After a while, Kai finally pulled his gaze away from his status panel.
He rubbed his chin, amused.
"Next… should I find a sparring target?"
"Test what my combat power looks like after mastering Armament and Observation?"
Now that he had both colors, he was itching to feel it in real combat—to truly experience just how powerful Haki was.
Solo training was fine, but in the end, you needed a living target to measure how much you'd improved.
Otherwise, the grind got dull.
"Then it's decided…"
"Smoker."
Kai grinned.
After thinking it through, the only "live target" he could choose was Smoker.
After all—
Smoker had been the number one student in the camp before Kai arrived.
And more importantly… he was a Logia user.
If Kai wanted to test himself properly, Smoker was the perfect choice.
Kai had only been at Marine Headquarters for less than two days.
Smoker was the only truly suitable opponent he could find.
So, once he made up his mind, Kai ended his training and headed back toward Training Field No. 1.
Before long, he arrived.
From a distance, he saw the trainees working hard.
Harder than usual.
It was obvious—
They were being stimulated by him.
None of them wanted to lose to a four-year-old kid.
Even if that kid was a once-in-a-century genius.
Still… they weren't willing to lose too miserably.
After all, anyone who could enter Zephyr's camp wasn't ordinary.
Every single one of them had been selected through layers of screening—elite among elites.
They had pride.
Losing to others wasn't shameful…
What was shameful—
Was losing and then letting yourself rot, refusing to improve.
That was what they couldn't accept.
At this moment, Kai—the one who had defeated Smoker—had become the target every trainee wanted to chase.
They knew the chances were slim.
They still chased anyway.
Even if they failed—
They'd have no regrets.
Seeing them train like this, Kai smiled from the heart.
"Looks like…"
"I've completely turned these guys into workhorses."
He laughed under his breath.
Then his eyes swept the group—
Landing on two familiar figures.
One was Tashigi.
In training, Tashigi looked sharp and heroic, sweat glistening on her skin. Her beautiful eyes were firm and fearless, and her tall, slender figure only looked more striking in motion.
At seventeen, she was around 175 centimeters tall, and her long legs—still obvious even under black trousers—gave her an unmistakable presence.
On the other side—
Since losing to Kai, Smoker had been training even harder, like a man possessed.
Compared to the trainees around him, he was even more relentless.
As if he'd gone mad.
The entire field was filled with youth, sweat, and an aggressively upward atmosphere.
Soon, several trainees noticed Kai.
"It's that monster—Kai!"
The shout triggered the whole field.
One by one, everyone looked toward the edge of the training ground—
And saw the four-year-old Kai watching them with interest.
"Wasn't he training with Instructor Zephyr?"
"Why is he back alone?"
"Don't tell me Zephyr's training was too brutal and he couldn't handle it, so he came back to train with us?"
"But that doesn't make sense—where's Instructor Zephyr?"
The trainees started whispering, utterly confused.
Kai, under their stares, calmly stepped onto the training ground.
He walked straight through the crowd—stopping in front of Smoker.
"Smoker."
"Fight me again."
Kai invited him with a smile.
"…Huh?"
Smoker's pupils shrank. He stared at Kai in alarm.
He didn't have a masochist streak.
He'd just been beaten senseless not long ago!
There was no way he'd casually accept a rematch.
That previous fight had already made him understand something painfully clear—
Kai wasn't just strong.
He was terrifying.
Smoker wasn't his match.
Charging into a rematch now would just be asking to get abused again.
Smoker hadn't prepared himself mentally for a second beating.
So he was about to refuse—
When Kai suddenly cut him off.
"This time, I won't rely on any external help against you."
"I'll use my own fists."
"No Seastone."
"In other words…"
"Besides my bare hands, I won't use any weapons or external tools."
"Now you won't refuse, right?"
The moment those words landed—
The entire field erupted.
Every trainee froze, eyes wide, staring at Kai as if he'd lost his mind.
"W-What the hell…?!"
"Did that monster just say he won't use Seastone this time?"
"Is he crazy?"
"If he doesn't use Seastone, how is he supposed to deal with Smoker's Logia intangibility?"
"Isn't he just asking to get bullied?"
"If you can't bypass Logia intangibility, Logia users are basically unsolvable—practically invincible!"
"What's Kai trying to do? Why propose a fight like this?"
"Honestly… if Kai doesn't use Seastone, I think Smoker's odds are at least 99.9%. Logia intangibility is just too unfair."
The crowd exploded with arguments.
In their eyes, without Seastone—
Smoker's chances were basically guaranteed.
Logia intangibility was nearly impossible to handle.
Only Seastone could suppress it.
Even Tashigi frowned, her eyes full of confusion.
"What is Kai planning?"
Everyone began wondering the same thing.
Would Smoker accept?
Kai had already promised not to use Seastone.
With Smoker's pride—
Wouldn't he want to reclaim his face?
This was practically a free win.
Without Seastone's restriction…
Smoker was "invincible."
"You…"
Smoker stared at Kai, stunned, words stuck in his throat.
He couldn't see the key point either.
But then—
A thought flashed through his mind.
Could it be…
Kai had found another method besides Seastone?
A way to deal with a Logia user?
Was that even possible?
Besides Seastone… what else could force a Logia user to become tangible?
Smoker's mind raced—
Until he landed on an answer so terrifying it made his face change instantly.
"…Haki?!"
Smoker's expression twisted.
He knew.
Haki was a massive counter to Logia users.
No—more accurately—
Haki countered all Devil Fruit users.
Even though Smoker had never trained it, he still knew what it was.
He understood that even without Seastone…
Logia users weren't truly invincible.
Because there existed a power called Haki that could suppress the "untouchable" nature of Devil Fruit abilities.
"Don't tell me…"
"This monster… he—"
Smoker stared at Kai in shock.
But almost instantly, he shook his head hard, forcing the thought down.
"Impossible."
"How long has this monster even been gone with Instructor Zephyr?"
"Not even a few hours."
"In just a few hours, he could master something as terrifying as Haki?"
How could that be?
No way.
Absolutely no way!
Even if Kai's talent was absurd—
He still couldn't possibly master the two colors of Haki in a few hours.
To touch the doorway of Armament and Observation…
Even geniuses needed at least half a year of relentless training.
And Kai had been exposed to Haki for only a few hours.
Smoker took a deep breath and threw that shocking guess out of his head.
After a calm analysis—
He decisively denied it.
There had never been an example of someone mastering Haki in a few hours.
From ancient times until now—
None.
Not even once.
Even a monster like Kai…
Couldn't possibly do it.
Holding onto that belief, Smoker steadied himself.
His eyes began to burn.
A fighting spirit reignited—hot and fierce.
He wanted to reclaim the pride and dignity he'd lost in that defeat.
Smoker lifted his head.
He met Kai's gaze head-on—
And nodded without flinching.
"Fine."
"I accept."
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