"Left, right, weave, weave..." Albert launched a rapid assault on Nami with a wooden sword. Despite having her eyes and ears covered, Nami evaded his strikes with quick reflexes.
"That's plenty, Nami. You've just begun to unlock your Observation Haki." Albert paused his attack to commend her.
"Hehe, it's still your method, Albert, that makes it work so well." Nami removed her blindfold and earmuffs, joyfully embracing Albert.
Albert patted her head and said, "No, it's because you're hardworking, Nami, and your natural ability is impressive, which allowed you to awaken Observation Haki so swiftly."
"Really?" Nami shyly touched the back of her head, saying, "So I'm a genius; I knew I had a special talent."
"Of course, you're incredibly talented." Albert readily agreed.
Indeed, Nami's talent shines through. She only began practicing Observation Haki for a short while before awakening it. While Albert's internal energy teachings contributed, the miraculous speed of her progress is undoubtedly due to her innate abilities.
Absolutely, talent. Nami had shown remarkable aptitude for navigation from a young age. Without her natural sensitivity to her surroundings, she wouldn't possess such exceptional skills.
Observation Haki revolves around perception, and Nami's abilities in this regard are remarkable. Albert once mentioned that Observation Haki isn't tied to one's physicality. Some individuals, like Princess Shirahoshi of Fishman Island and her mother Queen Otohime, are able to awaken it at birth. Nami's talent is certainly noteworthy, allowing her to achieve this so quickly.
Having mastered Observation Haki, Albert intends to teach her the Navy's Six Powers next: Shave, Moon Walk, and Tempest Kick, ensuring she has adequate means for self-defense. However, Nami is still in training and isn't yet ready.
The reason behind this is that Nami's physique isn't quite robust enough. Despite learning the internal energy techniques from Albert, the time for her to develop them has been too brief, and her current training level isn't sufficient to practice the Six Powers, so a few more days of preparation is necessary.
Speaking of internal energy, Nami is taking the path of internal refinement, while Albert's method is more external. It's difficult to determine which approach is superior. The internal method offers rapid gains in strength, but the external one yields better overall results in the long run. Nonetheless, both methods surpass the usual cultivation techniques found in this world.
"Albert, have an orange." Lost in thought, Albert was interrupted when Nami shoved an orange into his mouth.
"Mmm, delicious—so sweet!" Albert praised the fruit.
"Exactly! My family has been growing oranges since I was a child, so they're naturally delightful."
Today, Nami, having unlocked her Observation Haki, felt exuberance bubbling inside her. Unable to contain herself, she wandered around the ship, prepared juice in the kitchen, and climbed to the lookout to enjoy the sea breeze, her heart racing with anticipation.
Noticing Nami's restlessness, Albert softly suggested, "Nami, why don't you take a seat for a bit? Aren't you tired?"
Upon hearing him, Nami settled on Albert's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, her voice brimming with enthusiasm: "Albert, did I really learn Observation Haki? I feel like I'm stronger now; it's as if I'm dreaming. Ouch! Albert, why are you pinching me?"
Releasing his grip, Albert chuckled with a playful grin, "If you can feel pain, then you know you aren't dreaming."
"Hmph!" Nami scowled, tugging at Albert's face.
"I see, Nami, you seem to have an issue..."
"Hmph, let's see you try that again." Nami released her grip with a triumphant look.
Albert rubbed his cheeks and said, "I was about to teach you something else, but it looks like my Nami isn't in the mood to learn."
"No way!" Nami pouted sweetly, urging, "Tell me quickly what you are going to teach me!"
"That is..." Albert stretched out the moment, and only when Nami looked ready to burst did he reveal, "the Six Powers of the Navy."
"The Six Powers of the Navy?" Nami looked at Albert, puzzled.
Albert then explained the Six Powers to Nami and demonstrated each technique firsthand.
"Teach me quickly!" Nami stared in awe at Albert as he descended from the air, clutching his clothes desperately.
Albert began with Shave, planning to wait until Nami mastered it before moving on to the others.
Once Albert finished teaching her, Nami eagerly dashed away to practice on her own.
Feeling abandoned, Albert sighed but said nothing.
Albert watched as Nami trained, providing guidance and correcting her mistakes along the way.
