"Haki?"
The unfamiliar term left Vivi momentarily confused, and Miss Valentine beside her was just as clueless.
So the two of them turned their gaze toward the blonde girl by the railing, waiting for her explanation.
Seeing the blank, newbie expressions on Vivi and Miss Valentine's faces, Olga curled her lips in satisfaction. She felt her moment to shine had arrived.
After following Leno and the others for so long, she could practically be considered one of the ship's "veterans." Naturally, she decided to show off a little in front of the newcomers.
Raising an eyebrow, she shot them a mischievous grin.
"Haki is a power that lies dormant within the human body. But mastering it? That's incredibly difficult!"
"Don't be fooled just because everyone on that island can use it. They only achieved that after long, grueling training!"
As she spoke, she clasped her hands behind her back and strolled over, putting on a show before continuing:
"There are three types of Haki: Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki!"
"The first two can be mastered through long-term, painstaking training. As for the third one—well, that thing is innate. You either have it, or you don't!"
"Then… does that mean a lot of people have Conqueror's Haki?"
Vivi glanced back at the battle on the island. Out of a dozen or so fighters, four possessed it. It didn't seem that rare.
"How could that be?!"
Olga's eyes widened as she stared at Vivi, her emotions flaring—before she deflated upon realizing Vivi genuinely didn't know.
"Conqueror's Haki is the so-called kingly quality that only one in a million people possess!"
"The qualifications of a king! Do you think that's something as common as roadside cabbage?"
"So it's that rare… Then our crew's lineup—doesn't that make us incredibly unusual on the sea?"
One in a million. And yet their ship had four such people. No wonder they were so strong.
"Unusual doesn't even begin to cover it. It's practically unheard of!"
"I've heard them say that even among the New World's emperor crews, the ones with the most only have two. Usually, having even one is already incredible!"
Sometimes, even Olga herself couldn't help but wonder where Leno had managed to gather so many monsters.
So many powerful individuals gathered together—once they entered the New World, what kind of spectacle would that become?
And just as the people on the ship were still discussing Haki, the situation on the island suddenly changed.
With a thunderous boom, several intertwined bursts of Conqueror's Haki exploded almost simultaneously, then dissipated into the air.
In the sudden silence, Leno laughed heartily, looking at the three women with clear satisfaction.
"Not bad at all. You've all improved quite a bit compared to before."
"Now then—let me see what kind of surprise you've prepared for me next!"
As he spoke, Huangquan was already drawn. Holding the long blade in hand, Leno crooked a finger toward them, signaling for them to come at him.
Kuina and the other two exchanged glances. Their auras surged upward, black-and-red lightning flickering faintly around them.
Across from him, Kuina, Yamato, and Hancock exchanged glances. Their auras began to surge, and black-red electrical arcs started flickering around them. When their momentum reached its peak, the three figures moved in unison like streaks of light, charging toward Leno.
"Great Perfume Femur!"
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Itto-ryu: Iai!"
So they're opening with a big move right away? Watching the three figures rush toward him at blazing speed, black-violet lightning instantly wrapped around Leno's body.
The long blade in his hand swung forward with gathered power, while his right leg—crackling with lightning—kicked backward.
The black-violet blade light met Yamato and Kuina head-on, while behind him he simultaneously received Hancock's kick.
The air froze in an instant. A massive, compressed sphere of energy violently contracted and expanded between them before detonating.
A deafening explosion erupted. Black-red and black-violet lightning scattered everywhere, trees were uprooted, and the ground beneath them shattered inch by inch.
Blinding white light, accompanied by ring-shaped shockwaves, spread rapidly outward from the island's center, sweeping across the land in the blink of an eye.
The terrifying shockwave hurled rocks and trees in all directions. The entire island rumbled, and even the surrounding seawater rippled violently.
When the light finally faded, the once-lush island was now completely barren. The ground was riddled with craters and massive cracks.
The four fighters in the center were in no better shape. Their clothes were torn, hair disheveled, and their faces smeared with dirt.
They glanced at one another, each seeing the same awkwardness reflected in the others' eyes.
Before any of them could speak, movement came from several small mounds of earth in the distance. Moments later, the mounds exploded as a group of people scrambled out in a sorry state.
"I've got dirt and sand all in my mouth!"
"If I'd known, I would've waited longer. Let them finish fighting first—wouldn't that have been better?"
The group didn't bother fixing their disheveled appearance at first, instead immediately venting their complaints.
They really had it rough. The initial clash had nothing to do with them, yet they'd insisted on squeezing themselves in.
In the end, they hadn't helped at all and only ended up eating a mouthful of sand. Who were they supposed to complain to?
"That was seriously dangerous just now. I almost got blown away!"
"Yeah… surviving something like that at such close range—we're insanely lucky."
After complaining, they began discussing the earlier danger with lingering fear, completely forgetting about the four people who had just fought.
Then, an irritated voice came from afar.
"Hey. Are you done chatting yet? The trial isn't over."
Seeing them chatting away as if nothing mattered, completely forgetting about the trial, veins bulged on Leno's forehead as he glared at them menacingly.
Hearing the restrained anger in Leno's voice, the group stiffened and slowly turned their heads in unison.
"Hahahaha—!"
Nami had been a bit worried when she first heard Leno speak, but the moment she saw how disheveled Leno and the others looked, she completely broke down and burst out laughing.
Once her laughter rang out, the others quickly followed suit, unable to hold it in.
They were laughing their hearts out—but the expressions on the four fighters across from them darkened.
It was only after everyone noticed Leno's face had gone pitch-black that they finally started to rein in their laughter.
But Leno's mood had already exploded. He stared at them viciously and said:
"Funny, huh? Fine. We'll see if you're still laughing later."