Taking Hits, Three-Color Haki

The next morning, Ye Chen and the others eagerly arrived at the training grounds, every face filled with excitement.

After all, this was Haki. It was a good thing they had joined the Marines; otherwise, how could they have learned Haki this early? And even had someone explain it to them?

Ye Chen had not expected to begin learning Haki so soon. It was an enormous and unexpected delight.

Before long, Zephyr appeared on the platform at his usual time.

As soon as he arrived, Zephyr was as clean and decisive as ever. Without wasting words, he began explaining.

"Haki is divided into three types. The first is Armament Haki."

Raising his hand, Zephyr drew everyone's attention to his right hand. Yet, to their eyes, it did not look any different. They could not see anything, but they could sense that something seemed to be wrapped around Zephyr's hand.

"Armament Haki is also one of the latent powers of the human body. Everyone possesses this power, but some people cannot perceive or use it, and so they miss the opportunity.

"There is currently an invisible layer of energy on my right hand. This is Armament Haki. When it has only just awakened and has not yet been mastered, Haki cannot be seen. In other words, it cannot yet be materialized into armor."

As he spoke, the invisible Haki on Zephyr's right hand suddenly turned black, covering his entire wrist.

At once, Ye Chen felt a powerful, dense force that seemed impossible to dissolve. The sensation was strange.

"This is Armament Haki that has already been cultivated to a certain level."

Immediately afterward, Zephyr's originally pitch-black Armament Haki became even darker, gleaming with a dark radiance. From below the platform, Ye Chen could feel the immense power swelling within it.

"As for this Dark Radiance Armament Haki of mine, it has already been cultivated to a very profound level."

"Remember, Armament Haki is a powerful force. It can enhance a person's defense and attack power. It is like putting on armor: it can be indestructible, and it can carry the weight of Mount Tai. Most importantly, it can seize the true body of a Logia ability user and deal damage to them. Smoker, come up here."

Zephyr's sudden call startled Smoker, who had been listening intently.

"You are the only Logia user here. Let us conduct a test."

Once Smoker stepped onto the platform, Zephyr looked at him solemnly. Clearly, he intended to demonstrate for everyone.

"Maintain your elemental form at all times."

"Yes."

Smoker wore a serious expression as strange ripples spread across his body. Wisps of white smoke began drifting around him.

"Everyone, watch closely. I will not use Armament Haki right now."

Zephyr clenched his fist and threw a punch directly at Smoker, startling him. Smoker instinctively tried to dodge, but how could he possibly be faster than Zephyr? Zephyr's right hand passed straight through Smoker's body.

"Without Armament Haki, Logia users are invincible, because any attack will pass through their bodies and fail to cause effective damage. Now, let us try newly awakened Armament Haki."

As he spoke, a layer of invisible Armament Haki gathered around Zephyr's fist as he reached for Smoker. This time, however, his hand did not pass through Smoker's body.

"Newly awakened Armament Haki can touch the true body of a Logia user, but its effect is limited. Only after mastering materialization can you effectively restrain Logia ability users. I will not demonstrate further."

"Remember, Haki can cancel each other out. Everyone's Armament Haki differs; there are many colors, but color does not determine everything. The real difference lies in the depth of one's mastery of Armament Haki. Furthermore, Armament Haki is also a form of energy. It is consumed and is not endless. Excessively using Armament Haki is equivalent to draining your stamina, and it will leave you weakened."

"Next is Observation Haki. If Armament Haki is the power of the body, then Observation Haki is the spirit—the latent power of consciousness.

"Once Observation Haki awakens, it will sharpen your five senses. You can sense attacks, predict your opponent's next move, sense the strength of living beings, sense their emotions and thoughts, and sense the location and number of objects outside your field of vision. These are all abilities of Observation Haki, though its range and strength differ from person to person.

"Most importantly, once cultivated to a deeper level, it may even develop certain innate abilities. You will need to experience that yourselves in the future."

After finishing, Zephyr suddenly said to Smoker, "Smoker, attack me without holding back."

"Yes." Smoker did not ask why. Instead, his right hand transformed into smoke and condensed into a fist, which he blasted toward Zephyr.

At that moment, Zephyr closed his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back, standing there quietly. When Smoker's attack was about to reach him, Zephyr suddenly took a slight step to the left, missing by a hair yet avoiding the attack completely.

Smoker attacked again, using every trick he had, but Zephyr, despite having his eyes closed, always dodged just as the attacks were about to hit. It was as if Zephyr had never closed his eyes at all and could clearly see Smoker's attacks.

Panting heavily after failing to land an attack for so long, Smoker had not touched Zephyr even once and had instead exhausted himself half to death.

Opening his eyes, Zephyr had Smoker step down, then said to everyone, "This is Observation Haki."

"Next is the most mysterious of the Three-Color Haki, Conqueror's Haki. It is also known as the disposition of a king. It is innate and cannot be acquired through training. Out of several million people, perhaps only one will awaken it. Since I am not a Conqueror's Haki user, I do not know much about it. You will need to experience it yourselves in the future."

After speaking, Zephyr paused for a moment, clearly allowing everyone time to digest what he had said.

"Instructor, how can we sense the latent power in our bodies that you mentioned for Armament Haki and Observation Haki?"

Ye Chen raised his hand and looked earnestly at Zephyr as he asked. He was completely confused right now.

"Take hits."

As he looked at Ye Chen, a flash of appreciation passed through Zephyr's eyes, though it vanished in an instant.

"The most effective method is to blindfold yourself and have someone attack you while you are forbidden from fighting back. Calm down, empty your mind as much as possible, and let your body sense on its own. When you feel a different kind of power, seize it tightly. Then, you will not be far from awakening it.

"If you want to increase your chances of awakening, then you must be prepared to risk your life. Experience the crisis of death. At the border between life and death, you will be able to sense your body more quickly."

"Thank you, Instructor."

Having received the answer he wanted, Ye Chen stepped back, though his brows remained furrowed.

Zephyr showed little emotion. He merely narrowed his eyes and gave Ye Chen a meaningful look.

"All right, now all of you give it a try."

Afterward, Zephyr let everyone practice freely. He left unusually early, after all, since he was still injured.

After Zephyr left, the group gathered together, all somewhat lost.

"Brother Ye Chen, did you understand?" Hina asked, blinking her large eyes at Ye Chen.

"Whether we understood or not does not matter. We only need to do as the instructor said and take hits."

Ye Chen only understood part of it as well, but he had accurately grasped Zephyr's point about taking hits.

As long as he could awaken Haki, what did a little pain matter? He had long since become used to it.

For now, Ye Chen had not considered Conqueror's Haki. Zephyr had made it very clear that it could not be cultivated and depended solely on opportunity. His current priority was awakening Armament Haki and Observation Haki.

"Starting today, we will blindfold ourselves and take turns attacking each other." Ye Chen looked at everyone and made up his mind.

"Ah!"

Shu and Very Good both groaned miserably. They had already lost count of how many beatings they had taken.

Yet they had not expected that their half year of beating each other senseless had already laid the groundwork for awakening Haki. They only needed a little more time to break through that critical point, and it would be within their grasp.