Roger Pirates

"Thank you for letting me ride on your boat.", I say after we leave what was left of God Valley. The crew is not in a very good state but I believe that most, if not all of them are alive. This is quite a powerful crew, I have to say. The amount of strong people I saw in the last day, is impressive. For years I have only seen one strong man.

That Saturn guy. He gave me that arachnid feeling. I love all animals but he has this weird feeling to him, that tastes like rot. It was the feeling I got whenever he was around. The smell and taste of rot. I wonder where that comes from. 

"Rahahahaha that's alright kid. I saw you fight, that was an impressive display back there.", Roger said. The fact that he can smile like this after what happened is ... commendable. I feel a kinship with this man for some reason. Fascinating.

"That was more than reckless of you, young man. How old are you anyway?", Rayleigh asked.

"I'm 7 this year. But don't worry, it might not have been the best plan, but it was a plan nonetheless. I waited for the right chance and didn't just rush in. I might take things as they come, but I'm not an idiot."

"Rahahahaha the kid's right."

"You can leave me wherever I'm not picky.", I say.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean you can leave me anywhere. It doesn't matter to me. I'll find a way."

"..."

"Weren't you a slave? You will be hunted by the Navy and the World Government. They will never let you go.", Rayleigh said. 

"I was never a slave. Being a slave is a mental thing. I was never a slave. As for being hunted down, I guess that makes sense but why would that stop me? I am free to do what I wish."

"Raha, I like you, kid. What's your name?"

"Gautama Siddharta. But you can call me Sid."

"Raha, Sid I like it. How about it Sid ... joining my crew!", Roger said.

This surprised me and the rest of the crew. Roger normally had a policy of not recruiting people who weren't ready for such harsh conditions. He was well aware of what it meant to be a pirate. And he didn't have kids on board yet. But for him to recruit me ... I guess he also felt that kinship we had. So naturally there is only one correct answer.

"I will!", I smile and tell him my answer. This makes him smile as well.

"Rahaha, let's party to celebrate our newest crew member, everyone!!"

"YEAHHH!" "YEAHHH!" "YEAHHH!" "YEAHHH!" 

.

That's how I joined the Roger Pirates at the age of 7. Well, I guess I wasn't the youngest, since the crew had found a baby inside a treasure chest on God Valley. It was decided to give him the name Shanks. I was the one to take care of little shanks. I enjoyed doing that, otherwise, I wouldn't do it. But seeing the other members being unable, I decided that it was best this way. 

Being part of the Roger Pirates was similar to how I imagined it to be. There was constantly someone after us from the Navy. One man in particular, Monkey D. Garp. That man was a bloodhound I tell you. It was amusing to see the rivalry and friendship between Roger and Garp as they tried to 'kill' each other. No matter the pride Garp has, if he truly wanted to capture Roger, he would use underhanded tactics or fight him with more people than just a 1v1.

There was constantly something going on on the ship. Either we were chased by the Navy and Garp, or we were chasing someone ourselves, or we were searching for new islands, or we were partying. There was a lot of partying. The crew would use any small reason for throwing a party and enjoying themselves. It was a nice change of pace for me. 

After a few months of being on Roger's crew, I was approached by Rayleigh. It seems he had something planned. I was once again relaxing on a hammock as I did most of the time, when he approached me.

"Sid, there's something I wanted to talk to you about.", he said.

"Hm? What did you want to talk about?"

"Well since you've been a part of our crew, I think it's time for you to start your training. I've seen how strong you are back in God Valley and I think you have great potential. It would also be safer that way. You wouldn't hold anyone back."

"The Vice Captain, looking out for everyone. I agree with you, I was planning to start my training as well. I didn't get much training when I was in Mary Geoise. And now that I finally get enough food, this is a good idea."

"Very well then, let's start right away."

.

"I saw what you're capable of when you attacked Figarland. I thought that it was a mistake or a lapse of focus on his part, but I have since come to understand the true reason. The real reason why you managed to sneak up to him, was because he couldn't sense you. I believe that his Kenbunshoku Haki didn't even pick you up and warn him. 

The reason I say this is because I have also experienced similar things. And when I told Roger, he said that he also couldn't pick up on you with his Kenbunshoku. I am not sure but there might be a racial component involved but in the end, it doesn't matter. The fact that you can't be predicted or sensed essentially, makes you a very dangerous man on the Sea."

"Yeah, I noticed that as well. It was one of the reasons why that Saturn guy, took me to his island and experimented on me. That and my lack of showing my pain or screams."

