Chapter 26: Showing Ability
Kizaru had *reluctance* written all over his face. He raised his hands and said,
**"Teacher Zephyr, Carl is still a newcomer, and he's Logia. If one of us loses control later..."**
Zephyr cut him off angrily.
**"That's none of your concern! Get up there now!"**
**"Well!"**
Sighing heavily, Kizaru lowered his head and trudged to the opposite side of Carl.
Zephyr added sternly, **"And take this seriously. If I catch you slacking off, I'll cancel your extra allowance this month."**
**"Nani!? Teacher Zephyr, you can't joke about something like that!"**
Zephyr crossed his arms, unimpressed. **"Who's joking? You haven't had a real fight in ages. I need to see if you've made any progress."**
**"Then what about Sakazuki—"**
**"Sakazuki? I don't need to worry about him. But you..."** Zephyr narrowed his eyes at Kizaru, his meaning clear.
Kizaru wanted to argue, but before he could, Zephyr **kicked him in the butt** and snapped, **"Enough nonsense! Get started!"**
As Kizaru rubbed the large black footprint on his uniform, Zephyr directed the other students to retreat to the edge of the training ground, leaving the entire space open for Carl and Kizaru—enough room for two Logia users to fight.
Kizaru muttered something under his breath, then looked up at Carl.
**"Shall we begin?"**
Carl smiled. **"Please go easy on me, Borsalino."**
As soon as he finished speaking, **Kizaru fired a laser.**
The beam pierced through Carl's body and exploded in the distance, leaving a charred crater in the ground.
Kizaru had expected this outcome. As a Logia user, Carl could naturally **elementalize.** The attack was just an excuse to cause destruction and irritate Zephyr.
Zephyr had told him to fight seriously, so he figured he'd give their teacher something else to worry about—**repairing the field.**
Just seeing Zephyr's face turn black with rage made it worth it.
But Zephyr knew Kizaru's tricks all too well.
**"Borsalino! Didn't I teach you how to fight Logia users?!"**
Kizaru pouted. He knew he couldn't slack off anymore.
With a sigh, he raised his leg. A **layer of dark Haki** spread over his calf.
The students gasped.
**"Is that… Haki?! Borsalino already mastered it?"**
**"That guy hid it well! I've never seen him use it before!"**
**"Maybe he never needed it to deal with *us*..."**
**"That's true… But do you think Sakazuki can do it too?"**
**"That's a matter between *monsters.* Best not to think too much about it—our hearts won't take it."**
**"Carl's in trouble. Without Haki, he has no way to fight back."**
Zephyr nodded slightly. **Good.**
Kizaru's control over Haki was solid. But Zephyr had another reason for making him use it—**Carl needed to learn what it felt like to be hit.**
In Zephyr's decades as a Marine, he'd encountered many Logia users. **Almost all of them had the same weakness:**
They relied too much on elementalization.
If Carl thought being a Logia made him untouchable, he needed to be taught otherwise—**before that overconfidence cost him his life.**
Kizaru gave a lazy warning. **"Carl, be careful. This might hurt."**
Carl remained calm. **Too calm.**
He didn't even flinch, as if inviting Kizaru to attack.
Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses. His body gleamed gold.
In an instant, he **turned into a streak of light** and appeared in front of Carl, sweeping his Haki-coated leg toward Carl's waist.
He was **fast—**so fast that by the time the spectators reacted, his kick had already connected.
Except…
**It passed right through Carl.**
Kizaru's eyes widened in shock.
He spun **360 degrees** midair due to the momentum, barely managing to regain his footing.
Dazed, he looked down at his right leg. The Haki was still active.
He looked up at Carl.
**What the hell just happened?**
Even Zephyr, watching from the sidelines, was stunned.
Then, realization struck.
**Carl saw Kizaru's attack coming and moved his elementalized body away *in advance.***
That meant—**Carl had Observation Haki.**
And not just any level of it.
**For him to react to Kizaru's speed… it had to be exceptionally strong.**
Zephyr recalled how Carl had **grabbed his arm effortlessly** during their first meeting.
**That wasn't luck.**
Zephyr exhaled slowly.
**Even without the Dark-Dark Fruit… Carl is a genius.**
But what Zephyr didn't know was that Carl's ability wasn't just Observation Haki.
---
After becoming a Dark-Dark Fruit user, Carl discovered something: **his fruit could elementalize like other Logias.**
But there was a problem.
Darkness **absorbs all attacks**… but at a cost.
**The damage doesn't disappear—it gets fed back to the user, doubled.**
To avoid this weakness, Carl developed a new form of elementalization—**one that let him move his body into a "dark space" to evade attacks.**
This technique had **one major advantage:**
Even **Haki** couldn't touch him.
Of course, there were downsides. While inside the dark space, Carl **couldn't attack.**
And if he stayed too long… he risked **getting lost in the void.**
At his current level, he could only maintain the ability for **ten minutes at a time.**
But with more training, that limit would increase.
The concept was inspired by **Obito's Kamui** from *Naruto.*
So Carl named it: **Kamui.**
---
Kizaru, still in disbelief, prepared to test Carl again.
But Carl didn't give him the chance.
A **black vortex** formed in Carl's palm.
Kizaru's instincts screamed danger. He **immediately turned into photons**, scattering to the back of the battlefield.
But Carl **raised his right hand and whispered:**
**"Universal Pull."**
The countless **light particles** that made up Kizaru's body suddenly **froze in place.**
Then—**they were dragged back.**
Before he could react, Kizaru **reformed into his physical body—right in front of Carl.**
Carl's **hand gripped his shoulder.**
For the first time in a long while, **Kizaru looked genuinely panicked.**
Because at that moment…
**He realized his abilities weren't working.**