The warship sailed steadily across the sea.
The cold ocean wind sent the seagull flag atop the mast flapping sharply in the breeze.
Daren stood quietly at the bow, ignoring the curious glances from the Marines around him at the Seastone shackles on his wrists. Eyes closed, he let the wind wash over him, taking in a moment of brief peace.
At the same time, he carefully assessed the condition of his body:
Physique: 85.812
Strength: 74.513
Speed: 73.001
Armament Haki: 43.035
Conqueror's Haki: 52.301
Over the past six months, Daren had focused mainly on developing his Observation Haki and studying hand-to-hand combat under Garp.
As a result, the most noticeable improvements were in Strength and Armament Haki.
Compared to half a year ago, his Strength had risen by 3 points, while Armament Haki had jumped from 38 to 43—a full 5-point increase.
Physique and Speed had also gone up slightly, gaining 2 to 3 points as a spillover effect from training.
Daren was fairly satisfied with the results.
As his base stats increased, each additional point became exponentially harder to gain.
Take Physique, for example—regular endurance training no longer had much impact on someone like him.
It was clear that the closer any stat got to the cap of 100, the harder it would be to improve.
Worse still, a serious injury could even cause his stats to drop.
"How's your training been going lately, Daren?"
Admiral Sengoku approached, his cloak billowing slightly, and casually handed Daren a cigar.
Daren took it without hesitation and gave a slight smile.
"Not bad."
Sengoku lit his own cigar and said slowly,
"At your level, regular training doesn't do much anymore. If you want to improve, you'll either need to devote an enormous amount of time to disciplined, even brutal training—or face real combat."
He glanced at the Seastone shackles on Daren's wrists.
"How's your Observation Haki development coming along?"
Daren let out a wry smile.
"I've almost reached the threshold, but it still feels hazy—like I'm just one step away."
Sengoku's expression shifted as a thought struck him. He stared at Daren, half in shock.
"You're not... planning to fight Shiki while restrained by Seastone, using the threat of death to force a breakthrough in Observation Haki, are you?"
Daren stared out at the vast sea ahead, his voice low.
"It's the only way."
"The training Zephyr-sensei arranged for me was helpful, but in the camp, my opponents are all comrades. They're not going to try and kill me."
"I can feel it—if I stay stuck at this stage without breaking through, my chances of awakening Observation Haki will just keep dropping over time."
"...Facing death is the best way."
Humans are creatures of habit.
Once you grow used to relying on physical toughness and Devil Fruit powers in battle, your body's subconscious "need" for Observation Haki starts to fade.
And according to data from the training camp and Zephyr-sensei's own experience, the older you get, the harder it becomes to awaken Haki.
Daren was already twenty.
He might still look young, but time was no longer on his side.
There was a brief, heavy silence.
"...You're crazy."
After a long silence, Sengoku finally spoke.
Daren laughed it off.
"If you're not a little crazy, how can you compete with those real 'monsters'?"
As he spoke, the scene from the day before surfaced in his mind.
Just from watching once, that guy Kuzan had basically figured out Garp's fist technique.
How he figured it out?
Daren had no idea.
Just like Garp couldn't clearly explain his own teaching methods, Kuzan couldn't really explain how he'd learned it either.
Some things are just like that—you either get it or you don't.
The only word that could describe it was: talent.
And it wasn't like Garp's fist technique was anything as common as the Marine Rokushiki. It was a true secret art.
Kuzan had taken only a minute to catch up to what Daren had spent half a year barely scratching the surface of.
That was what a real "monster" looked like.
Hearing Daren's words, Sengoku went quiet for a moment. His eyes drifted unconsciously to the other side of the deck.
On the side of the ship, Borsalino lay leisurely on a beach chair, sipping a glass of watermelon juice.
Sengoku's mouth twitched.
With that lazy look of his, was he really on a mission to hunt down the legendary Great Pirate, Shiki the Golden Lion?
Calling it a paid vacation wouldn't even be a stretch.
But despite his loafing around, Sengoku was finding it harder and harder to gauge his strength.
Even though Borsalino was his own adjutant, Sengoku couldn't get a clear read on his combat capability.
And that was frightening.
That bastard never did anything serious all day, and Sengoku had never once seen him train properly!
Shaking his head, Sengoku changed the subject.
"Daren, do you know why I brought you along this time?"
Daren thought for a moment before answering slowly.
"My Devil Fruit ability is well-suited for large-scale battles."
Sengoku nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Exactly. Sakazuki may outclass you in sheer destructive power, but when it comes to dealing with Shiki's Flying Pirate Fleet, your ability is far more suited to the task."
"More importantly, I want you to witness the power of that fleet with your own eyes. If possible, we can use it as a model to create our own flying fleet for the Marines."
Hearing that, Daren frowned.
He picked up on something else behind Sengoku's words.
"Admiral Sengoku, are you saying that the main objective of this mission isn't to take down Shiki?"
Sengoku sighed and shook his head, his expression growing serious.
"That guy Shiki is extremely cunning. He's not someone you can take down so easily."
"The Marines have tried to corner him multiple times before, but he's always managed to slip away using his Devil Fruit powers."
"He's nothing like Whitebeard or Roger. He's vicious, ruthless, and completely cold-blooded. He doesn't care about the lives of others, and when push comes to shove, he'll even use his own men as shields."
"That's why our top priority this time is to eliminate the main force of the Flying Pirate Fleet."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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