Bogard found it hard to believe that Yorichi Tsugikuni had already mastered Observation Haki. Without delay, he ordered Yorichi to take off the blindfold. He then put it on himself to test it, confirming that it completely blocked his vision. After that, he stepped back over to Yorichi and personally tied the blindfold back over his eyes.
"Let's try again."
"Get ready."
An inexplicable surge of competitiveness rose in Bogard's chest. Once he secured the blindfold around Yorichi's eyes, he lifted his bamboo sword.
Shave!
In the span of a single breath, Bogard's figure vanished from in front of Yorichi. When he reappeared, he had already slipped around to Yorichi's side, swinging the bamboo sword silently toward Yorichi's shoulder.
He hadn't gone directly behind Yorichi, because Bogard knew some warriors possessed especially sharp senses for attacks from the front and rear. Striking from the side was often the best way to catch someone off guard.
"Clack!"
Yorichi, who had been facing forward, reacted the instant Bogard used Shave. His bamboo sword moved precisely to intercept Bogard's attack. Not only did he block it, but he countered as well, pressing back Bogard's blade while lifting a leg and driving a kick straight into Bogard's waist.
Yorichi hadn't just sensed the incoming strike. He'd pinpointed Bogard's exact position and launched a counterattack.
"Thud!"
Bogard clearly hadn't expected Yorichi, blindfolded, to fight back so decisively. Caught off guard, he took Yorichi's kick square in the waist and staggered several meters before coming to a stop.
Yorichi frowned slightly. His foot had felt like it hit a solid iron wall. Bogard had reacted quickly, engaging Iron Body at the moment of impact.
"As I suspected! This kid really can sense my movements!"
At this point, Bogard was genuinely shocked. There was no doubt left in his mind that Yorichi Tsugikuni could perceive his actions. Unable to hold back his astonishment any longer, he demanded:
"Did you study Observation Haki before this?!"
Yorichi shook his head and replied, "I was sensing your 'ki.'"
By "ki," Yorichi meant the combat aura from his world of Demon Slayer. Of course, he didn't mean the Dragon Ball Z kind of "power level."
In the world of Demon Slayer, every person possessed ki. The stronger a person was, the more intense their aura became. Having attained the realm of the Transparent World, Yorichi could feel this combat aura distinctly. Only warriors who reached the state of selflessness could suppress their ki entirely.
When Yorichi had slain Muzan back then, Muzan had sensed nothing from him, assuming Yorichi was just an ordinary man. It was the same sort of mistake as that infamous line from the Mountain Bandit King: "Pillars? I have no interest in people of that level."
Yet the instant Yorichi struck, Muzan realized how catastrophically wrong he'd been.
Even though he was now in a different world, some things remained the same. Humans still had to breathe, and the aura of a powerful warrior was always far stronger than that of an ordinary person.
Standing before Yorichi, Bogard shone like a star in the night sky. On this warship, he stood out plainly. In Yorichi's perception, even those two "suns and moons" up in the lookout tower were incredibly distinct.
"So you were sensing ki, huh…"
Bogard didn't entirely understand what Yorichi meant by "ki." But from his words, he gathered that Yorichi definitely had some way of detecting his presence, allowing him to evade attacks and pinpoint his movements.
Bogard wasn't sure if this counted as mastering Observation Haki. But he did know that if Yorichi had some alternative means of tracking his opponent, then continuing this kind of training was pointless.
For a moment, Bogard found himself at a loss for what to do. Should he skip ahead and start teaching Armament Haki? That would be quite a leap, and Bogard hadn't even figured out how he was going to teach Yorichi Armament Haki yet.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"You really are full of surprises, kid!"
"Bogard, leave this to me."
At that moment, Garp's booming laughter came from behind Bogard. Garp strode forward, grinning broadly, and clapped Yorichi on the shoulder in praise.
Yorichi took off the blindfold. When he saw Garp, he gave him a shy, sheepish smile.
"Don't take it off. Keep it on."
"Training isn't over yet."
Garp patted Yorichi's shoulder again, laughing heartily. Hearing Garp's words, Kuzan winced slightly as unwelcome memories resurfaced in his mind. His eyelid twitched involuntarily, and he silently offered up a prayer for Yorichi's well-being.
"Kid, next up, I'm going to attack you. You'd better dodge me properly!"
