~ Thank you, This is the Bonus Chapter For Hitting 600 Powerstones~
~ At this point, I was still experimenting with longer chapters. But worry not—after a certain number, everything gets much longer!
~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
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Somewhere in the East Blue, aboard the Going Merry.
The ship sailed onward. Yosaku and Johnny had already parted ways with Rowen and the crew.
The topmost level of the Merry had been converted into a training room, as requested by Rowen and the others.
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WHAM! BANG!
With two sickening crunches, Luffy and Zoro slammed hard against the walls.
"Ow ow ow!" Luffy yelled, clutching his already bruised and swollen face.
"I'm made of rubber! How can it hurt this much?! Was Gramps using Haki when he hit me too?!" Luffy rubbed the sore spot, wincing.
The sensation was painfully familiar—exactly like the feeling of his grandfather's so-called "Fist of Love" during his childhood training.
Even with his rubber body, it hurt like hell.
Now that he knew the power Rowen used was Haki, Luffy finally understood what Garp had been hitting him with all those years.
"Hah... hah... strong," Zoro gasped, pushing himself up from the floor, his eyes still wide with shock.
Although two of his swords had been shattered by Mihawk, leaving him with only Wado Ichimonji (and he wasn't particularly skilled with one-sword style compared to three), and despite still recovering from his injuries, limiting his full strength...
The power of Haki was overwhelming.
He and Luffy, working together, had been completely powerless against Rowen.
Looking at the jet-black coating on Rowen's fists, Zoro's expression turned grim.
—Armament Haki!
His swords couldn't even scratch it!
And its offensive power was unparalleled.
And that was just coating his fists... What if that power could be infused into his swords?!
A fierce, beast-like grin spread across Zoro's face.
With that, he could become countless times stronger!
But the next moment, Rowen's words shattered Zoro's fantasy.
"Can neither of you sense Haki—even a little bit?" Rowen asked, looking helplessly at Zoro and Luffy.
"Rowen—don't look at me like that! You're making me feel like I'm as big an idiot as Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed, his face twitching uncontrollably under Rowen's gaze.
That was the look you gave an utter moron!
How did Zoro know? Because that was exactly how he usually looked at Luffy!
"What?! Zoro! I just wasn't serious yet!" Stung by Zoro's words, Luffy instantly leaped up, yelling defiantly, and charged towards Rowen again.
"Take my full power! Gomu Gomu no——!"
SMACK!
Zoro's eye twitched as he watched Luffy scream, getting punched straight into the wall by Rowen, becoming embedded so deeply it took a while to wiggle free.
What an idiot!
But why... why was he, just like that idiot, completely unable to sense the Haki Rowen spoke of?
Seeing Rowen's slightly exasperated sigh, Zoro's face twitched even more violently. 'Am I really that dense?'
"Let's take it slow. Can't rush this," Rowen sighed, looking at Zoro and Luffy.
He had hoped to teach these two, get them to learn Haki before reaching Loguetown, so they could help out against Smoker.
But now it seemed... teaching Haki to Luffy and Zoro, who had only just set out to sea, was proving much harder than expected.
Of course, Rowen's idea of "Teaching" was arguably even worse than Rayleigh's notoriously hands-off approach.
How could Rowen possibly know how to teach Haki?
Others, even after awakening Armament Haki and meeting the requirements for 'Disposition' and physique, still needed dedicated training to strengthen it.
But Rowen, equipped with Born of the Sea (Apex Gold)—his personal Haki training cheat code—only needed to improve his physique, and his Armament Haki automatically grew stronger alongside it!
Possessing Born of the Sea (Apex Gold), Rowen was now, without a doubt, the most terrifying Haki prodigy on these seas.
And for a super-prodigy like him, how did one learn Haki?
Didn't you just... think about it, raise your hand, and Haki comes out? Did it even need learning?
So, Rowen's training method for Zoro and Luffy was brutally direct:
—Get beat up!
Force their bodies to directly experience the power of Haki, hoping they'd eventually learn to sense and use it themselves.
Naturally, Rowen held back significantly when sparring with the injured Zoro.
He had initially wanted Zoro to fully recover before training, but seeing Zoro's determination to train even while injured, Rowen didn't argue further.
With Zoro's Demonic Physique Trait, as long as Rowen was careful, nothing serious would happen.
Still... this training progress wasn't ideal.
Luffy and Zoro had only just begun their journey; their strength and 'Disposition' were far from the levels they possessed in the original story when they learned Haki.
Even at that point in the story, both Luffy and Zoro had to train intensely for a long time before mastering Haki.
Rowen knew getting them to learn Haki quickly was unlikely. They'd just have to take it slow.
These two are my best future employees, after all! They need to get strong quickly to help me gather those super powerful Traits!
Rowen sighed again.
Seeing Rowen sigh made Zoro's face twitch even harder.
"SUGEEEEE! Rowen is seriously strong!" Usopp exclaimed from the sidelines, watching Luffy and Zoro get effortlessly handled.
Nami nodded silently, her eyes fixed on Rowen, unable to look away.
Click!
"Alright, idiots! Time to eat!" The training room door opened, and Sanji entered carrying trays laden with food, calling out to Luffy and Zoro.
"Rowen, this portion is yours," Sanji said, his tone much more polite towards Rowen as he handed him the largest serving.
"Who are you calling an idiot?! You curly-browed moron!" Zoro, already sensitive about the word 'idiot', instantly bristled at Sanji's words, veins popping on his forehead as he snarled back.
"What did you say?! Moss-head! Wanna fight?!" Sanji immediately flared up, and the two instantly started brawling.
"This is delicious!" Luffy commented happily, stuffing his face with Sanji's cooking.
"Mm, truly exquisite," Rowen agreed, enjoying Sanji's culinary artistry while casually watching Zoro and Sanji scuffle.
The ingredients and seasonings are completely different from Earth. For someone from Rowen's background, nothing beat enjoying a delicious meal after a hard workout.
Even better, all the food consumed was being efficiently converted by his Superhuman Demonic Physique (Deep Purple) Trait to strengthen his body—the ultimate enjoyment.
As for why Sanji wasn't training Haki with Zoro and Luffy? Because Sanji's role was cook.
Compared to training, Sanji prioritized ensuring Rowen and the others had balanced, nutritious meals after their workouts. Strengthening himself came second.
Zoro and Sanji tussled for a bit before Zoro collapsed, exhausted. Constantly getting hit with Haki, combined with his unhealed injuries, had pushed Zoro to his limit.
Sanji didn't kick him while he was down, though. Sanji's principle was to feed anyone hungry first—even an annoying moss-head like Zoro.
Now, Zoro was ravenously devouring Sanji's cooking.
'Damn cook is annoying, but his skills are undeniable.' Zoro thought grudgingly between bites.
"Delicious, right? Moss-head? Make sure you eat every last bite—" Sanji commented, lighting a cigarette and smirking slightly as he watched Zoro inhale his food, alongside Rowen and Luffy who were also praising his cooking.
For a chef, what moment could be more fulfilling than this?
"Didn't need your commentary, Curly-brows," Zoro retorted, then ignored Sanji and focused on eating.
"Hmph."
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~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
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