While assisting Nami, Albert also experimented with and refined his own internal energy.
After extensive practice, Albert found himself unable to unlock any advanced techniques, sighing in frustration, 'This internal energy is just quicker to learn; the other skills aren't advanced at all. It'd be better to learn Chakra… Hmm? Wait… Chakra…'
Upon recalling Chakra, Albert associated it with ninjutsu. Although he couldn't perform hand seals or grasp any ninjutsu intricately, he considered imitating some practical minor skills from Naruto.
While watching Naruto, Albert had envied techniques like tree climbing and water walking. If he could master those, in future sea battles, while others fought aboard ships, he could traverse the ocean effortlessly. What a thrilling thought!
With this in mind, Albert could no longer sit still and quickly set off to experiment.
He approached the mast and began trying out tree climbing first. Albert concluded that tree climbing and water walking from Naruto probably utilized the attractive and repulsive forces of internal energy.
Albert controlled his internal energy and directed it to his feet, forming a force of attraction. He then lifted his foot and stuck it to the mast. With a push of his legs, Albert stood sideways on the mast and took two steps upward.
Plop...
"Albert, are you okay? What were you doing just now? Why were you standing sideways on the mast like a gecko?"
"I'm fine." Albert rubbed his backside and signaled to Nami, who was coming over to help him, that he could get up. "I just thought of a new skill and was experimenting."
Nami breathed a sigh of relief and complained, "Then be careful! You scared me to death. I thought you were sick."
Albert smiled apologetically at Nami and promised, "Okay, I'll be careful. You go practice."
Seeing that Albert was merely experimenting with a new move, Nami returned to her practice with peace of mind, while Albert was now lost in confusion.
'How could this happen? It was clearly working at first, and there were no mistakes later on. So how did I suddenly fall?'
Unable to figure it out, Albert decided to experiment again. With the same movements, he practiced carefully, but he only managed to walk a few more steps than before before falling down. Drawing from his previous experience, Albert didn't fall this time; he simply frowned and kept thinking.
After a while, Albert walked to the mast, took off his shoes and socks, and continued to climb the tree. This time, he didn't fall, even when he reached the top.
Sure enough, it's related to my shoes. The shoes blocked the transmission of internal energy. No wonder the ninjas in Naruto wear shoes with exposed toes. It turns out it's for the conduction of chakra.
'Wait, doesn't that mean I have to wear shoes with exposed toes in the future, or just go for Luffy-style flip-flops? Should I wear three-quarter pants too? Ah, I don't want to! Give me back my leather boots! Give me back my pants!'
"Albert, what are you thinking?" Nami asked in confusion, looking at Albert's troubled expression.
"Ah, Nami!" Albert ran to her and hugged her, crying, "Nami, I can only wear flip-flops and three-quarter pants in the future, woo woo..."
Bang bang bang...
Nami, understanding the situation, gave Albert a light smack.
"So you were experimenting with this just now?" Nami sat in a chair and looked down at Albert, who was kneeling on the ground with a big bump on his head.
"Yes!" Albert nodded, looking aggrieved.
Nami slapped her forehead and looked at him speechlessly, fiercely admonishing, "What's the big deal about this? You cried just because of this? Think about it yourself; these are all small things."
Albert resentfully glanced at the small sandals on Nami's feet, muttering softly, "Anyway, you don't mind wearing beautiful little sandals, but I like leather boots."
Although Albert spoke softly, Nami was close enough to hear him. Upon hearing his words, she was immediately covered in black lines and roared at him, "Focus on the point! I'm talking about the skill of walking on water, hey!"
Bang!
Albert, who received another bump on his head, pitifully admitted his mistake to Nami.
Nami held her forehead with one hand and waved at Albert, helplessly saying, "Okay, don't get hung up on these things in the future. By the way, teach me how to climb trees later! You came up with such a fun skill and didn't tell me."
"Okay." Albert nodded in agreement, but he felt so aggrieved. He had just learned it himself, so how did it become that he deliberately didn't tell her?
"Albert, I'm hungry. Go cook."
"Okay, coming right up!" Albert, feeling instantly sad and aggrieved, stood up and happily ran to the kitchen.