Chapter 235: Armament Haki: Flowing Form and Diamond Hardness

He knows too much—even the plan to seize the design blueprints of Poseidon in Water Seven was orchestrated by him alone.

What I'm worried about now is that, in desperation, he might choose to burn everything down and publicly reveal that Water Seven holds the Poseidon blueprints.

You know what kind of consequences that would bring—the entire world would erupt in chaos.

Here, he paused.

Spandam's expression was grim; he paused briefly, seeing Luffy did not immediately reply, then continued:

Of all in the CP organization, you are the one who understands Water Seven best.

Put the mission against the Gao Wen Pirates on hold—deal with Water Seven as quickly as possible.

Luffy had no desire to leave the Gao Wen Pirates; this was his true home, not the World Government or the CP organization.

The best way to avoid the World Government while staying with the Gao Wen Pirates was to pretend the mission continued, while secretly acting as a double agent.

In a few breaths,

Luffy made his decision:

"The mission here comes from CP's upper echelons—I've already reached the core. If I'm pulled out now, all my prior efforts will be wasted."

"So I intend to hand full control of this matter to Miss Kalifa."

Spandam spoke at length:

"Now that I think about it, his earlier psychological tactic is far more promising than your infiltration into the Gao Wen Pirates to become one of their elites."

Luffy remained silent, pulling from his pocket the third coin symbolizing one of the Gao Wen Pirates' three core fighters, unsure what to say.

Clearly, Spandam had grown a brain.

But he'd be better off without one.

Luffy said coldly:

"I already told you the risks with Miss Kalifa."

"Also, I haven't been able to reach you for a while—I thought I'd been abandoned."

Hearing the resentment in Luffy's voice, Spandam recalled the unjust suffering he'd endured and felt a surge of bitterness.

He skipped over Gismunda and the CP organization's earlier plan to secretly eliminate Luffy, and continued:

"The CP0 member originally assigned to replace you in Water Seven, along with Kaku and Bruno, have all gone missing."

"What did you say?"

Luffy's voice rose sharply:

"Kaku and Bruno are missing?!"

"With their strength, they shouldn't have run into trouble in a place like Water Seven."

"That's precisely the critical point."

Spandam said gravely:

"It can only mean someone had already reached into Water Seven before this incident erupted."

"Former CP9 director Edwin likely leaked the Poseidon blueprints to some faction long ago."

"If that's true, this becomes a serious problem…"

Luffy frowned tightly.

"Ah."

"In any case, only you have both the ability and the right identity to intervene in Water Seven."

"Depart immediately."

"I can't wait much longer."

With that,

Spandam hung up the call.

Doo-doo-doo!

In the empty room, only the idle chirping of the phone worm echoed intermittently.

Luffy stared silently at the receiver in his hand.

……

……

……

Night deepened.

Temperatures in Alabasta plummeted sharply; icy winds whipped up sand, freezing the air.

On a dune near Aruba:

Gao Wen held a single blade, his Conqueror's Haki surging violently around him.

The blade of Obisama was wrapped in crimson Conqueror's Haki, summoning red lightning that crackled through the void.

Gao Wen raised his hand and slashed.

The Haki-infused slash shot forth instantly, racing to the horizon, leaving a trench too deep to see—then, within seconds, it was filled by surrounding sand.

Gao Wen took a deep breath, channeling his Conqueror's Haki to gather for the next strike.

After his battle with Zeff during the day, Gao Wen had come here alone to master the newly awakened Haki Enshrouding.

After half a day, he could now control it with ease—sufficient to use it routinely in combat.

Long moments passed.

Gao Wen stopped his movements, gazing at the distant, crisscrossing, uneven but equally horizon-spanning slashes, and nodded in satisfaction.

"The power of this is truly terrifying."

"If I face the Lion again, even if he had no wound on his head, I wouldn't fear him at all."

As he spoke,

Gao Wen retracted the swirling Conqueror's Haki around him, preparing to leave—when, suddenly, the system's alert echoed in his mind:

"Crew member Luffy has awakened Armament Haki."

