"Ar… Armament Haki…"
Hack's gaze was glued to the wooden sword in Ryukawa's hand.
With Armament Haki coating it like armor, the wooden sword had turned pitch black, like a katana forged from obsidian jade—razor sharp, exuding a chilling pressure.
He couldn't be mistaken.
Hack was one hundred percent certain.
He absolutely had not seen wrong.
The wooden sword in Ryukawa's hand was clearly covered in Armament Haki.
What shocked Hack wasn't Armament Haki itself—
It was the person using it.
He was stunned.
Ryukawa?
This kid had also mastered Armament Haki?
How was that possible?!
It made no sense!
It completely defied logic!
If it were just Observation Haki, Hack could barely accept it. That was already mind-blowing, but still within his mental limits.
But who was going to explain to him why Ryukawa had not only mastered Observation Haki…
But had also mastered Armament Haki?
And at this age?
You needed to understand—
The difficulty of cultivating Armament Haki was far, far greater than Observation Haki!
Yet Ryukawa alone had mastered both?
What kind of monstrous talent was that?
Hack's understanding of the world was being shattered by this one boy.
"Mr. Hack… th-this is Armament Haki, right?"
Sabo swallowed and asked, staring at the sword.
Something didn't add up!
Mr. Hack, just a moment ago, hadn't you said—
Even Mr. Ryukawa probably wouldn't be able to touch Armament Haki any time soon?
You described it like some near-impossible power…
So how come—
Mr. Ryukawa looks like he's already completely mastered it?
Sabo was also stunned.
Which was it?
Was Armament Haki really that hard?
Because from where he was standing… it sure didn't look hard for Ryukawa.
"Yes. This is Armament Haki."
Hack nodded stiffly, his heart pounding, completely unable to calm down.
"So that means… Mr. Ryukawa really has mastered the extremely difficult Armament Haki you just described… right, Mr. Hack?"
Sabo still couldn't let it go.
"Ahem…"
Hack coughed dryly, took a deep breath, and tried his best to suppress the trembling in his chest.
The truth was exactly that.
But what could he do?
He was helpless too!
How was he supposed to know Ryukawa would turn out to be this much of a monster?
Observation Haki was one thing—already terrifying, but barely acceptable.
But mastering Armament Haki at this age on top of that?
That was just ridiculous.
Even with all his years of experience at sea, Hack still couldn't fully process this.
Too terrifying.
Ever since Ryukawa boarded this ship, reality had been getting more and more absurd.
A teenager who had mastered both Observation and Armament Haki…
Who would berryeve that?
And the scariest part was—
From Hack's point of view, no one had even been teaching Ryukawa.
Which meant…
He had taught himself both forms of Haki.
How terrifying did your talent and comprehension have to be to self-study Observation and Armament Haki?
Hack's brain hurt just thinking about it.
He just couldn't picture it.
Someone, alone, with no teacher, walking into not one but two Haki disciplines.
It completely broke his understanding of the world.
In all his years roaming the seas, this was the first time Hack had ever seen such a freakish example.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to have mastered Armament Haki as well."
Hack looked at Ryukawa, his expression twisted.
"With your level of strength, traveling with us… this isn't 'training' for you at all. You're basically just out here on a pleasure cruise."
He wasn't exaggerating.
Based on what he'd seen—
Across the entire East Blue, Ryukawa could practically walk sideways wherever he wanted.
Nothing could threaten his life. That much was obvious.
In East Blue, his strength would definitely rank at the very top.
"Armament Haki really isn't that hard."
Ryukawa smiled casually.
At that, Hack's eye twitched violently.
…You know what? I'm done talking.
How long had he himself been trying to train Armament Haki? He couldn't even remember anymore, but it definitely hadn't been "a little while."
And this kid had the nerve to say "it's not that hard"?
Good grief.
He decided it was best not to keep talking to this monster. Sooner or later, this kid was going to piss him into an early grave.
"Out of all the people I've met…"
"Your talent is absolutely number one."
Hack finally sighed, said that from the heart, then turned and walked away quickly.
He didn't want to stay there any longer.
Being around Ryukawa was bad for his self-esteem.
"Want to learn?"
Ryukawa looked at Sabo, who was staring at him with stars in his eyes.
"Yes!"
Sabo nodded like a pecking chicken.
"Alright then. Come practice swings with me."
"Only by swinging the sword can you become stronger."
Ryukawa never hid his method of getting stronger.
After all, it was true:
For him, swinging the sword really was the way to become stronger.
He had never lied to anyone about that.
"...???"
Sabo's face went blank.
Sword swings?
Seriously?
That… really works?
And so—
Under Ryukawa's influence, Sabo was pulled into the same boring, endless sword-swing training.
A little ways away—
Hack leaned against the rail of the deck, looking at Ryukawa's back as he trained. His eyes were distant.
Vaguely—
He recalled something.
Yesterday, before departing, Dragon had spoken to him very seriously.
"Hack, no matter what, you must ensure that boy Ryukawa's safety on this mission. His talent is terrifying. Given time, he'll definitely stand at the top of this sea and become an incredibly fearsome existence."
"After meeting him myself, I finally started to berryeve it… that such a terrifying genius really does exist in this world."
Dragon's words echoed in Hack's mind.
Looking at Ryukawa now, Hack muttered to himself:
"Chief… I berryeve you now…"
"You weren't wrong. This kid Ryukawa really is a true genius."
"No…"
"In my eyes, calling him a 'genius' doesn't even cut it anymore."
"I think calling him a 'monster' is more accurate."
"He's more like a monster—one who casually breaks common sense and exceeds everyone's imagination…"
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