Chapter 7: Training From Hell
“Haki?” Zoro muttered in confusion after I finished explaining the basics of what it was. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of it before.”
“And you’re saying anybody can use it?” Nami asked next with a skeptical look on her face.
“That’s right,” I nodded calmly. “Most people go their entire lives without ever noticing it, but every person without exception has the potential to awaken Haki. Or at least two of the three types.”
Nami blinked in surprise when I looked directly at her while saying that.
“And the reason you’ve never heard about it is because almost nobody in the Four Blues knows what it is. Most users tend to be pretty strong, and learning Haki is considered a major milestone separating the weak from the strong.”
“Here, let me give you guys a demonstration starting with Armament.” I turned toward Zoro with a pointed look. “Make sure to pay close attention. This ability becomes practically mandatory once we reach the second half of the Grand Line.”
Zoro immediately nodded seriously.
“Watch carefully.”
Holding my arm out in front of me, I focused slightly before a black sheen spread across my skin up to my elbow.
Zoro raised an eyebrow while Nami gasped as she recognized it from earlier when I used it to open the safe.
“This is Armament Haki,” I explained while flexing my hand slightly. “Basically, you use your own aura as armor. You can strengthen your defense, increase the power of your attacks, and eventually do much more depending on your mastery.”
Then my hand moved toward my waist.
Unsheathing Muramasa, I noticed Zoro’s focus sharpen immediately.
“You can also do this.”
With a little concentration, the same black sheen slowly spread across the blade.
“Did you—!?” Zoro leaned forward with wide eyes.
“That’s right,” I grinned. “You can imbue weapons with Haki too.”
Turning toward the open ocean, I poured even more Haki into the blade until faint red sparks crackled around it, causing Nami to squeak and quickly scoot closer to Tiche.
Tiche, meanwhile, remained perfectly calm.
Raising Muramasa overhead, I tightened my grip before slashing downward with all my strength.
A massive red slash exploded outward.
The ocean itself split apart for a good distance before the water violently crashed back together moments later.
Turning back around, I found everyone staring at me in disbelief.
Nami once again had wide eyes and her mouth hanging open as she looked toward the sea where the water had already begun settling again.
Tiche, who had already witnessed this multiple times during training, merely nodded like she expected nothing less.
Zoro, however, looked especially focused.
“That was a compressed air slash, wasn’t it?” he asked seriously while staring at Muramasa. “I knew it was possible… but I never imagined it could be that powerful.”
“That’s right,” I replied calmly as I let the Haki fade from both my hand and Muramasa before sheathing the blade at my waist. “And I can assure you there are swordsmen out there capable of doing that far more easily… and even surpassing it.”
“I’m still learning myself after all.”
“There’s also one more extremely useful thing Armament Haki can do,” I continued after giving Zoro and especially Nami a moment to recover from their shock.
Nami, in particular, was looking at me with noticeably different eyes for a second before quickly shaking herself out of it.
“In the future, especially once we reach the Grand Line, we’re going to encounter Devil Fruit users far more frequently with all kinds of insane abilities. Some of them might seem impossible to deal with at first.”
Sitting back down near the front of the boat, I casually pointed at myself while stretching my cheek.
“Take me for example. I’m made of rubber, which means blunt attacks are basically useless against me. Same with lightning.”
“That’s where Haki comes in. With Armament, you can bypass the natural defenses granted by Devil Fruits.”
I let my cheek snap back into place.
“So even someone like me can be hurt with punches. And people made of things like ice, smoke, or even light can still be hit.”
“S-Such people actually exist!?” Nami exclaimed with wide eyes.
“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “The Marine Admirals all have Logia Devil Fruits. Without strong enough Haki, hurting them is basically impossible.”
“Logia?” Nami repeated while Zoro looked equally confused.
“There are three main categories of Devil Fruits,” I explained while raising three fingers. “Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia.”
