"You will personally teach me Haki?"
In the living room, Xiang En looked at Rayleigh in surprise, his voice filled with uncontrollable excitement and delight.
While the three were drinking and chatting, after Rayleigh learned that Xiang En had promised Old Niel to go to Dressrosa to rescue his wife and daughter, he suddenly proposed the idea of guiding Xiang En in Haki training.
"Haki? What is that? And to be taught by this old gambler?"
Old Niel's eyes flickered. As a shipwright, although he had been to the New World a few times, he had never fought anyone, so he had no knowledge of Haki.
However, seeing how seriously little brother Xiang En was taking this, Haki was clearly not something simple.
Moreover, little brother Xiang En needed Rayleigh's guidance. Could this old drunkard, who was always losing money, actually be a hidden master?
"You can understand it as an essential ability in the New World. With it, you can better fight against Devil Fruit users."
Xiang En gave him the simplest possible explanation, his intense gaze still fixed on Rayleigh.
It is well known that the protagonist Luffy's Haki in the original work was learned from the old man in front of him. It was the solid foundation established under Rayleigh's guidance that allowed Luffy's strength to exponentially increase every time he encountered a "new master" after entering the New World.
Of course, the "Nika Aura" might account for a large part of that, but Xiang En was one hundred percent confident in the teaching level of the protagonist's first master.
Rayleigh didn't speak. He raised his wine glass to his lips and took a sip.
A moment later, as he placed the wine glass back on the table, a streak of red light suddenly flashed in his eyes.
Xiang En's body violently trembled.
An indescribable pressure erupted abruptly from Rayleigh's entire body, sweeping out like a gale, causing the wooden window frames in the room to creak and the furniture to shake.
Old Niel's body shivered. Seeing the objects shaking in the room, he thought the window hadn't been closed, letting the wind in. After complaining, he ran to close the window.
He was completely unaffected by this pressure.
However, Xiang En, who was watching Rayleigh head-on, was completely enveloped by this aura, or rather, this aura was aimed solely at him!
It felt like a king towering over all living beings, making one instinctively want to kneel down in reverence.
In an instant, Xiang En felt a violent impact on his mind. His soul was wailing, as if he would faint in the next moment.
This is, Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki)!
The Haoshoku Haki of the King of the Pirates' Right Hand—Dark King Rayleigh.
Coming to his senses, Xiang En clenched his teeth, his gaze becoming resolute. He used all his strength to prevent his bones from collapsing under this fierce pressure.
And as if sensing Xiang En's unyielding will, a pressure that was not weak suddenly burst forth from his eyes, rapidly rising under the oppression of Rayleigh's aura!
With these two auras constantly clashing, Xiang En finally regained control of his body.
He did not speak to end this test initiated by Rayleigh.
Instead, under Rayleigh's appreciative gaze, he endured the pressure, slowly extended his hand, and with difficulty, grabbed the wine bottle on the table. He then poured the wine into Rayleigh's glass.
The glass was filled perfectly, no more, no less, without a single drop missing or overflowing.
Xiang En returned the bottle to its place and forced a smile:
"Mr. Rayleigh, did I pass?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room returned to calm.
"Hahaha, little brother Xiang En, you have indeed awakened this power!"
Rayleigh suddenly burst out laughing. He picked up the wine that Xiang En had poured and took a satisfying sip.
As his laughter subsided, the overwhelming aura instantly vanished. The room immediately returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. However, the cracks in the window frame and the slightly moved furniture highlighted the extraordinary event.
At least Old Niel finally understood.
"This… is this Haki?" His lips trembled as he stared, horrified, at the changed environment in the house.
He couldn't imagine that two people sitting still could affect a window more than ten meters away, even causing a crack.
If that pressure had been directed at a person, wouldn't it have been enough to instantly kill them?
"To be precise, it's one of the three types of Haki, Haoshoku Haki. It is an ability that only one in a few million people has the qualifications to awaken."
