Chapter 39: Haki Infusion
East Blue, on an island of unknown name.
Boom!
Flashes of red-black lightning crackled into existence. An invisible pressure swept outward like a combined landslide and tsunami, spreading in every direction.
Insects, birds, and wild beasts across the island, without exception, began to foam at the mouth and collapsed into unconsciousness under the weight of this overwhelming power.
This was Yumesaki, currently deep in training his Conqueror's Haki.
Three days had passed since his last meeting with Tsunade and the others. After Yumesaki left Loguetown, he had searched for a random uninhabited island to begin his intensive training.
His goal was simple: to master Conqueror's Haki Infusion as quickly as possible.
As time ticked by, Yumesaki's proficiency with his Haoshoku Haki grew increasingly refined. However, he had still underestimated the sheer difficulty of the Infusion technique.
Initially, he believed that with just a few more practice sessions, he would be able to grasp it. Yet, even after three days, the technique remained just out of reach.
His control over the Haki itself had become incredibly precise; he was like a person standing before a single sheet of paper. As long as he could pierce through that thin layer, the mastery of Haki Infusion would be his. But unexpectedly, this "sheet of paper" proved incredibly resilient, and Yumesaki had yet to break through.
At that moment, Robin arrived, carrying lunch. Seeing the cracked earth and the fallen trees, she couldn't help but comment, "Your Conqueror's Haki is truly becoming much stronger, Mr. Yumesaki."
"What's the point of it getting stronger? No matter how powerful it is, it's useless if I can't master Haki Infusion."
Yumesaki grumbled softly as he sat down on the ground. Using Conqueror's Haki also consumed a great deal of stamina. With his current physical limits, he couldn't unleash the Haki many times in a single day.
This was the biggest hurdle preventing his mastery. If he could release it a hundred or two hundred times a day, he would have mastered the infusion long ago.
Robin didn't find his struggle strange at all. "If Haki Infusion were truly that easy to master, the technique wouldn't be so legendary and rare."
"That's true."
Yumesaki agreed with her logic. While the number of people possessing Haoshoku Haki in the world of One Piece wasn't small, those who could actually use it for infusion were so few they could be counted on one hand.
After resting for a while, Yumesaki began to eat the lunch Robin had brought. The meal had been prepared using the meat of the island's wild beasts, rich with delicious juices and overflowing with energy.
Yumesaki ate voraciously.
Over the past few days, alongside his Haki training, he noticed his appetite was steadily increasing. Previously, a few pieces of meat would satisfy him; now, even half a kilogram wasn't enough. Furthermore, he felt his stamina becoming more robust and plentiful.
What did this mean?
Yumesaki understood it perfectly. Without a doubt, his physical constitution was evolving, moving closer to that of the humans in the One Piece world. As long as he trained diligently, he too could possess the monstrous physical endurance found in this universe. This was likely an effect of his "Golden Finger."
Once lunch was finished, Yumesaki quickly recovered and resumed his training.
Robin used several sprouted arms to form a makeshift chair, sitting nearby and watching Yumesaki with keen interest. Although Yumesaki's Conqueror's Haki was wild, powerful, and terrifying, it seemed capable of distinguishing between friend and foe, sparing her from its crushing pressure. This was the only reason she could observe his training from such a close distance.
Yumesaki would rest when exhausted and train again once he had recovered enough strength. Throughout the afternoon, he unleashed his Haki seven or eight more times in rapid succession.
Just as Robin thought today's training would end in failure once again, Yumesaki suddenly let out a thunderous shout.
Immediately after, Robin witnessed an unbelievable sight.
A terrifying shroud of Haoshoku Haki enveloped Yumesaki's hand. Centered around his fist, streaks of red-black lightning leaped and crackled wildly.
Boom!
Yumesaki threw a single punch. The air in front of him first distorted, then violently exploded. A horrifying shockwave, resembling the blast of a directed TNT bomb, erupted with incredible speed.
The boundless force of the impact carved a trench through the forest in front of him—several meters deep, a dozen meters wide, and reaching hundreds of meters in length. Any object that dared to block this shockwave, whether trees or boulders, insects or beasts, was completely pulverized into ash by this ferocious, domineering, and absolute force.
The entire forest was pierced through instantly. Even the seawater in the distance was split in two, sending towering waves crashing into the sky.
In the next second, Hashirama appeared abruptly in front of Robin. Having sensed the massive disturbance, he had arrived with god-like speed.
"What happened?" Hashirama asked, scanning the total destruction of the forest.
"He did it," Robin said, slowly standing up from her chair, her eyes fixed on Yumesaki in disbelief.
"Did what? Haki Infusion? Mr. Yumesaki has mastered Haki Infusion?"
Hashirama finally realized the situation. Looking at the sheer devastation before him, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Even though he had read about the power of Haki Infusion in the manga, seeing it with his own eyes was a different matter entirely. He had to admit that the destructive power of Haki Infusion was equivalent to an S-rank Ninjutsu from the Shinobi world, and only a handful of S-rank techniques could actually match this level of raw destruction.
"Congratulations to you, Mr. Yumesaki."
Hashirama walked forward a few steps to offer his praise.
A smile tugged at the corner of Yumesaki's mouth. His eyes closed, and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Robin reflexively activated her ability. Several arms sprouted from the earth to catch Yumesaki before he hit the dirt.
Hashirama immediately stepped forward to check his condition, then sighed in relief. "There's no serious issue; he's just completely drained of energy. It seems Haki Infusion puts a massive burden on the body."
"In that case, let's head back for now," Robin said.
Together, they carried Yumesaki back to the ship.
The night passed without incident.
The following morning, Yumesaki woke up. He felt incredibly hungry, his stomach growling loudly. He immediately returned to his own world, went downstairs to buy several portions of steamed buns, and devoured them.
However, he still didn't feel full.
The energy content of food in the real world was far below that of the One Piece world. Coupled with his ever-increasing stamina, his energy requirements had skyrocketed. Real-world food was becoming increasingly incapable of satisfying his appetite.
Yumesaki eventually returned to the One Piece world. He found several cuts of beast meat in the ship's kitchen and began to cook them. Once the meat was done, he ate ravenously again. After finishing a full kilogram of meat, he finally felt satiated.
But as for the taste... it was hard to describe. It was barely edible, just enough to swallow. After all, he was no master chef. The meat he cooked wasn't even as good as the lunch Robin had made. This led him into deep thought.
"Mr. Yumesaki, what are you thinking about?"
Robin walked in and saw Yumesaki sitting in a chair, posed like the statue of "The Thinker." Curious, she couldn't help but ask.
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