CHAPTER 161 — Trust it.
The bell above the door had already stopped ringing.
A small screen was mounted on the far wall, its glow soft but constant. Images shifted across it in slow, brutal clarity.
Marineford.
Ice cracked across the sea. Smoke rolled thick and dark. Giants moved like mountains given life. Cannons fired. Ships burned. The sound was muted, but everyone inside knew what they were seeing.
The war was still happening.
Shakky stood behind the counter, her posture relaxed, one hand resting lightly on the wood. Her eyes moved once, just once, over the group that had entered.
Tony. Saeko. Mindy. Naruto.
And then Gaius.
She didn't flinch. She didn't stiffen. She simply watched him, her gaze steady, thoughtful. Not the way someone looked at a threat, and not the way someone looked at a guest.
She was measuring.
In the corner of the bar, a man sat with a bottle of rum in one hand. Silver hair. Calm face. Old scars worn without pride or shame. Silvers Rayleigh lifted the bottle, took a slow drink, and let his eyes drift, casual on the surface, sharp beneath it.
His Observation Haki was already active.
He felt the room before he looked at it. The way the air shifted. The subtle pressure that didn't press down, but outward. The way footsteps had entered without sound, without hesitation.
Most of all, he felt him.
Gaius stood near the door, his massive frame unmoving, armor catching only the faint glow from the screen. The floor creaked under his weight, but the sturdy wooden boards held firm.
Rayleigh didn't stare. He didn't need to.
Gaius felt it almost immediately.
It wasn't sight. It wasn't sound. It was the same sensation he had felt at Marineford, like a hand brushing across his presence without ever touching him.
He turned his head slowly.
His eyes settled on the man in the corner.
They met eyes for a brief moment.
Gaius did not tense. His hands remained at his sides. His breathing stayed slow and even. Whatever this man was doing, it wasn't an attack.
And they were here for information.
Then Shakky spoke.
"Drinks?" she asked casually. "Or information?"
Her voice was light, almost bored, as if this were an ordinary afternoon and not the meeting of forces that had shaken Marineford only hours ago.
Tony blinked once, then smiled politely.
"Information," he said. "But we'll take drinks too."
Saeko had already taken a seat at the counter, Mindy beside her, eyes bright with curiosity. Naruto hopped onto a stool, leaning forward, clearly interested in everything, the bar, the screen, the bottles lined neatly behind Shakky.
"We want to try them," Naruto added cheerfully. "Your drinks."
Shakky smiled then, small but genuine.
"Alright," she said, already moving.
Glasses were set down. Bottles opened. The soft sound of liquid pouring filled the space, easing the weight in the room just a little. Saeko accepted her glass calmly.
Mindy lifted hers, sniffing it carefully before taking a small sip, eyes widening in surprise. Naruto drank with enthusiasm, then coughed once, laughing it off.
Rayleigh watched all of it.
Only after the drinks were served did he speak.
"You're quite the unexpected guest," he said, not standing, not raising his voice.
Gaius turned his head slightly, giving the man his full attention.
"You were just at Marineford," Rayleigh continued evenly. "And now you're here."
A faint pause. "You arrived far too quickly."
Indeed. They hadn't traveled the normal way. The vehicle they used flew on the same principles as Tony's armor, powered by an arc reactor at its core. It didn't rely on sails or currents or wind.
It was simply fast.
Tony glanced at Gaius, then back to Rayleigh.
Rayleigh took another sip of rum.
"You fought an Admiral," he said simply. "And you didn't use Haki."
Tony didn't answer right away. He looked at Gaius.
Gaius gave a small nod. Barely noticeable.
"We don't use it," Tony said.
Rayleigh smiled. Not wide. Not amused. Interested.
"No Armament," he said thoughtfully. "No Observation. No Conqueror's."
He tilted his head slightly.
"And yet… the room still feels you."
The words settled slowly.
"That kind of pressure usually comes from Conqueror's Haki," Rayleigh continued. "But yours doesn't behave like it."
His eyes sharpened now, the casual tone fading.
"It's structured," he said. "Controlled. Like something forged, not born."
Then his voice dropped, deeper.
"You," he said to Gaius, "what have you lived through?"
Rayleigh watched Gaius carefully, his eyes tracing the lines of the massive armored figure. His will… this shouldn't be possible here, he thought… It shouldn't exist in this world.
