Even if it was "only" Observation Haki, it was enough to shake Hack to his core.
He himself hadn't even mastered Observation.
Yet this kid—
this teenager—
Had.
How could Hack not be stunned?
No wonder…
No wonder Ryukawa could easily dodge all of Sabo's attacks with his eyes closed.
That wasn't "instinct".
No—
Or rather, if you insisted on calling it instinct, then it was a level of instinct that bordered on the supernatural.
A terrifying intuition that could accurately read every incoming attack trajectory.
In other words—
He could foresee the trajectory of the opponent's attacks and avoid them ahead of time.
That was the horror of Observation Haki.
"The three colors of Haki… and this kid has already grasped one of them at this age."
Hack took a deep breath, but his heart refused to calm.
He suddenly had an urge to contact the leader and report this kid's latest development to Dragon.
Because this kid…
Was far scarier than they'd originally thought.
Hold on.
Hack suddenly thought of something even more absurd.
Normally—
Without guidance, it's almost impossible for someone to step into the realm of Haki.
Which raised a question:
Who taught this kid?
"The dojo master?"
"…No, that doesn't fit. If I remember correctly, the master said he's never shown his strength in front of the disciples. And even less likely that he'd personally teach a kid this young something like Haki."
"In that case…"
"Did this kid… teach himself?!"
"Is that even possible? For real?!"
Hack's mind went blank.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became.
This was insane.
A monster who could step into Haki without a teacher?!
Hack knew better than most how hard that was.
He himself had trained Haki before—
And never even managed to enter the door.
So he knew exactly how difficult it was to get started.
You needed overwhelming talent.
You needed time.
You needed repeated tempering.
But what was he seeing now?
A brat, who—without anyone instructing him—
Had casually crossed into the realm of Observation Haki…
And was even using it with frightening fluency?
Good grief.
Hack inhaled sharply again.
His heart was still pounding.
Too terrifying.
This wasn't something you heard about every day.
Especially when…
Ryukawa was still just a boy.
Hack had heard that this was even his first time going out to sea.
First voyage.
And already this strong?
Was this really what you'd call a "rookie"?
Have you ever seen a rookie who already has Observation Haki?
That was a joke.
There was no such thing as a Haki-using "newbie".
"This kid… chances are, he only awakened Observation very recently. Maybe… even just today."
"And yet his growth rate is already visibly terrifying."
"I'm starting to feel like my own strength… is utterly worthless before him."
"In front of this kid, I don't even have the courage to lift my head…"
Hack felt a deep, crushing sense of defeat.
To have mastered one type of Haki at this age was incredibly rare.
Not unheard of—
But extremely uncommon.
Hack never imagined he'd witness such a case up close.
And the person was standing right in front of him.
"A truly terrifying monster. No wonder the leader was willing to throw away his pride just to recruit him into the Revolutionary Army."
"With talent like this, given enough time, this kid will definitely become a truly remarkable existence."
"It's a shame the dojo master won't let him go. Otherwise, in the near future, the Revolutionary Army would gain another powerhouse—a monster on the level of a corps commander!"
Hack thought of many things.
In the end, it all condensed into one helpless sigh.
What a waste.
Such a monstrous talent—
And they'd failed to recruit him.
Nearby—
The Revolutionary soldiers were still processing what they had just seen.
They couldn't hold it in anymore and turned to Hack.
"Mr. Hack, what exactly did that kid use just now?"
"How did he dodge all of Sabo's attacks with his eyes closed?"
Hack didn't hide it.
He answered with sincere admiration:
"That's what countless strong people on this sea talk about—one of the three colors of Haki: Observation Haki."
"What?!"
The squad exploded.
Observation Haki?!
That unremarkable-looking kid…
Had awakened Observation Haki?!
Damn…
That was insane.
Their gazes toward Ryukawa changed completely.
To have fully grasped a form of Haki at that age…
His potential was limitless.
"This kid's a complete freak."
That was the only way they could describe him.
Sabo, on the other hand, was on the verge of doubting life.
No matter how he attacked—
Even though Ryukawa's eyes were closed—
He still couldn't land a single hit.
From start to finish—
He couldn't even brush Ryukawa's clothes.
It was suffocating.
Sabo had never imagined—
That even with his opponent blindfolded, he would still be this helpless.
"It's like…"
"Every one of my attacks is being completely seen through in advance."
His throat dried.
His eyes were full of horror as he looked at Ryukawa.
What a terrifying realization.
Was it possible?
Prediction?
That every attack of his was being perfectly predicted?
That thought shattered Sabo's understanding of combat.
"To be able to briefly foresee the future in battle…"
The more he thought about it, the more shaken he became.
How were you supposed to fight that?
Even with his eyes closed, Ryukawa could "see" every one of Sabo's attacks and move accordingly.
Facing such an opponent—
There was simply no winning.
"Huff… huff…"
Finally, Sabo stopped, panting, staring at Ryukawa with a face full of shock, fear, disbelief, and countless tangled emotions.
At that moment—
Ryukawa opened his eyes.
Observation Haki really was a wonderful thing.
Predict the attack trajectory.
Move early.
Easy dodge.
"Observation plus Armament… with my swordsmanship and kill techniques on top of that…"
"My strength, even in the Grand Line, would count as upper tier."
Ryukawa could clearly feel it.
With his current power—
He still couldn't match the absolute peak monsters of the Grand Line.
But he would definitely count as upper-class strength there.
With this level of power—
In the East Blue?
Becoming a regional overlord would be laughably easy.
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