| Role-Play Name: A Treatise of the Soul Date Started: September 21st, 2020 |
"Come in," Came a weary rasp in response to someone knocking on the chamber door. Edgar had not had a good year, the Monk Pirates had fallen, his list of allies was heavily limited, and worst of all it seemed like the ancient pirate would have to postpone his retirement once more. Edgar Poe was among the most ancient outlaws on the sea, having plied his trade since the time of Roger. He had seen the rise and fall of nations, of crews, of kings. He had served two yonko and had crossed paths, and fists, with half a dozen more. To him, the current crews terrorising the sea were nothing but amateurs, baring their fangs at the world around them with reckless abandon. Even the sole remaining Yonko was his junior, the old crow having reached the seas twenty years before the spider. The Great Tengu of Shikhi was tired, tired of the constant conflict, tired of the constant setbacks, tired of having promises to him constantly broken. But mostly he was just tired.
The former Eight of Spades of the Monks entered the door to his father's office. While the Tengu was exhausted, the Barbarian had been having a great year. While Marshall was no longer among the Monk's ranks, he continued to rack up achievement after achievement in pursuit of his father's mysterious plans. With his bounty having nearly doubled in the last three years to 
781,000,000 and his swordwork rapidly improving now that he was free of the Monk's Hierarchy, he did not share his father's pessimism.
"Hey Pops," The younger poe said casually as he sunk down onto one of the large armchairs facing his father's desk, "Mind if I ask you something?"
"I mean, you're going to no matter what I say, so sure." Edgar responded without even looking at his eldest son.
"I've been thinking..." Marshall said slowly, "Would it be possible for me to learn that Kaijo thing you do?"
"Well this is new, usually you don't ask me for training anymore." the old crow replied curtly.
"I just had the thought cross my mind while dealing with the last group of idiots trying to muscle in," Marshall shrugged, "Thought, what if I removed the haki from the sword of the one guy they had who could use it. I could just shatter the blade and him in one go. Quick and easy."
"Actually using your head for something besides holding your hair, never thought I'd live to see the day."
"Wow, sarcasm and blind insults, that's definitely not new." Marshall sighed as his father simply smiled.
Poe chuckled softly at the retort, "But sure, I'll show you. Though I will be blunt, this may be a bit too advanced. Even your sister hasn't gotten the hang of this one." Poe stated as he closed the report he was looking at. "But first, a refresher."
"Marshall, you remember my lessons right?" Edgar quested as he put the tips of his fingers together. "We'll start with the basics. What is Haki?"
Marshall grinned with his reply, "Of course, you drilled them into us hard enough. Haki is the application of one's spirit, right?"
"Correct to a degree. Haki in its rawest state is the essence of one's soul. It is a pool of internal power that is drawn from the entirety of one's being. By training ones body, mind, and spirit one can draw upon ever greater amounts of this internal power to empower ones self. None of the three types of haki exist in a vacuum, they drawn from a single pool of power. Once the pool is emptied, all forms of haki cease functioning until it is refilled after all. None of the types of Haki are inherently different, they are just different expressions of the same power." Edgar explained before continuing, "Now then, what are the basis of the three basic types of Haki, Kenbunshoku, Busoshoku, and Haoshoku?"
"Instinct, Drive, and Ego." The younger Poe responded quickly.
"You did pay attention." Edgar smiled slightly. "Correct. Kenbunshoku is at its simplest form, one's own instincts. Busoshoku is a representation of the drive of someone amplifying their abilities while Haoshoku is simply the imposition of ones own ego upon the world around them. Now then, next question. You know of the more advanced applications of Haki, such as the Ryou of Wano or the principle of Future Sight among Kenbunshoku haki users. What makes these different from the more basic applications of haki?"
"The addition of Discipline."
"While technically that does apply, that is incorrect for these examples." Poe responded quietly. "Both of these two abilities rely on the projection of the basic ability. By projecting one's drive, Ryou, also known as emission, lets you impart your drive beyond the reach of your weapon and can amplify the damage one deals significantly. Future Sight on the other hand, is the projection of your instincts to allow you to guess farther into the future. Basically letting your instincts interpret whats going to happen next. Haoshoku also has a similar technique projection, but since you weren't born with it, it's a moot point to discuss."
