"Because of Armament Haki!" Meiser said.
Perona fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then asked, "So... you were able to touch me in my Spirit Form because of Armament Haki?"
Recalling some things that Uncle Mihawk and Zoro had mentioned before, Perona's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Had she missed something important?!
"Yes."
Meiser nodded, then asked with some confusion, "Didn't you live with Zoro for two years? Don't you know the function of Armament Haki?"
"I know a little..."
Meiser fell silent for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Could it be... you never used your abilities on Zoro?"
If she had used her abilities on Zoro, she should have learned about the effects of Haki.
"He... he never resisted..." Perona said somewhat awkwardly.
Although she hadn't teased Zoro many times, he had indeed never tried to cut her with a blade coated in Armament Haki.
"Oh, I see." Meiser suddenly understood.
It seemed Zoro had been going easy on this Ghost Princess over the past two years. Otherwise, she would have known about the special effects of Haki.
"That makes sense. After all, she did save Zoro's life, so it's natural he would go easy on her," Meiser thought to himself.
With this realization, everything fell into place.
Then Meiser said, "Now you understand the function of Haki, right?"
"I do..."
Perona first replied with her head lowered, then suddenly looked up and said, "But if I don't let anyone touch me... then it shouldn't be a problem, right?!!"
"Well... that's true."
Meiser nodded. "If you can stay airborne at high altitudes, you would indeed have a significant advantage."
Hearing Meiser's words, confidence returned to Perona's face.
But before she could say anything more, Meiser continued, "However... many people have their own methods to attack from the air, so you still need to be careful around those types of enemies."
Perona fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded. "Okay, I understand."
Enemies who can fly...
As if visualizing certain scenarios, Perona's eyes became somewhat serious.
Noticing Perona's concerned expression, Nami asked, "Does that mean I also need to be careful around people who can use Haki?"
"Correct." Meiser nodded. "Logia type Elemental Transformation can also be countered by Armament Haki."
If Nami failed to dodge attacks coated with Haki in time, she would get injured!
Of course, if Nami could achieve instant Elemental Transformation, she wouldn't need to worry about such things.
However... reaching that level of proficiency wasn't an easy task.
Recalling what Uncle Rayleigh had explained about Haki previously, Meiser reaffirmed his understanding.
After hearing Meiser's words, Nami fell silent for a moment before asking, "Are there many people in the New World who can use Armament Haki?"
This time, Meiser didn't speak but instead glanced at Rayleigh.
Seeing this, Rayleigh calmly said, "In the New World, those who can use Armament Haki... are as numerous as the hairs on an ox!!!"
Nami:
Nami, who had just felt somewhat invincible, suddenly realized she was still quite weak.
Shakky, having observed the reactions of the two girls, softly said, "Don't be disheartened. They're just saying this to remind you not to rely too heavily on your Devil Fruit Abilities, not that your abilities are weak."
It wouldn't be good if these two girls lost their confidence, so she felt she had to say this.
"Exactly," Rayleigh nodded. "We're just giving you a warning."
If you're targeted by an enemy who can use Haki, relying too much on Elemental Transformation or Ghost Transformation could get you killed!
Perona and Nami exchanged glances upon hearing this, then nodded together and said, "Alright, we understand."
It seems that to survive in a place like the New World, they must work even harder!
Seeing this, Meiser smiled and then turned his gaze to Shakky, signaling her to continue sharing the intelligence.
Shakky nodded, turned around, and brought the information she found useful to the table.
"Here, take a look. This is some intelligence about the Four Emperors Crews," said Shakky, holding a cigarette in her mouth.
Meiser didn't respond but picked up the intelligence on the table to read.
After a moment, he looked up at Shakky in surprise and said, "The Whitebeard Pirates have disbanded?!"
"Yes."
Shakky nodded. "They disbanded half a year ago."
Hearing Shakky's words, Meiser's expression became somewhat complicated.
Although he had speculated about this two years ago, hearing the news now still left him with mixed feelings.
"Uncle Whitebeard's pirate crew disbanded?" Luffy looked puzzledly at Shakky and asked, "What about Ace?"
Did he go back to East Blue?
Luffy thought for a moment but dismissed the idea.
After all... Ace would never give up being a pirate.
"Little Ace..." Shakky tapped her cigarette ash while recalling the intelligence about Ace in her mind.
Then she said, "After the Whitebeard Pirates disbanded, their subordinate crews went their separate ways."
"And Little Ace formed his own pirate crew."
"So he formed his own crew..." Luffy nodded upon hearing this, then grinned widely and said, "He really didn't give up on being a pirate!"
That's Ace for you!
Hearing Luffy's words, Shakky smiled and said, "Well, he is that man's son, after all."
As the Pirate King's son, what else could he do besides being a pirate?
This time, Luffy just nodded without saying anything more.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh showed a somewhat complicated expression, thinking to himself: 'The captain's son...'
Although this man inherited the captain's bloodline, he might not necessarily inherit the captain's will.
Thinking this, Rayleigh silently sighed.
But when he looked at Luffy, his mood gradually calmed.
Forget it, since there's a better option now, there's no need to dwell on this.
Watching the man eating earnestly, Rayleigh's lips unconsciously curved upward.
"I remember the Whitebeard Pirates had many powerful Division Commanders," Perona said. "Did they form their own pirate crews?"
"No."
Shakky shook her head. "Aside from those who died in battle or retired, all the remaining members followed Ace."
It was precisely because of this that Ace managed to establish a foothold in the New World.
Otherwise, he would have been completely devoured long ago!
After all... many people in this world don't acknowledge the Pirate King Roger!
"I never expected Ace to become the captain of these people," Meiser laughed. "It seems he possesses a unique charisma."
