"Stop joking. Haki isn't child's play. It's the will's..."
Before Bogard could finish, his throat seemed to be seized by an invisible hand, cutting off every sound.
Before his eyes, Lin Xuan slowly raised his right arm.
There was no roar, no gathering of strength, not even an unnecessary movement.
Under Bogard's gaze, a dark red aura suddenly surged up, not from outside, but from within the boy's body.
It was more than mere presence. Like viscous liquid metal, it rapidly crept and spread along Lin Xuan's forearm.
Sss...
A faint sound seemed to ring through the air, like a hot iron being plunged into water.
His once-fair skin visibly took on a coat of jet black.
Under the midday sun, that black arm looked anything but lifeless. Instead, it reflected a cold, indestructible sheen, like obsidian.
Armament Haki Hardening.
Although it only reached his elbow, although its edges still rippled in slightly unstable, jagged waves, it was unmistakably Armament Haki.
The sea breeze howled past, sweeping up a few broken wood chips.
Bogard remained frozen in his lecturing stance, sword in hand, as though glue from the barrel Garp had just smashed had stuck him to the spot.
Chapter 9: Armament Haki in Five Minutes? Garp Was Stunned!
He stared at that jet-black arm, and the carefully prepared "step-by-step teaching plan" in his head instantly collapsed into a heap of wastepaper.
Three minutes?
No. Even counting the time he had just spent rambling, it had been five minutes at most.
He had spent three whole years training at the elite training camp for that layer of "black"!
"It feels... a little strange." Lin Xuan flexed his black fist, feeling the peculiar sensation on his skin, both hard and sensitive. He frowned slightly. "Like putting a sleeve over my fist. It's definitely harder, but the drain feels a little high. Instructor, does this count as getting the basics down?"
That word, "instructor," sounded even more piercing to Bogard than the crash of splintering wood earlier.
The basics?
If this was merely getting the basics down, what did that make the field officers at headquarters who had trained for ten years and were still coating themselves in invisible Haki?
Cripples?
Bogard opened his mouth, apparently wanting to say something diplomatic like "it still needs polishing" to preserve his dignity as an instructor.
But looking into Lin Xuan's sincerely inquisitive eyes, he rolled those words around on his tongue before finally swallowing them.
The blow was too much.
This wasn't an uncut gem at all. This was a fucking polished diamond, and he had actually been about to take sandpaper to it.
"...Passable."
After struggling for a long time, Bogard finally squeezed those words through his teeth, his voice as dry as if he had gone thirsty in a desert for three days.
He silently sheathed his sword, moving as mechanically as a rusty puppet.
"That's all for today's lesson. Explosive techniques like this are hard on the body. Take some time to... digest it yourself."
With that, the headquarters lieutenant commander who had been so determined to give Lin Xuan "special instruction" turned and left without looking back.
His back, once as straight as a javelin, now conveyed desolation and a sense of fleeing in defeat. Even the way his Justice Coat fluttered in the wind seemed listless.
Watching Bogard rapidly retreat, Lin Xuan scratched his head in bewilderment.
Did I... overdo the act just now?
He looked down at the Armament Haki that had yet to fade, then at Bogard's distant footsteps, which clearly carried a "withdrawn" air.
The Insight Talisman's effect was simply too overwhelming. The experience of instantly turning theory into instinct had made him lose restraint for a moment.
In a world that valued talent and accumulated effort, this ability to "learn in seconds" truly dealt a psychologically crushing blow from an entirely different dimension to a hands-on worker like Bogard.
If he did the same with Observation Haki next, his future instructor might genuinely be left psychologically scarred, or even start questioning his life.
"That's a little unfair. He did mean well, after all."
Lin Xuan muttered inwardly, then dispersed the Haki on his arm.
The emptiness left by that withdrawn power made him sway slightly, but his spirits remained high.
Leave people some room, and future encounters would be easier.
