One Piece: Power-Power Fruit

Chapter 10 Sitting Still, Quieter Than the Sky

Chapter Ten: Sitting Quieter Than the Sky

Seven days later at noon, at the gate of the mountain stronghold

thump...

"Damn, that hurts! This is a door frame! Ugh... it's so hard to get home..."

At the gate of the mountain stronghold, Mu Chong clutched his forehead and groaned in pain. He had been carrying a heavy load as he climbed up the mountain from the foot, constantly bumping into trees or slipping and sliding down the slope. If it weren't for the white cat watching over him, Mu Chong would probably have already fallen into the sea. The once flat mountain path had become a nightmare for him.

Because Mu Chong's eyes were covered by a thick black cloth, he was practically blind. He couldn't see where he was going, and he couldn't see a single ray of light.

The culprit behind all of this was Uncle Yixiao, who had disappeared somewhere at the moment, ostensibly to train Mu Chong's Observation Haki.

But for seven days straight, forget about Observation Haki; Mu Chong now feels like he's about to crash and die.

"Damn it, white cat, stop watching me! I'm already at my doorstep, come and lead the way..."

Mu Chong turned his head and shouted randomly in some direction. At this moment, only the white cat could save him.

"Meow……"

A cat meow rang out

"Hehe, home is here..."

thump...

"Damn it, you silly cat, what are you doing sitting on the door frame for no reason..."

The wooden mallet slammed into the doorframe again, instantly enraging him. He roared at the white cat, but with his eyes covered, he couldn't tell where it was unless the cat made a sound.

"Grass……"

Mu Chong instinctively wanted to remove the blindfold from his eyes, but his raised hand suddenly froze in mid-air. After a moment's hesitation, he cursed under his breath and gave up on the idea.

"I'll do it myself..."

Mu Chong roared and stretched out his hands, trying to reach forward. How he longed for that incredibly heavy wooden stick at that moment!

Amidst various collisions, Mu Chong finally entered the lobby. Smelling the food, he walked to the table and began wolfing it down. This food was prepared by Yi Xiao before she left.

"Brother Mu, the so-called Observation Haki is the power to strongly sense the other party's presence. Once you enhance this power, you can read the location and number of enemies outside your line of sight, as well as the actions they will take in the next moment. Observation Haki is closely related to psychology, and you need to be calm to ensure its use. You cannot use Observation Haki when you are emotionally agitated or have lost your rationality!"

"Brother Mu has an unconventional personality and usually finds it difficult to remain calm and composed when experiencing the world. That's why I've blindfolded you, hoping to use a special method to help you perceive everything around you with your heart, even without seeing. You must avoid being impatient or agitated..."

As Mu Chong wolfed down his food, the words that had just appeared in his mind kept repeating over and over again.

"Observation Haki, psychology, emotional excitement, calmness... hiccup... This is so difficult..."

Mu Chong let out a burp, wiped the food residue from the corner of his mouth, stood up expressionlessly, and slowly walked towards the lobby entrance.

Under the white cat's astonished gaze, Mu Chong stepped across the threshold without any hindrance.

"Meow……"

boom……

"Meow……"

The white cat covered its eyes, unable to bear the sight; it was overthinking it.

Mu Chong stood up, dusted himself off, and turned to the white cat, saying...

"White cat, don't follow me. Let me be alone for a while..."

After saying that, Mu Chong cautiously probed the path and groped his way forward.

Outside the railing on the left side of the mountain stronghold, there was a cliff with a two-meter square stone platform protruding from it. Even though it was only a short stretch of path, Mu Chong managed to find his way there for quite a while.

Finally, they safely reached the stone platform. Mu Chong then lay down on the platform, felt his way to the edge, and gently sat down cross-legged.

The summer afternoon was quite hot, but the sea breeze blowing from the nearby ocean brought a touch of coolness.

Mu Chong was blindfolded, his vision completely black. His face was solemn, revealing no joy or happiness, like a statue standing on a stone platform.

Feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, the coolness of the sea breeze on his cheeks, and listening to the rustling of the branches of the surrounding trees, Mu Chong felt as if he were the only person left in this world. His heart inexplicably became empty, and the complex thoughts in his mind gradually quieted down, as if his body wanted to merge with the world.

Mu Chong fully opened his mind, trying his best to imprint everything before him in his mind. The constant exertion of his mind caused Mu Chong's expressions to undergo a variety of changes.

Suddenly, Mu Chong seemed to have triggered something; his complex expression abruptly relaxed, replaced by a look of contentment, as if something had happened.

"Hoo... snoring... snoring..."

Mu Chong calmed his mind enough, and then he fell asleep.

……

boom……

"Who, who hit me..."

After an unknown amount of time, a wooden stick struck Mu Chong on the head, jolting him awake. He immediately turned his head, looking left and right, but his blindfold prevented him from seeing anything.

"Brother Mu, the place you chose to sleep is really peculiar. Aren't you worried about falling off? There's a cliff right in front of you..."

Just as Mu Chong was searching for the assailant who attacked him, a laughing voice rang out behind him.

"Oh dear, Uncle Yixiao, I didn't want to either, but you blindfolded me and told me to calm my mind, so I had no choice but to resort to this..."

Mu Chong covered his head and said with a wronged expression.

"So Brother Mu's solution is to sleep?"

A hint of anger flickered in his smile.

"Hahaha, Uncle Yixiao, you've misunderstood, you've misunderstood! It was a mistake on my part. I'll begin my cultivation right away..."

"Holy crap..."

As Mu Chong was speaking, he tried to stand up to train, but he forgot that he was standing on a stone platform and couldn't see the road at all while his eyes were covered. So, as soon as he stood up, he lost his footing and his body quickly fell downwards.

"Ugh……"

Yi Xiao sighed deeply, then slowly raised his left hand, and the wooden spout that had fallen back up.

"Hehehe, Uncle Yixiao is the best..."

The rescued Mu Chong grinned and said to Yi Xiao, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

"Alright, Brother Mu, come with me..."

Yi Xiao ignored Mu Chong's expression, said something, and turned to walk towards the courtyard of the mountain stronghold.

"Hey, Uncle Yixiao, wait for me, I can't see you..."

"Meow……"

After a long while, Mu Chong and Yi Xiao stood facing each other, the former still blindfolded, standing stiffly, unaware of what was about to happen.

Across from him, Yi Xiao carried a cloth bag filled with stones the size of bird eggs.

"Brother Mu, you must try your best to sense the objects around you and try to avoid them. There are no doctors in this village..."

Yi Xiao took out a stone, weighed it in his hand, and then said to Mu Chong.

"Ah... Uncle Yixiao, what are you saying? What do you mean by 'get away'? What are you going to do..."

Mu Chong's question received no verbal answer, for the response was a stone that came hurtling towards him.

boom……

"Ouch...that hurts! Uncle Yixiao, why did you hit me like that..."

Mu Chong clutched his chest and screamed.

"Brother Mu, try your best to dodge, it hurts..."

As soon as the joke ended, a fierce barrage of stones was unleashed upon Mu Chong.

The scene was incredibly tragic...