"Kaidou, Kizaru." Ye Chen murmured from his perch on the balcony, his eyes flickering with a strange glint.
This trip to Sabaody Archipelago, besides offloading his stolen goods, was primarily to test his own strength. The appearance of those small fries and Kizaru was within his expectations, but Kaidou's presence had been utterly unforeseen.
The moment he thought of Kaidou's physique, a shiver ran down Ye Chen's spine. A Summon Thunderball, a direct hit, yet he was completely unharmed – that was simply monstrous.
If Kaidou had been Kizaru, Kizaru would have been severely wounded, if not dead.
However, this battle had been quite profitable for him. At the very least, he had gained a general understanding of top-tier combat power. He could, at minimum, retreat unscathed even when facing an Admiral. It was just Kizaru's Logia ability to transform into his element that was a bit troublesome.
Although Extreme Ghostblade Arts was the essence of sword techniques from the Dungeon World, its sword energy, ultimately, was physical attack, just like in this world. This presented a significant drawback when facing Logia-type Devil Fruit users who could turn into their elements.
Being unable to harm them was a major headache.
"It seems the Host is quite troubled by Logia-type Devil Fruit users!" a voice suddenly resonated in Ye Chen's mind.
"A bit, yes," Ye Chen replied. But then he realized: his System never spoke to him without a reason, unless it had some specific objective. Just like before, the System had appeared, and he had exchanged two Devil Fruits for information about Xiao Tian's abilities.
"That's simple. The Host merely needs to acquire Armament Haki," the System stated.
"I know what you're going to say, so don't beat around the bush. How many Devil Fruits for Armament Haki?" Ye Chen was already familiar with the System's usual habits, so he spoke directly. Moreover, mastering Armament Haki required a significant amount of time. If he could exchange Devil Fruits with the System for it, that would be quite a good deal.
"Two Devil Fruits." The System's voice, as always, carried no trace of emotion, filled with an icy chill.
"That's a bit expensive, isn't it?" Ye Chen's mouth twitched. He only had two Devil Fruits left, and he had originally planned to make another random exchange.
"It is entirely up to the Host's discretion," the indifferent voice resonated in Ye Chen's mind.
The System's meaning wasn't hard to grasp; in plain terms, it was a take-it-or-leave-it offer.
"Forget it. Even if the Devil Fruits are gone, I can always find more."
Ye Chen considered it for a moment. He concluded that trading two Devil Fruits for Armament Haki wasn't much of a loss. What's more, with Armament Haki, he wouldn't be as disadvantaged when facing Kizaru as he had been before. All in all, it wasn't a bad deal for him.
"I'll exchange," Ye Chen said.
"Initiate Equivalent Exchange?"
"Initiate."
....
"Exchange successful. Armament Haki acquired."
No sooner had the words faded than Ye Chen felt a warm current flow into his body, and a complex surge of knowledge flooded his mind. Ye Chen tightly closed his eyes, immersing himself in the sensation.
Approximately five minutes later, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes.
"So this is Armament Haki??" Ye Chen activated his Armament Haki, and his right arm was instantly enveloped in black. Under the moonlight, his jet-black right arm exuded a hard, lustrous sheen.
Feeling the surge of power and solidity emanating from within his arm, Ye Chen's lips curved upwards. "Doesn't feel bad."
"Time to try imbuing sword energy with Armament Haki."
A thought sparked in Ye Chen's mind. He gripped the tachi at his waist, and Armament Haki instantly coated it. Wielding the tachi, Ye Chen unleashed a slash towards the horizon.
Moments later, a sword energy, a blend of black and white, surged forth, soaring towards the heavens with lightning speed, cleaving the clouds above into two halves.
From the ground, one could clearly see the thick clouds in the sky split apart, the cut remarkably clean and even.
"Excellent, excellent." Ye Chen felt extremely satisfied. Two Devil Fruits for Armament Haki wasn't a loss at all; in some ways, it was even a gain.
Ye Chen performed a few more sword strikes, then sheathed his tachi.
"System, then how many Devil Fruits are needed to exchange for Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki?" Ye Chen asked.
"Observation Haki: two. Conqueror's Haki: five."
"Conqueror's Haki is too expensive, isn't it?" Ye Chen frowned slightly. In some respects, Conqueror's Haki wasn't as useful as Observation Haki or Armament Haki.
"It's worth the price," the System's voice was as indifferent as ever.
Seeing the System's unyielding stance, Ye Chen didn't press the issue.
And he also knew that since the System said so, Conqueror's Haki was indeed worth that price.
Equivalent exchange meant exchanging for equal value.
However, with his Devil Fruits gone, Ye Chen's plans were disrupted. He had originally intended to try two more random exchanges, gambling on his luck.
And the Devil Fruits he had asked Granny Nyon to acquire wouldn't be available anytime soon.
"Looks like I'll have to figure out a way to get some more Devil Fruits," Ye Chen mused, stroking his chin.
Obtaining a large number of Devil Fruits in a short time through robbery was clearly impossible. Not every pirate ship was as wealthy as the Heavenly Tribute.
And after the last incident, the Heavenly Tribute had learned its lesson. They dared not reveal their whereabouts, fearing Ye Chen might strike again.
"I've got it!" A flash of inspiration struck Ye Chen. He suddenly thought of an excellent way to obtain Devil Fruits.
"Kidnap a Celestial Dragon."
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