LRAB Chapter 81 The First Lesson of Dominance! The Training Method of Steel Hand!
Chapter 81 The First Lesson of Dominance! The Training Method of Steel Hand!
Chapter 81 The First Lesson of Domination! The Steel Hand's Training Method!
Angel Beach.
The traces of last night's banquet have not been completely wiped away, but on a relatively flat patch of cloud-covered ground, the atmosphere is already quite different.
Steel Hand stood in the center of the open space, having changed into a dark gray sleeveless training uniform. The tight fabric outlined an exaggerated figure, and her golden ponytail was tied up meticulously.
Zoro and Zeff stood five meters away from Steel Hand.
Zoro had sobered up, with three swords at his waist and a sharp look in his eyes.
Zeff was wearing a loose martial arts uniform, his beard swaying slightly in the morning breeze.
Further away, Norton, Nami, and Funing lay side by side on the enormous cloud bed of sleep. The cloud bed hovered half a meter above the ground, rising and falling slightly with their movements, so soft it seemed to absorb all pressure.
Nami held a glass of cloud juice, a special product from Sky Island, while Funing flipped through an ancient book she had obtained in exchange for it from the Sky Island residents. Norton, with one hand behind his head, lazily looked towards the training ground.
Enel leaned against a broken cloud pillar, arms crossed, a hint of undisguised contempt on his lips.
He had no intention of participating in this kind of "ordinary" training.
"Listen up, everyone."
"Domineering aura—it's not magic, not superpowers, but the power hidden within everyone. It's the externalization of will, momentum, and life energy."
Steel Hand raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and a smear of black appeared on it.
"Observation Haki, perception." Tsunade closed her eyes, then opened them again. "Predicting attacks, sensing emotions, and even seeing a certain degree of the future. It requires extremely high concentration and talent."
"Armament Haki, Hardening and Flowing." The air around Steel Hand's fist distorted even more violently. "Hardening—making the body as hard as steel; Flowing—releasing Haki outwards to injure from a distance, or—"
Steel Hand suddenly punched the empty space to the side!
boom!
The air, half a meter away from the steel fist, exploded, creating a visible white shockwave! A shallow trench, half a meter long, was carved into the clouds!
"—Like this."
Zoro's eyes lit up. Zeff's beard twitched.
"Finally, there's Conqueror's Haki, an innate talent that cannot be cultivated."
"Only one in a million. It intimidates the weak, and when confronting those of equal strength, they clash with each other."
Steel Hand paused, his gaze sweeping over Zoro and Zeff, before finally glancing at Enel in the distance.
"You haven't even touched the door yet. So," Steel Hand grinned, a smile tinged with almost cruel excitement, "I'll open the door for you in the most direct way."
"..." As soon as he finished speaking, Steel Hand beckoned to the two of them with his finger.
"Let's go together."
Zoro and Zeff exchanged a glance.
Without hesitation, the two launched their attacks almost simultaneously.
Zoro's figure suddenly blurred! Three swords were drawn simultaneously! Sandai Kitetsu in front, Wado Ichimonji and Yuki behind, the three swords drawing three intersecting cold glints in the morning light! The hissing sound of the blades cutting through the air was short and sharp!
At the same instant, Zeff moved, kicking a shallow crater into the cloud, his body shooting straight at Steel Hand's right side like a cannonball!
However, Steel Hand didn't even assume a defensive stance.
Just as the blade was about to touch Steel Hand's hair and the wind from his leg had already ruffled the hairs on his temples, Steel Hand met Zoro's blade and Zeff's leg with a single step! His left hand, fingers spread, reached forward!
Snapped!
The dull thud of flesh gripping the blade!
Zoro's pupils contracted sharply! Just before Steel Hand's palm touched the blade, a faint, almost imperceptible black sheen appeared on the surface of his skin!
It was that sheen that allowed the steel hand to grasp the blade of the Sandai Kitetsu with its bare hands! The blade cut half a millimeter into the steel hand's palm, and then could not go any further! It was as if it had cut into a thousand layers of finely forged steel!
Raise your right hand at the same time, and extend your forearm outwards!
Zeff's crimson kick landed squarely on Steel Hand's forearm! The shockwave exploded! Dust flew everywhere!
Zeff felt a tremendous force rebounding from the point of contact! His entire leg went numb instantly! He groaned, used the momentum to flip backward, and landed with his single leg trembling slightly.
Immediately afterward, Steel Hand launched a counterattack! He grabbed Zoro's left hand by the blade and twisted it sharply!
The blade of the Sandai Kitetsu was twisted into a breathtaking arc by immense force! Zoro was forced to release his grip, and the sword flew out of his hand!
But Steel Hand, using the force of twisting the blade, spun his body like a top! His left hand, which had loosened its grip on the blade, clenched into a fist and, in the midst of the spin, drew a short arc before slamming solidly into Zoro's right ribs!
