Dragged back into the corner by her two sisters, Hancock buried her face in her hands, utterly mortified. Now that her head had finally cooled down, every second she replayed her earlier behavior, the more embarrassed she felt.
With Hancock no longer flustering him, Chenos once again controlled the absorption sphere and drew all the injuries out of his own body. Afterward, he casually tossed the sphere onto the stone floor.
Boom.
The stone tiles shattered instantly, fragments scattering everywhere.
Chenos stared at the broken floor, sinking into thought.
So the absorbed damage doesn't just work on people… it works on non-living objects too.
That realization significantly expanded the application range of his ability.
Of course, there was still a major flaw.
The absorption sphere moved far too slowly to be used in real combat. At best, it was only suitable for post-battle treatment.
But even so, a healing technique like this meant that ordinary external injuries would no longer be a fatal threat to him—instead, they could even be converted into attack methods.
A random Devil Fruit, yet this strong…
After fully treating the whip wounds, an intense wave of exhaustion washed over Chenos. It felt like the kind of weakness that came from overexertion.
This body… is still way too weak.
He didn't even have time to think further before collapsing onto the floor, falling asleep almost instantly as if he'd passed out.
Hancock, seeing how exhausted he looked, quietly walked over, sat beside him, and gently draped the cloak back over his body.
She watched his sleeping face, smiling foolishly to herself.
The next day, Chenos was once again brought to the open training ground by the sword-bearing CP0 agent.
This time, however, the agent was holding a wooden sword.
"Today, we train Observation Haki."
With that, he tossed a piece of cloth at Chenos.
"Cover your eyes. You're not allowed to see anything."
Chenos understood that Observation Haki was about perception, so he didn't ask questions. He folded the cloth and blindfolded himself.
"Next, I'll attack you," the CP0 agent said calmly.
"You dodge based on what you feel—but no random movements, and you're not allowed to use your Devil Fruit to block. Understood?"
Chenos nodded.
The moment he did—
Thud!
The wooden sword cracked against his head, instantly raising a bump.
"Gah—!"
It hurt enough to make him suck in a sharp breath, but Chenos didn't complain. Instead, he focused, carefully sensing everything around him.
"Observation Haki is different from Armament," the CP0 agent continued.
"Though both originate from the body, they represent different energies."
"If Armament is physical energy, then Observation is mental energy."
"Relax your mind. Feel the power hidden in your brain. Let it flow outward."
Mental energy…
Hearing this, Chenos didn't tense up.
Instead—
He relaxed.
That reaction made the CP0 agent's eyes widen slightly.
Armament Haki required intense focus and a tightened body—the more concentrated you were, the easier it was to feel it.
Observation Haki was the opposite.
To awaken it, you had to loosen yourself, let your awareness spread outward.
The emptier your mind, the clearer the world became.
Chenos is a natural genius…
Just hearing the explanation once, he instinctively chose the correct approach. With talent like this, his Haki growth speed would far surpass ordinary people.
When the CP0 agent himself had first grasped this concept, it had taken him an entire month—and even then, his instructor had praised him as a fast learner.
If that instructor saw Chenos grasp the basics of Observation almost instantly, he'd probably lose his mind from excitement.
Even while his thoughts wandered, the CP0 agent didn't stop attacking. The wooden sword struck from all kinds of angles, constantly changing rhythm.
At first, Chenos didn't move at all, standing rigidly as he was struck again and again.
But after a while—
In the darkness, he began to sense it.
A faint ripple.
A barely perceptible fluctuation, slicing toward him.
Chenos moved.
He twisted his body sharply to the side—
And the wooden sword missed.
The CP0 agent froze.
His eyes widened in shock, disbelief written all over his face.
So fast?!
A monster-level talent!
He'd thought Chenos's Armament aptitude was already outrageous—but his talent for Observation was even worse.
In less than half an hour, Chenos had already crossed the threshold into Observation Haki.
And Observation was far harder to train than Armament.
In the New World, nearly everyone could use Armament Haki.
But Observation?
That was far rarer.
Which only made this all the more astonishing.
And yet, the better Chenos performed, the stronger the CP0 agent's sense of regret became.
What a waste.
Such a good seed… ruined by the Celestial Dragons.
If he'd met someone like this out in the open world, the agent was confident he could train him into an admiral—or even another Garp-like legend.
Truly a pity.
The CP0 agent resumed his attacks, this time increasing both speed and angle complexity.
Chenos, having only just grasped Observation, did his best to dodge—but most strikes still landed.
Only when he was completely exhausted, panting heavily, his body covered in bruises, did the CP0 agent finally stop.
"Ten-minute break. Review your mistakes. Ask questions while you rest."
After catching his breath, Chenos asked, confused,
"Master… I clearly sensed the wooden sword just now. Why couldn't I dodge it completely?"
"Observation Haki can be deceived," the CP0 agent replied flatly.
"Just like feints in combat. Not everything you sense is real."
"That's when judgment matters—deciding which signals are fake, and which represent true intent."
Chenos: "Huh???"
He felt something was off.
He'd just started learning Observation Haki—and yet he was already being taught advanced concepts?
Hadn't they skipped a few steps?
Sure, it was useful… but it really did feel like forcing growth before the roots were stable.
Still, Chenos said nothing.
The CP0 agent was only teaching because he'd been ordered to. He had no right to demand a gentler pace. If the man got annoyed and stopped teaching altogether, Chenos wouldn't be able to do a thing.
So he accepted it silently.
And he learned.
Like a sponge, he absorbed everything the CP0 agent taught, greedily taking it all in.
He couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
If he'd studied this seriously back in his previous life, Qinghua and Peking University would've been nothing. He'd have gotten in easily.
"Break's over," the CP0 agent said.
"Now we begin practical combat training."
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