" Ryuo?"
Upon hearing a somewhat familiar name, Zoro opened his eyes.
Hyogoro's explanation:
In Wano Country, the flow of Armament Haki is called " Ryuo ".
But it's not just a simple name change.
For centuries, the samurai of Wano Country have been researching more advanced uses of Haki.
He extended his index finger and lightly tapped the stone ground.
Luffy and Zoro both widened their eyes simultaneously.
Hyogoro's fingers did not apply any force, and there were no cracks on the surface of the stone.
But when he raised his finger, a very faint cracking sound came from inside the stone.
Luffy leaned closer to take a look and saw that the surface of the stone was intact, but the inside had been shattered into powder.
"This is Ryuo —the technique of infusing Haki into the enemy's core to cause destruction."
Hyogoro withdrew his finger.
"Ordinary Armament Haki Hardening simply treats Haki as Haki to enhance attack power."
But Ryuo is different.
It can infuse its Haki into the opponent's body, ignoring external defenses and directly destroying internal organs and bones.
A flash of understanding crossed Zoro's eyes.
He recalled how, when he used the Demonic Aura Nine-Sword Style to cut Kaido, the blade could only leave faint white marks on the dragon scales.
If he had mastered Ryuo back then, those slashes could have pierced through the dragon scales and directly injured Kaido's muscles and bones.
" Kaido's defenses are impenetrable even to the sharpest blade."
Only Ryuo could truly hurt him.
Hyogoro looked at Luffy and Zoro, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
"I can teach you the techniques of Ryuo."
Whether you can learn it or not depends on your own comprehension.
Luffy grinned. "Then I'll teach you!"
" Haki isn't something you can cultivate overnight."
"Then practice until you master it."
Luffy spoke with an air of self-righteousness, as if he were saying something as simple as one plus one equals two.
Hyogoro looked at his bright, carefree smile, remained silent for a long while, and then smiled too.
That smile held relief, anticipation, and a hope that had been suppressed for twenty years.
"Alright. Starting tonight, I will teach you Ryuo )."
In the days that followed, three more insane prisoners joined the quarry at Udon Prison.
During the day, Luffy, Zoro, Kid continued moving stones as usual.
But the way they moved the stones was completely different from the other prisoners— Luffy used both hands, Zoro used one hand, Kid specifically chose the biggest stones to move.
The three men, as if in a competition, filled the quarry's transport carts again and again, more efficiently than the other dozens of prisoners combined.
The guards stared in disbelief, but dared not say a word.
The guard captain who tried to teach Luffy last time is still lying in the infirmary.
That night, the three of them hid in the cell and followed Hyogoro to learn Ryuo.
"Infuse Haki into the object, rather than simply covering its surface."
Hyogoro used a stone as an example.
"Feel the flow of Haki."
Don't think of it as armor; think of it as water—water that can seep into any crevice.
Luffy gripped a rock, his face turning red from holding it in.
The stone's surface was coated with a layer of Armament Haki Hardening, but there was no movement inside.
He tried ten times, and only once or twice could he create tiny cracks inside the stone.
"This is so hard!"
Luffy threw the rock to the ground, but it only bounced twice and remained intact.
Zoro practiced quietly on the side.
He wrapped Ryuo around his fingers and gently touched a rock.
The surface of the rock was intact, but extremely faint cracking sounds could be heard coming from inside.
He turned the rock over and saw a pinhole-sized hole on the back, the inside of which had crumbled into powder.
"Didn't you succeed?" Luffy leaned closer to look.
"It's not stable enough yet."
Zoro frowned.
"You can only succeed three or four times out of ten."
Moreover, it can only damage a very small area.
This level of destructive power is far from enough to injure a monster of Kaido's caliber.
Kid tried several times, but each time he failed.
He slammed his fist against the wall in anger. "I refuse to believe I can't learn it!"
"Keep your voice down!" Zoro and Hyogoro growled at the same time.
Kid gritted his teeth, picked up the stone, and continued practicing.
The three of them spent their days moving stones and their nights practicing the Ryuo. The calluses on their hands grew thicker and thicker, but the light in their eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Luffy improved the fastest.
He went from succeeding only once or twice out of ten at the beginning, to mastering it steadily, and then to being able to shatter the inside of a stone with a single blow—all in less than a week.
Zoro showed the most consistent improvement among the three.
He has already been able to perfectly integrate the Ryuo into the starting stance of the Three-Sword Style.
Although Kid was the slowest learner, once he mastered the knack, his progress exploded.
"I've finally learned it--!!!"
Kid was so excited he almost punched through the cell wall.
He was kicked to the ground by Zoro.
While the three of them were carrying bricks during the day and secretly learning the Ryuo technique at night,
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day,
A weekly concert is taking place in the plaza of Udon Prison.
Queen stood on the makeshift stage, the spotlight shining on his round body, making his black and white prison uniform gleam.
He held the microphone, his eyes closed, immersed in his own musical world.
Completely ignoring the utterly hopeless expressions on the faces of the henchmen below the stage, who were forced to wave glow sticks.
Sing along with me!
Queen wriggled his obese body, the sound of which made the glass windows around the square tremble.
"Yo--Yo--Lord Queen is the coolest-- The Beasts Pirates the strongest--!"
The henchmen below the stage waved their glow sticks expressionlessly to the rhythm, mechanically repeating the lyrics.
Several people's arms were so sore they could barely lift them, but no one dared to stop.
Last time, a guy fell asleep at Queen concert and was punished by having to move ore for three months.
"Not loud enough! Let's do it again!"
Queen yelled, and the volume of the speakers rose to another level.
The henchmen standing at the front row were so shocked that their eardrums hurt and the muscles in their faces twitched.
A bespectacled junior leader whispered to his companion:
"Every time the adults hold a concert, I want to apply to be transferred to the front lines on Onigashima..."
The moment he finished speaking, Queen's ears perked up as if they were equipped with radar. The music stopped abruptly.
"What did you say?!"
The leader shuddered, immediately straightened his back, and shouted with all his might:
"I must say, you sing so beautifully! It's simply heavenly!"
Queen squinted at him for three seconds, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmm, you have good taste."
Come on, come up on stage and dance for me.
The leader's face instantly turned ashen.
But under Queen's "benevolent" gaze, he still gritted his teeth and climbed onto the stage, beginning to twist his body in an extremely stiff posture.
at the same time,
In the dense forest 300 meters outside the prison's main gate, the Straw Hat Pirates Alliance and the Nine Red Scabbards were all in position.