Boom! !
The dull thud was like a heavy hammer pounding into a sandbag.
Zoro's eyes suddenly bulged out, and his mouth opened, but he couldn't make a sound!
In that instant, he felt no pain, only an explosive force that traveled from his ribs to his internal organs, then to his spine, and finally to his brain! His vision went black for a moment!
His body flew out uncontrollably, tumbling, bouncing, and tumbling again on the ground, leaving a trench more than ten meters long before finally stopping.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with sand and dust.
"Zoro!"
Nami gasped in surprise on the cloud bed and tried to get up, but Norton held her wrist down.
"Watch."
Norton's voice was calm.
Steel Hand did not pursue Zoro.
Because Steel Hand has turned to Zeff.
The instant Zeff's kick was blocked and he landed backwards, he had already adjusted his center of gravity and was gathering power in his single leg once more!
"Red-footed, nail-studded!"
The one-legged figure transformed into a crimson blur! Not one kick, but seven! Each kick aimed precisely at Steel Hand's knee, shin,
Ankle – the most vulnerable joint in the human body!
The leg wind tears through the air—this is Zeff's trump card for fast attacks!
Steel Hand took three steps back, precisely deflecting Zeff's kick by the slightest margin.
The wind brushed against Steel Hand's trouser leg, tearing the fabric, but leaving only a faint white mark on his skin.
The moment the seventh kick was unleashed, Steel Hand stopped and stepped forward! A powerful, mountain-hugging strike!
boom!
Zeff's chest slammed into Steel Hand's shoulder.
In that instant, Zeff felt as if he hadn't bumped into a person, but rather into a moving mountain.
All the force was rebounded, the air in the chest cavity was violently squeezed out, and the lungs groaned in unbearable strain.
He was thrown backward, crashing into a low pillar of clouds before rolling to the ground, coughing violently, each cough accompanied by blood and saliva.
"Cough—cough cough—"
Zeff struggled to stand up, but his legs were too weak, and he failed on his first attempt.
In the center of the open space, Steel Hand slowly came to a stop. His breathing was steady, with only a few beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
"Can you feel it?"
Steel Hand looked at Zoro, who was struggling to get up, and Zeff, who was panting on the ground, and said, "What hit you just now wasn't ordinary power."
Zoro wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and staggered to his feet. His right side burned with pain, each breath feeling like a knife scraping against him. But he stared intently at Steel Hand, the fire in his eyes burning even brighter than before.
"Indeed—it's different," Zoro said in a hoarse voice.
"That's the infiltration of Armament Haki." Steel Hand walked towards him. "Ordinary strikes exert force on the surface. But Haki—especially flowing Haki—can penetrate defenses and directly damage the interior."
Steel Hand stopped in front of Zoro and raised his right hand. The faint black sheen on his palm reappeared.
"Just now I only used the most basic hardening and a trace of the Flowing Cherry Blossom's vibration." The steel hand clenched its fist, the luster disappearing. "If I had used my full strength, your ribs would already be shattered."
Zoro's pupils contracted.
"And you," Steel Hand turned to Zeff, "your kicks have enough power, but lack penetration. Your potential for dominance is not bad, but it has been suppressed for too long and needs a stronger stimulus to awaken it."
Zeff, supporting himself on his knees, gradually calmed his breathing, looked up at Steel Hand, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "At your age—and still have to suffer like this—"
"Age is no excuse." Steel Hand grinned. "I've seen old men who didn't awaken their domineering aura until they were seventy and later became powerful figures. You're only in your fifties, you have a long way to go."
Steel Hand turned around, walked back to the center of the open space, and beckoned to the two of them again.
"Continue. This time, try to concentrate while you're being hit, and feel that different thing in my fist."
"Imagine that power exists within your bodies, force it out, and use it to block my attack."
Zoro and Zeff looked at each other and nodded.
They pounced again.
Bang! Thud! Boom!
The sounds of hitting, thuds, and bodies slamming to the ground began to echo rhythmically across Angel Beach.
Steel Hand was like an unshakeable iron tower, easily surviving the two attackers' combined assault.
Instead of dodging most attacks, he would take them head-on with parts covered in basic Armament Haki, and then each counterattack would precisely hit the two men's weakest points, causing them to bleed profusely, fall down again and again, and get up again and again.
Nami's face turned pale as she watched, while Funing had already closed the book and was intently observing each exchange.
Norton remained lying down, but his eyes were slightly narrowed, and his gaze followed the movements of Steel Hand.
Enel leaned against the cloud pillar, his contempt gradually turning into annoyance.
The "density" of the distorted air around Steel Hand's fist instinctively put him on alert.
But what annoyed him even more were the two people from Qinghai.
