The next morning.
Sunlight spilled over Marineford, shining off rooftops and flagpoles, flooding every training ground with blazing heat.
Across the island, Marines were already at it.
Formations thundered.
Punches cracked through the air.
Shouts and counting echoed like rolling waves.
Inside his private quarters, Kai had just finished his usual hell-style morning routine when—
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming."
He pulled on a clean shirt and went to open the door.
Standing outside was a familiar, towering figure in a white coat draped over his shoulders.
Zephyr.
"Instructor Zephyr?" Kai blinked, a little surprised. "You're here this early?"
Zephyr stepped in like he owned the place and gave the room a quick once-over.
"Not bad," he commented. "A lot more comfortable than the shared dorms."
Then he turned back, face settling into its usual stern lines.
"From today on," he said, "whenever you're not in group training with the rest of the camp, I'll be giving you separate lessons."
"Separate lessons?" Kai echoed.
Zephyr nodded once.
"On Haki."
The word alone made Kai's gaze sharpen.
Zephyr clearly noticed and allowed himself a faint smile.
"As expected," he said, "you already know a little bit about it."
He crossed his arms.
"You've just joined the training camp. In front of the entire class, you beat the strongest trainee we have. You forced Smoker to fight seriously and still dropped him."
"If it were anyone else…"
Zephyr shook his head.
"With that performance, they'd be floating from arrogance for months. They'd get cocky. Complacent. They'd think they were invincible."
Kai stayed quiet, listening.
Zephyr's eyes grew more serious.
"So before I teach you Haki, I want to make one thing clear."
"Don't let that victory get to your head."
"Don't think that beating Smoker means you can look down on this whole sea."
"Because in truth…"
"With your current strength, any truly top-tier powerhouse could crush you with one hand."
"Whether it's Garp, Sengoku, the Four Emperors of this era, or the legendary monsters of the last era—Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard, Golden Lion… in front of them, the 'you' right now is still far, far too weak."
He didn't sugarcoat a single word.
But everything he said was simple fact.
"I understand," Kai said.
He had never underestimated this world.
He knew perfectly well everything he'd shown so far…
Was only step one.
Zephyr watched his face for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.
"Good. I was a little worried you'd start getting arrogant," he admitted. "Looks like I didn't need to."
He moved over to the simple table in the living room, sat down, and gestured for Kai to sit opposite.
"All right. Enough lecturing."
"Let's talk about Haki."
"The Haki I'll be teaching you," Zephyr said, "are the two standard types: Observation Haki and Armament Haki."
"Observation Haki is for perception. With it, you can sense the presence of others, feel their emotions… and most importantly, anticipate their intent."
"When you reach a certain level, you can see an opponent's movements in advance and avoid attacks before they happen."
"Armament Haki, on the other hand, is for attack and defense. It hardens your body, your fists, your weapons—turns them into invisible armor."
"It's the second method, aside from seastone, for dealing with Logia users."
"And it's also the true gateway to joining the ranks of the strong on this sea."
Zephyr locked eyes with Kai.
"If you'd already mastered Armament yesterday," he said, "there would've been no need for that seastone dagger."
"With your current physical strength, just your bare hands would have been enough to knock Smoker out in one blow."
Kai felt his heart stir.
He already knew the basics of Haki from his own reading and from conversations with others. But hearing Zephyr lay it out so systematically—
Armament for offense and defense.
Observation for sensing and prediction.
—made everything click together more clearly.
Over the next stretch of time, Zephyr explained the fundamentals in detail:
How Observation Haki came from sharpening one's senses and will to the extreme.
How Armament Haki drew on that same inner strength, externalizing it as an invisible "armor" that could coat the body or weapons.
"What you're missing most right now," Zephyr concluded, "is Haki."
"Once you master Haki…"
"You'll truly step into the realm of the strong."
"Haki is the key that opens that door."
"Devil Fruits, in the end, are external forces. No matter how powerful a fruit is, it still can't compare to Haki in terms of what it represents."
He paused, eyes going slightly distant with memory.
"There's a line," Zephyr said quietly, "from a pirate of the old era that I've never forgotten."
"I despise pirates. I've seen too much of the blood and tragedy they've caused."
"But I have to admit…"
"What he said that day struck home."
Zephyr looked back at Kai.
"In this sea, it's Haki—not Devil Fruits—that is the true power on the road to the top."
"On that point…"
"I agree with him."
The air in the room seemed to grow heavier, more focused.
Zephyr exhaled slowly.
"All right."
"From today on, I'll teach you the correct way to train these two colors of Haki."
"But you need to understand something first."
"Haki isn't like Rokushiki. You can't master it in half an hour, or a few days, or even a few weeks."
"Even for extremely gifted people…"
"It usually takes at least half a year to a year to really grasp Observation and Armament Haki."
"So before we begin…"
His gaze grew even more solemn.
"You need to be prepared for a long, grinding process."
"There are no shortcuts for Haki."
Kai's lips curled into a small, confident smile.
"A long time, huh…?"
"No problem."
"I'm ready."
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