"Fifteen thousand."
The stall owner was a middle-aged man wearing straw sandals. He looked quite capable, and his stall displayed five or six rare-grade high-end items.
"That's too expensive."
Even though he had expected as much, Kurosaki Rei still shook his head.
Techniques and bloodlines were things that could grow alongside an Explorer and be used for a lifetime, so they were naturally more expensive than ordinary equipment. Even so, Kurosaki Rei didn't think this Armament Haki learning item was worth fifteen thousand.
More importantly—he only had 3,450 Terminal Coins on him.
Seeing that the stall owner didn't speak, Kurosaki Rei asked, "Do you accept item trades?"
The man looked up at Kurosaki Rei, scrutinizing him. After a moment, he spoke.
"What can you offer?"
Kurosaki Rei took out a Small Inheritance Crystal.
"One of these, plus three thousand Terminal Coins. Deal?"
When the stall owner saw the Inheritance Crystal, his eyes lit up. Then he looked at Kurosaki Rei with a strange expression.
He could tell that Kurosaki Rei wasn't weak and didn't seem like a complete newcomer—so why would a first-rank Explorer be willing to sell an Inheritance Crystal?
This was a precious item for upgrading combat techniques, something that could turn an ordinary office worker into a competent fighter proficient with weapons and martial skills. It was practically the lifeline of first-rank Explorers.
"No," the stall owner shook his head, probing with his words.
"Even if Inheritance Crystals are rare, that's only because people don't sell them. One piece can't make up twelve thousand. You'll need three."
"How could I possibly have that many?" Kurosaki Rei replied calmly.
"I only have two. Two Small Inheritance Crystals for this item—take it or leave it. If not, I'll just go upgrade my existing specializations."
In truth, Kurosaki Rei had three Small Inheritance Crystals. But he'd sensed the stall owner's desire for them—there was no way he'd agree immediately.
"Two pieces…"
The stall owner frowned slightly. In terms of pure value, his Armament Haki item was indeed worth more than two Small Inheritance Crystals. But it had been sitting here for over a week without selling, and he truly needed those crystals.
One of his key skills was just two Small Inheritance Crystals away from upgrading.
"I've thought about it—strengthening what I already have is probably safer—"
Kurosaki Rei hadn't even finished saying forget it before the stall owner cut him off.
"Deal!"
The stall owner stood up, grabbed the item, and immediately initiated a trade request.
A small window popped up in front of Kurosaki Rei.
['Who's Gonna Smell My Athlete's Foot' has initiated a trade request. Accept?]
When Kurosaki Rei saw the stall owner's Terminal nickname, his expression almost cracked. Still, he forced himself to look reluctantly agreeable and accepted the trade.
After the transaction, the stall owner smiled.
"To be honest, I really needed Inheritance Crystals for a skill. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sold it at this price. Let's just say we've made a friend."
"Mutual benefit," Kurosaki Rei replied. "By the way, where did this thing come from?"
He pointed to the item in his hand.
"Don't even mention it," the man sighed.
"I fought tooth and nail in the One Piece world and ended up as nothing more than a petty officer at Marineford. This thing got authenticated during settlement. Selling it like this barely lets me break even."
Perhaps because the deal had gone through and he was in a good mood, the stall owner didn't bother hiding anything.
After chatting a bit more, Kurosaki Rei left the stall, having gained another piece of information:
Items directly obtained by Formal Explorers in mission worlds could be brought back to the Terminal Space by paying Terminal Coins.
For example, the Armament Haki item in his hand had originally been a Marine Headquarters textbook on Armament Haki. After authentication by the Terminal Space, it was converted into a cultivation-type item that could be directly used to learn the skill.
Interestingly, this item wasn't actually a book. It was a cube shaped like a book, with nothing inside—Kurosaki Rei couldn't read any theoretical content about Haki from it.
This was likely the Terminal Space's way of preventing Explorers from endlessly copying, transcribing, and distributing such knowledge after returning.
