The pitch-black sky relentlessly shed white snowflakes, dusting the single-masted sailing ship and causing a thick layer of snow to accumulate on the deck.
Since arriving in the world of One Piece, Sephiroth had always been preoccupied with urgent matters. It was only after dinner, when he finally had some free time, that he realized... this world was rather boring! There were no cell phones, no computers, no modern entertainment. The most annoying thing was that on this ship, there wasn't a single book to pass the time?!
Alright! He admitted that, subconsciously, he had overlooked a fact. While the technological level of the One Piece World had undergone an incredible leap forward due to the intervention of the Moon people, the World Government, in its efforts to erase the traces of the Great Kingdom's history, had discarded many things, and Moon technology was one of them. Consequently, they had regressed the entire world's development process back to a medieval civilization! As a result, most countries in this world still practiced feudal monarchies, and even slavery. Human rights? Freedom? Equality? In the eyes of the ruling class, these things were nothing more than wicked means, words to incite people. It was no wonder that Dragon's Revolutionary Army became a thorn in the World Government's side!
"This world is too bad, I want to go home!..." Sephiroth groaned weakly in his heart.
At Hancock's suggestion, the four of them went to the deck and started playing a game of building snowmen. Sephiroth crouched down, using his cotton-gloved hands to scoop up a handful of snow from the deck and place it on the forming snowman, but the expression on his face was rather distracted.
Hancock placed a flannel hat on the snowman she had made and used a carrot and two potatoes for its nose and eyes. Only then did she nod in satisfaction. "Sephiroth, what are you thinking about? So absorbed?" After seeing Sephiroth's crooked snowman, Hancock couldn't help but laugh.
"What exactly is Haki? How do I use this power?" Sephiroth asked with a puzzled expression. As a sea enthusiast, he naturally knew a thing or two about Kenbunshoku Haki, Busoshoku Haki, and Haoshoku Haki. But knowing and being able to use were two different things! It was like making a grilled fish dish. You clearly knew that the dish was made of fish, but you didn't know how to prepare the ingredients, how to add seasonings, or how to control the heat. In the end, what you made might just be a pile of kitchen waste, while what others made was a delicious dish! Sephiroth's current situation was probably like this, possessing a mountain of treasure but unable to find the entrance!
Hearing the young man's question, Hancock immediately nodded in understanding. In the afternoon, Sephiroth had suddenly awakened his Haoshoku Haki, which saved the four of them from being killed. It was only natural that he would want to acquire a method to use this formidable power.
Thinking this, Hancock crossed her arms, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face, and she slowly explained to the young man:
"According to Captain Shakky of our Kuja Pirates, Haki can be divided into three types: Haoshoku Haki, Busoshoku Haki, and Kenbunshoku Haki. Haoshoku Haki is a natural talent, one in a million, and even those who possess it have no 100% guarantee of awakening it, so no one has summarized a specific training method.
However, the other two types of Haki are very common. As long as one's physical quality is maintained, Haki can be learned through training. Therefore, rough training methods have been found for Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki.
Busoshoku Haki is an energy that every living creature possesses from birth, hidden within the body. Busoshoku Haki users can coat their bodies with it, forming a transparent armor. While significantly increasing defensive power, it also allows the user to touch the physical body of Logia-type Devil Fruit users. Additionally, Busoshoku Haki has more advanced methods of use. On our Amazon Lily Island, since all residents are female, in order to maximize combat power, there is a widespread method of wrapping Busoshoku Haki around weapons to strengthen attacks. Hmm? ... It is said that in the sea, there are some extremely powerful people who can even use Haoshoku Haki to attack, thus being able to knock out enemies from a distance... I wonder if Captain Shakky was telling the truth...
As for Kenbunshoku Haki, it can be said to be the 'power of listening.' As long as one is alive, their body will produce special sounds. By using these sounds, one can predict the opponent's next movements and positions. Its range can be increased through practice. However, according to Captain Shakky, this is only a low-level use of Kenbunshoku Haki. If the enemy's attack speed approaches the speed of sound, or exceeds your own reaction speed, then it will become useless. Advanced Kenbunshoku Haki techniques can even briefly foresee the future, but it relies more on a sixth sense, so this is also a technique that requires a certain talent to develop. Although this talent is not as rare as Haoshoku Haki, it is also very uncommon."
Sephiroth hesitated for a moment before saying tentatively: "Hancock, can you teach me the Busoshoku Haki training method of your Amazon Lily Island?"
To his slight surprise, the black-haired girl agreed very quickly: "Of course!" As if to comfort the young man and tell him not to feel too burdened, the girl added two more sentences: "Actually... this training method is already considered a semi-public technique in the Grand Line. It's just that our story on Amazon Lily Island is a little more detailed."
"Then how exactly do I practice?" Sephiroth asked further.
