Haki Monster in One Piece World - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Fish Smell and Fear

Mike awoke slowly, not to the jarring panic of the previous day, but to a dull ache in his muscles and the persistent emptiness in his stomach. He’d slumped against the cave wall sometime during his meditative marathon, sleep finally claiming him. The strange jungle sounds still filtered in from outside the vine curtain, but the primal terror they’d initially inspired felt… buffered.

He sat up, stretching stiff limbs, and immediately checked the System interface floating patiently in his vision.

Haki: Lv.12 (41/91 EXP)

Level 12. He’d managed to keep meditating even while half-asleep for a good portion of the night. The feeling was subtle but undeniable. The inner warmth, the sense of a spiritual reservoir he could almost perceive, was significantly stronger than when he was Level 0 or even Level 8. It didn’t translate to confidence in his skills – they were still unreliable Lv.1 toys – but his base felt more solid. The ambient fear that had permeated his existence since arrival was lessened, pushed back by this internal anchor. It was like turning up the brightness on his own soul; the shadows didn’t seem quite as deep.

Unfortunately, spiritual energy didn’t fill the belly. Hunger gnawed with vicious intensity now, and the memory of the raw, gamey rabbitoid meat made him grimace. He needed real food. And water. Plus, the Haki attribute progress only highlighted the glaring zero next to his Physique. Sitting around meditating was great for his spirit pool, but his body was still, according to the System, ‘below average’ and Level 0. He needed to find a safe place to train, to start building physical strength, speed, something.

Decision made, he cautiously peered out from his hiding spot. The jungle seemed brighter, less menacing in the daylight, though still profoundly alien. Taking a deep breath, Mike slipped out of the narrow cave entrance, moving with what he hoped was increased stealth. His first priority was water, which he found relatively easily by backtracking to the stream from yesterday. After drinking his fill, the hunt for edible plants began again.

If anything, his second attempt was even less successful than the first. His increased Haki attribute didn’t magically grant him botanist knowledge for alien flora. He eyed a cluster of vibrant, ruby-red berries hanging invitingly from a low branch. They looked vaguely like Earth berries. “Red usually means warning,” he muttered to himself, recalling basic survival tips. “But this place flips everything upside down. Maybe red means super-delicious?” He plucked one cautiously, sniffed it (no discernible smell), and tentatively touched it to his tongue.

An immediate, intense bitterness flooded his mouth, so foul it made his eyes water. He spat violently, scrubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Nope! Okay, definitely not delicious. More like concentrated despair.” Systematically useless.

He moved on, spotting a large, cushion-like plant that puffed out clouds of iridescent glitter when he poked it with a stick. Looked cool, probably inedible. Later, he found a fruit that resembled a lumpy, orange pineapple. He managed to pry it open with his multi-tool, revealing soft, gooey insides that smelled vaguely of rotten eggs. He decided to pass.

While searching fruitlessly for food, he was also scanning for potential workout spots. He needed somewhere secluded, relatively flat, and defensible, or at least with good visibility. The dense jungle floor offered nothing but tripping hazards and lurking shadows. He needed to find a clearing, maybe higher ground?

Frustrated by the lack of both food and suitable training grounds deep in the forest, he found himself drifting, cautiously, towards the edges again. Perhaps the vegetation changed near the perimeter? Maybe there was a hidden meadow, or a rocky outcrop less overgrown than the interior? The air felt different here, carrying a faint, salty tang he hadn’t noticed deeper in the woods. The sea? Was he on an island?

He moved with extreme caution now, remembering the beast sighting was somewhere out there. He tried to actively use his Observation Haki, focusing, reaching out with that nascent sixth sense. Mostly, he got nothing but a faint headache and a vague awareness of unseen jungle critters skittering nearby. But occasionally, he felt a flicker – a brief sense of presence just beyond his line of sight, a fleeting ripple in his awareness. It was inconsistent, unreliable, but it was there, offering tantalizing hints of potential. Maybe Lv.1 wasn’t completely useless, just mostly.

He found himself near a thicker patch of foliage, affording excellent cover, overlooking a section where the massive trees thinned slightly. Beyond the tree line, maybe fifty yards away, was a wide, dusty path. And the salty smell was stronger here.

Then he saw them. And this time, it wasn’t a fleeting glimpse.

Three figures lounged by the side of the path, their appearances jolting Mike with a mixture of horrified recognition and sheer disbelief. One was massive, easily seven feet tall, with dark blue skin, a long saw-like nose, and a cruel grin filled with needle-sharp teeth, currently barking orders. Shark features. Has to be. Another had multiple arms – six, Mike counted – currently fiddling idly with some strange object, his skin a purplish-pink, his face oddly round and dopey looking. Octopus. The third was leaner, with dark grey skin like a ray, webbed hands resting on his hips, an aura of stern martial discipline radiating from him even as he stood relaxed. Ray features.

Fishmen. Real, live (and apparently lounging) Fishmen. Not just generic monsters, but distinct types, disturbingly close to the designs he remembered from Oda’s drawings. Their casual posture spoke volumes of their dominance here. They acted like they owned the place, radiating an effortless arrogance and menace. One of them, the octopus one, lazily tossed a half-eaten, unidentifiable fruit core towards the forest, hitting a tree near Mike’s hiding spot with a wet thump.

Mike pressed himself flat against the earth, hidden behind a thick screen of broad, waxy leaves, his heart hammering against his ribs. Seeing them up close, hearing their rough, guttural voices drifting on the air, made the danger viscerally real in a way yesterday’s distant glimpse hadn’t. These weren’t just drawings on a page; they were living, breathing creatures of immense strength and casual cruelty.