Rayleigh explained with a smile, though his eyes were distant.
Another young man who has mastered Haoshoku Haki.
It seems the sea today is truly developing as you wished.
"Little brother Xiang En, your Haoshoku Haki is still in the initial awakening stage and cannot be used freely. But don't worry, just practice with me like we did just now every day, and you should be able to master it within about a week."
"Every day?" Xiang En, who was panting heavily on the chair, showed a look of utter despair.
After the Haoshoku clash with Rayleigh, he felt his body was almost completely drained, without even the strength to stand.
The physical exhaustion was minor; the most painful part was that most of his spirit had been pulled out.
It felt like pulling an all-nighter at an internet cafe with classmates in high school and then immediately returning to the classroom for four consecutive periods of math. He figured if he closed his eyes now, he would fall asleep in less than a minute.
The thought of having to do this every day made Xiang En feel miserable.
"Yes, every day."
Sensing Xiang En's distress, Rayleigh smiled even more cheerfully.
In his eyes, the two most talented young people he had seen in recent years were Luffy and Xiang En. Their distinct personalities reminded him of his two former apprentices, Shanks and Buggy.
However, leaving Luffy aside, that kid Buggy's talent was far inferior to Xiang En's.
Rayleigh, lost in memory, seemed particularly serene, a smile lingering on his lips, like an ordinary, white-haired old man sipping wine and reminiscing about the past.
But to Xiang En, this scene looked more like a scheming old man devising ways to torment his future student.
A chill ran down Xiang En's spine. Just as he was about to speak up and criticize Rayleigh, words that brought him even greater despair arrived.
"After the daily Haoshoku Haki training, we will move on to Busoshoku (Armament) and Kenbunshoku (Observation) Haki. Busoshoku mainly relies on you finding enemies to train with, preferably wild beasts in the mountains. For Kenbunshoku, I will need to give you a little help."
"What kind of help are you referring to?" Xiang En swallowed. He recalled the scene in the anime where Rayleigh taught Luffy Haki.
It can't be, is he going to take out a stick, have me sit on the ground blindfolded, and dodge his attacks!
Hey, hey, hey, I'm not that incredibly durable Luffy!
"You'll know soon enough!" Rayleigh gave a devilish smile.
Meanwhile, on the other side…
Klee knew she had caused trouble again.
When she and Big Sister Kagura arrived at the seaside, they immediately dumped all the bombs from her backpack into the sea.
A very fast ship charged towards the shore and happened to enter the minefield they had set up.
Klee's bombs were not ordinary bombs. To show off for her new friend, she had used her proudest creation and had even poured all the Pyro Elemental Power she could control into them.
Furthermore, Klee had noticed that when using her power in this world, perhaps because the Pyro Element was abundant, her ability to channel it from the air was even stronger.
Therefore, this bomb was absolutely the most powerful she had ever made!
Boom!!!
The sound was as loud as a muffled thunderclap. The entire Sabaody Archipelago was shaken twice. The sea boiled, and an enormous spray of water, dozens of meters wide and high, shot into the sky.
Rising with the water spray was the slave ship, which had been blasted into a thousand pieces.
As the water fell, the tens of meters of seawater turned into rain, suddenly pouring down on the entire harbor, submerging many of the ships docked near the edge.
"Enemy… attack! Enemy attack!!!"
The people from the slave ship finally landed on the ground. It took them a moment to realize that their ship had been blown up. The guards on the ship screamed in panic.
The slaves, previously bound by chains, now had a chance to escape. They climbed onto the shore one after another and scattered into the island's interior.
The people who were originally at the harbor first heard a deafening explosion, then were hit by the seawater, and then, upon opening their eyes, saw a large crowd of people running directly towards them.
Immediately, they thought the pirates had invaded again. They abandoned their belongings and ran in chaos.
In an instant, the entire port descended into a riot, and the chaos began to expand into the city.