Hancock's Favor

"That kid really is..." Shakuyaku watched with a headache. "Does he have to act tough about this too?"

He refused to eat what she had specifically prepared.

Instead, he insisted on copying Rayleigh and taking huge bites of meat!

Could he even compare to Rayleigh?

"..." Hancock also shot him a hesitant look, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

"What is it?"

Junichi noticed their stares and looked over in confusion.

Shakuyaku and Hancock did not know how to begin.

But gradually, they realized something seemed off.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

Junichi chewed huge mouthfuls of meat like a grinder, stripping a meat leg as thick as a bucket clean in the blink of an eye.

Gulp!

He casually swallowed the meat.

Yet his stomach showed no change at all, as if he had only swallowed a mouthful of air.

"This!?"

Shakuyaku and Hancock's expressions immediately changed.

Something was wrong!

Hadn't Junichi failed his training?

Why had his appetite become so enormous?

"Hahaha..." Rayleigh laughed from the side and cut in. "One look is enough to tell that you've misunderstood."

He laughed loudly and looked at Junichi. "Young Junichi, show them what you've got!"

"No problem." Junichi smiled.

He had figured out by then what Shakuyaku and Hancock had misunderstood.

He immediately raised his hand.

Whoosh!

The power of Armament Haki surged forth and covered his entire arm.

On the surface, his arm did not appear to change.

But Shakuyaku, who possessed Observation Haki, immediately changed her gaze and stared at Junichi in utter shock. "Armament Haki?"

"Armament!?" Hancock looked equally astonished.

Though she had yet to awaken Haki, she could sense a dangerous aura from Junichi's arm that made the hairs on her body stand on end.

Faced with their astonished stares,

Junichi slowly nodded. "Thanks to Mr. Rayleigh's guidance, I successfully comprehended the power of Haki."

"Don't flatter me. I barely taught you anything. Your talent is just freakish." Rayleigh hurriedly waved his hands.

Shakuyaku and Hancock looked even more shocked.

Seven days.

Junichi had gone off to train for only seven short days, yet he had already comprehended Armament Haki?

What monstrous talent!

Shakuyaku sucked in a breath, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry. When you came back early, I thought..."

"You thought I had failed my training?" Junichi asked, filling in the rest.

Shakuyaku nodded awkwardly. "Sorry."

Hancock lowered her head as well.

"It's fine. My situation really is unusual. As long as the misunderstanding is cleared up, it's fine." Junichi did not mind.

Only then did Shakuyaku and Hancock let out sighs of relief.

It had been a misunderstanding.

But it was fine as long as they had cleared it up, and the outcome was good too.

Crunch, crunch...

After that, they peacefully enjoyed dinner.

Junichi wolfed down food, sweeping away twenty times more than he normally ate.

After comprehending the two types of Haki,

his body seemed to have broken through a layer of shackles, bringing forth even greater potential.

At the same time,

the high-energy Sea Kings he consumed every day further stimulated his body to grow stronger, causing it to improve at rocket-like speed.

In just one short week,

Junichi's physical fitness had caught up to the average level of a fifteen-year-old boy setting out to sea.

If he claimed to be a member of the Senju clan in the Naruto World,

no one would doubt him.

After dinner,

while they were full from food and drink, Hancock discreetly beckoned to Junichi.

"?"

Junichi walked over in confusion and followed Hancock upstairs.

The two arrived on the rooftop.

"Junichi, I still haven't thanked you for saving us." Hancock bowed deeply, her clear black-and-white eyes brimming with gratitude and affection.

Junichi immediately raised an eyebrow.

A bad feeling welled up in his heart.

No way?

The hero-saves-the-beauty routine is way too clichéd!

"Why be so polite? The Kuja already paid me." Junichi answered casually, as though they had settled everything long ago.

But Hancock did not see it that way. She shook her head firmly. "The Kuja gave you a reward, but I haven't given you mine yet!"

"This is my thank-you gift. Please make sure to accept it!"

She took a brand-new notebook from her pocket.

It seemed to have been newly bought.

After stuffing it into Junichi's hands, Hancock cautiously looked around and whispered, "Read it secretly when you get back. Don't let anyone else know."

With that, she trotted away.

Leaving Junichi staring curiously at the notebook in his hands.

This needed some clarification.

This notebook was not the kind of notebook everyone might be thinking of. It was merely an ordinary booklet.

Don't get the wrong idea.

"What could it be that I need to read in secret and not let anyone know about?" Junichi walked to a corner of the rooftop and opened it curiously.

Snap!

After only a few glances, Junichi abruptly shut it.

The corner of his eye twitched violently. "This kid actually wrote down Amazon Lily's Haki training manual for me."

"No wonder she told me to read it in secret..."

"If this gets exposed, the Kuja will definitely hang her up and beat her."

But that was only a minor issue.

Being hung up and beaten would only make her suffer. It would not kill her.

The crucial thing was Hancock's actions.

"Giving me the Kuja's secret manual... Hancock's intentions are obvious, but she's only twelve!"

"I don't go for minors!"

"And besides, what's the point of living if you don't build a harem? That's far too lacking in ambition."

Junichi's expression gradually turned troubled.

After thinking it over, he decided to toss the problem back to Amazon Lily.

He turned and went downstairs.

Junichi arrived on the first floor of the tavern.

Someone had already cleared away the tableware. Shakuyaku and Rayleigh were chatting over drinks at the bar.

When Rayleigh saw Junichi come down, his eyes lit up slightly.

"See? What did I tell you?" He turned to Shakuyaku and said with a smile, "Young Junichi would definitely come looking for you."

"Tch." Shakuyaku clicked her tongue in annoyance.

The two of them seemed to have made a bet over Junichi.

Junichi walked over with a dark expression and placed the notebook on the bar. "Since Miss Shakuyaku knew all along, don't let Hancock give me something like this."

"I don't want Amazon Lily hunting me down."

"I only read the first few lines. I didn't read the rest."

But Shakuyaku's reaction was beyond his expectations.

"Why didn't you finish reading it?"

"Huh?" Junichi was a little dumbfounded.

"This is a rare opportunity!" Shakuyaku said without the slightest shame, instead sounding proud. "If it were me, I'd definitely finish reading it first!"

Junichi was speechless.

"This thing is both valuable and not valuable. It's meant for cultivating people without talent, and at most it will give you some inspiration." Shakuyaku shook her head and explained.

Haki was extremely widespread on Amazon Lily.

Even among ordinary female warriors, half had comprehended Armament Haki.

However,

these specialized Haki development techniques traded away potential. Once used, one could never improve for the rest of their life.

The amount of their Armament Haki was pitifully small.

They could only cover a single fist, or coat the tip of an arrow.

Beyond that, they could do nothing more.

"You've already comprehended Haki, so you don't need the awakening methods inside. But some of the strengthening techniques are still quite valuable." Shakuyaku concluded.

Strengthening techniques?

Junichi looked at the notebook again, somewhat puzzled.

Weren't Haki techniques simply coating, imbuing, emission, and internal destruction?

Was there something even deeper to learn?