As Garp spoke, his entire aura changed. In Yorichi's perception, Garp's "combat aura" abruptly vanished without a trace.
"!!!"
Yorichi barely had time to process this before a powerful rush of wind slammed into him.
In the next instant, Garp's fist smashed down directly onto the top of Yorichi's head, sending him staggering backward and nearly toppling to the deck.
"So it wasn't true Observation Haki predicting my moves… he was simply reading my aura to anticipate my attacks."
"The instincts of a swordsman, huh?!"
Garp flashed a wide grin, completely understanding now. In these vast seas, there were indeed some swordsmen capable of reading an opponent's killing intent, aura, and presence to judge where and how they would strike.
But that was not the same thing as true Observation Haki. At its peak, Observation Haki could expand like Rayleigh's, covering an entire island in an instant. Or like Katakuri's, it could allow one to glimpse several seconds into the future.
The "sensing" ability Yorichi possessed clearly differed from genuine Observation Haki.
"Heh heh heh, I think I know how you've been figuring out where your opponents are attacking from."
"But that trick won't work on me."
"If you don't hurry up and actually master Observation Haki, you're going to be in for some pain!"
Garp cackled, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he was already right in front of Yorichi, driving a fist toward his chest. The whistling wind from Garp's punch allowed Yorichi to sense the incoming blow. He swiftly shifted his bamboo sword to block it in front of himself.
"Crack!"
A heartbeat later, the bamboo sword shattered under the force, and Garp's fist slammed hard into Yorichi's chest, sending him flying.
"Boom!"
Yorichi tumbled several meters across the deck, crashing down with a heavy thud that drew curious glances from the surrounding Marines.
Even so, he scrambled back to his feet quickly. Although he'd managed to activate Iron Body at the last second, Garp's punch still left his chest throbbing with pain. Every breath brought a deep ache and a burning sensation through his ribcage.
"Oh, right."
"While you're working on Observation Haki, you might as well train Armament Haki at the same time."
"When Armament Haki flows into your body, it increases your resistance to damage."
"Come on, try to sense the Armament Haki in my body, learn from it, and awaken your own Haki."
"And then, take my punches!"
"If you don't get the hang of this quickly, you won't last long!"
Garp grinned broadly, clenching his fists.
Even though Yorichi knew Garp was holding back, those punches still hurt like hell. It had been a long time since he'd felt pain like this. In some ways, it might have been easier if Garp simply knocked him unconscious with one punch. Experiencing such intense pain while remaining fully aware was… not pleasant at all.
"As expected of one of the sea's top-tier fighters… he's truly attained the state of selflessness, able to completely conceal his presence in the midst of combat."
"If I want to dodge Vice Admiral Garp's attacks, I'll have to find another way."
"Observation Haki and Armament Haki, huh…"
"I'm definitely going to master them!"
Tossing aside the broken bamboo sword, Yorichi rose into a defensive stance. For this kind of training, it hardly mattered whether he was holding a blade or not!
"Boom!"
"Thud!"
"Ha ha ha ha! You're still way off, kid!"
"Are you trying to give me a massage with those attacks?!"
On the deck, Garp's hearty laughter mingled with the repeated thuds of Yorichi crashing into the floor.
Garp seemed to greatly enjoy the process of "beating up youngsters" as a method of cultivating the next generation. He was all smiles as he pummeled Yorichi. Kuzan, watching for a while, eventually couldn't bear the sight any longer. Shaking his head, he retreated into the ship's interior to find the ship's doctor and asked him to prepare some medical supplies.
After watching for a while himself, Bogard also quietly withdrew to the engine room, taking on the role of supervising operations so that Garp could focus entirely on "guiding" the young man.
Under the relentless threat of Garp's "fist of love," by afternoon, Yorichi finally managed to dodge some of Garp's attacks. At the same time, he began to faintly sense the presence of Armament Haki.
Although his Haki was still weak, he could clearly feel it beginning to stir. Yorichi even started trying to channel Armament Haki into his defenses.
As for attacking? Right now, Yorichi could only endure the blows blindfolded. He wasn't yet capable of launching a counterattack against Garp.
Garp, however, clearly sensed the change occurring within Yorichi. His grin became even wilder and more exuberant.
"Such terrifying talent! Truly terrifying talent!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"