That day, Nao became light.
A streak of light, like a shooting star or a flying arrow, zipped across the skies above the elite camp.
It was a full thirty minutes before he came storming back, panting and furious, from who-knows-what corner of Marineford.
Along the way, he drew more than a few curious or bewildered stares.
"That was way too much, Instructor Zephyr!"
"Do you even realize—if you'd used just a bit more force, I would've flown straight into the sea!"
When Nao finally found Zephyr again, the old man had sobered up a bit. He scratched his head sheepishly as Nao ranted, and laughed it off.
"Sorry, Little Nao. I may have been a little tipsy back there—couldn't quite control the strength…"
"But hey, at least now we know your body's up to the task!" Zephyr added, trying to comfort him. "Since you're still alive, we can get started on your Haki tra—"
"I'm fine, sure. But the house isn't."
"…What do you mean?"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru's house. I crashed into it. Collapsed the whole thing. She said—'Tell that old bastard to have it fixed before sundown, or he can go ahead and die.' Her exact words."
Zephyr: "…"
"BAHAHAHAHA!!"
Garp, off to the side, doubled over in laughter, clutching his stomach like he'd been stabbed by joy.
Nao gave him a pitying look.
"Also her exact words: 'Garp was there too, wasn't he? Why didn't he stop it? Have him get his ass over there and help fix it.'"
Garp froze mid-laugh, like a goose that had just been throttled.
In the end...
Zephyr pushed the job onto Garp with the perfectly logical excuse of:
"You're more experienced with this kind of manual labor."
Garp's grumbling echoed across the yard as he stomped off toward the wrecked house.
Zephyr, now fully sobered, washed his face and began personally guiding Nao through the basics of Haki training.
Once serious, Zephyr was without question a top-tier instructor.
"You've been in the elite camp for nearly a year now. You should already have some understanding of the two types of Haki. So I'll skip the theory."
He looked Nao in the eye, tone earnest.
"To be honest, your physical strength is far beyond what I expected. We'll set Observation Haki aside for now—your body is definitely ready for Armament Haki. If you find the right method, you'll progress faster than most."
"But still—every step must be earned."
"To master Armament Haki, the first step is to sense its presence. Then comes aligning yourself with it."
"If you can coat your body—or your weapon—with Haki and enhance your attacks, that's considered the entry level."
"And the second stage is condensing and hardening."
Zephyr raised his right arm. In an instant, his entire forearm turned a glossy, obsidian black—as if dipped in ink.
"Hardening not only boosts your attack power but also your defense. Once you reach this point, you can be considered to have basically mastered Armament Haki."
"Anything beyond that—you'll have to explore on your own, depending on your path."
He returned his arm to normal and continued:
"Some people can fully harden their entire bodies, becoming like living steel."
Like Vergo, Nao thought to himself.
"Others focus on refining the intensity of the Haki—so even a fingertip or a tiny bullet, if coated properly, can deal terrifying damage."
"But no matter the path, power is the essence of Armament Haki. And that's what you'll need to train hardest to improve."
Once he finished the detailed breakdown, Zephyr gave Nao a rare smile.
"There are more advanced applications, but you'll need to uncover those on your own someday. Not even I could teach you that right now."
He patted Nao on the shoulder with encouragement.
"Now then… let's begin your training, starting from the most basic level of Armament Haki."
Evening.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Nao finished a long afternoon of grueling training and dragged his tired body toward the dining hall.
Getting started was always the hardest part. Haki training, especially Armament, burned through stamina even faster than he'd expected.
And now that his body was operating under a default gravity multiplier of 7x, even a monster like him needed to take breaks and refuel.
Fortunately, it hadn't been for nothing.
By the end of the day, Nao could already sense the presence of Armament Haki, and even managed to barely draw it out—coating a faint ring around his arm.
The Haki was weak, almost like a faint black mist, and it only lasted a few seconds at most. In terms of practical effect in combat, it was basically nothing.
But to reach that point in just one afternoon? Nao was still pretty satisfied.
If things kept progressing like this, he figured it would take at most two more weeks to master full Haki coating and officially reach Zephyr's so-called "entry level."
A few minutes later…
After walking down the familiar tree-lined path, Nao arrived at the dining hall—only to find the doors tightly shut.
"…They're closed already?"
Then it hit him: the elite camp was on break today, and like usual during holidays, the dinner service had closed an hour early.
In other words—everyone else had already eaten. He was the only one late.
…Now what?
Staring at his growling stomach, Nao scratched his head in frustration. There were still plenty of other canteens at HQ, of course—but they were farther away.
And honestly, he didn't feel like making a big detour when all he wanted was to eat quickly and get back to training.
Guess I'll just find a quiet corner and eat some emergency instant noodles or something…
He had just turned to leave when something caught his eye.
On a nearby windowsill, right within arm's reach, sat a large, carefully packed bento box—with a note stuck to the lid.
In neat, elegant handwriting, it read:
—For Nao
Definitely written by a woman.
"…Was this from Cook Vedona?"
His mood immediately lifted. As he opened the bento with gratitude in his heart, Nao beamed.
"Knew it—she's always been thoughtful. Must've noticed I hadn't shown up by closing time, and made this just in case."
This wasn't the first time either. Not because of any flirtation or system interaction—just that Vedona the cook was known for being considerate and kind to all the new recruits.
The bento box was full—vegetables, meat, dessert, soup. Everything was hot, fresh, and included most of his favorite dishes.
Now that's Vedona for you.
Nao found a stone to sit on and happily began eating, completely unaware that someone nearby was watching him.
A slender figure stood hidden behind the corner of a nearby building, quietly peeking around the wall.
She watched as he opened the bento and began eating with obvious joy. Her lips curled into a soft, satisfied smile.
She stood there silently for a while—just watching—until finally, she gave him one last look, turned around, and disappeared into the twilight.
—Shia's Diary—
Last night, I used binoculars and saw Nao still awake at his desk, drawing something under the lamplight. He looked so focused… He didn't sleep until really late.
I know I probably shouldn't, but this morning, I snuck in and found those crumpled-up sketches in the trash.
I didn't expect them to be all drawings of beautiful girls.
One of them was wearing… not very much. It made me blush just looking at it…
But the art was so good. So realistic. That's our Nao-kun for you.
I looked at myself in the mirror and started wondering—
Is this the kind of girl he likes...?
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin