The Hunted

Drip, drip... Crystal-clear droplets slid down the leaf veins, gently striking the rocks and splashing into little blossoms.

An occasional birdcall, a breeze brushing past... The patter of droplets falling like pearls onto a jade plate mingled with the freshness of an empty mountain after rain.

Reg emerged from his crude tent and greedily inhaled the fresh air. Then his gaze settled on the mountain spring cascading down from the "edge"... A rainbow, accented by splashing water, so clear and pure that it seemed to stun time itself.

"Seven more days..."

Reg stuffed the last piece of cured meat into his mouth, his eyes gleaming green... It was time for the hunt to begin.

Over the past few days, he had not merely stayed in his tent like a turtle hiding in its shell... Taking advantage of the animals' sharply reduced activity, he had explored a wide area around him.

He had already mapped out the locations of all kinds of animals... He had found that massive python as well.

Although he could not use the instructor's "sparring" to test its level, its movement speed, size, and sensitivity were enough for him to judge it as a high-level beast.

The ruler of this area was a huge black-maned wild boar nearly six meters long... Its herd had nine members, but only two of the boars posed a threat to him.

Reg was not overly afraid of the other venomous insects and poisonous snakes... Those creatures were dangerous because of their size and the element of surprise.

He was not afraid of being ambushed by them... This area was ideal for Reg, and he planned to spend the remaining seven days nearby.

Elsewhere, Colin, concealed from view, watched Reg begin moving about and nodded slightly... The kid was smart.

He had enough patience and caution, as well as highly efficient execution... He was just lacking a little passion.

"Honestly... P9 members don't need passion."

Muttering to himself, Colin casually tied a venomous snake that had been preparing to ambush him into a knot... Then he looked in another direction.

"That's quite a commotion... The kid Henry brought is pretty lively too."

Colin simply rose from the tree trunk and headed into the distance... Whether he kept watching Reg or not made little difference. Reg's personality put him quite at ease.

"There really are people who aren't afraid of dying..."

Reg glanced at the dense forest in the distance... In this primeval forest, which was far from friendly to humans, the greater the commotion, the more danger it represented.

Creak, creak... Whoosh, whoosh!

Reg lit the dry firewood he had gathered beforehand and hung the prepared deer over it... Unfortunately, he could not provoke the wild boar herd.

They were extremely vindictive... Reg did not want to be hunted down like mad for the rest of his time here.

"Time to train my body..."

Holding a heavy stone in one hand, Reg lowered into a horse stance while his other hand kept the roasting meat turning... Life was about movement.

The human body in this world contained unfathomable strength... Every time one broke through the body's limits, one's power increased.

Even while doing three things at once, Reg's thoughts were not interrupted... He remembered Dark King Rayleigh saying that Haki existed within everyone and was something they were born with.

Like "presence" or "intimidation"—things that could not be clearly explained and could only be felt... Reg had gained some clues about how to awaken the Haki hidden within his body.

In his memories, Kumadori had said while fighting Chopper... A person's body, hair, internal organs, even the hairs at the tips of their toes, could all be permeated with "consciousness" and thereby controlled.

The condition for achieving it was for mind and intent to become one... Chopper had replied that he seemed to have read about it in a book called Meditation Training.

Reg had also searched the library for similar books... Unfortunately, there were none.

That was also why he wanted to join P9... Once he joined, many of his "reasonable" requests would be fulfilled.

Let alone a book... He had long coveted Life Return, which was derived from the Six Powers.

As long as he could learn that skill... It would also be immensely beneficial for exploring his body.

Once he became familiar with his body, could he then draw out the power of "Haki"?

Reg did not expect to obtain Armament Haki anytime soon. What he wanted was Observation Haki, and that was not impossible.

The purpose of Observation Haki was to sharpen a person's five senses, allowing them to detect the auras of nearby creatures and changes in emotion, as well as foresee and evade danger.

At its peak, it could even allow one to foresee fragments of the future... Just like Big Mom's son, the Sweet Commander Katakuri.

There was also Enel's "Mantra." Combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, that Observation Haki could hear across an entire island—it was practically a giant listening device.

Most outrageous of all was Roger. His Observation Haki... could even "hear" the voices of all things in the world, whether living or not.

The most important part of that was undoubtedly "hearing"... Reg already had that prerequisite, so naturally he had to give it his all.

Time always passed quickly while thinking... Before he knew it, Reg had stuffed an entire deer into his stomach, leaving him barely eighty percent full.

If this had been his previous life, with an appetite like this... He probably would have struggled even to support himself.

After moving his somewhat stiff legs, Reg set down the heavy stone in his hand. His ears twitched slightly... Something seemed off?

The noise in the distance had not faded. Instead, it was getting closer and closer.

"No way... Did they flee here?"

With a twitch of his lips, Reg quickly returned to the tent and slung his backpack over his shoulders... He would play it by ear.

If he could save them... he would not mind lending a hand.

If he could not... then he would not risk his life to save them.

In this world, being too kind meant you could not survive... But hypocrisy could.

Hypocrisy was not hard to understand: kindness that did not interfere with one's own interests, and that diminished drastically the moment it did.

Reg wouldn't care if others called him hypocritical... When it came to living, it was better to love yourself a little more.

Thud, thud, thud... Accompanied by faint tremors in the ground, mud and water splashed through the woods, creating quite a lively scene.

Thanks to the downpour, there was no dust flying everywhere... Standing on high ground, Reg easily spotted what was happening not far away: Jabra and a pack of tawny wolves.

Chasing close behind Jabra was a mutated giant wolf nearly three meters tall, its entire body snow-white, its face vicious, and its eyes blood-red.

"Hey... What exactly did you do?"

"Help!! Please, you have to save me!!"

Hearing Reg's voice, Jabra burst into tears and snot, yet his feet only moved faster as he ran toward him.

"Goodbye."

Reg smiled and waved, quickly moving to the side... Seriously?

"I accidentally killed a wolf cub... Please, save me!"

Splat... As Jabra shouted, the alpha wolf's claws raked across his back, spraying blood into the air.

Awoo, awoo... At the sight of blood, the wolf pack went wild. Amid their howls, they accelerated, gradually surrounding Jabra.

"The alpha is level 4... The others are probably between level and level... He can get away."

After making his judgment, Reg kicked off the tree trunk, using the recoil to shoot toward Jabra. "The white wolf is yours."

"Alright, alright... Thanks!"

Hearing that Reg was willing to help, Jabra hurriedly agreed... though there was something unnatural in his eyes.

Reg did not notice Jabra's expression. Instead, he charged into the wolf pack... Though these wolves were all taller than him, he was not especially afraid.

The animals of this world might have been powerful, but they still had not gone beyond the scope of his memories from his previous life... Wolves generally shared the same weaknesses: heads of bronze, bones of iron, waists of tofu—and their noses.