Chapter Forty-Eight: The Possessor of Observation Haki [Second Update]

"Speak! Who in the fifth basement possesses Observation Haki?"
"I... I don't know. Kid, let me go, please... cough... cough."

Crunch.

Shu Mingyuan squeezed the pirate's throat until it shattered, then tossed him aside like garbage.
This was already the twenty-eighth pirate he had killed. There were a few who knew Armament Haki, but since he had mastered it himself, he no longer needed such knowledge and dispatched them with ease.
Yet, he still hadn't found anyone who possessed Observation Haki.

"Do I really have to go to the sixth floor?" He pondered, then shook his head. The unlimited hell of the sixth basement was crawling with surveillance snails, and the pirates imprisoned there were beyond his ability to provoke.
Anyone locked away in the unlimited hell must have a bounty exceeding five hundred million, at the very least. Moreover, many who had challenged Whitebeard and failed were imprisoned there.
They were people whom the World Government had ordered erased from history. Just thinking about their names was enough to fill one with dread.

"Hey, what about the rest of you? Does no one know?"
Shu Mingyuan looked calmly at the pirates, their faces drained of color by terror. Each time he emerged, he slaughtered pirates en masse, earning the moniker Devil, which spread like wildfire throughout the prison.
Everyone feared him, never knowing who he would target next.

"I... I'll tell you, but I don't know if the person truly possesses Observation Haki," one pirate said through gritted teeth.
Shu Mingyuan gazed at him with those eerie blood-red eyes, then nodded softly. "Speak."

"Promise you won't kill me, and I’ll tell you! Otherwise, I'd rather take this secret to the real hell. There aren't many who know about this; I found out by accident," he threatened.
Shu Mingyuan seemed utterly indifferent to the threat. He replied coolly, "You are in no position to set terms with me. You have two choices: speak now, and I may spare your life if I feel like it, or die here along with the others."
These pirates were nothing more than living points of justice to him; he had intended to kill them all anyway, and their resistance only wasted a little of his time.

Seeing Shu Mingyuan’s detached demeanor, the pirate shuddered, then revealed what he knew.
"There’s a mysterious fellow in the southern part of the Frozen Hell. Rumor has it he can foresee certain events; it should be related to the Observation Haki you mentioned."

Shu Mingyuan nodded, then unleashed the Thousand Birds Sharp Spear, piercing the man’s heart.
"You... you broke your word..."
Watching his body grow cold, Shu Mingyuan’s gaze grew even more detached. His lips moved slightly, and his chilling voice echoed, making the survivors feel as if they had plunged into an icy abyss.

"I never once promised not to kill you. Slaughtering civilians is a crime deserving death!"
A series of screams rang out in the cell, followed by silence, the air thick with the stillness of death.

"South, then."
He turned his gaze to the distant area, near the woods inhabited by the military wolves—the most perilous part of the Frozen Hell.
He suddenly remembered the original story’s fifth-and-a-half basement, which first appeared there.
"Could I run into those dead transvestites?" He grimaced, vowing never to step foot in that den of perverts.

Since mastering Armament Haki, he no longer felt the cold here. Through relentless training, he could harden his body at will.
At a thought, any part of his body could be hardened. Achieving this meant he had taken his first step toward becoming a true powerhouse in this world.
For Haki held a pivotal place here!

Armament Haki doesn’t require hardening the whole body—instantaneous hardening of a specific area is enough.
Full-body hardening can handle most situations, but its strength is the key; the larger the area, the more dispersed the power, and the weaker the defense.
So it’s better to concentrate Haki at a point—just enough to block an enemy’s attack!
Armament Haki isn’t unbreakable here; if your strength surpasses your opponent’s Haki, you can overwhelm everything.

Thus, the essence of Haki is its intensity! The stronger the Haki, the greater the power and the higher the defense.
A powerhouse like Garp’s fist chased the Pirate King Roger around the world.
Weaklings like those from Amazon Lily may possess Haki, but their bodies are frail and were easily sent flying by Luffy.

Of course, this is most people’s pursuit. What he seeks is high-intensity Haki covering his entire body, so he can withstand the destructive effects of opening all Eight Gates.
Therefore, outside combat, he always envelops his blood, flesh, bones, and organs with Haki.
This way, he both nurtures his physique and constantly tempers the strength of his Haki. All of this happens inside his body, unseen by others.

Lost in these thoughts, he unconsciously entered the woods.
This was the wolves’ territory—the heart of their den, teeming with military wolves.
Sensing an intruder, they quickly encircled him.

A chorus of howls erupted; thousands of wolves roared in unison, shaking the skies.
Shu Mingyuan halted, facing the pack barring his path, his expression unchanging. Even the pirates here would soil themselves at the sight of such a vast, savage pack.
He, however, felt no fear.

"Chidori Style: Ground Walk!"
His low voice rumbled in his throat; countless currents arced from his body, spreading across the ice like a net and striking the wolves. The violent electricity stunned and felled scores of them.

The lead wolf let out an enraged howl, then the burly, buffalo-sized wolves lunged at him in succession.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
"Leaf Style Sword Technique: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
He grasped the air, and a ten-meter-long spear of lightning formed in his hand. Two clones appeared beside him, and in an instant, three crescent-shaped slashes swept out.
The dozen attacking wolves were sliced in half, blood raining onto the ice and staining it crimson.
With a single move, he killed over thirty. The lead wolf’s blood-red eyes betrayed fear as it looked at him.

"Go!"
Shu Mingyuan uttered the word indifferently, without any force, yet the lead wolf whimpered, then let out another beastly cry. The pack quickly retreated, dragging their fallen kin.

Step by step, Shu Mingyuan walked toward the prison, finding only one man locked inside.
"So this is the one rumored to possess Observation Haki? Don’t disappoint me."

[ps: Thanks to Qingfeng Prefix, April, (D), The Most Beautiful Is The First Meeting, Impossible to Forget, I’m Still Wandering, I miss U, xm, Midnight Lonely Shadow, Lin Weijian for the recommendation votes!
Cute Meng Meng begs for bookmarks! Recommendations! Tips!]