"Co... Conqueror's Haki?"
On the Oro Jackson, the red-nosed apprentice's hand went limp, and his short knife clattered onto the wet, slippery deck.
The clown Buggy felt his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"That Marine... actually has Conqueror's Haki?!"
Beside him, the red-haired youth, Shanks, didn't speak. He merely tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword at his waist, his eyes locked firmly on the figure teetering in the storm.
It wasn't just them.
Rayleigh, Gaban, all the officers of the Roger Pirates.
The pirate captains from the Golden Lion's fleet who had survived the giant waves.
And the Marines on Garp's ship, who had just gotten up from the ground, still confused about the situation.
Everyone was stunned.
An unknown Marine recruit.
Under the Flying Admiral's certain-kill strike, in front of the most elite group of monsters on this sea, had awakened the kingly quality possessed by only one in a million!
What the hell kind of plot was this?!
"Puhahahahaha!"
Garp was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
That laughter contained unrestrained surprise, admiration, and a kind of "my soldier is just this damn awesome" pride.
"Good lad! Well done!!"
Garp couldn't be bothered to look at the Golden Lion, whose face had already darkened to the extreme. Instead, he shouted at Roger as if showing off a newly unearthed treasure:
"Roger! Did you see that! This is my subordinate!"
At this moment, Kane had no time to pay attention to others' shock.
Because in his mind, the voice he most anticipated rang out.
[Ding! Detected host's willpower breaking through its limits at a life-or-death moment!]
[Detected host possesses the powerful soul foundation of two lifetimes, with a mental threshold far exceeding ordinary people!]
[Congratulations, host! Achieved cross-level awakening! [Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate)]!]
[Unlocked special achievement: Chosen King!]
[Received achievement reward: Violation Value +100,000 points!]
One hundred thousand?!
Holy shit!
Kane glanced down at his system balance, which had just been emptied and instantly refilled. Feeling the new power surging from the depths of his soul, the intense pain throughout his body seemed to lessen considerably.
The relief of surviving a disaster, mixed with the thrill of his power skyrocketing, made his blood boil.
He had survived.
Not only survived, but directly awakened Intermediate Conqueror's Haki!!
This feeling... was even more exhilarating than galloping on the most popular courtesan in the Pleasure Quarter!
On the other side, someone was about to go mad with rage.
"Bastard..."
Shiki the Golden Lion's expression became extremely ugly.
He had failed.
He, the esteemed Flying Admiral, a ruler of this sea, had launched a furious strike, yet it was dodged by someone he considered "trash"?
Not only dodged, but... it even allowed the other to awaken Conqueror's Haki?!
Utter humiliation!
"I'll definitely... tear you to pieces today!!"
The Golden Lion completely lost control. Abandoning Roger and Garp, the Named Sword in his hand erupted with a blinding golden light. His entire body transformed into a golden meteor, charging straight toward that floating piece of wreckage.
"Again?"
Kane could feel Golden Lion's icy killing intent firmly locking onto him.
There was no escape!
Since he couldn't escape...
Watching the rapidly enlarging figure, Kane felt no fear. Instead, an unprecedented surge of heroic spirit welled up within him.
Then come at me! Golden Lion!!
The extreme experience of surviving death, the spiritual sublimation of awakening Conqueror's Haki, and the substantial fortune in his account had elevated his condition to an unprecedented peak.
He no longer conserved any stamina, no longer considered consequences, pushing his newly deeply developed Storm Fruit to its absolute limit!
Here and now, he would double every point of Violation Value he had just invested!
"With me as the center—storm, gather!"
Like the eye of a vortex, he madly devoured all surrounding air currents.
Soaring skyward, he threw himself without hesitation into the super sea tornado connecting heaven and earth that he had previously created!
That was the most violent core of the storm.
That was also the place of absolute tranquility.
"Hmm? This kid..." Roger watched Kane's actions with interest, stroking his chin. "Garp, aren't you going to save your precious subordinate? It looks like he wants to fight one-on-one with Shiki."
