A dead silence fell over the deck.
Bogard lowered the brim of his hat to hide the shock in his eyes.
Four days? He awakened Armament Haki after only four days of being beaten? This kind of talent was simply unheard of.
Could there really be a masochistic constitution in this world that gets stronger the more it's hit?
Garp held his punching posture and froze for two seconds.
Then, he withdrew his fist, stuck his finger in his nose once more, and a carefree smile appeared on his face.
"Kyaahahaha! Not bad, you brat! Although your mouth is a complete mess, being able to awaken under the pressure of my iron fist means your talent is truly top-tier!"
Garp slapped Tatsuki's shoulder, nearly breaking the bones Tatsuki had just set.
"Although the color of this Haki is a bit light and its hardness is about the same as a biscuit, at least you've reached the entry level."
Garp's face was full of pride, as if this was all thanks to his excellent teaching.
Tatsuki's lips twitched, his heart bleeding.
What the hell do you mean "biscuit"?! That cost a hundred thousand points!
But... finally, in this New World where monsters roamed, he had his first trump card for survival.
"Alright, stop smirking there." Garp let go and pulled a dusty senbei from his pocket, stuffing it into his mouth.
"Since you've learned Armament Haki, your defense is passably acceptable for now. Go lie down in the infirmary for half a day."
Just as Tatsuki was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Garp's next words made his heart stop.
"Special training for Observation Haki starts this afternoon. Get a blindfold ready. Since you have Armament Haki now, I don't need to hold back my punches anymore."
Garp grinned, revealing a row of ivory-white teeth, his eyes full of malicious fun.
"Vice Admiral Garp, are you a demon?" Tatsuki helplessly asked.
"No." Garp laughed loudly, "I am the Marine Hero!"
The sea breeze blew past.
Tatsuki stood on the deck, looking at the balance of only [85,200] on his retina, and then at Garp's fist filled with "love."
He suddenly felt that the speed of earning money could never keep up with the intensity of being beaten.
Tatsuki asked silently in his heart, 'System, I want to ask, is there a discount for Observation Haki?'
[Ding! This system does not offer credit, nor are there any discounts.]
The system's reply was cold and heartless, directly extinguishing Tatsuki's fantasy.
'Tsk, what a money-grubbing system.' Tatsuki raised a middle finger in his mind.
Since he didn't have the money to pay to win, he could only pay with his body.
—
The afternoon sun was scorching, and the deck emitted the smell of heated pine oil.
In a corner, a group of Marines were huddled secretively in the shadows, their eyes darting back and forth between Tatsuki and Garp.
"Bets are open! I bet Tatsuki can learn it in three days. He's a monster who awakened Armament Haki after only four days of getting beaten."
"Three days? You underestimate Vice Admiral Garp's fists too much. Observation Haki requires mental cultivation, it has nothing to do with physique. I'm betting five days."
"That was just luck, right? Tatsuki can take a hit, but his brain looks... not very bright. I'm betting a week."
Bogard leaned in the shadows, listening to his subordinates' discussion. He didn't stop them, but silently noted down the names of these little rascals in his notebook—training would be doubled later.
In the center of the deck.
Tatsuki's eyes were covered by a thick black cloth, and his hands were tied behind his back. He looked like a death row prisoner about to be executed, trembling slightly.
"Are you ready, brat?"
Garp's voice came from all directions, elusive and drifting.
"Vice Admiral Garp, can we discuss something? Can you not hit the face? I barely recognize myself in the mirror these days." Tatsuki tried to make a final struggle.
"Cut the nonsense! Will an enemy on the battlefield refrain from cutting off your head just because you say so? Use your heart to see!" Garp said.
Tatsuki took a deep breath, his body tensing slightly. After his vision was stripped away, his other senses had indeed become sharper. The sound of waves hitting the hull, the cries of distant seagulls, even the sound of the Marines swallowing their spit became clear. But he knew none of this would work.
"Starting now!"
Before the words finished, a sudden sense of crisis stung his scalp.
Tatsuki subconsciously tried to dodge to the left, but before he could even think, a sharp pain erupted from his right cheek.
Bang!
He was sent flying sideways, rolling three times on the deck before stopping.
"Too slow! Too dull!"
Garp stood where he was, still holding half a bag of senbei. He hadn't even moved his feet.
"Don't use your ears to listen. Sounds can lie. Sense the presence. Sense the malice."
Tatsuki rubbed his face as he climbed back up, ten thousand curses running through his mind.
Sense my ass!
You've completely suppressed your presence, and there's not even a hint of killing intent when you punch someone. What the hell am I supposed to sense?!
But he didn't give up.
His balance of Violation Points was less than 100,000. This time, there was really no way to pay to save his life. He could only rely on himself.
"Again!" Tatsuki shouted.
Just as Garp's fist wind struck again, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Tatsuki's mind in his state of extreme tension.
Wait.
Who am I?
I'm a Storm Man! I'm the man who ate the Logia Storm-Storm Fruit!
As long as an object moves, it displaces air and creates wind. No matter how fast Garp's fist is, or how hidden his movements are, as long as he is still moving in this physical world, he will definitely disturb the airflow.
Storm Domain... Open!
Since I can't see you, I'll turn the entire deck into my 'vision'.
Tatsuki adjusted his breathing, treating himself as a stationary eye of the storm, trying his best to sense the slightest movement in the surrounding air.
Whoosh...
In an instant, the world changed in his perception. The darkness of his vision was replaced by a 3D network composed of countless airflow lines. The vortices formed by the sea breeze blowing past the mast, the warm air currents from the Marines' breathing, the breeze emerging from the gaps in the deck and... an incredibly terrifying humanoid vacuum moving at high speed.
Over there! Right-rear, forty-five degrees!
Tatsuki's head jerked to the side in an extremely bizarre motion.
Whoosh—
A powerful wind brushed past his scalp, taking a few hairs with it, but failing to hit his head.