The Pulap Temple is a building shaped like the character "Hui". In the middle of the character "Hui" is an open-air courtyard, and on the edge is the main body of the building about ten meters wide.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Buggy went out of his room and looked up to see Prap standing in the courtyard. Buggy went up to him and greeted him politely, "Lord Prap, you seem to be looking much better."
"Mr. Warrior." Prap, still pale, turned to Buggy as he walked out and cut to the chase, "I know you want to learn Mantra, and I can teach you anytime."
"Please wait a moment!"
Buggy didn't hesitate and called out everyone except Kaya. After all, Kaya's focus was more on medicine, and it would be a waste to make her spend a lot of time learning Mantra instead of focusing on her studies. As for the others, it didn't matter much; having more skills meant having more assurance when venturing out on the high seas.
So, a group of people stood in front of Prap, waiting for the latter to speak. This made Prap cough. He originally thought he would only teach Buggy, but the situation was not as he imagined. However, since he had promised Buggy, and teaching one person or six people was essentially no different, he had no complaints. Or rather, the contributions made by the Buggy Pirates were enough for him to hand over his entire fortune without reservation.
"Well... let me explain the Mantra first," Prap said. "It's a power that allows you to foresee the movements of your enemies, sense the surrounding atmosphere, detect enemies outside your line of sight, or even predict your opponent's actions. You could also call it the power of 'mental hearing.'"
"The power of hearing the mind..." Cabaji lowered his eyes slightly, pondering. He was the only one in the Buggy Pirates who had mastered " Paper Art," one of the Six Powers. After comparing the concepts of " Paper Art " and " Mantra," he fell into deep thought. Paper Art was more about sensing airflow and predicting changes in the surrounding airflow the moment an enemy attacked. However, compared to what Prap said, Mantra could sense the surrounding atmosphere and enemies outside one's field of vision, something Paper Art could never achieve. In other words, Paper Art was limited to a certain range around oneself, while Mantra could expand that range to a much larger area. The concept of Mantra was closer to the " Observation Haki " that Jass had mentioned on Twin Cape, which could replace the five senses, or perhaps there were still some differences.
"That's right, it's the power of hearing." Prap glanced at Cabaji and continued, "The reason it's called the Mantra Mantra that the most important thing is to use your heart to feel the outside world, to listen with your heart, rather than relying on your eyes and ears. Since you've come from the Blue Sea, you must have seen a creature called a spider. It spins spider silk and slowly weaves a web on tree branches and corners of walls. As long as an insect hits the spider web, it can feel the vibration caused by the prey's impact or being trapped in the web. The Mantra is the same. The power of the heart spreads from the inside of the body into an invisible, interwoven web, constantly extending outwards. As long as the enemy makes a move, it will produce a 'sound,' and you can judge the opponent's actions by hearing and feeling the sound from your heart."
The Mantra also varies in strength. The longer one cultivates, the stronger the Mantra becomes. If two warriors with similar Mantra fight, the warrior with the stronger Mantra will have a denser Mantra, and will be able to sense more 'vibrations' and 'details' than the weaker warrior, thus making more accurate battle predictions.
Prap spoke so much in one breath that he was a little out of breath, and he began to breathe slightly, trying to regulate his breathing.
"Using the power of the heart to sense the outside world... a sixth sense beyond the five senses?" Buggy murmured softly. As the first person in the Mantra on the Three Gods Island, Prap certainly had his own obvious conceptual theory. Buggy looked at Prap and said, "Then how do we activate the power of the Mantra?"
Prap slowly said, "Cultivation, constantly cultivating the power of the mind. As long as you cultivate diligently, anyone can learn the Mantra, but everyone's aptitude is different, and the learning progress is also completely different."
Buggy said, "Well then... let's begin!"
Seeing that Buggy had made up his mind, Prap summoned his six divine servants. "They are all warriors who have mastered the Mantra. They will train you from now on, and I will be there to guide you."
Buggy, not considering these divine servants to be inferior to himself, readily cooperated with their actions, believing that those who were more capable were his teachers.
He was facing an elderly man who looked to be around fifty years old. He had a white beard, wore a triangular iron hat, and held an iron rod. The man handed him a strip of cloth and earplugs.
"Learn to feel with the power of your heart." Prap repeated it again. Buggy took the strip of cloth and earplugs, blindfolded himself with the cloth, and plugged his ears with the earplugs.
Use the power of your heart to feel... How do you do that?
Bang!
A metal rod struck Bucky on the head. Although it didn't hurt much, it distracted Buggy slightly. He immediately refocused, tensing his body to await the next blow.
The temporary deprivation of his sight and hearing instilled a sense of insecurity in him, which only fueled his growing anxiety. Yet, the next blow remained elusive. Just as his body relaxed, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, the force of the blow far greater than the previous one. Then, the iron bar on his shoulder was slowly lifted, and the elderly trainer was preparing another attack.
"Calm down... I need to calm down, use my heart, the power of my heart to feel, to listen..." Buggy slowly soothed his heart, trying to calm himself, "Like a spider Net, spreading the power of my heart, weaving and stitching Net..."
Bang...
Bang...
Bang...
The old man applied increasing force with the iron rod, striking Buggy's neck, shoulders, head, knees, abdomen, and chest without any pattern.
There are two ways to unleash the human body's inner potential. One is through visible, known dangers. With each step that this danger takes closer, it stimulates the body's potential, generating tremendous energy that ultimately pushes the limits to protect itself.
Another type is the unseen known danger, which means that although you know there is danger ahead, you don't know whether it will appear from the left, right, above, or below. This kind of danger can also cause the body to quickly take self-protective measures.
The progressively increasing force in the old man's swing of the iron rod is similar to a visible, known danger; you know his next strike will be even stronger and more dangerous.
His unpredictable swings are like an unseen, known danger; you don't know exactly where he'll strike your body. When these two dangers combine, they can stimulate the body's potential, causing it to erupt faster and more easily than ever before.
This cultivation of the Mantra is gradually getting on the right track!