Observation Haki

After that, every morning, Carl came early to the island and found a quiet patch of woods. Facing the sunlight, she sat cross-legged.

She regulated her breathing, trying to calm her mind. In that state, she attempted to extend her awareness and sense her surroundings.

At first, she sensed nothing. But as time passed, she gradually began to detect things around her, though the impressions remained unclear.

In the afternoons, she practiced Observation Haki with Newgate on the island, day after day.

In between, she also supervised Long Yi and Long Er, checking on their progress with the Golden Light Incantation.

As expected of those with Dragon-Human blood, the two were exceptionally gifted physically. In only a few days, they could cover their entire bodies with the Golden Light Incantation and even project it outward.

Clay was perhaps a little less gifted. He could only cover his limbs, but even so, he was progressing far faster than an ordinary human.

At the same time, she taught them Dragon Tiger Mountain's Five Elements Fist.

The Five Elements Fist was created according to the principles of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and combined with the body's five organs: the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

Practicing the Five Elements Fist could regulate the organs and gradually strengthen the body. After all, they all possessed special bloodlines, and their physical potential was still far from fully awakened.

It was just the thing to help them build a foundation. Under Clay's guidance, they practiced diligently every day.

She even had Clay buy over a hundred orphans on the island, all between five and ten years old. She firmly believed that children were the easiest to control. She would first teach them Dragon Tiger Mountain's Five Elements Fist to lay the foundation for her future forces. They would become her first followers. She certainly hadn't expected that several of those hundred children would eventually become strong enough to impress even her.

There were countless slaves on Hachinosu, and thousands of them were orphans.

So it took only half a day to gather them all.

Clay trained them every day. At first, they were given adequate food, and then they began practicing the Five Elements Fist together. As for the Golden Light Incantation, she didn't teach it to anyone besides Clay, Long Yi, and Long Er.

Every day, she went to that island to practice Observation Haki with Newgate, hoping to master it as soon as possible.

At first, Carl could only endure the impact of the stones. But as she continued practicing, she gradually began to sense things around her, such as trees and flowers.

As time passed, her senses grew sharper. On the tenth day, she began to pick up on increasingly subtle changes: the breeze, trembling leaves, and insects in flight.

After sensing these subtle changes, Carl tried to piece the information together and predict what would happen. She visualized the direction these things would move in her mind, attempting to predict an enemy's movements and intentions. This was one of the most common ways to master Observation Haki.

On the afternoon of the thirteenth day, her Observation Haki finally began to turn a corner.

"Whoosh!"

As usual, Newgate attacked her all over with stones.

"Huh?"

But this time, Newgate was surprised to see Carl twist her body slightly and deftly dodge the little stone.

Carl's lips curled into a faint smile. She had done it.

The next moment, she yanked off the blindfold and shouted excitedly, "I can sense it!"

"I've mastered Observation Haki!"

Just as Newgate had thrown the stone, Carl had clearly sensed it flying toward her shoulder.

Though a blindfold covered her eyes, Observation Haki made her feel as if she could see the stone. She had dodged it with ease.

It was a little like a spider's danger sense. She could clearly tell which direction an attack was coming from and exactly where it was about to hit her. She thought she was beginning to understand how Fujitora could walk around normally despite being blind.

So Observation Haki really was like a spy's radar, able to scan everything around her. She had only just begun to learn it, though, and her range was only fifty meters in diameter.

"Gurarara!"

Newgate set down the stones he still held. Now that she had mastered it, there was no need to keep throwing them.

Newgate looked somewhat shocked. She had mastered Observation Haki in just thirteen days.

She had only just learned the basics, perhaps, but it had taken him several months to master it. He hadn't been wrong—Carl really was a genius.

"Congratulations, Carl."

"Thanks for your help, Newgate."

She knew that without Newgate's help, awakening her Observation Haki might have taken much longer.

"Let me see how strong you are now."

Newgate wanted to find out how much Carl's strength had changed after awakening her Observation Haki.

"Sure. Let's do it."

Carl wanted to test her Observation Haki, too.

Carl made the first move. Black-and-gold light swirled around her as a formidable presence erupted from her, vast as the boundless ocean and unstoppable. It carried an overwhelming force that seemed to crush and conquer everything, instantly blanketing the entire island.

After covering her whole body with the Golden Light Incantation and Armament Haki, she stamped her right foot against the ground, turning into a golden streak of lightning as she charged at Newgate and threw an Iron Fist clad in Armament Haki.

Newgate reacted swiftly, swinging his long blade, coated in Armament Haki, to block Carl's attack.

The golden fist and the black blade collided, and the resulting shockwave made the whole island tremble.

The clash immediately drew the attention of people on Hachinosu, not far away.

"Who's over there?"

"Quick, go take a look!"

The battle was taking place beside Hachinosu, so it was bound to attract the pirates there.

"Jihahahaha!"

"It's Carl and Newgate."

Golden Lion Shiki led the way, floating toward the island.

His Observation Haki had sensed that Newgate and Carl were fighting.

Charlotte Linlin, John, Ochoku, and the others rushed toward the island using Geppo.

Some of the pirates immediately set sail and sped toward the island.

They wanted to watch a battle between two Division Commanders and see which was stronger: Commander Carl or Commander Newgate.

Back on the island.

Carl saw that Newgate had blocked her attack.

Newgate immediately showed off his superb swordsmanship. His great blade moved as fast as lightning, sending one slash after another toward Carl.

Relying on the Observation Haki she had just mastered, Carl sensed every attack clearly, then leaned aside to dodge each sweeping slash with ease. She began a proper duel with Newgate, relying on her Observation Haki.

The two traded blows, fighting fiercely.

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged hundreds of moves, and Carl gradually fell behind. Although she had mastered Observation Haki, both her Armament and Observation Haki were still at the beginner level. Her overall strength still wasn't enough to defeat Newgate.

She had managed to trade so many blows with Newgate partly because he was holding back and partly because her unreasonable physical prowess constantly restored her stamina. That also meant every punch she threw had the same force.

Their battle devastated the surrounding area. The ground was riddled with holes, and trees were uprooted.

Carl was covered in sword wounds.

Blood immediately streamed from the cuts, but a closer look showed that they were healing at a visible rate.