Chapter 209: The Thunder Emperor's Heart
Mock Town, a gathering place for pirates, bandits, and underworld figures, had today become a Marine encampment.
The cooks from several taverns were rounded up to prepare food and serve alcohol to the officers and soldiers who had survived the ordeal.
Whether it was hawks like Gion and Doberman, or Chaton and Garp, they were all drinking heavily and eating ravenously. It gave Kaito Shirogane a full view of the hearty and... casual... nature of this world's native characters.
He only took a small sip of rum, focusing on eating and, without regard for those around him, began to organize his harvest.
[You have used Ability Scroll: Life Return (B).]
[You are attempting to learn the secret technique: Life Return. Requirements check in progress...]
[Check Passed.]
[You have learned the ability: Life Return (B) Lv1.]
[Life Return (B) Lv1: You can freely control your muscles and bones, increasing your maximum power output by an additional 20%. You can also slightly control your hair, pores, and metabolism, and actively intervene in stamina consumption.]
Kaito Shirogane felt it out. At Lv1, [Life Return] couldn't make his hair as strong as his limbs or store life energy, but he could already completely close his pores and orifices to stop his aura from leaking, or intervene with his muscles to produce faster speeds or greater strength.
The ability had a lot of potential and was a great help in his martial arts training. It would also help him comprehend the Rokushiki technique [Paper Art].
In Kaito Shirogane's view, the Rokushiki were purer than techniques like [Rakshasa's Palm]. They had less to do with the flow of internal force and were more a unique method of honing the physical body.
They were techniques based on the One Piece world's unique "physical monsters," designed to greatly enhance the combat power of those who had already trained their speed and strength far beyond human limits.
Kaito Shirogane was actually tempted to spar with these experts to help him "see" the secrets of the other [Rokushiki].
In his opinion, [Tekkai] corresponded to the "hard" aspect of the human body—gaining defense surpassing steel by training and tensing the muscles.
[Soru] represented the "fast" aspect—moving at high speed by stomping on the ground dozens of times in 0.36 seconds. Kaito Shirogane knew the principle, but his own use of it was average. He guessed his muscle and force usage wasn't perfect.
[Paper Art] represented the "soft" aspect, an expression of bodily control. Now that he had [Life Return], he had a chance to reverse-engineer [Paper Art].
The remaining [Moonwalk] was an extension of [Soru]. [Tempest Kick] and [Finger Pistol] seemed to be composite effects of [Soru]'s speed and [Tekkai]'s hardness.
With a fake smile on his face, a purple, lightning-wreathed drop card appeared in Kaito Shirogane's hand.
[You have opened an Extremely Rare Drop Card.]
[Drawing drop...]
[You obtained 3000 Dimensional Points.]
[You obtained Ability Scroll: Mantra (B+).]
[You obtained Material: Thunder Emperor's Heart (Extremely Rare).]
Kaito Shirogane was slightly disappointed. He hadn't gotten the [Rumble-Rumble Fruit], Enel's most valuable asset.
[Ability Scroll: Mantra (B+)]
[Quality: Rare]
[Description: A scroll recording the special Observation Haki secret technique of Skypiea's "God" Enel.]
[Requirement: Spirit > 15, must possess a B-Grade or higher lightning-type ability.]
[Mantra] was a powerful combat ability, combining the strong perception of Observation Haki with a degree of mind-reading. It was highly practical for both close combat and intelligence gathering.
Unfortunately, it seemed to have a hard requirement for lightning abilities. Without the bonus from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Enel would never have had such strong Observation Haki.
Then, right in front of all these native characters, Kaito Shirogane took out the lightning-wreathed heart.
He casually scanned the room. If anyone's gaze focused on the heart in his hand—an item native characters couldn't see—he would know they were a hidden Reincarnator.
Kaito Shirogane was very interested in hunting more.
Unfortunately, just like the escaped [Critical Snipe] team, any Reincarnators within the Marines seemed to be gone. No one looked at him; they were all busy eating and drinking.
Only then did Kaito Shirogane focus on the Extremely Rare material.
[Material: Thunder Emperor's Heart]
[Quality: Extremely Rare - High]
[Description: The heart of "God" Enel from the One Piece derivative world. It contains the power of thunder.]
[Effect: Upon fusion, you may choose one of the following traits:]
[A: Thunder Elementalist (Uncommon). Gain high lightning affinity, the ability to directly sense and touch the lightning element. Requirement for learning lightning abilities -45%, learning speed +30%.]
[B: Regenerative Heart. Constitution +2. Your heart gains regeneration. The heart is no longer a vital point and will slowly regenerate even if destroyed.]
[C: Thunder Emperor (Extremely Rare). Spirit +2. Gain the power to control lightning. Each heartbeat accumulates a micro-charge of lightning. The upper limit of stored lightning is tied to your Spirit stat (Conversion Ratio 3.0). The user can activate "Thunder Emperor State" to unleash the stored lightning.] (Note: This ability places an extra burden on the body. If Constitution is too low, you will be unable to resist the lightning damage.)
[D: Electro-Master (Rare). Active Trait. You may expend all Spirit to agitate the lightning element in the atmosphere, striking a target with a powerful thunderbolt proportional to the Spirit consumed.]
Kaito Shirogane's eyebrows twitched. He suddenly realized his luck might not be so bad after all.
The value of an [Extremely Rare] material was beyond his expectations.
Just like the [Material: Arm of the Silver Wing Charlotte] he'd gotten in a trade, the powerful trait from fusing such an item was, in a sense, like eating a weakened version of the [Rumble-Rumble Fruit] without the negative side effects.
He wouldn't get Logia-intangibility or total control, but he also wouldn't be weak to seawater or Sea-Stone. And, after fusing, he could still eat a different Devil Fruit.
Kaito Shirogane's Spirit stat had broken its limit. Combined with [Efficacy], the amount of lightning he could store would be terrifying. His balanced-stat build was paying off. He had the speed of an Agility specialist, the power of a Strength specialist, the defense of a Constitution specialist, and now the energy-burst potential of a Spirit specialist.
As he was thinking, Garp was already slumped over the table, asleep.
Vice Admiral Chaton, his face flushed, was still drinking.
This seemingly flippant [Admiral Candidate] had been in a strange mood ever since he saw Cindy cry herself to sleep, and was now clearly trying to get drunk.
This situation was very favorable for Kaito Shirogane.
He saw Gion and Doberman also drinking. On the other side of the room, Hina nodded at him and then walked outside.
Kaito Shirogane nonchalantly pocketed his unopened Crimson Drop Cards and walked out as well.
(End of Chapter)
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