"Potential increased."

"Gold —> Gold!"

……

"Crew member Zoro has awakened Armament Haki!"

"Potential increased!"

"Gold —> Gold!"

……

"Crew member Sanji has awakened Observation Haki!"

"Potential increased!"

"Gold —> Gold!"

……

Three consecutive alerts made Gao Wen pause, then a smile tugged at his lips—like a farmer watching a bountiful harvest:

"These three's physical stats were already at the threshold; awakening Haki through internal ranking battles isn't surprising."

"But Luffy—he awakened Observation Haki back at Whiskey Peak when facing CP forces; now he's completed Armament Haki, giving him a way to counter Logia users."

"Zoro and Sanji have awakened Armament and Observation Haki respectively; for them, unlocking the other should be close behind."

"With this, my Haki 'weeds' are about to surge in value."

"Aside from the Conqueror's Haki I've already mastered, my weakness in Armament Haki should be fixed soon."

"I just wonder how much experience I'll harvest today."

Gao Wen began to look forward to it.

He sat down right where he stood, gazing at the endless sea of sand ahead, his mind gradually calming.

A few minutes later,

A familiar system window appeared before Gao Wen:

"Body Experience +1545!"

…… (omitted)

"Animal-Type Experience +577!"

…… (omitted)

"Armament Haki Experience +636!"

"Observation Haki Experience +440!"

"Conqueror's Haki Experience +6876!"

……

A cascade of experience gains overwhelmed Gao Wen.

As expected, Conqueror's Haki—after his full-power clash with Zeff—earned him even more experience than his battle with the Lion.

Gao Wen guessed this might be tied to his sudden awakening of Haki Enshrouding; regardless, it was good news.

What surprised him even more were the other three.

Xiang Keluo had eaten the Kamakiri Fruit; though he hadn't trained today, Gao Wen's Animal-Type Devil Fruit experience still rose significantly.

More astonishing were the boosts to Armament and Observation Haki experience, triggered by Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji awakening Haki in succession.

These two metrics had nearly doubled compared to before.

"All three stats have undergone a qualitative transformation; I believe the rate of Haki growth will only accelerate from now on!"

"Come to think of it, shouldn't Armament Haki be ready to unlock its next keyword too?"

The voice fell silent.

Another system panel appeared before Gao Wen.

Armament Haki - LV-4: 7445/8000 → Armament Haki - LV-5: 81/15000

"System detects that the host's Armament Haki has reached LV-5. Choose one of the following branch abilities:"

"Flow Form, Kintoki"

…

"Flow Form and Kintoki?!"

Gao Wen stared at the two keywords displayed on the panel.

He fell into deep thought.

Armament Haki had, as expected, finally reached LV-5, granting him another chance to choose a branch keyword.

Judging from the earlier branch options for Swordsmanship and Physique, the first keyword unlocked for each skill largely determines one's future development path.

Physique began with the balanced keyword, followed by Harmony and Heaven-Man, both continuing the path toward perfect bodily control and eventual perfection of the body.

Swordsmanship followed the same pattern: the first keyword boosted slash speed, and the second introduced a specialized Iai-style draw-cut branch—but Gao Wen chose Extreme Weapon to counter his inability to break through strong defenses.

Now, facing the first keyword for Armament Haki—one that could equally determine his future—he could not afford to be careless.

After slight analysis,

Gao Wen formed a rough hypothesis about the two keywords.

"Armament Haki generally has two developmental paths: one exemplified by Master Zefa's outward-flowing type, and the other, like Master Zefa's own, focused on attaching to the body to enhance offense and defense."

"Flow Form and Kintoki clearly correspond to these two."

"The former should enhance the fluidity of Haki, even strengthening its outward projection."

"The latter specializes in physique, pushing the body to its extreme—its peak should resemble Master Zefa's Armored Black Arm technique."

After pondering, Gao Wen's gaze settled on Kintoki.

After unlocking Devil Armor, his defense against all but Emperor-level opponents had become nearly invincible.

