Training & resigning.

"What the hell are you saying, Koby?!" His face was seriously hilarious, yet it also held a hint of seriousness.

"I'm going to quit the Navy and join the SWORD," I said. "I couldn't save anyone in Marineford because I had to follow orders, but if I become a SWORD member, I can do whatever I want."

"Phew. You should've said that from the beginning," he muttered to himself as he stood up. "Koby, if that's the case, I'm going to increase the training difficulty."

Gulp. I couldn't help but swallow hard. He was going to up the training difficulty? What more could he possibly add? I remembered dragging a heavy boulder with chains attached to my legs while also carrying a huge rock in my hands.

I shook off my hesitation, seeing his serious expression. He was doing this to protect me, and I knew that. After all, he couldn't protect his grandson.

"Garp-san, I'm ready!"

"Come on then! Come at me with all you've got!" he said, laughing out loud.

I immediately used "Shave" and appeared in front of him, my fist raised back to deliver the "Fist of Love."

Alas, I only hit his afterimage. Instantly on alert, I tried to use Observation Haki to sense him, but my ability to use it was still rudimentary at best. Suddenly, I began to hear whatever the hell people were talking about all the way from the shore of Marineford.

"Argh!" A wave of nausea hit me as I tried to shut off my Observation Haki. Of course, Garp wouldn't let me relax. A punch to my back sent me flying. I tried to stabilize my body but failed, of course.

"Be alert!" I heard his voice as I searched for him everywhere. Only when I sensed a presence behind me did I realize just how much I had messed up.

My face hit the ground after Garp punched me down from the air. My body was shaking; I had no idea how much stronger he was if I couldn't even tag him with my fastest speed.

With a thud, Garp landed next to me. I pushed myself off the ground and pulled my shaking hands to my chest, forming fists.

"Bwahahaha! That's right, Koby! Always be ready!" He laughed, and once again, I was launched from the ground with a punch I hadn't seen coming. I skipped across the ground like a stone skipping over water.

As I came to a stop, my clothes were in tatters, and I lay on the ground looking up at the sky, my hands and feet splayed out.

"You know, Koby, I see myself in you when I was trained by Kong-san, so don't disappoint me!" he said loudly from about ten meters away.

Then something just snapped, something snapped inside of me. I didn't care anymore. I didn't care if I lived; I didn't care about anything! And then… Nothing happened.

"We'll continue this after you've fully recovered. Don't go punching those battleships tonight!" he said loudly, picking me up from the ground and placing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

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*Clang*

*Clang*

*Clang*

*Clang*

Of course, I didn't listen to him at all. It was currently nighttime, and I was here, punching the hell out of this battleship. I'm Koby and I can do whatever the fuck I want.

I wasn't just punching the battleship; I was also using my newfound Observation Haki to sense a ten-meter radius around me, albeit with some difficulty.

I wanted to control it and make this usage of Observation Haki second nature to me by tomorrow morning at the latest.

"This is hard," I muttered as I continued punching the battleship. The pain only served as more incentive to keep going—until I no longer felt pain when I hit the battleship.

If I remember correctly, Haki is the manifestation of a person's will—the stronger the will, the stronger the Haki.

But I had an even more ridiculous theory.

If Haki is just a form of energy, obviously spiritual, and it has three different frequencies that can overlap with one another, that could possibly explain how Shanks can nullify Observation Haki.

Luffy has already shown the ability to infuse Conqueror's Haki into advanced Armament Haki. So what if Shanks can do something similar, but for Observation? By infusing his Observation Haki with Conqueror's Haki, he could potentially nullify other Observation Haki users and of course, use his Wi-Fi Haki as well.

'Can Armament Haki be forcibly awakened?' I stopped punching the battleship and walked toward the boulder where Garp and I had sat that afternoon before sitting down.

I brought my hands up to my knees, palms facing up. Looking at them, I thought I should try to will my Haki over my hands, like a natural armor encasing my body.

I willed it to happen, but, of course, nothing is easy. I felt a small tug at my energy reservoir, which I assumed was my Haki, but it didn't go past that. Just a tug.

"Whatever, I'll ask Garp-san later," I muttered with a sigh. Standing up, I went back to punching the battleship.

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It was morning, and I found myself in Sengoku-san's office. If you don't know who Sengoku is, go watch One Piece, bruh.

"So, you want to resign and join SWORD? You sure about this?" the afro-wearing Fleet Admiral asked with utmost seriousness.

"Yes. I'm sure. I can't follow orders blindly without considering the potential consequences," I replied with equal seriousness.

"Very well then," he said, standing up and stamping a document with his official signature.

"As of this moment, Ensign Koby, you're no longer in the Navy," he said, walking up to me. "You should head to SWORD headquarters and request to join there."

"Yes, sir." I saluted him earnestly. After all, this was my last salute as a Marine—and honestly, it was probably my last salute ever.

"Go now, Garp's little apprentice," he said, waving me away as he returned to his chair behind the desk.

"You know, this is my final act as a Marine," he suddenly added as he sat down. "I'm retiring today."

"And I hope you do better, unlike me," he said, cutting off any response I might have had before shooing me away.

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If you were to suggest a Devil Fruit you think Koby should eat, what would it be? Also, only Paramecia types count.