Chapter 163: Evolution in the Glade
Deep in a secluded valley within the Land of Rain, far from the marching armies and the cacophony of war, stood a simple, weathered cabin. It was a place of profound quiet, surrounded by dense, dripping trees that muffled the distant world.
Before this cabin, Ragnar stood perfectly still. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and deep, his form seemingly dissolving into the misty, green-grey atmosphere around him. He held the demon blade Yama before him in a classic, two-handed stance, its tip pointing skyward. For once, the sword seemed subdued; the usual eerie purple demonic energy that wreathed it was absent. It was merely a sword—beautifully crafted, lethally sharp with its crescent-moon blade, gleaming with a cold, simple light—but just a sword.
Then, his eyes opened.
A fleeting glint of purple light passed through his irises.
"Gravity Blade… Tiger."
As he murmured the name, a soft, violet luminescence began to bleed from his pores, cloaking him in a faint, shimmering aura. He didn't move with explosive speed. He simply turned at the waist and brought Yama down in a clean, horizontal slash.
The effect was not a cutting force, but a fundamental shift.
All downward gravity in a wide cone before him was instantly, violently reoriented. It turned horizontal. Yama was not cutting the air; it was the focal point, the release valve for this redirected force.
WHOOM—!
The earth itself seemed to flinch. A vast swath of ground in front of him—trees, soil, rocks, ferns—was not cut, but plowed. It was scooped up and hurled forward by a titanic, invisible hand. The land shattered, disintegrated, and was propelled outward in a roaring, grinding wave of devastation. In the churning air above this wave, the distorted pressure and howling wind momentarily coalesced into the phantom silhouette of a massive, roaring purple tiger.
Where the dragon goes, clouds follow. Where the tiger prowls, winds howl.
The principle held true. The lateral gravity created catastrophic pressure differentials, unleashing hurricane-force gales in its wake.
A single sword swing, without a trace of Armament Haki infusion, had reshaped the landscape. This was the power of Gravity Swordsmanship.
Ragnar returned to his ready stance, exhaling a slow, satisfied breath. The feeling of control was profound. Lateral repulsion was just one facet. The fruit's true potential was staggering. Within a sphere around him, he could now amplify gravity tenfold, crushing anything within to paste. He could create points of zero gravity, or selective gravity wells. The applications were limited only by his imagination and chakra.
The days of secluded practice had been well spent.
He willed his system interface to materialize before his mind's eye.
Host: Ragnar
Abilities:
Conqueror's Haki: Lv3
Observation Haki: Lv4
Armament Haki: Lv4
Shave (Soru): Lv3
Moon Walk (Geppo): Lv3
(Upgrades require EXP)
Skills: Tornado Comprehension, 36-Pound Phoenix, 72-Pound Phoenix, Ittoryu: Shishi Sonson.
Devil Fruits:
Mera Mera no Mi (Awakened): Lv5
Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu: Lv4
Zushi Zushi no Mi (Gravity): Lv4 (Upgrade to Lv5 requires 100,000 EXP)
Weapon: Yama (Demon Blade)
EXP: 72,000 / 100,000
He had used a portion of his accumulated EXP to immediately raise the Gravity Fruit to Level 4 upon consumption. With his current monstrous physique and chakra reserves, he could handle the strain of that level of control. While not yet at the world-bending scale of Admiral Fujitora's mastery, Level 4 gravity was a formidable, battlefield-altering force.
He still had over 70,000 EXP. His Conqueror's Haki had stagnated at Level 3 for too long. Both Armament and Observation had seen recent upgrades, requiring hefty EXP investments.
Upgrade Conqueror's Haki, he commanded the system internally.
Conqueror's Haki: Level 3 → Level 4.
A subtle, yet profound transformation washed through him. It wasn't a physical change, but an augmentation of his very presence. The kingly aura he naturally possessed intensified, becoming a tangible pressure that would now unconsciously influence those around him, affecting their will with every glance, every motion. A deep, potent well of spiritual power—the source of this dominating will—blossomed further within his consciousness, centered behind his brow. In the world of pirates, Conqueror's bursts emanated from this very point. Now, with all Three Hakis at Level 4, they hummed in a balanced, powerful triad within him.
The Navy Six Powers remained at Level 3. While the system's classification was fixed, his constant, extreme use—especially Shave combined with the Strength of a Hundred—had pushed their practical effectiveness far beyond their nominal level. EXP was precious; he would let their natural progression continue for now.
"Still over 60,000 EXP left…" he mused. His eyes settled on the Buddha Fruit. While his Haki was strong, the raw, transformative power of his Devil Fruits provided the most dramatic leaps in capability. "Let's upgrade the Buddha Fruit. Level 5… could that mean an Awakening?"
Anticipation, a rare emotion, flickered within him.
System. Upgrade the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu.
Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu: Level 4 → Level 5. EXP -50,000.
The remaining EXP plummeted to a little over 20,000.
Inside his body, the three distinct streams of devil fruit energy churned. The golden, serene current representing the Buddha Fruit suddenly blazed with incandescent light. Within its core, the visualized golden Buddha seated in meditation seemed to grow, not in size alone, but in presence, in sacred density. The compassionate smile deepened, the golden hue became purer, warmer, as if the very concept of enlightened might was being refined to its ultimate expression.
Externally, Ragnar's body began to emit a soft, golden radiance.
Behind him, without any conscious effort on his part, a colossal, translucent projection of the Golden Buddha materialized. It was more detailed, more real than before. Its benevolent gaze seemed to look upon the very forest, and where its light fell, the air itself felt stilled, sanctified. A sense of profound peace and immense, untouchable power warred in the atmosphere.
Within this cocoon of golden light, Ragnar stood motionless, undergoing a silent, internal metamorphosis. His cells hummed with a new vibration, his spirit expanding to comprehend a broader horizon of 'human potential.'
Meanwhile, on the Rain Country battlefield, the dance of death between legends had begun.
"Konoha's White Fang. A name long heard on the wind," Kyūmiya Emon stated, his ninjato held ready in a middle guard stance. His tone was respectful, but his masked face gave nothing away. Inside, every nerve was screaming with alertness. This was no opponent to underestimate.
"My blade does not waste its edge on the nameless," Hatake Sakumo replied, his voice as cold and sharp as the white chakra lightning now crawling over his short sword. The kind mentor was gone. In his place stood the legend—the shinobi whose missions ended with a flash of white light and silent corpses.
The title 'White Fang' was not earned through diplomacy.
"My name is Kyūmiya Emon. The Swiftwind Swordsman of Sunagakure." Emon brought his blade to a formal salute before his chest.
"If you have issued the challenge," Sakumo said, his silver hair stirring in a wind that seemed to emanate from him, "then prepare to meet your end."
The lightning on the White Fang blade crackled violently, casting stark, jumping shadows across the mud.
Swish!
"Gale Step!"
Emon shot forward. His speed was not the raw, explosive burst of the Body Flicker, but a sleek, sustained velocity. To a Hyuga's Byakugan, his legs would be sheathed in tightly controlled Wind Release chakra, reducing air resistance and propelling him with silent, terrifying efficiency. He was elegance given lethal motion.
His first strike was a testing blow. He swung, not aiming to cut flesh, but to cut the air itself. From his blade, a crescent of pure, compressed wind chakra howled forth—a vacuum blade that could slice through stone—racing towards Sakumo with a shrieking whistle.
The duel between the Lightning and the Swiftwind was joined.
(End of Chapter 163)
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