Treasure Chest on the Enemy Ship

Watching that ship vanish completely, Dawn finally let his tightly wound nerves relax and let out a soft breath. He had truly been worried that Shanks might be the kind of hypocrite some dark conspiracy theories from his previous life had imagined—a man willing to do anything to achieve his goals.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had not happened. The current Shanks was bold, loyal, and deeply devoted to his companions, no different from the image Dawn remembered.

After that brief yet exceedingly dangerous exchange, he gained a clearer understanding of the gap between himself and the world's top geniuses.

The Press-Press Fruit ability he had considered capable of turning the tide in most situations seemed lacking in many of its refined applications before Shanks's condensed, powerful, and plentiful Armament Haki, not to mention his bug-like Future Sight Observation Haki.

As for his other trump card—the Dark-Dark Fruit—it was even more ineffective against a top-tier non-ability-user fighter like Shanks, one who excelled in physical combat and Haki.

An invisible ambush? Before future sight, it was practically a joke. Compressing water currents or air for attacks?

Their power might have been considerable, but they could just as easily be predicted and cut apart. And the Dark-Dark Fruit's signature pulling ability was greatly weakened when Armament Haki could offset the Devil Fruit's rule-based effects.

Dawn even doubted whether, even if he somehow managed to grab Shanks, he could successfully pull him into the alternate space and inflict crushing damage.

More likely than not, it would fail.

"Haki application techniques really are my current weakness."

It was not as though Dawn had never tried infusing Armament Haki into his Devil Fruit abilities. But during his long voyage, despite spending a great deal of time exploring on his own, he had never found the right