Observation Haki Training (Please vote, it smells so good)

The next day, the sun shone brightly.

Norse did not go looking for Hancock over what had happened the night before. Instead, he left early in the morning and headed into the dense woods to the east to train.

He trained his Observation Haki and his Armament Haki.

Unfortunately, though, despite wanting to train his Conqueror's Haki, he had yet to awaken it.

Norse did not believe that he was incapable of awakening Conqueror's Haki. He thought the only thing to blame was the right time, place, and circumstances not yet aligning to meet the conditions for his awakening. This was absolute confidence in his own strength.

At present, Norse's Observation Haki allowed him, through its powerful ability to sense the auras around him, to detect people beyond his line of sight and even further predict an opponent's movements.

In truth, he had already fully mastered and could even flexibly apply these basic techniques. It was simply that Norse was someone who held himself to extremely strict standards when it came to strength.

He had always believed that in any world, there was no strongest person—only stronger people.

Just like the potential of the human body's flesh and blood, which in truth had no upper limit. The so-called limits of the body were merely a doorway through which humanity began to unlock the body's secrets, nothing more.

Take the Marine Six Powers, which could only be mastered after reaching the limits of the human body. That was simply another level of learning with higher requirements.

This was enough to prove that the so-called limits of the human body were merely the beginning of entering the ranks of the strong. Every step of growth afterward was what allowed one to surpass the strongest and achieve a stronger self.

In Norse's eyes, the power of Observation Haki should be the same.

The so-called basic applications of Observation Haki—sensing one's surroundings and avoiding danger—were merely its initial state.

From the very beginning, his training goal should have been to reach a higher level of Observation Haki.

For example: visualizing an opponent's aura, hearing the voices of all things, and foreseeing the near future.

In truth, those were merely beginnings as well. Who could guarantee that Observation Haki had an upper limit?

Therefore, in Norse's view, any power derived from human potential should have no limits. One should never be satisfied with their current level of strength.

Currently, Norse's Observation Haki had reached the point where he could sense the drifting clouds in the sky and even had a vague impression of meteors in outer space.

Now, Norse sat in an open clearing.

His eyes were tightly shut as he continuously trained his Observation Haki, surpassing his limits each time. He hoped to clearly sense the existence of those meteors in the distant universe, as well as the patterns of their trajectories.

He pursued the day when he could use the sun's gravitational pull to drag those meteors down, thereby gaining an external attack that descended from the heavens—badass and domineering, just like Fujitora's.

But training Observation Haki consumed an absolutely terrifying amount of stamina.

Even with the Sun Fruit, which allowed him to activate Compassionate Sun and emit a layer of gentle radiance around his body, absorbing the power of all things through photosynthesis and using Life Return to replenish his stamina, he still could not continuously meet the insane stamina drain of training Observation Haki.

At most, Norse could push his Observation Haki to its limit in this manner for a little over ten minutes before feeling completely exhausted, as though his body had been hollowed out.

Fortunately, every training session strengthened the Observation Haki he had mastered.

He believed that if he kept this up, then within less than a year or so, he should be able to clearly sense the meteors in the universe and the natural patterns of their movements.

"Phew!"

Norse withdrew the power of his Observation Haki from the universe and let out a long breath. Without even caring about the sweat drenching his head, he fell straight onto his back, sprawled out in a starfish shape.

He sighed inwardly, I really have to admire Fujitora ten years from now. That guy must be a monster, to actually train his Observation Haki all the way into outer space.

And here I am, with the Sun Fruit's ability to restore my stamina, not to mention a body that surpasses its limits. My stamina should already be more than abundant, yet I still end up exhausted like a dog every single time.

Norse even briefly wondered whether that man's success and powerful Observation Haki were due to losing his eyes. Perhaps that gave him twice the result for half the effort compared to people with healthy eyes!

"Norse~~"

Suddenly, Hancock appeared at just the right moment, with Gerd and Sonia following behind her. The two of them were carrying a colorless dessert together.

"Hancock, why are you all here?"

Norse had no idea where he found the strength. His body had clearly been incomparably weak a moment ago, yet now he flipped over and climbed up from the ground.

Could this be the power of women? But how could that be?

At that moment, Norse saw that Hancock was wearing a white, fitted long dress patterned with cherry blossoms. Not only did it perfectly accentuate her figure, it also highlighted every one of her ample curves.

Half her chest, along with her shoulders and collarbones, was exposed as well. It seemed that after the slave mark on her back had been removed, Hancock had begun dressing more boldly and confidently.

"Um... this is a loving breakfast I prepared for you. The strawberry cake is sweet."

Hancock's cheeks were faintly flushed, as lovely as the surface of a ripe cherry. Now, she actually spoke with the delicate, demure air of a sheltered young lady: "Would you like me to feed you? I remember you always said that whenever you made cakes, the energy inside them was the highest, and they could quickly replenish energy and stamina."

"Huh?... Thank you, Hancock." Norse answered blankly.

Actually, he still was not used to Hancock acting so gentle and considerate toward him. After all, she had once been incomparably cold and proud. Her cheeks had never carried such a smile when she spoke, let alone this tender, dependent demeanor.

She did not look like an empress ruling a nation at all. She was clearly the very picture of a devoted wife.

When Hancock heard Norse thank her, she felt deeply satisfied and happy. She touched her cheeks with both hands and said gently, "I suddenly feel so happy. Then from now on, whenever Norse finishes training, I will prepare a lavish meal for you on time!"

After hearing that, Norse could not help looking at the strawberry cake Hancock had prepared for him, and his heart immediately filled with sorrow.

Wasn't this supposed to be some kind of dark cuisine?

Still, Norse said seriously, "Then next time, try to control the heat better. Also, the cream has turned into cheese, and these strawberries would be best made into jam and lightly spread over the cream..."

"Alright, alright. I will definitely pay attention next time," Hancock said, nodding earnestly.

Actually, it was not her fault either.

When it came to making cakes, she had only picked up a little by secretly peeking through the crack in the door while Norse baked. Besides, for a girl these days to make a cake that looked like this was already pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, Gloriosa and Sonia stood nearby with their lips pushed out in sulky pouts, grumbling unhappily.

"Norse gets treated better than either of us now. So annoying!"

"Exactly, exactly... Big Sister doesn't love us anymore. She actually loves Norse more."

Norse, standing nearby, was utterly speechless.

If you two like competing for affection that much, then help me finish this dark cuisine that could feed more than a dozen people.

But Norse clearly couldn't count on them.

Those two had had their tastes spoiled by his cooking. How could they possibly eat this kind of dark cuisine now? It had practically burned into a black lump. Otherwise, they would have already been unable to resist sneaking a bite!

And so...

For the next week, Hancock personally prepared food for Norse every day.

This only came to a temporary end when a warship from Marine Headquarters appeared once more in the Calm Belt around Amazon Lily.