One Piece Devouring Fruit - Chapter 48

Shaking his head, Michion dismissed the clichéd idea.

To him, it was merely a coincidence, likely related to his previous training and recent experiences.

It was probably because he finally had a good night’s sleep.

After all, on the ship and during Roger’s execution in Loguetown, a place teeming with monsters, it was impossible to sleep well!

Even if he dreamed of the original owner’s memories yesterday, it might have been triggered by returning to a familiar place, seeing familiar people and things, and stimulating his brain to activate those memories.

As for the awakening of Observation Haki, Michion had his thoughts.

The constant battles after going to sea kept Michion on edge, always tense. Sailing endlessly across the ocean, the stress of fighting constantly pressed on his body and mind.

Then, watching Roger’s execution and the sudden revelation of his backstory led to both physical and mental exhaustion.

Finally, after resolving a series of issues yesterday, he relaxed, which unknowingly allowed his observation haki to break through.

Previously, the instructors at the training camp had said he had great talent, and then he underwent rigorous training under Instructor Zephyr.

Before setting off for the East Blue, the instructors at the training camp had said that going out for experience might suddenly awaken his abilities.

But who would have thought he’d wake up one morning with Observation Haki, which made Michion find it amusing? Typically, it should be a breakthrough in a life-or-death battle, overcoming a critical moment to activate Observation Haki and then defeating the opponent, right?

Instead, he just slept and woke up with it.

But Michion didn’t consider himself lucky, as all the countless beatings by various instructors brought him to this point.

In any case, breaking through was a good thing. Before his observation, Haki was unreliable; sometimes, he worked, and sometimes he did not, making it unusable in combat.

Recalling the instructors’ various training methods, Michion shivered, thinking it was no coincidence that he awakened Observation Haki—it was simply a natural progression.

…

A few months before going to sea, in an open-air training ground of the Marines.

At this moment, Michion’s eyes were covered with a cloth, cautiously sensing the possible slight movements around him.

But no matter how hard he tried to sense the surroundings, the result was constantly getting hit on the body by the instructors’ wooden sticks, making him grit his teeth in pain.

After days of beatings, Michion hadn’t sensed Observation Haki but felt he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, becoming hypersensitive to any slight movement or sound.

But those weren’t the most challenging parts. The hardest was losing his sight, that initial fear and disorientation.

He struggled to walk straight, losing all sense of direction and balance.

Not only did he have to overcome these difficulties, but he also guarded against attacks from unknown directions.

The sense of the unknown was indeed a psychological torment. Some instructors would frequently strike, like hitting a sandbag, while others had a perverse sense of humor, making him stay alert constantly and attacking the moment he let his guard down.

You never knew what was coming next, so Michion had to keep his nerves on edge.

But staying alert all the time drained his mental energy rapidly, making him utterly exhausted.

Whenever he made some progress, the instructors would immediately raise the difficulty of the training, ensuring there was no easy day for him.

Later, when Michion’s Observation Haki was unreliable, sometimes working, sometimes not, it got even worse.

The instructors directly took him to a special training camp for Observation Haki, where he stayed for a month.

And thus began the all-day nature of the beatings, with surprise attacks even during meals and sleep, driving him crazy. Moreover, multiple instructors joined forces to beat him, and he didn’t even know who the next instructor would be.

Some of them, Michion hadn’t even seen before.

Occasionally, Michion saw other unfortunates like him, only much older.

All this made Michion somewhat frantic and even irritable, but his years of performing surgeries forced him to maintain a calm mindset.

This kind of training, different from the mental toughness training on Boing Archipelago, made his mind increasingly calm and steady.

Living two lives and various experiences in this world continuously transformed Michion’s mind, but he still couldn’t cross that final threshold for Observation Haki.

The instructors also said after training that Michion might awaken Observation Haki at any moment, which had previously caused him some anxiety.

But after going to sea, with the battles, Roger’s execution, his backstory, and a series of experiences, Michion forgot about it until he slept soundly last night.

And now, he had finally broken through!

Having become a “butterfly,” Michion was undergoing a “press conference.”

He was dressed in a red shirt and black tie made overnight by the palace’s tailor.

He wore a black cloak over this, and with his handsome face and elegant demeanor, he perfectly embodied the image of a prince.

Seeing the looks of many young ladies when Gaius announced his identity before standing on the stage showed how effective it was.

The design was entirely thanks to Lovna. She had taken up learning to design clothes to cope with her longing for her child, and now it had become a reality.

Michion was happy to comply; just trying on clothes made her happy and improved their relationship—why not?

Although he reluctantly called out, he did it. Seeing his unease, they just thought he was unused to it after so many years and comforted him, saying it would take time.

But there was nothing he could do—he had only this year’s memories after crossing over! He had no memory of living here before; crucially, he was a substitute.

Even with those previous memories, he was no longer that dead kid.

However, after regaining the memories last night, Michion felt the original body’s yearning for home and parents.

Although he didn’t believe it was the lingering soul of the body’s original owner, Michion accepted them. Though suddenly gaining family felt awkward, it was his gratitude for the new life the original body gave him!

It wasn’t for the benefits brought by this identity and status but a simple repayment for letting him live again and come to this world.

That alone was enough for Michion to do this—it was his resolve as a man destined to conquer the sea!

Remembering the unknown resentment in his original body when he first crossed over and now understanding it after regaining those memories last night, Michion suddenly realized that the feeling of resentment was for home.

Rest assured, I will take care of them and live well for you, standing at the pinnacle of this world!

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