Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
The crisp sound of fists striking bark rang out again and again, becoming continuous.
A hundred meters away, Rayleigh stepped on the water and rose to the surface of the sea.
He looked back and sighed. "As expected, he couldn't wait... Already starting to train Haki."
He pushed up his glasses, revealing a smile that showed no surprise.
Young people were always impatient. But that was fine. He believed that by the time he returned, that boy would've realized the difficulty and given up on training Haki for now.
The iron wall of reality didn't shift according to human will. Once people hit that wall, they learnt to change course.
"Now then, what should I catch for dinner tonight?" He withdrew his gaze and looked beneath the surface of the sea.
With his Observation Haki, he sensed all kinds of large creatures hidden beneath the waves. Among them, several small Sea Kings were swimming about.
"Let's go with fish for dinner." Rayleigh quickly locked onto a target and dove into the sea headfirst.
---
On the shore, Junichi tirelessly threw punches, meticulously following the standard method of Haki training, trying to awaken the dormant power within.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
He kept failing, which was normal. The human body had shackles—limits that restrained its maximum output.
Because if one exerted their full power, the body would tear its own muscles, crush its own bones. Only in life-or-death situations could someone unleash their absolute limit.
And Hak was one such latent, extreme power. It could only be brought forth under intense willpower.
At the same time, the body needed to be strong enough. If the body wasn't up to the task, releasing Haki could overload the internal organs, causing fatal collapse.
"At this pace, I might not even learn Haki in ten years." He squinted his eyes, carefully feeling every punch, muttering to himself. "My body's not strong enough. It instinctively resists unleashing extreme power."
"It's a self-protective instinct? To break through it, I need even stronger external stimuli, but…"
[You have practiced Armament Haki. Proficiency +1]
But with the Proficiency System in place, every punch he threw defied common sense and brought steady progress!
Smack!!
Smack!!
Smack!!
His punches became heavier and more forceful.
That self-protective instinct was slowly being chipped away. And a scorching heat gradually emerged, like sleeping magma accumulating deep within his body.
"I can feel it."
Junichi's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped something in an instant. He threw a punch with all his might. His will drove him, provoking the volcano inside him, trying to make it erupt.
Rumble!
The volcano trembled slightly.
Boom!!
His fist struck the tree with a heavy thud. His power had increased. It felt as if something had gathered around his fist, something that had nearly exploded just now.
But still a little short. The volcano within him had only quivered, it hadn't fully awakened.
"That's enough."
He smiled.
---
[You have practiced Armament Haki. Proficiency +1]
[Your Armament Haki proficiency has met the requirement. It has advanced automatically.]
[Armament Haki: (Uninitiated) → (Beginner)]
---
Boom!!
The volcano fully awakened, erupting with terrifying lava.
In that instant, Junichi felt a blazing power surge from deep within, flowing through his entire body. He could control this power as easily as moving his limbs.
As if it was something he had been born with.
---
At the same time, beneath the sea, just as Rayleigh was preparing to hunt, he seemed to sense something and turned his head in surprise, looking toward the island.
Haki!?
His expression turned to one of doubt and astonishment.
His Observation Haki had just caught a faint flash of Armament Haki on the island.
And the location it appeared in, exactly matched where Junichi was. In other words, it was the boy who had awakened Armament Haki?
But how is that possible?
He immediately rejected the idea in his heart.
He's only just started training. His body isn't strong enough, and he doesn't have any special talent. How could he possibly have learned Armament Haki in just a few minutes?
It wasn't that he looked down on Junichi, it was based on experience. He'd seen countless gifted young people, as many as fish crossing a river, and he knew very well the limits of hard work alone.
In his estimation, the boy wouldn't even come close to the threshold of Haki within ten years. Unless he had some incredible stroke of fortune, the result was basically guaranteed.
Maybe it was just my imagination? Getting old, huh? Rayleigh began to doubt himself.
Could he have misread the signal? With that thought, he gave up on hunting the Sea Kings below and instead swam back toward the island.
---
On the island, with a single thought, Junichi summoned the burning power within him. It surfaced and coated his fist.
To the naked eye, his fist looked unchanged, as if there were no Armament Haki at all. Well, Armament Haki was invisible anyway, but people with Observation Haki could "see" it.
But Junichi could clearly feel the power of Haki concentrating on his fist.
Whoosh—
He exhaled lightly, then turned away from the tree in front of him and walked toward a nearby boulder.
At the same time, Rayleigh had also returned to the island, and his eyes widened suddenly.
Through his Observation Haki, he clearly sensed a faint aura of Armament Haki on Junichi's body.
Though it was weak—
It was definitely Armament Haki!
"No way..."
He couldn't believe it. He quickened his steps.
---
Standing before a massive blue stone, Junichi didn't hesitate in the slightest. He threw a punch.
Though his fist looked empty, the moment it touched the boulder, it exploded with overwhelming force.
Bang!
The boulder shattered instantly, blasting out a crater the size of a washbasin.
As if it had been hit with explosives.
"!?"
Behind him, Rayleigh had just arrived—and witnessed it all with his own eyes.
"Junichi… you—" He spoke in disbelief. "You awakened Armament Haki?"
Only then did Junichi notice Rayleigh had returned. He turned around, smiled, and nodded politely. "It seems I really do have a bit of talent for Haki."
Rayleigh stood there, stunned, speechless for a long time. What he had just seen completely shattered his worldview.
Across the Four Blues, the Grand Line, even the New World… He had traveled to so many places and seen so many geniuses and monsters. But never had he met anyone as outrageous as Junichi.
"From zero to mastering Armament Haki in just minutes…" Rayleigh muttered as he looked at Junichi in disbelief. "You really might be a Haki prodigy."
The evidence was right in front of him. He had no way to deny it.
With such a vast ocean, it's not impossible for a freak like him to exist… he tried to convince himself.
After a while, he finally calmed down.
"Since you've got the talent, you might as well start learning Observation Haki too," Rayleigh suggested.
"Alright!" Junichi's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
Even if Rayleigh hadn't mentioned it, he was already planning to train in Observation Haki next, using his Proficiency System to quickly get the hang of it.
"Alright then, let me explain the details." Rayleigh cleared his throat and began teaching what he hadn't shared before.
Because earlier, he believed Junichi wasn't ready to train in Haki. Telling him too early would've only been a distraction.
So he had only briefly mentioned it and skipped over the actual methods for training in Observation Haki.
But now, he explained everything in full to the boy.