You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395
As long as I reach 200 dollars on my Patreon, I will post 10 extra bonus chapters per month in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 300 dollars then I will post 15 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 400 dollars then I will post 20 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. So come and support me.
Actually, there wasn’t much of a battle…
The headless black armor, though it sensed Hancock’s kick in time, couldn’t dodge and was still struck by the Haki flowing around her foot.
With a bang, the armor disintegrated and scattered all over the ground.
Robin’s clone said, “You’ve passed the first level.”
Hancock withdrew her foot and pouted, “That’s it? That was way too weak.”
“And what’s the deal with this? So there was no one inside?” She watched as the scattered armor pieces slowly turned back into a white fluid and sank into the floor, disappearing. Puzzled, she asked, “It was just armor, so how did it move? What’s the point of using something like this? I demand you answer me.”
Despite Hancock’s stern tone, Robin wasn’t offended. During her time on the run, she’d heard much worse.
Besides, Hancock’s voice was pleasant— even though her tone was unfriendly, it wasn’t grating… Wait, was she falling for Hancock’s charm again?
Robin felt uneasy. A hand rested on her shoulder, snapping her attention back from her clone. She realized it was Liam’s hand on her true body’s shoulder.
After listening to him for a bit, Robin nodded and made her flower-clone on the second floor speak slowly, “I already told you, right? The strength of the Guardians increases with each level… As for the purpose of these battles, you’ll find out naturally once you clear more levels and defeat more Guardians.”
Robin nodded silently.
Of course, that was a lie. ‘B.I.B.’ had simply shaken the walls of the room and added three small characters to the monument.
Salome quickly slithered back to her master’s side.
“…What’s changed?!” Hancock shouted, looking around at the empty room that seemed no different than before.
“So mysterious.” Hancock was not pleased. She waved her hand, and Salome lunged at the silver-haired girl who called herself Jolyne Kujo, but Salome ended up biting air. The girl’s body disintegrated into a flurry of petals that scattered everywhere. Salome hissed in confusion, not understanding what had just happened.
Hancock said irritably, “I’ll just clear all the levels at once, and then read the entire book. Can’t I do that?”
Turning back, she saw that next to the words “Heavenly Bridge” on the monument, a few new characters had appeared: “Second Level.”
“Let’s move on to the next level already!” She urged the empty room loudly and the same Armor appeared again.
Seeing this, Hancock’s face twisted in frustration. She was clearly very displeased.
Hancock was furious. “What’s the deal, it’s the same thing again!”
“Aren’t you going to read that book a bit more?”
“I’ll see if you’ve gotten any stronger!” Hancock, full of annoyance, charged at the brass-colored armor.
A question mark popped up above Hancock’s head. No way, she didn’t feel any movement, but she had really reached the second level.
Liam sat on a higher floor, eyes closed, focusing his spirit and using his rudimentary Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) to sense the little Empress’s attacks.
Once again, a mass of white fluid rose from the floor, forming… another cold, headless armor.
Hancock felt the empty room before her distort slightly, but it quickly stabilized.
“…Are you kidding me?” Hancock said speechlessly, glaring at Salome, who was hissing beside her. “Get back here, whose side are you even on?!”
Robin’s flower-clone and the red-spotted white snake Salome pointed at the monument by the staircase.
Robin’s clone and Salome indicated the headless armor, which now had a layer of brass-like luster over its originally black surface.
She was genuinely curious about what exactly was written in the book Liam had shown Hancock…
From the pile of scattered petals, a voice emerged. Hancock quickly turned her head, watching the petals swirl and reform into the silver-haired girl from before.
Before using a Den Den Mushi to lure Hancock into the City Fortress, Liam had naturally withdrawn his Stand once, successfully acquiring Hancock’s newly initiated Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki).
