Peak Observation Haki

Rayne woke beneath gentle sunlight.

The smell in his nose was no longer the rust and gunpowder of the execution grounds, but the clean, crisp scent of disinfectant.

The pure white bedding, soft pillow, and cries of seagulls beyond the window all made him feel as though a lifetime had passed.

He struggled to sit up and found himself lying in a spotless, quiet private infirmary. Though his body was still weak, as if all his strength had been drained away, the agonizing pain of his soul being pierced by billions of steel needles had eased considerably.

"How long... was I unconscious?"

Remembering that terrifying explosion of sensations, his heart still gave an involuntary jolt.

Just then, the ward door was gently pushed open.

Vice Admiral Tsuru entered, carrying a steaming cup of tea. She wore a gentle smile, as though she were looking at one of her own juniors.

"How are you feeling, Rayne?"

Seeing this important figure of the Marines, Rayne instinctively pretended to struggle out of bed to salute.

"Reporting, ma'am... I..."

"Lie down, child." Vice Admiral Tsuru set the tea on the bedside table and pressed a hand to his shoulder with gentle but unquestionable firmness. "You are a wounded man now, and a hero."

Rayne's mind buzzed, and he was completely dumbfounded.

"A hero? Me?"

Rayne was utterly confused. Hadn't I crashed on the spot because I couldn't withstand the system's infusion? How did that make me a hero?

The appreciation in Vice Admiral Tsuru's eyes deepened as she looked at the shock and bewilderment written across Rayne's face.

She assumed that the boy still did not know what an extraordinary thing he had done.

Tsuru spoke slowly, her voice carrying a trace of reassurance. "You needn't worry, Rayne. After you fell unconscious, Sengoku learned the full story. Roger's final Conqueror's Haki had targeted the executioner closest to him. The other lieutenant commander present had been so intimidated that he couldn't move on the spot."

Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at Rayne's still-confused expression. Thinking he did not understand the term, she slowed down and explained it more plainly.

"Conqueror's Haki is the qualification of a king, something only one person in a million possesses. It cannot be cultivated after birth; it is innate. Its wielder can make those with weak wills faint through sheer force of spirit alone. And Roger was one of the foremost possessors of that qualification."

"And you..." Vice Admiral Tsuru's gaze softened. "Not only did you raise your gun and carry out your orders, you even used your will to confront the Pirate King's Haki head-on. Now the entire base knows that there is a Marine in Loguetown who dared to clash with the will of Pirate King Roger—and ultimately defeated him!"

Rayne opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.

Of course I know what Conqueror's Haki is, but confronted it? Bullshit! I wanted his inheritance, and the system overloaded me until I passed out! That counts as being a hero?!

But he immediately realized it. This great Marine strategist was defining his role for him!

So he perfectly played the part of a "pure, upright, and perhaps slightly foolish" young Marine. Struggling to rise and salute again, his face flushed red with excitement and shame as he stammered, "Reporting, ma'am... I... I merely... carried out my orders!"

"Get some proper rest." Vice Admiral Tsuru pressed him back down again, the appreciation in her eyes nearly overflowing. "The Marines will never forget the contributions of any hero."

She did not stay any longer. After saying that, she claimed to be busy with official duties and left without further disturbing him. From beginning to end, she never mentioned Rayne's hesitation before firing.

After Tsuru left, Rayne lay alone in bed, processing what he had just learned, with an incredibly strange expression on his face.

"A hero? Just because I passed out?"

He immediately understood that this great Marine strategist had made him into a pawn to offset Roger's negative influence and build up the Marines' positive image.

Does this count as a battle of wits? It's really on par with Zhongli faking his death.

"Fine..." Rayne laughed at himself and completely relaxed. "At least I definitely won't be charged for hesitating during the execution."

He lay back down on the hospital bed to continue resting in boredom. Though he did not know how long he had been unconscious, his body was recovering quickly with the help of the Marines' top-tier medical resources.

A young nurse carrying a tray full of medicine bottles passed by his ward.

At that moment, an extremely abrupt afterimage flashed through Rayne's mind without warning—

He "saw" the nurse cry out as the slippery floor beneath her feet made her lose her balance, sending the entire tray of medicine crashing to the ground!

"Hm?"

Rayne froze, not even having time to warn her.

The next second, reality perfectly overlapped with the "afterimage" in his mind!

The nurse's foot slipped just as expected. She cried out, her body suddenly tilting backward as the tray in her hands was about to fly free!

In that flash of lightning, Rayne had no time to think!

His body sprang from the bed like an arrow loosed from a bow, propelled by terrifying explosive force!

With a flicker, he appeared behind the nurse. One arm wrapped around her soft waist, steadily securing her unbalanced body against his chest.

His other hand shot upward in a series of afterimages, first catching the fully overturned metal tray with flawless precision.

Then his wrist trembled, tilted, and adjusted at a frequency too fast for the naked eye to follow...

Clink! Clink! Clang! Clang!

The medicine bottles and syringes that had scattered through the air like celestial maidens tossing flowers seemed to be guided by an invisible hand. One after another, they landed steadily back on the tray in precisely the order they had flown out.

When the last glass bottle cap spun twice on the tray with a soft tap and came to rest, the entire tray looked exactly as it had before it fell.

"Ah... th-thank you!"

The young nurse was both startled and delighted. After thanking him with flushed cheeks, she hurried away.

Rayne, however, sat blankly on the bed, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

"What was that just now...?"

He rushed to the window, looked out at the azure sky, and fixed his attention on a seabird circling in the air.

This time, he "saw" it more clearly—

He clearly "saw" that what extended from the seabird was no longer a single trajectory, but several—dozens of hazy golden threads, interwoven into a chaotic web of the future! Every thread represented a possibility.

Among them, only one thread was visibly changing from illusion into reality, becoming incomparably clear and radiant!

The endpoint indicated by that trajectory was a loaf of bread a merchant had just bought.

Rayne began counting down in his heart.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One!"

In reality, the seabird's actions matched the scene played out in his mind perfectly!

Only when the merchant whose bread had been snatched let out an angry curse did Rayne recover from his immense shock.

His breathing turned scorching hot.

"Th-this is [Peak] Observation Haki?" His voice trembled with overwhelming excitement. "Not only do I have Roger's own [Voice of All Things] talent, I can even predict the future?!"

After the brief rush of ecstasy, Rayne's calm mind, honed by corporate life, immediately dumped a bucket of cold water over his blazing excitement.

"No... I have a massive weakness right now!"

He began analyzing the situation calmly.

"I can 'see' that someone will shoot at me in the future, but can my [Advanced] physique guarantee that I'll evade an unseen bullet one hundred percent of the time?"

"I can 'see' an enemy's next attack in the future, but can my [Intermediate] Swordsmanship block their weapon?"

"This imbalance is far too dangerous when facing truly powerful opponents!"