Observation Haki, empowered by the force of evolution.
The range of perception expanded, now encompassing everything within dozens of kilometers under its influence.
Alongside the increased perception range, it gained an additional effect—listening to sounds.
"Isn't this like Enel's Observation Haki?"
Ron's eyes held a strange gleam.
Normally, Observation Haki can only vaguely detect the number and approximate strength of distant enemies.
As for hearing the enemy's voice through Observation Haki, that phenomenon has only occurred once before.
And that was with Thunder Fruit user Enel.
To achieve this level of Observation Haki, it's not just about hard work or talent.
The key lies in having a Devil Fruit with abilities similar to Thunder Fruit.
Ron gathered the diffused Observation Haki, and when the range shrank to about 100 meters, his perception became extremely sharp.
In this ultimate state, though the range was only 100 meters, his senses were amplified tenfold.
He could detect any disturbance, even tracking the fall of a single hair.
Even a user of the Shining Fruit would appear slow as an ant to his perception.
"I'm looking forward to the evolution of Observation Haki more and more," Ron murmured.
There is no shortcut to the evolution of Observation Haki, and it can't be enhanced by external means.
The only way is to constantly expand your field of awareness, perceive your surroundings, and capture every movement.
The more information Observation Haki absorbs, the stronger it grows.
Practice makes perfect—the more you use it, the better it becomes.
However, the fastest method is to battle against strong opponents.
When your mind is in an extreme state of concentration, the perception ability reaches its peak, and the potential of Observation Haki is fully unleashed.
When Ron's ultimate perception range extends to one kilometer, it's expected that Observation Haki will complete its first evolution.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Ron sat in Freezing Hell for a month, having almost no communication with the outside world except for the daily meals brought by the jailers.
His daily routine consisted of practicing Haki and wielding his sword.
The longer the cold of Freezing Hell invaded his body, the more damage it inflicted.
His skin was constantly tempered by the freezing air. Compared to a month ago, his defense power had at least doubled.
A full-force attack from a Rear Admiral of the Navy could now be easily defended without the use of Armament Haki.
Only a Vice Admiral, on par with someone like Sakazuki, could harm him Without protecting his body with Haki.
"It's about to evolve!"
Ron slowly opened his eyes, sensing that his skin's evolution had reached a critical point and was transforming to a higher level.
After enduring a month in Freezing Hell, his skin finally began its first evolution.
The first evolution of the skin was swift.
As a layer of dead skin peeled away, a slight chemical change occurred in the flesh beneath.
Feeling as if he had been reborn, Ron sensed the world around him differently.
His pores seemed to breathe, his perception sharpened dramatically, and his sense of touch became highly sensitive.
Most importantly, the freezing air of Freezing Hell no longer harmed or influenced his body.
"Adaptive skin!"
Ron looked at the thin layer of coating on his skin. After its first evolution, the skin's defense had greatly increased.
The core transformation was adaptability. His skin would evolve based on the surrounding environment, producing a protective layer suited to extreme conditions.
Whether in intense heat or extreme cold, given enough time, it could adapt and evolve.
For now, his skin had developed resistance to cold, and the usual temperatures of tens of degrees below zero no longer affected him.
Even if the temperature were to drop further, he would only feel slightly chilled. It was almost impossible for the cold to harm him anymore.
His skin would continue to adapt until it was fully resistant to the dropping temperature.
Unless faced with an absolute low temperature capable of instantly freezing his cells, his body would continue adapting to the environment.
"The nemesis of Logia Devil Fruit users."
Ron smiled with interest.
Whether facing the Burn, Lava, Freeze, Thunder, or any other Logia Devil Fruit powers, they were all within the immune range of his adaptive evolution.
Unless the attack was strong enough to kill him in an instant, a frustrating reality would become clear:
The longer the fight lasted, the less damage his opponent could inflict.
After a battle lasting ten days or half a month, Ron might even become completely immune to a Logia Devil Fruit user's attacks.
His skin could also slowly adapt to blunt force injuries, making it an impressive and near invincible ability.
"Sixth sense!" Ron whispered.
Beyond adaptive evolution, his skin had developed a special ability—the sixth sense, also known as mind sense.
The interaction between his skin and the environment created a perception similar to intuition.
Unlike Observation Haki, which could precisely predict and sense surroundings, the sixth sense was an instinctive bodily reaction.
Before danger struck, his body's subconscious would instinctively warn him, similar to a premonition.
This purely instinctive intuition was sometimes even more reliable than Observation Haki.
After all, Observation Haki could be blocked or misled by someone with superior Observation Haki, but instinct couldn't be fooled.
This evolution was a total breakthrough.
"Ron! I've been looking for you for a long time!"
At that moment, a figure in uniform approached from a distance.
It was Tsuru.
Seeing Ron practicing in the cold with only a cloak, a flash of helplessness crossed her face.
In Freezing Hell, even the prison guards shivered from the cold, and not even the warden would willingly come to suffer here. Yet, Ron was training here.
"A true monster," she thought.
The temperature here was dozens of degrees below zero, and even Armament Haki couldn't fully resist the cold. Ron's ability to endure was purely due to his physical strength.
"Why are you here?"
Ron looked at Tsuru, shivering slightly in her thin uniform. He pulled off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders.
Tsuru looked startled but soon composed herself.
"A new prisoner has been detained. This one has a special status, and you need to personally escort him."
Ron frowned. The criminals in Impel Down were the worst of the worst.
But only those meant for Eternal Hell's sixth floor required his personal escort.
These were the most powerful and vicious criminals. Ordinary wardens could easily let them escape, so Ron's presence was necessary.
"It's too cold here. If anything like this happens again, have Sakazuki notify me."
He hoisted Tsuru onto his shoulder effortlessly.
Though Ron was originally only a little over two meters tall, his strength had increased, and so had his body.
Now, he stood close to three meters tall.
As his physique strengthened, his body naturally adapted, an inevitable process of biological evolution.
In the world of pirates, it wasn't uncommon to see titans far larger than normal people.
They weren't from the giant race; they had simply grown so powerful that their height and muscles had developed multiple times over.
It's easy enough to shrink back to a normal size with an understanding of Life Return, allowing control over physical changes.
But very few chose to do so, as it would affect their combat performance.
At his current strength, Ron's body maintained a height of under three meters, considered the ultimate form.
In this state, the density of his muscles and cells surpassed steel, maximizing his combat capabilities.
Compressing further would only hinder his muscle power, doing more harm than good.
Tsuru, who stood just about two meters, fit perfectly on his shoulders.
Before she could react, Ron took off with a powerful step, creating a wave of air.
In an instant, they vanished from the fifth floor.
--I hope your like the chapter 😊.