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A week flew by in the blink of an eye. Just as Shin had predicted, Nami successfully awakened her Observation Haki within that week. Though she had only just begun to grasp it, her abilities had already seen a significant boost.
"I really am a genius," Nami said, a little smug.
"Oh? Weren't you the one wearing a long face just a few days ago?" Shin teased, noticing her smug expression.
"DON'T YOU START! I'LL BITE YOU!"
Nami's smugness vanished in an instant. She charged at Shin, mouth open, ready to make good on her threat.
Shin simply sidestepped and casually stuck out a foot. Nami, unable to stop her momentum, went tumbling face-first into the sand.
Spitting out a mouthful of sand, she shot Shin a resentful glare, her aura of pure indignation so thick it was almost palpable.
"Don't think that's the end of it. You've only just scratched the surface of Observation Haki. The training continues," Shin said, smoothly changing the subject.
"What? It's still going??" Nami's face went white. She thought she had finally escaped her personal hell, but it seemed she was still trapped.
"Didn't you say it would only take a week?" Nami couldn't help but ask.
"You're right, I did say a week. But that was a week for you to awaken your Observation Haki, not to master it."
"I don't need to master it! This is good enough! I'm perfectly happy with where I am!" Nami pleaded with Shin. There was no way she was going through any more of his hellish training.
"You might be satisfied, but I'm not. I demand perfection. So, we continue." Shin chuckled, having no intention of letting her off the hook so easily.
Now that he was in the zone, how could he let her go? If Nami knew what was going through his head right now, she'd probably try to kill him.
"Besides, we're upping the difficulty. The current level is no longer a threat to you. So, from now on, we'll be using guns."
Shin produced a pistol, and Nami's face went pale.
"You're actually pulling out something that terrifying? Are you really not going to be happy until I'm dead?"
Nami said, her expression completely deadpan.
"Don't be so dramatic. A gun isn't much faster than the stones I was throwing. It's just more intimidating for you."
What Nami didn't know was that the stones Shin threw were far more dangerous than any normal firearm. He had been casually tossing them before. If he had been serious, a single pebble could have hit with the force of a missile.
"Even if you can't dodge, you can use your Armament Haki to block it. You won't be in any real danger."
Shin tried to comfort the terrified Nami. In truth, a regular gun posed little threat to her now.
It was all in her head—a deep-seated fear of firearms.
That was precisely why Shin had brought out the gun. Using it would help Nami overcome her fear. After all, in the world of One Piece, guns were quite common, even if most of them were fairly standard.
However, their power could be enhanced with Armament Haki.
In the hands of some, a gun couldn't even scratch a normal person. In the hands of a powerhouse, it could threaten an Admiral.
It all depended on the user.
Of course, Shin wouldn't be using Armament Haki. A regular pistol would be more than enough to make Nami miserable.
"Get ready. Here I come."
Shin aimed the gun at Nami and gave her a heads-up.
Nami's expression was grave. She didn't move, her Observation Haki focused entirely on Shin.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots rang out, the bullets streaking towards Nami.
As they flew, Nami had already predicted their trajectory. She executed a slick backbend, dodging two bullets, then pushed off the ground with one arm, launching her body into the air to avoid the third.
Shin didn't fire again. He just shook his head at her.
"Nami, remember this for the future: never let yourself hang in the air unless you can find a foothold."
If Shin had continued firing just then, Nami would have been completely defenseless.
"I understand." Nami's ability to learn was impressive. She nodded at Shin.
From then on, Nami's skills improved daily under Shin's training.
Though his methods were extreme, they were undeniably effective, and her progress was rapid.
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A month later, Nami's mastery of Observation Haki had reached an incredibly high level, far surpassing her Armament Haki.
"Alright, that's enough training for now," Shin said to Nami.
Nami had basically graduated. It hadn't been easy, and Shin had seen her effort.
"It's finally over... but a little part of me will actually miss this."
Hearing that the training was on hold, Nami suddenly felt a strange emptiness and couldn't help but sigh.
"Oh? So you want to continue? Since you'll miss it, then we'll continue."
A smile spread across Shin's face as he looked at Nami.
"No! Absolutely not! I was just kidding! Just pretend you didn't hear that!" Nami quickly shook her head.
The moment Shin said, "then we'll continue," all of Nami's nostalgia vanished into thin air.
What was there to miss? She had just crawled out of a fiery pit, she had no intention of jumping back in.
"Right, we have to celebrate today," Nami said to Shin.
Now that she was finally free from that nightmare, she had to celebrate.
"Good. Since we're celebrating, you can go hunt. Bring back some food for the party." Shin gave this arduous task to Nami.
This time, Nami didn't complain. She simply nodded and accepted, which surprised even Shin. He hadn't expected her to agree so quickly.
He had thought she might drag her feet and try to push the task back onto him. It seemed he had underestimated her.
Nami went off to hunt, while Shin lay back to leisurely sunbathe. To be honest, training Nami had become quite tedious for him as well. Now, it was finally over.
At first, he had been interested and didn't find it boring. But after training her for over a month, of course he felt it was getting tedious.
Now that it was over, he could finally enjoy himself. The thought alone made him feel wonderful.
But suddenly, he found his sun blocked by a shadow. He looked up, annoyed.
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