"Armament Haki?!"
Garp's roar, its pitch distorted by shock, exploded like a depth charge in the quiet Third Mess Hall!
The Marine soldiers around them, who had been eating with the utmost care, froze as though paralyzed the instant they heard those words, whether they were recruits or field officers.
Their eyes bulged and their mouths hung open. Knives, forks, and chopsticks clattered to the floor. Some were so shocked that they sprayed the food in their mouths straight into the faces of the companions opposite them.
Armament Haki!
That was a supreme power mastered only by fighters ranked Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral or above, or by the famous great pirates of the latter half of the Grand Line! It was the dividing line between the strong and the weak!
Major Yas... had he actually mastered Haki already?!
Gulp. A young ensign swallowed with difficulty, looking at the young man whose arm Vice Admiral Garp had seized, yet who continued gnawing on his roast meat without a change in expression. Nothing remained in his eyes but boundless admiration and awe.
"Not even twenty... a Headquarters Major... mastered Haki... is... is he even human?"
"We're not even the same species as him..."
The whispers were filled with despair and resignation. Faced with such an absolute gulf in talent, any jealousy or resentment seemed utterly feeble.
At the center of the storm, Garp still clutched Yas's arm tightly, his iron-vise hands even trembling slightly with excitement. He turned Yas's fist, covered in a faint black sheen, over and over, studying it as he muttered incessantly, "Monster... he's a real monster... at his age, I was still fighting wild boars in the mountains!"
"Let go." Yas frowned and spat the words coldly. "You're getting grease on my clothes."
"Ahem!" Beside them, Zephyr coughed heavily twice, forcibly pulling himself out of his shock. He pushed aside Garp, who was still shouting and exclaiming, and stood, his expression more serious than ever before.
"Yas," Zephyr said gravely. "This isn't the place to talk. Once you're done eating, come with me."
With that, Zephyr turned and left, his straight-backed figure carrying a trace of unquestionable authority.
Yas glanced at the roast bison on the table, more than half of which remained, then at the Marine coat he wore. In the end, he put down his food, wiped his hands, and followed.
Seeing this, Garp hurriedly tore off a large chunk of meat and chased after them, shouting indistinctly as he went, "Hey! Zephyr! Wait for me! How can you teach a monster like this without the wielder of the 'Iron Fist of Love'?! My practical combat lessons are the best in the Marines!"
Marineford, Rear Mountain, Special Training Ground.
This was a private training ground reserved exclusively for Marine Admirals and the chief instructor. Built from the toughest special alloy, it could withstand Admiral-level destructive power.
At that moment, only three people stood on the empty training ground: Yas, Zephyr, and Garp, who had followed them like a curious child.
"Yas." Zephyr stood with his back to Yas, his voice echoing through the empty training ground with particular solemnity. "Before I teach you how to use it, you must first understand the true nature of the power you've awakened."
Zephyr slowly turned around. He raised his right arm.
"This power lies dormant within everyone in this world. It comes from the most fundamental human 'spirit' and is a manifestation of mental will. We call it 'Haki.'"
"There are three types of Haki." Zephyr held up three fingers.
"The first is 'Observation Haki.' When your mind is highly focused, you can sense the presence and emotions of the creatures around you, and even 'foresee' your opponent's next move. It's a powerful ability for perception and evasion."
"The second is what you've just awakened: 'Armament Haki.'"
The instant his words fell, a layer of pitch-black substance abruptly covered Zephyr's intact left arm, giving off a cold, hard metallic sheen!
He casually threw a punch at a nearby Special Steel Target, five meters thick, used for testing attack power.
Bang!
There was no earth-shaking roar, only a dull impact.
The Special Steel Target, capable of withstanding bombardment from dozens of cannonballs, might as well have been paper beneath Zephyr's fist. He easily punched a smooth, clean hole straight through it!
"Armament Haki gives your willpower physical form, creating a layer of invisible armor. This armor can be used for both defense and attack. More importantly..." Zephyr withdrew his fist, his gaze sharpening. "It's the only means of making contact with the physical bodies of Logia Devil Fruit users! Out on the seas, without Armament Haki, you'll never be able to truly hurt those top monsters!"