He strained his ears, praying for a lucky flicker of Observation Haki to boost his hearing. The Fishmen were talking, their voices carrying easily in the relatively open air.

“…lazy human farmers,” the shark-nosed one grumbled, kicking at a loose stone on the path. “Still haven’t paid the full tax this month. Getting bold.”

The octopus one chuckled, a weird, bubbly sound. “Nyuu~ Maybe they need another reminder, Kuroobi?”

The ray Fishman, Kuroobi apparently, didn’t react beyond a slight narrowing of his eyes. “Patience, Chew. Arlong wants the Berries, not a pile of useless corpses. Not yet, anyway.”

Chew? Mike’s eyes widened. He recognized that name too!

Chew spat on the ground. “Dirty human scum. Always causing trouble. If it were up to me, we’d just clear them all out, let the sea reclaim this island.”

Kuroobi finally spoke, his voice flat and cold. “Arlong-san’s plans are absolute. We follow his orders. He enjoys the fear, the control… and the money. For now, they pay. If they falter, then Arlong will make an example Coco Village won’t forget.”

Arlong. Taxes. Human scum. Coco Village.

The pieces slammed together in Mike’s mind with the force of a physical blow. It wasn’t just like One Piece. He was in One Piece. Specifically, he was on Conomi Island, during the Arlong Park arc. One of the earlier, but still brutal, segments of the story he’d only vaguely followed years ago. He remembered Arlong, the tyrannical Saw-Shark Fishman, his crew of racist supremacists, their enslavement of Nami, the terrorized villagers.

The context was like gasoline on the fire of his fear. These weren’t just strong monsters; they were characters known for their sadism, their immense strength (relative to East Blue humans, anyway), and their utter contempt for human life. Arlong himself was a powerhouse who had easily dominated the region. His officers – Kuroobi the Fishman Karate master, Chew the water-gun sniper, Hatchan the six-sword style octopus – were formidable in their own right.

His Haki Attribute Level 12 suddenly felt laughably insignificant. That was just his energy pool, his potential. His actual skills were Lv.1 and unreliable. His Physique was Lv.0. He was, in practical terms, a slightly spiritually-attuned piece of cannon fodder. If they found him… He wouldn’t even be a speed bump.

Panic, cold and sharp, seized him again. This wasn’t just about survival anymore; it was about surviving them. About staying hidden from a specific, known, and terrifyingly powerful group of antagonists. He needed to get away. Deep into the forest. Now.

Moving with agonizing slowness, barely daring to breathe, Mike began to retreat. He crawled backwards, pushing himself away from the edge of the forest, putting distance between himself and the casually menacing Fishmen. Every snap of a twig under his hand sounded like a gunshot in the tense silence of his mind. He didn’t stop moving until the sounds of their voices faded completely, replaced once more by the deep, alien pulse of the jungle.

He practically ran then, deeper and deeper into the woods, pushing past the bizarre flora, ignoring the scratches from thorny vines. Fear propelled him. He needed a better hiding place. The shallow cave from last night felt terrifyingly inadequate now. He needed somewhere deep, somewhere hidden, somewhere defensible.

After a frantic search that lasted maybe another hour, his panic slowly receding into grim caution, he found it. A dense curtain of thick, root-like vines cascaded down a small cliff face, looking almost solid. But pushing through a specific section revealed a narrow fissure in the rock behind it. He squeezed through, the opening tight, scraping his sides, and found himself in a small, completely dry cave. It was barely large enough to stand up in, maybe ten feet deep, but the entrance was almost invisible from the outside, and the rock felt solid, secure. It was leagues better than his previous spot.

He collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily, the adrenaline finally leaving him shaky. Safe. For now. But the encounter had lit a fire under him. Hiding wasn’t enough. Meditating for Haki points wasn’t enough. He needed physical strength. He needed to raise that Physique level from zero, fast.

He looked around the small cave. No room to run, barely room to swing his arms properly. But he could punch. He could do push-ups, maybe bodyweight squats. He needed to start somewhere.

He remembered an image from the manga – Monkey D. Garp, Luffy’s insane Vice-Admiral grandfather, known for his monstrous strength trained through relentless, seemingly simple methods. Punching. Garp punched mountains, battleships… Mike looked at the solid cave wall. It wasn’t a mountain, but it would have to do.

He stood up, faced the rock, and planted his feet. He wasn’t thinking about technique, just raw exertion. He started punching the cave wall, putting his weight behind each blow. One. Two. Three. His knuckles protested immediately. Ten. Twenty. The impact jarred his arm. Fifty. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Seventy. His muscles started to burn. Ninety. His breathing grew ragged. One hundred.

He stopped, panting, knuckles scraped raw and bleeding slightly, arms aching fiercely. He looked down at his hands, then back at the impassive rock wall. Was this even doing anything?

Ping.

The familiar chime echoed in his mind, accompanied by the blue screen’s update.

[Repetitive Physical Exertion Detected.]

[Target: Solid Rock Surface. Intensity: Moderate.]

[Physique Attribute EXP +1]

[Current Physique: Lv.0 (1/1 EXP)]

Ping.

[Physique Attribute Leveled Up!]

[Current Level: 1]

[Physique: Lv.1 (0/3 EXP)]

As soon as this notification came, Mike felt the size of his muscles increasing, and his body getting stronger.

This feeling is much stronger than just increasing spiritual energy.

According to the system, his current physical strength is equivalent to 1 million bounty pirate.