Chapter 70: Awakening Haki with Dracule Mihawk

Chapter 70: Awakening Haki with Dracule Mihawk

Chapter 70 Awakening Haki with Dracule Mihawk

When Rayleigh asked the Force about the castle's occupant, the answer he got gave him pause. The Force didn't actually talk, but it did assist in arranging certain concepts already within Rayleigh's head to arrive at a certain conclusion.

For example, Hawkeye Mihawk's full Name was Dracule Mihawk. For a name that sounded very much like Dracula in an anime, he definitely had to live in a dark and spooky castle. Something that somehow perfectly matched the castle in front of him.

Rayleigh started reciting his Force Code and a few moments later, the Empty Sword was in hand and he was reduced to the state of Zetsu with his Force completely cut off. Why? Because if he was going to cross swords with Mihawk, he would not use any skill but sword skill and the physique he had dedicated years to train and hone.

Rayleigh slid the Empty Sword into a makeshift leather sword holder at his side. He could keep one hand on the pommel to maintain his Training Enhanced State without looking like he was carrying the sword at all times. Rayleigh also got out the newspaper with his picture on the front and a 30 Million Berry Bottle of Wine he bought from St Poplar using the bounty he got from turning in the Six Claw Pirates. This was renowned as the best wine St Poplar offered and he had to use a Jedi Mind Trick and an additional 10 Million Berries to get the bottle since the store's current stock had a several year waiting list of reservations.

If he was going to ask a stranger for something, it would be rude beyond measure not to bring a gift. It wasn't like the scenario he purchased meant that Mihawk would teach him no matter what. Such scenarios still implied that Rayleigh had enough common sense to make it work.

However, when Rayleigh approached the door, the wild cry of a massive beast sounded from the air as a horde of creatures jumped at Rayleigh from one of the hills. Second Level Zetsu was not the same as Force Stealth. It just made him look like someone without any supernatural abilities to the supernatural sight of others. It did not make him less noticeable, and the wild beasts surrounding this castle certainly noticed him.

Without the Force to warn him, these creatures had gotten dangerously close. He honestly hadn't expected a mass of violent animals to be near what he assumed to be Mihawk's house. In the second stage of Zetsu he could not use the Force to push them away or aura to block or intimidate them. One hand was holding one of the most expensive wines in the sea wrapped in a newspaper and the other was on the pommel of an indestructible sword that would break if it drew blood.

Still, he'd been in worse positions. Some of those Tavern Missions were truly insane.

In a single smooth motion, Rayleigh flicked the Empty Sword from its holder, grabbed it, and swung it at the first creature descending at him. It seemed to be a mandrill of some kind, but about ten times larger, and for some reason, it wore armor that fit quite well and had a battle axe in hand.

Like a professional baseball player, Rayleigh swatted the mandrill into the sky using the flat of his blade. This was another advantage of conjuring a physical sword instead of using his old Nensaber.

A shift of a few steps and a jump allowed Rayleigh to dodge the next mandrill and two clean cuts sliced off the straps of the armor it wore. The kick to its unarmored gut that followed dropped the mandrill to its knees as several more jumped at him with an assortment of weapons.

Rayleigh cut the armor and weapons the mandrills used to pieces and then kicked or swatted them with the side of his blade. Their numbers seemed to increase, going from ten to thirty. Rayleigh didn't even notice the smile that appeared on his face. Still, without wearing his usual Nen-Enhanced weight set, this level of activity was too easy. If Mihawk made him fight these guys in the future, Rayleigh would have to put on an appropriate level of weight to ensure he gained something from them.

Most of the mandrills he swatted ran back into the fight since he really couldn't launch them that far with just his physical strength, but his kicks and the thrusts of his sword's pommel into the mandrill's guts sent them down and kept them down. From the many discolored hairs on these animals, Rayleigh could tell that they could survive blade wounds pretty easily, but penetrating wounds that made your organs hurt required a day for normal people to recover from and at least an hour for physically superior beasts to recover from. This was something he learned as a Hunter.

