Chapter 52: Zephyr's Summation! That's Right, I Just Breathe and Grow Stronger!

Chapter 52: Zephyr's Summation! That's Right, I Get Stronger Just by Breathing!

Having publicly displayed his Armament Hake, Kuzan—acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred—returned to the food preparation room according to his original plan to continue butchering fish.

However, the ripple effects caused by his actions were still continuously fermenting.

In every corner of the Marine training ship—the deck, the cabins, the training rooms, and the mess hall—everyone could be heard discussing Kuzan.

In the original story, the power of Haki seemed utterly ubiquitous. In the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, Armament Haki even became a sort of "universal skill," where even some low-ranking Marine grunts and pirate underlings could use "hardening" and "infusion." (Blame the anime studio for that.)

Yet, in reality, across this vast ocean, the three types of Haki were genuinely extremely rare, high-end skills!

Aside from a very small number of exceptions, within the massive ranks of the Marines, basically only the high-ranking officers situated at the very top of the military hierarchy—the generals at the Commodore level and above—mastered the power of Haki!

In other terms, with the abilities Kuzan had currently demonstrated, if he were assigned to a branch base in the Four Blues, serving simply as the commanding officer of that branch base would present zero problems. And the minimum requirement for a branch base commander was strictly the rank of Commodore!

Even within the Marine Headquarters, where powerhouses were as numerous as clouds, Kuzan could rely on his Armament Haki to secure the position of a Headquarters Captain!

Learning Haki versus remaining ignorant of Haki represented two completely different tiers of existence!

The Marine training ship, highest-level office.

"Instructor Zephyr! Kuzan has truly mastered the power of Armament Haki!"

Instructor Shuio stood in front of the desk, thoroughly excited, his entire body trembling slightly.

Nominally, the Marine Elite Training Camp was responsible for nurturing that tiny fraction of the most elite new recruits across the entire Marine organization.

Yet even so, over the past dozen or so years, the number of rookie Marines who managed to master the power of Haki during their tenure in the Elite Training Camp could be described as absolute phoenix feathers and unicorn horns—exceedingly rare!

Almost every single one of them could be called a born monster!

Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Gaki, Gion...

And now, there was one more Kuzan!

Moreover, compared to the previous few, Kuzan labored under a much greater disadvantage. One had to remember that before joining the Elite Training Camp, Kuzan possessed zero combat foundation—or rather, zero training foundation whatsoever!

At the same time, the duration of Kuzan's participation in the Elite Training Camp was only half that of his predecessors!

Could it be that Kuzan's physical talent surpasses even those of Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan?

An incredible thought suddenly popped into Shuio's mind.

No! Impossible! ... Or is it?!

It must still be the effect of Kuzan's bizarre breathing!

Shuio raised his head and looked toward Zephyr.

"Instructor Zephyr, do you remember several months ago when I reported to you that Kuzan's breathing rhythm was very strange?"

"I remember."

Behind the desk, Zephyr nodded gently.

He held Kuzan in high regard, so naturally, he would keep a close eye on intelligence concerning him.

After all... Zephyr intended to push Kuzan forward, using the identity of a Marine undercover agent to interfere with the so-called "Seven Warlords of the Sea system"!

It was simply that Kuzan's moniker was entirely too fitting...

Something like "The Emperor's Defeated Underling"...

Furthermore, Kuzan had now mastered the power of Armament Haki. This circumstance only served to make Zephyr even more steadfast in this plan.

He intended to transmit this plan to Headquarters tonight, leaving it to his old comrades to discuss the feasible details of the project.

Unaware of Zephyr's plan, Shuio continued reporting the situation.

"I reported to you back then that whenever Kuzan entered that strange breathing rhythm, he would simultaneously employ the Iron Body!"

Zephyr replied with a calm expression, "Therefore, you suspected that Kuzan's breathing rhythm could help accelerate the training progress of the Iron Body! And later... you confirmed this!"

"Yes, Instructor Zephyr!" Instructor Shuio nodded heavily.

"Through continuous observation during that period, I am entirely certain that Kuzan accelerates the training progress of the Iron Body precisely through that strange breathing rhythm!

"However, looking at it now, the effect of that breathing rhythm is far from limited to just that!

"That breathing might not only aid in the practice of the Iron Body, but it might also assist in the cultivation of Armament Haki!"

Assisting in the cultivation of the Iron Body versus accelerating the mastery of Haki!

These were two entirely different concepts of strategic significance.

A sharp glint flashed through Zephyr's eyes as he directly issued an order.

"Send Kuzan to my office!"

...

Having just butchered a few sea beasts in the food preparation room, Kuzan received the notification from the messenger.

Zephyr is looking for me?

Knowing he could not afford any delays, Kuzan immediately laid down his fish-cleaver and hurried toward the highest-level office.

Along the way, Kuzan's thoughts spun continuously, pondering the reason for Zephyr's summons.

Thinking it over from every angle, Kuzan could only attribute it to Armament Haki.

Is mastering Haki really that monumental? Not just the food preparation assistants, but even Zephyr is paying this much attention?

Kuzan found it difficult to comprehend.

In his impression, Armament Haki was truly a common, street-level ability. Especially in the second half of the Grand Line, in the New World, one would feel too embarrassed to even walk around without knowing Haki.

Yet, as a Marine Headquarters Admiral, how could the experienced Zephyr act with such urgency simply because an "ordinary rookie" had mastered Haki?

Carrying deep bewilderment, Kuzan stepped into Zephyr's office for the second time.

After a few brief pleasantries, Zephyr directly stated his intention.

"My breathing?" Kuzan was taken aback.

He had never imagined that the Breath of Beasts would be exposed to the eyes of the instructors in the Marine Elite Training Camp.

It was just that the manifestation of the Breath of Beasts' abilities was far too subtle. Who in their right mind would pay attention to someone else's breathing rhythm?

Yet, upon second thought, this exposure was entirely within reason.

The senior instructors of the Elite Training Camp were almost universally masters who possessed both types of Haki. With their level of insight, sensing Kuzan's bizarre breathing rhythm was actually a very easy task.

Especially since Kuzan had displayed the ability of the Breath of Beasts to enhance his own physical stats more than once in front of Instructor Shuio while training the Iron Body.

Thinking up to this point, Kuzan discarded any thoughts of concealment.

Since it couldn't be hidden anyway, he might as well expose it voluntarily.

Kuzan spoke candidly, "That's right! Instructor Zephyr, the 'breathing technique' I've mastered did indeed help me accelerate my mastery of the Iron Body back then!"

"Merely the Iron Body?" A trace of disappointment flashed in Zephyr's eyes. "Can it not help in the cultivation of Armament Haki?"

"Assist in cultivating Haki?"

Kuzan shook his head. "The breathing technique doesn't possess such a powerful effect."

The widely-experienced Zephyr quickly collected his somewhat disappointed mindset and took the initiative to ask, "Regarding that 'breathing technique' of yours, can you simply describe its general effects?"

Even if the "breathing technique" Kuzan had mastered offered no help in cultivating Haki, being able to assist in accelerating the progress of the Iron Body still constituted no small boost for the Marines as a whole!

After pondering for a moment, Kuzan proceeded to explain the general effects of the Breath of Beasts.

He did not explain all the forms of the Breath of Beasts, placing his focus instead on the two aspects of "physical constitution enhancement" and "explosive power enhancement."

Zephyr extracted the core elements and instantly felt that the matter was far from simple.

"Simply put, this so-called 'Breath of Beasts' allows a person to grow stronger just by breathing?"

Kuzan blinked. "Yes! I get stronger just by breathing!"