In a corner far from the central arena, Rorschach, who appeared exhausted, was being dragged by two sinister elders.
"Kapa," "Kapa."
Garp released Rorschach, clenched his fist tightly until it made a loud cracking sound, and smiled broadly, revealing his perfectly white teeth.
"Boy, come and spar with me."
Rorschach's mouth twitched, and he shook his head bitterly, saying, "Grandpa Garp, how could I possibly be a match for you? Please spare me."
"No, we must spar. Only through fighting will you truly understand the power of Haki."
Garp stepped forward and charged directly at Rorschach, raising his fist and lightly aiming it at his face.
Through his Haki perception, Rorschach noticed that Garp's fist wasn't coated with Armament Haki.
But even if Garp didn't use Haki, it would probably...
"Blue Scales Mode!"
Rorschach's six-meter-tall body rose up, gripping the Heavenly Dragon Spear in his hand, transforming it into a massive sword, and slashing down at Garp with great force.
"50 million volts of electricity!"
"Lightning Cut!"
Electricity began crackling around the spear's blade, turning the Heavenly Dragon Spear into a weapon shrouded in glowing lightning.
"Boom!"
Before the spear even reached Garp, the ground in front of Rorschach split with a deep line, tens of meters long, due to the immense force of the weapon.
"That's the spirit!"
Garp's smile widened, and he struck the sharp edge of the spear with his fist.
"Bone Fist!"
"Clang!"
A loud metallic explosion echoed.
Rorschach felt his arm muscles tremble violently, nearly losing control of the spear, which almost slipped from his grasp.
The heavy Heavenly Dragon Spear was knocked high into the air from just one strike by Garp, carrying Rorschach's six-meter-tall body with it.
"What? Your fist wasn't coated with Armament Haki, was it?"
Confusion filled Rorschach's eyes.
"Hahaha, that's why, boy, your understanding of Haki is still in its early stages."
Garp moved through the air at incredible speed, creating a whirlwind in the sky.
"Bone Fist..."
A rough, giant fist aimed for Rorschach's face, causing his scalp to tingle with dread.
"Life Return!"
At that moment, Rorschach's already large body swelled even more, and lightning surged around his entire frame. He didn't have time to use the spear to block Garp, so he wrapped his silver hair, infused with lightning, around Garp's eyes.
But Garp didn't care, continuing to grab Rorschach's face and forcefully slam him to the ground.
"Deep Dive!"
"Boom!"
A thunderous explosion echoed, shaking the entire Marineford training ground and sending shockwaves of fear through the soldiers and instructors.
On the ground, Rorschach's body, like a falling meteor, created a crater more than ten meters wide in the solid rocky earth.
Cough, cough! This old man... Does he think I'm Kuzan's uncle?
At the bottom of the crater, Rorschach's body had returned to its normal form after just one blow, his mouth bleeding, and the Heavenly Dragon Spear had fallen from his hand.
Boom.
Garp landed at the edge of the crater, sitting next to it, smiling as he looked at the fallen Rorschach lying on his back.
"How are you feeling? Do you understand now, boy?"
"What understanding! What did you teach me? All you do is ask if I've understood!"
Rorschach thought to himself, powerless.
Is this Garp's method of teaching? Beat you senseless, then ask if you've learned anything.
"Haki isn't just used to coat weapons."
Zephyr appeared at the edge of the crater at that moment, explaining to Rorschach.
He pointed at Garp, who was sitting next to him, and said, "Garp's strongest technique is called the Bone Fist."
"You must have noticed, even though Garp didn't use Armament Haki, his fist was still tougher than your giant sword, wasn't it?"
Rorschach was shocked to his core.
He looked at Garp in disbelief.
"Does that mean... you've developed Haki into your bones?"
"Hahaha, yes! Since Haki can be applied to weapons, after a long time of nurturing them with Haki, weapons can become incredibly tough and powerful black blades. So, it's entirely possible to nurture the human body the same way and turn it into something like a 'black blade'!"
Garp extended his fist to show it off.
"After decades of nurturing my fists with Haki, I've turned them into 'black blades'."
"Turning... turning your fists into black blades?"
Rorschach's eyes widened, his face showing an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"I had intended to turn all the bones in my body into black blade-level toughness, but Armament Haki is, after all, a power that originates from within the human body."
"So, using this internal power to train the body isn't as fast as nurturing weapons with Haki."
Garp, as if pulling a donut from nowhere, began chewing on it, pointing to Zephyr's arm.
"As they say, biting off more than you can chew. Look at Zephyr; he wanted to surpass me, so he nurtured both his arms with Haki, trying to turn them into black blades. Hahaha, and as a result, even now, he hasn't succeeded. He probably won't be able to achieve it in his lifetime."
Boom! A rock shattered on Garp's head.
Zephyr's face darkened with anger.
"Turning the body into a black blade? What the hell! Is that even possible?"
At the bottom of the crater, Rorschach was truly stunned.
But what Garp and Zephyr said made sense.
If weapons can be turned into black blades, why can't the human body? After all, the body itself is the most basic weapon.
"Even though Garp made it sound simple, this isn't something that can be achieved in a short amount of time."
Zephyr continued, "I'm not saying you should learn this from Garp. What I want you to understand is that you need to broaden your perspective. Don't be limited by appearances; learn to discover multiple ways to utilize power."
"What you said earlier was also correct. The power of Devil Fruits is extremely strong. For example, Whitebeard's Quake-Quake Fruit, Sakazuki's Magma Fruit, or the Thunder Fruit that hasn't appeared on the seas for many years."
"These fruits can cause large-scale destruction, something that pure Haki alone cannot achieve."
"But if you want to stand at the top of the world, you need to excel in all areas and advance across the board, without having any glaring weaknesses."
"For example, Borsalino (Kizaru) relies too much on his Glint-Glint Fruit abilities."
"But you can't blame him; he's developed that fruit to the point where he can stand at the top of the sea..." Rorschach sighed.
With an ability like the Glint-Glint Fruit, which boasts both incredible speed and power, and large-scale destructive techniques, even without mastering Haki, Kizaru could easily defeat opponents of the same level by keeping them at a distance.
As long as they couldn't catch up to Kizaru's speed, they'd be helpless against his attacks.
"That's not enough!" Zephyr raised his voice sharply, warning Rorschach in a serious tone:
"There are too many miraculous Devil Fruits in this world, and some can match the speed of the Glint-Glint Fruit, such as the Teleportation Fruit, the Thunder Fruit, and even Law's Ope-Ope Fruit, which allows him to move through space, and it's faster than the Glint-Glint Fruit!"
"Even your own abilities let you control wind and lightning. Perhaps one day, your speed could match his."
"Just imagine, if Garp had eaten the Teleportation Fruit or the Thunder Fruit, Borsalino, who doesn't excel at Haki, would lose miserably!"
Rorschach didn't argue, simply letting out a sigh.
Zephyr's comment about Kizaru not being proficient with Haki depended entirely on whom he was being compared to.
(End of Chapter)
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