If not for the Dimensional Roulette, Ren would've been nothing more than an ordinary man with a bit of cleverness.
At best, he could've figured out a way to survive in the East Blue, then go to Loguetown to ask Smoker for help dealing with Cocoyasi's situation.
That would've been the best he could hope for.
Destroying all his enemies in such a crushing, overwhelming manner—like he had done—would've been impossible.
Because, at his core, he was just an ordinary man.
And precisely because of that, Ren refused to lose in terms of willpower.
Pain? That was nothing. Compared to being powerless, pain was nothing more than drizzle on the skin!
The agony that gnawed at his bones lasted endlessly. Every "shedding" took time—water flooding into the container, filling it, bursting it apart, then beginning the next cycle.
Each cycle lasted about an hour.
After thirty long hours, the transformation of his aptitude finally came to an end.
During that time, Nami and the others had come to check on him more than once, eventually setting up shifts to guard him in turns.
Now, Ren lay on the floor, gasping for breath, his body thinner and hollowed, like he'd been drained dry.
But there was no sense of pain or relief after surviving hardship.
Only eagerness.
First, was the theory of the "Armor."
According to the Marine training manual, one could imagine wearing an invisible suit of armor when practicing Armament Haki. Drawing inspiration from real armor, one guided their senses to establish a fixed perception—in essence, visualizing a formless armor encasing the body.
It didn't exist in reality, couldn't be seen or touched, yet one could faintly sense its flow through perception.
During that process,the power of Armament Haki within the body would naturally awaken.
After all, Haki was precisely that—the power to manifest invisible armor.
Normally, this process was painfully slow—like cracking open a chunk of raw jade ore, whose tough outer shell had to be chipped away again and again.
Perseverance, talent, and guidance—those were the three tools for breaking through.
Guidance determined the force of each strike. Poor talent meant hitting at the very edge of the ore, even if the strength was the same—progress would be painfully slow.
Those people had to break through multiple extra layers compared to others. Lack perseverance, and you might strike at the right spot but only tap a few times—your pace would crawl.
That was what the manual emphasized: never be lazy, never overestimate yourself.
But for Ren, things were a little different.
Armament Haki was a power that existed within the human body—a fact repeated over and over again.
It wasn't conjured from nothing; it was a latent human force. Ephemeral, yet real. And its color was black.
Coincidentally, Ren's other power system—Qi—shared similar traits.
No—it would be more accurate to say that both were methods of awakening humanity's hidden potential.
Qi was simply more refined, more systematic.
Haki, by contrast, was rougher and less defined.
But now, through his heightened perception, Ren suddenly realized—the source of Armament Haki and the source of Qi were the same! The latent reservoir within the human body!
It was a vague concept—but to use a crude analogy:
If the body's hidden potential were likened to water, then Qi was vapor or mist, while Haki was ice or frost. Their essence was the same, only their forms and manifestations differed.
Yet since they shared a common origin, they also shared deep compatibility.
When Ren's aptitude finished evolving and he sensed the Haki within his body—his Qi suddenly began to surge violently.
Then, something incomprehensible happened. Part of his Qi merged into the Haki, and part of the Haki seeped into the Qi. The two fused into a single, unified force.
The result—the barrier that usually took ages to breach in Armament Haki training, that stubborn jade ore—was shattered in one strike, by a hammer twice as strong and perfectly aimed!
Haki surged through his body.
Ren instinctively guided it the way he manipulated Qi, channeling it into his palm.
Suddenly—a dark violet-black aura enveloped his hand. Across his skin, nearly black in shade, flickered faint purple flames.
Ren stared at his transformed hand—like a gauntlet of violet-black metal—and thought for a moment.He reached for a flintlock, aimed at his palm, and pulled the trigger.
Clang!
The bullet shot out at point-blank range, slamming into his palm—but it shattered instantly, like it had struck solid steel!
"Armament Haki…?"
Ren fell silent, then released the coating of Haki.
A deep fatigue washed over him—rare and intense.
Of course, under the regenerative effect of his "breathing recovery," the exhaustion vanished in seconds.
Still, it revealed one truth: Haki consumed an enormous amount of stamina.
After all, in the One Piece world, powerful fighters often battled for three days and nights straight, or ten days and nights—all while keeping their Haki active the entire time.
But even they only maintained partial coverage. Like Black Arm Zephyr or Iron Fist Garp—even those monsters didn't dare use full-body Armament Haki constantly. That spoke volumes about its drain on the body.
There was also Observation Haki,but that required sensory training and experience—something Ren would have to explore on his own for now.
