Chapter 127: Observation Haki UP

"Captain, what happened here?" Drake and the others followed the trail Bellamy had left and arrived at the underground cavern.

"We'll talk later." Now wasn't the time for explanations. Bellamy grabbed the pirate Drake had captured and brought him into the secret chamber. By now, several torches had been lit, illuminating the chamber brightly.

Bellamy broke the pirate's arms and legs and tossed him in front of the stone platform. "Hold his head, pry open his mouth, and don't let him move."

This unlucky fellow still had no idea what was happening. He only remembered being in the black market dealing with some illicit goods when everything went dark. When he woke up, he was already underground.

"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!" The pirate tried to struggle and say something, but unfortunately, no one was interested in listening.

Bellamy didn't even bother glancing at him. He went directly to the stone platform and yanked the entire thing out of the ground. The others, lacking Observation Haki, couldn't see the small puddle of liquid in the center of the platform. They were all baffled by their captain's actions.

Now wasn't the time for explanations. Bellamy held the stone platform and slowly tilted it downwards. A small drop of deep blue liquid flowed out of the puddle, falling towards the pirate below.

Plink.

The liquid fell into the pirate's mouth and instantly vanished without a trace. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the unlucky captive.

"Urgh-Ahhhhh!" The moment the liquid disappeared, the man began to tremble violently all over, letting out strange cries – cries laced with a hint of pain, yet also sounding somewhat ecstatic, as if floating among the immortals. His state resembled someone who had just taken drugs: partly uncomfortable, yet feeling incredibly euphoric.

After a short while, the pirate stopped crying out, and his body calmed down. Bellamy put down the stone platform and lifted him up. "What are you feeling right now?"

"Comfortable. Very comfortable." Something was off about this pirate; he was a little too calm. Bellamy stared intently into his eyes, finding them like the surface of a placid lake, without a single ripple. The fear and confusion from before seemed to have vanished in an instant.

"No other sensations?" "None."

Their conversation felt extremely odd, but Bellamy wasn't bothered by it. He had seen far too many strange things today.

"Let's continue." He picked up the stone platform again and poured two more drops of the mysterious liquid into the pirate's mouth. The pirate offered no resistance whatsoever, even welcoming the liquid with eager anticipation.

The exact same reaction occurred, only this time, it seemed to last a bit longer. Bellamy observed for a while; still no side effects appeared. Continuing to give him more seemed somewhat wasteful. He thought for a moment, but didn't stop, continuing to pour.

Drop after drop of the mysterious liquid fell into the pirate's mouth. As the fourth drop (making a total of seven) landed, the pirate suddenly got a nosebleed. He himself seemed to realize something was wrong and began to struggle desperately. But Bellamy didn't stop. "Hold him down."

Drake obeyed the command and immediately restrained him. The fifth drop (total eight) was poured down. Amidst the pirate's utterly despairing gaze, his head exploded with a BOOM.

"Eight drops." The limit for an ordinary person seemed to be around eight drops. The side effect of exceeding the absorption limit was an immediate head explosion. When he got the nosebleed after the seventh drop, his condition still seemed relatively stable.

Alright then, experiment concluded. It was finally time for enhancement.

Having used an unfortunate pirate for a human experiment and figured out the specific data, Bellamy immediately had Ross consume seven drops of the mysterious liquid. Somewhat to his surprise, Ross didn't get a nosebleed. It seemed the upper limit varied from person to person. Bellamy continued to pour a little more, drop by drop. Only at the tenth drop did Ross finally reach his limit, his nose bleeding uncontrollably.

"What are you feeling now?" "Fantastic! It feels like the whole world has become clearer, and my mind is much sharper too." "Things I couldn't figure out before suddenly seem crystal clear." "My mood has also become very peaceful; I feel all relaxed and lazy, so comfortable."

Ross's answer greatly satisfied Bellamy. This stuff was indeed a treasure that strengthened the soul. There was still plenty left on the stone platform, enough to enhance their entire group.

So, Bellamy took the stone platform and administered it to everyone, one by one. Mia took ten drops. Muret took nine drops. Drake took a full fifteen drops. The two youngsters could only handle seven drops each before reaching their limit.

Finally, only Bellamy himself remained. And the stone platform still held more than half of the mysterious liquid. It looked like they couldn't finish it all at once. Did this stuff keep well?

Bellamy poured himself a mouthful to taste it. The moment the deep blue liquid entered his mouth, a jolt ran through his entire body. The Observation Haki latent deep within his consciousness surged forth, instantly devouring the drop completely.

"Haki can actually eat things?!" Bellamy felt the Haki within him stirring restlessly, as if it hadn't had its fill. And that single drop had produced almost no sensation in him. Could it be that the large amount remaining wasn't even enough for him alone?

Bellamy consumed another ten drops, which were instantly devoured by his Observation Haki. His body finally began to react. Just as the others had described, the world seemed to become clearer, and his thoughts grew more agile. But beyond that, there was no discomfort.

"Then ten more drops!" Bellamy lifted the stone platform and poured another ten for himself. His Observation Haki began to grow at a visible, rapid pace.

Legend told of Enel's Mantra covering the entirety of Skypiea. Skypiea's area could be tens of thousands of square kilometers. Bellamy's Observation Haki, on the other hand, struggled to cover even a few hundred meters, let alone an entire island. The difference between them was like heaven and earth. If he relied solely on his own diligent training, Bellamy might never reach Enel's level in his entire lifetime. Naturally, Devil Fruit abilities played a part, but wasn't personal aptitude also a factor?

There were natural-born monsters in this world. Of that, there was no doubt. Someone as strong as Big Mom possessed a physique far beyond ordinary imagination from birth. Many people could train diligently for a lifetime and perhaps still not be able to scratch Big Mom's skin. To catch up to such monsters, hard work alone was definitely not enough. Bellamy had understood from the very beginning: effort was the prerequisite for reaching the pinnacle, but it was only the prerequisite. Aptitude, luck, fortuitous encounters, companions, cunning – all these things, and more, were indispensable.

Bellamy wasn't entirely sure about his own aptitude for Observation Haki. But thanks to today's fortuitous encounter, his Observation Haki could catch up to those masters who had trained painstakingly for years. As long as he could consume all of this mysterious liquid, it could save him at least ten years of hard training.

Thinking this, the fervent heat in Bellamy's eyes became almost unbearable. "More."

He held the stone platform and continued pouring into his mouth. In the blink of an eye, all the remaining liquid was swallowed by Bellamy. And finally, Bellamy himself began to show signs of reaching his limit; blood streamed uncontrollably from his nose.

"My head hurts so much…" "It feels so good!"

This sensation, both painful and pleasurable, was difficult for Bellamy to describe. But gradually, as his Observation Haki grew rapidly, this strange feeling began to quickly fade. By the time the deep blue liquid was completely digested and absorbed, Bellamy's Observation Haki broke through barrier after barrier, surging up from the depths of the earth, enveloping nearly half of the outer city district.