Since he had already shown his hand with Armament Haki, he would have to put on a different act for Observation Haki.
He needed to seem a little slower, to struggle a little, leaving his instructor some room to "guide" him and feel accomplished.
At that thought, Lin Xuan hesitated no longer and stirred his mind again.
"System, use the Awakening Talisman."
Humm-
This time, the cool current did not rush through his limbs and body. Instead, it gathered directly deep behind the point between his eyebrows.
Although he intended to play dumb in front of Bogard, learning could not wait.
With no one around, this was the perfect opportunity to use the item for some secret brainstorming and construct an Observation Haki perception model.
Lin Xuan slowly closed his eyes and once again sank into a profound enlightenment known only to him, there on the noisy shore.
Meanwhile, in the distance, on the path leading to Foosha Village's tavern.
Bogard trudged toward the little building bearing a windmill sign. Garp's ever-booming voice and the clinking of glasses were already coming from inside...
Bogard pushed open the worn wooden door of Party's Bar. A wave of heat mingling cheap tobacco, the charred aroma of grilled meat, and rum washed over his face, diluting the salty scent of the sea breeze on him.
The tavern was boisterous, with villagers raising their wooden mugs and clunking them together.
At the center of the merriment, Garp had one foot planted on a stool at the bar, a large handful of Senbei in his hand and crumbs around his mouth as he laughed without restraint.
"Hahahaha! Drink! It's all on me!" Garp's booming voice made the overhead chandelier buzz. "I'm telling you, my adopted grandson is a born Marine! Give him a little polishing, and he'll be a monster who strikes terror into pirates!"
Seated on a tall stool at the other end, Luffy held a glass of juice. The large bump on his head had yet to subside, making him look top-heavy.
He angrily chewed his straw and mumbled, "Big Brother Lin Xuan would never arrest me... He's my crewmate... We're going to..."
Thump!
Without even looking, Garp swung a knuckle back and landed it precisely on Luffy's existing bump, stacking it two layers high.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"Shut your mouth! You need to learn from Lin Xuan too! Look at his attitude!" After scolding his grandson, Garp looked up and spotted the gloomy-faced Bogard at the door. He immediately grinned. "Oh! Bogard! Why are you back? Where's the boy? Did the Haki theory lesson scare him, or did he collapse from exhaustion? Hahaha, it's fine! Go carry him back. Give him a couple more meaty bones tonight to build him up!"
Bogard did not smile.
He lowered his hat brim and walked through the crowd in his gleaming leather shoes, heading straight for the bar.
He ordered no alcohol, simply staring silently at Garp as he stuffed Senbei into his mouth, no amusement in his eyes.
"Vice Admiral." Bogard's voice sounded a little unsteady. "I can teach basic physical conditioning and introductory Six Powers. But Armament Haki is beyond me."
The noisy tavern did not fall quiet at his words, but Garp stopped chewing his Senbei.
The old man raised his eyebrows, swallowed what was in his mouth, and dug at his ear with his little finger, looking puzzled. "Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? You're the adjutant I trained myself, the elite of headquarters' elite. Do you need some kind of certificate to teach an East Blue brat basic Haki?"
To Garp, Bogard was either slacking off, or Lin Xuan's unorthodox habits had proved too difficult to correct, leaving his instructor frustrated.
"It has nothing to do with qualifications." Bogard drew a deep breath, seemingly steadying his emotions. He raised his eyes, a trace of confusion in their usually calm depths. "Vice Admiral, when you taught me Armament Haki Hardening, how long did it take me to cover my entire arm?"
"You?" Garp rubbed his chin in thought. "Your comprehension was pretty good. From sensing the energy to completing your first hardening, three months. Covering your whole arm took about a year, I think? What, are you saying the boy's so slow you're afraid he'll frustrate you to death?"
"Three months..." Bogard shook his head with a bitter smile. "Yes. I was called a genius back then too."
