“Come on, Brother Newgate.” Allen planted his feet firmly in a horse stance, preparing to receive Whitebeard’s attack.
With a heavy thud, Allen was sent flying backward once again, a fresh bruise swelling up on his cheek.
Allen glared at Whitebeard.
“Old Six, can you stop aiming for my face every single time?
And give me a heads-up before you strike, hey!” “Gurararara!
Only injuries on your face will make you properly remember the pain.
Besides, I want to catch you off guard so your body can form a subconscious reflex to tap into the Haki within,” Whitebeard explained with amusement, resting his massive hands on his hips.
“Your logic is absolutely flawless!” Allen rolled his eyes, but he didn’t argue any further.
After another brutal round of punches and kicks, Allen lay flat on his back on the sand, spread-eagled.
His heavily heaving chest was the only sign that he was still alive.
Staring at the sky in despair, he thought, I still can’t feel it.
Looks like my daily routine of getting beaten into the dirt is going to continue.
“Gurararara!
Take a break, kid Allen.
Try to focus more on sensing your own body rather than just thinking about how to withstand my fists,” Whitebeard said, finding a large rock to sit on.
He pulled out his flask, took a massive swig of liquor, and looked down at the boy.
Sense my own body?
Why does this sound exactly like inner energy cultivation from a cultivation novel?
Allen thought speechlessly.
Suddenly, a wild idea popped into his head, and he hurriedly closed his eyes.
Doesn’t my Observation Haki allow me to perceive the breath of all things?
Can I use it to perceive my own body too?
With that thought, Allen directed his Observation Haki inward, probing deep into his own physical form.
Heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys…
nothing unusual there.
Just as his awareness drifted down toward his lower abdomen, Allen’s expression shifted in absolute shock.
A swirling mass of mist was floating quietly inside his lower abdomen.
What the hell?
This really has turned into a cultivation novel!
Is this internal energy?
Am I in the Qi Refining stage?
Allen’s mind practically broke down at the sight.
No, wait…
this must be the latent Haki hidden within the human body.
He carefully controlled his Observation Haki to probe the mist—one second, two seconds, three seconds.
Hnn-hoo-hnn-hoo…
A loud, distinct snoring sound echoed inside Allen’s mind.
Allen instantly felt like crying.
I’m lying out here on the beach, panting like a dog after getting hammered into the sand, and you’re in here sleeping and snoring like a log?!
Sleep my ass, get up and go to work!
Allen immediately manipulated his Observation Haki, shaping it into a spiritual frying pan, and angrily smacked it right into the mass of mist.
Ouch!
Who—who—who’s hitting me?!
Stop stuttering and get to work!
Allen controlled his Observation Haki again, forming a hand this time to firmly grab the mist and drag it upward.
Lying on the ground, Allen suddenly snapped his eyes open, a brilliant flash of light gleaming in his pupils.
He scrambled up, thrust his fist forward, and channeled every ounce of his willpower into his hand.
His once ordinary fist was now emitting a faint glow.
Upon closer inspection, it was completely enveloped by a swirling, thin mist.
Whitebeard, who was casually drinking nearby, nearly spat out his liquor.
He stared at Allen with wide eyes, as if looking at an absolute monster.
“Half a day yesterday, plus half a day today…
you actually awakened Armament Haki in a single day?
You little freak.” “Brother Newgate, I feel like I’m terrifyingly strong right now.
Let’s fight!” Allen shouted excitedly.
Raising his Haki-imbued fist, he lunged forward and threw a punch straight at Whitebeard.
At the lunch table, Allen’s face was even more swollen than it had been the day before, and he radiated an almost tangible aura of pure resentment.
He kept stuffing massive chunks of meat into his mouth, venting all his frustration on his food.
The members of the Third Division sitting at the same table were holding in their laughter so hard it physically hurt.
Some didn’t even dare look in Allen’s direction, forcing themselves to think about the saddest moments of their lives just to avoid bursting out laughing.
However, First Division Captain Luobuma, Duke, and their crew at the adjacent table had no such restraints.
They clutched their stomachs, slammed the tables, and pointed directly at Allen, roaring with laughter.
“Hahahaha!
Allen’s all grown up now, actually daring to challenge the boss!
