Since that quiet encounter by the training grounds, Zephyr occasionally saw Renzo there again.
Sometimes, the young man was in a deep sleep. Other times, he was simply staring blankly into space with his eyes half-open.
Yet no matter his state, that "lazy energy" always seemed to linger around him like a soft barrier of calm.
Zephyr's feelings toward Renzo were complicated.
On one hand, he appreciated that strange power that could silently pacify the chaos around it.
On the other, as a mentor who firmly believed that true strength lay in physical discipline and Haki, he felt a kind of professional pain watching Renzo's untrained body and absurdly lazy attitude.
"Such a unique ability… If only it had a strong foundation of Haki to back it up, it might become even more stable, and more powerful."
One afternoon, watching Renzo melt into a bench like a cat sunbathing, Zephyr couldn't help but have that thought.
He assumed that someone who spent all day napping must neglect their training, his Haki, especially Observation Haki, which required awareness and focus, was probably extremely underdeveloped, maybe even nonexistent.
To Zephyr, that was both a waste and a danger.
After all, no matter how special a power was, without a strong foundation, it was just an illusion.
Driven by both concern and the responsibility of a teacher, Zephyr once again approached Renzo.
Renzo felt a large shadow fall over him and lazily opened his eyes.
"Professor Zephyr," he mumbled in greeting, his way of saying, Yeah, I see you.
"Renzo," Zephyr began, his deep voice carrying both authority and concern.
"I've been observing you for some time. Your ability is… unusual. But relying too much on it while neglecting your own foundation is one of the greatest mistakes a warrior can make."
Renzo blinked, his empty gaze showing he only half-understood the lecture.
Zephyr pressed on.
"Especially your Haki! It's a power that lies within everyone, a vital force for protecting your beliefs and defeating strong foes!"
"But I can tell you've never trained it. That's dangerous."
He paused, watching for a reaction. Renzo simply blinked again, as if slowly processing the words.
So Zephyr decided to make an offer.
"From today onward, you could set aside an hour, no, even just half an hour each day. I'll personally guide you in awakening and training your Haki, particularly your Observation Haki.
Don't worry about intensity, I'll tailor it to your pace."
To most recruits, this would've been a dream come true, a chance to be personally trained by Zephyr himself.
But Renzo's reaction completely blindsided him.
No excitement. No gratitude. Not even interest.
Instead, Renzo's brows furrowed slightly, and his face clearly showed ugh, how troublesome.
"Training… Haki?" he repeated in that snail-paced voice.
"…Sounds… tiring… troublesome…"
Zephyr: "...?"
He thought he misheard. "What did you say? Troublesome? This is how you become stro- "
"No," Renzo interrupted, surprisingly quickly for him. He even shook his head, slowly, as if on a two-second delay.
"…No need… thank you…"
Zephyr froze.
In all his years of teaching, he had seen the unmotivated and the cowardly, but never someone who so righteously refused because it was too troublesome.
A flicker of irritation rose in his chest, but looking at Renzo's utterly unmotivated expression, soft, weightless, impossible to grab hold of, he realized that even getting angry felt too troublesome.
He took a deep breath and tried to reason.
"Renzo, with Observation Haki, you could sense danger earlier, and avoid trouble before it starts. Say, if someone tried to ambush you from a distance, "
Before he could finish, Renzo lazily interrupted again.
"Oh, that. Yeah… if someone's got killing intent or bad vibes from far away, it's really noisy… I just make them too lazy to move… or sometimes they trip on their own."
His tone was flat, like he was commenting on the weather.
Zephyr's words stopped cold in his throat.
'From a distance… he can sense intent? And can interfere preemptively?!'
That was something only masters of Observation Haki could do, perhaps even touching the realm of future sight or emotional perception!
This kid who spends all day napping?!
Zephyr's sunglasses nearly slid off his face.
"You… you've already awakened Observation Haki? Since when? How far does it go?"
Renzo thought for a moment… then gave up.
"Forgot. I've kinda always been able to tell when annoying stuff comes close. Too noisy otherwise."
He had always assumed it was just part of his Sloth Fruit powers, never realizing it was Haki.
After all, sensing trouble and making it go away early sounded perfectly natural to him.
Zephyr was speechless.
He had thought Renzo was a clueless rookie, yet the kid had long since awakened a high-level Haki, and integrated it seamlessly into his devil fruit ability.
What he had achieved was a passive, automatic, and frighteningly efficient defensive mechanism.
Zephyr's earlier lecture now felt laughably pointless.
Seeing the stunned look on Zephyr's face, Renzo added, sealing the matter completely:
"No training. I'm good like this. Training means moving… sweating… focusing… too tiring."
"Staying like this is just right."
Each word stabbed Zephyr's teacherly heart, but he couldn't refute any of it.
Because for someone who could make enemies fall asleep, nullify attacks through apathy, and passively sense danger from afar… traditional training really was redundant, and "troublesome."
Zephyr opened his mouth, but all that came out was a long, heavy sigh filled with resignation.
He patted Renzo's shoulder (still as soft and untrained as ever) and said, half amused, half defeated:
"Fine. You've earned the right to be lazy. My mistake for meddling."
"Carry on then… keep resting."
Shaking his head, Zephyr walked away, his broad back radiating a mix of exasperation and reluctant amusement.
The mighty "Black Arm" Zephyr, defeated not by a pirate, but by one lazy genius who found training "too troublesome."
Renzo watched him leave and sighed in relief.
"Finally gone… almost got dragged into something exhausting…"
He adjusted his position on the bench, snuggling back into comfort as the peaceful air returned.
Warm sunlight. Quiet surroundings. No trouble.
That was the best state of all.
As for that "top-tier Observation Haki"?
To Renzo, it was nothing more than a convenient tool to avoid hassle a little earlier and a little easier.
And who'd bother studying how a tool works, anyway?