— — — — — — —
Deep in the mountains, about ten kilometers from the Grey Terminal, Renzo finally found the legendary pirate Naguri, accompanied by Kuina and Zoro.
The old man had a full head of white hair and a beard, with a tobacco pipe hanging from his lips. His sharp eyes locked onto Renzo as he asked, "Kid, did you come here looking for me?"
With his Observation Haki, Naguri had already "heard" about them asking around in the area.
Among the three, Renzo gave off the strongest sense of danger. Kuina and Zoro, on the other hand, didn't seem like threats at all.
"That's right."
Renzo nodded and got straight to the point.
"I heard about you from Luffy and did some digging around in the East Blue. I know that you were once a great pirate who challenged the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. So, I want to learn the three types of Haki from you!"
Then, he smirked and added, "Of course, in exchange, I'll help speed up the construction of your pirate ship and turn it into a top-tier vessel. How about that?"
Naguri wasn't just building a ship for fun—he wanted to set sail again and reunite with his long-lost crewmates. To Renzo, the whole "pirate" thing was just nostalgia for Naguri. What truly mattered to him was finding his old companions.
Naguri's expression softened at the mention of Luffy, a small smile appearing on his face. Then, he raised an eyebrow at Renzo and asked in surprise, "People still talk about me out there on the seas?"
Renzo chuckled. "Not much, but if you know where to look, you can find traces of your legend."
Of course, that was total nonsense. If he hadn't read the original story, he wouldn't have known a damn thing about Naguri.
As for being a pirate who once challenged the Pirate King?
There were plenty of guys like that.
Naguri fell silent for a moment, taking a slow drag from his pipe. After a while, he looked at the three and said, "Fine, I agree. But I want my ship finished in three months, and I'll only teach you during that time."
He had already wasted too much time. The sooner he could set sail and find his old comrades, the better. That was his true goal—his greatest responsibility.
"Also, I make no promises that you'll actually learn anything! You might have potential, but those two are still too young. They might have a shot at learning Observation Haki, but as for Armament Haki? Not happening anytime soon!"
"And Conqueror's Haki? That's pure talent. You either have it, or you don't. No amount of training can force it out."
Even Observation and Armament Haki required natural talent, let alone Conqueror's Haki.
"No problem." Renzo grinned and agreed easily.
But he didn't rush into training. Instead, he scanned Naguri's pirate ship, creating a full virtual model. With Red Queen's help, he designed the best possible upgrade plan.
In no time, the new blueprint was ready. Renzo projected a virtual hologram of the ship's final design for Naguri to see.
"What do you think? If we build it like this, would that be good enough?"
Naguri stared at the floating image in astonishment. "What the hell is this? How can you project images into the air like that?"
"Don't worry about it. Just tell me if you like the design. If you do, we'll start work right away." Renzo calmly said.
Naguri turned his attention back to the ship model, studying it carefully.
A moment later, he nodded repeatedly. "This... This is amazing! More than good enough!"
The design was leagues ahead of the ship he had been struggling to build himself. In fact, it was even better than the pirate ship he and his crew had back in their prime.
"Then we'll go with this!" Renzo said. "We'll spend half the day building the ship, and the other half, you'll teach us Haki. Sound good?"
Honestly, he could've just used his advanced robotics to build the ship instantly—he had a whole set of high-tech machines on his yacht. They were built with Gundam-level technology, way more advanced than anything this world had.
But Renzo knew Naguri wouldn't accept that.
The old man was stubborn. The fact that he was trying to build the ship alone instead of hiring people proved that. If Renzo just did everything for him, he'd probably refuse outright.
Naguri thought for a moment before grinning. "Deal!"
And just like that, training began that very day.
Mornings were spent upgrading Naguri's pirate ship, while afternoons were dedicated to Haki training—starting with Observation Haki.
With Renzo's talent, insane mental strength, and heightened senses, it only took him a few minutes to grasp the basics.
After feeling the power of Naguri's Observation Haki, he used his OmniscienceDōjutsu to analyze it, breaking it down completely. Within moments, he had awakened Observation Haki himself.