I was wondering why his face looked twice as swollen today!” Duke even stood up, mocking Allen’s posture and tone.
“Ahem…
I am terrifyingly strong right now!
Hahahaha!” He couldn’t even finish the impression before doubling over in laughter.
Allen continued to aggressively stuff meat into his mouth, occasionally washing it down with wine.
If it weren’t for the throbbing pop-vein marks rapidly multiplying on his forehead, one might actually think he hadn’t heard them.
Just then, a young pirate named Frien heard Duke’s impression and couldn’t hold it in any longer.
He let out a loud snort, bursting into laughter before quickly clapping his hands over his mouth, looking at Allen with absolute terror.
Allen completely snapped.
He dropped his food, stood up, and marched directly toward the trembling brats of the Third Division.
Bang!
Bang!
Slap!
Thud!
“Captain!
I wasn’t the one laughing!
It was Frien!
Why are you hitting me?!” “Your breathing irritated me.” The exact same Tom-and-Jerry-style screams echoed through the cafeteria once again.
Seeing Allen flying into a rage out of sheer embarrassment, the pirates from the First and Second Divisions only laughed harder.
After thoroughly venting his frustration, Allen clapped his hands together, completely ignored the resentful glares of his bruised subordinates, and walked out of the cafeteria.
He couldn’t stay in that mocking environment for another second.
Damn it, I really thought that once I unlocked Beginner Armament Haki, I’d at least be able to trade a few blows with Whitebeard.
I’ll just have to train twice as hard from now on and pay him back for all of this in the future, Allen muttered to himself.
He had to admit, the legendary powerhouse was still an untouchable wall for now.
Thus, Allen began a highly disciplined lifestyle on Hachinosu.
After finishing his brutal physical training every morning, he would head down to the beach to find massive boulders, pounding them with his Haki-imbued fists to refine his hardening technique.
In the afternoons, he would dive right back into the ocean to practice his basic sword swings underwater.
From time to time, he would seek out First Division Captain Luobuma and Duke for a spar.
Now that he had unlocked Armament Haki, he could finally bypass elementalization and land solid hits on Luobuma.
As for using water to completely negate the Sand-Sand Fruit’s abilities?
Allen didn’t even consider it.
Why play so dirty against a trusted comrade who would be fighting right alongside him in the future?
As for his spars with Duke, they proved to be excellent for sharpening his Observation Haki.
Duke’s marksmanship was genuinely superb; his bullets, coated in Armament Haki from hundreds of meters away, constantly kept Allen scrambling and dodging for his life.
Initially, Duke had been highly reluctant to spar when approached.
He claimed that a sniper’s true job was to deliver a single, fatal blow from the shadows and that close-range sparring wasn’t his style.
But the moment Allen promised to only focus on dodging without closing the distance, Duke eagerly agreed.
You just didn’t want to get beaten up, did you?
Allen thought dryly.
However, after his initial failure, Allen never approached Whitebeard for a challenge again.
He fully understood the massive chasm in power that lay between them, and he knew he still had a very long way to go.
A full month passed in this loop of intense training and sparring.
The days were repetitive, yet incredibly fulfilling.
One quiet afternoon, Allen was practicing his sword swings deep in the coastal waters.
Every time he unleashed a strike, his compressed sword aura would slice a massive, distinct gap into the ocean, which would only settle back into calm after several seconds.
I’m slowly learning how to properly coat my blade in Haki, Allen thought, looking down at his short sword, Snow Goose.
In the original series, powerful swordsmen could continuously nourish their weapons with Armament Haki over countless battles, eventually turning them into permanent black blades.
But based on what was known in this era, only two people had ever managed to achieve that legendary feat: one was Wano Country’s legendary Great Swordsman, Ryuma, with his blade Shusui; the other was Hawkeye Mihawk, over thirty years in the future, with Yoru.
But Snow Goose is completely snow-white.
According to the basic principles of dyeing, isn’t turning a white sword black significantly harder than an ordinary blade?
Allen thought speechlessly.
“Captain!
Captain!” Just then, loud shouts from the members of the Third Division echoed from the shore.
“What’s going on?” Allen asked, wading out of the water and looking at the running pirate.
“Captain Allen, we’re finally preparing to set sail!
The boss told me to come fetch you immediately!” —————————————————————