The morning after his spar with Shanks, Bullet headed, as usual, to the training area on the foredeck.
He found Rayleigh already waiting there.
This time, Rayleigh did not immediately start giving instructions like he usually did. Instead, he regarded Bullet with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"You are here."
Rayleigh's voice rolled over, even steadier than usual.
"How did yesterday's spar with Shanks feel?"
Bullet stepped closer and stopped in front of him.
He knew Rayleigh was not just asking about victory, defeat, or technique. There were deeper things behind that question.
"Shanks' sword is very fast, and very sharp."
He chose his words with care.
"It is not just his speed. His intent is very focused, like a blade that has been honed over and over."
"Accurate observation."
Rayleigh nodded, then shifted the topic ever so slightly.
"Then what was that thing you did at the end, when you imitated his intent?"
There it was.
Bullet was not surprised. With Rayleigh's keen sight, there was no way he would ignore that anomaly.
Bullet had long prepared for this. He could not expose the core of his devouring ability, but he could share some of the unique perceptions he experienced while simulating Shanks' aura.
That would partially explain his abnormality, and might even bring unexpected benefits.
He stayed silent for a moment, then began slowly.
"Mr. Rayleigh, you taught us that Haki is the manifestation of will and life energy, that it flows, and can be condensed."
"That is right."
"But when I focus especially hard, like when I was trying to understand that 'sharpness' Shanks had..."
Bullet deliberately chose the word understand rather than devour.
"What I feel seems... a little different."
He lifted his right hand and stared at his palm.
"It does not feel like just flowing energy. It is more like countless tiny dots."
"The vibration frequency of those dots decides the nature that appears in the end."
"Whether it becomes Shanks' cutting sharpness, or the unbreakable hardness of Armament."
What he described was exactly the "microscopic picture" his devouring talent had fed back to him while analyzing Shanks' sword aura and his own Haki.
It was not visual. It was an abstract perception born from energy analysis.
Rayleigh's calm gaze tightened in an instant.
He leaned forward slightly, and for once a trace of urgency colored his tone.
"Dots?"
"Vibration frequency?"
"Explain more clearly, Bullet."
Bullet continued.
"For example, when I try to condense Armament, I can feel those dots under my skin gathering toward one place."
"Their vibrations become tighter, more compressed, like sand being forced together, and that is why it feels hard."
"And Shanks' sword aura..."
"The vibration frequency of those dots is extremely high, and strongly tilted toward a single direction, so it feels like it can cut through things."
He paused, then added,
"This is just how it feels to me. It is very vague. It might just be my imagination."
He made sure to sound somewhat uncertain, to soften the impact of what he was saying.
But Rayleigh's reaction told him this was no illusion.
The Dark King, who had seen more than most men alive, now stood with his brows knit tightly together.
His fingers tapped lightly on his knee without him noticing, as he sank into Bullet's description.
"Particles... vibration... alignment..."
Rayleigh muttered under his breath. In his eyes, sudden comprehension flared, tangled with deep contemplation.
For years, he had taught Haki from a broad perspective, with words like will, flow, condense.
It was a straightforward way to train.
But this microscopic perspective Bullet had just offered was like handing a microscope to someone who had only ever gazed up at the stars.
It might not directly boost someone's strength, but it could reveal the deeper rules underlying how that strength functioned.
It could open a brand new door for finer control of Haki, transformation of its properties, and even higher levels of application.
"This is not an illusion, Bullet."
Rayleigh lifted his head, his gaze blazing as he looked at the boy before him.
"This is a unique kind of perception talent."
"It may be linked to that Mythical Zoan of yours."
"It gives you a sensitivity to the structure of energy and will that is far beyond ordinary people."