The moment Rayleigh finished his declaration, Leo remembered his one glorious, unshared secret. He had been so consumed by the shame of his Observation Haki flop that he forgot his recent triumph.
"Hey, Rayleigh-san! Wait, wait!" Leo scrambled forward, ignoring the protests from his unhealed injuries. "Before we start the next lesson, I have something to show you! I did learn one thing while you were gone!"
Luffy, who was already flexing his arm in preparation for the next brutal exercise, paused mid-stretch.
Leo took a deep breath, focusing his will inward. He channeled the same desperate, fiery conviction that had saved him from the Jungle Lion. In an instant, a black, glossy sheen flowed over his arm and the Kukri knife he held.
FWOOM!
"Look!" Leo said proudly, holding up the armored Kukri. "I'm finally able to use Armament Haki!"
Rayleigh, who had been leaning against a tree trunk, straightened up slowly. His relaxed, amused expression was instantly replaced by a look of intense, professional evaluation. He walked over, circled Leo, and tapped the black surface of the Kukri with his finger.
CLACK! The sound was like stone hitting steel.
"Remarkable," Rayleigh murmured, a genuine surprise in his tone. "Your mastery is low, certainly, but the sheer will required to force that power to coalesce so quickly, without my direct guidance… It's a terrifying display of conviction. You've earned this, Leo."
He smiled, a rare, genuine expression of pride. "Congratulations. That is the good news. You have taken the first step of many. Now, you both have to take it to the Advanced Version."
Luffy tilted his head, instantly confused. "Advanced version?
Rayleigh gave a knowing half-smile. "You will learn about Advanced Haki in the future, Luffy, but only after enduring many hardships."
Leo, however, didn't need an explanation. He knew exactly what Rayleigh meant. He meant the advanced stages of all Haki. Advanced Armament (Ryou/Internal Destruction), Future Sight Observation, and the ultimate, Conqueror's Haki coating.
Leo's Inner Monologue:Advanced Armament Haki. The power to destroy objects from the inside out, without touching them. The technique he used on the slave collar on the Auction House floor. I know the full sequence for all of them, right up to the Ryou technique and Future Sight.
Leo nodded solemnly. "I understand, Rayleigh-san. I'll work on them."
Good," Rayleigh said, his expression becoming focused and intense . Now, we turn to the second half of our work: Observation Haki.
The Monster Den
Rayleigh produced two blindfolds—identical to the one Leo and Luffy had used—and tied them securely around their eyes. The clearing plunged into darkness, but this time, it was different. Leo was no longer relying on simple guesswork. He felt the nervous tension in the air.
"This time, the training is simple and continuous," Rayleigh's voice echoed in the darkness. "This island is a monster's lair. We are going to train in their territory. You must dodge every single attack, every swipe, and every snap. Your lives depend on it. If you get hit, you fail. If you die, well, I'll find two more students."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Leo stammered, his blood running cold. "That's insane! That's not training; that's a death march! We could run into a dozen Rock Gorillas!"
But before Leo could protest further, Rayleigh delivered two sharp kicks—one to Luffy's rear, one to Leo's—sending them sprawling into the dense undergrowth.
"GO! Find your way out of the clearing!" Rayleigh commanded, his voice fading slightly as he moved into a vantage point.
The second they hit the foliage, the noises of the jungle became overwhelming. The blindfold made every rustling sound like an attacking beast.
The First Hour of Terror
Within minutes, Leo heard Luffy's signature battle cry. He was in the thick of it.
CRASH! BANG!
Luffy's rubber body made a chaotic, loud noise. Leo, however, was immediately being thrashed by small, fast monsters he couldn't see.
I know the principle, but I can't filter the noise! My mind is going a mile a minute! Leo cursed, throwing himself backward to avoid a snapping jaw he sensed a half-second too late.
Leo and Luffy tumbled through the brush. "Luffy, stop bouncing! You're attracting everything!" Leo hissed, trying to crawl low to the ground.
THWACK!
"Oof! What was that?" Luffy yelped.
"That," Leo groaned, rubbing his bruised shin, "was me trying to roll away from the Rock Gorilla that you just bounced into. Stop being so bouncy!"
"I can't help it! I'm rubber!" Luffy whined. "Wait, I'm going to hit that giant spider I sensed! Gum-Gum..."
WHIP!
