Nami, she took on the task with great confidence.

In the days that followed, the ship sailed normally, and Bane entered a state of training.

His appetite had become shockingly large every day. Originally, Zoro thought he could eat enough, but Bane could consume five times his portion, and it was still increasing. Nami felt this guy was simply a monster; he could eat an entire cow in one sitting.

As Bane's appetite grew rapidly, his physical fitness also enhanced quickly. Almost every day, he could feel his body weight changing.

You have to understand, his physique didn't change much, and his height didn't show any obvious growth; under these circumstances, his weight increasing daily was a very bizarre situation.

But Bane knew why: his muscle density, bone density, and other physical attributes were all increasing, which was why his weight was rising.

At the same time, as Bane's physical fitness steadily improved, his development of the Rokushiki became increasingly proficient. One of the stage-growth milestones was that he unexpectedly mastered the ability to move freely while in the Tekkai mode!

This was extremely difficult; even the strongest agent in the 800-year history of the Cipher Pol, Rob Lucci, hadn't mastered this technique. In Bane's memory, it seemed only that werewolf Jabra could pull off this trick.

Tekkai was originally a technique that could train the entire body's muscles. Bane didn't intend to rely on Tekkai to tank opponents' attacks; in his memory, those who blindly relied on Tekkai usually didn't end up well.

He simply used Tekkai as a breakthrough point for the Rokushiki, and facts proved it was very effective.

In the days following the breakthrough of Tekkai, Bane could clearly feel his control over his body reach a new realm. Previous difficulties with the Rokushiki were resolved as he stepped into this state; for example, his Soru speed was faster, his Shigan was sharper, and his Geppo and Rankyaku had also strengthened significantly.

What satisfied him most was that his line of thinking was correct: Tekkai was the technique that could point directly to the core of the entire Rokushiki, while the others were specialized for specific parts of the body!

When all the Rokushiki techniques reached a level of mastery, it was the moment Bane's group successfully crossed Reverse Mountain. Standing on the deck, feeling the swiftness of the torrent beneath the ship and the gentleness of the sea breeze brushing against his body, Bane finally mastered a great mystery of the Rokushiki: Life Return!

The moment the bow of the Shark Super plunged down from the torrent of Reverse Mountain and slammed into the sea, Bane felt as if he had entered a brand-new environment.

He could hear his own heartbeat, feel his blood flowing through his body, and the rhythm of his breathing caused his muscles to move slightly. His bones were constantly making friction sounds because of this; he could even feel a few strands of his hair falling out and his nails growing slowly.

Then, he felt sounds, he felt Haki!

That was himself!

In this instant, Bane seemed to have realized something, so much so that the violent tremors caused by the ship hitting the sea surface didn't affect him in the slightest. His feet seemed rooted, gripping the deck floor tightly.

"Bane, we've arrived at the Grand..." Nami wanted to shout excitedly at Bane.

But Zoro was faster, covering Nami's mouth with his hand, then staring fixedly at Bane and saying, "Don't make a sound."

After about five or six minutes, the ship gradually calmed down, and Zoro released Nami.

Then, in Nami's surprised gaze, Zoro drew his sword, Wado Ichimonji. Zoro moved silently to Bane's back, and without another word, raised his blade to strike at Bane's shoulder and neck from behind.

The momentum of this strike was sharp, scaring Nami so much she was about to gasp.

But the next second, as if Bane had eyes in the back of his head, he shifted his left foot and tilted his body slightly, dodging the strike. Zoro didn't stop; while pulling back the force of his Wado Ichimonji, he followed up with a diagonal slash toward Bane's waist and abdomen.

Bane's movements were also agile. With his eyes closed, he flowed with the motion, avoiding Zoro's blade by a hair's breadth. Then, the two looked like they were performing; Zoro slashed at Bane one strike after another.

Yet Bane never opened his eyes, dodging every strike precisely, as if they had agreed upon it beforehand.

After dozens of strikes, Zoro stopped, and Bane took the opportunity to open his eyes, a slightly excited smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"How did you discover it?" Bane asked Zoro first.

"I don't know how to describe that feeling. It's just that I suddenly seemed to hear your breathing, your voice. Actually, not just you; this ship, Nami, I seemed to be able to hear them all. This is what my master told me about before. The State of Cutting Steel!" Zoro said after thinking for a moment.

He had been able to cut steel before, but that relied on the power of Haki to force it through. Now, Zoro felt that a casual strike of his could seemingly cut through steel. He didn't know how he had broken through this step either.

Anyway, just now, when he saw Bane standing firmly in place amidst the torrent and impacts, he seemed to have a sudden realization. He seemed to hear Bane's voice—it was his breathing, his body breathing; it was a very mysterious sound.

Zoro thought about it now; perhaps Bane's change had just happened to stimulate him, and he had happened to be at a bottleneck, naturally crossing this hurdle.

After briefly describing his situation, Zoro added, "Then, I suddenly noticed your breathing, your voice, it was different."

At this point, Zoro stared at Bane, not saying anything more, but clearly waiting for an answer.

"Observation Haki." Bane didn't play coy, instead grinning. "It's Observation Haki. I've mastered it. Although I'm not very proficient yet, I've finally entered the gate."

Without any sign of jealousy, Zoro asked with a tone of anticipation, "Is there any technique to it?"

"I can't really explain it specifically, but since you can hear breathing, perhaps you can master Observation Haki next. Because I heard breathing just now, and at the same time, there's the Rokushiki. Now I can be certain: whether it's Observation Haki or Armament Haki, it's actually related to your control over your own body. I understood myself first, then heard the sounds of the outside world. And you... you have already heard the sounds of the outside world, so I estimate that as long as you can understand yourself and hear yourself, you will naturally master Observation Haki!" Bane thought for a moment before offering his suggestions and views.