Three Ways to Awaken Haki (Part Two)

"Did you hear? That new little girl found herself a rich patron!"

"In the luxury cabins? Which one?"

"The handsome young guy with black hair!"

"Damn it, I had my eye on him first! Wait, how did you know?"

"Didn't you hear all that noise from their room yesterday afternoon? Sis came back blushing and changed into a new set of underwear!"

"That's so unfair!"

"What's that compared to this? I heard that guest directly bought out the new girl, and now she's living in the luxury cabins with him."

"Ahhh!!! Damn it!! bites handkerchief Are they glued together every minute? She must be rolling her eyes from pleasure!!"

"Are they still looking for people?"

In just one day, the rumors gradually spread among the maids and waitresses.

Inside the luxury cabin, sunlight streamed in brightly, and both the bed and the bedding laid out on the floor were neat and tidy.

In the open space before the bed, Hina was still wearing that specially designed maid outfit. Barefoot, she stood before a small blackboard, her long legs clad in semi-sheer white stockings that glowed in the light, full of vitality and breathtaking beauty.

At that moment, one hand rested on her hip while the other pointed at the blackboard. She really did roll her eyes.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Regarding the soul, there have always been many theories, but none can be proven."

"So what we generally discuss is the 'heart.' Haki is the power of the 'heart.' Do you understand?"

On the blackboard, "Observation Haki" was written on the left, "Armament Haki" on the right, and a huge "heart" stood in the middle.

Jogo sat upright with a notebook in hand, rapidly taking notes.

"I understand. Teacher Hina, please continue."

Who knew why a luxury cabin had something like a blackboard? All that could be said was that wherever the mafia had influence, the entertainment industry was simply too developed.

Unfortunately, Hina was unwilling to put on the matching special teacher's outfit with its tight pencil skirt and black stockings.

That was a slight regret.

Of course, this was fine too. Jogo had not gotten tired of looking at her yet.

Hina continued her explanation.

"According to the most widespread theory on these seas."

"'Heart' is a power that everyone possesses. It is just that some people never become aware of its existence in their entire lives, and therefore can never use Haki..."

"Conversely, once someone becomes aware of the existence of their 'heart,' they can immediately awaken the power of Haki!"

"So your understanding has always contained a misconception."

"Haki is not trained out. It is 'comprehended'!"

Jogo nodded repeatedly.

That made sense!

There were plenty of people in this world who trained diligently, yet very few managed to develop Haki.

"The reason so many people believe that constant training and tempering the body can awaken Haki is because training truly is one of the proper paths toward awakening!"

"But many people have the wrong direction, so when their Haki awakens, it can only be described as an accident."

"Today..."

With one hand on her hip, Hina hooked Jogo's notebook down with her toes, then stepped on it with the tip of her foot, displaying the graceful lines of her long legs.

"Hina will teach you three ways to awaken Haki!"

"Teacher Hina, your righteousness knows no bounds!"

Jogo did not feel the slightest dissatisfaction.

As long as he could learn Haki, forget stepping on his notebook—she could step on him too!

Hina slightly raised her chin and gave a huff.

Perhaps she was still angry about yesterday.

"The first method is personal training."

"Use the vigorous vitality of bodily growth to search for the location of the 'heart' through repeated training that pushes you close to your physical limits."

"This method is reliable, but slow to show results."

"You could also say it is piling up time and trial and error."

"Dull people may never comprehend it in their entire lives. And if they fail to realize the existence of the 'heart' during the stage when their bodies are rapidly growing, then once their bodies decline with age, it will become difficult to awaken it through this method."

Jogo respectfully moved Hina's foot aside. As he took notes, he fell into thought.

He had trained for so long, yet had never felt any power of the "heart."

So it was probably not just because the method was slow.

"Could it be that I, a Haki genius who independently awakened Conqueror's Haki and possesses the Otherworldly Soul Trait, am actually a dull person?"

"The second method is battle!"

Hina continued:

"Not a spar where both sides hold back, but a life-and-death battle."

"This is the method chosen by many powerful people."

"In battles that endlessly draw closer to death, a person's concentration becomes intensely focused.

"The body, consciousness, thoughts, instincts... all of them are continuously pushed higher, continuously colliding and blending until sparks fly.

"Under such circumstances, it becomes extremely easy to touch the power of the 'heart' in an instant."

"Of course, Hina does not need to tell you that this depends rather heavily on luck."

Jogo deeply agreed.

A deathmatch was already an extremely dangerous affair. The longer the battle lasted, the more likely he was to croak.

By then, he might die before comprehending Haki.

"What about the third method?" he asked.

"The third method..."

Hina crossed her arms and said naturally, "Of course, it is luck!"

"Hm?"

"Is that hard to understand?"

