His hands, coiled with Haki, resembled pitch-black Flowing Fire, continuously burning, making the pupils of the two shrink repeatedly.
Bang!
Two hands penetrated into the smoke and flame; with just a single grip, an explosive sound erupted, causing the surrounding smoke and flame to scatter.
The smoke and flame drifted backward, left and right, forming the figures of Smoker and Ace.
Ace struck a pose and said in a deep voice, "Hey, better not let him hit you, otherwise it won't feel too good."
Back in Nalohara, just one strike from that stance knocked him down.
He still remembered that pain.
"You don't need to say more." Smoker bit his cigar and exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression stern.
Though he hadn't seen this stance, Smoker had also endured Sage's attacks, similarly knocked down by a single strike, and he understood how ridiculously strong this guy was.
Not to mention the Haki that almost turned into shock waves; just being grabbed by him in their current condition, would be unpleasant.
But...
Smoker looked at the guy who landed on the ground, a cruel smile appearing.
Too difficult!
This isn't just about not being hit by him throughout; they absolutely can't be touched by Sage at all. That touch causes internal damage, a force more absurd than Haki!
"What? Not coming?"
Sage grinned, showing his teeth, and moved his hands, "If you don't come, then I'll go over!"
As he finished speaking, his figure flashed, and in an instant, he appeared in front of Ace; with Ace's astonished expression, a huge fist smashed down directly.
Bear!
The fist plunged into a mass of flames, and the force thrusting out lowered the flames; as the punch was thrown, without even looking, he kicked sideways, connecting with the jitte that came attacking from the side, producing a muffled sound that sent Smoker flying away.
"Playing dirty tricks without martial integrity, but for me, it doesn't matter, Smoker!" Sage laughed aloud.
"Observation?" Smoker, retreating through the air, landed on the ground, raising his head with a provocative expression: "It seems facing us, you're not that relaxed after all."
Observation as a use of the power of heart and will requires calm and rationality; it must be used in a focused state, the higher the level of Observation, the higher the degree of focus needed.
To fend off his sudden attack, this man wasn't as easygoing as he seemed; during a battle, one still needed focus and to maintain rationality.
Sage shook his head, suddenly waving his palm, unleashing a burst of Haki, blasting away the flames coming from above, scattering into sparks, and as the sparks flew, a flame condensed beside Smoker, transforming back into Ace's figure.
"As long as you deplete enough, that state won't last long, right?" Ace showed a confident smile.
Two people, one weakened in spirit leading to a loss of Haki, the other unable to use Observation, as Logia-type can't touch Armament Haki, basically means nothing.
Dealing with Sage, who can use Observation, indeed puts them at a disadvantage, but if they exhaust Sage to the brink, that Observation can't be used, it'll be hard for him to dodge their attacks.
At the same level, without using Observation, even with Haki it's impossible to hit the two of them, whereas the power of their combination is not low, Sage certainly won't be able to defend then.
Sage sneered: "Worthy of a Pirate, you all have quite the dreams, but with your level, I don't need to be so focused; that's extra power."
Observation as one of the powers of heart and will is indeed as they said, used instinctually in calm and rational states, requiring a certain degree of focus.
But it's impossible for a person to maintain this state throughout a battle; long duration will inevitably lead to fatigue, and physical depletion will accelerate mental exhaustion.
No one could guarantee constant focus through a full battle.
But Sage is different.
He wasn't focused at all, not calm or rational dealing with these two.
Being able to react instinctively and attack was purely because...
Thoughtless Shadow Kill.
'Thoughtless Shadow Kill' in North Star Divine Fist is a technique that can unleash attacks unconsciously without sensing.
After mastering Observation, this kind of technique naturally manifests.
No need to stay calm in a battle; as long as a crisis approaches, regardless of perceiving it, the body instinctively reacts.
But once reacted, wouldn't he have perceived it?
If maintaining focused rational calm is the active use of Observation.
Then Sage is completely operating Observation passively.
Sneak attacks will never work on him; he'll never be caught off guard like some so-called strongest man in the world suddenly getting stabbed from the front.
"Forget it..."
Sage looked at the two, his eyes slightly closing, then suddenly opening, a red dot appearing in his pupils, matching his fierce body, resembling a demon, making the two break out in a cold sweat instinctively.
"If you want me to focus so much, let me show you the true... power of Haki!"
Whoosh!
As soon as the words fell, his figure vanished from the spot; in that instant, the two were startled, one turning to smoke, the other into fire, about to disperse and flee.
But at that moment, a fierce and large hand suddenly appeared, penetrating the smoke and flames separately.