He abruptly raised his head, fixing his gaze on Garp's casual face, and said each word distinctly. "Just now, from my explanation of the theory to his completing Armament Haki Hardening on his arm, it took less than five minutes. And he succeeded on his first attempt."
Crack.
A sharp sound rang out.
The thick-bottomed beer mug in Garp's hand shattered into powder without warning.
Brown liquor mixed with glass fragments dripped down his heavily callused hand, wetting the tablecloth Makino had just wiped clean.
The area around the bar instantly fell so quiet that a pin could have been heard dropping.
Luffy's eyes widened. He even forgot the pain, staring openmouthed at his grandfather's hand as liquor continued to drip from it.
"Bogard." Ignoring the liquor on his hand, Garp's expression darkened. A powerful presence spread out, making the surrounding air grow heavier. "That joke isn't funny at all. Five minutes? Even the offspring of those monsters in the New World couldn't defy common sense to that extent."
Armament Haki was the manifestation of will. Mastering it required day after day of tempering, refining mind and body to their limits.
Learn it after one look?
That belonged in stories.
"I wish I were joking too." Bogard's voice held a sense of helplessness. "But he stood right there, looking at me as if to say, 'Is this difficult?' and asked whether he had the basics down. Vice Admiral, that's no uncut gem. That's... a monster."
Garp stared into Bogard's eyes for a full three seconds.
After confirming that his adjutant was neither mad nor drunk, the old man shot to his feet, making the solid wooden stool beneath him groan.
"Makino! Save my drink!"
Garp casually shook the glass fragments off his hand and strode toward the door, his Justice Coat snapping in the rush of air behind him. "I'll see for myself whether the East Blue really can produce someone that ridiculous!"
Meanwhile, on the pier, Lin Xuan sat cross-legged at the end of the wooden planks, completely unaware of everything that had happened in the tavern.
The sea breeze remained gentle, and waves lapped against the rocks along the shore.
Within his mind, the golden item called the [Awakening Talisman] had already turned into starlight and fully merged into the depths of his consciousness.
The [Insight Talisman] had allowed him to control the energy flowing within his body, while this [Awakening Talisman] made his perception incomparably sharp.
With his eyes closed, the world did not fall into darkness.
A noisy yet distinctly layered stream of information flooded madly into his mind.
He could sense the shapes of the wind torn apart by the rocks, hear the tiny tremors of bubbles bursting beneath the waves, and even detect the faint yet vivid clusters of life deep in the sea.
"So this is... Observation Haki?"
The corners of Lin Xuan's mouth lifted slightly.
In his perception, everything around him came alive, turning into lines carrying emotions and intentions.
Thirty meters ahead to his left, underwater, a plump East Blue Grouper was chasing a small shrimp.
Lin Xuan could even instantly "hear" the fish's intention to flick its tail and accelerate to the right.
It was a wondrous feeling, as though he could see the other's next movement in advance.
Without opening his eyes, Lin Xuan casually groped through the pile of loose stones beside him with his right hand, catching a thumb-sized pebble between his fingertips.
There was no need to aim.
The instant that "intention" appeared, the target's position was as clear as though locked onto by radar.
"Go."
Lin Xuan gave a slight flick of his wrist and exerted force through his fingertips.
With a faint whistle through the air, the pebble plunged straight into the waves.
After an extremely soft splash, a faint streak of crimson spread through the seawater.
The once-agile grouper, its belly pierced through, slowly floated to the surface belly-up.
"Not done yet."
Lin Xuan's expression did not change as his fingers caught three more pebbles.
Within his web of perception, the scent of blood spread with the currents, attracting several predators with keen senses of smell.
Forty-five degrees ahead to his right, two meters underwater, a Tiger Shark was accelerating.
Directly below, a school of small fish scattered in terror.
Every trajectory and variable intertwined in his mind into a dynamic web.
"This goes far beyond enhanced hearing. It's reading the 'next move' in advance."
Before you continue