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(Mikael's POV)
[Some Weeks Later, At An Island In The West Blue]
"A-Aghhh!!!" I said as I hit the ground hard, "Shit!!"
"Vohahaha!" I heard Xebec's laugh resound through the air, "Almost got it!!"
I had felt my entire body crash into the ground, causing most of it to shatter as a shockwave erupted. All of my bones rattled as everything hurt, throbbing like fucking hell.
"Dammnit...." I said as I slowly got up, "That hit was hard."
I looked up the small cliff, seeing that Xebec was standing atop it with a smirk on his face.
"You have to bring it out now!" He said, "You almost manifested it!!"
I rubbed my neck, "If you keep hitting me that fucking hard, I might die without even awakening haki!!" I shouted, "The hell's your problem."
He laughed, "Vohaha!" He said as he dropped down, "If your instincts don't sense real danger, then you won't ever awaken haki!"
"Tch...." I said as he landed in front of me, "I guess so."
"Put your hands up." He said, "I already gave you the tips, didn't I? Concentrate and will it forward, flow your haki and coat your arm in that willpower!"
I frowned, "I am trying to..." I said as I raised my fist, "It won't budge...."
"I think if you hit him a bit harder, he will do it, Jihahaha!" I heard Shiki's laughter
I looked over, "You fucking assho-" I started before I was hit by a powerful impact, "W-What the fuck?!"
My body was struck by Xebec's attack, sending me flying into a nearby tree. All of my body throbbed in pain as I got back up, almost right away. I then patted my shoulders as I looked at Xebec, who was rushing me yet again.
"Oi!!!" I said as I raised my arms, "Not again!!"
"No Devil Fruit power!" He swung his sword again and hit me yet again, "Defend yourself with Haki!!"
The impact hit me hard, swelling my arms as I was sent flying yet again. I could tell that he was holding back the power of the swings, but they were still hard enough to fucking wreck me, it was insane.
I hit the ground hard, everything was starting to hurt even more as I stood up, my arm was bright red.
Xebec was walking up to me, "At least, with basic armament, you might do some damage in the seas." He said with a smirk, "Combined with your devil fruit, you'll be fine. Your strength in your regular form is good and your resilience is good. But against Haki, it won't last much longer."
"Jihahaha!" Shiki laughed, "Can't even learn basic armament?! What a fucking loser!"
I looked at Shiki, who was sitting on a log next to Stussy who was smiling and crossing her legs.
"Shut up, you dickhead." I said with a scowl
"Your arms are bright red and swollen, you are quite weak, only having that Devil Fruit power to rely on." Shiki taunted, "Someone like you is better off staying in the East Blue."
"You try getting hit by this guy's attacks without haki, you fucker." I glared at him, "Just you watch, I'll unlock armament and I will get it to the point where I can beat your ass without my Devil Fruit power."
"Ooohh?" He said with a sneer, "I would love to see you try that~"
"Leave him be, Shiki." Stussy said with a smile, "I would love to see his progress."
"Over the next few days, there will be no rest." Xebec told me, "I'm going to be beating your ass to the point where you can shrug off my attacks, Vohahaha!"
"Get ready!!"
**************
[Several Days Later]
It's been days, days since I've been constantly beaten around by Rocks himself. His constant cannon-fire that emerges from his sword has been nothing but a nightmare. No matter what I did, trying to counter or defend it, I couldn't mitigate the damage of his attacks.
I know that he was holding back, but it was more than enough to bang me up to the point I couldn't stand at one point. But fortunately, due to my power, I have insane stamina and recovery rate. He kept going, beating me up until I was able to form a quick coating of armament haki.
The mere fact that I was able to unlock it after weeks of constantly being put under great stress was a shock to me. I didn't think I would be able to get to this point, but I felt like I won the lottery. Even so, it wasn't enough for the System to qualify it as a completed task. Not yet at least.
I suppose I need to learn it and then have a proper grasp at the coating at the very least.
Damn System, why didn't I get it unlocked to begin with? Being thrown into Rocks's era and all.
I was on the side of a mountain, punching the hard side of the cliff. We had been holed up in this deserted island, and as Xebec said, they've been going back and forth between this island and a nearby kingdom. That's where Rocks was at the moment; that neighboring kingdom.
I was trying to condition my fists to the point I could summon armament haki and just crumble this entire wall with ease. I was about to get to it, the quick coatings getting longer and longer.
"Oi, you alright?" I heard Newgate call out for me
I stopped and looked back at him, "What is it?"
"Rocks seems adamant about getting you to learn basic armament." He said as he walked up to me, his imposing figure towering over me, "How are you getting along to it?"
"Somewhat good, I guess." I said as I looked up at him, "You know. Can I ask you something?"
He frowned, "What is it?"
"You ever think it's weird that you're too big?" I asked
He shrugged, "That's how many people are in this world." He said, "But you? You think it's strange your dragon form is the size of a giant?"
Gogmazios is normally not that large, which is indeed weird. My explanation for that is that the System scaled it to One Piece's standards.
"Not really." I shrugged
He nodded, "Can you coat your arm?"
"Somewhat." I said with a nod
He raised his naginata and reared it back, "Let's see here."
He then swung it at me and without thinking, I raised my arm and blocked it with armament coating.
"What are you doing?!" I exclaimed as a shockwave erupted, shaking the ground
"Gurarara!" He laughed, "At that moment, you sensed true danger, huh?"
I looked at my left arm, which was coated in the black armament color.
"Y-You're insane....." I said as he pulled his weapon back, "What if I couldn't coat it properly?"
"Guess we'll never know." He said, "Keep it up like that. We might move out soon."
He turned around and began to walk away.
The System Screen appeared next to me:
[Task Completed]
- Rewards: Tarred Claws