"Oh-la~ Have we got new members in the family?" Jora, the cafeteria manager, noticed the moment Gray walked in with the Monet sisters.
Gray: "That's right! This is the older sister, Monet, and the younger sister, Sugar!"
"Hello!"
"Uh~ hello!" The Monet sisters couldn't help feeling nervous at their first meeting with the Donquixote Family's top officers.
"All right, sit beside me!" Gray took his seat, with Baby 5 on his right and the Monet sisters on his left. "They may not look like much, but once you get to know them~ they're actually pretty nice."
Of course, Trebol and the others were only nice to people on their side.
"Hey, hey, hey! Gray, what do you mean, we don't look like much?"
"Whoever answered, that's who I meant!" Now that he knew Trebol and the others better, Gray could tease them without holding back.
Of course, teasing was one thing. If he wanted to avoid getting beaten up on the training ground, he'd better not do it.
They were all villains, and none of them believed in respecting their elders or being kind to the young. Everything came down to their fists.
"You brat, you're always so annoying!"
"If you ever get beaten up because of that mouth of yours, I won't be surprised!"
Gray: "Heh heh heh. If you want to beat me up, you'll have to catch me first."
Trebol fell silent at Gray's words. Now that he thought about it, with Gray's Devil Fruit's flight ability, there really weren't many who could catch him.
At the thought, Trebol felt awful. He decided to drop the subject and awkwardly changed the topic. "Let's eat first!"
"If we don't hurry, the food will get cold, and that'd be a waste of Jora's cooking."
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways to take care of their own business.
Gray, meanwhile, brought Baby 5 to the Monet sisters' room.
"Lord Gray, is something the matter?"
"Nothing serious. My ability can help you grow stronger faster, so I came to ask if you'd be interested."
Monet and Sugar: ???
"Could you explain what you mean?"
Seeing the two of them looking bewildered, Gray realized he'd sprung it on them too suddenly, so he could only explain first. "All right! Let me give you a quick rundown."
"In this world, whether you're a Devil Fruit User, a master of hand-to-hand combat, or a swordsman, you need to meet two requirements to become stronger and reach the top."
"First: a strong body."
"Second: Haki!"
"There are no shortcuts to strengthening your body. You can only work at it little by little. What I want to talk to you about today is Haki."
"Haki is divided into Armament Haki and Observation Haki..."
After giving the Monet sisters a brief introduction to the Three Types of Haki, Gray finally got to the point. "Your body has to be strong enough to use Armament Haki, so you'll have to wait until later for that. But Observation Haki can be awakened ahead of time."
"As long as your mental strength is strong, awakening Observation Haki becomes much easier."
"And one of my abilities has a technique that can help a lot with awakening Observation Haki."
"Since mental strength is a factor, I can only ask you. Sugar and Baby 5 are still too young, so to be safe, I can only test it on you, Monet."
"Of course, you can also take your time and awaken Observation Haki step by step. You don't have to use my faster method."
"Since this is my first time awakening Observation Haki for someone else, I can't guarantee it's completely safe." That was right: Gray wanted to recreate on Monet the experience he'd gone through when he awakened his own Observation Haki.
Considering that both the soul and the body needed to mature, he knew that someone without strong enough mental strength might not be able to draw out their mental power at all—or that doing so might lead to unpleasant consequences.
That was why Gray had never considered helping Baby 5 awaken Observation Haki. Now that Monet, an adult, had arrived, he wanted to try out his idea and see if it would work.
If Monet, as an adult, had no problems, Gray would have a major advantage when it came to helping his crew grow stronger in the future.
After hearing Gray's explanation, Monet fell into thought. Beside her, Sugar looked at her with worry.
"Could it put my life in danger?"
Gray thought it over, using his own experience as a guide. When he'd rotated a Soul Magnetic Field, it hadn't seemed to damage the soul itself. "No!"
"Then~ could there be any aftereffects?"
"I don't think so!" As Gray saw it, if a soul had matured—that is, if the person was an adult—then rotating its magnetic field and drawing out its personal mental power would at most cause mental fatigue.
"In that case, I'm fine with it. I'm willing!"
Monet's question helped Gray sort through his thoughts, and he realized there didn't seem to be much to worry about.
"Good!" Gray stepped closer to Monet. "Sit down and close your eyes. Focus on what you feel."
"Understood!" Monet answered, then obediently sat down on a chair and closed her eyes, waiting for Gray.
Gray moved behind Monet and placed his right hand on top of her head. He brought his Observation Haki to its peak and carefully examined her Soul Magnetic Field.
At a glance, Gray spotted the problem.
Gray's own Personal Magnetic Field had his Soul Magnetic Field on the outside, surrounding the Life Magnetic Field that represented his body.
His powerful Soul Magnetic Field obscured his Life Magnetic Field. At first, when his Observation Haki wasn't strong enough, he couldn't make out his Life Magnetic Field at all.
Only after his body grew stronger through training was he able to see his Life Magnetic Field.
That was what made Gray different from ordinary people.
Monet's situation was the opposite of his, giving Gray a good example of an ordinary person and some experience to draw on.
As he observed Monet's situation with his Observation Haki, Gray carefully noted what he saw. "No! There's more to it. If you don't look closely, Monet's Personal Magnetic Field almost seems like the two parts are meant to fit together."
In Monet's Personal Magnetic Field, the Life Magnetic Field was on the outside, while the Soul Magnetic Field was slightly smaller.
There was a ring-shaped groove inside Monet's Life Magnetic Field, as if it were waiting for the Soul Magnetic Field to fit into it.
Still, the two were very close together. But after examining them carefully, Gray realized the Soul Magnetic Field was just a little short of fitting into the Life Magnetic Field.
If he had to give an example, it was like Pinduoduo's "cut a little off the price" promotion: it was always just a little short.
"Interesting! So this is what an ordinary person's magnetic field looks like?"
"Then~ what interesting things will happen when life and soul become one?" Gray had to set the thought aside for now and began rotating Monet's Soul Magnetic Field.
"Rotate!" He activated his Devil Fruit ability, and Monet's Soul Magnetic Field began turning slowly.
"If you feel uncomfortable at all, tell me right away!" Since this was his first experiment, Gray didn't dare rotate Monet's Soul Magnetic Field too quickly.
Monet: "All right!"
"I don't feel any different yet!"
Hearing that, Gray increased the rotation speed again, letting the Soul Magnetic Field draw out Monet's mental power so she could awaken her Observation Haki.
He sped it up little by little. After doing this four times, Monet finally noticed a change.
In her mental world, even though she was in her own room aboard the ship, she could clearly see what was happening outside the door.
Not only that, she could also sense the presences aboard the ship that made her feel incredibly threatened.
Thinking back over the ship's layout, Monet realized the strongest presence was in the captain's quarters.
The second presence that made her feel threatened was right behind her.
Through this perception, she gained a vague sense of just how powerful Gray was—the one who had invited her aboard.
"I can see it!"
Hearing that, Gray immediately felt relieved. Looks like I was right. Rotating a Soul Magnetic Field really can help someone awaken Observation Haki.
Then Gray immediately asked Monet how she felt. "How far can you see?"
"Do you feel tired?"
Before you continue