"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Luffy felt a surge of warmth and power rising from deep within his body. It was the energy he had absorbed earlier. Right now, Luffy felt noticeably stronger than he had been just a short while ago. Of course, it still wasn't enough power to defeat the gorilla standing before him. Even if he compared himself to his strength from two years ago, the difference was significant.
But there was one undeniable good thing—Luffy was realizing that just by eating and drinking, he could directly improve his strength. This straightforward and unrefined method of training was exactly his style. The simplicity of it? He absolutely loved it.
No matter how he looked at it, Luffy was thrilled by the results. Then…
He quickly pulled up his system interface to check his attributes.
[Conqueror's Haki Value: 51/100!]
"What's going on? How did it increase?" Luffy muttered, surprised by the change. But soon enough, he understood. He recalled that he had asked the system about Haki a while back. Increasing the power of Conqueror's Haki wasn't complicated at all; he just needed to experience life and truly sense everything in it.
In short, the trick to training Conqueror's Haki was to connect deeply with all things in the world. Not long ago, Luffy had savored some of the best food he'd ever tasted in the human realm, and the delight of it had made him feel that the world was a beautiful place. This experience had directly increased his Conqueror's Haki value.
And on top of that…
The pleasure that came from the energy Conqueror's Haki absorbed was immensely beneficial to him. All of these experiences seemed to deepen his understanding, filling him with a sense of satisfaction. It was as though the truths of life gradually seeped into his mind during those moments, leading to the strengthening of his Haki.
"Hmm!" Luffy nodded, feeling extremely pleased with himself. This style of training was perfect for him, almost too good to be true. He was fully aware—he absolutely loved it.
However…
Right at that moment, the massive gorilla suddenly made its move.
"Roar!" The gorilla let out an earth-shaking bellow. Clearly… it had taken Luffy's laughter as a direct challenge.
Boom! With a loud crash, the gorilla smashed the ground with a single punch, leaving a crater several meters deep. If Luffy hadn't reacted fast enough to dodge, he would've been crushed.
"What the—?" Luffy gaped in shock. "Its strength is terrifying!" But as he took in the situation, he understood. After all, the gorilla had activated the power of the Fourth Gear Devil Fruit in its previous life. Facing an opponent like this was bound to be difficult.
Luckily, the gorilla wasn't particularly fast. Otherwise, Luffy would be in serious trouble.
"Gotta run!" Luffy decided. Fighting the gorilla in terms of raw strength would be suicide.
But just then—
"Huh? What…?" Luffy realized that the other creatures in the area had blocked off every possible escape route, trapping him inside a completely enclosed space. Clearly… they weren't going to let him end the match by running away.
Luffy looked over to Rayleigh, who was standing not too far away. Predictably, the old man ignored him completely.
Rayleigh called out to him, "Luffy! Didn't I tell you? Don't be afraid. Just focus on fighting with all your might. You have nothing to worry about. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."
Luffy understood right away—Rayleigh was trying to push him to his limit, to see what his true potential was.
"Ugh," Luffy sighed, shaking his head in frustration. If he were the Luffy from his past life, this would be no problem. But…
Right now, facing this creature head-on seemed almost impossible.
But there was no time to dwell on it, as his opponent was already charging at him.
Boom!
This strike was much faster than the last. The gorilla might've been enormous, but it was also surprisingly clever and agile. Luffy scrambled to dodge.
Even though he hadn't actually gone through battles like this before, his body carried memories packed with experiences from his previous life.
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T/N:
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