# Chapter 9: Haki?
Ian was walking while thinking, and as soon as he reached the village entrance, he saw the people he wanted to see.
A group of seven or eight people were walking toward the village. The one in front was a very tall fellow, at least two meters or more by the look of it.
He was wrapped from head to toe in a green cloak, but his face couldn't be hidden. In Ian's line of sight, Ivankov's face seemed to take up half his body.
And for Ian, that face was almost as tall as his own ten-year-old body...
"Whoa! That's terrifying!" Even though Ian had mentally prepared himself, he was still startled by that face.
Ivankov had heavy eye shadow and eyeliner painted around his eyes, and his huge mouth had purple lipstick on it. The whole person looked like a ghost.
When Ian saw Ivankov in the manga, he just thought it was exaggerated, but seeing the real person, he only found it frightening.
No wonder Dragon didn't take you to watch the ceremony. Look at how thick your makeup is... And with that big face, how blind would someone have to be not to notice you?
Looking behind Ivankov, Ian saw another person who had been pitifully left behind by Dragon.
It was someone even taller than Ivankov, also wearing a green cloak, but on the hood of that cloak were two round bear ears.
Uncle Kuma, that adorable bear ear hat of yours completely gave you away... Did you think people wouldn't recognize you just because you put on a cloak?
That's right, appearing with Ivankov was another Revolutionary Army officer: Bartholomew Kuma!
The moment he saw them, Ian finally understood why it was said that Ivankov's companion was Kuma. With their heights and unique, distinctive styles, no one else could match up with them...
Besides Kuma and Ivankov, the other few people weren't so eye-catching. Although they also wore cloaks and looked cool, they were clearly ordinary members of the Revolutionary Army.
When Ian saw them, they naturally saw him too.
"Who's this black-haired kid?"
"A child saw us. Is that really okay?"
A few Revolutionary Army members murmured among themselves, but Ivankov didn't care about that. He walked up to Ian and looked down at him.
"Hee-haw! Boy! The training uniform you're wearing... are you studying at the village dojo?"
Ian snapped back to reality and nodded.
"Your dojo, is it called Isshin Dojo?" Ivankov pointed at the crossed-swords emblem on Ian's chest. "I remember that's the name."
"How do you know?" Ian asked curiously. "Do you know Master Koushirou?"
Ivankov turned and exchanged a glance with Kuma behind him, but Kuma had no expression. He was holding a book and reading it very attentively.
Then Ivankov turned back to Ian and said, "That's right, boy! You could say we know him."
Know him or not? What does "you could say" mean? Ian was puzzled, but he didn't ask further.
"Can you take us to your dojo?" Ivankov asked.
Ian's eyes darted around. He didn't know what relationship his master Koushirou had with the Revolutionary Army, so taking them to see him was fine, but... since he happened to run into some outsiders here, it would be a waste not to use them.
So he nodded and said, "I can, but you have to agree to one condition!"
Ivankov asked curiously, "What condition?"
Ian looked at the Revolutionary Army soldiers behind him, pointed at them, and said, "Simple. Someone, anyone, fight me!"
"What!?" The Revolutionary Army soldiers were stunned. They thought they'd heard wrong.
One of them even stepped forward, bent down, and patted Ian's head, saying, "Kid, don't mess around. How about you take us to the dojo? I'll give you some candy!"
Oh, come on! Master Koushirou patting my head is one thing, but you dare treat me like a little kid too?
Ian slapped his hand away, looked at the sword hanging at his waist, and said, "Fine, you're it!"
"Uh..." That Revolutionary Army soldier was dumbfounded. He never expected a kid to have such an attitude. He could only look to Ivankov for help.
Ivankov glanced at Ian and saw that his expression was serious, so he had to say, "Don't hurt this boy!"
The Revolutionary Army soldier nodded helplessly, stood still, didn't draw his sword, and assumed a stance, saying to Ian, "Fine, come on, kid! I won't use a weapon. I'll just use my fists!"
Ian didn't waste words. Gripping his bamboo sword, he charged forward.
In their first exchange, the Revolutionary Army soldier almost suffered a big loss. He hadn't expected Ian to be so fast. His eyes narrowed, and he barely dodged Ian's slash, nearly breaking out in a cold sweat.
Ian didn't care about that. After long practice in the dojo, swinging his sword had become instinct. When the Revolutionary Army soldier dodged, Ian immediately seized the opening under his ribs and thrust forward.
Being able to follow Ivankov meant even an ordinary soldier had some skill. The Revolutionary Army soldier sidestepped, evading Ian's attack, and raised his leg to kick Ian.
But as soon as he kicked, he regretted it. He'd put his full strength into it. Had he really been forced to get serious by a kid?