Kurosaki Rei wandered the trading market a bit longer, then spent 2,000 Terminal Coins on a rare-grade recovery item before heading back.
He was already itching to find out what Armament Haki was really like, and whether it matched his expectations.
Back at his residence, Kurosaki Rei made a request.
"Terminal, I want to learn Armament Haki."
[Request received. Beginning the awakening of Armament Haki for Pioneer.]
As the Terminal Space's prompt sounded, the item in Kurosaki Rei's hand vanished.
Immediately after, his vision darkened and his consciousness grew hazy.
It was a strange sensation—like floating in the void, communicating with the deepest layers of his own awareness, awakening a latent potential known as Haki.
As if drifting through endless darkness, he didn't know how much time passed. Then, he heard wailing at the level of the soul. In a daze, he once again saw that demon-god-like figure in the inferno, gazing at him across the abyss.
Kurosaki Rei opened his eyes and checked the wall clock.
Five hours had passed.
He opened his menu and checked the newly acquired ability.
[Armament Haki]
Skill Rating: C+ (rating affected by skill level)Skill Level: 3 / 40Skill Type: ActiveCooldown: None
Description:
Consumes a certain amount of Soul Source to activate Armament Haki, covering any chosen part of the body. Consumption varies based on coverage area and duration.
Body parts covered by Armament Haki gain greatly increased defense and can strike non-corporeal, spiritual enemies.
Skill Evaluation:
Please do not use it to cover strange body parts.
"Haki, huh…"
Kurosaki Rei ignored the Terminal Space's mischievous evaluation. He rolled up his right sleeve and activated Armament Haki.
A layer of gray-black armor visibly coated his arm, its surface glossy, with a distinctly metallic texture.
He tapped it with his other hand—it was indeed hard. Then he drew Prison Demon and lightly touched the blade against the arm wrapped in Armament Haki.
Clang—
The sound was like metal striking metal.
Kurosaki Rei looked at his arm. A faint white mark flashed briefly, then was quickly covered again by the flowing Armament Haki.
"What a fascinating ability."
A smile appeared on Kurosaki Rei's face. He was very satisfied with Armament Haki's defensive power.
After all, Prison Demon was a rare-grade, max-rated primary weapon. Even though he hadn't swung with full force, its sharpness was no joke—yet it hadn't cut his arm.
In real combat, though, he could tell his current Armament Haki level was still low. If he actually hacked at himself with his blade, it would definitely break through.
But Kurosaki Rei wasn't a training dummy who stood still and let enemies slash him. In battle, he was agile. He wouldn't let lethal attacks land cleanly, while weaker blows could be tanked with Armament Haki—giving him far greater tactical flexibility.
More importantly, Armament Haki wasn't just a defensive shell. Hardened fists hit much harder, and Haki could also be extended outward to coat Prison Demon, further enhancing the blade's durability and sharpness.
After truly learning this "technique," Kurosaki Rei felt that so-called Haki wasn't just a simple body-hardening method—it was an expression of spirit, essence, and will.
He wasn't highly educated, but he had studied martial arts extensively. Drawing from legendary ancient martial traditions, he felt Haki resembled a kind of "intent."
His master had once said that peak warriors of old could kill with sword intent from a hundred meters away, or shatter mountains with fist intent. Those feats relied not purely on physical strength, but on a cultivated state of mind—a power of will.
In the One Piece canon, Haki was described as the external manifestation of willpower—vague and mysterious. To Kurosaki Rei, that aligned perfectly with his own understanding.
All in all, he felt this trade was absolutely worth it. Haki truly was a system with a high ceiling.
At just Level 3, it already showed this much power. If he could raise it to max level, he might truly become impervious to blades and fire, with unmatched offensive might.
Kurosaki Rei checked the requirements to upgrade Armament Haki further.
To level it up now, he would need 1 Small Inheritance Crystal and 400 Terminal Coins.
He could afford it—but for the moment, he decided not to upgrade immediately. Instead, he planned to spend some time cultivating and comprehending it on his own, to see whether he could level it through training alone.
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