Clang!
Senor Pink's hardened, Haki-clad fist slammed into Ron's Gale Rend, the massive wind blades shrieking as sparks burst in every direction.
He shattered a few of the blades, but the rest kept pressing forward, grinding against his arm like a high-speed cutter.
Pink had assumed these were ordinary sword slashes like those of a swordsman's flying slash, but soon realized they were different. Sword energy was sharp but one-dimensional—wind blades carried motion, flow, and ceaseless pressure.
"Arghhh!"
Feeling the strain, Pink roared, refusing to back down. He swung both fists, smashing through the remaining blades by brute force.
Then, with a twist of his hips, he launched several round projectiles toward Ron.
Diaper Bombs.
Ron didn't even flinch. He raised his hand, and a golden shimmer formed before him.
Magic Barrier!
Boom!
Explosions thundered against the barrier, shockwaves rippling outward. Cracks spread faintly across its surface, but it held firm.
Ron's gaze pierced the fading smoke, fixing on Pink's fists.
"Armament Haki…" he murmured.
Haki—the mysterious force unique to this world. Three types: Conqueror's, the power to dominate wills; Observation, the power to sense intent; and Armament, the power of both defense and offense.
If Ron hadn't been bound to his achievement system and the Archmage's path, he might have chosen this route himself. It was, after all, the defining power of every top-tier fighter in this world.
You could be strong without Haki, but no one stood at the summit without mastering it.
But Ron's interest wasn't in learning it. He wanted to analyze it.
As a mage who could perceive the world's laws through spirit and runes, he was fascinated by what Haki actually was. What was its composition? Its source?
He already had a few theories.
Conqueror's Haki, he thought, might simply be an intense projection of mental willpower. His own spiritual aura could already intimidate weaker minds. To others, that might look exactly like Conqueror's Haki.
Observation Haki reminded him of his own God Mode, his heightened spiritual perception. Both were awareness-based feeling motion, energy, and life.
The one that intrigued him most, though, was Armament Haki.
Conqueror's could be simulated with spiritual pressure. Observation was basically heightened spiritual sense.
But Armament… Armament was something else.
It fused attack and defense, could even extend outside the body. It felt somewhat connected to spiritual externalization, yet Ron's own outward spirit couldn't match its power.
He could wrap spiritual energy around his fist and smash a plank—but that was the limit. Nothing near the density of Armament Haki.
And its strength seemed tied directly to the body. The tougher the body, the stronger the Armament.
"There's spiritual energy inside it," Ron muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Through his perception, he felt the presence of spirit within that hardened black fist—but mixed with something else. Something alien.
Armament Haki was a fusion a blend of spiritual power and another unknown energy, condensed to an impossible density.
If he could compress his spiritual energy to that same extreme thinner than a sheet of paper it might rival Haki in hardness. But he shook his head.
"No. Not possible. Even at a hundred points of Spirit, even with another transformation, I couldn't control it that tightly. That density is monstrous."
He was sure now: the missing component wasn't pure spirit. It was something from the body a vital force, perhaps the essence of life itself. The stronger one's physique, the greater this physical energy became.
He didn't know what to call it yet, but it explained everything.
So even Haki, this world's pride, contained a foundation of spirit. Meaning that on the spiritual level, he could eventually surpass it.
He smiled faintly. "If I master spirit completely, I'll outclass both Conqueror's and Observation someday."
"Cat Ear Punch!"
Pink roared and shot up again.
He'd smashed through Ron's Gale Rend, dropped back to the ground, and now surged upward using his Swim-Swim Fruit, breaking through the air like a torpedo.
Crack!
The damaged barrier shattered under his fist, golden shards of light scattering. Pink's body rocketed toward Ron again.
Ron didn't bother analyzing further. His eyes sharpened, and his staff swept sideways.
Wind Blades!
Clang!Clang!
Pink's fists smashed apart the first few blades, but his momentum faltered. Without flight, he couldn't stay airborne. The recoil and resistance of the wind slashes slowed him down, robbing him of height. He fell back toward the ground again.
"Your Armament's not all that impressive," Ron said calmly.
He could see blood dripping from Pink's knuckles. The man had broken through the Gale Rend, but even Haki hadn't protected him completely.
Armament varied by user. Someone like Garp, with monstrous physical strength, would wield Haki that could shatter mountains. Pink, by contrast, was far below that tier.
In the New World, nearly every fighter had Haki, but not all Haki was equal and Pink was nothing special among them.
Of course, as one of Doflamingo's officers, his strength roughly matched a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral. But…
"He can't fly," Ron mused.
If he were facing a Vice Admiral who could use Moonwalk, things might be different. But Pink?
Pink was hopelessly grounded.
His Devil Fruit gave him near-limitless movement on solid surfaces, but against an airborne enemy like Ron, it was useless.
He had no long-range options either.
For someone specialized in close combat on land, fighting a flying mage was like punching at the sky. His attacks couldn't reach, his movement meant nothing, and even stealth through walls was useless under Ron's spiritual vision.
Senor Pink was completely outmatched crushed from every angle.
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