"Oh, right, what's this Haki you just mentioned? I've never heard of it!" Rebecca asked curiously.
"Haki? I only know a little about it. I don't know exactly how to train it, either. I figure we'll have to join the Marines before we can learn it properly," Vic said with a sigh.
It was something he desperately wanted to master, but at this stage, no one could give him the key to getting started. Vic thought of Zephyr, the former Marine Admiral. His key would probably come from him.
"Vic, just tell me what you do know," Rebecca said, a little coaxingly. "All right, I'll tell you about it."
"There are three types of Haki. Conqueror's Haki intimidates people, Armament Haki is for attack and defense, and Observation Haki senses presences."
"Only one person in several million has Conqueror's Haki. It's the disposition of a king, not something just anyone can have. When it's used, people with weak wills can't withstand it and pass out. In the Marines, only the current Marine Admiral Sengoku has it, but there are plenty of pirates who do."
"I think it's because the Marines have a hierarchy, with superiors and subordinates who follow orders, so they don't produce the kind of people who consider themselves supreme and fear nothing. I think there must be plenty of Marines with the disposition for it, but it's hard for them to awaken it."
"Armament Haki and Observation Haki are abilities everyone possesses, but most people have a hard time awakening them in their entire lives. A small number of exceptionally gifted people are born with Haki already awakened, though, and even many animals can awaken it through training. So as long as we train hard, we can definitely awaken it."
"Armament Haki is a means of attack and defense. It can become like armor that protects the whole body, making it impervious to blades and bullets. It can also be applied to fists and weapons to attack enemies, with tremendous power. At a high enough level, it can even destroy things from the inside. That's flowing Haki, also called Ryuo in Wano Country."
"What about Observation Haki?" Rebecca asked excitedly.
"Observation Haki has a lot of uses. You can use it to scout how many enemies there are, how strong they are, and where they're positioned. It's like having a map appear in your mind, with the people's locations and numbers marked on it."
"You can also use it to predict someone's next move or attack. If you train it to a high enough level, you can see the future. How far ahead depends on how well you've trained it."
"Another kind lets you see other people's memories. That's terrifying. It's the rarest kind of Observation Haki, even rarer than Conqueror's Haki." Vic greatly envied that kind of Observation Haki, which could sense other people's brain waves.
"That's a basic introduction to the Three Types of Haki. You only need a general idea for now. We'll study them properly once we join the Marines."
Rebecca was dazzled by what she heard, her eyes full of little hearts.
"Vic, I'm definitely going to master all Three Types of Haki!!!" Rebecca declared.
"With your talent and my training, Observation Haki and Armament Haki won't be a problem."
"But Conqueror's Haki depends on your luck, so don't think too much about it for now. Spend more time training. After what I've learned over the past few months, I suspect that the stronger you train your body to be, the greater your chances of awakening Haki."
"So before we become Marines, we should make our bodies as strong as we can. That way, we'll spend less time on it when we start learning Haki."
"Mm!" Rebecca agreed, then began dragging the Giant Hippopotamus Beast's carcass toward the edge of the forest.
They kept enough meat for two days and took the rest into town to sell. The two of them planned to save more money and use good materials to forge their own weapons, so the animals in the forest were in for some terrible luck.
One day, Vic was carrying cargo at the docks. As he went from the dock onto a ship, he happened to spot a black speck on the distant sea. He didn't pay it much attention, assuming it was a merchant ship. After two more trips, he returned to the ship and looked again at the vessel drawing closer.
It was a pirate ship, with a pirate emblem he had never seen before on its sails. Vic narrowed his eyes, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.
The people on the ship hadn't noticed and were still chatting among themselves.
"Hey, Huzi, you're not getting any younger. It's time you found yourself a wife. The way a woman feels, tsk, tsk, tsk... hahaha."
The young man he was speaking to turned red in the face.
"The seas haven't been peaceful lately. A lot of pirates have appeared."
"Yeah, I heard there's a pirate who can breathe fire."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. My wife's eldest uncle's neighbor's third kid's aunt's cousin-in-law's husband said so. He goes out to sea and hears a lot of things."
