On the third day at sea, Kyle was still brooding over his bounty.
He was carefully wiping his crude blade, Nagi, with a piece of deerskin, muttering to himself,
"One pound of sea king's meat equals a hundred thousand Berries... I'm not even worth as much as a coastal Sea King. Do those Marine guys think my 'Explosive Phoenix Roar' is just some show off? They are completely blind!"
"Still hung up on that?" Rayleigh's voice came from the side. He was leaning against the mast with a book in hand, though clearly his eyes weren't on the pages.
"I'm not!" Kyle snapped instinctively, then immediately slumped in frustration. "I just think… my value doesn't match my strength and level of handsomeness."
"Kuhahaha! Then what do you think you're worth?" Roger strode over from the kitchen, carrying a giant fish spine—clearly done with his breakfast.
Kyle puffed out his chest and raised three fingers. "Starting price—thirty million!"
Roger and Raleigh exchanged glances and burst into simultaneous laughter. Roger's was boisterous and free, Rayleigh's more amused and exasperated.
"You've got big ambitions, kid." Rayleigh closed his book, pushed up his glasses, and adopted a more serious tone. "But bounties only reflect how threatening the World Government considers you. They don't measure your actual strength. Your technique was indeed flashy and strong enough to scare off average pirates…"
His voice shifted, growing sharper. "But if your enemy were someone truly powerful, you might be taken down before even swinging your sword. Even your shockwaves—your proudest weapon—wouldn't touch certain enemies."
Kyle paused his polishing, frowning. "Certain enemies?"
"Haki." As Rayleigh spoke those two words, the atmosphere on deck seemed to freeze.
"Every human in this world carries a hidden power—aura, presence, will. It's instinctual, but most people never sense it, let alone awaken it. This power is called Haki, and there are generally two—no, three—types."
He raised one finger.
"The first is Observation Haki. It allows you to sense the presence, strength, and emotions of others—even those out of sight—and to predict their next move. You've already brushed against it during your 'Love Feeding' training."
Kyle's heart skipped. He recalled Rayleigh praising his uncanny dodging during the final stage of that training.
Rayleigh raised a second finger.
"The second is Armament Haki—the one Roger demonstrated a few days ago. It increases both offensive and defensive power, like wearing invisible armor. More importantly, it's the most effective counter against Devil Fruit users. Whether Logia or Paramecia—your proud abilities become meaningless before someone with high-level Armament Haki."
Kyle's pupils contracted. In his previous life, he knew how crucial Haki was. But hearing it now, from Rayleigh—the future "Dark King"—carried an entirely different weight.
Why introduce Haki and make it the ultimate trump card? All those early characters suffered just because they came in too soon.
"And the third…" Rayleigh paused and glanced at Roger, who was grinning beside him.
"Is Conqueror's Haki. Only one in a million people is born with the ability to use it.
It is said that those who unlock Conqueror's Haki have the qualities of kings and are candidates chosen by heaven itself. It can't be learned—only awakened. So for now, don't worry about it."
"Kuhahaha! Hear that, little Kyle?" Roger tossed the fish bone into the sea, marched over, and loomed above Kyle like a mountain. "Want to add another zero to your bounty? Learn how to take a beating first!"
Before Kyle could react, Roger pulled out a black cloth from who knows where. "Here. Put this on."
"What for?" Kyle asked, eyeing the sweat-stained cloth with disgust.
"Training your senses!" Roger declared and, without warning, tied the cloth tightly around Kyle's eyes. "Since your eyes and ears lie, stop using them! Use your heart to see and hear!"
Darkness swallowed his vision, and Kyle immediately felt a deep unease.
"Hey, hey, hey! Captain! Stop messing around!"
"Kuhahaha! Rayleigh, you ready?"
"Anytime."
The very next moment, Kyle's sixth sense screamed in alarm. He felt something hurtling toward him, fast, slicing the air on both sides of his face.
On instinct, he leapt backward onto the bridge of the ship.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A broken plank and a wine bottle flew past, nearly grazing his nose.
"Oh?" Rayleigh's voice held a note of surprise.
"Nicely done!" Roger sounded thrilled. "Time to raise the difficulty!"
Kyle had barely caught his breath when the deck exploded into a storm of projectiles—dozens of them—raining from every direction.
"Hey! HEY! This isn't fair!" He could only dodge based on vague instincts, awkwardly stumbling around the deck.
Bang!
A heavy blow slammed into his back—part of an anchor thrown by Roger.
Boom!
Something nailed him square on the forehead—a round object that bounced off. An apple.
Courtesy of Rayleigh.
"Idiots! Are you trying to kill me?!" Kyle howled, clutching his head.
"Hahaha! That's all it takes to bring you down? How can you be one of my crew?!" Roger's laughter was full of wicked delight.
