Battle-Honed

The awakening of Armament Haki sent Hades's combat strength soaring, bringing him closer to Shakky's level.

With his strong foundation and naturally powerful physique, the Armament Haki Hades awakened was formidable from the start.

Backed by his physique and stamina, he appeared to fight Shakky on even terms.

But that was only temporary. After this sudden surge, further rapid improvement would be difficult. He would need to build his strength slowly.

He needed to strengthen his body, hone his Body Techniques, and sharpen his battle instincts.

Unless he could achieve a breakthrough in Observation Haki or Armament Haki.

But that was impossible for now.

At sea, Armament Haki had four applications: Hardening, Coating, Emission, and Internal Destruction.

The first two were basic and the easiest to learn.

The latter two were more advanced. Once someone's Haki reached a certain strength, talent could make them easy to grasp.

With a training manual and enough practice, mastering those advanced techniques was no great challenge either.

Techniques were just techniques. For Hades, who had already learned to apply Haki through Inch Power, they posed little difficulty.

But both Emission and Internal Destruction required powerful Armament Haki as their foundation.

The quality of one's Haki was what mattered most.

Without sufficient quality, even someone who knew Internal Destruction could not break through an enemy's Haki defenses.

Hades was in no hurry. He had the talent, and different paths led to the same destination.

His father's manual explained it as well.

As he trained, grew, and fought, the quality of his Haki would naturally improve.

When the time came, Emission and Internal Destruction would follow. Neither technique would be particularly difficult for someone who had mastered Bajiquan's Inch Power.

Hades had no desire to reach beyond his grasp. He knew what mattered most.

After finishing a fight with Shakky and recovering his stamina, Hades would face his mother, Nyx.

As a Night-Night Fruit user, Nyx fought much like a shadow mage or assassin, though she was no slouch in close combat.

At first, under Jaeger's protection, her strength had grown slowly.

But over the past six years, her relentless attacks on the Marines and the battles that followed had made her strength grow rapidly, especially her mastery of her Devil Fruit.

During the years when the Rocks Pirates developed in relative peace, Nyx was their most active Pirate and the one who clashed with the Marines most often. No one else came close.

Against Nyx's surprise attacks and wide-area strikes, the Marines had suffered heavy losses, including many officers.

But Marine Vice Admirals generally possessed both kinds of Haki at a respectable level. If they reacted in time, even Nyx would struggle to kill them quickly.

Nyx would never lose a one-on-one fight against them, but the Marines had never been inclined to fight one-on-one.

Though she had been a Logia Devil Fruit user, she had once been only an ordinary member of the Rocks Pirates.

Unlike the head-on contest of strength with Shakky, fighting his mother was far more dangerous.

Nyx was much stronger than Shakky.

The power of the Night-Night Fruit let Nyx move unseen through the shadows.

Her uncanny ability made it impossible to know when she would appear. Fighting her demanded sharp instincts, quick reactions, and keen battle awareness.

To that end, Nyx had Hades seal away his almost unfair Observation Haki.

By sensing emotions, Hades could pinpoint his mother's approximate location, tell which direction she would attack from, and prepare in advance.

He had rarely been injured fighting Shakky, especially since awakening Armament Haki.

But fights with his mother drew blood. She held back from killing blows, yet kept him under constant pressure and threat.

Without Observation Haki, Hades was in a sorry state. His body even grew somewhat stiff.

Nyx's experience let her spot the problem at once: Hades relied too heavily on Observation Haki.

How could a woman who had caught the eye of Jaeger the "Grim Reaper" be ordinary? She had never relied on her Logia Devil Fruit alone.

Before becoming a Pirate, Nyx had been an educated, gracious, and clever young noblewoman. Then Jaeger drew her in, and she took a rebellious path that led her to piracy.

Jaeger, too, was a noble by birth.

Hades needed to learn to fight without Observation Haki. His wounds steadily multiplied. Ananke's power had to heal the serious ones; his body's own vitality could handle the minor ones.

It looked cruel, but the results were plain to see.

Nyx needed Hades to feel a real sense of danger so he could improve quickly. She knew where to draw the line and would never put his life at risk.

Hades had grown stronger quickly, but things had always gone smoothly for him.

Nyx wanted him to mature as soon as possible, not only in strength but in will.

This was the only way she knew. It was also a mother's love for her child.

Nyx had absolute faith in her son.

But in the future, Hades would face far more than the challenge of establishing himself among the Rocks Pirates.

To go further, he would sooner or later have to face the most terrifying Monsters in the world.

All she could do was give Hades a solid foundation over these two years. After that, he would have to walk his own path, and there would be little more she could do to help.

Akenan's training was simpler. She learned Body Techniques from the warriors of the Kuja Pirates, sparred with them, studied Observation Haki and Armament Haki, and developed her Devil Fruit powers each day.

Her fights were nowhere near as fierce as those of Hades and Titan.

Nor did she have their fearsome physiques and recovery, which let them endure punishment day after day.

Different people needed different kinds of training.

Across the entire sea, there were very few like Hades and Titan.