The sound of stretched rubber snapped through the air, followed by a confused, tangled shriek from Luffy. "Uh, Leo? My hand is stuck in something sticky! It smells bad!"
"You idiot! You hit a Web-Spinner's nest!" Leo hissed, fumbling for his Kukri knife. "Stay still! I'll cut the webbing! Which way is your arm stretched?"
"This way!" Luffy shouted, which caused his arm to stretch further.
SLICK!
"Yowch! That stings, Leo! Did you cut the web or my arm?"
"Your arm, you rubber moron!" Leo snapped, pulling his knife back. "I can't see! And you just attracted every predator within a kilometer!"
Luffy chuckled nervously. "Heh heh! That's okay! We'll just fight them all!"
The moment Luffy declared his intention to fight, a heavy shadow fell over them. Leo sensed the massive vibration of a charge coming from their right.
SMASH!
A crushing blow from a massive Giant Boar slammed into both of them, sending them skidding painfully across the dirt and knocking the wind out of Leo.
The massive Giant Boar's attention instantly snapped to Luffy.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
"Uh oh! I think he wants me to be dinner!" Luffy shrieked.
"Luffy, use your head! Tie him up!" Leo hissed from the ground.
"I can't see! Gum-Gum... STICKY FEET!"
Luffy's feet stretched out wildly, wrapping around the Boar's massive snout and tusks.
OINK-SQUEAL! The Boar let out a muffled, furious sound.
"Hee hee! Now you can't bite! Gum-Gum, RUN AWAY!"
Luffy used his stretched legs to yank the Boar off balance and then catapulted himself far away, the furious monster dragging behind him.
THWANG! The sound of a snapped rubber band echoed through the forest.
Leo was catching his breath, rubbing a scrape on his neck, when he heard fast, uneven footsteps approaching. The blindfold still obscured everything.
"Leo! I got away! That was close!" Luffy's voice, now much closer and clearer, sounded utterly unconcerned.
Leo ripped off his blindfold in disbelief. "Luffy! You're back! And your blindfold is—"
Luffy was holding the black cloth in his hand, smiling brightly. "It got itchy, so I took it off! That boar was super mad, but I lost him! Did you find the way out yet?"
The Grind of Months
Days turned into months of this grueling, terrifying ordeal.
One night, while stumbling through the dark, Leo heard Luffy laughing nearby.
"Aha! My dodge was perfect, six-legs! Your attack pattern is too easy!" Luffy shouted, sounding entirely too cheerful for the life-or-death situation.
Leo followed the sound until he was close enough to hear the battle clearly.
"Luffy, you monster! How are you doing that?" Leo whispered, clinging to a tree trunk to avoid being mistaken for dinner.
"It's easy now, Leo!" Luffy chirped. "I just clear my head and follow the yummy smell of their fear! It's like a warm alarm bell! Try it!"
Leo tried, focusing his entire being. He heard the rustle of leaves, the heavy breathing of a Giant Boar closing in, and the fast thump-thump-thump of his own heart. He couldn't hear the intent. He was relying on sound and vibration.
Then, a sudden, powerful realization hit him. Forget the intent! Forget the will! Listen for the shift!
He ignored the loud sounds. He listened for the absence of sound—the split-second pause a beast makes right before it commits to a lethal strike.
FWOOM!
A heavy shadow rushed toward him. Leo didn't think. He moved his head down and left.
WHOOSH!
A gigantic, razor-sharp paw ripped through the air where his head had been. He hadn't dodged it perfectly, but he had dodged the kill shot.
Leo laughed—a raw, joyous sound mixed with exhaustion. "I got it! I finally got the timing! After months of eating dirt, I finally figured out your stupid six hundred tricks!"
Luffy, still blindfolded, threw his head back and laughed. "See? I told you! You just needed to relax, Leo!"
"Relax? You almost killed me six hundred times!" Leo retorted, still dodging instinctively now. But you know what the worst part is? I'm hitting every benchmark you set, and you still managed to unlock it easily!
Luffy chuckled mischievously. "It's because my attacks are simple, Leo! I just want to hit the thing! There's no big secret plan to sense! You think too much!"
After months of this unrelenting pressure, Leo had finally mastered the basics of Observation Haki. He could anticipate simple strikes from low-level monsters with a few seconds of warning. It wasn't the future sight Rayleigh possessed, but it was enough to survive.
Time Remaining Until Training Ends: One Year
Note: I know this training arc might feel slow since we're focused on the grind.
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