"Focus, Kyle." Rayleigh's voice was calm and steady, like a teacher watching from the sidelines. "Don't rely on your ears to track sounds. Don't use your skin to feel the wind. Don't even count on your devil fruit abilities. What you need to grasp... is the intent to attack. Intent can't be hidden."
Intent? Kyle clenched his teeth in the dark, forcing himself to calm down.
He abandoned all unnecessary movements, standing motionless like a stake, allowing himself to fully merge with the environment.
The wind. The waves. Roger's breathing. Rayleigh turning a page...
None of it felt right.
What he needed to find… was that targeted, intentional malice. That pressure that wanted to strike.
Here it comes! From behind!
Kyle suddenly stepped left and forward! A chunk of wood slammed into the spot he'd just vacated, splintering with a sharp crack.
"Very good." Rayleigh's voice came again.
Kyle was thrilled but didn't dare relax. He could feel it—more murderous intent closing in from every direction like sparks flashing in a pitch-black night—clear, sharp, and deadly.
Left, two!
Ahead, three!
And one above!
Kyle drew a deep breath and twisted his body in a way no ordinary person could. Like a cloth swaying in the wind, he shifted with the smallest motions and the most precise angles, narrowly dodging each strike.
When the final orange grazed past his ear and landed on the deck with a soft plop, the barrage of attacks finally ceased.
Kyle was panting, drenched in sweat, but his grin stretched wide.
He ripped off the blindfold and took in the chaotic mess around him, along with Roger and Rayleigh standing nearby—one clutching a wine barrel, the other still holding a book.
Excitement gleamed in Kyle's eyes. "Let's go again!"
It felt incredible. The Observation Haki training lasted until noon, ending only when Kyle collapsed like a dead dog, too exhausted to even stand.
But in the afternoon, just as Kyle thought he could finally rest, the 'lesson' on Armament Haki began.
"Armament Haki, put simply, is condensing your 'will' into tangible form and coating it on your body or weapon," Rayleigh explained, still acting as the theory teacher. "It comes from inner strength—your spirit and physical power. Think of your body as a blade, and Haki as an invisible sheath that protects it and sharpens every slash."
"Ugh, stop talking already." Roger cracked his knuckles with an audible snap and cut in, clearly impatient. "The only way to test the truth is practice! Come on, little Kyle, punch me here!"
He patted his arms, which were now covered in jet-black armor.
Kyle eyed that steel-like arm and winced. "I'm pretty sure my arm's gonna break before yours even feels it."
"Kuhahaha! Then I'll go first!" Roger grinned and launched a punch!
Kyle panicked. Without thinking, he raised his training naginata to block.
Clang—! A thunderous impact exploded!
Kyle felt an unstoppable force surge through the blade. It was like being rammed head-on by a war beast. He was flung back over ten meters, crashing through the cabin door in a shower of wood splinters.
Pfft—! Blood gushed from his mouth, and the skin on his knuckles split open, pouring red. The sturdy naginata had cracked deeply.
"Feel that?" Roger retracted his fist, grinning. "Your shockwave attacks might not even damage the ship, but my fist? You couldn't even make me budge."
"You trying to kill me, bastard?!" Kyle staggered to his feet, blood dripping from the corner of his lips—but his eyes shone with fire. "Hit me again!"
"Hah! Now that's more like it!"
And so began an hour of one-sided beatings on the deck.
Roger never used his full strength, but every strike was measured, just enough for Kyle to feel the full weight of Armament Haki cutting through his defenses and hitting his body directly.
"Armament Haki is best applied to weapons," Rayleigh said calmly beside them, now holding a sword. In an instant, the blade was coated in a black sheen.
No flashiness. Just a simple thrust.
The speed wasn't fast, but Kyle's instincts screamed.
His eyes widened. Dodging was out of the question. He poured everything—will, focus, desperation—into his naginata, mimicking Rayleigh's technique, trying to form that invisible armor.
"GET HARD, DAMN IT!" He roared, driving the blade to intercept Raijin's sword.
CLANG—!
A crisp metallic screech rang out. Sparks exploded.
Kyle's naginata… held. Though a few more cracks appeared on the blade, it had blocked the strike.
Kyle froze. He looked down at his naginata, then up at Rayleigh's stunned face.
"Just now," Rayleigh said as he sheathed his sword, "you did it. It was weak, but you managed to coat your weapon with Haki."
Kyle felt the humming resonance in the blade—and in his own bones. It was like his soul and weapon were one.
His heart pounded wildly. "This… this is Armament Haki?"
"Kuhahaha! Good job, Kyle!" Roger clapped him on the back so hard that Kyle nearly vomited again.
He staggered, but grinned. Every bone in his body ached, and he felt like he was falling apart, but deep in his chest surged an unmatched thrill.