Perfume Yuda sailed without encountering any issues except for bad weather, which is normal.
Normally, when a Marine ship sees pirates, they attack. However, the Shichibukai are a special case; they are pirates allowed to commit crimes by the World Government. Therefore, the Marines did not attempt anything and let Perfume Yuda pass. Instead, many Marine officers gathered to catch a glimpse of the legendary Pirate Empress's beauty. Unfortunately, they could not see her.
As for the other pirates, when they spotted Perfume Yuda in the distance, they quickly turned in the other direction.
Without any hindrance, Perfume Yuda crossed the Calm Belt and arrived at Amazon Lily after a week of sailing. Of course, the ship did not dock at the main island but rather at a secondary island a few hundred meters from the main one.
Eiji and Rayleigh disembarked from the ship.
"Remember, don't try to sneak onto the main island. If you dare, I don't care if you're Rayleigh's student or whatever, I will expel you!"
Sitting atop a snake, Hancock stared at Eiji and gave a stern warning.
"Mm."
Eiji merely glanced and nodded, then observed the island's ecology.
It was a tropical island with abundant green vegetation, coconut trees growing tall on the beach, lush trees, and animals peeking from behind bushes.
"Rayleigh, keep a close watch on him."
Seeing Eiji's indifferent attitude, Hancock felt a bit annoyed. Only a few men, like Luffy and Rayleigh, were unaffected by her charm.
"Yeah, don't forget to bring food like before!" Rayleigh said casually.
Previously, when he trained Luffy in Haki here, the Kuja tribe delivered food to them daily.
"I know. Now, let's go."
Glancing at Eiji one last time, Hancock ordered the ship's crew to sail to the main island.
"Now, do you want to familiarize yourself with the surroundings first, or start training now? The choice is yours."
"Let's start now."
"Alright, follow me."
Rayleigh then led Eiji into the forest.
Along the way, Eiji saw blue-furred monkeys about seven to eight meters tall, staring at him curiously. There were also orange elephants as large as the blue gorillas. Besides that, there were several other large animals not much smaller than those two giants.
"They're not aggressive?"
"Ha Ha Ha, they're very tame. Wild animals' instincts are sharper than humans'. They won't attack creatures stronger than them."
"I see."
Hearing Rayleigh's rhetoric, Eiji nodded in understanding.
From an ordinary person's perspective, one was an elderly man and the other just a handsome teenager. They did not appear strong compared to muscular bodybuilders. However, it was different for wild animals, especially in the One Piece world, where instincts are much sharper than in other worlds.
Their natural instincts warned them not to provoke the two humans approaching.
"This place should be fine."
After walking for a while, Rayleigh brought Eiji to an open area surrounded by dense trees. There were black marks on the ground accompanied by charcoal, indicating a campfire.
"First, what do you know about Haki?"
Before starting the practice, Rayleigh wanted to test his knowledge. After all, it would be foolish not to know the definition of what one is about to learn.
"Haki is the physical manifestation of spiritual strength. Those with strong fighting spirit have a combat advantage." Said Eiji.
His understanding of Haki was not very deep. Lin Fan's memory did not have information on Haki mechanisms. Besides, none of the books he read related to Haki.
"Your answer is correct. Haki can be harnessed by any living being, without having to eat a special fruit like Devil Fruit users. Haki grows exponentially every time the user fights a stronger opponent. So, I can only train you in Haki up to a certain level. If you want to advance further, you must seek stronger opponents."
"Understood."
"The theory lesson ends here. Now it's time for practice."
Rayleigh raised his right hand, and suddenly his wrist was covered in a metallic black substance that shimmered under the sunlight.
"Busoshoku Haki transforms spiritual energy into invisible armor. It can be used for defense and attack. The user can also imbue Busoshoku Haki into objects, such as swords and clothing. Most importantly, it can bypass the intangible state of Logia Devil Fruit users. Usually, Logia Devil Fruit users cannot be hit by physical attacks. Busoshoku Haki is the main exception to this rule."
While listening to Rayleigh's explanation, Eiji focused on observing the flow of Spiritual Energy with his Six Eyes.
Unlike when facing Kong, he could not fully focus because he had to avoid lethal attacks. Now it was different, he could calmly observe Rayleigh.
"Hardening is the most basic application of Busoshoku Haki. The user coats the desired body part with a layer that is mostly black but can have different hues varying among users, though it is predominantly black."
"With hardening, the coated body part becomes stronger in terms of offense and defense. Hardening significantly increases the power of one's attacks, allowing the user's blows to become highly destructive and dangerous."
*CRUSH-BANG*
Approaching a large rock not far from where he stood, Rayleigh casually shattered it with a light punch.
Countless stone fragments scattered with a loud noise that scared the observing animals.
"Defensively, hardening acts as armor that can protect the user from a large number of attacks, especially those not coated with Haki themselves."
Drawing the sword at his waist, Rayleigh unhesitatingly slashed his own arm.
*DING*
The sound of metal clinking and sparks were clearly visible.
"See? Even a sword cannot scratch my skin."
"Amazing." Eiji exclaimed in awe, though his facial expression did not change, making people wonder if he truly felt something or was just pretending.
"Eiji, you need to remember that you can harden most of your body as desired until it is fully coated, but broader coating will deplete Haki faster."
"And also, although hardening is very tough, it doesn't mean it is impenetrable, as strong attacks using weaker Busoshoku Haki or none at all have been proven capable of defeating hardening defenses. However, usually, if two people with different levels of Busoshoku Haki clash using Haki, the one with the higher level will break through the other's defense and injure them."
Not only explaining the advantages, Rayleigh also informed of the weaknesses of Busoshoku Haki.
"Try using Busoshoku Haki."
"Mm."
Thus, Eiji's training under Rayleigh's guidance began.