Thinking that, he unconsciously pulled back some of his power.
However, what he didn't know was that Ian was waiting for him to counterattack.
The Flash Slash skill had a condition: it could only be activated the moment an opponent was about to hit you. If this Revolutionary Army soldier kept dodging and didn't fight back, how could Ian use the skill?
So when he saw the kick coming, Ian didn't dodge or avoid. He stared intently at the soldier's movements.
Just as the soldier's foot was about to hit him, Ian gritted his teeth and tried to activate the Flash Slash skill.
But unexpectedly, the next second, he was hit square in the face with a bang and sent flying!
Even the Revolutionary Army soldier hadn't expected Ian to get hit. After landing the kick, he was startled and quickly ran over to check on Ian.
Half of Ian's face was throbbing with pain. He lay on the ground, grimacing. He never imagined the Flash Slash skill would fail, causing him to take a kick for nothing.
Damn, this Flash Slash skill was harder to time than he'd thought!
"Are you okay?" the Revolutionary Army soldier asked with concern.
Ian shook his head, pushed himself up from the ground, gripped his bamboo sword again, and said, "Again!"
The Revolutionary Army soldier waved his hand and said, "No, no. If we go again, I'm afraid you'll get hurt!"
"Don't worry, I haven't lost yet!" Maybe it was because he'd been around Kuina and Zoro for so long, but Ian found that he now had a never-say-die spirit. What was a little pain?
Seeing his attitude, the Revolutionary Army soldier had no choice but to face Ian's challenge again.
Ivankov stood nearby watching, finding it quite interesting. He saw Ian as a kid trying to challenge an adult and appreciated his never-give-up spirit. As for Kuma, though he held a book, it was hard to tell if he was actually reading or watching Ian and the soldier fight.
Ian was even more serious than before. At first, he'd thought of these Revolutionary Army soldiers, who were just background in the manga, as small fry, not very strong. But now he realized this was the real world. Even small fry were actually quite strong, at least stronger than a kid whose body hadn't fully grown yet.
They clashed again. The Revolutionary Army soldier found that Ian's attack speed had increased considerably. Finding it harder to dodge, he had to counterattack again, hoping to defeat Ian and end this embarrassing fight.
This time, he didn't dare use a kick. Instead, he used a punch. A punch was easier to control than a kick, and he didn't want to really hurt Ian.
But Ian, now in a state of complete focus, was very sharp. Seeing the fist coming at him, he once again timed it and activated the Flash Slash skill.
Just as the Revolutionary Army soldier's fist was about to hit Ian, Ian suddenly vanished from in front of him!
No one saw exactly how Ian moved his feet. They only saw him instantly appear beside the Revolutionary Army soldier, his raised bamboo sword coming down at an unbelievable speed!
The sword was so fast, it carried a whistling sound, like an afterimage, cutting through the air like a flash of light, and struck the Revolutionary Army soldier's back with full force!
The Revolutionary Army soldier was a tall adult, but after taking this blow to his back, he felt an enormous force. Under this pressure, the bones in his back seemed to groan. His whole body involuntarily fell forward, knocked from a standing position to the ground. As he fell, he couldn't help but let out a scream.
And Ivankov, watching, was even more astonished. Not because a kid had beaten an adult, but because of something he'd just sensed.
Grabbing his cloak, he couldn't help but spin on one leg, revealing his muscular thighs in fishnet stockings: "Hee-haw! A Haki fluctuation!? This boy awakened Haki at such a young age?"
Unfortunately, Ian didn't hear that. At the moment the Revolutionary Army soldier screamed, Ian himself couldn't help but let out a scream too.
The difference was that the soldier screamed from back pain, while Ian screamed from a headache!
That's right, Ian's Flash Slash had finally succeeded. But what he hadn't expected was the piercing, stabbing headache that followed, so painful that he couldn't even hold his bamboo sword.
He finally understood why the Flash Slash skill's description said it could cause massive damage. Because when he activated the Flash Slash just now, his remaining 15 Psychic Power points were completely drained. At the same time, he could feel that when he swung that sword, some kind of power had wrapped around the entire blade!
That must be the power of Nen! It was because Nen was wrapped around the blade that his strike had knocked down an experienced Revolutionary Army soldier.
It felt very much like Armament Haki, which was why Ivankov had exclaimed like that.
Unfortunately, this was the first time Ian had used the Flash Slash skill, his first real use of Nen ability. He couldn't control the consumption of Nen, which caused him to use up all his Psychic Power at once. The completely drained Psychic Power brought on a sharp, stabbing headache.
Ian sat down on the ground, clutching his head tightly to relieve the pain. But in Ivankov's eyes, this looked like a sign of Ian awakening Haki.