"It's starting, it's starting!"
"How long do you think Riven will last this time?"
"Last time was one minute, this time… gotta be at least a minute and a half."
"I bet two minutes."
"Wanna place a bet, minna-san?"
"Don't force me to slap you, Bittam!"
Perhaps because they were too bored, a group of rough men on Roger's pirate ship were watching the battle with great interest and excitement.
Riven, dressed in a shrunken black military uniform of unknown origin and carrying a black spear on his back, was standing at full attention, staring at the figure opposite him.
His long black hair fluttered in the wind. His young but determined face, though immature, still couldn't hide his handsomeness.
That face had a kind of unique beauty, similar to the Uchiha clan.
Standing opposite him was a blond middle-aged man. Although he was just casually standing there, he still gave Riven considerable pressure.
'No wonder he's Dark King Rayleigh. Just from his stance, you can tell this guy is ridiculously strong,' Riven understood: in the world of One Piece, no strong man became powerful without fighting. Blindly training was a low-level pirate's way of improving.
But he, Riven, was all about being hard-headed.
If you're afraid of pain, don't be a pirate.
Seeing that Rayleigh didn't move, Riven decided not to wait anymore. In the stunned eyes of Buggy and Shanks, his figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
"Eh? He disappeared instantly?"
"When did Riven eat a Devil Fruit?"
They knew about Riven and Uncle Bittam's scam, so naturally, they also knew that the treasure Captain Roger lost in a bet was actually a Devil Fruit.
When splitting the loot, Riven didn't ask for money but only took that Devil Fruit.
According to Captain Rayleigh, the name of the fruit seemed to be…
Teleport Fruit?
"Not at all," At some point, Captain Roger had come behind the two little kids, patting their heads with his big hands and laughing, "You two should've seen it before. Riven is using Rokushiki."
"Eh?"
Shanks and Buggy's mouths dropped wide open, utterly in disbelief.
Of course, they knew what Rokushiki was. A high-level application of martial arts, or rather, a preschool version of Haki. But the key point was.
'That's one of the signature techniques of a Marine officer. And Riven, this guy, learned it at nine years old?'
Sure enough, when they looked back at the battlefield, Riven had already appeared behind Rayleigh and was aiming a heart-kicking kick at the kidney area.
'Miss Shakky, don't blame watashi.'
Just as he was about to land the kick, for some reason, Riven suddenly pulled back his leg and quickly distanced himself from the opponent.
Rayleigh slowly turned his head and looked at Riven, whose eyes were full of concentration, a wicked smile forming at the corner of his mouth, "Why did you pull back your leg halfway?"
Riven looked at Rayleigh's pervy-uncle-smiling face with irritation and pouted, "Nothing, just felt like something bad would happen if I kicked."
Actually, at that very moment, he vaguely saw the scene of his leg getting fractured.
Believing it's better to be safe than sorry, Riven pulled back his leg and tried to recapture that feeling.
"Too developed Observation Haki can sometimes hinder your growth, boy," Rayleigh said with a laugh, and then, almost in an instant, appeared right in front of Riven.
'Nani?'
Riven's Observation Haki gave a sudden emergency alert.
Observation Haki: Enemy detected.
Brain: React quickly.
Body: Why don't you come over and react yourself?
This was one of Riven's weaknesses: an overly powerful Observation Haki gave him a natural strong-man perspective, or you could say, a god's-eye view.
But that still couldn't change the fact that he was just a kid. His body couldn't keep up with the reaction speed, and that gap was his flaw.
And that had nothing to do with talent. It could only be honed through constant battle, developing monstrous combat instincts and reflexes.
Only then could he handle more advanced powers. Like Haki.
In other words, fight more and get beat more, this is the most practical crash course for Armament Haki.
His naturally strong physical body could shorten the process, but not skip it.
So, when facing Rayleigh's sudden attack, Riven quickly realized he couldn't dodge at all, and decided it was better to just take the hit and stand firm.
And so, he immediately chose to use this as a way to temper himself. Steeling his resolve, he used the recently learned beggar's version of Armament Haki—
"Tekkai!" (Iron Body)
'I refuse to believe I can't even block a single kick.'
———
"Riven, you're finally awake!"
"What the hell…", Riven slowly opened his eyes and looked at the two boys standing beside the bed. It only took him two and a half seconds to realize what happened.
He got kicked to sleep by Rayleigh again.
'Should I say Rayleigh-san's kicks are really strong, or that being put to sleep is just the passive of this crap skill?'
'If I use Tekkai again, I'm a dog,' Riven swore silently in his heart.
"Hey! Riven, are you really okay?", Seeing Riven sit up straight from the bed, Buggy and Shanks looked concerned.
After all, they had clearly seen that after Riven passed out, Rayleigh's leg had turned dark-purple with Armament Haki. Even Captain Roger was sweating, asking Rayleigh if he'd gone a bit too hard.
Although Riven was a monster, taking a kick like that directly should have left him bedridden for a few days. They couldn't imagine how Riven had endured it.
Besides, as Riven's sworn brothers, the two of them were worried about whether something was wrong with his body.
'Riven, this guy… is being too reckless.'
But Riven himself, at the center of the incident, clearly didn't take it to heart. Instead, he stretched his limbs with ease.
"I'm fine. By the way, how long was I out? Don't tell me it was a whole day."
He acted like nothing had happened. Only when he touched his chest did he suck in a sharp breath.
'Damn, that hurts!'
Seeing that expression, Shanks and Buggy thought his wound had reopened or something, and quickly helped support him.
"Don't push yourself, Riven!"
"Yeah, if you're hurt, rest properly, you bastard."
Grinning through the pain, Riven unbuttoned the front of his shirt. Looking at the pitch-black bruise on his chest, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Eh? Riven, when did you master Armament Haki?", Shanks, seeing this scene, shouted in shock with his mouth wide open, eyes full of disbelief.
Buggy, seeing his reaction, got annoyed and scolded, "Are you stupid? That's clearly just a bruise."
"Oh… hahahahaha, I see," Shanks laughed awkwardly, "I saw it wrong."
"You bastard, you really piss me off sometimes."
Buggy couldn't stand this side of Shanks. Always slow to get the point and always looking calmly while he fumed.
Usually at this point, Riven would laugh loudly, watch the show, and once they were done arguing, he'd wrap his arms around their necks and skillfully change the subject.
"Don't be mad, Buggy. Let's go eat."
"Tch… Fine, I'll give Riven face. It's not like I'm doing it for you, Shanks."
"Yes yes… I got it."
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