"Whether it is training yourself or fighting a powerful enemy, in the end, both are merely increasing the chance of comprehending the 'heart.'"

"And some people are naturally lucky. They might awaken Haki while casually training, teaching a roadside Wild Dog a lesson, or even lying in bed asleep..."

"Call it luck or talent if you like. That is simply the truth!"

"That... makes sense!"

Jogo stroked his chin and fell silent.

His Conqueror's Haki had awakened by accident.

But looking at it this way, there were three methods: one was slow, one was dangerous, and one depended on luck... There seemed to be no good way to awaken Haki quickly.

Hina seemed to see through his thoughts. She bent down, raised one finger, and solemnly told him:

"Do not think about rushing it."

"There are no shortcuts to gaining power. If you take a shortcut, you must pay a price!"

Just like Devil Fruits.

They could grant all sorts of miraculous abilities, but in exchange, one lost the ability to enter the water for life.

"So how does the Navy usually train?"

Jogo humbly asked for guidance.

"All three at once!"

Hina raised three slender fingers.

"Training, battle, and meditation."

"Unify heart and body, remain prepared at all times, and seize every opportunity to explore the 'heart'!"

Jogo's expression turned serious as he seized upon the key point. "Then please teach me how to meditate, Teacher Hina!"

Though it was called meditation, it could also be called cultivating the heart.

In this world, where countless techniques flourished, even methods of cultivating the heart came in every strange variety.

Take the sword users, for instance.

Some believed in "shaping one's character through the etiquette of the sword." Zanshin, Mushin, Fudōchi... all arose from this kind of mental cultivation.

Using the principles of swordsmanship to regulate and temper oneself was their form of meditation.

Others believed that "man and sword becoming one, sword and path becoming one" was the true essence of cultivation.

Thus, wielding the sword with the body and tempering swordsmanship through one's own will became their form of meditation.

Then there were methods such as the "meditative trance" promoted by the International Charity Alliance's temples, or the "prayers" of churches everywhere. These were all forms of meditation.

Among them, the Navy naturally had its own method of meditation.

Its results could not be called the best, but it was extremely simple to learn and broadly applicable.

"Follow Hina... Focus on your breathing... Empty your mind of stray thoughts... Put your awareness on your body, imagine strength flowing through your muscles... Feel the existence of 'power'... Inhale... Breathe..."

A few minutes later.

"Why are you looking at Hina?"

Hina and Jogo simply stared at each other.

Jogo suggested, "Go change into another outfit."

"Why?" Hina frowned slightly.

"Your current outfit is affecting my meditation a little!"

Women really only slowed down my cultivation!

Hina paused, then the corners of her lips curled upward slightly.

Hmph~

The following days became a fulfilling period of training!

Every morning, before dawn had even broken, Jogo would appear on the top deck on time, alone in the sea breeze as he honed his body.

The Navy's meditation method was extremely practical.

Other than the initial stage of finding the feeling, it did not require prolonged seated meditation.

Instead, it required the practitioner to regulate their breathing while moving, seeking a state of calming the mind, locking onto strength, and clearing away stray thoughts.

Jogo called it the "Navy Breathing Method"!

According to Hina, everyone in the Navy with real strength had already integrated this state into their instincts.

The closer their stamina came to its limit, the calmer their minds became.

Not only could it increase the chances of awakening Haki, it also greatly assisted in everyday combat, helping people remain calm even in extreme conditions.

Though Jogo had only just begun, he could clearly sense through repeated training that his control over his body was rapidly improving.

As for the power of the "heart"...

It felt as though he had caught a hint of it, yet also as though he had not.

Such an abstruse thing was truly difficult to explain.

A complete round of training usually consumed Jogo's entire morning.

At such times, Hina was often not in the room either.

"Among the goods the Capone Family transferred out of Dark Harbor, some were sent aboard this ship."

On the night they moved in, Hina had explained the purpose of her trip.

"I need to investigate where they are, then observe where they will be sent!"

"This batch of goods has only one buyer. Hina is going to catch them in the act!"

So she would earn another merit, huh?

"Just you alone?"

Jogo could not quite understand the Navy's approach.

"On such a large ship, why did they send only you?"

And disguised in this kind of profession too. Was she not afraid of encountering some powerful bastard who would simply take advantage of the situation and have his way with Hina?

"Hina sneaked out!"

Hina did not feel that there was anything wrong with this. She even looked a little proud.

"The major only knows the operation's target. He does not know which ship Hina is on!"

You are seriously something else!

Jogo did not want to say anything more. He silently mourned for the major for two seconds.

The Navy recruits were far more unhinged than he had imagined!

And so, three days swiftly passed.

Other than lessons, indoor combat sparring, and the occasional relaxed conversation, although the two shared the same room, not even a trace of suggestive sparks had rubbed up between them.

