This seemed insoluble, but fundamentally, what Shano mastered was a technique. As for what exactly gathered in the palm and was released, it was merely a form of energy.
Shano pondered for a while, then decided to substitute Haki and see if it would work.
Today was the first official attempt.
"The key to the Qi Circle Slash lies in compressing energy into a disc shape at high speed..."
He closed his eyes and recalled the contents of the secret manual, as the Armament Haki within him began to gather in his palm.
Unlike the "Qi" in the Dragon Ball world, Haki's energy form is more inclined towards being solidified.
And true to its name, when released from the body through technique, it often carried a brute force—
Grand, rampant, clashing in all directions, incredibly domineering...
Controlling it requires more meticulous precision.
Buzz!
Dense black Haki gathered in the palm, quickly forming an irregular oval-shaped sphere that began to rotate slowly.
Shano glanced at the black vortex above him, sensing the energy within, but frowned slightly.
"The compression isn't tight enough, and the rotation speed isn't increasing."
At this level, if released, it would be soft and easy to evade, lacking any lethality.
He took a deep breath and suddenly increased the Haki output.
Whoosh!
More Haki poured in, yet under Shano's deliberate compression and control, it did not expand much.
This time, the rotation speed gradually increased.
But the edges were uneven, the shape was irregular, and Haki frequently flew out, unable to achieve the perfect state described in the manual, as if it were a circular saw.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, the Haki vortex suddenly exploded, and a terrifying shockwave spread out, instantly flattening a large circle of trees around.
"The rotation speed isn't enough; maintaining it in an external state would cause it to explode on its own."
Shano shook his numbed right hand, pondering deeply.
He had practiced Haki for many years and was very adept at the "release" technique. Even so, he couldn't control Haki in the fine detail like the martial artists in the Dragon Ball world could control "Qi."
Yet the "Qi Circle Slash" requires extremely high precision in this aspect.
After all, Haki isn't "Qi"—trying to copy it directly won't work.
Shano sighed, stood up, and paced back and forth, pinching his chin.
Perhaps it's time to change the approach. Since a perfect replica of the original is impossible, make targeted improvements based on Haki's characteristics.
But how exactly...
At this moment.
From afar in the deadwood forest came the cries of "Ooh ooh ooh!"
Shano used Moonwalk to leap to the treetop and looked toward the sound. It was the group of baboons that had been driven back yesterday, now returning with reinforcements and heading aggressively toward the castle.
Are they going for revenge?
Kuina should be awake by now. Seeing so many practice targets delivered to her doorstep, she should be quite happy.
Shano watched with interest.
One of the baboons waved its hand as it walked and created a beautiful sword flower, a standard arc that sparkled so brilliantly it dazzled Shano's eyes.
"Sword flower..."
Shano squinted his eyes as inspiration suddenly struck him.
He returned to his original position, raised his right arm, and gathered Haki.
This time, though, he didn't aim for a one-time formation by directly compressing a large mass of Haki into a disc shape.
Instead, he first released the Haki and divided it into dozens or hundreds of fine strands, crisscrossing and entwining them like a weave.
"Spin for me!"
With a low shout, these Haki strands, as sharp as blades, began high-speed rotation in one direction, gradually forming a disc about half a meter in diameter.
Though the edges were still a bit rough, the overall form was taking shape.
"The approach is correct!"
Shano showed a look of joy; this method perfectly fit into the mold of the "Qi Circle Slash." All that remained was to continue refining and optimizing it.
He immediately tried compressing more Haki to the disc's edges, making it as thin as a cicada's wings, and increased the rotation speed to a terrifying extent, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.
The black energy disc emitted a piercing buzz, nearly losing its stable form.
"Go!"
With a sudden exertion of force from his right hand, the spinning Haki disc shot out, whistling toward the distant hill, about a hundred meters high.
Boom!
In the deafening explosion, the entire hill was cut in half.