"Alright...? Let me show you an example!" Hancock said, her tone a little proud. "You have to be careful, my current amount of Busoshoku Haki isn't much, and I'm not very proficient in using it..." As she spoke, Hancock bent down and rolled a snowball on the deck with her hand. Instantly, the black-haired girl seemed to hold her breath, and also appeared to move her entire body while clenching her teeth.
After a few seconds, a slight grayish-black color actually appeared on the white snowball.
"Ha!"
Hancock shouted softly and forcefully threw the snowball in her hand, hitting the snowman she had made. Everyone only heard a 'Bang!' explosion sound, and the snowman was instantly shattered into pieces by the snowball.
"Phew!" Hancock let out a long breath. Condensing all of her Busoshoku Haki and wrapping it around a snowball was no easy task for her at this time. Due to the excessive consumption of Haki, her body even felt fatigued.
"Did you see that light black gas? That's the effect of wrapping Busoshoku Haki around an object. Of course! If the amount of Busoshoku Haki wrapped is too little, there won't be a color change... It is said that some powerful Swordsmen can even forge their swords into extremely powerful Black Blades by using Busoshoku Haki..."
"Mhmm! Teacher Hancock, please continue, I will definitely remember it...!" Sephiroth nodded repeatedly, his face full of curiosity.
Busoshoku Haki, based on its manifestation, can be divided into three stages: Hardening, Wrapping, and Emission. In fact, if the quality of the Busoshoku Haki that Hancock wrapped was higher, and released with a targeted instant burst, then it would be Busoshoku Haki Emission, which can form a shockwave and cause internal destruction. It's just that this high-level Busoshoku Haki technique requires Haki of extremely high quality. If the Haki isn't strong enough, the effect won't be satisfactory, and it might not even injure a single hair of the enemy.
"Busoshoku Haki is actually an energy produced by human muscle cells, and it is inherently hidden within the human body. We can sense its existence through rhythmic breathing combined with meditation. When you can clearly sense the existence of this 'Ki,' you need to try to mobilize it with your will through physical movements, rather than using brute force..."
"Huh!?" As Sephiroth listened to the words spoken by the black-haired girl, it somehow reminded him of the concept of 'Qi' in Traditional Chinese Medicine...
"What's wrong?" Hancock asked.
"Nothing, please continue!"
"Oh! Everyone's Busoshoku Haki talent is different, so the difficulty in sensing and using it varies for each person. Some people have a good understanding. Even if their physical quality is not strong, they can gradually master it through long-term meditation... If you cannot sense the existence of Busoshoku Haki through breathing and meditation. Then, you need to undergo long-term extreme physical training. Only after your physical quality reaches a certain level can you sense it and gradually learn to use it..."
After Hancock's explanation, Sephiroth finally understood that this power called Busoshoku Haki was used and trained by people in the second half of the Grand Line, the first half, and even the Four Seas. Even many slightly famous Pirates might use Kenbunshoku Haki and Busoshoku Haki. After all, Haki was a power hidden within the human body. Even people with weak strength had the opportunity to awaken it as long as they mastered the correct guiding methods.
Big Mom Charlotte Linlin's inherent Busoshoku Haki needs no further explanation, but there were also many people like Ace who mysteriously awakened Busoshoku Haki. On Amazon Lily Island, many people mastered Busoshoku Haki through training, and everyone who could board a ship and go out to sea in the Kuja Pirates was a female warrior who could use Busoshoku Haki.
But... a person who couldn't use Haki fighting against a person who could use Haki wouldn't necessarily lose. If their raw strength wasn't comparable, they wouldn't be able to win... In the end, Haki was equivalent to a buff in a game. Adding a buff could increase strength, but that didn't mean that having a buff allowed you to defeat enemies with overwhelming raw strength! Those who could use Haki were not necessarily top-tier powerhouses, but top-tier powerhouses definitely knew how to use Haki!
Sephiroth estimated that when Luffy set sail seventeen years later, very few pirates in the first half of the Grand Line would know Haki, whereas in the second half, even elite mobs would know Haki.
A more reasonable explanation was that the Marines had eliminated the relatively strong pirates who mastered Haki, leaving only those in the second half who were too difficult to completely eliminate. Therefore, in those pirate forces, relatively complete Haki training methods were still circulated. After all, before Roger started the Great Pirate Era, pirates wandered aimlessly.
No one was looking for the One Piece. It was normal for some people who didn't want to compete for dominance in the second half of the Grand Line to choose to hide in the first half and the Four Seas. For example, Trebol, Vergo, and others from the Donquixote Family in North Blue only chose to surrender and become Doflamingo's subordinates after learning he had Haoshoku Haki when he was a child.
This showed that even in the Four Seas, some people knew about Haki, but the number was probably relatively small...