—There was no time!

Jogo was busy training and comprehending the power of the "heart."

Hina was busy investigating and sorting through useful information in the account books.

The two were like workhorses from some new era who had lost all drive to reproduce. Every day, they woke up bleary-eyed and headed out separately to do their own things. Both were busier than the other. At night, they returned to the cabin exhausted, exchanged greetings, and collapsed into bed.

Their eyes met with nothing but weariness.

It got to the point where Jogo was beginning to wonder whether he was living in a luxury cabin or some electronics factory dormitory.

Of course, to outsiders, this married couple still seemed excessively intimate.

"Did you hear? There is so much noise from their room every day!"

"Young people really do have great stamina!"

"Hasn't that kid been drained dry yet?"

"Damn, I really want to join in!"

"Do you even have the strength for that? And you want to join?"

Naturally, Jogo and Hina noticed nothing wrong. It was only when they occasionally ran into the maids that they found the suggestiveness in their gazes growing stronger.

"Please give the little sister more time to rest."

"After working so hard, don't make her run around everywhere."

Sometimes, perhaps when she ran into Hina while Hina was out investigating, she would also make an indirect plea to Jogo.

"If you're lonely, big sister wouldn't mind either~"

Jogo, whose mind was filled with training, stared at her in shock and blurted out:

"You know Haki too?"

Afterward, realizing that was not what she meant, he hurriedly refused outright.

Thus, the direction of the rumors quickly changed again.

"Have you heard? That guy in the luxury cabin is a pervert!"

"How so... Wait, I'll go get some snacks..."

"He kept that beautiful young girl all to himself, then made her go to the lowest deck every day."

"What's perverted about that?"

"Think about it. What kind of people are on the lowest deck? Laborers, handymen, sailors... a bunch of burly men who worked themselves to the bone all day, reeked of sweat, and were pent-up beyond belief..."

A pure, pretty girl with a great figure, dressed so scantily, appeared down there and stayed from morning until night. What exactly was she doing?

"Hiss, could it be..."

"And someone saw that girl return looking exhausted every time. After she went back, fierce slapping sounds would come from inside the room..."

"Whoa~~~"

"That means that guy likes that sort of thing!"

"What a pervert!"

"He looked so refined on the surface, but he was actually that kind of pervert behind closed doors?"

"Damn it, tomorrow I'm going to the lower deck to protect that girl!"

"Me too!"

"Pull your pants up before you say that!"

In any case, amid the increasingly strange looks from everyone, Hina finally made a discovery on the fourth night.

"Wake up!"

Dressed in casual clothes, Hina shook Jogo awake in bed.

Jogo sat up groggily.

"What is it?"

"This ship suddenly changed course!" Hina's excited eyes could vaguely be seen in the darkness.

Jogo frowned and rapidly woke up.

According to this cruise ship's original itinerary, in another day, they would stop at a famous tourist island in the West Blue before continuing toward the waters near Reverse Mountain.

The schedule was tight.

If the route were to be changed, he, as a luxury-cabin passenger, should have been notified in advance.

Since there had been no notification during the day, yet the route had been secretly changed in the middle of the night...

It seemed that the people controlling this ship were no longer its original masters.

"The Capone Family's mob has made its move?"

Jogo asked,

"What are they planning?"

"They must be making a delivery!"

Hina said delightedly,

"These people don't dare trade on land, afraid the Navy will discover them again. They can only make the delivery at sea!"

"Hina has finally caught them!"

"Let's go!"

She excitedly pulled Jogo up to the top deck.

The deck was silent. The moon was hidden behind clouds, and heaven and earth lay in complete darkness.

The low roar of waves came from beneath their feet. The ship rose and fell almost imperceptibly, as though the entire vessel were sailing above the underworld, filling one with fear.

Jogo and Hina hid behind the railing and looked down.

On the bow deck below, someone held up a lamp, flashing it on and off as though sending some kind of signal into the distance.

After a long while, a point of light also lit up in the distant darkness.

On, then off, answering the signal.

"It's here!"

Hina said happily, then turned to Jogo.

"We agreed that you'd help Hina if there's a fight!"

Jogo nodded. "No problem."

For the favor of teaching him the Navy Breathing Method, as well as taking time every day to spar with him and guide him in hand-to-hand combat, he had to help her no matter what.

Just like that, the distant light drew nearer and nearer, gradually revealing a huge, savage outline in the darkness—it was actually even larger than the luxury cruise ship beneath their feet!

But Jogo did not care about that.

"Should we sneak aboard?"

He was already prepared.

There was no response from beside him.

Jogo turned his head and discovered that, at some point, Hina beside him had gone deathly pale.

"What's wrong?" Jogo asked.

"It's the Happo Navy!" Hina's tense voice came from the darkness.