Other than looking cool, coating his sword in fire didn’t actually increase its power yet.
Ban opened his status panel.
[Body Dataization: Vital points removed.
Damage converts to HP loss.
You cannot die until HP reaches zero.]
[Current Age: 14]
[Physique: 21 (Undergoing rapid transformation)]
[HP: 100% (Regenerating)]
[Innate Trait – Indomitable: When HP reaches zero, enter empowered state.
All stats x10.
Invincible for 10 minutes.
Cooldown: 1 day.]
[Abilities]
[Flame-Flame Fruit (Proficient): Logia-type.
Control and transform into fire.
Passively strengthens body.
Weaknesses removed.
Development: 13%]
[Swordsmanship (Proficient): Mastered basic forms and training methods.]
The fruit mastery had only increased by 4%, but his Physique had jumped by a massive 11 points compared to a month ago.
And the “rapid transformation” status was still active.
This was great news.
However, fully developing his Devil Fruit powers here at the dojo would be difficult and too disruptive.
After Ban completely withdrew the flames wrapped around his sword, he slid the blade back into its sheath, and the scorching heat in the room slowly faded away.
“It seems I need to make other plans.”
Simply imagining moves wouldn’t allow him to unlock the true power of his Devil Fruit quickly.
He needed a place where he could unleash his abilities without holding back.
Originally, he planned to stay here until he became a master swordsman, which he estimated would take several years.
But if staying here slowed down his progress with the fruit, he couldn’t afford to remain that long.
Once he mastered both types of Haki, he would set out into the world.
Besides, very few people should know the exact nature of his powers anyway.
Ban narrowed his eyes in thought, recalling the pirates he had handed over to the 16th Marine Base.
Still, he didn’t worry too much about it.
The next day.
Even though the blade had a dull, matte finish, it looked imposing and majestic, drawing the attention of everyone present.
Kuina and Zoro frequently glanced over at the sword in his hand.
From a distance, Koushirou nodded secretly to himself.
This was exactly why he believed Ban would one day achieve greatness.
Despite being far stronger than everyone else, he never grew arrogant or impatient, nor did he ever slack off when practicing the fundamentals.
“How many times have you won against Zoro now?” Ban suddenly asked as Kuina practiced swinging her wooden sword nearby.
“1995 times,” Kuina replied immediately.
Upon hearing this, Zoro’s face turned red with frustration, but he couldn’t deny the truth—he had lost every single time.
Ban nodded slightly.
It seemed the time when Kuina was supposed to meet her tragic end was drawing near.
Now that he was here, naturally, he wouldn’t let that happen.
Preventing it wouldn’t be difficult; he just needed to pay a little extra attention.
This was also the main reason why he insisted on learning Observation Haki first.
Shortly after training finished, Zoro—who clearly remembered Ban’s question—immediately challenged Kuina once again.
Meanwhile, Ban officially began his training in Observation Haki.
Inside a quiet room, Koushirou watched Ban with a gentle smile.
“You already know about Haki, and you even know a method to train it.
I suppose you understand exactly what Observation Haki is?”
Instead of jumping straight into an explanation, he asked a question first.
What exactly was Observation Haki?
Ban lowered his head and thought carefully.
His understanding of Haki mostly came from memories of his past life, but for someone who had never actually experienced such powers, the concept was somewhat abstract.
He could only do his best to comprehend it and try to put it into practice.
However, based on what he knew, he was able to give an answer.
“It is…
perception?” Ban answered after a brief silence.
“Haha!
Perception, is that how you see it?
Well, you aren’t wrong.” Koushirou smiled warmly.
“Everything in this world has a ‘breath’.
Whether it is the wind, the water, the trees, or even steel—everything breathes.
And of course, so do people.
“Remember, Observation Haki isn’t limited to sensing living things; it works on inanimate objects as well.
As you continue your journey in swordsmanship, you must keep this truth in mind.”
Ban nodded lightly, indicating he understood, though deep down he still found the concept somewhat vague and abstract.
“Actually, Haki is a power that lies dormant within every human being.
It just needs to be awakened through training.
And once awakened, it must be continuously strengthened through practice.”
“I know that much,” Ban nodded.
“Does that mean Conqueror’s Haki works the same way?”
“Not at all.” Koushirou shook his head firmly.
“Conqueror’s Haki is a different matter entirely.
That is a talent found in less than one in a million people—it is not something everyone possesses.”
Realizing his words seemed to contradict his earlier statement that everyone possessed Haki, Koushirou quickly clarified.
“To be honest, I don’t know much about Conqueror’s Haki myself.
But what I do know is that there are extremely few people in this vast ocean who possess it.”
His underlying message was clear: You are still far too young to be worrying about that.
Ban didn’t interrupt him and just nodded.
“Actually,” Koushirou said, looking straight at him, “you have already awakened Observation Haki.
You just haven’t realized it yet…
or perhaps, you simply haven’t learned how to recognize the sensation.”
Ban was taken aback.
He looked down at his own hands.
“You said Observation Haki is ‘perception’, right?
Then use that understanding.
Sense everything around you.
Feel the breath of everything within your reach.”
Ban closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind completely.
Suddenly, a terrifying, deadly killing intent washed over him.
It was overwhelming and violent, instantly raising goosebumps all over his body.
Almost instinctively, Ban was about to transform his body into fire to defend himself.
But just as quickly as it appeared, the killing intent vanished.
Its source was none other than Koushirou, sitting calmly across the room.
In that split second, through his senses, Ban felt as if a blood-red figure had appeared right in front of him, radiating malice like a demon from hell.
He snapped his eyes open and stared at Koushirou.
“Did you feel it?” Koushirou asked with a faint smile.
“I released my aura very subtly.
If one isn’t sensitive enough to detect the changes in atmosphere or ‘breath’, they wouldn’t feel a thing.
Remember that sensation you just had.” “Monday to Friday – Update 3 Chapters a Day”
“Saturday and Sunday – Off”