Haki (2)

Pidgeot traversed the vast sky and landed on a white shore located at the edge of the Goa Kingdom. He checked the Pokemap from time to time and compared the island and the images he saw on the screen. The routes were still recognizable and certain spots were properly marked.

Okami squinted his eyes and looked at the open sea. The weather was calm and sunny, a perfect day for a water adventure. This time, he wanted to try using a water pokemon to go to his destination. Without wasting time, he unsummoned Pidgeot and called Gyarados.

The towering 6.5-meter pokemon looked below and screeched when he recognized Okami. He understood what his master wanted to do and stooped down his head. Okami teleported right at Gyarados' head and instructed his pokemon to start surfing.

True to his nature, Gyarados trod the sea without fearing the possibilities of any sea creatures that might attack him. They passed by many small islands on their way to Liger Island, each having their unique topographies and inhabitants.

After half an hour, they finally arrived at their destination. True enough, the island was easily located because of the giant obelisk right at the center of the island. He jumped down and unsummoned Gyarados. This time, he absorbed his defense combo pokemon and scanned the surroundings.

Okami wanted to have an aerial view of the island and summoned Pidgeot once again. After his inspection, he found out that it was a medium-sized island whose area was comparable to the Foosha village. The most interesting location that caught his eyes was the cavern right at the base of the obelisk, where no trees were growing. The contrast between these areas made him all the more curious. When he was done with his investigation, he unsummoned Pidgeot and headed to the forest.

Just like the Minkyu forest, this place was eerily silent. Even then, he could not help but be in awe when he saw the beauty of the clean rivers and tall plants as he advanced toward the middle part of the forest. Indeed, this was comparable to the Virgin forests he once watched on Discovery Channel.

He did not bother summoning any pokemon because he wanted to test his ability to detect the presence of creatures.

Only a few minutes had passed when he met the first Liger. True enough, its appearance was similar to how Shanks described it - a combination of a tiger and a lion. Even though it was smaller than the Touger, which he fought at the Minkyu forest, he had an odd feeling that this animal was more ferocious. His suspicion was verified when the animal immediately pounced with its right forelimb striking him with a claw attack.

Okami used 'Harden" on himself and created a barrier ahead of him before leaping backward, not daring to take his eyes away from the liger. When he saw that the barrier was broken like a shattered glass, he immediately followed it up with a set of barriers that were stacked on each other. This time, the liger failed to destroy the barriers and fell on the ground after the collision.

He teleported right above the animal and punched its back, eliciting a scream from the target. Without remorse, he followed it up with Muk's Sludge Bomb, wanting to know if it was resistant to poison. The monster shrieked in pain while being covered with black sludge and scurried away to escape. Of course, Okami did not want to let it succeed and reappeared above once again and executed Butterfree's Gust skill, pushing him against the ground. After stopping its movement, his hands became sharper like a horn and used Beedrill's Poison Jab. His attack penetrated its skin and the blood gushed out.

The fight was still far from over because the liger was still moving fast. Okami hurled a Sludge Bomb once again, hitting the creature with ease. Not contented, he threw several Poison Stings and ended the battle with Butterfree and Kadabra's Psybeam move. At last, the creature stopped squirming.

Okami approached the body and crashed its head to make sure that it was dead. "I wonder if this can be eaten." He traced his fingers on its skin and realized that it was leathery to touch. With no tools to properly cut its meat, he carried the body and brought it back to the seashore. He created a copy of himself and summoned Arcanine to guard the body while he decided to return to Foosha village to get some supplies he needed to survive. After all, he intended to stay on the island until he awakened his Haki.

Once he arrived at the Foosha village, he went inside the bar and looked for Glen.

The man gave him an inquisitive stare as he peeked outside the kitchen. "What?! You want me to live on an island with you for an indefinite amount of time?"

Okami nodded. "I need someone that can cook. Don't worry about the customers. Just tell them that you are on vacation."

Glen sighed. "You're the boss. Just tell me when and I'll pack right away."

"Now. I don't want to waste time."

"Sure." At once, Glen complied with his request and prepared everything they needed for cooking, some supplies, and extra items of clothing.

While the chef was busy with his preparation, Okami instructed Makino and the rest to operate the shop normally, reminding them not to forget their training time. When everything was done, they left Foosha village and headed directly to Liger island.

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After two months...

Okami placed the dead liger on the ground and wiped his sweat off his face. "I'm hungry. Please make a stew out of it. And some barbecue as well."

Glen chuckled and started skinning the meat at once. Even though the body was very tough, he found out the secret on how to cut the meat efficiently. Of course, his increased strength helped him a lot as well. This time, his Gyarados gave him a bonus to his physical attributes.

"You've just eaten a whole liger a while ago and you're hungry right away? That's pretty awesome."

