Days passed by, one after another, in a blur of training.
“My strength seems to have hit a bottleneck.
No matter how much basic training I do, I just can’t make any real progress.
How am I supposed to become a Master Swordsman like this?” Having just finished another long day of swinging his sword, Allen stretched his aching body and muttered to himself.
He remembered how Zoro was almost killed by Mr.
1 in Alabasta because he couldn’t cut through steel.
It was only by learning how to feel the breath of steel during that life-or-death battle that Zoro finally crossed the threshold to become a true Steel-Cutting Master Swordsman.
Allen was currently stuck at that exact same stage.
At first, he had practiced swinging his blade underwater, and then he moved on to chopping down giant trees.
Once he could cut through those trees easily, he started practicing on massive rocks.
Right now, giant rocks were the absolute limit of his strength.
He had no idea how many blades he had broken during this intense training.
Every time he bought a new sword, the blade would be completely chipped within a week.
Practically all the money he made from collecting forest honey was spent on buying cheap new swords in town.
Nowadays, practicing against actual steel blocks every day wore his weapons down even faster.
“When I finally set sail, I need to get my hands on a graded blade no matter what.
These cheap town swords that cost 10,000 Berries each are useless against real opponents,” Allen said, looking down at the badly chipped blade in his hand.
“Whatever, I’ll worry about that after I leave this island.
First, I need to go find the bees and take care of today’s business.” Allen sheathed his ruined sword and walked toward the southern forest.
“I knew you guys would rebuild quickly.” Arriving at his usual spot, Allen looked up at the massive beehives hanging from the giant trees and smiled with satisfaction.
“Now, where should I start?” Allen picked up his wooden bucket and walked toward the closest tree.
“I think I missed this hive last time, so let’s start here.
To train my Observation Haki properly, I’m going to do this blindfolded.” Allen pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and tied it tightly over his eyes.
“Alright, let’s start the collection.” With his vision blocked, Allen drew his chipped blade and moved forward.
He moved quickly, and several beehives were sliced down in an instant.
“Bzzzz!
Damn it, it’s that annoying four-legged monkey again!
Brothers, wake up!
Our home is being destroyed!” “Bzzzz!
So annoying!
We just finished building this yesterday!
Why is that stinky monkey back already?” “Bzzzz!
Are we going to have to sleep outside again?
Whining…” Right after Allen sliced open another beehive, a series of strange, high-pitched voices suddenly echoed in his mind.
“That’s weird.
Where is all that noise coming from?” Allen pulled the cloth off his eyes and looked around.
After confirming there was no one else in the forest except the angry swarms of bees, he looked completely puzzled.
“Wait…
Is it coming from these bees?” To test his theory, Allen struck another beehive.
With a quick swing of his blade, the nest was split cleanly in two.
“Bzzzz!
Damn it, our home is gone again!
Tata’s hive is way bigger!
Why don’t you go cut theirs down instead?” “Bzzzz!
Whining…
Brothers, sting this stinky monkey to death!
Save our home!” The strange voices echoed clearly once more.
“Wow, I’m not imagining things.
It really is the bees talking.” Allen stared in shock at the swarm rushing toward him.
“This makes no sense.
Why can these bees talk?
Did they all eat the Human-Human Fruit or something?
Chopper would be crying his eyes out if he saw this.” Allen shook his head and quickly dodged the angry bugs.
“No, that’s impossible.
There are thousands of bees here.
There’s no way they all ate a Devil Fruit.” He moved nimbly through the air, easily evading the swarm while dismissing his wild theories.
“Hey!
Were you guys the ones talking just now, little bees?” Allen asked the swarm directly, decided to stop guessing.
“Bzzzz!
The stinky monkey can speak Bee language!” “Bzzzz!
Who cares what he’s saying?
Just sting him to death!” “Yeah!
Sting him!” The swarm flew even faster, buzzing angrily as they charged at him.
Allen easily stepped to the side, completely outmaneuvering them, and curled his lip in amusement.
“Come on, it’s not like you guys can actually hit me.
Hurry up and tell me how you’re talking, or I’m going to come back and cut down your hives every single day.” Allen threatened the little bugs.
“Bzzzz…
Boss, it looks like we really can’t sting him.” “Yeah, this monkey is way too fast.” “Whining…
He said he’s coming back tomorrow!” The swarm stopped mid-air, buzzing loudly as they gathered together to argue.
Suddenly, the largest bee in the group flew forward to face him.
“Stinky monkey!
Why do you speak Honey language, and why do you keep destroying our homes?” Allen felt a vein pop on his forehead.
“Who are you calling a monkey?
Your whole family is made of monkeys!
I’m a human!
And Bee language?
I’m speaking human language!
As for cutting down your hives, it’s obviously for the honey!
Why else would I do it?
Do you think I’m just bored?” Once his annoyance passed, Allen began to analyze the situation carefully.
A clever smile slowly spread across his face as a brilliant idea came to mind.
“Well, there’s no harm in trying.” Allen raised an eyebrow and looked at the giant bee.
“Hey, little bees, let’s make a deal.
If every family gives me one piece of honeycomb every three days, I promise I won’t cut down your homes anymore.
What do you think?” The swarm began to buzz frantically among themselves.
“Bzzzz!
Boss, he wants our honey!” “Bzzzz!
We can’t give it to him!
I haven’t even had a single bite yet!” “In your dreams, monkey!” Allen wasn’t surprised by their rejection at all.
“If you don’t want to give it to me, that’s fine too.
I’ll just keep taking it myself.
But if I accidentally cut your homes completely to pieces next time, don’t blame me.
After all, you can’t sting me anyway.” “Bzzzz!
I’m so mad!
Sting him to death!” The bee leader shook with pure rage and ordered another charge.
Allen found the whole thing hilarious.
This was the exact definition of impotent rage.
Moving with lightning speed, Allen swung his blade twice.
Clack!
Clack!
Two more beehives were sliced perfectly in half and fell from the branches.
Allen smoothly caught the honeycombs and dropped them into his wooden bucket.
“Bzzzz!
You bastard monkey, stop!
Stop!
We agree to the deal!” “See?
Wouldn’t it have been much better to just say that in the first place?
You guys needlessly sacrificed two perfectly good homes.” Allen stopped his movements and turned around with a smirk.
“That’s enough honey for today.
I’ll be back in three days.
Make sure every family has one piece ready.
As long as my bucket is filled up, I won’t touch your houses.” And just like that, after years of working hard to collect honey, Allen successfully turned himself into a forest capitalist.
On the long walk back to town, Allen couldn’t help but analyze what had just happened.
“It’s definitely not the power of a Devil Fruit.
Since that’s out of the question, the only logical explanation is my Observation Haki.” Thinking back to the legends of the Grand Line, Allen knew that certain powerful individuals could unlock unique abilities through their Haki.
Katakuri and Luffy could use Future Vision, Charlotte Pudding could manipulate memories, and the Pirate King, Gol D.
Roger, possessed the ultimate ability to hear the Voice of All Things.
Even Red-Haired Shanks had an Observation Haki so powerful it could completely mask his presence from others.
“So, what exactly is my special Haki?
Is it just being a ‘Bee Whisperer’?
What kind of ridiculous power is that?” Allen thought, completely speechless.
Being able to hear bees didn’t help his combat abilities at all.
“Wait…
It might not be limited to just bees.
When I go hunting tomorrow, I’ll find a wild beast and see if I can hear its voice too.” A faint smile appeared on Allen’s face as he walked toward Old Man Green’s candy store, eager to test the true limits of his Observation Haki the next morning.