Still, as a freshly awakened Haki prodigy, he was confident he'd soon master both basic colors of Haki.
"Ren, are you okay?"
A voice called from outside the room—Nami's. Moments later, she pushed the door open, looking worried.
Perhaps because the Enlightenment had activated its heating system, she was lightly dressed. A white top—or rather, a bikini—left large portions of her fair skin exposed. Her long orange hair fell to her waist, and below it, light blue jeans hugged her long, shapely legs.
Something like this—
"I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you."
As he spoke,Nami half-forced him back onto the bed, running her hands over him from head to toe to make sure nothing was wrong before finally sighing in relief.
She shot him a glare. "Seriously—why didn't you warn us earlier? If Vivi hadn't heard you groaning, we wouldn't have known what was going on!"
"I didn't expect this to happen either,"Ren said with a wry smile, pulling the sulking Nami into his arms to calm her.
Though… their position was a bit awkward—Nami was straddling him, and her soft curves pressed down against his chest. Each tiny movement made faint, suggestive sounds.
Pff~ pff~
Still—since there was unfinished business, Ren smacked her on the butt and scolded her to change into something more modest later. He could enjoy the view—but others couldn't.
Afterward, they went out for a meal.
The Enlightenment was still soaring through the sky, now at the altitude of the White-White Sea. Their destination was about a day's journey away.
Ren returned to his cabin and prepared for another lottery draw.
This time, it wouldn't be about Haki. His aptitude improvement was sufficient for now—if thirty billion couldn't make him a top-tier Haki genius, he'd just spend more later!
But resources were still limited, so he had to plan carefully.
After some thought,Ren decided to draw two Calabash Brother templates.
A grand prize usually yielded one template, and he currently had four out of seven—still missing three.
Second Brother template: possessed the powers of farsight and keen hearing—eyes and ears beyond compare, with lightning-fast reactions but poor combat ability. Primarily a support type.
There was no harm in drawing it early. Such gifts might even help his Observation Haki training, since templates were part of his innate potential.
Sixth Brother template: a similar support type whose specialty was invisibility and transparency.
Invisibility, of course, made one unseen to the naked eye—but in the original story, it wasn't particularly outstanding, resembling the Clear-Clear Fruit.
The transparent body ability, however, was intriguing—wherever light could pass, so could he.If sunlight shone through a closed window, Ren could turn into light and follow it inside.
As a secondary utility power, its value didn't depend much on jackpot scaling.
It wasn't a decisive ability anyway.
There was also the Seventh Brother template, which was somewhat special—since the Seventh Brother wielded a magical artifact: the Purple Calabash.
It could trap humans and demons alike, and even store elements like water, fire, thunder, and lightning. Once someone entered the gourd, they vanished without a trace.
Useful—but not essential enough to require a grand prize.
"Well, let's leave it to luck. I've got to fill two slots anyway."
After some thought, Ren began the lottery.
As usual, he started with a Sea Offering ritual—this time, tossing in a diamond shovel.
[Sea Offering: Success!]
[Interesting… but only once.]
[Fulfillment – Activated!]
"Getting pickier now, huh… Looks like my bargaining chips are running out."
Ren twitched a smile and followed up with a double Lucky Lighter combo.
A ten-pull draw this time.
{Template Drawn – Calabash Brother: Second Brother}
{Item Drawn – Synthesis Scroll}
{Item Drawn – Experience Recorder}
{Item Drawn – Cursed Blade Thousand Edge}
{Template Drawn – Calabash Brother: Sixth Brother}
{Item Drawn – Spider Sense}
{Item Drawn – Magic Array: Angel of Glory}
{Item Drawn – Magic Array: Lightning Drain}
{Item Drawn – Wireless Cup Phone}
{Item Drawn – Romantic Turret: Pumpkin}
The last item materialized in Ren's hands—a weapon that blended blade and firearm.
An Imperial Arm.
The Romantic Turret: Pumpkin.
[Romantic Turret: Pumpkin]
Origin: Akame ga Kill Dimension
Type: Imperial Arm
Description: One of the legendary Imperial Arms created by the founding emperor to sustain his empire's reign. The Romantic Turret: Pumpkin converts mental energy into "bullets," firing them as shockwave projectiles. As long as the user's spirit endures, ammunition is limitless. The weapon's power increases in proportion to the user's emotional and life-threatening stress. It's secret technique lifts all safety limits to unleash immense destructive force, but causes overheating afterward, rendering it unusable temporarily.
Cost: Mental Energy
"Looks like it could serve as a weapon module for the Barracks Template…" Ren mused instinctively.
(End of Chapter)