Yas listened quietly. This theory differed little from what he had learned from anime in his previous life. But he knew that coming from Zephyr, a chief instructor who stood at the pinnacle of the world and had taught countless powerful fighters, those words carried an entirely different weight.
"There are also different levels of Armament Haki application," Zephyr continued. "The most basic is to 'harden' your Haki like this, coating the surface of your body or weapon to greatly increase your offensive and defensive capabilities."
"The next level is 'Infusion.' You attach Haki to your attacks like flowing water, keeping it from leaking away, thereby producing greater destructive power. You can even strike across a distance, inflicting damage without touching your enemy."
"And one of the highest-level techniques is the 'Internal Destruction' you unwittingly used earlier." A flicker of approval crossed Zephyr's eyes. "You concentrate Haki into a single point and force it inside an enemy or object, shattering it from within! This is an advanced technique that only fighters who have cultivated Armament Haki to an extremely high level can master. I never imagined you'd reach its threshold upon your very first awakening."
"As for the third type of Haki..." Zephyr's expression grew somewhat peculiar. "That's 'Conqueror's Haki,' which appears in only one person among hundreds of millions. It's the quality of a 'king.' It cannot be acquired through training and can only grow stronger as your own spirit grows. Those who possess this Haki can knock weak-willed enemies unconscious through sheer pressure alone. That is the power of a true king."
Something stirred in Yas's mind as he recalled his system template. The Third Raikage did not seem to have Conqueror's Haki. It appeared he would have to walk that path himself.
"All right, that's enough theory." Zephyr changed tack, his entire presence abruptly turning fierce. "For a monster like you, any more theory would be a waste of breath! Combat is the fastest way for you to grow!"
"Yas! Now, look at me!" Zephyr bellowed. "Rally every bit of your will! Remember how it felt when you crushed that reef rock! Gather that power into your fist again! Try to control it! Make it part of your body!"
"Yes! Just like that! Now attack me! Use every ounce of your strength! Let me see just how hard this uncut gem of yours really is!"
Zephyr took his stance, and a presence as steady and weighty as a mountain erupted from him!
Beside them, Garp also shouted excitedly, "That's right, brat! Use that black fist you just learned and give this old fellow a good beating! Show him what it means for the new generation to surpass the old!"
Yas took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He paid no attention to Garp's racket, instead immersing himself completely in his own world.
Will...
What was will?
Decisiveness in killing was his will.
Trading injury for injury was his will.
Protecting his own was also his will.
All fear came from insufficient firepower, and all defiance came from fists that weren't hard enough!
This was his-Yas's-most fundamental, purest will!
The instant that thought became completely clear in his mind!
[Ding! The host has comprehended his own "Core of Will"! Armament Haki proficiency has increased significantly!]
Yas's eyes snapped open!
Within those normally unruffled eyes, lightning and steel seemed to collide!
He looked at Admiral Zephyr fifty meters away, who had taken his stance and was preparing to receive his attack, and his lips slowly curled into a crazed, cruel arc.
"Chief Instructor Zephyr... did you just say Haki was the armor of willpower?"
Yas slowly raised his right fist toward Zephyr.
"Then what if I had two suits of armor from the very beginning?"
The instant he finished speaking, instead of charging straight at him as Zephyr had expected, Yas remained where he stood and bent his knees slightly!
Boom!
An utterly savage surge of blue lightning erupted from his body once again!
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode: Activate!"
Brilliant Raijin Armor instantly covered his entire body!
But it wasn't over yet!
Just as Zephyr's and Garp's pupils contracted at that familiar, terrifying aura, a sudden change occurred in Yas's right fist, which was wrapped in blue lightning!
A layer of deep, dark substance, as solid as obsidian, actually seeped out from within his fist at a speed visible to the naked eye and began an inconceivable... fusion with that violent lightning armor!
The expression on Zephyr's face froze instantly. As he watched the strange energy interwoven with blue and black on Yas's fist, radiating an aura of destruction, even his lips trembled slightly.
"You... what are you trying to do?! Combine Armament Haki with your ability?!"
Before you continue