Chapter 22: Armament Haki

During his cultivation on the Sky Island, Barzab Seven lived in ease and comfort.

As the current god of the Sky Island, he suffered no hunger or cold, and in his leisure, he could sit quietly atop the Thunder God Palace’s dome, watching dawn pierce the sea of clouds and twilight melt gold across the sky.

When night fell, he could sleep cradled by the starry heavens and the clear glow of the Milky Way.

The only regret: isolation from news.

The wings of the news birds could never cross the ten-thousand-meter-high White Sea.

The storms raging on the ocean’s surface were all blocked by the thick cloud layer, severing his connection to the entire world.

Yet this also forced him to settle his mind completely and devote himself fully to training.

To rapidly integrate his Steel Balloon physique.

Barzab Seven burned all his passion into every form of training.

Sweat now is better than blood later.

Among the true apex Qiangzhe on the Grand Line, nearly all are Quannengguai .

Whether it’s the three forms of Haki, martial arts, Devil Fruit abilities, or the unique sword techniques of great swordsmen, they master them all, complementing each other, indispensable.

They never rely on a single method to win, but fuse all abilities into an unbreakable combat system.

Only then can they stand firm on the Grand Line and pursue their dreams.

The weak can only drift with the tide, losing all choice.

Having lived two lives, Barzab Seven had experienced that helplessness and was utterly done with the torment of hunger and cold.

He had no choice before; now he would become the strongest.

Three months later.

Beneath the setting sun of the Golden City Shandora, Barzab Seven stood before the Historical Poneglyph, clearing all distractions.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The fist wind tore through the air.

The dull impacts echoed through the ruins.

Each punch against the stone Bei left his arms numb, yet he did not reduce his force.

Sweat dripped from his chin, soaking his clothes, yet he felt nothing—still driving his fists with sheer will, one punch after another, relentless.

The stone Bei remained silent, bearing the weight of history.

Having endured a thousand years of time, it became Barzab Seven’s best proving ground to awaken Armament Haki.

Each impact was an extreme compression of his flesh; he forged his will into his fists, trying to shatter the limits of his body, striking open the door to Armament Haki’s awakening amid the clashing sounds.

You’ve got cheat powers—why haven’t you suffered yet?

I’m just broke.

Since Hammer Brother, only four shell items listed on the trading platform had sold, while requests to buy shells at low prices kept multiplying.

Three months passed; even his Steel Balloon physique was fully integrated, yet Barzab Seven had only saved 4,300 points.

He suspected: other world users, having bought his Dream One-Heart for 88,888 tons of gold and later sold Sky Island shells, had deduced he now controlled the Sky Island.

Hence the frantic price suppression.

Fortunately, Sky Island shells existed only in the Pirate World, and as its god, Barzab Seven held pricing power.

Moreover, while Barzab Seven needed points, he didn’t need them so desperately that he had to lower prices.

He’d rather not sell than cut prices.

Cheating was great, but outmaneuvering other world users on the trading platform was even more addictive.

Logically, each world had unique items for sale, so pricing power naturally belonged to users from that world.

But that wasn’t true.

Because it involved urgency and priority.

Barzab Seven wasn’t in a hurry—if he couldn’t buy Armament Haki, he could train for it himself.

Even if he failed to awaken Armament Haki, his mind still held unmerged training memories of the Unthinking Slash.

Because he wasn’t in a rush, he could say: buy or don’t buy—so he seized pricing power.

If Barzab Seven had been desperate for points, he’d have been forced to accept the prices set in those low-ball purchase posts.

He would naturally lose pricing power.

Only someone rich like Hammer Brother wouldn’t care about price—he bought whatever he fancied.

Only platform rules could limit Hammer Brother.

Barzab Seven copied their tactics, posting low-price requests to buy flight capes, martial arts techniques, and more.

His strategy: my items won’t drop in price, but I’ll buy yours cheap.

Pfft~

A crisp sound rang out before the stone Bei .

Barzab Seven’s chest rose and fell rapidly; his clenched fists had turned black, as if coated in a layer of black glaze.

“Huh~”

“Finally awakened.”

Though Barzab Seven already mastered Conqueror’s Haki, making basic Armament Haki seem inferior,

Well, better to have it than not.

The 5,000 points saved could now be used to enhance other abilities or buy a flight cape.

Armament Haki—

Its core function is to enhance attack and defense, and to touch the physical bodies of Logia Devil Fruit users.

It manifests in three forms: Hardening, Flowing Release, and Internal Destruction.

Hardening is the most common and basic form: coating the body or weapon with Armament Haki to significantly boost defense and attack.

Flowing Release involves channeling Armament Haki around the hands or weapon to release shockwaves.

Internal Destruction is a form of Flowing Release: releasing Armament Haki to penetrate an object’s surface and destroy its interior directly.

Flowing Release and Internal Destruction, due to their fluid nature, are called “Ryōyō” in Wano.

In the New World, where everyone possesses Armament Haki, Barzab Seven’s failure to awaken it before revealed just how weak his physique had been.

Now?

With the Great Stomach, innate strength, and Steel Balloon enhancements, Barzab Seven had upgraded from a bird to a planet-crusher—nearly a living giant, utterly transformed.

Having successfully awakened Armament Haki, Barzab Seven felt elated, drew his sword Dream One-Heart, and slashed upward at the top of the Historical Poneglyph.

Crack~

As a smooth, clean cut appeared above the stone Bei , Dream One-Heart cleanly severed a corner of the Historical Poneglyph.

“Only you could do it—worthy of your name as a divine artifact.”

The Historical Poneglyph, whatever stone it was made of, had endured three months of pounding by Barzab Seven without a single scratch.

He’d almost thought he’d found a rare treasure.

And then… this?

Sheathing his sword, Barzab Seven turned to lightning and flashed to the Thunder God Palace in a single breath.

A woman, about twenty, dressed in a beige short skirt, with golden hair, long legs, ample chest, and small wings on her back, hurriedly bowed.

“Thunder God.”

Just the motion of bowing seemed to reveal the fiercest waves of the Grand Line.

Barzab Seven quickly averted his gaze: I’m not the Thunder God—Xia Ni, you are the true Thunder God!

As god of the Sky Island, Barzab Seven naturally had beautiful maids—Gan Fu had even tried to send his granddaughter.

His calculations were practically flying into people’s faces.

Too bad Barzab Seven was used to poverty and truly disliked being served; only Xia Ni and Xia Lu, the two sisters, remained to take turns.

“My lord,” Xia Ni lowered her head.

“Because… because you returned earlier than usual, the kitchen hasn’t prepared dinner yet—would you…”

Barzab Seven waved his hand: “I’ll take a bath. Serve dinner at the usual time.”

“And next time, raise your head when speaking to me.”

“I won’t eat you.”

Xia Ni bit her lip: Whether you’ll eat me or not… I’m not sure—you’ve secretly looked at me several times already.