Three Types of Haki

It's here!

Gawain's eyes lit up.

There was no need to explain how powerful the skill Shave was, especially since he possessed the neural reaction speed needed to keep up with its extreme velocity.

Once he mastered this ability, Gawain's combat power would undergo a true qualitative transformation.

His Rating was already at the limit of Black Iron. One more breakthrough and he would step into Bronze.

And a Bronze Rank fighter could be considered somebody in the first half of the Grand Line. In the East Blue, he would be able to crush anyone with ease.

However.

This skill was currently only Level 0. It had just awakened, meaning he had not yet mastered it and could not use it in actual combat.

Gawain was in no hurry.

After all, Kuro was a King of Hustle to begin with. Now that he had found his goal, he was even more so.

It was true that he craved a peaceful and comfortable life, but in pursuit of that goal, he was not only ruthless toward others—he was even harsher on himself.

Whenever Gawain saw the bruises covering Kuro's body after his daily training, it made his heart tremble, yet it also left him increasingly pleased.

This is how leeks should train themselves to death. Unlike the one doing the harvesting, who has far too many things to think about.

Gawain smiled knowingly, then rose to his feet and headed for the training room aboard the Warship.

At this moment.

It was already deep into the night.

Cold gusts of wind occasionally blew in through the window.

Aside from the pirates assigned to keep watch and steer the ship, nearly everyone else aboard the Warship had gone into the cabins to sleep.

Only the training room continued to echo with violent collisions from time to time. Clearly, Kuro was still training.

Bronze Rank potential did not merely mean a higher ceiling—it also meant his body could endure far more than an ordinary person's.

Because of how uncontrollable Shave was, this place had practically become Kuro's personal training ground.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

At the high speed of Shave, Kuro repeatedly slammed into the walls. Even with protective padding, bruises inevitably appeared across his body.

Yet he showed no intention of stopping. Instead, he pushed his body's potential harder and harder.

He grew faster and faster, but along with that came the increasing difficulty of controlling the move. His neural reaction speed severely limited his improvement.

At the same time, he became ever more curious about how Gawain had seen through the speed of Shave.

Thoughts churned through his mind as Kuro gradually slowed down. He braced both hands on his knees and gasped for breath, drenched in sweat as though he had just been pulled from the water.

"Captain?!"

Only then did Kuro notice that the door to the training room had long since been opened, and Gawain was standing in the doorway, calmly watching him.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Kuro directly voiced the question in his heart:

"How the hell did you do it?"

"You could actually see through the speed of Shave!"

As long as he solved the problem of Shave being uncontrollable, Kuro's combat power would soar. Even against the current Gawain, it was not as if he would have no chance to fight.

When that time comes, who will be whose subordinate is hard to say. Besides, once we enter the Grand Line, I may not be the one unable to claim the title of Shichibukai!

That was what Kuro thought, but none of it showed on his face. He merely looked like a humble student seeking guidance.

Gawain did not see through Kuro's little scheme. Even if he had, he would not have cared.

After all, for every bit of progress Kuro made, Gawain could make ten. If he could still somehow lose under those circumstances, then Kuro deserved to be captain.

In fact, if being overthrown as captain could make his subordinates work harder, Gawain would have loved to paste his own picture onto the training targets.

Gawain looked at Kuro and said:

"I was born with it, but it's not like there's no way to improve the control of Shave."

"Body modification to increase your neural reaction speed, or a special Devil Fruit ability—either can produce immediate results."

Kuro shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed.

"I've considered all of those methods."

"Body modification has a high failure rate, and I've never heard of anywhere capable of modifying the nerves. Devil Fruits are already rare, and ones that can improve neural reaction speed are even rarer."

"Is there really no chance of fully mastering this move?"

"Not necessarily."

Seeing that the moment was right, Gawain stopped keeping Kuro in suspense.

"Within every person lies a hidden power known as Haki."

"Armament Haki, which coats the body or weapons and directly enhances offense and defense; Conqueror's Haki, the kingly aptitude possessed by only one in a million, capable of intimidating opponents through sheer will; and..."

"Observation Haki, a sixth sense beyond the five senses, capable of seeing enemies behind you or outside your field of vision, and reading an opponent's movements in advance."

"And Observation Haki can perfectly solve the problem with Shave!"

"Haki?"

Kuro's eyes brightened.

"Captain, you mastered this power, so that's why..."

"No, my neural reflexes are simply fast."

As he spoke, Gawain spread his hands helplessly.

Kuro's mouth twitched. He increasingly wanted to overthrow the man before him and take over as captain himself.

Gawain continued:

"On the Grand Line, especially in the sea known as the New World in its latter half, powerful people who have mastered Haki are everywhere. You could even say that without Haki, it is impossible to survive in that kind of world."

"You can try to see whether you can awaken Observation Haki."

"Shut off your five senses and try relying on instinct to clearly perceive the opponents around you."

"Instinct..."

Kuro revealed a thoughtful expression.

After pondering for a moment.

He found a strip of cloth and wrapped it over his eyes, then began trying to sense his surroundings through that vague, intangible instinct.

Whoosh!

Kuro activated Spoon Stance and immediately lost control, crashing straight into the wall. He nearly smashed through the padding, followed by a rapid series of dense impacts.

"Hiss!"

Gawain sucked in a sharp breath. It looked painful just watching it.

He simply turned around and left.

In the blink of an eye, it was late at night, and the commotion in the training room gradually died down. After taking off the cloth strip, Kuro gritted his teeth in pain and immediately cursed:

"You were messing with me?!"

"What sixth sense beyond the five senses? Who are you trying to fool?!"

Gawain, who had already fallen asleep, turned over and slept even more soundly.

The next day.

Kuro did not train as usual.

Gawain had intended to ask what was wrong.

But when he saw the bandages covering Kuro's body and the look in his eyes as though he wanted to eat someone, he could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

"You know, this kind of thing can't be rushed."

"Get lost!"

Kuro immediately saw red. If he had not been injured and hopelessly outmatched, he truly would have wanted to attack.

However, he did not give up because of that.

Though he harbored resentment, he understood even more clearly that Gawain would not deceive him about something like this.

For one thing, before long, he would be following Gawain into the Grand Line. If it were a lie, it would naturally be exposed.

And secondly, given Gawain's bearing, he would not stoop to lying about something like this.

Thus, on the third day, Kuro, whose injuries had barely recovered, began trying to train Observation Haki again—and, unsurprisingly, ended up in the infirmary once more.

Both hands fractured, with multiple soft-tissue contusions.

Even with his physique, he could forget about entering the training room again for half a month.

Meanwhile, Gawain looked at the Shave skill on the System Panel, which had barely reached LV-1, and grinned from ear to ear.