Mishap!

Early in the morning, on the beach.

I stood with my feet deep on the water and with my eyes closed, bare-chested, legs separated and arms raised at my front. I took a deep breath and activated my Haki.

Moving gently my arms back, I stay for a second and pushed slowly. I kept repeating the motion of push and pull. With the use of Haki, I could sense the waves in a five meters radius imitating my movement.

Finishing after an unknown number of times, I spread my arms to the side. Closing my fists really slowly, water started flowing upwards on my body towards my fists. As I fully closed them, I opened my eyes to see my fists enclosed in perfect spheres of water.

'Haki is such a wonderful technique, and yet these fouls on this planet can only think about how to increase attack power with it. Wastes.'

It's been one month since I started this training. In the first week, I finally got to infuse my Haki on the water, but to control it was proven to be too difficult with Busoshoku Haki, almost close to impossible. So I had the idea to incorporate Haoshoku Haki in the mix, and it worked wonderfully.

I have a feeling that I got a glimpse of even more advanced use of Haki, by combining the two types. And what would happen if we combine the three types? I can't stop thinking about it.

What if the three Haki types were always meant to be used together, but it's the people that didn't realize it. Or they did, but it all went into obscurity after the Void Century. Too many questions and few answers. I shall think about it another day.

As it stood, I can only control the water if I am in direct touch with it. My current range is about five meters radius around me, but I can increase that by focusing in a single direction. Besides, as my proficiency increases, so is the range.

Getting out of the water, I walked towards a big rock where I set my things. I noticed that I received a fax message through my Den Den Mushi. It's about a pirate crew that was sighted, but it was too far from me so I ignored it. During this whole month, I didn't receive a single report of pirates near me.

"Time to beat down those damned birds."

Taking the Den Den Mushi with me, I started walking towards the huge tree in the middle of the island. Passing through a tree, I caught a branch and snap it. I was using hardened branches as swords ever since my sword broke, It wasn't optimal but I was already used to fight using swords and I couldn't go back now.

Halfway through, a native comes up to me and took the Den Den Mushi to a safe place to get fed. He was fat, and short and was wearing tribal clothing. But despite their appearance, their medical knowledge is so advanced that it surprised me. I almost wanted to kidnap one and keep it for myself in case I needed it but I suppressed this urge.

The natives were really receptive to me after seeing me fight those birds every day for the past month. So we had an agreement, they took care of my Den Den Mushi and treated my injuries, and I would make sure the birds stayed at their places. I was already going to do that anyway, so it was a win-win situation for everyone.

Using geppo, I jumped all the way to a nest in the middle of the giant tree. I need to avoid the lower nests, as it is where the little chicks are kept. And one thing I came to learn is to never mess with one of the little chicks.

If they catch you stealing a treasure, they might call their siblings and you will be chased by three of four of them. But mess with one of the little ones, and _all_ will be coming after you.

Back then, I had to run hundreds of kilometers to the nearest island and further to escape their fury. I then came back the other day. I ran so fast while avoiding their attacks that I broke through my previous limit, and I can now use soru with geppo quite proficiently.

I did get some scars, though. Like one from my shoulders all the way to my backbone, where I got hit in the back by their leader. I wasn't fast enough to use Haki, so I got a scar.

That was one of the problems that I wanted to address in this training, I might be able to steamroll weaker enemies, but in high-level fights, where the speed goes at ridiculous heights, my reaction is still lackluster. I improved a lot over the past month, but I'm still not satisfied.

Landing in the nest, I spotted a bird admiring some of its collection of shiny things. Smiling, I walked up to it and took a gold necklace from the pile. The bird, stunned, saw me waving and taking off with geppo.

"You know the drill. Come and get it." With that, I put on the necklace.

Enraged, the bird issued a cry and flew straight at me at astonishing speed. Just as it came off from the nest, I swung my Haki-hardened branch vertically, and a big blade of pressurized air flew towards the bird. Not being made by a proper sword, it was quite weak, but it has enough power to inflict pain on the bird.

As the bird avoided the blade, I used soru to quickly appear beside its head, and with a powerful kick, I send it spiraling in the air. Just before it was able to regain its balance, I appeared above it and punched it, sending it crashing in the ground below, destroying a few trees. Due to our activity in the past month, the trees surrounding the giant tree were all damaged already.

Before it could stand up, I send a few slashes of my branch towards it. The bird cried in pain. As a response, a few more cries issued from atop the nests, and three more birds flew down towards me.

'That's what I was waiting for.'

Stepping at the crown of a tree, I look up at the approaching birds and grinned.

"Come on!" I jumped and flew like a bullet to meet them in mid-air.

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Four hours later.

