When Blaize asked who's willing, Smoker responded first followed by Hina and other Marine recruits. Blaize smiled observing Smoker and gestured with his hand.

"You, one with the cigar in your mouth. Come forward!" ​​

Smoker looked the same as shown in the series, serious and gruff but just a little younger. He should be around 22 or 23. The funny thing is, he's even older than Blaize in terms of age.

Blaize saw the arrogance in his eyes. It's engraved in his bones because of his inherent strength and power granted by his smoke devil fruit power.

Smoker is someone with a rebellious attitude and does as he please just like him so Blaize didn't mind his attitude. He asked, "What's your name?"

"Smoker!"

"Fitting name. Come at me with your full strength as if you would engage a pirate." Blaize spoke and gestured for him to attack.

Zephyr and the other instructors didn't say anything and watched from the sidelines. Meanwhile, the other Marine recruits watched the play with interest.

None of the marine recruits at the training camp are rookies. Most of them are drafted into camp after much consideration; their strength, performance, and other factors were taken into account.

Among them, Smoker is the best. He is a formidable combatant who fought pirates before, coupled with physical strength and devil fruit ability, none of the recruits is his match.

So, they want to see how the Marine Captain who was younger than them will far against him. Some even thought Blaize isn't Smoker's match.

As soon as Blaize gestured, Smoker attacked. 'White Spark!' Transforming his whole body into a cloud of dense smoke, he charged at Blaize. As he neared, he balled his right arm and fired it forward as a 'Punch'.

Blaize didn't expect Smoker would directly attack him with his strongest attack and he even utilized his devil fruit ability.

'It seems like he neither respects me nor my rank. Should I teach him some manners? Well...I did say to him to attack with his full strength.' Blaize pondered as he welcomed the attack.

He didn't try to evade, just used his 'Tekkai' skill. The strike rammed at his chest, the smoke behind the attack tried to push him back but none of it worked as the attack is very weak.

Blaize stood like a mountain without any change. "Moku Moku no Mi is a formidable logia devil fruit but it's wasted on someone as weak as you."

His words riled Smoker up, who grew angry and rained punches on him. Of course, none of it affected Blaize in any way. He simply stood with his arms crossed while shaking his head.

"It's what happens when you charge at a pirate without knowing what your opponent is capable of.

My lesson is simple, Don't ever think that you are strong and others are weak. It will lead to your doom. When encountering pirates, all always remain cautious and hide your true strength."

Finishing his lecture, Blaize caught Smoker's arm with his haki coated arm and simply yanked. Under the force of his pull, the latter's body gravitated at him.

Imbuing his right arm with Haki, Blaize punched at the latter's abdomen. Just as Smoker thought the attack would pass through his body, an extreme force struck him.

'Bang!'

Pain! He doesn't know how many years it has been since he felt pain. He struggled to breathe while his knees hit the floor with strength drained from his body.

Single strike! He was defeated.

Smoker looked at Blaize with questionable eyes, he didn't understand what happened and why the punch injured him. Struggling, he uttered. "How?"

"You just need to know, you are not invisible just because you ate Logia devil fruit." Saying this, Blaize helped Smoker to his feet and patted his back hardly that eased his breathing difficulty.

"You previously said the devil fruit is wasted on me, what do you mean by that?" Smoker asked.

"I can see you can change the density of the smoke but it's not enough. Don't limit your imagination based on the fact that you know, explore and incorporate different ideas into your devil fruit.

Let me explain a simple concept. First, you need to find the nature of your smoke. For example, look at the sky, what do you see?"

"Clouds?" Smoker answered, looking up.

"How does it look? For me, it looks the same as your smoke!" As soon as Blaize said his words, Smoker's eyes widened while an incredible expression surfaced on his face.

Seeing the interaction, Zephyr smiled. It's what he hoped for.

Blaize then shared some of his experiences and various encounters he had with pirates, which aroused the Marine recruits' attention and enthusiasm.

After that, Blaize said his goodbyes and prepared to leave the training field with Zephyr. He has other important things to do, he can't spend all day with the recruits.

At that moment, Smoker came forward to thank him. "Thank you!"

Patting his shoulder, Blaize encouraged. "Train well!", and left with Zephyr.

--

"So, what brought you here?" Zephyr asked as they walked along the shoreline.

"Sensei, I am having trouble trying to master the various Haki concepts. I train and work harder than others but I couldn't find the reason.

Is it because I lack the talent in comprehending advanced level Haki?" Blaize asked.

Hearing his question, Zephyr laughed, aloud. This is Blaize's first time seeing the latter laugh, unrestrained.

Zephyr didn't expect that Blaize who's as strong as him would be troubled over by such a flimsy matter. The funny thing is, he even thinks it's because he lacks talent.

It made him laugh. Shaking his head, Zephyr spoke: "Your talent isn't the reason for this problem. Don't doubt yourself.

Since you learned Haki yourself, I don't have to explain the spiritual power concept. I don't know who taught you Haki but they failed to guide you properly. At least, they taught the basics well.

To better understand your problem, let's test it. Show me your Haki!"

Blaize nodded his head and channeled the Haki throughout his body. Then, he directed them to his hand and performed the emission technique.

A blast sounded while the Haki flowed from his arms to the outside of his body. Zephyr watched everything with his keen eyes and pondered.

Blaize looked at Zephyr and waited for his explanation. "Your Haki is strong but I don't know why you are restraining it."

'Restraining it?' Blaize didn't understand as he channeled his Haki without holding back.

As if seeing through his mind, Zephyr continued. "I am not questioning your channeling process. I am asking about your 'Haki nature'.

"Does Haki have nature?" Blaize asked back and mused.

"Of course, they have. Haki is the embodiment of oneself, so they will naturally have the same characteristics as you. Let me explain in simple terms: The term Haki is the same to everyone but the nature of Haki varies from person to person.

In most cases, a person's Haki nature will be based on their personality and temperament."

Zephyr didn't have to say anymore, Blaize understood the Haki nature concept completely. But it doesn't mean, his troubles are solved.

Zephyr answered his question, now it's up to him to understand why this answer to this question.

"Thank you, Sensei. My mind is somewhat clear now."

--

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