“Paramecia are the most common and also the broadest category. They can give users all kinds of weird abilities.”
“Zoans allow people to transform into animals.”
“And Logias allow users to transform into natural elements.”
I intentionally left out the rarer subcategories like Ancient and Mythical Zoans for now.
No point overwhelming them all at once.
“So basically what you’re saying…” Zoro muttered thoughtfully, “is that we should expect all kinds of crazy shit once we reach the Grand Line.”
“Correct.”
Nami stayed quiet for a moment before suddenly tilting her head curiously.
“Does your grandpa also have a Devil Fruit?” she asked. “Is that why he’s so strong and considered the Hero of the Marines?”
“Nope,” I answered immediately before shaking my head in amusement. “Grandpa never ate a Devil Fruit.”
“He became that strong through pure physical strength and Haki alone.”
That immediately earned another stunned reaction from both of them.
“T-That’s insane!” Nami exclaimed. “Your grandpa’s a complete monster then! If he can fight people who literally control the elements and still keep up.”
“Shishishi, that’s right~” I laughed proudly. “Grandpa is definitely one of the strongest people in the world even at his age.”
“Though I plan on surpassing him someday.”
“Then you’re a monster too!” Nami accused in fake outrage, only making me laugh even harder.
“I understand now why learning Haki is so important,” Zoro said seriously while completely ignoring me and Nami’s antics.
Then he looked directly at me.
“So what about the second and third types?”
Calming down from my laughter, I coughed lightly into my hand before getting serious again.
“Right, the next type is Observation,” I said before standing up and stretching a bit. “It basically gives you a sixth sense for the world around you.”
“It allows the user to sense the presence, strength, or even emotions of other people, even if they’re far away or hidden from sight.”
Zoro raised an impressed eyebrow while Nami merely blinked, probably not fully understanding yet just how ridiculous that sounded.
“Since this one is mostly a passive ability, I’d really like it if you could learn it, Nami,” I said while turning toward her with an encouraging smile. “It could help keep you safe later on.”
“M-Me!?” Nami exclaimed while pointing at herself.
The moment I nodded, she immediately crossed her arms in an X.
“No thanks, I’m good. I’ll leave all the fighting to you monsters, thank you very much. Besides, I don’t want to ruin my perfect womanly figure,” she said defensively.
“Observation doesn’t really require physical training though,” I explained simply. “It’s mostly concentration and willpower.”
Then I turned toward Zoro.
“Here, let me show you how useful it can be. Zoro, I’m gonna need your help.”
“Alright,” Zoro replied immediately, clearly interested now as he stood up. “What do you want me to do, Captain?”
“Luffy is fine. I’m not really big on formalities,” I waved off casually with a grin.
Zoro grunted but nodded.
“Anyway, I want you to grab one of your swords and try to hit me as hard as you can while my back is turned.”
Without hesitation, I turned around.
I heard Zoro pause briefly before probably remembering my rubber body.
A moment later, I heard him grab one of his swords.
Just before he swung, I closed my eyes and calmly muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
“A low swing from the left.”
An instant later, exactly that happened.
I casually dodged the attack, smirking slightly at the surprised sounds coming from the others.
Not discouraged, Zoro attacked again.
Then again.
And again.
Each time, I calmly predicted the direction before dodging with ease.
“You can go faster,” I said casually.
A second later, Zoro’s body became a blur as he rapidly unleashed a barrage of strikes.
Even so, I smoothly avoided every single attack until several minutes later when he finally stopped with a huff.
“Haah… I think I get it now,” Zoro muttered while sounding slightly winded. “So Observation lets you predict incoming attacks?”
Opening my eyes, I turned back toward them with a grin and nodded.
“Correct. And with enough mastery, some users can even see a few seconds into the future.”
The stunned looks I received immediately made me laugh.
“Now do you understand why I want you to learn this, Nami?” I asked after calming down and turning toward the orange-haired girl, who was currently glaring at me for laughing at them.
