Expand, expand, and expand again.
A radius of one hundred meters, two hundred meters... three hundred meters.S
Just how far could the Conqueror's Haki radiate when released with full force? This was a question Sean had never deeply considered since awakening his Conqueror's Haki.
He kept his eyes tightly closed, constantly exploring his own limits. His feet seemed to take root, nailed to the deck, completely unaffected by the airship's movement, his body not swaying in the slightest.
Beside him, Kuzan adjusted his sleep mask, carefully sensing the rhythm of Sean's Conqueror's Haki, and spoke in a neutral tone, "People are divided into classes, and naturally, Haki has its strengths and weaknesses too."
"The wider the range the Conqueror's Haki extends, the higher the upper limit. Since you know everything about the sea, you should know this."
Just as Kuzan said, Haki, like Nen, had levels of strength.
Observation Haki, in the case of Katakuri, could predict the opponent's moves in the next second.
Armament Haki, in the case of Hyogoro, manifested as Ryou, capable of damaging an opponent from the inside.
Not to mention Conqueror's Haki. Comparing Doflamingo to Shanks or Garp was like comparing heaven and earth; the difference was as vast as a chasm.
"Mr. Garp once made a figurative classification," Kuzan held up three fingers, giving a few simple examples. "In his view, Conqueror's Haki can also be broadly divided into 'third, second, and first' rate categories."
"The awakening range of a third-rate Conqueror's Haki is roughly between 100 and 1000 meters. For example, the former Warlord Doflamingo."
"A second-rate Conqueror's awakening range is 1000 to 10,000 meters. Kaido and Charlotte Linlin fall into this category."
"As for first-rate..." Kuzan narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Red-Haired Shanks, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Vice Admiral Garp, his son Monkey D. Dragon, grandson Luffy, as well as the Pirate King Roger who has been dead for many years, are all at this level."
"As for a coverage range exceeding ten thousand meters..."
"Arara...I haven't seen that yet."
Of course, there was one point Kuzan didn't explicitly state. Conqueror's Haki was an innate talent; it was not something that could be awakened through hard work later in life. Whatever range you were born with was what you had; there was no room for improvement.
So... 'Sean, let me take a good look at exactly what level a guy like you can reach.' Kuzan's dead-fish eyes opened and closed, his gaze burning as it fixed on Sean. Occasionally, he turned his head to glance at the few people who had arrived on the deck, before retracting his gaze.
Step, step. At this moment, several sets of light footsteps converged on the deck from different directions.
With a flash of movement, Netero, hands behind his back, was the first to arrive on the scene, stopping ten meters in front of Sean.
Followed by Hisoka... and Gittarackur, who had chased after Hisoka—that is, Illumi.
The old man and the two younger ones stood on separate sides, maintaining a subtle distance. No one spoke; their gazes were all fixed on Sean.
At this moment, the young man's black hair was flying upwards. His eyes were tightly shut, his consciousness submerged, completely invested in the path of exploring his own limits!
The Conqueror's Haki extended all the way out.
Five hundred meters. Six hundred meters. Seven hundred meters. Eight hundred meters. Nine hundred meters. One thousand meters!
A soft "pop" was heard, drifting out faintly. Although it was not worth mentioning compared to the whistling wind, it struck the hearts of Netero, Hisoka, and Illumi like a great bell.
It caused Hisoka and Illumi, excluding Netero, to shudder unexpectedly. A rare thought of "submission" rose in their hearts.
"Kids, let me remind you, don't get too close," Netero swept his gaze over them, his muddy eyes containing a hint of clarity. Hisoka clawed at his own face, burying his head in his chest, and laughed with a suppressed, gloomy voice. "Heh... heh... heh... too interesting. As expected of my Ben An teacher."
Even something as ethereal as aura could be cultivated. Was there anything he couldn't do?
"Ah... Marvelous. The current you is just too captivating. I would even be willing to kneel and lick your feet."
'Peh. Piece of shit. We've known each other for so many years, and I've never seen you lick me. Sure enough, friendship is the cheapest trash.'
Illumi rolled his eyes at Hisoka in disgust, feeling sour. Fortunately, the two of them had self-awareness and obediently did not take a step forward. However...
'If you won't come to me, I will go to you!'
After effortlessly breaking the "thousand meter" boundary, Sean showed no sign of opening his tightly closed eyes. His Conqueror's Haki was like a wildfire; blown by the wind, it burned even fiercer, continuing to spread out towards two thousand meters... three thousand meters... four thousand meters.
Visibly, an invisible ripple rippled out. Birds spiraling in the sky, originally soaring freely, suddenly—
Their necks went crooked, their eyes rolled back, and like dumplings falling into a pot—plop, plop—they fell continuously from the sky to the earth!
'Second-rate... If this kid were placed in the New World, he would be an emperor no weaker than Kaido of the Beasts!' Kuzan was secretly started. Carefully sensing Sean's Haki, seeing that it showed no signs of stopping, a gleam flashed in his dead-fish eyes, and an absurd thought arose—
'Could he expand it even further? Or perhaps... in my lifetime, will I witness a new star with the potential of the Pirate King?'
"Arara... this is really making me look forward to it," The ice admiral's eyes revealed a sharp light as he watched Sean surge all the way.
Feeling something, he looked up and swept a glance at the sky.
Boom! Several muffled thaps of thunder exploded!
The "God" residing above the sky seemed to have discovered a heresy and was furious!
It widened its eyes, its gaze turning into lightning.
Its nose flared, its breath turning into fierce wind.