"Did you read the newspaper? The legendary pirate Golden Lion caused havoc at Marine Headquarters. Even the headquarters building collapsed. In the end, Marine Garp the Hero and Admiral Sengoku had to join forces to capture him. He's already been locked up in Impel Down."
"Really? Golden Lion is that powerful? Marine Garp the Hero came from our East Blue, right? He's amazing!"
"..."
"Everyone, stop for a moment! I have something to say!" Vic shouted, his voice carrying far.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Vic. Captain Buck came over to him and asked in puzzlement, "Vic, what's going on? Did you have something to say?"
Captain Buck thought highly of Vic. He was a regular at the docks, and Vic carried cargo for him. Every time, Vic carried more than anyone else. The child was far stronger than even professional adult porters, and he always took on the heaviest, most exhausting work. What was more, Vic never complained about the hardship or asked for extra pay.
What Buck didn't know was that Vic wasn't doing it for the money at all. He sought out heavy, exhausting work purely to train himself. He even wore lots of weights because he didn't think the cargo was heavy enough. If the captain found out, his jaw would surely drop.
Vic turned and pointed at the large black speck in the distance. "See that black speck? That's a pirate ship, and it's headed for this island. Everyone, hurry and run for your lives," he said gravely.
The porters around him erupted in an uproar, panic written on their faces.
Unlike the captain and the others on the ship, these porters were all residents of the town. The horrific scene from over half a year ago was still vivid in their minds.
"Come on, all we can see right now is a black speck. How can you tell it's a pirate ship?" the captain said somewhat reluctantly. The cargo hadn't all been unloaded yet.
"Uncle Buck, my eyesight is much better than most people's. I've already seen the pirate flag on the ship."
"Hurry and run. Pirates kill people, and a bit of cargo isn't worth the risk. You should abandon ship and hide on the island for now."
The porters on the dock had already gathered their things and were preparing to flee. Seeing the panicked crowd, Vic shouted, "Quiet!"
"Everyone, listen to me. Brother A Da, you're the fastest runner. Go find the mayor right now and have him bring the security team here to help," Vic said, looking at a tall, thin young man in the crowd.
"All right, I'll go right away." A Da turned and raced off, his long legs a blur.
After giving A Da his instructions, Vic looked at a short teenage boy in the crowd. "Angus, hurry into the forest and find Rebecca. You know the place. Tell her to bring my sword to the dock right away. Tell her pirates are coming."
Angus perked up. "I know where she is. I'll go right now."
He knew how capable Vic and Rebecca were. He had seen them hunting in the forest with his own eyes. Angus thought that if even such fearsome beasts were no match for them, pirates shouldn't be a problem either.
Seeing Angus run off, Vic addressed the crowd again. "See the rocks over there? Each of you, go carry a few over here. Pineapple-sized ones would be best, and fairly round." Vic pointed at the rocky beach beside the dock. "Once you've moved the rocks, return to town and spread word about the pirates. Tell everyone to hide in the forest. There are plenty of you, so split up and each cover a different area. That'll be the fastest way."
The porters were a little confused by Vic's words. The pirates were nearly here, yet he was still in the mood to move rocks.
But seeing Vic give orders in such an orderly fashion, with the bearing of a leader, they instinctively did as he said.
Seeing everyone get busy, Vic turned to the captain. "Uncle Buck, do you have cannons on your ship?"
The captain was in the middle of a fierce internal struggle over whether to abandon ship and flee or sail away. If he abandoned ship, it would be in danger left here, but if he sailed away, he feared the pirates would chase and rob them.
He hadn't heard what Vic said at all. Vic had to repeat himself before the captain heard him clearly.
"Yes, yes. We merchants fear being robbed by pirates at sea, so we have cannons aboard, though we rarely use them," Captain Buck replied.
"In that case, Uncle Buck, have the sailors push all the cannons onto the deck. Then just leave two people to load them, and everyone else can escape. I'll stay here and fight off the pirates," Vic said steadily.
The captain gave Vic a long look. "All right, I'll leave this to you."
"A Da, you and Burton stay and help young Vic. Everyone else, follow me," Buck said to two tall, dark-skinned men with thick beards.
Then he said to Vic, "They've killed pirates before. They can help you." With that, he led a group away, weapons in hand. Vic didn't answer, only giving him a solemn nod.