Chapter Eighty-Nine: Astonishing Aptitude

Time slipped through the fingers like sand, impossible to hold.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

Inside the weapon shop, one of the wooden walls had been blasted clean through.

From left to right, dead center; from top to bottom, the wall still held together by countless narrow splinters that fanned out like veins.

It looked as though some woodcarver, under the guise of artistry, had turned that wall into a bizarre and styleless work of sculpture.

In truth, the wall had been reduced to that state by lead pellets.

Over these half-months of training, Saul had used practical action to show them exactly what it meant when this was no exercise.

Mode and Sunny had long since lost count of how many lead pellets they had dodged from Saul’s hands.

They only knew that every time they evaded one, they could feel a tangible sense of mortal peril.

And so, in merely half a month, Mode had developed the strange feeling that he had spent years living on the edge of a blade, licking blood from its tip.

Even in his previous life, when he had preferred to keep a low profile and grow quietly, he had never faced so many brushes with death in the span of several years.

Yet in this brief half-month of training, he had been able to feel, at every moment, a crushing pressure that suggested he might lose his life the instant he relaxed.

Saul was truly a monster.

That was probably the honest assessment Mode and Sunny had reached.

Still, the results of the training were immediate and obvious.

By now, even with his eyes closed, Mode could dodge the lead pellets Saul flicked at him with a single snap of his fingers.

Saul, seeing this with his own eyes, could only sigh in admiration at the obvious talent for Observation Haki.

As for Sunny, steady progress was fine too; in terms of aptitude, she could still be called excellent.

Only, without comparison, there is no wound.

Against Mode’s rate of progress, Sunny’s performance was bound to look rather dim.

Whoosh.

With Saul flicking out the final lead pellet, the basic training in Observation Haki came to an end.

From this point on, if they wanted to advance further, they would have to temper it slowly with time, or forge it through battle.

“Very good.”

Saul studied the boy and girl before him, a smile in his eyes.

In these two youngsters, he could not help but feel the breath of youth.

Especially Mode. He was stunned by the boy, yet delighted beyond measure.

Before formal training had even begun, Saul had already seen that Mode possessed remarkable aptitude for Observation Haki, but he had never imagined it would be this exceptional.

Only by watching Mode grow step by step with his own eyes could one truly understand what it meant to have stumbled upon treasure.

With such outstanding talent for Observation Haki, learning the spear would indeed be the better choice.

From the start of training until now, Saul had been quietly hypnotizing himself with that thought.

In truth, he knew perfectly well that if Mode also had decent aptitude for Armament Haki, then following the path of a swordsman would be the better choice.

But human beings are never free of selfishness.

Under the influence of that selfishness, Saul wanted more than anything for Mode to walk the road of the gunman.

There were things he himself could never accomplish in an entire lifetime, but that did not prevent him from pinning his hopes on the younger generation.

When Saul announced that Observation Haki training had officially ended, Mode and Sunny showed not the slightest sign of relaxation.

If even Observation Haki had been this grueling, they could not imagine what kind of hell Armament Haki training would be.

For a moment, the two exchanged a look, each seeing the same grim expression on the other’s face.

During this half month of training, what they had truly felt was Saul’s monstrous, unreasonable pressure.

Standing in their place, they had no idea what priceless value a veteran instructor like him possessed.

Why had Shanks invited Saul aboard?

Partly because of their personal connection, and partly because of Saul’s experience.

With an old whetstone like Saul on board, given enough time, the overall standard of the ship would surely rise.

This was also thanks to Saul’s sharp eye as an old hand.

With that alone, he could easily see the limits of both Mode and Sunny.

On that basis, he could then adjust the difficulty of each step of training in a targeted way.

It could be said that the entire training process was under Saul’s control.

He had, in the shortest possible time, drawn out Mode and Sunny’s Observation Haki, laying the foundation for both of them.

But such astonishing progress could not be credited entirely to Saul’s teaching ability.

Because Observation Haki, unlike Armament Haki, depended far more on aptitude.

Some people lacked the talent and might never awaken Observation Haki in their entire lives.

But some were gifted enough to grasp it on their own in their youth, even without anyone’s guidance.

Mode and Sunny clearly surpassed the ordinary standard in this regard, and with the guidance of an experienced instructor, they were able to lay that foundation in so short a time.

Compared with the aptitude-heavy difficulty of Observation Haki, the prerequisites for learning Armament Haki leaned more toward physical condition.

As long as the body met the standard and there was a competent teacher, drawing out Armament Haki was not actually that difficult.

What was truly difficult was how to improve one’s Haki cultivation afterward.

Saul gave Mode and Sunny ten minutes to rest.

Bailey was also quite perceptive, taking the initiative to pour tea and water for them, only stopping short of handing them hot towels.

Ten minutes passed in an instant.

Yet Mode and Sunny still looked as wilted as eggplants beaten by frost.

If Observation Haki was overused, it would directly drain the user’s mental energy, and then affect focus and other crucial factors.

Mode and Sunny were beginners. Though they had mastered the basic application of Observation Haki, their stamina was not worth mentioning.

Saul ignored the exhaustion on their faces and moved straight into the next stage of training.

“Your talent for Observation Haki is excellent, which is why you learned the basics in only half a month.”

“But Armament Haki is different. It relies far more on physical condition, so there is no shortcut at all.”

“In other words, when your bodies do not meet the requirements...”

“then no matter how hard you try, you simply will not learn what your bodies are not ready to learn.”

“Conversely, once your bodies do meet the standard, you will find...”

“not only Armament Haki, but many techniques that make use of the body itself, can be learned and mastered in a very short time.”

“The former needs no explanation. As for the latter, I can give you an example.”

“For instance, Moonwalk, one of the Navy’s Six Powers.”

As he spoke, Saul leapt lightly and rose a meter into the air.

Before his body could fall back down, his left and right feet began rhythmically stepping against the air.

Amid a sharp burst of compressed air, Saul seemed to be standing on an invisible cushion, steadied in midair.

“This is Moonwalk, one of the Navy’s closely guarded combat techniques.”

“The reason I know how to use it is simply that I once saw a Marine use Moonwalk, understood how it worked, and learned it.”

“But if my body had not met the necessary conditions, then even if I understood the principle, no amount of blind speculation would ever let me learn Moonwalk.”

“The same is true of Armament Haki.”

“By my standards, the two of you are only of average physical condition.”

“So don’t delude yourselves into thinking you can master Armament Haki in a short time. That is impossible.”

With that, Saul landed steadily, ignoring the worshipful looks from the two youngsters.

“Then why don’t you teach us Moonwalk first?”

Mode’s eyes shone as he looked at Saul, as though he were staring at a treasure vault.

“...” Saul.