"Puhahaha!" Garp laughed heartily while punching a warship fragment the size of a house into dust. "He didn't ask me for help but instead took the initiative to meet him head-on."
Garp grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
"Then I'll believe in him!"
After all, someone who could remain standing under the Conqueror's Haki impact of three monsters, survive Golden Lion's slashes, and awaken Conqueror's Haki on the spot...
Such a brat already had the qualification to possess his own stage on this battlefield of the strong!
Golden Lion watched Kane charging into the eye of the storm and sneered contemptuously: "Do you think hiding in your turtle shell will help? Before absolute power, any tricks are futile!"
He followed closely behind, plunging into the violent vortex.
However, the moment he entered the storm's range.
His arrogant laughter abruptly ceased.
Because he discovered that under Kane's will, the entire sea tornado had swollen dramatically in size once again!
It had become a genuine apocalyptic beast connecting heaven and earth!
Its top vanished deep into the ink-black cloud layers.
Its bottom churned out a bottomless massive whirlpool on the sea surface.
Countless thick purple lightning bolts, like giant dragons, coiled around its body.
Even more terrifying, the massive amounts of seawater sucked into the sky had transformed into hundred-meter-high circular giant waves that seemed to possess their own consciousness!
Like enormous hands blotting out the sky, they violently crushed toward Golden Lion's massive fleet formation!
"This... this is... an Ancient Weapon?!"
A pirate captain stared at the scene that completely surpassed human understanding, his legs giving way as he knelt on the deck, warmth spreading through his trousers.
"Run! Run away!"
"Turn around! Turn the damn ship around! Get away from these waters!"
"It's too late! The sails are torn apart! The rudder's not working either!"
Golden Lion's invincible fleet had completely fallen into chaos.
Crack!
The keel of a heavy warship was brutally snapped by a colossal wave, letting out a mournful groan as it broke into two pieces.
Splash!
Another warship was swept hundreds of meters into the air, spinning helplessly before being violently hurled down, crashing directly onto an allied vessel. Both ships instantly erupted into a massive fireball.
Countless pirates were torn apart by the gales, dragged into the deep sea by towering waves, or charred to ashes by lightning strikes.
The sky rained down a downpour of broken masts, burning planks, and mutilated corpses.
The Edd War sea had, in this moment, completely descended into a slaughterhouse of natural disasters.
And Kane, the one who had created all this, hovered silently at the eye of the storm.
He closed his eyes, feeling the wail of the wind, the roar of the thunder, and... the desperate cries of countless lives fading away.
This was... the power that belonged to him, Kane!
PS: The following is my purely subjective understanding of the stages of Haki.
Observation Haki
Basic Stage: Perceiving enemy positions, numbers, and movements, extracting information about enemies outside the visual field.
Intermediate Stage: Able to briefly foresee the future, predicting the opponent's next actions.
Advanced Stage: Sensing others' thoughts and emotions, influencing and altering their consciousness. (So far, only Queen Otohime and Red Count Redfield have demonstrated this ability.) Roger's Voice of All Things also falls within this scope.
Armament Haki
Basic Stage (Hardening): Haki covers the body, enhancing attack and defense, and allowing contact with the physical form of Logia-type ability users.
Intermediate Stage (Emission): Haki can be extended outside the body or onto weapons, gathered and released, such as imbuing slashes with Haki.
Advanced Stage (Ryou): A high-level technique of Haki emission, allowing Haki to penetrate surfaces and directly damage the interior.
Conqueror's Haki
Basic Stage (Unconscious Eruption): Unconsciously bursts forth due to intense emotions, can knock out weaker individuals in the vicinity, unable to control targets.
Intermediate Stage (Free Control): Free control over power and range. As one's spirit strengthens, the range and pressure also increase. (Personally, I believe Shanks' 'Observation Haki Kill' also belongs to this stage, though his spirit is exceptionally strong.)
Advanced Stage (Haki Infusion): Can infuse Conqueror's Haki into attacks, enabling long-range strikes and generating immense destructive power.
The above are entirely my subjective views. I will incorporate these ideas into the novel. I'm sure many of you have different opinions, so please bear with me.
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