Inside a warship training room, weights, arm-wrestling machines, and heavy sandbags filled the space. The weight plates on the barbells looked incredibly heavy.
Zoro's eyes widened with excitement.
He was used to training with rocks as weights, a pretty rough way to do things. He had never seen real gym equipment before.
He was eager to try it all out.
But first, he had a question.
"What is Haki?"
"Haki is a hidden power everyone has inside them," Roya began, spinning his explanation. "Think of it like your feelings, like when you want to fight, or when you sense danger, or just a gut feeling. Basically, it's turning your willpower into a weapon!"
Roya wanted to see if Zoro could understand Haki. If he could, Roya might learn something himself.
Even if Zoro couldn't grasp it, it wouldn't matter. It would still be time spent training together, getting to know each other, and preparing to convince him to join later.
It was like building a connection. You wouldn't propose marriage right away, would you? You'd want to get to know someone first. Professing your love out of the blue would make you seem strange.
"Turning willpower into a weapon?"
Zoro frowned. He had never heard of such a thing. If Roya didn't seem so serious, he would have thought he was joking.
How could that be possible?
"You might not understand."
Roya drew his sword, its blade gleaming. He smiled. "Zoro, did your sword-fighting teacher ever talk to you about cutting iron?"
"He did."
Zoro nodded.
When he was a kid, he asked his teacher, Koshiro, if swordsmen could cut through iron like it was butter.
His teacher said yes.
"Tell me about it."
"Okay."
Zoro thought back to his teacher's words, not suspecting Roya might steal his techniques. His teacher was just a small-town dojo owner, and his students were mostly kids.
"My teacher said that some swordsmen can cut anything, but they can also use the same sword to not cut things!"
As he spoke, Zoro seemed to imitate Koshiro's demonstration of "Non-Cutting." He threw a piece of paper into the air and drew his sword as if facing a powerful enemy.
"Swish!"
The paper ripped in half.
Roya put on a very convincing "shocked" face.
"So, that's what 'Non-Cutting' means?"
"Of course not!"
Zoro looked annoyed. "Non-Cutting means you can swing at a fragile piece of paper without cutting it."
"Oh, I see."
Roya grabbed another piece of paper, tossed it in the air, and casually swung his sword, explaining, "Your teacher's 'Non-Cutting' is basically using Haki."
"Swish."
The paper ripped in half.
The training room went silent.
It was like two amateur gamers arguing about how bad a pro gamer was, only to get completely destroyed when they tried to play themselves.
"I'm not a swordsman," Roya explained, trying to sound calm. He quickly moved on.
"Zoro, when you're training, have you ever felt really calm, like everything around you is super clear, and you can even hear your own heartbeat?"
"Yes!"
Zoro perked up.
He had felt like that before, more than once. It was like being close to death.
"That's the beginning of Observation Haki!"
Roya's face became serious. "Haki is mainly split into two types: Observation Haki and Armament Haki. Observation Haki is like 'listening,' or really good awareness."
"Plants, the ground, rocks… everything in the world has its own breathing sound, even swords and paper."
"When you can hear their voices, hear their breathing, you'll know how to swing your sword without hurting them, and you'll also know how to kill them."
"Listening to the breathing of everything, that's Observation Haki!"
The training room went silent again.
Zoro's eyes widened.
Roya's explanation was more detailed than Koshiro's. Most importantly, he had actually felt what Roya was talking about.
"How do I do it?"
If I knew, would I need to teach you?
I basically learned this from you!
Roya thought to himself.
He paused.
"Calm your mind."
Roya gave a look that meant, you'll have to figure it out yourself. He had said all he could; the rest was up to Zoro.
Heh, can 't figure it out?
That 's your problem.
Luckily, Zoro wasn't the type to keep pushing. Roya's words had already given him a lot to think about.
"Thank you!"
Zoro bowed, grateful.
He felt like there was a thin wall in front of him, and if he broke through it, he could master "Non-Cutting."
He had another question.
"Mr. Roya, you said there's another kind of Haki called Armament Haki. What's that?"
"Observation Haki is the power of 'Non-Cutting,' and Armament Haki is the power of 'Cutting Iron'!"
Roya felt a strange sensation.
It seemed like he was guiding Zoro, but as he explained, he felt like he was understanding it better himself.
Yes, I believe it.
He believed his own explanation of Haki, and he truly believed that Haki was like this!
Can 't figure it out?
That 's because I'm useless!
Roya's head felt a little fuzzy.
No one to guide me, so I 'll teach myself?
Come to think of it, what Rayleigh said, "Unwavering belief is power," wasn't that also a strong form of self-suggestion?
And his process of guiding Zoro was also a review of known information and a reaffirmation of his own understanding.
"Hoo..."
Roya took a deep breath, looked at Zoro's eager eyes, and took his time to think.
He thought about the connection between Cutting Iron and Armament Haki, the essence of Armament Haki, how to make Zoro understand, and how to make himself understand.
After a while, he spoke.
"Zoro, has your sword ever broken?"
"Broken several times."
Zoro answered honestly.
Except for the Wado Ichimonji, his other swords were cheap. They had broken many times during battles and training.
Roya nodded with a smile.
"Even the best sword will wear down and break. That's just common sense."
"But you know, for a true swordsman, even a scratch on the blade is a disgrace, let alone a break."
"A sword is a swordsman's closest friend, an important partner in battle, but using them with brute force will destroy both the sword and the person!"
A scratch on the blade is a swordsman's shame!
Zoro had never heard it put that way, but it made perfect sense. Every swordsman loved their sword.
Even if it was an ordinary sword, he would feel sad, unwilling, ashamed, and sorry if it broke in his hands.
That 's right, that feeling was shame!
Zoro asked eagerly, "What should I do to keep the sword from breaking?"
"It's simple," Roya said seriously.
"Fill the blade with your strong will!"
"Haki is the power of will. Think of it as wearing invisible armor to protect yourself, or a sharp spear to attack, or an Non-Cutting blade!"
"If the blade is covered in Haki, it will be indestructible. Until your Haki breaks, the blade will never be damaged or broken!"
"It's not just about being hard. Your sword will also become sharper and cut through steel and anything else!"
"Over time, it might even become a legendary Black Blade!"
Black Blade!
Zoro's eyes widened.
He had heard the legends of Black Blades, swords so hard that even a dinosaur couldn't bend them. They were the hardest swords in the world.
But he never knew that Black Blades were made with human willpower!
Zoro felt like the doors to a new world were opening, allowing him to see a wider sky.
Just who is this mysterious Marine Ensign?