"Otherwise, why would people follow him?" Shakky said.
To become the captain of those individuals, it wasn't enough to just meet the strength requirements—he had to conquer them with his personal charisma. Otherwise, he could never have taken the captain's position!
"That's true," Meiser nodded, then asked, "So did Ace become one of the Four Emperors?"
With Ace consolidating the core strength of the Whitebeard Pirates, he should have had a chance to become one of the new Four Emperors.
"Not at all," Shakky shook her head.
"He didn't?"
Meiser was somewhat surprised; he had thought Ace would attain that position.
"Do you think Ace could grow to the level of a Four Emperor in just two years?" Rayleigh interjected.
"I don't know much about him," Meiser said. "But he is, after all, the son of the Pirate King, so his potential should be..."
"Should be very great, right?" Rayleigh finished the sentence for him.
Meiser nodded in agreement.
"Under normal circumstances, your thinking isn't wrong," Rayleigh said. "But..."
Seeing Rayleigh pause abruptly, a question mark popped up in Meiser's mind.
"But what?"
What did he mean by only saying half of it?
Recalling Whitebeard's image in his mind, Rayleigh sighed quietly.
Then he continued, "But the environment Ace has lived in these years is too peculiar, which has prevented him from growing rapidly."
Hearing this, a flicker of confusion passed through Meiser's eyes. "What do you mean?"
What did he mean by Ace's living environment being too peculiar?
Instead of answering directly, Rayleigh countered, "Meiser, what do you think is the most important thing to become a top-tier powerhouse?"
Meiser fell silent for a moment before replying, "You asked me that two years ago, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"So, what's your answer?"
"I'll say the same thing," Meiser stated. "To become a top-tier powerhouse, conviction is the most important!"
Without a strong enough conviction, no matter how much power one possesses, it can't be fully utilized.
Moreover, Haki itself is related to conviction, so conviction truly is crucial!
"Exactly, it's conviction," Rayleigh nodded. "Without a sufficiently strong and unwavering conviction, one can never become a true powerhouse."
After saying this, he picked up the drink on the table and took a sip, his expression gradually turning somewhat melancholic.
Looking at Rayleigh's troubled expression, Nami spoke up: "Uncle Rayleigh, are you saying Ace doesn't have strong enough conviction?"
"No, he does have conviction, just... not enough!"
A trace of confusion appeared in Nami's eyes. What exactly was Uncle Rayleigh trying to say?
Rayleigh didn't beat around the bush and said directly: "Ace indeed doesn't lack the conviction that a strong warrior should possess. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defeat that Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea member years ago."
Recalling that Warlord named Hanafuda, Rayleigh nodded with certainty.
Then he continued: "But the moment he became Whitebeard's son, his conviction became insufficient."
"Why?"
"Because after fully accepting his identity, he abandoned his belief in becoming the king and instead wanted Whitebeard to become the Pirate King!!!"
Remembering the intelligence Shakky had previously gathered, Rayleigh's eyes gradually grew complex.
"I think I understand what you mean," Meiser nodded.
Ace, who originally wanted to become the Pirate King, had abandoned his own ambition and instead wanted someone else to become the Pirate King.
How strong could the Haki of such a person be?
Perhaps his two basic Haki types were still decent, but his Conqueror's Haki definitely couldn't reach the level of the Four Emperors!
This was probably why he hadn't been able to become one of the new Four Emperors these past two years.
"What do you mean?" Nami looked at Meiser in confusion. "I still don't understand."
"Let me put it this way," Meiser raised his hand, wrapping it in Haki Infusion as he said: "Haki is a manifestation of conviction!"
"The stronger the power of conviction, the stronger the Haki!"
"And since Ace voluntarily abandoned his original conviction, his Haki cannot reach the peak level, preventing him from becoming one of the Four Emperors."
"Do you understand what I mean now?"
Nami fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded: "I understand..."
She could comprehend such a straightforward explanation.
But if Ace had become like this, would Luffy...
"Hmm?"
Glancing at Luffy's calm expression, question marks appeared above Nami's head.
Why was Luffy so calm?
Didn't he care about what happened to Ace?
Thinking this, Nami voiced her confusion.
Hearing this, Luffy calmly looked at Nami and said: "This is Ace's own choice, so I won't interfere with it."
They were indeed brothers, and they would risk their lives to save each other when in danger.
But... when the other was walking their own chosen path, they wouldn't interfere with each other's lives. This was the understanding between them as brothers.
"His own choice..." Nami murmured.
Then she nodded: "I understand."
Since Luffy had said so, she couldn't really say anything more.
Perona looked at Luffy with some surprise, not expecting him to be so perceptive!!!
Then she thought to herself: 'Everyone has their own choices...
Lord Moria, can I choose my own life too?
For the first time, a rare trace of confusion appeared in Perona's heart.
"So... this is the reason Ace couldn't become one of the new Four Emperors?" Meiser stroked his chin as he spoke.
"That's one of the reasons."
Rayleigh took a sip of his wine and continued, "The other reason is that he's been living too comfortably."
"Too comfortably?"
"Yes."
Rayleigh nodded and explained, "Simply put, Whitebeard has been protecting him too well."
Hearing Rayleigh's words, Meiser immediately understood.
The Whitebeard Pirates were a Four Emperors Crew, and Uncle Whitebeard was the world's strongest man. Therefore... naturally, very few people dared to challenge them!
As a result, Ace had fewer opportunities to participate in battles.
And this... was the important reason why Ace gradually lost his ambition!
Thinking of this, Meiser said with some emotion, "Someone who always lives under another's wing...
Truly cannot grow up."
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