JIN VS. GASPARDE!
The battle began.
Jin leaped into the air, leading with a sharp sidekick, the wind from his leg like a blade as it flew toward Gasparde's face.
SPLAT!
Gasparde's face "shattered," transforming into a thick, green, jelly-like liquid.
Without a moment's hesitation, he had used the power of his Candy-Candy Fruit.
The world of One Piece had a unique power: Devil Fruits, the physical manifestation of humanity's "Desires" and "Emotions." They were divided into three categories:
Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia.
But some special fruits shared the characteristics of other types. Nearly all Mythical Zoans fell into this category.
By changing their shape—they could defend and attack—achieving an effect similar to a Logia's "elementalization."
It was this ability that had made Gasparde nearly invincible in the first half of the Grand Line, where Haki was not yet widespread.
Luffy had only managed to defeat him without Haki by exploiting his weakness: that the candy would solidify when mixed with flour.
'Crocodile knows the feeling,' Jin thought.
Jin knew Gasparde's abilities. The moment his kick landed, before Gasparde could try to trap him with the candy, he pulled his leg back.
Gasparde's face oozed back into shape. He looked at Jin, surprised. 'Did he predict my move? Was it an accident? Intuition? Or...'
"Is that all you've got?" Gasparde said, spreading his hands in a welcoming gesture. "If you're willing to become my subordinate, I can let bygones be bygones."
"Heh," Jin scoffed, launching another kick.
Gasparde was ready this time. His body turned to candy, ignoring the kick. At the same time, he threw a punch, his arm a whirling arc.
As a former Marine Rear Admiral, Gasparde didn't just rely on his Devil Fruit. He had undergone systematic physical training and was a formidable hand-to-hand combatant.
THWACK!
The full force of the punch slammed into Jin's shoulder. A sharp pain shot through him, and he was sent flying back four or five meters.
"Cough..."
Jin pushed himself up, his face contorted in pain, but his eyes were filled with a steely, excited glint.
As expected of a 95 million Berri pirate. He's strong.
According to Ai's analysis, Jin's body, having been altered by Spacetime energy, theoretically had limitless potential. His current "weakness" was a self-preservation mechanism, a shell that protected the "Potential" within.
To get stronger, all he had to do was keep breaking that shell.
There were two ways to do that.
The first was to break the shell from the inside: through training and exercise, to increase his own life force and shatter the invisible limits.
The second was to break it from the outside: through high-intensity, life-or-death battles that would awaken his dormant potential.
The second method was faster and more direct, but he had to be careful not to get himself killed with a single punch.
Gasparde was the perfect opponent: strong, but not overwhelmingly so.
"AGAIN!"
Jin charged forward, unleashing a flurry of attacks, a brawling style he had developed through his sparring sessions.
He threw himself completely into the fight.
"Just a street fighter." Gasparde noted, easily parrying Jin's attacks. Although Jin's moves were wild and unstructured, Gasparde had no trouble deflecting them. He could already tell that Jin had no formal training. He was relying entirely on his natural talent and physical prowess.
This kind of fighting style was often a one-trick pony, relying on improvisation and clever tricks to win. Sometimes, it could be surprisingly effective. But against a technically skilled martial artist, it was useless.
The most obvious examples were Usopp and Nami. They relied on clever tricks, but in the later stages of the story, they were increasingly sidelined.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, on the other hand, had all undergone formal training. Every battle was a chance for them to grow.
Jin was already aware of his own shortcomings.
That's why he'd sought out this fight.
THWACK! THWACK!
Two more heavy punches sent Jin flying. The brutal force sent a shockwave through his body, and he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his throat.
"I thought you might be someone special," Gasparde sneered. "But if this is all you are, then killing you won't cause me any trouble."
Gasparde's left hand turned to candy, then solidified into a sharp cone.
He launched himself forward, the cone a deadly point that looked like it could pierce solid steel. He thrust it forward in a flurry of dozens of strikes, a storm of killing intent that rose and fell with the waves.
He targeted Jin's chest, his abdomen, his throat, and his joints—every strike was a killing blow.
Jin dodged on pure instinct. A moment's hesitation, and he would have been skewered.
His own attacks were not only ineffective, but they also put him in danger as Gasparde's body turned to candy.
No wonder Logias were called the "strongest" in the first half of the Grand Line.
Without Haki, without knowing their weakness, all you could do was take a beating.
A prolonged defense was a losing battle. Gasparde's relentless assault had a rhythm to it, and Jin was gradually being worn down.
The number of bleeding cuts on his body was increasing. If it weren't for his superior speed and agility, he would have been seriously injured by now.
THUD!
Jin was knocked to the ground again, sent flying a dozen meters and crashing into the railing. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth.
"Master, perhaps..." Ai suggested.
"Not yet," Jin grunted. "I'm not at my limit."
He wiped the blood from his face. He was seriously injured, but he could feel his body burning. Like raw iron on an anvil, hammered again and again until it was tempered into fine steel.
And so, he was calm.
He focused, he felt, he listened to the voice within.
And... the ki.
Yes, the ki.
Last night, when he had felt the power flowing from the demonic carrier's engine, something had clicked.
What was the true nature of Haki?
He thought of the concept of "Ki"—an invisible energy believed to flow from within the body.
To release Haki was to draw out that energy.
But how??
He thought of the principles of mind-body connection. The three types of Haki could correspond to the three fundamental aspects of a person: body, mind, and will.
Conqueror's Haki was the Will...
Observation Haki was the Mind...
Armament Haki was the Body...
"To strengthen the body, one must first rectify the mind. To rectify the mind, the Will must be steadfast. The mind governs the body, the Will reflects the mind, knowledge shapes the Will, and the world directs its purpose."
In that instant, Jin understood.
Haki was no longer a mystery to him. Within his burning body, an invisible power, like a seed, broke through the soil.
Gasparde charged, his candy cone a blur of motion, a torrential downpour of strikes.
"DIE!"
Jin's aura changed. He was like a burning piece of iron, radiating heat, a shimmering energy enveloping his entire body.
"What??" Gasparde was stunned.
Jin didn't dodge. He simply raised a hand and, from the blur of deadly strikes, plucked the candy cone from the air.
And his hand... didn't sink in.
It was covered in a black, shimmering "Ki."
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