"Yes, I noticed your easygoing nature and that is also why you fit in so well here. Your willpower is exceptionally strong for someone so young. I can't accurately sense your strength with Haki, but I can tell from what I've seen that you are ready to begin training Haki. And that is what we'll do. Were you ever told what Haki is?"

"No. I just picked some things up from the talks that the scientists had."

"Then I will explain it in detail. Haki is a latent power that everybody has! Presence, fighting spirit, intimidation ... It's no different from the senses that normal humans have. However, most of them don't realise their power or don't know how to bring them out, until the very end. 

Having no doubt! ... That makes you strong. This is also the reason that you are so exceptionally powerful at the age of 7. You don't have any doubts. Your will is unbelievably powerful and you take the world on without batting an eye. You will become truly powerful in the future. Now let me explain to you about the types of Haki.

There are two prominent types of Haki! The first is the power to feel another's presence more clearly. This one is called Kenbunshoku no Haki! If you enhance this power, you can tell where your invisible enemy is, how many there are and what their next move will be. They call it Mantra on the Sky Island - Skypiea.

Next, Busoshoku no Haki. This power is the same as wearing invisible armour. If the armour is strong enough, it can be used as an offensive power. The efficient part of this power is that other than exploiting their weak point, Busoshoku no Haki is the only effective countermeasure against Devil Fruit eaters. 

As I'm sure you know, Logia-type devil fruit eaters seem almost invincible because of their fluid bodies. But you can hit them solidly if you use Busoshoku no Haki. Another thing is that you can transfer this power to your weapon and coat them with it."

"I see. That is indeed interesting. But I feel like there is more than just those two, right? There was this feeling that I felt when the Saturn old man tried to intimidate me or during the fight on God Valley. That must be the third type then."

"You are correct. Kenbunshoku, Busoshoku ... Those are the two types of Haki that everyone has access to. However, there are a few rare people who can use another kind of Haki. If you paid attention during the fight on God Valley, then you saw that the Celestial Dragons fell unconscious for no reason. And that pressure that you felt when they tried to intimidate you is the third type. Haoshoku no Haki also called, the colour of the Supreme King.

The people who carry the biggest names in the world, often have this Haki. However unlike the other two, you can control Haoshoku no Haki, but you can't train yourself to use it. It's the embodiment of the spirit of the user! The only way to make it stronger is for you to grow stronger."

"Hmmm, that is interesting. Very interesting. I feel like I should also have this Haki then.", I thought out loud. Rayleigh smiled at that.

"Yes, you most certainly do. For someone to have such a strong willpower and spirit to endure torture for over 5 years of his life and not even scream ... you have unbelievable spirit and willpower. I have no doubt that you will unlock this, as soon as I pressure you directly. And I guess that you already unlocked it but just aren't aware of it."

"That may be true. So when do we start?"

"Before we start I should tell you a bit more about the different Haki types. As you now know there are three types of Haki. But each Haki has its own different set of stages that you can reach. 

For Kenbunshoku no Haki those are mainly presence sensing, strength sensing, emotion sensing and intent sensing. Those are some of the basic ways to use Kenbunshoku no Haki. Some who have advanced Kenbunshoku enough are even able to see a few seconds into the future."

"For real? That is an impressive use of one's senses. This world is so interesting."

"Haha, yes it is. Now Busoshoku no Haki. Here the basic way to use it is to harden any part of your body or imbue it into a weapon of your choice. You are free to use it, but the more you use Busoshoku at a time, the more stamina it will cost you. If you advance enough here, you will be able to emit Busoshoku and make it flow out of your body. This can allow you to unleash small invisible bursts to knock things back. We call that Emission.

A step above the technique of emitting Busoshoku is having it flow into a target's body and destroy it from the inside out, which can be done by touching, grabbing, or even emitting Haki toward the object. This is known as Internal Destruction."

"Ah, I can see the usefulness of such a technique, when fighting against someone especially durable."

"Indeed. Finally, we come to the last of the Haki, Haoshoku no Haki. As I told you, you can use Haoshoku as intimidation and also to knock out people with weaker will than you. If used with a sufficient degree of power, Haoshoku Haki is capable of damaging inanimate objects and structures in the user's vicinity. That is commonly called pressure. 

A very small number of particularly powerful Haoshoku Haki users are able to "infuse" their body and weapons with this Haki in a way that is very similar to Busoshoku Haki, greatly augmenting the power of their attacks. This is called Infusion. Now that the theory part is out of the way, let us begin with Haoshoku no Haki first."

"Yes, let's do that."