The upper half of the mountain slowly slid down, kicking up a sky-full of dust. Shano stepped onto the air with Moonwalk, looked down to inspect, and saw that the cut surface was smooth like a mirror, completely leveled by that strike!
It worked!
Shano's eyes flashed with excitement. After several days of intensive study, he finally conquered the most difficult hurdle. He couldn't help but tightly clench his fist in joy.
So what if the original version of "Qi Circle Slash" can't be replicated in this world?
The technique is universal!
Now, he has finally created his very own "Haki Circle Slash"!
"This name doesn't sound quite right; it needs a change."
However, not right now.
Shano's gaze fell upon the fractured hills. With his current strength, even a casual punch could achieve a similar effect. Therefore, he wasn't truly satisfied with the current power of this move.
Thus, in the coming period, he must focus equally on both aspects!
— He needs to continue to solidify and optimize the power of Qi Circle Slash while also practicing the Supreme King Entanglement.
And then...
Combine the two perfectly!
Yes!
The potential upper limit of the "Qi Circle Slash" is very high. Merely modifying it into a Haki version is not sufficient!
To truly transform it into his ultimate trump card, how could he not infuse it with a large amount of Supreme King like Teacher Kai?!
A slight anticipation for the future…
As he raises his right arm, a terrifying aura emanates from the rapidly rotating disc, while thick black and red lightning spreads out in all directions…
Would even the Four Emperors and Grand Admirals dare to take it head-on?
Shano has already thought of the name in advance.
Just like the "Kamusari" and "Divine Punishment" series, it should have a similar name—
Its name will be—
Divine Split!
As for now…
Shano clenched his fist.
Continue the arduous training!
————
In the days of secluded and intensive training, time seemed to pass even faster.
In a blink of an eye, two months swiftly passed.
Ever since Roger initiated the Great Pirate Era, this ocean has never calmed down since then.
This period was also filled with turbulence.
Firstly, there was a great war between the Hundred Beasts Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates in the New World.
The cause of the matter seemed to also relate to the missing Great Blade Sword Master, Shano.
To summarize briefly, after the battle at Judicial Island, Hundred Beasts Kaido became more irritable. After drinking alone gloomily for a few days in his home base, he went out looking for fights everywhere. Without realizing it, he found himself confronting Red Hair, eventually leading to the outbreak of this war.
The war in the New World hadn't settled yet when, in the first half of the Grand Line, there came an even more eye-catching news.
The two vacant positions of the Seven Warlords of the Sea were finally decided upon.
One was a well-known great pirate named "Fierce Rhinoceros" Akshan, with a former bounty of 430 million Belly, and had ventured in the New World for a while.
A character like him taking the role of one of the Seven Warlords didn't cause much of a stir as it was expected by the public.
As for the other, it shocked many people.
Named "Thunder God" Enel, with no previous bounty, no one had ever heard of his name before. This guy seemed to have come out of nowhere, suddenly appearing in this ocean, catching the attention of the World Government.
Prompting people to speculate and question.
Does this guy really have the strength worthy of being one of the Seven Warlords?
And based on what does he dare to claim the name Thunder God…
As for the big news in recent days.
It was in Dressrosa, under the rule of the Donquixote Family, where there was a massive explosion sound, causing the entire island to tremble violently.
Someone saw something flying into the sky, escaping into the distance.
But the specific situation was unclear, and it seemed like the Donquixote Family had blocked the news, with reporters from the World Economic News Agency sneaking in to investigate.
The waves of the future always overwhelm the past.
One compelling piece of news after another kept surfacing.
In comparison, after the death of Shano, that great maker of numerous big news, the remnants of the Endgame Adventurer Group completely vanished from the spotlight, and they basically faded from public attention.
There were rumors that this crew had already been successfully captured and wiped out by the Navy, while other rumors suggested that with their captain dead, the group dissolved, each going back to their hometowns.
Whatever the case may be.
Shano's story has already receded from the center stage of the world, and based on past experiences, it won't be long before he is completely forgotten by most people…