Armament Haki: Beginner!

Smack!

Smack!

Smack!

The crisp sound of fists striking bark began to ring out without pause.

A hundred meters away.

Rayleigh stepped on the water and surfaced from the sea.

He looked back and sighed. "As expected, he couldn't wait... He's already started training Haki."

Rayleigh adjusted his glasses, an unsurprised smile appearing on his face.

Young people were always impatient.

But that was fine.

He believed that when he returned, Junichi would understand the difficulty involved and give up on training Haki for now.

The iron wall of reality never shifted according to human will.

Once people hit a wall, they learned to turn.

"Let me think about which one to catch for dinner tonight." Rayleigh withdrew his gaze and looked beneath the surface.

His Observation Haki had detected all sorts of large creatures lurking in the sea.

Quite a few small Sea Kings swam among them.

"I had snake this morning, so fish tonight." Rayleigh quickly picked his target and plunged headfirst into the water.

On the shore.

Smack!

Smack!

Smack!

Junichi tirelessly threw punch after punch, following the proper method of Haki training to stimulate the power hidden within his body.

He kept failing.

That was normal.

The human body had shackles that limited the maximum power it could exert.

If someone pushed themselves to their limit, their own strength would tear apart their muscles and shatter their bones.

Only in a life-or-death crisis could one possibly unleash their ultimate strength.

And Haki—

It was also one form of hidden ultimate power.

Only when governed by an extreme will could it burst forth.

At the same time, the body had to be strong enough.

If the body was not strong enough, releasing Haki would overload the internal organs and lead to exhaustion and death.

"Training normally, I might not develop Haki even in ten years."

Junichi narrowed his eyes, carefully feeling the sensation of every punch as he muttered to himself.

"My body isn't strong enough. It instinctively resists unleashing its ultimate power."

"It's an instinct for self-preservation."

"To break it, I need stronger external stimulation, but..."

[You trained Armament Haki once. Proficiency +1.]

But he had the [Proficiency System]!

Every punch Junichi threw brought steady growth, defying all logic!

Smack!!

Smack!!

Smack!!

His fists grew heavier and heavier.

His self-preservation instinct was gradually chiseled through.

A scorching heat slowly emerged, like dormant magma gathering deep within his body.

"I can feel it."

Junichi's gaze changed. In an instant, it was as if he had grasped something.

He suddenly threw a punch.

Driven by his will, he stimulated the volcano within him, trying to make it erupt.

Rumble!

The volcano trembled.

Bang!!

Junichi's fist struck the tree with a heavy impact.

His strength had increased.

It was as though something had condensed around his fist and had nearly erupted just now.

But it was still a little short.

The volcano within him had only trembled slightly. It had not fully awakened.

"Enough."

A smile curled Junichi's lips.

[You trained Armament Haki once. Proficiency +1.]

[Ding-dong!]

[Your Armament Haki proficiency has met the requirement and has automatically advanced.]

[Armament Haki: (Not Yet Initiated) → (Beginner)]

Rumble!!

The volcano fully awakened, erupting with terrifying magma.

At once—

Junichi felt a blazing power surge from deep within his body and flow through his limbs and bones.

He wielded this power as naturally as an arm or a finger.

As though he had been born knowing how to use it.

At the same time.

Beneath the sea.

Rayleigh, who had been preparing to hunt, seemed to sense something. He turned in surprise toward the island.

Armament Haki!?

An uncertain look appeared on his face.

His Observation Haki had caught a faint flicker of Armament Haki on the island.

And the place where it appeared—

Overlapped with Junichi's location.

In other words, Junichi had awakened Armament Haki?

"But how is that possible!"

Rayleigh denied it inwardly. How long has he been training?

His body isn't strong enough, and he doesn't even have the talent.

How could he learn Armament Haki in just a few minutes?

Rayleigh was not looking down on Junichi.

It was simply experience speaking.

He had seen countless outstanding young talents, as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, and he understood the limits of hard work.

In his judgment—

Junichi would not even touch the threshold of Haki within ten years.

Unless he encountered some great opportunity, that would be the inevitable result.

"Could it have been an illusion?"

Rayleigh could not help but doubt himself.

Had he sensed it wrong?

With that thought, he gave up hunting the Sea King below and swam toward the island instead.

On the island.

With a thought from Junichi, the scorching power within him emerged and covered his fist.

To the naked eye, his fist showed no change.

It was as if no Armament Haki existed at all.

Yet Junichi could clearly feel the power of Haki gathering around his fist.

He exhaled softly, abandoned the tree before him, and walked toward a rock nearby.

At the same time.

Rayleigh had also returned to the island, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Within his Observation Haki—

Armament Haki had clearly appeared around Junichi.

Though it was very faint.

It was undoubtedly Armament Haki!

"No way..."

Unable to believe it, Rayleigh quickened his pace and walked over.

Facing a huge bluish-gray boulder.

Junichi threw his fist without hesitation.

The seemingly unremarkable fist erupted with incomparably fierce power the instant it touched the boulder.

Boom!

The boulder shattered directly, blasting out a crater the size of a washbasin.

It looked as though it had been struck by explosives.

"!?"

Rayleigh happened to arrive from behind and witnessed the scene with his own eyes.

"Young Junichi, you..." He spoke in disbelief. "You awakened Armament Haki?!"

Only then did Junichi notice that Rayleigh had returned.

He turned around, smiled at Rayleigh, and nodded. "Mr. Rayleigh, it seems I really do have talent for Haki."

Rayleigh stared in utter shock, unable to speak for a long while.

This scene had completely shattered his worldview.

The Four Blues, the Grand Line, the New World...

He had been to so many places and seen so many geniuses and monsters.

But he had never seen anyone as outrageous as Junichi.

"Starting Haki training from scratch, and learning it in three minutes..." Rayleigh stared at Junichi in utter disbelief and muttered, "You really do seem to be a Haki prodigy."

The facts were right before him.

Rayleigh had no way to deny them.

"The sea is so vast. It's reasonable for a freak to appear, isn't it?" Rayleigh persuaded himself inwardly.

After quite a while—

He finally calmed down.

"Since you have the talent, you might as well learn Observation Haki too," Rayleigh suggested.

"Alright."

Junichi's eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded firmly.

Even if Rayleigh had not mentioned it, Junichi had planned to train Observation Haki next.

With the [Proficiency System], he could quickly reach the beginner level.

"Then let me tell you the specifics." Rayleigh cleared his throat and began explaining what he had not revealed earlier.

Because he had previously believed Junichi was not yet ready to train Haki.

Knowing too much beforehand would only have caused interference.

So Rayleigh had merely glossed over it and had not described the techniques for training Observation Haki in detail.

Now—

He explained everything to Junichi in full.

Add Bookmark

Return to Contents

Report Chapter Error

Share with Friends: