The King

"Before we begin, I have to make something clear. To be honest, at your age, a power like Haki is a little too early for you. But since you've made the request and Roger has agreed, I'll tell you everything I know as thoroughly as I can. Whether you'll be able to awaken this power in the future, however, will depend on you."

"I understand."

Ye Mu naturally understood this principle.

Rayleigh continued.

"Haki is a power possessed by everyone in this world. It's an extremely complex force. Sensation, will, and presence, among other things, all form part of it. The vast majority of people simply can't guide or use this power."

"To learn Haki, you first have to understand it. Haki is divided into three types: Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and finally, Conqueror's Haki, which can only be possessed by the chosen ones—one in several million."

"But no matter which type of Haki it is, mastering it requires the same kind of power: unquestionable strength."

"Unquestionable strength!?"

Ye Mu seemed to understand what those words meant, but he still couldn't be certain.

Rayleigh understood this as well, so he said no more. Instead, he raised one hand, then suddenly changed expression and said to Ye Mu,

"Come on. Attack me with everything you've got!"

"!!!"

Ye Mu was stunned, but then he grew excited. He was still young, but the chance to fight Dark King Rayleigh and test his own strength was something he could hardly have hoped for.

"Then I won't hold back."

Ye Mu clenched his fists tightly. He knew that even if he gave it everything he had, he could never be Rayleigh's equal, so he didn't hesitate at all. He drew upon the strongest power within him.

At that moment, everyone present sensed the rising power within Ye Mu through their Observation Haki.

The crew members who had accepted Ye Mu and Enel only because they trusted their captain finally realized that these two children—at least the red-haired boy—were anything but ordinary.

Especially Bullet, the battle maniac who cared only about strength. For the first time, he looked seriously at the boy.

Even he had to admit that the presence and strength the boy displayed at such an age were no weaker than what he himself had shown back then.

"Bang..."

The sound of air exploding rang out. The air visibly rippled, and without the slightest hesitation, Ye Mu's body vanished from where he stood as if he had flashed away.

At that moment, Ye Mu was less than ten meters from Rayleigh. At the speed he reached at full force, he needed only one second to arrive before Rayleigh and strike him.

That was what Ye Mu had intended to do. But at that instant, Rayleigh's expression changed, and his eyes sharpened.

In an instant, an indescribable, terrifying presence, like the collapse of heaven and earth, surged toward Ye Mu.

At that moment, one second suddenly became unbearably long. Time seemed to freeze, and Ye Mu felt that he could no longer move.

This immobility did not come from his body being restrained by force. It was a tremendous sense of powerlessness.

At that moment, Ye Mu felt like a tiny boat drifting on the waves. Faced with nature's might and the violent winds and rain of the sea, he completely lost the will to resist.

Rayleigh had clearly done nothing, yet he pressed down on Ye Mu like a mountain, leaving him utterly unable to move.

The gap is simply too great...

It's impossible to catch up...

No matter how much I train, it'll be useless...

At that moment, countless utterly negative and terrifying thoughts continued to rise from Ye Mu's heart, gradually stripping away all the strength from both his body and mind.

But Ye Mu was not defeated. Instead, deep within his heart, another incredible power surged rapidly upward, completely devouring those negative thoughts and emotions.

So that's how it is...

This is so interesting...

So this world is actually this vast...

This power...

I want it too...

No...

It's not enough. It's nowhere near enough... This power is still too weak...

If I want to conquer the world, this level of power is nowhere near sufficient...

I want more... More power...

In an instant, like a volcano erupting, a vast and terrifying power burst from the depths of Ye Mu's heart and swept across the entire Upper Yard.

At that moment, everyone from the Roger Pirates, Gan Fall and God's Army on God's Island, and Enel all sensed that terrifying presence.

The air fell silent.

The members of the Roger Pirates stared in shock as the food and alcohol in their hands spilled across the ground. Among the apprentice crewmen led by Shanks, the weaker ones, such as Buggy and Inuarashi, rolled their eyes back and fainted. Only Shanks and Enel managed to endure it with difficulty, while Gan Fall and God's Army had long since collapsed on the ground, frothing at the mouth.

The beasts across God's Island instantly grew agitated as well...

"Hey, hey... You've got to be kidding me. That's Conqueror's Haki, right...?"

"You've got to be kidding... My back is covered in cold sweat from that presence."

"How old is that kid? He actually awakened Conqueror's Haki..."

"Who the hell is this kid...?"

Roger also stared with his mouth hanging open in disbelief. He looked at Rayleigh, the wine cup still in his hand, forgotten.

Rayleigh was equally astonished. A few drops of cold sweat even escaped from his forehead.

"Looks like I might have taken things too far..."

He had originally only wanted to test Ye Mu's heart and let him experience the essence of Haki—what it meant to possess unquestionable strength.

But because of Ye Mu's composure and maturity, an ordinary test would have had no effect. On top of that, considering the power Ye Mu had displayed, Rayleigh had boldly used his own Conqueror's Haki.

He had never imagined that under the pressure of his Conqueror's Haki, Ye Mu would directly awaken his own Conqueror's Haki.

That terrifying pressure even made Rayleigh, who was right beside him, feel his heart tighten...

"This... this..."

For a moment, Rayleigh didn't know what to say either.

Fortunately, Roger spoke up. After downing the fine wine in his hand, he burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha, this is really too interesting! The future world is becoming more and more fascinating..."

"Come on, everyone! For Ye Mu's Conqueror's Haki, let's sing our hearts out and drink to our heart's content!"

"Cheers..."

Driven by Roger's enthusiasm, the members of the Roger Pirates also burst into laughter and raised their cups.

"Cheers..."

"Cheers..."

"Cheers..."

As for the protagonist of the banquet, Ye Mu had already passed out and knew nothing about any of it...

Three days later, the Roger Pirates found what they had been looking for. Amid everyone's farewells, they followed the sea of clouds and left the Sky Island.

At the edge of the sea of clouds, Ye Mu and Enel stood there, gazing into the distance at the Roger Pirates as they disappeared from sight.

Ye Mu had gained an enormous amount this time.

Not only had he learned how to cultivate Haki, but he had also awakened Conqueror's Haki.

Finally, Rayleigh had given him his own insights into swordsmanship cultivation, along with Lion Maru, one of the Skillful Grade Blades.

He truly had no idea how he could ever repay this debt.

After the Roger Pirates had completely vanished into the sea of clouds, Ye Mu sighed and said to Enel,

"Let's go back. For the next few years, we'll have to work even harder!"

During his three days with the Roger Pirates, Enel had also fully experienced the charm of pirates, so he couldn't help asking,

"In the future, will we have our own pirate crew too?"

"Of course we will..."

"Will we have companions even more outstanding than the people in the Roger Pirates?"

"Isn't that obvious...?"