His battle against Crocodile, during which he took zero damage, was the best proof.

But Kizaru's attacks could pierce Devil Armor's defense; Master Zefa could drive Haki into his body to disrupt it; and Shiki had shattered Devil Armor outright with a Haki-enshrouded slash.

All signs indicated that when combat intensity reached Emperor level, Devil Armor's defense was no longer sufficient.

In comparison,

Extreme Weapon combined with Armament Haki and Kensei Shōshin was already enough to pierce Enma's defense; now that Gao Wen had unlocked Haki Enshrouding, he no longer worried about breaking through enemy defenses.

Besides, Gao Wen had never been a flashy, technique-focused fighter.

Raw power was the way.

With this thought, Gao Wen made his decision:

"I choose Kintoki!"

In the next instant,

Gao Wen's Armament Haki began to churn restlessly, surging through his body like a torrent.

It relentlessly damaged his flesh and blood, yet under the boost of his Physique keyword, it began repairing.

In just a few seconds,

Gao Wen's clothes were soaked in sweat, and steam rose from his head.

Throughout this process, Gao Wen sensed his physique growing tougher—even his bones now glowed with a jade-like luster.

"My body is becoming stronger!"

Gao Wen exclaimed:

"But it's not the same change brought by Physique keywords—it's a new transformation from Haki fusing deeper with my body."

"Even without activating any ability, ordinary blades or cannons would likely cause no harm."

"This strength isn't just surface-deep—it's a complete internal and external enhancement, affecting flesh, organs, and bones alike."

"Internal and external as one, with no flaw remaining."

"This is what... Kintoki means?!"

"Fusing Armament Haki tightly with the body—this ability feels strangely similar to Master Zefa's Armoring!"

The more he thought,

the more certain Gao Wen became: Kintoki granted him an Armoring ability.

Its defensive power might not surpass Armoring, but it carried none of Armoring's massive bodily burden.

Moreover, it was a constant state, requiring no deliberate control.

From this perspective, perhaps Zeff's Armoring, if pushed further, could reach Kintoki's level.

"If my base defense is already this strong, what happens when I activate Demon Form?!"

Without hesitation,

Gao Wen's body instantly swelled into Demon Form, his entire frame now clad in a soft armor-like layer.

But this time, Demon Form had changed: the once-bright crimson scales had darkened to a deep crimson.

"This is..."

Upon closer inspection, Gao Wen noticed fine black patterns, resembling vines, covering every scale.

From head to toe, every scale bore these black vine-like markings.

"A change from Kintoki? An additional layer of Haki-based defense over Devil Armor?"

Gao Wen understood.

He instinctively slashed at the scales with Kensei Shōshin, gradually increasing force—using Armament Haki, Extreme Weapon—but not a single scratch appeared.

Only when he infused the blade with Conqueror's Haki did he barely leave a faint mark.

The hardness was simply monstrous!

"Next time, I might just walk straight through Shiki's slash and slap him in the face."

"With Devil Armor and Kintoki, my defense might rival only Big Mom's, the one said to have never been wounded."

"Add Haki Enshrouding and a Mythical Zoan, shouldn't I have a seat among the Four Emperors?!"

He said it, but Gao Wen knew his raw power had indeed reached Emperor level—yet his influence and power base still lagged far behind.

He understood the saying: the first bird shot down is the one that flies highest. So he thought about it, then set the thought aside.

What he truly wondered now was whether his defense could withstand Kizaru's or Aokiji's attacks.

Unfortunately,

the next day, when Gao Wen returned to Alabasta, he saw orderly rows of Marines withdrawing.

Clearly, with Alabasta's situation fully stabilized, the Marines had no reason to remain.

But Aokiji waited outside the palace, meeting Gao Wen before departure.

"I'm entrusting Nico Robin to you."

Gao Wen nodded instinctively, but said aloud:

"She's now Princess of Alabasta. If you're going to say that, you should say it to Cobra."

"Ah~"

"You're such an awkward fellow~"

(End of Chapter)