Night.
The sound of wind blowing and waves crashing sounded like a musical melody on the island inhabited only by two men and wild animals.
Sitting on a tree branch, Eiji observed the night sky adorned with countless stars.
"So here you are. I thought you had sneaked off to the main island to spy on the women there."
Suddenly, Rayleigh appeared and sat next to him, carrying alcohol.
"I wouldn't do something immoral like that."
"Don't take it seriously, it's just a joke from an old man."
Seeing no change in Eiji's expression, Rayleigh smiled wryly and began to drink.
"Frustrated because you haven't made any progress?"
Another seven days had passed, and he was quite puzzled to see Eiji failing to learn Kenbunshoku Haki. After all, it only took him three days to master Busoshoku Haki.
"I think I know the cause of your failure."
"Really?"
Hearing this, Eiji looked at him.
This problem really bothered him. Even if he weakened the Six Eyes to the point where he couldn't see when he closed his eyes, for some reason he made no progress in learning Kenbunshoku Haki.
"The problem lies within yourself."
Rayleigh pointed to his chest, where his heart was.
"Kenbunshoku is a Haki that doesn't use physical strength. Instead, it uses the power of feelings to sense the surrounding conditions."
"Isn't this contrary to your previous explanation? You said if the user is in a calm state, then their Kenbunshoku power will also increase."
"It's true, you meet the criteria in this aspect. Without a doubt, when you successfully use Kenbunshoku Haki, even at the basic level, it will be stronger compared to other users at the same level."
After two weeks of interacting with him, Rayleigh had never seen Eiji lose his composure. Perhaps this young man was the calmest person he had ever met in his life.
"Hmm... How do I describe you... That's right, you're inhuman."
"..."
Eiji wasn't offended, listening quietly, and waited patiently for his explanation.
"Kenbunshoku Haki gives the user a sixth sense that allows them to sense the presence, strength, and emotions of others, as well as gain limited precognition. Eiji, how can you sense the emotions of others when you don't have emotions yourself?"
"I..."
Rayleigh's simple question left Eiji unable to refute it.
"It's not that I don't have emotions, it's just that I struggle to express them."
"Well then, try smiling as proof that you have emotions."
Under Rayleigh's expectant gaze, Eiji tried to smile. Unfortunately, it was a fake smile without any feelings involved.
"That fake smile can only fool ordinary eyes."
"Then what should I do? Kenbunshoku Haki is even more important than Busoshoku Haki."
Removing the smile from his face, Eiji refused to give up.
The reason he was so fixated on Kenbunshoku Haki was because of the ability to glimpse the future if mastered to an advanced level.
No matter how strong the Slash That Cuts the World that Sukuna adapted from Mahoraga, it's useless as long as it doesn't hit the target.
According to Eiji, the biggest reason for his cousin's defeat was that he didn't know about the Slash That Cuts the World. Ignorance made him think the Slash That Cuts the World was an ordinary Dismantle, so he didn't dodge the attack. He believed Dismantle couldn't penetrate Infinity unless Sukuna used a Domain with a guaranteed-hit effect.
Even in Sukuna's Domain, Satoru, who was continuously attacked by Dismantle, wouldn't be so weakened, as he would use Reverse Cursed Technique every time he received a wound from Dismantle.
Moreover, from the beginning, Satoru dominated the fight against Sukuna. Without the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows Technique, Sukuna didn't have a method to penetrate Infinity.
From Eiji's perspective, victory or defeat was still undecided if Satoru hadn't been hit by the Slash That Cuts the World and continued to fight Sukuna.
"There's nothing I can do about this. Let's take a break, before you overcome your emotional problem, there's no point in continuing the training."
Giving him some alone time, Rayleigh jumped down from the tree branch and left Eiji.
"Emotions, huh... It's funny, the aspect I've neglected the most is actually hindering my progress..."
That night, Eiji didn't sleep and spent the entire night thinking of ways to overcome his emotional deficiency.
❀❀❀
The next day.
"Can you ask Hancock if she has a Log Pose to Dressrosa?"
When Marguerite and her group delivered the food for the day, she was surprised that Eiji spoke to her for the first time.
"I will convey your question to the empress." Marguerite answered.
"Mm." Eiji nodded.
After that, Marguerite and the others boarded the ship and returned to the main island.
"It seems you've found the answer to your problem."
Grilling meat in front of him, Rayleigh looked at Eiji who was eating fruit.
"Yeah. That's why I need to go to Dressrosa."
"Dressrosa, huh... It really brings back memories, it reminds me of my adventure with Roger and the others. By the way, what's your purpose in going to Dressrosa?"
"To meet Doflamingo and ask him to help me find a Devil Fruit."
"Oh, what kind of Devil Fruit is it?"
Rayleigh couldn't help but recall the ten Devil Fruits Eiji had.
Zoan, Logia, and Paramecia. Eiji had all three types of Devil Fruits. However, he wasn't interested.
"Kanjo Kanjo no Mi." He answered briefly.
He remembered every Devil Fruit listed in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
Kanjo Kanjo no Mi is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit. This fruit grants the user the ability to sense the feelings or aura of others and can be used at any time. This power can help those who feel stressed, angry, or scared.
Eiji's initial intention was to find the Toki Toki no Mi. However, the existence of the Toki Toki no Mi was unknown. Whether it had been eaten by someone or was still out there in the sea waiting to be found, no one knew.
Compared to the Toki Toki no Mi, finding the Kanjo Kanjo no Mi should not be difficult.
In the eyes of others, the Kanjo Kanjo no Mi did not provide significant combat power. Even if someone found it, they would rather sell it.
Sensing other people's emotions?
What's the use?
Isn't Kenbunshoku Haki capable of doing that too!
Thus, the Kanjo Kanjo no Mi was considered a useless Devil Fruit. He knew this through the comments of the author of the version of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia he bought, which had the author's comments on each Devil Fruit.
Eiji had a different view. According to him, there was no useless Devil Fruit, only useless users.
Inheriting Lin Fan's memory, he knew how terrifying the power of emotions was.
Take the example from the anime Fairy Tail. The biggest plot armor of the protagonists and their friends is the power of bonds, which are feelings and emotions. Relying on this, they repeatedly defeated enemies far stronger than themselves.
"Kanjo Kanjo no Mi, huh. It's true, you can overcome your problem."
Rayleigh nodded in agreement with Eiji's decision.