Waves crashed against the side of the "false Oro Jackson." A dull, rhythmic thud echoed from the deck. Fortunately, it was a sailboat, and the three of them managed to maneuver it.
You ask, where did the slaves go? Of course, they were handed over to our righteous Marines! They docked the ship at the Marine base, dropped off the slaves, and immediately ran away. They were pirates, after all! Even though Roger and Rayleigh didn't have any bounties on their heads yet.
Reith finally understood why Roger's crew was so powerful. What normal person, barely out at sea, already possesses the strength of a Yonko?! And these two—both of them—were exactly that!
As all fans of the shonen genre know, the protagonist's enemies gradually increase in power. So what's this? A villain who just left his "villain village" suddenly runs into the hero who just returned from defeating the Demon King?!
Reith couldn't help but grin smugly as he grasped the two incredibly powerful "legs" of the future Pirate King. Was he really now some kind of "golden youth" of the world of power? The mere thought of being mentored by the Dark King Rayleigh himself, the Pirate King's right-hand man, and of him, Reith , being his protégé… Oh, my friends, that was too much!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Reith, bare-chested and drenched in sweat, repeatedly slammed his fists, coated in a thin layer of black Armament Haki, into the iron pillar dug in before him. His knuckles had long since been bruised to a bloody consistency, which, mixed with sweat, dripped onto the deck, but only shallow indentations remained on the pillar's surface.
"It's still not right..." He looked at his shaking hands, breathing heavily. "My Armament Haki doesn't last even half a minute."
Nearby, Rayleigh leaned against the side of the ship, sipping sake. His gaze from under his glasses was as sharp as a hawk's.
- Kid, if you train like that, you'll ruin your hands.
"I'll do it anyway!" Reith gritted his teeth. "I don't want to be unable to even defend myself in my next encounter with a powerful enemy!"
Rayleigh sighed, walked over and put his hand on his shoulder.
"The problem isn't Haki, it's your body." He felt the muscles in Reith's arm. "Your stamina is truly astounding, but you're sorely lacking in muscle mass and bone strength, even though you're developing them at an incredible rate. It's like pouring molten iron into a bamboo tube: the vessel is too fragile and won't withstand the force."
Reith remained silent.
He knew Rayleigh was right. For the past few months, no matter how hard he trained, his Haki remained at a rudimentary level. Every attempt to force his development resulted in his body failing first.
That same evening, in the captain's cabin.
"So, am I destined to remain an 'unfinished product'?" Reith stared at his palm, his voice dripping with undisguised frustration.
Roger, sitting cross-legged on the floor, smiled broadly.
"What are you talking about, kid? You want to become the strongest in the world at four years old? You've already decided to conquer the seas? What bold thoughts you have!" He lightly flicked Reith's forehead. "Your body is still growing, so you'll only ruin yourself. At least, I've never seen a four-year-old genius like you. Where are you going in such a hurry? Are you planning on saving the world?"
Roger clicked and picked his nose.
"Besides, who said Haki is the only path to strength?" He pointed to Reith's chest. "Your Mist-Mist Fruit, to what stage have you developed it?"
"Hey, don't do such disgusting moves after flicking your wrists!" Reith roared, grinning like a shark. "I can create illusions, interfere with Observation Haki, and even eat away at enemies with fog..."
"Too conservative!" Roger suddenly jumped up and waved his arms. "I saw one user of the Magma Magma Fruit; he could turn an entire island into a volcano! What about your mist? Can you envelop the entire sea in it? Can you make people lose consciousness with a single breath? Or does your mist have corrosive properties? You can envelop an enemy in it and simply dissolve them!"
Rayleigh smiled meaningfully too.
"Imagine that, little Reith... In the future, when you become stronger, your strength itself will be just the threshold. Otherwise, they won't even be able to penetrate your mist. Add to that the ability to create illusions for camouflage, the limitations of Observation Haki—you'll become a veritable demon in the mist. The mere thought of how to deal with you will give them a headache. Until they find a way to dispel your mist, you'll be practically invincible."
Reith swallowed. Rayleigh's words were a sweet promise, a masterfully crafted carrot—far better than the ones his boss had painted in his past life. Reith admitted to himself that he really wanted to take a bite out of that carrot. He loved the feeling: "I'm standing right in front of you, and you can't do anything to me."
The next morning.
Reith stood on the bow of the ship, closing his eyes and inhaling the sea breeze.
Since the body is not yet capable of withstanding more powerful Haki...
"Then let the 'fog' become stronger."
He suddenly spread his arms, and a thick white fog poured out, instantly enveloping the entire ship. But this time, the fog didn't dissipate; instead, like a living being, it began to writhe, gradually condensing into countless tiny droplets of water.
— Breath of Mist: Nerve Paralysis!
Shhhhh…
Several seagulls, stealing food from the deck, suddenly froze and plopped down.
Roger's eyes widened.
- What did you do?
"I changed the composition of the fog," a smile tugged at the corners of Reith's lips. "I made it carry microdoses of a neurotoxin. Those who inhale it will experience muscle paralysis, but it's not fatal."
A glimmer of light flashed in Rayleigh's eyes.
— Interesting... If you combine this with your Observation Haki, you can knock out enemies before they even suspect anything.
"And not only that," Reith clenched his fist, and the mist suddenly compressed in his palm, forming a long, translucent blade. "Although it can't compare to Armament Haki in hardness, but..."
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The wooden target in the distance instantly shattered into pieces.
It is important to understand that the future Roger and Rayleigh were not only masters of hand-to-hand combat, but also great swordsmen.
But when they looked at it, they… Pha-ha-ha-ha!
- Little Reith, what are you doing?
Looking at the two of them who couldn't stop laughing, Reith blushed unusually and shouted at them:
"I'm only four, and I've never learned this, that's normal! What are you laughing at, idiots?!"
Roger, wiping away the tears of laughter, drew his sword, Ace, and delivered a flying slash.
Reith watched this with his mouth open. Cutting the sea with one blow was no joke.
"Could this really be the prototype of that 'move' that Roger could do – Divine Departure?"
Roger sheathed his sword and ruffled Reith's hair.
"Don't limit yourself. The advantage of your mist is its formlessness and elusiveness." He pointed at the mist blade in Reith's hand. "Why cling to form? Don't worry, we'll find you a good sword later. Have you noticed that since creating the mist blade, your overall mist has become thinner?"
Rayleigh added:
"However, you'll still have to learn the basic stances. Starting tomorrow, it'll be a thousand sword swings a day."
Reith deeply felt the joys of being the golden child of the powerful.The reason Reith created the mist sword was because he saw the original Tenno Murakumo no Tsurugi sword of Admiral Kizaru and the ice blade of Aokiji.
But Reith missed one point: neither Kizaru nor Aokiji needed to create a vast area of influence. Even if his mist field could move with him…
Someone might ask: Reith, you create a fog field, and I'll just run away, and that's it?
To this, Reith would only reply, "Naive." "I'll just shroud the entire island in fog, and what, won't you be scared?" Besides, even the fog Reith was creating now, unless the opponent was significantly stronger than him, couldn't be dispelled so easily. Combined with his monstrous stamina, Reith could maintain it permanently if he wanted—like a passive skill that costs mana, but with an infinite supply.
The awkwardness of the moment, however, was that Reith could indeed trap people in the fog, but his own strength was limited. Even if he encountered a strong opponent, he would still have to run away.
They say an old man in the house is like a treasure. With their experience, they can pinpoint your mistakes when you're taking a wrong turn. And Reith now had two "young old treasures." "Three years of training with the aging Master Rayleigh wouldn't compare to three blows from Master Kaido's club."