The heat flowing from the seven or eight officers Xia Qiu had just consumed was still lingering in his body, but in the next moment, it was completely overwhelmed by an even vaster surge of heat.
Intense, scorching, and potent.
It felt like a bomb had detonated inside his body, with waves of heat spreading outwards in all directions.
Crack, creak, clang.
Xia Qiu's bones made faint sounds as his muscles bulged and retracted, his tendons and bones becoming even tougher.
The heat was immense. If the heat from the commodores had been a small stream, this current heat was a mighty river.
These streams of heat washed over Xia Qiu's body, bringing a long-lost sense of pain. Wherever the heat touched, it felt like a giant hand was tearing his body apart, kneading it, and then reshaping it.
It hurt, but the power contained within was incredibly satisfying.
Xia Qiu rolled and tumbled in the ocean, the cool seawater soothing the pain, while his movements expressed his inner ecstasy.
With a roar, Xia Qiu shot out of the ocean, opening his mouth wide and letting out a bellow.
ROAR.
The immense sound traveled far into the distance.
Then, Xia Qiu submerged back into the sea, continuing his swim.
A full fifteen minutes later, the heat gradually weakened until it disappeared completely.
"Amazing."
Xia Qiu felt the power surging through his body, immensely satisfied.
Boom.
Xia Qiu twisted his body and lunged forward. The surrounding waves parted as he transformed into a black blur, instantly covering a significant distance.
This transformation was substantial.
His body was tougher, his strength had increased dramatically, and his speed had improved.
His physical condition had advanced by a major tier, and he could anticipate a significant boost in his overall strength.
But that wasn't the main point.
There was also Haki.
His primary objective for coming here was Haki. Even with improved physical condition, he would still be limited by his physique and the extent of his enhancements.
On land, powerful opponents could still defeat him with their abilities and agile movements.
Only by acquiring Haki could he step into the next realm.
With that in mind, Xia Qiu slowly stopped moving and felt his body, sensing two peculiar energies swirling within.
One large, one small.
The larger one was located near his heart, while the smaller one was circulating around his head.
These energies felt somewhat like gas, yet intangible, and they felt distinctly different.
The energy in his head felt incredibly light, spreading throughout his skull and giving a delicate sensation.
The energy near his heart felt dense and heavy, providing a sense of stability and comfort, yet also carrying a sharp edge.
"Let's try this first."
Xia Qiu focused his attention, attempting to use the energy in his head. As the thought formed, the energy seemed to solidify, captured by his consciousness.
And then?
Xia Qiu didn't know how to use it, so he simply controlled the energy, trying to spread it outwards.
Swish.
The energy left Xia Qiu's head, first enveloping his body, and then spreading outwards.
In the next instant, Xia Qiu entered a peculiar state, his senses becoming incredibly sharp.
His vision improved, his sense of smell heightened, his hearing sharpened, and his ability to perceive sound waves became more sensitive, allowing him to discern even the faintest signals.
Moreover, his tactile senses also enhanced. The flow of the currents, the changes caused by water colliding with his body's surface, and the sounds of the currents all registered in his mind.
His five senses had been amplified.
This was one of the characteristics of Observation Haki.
However, Xia Qiu couldn't test the other characteristics for now and had to put them aside.
But he was certain that the energy in his head was Observation Haki.
That meant the other one must be Armament Haki.
Xia Qiu continued to experience Observation Haki, continuously channeling the energy from his head into his body and then spreading it outwards, further and further.
Centered on Xia Qiu, the energy expanded in every direction – up, down, left, right, front, and back. One meter, five meters, ten meters…
His perception of the surrounding sea grew clearer.
It was still increasing.
However, the Haki in his head was becoming less and less, and the further it spread, the faster it was consumed.
Splash.
When he was thirty meters away from his body, Xia Qiu's head Haki was completely depleted, and that clear sensation vanished without a trace, returning him to his original state.
It's already gone this fast?
Xia Qiu shook his head and surveyed the surrounding thirty meters, which wasn't a large area.
However, this release seemed to be omnidirectional, meaning it was released in all directions—up, down, left, right, front, and back. This type of release consumed too much of his ability.
And scouting wasn't just about omnidirectional perception.
For example, Enel, with the help of his Lightning-Lightning Fruit, could hear sounds from the entire island; that was an omnidirectional release.
But for someone like Usopp, Sanji, or Van Augur, their perception was focused on a specific point.
It was like one was horizontal, and the other was vertical.
It seemed he still needed to explore how to use it.
Xia Qiu could feel the Haki in his brain slowly recovering, and the speed wasn't slow.
Observation Haki was less like a form of energy and more like a breath, a sensation.
Sensing the feelings of others, sensing the surrounding environment, that was Observation Haki.
But how to use it specifically still required careful exploration.
