Chapter 29 29: Four Sons and One Daughter
Conqueror's Haki.
Mm…
That one, Ike could understand.
After all, it was an innate talent. If one was born with the qualities of a king, then naturally there was no issue. His daughter's talent was the Red Dragon King—just that word "King" alone said everything.
Observation Haki.
Ah!
Understandable, understandable.
Observation Haki was essentially a manifestation of spiritual power. As long as one's mental strength was strong enough, awakening it at a young age wasn't surprising.
Things like the Voice of All Things, or glimpsing into people's hearts—
Weren't those all natural forms of Observation Haki?
But Armament Haki…
Hmm?
Ah—
Damn!
Ike almost couldn't stop himself from swearing.
Unlike Conqueror's and Observation Haki, In Ike's understanding, Armament Haki required a powerful body and abundant life force to manifest properly.
If one's life energy wasn't strong enough, Armament Haki simply couldn't be born.
On top of that, mastering it required talent and insight.
And yet—
Armament Haki was divided into at least four levels:
Coating, Imbuement, Emission, and Destruction.
But what about his daughter?
She had skipped Coating entirely and reached Imbuement.
What was this?!
Was the gap between his B+ talent and her S+ talent really this huge?!
"Haa…"
Letting out a slow breath, Ike maintained a gentle smile and said, "Lily, I saw it. Put it away. Come here."
"Father!"
Artoria happily ran over and threw herself into Ike's arms once again.
Ike rubbed her little head and asked gently, "Lily, tell Father—where did you learn this?"
"Where?" Artoria tilted her head and said cheerfully, "I learned it from Uncle!"
"Big brother?!"
Ike raised an eyebrow.
In the past five months, his big brother had only come back once.
Recently, he had been clashing head-on with the Five Peaks Pirates. Over five months, they had already fought three or four times.
After all—
That was a Supreme Grade Sword.
Wang Zhi was a strategist by nature, but losing something like that—
The more he thought about it, the more it angered him.
So he came looking for trouble.
With Ike absent—
Whitebeard Pirates vs. Five Peaks Pirates.
In essence—
They were evenly matched.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Artoria said happily, "Last time Uncle came back, I saw him use this thing called Haki. I remembered it, studied it a little, and learned it! I wanted to give Father and Mother a surprise!"
A surprise?
No—
This was a shock!
Selina might not fully understand it—
But Ike and Dokujima Yuto knew exactly what it meant.
This was utterly outrageous!
Even with a teacher, most people couldn't learn it properly.
And her?
Self-taught.
Figured it out on her own.
Six months old?
Damn!!!
Both of them almost couldn't stop themselves from swearing.
Ike forcibly suppressed his urge to complain, keeping a gentle smile as he said softly, "Lily, do you feel any strain on your body? The Three Types of Haki—if your body isn't strong enough, you can't force their use."
"Father!"
Artoria stood up, clenched her tiny fists, and struck a muscle-flexing pose, saying with absolute confidence, "I'm fine! I'm completely fine!"
Those words—
Combined with her tiny arms that barely had any muscle—
Were completely unconvincing.
And yet—
Ike ultimately suppressed all his thoughts.
There was only one conclusion.
This—
Was the talent of a humanoid red dragon.
Utterly ridiculous.
Ridiculous beyond belief.
Of course—
Ike was extremely happy.
The more outstanding his daughter was, the happier he felt.
But…
As the saying went—
Everything is relative.
Comparing his daughter to his two sons—
Who were decent, but still… mediocre—
It was only natural for strange thoughts to arise.
It could only be said—
His sons weren't weak.
But comparisons?
Comparisons destroyed everything.
After realizing just how monstrous his daughter's talent was—
Honestly—
Ike didn't want her to start training and growing so intensely at just a few months old.
He wanted her to have a happy childhood.
But…
It was as if she was born to be a leader—a king.
At such a young age, she showed interest in swordsmanship, Haki, even management…
At an age when others would be playing and fooling around—
She preferred learning.
Faced with this—
Ike had no choice.
With her personality, all he could do was let her continue learning.
But the more he saw this—
The more dissatisfied he became when looking at his two sons.
…
January, Year 1470 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
Artoria was about to turn one year old.
Meanwhile—
Gawain and Agravain's talents had gradually begun to show.
Also nearing one year old, the two boys could already run, jump, and speak.
Though far inferior to their elder sister—
They were like little followers, always trailing behind her, obedient and well-behaved.
Sally and Snake Princess understood clearly—
Their sons were good.
But compared to Selina's daughter?
There was no comparison.
Following their elder sister was the best path.
Of course—
As months passed, more changes came.
Among Ike's concubines—
Five had already given birth.
Four sons and one daughter—
A solid outcome.
Meanwhile—
The remaining five concubines also became pregnant one after another.
However—
Ike couldn't help but feel—
After each woman gave birth once—
The frequency of pregnancies seemed to decrease significantly.
…