Pirates: A Family Slaughtered, Every Celestial Dragon Must Die!

Advanced Haki was roughly on the level of a top officer under one of the Four Emperors.

Top-tier Haki was something only powerhouses like the Four Emperors and Admirals possessed.

To reach the god tier, one would probably have to specialize in a single type.

Garp's Armament Haki, for example, was surely god-tier, and Red-Haired Shanks's Conqueror's Haki at his peak probably was too.

All Three Types of Haki wielded by Roger at his peak might have been god-tier as well. But Roger had only just set out to sea, so he certainly hadn't reached his peak yet.

"I'm getting serious, Rono. Watch out!"

Roger called out a warning.

His Observation Haki told him Rono had no Armament Haki. Afraid this slash might kill Rono, Roger warned him first.

Whoosh!

Roger swung his great blade at Rono.

"Armament Haki Hardening!"

But Rono calmly coated both arms in Armament Haki and met Roger's blade head-on.

Clang!

A piercing metallic crash rang out where they collided. The air seemed ready to explode, and their immense strength gouged deep pits into the ground beneath their feet!

Air blasted outward, toppling nearby trees and sending ripples across the waves.

Roger's heart sank again at the sight.

Again!

Advanced Armament Haki!

You've got to be kidding.

Had my Observation Haki misjudged him again?

This kid is full of surprises!

After holding out for several seconds, Rono was sent flying. He crashed through several trees before finally coming to a stop.

Though his Haki rivaled Roger's, Rono's strength was only at a lieutenant colonel's level. He was no match for Roger physically, so it was only natural that he had been knocked back.

But Rono paid no attention to the pain. He was thrilled!

That clash of blades had let him pick up plenty more from Roger!

Rono almost wanted to shout his thanks to Teacher Roger!

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully picked up Observation Haki (advanced)!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully picked up Swordsmanship (advanced)!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully picked up 958 points of strength!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully picked up 425 points of speed!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully picked up 698 points of stamina!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully picked up Combat Experience (beginner)!]

Roger's Shock! Rono's Monstrous Talent

In that brief exchange, Rono had picked up Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki from Roger—and all three were advanced!

His strength was growing so fast that even Rono could hardly believe it.

As expected of the future Pirate King. Roger was already this powerful when he had only just set out to sea!

On top of that, Rono had picked up advanced Swordsmanship and a huge number of stat points.

He checked his status panel again.

[Host: Rono]

[Age: 17]

[Strength: 1203 (Vice Admiral level)]

[Speed: 610 (Vice Admiral level)]

[Stamina: 921 (Vice Admiral level)]

[Haki: Conqueror's Haki (advanced), Armament Haki (advanced), Observation Haki (advanced)]

[Other abilities: Swordsmanship (advanced)! Combat Experience (beginner)!]

[Devil Fruit ability: none]

All three of his physical stats had reached Rear Admiral level, and he now had all Three Types of Haki at the advanced level, plus advanced Swordsmanship!

Rono could say without hesitation that he was now above a Vice Admiral and below an Admiral—at the very least, a powerhouse on the level of a top officer under one of the Four Emperors!

His physical stats might still fall a little short of such an officer's, though.

There was one other thing: Combat Experience.

Combat Experience was nothing to scoff at. A soldier who trained every day in safety and one who fought for his life on the battlefield were two entirely different creatures.

Even without systematic training, a soldier forged by daily battle would be several levels stronger than the former.

The Shichibukai had all grown strong through hundreds of life-and-death battles, large and small.

But that was fine. With Teacher Roger personally instructing him, Rono would catch up soon enough.

"Rono, how are you? Want to keep fighting?"

Roger saw that Rono had stayed down for quite a while and figured he had won.

"Of course. Let's keep going!" Rono dusted himself off and stood up.

"Oh? You've still got the strength? Then come on! I'm going to beat you!"

Roger's voice was full of admiration.

Rono really did have an indomitable spirit.

Roger was becoming more and more convinced that Rono belonged on his crew.

They squared off and attacked again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They clashed three times in a row. Rono was driven back again, but Roger's expression grew grimmer with every blow!

Roger could clearly sense that each of Rono's attacks was stronger than the last!

His strength, his speed, even the way he used Haki—all of it was improving.

Roger could even tell that Rono was using Observation Haki to anticipate his moves. But Rono wasn't supposed to have Observation Haki.

Could he be growing this quickly through the fight itself?

The thought startled Roger.

If that's true, isn't he growing far too fast?

Is Rono even human?

After all, Roger's Observation Haki couldn't be wrong. He possessed the special Observation Haki known as the Voice of All Things.

No one could hide their strength from him.

If Rono really could grow this fast from a single battle, there was no telling how far he might go!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They collided fiercely several more times, and Roger could plainly feel Rono's strength increasing with every exchange.

Roger even had to fight at full strength to keep Rono's increasingly terrifying power from driving him back.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have picked up Combat Experience!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have picked up 598 points of strength!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have picked up 456 points of strength!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have picked up 98 points of speed!]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have picked up 55 points of stamina!]

Rono was overjoyed.

Every clash with Roger brought him another substantial gain. His physical stats were soaring.

"He really is growing stronger through this fight!"

After a few more exchanges, Roger could clearly feel that Rono was still getting stronger. His suspicion was confirmed!

"In that case, I'll give it everything I've got!"

Even so, Roger didn't stop. Instead, he went all out, deliberately helping Rono improve.

That meant Rono gained even more stats from every exchange!

Sensing what Roger was doing, Rono was filled with admiration.

He's deliberately helping me grow!

As expected of the future Pirate King. What a generous spirit.

No wonder the Pirate King's crew was so united. Their captain had that much charisma.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two kept clashing through the night. Even when the sky brightened again, they still hadn't stopped.

"All right, I'm tired. Let's leave it there."

Roger suddenly stopped fighting.

He could tell Rono seemed to have reached a bottleneck. There was no point in continuing.

"Hey, give me a warning before you stop!"

When one side abruptly broke off an evenly matched fight between experts, things could easily get out of control.

Seeing Roger stop so suddenly, Rono had no choice but to pull back all the Haki he had just unleashed.

It felt as awful as choking down a mouthful of phlegm!

If he hadn't done it, that last strike would have seriously injured Roger.

"Hahaha! I knew you'd do that." Roger couldn't help laughing when he saw Rono bleeding.

"Hah. You've got the nerve to laugh? I wouldn't be hurt if you hadn't stopped out of nowhere." Rono wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and rolled his eyes at Roger.

Roger really did do things his own way.

Still, Rono was grateful to him.

Without Roger holding nothing back as he taught him, Rono would never have grown so quickly.

His strength had now taken a qualitative leap. He was a genuine powerhouse on the level of a top officer under one of the Four Emperors.

Rono couldn't pick up any more stats from Roger for now. He had wrung him dry!

"A cage can't hold an ambitious bird. With your abilities, you can make your own way in the world." After their fight, Roger gave up on recruiting Rono.

Rono had grown this much from a single battle.

With talent that monstrous, Roger might not even be able to keep up with him!

Roger's own talent was top-tier, but beside Rono's, it seemed unremarkable.

And Rono was still so young. His future might be brighter than Roger could imagine.

Someone like him shouldn't have to serve under Roger.

Finally seeing things clearly? Rono breathed a sigh of relief.

Getting someone like Roger to give up once he had made up his mind was no easy task.

Rono had genuinely feared Roger would keep trying to recruit him—and that he would end up joining the crew because he couldn't resist Roger's charisma.