And it wasn't just an average awakening—his level was already absurdly high.
Though he hadn't reached the level of seeing the future, his detection range covered hundreds of kilometers, far beyond even his normal mental perception.
On top of that, his precision was already exceptional.
Thanks to his Omniscience's analytical abilities, he kept improving at an incredible speed.
At the same time, Renzo was determined to fully break down the principles of Observation Haki and develop a precise and systematic method for awakening and training it.
At the very least, he didn't want Kuina and Zoro to rely solely on luck and natural talent to master it.
"No way... He actually learned it? And not just learned it—he already reached this level?!"
Naguri was in complete disbelief as he sensed the fluctuations of Observation Haki from Renzo.
To confirm, he launched a few attacks at Renzo.
The result? Not only had Renzo awakened Observation Haki, but he had also reached an incredibly advanced level.
Naguri's expression turned from shock to pure disbelief.
If he hadn't been absolutely sure that Renzo didn't have this ability before, he would've thought the kid was just messing with him.
"This must be talent, huh? Haha!" Renzo said with a cheeky grin.
"Maybe so…" Naguri muttered, feeling a bit bitter.
If he had this kind of talent back in the day, maybe he would've become the Pirate King instead of Roger.
Life just wasn't fair.
"Why don't we feel any changes?" Kuina and Zoro asked, visibly frustrated.
"What are you two thinking?" Naguri rolled his eyes. "This kind of thing depends on talent! Even geniuses usually take a month or more to awaken it. And you two expect to do it in a single day?"
Zoro and Kuina exchanged glances. "Then what about Renzo?"
"That brat isn't human!" Naguri blurted out.
"Oi, oi, old man! You can't just go around insulting people!" Renzo protested.
"Heh! We agree with the old man!" Kuina and Zoro nodded in unison. "Renzo is definitely nothuman. The speed at which he gets stronger is just ridiculous!"
Over the past year, they had suffered setback after setback. Training with Renzo made them feel like total weaklings.
"Alright, that's enough whining! Let's continue!" Naguri cut them off, signaling for Zoro and Kuina to step aside.
He planned to keep using his attack-based training method to help them gradually awaken Observation Haki through instinct and experience.
As for Renzo?
Naguri had already assigned him to train Armament Haki on his own. With talent like his, the kid didn't need a teacher—just practice.
— — —
After some time,
"Old man, try unleashing your Conqueror's Haki on me!" Renzo said, pestering Naguri. "Maybe if I feel its full force, I'll awaken it instantly!"
He didn't trust the whole "it's based on talent and luck" thing. It seemed too vague.
Instead, he wanted to experience it firsthand and analyze it with his Dōjutsu: Omniscience.
That way, even if he wasn't naturally gifted in it, he could still study and develop a way to awaken it himself.
"Alright, let's give it a shot." Naguri nodded.
"Kuina, Zoro, back up. Get behind me—this could get dangerous."
Naguri's eyes locked onto Renzo. "Ready?"
He was honestly curious. Given Renzo's monstrous talent, could he actually awaken Conqueror's Haki in one go?
It would be very interesting if he could.
"I'm ready! Bring it on!" Renzo declared, standing firm.
WOOOM!!!
In the next instant, a terrifying pressure erupted from Naguri's body, crashing down onto Renzo like a tidal wave.
It was a direct assault on his spirit and willpower.
"So that's how it works… A fusion of mental strength and sheer willpower?"
With his Omniscience fully activated, Renzo analyzed every aspect of the force pressing down on him.
His mind operated at lightning speed, breaking down the mechanics of Conqueror's Haki in real-time.
And then—
A terrifying aura exploded from Renzo's body.
WOOOOM!!!!
It swept out in all directions, covering dozens of kilometers.
Every creature caught in the range, unless their willpower and strength were high enough, was instantly knocked unconscious.
Even Kuina and Zoro were no exception.
Naguri managed to stay conscious, but since he was the closest to Renzo, he had no choice but to counter with his own Conqueror's Haki.
Yet, despite his best efforts—He was completely overwhelmed.
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{ +80 advanced chapters are available at: patreon.com/_Coreal }