"Armament Haki techniques like the Outer Shell Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) are highly suitable for close-quarters combat."
"It can be activated in an instant, forming a 360-degree, blind-spot-free defense—but it's too bulky and lacks flexibility. Once activated, the user is locked inside the external shell of the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress), making it difficult to defend and counterattack simultaneously."
"If you're fighting one-on-one, that's fine. But if you're besieged by multiple enemies and just stand there taking the hits with the Blood-Calming Suit on, you'll still eventually fall under concentrated fire."
Rosen took a sip of tea and put his cup down. After thinking for a moment, he began sorting out what he needed from his new technique:
"It must be more convenient than just using limbs."
"Like the Three Forms of Haki, it has to be usable purely through intent—able to be deployed under any condition. It cannot be like a Devil Fruit ability that gets locked down completely by seastone shackles."
"Even if I fall into the sea—I must still be able to handle the situation."
"It must retain the full defensive coverage of the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress), but also have the flexibility and agility that the Blut Vene (Calm Blood Dress) lacks. In short—it must be both offense and defense in one."
Soon.
Rosen listed all the key requirements for this new ability, one by one—and then handed the rest of the task over to his Heaven-Defying Comprehension.
It was like setting a small goal.
And then letting his supernatural talent earn him a metaphorical hundred million.
And sure enough, Rosen's comprehension did not disappoint.
By the time Borsalino had noticed the fairness cup had been emptied, he stood up to boil a new pot of water. When he returned, he poured the hot water into the teapot, then filled the fairness cup, and from there filled each teacup for Rosen and Zephyr in turn.
But right at that moment—
As Borsalino went through the entire process of boiling water, brewing tea, and pouring it—
Rosen received inspiration.
…
[You have Heaven-Defying Comprehension.]
[Drawing upon the six foundational Armament Haki techniques, combined with Ultra Instinct and the Haki Core,]
[You have innovated and comprehended a new exclusive Armament Haki skill: Forming of Haki.]
[Forming of Haki: Using ultimate control over Armament Haki via Ultra Instinct, a massive amount of Haki is externalized and condensed into form, shaping a martial god's avatar as towering as a mountain.]
[The user may freely forge weapons of various shapes to wield in battle. This Armament Haki technique combines attack and defense, and the martial god form may evolve in stages as the user's Haki strengthens. There are a total of five forms.]
(Requires peak Haki and Haki Core. For others, at best, overexertion leads to exhaustion; At worst—it overdraws life force and accelerates aging.)
…
Rosen's eyes lit up as he looked at the notification in his mind.
Wasn't this seventh Armament Haki technique basically a Haki-version Susanoo?
And not just any Susanoo—
A plus-enhanced version.
Because unlike chakra-based Susanoo from a certain other world, which is bound to a specific weapon, this version allows Rosen to freely forge weapons of different forms using his Haki.
More importantly—
Unlike Devil Fruit abilities that become useless the moment seastone is involved, this Haki version of Susanoo is far more reliable.
With Forming of Haki, even if Rosen were to fall helplessly to the bottom of the ocean, unable to move, as long as his Armament Haki wasn't fully depleted, he could instantly deploy the martial god form, pilot his Haki Gundam, and walk out of the sea.
Take this morning's flawed moment in Infinite Hell as an example—
When faced with Vasco Shot's Alcohol Furnace Fire, Rosen didn't need to take it head-on with his own body.
With a mere thought, he could've used the Forming of Haki to summon the martial god Susanoo, and even the first form alone would've been enough to disperse that flame with a single slap.
There wouldn't be any situation where he had to divide his attention or compromise due to being outnumbered.
"Junior."
"The tea's getting cold."
"This is already the third infusion!"
Borsalino, seeing Rosen still hadn't touched his cup, originally didn't want to interrupt him.
But by the third steeping, he couldn't bear it anymore.
For someone like him—who only drew a meager salary as a general candidate and never embezzled or took bribes—every leaf of tea was precious.
And this tea?
It cost millions of berries per pound.
Of course he couldn't let it go to waste!
"Sorry. I got a little distracted just now."
Seeing Borsalino's heartbroken expression, Rosen knew his senior was a genuine tea connoisseur.
He first gave an apologetic nod—
And then instinctively activated the Armament Haki technique he had just created.
He didn't touch the teacup directly.
Instead, streams of Armament Haki flowed from the tip of his index finger—transforming into strands of visible, purple-glowing threads, as fine as spider silk, as flexible as fingers, wrapping neatly around the teacup and pulling it gently to his lips.
"The temperature's still perfect."
He took a sip—
And then manipulated the Haki thread to float the teacup back down gently onto the table.
Immediately afterward—
He noticed something strange.
Both Borsalino and Zephyr were staring at him wide-eyed.
"Something wrong?"
Rosen asked, confused.
"What did you just do with your Haki?"
Zephyr was the first to speak.
"Ah, Teacher Zephyr. You mean the formation of Haki?"
"You saw me spacing out earlier, right?"
"I was just thinking about how to optimize my Armament Haki—and then this new technique came to mind."
Rosen explained truthfully.
After all, after so many days of eating, living, and training together, the three of them had formed a deep camaraderie.
Besides—
Borsalino and Zephyr had already seen similar things happen multiple times.
"You've mastered another Armament Haki technique?"
Zephyr couldn't help but use the word "again."
No helping it.
This sort of thing—Rosen suddenly inventing his own Armament Haki techniques—had already happened three times before.
"Junior…"
"Don't tell me you managed to comprehend the seventh technique during the time it took me to boil water, steep tea, and pour three cups?"
Borsalino looked like he was doubting reality itself.
"That's about right."
Rosen nodded calmly.
After all, Forming of Haki was essentially a high-level extension of basic Armament Haki.
With Rosen's current strength, and the solid groundwork he'd laid with previous techniques, it only took a few minutes to derive something new.
"..."
Borsalino was silent.
Then poured Rosen another cup of tea.
In the time it took him to make tea—
His junior had already soared far ahead.
There was nothing more to say.
Forget the tea!
Let it cool if it wants to!
After all, the junior's time was more precious than any tea that cost millions per pound.
"It was because of Vasco Shot's attack, wasn't it?"
Zephyr's insight was razor-sharp.
After hearing that Rosen had created Forming of Haki, and just one glance at how it worked, he immediately understood what it did—and even deduced what had prompted its creation.
"As expected of Mr. Zephyr."
Rosen couldn't help but nod in admiration.
The Navy's Division One was truly well-deserved.
"You really know how to read people."
"What does it do?"
Borsalino was curious.
In terms of raw strength, he had already surpassed Zephyr's prime.
But when it came to reading situations and battle experience, he still had a long way to go to catch up to the legendary figure of the old era.
"Senior, how about this—"
"You and Teacher Zephyr attack me at the same time."
"One in front, one behind."
"Come at any angle. Whatever trick you want. It's all fine."
Rosen didn't bother to explain.
Instead, he invited his teacher and senior to come try it for themselves.
Bang!
As soon as he spoke, Zephyr didn't hesitate.
He raised his fist like a cannonball and launched it straight at Rosen's face.
Whoosh!
Compared to Zephyr's Iron Fist, Borsalino was, of course, faster.
In one instant, he was still sipping tea on the couch.
In the next—
He vanished into thin air.
Only the teacup he had held remained, still suspended in the air.
And before gravity could even begin to pull it down—
A flash of golden light had already reappeared behind Rosen.
He stepped on light.
His right leg raised high, glowing with a dazzling brilliance.
Like a laser blade, it came slashing down from above—
Directly at Rosen's back.
...
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