"So this is what Observation Haki feels like…"
A faint smile tugged at Kai's lips.
A hundred hits—
Worth it.
The moment Observation Haki awakened, the world changed.
Even with his eyes closed, everything around him became clear.
Sharper.
More vivid.
The wind.
The ground.
Every subtle shift in air and motion.
It was like an invisible eye had opened in his mind.
His "sight" was no longer limited to what his eyes could see.
Things the naked eye could never catch now appeared in crisp detail inside his awareness.
This—
Was Observation Haki.
Sensing presence.
Reading attacks.
Feeling life itself.
He could clearly sense Zephyr standing in front of him—his crushing vitality, his vast, oppressive aura.
If Kai used himself as a unit of measurement…
Then Zephyr's life force was more than a hundred times his own.
That—
Was the weight of a Marine Admiral.
"Now that I've mastered Observation Haki," Kai thought, "even if I keep my eyes closed, Zephyr won't be able to hit me with training strikes."
Of course—
That only applied to a restrained Zephyr.
If Zephyr used his full strength, Kai still wouldn't be able to follow everything.
Not yet.
"Do you want to continue?" Zephyr's voice cut into his thoughts.
He glanced at the red marks crisscrossing Kai's back and shook his head slightly.
In his mind, the kid had probably finally realized how hard Observation Haki really was.
"Kai must be feeling discouraged now," Zephyr thought.
Not that that was a bad thing.
Geniuses needed to run into walls early.
Kai, however, nodded without a hint of hesitation.
"Yes. Please continue, Zephyr."
Zephyr blinked.
Then tried to talk him down.
"Some things require moderation. Push too hard and you get the opposite effect."
"You should rest. Think over the sensations you felt just now."
"Trying to force Observation Haki won't help."
"It'll only slow you down."
In truth—
Zephyr didn't believe for a second that Kai could awaken Observation Haki in under half an hour.
No one in history had ever done that.
"Half an hour to grasp Observation Haki?"
"Don't joke."
Unless this child was a demon in human skin.
"Please begin," Kai said calmly.
Seeing the boy's determination, Zephyr sighed and lifted the branch again.
"This will be good for him," he thought. "A genius this young needs to learn what frustration feels like."
He swung.
And—
Kai moved.
Just a slight tilt of his head.
The branch sliced past his cheek.
Whoosh.
Miss.
Zephyr froze.
"…Huh?"
Coincidence?
He swung again—this time a bit faster.
Kai leaned the other way.
Another clean miss.
Third strike.
Miss.
Fourth.
Miss.
Fifth.
Miss.
Ten strikes in a row.
Not a single hit.
Zephyr slowly lowered the branch, staring at Kai like he'd never seen him before.
"…You've already mastered Observation Haki?"
There was no other explanation.
Ten perfect dodges with his eyes closed.
That was not luck.
That was instinct.
That was Haki.
Zephyr's mind reeled.
"How long has it even been?"
"Ten minutes? Twenty?"
"Not even half an hour…"
His worldview cracked straight down the middle.
But the truth was right in front of him.
Kai had done it.
Observation Haki—
Mastered in less than thirty minutes.
"What… what kind of monster are you…?" Zephyr muttered, voice hoarse.
For the first time in a very long time—
Black Arm Zephyr was completely, utterly shaken.
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