Chapter 58: Conqueror's Haki
"Kyle, is this the Calm Belt?"
The group stood on the deck of the Hunter, excitement bubbling in their voices as they stared at the impossibly still ocean.
There are normally two ways into the Grand Line: crossing Reverse Mountain, or traversing this treacherous stretch of water known as the Calm Belt.
The Calm Belt earned its name: no wind ever blows here. Ships without propulsion are dead in the water.
But the real danger lies beneath the surface. This is the nesting ground of countless massive Sea Kings. Without a Seastone-coated hull to mask their presence, any ship is a sitting duck for these deep-sea monsters.
The Hunter had no Seastone. They had to force their way through.
Kyle had chosen this path deliberately. The only successful crossings on record belonged to the Marines. He wanted to see for himself which of the seven Grand Line routes this path would lead them to.
"That's right," Kyle nodded. "No wind, ever. You need an engine to move. And with the Sea Kings... almost no pirates ever come this way."
Meanwhile, in Loguetown.
Vice Admiral Garp had been waiting for over a month. There was no sign of Kyle's group, and his patience was wearing thin.
Just then, a Marine soldier burst in, shouting, "Vice Admiral Garp! A massive battleship, over a hundred meters long, has been spotted approaching!"
Garp's first reaction was disbelief. A hundred meters?
The Marines barely had ships that size. In the technologically backward East Blue, how could such a ship exist?
But seeing the soldier's serious face, Garp ran out, leaping dozens of meters into the air for a better view.
When he saw the sleek, unbelievably fast battleship cutting through the waves, he gasped.
That ship... it wasn't from the East Blue. If the Marines had tech like that, pirate hunting would be a joke.
Seeing the ship speeding away, Garp made a snap decision. "After them!"
Smoker, hearing Garp was leaving, remembered his humiliating defeat. He had no desire to rot in Loguetown anymore. He looked toward the Grand Line and submitted his transfer request to Marine Headquarters on the spot.
Garp, seeing potential in the Logia user, approved it instantly. He took Smoker and his two subordinates aboard and set sail, chasing after Kyle.
Kyle knew none of this.
He had originally planned to stop by Loguetown to "farm" Smoker again, but Netero, hearing how easily Smoker had been beaten, lost interest. With plenty of supplies, the Hunter bypassed the town entirely.
They missed Garp by a hair.
"Kyle," Netero said, his eyes sharp, "you're excited because you want to use this danger to awaken Conqueror's Haki, don't you?"
Conqueror's Haki was the proof of a "king." But awakening it usually required intense emotional shock or the pressure of a life-or-death situation.
In his spars with Netero, Kyle fought hard, but deep down, he knew the Chairman wouldn't kill him. That lack of true, desperate resolve kept him from breaking through that final wall.
The Calm Belt was his answer. He craved a real crisis to light the fuse.
"Exactly," Kyle admitted. "What about you, you old pervert? Have you felt any spark of Conqueror's after training these past few days?"
In Kyle's mind, Netero absolutely had the disposition of a king. Awakening was just a matter of time.
But the Chairman seemed unconcerned. "Ho ho ho. Who knows? I've been focusing on Armament and Observation. As for Conqueror's... if it happens, it happens. Maybe I don't have it at all."
"You're too modest, Chairman," Morel interjected. "If you don't have it, none of us stand a chance."
Just then, Shoot ran out from the cabin, looking tense. "Master! Captain! Radar picked up a massive biological signature approaching fast! It's over a hundred meters long!"
It was here. A Sea King.
And it was as big as the Hunter.
"Mr. Knov, can the torpedoes scare it off?" Kyle asked immediately.
Knov's voice came over the comms. "Unlikely. The torpedoes lack the yield to significantly damage a Sea King of that size."
Kyle turned to Netero. "Old man, you or me?"
Netero stroked his beard and took a half-step back, grinning. "You're the Captain. Facing a 'crisis' like this is your job."
He clearly wasn't going to help.
If Kyle chose this path, he had to face the trial.
Rumor had it that Sea Kings could be intimidated by Conqueror's Haki. If Kyle awakened it here, he could win without fighting. Netero was curious to see what this "Conqueror's Haki" really looked like.
Knuckle and Shoot looked worriedly at Netero. "Chairman, are you sure he doesn't need help?"
"No need," Netero said calmly. "The kid is tough. Sea Kings are big, but they have obvious weak points. One good hit is enough."
He had seen beasts far larger than this. This wasn't a real threat. If Kyle couldn't handle this, how could he hope to awaken the power of a king?
The Sea King entered the range of Kyle's Observation Haki.
It slammed into the Hunter like a tank.
BOOM!
The massive ship shuddered.
The Sea King, surprised its ramming attack hadn't capsized the vessel, struck again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The ship rocked violently, but the hull held firm.
Confused, the monster surfaced to see what was happening.
It saw a tiny human standing on the deck.
This human wasn't even as big as one of its teeth. The Sea King felt a surge of contempt. It unleashed a wave of pure, primal intimidation, a pressure like a collapsing mountain, aimed straight at Kyle.
Kyle didn't dodge. He didn't use Nen or Haki to block.
He met the pressure head-on with nothing but his own will.
This wasn't Haki. It was the sheer, biological pressure of a predator hundreds of times his size. If his will faltered, he would be paralyzed by fear.
Kyle felt the crushing weight. He knew this was the only way—to resist this overwhelming pressure with his naked spirit was the only way to tear down the wall holding his potential back.
In the distance, Netero and the others watched the mountain-sized beast, awestruck. Seeing a creature of that scale was a visceral shock that numbers couldn't convey.
Kyle stood trembling under the assault of the beast's presence. His body began to shake uncontrollably.
Just as he was about to collapse, he let out a roar.
Something inside him snapped.
His aura changed instantly.
A ripple of invisible power exploded outward from him.