The green-haired swordsman was knocked to the ground time and time again, coughing up blood and breaking bones, but each time he gritted his teeth and stood up, the fire in his eyes burning more and more frantically.
That old man was the same; despite his advanced age, he was like a wounded old wolf, each counterattack more ruthless and cunning than the last.
This "resilience" was dazzling to Enel.
He spent six years on the Sky Island, witnessing far too many people crumble under his lightning strikes, kneeling and begging for mercy. He had grown accustomed to absolute crushing, to fear and obedience.
"Boring." Enel chuckled softly and turned to leave.
"Hey, you long-eared thing," Steel Hand's voice suddenly came.
Enel looked over, anger flashing in his eyes.
"You've been watching for so long, why don't you come down and try?" Steel Hand wiped the sweat from his forehead, his smile filled with undisguised provocation.
"I have no interest."
"Oh? Are you scared?"
Enel stopped in his tracks, slowly turned around, and golden lightning began to dance in his narrow pupils.
"—What did you say?"
"I said," Steelhand said, emphasizing each word, "you're scared."
It's sizzling!
Enel was surrounded by golden arcs of electricity, his hair stood on end, and the taiko drum on his back throbbed faintly!
"—You're asking for it."
"You'll see when you get here." Steel Hand beckoned to him with his finger.
Enraged, Enel vanished instantly, transforming into a blinding golden pillar of lightning that descended from the sky, striking directly at the top of Tsunade's head!
Twenty Million Volts - Divine Judgment!
Steel Hand looked up at the pillar of lightning powerful enough to vaporize steel, raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and punched upwards!
The black sheen on the surface of the fist instantly thickened to a tangible consistency! It was as if the fist had been coated with a layer of flowing black mercury!
When the fist collided with the lightning, the golden lightning pillar seemed to hit an invisible wall the moment it touched the steel fist, and was actually split in two!
The lightning split and dissipated to both sides, while the steel hand's fist went straight upward against the lightning!
One punch pierced through the lightning pillar!
The lightning dissipated.
Enel reformed himself ten meters away, his expression changing drastically.
"impossible----"
"How could I possibly have touched you?" Steel Hand lowered his hand, flicking his wrist. "Because of my domineering aura, brat."
Steel Hand strode forward and walked towards Enel.
"I've seen too many Logia-type Devil Fruit users like you. You think you're invincible just because you ate a good Devil Fruit. You might be able to run rampant in the first half of the New World, but when you get to the real battleground for the strong, Steel Hand suddenly accelerates!"
Enel's pupils shrank sharply, and he instantly transformed into his elemental form, flashing to the side!
But Steel Hand seemed to have anticipated his move.
During the sprint, Steel Hand suddenly twisted his waist and swept his right fist horizontally!
The air solidified along the trajectory of the punch that missed its mark!
No, it was Armament Haki being released, forming an invisible "strike field" in front of the fist!
The location where Enel flashed after transforming into his elemental form was right at the edge of that area!
boom!
It was an invisible punch, yet it landed squarely on Enel's chest, which he had just begun to solidify!
"Ugh—!"
'
Enel cried out in pain! His body flew backward as if he had been hit by a solid iron ball!
He crashed into the cloud pillar, slid to the ground, clutched his chest, and looked utterly incredulous.
"You—how could you possibly—"
"How could I possibly hit you in your elemental form?" Steel Hand walked up to him, looking down at him. "You think Logia-types are invincible?"
After saying that, Steel Hand bent down, grabbed Enel by the collar, and lifted him up.
Enel tried to break free by transforming into his elemental form, but Steel Hand's palm was covered with thick Armament Haki, like red-hot iron clamps, firmly locking his physical body in place.
"Listen up, kid."
"Your lightning is strong, and your Observation Haki is not weak either, but you don't even have the most basic physical skills. You rely entirely on your Devil Fruit ability to float around."
"In Qinghai, in the new world, '6'"
With a flick of his wrist, Steel Hand slammed Enel to the ground!
boom!
Dust billowed up.
"Someone like you is only fit to shine the shoes of true powerhouses!"
Enel lay on the ground, coughing violently. His face was incredibly pale, his pride severely wounded.
Steel Hand stopped looking at him and turned to walk towards Zoro and Zeff, who had gotten up again.
"Keep going. No one is getting a break until you all reach the basics today."
Training continues.
Bang! Thud! Boom!
The hitting sounds became more frequent.
Enel lay on the ground, listening to the sounds, watching Zoro and Zeff fall again and again, only to rise again and again. Their wounds multiplied, their clothes soaked with blood, but their eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Something is awakening within them.
Enel finally struggled to sit up, leaned against the cloud pillar, and looked at his hands.
Lightning danced at my fingertips.
But that feeling of being truly caught and hit is etched into my nerves like a brand.
For the first time, he realized that he was not omnipotent.