BOOM—!
In that singular, explosive breath, Ryuu's entire physical frame shuddered violently as a miraculous, reality-altering transformation erupted within his core.
Power surged forth once more!
However, this time, the influx was infinitely more intense than any prior breakthrough. It slammed into his meridians like a cataclysmic, roaring tidal wave, completely rewriting his biology. It felt as though his strength had shattered an ultimate barrier, ascending into a celestial, untouchable domain.
And in truth, that was exactly what was happening!
At this moment, fresh memories of Hawkeye Mihawk flashed across Ryuu's consciousness at blistering speed.
Having thoroughly mastered both Observation and Armament Haki, Mihawk's combat efficacy had soared to a legendary tier. In the treacherous waters of the New World, he had effectively become a living natural disaster, a man who found himself entirely without peers. Entire notorious pirate armadas met their absolute ruin the moment they crossed his path.
Until that fateful day, when Mihawk finally clashed with his destined rival.
The Red-Haired Captain, Shanks!
Shanks was likewise an extraordinary, peerless master of the blade, radiating a suffocating, domineering aura fit for a king. He was a rare, priceless adversary.
Against Red-Haired Shanks, Mihawk engaged in countless grand duels, their continuous clashes numbering well over a hundred. Through these relentless, life-or-death battles, both of their swordsmanship and twin disciplines of Haki underwent a terrifying, evolutionary growth.
Though their legendary duels never yielded a definitive victor, the passage of time molded their destinies. One eventually rose to become one of the Four Emperors, ruling the vast seas with absolute authority.
The other ascended the throne alone, crowned as the undisputed World's Strongest Swordsman!
The visions came to an abrupt, definitive halt, as if a grand masterpiece of a biography had finally reached its concluding chapter.
Having witnessed the magnificent, storm-swept first half of Hawkeye Mihawk's life from such a profound perspective, Ryuu let out a long, slow breath.
"So this is Hawkeye Mihawk... this is the true, absolute power of the World's Strongest Swordsman?"
Muttering the words, Ryuu mentally summoned his updated status page.
[Role-Playing System]
Host: Ryuu
Strength: 400
Agility: 400
Spirit: 400
Physique: 400
(Note: 10 is the average attribute score for an ordinary human.)
Current Character Template: Hawkeye Mihawk
Current Role-Playing Completion Rate: 80%
Current Character Power Unlocked: Perfect
Acquired Ability: Shapeshift
Right here and now.
Under the fully unsealed Hawkeye Mihawk template, his core attributes had reached a staggering, mind-boggling 400 points across the board! When scaled against reality, he was a whopping forty times stronger than an ordinary human!
What a terrifying, god-like physiology.
Naturally, this catastrophic upgrade stemmed entirely from his power tier, which had officially graduated into the final realm: Perfect.
A state of absolute mastery that could only be unlocked by breaching the 80% synchronization threshold! Without a shadow of a doubt, Ryuu now commanded the complete, unmitigated strength of the World's Strongest Swordsman at his absolute peak!
Feeling the terrifying torrent of power vibrating through his muscles, Ryuu actually felt a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.
Man... if I knew the upgrade was going to be this insane, I wouldn't have killed Vaccine Man so quickly. Now I have all this monstrous power coursing through me and nowhere to vent it.
Then again, even if Vaccine Man were still breathing, it probably wouldn't survive half a serious strike from me anyway.
With a silent chuckle, Ryuu shook his head to clear his thoughts. But a split second later, he froze.
At that exact moment, his fully perfected Observation Haki violently flared, sending an intense spike of awareness through his mind.
Someone was approaching!
The instant his Haki issued the silent warning, a casual, nonchalant voice drifted cleanly into his ears from the settling dust.
"Wow, you're seriously amazing..."
Hearing the voice, Ryuu's heart skipped a beat.
It was the voice of a young man. And in this desolate, ruined wasteland of a district, a young man who could wander into the epicenter of a Dragon-level disaster while tossing out casual compliments could only be one person. There was absolutely no one else.
With that realization, Ryuu slowly turned his gaze.
Sure enough.
The figure entering his field of vision was a young, plain-looking bald man. He possessed entirely average features, dressed in a slightly ridiculous yellow jumpsuit, bright red gloves, and a long white cape blowing gently in the wind. The iconic, unmistakable attire...
Without a single doubt, it was Saitama! The ultimate, invincible entity of the One Punch Man universe!
"You're really, really strong. What kind of move was that just now? You actually killed that giant monster with a single swing of your sword!"
Saitama stared at Ryuu—who still bore the perfect likeness of Hawkeye—and offered an honest, wide-eyed expression of awe.
He had originally seen the news broadcast about Vaccine Man terrorizing A-City and rushed all the way over from Z-City. By the time he sprinted into the area, he happened to spot a little girl in imminent danger, so he prioritized leaping in to save her and carry her to safety first.
But the moment he turned around to face the threat, he witnessed Ryuu unleashing that earth-shattering, majestic emerald slash that cleanly bifurcated Vaccine Man.
Even though Saitama himself possessed absolute, unbridled power, the sheer scale and visual grandeur of Ryuu's flying slash still left him genuinely impressed. After all, when it came to flashy, cinematic attacks like that, his own blunt-force punches couldn't quite replicate the aesthetic.
Up in the air, Fubuki—entirely ignorant of Saitama's true, terrifying nature—naturally shared the bald youth's sentiment. Her beautiful eyes remained locked onto Ryuu, completely overflowing with deep reverence and awe.
This magnificent, mysterious swordsman had truly slaughtered Vaccine Man. He hadn't just saved her life; he had single-handedly rescued every remaining survivor in A-City!
Yet, Ryuu completely ignored Fubuki's starstruck gaze. Every ounce of his focus, his senses, and his perfected Observation Haki was locked squarely onto Saitama.
Vaccine Man's assault on A-City was merely the opening prologue of the original story, but looking at that perfectly smooth, shining scalp, Ryuu knew that the Saitama standing before him had already broken his limiter and achieved absolute invincibility.
Just how deep does the abyss of Saitama's strength actually go?
In that instant, an overwhelming, uncontainable surge of curiosity ignited within Ryuu's heart.
He had just absorbed Vaccine Man's residual energy, pushing his Hawkeye synchronization to 80% and unlocking the perfect manifestation of the World's Strongest Swordsman's power. Since he was practically vibrating with unspent kinetic energy, why not seize this golden, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to trade a few blows with the ultimate protagonist?
It was the perfect chance to test the waters—to see exactly how wide the evolutionary gulf was between the peak swordsmanship of the One Piece world and the bald titan who sat entirely uncontested at the apex of this universe!
With that thrilling thought clearing his mind, Ryuu's hawk-like eyes flashed with a razor-sharp, piercing light. He looked down at Saitama and delivered a calm, cool reply:
"If you wish to learn, I can teach you."
The moment the words left his lips, Ryuu gripped the hilt of the Black Blade: Yoru, took a devastating step forward, and unleashed a lightning-fast, horizontal slash directly toward Saitama!.-----
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