This confirmed one of Liam’s theories. It wasn’t that he lacked talent for Haki, but rather that his exaggerated Life Return talent had trapped him in deeply ingrained habits, making it hard for him to switch to a different way of thinking— it was like someone who used to nodding for yes and shaking their head for no, suddenly finding themselves in a place where the gestures were reversed.
Fortunately, Liam had an independent Stand that could train for him, focusing purely on Haki instead of Life Return, which allowed him to successfully start using Kenbunshoku Haki.
For Liam, switching to the new system was difficult at first, but once he got the hang of it, things became much easier, and he could now normally use Kenbunshoku Haki.
After all… Haki wasn’t something impossibly hard to learn.
A crucial aspect of Haki is that “everyone has it.” The reason many strong fighters don’t have Haki is likely the same reason Liam had struggled before: by being powerful, sensitive, quick to react, and physically strong can ironically make it hard to break out of those strengths and tap into the mystical power inherent to everyone.
Thus, it’s challenging to awaken Haki without guidance when someone’s natural abilities are “too good.” But if they come into contact with Haki users, gain an understanding of Haki, or use special training methods like Liam’s Stand, the difficulty drastically decreases…
Liam believed this was why, in the “post-time skip” storyline, so many characters suddenly knew Haki and used it proficiently.
In the dark of his meditation, Liam suddenly saw a flicker of light.
A light materialized into a leg— revealing a slender, beautiful calf.
Then came a foot— delicate, like a finely carved piece of jade.
Hancock’s foot, seemingly burning with some fierce energy, swung in a powerful kick.
‘B.I.B.’ sensed the approaching Haki.
Bang!
Hancock’s kick landed on the bronze armor, but it didn’t shatter as she had expected.
“What’s this?” She said, looking surprised.
The bronze armor buzzed under her foot, but it didn’t break apart immediately.
Hancock remarked, “Did it get tougher?”
The bronze armor reached out, trying to grab her leg.
Hancock dodged nimbly, leaping into the air. She unleashed a flurry of kicks, her feet striking the bronze armor repeatedly, until it finally shattered into pieces, which then dissolved into white fluid and vanished into the floor.
Landing barefoot, Hancock scoffed before speaking, “Next!”
She was curious to see just how much stronger this thing could become.
The scene before her blurred; the room seemed both unchanged and different at the same time.
Turning to the monument, Hancock noticed the small characters beside “Heavenly Bridge” had changed to: “Third Level.”
Robin: “…”
Hancock nodded in satisfaction, just as another mass of white fluid rose from the floor and formed another suit of armor.
It still had the bronze luster but appeared even deeper in color.
This time, the armor had a helmet, with faint white light glowing from its eye slots.
Unfazed, Hancock let out a sharp cry and charged forward, her steps echoing with a loud pā
pā pā.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Hancock’s smooth, dark hair and her bare feet struck the bronze armor like iron hammers, producing a thunderous noise with each blow.
“It’s faster!” Hancock thought to herself during the fight. “And… it seems even tougher!”
With a light shout, a layer of black Haki appeared on her jade-like foot. Twisting her waist midair, she ruthlessly stomped on the bronze armor, smashing it to pieces.
The clatter of armor pieces filled the room before they turned back into white fluid and sank to the floor.
Hancock exhaled and muttered, “It’s really getting stronger…”
She raised her voice, “Next one!”
In a flash, the surroundings shifted— or maybe they didn’t… Either way, the small characters beside “Heavenly Bridge” had changed to “Fourth Level.”
This time, the armor formed from the rising white fluid had a silvery sheen.
“Hmph, trying to look fancy, but it still doesn’t look good!” Hancock grumbled, charging forward once more. Her bare feet struck the ground with loud dá dá dá sounds, wrapped in Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), as she launched another flying kick.
Yes, kicking was her preferred way of fighting.
But this time, her kick missed entirely. To Hancock’s surprise, the armor— which was clearly just a suit— bent its body inward in a bizarre manner, dodging her kick at an awkward angle…
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395
Support me on Patreon for extra chapters