The Pillar of Autumn

Looming Bundle of Doom
"Haki?" a young Veno pondered, sitting about a lone tree stump situated about a forest.

"Aye, Haki. It's what makes the job for carpenters like us much easier," barked Bernard, "pay close attention now; as you should know by now, I dislike having to repeat myself."

Taking in a deep breath, the large grizzly bear mink stood motionless, focusing his energies toward enhancing his perception. His eyes turned red, and after a brief twitch of his lids, he turned his head in the direction of the forest. "There. I've found just the right one."

Though confused beyond belief, Veno opted to follow the bear nonetheless. Much to his surprise, Bernard had led him to an oak; one which was noticeably smaller than the others around.

"This is it," Bernard explained, touching his hand to the bark, "all living things, even trees such as this one possess haki. With a little training, you'll be able to pick the good ones from the bad."

"What's so good about this one?"

"You won't be able to tell just yet for yourself, but this tree has a certain energy emanating from within. It may look smaller than the others, and perhaps to you much less worthy of constructing a hull with; but in actuality, it's far more durable than the others."

Bernard proceeded to chopping his arm through the other trees, causing them to fall over. When he applied the same to the smaller oak, it managed but a simple cut. "See?"

Veno was at a loss for words.

"We'll take this one back with us." Coating the bulk of his right arm with haki, Bernard offered more force into his swing, enabling him to sever the oak from the ground.

---

With his hand shaped into an axe, Veno ran it through a tree, severing it cleanly from the beach. He began to carve and shape the log into a plank immediately afterward. The Nimbus was docked upon the coast of an unnamed island; the Veno Pirates had made an abrupt stop to gather resources, namely in the form of food. While the other members of the crew were out doing their thing, it was Veno's responsibility as the crew's shipwright to ensure that the Nimbus was in tiptop form, especially after all the damage she had sustained in recent battles. Still, most would have considered the amount of work he had achieved in the past hour quite worthy of praise, given he was the only one working on the ship.

Taking the planks under his arm, Veno walked them over to a pile he had been working on, when suddenly, he broke into a series of coughs. Unable to withstand them, he turned his head in the opposite direction, so that the blood spewing from his throat would fail to reach the wood. Instead, it fell in large sums into the sand.