Chapter 21: Rokushiki (Six Powers)

Rokushiki [Six Powers]

A superhuman martial art developed by the Navy to be taught to officers.
Once mastered, it tempered the body as if it were forged from iron.

In addition, it served as a kind of manual that naturally led to the awakening of Haki.

It was a superhuman martial art that enabled full-body usage, including Observation and Armament Haki.

At a glance, it seemed simple, but its underlying theory was astonishingly rational and highly efficient.
Just understanding it was educational in itself—it was an exceptionally refined martial art.

The Tekkai and Geppo I had clumsily mimicked were nothing more than superficial imitations.

How to move the muscles, how to exert explosive force, how to convert shockwaves into directional strikes, I learned all of these thoroughly from Black Arm Zephyr, and I couldn’t help but marvel again and again.

And Zephyr was the same.

“Exceptional…”

“It’s all thanks to your guidance, Master.”

Zephyr gazed at the girl called Boa Hancock who had spoken those words.

It had already been a month since he began teaching her Rokushiki.

In that short time, the girl had not only understood but fully assimilated everything about the Six Powers.
Her body was already well-trained, so she even managed to implement all of it.

To fully master Rokushiki at the age of nine…

She was nothing short of a genius.
There was no other way to describe her.

For a moment, he wondered if perhaps he shouldn’t have taught her.

But the joy of teaching was too great to resist, and in the end, he cast aside his doubts and taught Hancock everything he knew.

From Rokushiki, to his own martial arts, to the theory and methods of Haki training…

As a result, after a month had passed, Hancock had become overwhelmingly stronger.
So much so that she was convinced she was at least twice as powerful as before.

By integrating Rokushiki into Flower Breathing, she refined her slashes with more precision,
and was able to fire off sword strikes of terrifying force.

More than anything—
What helped her the most was a special technique outside the basic Six Powers.

The theory of Life Return.

(TL NOTE: Life Return is a rare ability in One Piece that allows a user to control every part of their body at will, including hair and organs.)

‘By fusing Life Return with the world laid bare before me…’

I was able to perfectly control my inner self.
With the world revealed, I could observe everything with complete clarity.

And with the power of Life Return, which allowed me to control even a single strand of hair,
I gained the ability to manipulate my inner cells at will.

This was the true evolution of the Copy-Copy Fruit.

Originally, the fruit allowed me to alter my cells,
but now, with my own skill—Life Return—added to it,
the proficiency of the Copy-Copy Fruit increased dramatically.

For example,
where before I could only draw out limited traits without changing my appearance,
now I could summon those traits freely, even without altering my form.

Of course, since I didn’t look exactly the same, I couldn’t draw out 100%,
but I could still apply them to my body in a meaningful way.

And that wasn’t all.
The greatest advantage was this—

I could now copy multiple people at once.

Through this, I managed to extract up to 80% of both Roger’s and Garp’s attributes
and apply them to myself.

What remained now was the ability to permanently maintain the copied attributes.

If I could achieve that,
I believed I would finally reach the awakening of the Copy-Copy Fruit.

Furthermore, there was the intangible aspect of copying—
the theory of Haki, the foundation of countless martial arts.

As my knowledge grew,
so too did the amount I could copy.

Because I now understood the theory behind the copied experiences,
drawing them out became easier.

That was the sensation I had.

In short, in order to copy intangible skills, I needed to continue learning new theories and techniques.

That was the only way to improve the efficiency of intangible copying.

Over the past month, I had made tremendous progress with the Copy-Copy Fruit.
Having a master truly made a world of difference.

‘Still, I hope I can awaken the Copy-Copy Fruit soon…’

Because once awakened,
I believed I’d be able to copy anything I desired.

Yes—
Even Devil Fruits.

That thought lingered as I continued training with Zephyr in the Navy,
spending fulfilling, meaningful days.

***

Flower Breathing – Revised
First Form —
Flame Petal Storm.

KWAGAGAGAK!

The slash blooming from the blade scattered into hundreds, even thousands of fragments like falling petals.

It looked like a wave of blossoms drifting gently on the wind.

By applying Rokushiki’s principles, I created afterimages as if my form flowed.

Using Soru for speed,

Geppo’s principle to slice,

Rankyaku to enhance the slash,

Shigan to launch multiple strikes—

and combining them with the chaining principle of Renka,
I forged an evolved form of Flower Breathing.

It looked like something out of a manga,
like Senbonzakura blooming into a tidal wave of petals.

And by coating the slashes in Armament Haki, the attacks could now move partially with my intent,
making them even more powerful.

Such a technique would never exist in the world of Demon Slayer,
but in Oda’s world, it was more than viable.

With Haki, overwhelming physical prowess, and the transcendent Rokushiki technique,
it all became possible.

I even wondered—

if I ever entered the Bleach universe,
could I obtain the real Senbonzakura?

(TL NOTE: Senbonzakura is referenced from Bleach, this is the name of Byakuya Kuchiki’s Zanpakutō, known for its petal-like blade fragments.)

With that thought,
I continued slicing through my enemies, manipulating the petal slashes with Haki in my hands.

Before I knew it, I had earned a new moniker.

Blood Flower.

Two years had passed since I joined the Navy.
I was now eleven years old,
and my strength had reached full maturity.

“…Is it time to go?”

“Indeed.
The Navy seems to have stabilized.
It’s time we return to Amazon Lily.”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“Hmm…”

I gave it some thought.

Simply returning to Amazon Lily didn’t sit right with me.

To grow stronger, I needed to go out into the world.

If I had to return, I’d request to leave again.

In the original story, Hancock got captured doing that.

But I honestly didn’t think I’d get caught.
I was far stronger than the original Hancock.

And more importantly—

It was time to start collecting Devil Fruits.

No—
Copying them.

I could faintly sense that I stood at the threshold of something great.

If I pushed just a little further, the Copy-Copy Fruit would awaken.

And with awakening, I would gain the ability to even copy Devil Fruits.

To copy, I had to see the original.

The fruit I had my eye on was the Goro Goro no Mi.

Being able to travel between reality and fiction, I had studied numerous theories of electromagnetism.

So the lightning-based Goro Goro no Mi was the most appealing of them all.

If not for the Copy-Copy Fruit, I would have chosen it without hesitation.

‘Guess it’s time to head up there.’

With that thought,

I decided on my next goals after leaving the Navy: Awaken the Copy-Copy Fruit and head to Skypiea.

“At least you have a plan…”

“I do…
You’re not hoping I’ll stay with the Navy, are you?”

“Afraid not.
I value my freedom too much.”

Leaving behind a regretful Zephyr,
I and the rest of the Kusa Pirates completed the handover to the newly reinforced Navy.

Thus ended our official business as Shichibukai.

Amazon Lily officially became a Shichibukai nation under the Navy’s protection.