Chapter 69 - CHAPTER 69 - The First Step in Mastering Haki

The Dawn continued its voyage, occasionally encountering groups of pirates at sea—all of whom were ruthlessly plundered by Rosen and his crew. This boosted their total funds to 300 million Berries. Pirates preying on pirates—this was a privilege of the Shichibukai, and a method Rosen found quite acceptable. For the past few days, Rosen had spent most of his time in the training area, experimenting with Haki. He recalled the teachings of Rayleigh to Luffy, which could be summarized into key concepts: conviction, focused willpower, and the development of the sixth sense. This power existed within everyone, but not everyone could wield it—it required technique and real combat experience. Both Armament Haki and Observation Haki could be developed through training. Conqueror's Haki, however, was innate. Unlike the other two, Conqueror's Haki possessed an additional "intimidation" factor. For the truly powerful, this intimidation could even manifest as tangible damage. "Imagine yourself clad in an invisible suit of armor." The essence of mastering Haki was belief—one had to acknowledge its existence to perceive and utilize it. This process required both mental focus and heightened sensory awareness. Training in Observation Haki often involved blindfolding oneself, strengthening the sixth sense not by merely detecting airflow or scents but by perceiving the "presence" of life itself—every individual having a unique biological signature. At its highest level, Observation Haki allowed one to foresee brief glimpses of the future and, as some speculated, even sense an opponent's emotions and thoughts. Rosen's current body had already awakened Conqueror's Haki. Unlike Armament and Observation, it couldn't be trained in the conventional sense. Instead, it grew stronger in proportion to one's own presence and dominance. Naturally, as strength increased, so did one's aura and commanding presence. As for Armament and Observation Haki, Rosen understood their training methods well. This was a rare advantage—his prior knowledge of canon events wasn't entirely useless after all. Yet, even with this knowledge and his exceptional physical capabilities, it still took him an entire week before he could coat his arm in Armament Haki for the first time. With his fist now enveloped in hardened Haki, Rosen struck an iron pillar. A resounding boom echoed through the training area, leaving a deep fist-shaped indentation in the metal. MR. 5, who had never managed to leave so much as a dent using his explosive abilities, stood dumbfounded. Why did it feel like, despite being a "human bomb" with high burst damage, his attacks were less effective than the boss's punch? He couldn't deny that Rosen was powerful. But in terms of raw destructive power, the Suna Suna no Mi shouldn't be capable of such feats, should it? And that black coating on his fist—was that really sand? Even if he didn't fully understand it, MR. 5 knew one thing for certain: their boss had become even stronger. Lately, even Valentine had been training hard. Even Robin occasionally joined in, if only because there wasn't much else to do during long stretches at sea. "Hit me with your explosive ability," Rosen said, biting down on a cigar and extending his arm, now coated with Haki. At the moment, he could only coat one arm, but he already felt significantly stronger and more resilient. "Here I go!" MR. 5 launched an explosive punch at Rosen's Haki-infused fist. A deafening explosion erupted upon impact. Yet, Rosen remained completely still, unfazed. His arm didn't even flinch. Had this happened before, he would have at least felt some impact—after all, an explosion was still an explosion. But now, with his Haki, he wasn't affected in the slightest. "My overall strength has improved by at least half," Rosen estimated. "Though it only applies to the areas coated in Haki, it's still a massive boost. "And the more I familiarize myself with it, the stronger I'll become. "Luffy's strength multiplied several times over during his two-year training, after all." Rosen recalled the pre-time skip struggles against the Pacifista. Back then, it took the entire Straw Hat crew to barely take one down. Yet, two years later, Luffy—now trained in Haki—could defeat one with a single punch. If that wasn't a drastic increase in power, what was? Currently, Rosen's strength had only increased by a fraction of that, but even so, his system-generated stats had already changed. --- Physical Enhancement Attributes: Name: Crocodile (Rosen) Devil Fruit: Suna Suna no Mi (Unawakened, Intermediate, Proficiency: 710/1000) Martial Arts: Intermediate (Proficiency: 640/1000) Haki: - Conqueror's Haki (Awakened, Proficiency: 80/100) - Armament Haki (Proficiency: 50/100) - Observation Haki (Proficiency: 30/100) Swordsmanship: Beginner (Proficiency: 140/300) Enhancement Count: 3 Effects:** Defense x2, Speed x2, Vitality x2, Experience Boost x1 Next Enhancement Requirement: Defeat an opponent with a bounty of 400 million Berries or higher (Strength x2) Optional Side Quest: Defeat an opponent with a bounty of 200 million Berries or higher (Defense x2) Additional Devil Fruit Slot: Progress: 1/5 (Currently holding: Buta Buta no Mi) --- His Haki proficiency was increasing rapidly due to his recent awakening. Yet, his growing mastery over Haki was also reflected in his martial arts proficiency. That was the most significant change—his hand-to-hand combat skill had jumped from 480 to 640 in just a short period. A massive improvement. With this, his speed, strength, and defense had all increased. However, since this wasn't a system-assigned mission, his gains weren't reflected under "Effects" but instead absorbed into his martial arts stat. That didn't bother him, though. A higher martial arts stat meant a direct boost to his real combat ability. From his observations, the system recorded three main categories to measure a person's strength: Martial Arts, Swordsmanship, and Devil Fruit Proficiency. Even improvements in Haki were categorized under Martial Arts. Meanwhile, the "Effects" multipliers merely highlighted a person's combat specialties. For instance, Rosen had a Defense x2 and Speed x2 effect, meaning his combat style prioritized durability and agility. Someone else with a similar martial arts level might instead focus on endurance, brute strength, or technical finesse. As for swordsmanship, Rosen had nearly abandoned it. He had barely trained in it, so it remained at beginner level. Even now, despite awakening Haki, its benefits were primarily manifesting in his physical combat. If he dedicated more time to training with a sword, his proficiency would likely skyrocket. Currently, however, he hadn't yet learned how to infuse Haki into weapons. It followed the same principle as coating his sand attacks with Haki—something far more difficult than simply coating his fist. It would take time and practice. But when he did master it, his strength would soar once again. For now, his immediate focus was perfecting his control. Each use of Haki required intense concentration. Dividing that focus between manipulating sand and maintaining Haki was a challenge. Still, it was only a matter of time before he overcame it. The moment he learned to coat his sand-based weapons with Haki, his power would take another massive leap forward. (End of Chapter) ========================================================= DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).