Victor sat up and began to meditate in a cross-legged position, focusing his mind inward and attempting to use his existing power to mobilize the particles of Haki.
After trying for a long time, Victor realized that only his willpower could control the Haki particles—and even then, only in a broad, directionless manner, without any refined thought behind it.
"Without thought, there can be no deeper control. Thought? Control? Autonomy? Consciousness? Hmm... Consciousness! I haven't tried that yet—let's give it a shot."
Victor entered a meditative state once more. This time, it lasted only briefly before he opened his eyes with a smile.
"So it really is that simple! Willpower handles the broad strokes, while consciousness refines the control. How fascinating! You have to infuse your consciousness into the Haki, giving it a semblance of awareness so it can guide its own movement. So this is how Haki flows!"
"Ryuo and Life Return actually share the same underlying principle. Was this all planned from the start? One is the pinnacle of the Rokushiki techniques, and the other is an advanced application of Haki. The Marines' teachings really can't be underestimated—there's always a deeper logic behind them!"
At first, Victor tried directly controlling his Haki with consciousness, which worked—but only within his body, producing results similar to willpower control. Having an additional control method like this was meaningless on its own.
It wasn't until he recalled how Kaido's Haki had moved with deliberate awareness inside his body that he fully understood.
The key wasn't to directly control Haki with consciousness—that was the role of willpower. Instead, the true method was to infuse consciousness into the Haki itself, allowing it to merge and achieve finer, more precise control.
It was like reaching out to grab something. Willpower was like moving your arm toward the object—the broad motion. Consciousness, on the other hand, was like controlling your fingers to grasp—the refined, detailed action.
Victor had now grasped the method. All that remained was to master its practical use and further develop it.
But he wasn't naive enough to think that understanding the theory alone was enough. The amount of Haki that consciousness could control varied depending on the strength of one's consciousness—which, in turn, depended on their willpower.
In the end, it all came down to training one's will.
For example, if someone was exhausted and on the verge of passing out, their consciousness would be foggy. But if their willpower was strong enough, they could force themselves to stay awake and alert.
Victor's own willpower was far from weak. The brutal training he had endured—crushing his body under the pressure of the ocean depths—was beyond agonizing. Every session left his skin seeping blood into the seawater.
Yet he had persisted. Years of relentless, unforgiving training had honed a willpower that bordered on superhuman.
In the original story, why had Luffy been able to defeat Kaido? Why had his Ryuo been so powerful the moment he learned it?
Because his willpower was monstrous. His control over the flow of Haki within his body was far more refined.
Throughout his journey, he had fought countless opponents stronger than himself. A weaker will would have meant death. Why was he the only one who could keep getting back up?
Because his willpower was unbreakable. Even when knocked down, he gritted his teeth, forced himself to rise, and kept fighting.
Perhaps that was the true meaning of the "Will of D."
Victor gazed at the black-and-red Haki flowing around his fist and smiled.
Kaido really was an excellent teacher. A single club strike had been enough to force Ryuo out of him.
"I'll have to visit Wano someday to thank him properly. What a generous man… hehehe!"
With that thought, Victor pointed a finger toward the distant forest. A wisp of Haki shot through the air and struck the trunk of a thick tree.
The trunk bulged—then exploded like an overinflated balloon.
The entire sequence took less than a second before the tree collapsed with a thunderous crash. Victor's smile widened.
Normally, someone who had just learned Ryuo wouldn't be able to project Haki over such a distance. But Victor had his Devil Fruit powers to compensate. The moment his Haki left his body, he simply accelerated it tenfold.
"The more Haki you gather from other parts of your body, the stronger the attack, the greater the penetration, and the more devastating the damage. No wonder people in this world are so frugal with their Haki usage—only deploying it exactly where it's needed."
"I'll make sure I never run out. I'll amass so much Haki that even Kaido would despair at the sheer volume!"
Every person's body contained Haki. Awakening it was just the first step. To make Haki attacks stronger, one had to gather unused Haki from other parts of the body and channel it to the point of use—stacking it relentlessly.
If quality wasn't enough, quantity would compensate. The power of an attack depended entirely on how much Haki you could mobilize and concentrate.
It was like the difference between a poet and an ordinary person witnessing a breathtaking landscape.
The poet could weave beautiful verses to capture the moment.
The ordinary person could only blurt out, "Damn, that's pretty!"
It wasn't that the ordinary person lacked the vocabulary or writing ability—they simply didn't have the skill to assemble those words into something greater.
With this in mind, Victor set two major goals for his Armament Haki training.