Next was Armament Haki.
Xia Qiu used his consciousness to control the Armament Haki in his heart, letting it spread outwards, radiating in all directions.
The next moment, Xia Qiu's massive heart gave a jolt, and Armament Haki instantly flowed around his body, then erupted on his body's surface, but it kept spreading further and further.
What is this?
Xia Qiu felt the Haki disappear from within him, was quickly cut off, and flowed back into his heart, almost completely depleted.
Xia Qiu didn't understand why this was happening, why it kept spreading.
Xia Qiu intended to try again, but he could only wait. After half an hour, his Armament Haki slowly recovered.
This time, Xia Qiu concentrated his attention, focusing the Armament Haki on the surface of his body, especially his left front leg.
Boom.
This time, Xia Qiu's leg was filled with Armament Haki. The Haki didn't leak out; in fact, half of it remained inside his body.
Xia Qiu kicked the seawater, causing it to churn violently and form a vortex. At the same time, the Haki was being consumed, but at a very slow rate, and the Armament Haki was continuously replenishing itself.
In that case.
Through these two experiences, Xia Qiu had a rough understanding of the previous problem.
Armament Haki had three techniques: one was to concentrate it on a specific part of the body, one was to coat weapons, and one was to envelop the body. (Based on the official guidebook, these three techniques are clearly recorded.)
The first was enveloping the body, which could be used to defend against enemy attacks. It could not only defend against physical attacks but also against attacks used through Devil Fruits (the latter half is the original wording).
Clear examples include when Luffy fought Sentomaru two years ago; when he hit Sentomaru, he himself felt pain and fell. Another was on Punk Hazard, where a Giant Beast stepped on Rayleigh but fell before even touching him. Furthermore, during the Summit War, the Three Admirals blocked Whitebeard's shockwaves simply by raising their hands.
The second was coating weapons, where Haki was applied to weapons to increase their power, such as bamboo, swords, axes, or even fists.
The third was concentrating Haki on specific parts of the body to increase hardness and attack power.
Examples include Luffy, Vergo, Chinjao, Pica, and others.
Xia Qiu's first attempt at using Armament Haki actually caused the Haki to leave his body without enveloping it, resulting in leakage.
This time, he injected it into a part of his body, and the Armament Haki did not leak out.
As for how to achieve the first and second techniques, he would need to develop them further.
Observation Haki was different from Armament Haki. The former was more like a sensation, while the latter was like a form of energy that consumed and had varying levels of proficiency.
As for his own Armament Haki capacity, it was roughly enough to envelop both of his legs.
However, in combat, Haki would be consumed, making it difficult for him to fight with both legs enveloped.
This might seem small, but one of his legs was much larger than most people's. In the original story, only Vergo and Pica's true bodies could envelop their entire bodies, yet both were directly severed.
And his legs were somewhat larger than theirs.
Luffy's Gear Fourth only enveloped parts of his body, and after one use, he couldn't use Haki for ten minutes.
Xia Qiu's Haki was inherited from Onigumo, and there was already some consumption during the absorption process. Furthermore, the Haki he possessed was inherently inferior to those mentioned above.
The fundamental reason was his own large physique.
The Armament Haki that could envelop others' bodies could only envelop one of his legs.
But regardless, with these two types of Haki, Xia Qiu's combat power had significantly increased.
He could sense the enemy's movements, could hit the physical bodies of Logia users, and could enhance his defense and attack power.
This meant that enemies could not attack him with agile movements, nor could they instantly kill him with Haki.
Combined with the enhancements from a Vice Admiral and dozens of Marines, this directly doubled Xia Qiu's combat effectiveness.
Previously, he could defeat a Rear Admiral underwater but not a Vice Admiral. On land, facing a Rear Admiral or Commodore, he stood no chance if they knew Geppo and Soru.
A Commodore couldn't kill him, but a Rear Admiral could cut through steel. Relying on speed, they could attack his weak points, leaving him in grave danger.
But now, Xia Qiu could defeat a Vice Admiral underwater, at least remaining undefeated. After all, a Vice Admiral knew Geppo and Soru, giving him a chance to escape.
On the surface, facing a Rear Admiral, if the opponent didn't run, they would surely die.
If they ran, with his enhanced body, he could catch up, but depending on the situation, he might not be able to win. However, the opponent definitely couldn't do anything to him.
As for facing a Vice Admiral on land, it was still difficult. The amount of Haki and his own physique remained issues.
So, his current strength was greater than or equal to a Vice Admiral underwater, and greater than or equal to a Rear Admiral on the surface.
Therefore, Xia Qiu next needed to master the techniques of using Haki, study the application of both types of Haki, and grasp combat techniques that combined the two.
He also needed to train his Haki, see if he could improve it, and hunt other Haki users to increase his Haki.
Fewer today
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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