It opened its mouth and spat, and a torrential down poured down.
In a moment, the sky darkened. Oppressive black clouds carried fierce winds and violent rain, lightning and thunderbolts shrouding downwards, as if to strike dead Sean, the man who had angered the heavens!
Those who possess Conqueror's Haki are born kings, yet it seems that the moment they awaken, they are always accompanied by misfortune.
Doflamingo's family was tied to the city wall, arrows pointed at their hearts. Luffy witnessed Ace about to be executed at the Summit War.
It was as if the heavens did not allow "Kings" to challenge their authority, always sending down misfortune and thunder to "annihilate" these... so-called heresies in their eyes!
Just like now. It was clearly a clear sky with drifting white clouds just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, black clouds gathered, lightning flashed and thunder rolled, like the arrival of doomsday, chilling one's heart!
"Hohoho... it's thundering... Will you 'go home to bring in the laundry' or continue training... How do you choose?"
Da da da. Raindrops pour down like bullets. Netero narrowed his eyes at Sean. The young man remained unmoved, letting the rain hit his face. His determined face, paired with those granite-like muscles, revealed an unyielding will from the inside out!
Infected by this will, the Conqueror's Haki suddenly became restless, as if it had grown wings. With a buzz, it spread out towards the surroundings by a large margin, approaching the ten thousand meter mark in the blink of an eye!
'Almost there, just one step away. Sean, whether you are a worm or a dragon depends on this step!' The curtain of rain passed straight through Kuzan's body. Kuzan crossed his arms, veins bulging on the back of his hands. As his dead-fish eyes opened and closed, a sharp light burst forth; he was far more nervous than Sean himself.
"Oh ho ho ho... Illumi, did you see that?" Hisoka's flowing straight hair was wet with rain, hanging down against his scalp.
The perverted magician stuck out his tongue, caught a drop of rain, and swallowed it, turning his head to look at Illumi.
Illumi's arms hung down naturally as he asked calmly, "What?"
"The King…" Swish. The Joker card appeared in Hisoka's hand at some point. The Joker drawn on the card wore a tall crown, the corners of his mouth pulled up diagonally into a deep V shape, unspeakably weird and terrifying. "I have a premonition that killing him would be the greatest magic trick in this world!"
'Perhaps.' Illumi's dead-fish eyes gazed at Sean, rare ripples appearing in his clear black and white pupils. Thinking back now, he surprisingly didn't understand this bastard before him at all. Aside from being beaten, his mind didn't even retain an image of his voice or smile.
One could imagine what a foolish mistake it was to choose to fight openly and secretly with him back then.
'Just as Dad said back then, I'll never be able to compare with him in this life.' Unlike Hisoka, Illumi suddenly felt relieved. He had a faint premonition—
A year from now, the family would probably undergo a massive change. Even Great-Grandfather probably wouldn't be able to suppress him.
Splash! The rain got heavier!
The airship, tilting downwards, finally reversed its decline under Satotz's manipulation. Just as it regained stability, no one expected it to encounter such severe, extreme weather. It made the always calm and collected Satotz rarely flare up in anger!
"And there's someone causing trouble too. I really don't know what the hell that guy Sean Zoldyck is doing."
Buzz. The propellers shattered the air and rain together. The airship, situated under the black clouds, had no way back.
Satotz steeled his heart and simply pulled the control stick, rushing straight out. The result of this led to—
The rain became more urgent, the thunder louder, and lightning flashed before their eyes from time to time. It scared Geretta, Bourbon, and the others out of their wits.
"Motherfucker, are we going to die here today?"
"Charging blindly into the storm, is the pilot an idiot?"
"You're the idiot... Is that the point? Shouldn't it be to drag out the person releasing that aura?"
"I reckon the pilot has already fainted. We don't even know who is in the cockpit right now... It's a miracle we didn't crash directly! Be happy."
Worried and anxious, a bad atmosphere was spreading. Buhara was clumsy with words; responsible for taking care of the candidates, he heard everything. He had no intention of telling Geretta and the others that the person flying the airship right now was none other than their examiner—Satotz.
However, even if he didn't say it, the demonically intelligent Kurapika had guessed most of it. But he didn't make a sound either. Revealing the truth now would do no good other than adding to everyone's worries. Moreover, what Bourbon said just now was correct... The point wasn't the pilot, but the person releasing the disorderly aura!
When would he rein in his aura so the pilot could wake up? That was the crux of the problem!
'Sigh, that guy is probably so focused on training that he hasn't thought about this at all. He doesn't care, but he forgot there's a ship full of landlubbers.'
'Or perhaps trash like us aren't even qualified to be remembered by him.'
Kurapika clenched his fists inside his sleeves. He still had a great vengeance to exact; he absolutely could not die here inexplicably. If worse came to worst... he would abandon anyone and find a way to survive!
The blonde youth quietly glanced at Number Two. Number Two gave him a meaningful smile.
Consciousness followed the main body, discarding the mottled thoughts in the mind, forgetting the surrounding environment, and immersing fully with all effort.
Bathed in the storm, Sean gritted his teeth and let out a low roar: "Open!"
The Conqueror's Haki whistled out. Nine thousand one hundred meters... nine thousand two hundred meters... nine thousand three hundred meters... finally getting stuck at nine thousand seven hundred meters!
Distance to the ten thousand meter mark... what a pity. Still three hundred meters short!
"Stopped just like that?" Kuzan swallowed a mouthful of saliva. It was hard to imagine that a phantom image could be nervous enough to sweat!
"Hohoho... looks like it stops here."