Boom—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
Outside the oval-shaped Marine Headquarters training ground, it sounded as if two tyrannosaurs were clashing within, shaking the earth and sending dust clouds billowing while seabirds scattered in chaotic flight.
In the arena.
Zephyr stood bare-chested, his arms like pure black granite, the muscle patterns on his back resembling ferocious beasts silently roaring.
He glanced down at Griffin before him, his voice calm yet carrying overwhelming dominance.
"Is this the result of your six months of training? Too slow!"
Before his words faded, Zephyr's figure had already left an afterimage in his original position.
Griffin's expression remained stoic, his pupils suddenly contracting as he instinctively spun around with a whip-like punch, only to hit empty air.
"You rely too much on your eyes, brat!"
Zephyr's voice came from another direction, accompanied by a fist that blotted out the sky!
...
Swish—
Griffin's body twisted against all physical laws, his lower body remaining stationary while his previously thrown whip punch seemed to reverse at extreme speed, making his earlier strike appear like a wind-up.
Crack!!!!!
The sound of a sonic boom exploded as Griffin pushed both palms forward, black color covering his hands as he barely managed to block Zephyr's massive fist.
"If you had eyes like mine, you would never say such things."
Griffin's lips curled slightly, the tomoe in his crimson Sharingan rotating.
"I can already see all your movements clearly! Teacher Zephyr!!"
...
"Is that so..."
Zephyr snorted coldly, the black color on his arms seeming to deepen further.
Boom boom!!!
Tremendous force surged forth, the black color covering Griffin's hands dispersing like washed-away ink as he staggered back several steps, the skin between his thumb and index finger splitting and bleeding.
Gritting his teeth, Griffin sank his stance and mobilized Armament Haki once more. This time he narrowed the range, concentrating the Haki in his palms.
Bang!!!!!
Another clash of palms against fist.
After a brief pause...
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!!!
Fists, palms, fingers—countless impacts came like a torrential storm, scattering the Armament Haki Griffin had painstakingly gathered.
"Armament Haki isn't mud! If you can't maintain it, don't use it!!"
...
Six months had passed since Griffin entered the training camp.
During the first month, he had initially mastered Armament Haki.
Unlike Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki was power hidden within the human body, temporarily referred to as 'Qi'.
Through high-intensity extreme physical training and combat practice, when one could clearly perceive this Qi, they could attempt to mobilize it with their will.
Armament Haki was essentially the body's own energy, similar to 'True Qi Body Protection' in martial arts qigong, comparable to Armament Haki wrapping.
The advanced application technique of Armament Haki, called 'Ryuo' in Wano Country, involved infiltrating this Qi into the opponent's body for internal destruction, equivalent to 'True Qi Entering Body'.
Using Armament Haki for large-scale attacks was even better described as 'True Qi Emission'.
...
Learning and applying were two different matters.
Many Marine officers had also learned Armament Haki, but couldn't use it effectively in actual combat—at best, it was just a harder version of 'Iron Body'.
Although Griffin's Armament Haki had crossed the threshold, Zephyr was practically sitting at the end of this path.
The purity difference between them was too great, resulting in Griffin being completely overwhelmed.
After an unknown number of rounds, Griffin's breathing grew increasingly labored, the Armament Haki on his fists subtly transforming through repeated shattering and reforming.
His movements continuously adjusted amid the storm-like assaults, gradually shifting from purely defensive to exchanging blows with growing reciprocity.
His mind operated at extreme speeds, as if his soul had left his body, observing his own battle with Zephyr from a third-person perspective.
...
Griffin suddenly realized something.
He had been comparing Conqueror's Haki to Chakra - these two powers shared fundamental similarities.
Armament Haki was essentially physical energy, with far simpler operational principles than Chakra.
It was like...
A Bloodline Limit specialized in physical enhancement!
Exactly!
Why had he been treating Armament Haki as a separate power system? His greatest talent lay in merging different worlds' powers to develop what suited him best!
The fusion of Ice Release and Devil Fruit abilities had already enhanced his technique potency and casting speed, mostly eliminating charge-up requirements.
The invasive applications of Armament Haki...
Weren't these skills he already possessed!
Both his Eye Power infiltration and the Ice Release he'd used against Kari demonstrated similar technical principles.
...
Was this...
"Failing to see the mountain while standing on it"...
