Day faded into night,
stars wheeled across the heavens.
The next morning.
The blazing sun rose once more, its golden glow spilling over the land.
Mount Colubo.
The world awoke, brimming with vitality.
From deep within the forest came the roar of wild beasts.
"Ughh…"
"What's going on?"
"My body aches all over…"
"What happened last night?"
"Why did I suddenly fall asleep here in the hall?"
Confused voices echoed inside the house.
One after another, members of the Dadan Family pushed themselves up from the floor, bodies sore and heavy, their expressions clouded with bewilderment.
The food scraps and shattered dishes from last night had already been cleaned away by Dadan herself, leaving the hall spotless.
When she stepped out of the room, countless questioning eyes turned toward her, filled with doubt.
"Big Sis Dadan, what happened last night? Why did we all collapse here in the hall?"
"Yeah… one moment my eyelids got unbearably heavy, the next I blacked out."
"You guys felt the same?"
A chorus of murmurs filled the air.
"Enough. Quiet."
"Stop with the noise. Don't you all have work to do?"
Dadan waved impatiently, her voice stern.
Her authority quickly silenced the others, forcing them back into their daily routines despite their lingering confusion.
Just as Dadan was about to leave—
a small figure appeared at her side.
It was Ace!
"Last night…"
"I think I felt it."
"A terrifying force pressed down over me. In that instant, it was like I'd fallen into an icy abyss—I couldn't control my thoughts or my body at all."
"And then… I blacked out."
"What was that?"
Ace looked up at her, eyes brimming with curiosity and hunger for answers.
He remembered it clearly—
that overwhelming pressure that had swallowed him whole just before he lost consciousness.
"…Do you really want to know?"
Dadan hesitated, unable to ignore the boy's burning gaze.
"I want to know," Ace nodded firmly.
"Then I'll tell you. Listen carefully."
"These are things I've only ever heard in passing, so I can't explain them fully. But remember this—on this sea, monsters roam everywhere. Countless terrifying men and women wield overwhelming power."
"And among them, some command a mysterious and fearsome force…"
"It's called Haki."
Dadan's eyes darkened.
She knew Ace's heart well.
He longed to go to sea.
He longed to become a pirate.
To become the Pirate King!
No matter how many times Garp tried to hammer into him that he should become a Marine, Ace had never wavered.
His dream was already carved deep into his heart.
Nothing could shake it.
And so, what Dadan could do was simple—
Before the boy set sail, she had to teach him at least the basics.
Knowledge to help him avoid stumbling headlong into terrifying enemies.
"Haki…"
Ace repeated the word, eyes unfocused, lost in thought.
It was the first time he'd heard of such a power.
Dadan continued:
"There are three types of Haki. The first two are Armament Haki and Observation Haki."
"But the third—the one I'm going to tell you about today—is the rarest of them all."
"A power said to appear only once in a million people… the mark of a King."
"I've never seen it myself. I've only ever heard whispers, descriptions of it."
"It's called… Conqueror's Haki."
Her words fell like thunder in the boy's mind.
Ace's head buzzed, his worldview shaken.
"One in a million… the potential of a King?"
"Then… last night, the reason I fainted—was that Conqueror's Haki?"
"Yes."
Dadan nodded.
"Then who—?"
Ace asked, his voice trembling.
"It was your older brother, Kai."
"That terrifying wave last night—that was his Conqueror's Haki. Not only did it knock you out, but everyone else in the house too. Everyone except me."
"…Wh-what?!"
"It was Kai?"
Ace's eyes widened in shock, his face a mask of disbelief.
"That guy… he has the potential of a King?!"
His mind reeled.
They were the same age.
How could the gap between them already be so vast?
The pressure Kai's existence exerted on him was overwhelming.
"This guy…"
"He's not just a little stronger than me—he's far stronger!"
"We're both only three years old, yet he's already miles ahead…"
"I can't let him pull away like this!"
Ace clenched his fists tight, heart burning with unwillingness.
"Work hard, Ace," Dadan said softly.
"Even if you can't surpass that boy Kai…"
"Don't let yourself fall too far behind."
She patted his small shoulder, her words heavy with meaning.
To surpass Kai?
How easy did that sound?
This was a monster who had awakened Conqueror's Haki at the age of three!
Ace, still so young, couldn't yet comprehend—
just what it meant for a three-year-old to awaken such a power.
How terrifying a concept it truly was.
Sunlight spilled in through the windows.
Kai stirred awake from his deep sleep.
Rising, he immediately resumed his relentless training.
He had not yet mastered Conqueror's Haki.
He couldn't afford to slack off for even a moment.
"A small goal…"
"Within one month, I'll completely master Conqueror's Haki."
"Before that old man Dragon brings Luffy back to Foosha Village, I'll have full control of it!"
That thought set his resolve ablaze.
According to what his grandfather Garp had said,
his father Dragon and his little brother Luffy would arrive in a month.
And so Kai clenched his teeth, his mind clear.
Within one month—
he must master Conqueror's Haki!
From that day on,
He threw himself into brutal training.
Day after day.
Endless repetition.
Grinding forward without pause.
Neither Garp, Ace, nor the members of the Dadan Family dared to disturb him.
Under this grueling regimen, time flew silently by.
In the blink of an eye—
a month had passed.
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