Luffy kept experimenting.
It felt like he had discovered a limitless treasure trove. The power granted by the system was simply indescribable. Though his Conqueror's Haki currently existed only as a rudimentary form, it wasn't hard to imagine how terrifyingly powerful it could become in the future.
"Conqueror's Haki," he murmured, "truly is a power that can dominate everything."
He nodded, satisfied.
At that moment…
The bird under Luffy's control stopped moving altogether.
Or rather, Luffy had completely taken over all its actions.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"
The bird let out a frantic cry as it struggled, but it was no use. Luffy's Haki had full control over it.
Luffy burst into laughter as a sudden idea struck him.
"Stop making that noise!"
With just a thought, the bird stopped chirping.
"Hmm?" Luffy noticed he could influence many of its actions.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp!" the bird called again. This time, however…
It was different.
Luffy was controlling the sounds it made. In other words, the bird's chirps were completely under his control.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"
The bird kept chirping as Luffy laughed loudly.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"This is incredible! I can barely describe how it feels to directly control the bird's actions. It's amazing!"
He could hardly contain his excitement.
"Hm?" Suddenly, Luffy attempted to influence other functions of the bird. At that moment…
A strange image flashed through his mind.
He could see a figure.
This person was filthy, covered in mud and dirt, with various grime all over his body. However…
The figure's face was youthful and strikingly handsome.
"Is that…"
Luffy paused, gradually understanding.
"That person is me!"
He realized the figure's identity.
Yes, there was no doubt.
The person he was seeing wasn't someone else.
It was Luffy himself, seen through the bird's perspective.
The feeling was beyond words.
"Amazing, amazing!" Luffy marveled.
He couldn't hold back his excitement.
"How long has it been since I took a bath?"
"I look so dirty."
"But still pretty handsome."
"That's Luffy for you!"
"Monkey D. Luffy!"
"One of the most good-looking guys in the world of One Piece."
Luffy sighed, appreciating himself.
And…
He suddenly felt that becoming Luffy wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Feeling encouraged, Luffy tried out more of the bird's abilities.
He made the bird spread its wings and soar toward a distant cliff.
"Hm?"
Luffy noticed the bird's spirit starting to resist more strongly.
"Uh-oh!"
In an instant…
Luffy lost control of the bird, his Haki detaching immediately.
"Sigh."
Luffy felt a twinge of regret.
But overall, there was no harm done.
On one hand…
His Conqueror's Haki value was only fifty.
The control it offered was still at an elementary level.
On the other hand…
As he tried to control the bird from afar, the distance posed a challenge.
Luffy guessed that Conqueror's Haki control worked best within a certain range.
At least for now…
His Haki wasn't yet strong enough to control things at greater distances.
Testing his theory, Luffy focused on a nearby object.
A blade of grass, only a few dozen meters away, swayed under his control.
Luffy could sense its essence.
It felt wonderful.
"Alright!" he nodded, continuing to practice distance control with his Haki.
Fifty meters.
Sixty meters.
Seventy meters.
Eighty meters.
Ninety meters.
A hundred meters.
Beyond a hundred meters, his control clearly weakened.
"I've reached the limit," Luffy said with a nod, acknowledging a range cap of a hundred meters.
Of course, if he were to control something like a bird…
Sixty meters might be the limit.
After all…
Different beings resisted in different ways.
Plants were fragile.
Animals were stronger.
Luffy tried more experiments.
He managed to control a small deer within sixty meters.
Luffy found the deer's consciousness much more complex than the bird's.
However…
With persistent effort, he succeeded.
"It's a unique experience!"
He focused on sensing the deer's spirit.
Then he tried to make it run and jump.
"It's a bit tougher."
"That's mammals for you."
"And…"
Luffy shook his head.
"At seventy meters, it's clearly harder to keep control."
In an instant…
The deer broke free.
But Luffy wasn't disappointed.
In truth…
He was pleased with the potential of his Conqueror's Haki.
Luffy believed that with dedicated training…
He would undoubtedly rise.
He would definitely unleash power.
He would absolutely become unstoppable.
There was no doubt.
Boom!
A loud noise grabbed Luffy's attention.
He looked over.
A massive, ferocious beast had somehow snuck up on him.
"Oh, no!"
Luffy was taken aback.
The creature was many meters tall.
Undoubtedly a formidable opponent.
"Damn it! All my energy is spent."
"There's no way I can fight it."
Luffy realized he had almost no power left.
"I have to get out of here."
Luffy tried to flee.
Unfortunately…
Another massive beast of the same size appeared on his other side.
"Crap!"
Luffy froze.
The two beasts had clearly developed some level of intelligence.
Though…
Compared to humans, it was negligible.
But…
They clearly understood how to work together.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have both closed in at once.
Not far off…
Silvers Rayleigh opened his eyes.
He'd been resting up until now, but was alerted by the disturbance.
A slight smile appeared on Rayleigh's lips.
"Luffy…"
He murmured.
"These two creatures are close to Sea King level."
"I'll watch and see how your training has been coming along."
Rayleigh knew that, realistically, Luffy's strength was more than enough to handle two Sea King-class beasts.
After all…
Luffy had already defeated two members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
And he'd performed impressively at Marineford.
Rayleigh was simply curious to see how much progress Luffy had made by facing off against these two beasts.
Meanwhile…
Luffy was utterly shocked.
"Great. Just great."
"Two giant monsters!"
"If I were my old self, I'd beat them easily."
"I'd take care of them in third gear without breaking a sweat!"
"But I can't do that now."
"Please, have mercy on me."
Luffy pleaded.
But the two beasts didn't care.
A fierce glint shone in their eyes as they closed in on him.
~----------------------------------------------------------
T/N:
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