Devil Fruit, Observation Haki

At Mike's words, he stood up. "Thank you, Lord Rody, for taking me in."

"You, follow this pirate into the cabin and take stock of the money," Rody said, wrapping an arm around Nami as he turned and left the cabin.

"Yes, Lord Rody." Mike bowed toward Rody's retreating back.

After leaving the cabin, Rody held Nami and sat down in the ship's large chair. Looking at the mangled bodies scattered across the deck, Nami recalled her first encounter with Rody in Watermelon Town. The Great Axe Pirates had been slaughtered in the same manner, followed by Arlong's crew and the Marines.

Leaning against Rody's chest, Nami looked at him hopefully. "Rody, these pirates deserved to die, but aside from Captain Nezumi's group, some of those Marines should have been good people. If we meet them in the future, can you try not to kill the good Marines?" Bell-mère had raised Nami since childhood, so even though there were scum like Captain Nezumi among the Marines, she still believed that most Marines were good people.

Hearing this, Rody, who had been checking the system notification in his mind regarding Disk's death, looked down at Nami in his arms. "All right. As long as they don't attack me first, I won't take the initiative to kill them." He gently stroked Nami's beautiful orange hair.

"Mhm. Thank you, Rody." Nami rested her head against Rody's chest.

"Lord Rody, the valuables aboard the ship have been inventoried," Mike reported, holding a strangely patterned fruit and a book.

Rody glanced at the oddly patterned fruit in Mike's hand. This should be a Devil Fruit. He gestured for Mike to continue.

After receiving Rody's signal, Mike said, "There are currently 128 million Beli aboard the ship. Of that, 100 million Beli was taken from the Bruce Family, while 28 million Beli was looted from villages and towns. We also found a Devil Fruit and a book on Haki applications in the captain's quarters."

"Devil Fruits, and that Haki application book... what are those?" Nami looked curiously at the book and Devil Fruit in Mike's hands. She still remembered Arlong saying, before Rody killed him, that Rody was a Devil Fruit user.

"Devil Fruits are known as incarnations of sea devils. By eating one, a person can gain miraculous abilities. However, only the person who takes the first bite can gain its power. Even if the first person only eats a tiny piece, it is useless for a second person to eat the rest. One person can only eat one Devil Fruit; eating a second will cause them to explode and die. Every Devil Fruit is worth at least 100 million Beli. Those who eat Devil Fruits are called Devil Fruit users."

"Devil Fruit abilities are divided into three categories: Logia, Zoan, and Paramecia. Logia allows the eater's body to transform into natural elements, rendering them immune to all attacks. Zoan grants the eater the abilities of a certain animal. Paramecia grants the eater some extraordinary superhuman ability."

"Miss Nami, once someone eats a Devil Fruit, they are cursed by the sea and unable to swim. As for this book on Haki applications, I do not know what it is either. I merely saw it placed together with the Devil Fruit and assumed it was valuable, so I brought it to Lord Rody as well." After listening to Mike's explanation, Nami looked at Rody. "Rody, that means you must be a Devil Fruit user too, right? That's why you can unleash those slashes!"

"No, I haven't eaten a Devil Fruit, so I'm not an ability user. As for those slashes, Nami, there are many races in this world. Some can even wield flames and lightning."

"There are even races that can use flames and lightning? That's amazing," Nami marveled.

"As for the Haki mentioned in this book on Haki applications, it is a power that basically only exists on the Grand Line. Haki is also divided into three types: Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki."

"Only by mastering Armament Haki can one gain the qualifications to fight powerful Logia Devil Fruit users. Among the three types of Haki, Armament Haki is comparatively the easiest to master. As long as one's physique is strong enough, there is a chance of mastering it in battle. Armament Haki coating can strengthen the hardness of blades and the body. More advanced Armament Haki makes excess Haki flow, increasing the thickness of the armored area. Defensively, it is like invisible armor. Offensively, flowing Armament Haki can strike the enemy internally and inflict enormous damage." (The Flowing Sakura of Wano Country is an advanced Armament Haki technique.)

"Observation Haki can detect the positions and numbers of enemies outside one's field of vision, as well as an enemy's next move. Top-tier Observation Haki can even briefly foresee the future." (The Mantra of Skypiea is Observation Haki.)

"Armament Haki and Observation Haki are latent powers possessed by everyone in the world. It is merely that most people cannot sense them, or cannot draw them out even if they do. But Conqueror's Haki is completely different. It is an inborn talent—if you do not have it, then you simply do not have it. It also cannot be improved through training, only controlled. It can only grow stronger along with the user's own growth."

With that, Rody reached out and took the animal-head-shaped Devil Fruit and the book on Haki applications from Mike.

"Nami, do you want to eat a Devil Fruit? This one looks like a Zoan. Zoan Devil Fruits generally have wills of their own. If the fruit's awakening fails, the animal will within the Devil Fruit will seize the person's human consciousness and turn them into a beast. I'd better find you a Logia instead."

"Rody, if Zoan Devil Fruits are so dangerous, then let's not eat this one. If we don't eat it, we can sell it. It's worth at least 100 million Beli!" Nami looked at Rody with money symbols gleaming in her eyes.

"Didn't we already gain quite a lot of Beli from this ship? Keep this Devil Fruit for now. Once we find a Devil Fruit encyclopedia and learn what animal this Zoan Devil Fruit is, then we can decide."

Hearing Rody's words, Nami nodded reluctantly. "All right!"

"Mike, dispose of the corpses on this ship, pack up the valuables, and deal with that remaining pirate as you see fit."

"Yes, Lord Rody," Mike replied, nodding at Rody's order.

After giving Mike his instructions, Rody held Nami and jumped back onto his own ship. He summoned Jade Hound White and told it to obey Nami's commands, then headed for the training room.

Inside the training room, Rody sat cross-legged and began reading the book on Haki applications they had obtained from the pirate ship. Half an hour later, Rody closed the book in his hands and slowly shut his eyes. He felt as though the entire world had suddenly fallen silent.

In Rody's perception, the whole world became a strange scene like a black-and-white ink painting. He could distinctly sense the three people aboard the two ships. Even though he had shut off the act of "hearing," he could still hear the breathing of the people on the ships.

Half an hour passed before Rody slowly opened his eyes. The world returned to its normal colors. Observation Haki mastered.