“Our journey is going to be dangerous,” I continued, my tone softening slightly. “And since you’re not really a frontline fighter, it’d give me peace of mind if you at least had a way to protect yourself whenever me or the others aren’t around.”
Seeing my expression, Nami huffed before turning her head to the side with a faint blush on her cheeks.
“Fine, fine. But my beautiful womanly figure better not get ruined because of this,” she complained with a cute little pout.
“Shishishi, of course it won’t,” I replied with a grin while pointing toward the silent Tiche. “Tiche is proof of that after all.”
“And she’s been training with me for years now.”
My words caused Tiche herself to develop a small blush before she unconsciously puffed out her chest slightly in pride.
“Thank you for your words, Luffy-sama,” Tiche replied calmly. “I’m glad my body is to your liking.”
The blush instantly disappeared from Nami’s face as she slowly turned toward Tiche with a blink.
Her eyes lingered especially on the respectful way Tiche addressed me before she looked back toward me again.
“…I guess that’s reassuring,” Nami muttered before shaking her head. “Anyway, back on topic. What’s the third type of Haki?”
“It’s called Conqueror’s Haki, Supreme King Haki, or Haoshoku. Take your pick,” I explained calmly.
“Basically, it allows the user to overwhelm others with their willpower and dominate those who aren’t strong enough to resist.”
“Unlike the first two types though, this one can’t be learned through training. You either have the potential for it from birth… or you don’t.”
“And it’s extremely rare.”
“I’ll show you guys an example once we reach the next island so you can get a proper idea of what it does.”
Nami looked overwhelmed while Zoro looked even more interested than before.
“So basically…” Nami muttered while rubbing her forehead. “We’ve got presence sensing, invisible armor, and intimidation powers.”
“…That’s a lot to take in honestly.”
“Sounds good to me,” Zoro replied immediately with clear excitement in his voice at the thought of becoming stronger.
“Oh, before I forget,” I suddenly blinked before turning serious as I looked directly at Zoro.
“You said your dream is to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman, right?”
“That’s right,” Zoro answered instantly, though he looked curious about where I was going with this.
“Then let me give you some extra motivation to learn Haki as quickly as possible.”
“The current strongest swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk, is a master of both Observation and Armament Haki.”
“So if you want even a chance of fighting him someday, you’ll need to master them too.”
At my words, Zoro’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before narrowing with determination.
His fists slowly tightened.
“…I see,” he muttered after a moment. “Then I really can’t afford to waste any time.”
Before I could continue though, Nami suddenly coughed into her hand to get my attention.
“How exactly do you know all of this anyway?” she asked suspiciously.
I paused for a moment.
Obviously, I couldn’t exactly tell her:
“Hey, I have future knowledge from another life.”
So instead, I quickly came up with something believable.
“Remember the pirate I briefly mentioned who gave me this hat when I was little?” I asked while gently grabbing the brim of my straw hat.
Nami nodded.
“Well, his crew stayed on my island for a while when I was a kid, and they used to talk a lot whenever they got drunk. I learned a bunch of things just from listening to them party.”
“And the rest I learned from Grandpa.”
Silently, I thanked whatever higher power existed that my Honesty Curse had finally been removed.
Nami thought about my explanation for a few moments before eventually nodding.
Apparently satisfied.
Thank God. Or Nika. Or me. Or whatever.
“Great! Then let’s begin. The sooner the better,” I declared excitedly as I jumped to my feet and dusted off my hands.
Zoro immediately stood up as well while Nami groaned dramatically before reluctantly joining us alongside Tiche.
“Since awakening Haki can take a while,” I explained, “the first thing I’m going to teach you guys is a special breathing technique.”
“One that should massively increase your physical abilities once mastered.”
A slightly evil grin spread across my face at the thought of the hellish training they were about to endure.
Nami instantly noticed.
“…Why are you smiling like that?” she asked nervously while taking a step back.