Every movement, every pause, radiated the kind of determination that could only be honed through unimaginable experience.
The room felt tighter.
Gaius didn't answer.
Before Rayleigh could continue, Tony cleared his throat.
"Ahem," he said lightly. "We actually wanted to know… what Haki is. All three kinds."
Rayleigh opened his mouth, ready to answer.
Shakky coughed softly behind him.
Rayleigh paused, then slowly closed his mouth.
Tony raised an eyebrow, then nodded in understanding. He reached out, hand moving to empty air.
A solid block of gold appeared and fell to the floor with a dull, heavy sound.
It was massive. Dense. About fifteen kilos.
Rayleigh doesn't look at the gold.
Shakky does.
Shakky bent down, lifted it with one hand, and squeezed. Her fingers left clear marks in the metal. She nodded once.
"Continue," she said.
Rayleigh coughed once, then leaned back slightly.
"Haki," he said, "is will made visible."
Tony's eyes sharpened.
"It's self-belief," Rayleigh continued. "Pushed outward. Identity, when pressure stops breaking it and starts revealing it."
Tony felt something click in his mind.
This description, people with strong will, fit perfectly with Gaius's world. Those who lived there were naturally strong-willed. Haki like this… it would work well for Diana too.
Rayleigh looked directly at Gaius.
"Your will behaves like Conqueror's," he said. "But it isn't this world's will."
He gestured lightly around the bar.
"Most people dominate because they want to stand above others. You don't. Your pressure comes from discipline. Purpose. From knowing exactly who you are."
He paused.
"That's why civilians feel uneasy around you," Rayleigh said, "and why even strong men measure their steps, but also why people don't collapse just by standing near you."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Haki isn't something you learn like sword forms," Rayleigh said. "It awakens through understanding. Through pressure."
He looked Gaius in the eye.
"If you wait for it to appear on its own, it might never come. But if you force it the wrong way…"
He shook his head.
"It will reject you."
Gaius listened. Fully. Not interrupting. Not questioning.
"Haki responds to clarity of self," Rayleigh said. "Not effort alone."
Then he nodded once.
"You can learn it," he said plainly.
Gaius did not react outwardly.
"You already know who you are," Rayleigh continued. "You don't doubt your purpose. And you stay in control even when everything around you breaks."
He gave a faint smile.
"Most men lack will," he said. "You have too much of it."
The smile faded.
"The problem isn't absence. It's alignment."
He leaned back.
"Haki won't replace your will," Rayleigh said. "It has to move with it."
Rayleigh's gaze softened slightly.
"Observation Haki first," he said. "It suits you."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"Close your eyes," he said, "but don't blind yourself."
Gaius followed the instruction.
"Listen without listening," Rayleigh continued. "Intent speaks before action."
"The point isn't prediction," Rayleigh said. "It's awareness. Without judgment."
Gaius felt it then.
The subtle shift of Rayleigh's attention. The movement of Shakky's hand before the glass touched the counter. The way Mindy leaned back a second before she realized she would.
He opened his eyes slowly.
Rayleigh nodded.
"Stop filtering it through strategy," he said. "Trust it."
Then Rayleigh moved on.
"Armament," he said. "Is not hardening."
He tapped his knuckles lightly on the table.
"Hardening is the result," he said. "Not the method."
"Armament is trust," Rayleigh continued. "Trusting your body to carry your will."
"You don't coat yourself," he said. "You stop doubting that you are enough."
Gaius felt his armor settle heavier on his shoulders.
Not physically, but felt.
The space around his fists seemed thicker. Denser.
Rayleigh watched closely. He wasn't surprised.
The man had too much will for it to go any other way. Once he understood what he was reaching for, Haki would naturally answer him. With that kind of presence, it wasn't a matter of if it would manifest, only how fast.
"Conqueror's," he said at last, voice firm. "Is not domination."
He met Gaius's gaze.
"It is refusal," Rayleigh said. "Refusal to kneel. Refusal to break. Refusal to accept another will as greater."
Gaius nodded once. Awakening this wouldn't be possible while serving the Emperor of Mankind, but he understood it.
"You already live like this," Rayleigh said. "That's why people react to you."
He leaned back again.
"Whether it manifests or not," he said calmly, "is up to the world."
~~~
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