Okami scratched his head and sat on the ground. "I can't help it. Almost all of my attacks needed stamina. I must eat a lot if I want to make the most of my time and continue training."

"Why do you let the ligers hit you like that? If I were you, I would have killed them before they can even touch me."

"As I've said, I've been trying to awaken my Busoshoku Haki," Okami explained while he watched Glen tearing the body apart with his trusted knife. "Good news. I just succeeded."

Glen paused a bit and gave him a vibrant smile. "Congratulations, Birdie Boy. Can you show it to me?"

Okami raised his left hand and covered it with Haki. His hand darkened and became more lustrous. "I can only use a small part of my Haki. I still need to experiment with it and train as well."

"Well, it looks formidable. How I wish I can do that but my body can't afford training like that."

Okami chuckled and released his Haki. "How about your development with your Zoan form? Making any success?"

Glen prepared the firewood and lit it up. "I'm still not that good but I'm there. As for awakening, it's damn too hard. I think I'm doing it wrong."

"Just continue to explore what you can do while in the Zoan animal form. Remember, you still have to achieve the 'human' form before you can proceed with the 'awakened' form. No need to hurry."

"At least I can travel the sea safely. I thought I'm gonna go bonkers when I heard the possibility of me being weak to the sea. Gladly, it's not true."

Okami grinned. "I was genuinely surprised that you can swim in the sea despite being a Zoan. At least we can ride atop your head if we get stranded on an island."

"Hah! Over my dead body." Glen stood up and entered the small hut made of palm leaves and branches. After a few minutes, he returned to the campfire and set the pot. "Now that you've awakened Armament Haki, will we be returning home?"

"Nope. I still have to try awakening Observation Haki."

Glen groaned as he placed the meat inside the pot and started cooking. "Well, I just have to train alongside you to make use most of my time."

"That's good." Okami left the area and trained his newfound Armament Haki as he waited for his meal.

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He went on with his training and continued killing the ligers that roamed within the forest, adding Armament Haki on his punches. Just like what he did with chakra back in the world of Naruto, he tried fusing the Armament Haki with Pokemon moves and succeeded. They became stronger and more lethal when used against the liger.

Four months passed by and he became more proficient in using Armament Haki on his body. His greatest accomplishment was the fused Haki with the 'Harden' move, which made his whole body looked like obsidian. Even though it required both stamina and spiritual power to maintain the move, he could replenish it immediately due to his massive stamina regeneration. He suspected that it was due to Arceus' blessing, which helped him learned Haki a lot faster than usual.

This time, he finally reached the center of the island after killing the last liger that was blocking his way. He headed to the obelisk structure and moved before the cavern.

He carefully stepped along the rocky ground and made his way inside. The stalactites and stalagmites adorned the ceilings and cave floors. Some strange plants were living on the cave walls. As he went deeper into the cavern, the area was getting darker and the pathway became narrower and more complex. At once, he summoned Crobat and instructed him to map the cave using his Sonar abilities.

Crobat agreed and emitted sonar waves as he hovered in the air. After several minutes, he informed Okami about his findings.

Okami created a copy of himself and instructed him to go back to the shore and inform Glen that he was going to practice inside the cavern. He let him absorb Kadabra so they could teleport back to the shore after guiding him to the cavern. He further reminded that he should kill himself after doing his job because he wanted his stamina to be intact. The clone understood and disappeared in a flash.

This time, Okami absorbed Fearow and Pidgeot, replacing Kadabra and Mr. Mime. He went deeper into the cavern until he found a location which he deemed suitable enough to awaken his Observation Haki. He was informed by Crobat that this was the ligers' breeding place.

Okami took off his flimsy shirt and used it to blindfold himself. He used Harden and instructed the bat pokemon to attract the liger one at a time while Mr. Mime would serve as the gatekeeper, blocking the only entrance and exit with his stacked barriers.

He did not even have to wait when he heard the roaring sounds of the ligers. One of the benefits he got from Altered Vulpix was his heightened senses and he was able to detect a lot even though he could not see.

At once, his quest to awaken his Observation Haki started.

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The Partys Bar was still filled with customers even though it stopped serving food because of the chef's absence. For better efficiency, Makino followed Okami's advice and employed the queueing system, wherein they provided number cards to the customers. They did not have to line up anymore and the dining area was converted into the lounge area, where they could relax as they wait for their turn in availing the Healing services, Pokemart, and the PC system.

From the time Okami hired Cola as Makino's assistant, the work at the Healing Machine became less stressful. Makino had ample time to relax and train as well.

Makino went outside the bar to take some fresh air and sighed. "It's been a year. When will they come back?" She sauntered on her way to the town square and saw that the battle arena was still filled with pokemon battles. She was about to visit Wood Slap when she noticed several people walking towards her direction. As she scanned the crowd, she recognized one of them because of his towering height and imposing figure. "Vice Admiral Garp? What is he doing here?"