I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being skewered by a talon of a giant bird. Just as it passed by me, I run in the air towards it and was about swung my branch down its body when I sensed an attack at my back. Kicking it instead, it propelled me backward, avoiding a bird lunging at the position I was in.

By this time, the previous group of birds was tired and they switched with other birds. There are five of them now against me, which is proven to be bothersome, but not impossible.

Also, during our fight, we ended up going further and further away from the giant tree, and by this point, we're fighting above the ocean. I'm just starting to get tired, although I can keep going for a few more hours if needed.

I swung my branch down, sending a wave of pressurized air towards the bird that just attacked me, it hit its left wing. It cried in pain and lowered its altitude after being covered by another bird.

Not wanting to let my prey escape, I lunged down towards them. The three other birds attacked me left and right, while the last one circled me to get at my back.

Avoiding both of them, I was about to hit the one defending the injured when the one at my back attacked. Seeing no other way, I avoided it by dropping down and standing atop the ocean. The bird passing through the location I was just in.

Gripping tightly at my branch, I was about to jump back up again when I sensed something coming from below. It was approaching fast, really fast. I used my Haki to get a sense of its strength.

'What in-'

Name: N/A

Age: 219

Titles: Sea King

STR: 3498

DEX: 2975

VIT: 5062

INT: 96

WIS: 37

I didn't even bother to read the screen. My Haki was enough to gauge its strength. So I jumped. Using soru and geppo at max, I jumped as high and as far as I can while ignoring the birds.

As I just passed the second bird, I heard it getting out of the water. Looking back slightly, I witness an enormous head of a snake that dwarfed the birds like an adult dwarf a child. And it was just the head.

With a single bite, it swallowed the injured bird whole. The other birds flew away in panic, and I followed. Suddenly, tentacles came out of the water towards us.

'Dammit. Why does it have tentacles? It is a fucking snake!'

Then I witness a tentacle hit a bird at a speed multiple times that of my own giving my best. The bird _disappeared_ from its position. I just heard a plop of something hitting the water.

'Fast! Too fast! I can barely follow it through my Haki, but my body is nowhere as fast to be able to dodge that. I will use Haoshoku and drive it away.'

Deciding to use Haki to drive it away, I turned around only to see a wall coming right at me, only to realize that it was a tentacle.

Having no time to dodge, I hardened my entire body, turning it black with green flame-like patterns. And it hit me.

You should know, despite Busoshoku Haki being used as some type of absolute defense, it was still dependent on how strong is your body. If you have a weak body, it will still provide a level of defense, but nowhere near close as to what stronger people are capable of.

That means that it still has a limit to how much it increases your defense. And if the attack you receive is higher than that limit, then you will still receive reduced damage. And that was what happened.

Even with a hardened body, it felt as if I was hit by a train.

"Uuugh... Aaaaaarrhghh..."

The world went spinning. I was launched towards the island at great speed. Then I hit a tree. And another. I went crashing all the way until I stopped in the middle of the island.

Embedded in the debris, I could barely see the destruction path where I came from, and then I passed out.

-----------------------------------------------------

I woke up abruptly. Lifting my body, I was hit with pain due to my movements. Ignoring the pain, I noticed I was lying in a rock bed in the middle of a cave. My body was bandaged all over with leaves, and so is the left side of my face.

Looking around, I noticed a native of Treasure Isle looking scared at me. He was probably frightened by me when I suddenly woke up.

"How much time?"

Understanding what I asked, he pointed towards the wall. Inscribed there, is eight lines in parallel.

"Eight days, huh. That thing... It was so strong it was surreal. What is it doing at the South Blue, instead of the Calm Belt?"

Standing up from the table, I started feeling my body. After eight days, along with the native's treatment, it was mostly healed. I was really amused by the physique of people in this world.

The native went out, probably to announce that I woke up. I decide to take off these bandages. Taking off the one on my chest, I noticed a scar coming from the left side of my neck towards my chest. Even with Haki I was still so damaged, It seems I still have a lot to improve in terms of my physique.

Then, after removing the ones covering the rest of my body, I removed the one on the left side of my head. I passed my hand in my face and felt a scar coming from the top side of my left brown, passing through the eye, and stopping at the upper lip.

I opened my left eye only to be stunned. I couldn't see. I had both my eyes open, but only the right one was able to see the wall in front of me.

Raising my hand, I closed my right eye and tried to see with the left one. Nothing. No light was being reflected on my eye. I was blind. I stood silent for a few seconds, before chuckling slightly, then turning it into a full laugh.

"Hahahaha. It's only an eye, isn't it? Even if it was both, I still have my Haki. Don't people like Fujitora use Haki to see the world, why can't I do the same? It's just another hurdle I need to cross. Hehe. In my path to the top, what can such insignificant mishap do to my unbreakable will?"