Drenched in sweat, Hiroto dodged with everything he had. Eyes still shut, he tracked the invisible chains by instinct alone.
Ten minutes?
Twenty?
He didn't know, the world had narrowed to survival.
His silhouette flickered like dropped frames, slipping the noose again and again. Then, suddenly, he began to move a heartbeat earlier. The once-blurry attacks now stood out sharp and clear: their presence, shape, trajectory.
Surprise flashed in Issho's eyes and he pushed harder. The hundred chains dissolved and thousands replaced them.
The gravity field itself mutated: heavier, random, switching direction without pattern.
Left, right, up, down, diagonal.
For an instant, every vector pointed skyward.
Hiroto froze mid-step. As he tried to leap, the pull reversed and slammed downward.
BOOM!
Hiroto skimmed aside, dodging hundreds of chains by a hair. Dozens still caught him, tearing skin and spattering blood.
Under Issho's crushing pressure, he was evolving. But none of that mattered now.
Roars, tears, flame, Zoro's distant shouts, approaching footsteps—all faded. Only the thousands of gravity chains burned vivid in his mind.
It felt like the Breath of All Things, yet different. That skill looked outward through objects, what surged inside him now burst from within.
Human potential: born of the five senses yet transcending them.
It spilled outward, weaving a net with Hiroto at its center.
"An enemy's "voice" grows deafening when he intends to strike. Learn each position's unique sound, and you can foresee the angle of attack."
That was Koushirou's first lesson on Observation Haki.
"Shape that roaming awareness into a fixed "radar," sweeping the area again and again, and you gain an active sense. Anything entering that radar feeds straight into the mind."
"Refine it, and you unlock prediction, counting, strength gauging, range fixing—true Observation Haki."
Hiroto's eyes snapped open, a message floating before him.
[Entry – Basic Observation Haki (Blue) acquired!]
[Panel Updated]
[Perception: D → C- (near 100-million bounty level)]
With Observation Haki awakened, every gravity chain blazed in his senses—visible, traceable.
He never broke stride, frame-skipping past the lethal web.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Earth cracked, smoke billowed.
Issho's strikes found only air but he smiled, admiration in his gaze.
The kid had talent—no wonder he could split a sea at such an age.
Soon... very soon... he'd see Hiroto in the New World.
"Again!" Hiroto's voice rang out, fierce and eager.
Shigure left its sheath and his fingers tightened around the hilt, blade leveled at Issho.
Bang!
Using [Shunpo], Hiroto burst forth with extreme speed, reaching C+ level, crossing the distance between them in a short moment.
The blade slashed down!
In Issho's vision, the trajectory of that slash slowed. In his Observation Haki perception, that fighting spirit was incredibly conspicuous.
In a trance, he seemed to see a rising sun, full of vibrant vitality, rushing towards him. It was as if he was infected by this emotion, or perhaps he saw his own youthful, spirited self.
Issho suddenly burst out laughing. "Good!"
He stomped his foot, and his entire body shot forward.
Yakuza Kasen swung, actually striking Hiroto's eyes. Even with his awakened Observation Haki, Hiroto almost couldn't react.
Shigure deflected the blade to block, and with a clang, sparks flew, followed by a mountain-like gravity that pressed him half a meter into the ground.
"This slash contains decades of my experience, can you block it?"
Issho held Yakuza Kasen with one hand, continuously transmitting gravity from the clashing blades.
He felt a trace of passion he hadn't felt in a long time, so he simply let go of some restrictions. After all, Hiroto's strength was considerable, and he had no intention of getting injured and then embarrassingly meeting his friend only to be teased later.
Getting injured by a disciple his friend had instructed... that kind of thing was best avoided.
For Hiroto, the suddenly surging pressure was like the sky collapsing. He understood for the first time that there was still a long way to go to bridge the gap between himself and the world's top combatants.
Even Issho might not be a truly peak combatant. At least he was a notch weaker than Shanks, who one-shotted Kid.
But precisely because of this, Hiroto felt incredibly excited.
Why did people in his previous life love extreme sports?
Because after satisfying the most basic desires for wealth and pleasure, the sense of accomplishment brought by challenging oneself and the limits of life, is irreplaceable.
This world is incredibly vast, and Hiroto yearned to see the splendor of higher places, and he yearned to reach the peak.
Right now, there's only one thing he wants to do.
Injure Issho!
Wind and fire surged, turning into raging flames that engulfed Issho in reverse.
A torrent of gravity surged, extinguishing the flames.
Hiroto took the opportunity to create an opening and widened the distance with Shunpo.
However, Issho was incredibly fast, and he caught up to Hiroto in an instant.
Yakuza Kasen unleashed slashes, each imbued with immense gravitational power.
Shigure blocked and clashed, sending up a series of sparks, with continuous clanging and ringing in his ears.
Amidst the sword fight, stray slashes flew, leaving behind brutal marks over ten meters long on the shattered ground around them.
'So heavy...'
After dozens more blade clashes, Hiroto gritted his teeth and retreated to dissipate the force, feeling his arm go numb.
With Issho's gravity enhancement, every slash felt like he was clashing with a mountain. No, it was even more jarring than cutting a mountain.
Clang!
Yakuza Kasen's sharp blade slashed horizontally, sending the exhausted Hiroto flying.
Following that was a harsh cracking sound, it was actually a rice-grain sized chip on Shigure's blade.
Issho, who was about to pursue, paused, instinctively stopping.
The long-lost surge of passion got to him, resulting in this... did he go too far?
However, Hiroto had no intention of stopping. After taking a deep breath and seizing the gap, he gripped Shigure's hilt, his eyes burning.
"Again!"
As his voice fell, a dark color emerged from his palm and fingers, instantly wrapping around the blade.
Armament Haki: Imbuement!
Through accumulated effort and immense pressure, he successfully learned the advanced technique of Armament Haki.
Issho couldn't help but show an appreciative smile.
Although he didn't go all out in this battle, and was even holding back while fighting Hiroto, these weren't important. Seeing someone he admired, constantly progressing and breaking through under his pressure, Issho naturally felt genuine happiness for this.
Perhaps in the future, he might even have a like-minded friend?