A few minutes later, about forty or so mandrills lay groaning on the ground. None were dead or even bleeding, just in a lot of pain. With such a scene as a backdrop, Rayleigh slid the Empty Sword back into its holster and walked the remaining distance to the castle door's path before knocking three times.GEt the latest novels at novelhall.com

Coincidentally, or not due to the BS that is Force GPS, Rayleigh had caught one of the very few times a year when Mihawk was actually home. The smacking of Rayleigh's sword against the armor of the humandrills was loud enough to catch the number one swordman's attention and most of the fight had been witnessed through the castle's window.

A few moments later, the world's number one swordsman, opened the door wearing a somewhat frilly nobleman's shirt while holding a glass of wine.

The first thing that anyone would notice upon meeting the man was his piercing yellow eyes. His eyebrows and mustache were almost swords unto themselves and even without a sword in hand, Rayleigh could feel the pressure of the man's strength just from meeting his gaze.

Rayleigh politely spoke up, "Eleven years ago I asked if you would teach me the sword. You refused, saying you would not teach a no name who knows nothing of the sword and to find you again when that had changed. Since then, I have learned everything I can about the sword and I am no longer a no name."

Rayleigh then presented Mihawk with the wine bottle and the newspaper it was wrapped in. It was only for an instant, but Rayleigh recognized the extremely slight dilating of Mihawk's pupils when he saw the bottle's top. The cork of the bottle was sealed using a very unusual wax that would not melt again after solidifying. It was also a unique color that could not be imitated. This acted as a security seal to ensure that others could not use the empty bottle to fake this product, and any wine expert would recognize this wine from the color of the wax on the bottle alone.

Mihawk looked at Rayleigh, then at the bottle, then at Rayleigh, then at the bottle again. Mihawk then took a step outside and looked over the groaning humandrills once more. While outside, he tossed the wine glass away and swiftly grabbed the bottle and newspaper from Rayleigh while re-entering his castle, leaving the door open for Rayleigh to follow.

Without saying a word, Mihawk pointed toward a waiting area for Rayleigh to sit while he went to his kitchen to get a fresh glass.

Mihawk returned a few moments later and set the paper on the waiting area's table before he set the wine bottle and a single glass down and reached into his shirt, pulling out a cross. He pulled out the long end of the cross which turned out to be the sheathe of a small dagger. He used it as a wine opener to pop the bottle's cork. Doing so caused all the wax around the cork to shatter like shards of crystal. Mihawk then poured himself a glass and picked up the paper to silently read.

Rayleigh was tentatively positive so far. Mihawk had not said anything yet, but he hadn't refused either. Rayleigh figured Mihawk was deciding if he was going to kill him or not, but the wine wasn't a fake and the story was of him using a sword on the Grand Line Newspaper's first page.

After taking a moment to let the wine breathe, he took a drink and let out a content sigh. He then took his time reading the paper before setting it down and stated, "I remember you now. You have grown much, but your eyes are the same. Tell me, why is it that you wish to learn from me?"

Rayleigh answered honestly, "Because I wish to become stronger than you."

Mihawk asked with feigned amusement, "Oh? You desire my title for yourself?"

Rayleigh shook his head. "That is not my goal. Even if, one day I surpass you, I will not stop training. I'm not simply looking for the title of the world's number one swordsman. My goal is to become the strongest, using the sword."

A pressure emerged from Mihawk that quickly got stronger, stronger, and stronger still. Rayleigh had essentially insulted him. Rayleigh implied that even if Mihawk was the strongest swordsman, Mihawk was not the strongest. He implied that the titles of the Strongest and the Strongest Swordsman were different, and Mihawk only possessed the latter while Rayleigh aimed for the former.

With a towering amount of pressure that dwarfed what Wild King had tried on him, Rayleigh felt as if a Godzilla-sized titan with burning eyes had all its attention on him, demanding that he submit or be crushed with a force that he could not possibly think to win against.

