Gawain was momentarily stunned.
The growth in his swordsmanship and physical strength stats was still within expectations.
Given that Kuro and Gin were both seriously injured and unable to train, his only source of experience came from the lower-tier pirates in the crew—those who hadn't yet reached their potential.
He was gaining a bit more than ten points a day at most, sometimes just a few. It was better than nothing, but clearly, the gains were tapering off.
Still, that was all within Gawain's expectations. What caught him off guard was the progress in Observation Haki.
"Only two people in the crew have awakened their Observation Haki," he muttered. "Gin's injuries are worse, so it must be Kuro who's contributing."
"But still..."
"Kuro alone is generating 33 points of Observation Haki experience per day?"
"And that's while he's still injured—if anything, he should be contributing less, not more..."
Gawain furrowed his brow as he opened the system panel:
[Host - Gawain]
[Age - 24]
[Title - Captain of the Gawain Pirate]
[Skills:]
• Swordsmanship - LV 5: 1171 / 1600 (Speed)
• Physique - LV 5: 381 / 1600 (Balance)
• Navigation - LV 1: 13 / 100
• Death Walk - LV 1: 3 / 200
• Observation Haki - LV 0: 33 / 500
[Badges:]
• Captain's Fury – +20% Physical Recovery Speed for Subordinates
• Rising Fame – Can View Potential Abilities
[Rating – Bronze:]
You're someone with real potential in the Four Seas and even Grand Line, but in the New World? Keep your head down.
Clearly, the crew hadn't slacked off after returning to Para Island. On the whole, his swordsmanship and physical conditioning had each increased by more than 100 experience points.
That much was expected. What wasn't expected was the surge in Observation Haki.
"It takes more experience to reach Level 1 in Observation Haki than it does to push Physique to Level 4?"
"So not all abilities scale the same... some are inherently more difficult to develop."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It was the only explanation that made sense.
After all, Haki was still a rare skill outside the New World, where the truly powerful gathered.
In the Four Seas and even the first half of the Grand Line, plenty of people practiced swordsmanship, body refinement, or honed their Devil Fruit abilities—but those who actually mastered Haki were few and far between.
"Which means Armament Haki—and especially Conqueror's Haki—will require even more experience."
"Still... at this rate, even with just Kuro, I'll reach Level 1 in Observation Haki in under two weeks. Then I can finally use it in real combat."
"Once Kuro and Gin recover, my Physique and Death Walk skills will begin leveling again too."
"But I need to start preparing for Armament Haki. Without it, I'm too vulnerable against Logia users."
The memory of his battle with Smoker left a sour taste in his mouth.
In terms of raw strength, Gawain clearly outclassed him. But Smoker's elemental body, granted by his Logia fruit, nullified most of Gawain's attacks. He had been forced to rely on pinpoint thrusts delivered at high speed just to keep Smoker at bay.
If his next opponent had something like the Flame-Flame Fruit—or worse, the Magma Fruit—he might not be able to do anything but run.
"Haki is the manifestation of one's will," he recalled. "Everyone has it, but not everyone awakens it."
"If I've already awakened Observation Haki, then... is it possible to draw out Armament Haki too?"
With that thought, he set his course.
The next day, Gawain handed command of the pirate crew to Jango. He asked the cat brothers to lead the recovering crew members toward Raven Harbor, hunting down the remaining pirate remnants and ensuring the safety of the surrounding waters.
With his responsibilities temporarily offloaded, Gawain began attempting to awaken the Armament Haki within himself.
Of course, saying it was one thing—doing it was another.
Days passed. Though not entirely fruitless, his progress was frustratingly unclear.
A blind cat catching a dead Nezumi—even sheer luck had its limits.
With no one to guide him, Gawain's understanding of Haki remained vague—just scraps of theory he'd read in old forum posts from his past life.
They weren't wrong, per se—just abstract, academic. Useless now.
But while Gawain's own Haki training hit a wall, progress was happening elsewhere.
Thanks to the Captain's badge, Gin's injuries were healing far faster than expected.
After just seven days, he removed his bandages. Though some wounds remained scabbed over, they no longer interfered with his movement.
Influenced by both Gawain and Kuro, Gin began training in earnest.
That day, under the blazing sun at the port, heat shimmered off the ground and the air danced with distortion. The cicadas screamed, driving people indoors.
The pirates had all retreated to the shade—except Gin.
He stood alone, hammering his fists against the hull of a wrecked ship.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bloody knuckles dented the wood, one blow after another.
The pain made his thoughts razor-sharp.
In his time with the crew, Gin had come to understand Gawain.
"The kindest captain—betrayed in a moment of crisis by the very subordinates he protected. Forced to raise his blade against them..."
"No wonder he helped me even when I was his enemy. He sees himself in me."
"We've both been through the same hell."
Time slipped by unnoticed.
Bang!
With one final punch, the sun's last rays dipped below the horizon.
Pain flared in his fists—his body had hit its limit.
Any further and he risked new injuries.
"Haaah..."
Gin exhaled, turning to leave.
He thought of Gawain's fried rice and felt something warm stir in his chest—something unfamiliar.
That night, Gawain returned to his room, defeated by his failed Haki training.
But then, a familiar system notification echoed in his mind:
"+127 Physical Experience!"
"+8 Swordsmanship Experience!"
"+22 Death Walk Experience!"
"+44 Observation Haki Experience!"
He froze.
Then his eyes widened.
"127 points in Physical Experience?!"
At the current rate, the other crew members combined barely contributed a fraction of that.
"So that means Gin and Kuro just gave me over 120 points by themselves?"
"And the boosts in Death Walk and Observation Haki too..."
"Just the two of them are worth more than a large crew of hundreds. Maybe even more, since their potential hasn't been capped yet."
"At this pace, my Physique could reach Level 7 in a month—Level 10 within half a year! That's when I'll unlock a second passive skill."
"As I thought—a high-potential crew member can be worth more than a thousand small fry."
"The talent gap in this world is absurd."