First, he would increase his total Haki reserves to an overwhelming degree, ensuring that even without Ryuo, his attacks would be devastating. His Haki would tear through an enemy's defenses like a tidal wave, crushing their resistance and ravaging their insides—achieving Ryuo's effects through sheer force.
Second, for opponents whose Haki reserves were also vast—where their internal defenses were too strong for brute force to overcome—he would master the art of mobilizing Haki from every corner of his body to reinforce his attacks. Thus, refining his control over Haki flow was essential.
Victor harbored an even grander ambition: to awaken and strengthen the Haki within every single cell of his body.
Such a feat was unimaginable in this world. Most people could barely mobilize the Haki within their skin cells. Even Kaido had only reached the muscles—still unable to prevent damage to his internal organs.
Why could ordinary Haki only knock Kaido back without injuring him?
Knocking him back was just a matter of physics. Even without Haki, sufficient brute force could send him flying—though the attacker's hand would likely shatter in the process.
The true reason was that Kaido had awakened Haki down to his muscle fibers. When external Haki invaded his body, it was annihilated by the sheer density of his internal Haki before it could deal damage. Even if the clash was mutual destruction, the attacker's volume was never enough.
It was like a war between two nations. If one side amassed more soldiers at the border than the other, victory was inevitable—assuming their soldiers were equally skilled.
But what if the outnumbered nation suddenly mobilized its entire army to attack that single point?
The outcome would be entirely different.
With his major goals set and possessing such extraordinary physical gifts, Victor knew reaching that level was entirely possible—it was just a matter of how long it would take.
After deep contemplation, Rebecca returned from her classes.
"Rebecca, didn't Wendy come back with you?"
"No, she went to the shooting range for target practice. I came straight back after navigation class."
"Oh. Rebecca, for the next month, I'll be forging swords at the weapons factory, so I might not have time to train with you. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the elite training camp to see Instructor Zephyr. You can spar with people there or practice with Wendy here. You've just awakened Observation Haki—you need to solidify it properly. Don't let it be unreliable; that's a fatal flaw."
Victor laid out his plans and then gave Rebecca a stern warning.
"Mm, I'll work hard to get stronger. I want to be able to help you too!" Rebecca said firmly.
"The strongest enemies are mine to handle. You just need to find opponents who can sharpen you. As long as you steadily grow stronger, I'll be at ease. Don't lose your composure—that would be counterproductive." Victor smiled.
"Mm, I just want to stay by your side."
"Alright, while the weather's still clear, I'll help you solidify your Observation Haki. After this, you'll have to rely on sparring partners for the next month. Try to fully master it within that time."
"Mm, I'm ready."
Victor swiftly entered the forest and plucked numerous seeds from a large tree—each about the size of a walnut—perfect for training Rebecca's Observation Haki.
By the time he returned, Rebecca had already blindfolded herself. Victor scattered the seeds on the ground and sat cross-legged.
"Focus. Sense the disturbances in the space around you. Visualize the spatial layout in your mind. Ready? Here we go."
Rebecca didn't speak, only nodding. Victor remained silent as well and began hurling seeds at her—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, from the left, the right, above, below.
...
Time passed quickly, and evening arrived. Rain had begun to fall, growing heavier by the minute.
"Rebecca, let's call it a day. The rain's picking up—you head inside first. I'll go catch a fish in the sea." Victor said to the still-blindfolded Rebecca.
By now, Rebecca was panting, her figure somewhat disheveled. Her clothes bore green stains from the seeds, and her slender legs were marked with bruises.
Without another word, Victor dashed toward the sea, while Rebecca dragged her exhausted body inside to bathe.
"Rebecca, rest well. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the elite camp!"
After dinner, Victor called out to Rebecca before stepping into the torrential rain outside the cabin.
The night was pitch black, the sky choked with dark clouds. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and rain poured in sheets. Victor had been waiting for a night like this.
A faint smile on his lips, he drew the stone box containing the Divine Staff from his waist.
The last time he had used it was during a storm on the warship, but back then, he had been cloaked in Haki. After being struck by lightning for five minutes, he had sensed a slow transformation in his body—but the duration had been too short for him to fully grasp the changes. Since then, he hadn't encountered another suitable opportunity.
Tonight's weather was perfect for secrecy. The lightning summoned by the Divine Staff was born from the void, distinct from natural thunder. Using it openly would draw too much attention.
After all, who would believe lightning was materializing from thin air just to chase and strike him? Had he committed some unforgivable sin?
Though the staff could be concealed on his person, the bizarre phenomenon would still attract unwanted scrutiny.