“Roar!” Deep in the forest, a giant bear collapsed to the ground, letting out one final, unwilling roar.
“Tsk, that’s the third one today,” Twilight Allen muttered.
He put away the new sword he had just bought in town, took a swig of rum, and sighed.
“Why do I only hear angry roars instead of actual speech?
Can I really only communicate with bees?
Or do I have to cover my eyes with a cloth and rely entirely on Observation Haki to perceive their voices?
Let’s give it a try.” Twilight Allen sheathed his sword and walked deeper into the forest.
Early this morning, he had gone to town to buy a new sword and rushed into the forest full of excitement.
He wanted to see if his Observation Haki could pick up the voices of animals during combat.
But the results were disappointing.
Relying on his agility and swordsmanship, he had already worn out two giant wolves and a giant bear without hearing anything but raw animal noises.
It made him wonder if he only heard the bees yesterday because his eyes were covered.
This time, he planned to blindfold himself as soon as he found prey.
The vast forest was exceptionally quiet now.
Animals have a keen sense of danger, and his battles with the wolves and the bear had clearly scared them off.
“Looks like I need to go deeper to find something,” Allen thought, looking around at the silent trees.
After walking for about ten minutes, he noticed some movement in the bushes ahead.
He activated his Observation Haki to scan the area.
“Hmm?
Is that a rabbit?” Through his Haki, he could tell the rabbit was in bad shape.
Allen walked up and pushed the weeds aside.
A gray rabbit was lying on the ground, struggling weakly.
Its left hind leg was swollen from what looked like a venomous snakebite.
When it noticed Allen, it began to thrash violently, terrified of being eaten.
“Well, aren’t you a little unlucky fellow?” Allen murmured.
Then, an idea struck him.
“Wait…
I don’t need to fight a massive beast to test this.
I can just cover my eyes and try to sense this rabbit’s voice.” He pulled a cloth from his pocket, tied it securely over his eyes, and focused his Observation Haki entirely on the rabbit.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Allen concentrated harder, letting the world fade away.
More than ten seconds passed, and just as he was about to give up in disappointment, a frantic voice echoed in his mind.
It hurts, it hurts!
I just wanted to eat some grass!
I only went a little way from home and a big black rope bit me!
Luckily I ran fast, or I’d be dead.
But why does it feel like I only have three legs now?
Three legs is bad enough, but now I’ve run into a big monkey holding a long piece of iron.
I’m done for!
I’m going to die!
Grandma, I’m coming!
Allen broke into a wide, excited smile.
“This rabbit is quite the chatterbox.
It works!
If I focus my energy and use Observation Haki, I can actually hear their inner voices.” He took off the blindfold but kept his Observation Haki active, gently poking the rabbit with his finger.
Who’s poking me?
Who’s poking me?
It must be that stinky monkey!
Allen’s smile twitched, feeling a bit annoyed.
A monkey again?
Who are you calling a monkey?
Your whole family are monkeys!
To petty get back at it, he poked the rabbit twice more, a little harder this time.
Still poking me?!
Just kill me or skin me, do whatever you want!
A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated!
Grandma, save me!
Wuwuwu!
“This rabbit is full of drama,” Allen chuckled, highly amused.
Suddenly, his Haki picked up another movement in the bushes nearby.
He turned his head and spotted a snake, nearly two meters long, slithering closer.
“So that’s the one that bit the rabbit.
A big black rope?
Interesting.” Allen shifted his focus, enveloping the black snake with his Observation Haki.
Hiss, hiss…
what bad luck.
I chased that rabbit for so long, so why is there a monkey here now?
Allen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“It’s not just bees and rabbits; I can hear all animals.
Though it seems to them, anything that walks upright on two legs with two hands is just a monkey.” He shook his head gloomily and focused back on the rabbit.
Dead, dead, dead.
A monkey in front of me, a rope behind me.
My rabbit life ends today.
Allen prepared to retract his Haki.
He figured he would leave the snake and the rabbit to their business and head back to roast the giant bear for lunch.
But just as he was about to pull back, another voice drifted into his mind.
This damn rabbit isn’t even dead yet, but it keeps hopping all over me.
Life as a blade of grass is so hard.
Hey, heavy rabbit, can you move?
Go mess with some other grass, stop rubbing against me!
Allen froze, staring in shock at the bent weed right underneath the rabbit.
“The grass?
I can hear the grass too, not just animals?” Allen’s heart skipped a beat as a wild realization dawned on him.
“Could this be…
the Voice of All Things?
The same legendary trait Gold Roger had?” With his mind racing, Allen stepped back and started walking toward the clearing where the giant bear lay.
“I’ve done enough experimenting for one morning.
Time for lunch, and then I’ll see if I can truly listen to the voice of everything.
Besides, I still haven’t done my sword training for today.” After a hearty lunch, Allen walked over to a tree near his house and targeted it with his Observation Haki.
What’s this monkey doing now?
Is he gonna climb me?
I’m so short, go to the forest!
The trees over there are tall and thick, sheesh!
Allen retracted his Haki, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.
“It’s true.
As long as I concentrate enough, I can hear the voice of everything, living or not.
This opens up so many possibilities.
When I finally set sail to sea, I can literally get bees or birds to act as my personal reconnaissance drones.” He gave himself a mental pat on the back.
I really am a genius.
“Sigh, but swordsmanship still requires daily practice.
The Voice of All Things doesn’t instantly boost my raw combat power,” Allen muttered.
He grabbed his newly purchased sword and walked over to a heavy pile of unforged pig iron blocks.
“First, I need to learn how to cut through steel and reach the realm of a master swordsman.
Everything else comes later.” With that, Allen began his grueling daily routine.
He swung his sword repeatedly, the blade striking the pig iron with a rhythmic, metallic clinking sound.
He focused entirely on the motion, repeating the standard strike over and over, perfecting his form.
Suddenly, Allen paused mid-swing, his brow furrowing.
“Wait.
Can my Observation Haki hear the voice of steel?
No way, right?
This thing isn’t even a living organism.” Curiosity got the better of him.
Allen closed his eyes, focused his energy to the absolute limit, and wrapped his Observation Haki around the heavy iron block.
Are you done knocking for the day?
Seriously, why does this stinky monkey use a broken piece of iron to whack me every day?
Chop, chop, chop, day in and day out, are you crazy?!
Like I’d ever tell you that my fracture point is diagonally above you!
What’s the point of hitting my middle every single day?
Allen opened his eyes, staring at the block in absolute shock.
“No way…
even this is possible?!” He took a deep breath, instantly channeling his focus.
He raised his sword high, locked his eyes onto the exact diagonal upper point the iron block had complained about, and slashed down with every ounce of his strength.
Swish!
There was no deafening crash of metal against metal.
Instead, the blade glided through smoothly.
A clean, flawless cut split the iron block from the top corner right down to the base.
Allen looked at his blade, then at the severed metal, completely stunned.
“I…
I actually cut through steel!”