Spiritual Resonance!

"Congrats, Ian, you have figured it out on your own!" It was safe to say that even though Shanks was keeping a smile on his face, he was internally shocked.

Shocked by how fast Ian figured everything out.

This shouldn't be possible. After all, it was the hardest Haki skill available to learn. And by roger's words, very few had ever managed to reach such a state… and Ian figured it out after a while of fighting against him?

Of course Shanks would be shocked.

But, now that Ian had managed to understand what the ability was, Shanks decided it was time to explain. He threw the rest aside as it was giving him a headache… there was no use thinking about it anyway.

He proceeded to explain.

"Young Ian, this ability, as far as I know, is lost to the world." Shanks dropped a bomb on Ian.

Since Shanks had sheathed his sword already, Ian dropped out of his Raijin form.

He walked closer to Shanks and listened quietly, only raising his eyebrows at his words.

'Lost?' He wondered to himself.

Shanks nodded in approval and continued on.

"The only ones alive I know and can use this state are Whitebeard, Garp, and me. Previously, Roger would be included in this list too. He was the one who taught me after all…" Shanks explained as he reminisced about Roger and the days he used to sail under him...

Ian, a genuine anime fan of the original show, didn't know this. And he had wanted to know what the deal of Shanks was…

'Who would think that I have reached such a state where I am his equal now and even learning something from him …' Ian thought to himself.

He had been moving on through many events in a small period of time, so much, that only now while facing Shanks did he notice where he had reached.

And now he was being trained by Shanks in a technique that he himself had learned directly from Roger. THE ROGER. The man who became the pirate king… Ian wasn't even alive in his old world to witness the great feats this man had done… but having grown up in this world, he was absolutely certain the hype from the anime was much lower than what he witnessed here…

Shanks got back to his usual self after a few seconds, and Ian waited patiently for him to do so.

"I'll explain what it is and how you can train it, after that everything will be left to you. So listen closely!" Shanks started.

"As you have said, I was using Haki instinctively. And since you already have a similar ability to that, I'm pretty sure you know what that means and what advantages it would have. Using all three types of Haki at the same time as if they are one thing and not a skill or technique, but rather something you instinctively know how to do, like walking or running. This is the ultimate form of Haki, 'Spiritual resonance.'!" Shanks finally announced what he was going to teach Ian.

Ian's eyes widened.

He had known about Shanks using the Haki on an instinctual level, but…

'I didn't think that he was using ALL three types at the same time as if they are the same technique…' That single thing changed a lot of things…

"This would explain your weird and impossible dodging pattern…" Ian muttered.

Shanks grinned.

"That's right. Forget thinking about which type of Haki you need to use, all three are active at the same time while in this state. This would cut back on the reaction and decision-making time needed to defend or attack." Shanks said. Confirming what Ian was thinking at the moment.

This would explain how Shanks's moves had been so fast. It was because he had completely forgone a stage necessary in combat, which was to make a decision on what to do.

No, he didn't even need to coat his body in Haki. His whole body was coated already, just invisible.

For observation? No need to say anything, with how Shanks had been dodging everything earlier. It was obvious it got pushed to the limits…

As for conqueror, this would explain why Ian felt so much pain when he was hit earlier…

But Shanks was not done just yet.

"There is still more to this technique." Shanks started.

And Ian nodded. After all, this was the ultimate form of Haki, it can never be this simple…

"Any subcategory of Haki can be used. You can use Emission, Infusion, and everything else. But instead of coating an arm, leg, and so on, it is instead activated on the whole body. That means, even from the inside… your defense in this state would be unrivaled. You can use future sight, but any opponent of yours that can't attain this state won't be able to detect you with observation even if they had mastered future sight." Shanks explained.

This would explain why Ian couldn't see Shanks.

'So only a master of this spiritual resonance can detect another master of it?' Ian liked this state more and more.

"Furthermore, the more you land hits on a person, the more they feel tired. I wasn't able to show this effect due to you being quite strong and having ridiculous Haki reserves…" Shanks added.

There was a tried sigh after he said that and eyed Ian annoyingly.

Ian ignored that.

'So it even has this effect? Maybe due to your willpower clashing with your enemy time and time again you would tire him up?' he thought to himself.

"Now, let's get to how you can train it." Shanks smiled seeing how impressed Ian was with this technique.

"Haki is a spiritual thing, young Ian. And it depends upon your willpower. If you want to guard against someone, your willpower becomes your shield. If you want to attack people, it becomes your strength. It lets you attack, knock out, predict, and defend yourself. Haki is always coursing through your body, and only you can command it.

You have previously learned to use it in the various forms you already know. Since it allows you to do that, then it should also allow you to use all the types at the same time. This is what you will be training in. Roger once said, 'You would have mastered this state when you no longer consume Haki to enter it. And it becomes a natural thing for you!' This means that to enter this state, it would become easy and would not consume Haki to activate it once you have mastered it. And it will remain active passively with no cost. But to attack, you would of course need to use your Haki. And when you run out of Haki, it would be turned off." Shanks finished explaining.

Ian was listening intently.

"Sadly I have yet to master it, and just by keeping it active, it consumes a huge amount of Haki, not to mention any attack I do would also consume Haki… sigh!" Shanks sighed while shaking his head. He had already dropped out of the state earlier, but under Ian's eyes, no visible change was apparent.

"I'm sure you will master it soon though," Ian replied to him and consoled him.

This brought a smile to Shanks's face.

Ian thought over what Shanks was explaining.

So this technique basically meant you should train your Haki and fuse it into one type that would become a completely natural and instinctual part of your body. You are always defended, you are always ready to attack, and you will never be ambushed…

Once you master this state, it would stay on permanently as long as your body still has Haki!!

But that should be hard going by Shanks's reaction. It takes time to master it into such a state where you don't consume Haki to keep it active.

But he wasn't deterred, no.

Rather, Ian was liking this more and more. He couldn't wait to try it out.