Because he understood Naruto, this simple-minded guy, too well, Sasuke could almost guess without thinking that Naruto would probably go find Mr. Luffy tonight.
And the two of them couldn't possibly train directly in the resting area.
So... the clearing in the forest that Luffy found a long time ago was, of course, the best choice.
Sasuke understood this point, so of course, he could arrive here in advance and wait.
He wanted to see what kind of thing Luffy could teach this "problem child" Naruto!
Compared to Naruto, Sasuke was much stronger, both in his current strength and in terms of long-term talent.
It's a pity, though, that their backgrounds and situations weren't too different.
Naruto didn't know his own lineage, only that he was an orphan with no relatives.
And Sasuke's situation wasn't much better.
His Uchiha clan was massacred, leaving him as the sole survivor in the world.
The key perpetrator who massacred his entire clan was none other than his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, who had always cared for Sasuke!
The hatred for the clan's destruction, for the murder of his parents, was now the absolute spiritual pillar supporting Sasuke to continue living.
The only thing he wanted to do now was to gain power... to gain stronger and stronger power... until he surpassed Uchiha Itachi! Until he could avenge himself with his own two hands!
Sasuke had never even told anyone this: ...As long as he could gain powerful strength, he was willing to pay any price.
Even willing to become... anything!
If one were to talk about the conviction to become stronger, Sasuke was not only not inferior to Naruto, but actually surpassed him!
...
"This must be it!" Luffy looked around. He had to say, the environment around Konoha was quite nice.
"Right! This is it! Mr. Luffy, don't worry! No one will ever disturb us here!" Naruto confidently patted his chest.
Luffy pouted. He had just sensed Sasuke, who he had seen during the day, hiding in the dense forest.
However, teasing each other between children was common, and Luffy didn't pay it any mind.
Not to mention children, even Luffy himself often had such interesting interactions and communications with his companions!
Thinking of this, Luffy blinked his eyes, reached out, and patted his own cheeks.
"Alright, alright, since this place is good, let's start quickly!"
Luffy wanted both adventure and companions... He felt caught between two worlds, and he increasingly yearned to find the key to travel between them.
"Mm!" Naruto nodded excitedly when he heard Luffy say "start." After that, it was the two of them with wide eyes.
"You... what do you want to learn?" Luffy was the first to break the silence. Although he was also childlike, he was older after all.
"Uh..." This really stumped Naruto. "What...?" Naruto carefully looked up and asked.
"Mr. Luffy... what can you do?"
He was going to challenge him now!
But Luffy didn't mind.
"Well... I know quite a lot of things."
Indeed, in the world of One Piece, he had experienced so many arduous and spectacular battles. Even if he was a pig, being able to survive to the end meant he had a wealth of experience and skills. What's more, Luffy himself was a combat genius, and his body was full of extraordinary talent.
"My strongest, of course, is the Devil Fruit ability..."
"Oh oh!" Naruto's eyes immediately lit up when he heard words like "Devil Fruit something" and "something ability"!
For a child his age, this kind of thing sounded very powerful, right?
Even Sasuke, hidden in the shadows, cautiously leaned closer and listened carefully!
"But... I can't teach you that!" Luffy frowned in distress.
"Devil Fruit powers don't repeat themselves. Even among ability users, the experience they can share and learn from each other is pitifully small!"
Although Naruto largely didn't understand most of the terminology in Luffy's words.
However, he could clearly understand the words "can't teach." His face immediately fell.
But Luffy hadn't finished speaking.
"Besides Devil Fruit abilities... my strongest power should be Haki."
What Luffy said was true. In the Grand Line, purely in terms of Haki ability, Luffy was definitely one of a kind!
"Oh!" Naruto immediately became excited again. "Haki ability," it sounded very... "Haki," wasn't it?!
"Then... then can I learn it?" Naruto asked cautiously, blinking his eyes.
"Haki? Everyone can learn it!"
Luffy wasn't hiding anything.
At least in the world of One Piece, Haki was indeed something everyone could learn.
However, the time it took to fully master Haki varied depending on individual talent.
The specific power that could be unleashed after cultivating it to the end also varied greatly.
Luffy himself was a genius. From a complete novice, he had never come into contact with the Haki power system. To mastering all three types of Haki, he could fully step into the ranks of first-rate experts without even using his Devil Fruit ability... In fact, it only took him less than two years!
However, this was probably a feat only Luffy could achieve.
The possibility of others replicating it was very small.
"I want to learn! I want to learn!" Naruto jumped for joy when he heard that he too could learn this kind of powerful strength.
"Do you know what Haki is? And you want to learn it?" Luffy looked at Naruto curiously.
"..." Naruto was stumped. "Since it's Mr. Luffy's second strongest power, it should be able to significantly enhance combat ability! I want to learn this power!"
Naruto looked at Luffy with determination and said this.
"Hmm..." Luffy also put on an act, staring into Naruto's eyes.
But he didn't know what it meant to stare at the other person like that.
"Alright." Luffy shrugged, agreeing. He still remembered what Rayleigh had taught him back then... How to put it...
"Ahem... The so-called 'Haki' is a potential power that all humans possess..."
"This power is an innate ability. When you feel the overwhelming presence, the killing intent, the fighting spirit, and the manipulation of these invisible 'eyes,' your willpower will transform into a weapon. And this powerful force is called 'Haki'!"
Luffy recited directly from memory, exactly as Rayleigh had taught him back then, word for word, emotionlessly.
But even with such a verbatim recitation, Naruto still regarded it as a golden rule.
It was as if he had heard some incredible secret technique!
Luffy blinked his eyes, suddenly finding it very interesting to teach a disciple.
Finally, he thought back to how Rayleigh had "guided" him back then...
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