"Now then," Edgar continued, "Discipline is another point of growth possible for Haki. It is most often seen through the use of Busoshoku Haki's emission by preventing the emission of Haki from flowing around the target and instead flowing it inside. Many refer to this as internal destruction. My own Kurotsume technique goes beyond this by applying projection once again into the technique, forcing the destructive energies to flow faster through the recipient of the technique. But what his discipline does is enhance the potency of the technique beyond what is normally possible."
"However, this brings me to a side note. Haoshoku haki's discipline enhancement is merely the more focused applications of the ability, as Haoshoku and Discipline don't mix well."
"So there are downsides to being a user of Haoshoku Haki?" Marshall questioned.
"Yes, though they are relatively minor. Haoshoku Haki is the imposition of ones ego on the world around them, the force of one's personality allowing you to render the spirits of weaker individuals comatose and even begin to break down the world around you. The only downside I've particularly studied is that you can't simply turn it off. You remember the warriors of Zou right? The ones who managed to sneak up on you during your training?"
"Yeah, even when I knew they were there I could barely sense them."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I just assumed it was their prowess at hunting and hiding their presence."
"Incorrect, the secret is their mild dispositions. Most members of Zou are extremely friendly and have little to no ego. Few of them have the force of personality to be dominant, which is why they defer so deftly to their leaders. This lack of ego makes it easy for them to hide their presence. However, Haoshoku users are the anathema to this concept, as their ego is so big the world itself takes notice. This renders them incapable of quenching their presence to even novice kenbunshoku users as this flies in the face of their latent power. Simply put, Haoshoku users can not hide, it simply isn't in their nature."
"That... makes a lot of sense when you consider how fast they tend to get themselves killed."
"Exactly."
Edgar paused for a moment in thought before continuing, "The other downside is the inability to use techniques like the one I am about to explain to you. Kaijoshoku Haki operates under the principle of destructively cancelling out the haki of another using your own. There are three steps in it. First, one must sense the disposition and wavelength of their opponent's soul with your instincts. This is easiest among Haoshoku users as they wear it upon their sleeves. Then one must have the discipline to change their own disposition and wavelength to oppose it as close to exactly as you can. Then by projecting your drive onto your opponent, the two opposing wavelengths will dissapate entirely, berefting both of you of the protection of haki. This even works on other types of haki as well, though it requires significantly more effort on your part ot maintain, and i wouldn't try unless you know your inner reserve of power is signfiicantly larger than theirs."
"So basically don't try it unless its you doing the technique?" Marshall responded as recalled just how potent his old man's haki truly was.
"Pretty much. My Zoufukushoku Haki technique also works in a similar way, though it functions exactly the opposite in that you need to match your wavelengths to empower another. But I doubt you care much about that one."
"Yeah, not going to lie, doesn't really seem to be my cup of tea." Marshall shrugged. "Does that work on the... whatchamacallit... Infusion? I think it's Infusion?"
"You mean Haoshoku Infusion, right?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Mostly." Edgar clarified, "You can use Kaijoshoku in order to counteract and dispel what many people refer to as Haoshoku infusion, however it is a lot harder, especially since neither you nor I have it. But all forms of Haki are drawn from one single pool of energy. Even if you are not used to it, it doesn't mean it is any different fundamentally from Busoshoku or Kenbunshoku, it is just expressed in a different manner. This manner can be exploited and counteracted once you get used to it. The issue is getting used to it if you don't have someone with it to practice against."
"Yeah.. that does sound like a pain..." Marshall replied as he rubbed his temple.
"But that's enough for the lecture. It's time for the first training. You must now hone your instincts and sense the inner pool of other people," Poe stated succintly as he pulled out a clipboard. "Return once you have deciphered the inner disposition of at least ten other people on this island. Once you do so, we can begin the next stage of the training."
Marshall raised an eyebrow as he grabbed the clipboard, standing up as he walked to the door, "Thanks Father, I won't disappoint you," the giant of a man said quietly as he closed the door behind him.
Poe sat there a few minutes in his chair after Marshall had left, "Don't worry, you haven't yet..." the old man simply smiled as the words slipped out. "You haven't yet."
~Fin~