[U.T] Ch 20: Haki Cheat Acquired!

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"Gomu Gomu no—!"

"Chop-Chop—!"

On the battlefield between Luffy and Buggy, one was a rubber man, the other could split his body apart—arms, legs, hands, feet, and even his head were flying all over the place.

Watching his first-ever clash between Devil Fruit users live, Luen was pretty hyped.

Thanks to Luen's Conqueror's Haki clearing the field earlier, the only one from Buggy's crew still standing was Buggy himself. Even Cabaji, Buggy's right-hand man, had passed out cold from the Haki shockwave.

Things were pretty peaceful on Luen's side. Any random knives or flying Buggy body parts that came their way were easily smacked aside by Zoro with his sword sheath.

"Man, what a chaotic fight," Zoro commented, his eye twitching at the absurd sight. As someone who'd just recently set sail, he'd never seen anything this ridiculous.

No wonder Devil Fruits were so legendary—this was straight-up cartoon physics.

"My swordsmanship's practically useless against a Devil Fruit ability like this..."

Zoro sliced a flying Buggy limb in two, only for it to zip right back to the battlefield. His expression darkened.

This was the first time he'd ever faced an enemy where sword strikes didn't do squat.

"Without Haki, the only way to deal with Devil Fruit users is to figure out their weaknesses."

Seeing Zoro's frustration, Luen decided it was time to broaden his horizons a bit.

"Haki? You mean that power you used to knock everyone out?" Zoro asked, eyes narrowing.

"That's Conqueror's Haki. Only one in a million people are born with that kingly potential. What I'm talking about is Armament Haki."

"With Armament Haki, even normal attacks can hurt Devil Fruit users." Luen explained with a faint smile.

"One in a million kingly potential, huh... And there's actually a type of Haki that can hit Devil Fruit users?"

Zoro muttered, now understanding why Luen's presence felt so overwhelming.

"So how do you obtain this Haki power?" Zoro asked, clearly eager.

"Conqueror's Haki can't be trained—you're either born with that kingly quality or you're not."

"But as for Armament Haki? Conquer the Grand Line. Fight powerful enemies. Expand your willpower and strength, Zoro."

"Like I told you before, the East Blue is way too small for your ambitions."

Luen patted him on the shoulder.

Armament Haki wasn't something you could learn casually. It required a powerful spirit and a strong body.

Without some kind of cheat ability like Buggy's "Born for the Sea (Super-Gold)" trait, you'd have to temper yourself through countless battles in the Grand Line to accumulate the willpower to awaken Haki.

That's why in the Four Seas and even the first half of the Grand Line, Haki users were rare. But in the New World? Haki masters were everywhere.

The early seas simply didn't offer enough pressure or strong enough foes to force out Haki potential.

"The Grand Line, huh? Heh, I'm looking forward to it. I'm definitely glad I joined you, Luen."

Zoro grinned like a beast hungry for battle. The sea was vast, and Luen clearly knew stuff Zoro had never even heard of.

He couldn't wait to see what adventures awaited.

Meanwhile, after duking it out for a while, Buggy started ranting about his past with Shanks.

When Luffy learned that Buggy only ate the Chop-Chop Fruit because of Shanks, and that Shanks had also saved him from drowning afterwards...

"So Shanks actually saved you, huh," Luffy said with dawning realization.

"That's NOT the damn point!!" Buggy roared with comically sharp teeth.

"All of this is that bastard's fault! He ruined ten years of my life plans!"

"Since I can't handle the sea, I decided to plunder all the treasure on land using my Chop-Chop powers!"

Buggy's grin turned vicious. "Anyone who dares touch my treasure..."

Buggy split his body apart, soaring into the air.

"No matter who they are, I won't let them get away!"

He roared and bypassed Luffy, charging straight toward a fleeing figure in the distance.

"Put down my treasure, right now!"

Buggy, holding a knife, charged straight at Nami.

"Crap! I've been spotted!"

Nami, who had just finished looting Buggy's treasure stash, panicked.

"Hm?"

Luffy turned and looked at Buggy's lower half, still on the ground.

---

Whoosh!

Luen suddenly stood up.

This was exactly the chance he'd been waiting for.

"You think you can escape from me, Nami? Watch me slice you up in style!"

Buggy, now right in front of Nami, grinned cruelly.

The next second—

BAM!

"!!!"

Buggy's expression twisted horribly.

Crack!

Luffy had kicked Buggy's lower half square in the crotch. A faint cracking sound followed.

Any man could feel the pain just by imagining the hit. 

THUD!

Buggy's upper body, suspended in the air, crashed straight to the ground.

"M-my jewels...!"

Buggy's face contorted in pure agony. 

And then—

"HRAAH!"

BAM!

Luen unleashed his full beast-like strength, kicking the exact same spot even harder.

CRAAACK!!

The sound of shattering was unmistakable.

"!!!"

Buggy's eyes rolled back as he completely lost consciousness from the compounded pain.

Poor Buggy, he would never forget this day and might wear underwear made of metal from now on.

[Target unconscious. Trait plundering available.]

[Plunderable traits: Cannonball Mastery (Blue), Chop-Chop Fruit (Deep Purple), Born for the Sea (Super-Gold) [Scrapped].]

A screen appeared before Luen.

Unawakened Conqueror's Haki didn't count as a power trait yet—it was just untapped potential. Traits like that could only be plundered once, and the same applied to loading them.

As for Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit? Luen wasn't interested.

First, it wasn't a particularly valuable Devil Fruit to him.

Second, if he stole it, Buggy would lose the curse of the sea and no longer be hated by the ocean—turning Buggy into a wild card in the future.

And Luen? He preferred to control every variable in his plans. 

Giving up a mid-tier Devil Fruit to eliminate a potential "X-factor" like Buggy was a trade Luen was more than happy to make.

As for the idea of stealing the fruit and then killing Buggy afterward? …Well, before the fight even started, Buggy had already followed pirate world tradition and loudly declared all his connections to the world.

Connections like Shanks. And Rayleigh.

Both of them were people Luen had big plans for in the future.

Compared to the value of having ties to Shanks and Rayleigh… the Chop-Chop Fruit just wasn't worth squat.

Luen's goal had always been clear from the very beginning.

"Plunder."

Luen growled that single word in his mind.

And in the next instant — only visible to Luen himself — a faint golden light shot out from Buggy's body, flying straight into Luen's chest.

Then, in the blink of an eye, that dull golden glow exploded into dazzling brilliance.

[Plunder: Born for the Sea (Super-Gold) — Success.]

The Haki Cheat—Acquired.

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