Mihawk spoke again, every word sending another wave of pressure, "Do you think yourself worthy of such a goal?" Mihawk had never stopped training either. He was always looking for opponents, but had been stymied by a lack of supply within his reach.

Rayleigh's eighteen Wills stood completely firm. He met the number one swordsman's gaze and firmly stated, "I know I am."

The pressure lessened and vanished. Mihawk took another sip of wine and asked, "Why have you not learned Haki?" For a man of such willpower, it should not have been difficult for someone like this to use Haki. He had seen many of Rayleigh's generation use Haki and figured that Rayleigh was another one of those geniuses.

"Because I wanted to learn it from you. Although I learned the theory, I have not practiced it because what I learned was not from you."

Mihawk smirked for a moment before stating, "Interesting. What have you heard about Haki?"

Reciting what he heard from Dragon Chef, Rayleigh repeated, "Mind over Matter taken to the extreme. There are three kinds of Haki. Observation Haki comes from understanding death and enhances your perception. Armament Haki comes from understanding life and enhances your body by overlapping your sense of self with your body to grant your body greater defense or offense. And Conqueror's Haki comes from understanding loss and allows you to infuse your desire to win into your battle."

Mihawk twirled the wine in his glass for a moment before setting it down and stating. "Very well. Your attainment in the sword is adequate, so I will give you a few lessons when I have the time. Whoever told you about Haki did not deceive you, but they only possess a very shallow insight into its depths, so this will be your first lesson. Haki does not have three types. All Haki is the same Haki, but few use it fully. Haki is the power of the world and all that it contains."

Mihawk pondered over his next words before continuing, "What most people call Observation Haki is simply a mind that has opened itself up to the senses of the world and can interpret those senses in some small way to grant insight beyond the physical senses. What most people call Armament Haki is simply a body that has opened itself up to the flow of the world and can channel that flow through their body in some small way to grant greater physical capabilities. Conqueror's Haki is a combination of the two and allows its users to sense, control, and command the world around them, but doing so requires bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders, something that only a King can do. That is why it is referred to as Conqueror's Haki. Haki has three levels. Awareness, Low Level, and High Level. Some say there is a Master stage above that, but I believe anyone who thinks that they have mastered the world is a fool."

Rayleigh used this image to dive into the Ten of Point state from Nen of Flame, allowing him to focus his entire being into this image, this concept.

Rayleigh's stomach interrupted him from his zenned-out state, but he didn't know how much time had passed. What he did notice though, was his expanded senses.

The first word that came to mind was synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition where one sense is affected by another, like seeing certain colors in the air when hearing certain sounds or tasting something specific when seeing a certain color. Except, instead of one sense affecting another, it was like all the senses were being affected by a previously unknown sixth sense.

It was possible to ignore it. It didn't reduce the quality of his existing senses, but seemed to allow them to give him more information than he had previously obtained using them.

In this new state of awareness, Yoru seemed to be burning. Just being near it made him feel like he was being burnt, but not actually hot. Looking at it made him feel like it was covered in raging flames, but it did not glow. Well, he could just as accurately say that it felt like he was freezing and it looked really cold. He didn't have an adjective in mind to use to describe what it felt like. It was simply, more. Compared to everything else, it just seemed like it was more. Everything else looked plain, boring, practically in black and white compared to Yoru.

Was this what a saturation of the power of the world looked like? No wonder everything got out of its way. Rather than a scary-looking weapon-covered soldier, it was more like a movie star that people recognized and moved out of the way of due to a feeling of inferiority.

Rayleigh felt/heard/saw something that made him turn to the door a moment before it opened. Mihawk was staring at him, his piercing gaze giving another measurement of him. Over his white shirt, Mihawk now wore a long black coat and hat with a hawk's feather. He walked past Rayleigh and picked up his sword before stating, "Your next lesson awaits."