“A breathing technique?” Zoro asked curiously instead.
“That’s right,” I nodded. “It’s also the foundation of my sword style.”
The moment I said that, I had Zoro’s complete attention.
“Now then…”
I cracked my knuckles.
“Let’s begin.”
Apparently, my smile looked a bit too unhinged because Nami squeaked and took another step backward while even Zoro started sweating slightly.
“I take it back! I don’t wanna learn anymore!” Nami whined loudly.
Completely ignored, of course.
And so, with Tiche’s assistance, their training officially began.
=====
Three Weeks Later
“Owww! Tiche! Would it kill you to throw a little slower!?” Nami’s irritated voice rang out across the ship.
Smash!!
“Tsk, damn it! Again!” Zoro’s voice followed shortly after, sounding more annoyed at himself than actually angry.
As promised, me and Tiche were currently training Zoro and Nami respectively, occasionally switching between them to keep things balanced.
At the moment, we were focused on helping them awaken Observation Haki in the only reliable way I truly knew how.
By beating the shit out of them until they learned how to dodge.
…Okay, maybe that was slightly exaggerated.
The only one receiving truly brutal treatment was Zoro.
Much like how Rayleigh had trained the original Luffy in another timeline, I was currently smacking Zoro in the back of the head with a wooden stick while he tried dodging blindfolded.
As for Nami, we were going much easier on her since she was a girl.
Instead of direct beatings, me and Tiche took turns launching small pellets and pebbles at her from different directions while she wore a blindfold.
The first time Nami realized what the “training” actually involved, she had turned completely pale after watching me repeatedly clobber Zoro.
Naturally, she immediately refused.
That was when I revealed my trump card.
Since I had Healing Light now, I explained it away as another strange ability I knew about and promised her I could heal any injuries afterward so she wouldn’t end each session covered in bruises.
It still took some convincing.
Eventually, Tiche ended up cutting her own hand open with a knife so I could heal it right in front of them.
Only then did Nami reluctantly cave.
Thankfully, with them still being relatively new to concepts like Devil Fruits and supernatural abilities, neither of them questioned it too deeply.
And so, with the reassurance that any injuries could be healed afterward, training officially began in earnest.
Now, three weeks after leaving Shells Town, I could confidently say they were making good progress.
Zoro more than Nami, obviously, due to his much harsher training.
Still, both of them were beginning to unconsciously dodge attacks now and then.
Nami successfully avoided roughly ten percent of incoming attacks while Zoro was already nearing forty percent.
At this point, it was only a matter of time and real combat experience before they fully awakened their Observation Haki.
After all, Haki truly bloomed most during actual battle.
“Alright, that’s enough for today,” I finally called out.
A relieved sigh immediately escaped Nami.
“I can see land ahead. Nami, is that—?”
“Tsk, heal me first, asshole!” Nami snapped while pulling off her blindfold and glaring at me as she rubbed her stomach where several pebbles had hit her earlier.
“Fine, fine,” I laughed before walking over and raising a hand toward her.
A soft healing glow covered her body as Healing Light did its work.
A few moments later, I saw her visibly relax and sigh in relief.
Once I stopped, she let out a small grunt before turning toward the approaching island.
A smile quickly spread across her face.
“Yeah, that should be Orange Town up ahead. We’re right on schedule.”
Then she immediately turned back toward me with a terrifying glare.
“And remember our deal, mister. Eighty percent of the Berry we take from Buggy belongs to me!”
I simply smiled before patting her on the head.
“Of course, Nami. A deal’s a deal after all.”
My complete lack of resistance caused her to blink in surprise before she huffed and quickly turned away with a faint blush.
“G-Good!”
Ignoring Zoro’s questioning look beside me, I kept my gaze fixed on the approaching island as a grin slowly spread across my face.
Time to meet the clown with the giant red nose.
Silently laughing to myself, I completely ignored the weird looks Nami and Zoro were giving me.