Such a simple truth had taken him half a year to comprehend!
——
The application of Armament Haki involved using willpower to mobilize physical energy, transforming the intangible into tangible form.
In the ninja world, why did shinobi particularly fear ocular technique users?
Because ocular techniques activated most covertly, impossible to guard against!
Fear stemmed from their intangibility!
Understanding one principle unlocked all others. Griffin began attempting to manipulate Armament Haki through ocular power, the extreme mental exertion causing steam to rise from his head.
...
Hm?
Zephyr's eyebrow twitched as he detected the change in Griffin's movements.
He had to admit, among all the recruits he'd trained, Griffin possessed the fastest learning ability!
Even monsters like Sakazuki couldn't match Griffin in this aspect!
If not for the lad's laziness - requiring escort to attend routine training, his bone-deep indolence, occasional inexplicable boasts, picky eating habits, plus his tendency to bully fellow recruits, especially Doll whom Zephyr valued for her diligence...
Setting aside these numerous flaws.
Griffin could be considered his most satisfactory disciple.
...
During their weekly sparring sessions, he consistently witnessed Griffin's progress, improvement that seemed to face no bottlenecks!
He'd privately marveled countless times.
This kid... was a monster like Garp!
...
Decades earlier, before the Great Pirate Era began, pirates had been fewer in number but far more formidable.
Those who rose to prominence in that era were invariably monstrous existences.
Even in such times, Garp remained undefeated from the Four Seas to the Grand Line, relying solely on his iron fists!
The Marines' undefeated hero stood not only as every pirate's nightmare, but also as an insurmountable peak overshadowing his contemporaries.
Even Sengoku, who possessed Conqueror's Haki, could only distinguish himself through wisdom - testament to how terrifying those fists truly were.
Zephyr, having served as Marine Admiral himself, clearly understood the gap between himself and Garp.
Admiral represented his limit, while that very title was something Garp disdained to accept.
...
When he'd realized he could teach Kuzan nothing more, he had been the one to recommend Garp as instructor.
Now he estimated that soon enough, he'd have little left to teach Griffin either.
With this mindset, Zephyr gradually increased his force during their sparring, wanting to see the limits of this young man's growth.
This time...
It was different...
He had expected Griffin's Armament Haki to harden further with each of his strikes, but...
As their fists clashed and their Armament Haki collided, Zephyr felt something extremely cold and sinister seep into his own Armament Haki.
...
Interesting!
A flicker of interest flashed in Zephyr's eyes as he raised his fist high, unleashing it with a shockwave.
The pitch-black fist descended as if to shatter space itself!
'Crushing Impact!'
For the first time, Zephyr had used a named technique!
——
On the stands of the training ground, several figures of varying heights stood watching.
Among them were none other than Navy Headquarters Admiral Kizaru and the rumored soon-to-be-promoted Vice Admiral Aokiji.
A nearby Rear Admiral exclaimed in shock, "Using such a move in a spar! Is Instructor Zephyr trying to kill Griffin!!"
He hurriedly turned to Kizaru: "Admiral Borsalino!!"
Kizaru and Kuzan remained silent, their eyes fixed on the arena.
Only those who had reached their level of power could perceive that Griffin was undergoing a transformation—one that required precisely this kind of impact from Zephyr.
...
...
...
Watching the approaching fist, Griffin felt all color drain from his surroundings.
Then, even the wind seemed to stand still.
His Sharingan emitted an eerie red glow, the three tomoe spinning rapidly as his Eye Power intertwined, coiled, and fused with the steel-like Armament Haki within his body—
Black and red light seeped from beneath his skin, staining the pitch-black metallic layer with crimson patterns that pulsed like blood vessels through dark iron.
...
Boom—
The fist shattered Griffin into dust.
In the next instant, Griffin seemed to teleport right in front of Zephyr...
Whoosh!!!
A black-and-red fist struck Zephyr squarely in the abdomen.
——
——
Silence.
For the first time, Zephyr had been forced back.
...
The spectators fell into a hushed stillness, watching as Griffin—now engulfed in black and red energy like a demonic apparition—stood at the center of the training ground. An inexplicable chill ran through their hearts.
...
——
The fusion of Yin Release Chakra and Armament Haki—I shall name it...
Nether Entanglement Armament Haki!!
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!