Predictably, Mihawk escorted him outside and said, "The Humandrills will make fine opponents for you to practice understanding your new senses." He passed over a long strip of black cloth and from what Rayleigh heard the Players explain, he knew that his next training session would be done blind folded, using only his newly acquired synesthesia to avoid the attacks of those giant weapon wielding monkeys.

Mihawk continued, "If you cannot avoid all of their attacks, then you may run. Find your own food in the forest. I do not cook for others. Once you can predict their attacks without looking at them, you can return for the next lesson."

"Can I ask what those humandrill things are?"

"Hmm. Humandrills are the species that imitate humans most easily. If they live in an area filled with peaceful humans, they themselves become peaceful. This island was once home to a nation that tore itself apart in a series of pointless wars. The humandrills of this island have observed the battles of these wars and learned how to use weapons and wage war themselves. Using the skill of a human and the strength of a beast, they are competent sparring partners that become more skilled as they witness stronger fights."

Rayleigh nodded before heading off. He wasn't looking for the humandrills, but for food. He'd likely find the former while looking for the latter anyways.

Instead of putting on a blindfold, Rayleigh took off his shoes, socks, and shirt before closing his eyes. Memories of Typhon came flooding back. Rayleigh had learned the secrets of the Force from the Temples of Tython, but he had trained those secrets using the wilds of Typhon. He felt like he was returning to his roots.

Eyes closed, Rayleigh stepped forward, one step at a time into the forest. He never used shoes on Typhon, only using the Force Skill: Temperature Control to avoid burns or frostbite. The climate here was muggy and damp, but neither cold nor hot, so he wouldn't need the same precautions here. He just had to keep his feet dry when he was resting and the rest would take care of itself.

Although Rayleigh wasn't an Earthbender like Toph, the synesthesia of the ground on his feet and the wind against his torso added all kinds of effects to his senses that he tried to organize and label.

His skin felt something that sounded like the thrumming of a drum on his chest that got louder and louder. Rayleigh jumped to the side as a heavy thump was both heard and felt from whatever had just tried to jump him. The humandrill noticed Rayleigh's eyes were closed and roared madly. An inaudible sound like nails on a chalkboard was accompanied by a whip-like sensation across Rayleigh's chest causing him to sidestep the swing of the humandrill's axe. Since Rayleigh was no longer without a free hand, he stepped forward with a heavy stomp and thrust a palm at the giant monkey's armored torso. Even if it weighed ten times what Rayleigh did, the strike was enough to eject the sword-wielding ape to a nearby tree where it crashed partially through, causing the tree to fall on top of it.

Rayleigh nodded with satisfaction. This was like a new language. As someone who trained for years in communicating with the Force, learning new languages, especially ones like this, was already hard-wired into his brain. He just needed to figure out what each new sense implied, and then further break it down into more information. This was pure computation and since he had been severed from his constant connection to the Force, his brain was practically starving for input and his Wills jumped at the chance to meticulously analyze every sensation, every feeling, and every subtle instinct.

With his experience using the Force as a basis, his instinct on the general meaning of each new sense was fairly on point. Another learning this language would have little choice but to rely on trial and error, figuring out what each new sense meant and then remembering it for the next time it was felt.

His body heard warnings, his ears felt danger, his balance tasted the surroundings, and his nose saw the world in colors he could not hope to describe. It was very psychedelic.

Some of his wills pitied the Jedi Players who wanted to learn Haki. Rayleigh's ability to cut himself off completely from the Force may not have been unique, but it was not a skill any Sith or Jedi would ever teach or learn. With the constant background noise of the Force deafening the senses, gaining the awareness of a new sense would be far more difficult. It would be like having a dozen stereos on blast and then a single stereo at the minimum volume and then ask someone to write down the lyrics of the song from that nearly silent one.

Pirate Players may encounter the same issue learning the Force if they do not form a Master Apprentice Bond with someone in the Jedi Galaxy or with another Player.

After a few dozen more humandrills were left groaning in his wake, Rayleigh found a stream and stepped inside to get a feel of the water on his feet and determine how to use this new sense to fish for dinner.

It was not to be though as a humandrill ten times larger than the previous ones standing four stories in height even when slouched over walked out of the forest. Had Rayleigh's eyes been open, he would have seen that this king of beasts carried an imitation of Mihawk's Yoru, though it was somehow twenty meters in length and thankfully not dyed black.

Without opening his eyes, Rayleigh lifted his head up to face the monkey king's direction. He couldn't help but smile.

*Author's Note*

A lot of people didn't like the Haki explanation I gave in chapter 46. That was fine. I never intended to use that for Haki. That was just a kid's heavily summarized explanation of Haki, what he felt and was taught. But this here is the real deal. Of course, this is still a general summary. Rayleigh will give more details as he trains it further.

The reason I say that Haki is Weaker than the Force is that the Force has been seen capable of controlling a Galaxy while Haki has only been seen controlling a single world.

Again, for those who don't remember, I like to fully write out the details of power systems to make it easier for authors to write fanfictions in those worlds in the future using this as a base.

Many gave ideas for a Ninja Prophet. Summarizing it, we ended up with an Uchiha born with the priestesses' demon blood with a Mangekyo that can send memories of the present into the past as a Genjutsu. Basically the Left Eye would enable the Mangekyo and then some time later, send all the sights and memories witnessed by the left eye to the right eye, but the right eye would receive it at the moment in the past where the left eye started using the Mangekyo. Essentially, a Save and Load function.

My only problem with this is that if you devote so much effort into seeing the future, you will be weaker than those who devote the same amount of effort into just getting stronger. The worst case scenario is that they will see their own death and be locked into an infinite loop of being unable to save themselves. THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH PROPHETS. They are Screwed if they see their own deaths.

The prophet Players will devote themselves to support. This is almost impossible to do in the Ninja world because it is the most dangerous world of them all. If you support someone against an enemy without the strength to protect yourself, you're gonna get assassinated. The only future you will see is your own death.

My main issue with this build is that I'm not having the Sharingans mature to Mangekyo until they are like 20~21. So a Prophet who relies on this would be useless until then.

There's another problem with it. When a Player finishes rolling for character creation, they meet one of the Tavern Staff to discuss their build. This is like a Player discussing their character with the Dungeon Master before the first session so that the DM can include a path to ensure what the Player wants to do is possible. Every Mangekyo ability would have been discussed during this time, during Character Creation, to ensure that each Player got whatever would help them the most. The problem? The entire conversation with the Tavern staff is Metaknowledge so the Player would not know of it during gameplay. Hell, there is no way for most Uchihas to even know that the Mangekyo is a thing. Top Secret Knowledge is not shared in a Ninja village. They won't grow up expecting to awaken the power they chose. So, why would a Ninja Prophet who created their character to specialize in seeing the future wait until they are twenty without changing to a different specialty? At best they would see their own deaths over and over and be forced to run away to a different world.

Plus, the worst problem is that compared to the other Prophets, this prophet would be completely and totally whooped. Again, they would be stuck in a loop of seeing their own death over and over. They couldn't even use their ability for support since they have to see the scene to send it back in time and if they die before that, they can't reload from the saved state.

Most of the benefits of being a Prophet in the Ninja World will be gained by the Wizard Prophet. Using Divination, Ninja Seals, Sage Chakra, and the SIGHT, she will weaponize prophecies into Genjutsus that become self-fulfilling once the target hears them. The other prophets will also be quite impressive.

Compared to that, the Ninja Prophet is just a headless chicken, running around until it figures out it's already dead. I don't want to do that to anyone, so no ninja prophet. If someone likes this Save and Load Uchiha, feel free to write a fanfic for him/her where he/she doesn't have so much competition.

Thanks for all the support, I'll try to have the next chapter out sometime Friday.