What Cheat? I've Always Relied on Myself to Get Stronger

Time flew, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Tamaki was close to graduation. Although the Second Shinobi World War had ended, friction between the major nations had not stopped; if anything, it was growing more intense.

At their core, wars were caused by economic problems.

That was not entirely true, but in the current Shinobi World, economic problems were the root of every problem.

The Land of Fire occupied the largest and most fertile territory, leaving the people next door in Sunagakure, who ate sand all day, drooling with envy.

As for the muscleheads of Kumogakure, they were eyeing it like tigers stalking their prey, waiting for a chance to swoop in and snatch a prize.

Then there was Ōnoki, that scheming old bastard who stood less than 1.6 meters tall but whose ambitions reached 2.8 meters high, silently watching developments across the Shinobi World.

As for the Village Hidden in the Mist, it was easy to defend and hard to attack, which had also fostered an atmosphere in which its people were better at internal strife.

That night, Tamaki returned to the space.

He was luckier this time. Both the Marine and the Soul Reaper were there.

"Time flowed differently for us again. Three days passed for me, half a month for the Marine, and a month for the Soul Reaper."

"Last time, it was three days for me, and nine and twelve for you two."

"Come to think of it, could a newcomer show up once and then never run into us again?"

"Can't rule it out. Our three days might be his entire lifetime."

"Let's put that question aside for now. There isn't much we can do about it yet, so let's talk about our progress first."

"I practiced the Eight Gates Released Formation. There are some things that need adjusting, but it's made my Taijutsu a lot stronger. On top of that, my swordsmanship has already reached the swordsman level. I reckon I can become a captain before long."

"Unfortunately, I don't have a physical body here. I'm made entirely of Reishi, so I can't use the Eight Gates Released Formation directly."

The Soul Reaper curled his lip.

"How's development going on the spiritual version of the Eight Gates Released Formation?"

"I have some ideas. I can develop spiritual power to a certain extent, but you two, Ninja and Marine, will have to experiment yourselves to see how far it can go when combined with the Eight Gates Released Formation."

"All right. But we'll probably have to adjust the technique ourselves to make it fit the rules of our worlds, right?"

"Yes. The rules of each world are different, so you'll have to rely on yourselves for that."

"We've always relied on ourselves."

Tamaki and the Marine spoke in unison, drawing a look of contempt from the Soul Reaper.

"Speaking of which, Soul Reaper, you're a veteran of the Fourth Division now."

"How am I a veteran already? The first few years could still be called the newcomer phase. There are so many odd jobs in the Fourth Division. They even make us clean the sewers. Can you believe it? I've been cleaning sewers for a whole month."

"That's what you get for letting big sister Unohana see how good you are with a sword, then refusing to have a friendly exchange with her."

For a moment, Tamaki and the Marine Wang Chuan could barely hold back their laughter.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?"

"We remembered something funny—ah, no, something happy."

"Bullshit. You're laughing at me. You haven't stopped."

"Ahem, back to the point. Your strength has been growing these past few years, and your healing arts have already caught up to those of a lot of veterans. All you need to become a Seated Officer now is a Shikai."

"That's true, but Shikai requires me to resonate with my sword. I still haven't gotten the hang of it."

"Speaking of Shikai, I still can't believe Illusion is a Shikai. I don't believe Aizen really doesn't have a Bankai."

"I don't know why Aizen doesn't use Bankai, but he was right about one thing."

"Spiritual Pressure is everything?"

"Yes. Aizen's Illusion is powerful enough, but Aizen himself is even stronger. His Spiritual Pressure alone meant that even if he'd revealed his goal right from the start, very few people could have stopped him."

"Every time I think back on the Soul Reaper story, I'm struck by how much that guy laid low."

"So we have to be even more cautious. Even someone like Aizen laid low until he was strong enough. All the more reason for us to lie low, stay steady, and not get reckless."

"We're all still too weak right now. We do need to keep building up our strength."

"What about you, Marine? What are your plans?"

"As for plans, I don't have a clear faction yet, so I need to think about that next. I'll only be able to climb faster in the Marines with a faction's support. After all, I don't intend to rely solely on Straw Hat to defeat Kaido. I'm going to cut off Kaido's head with my own hands!"

"As for factions, Kizaru is too much of a slacker. His faction looks loose-knit, but it's relatively neutral. They might not come together to help take on Kaido."

"Akainu's faction is hard-line, absolute hawks. They wouldn't refuse to go after Kaido, but they'd definitely do it their way."

"The best choice should be Aokiji. Once Aokiji leaves the Marines after the Paramount War, his entire faction could be influenced."

"But within eight years, you'd have to climb through the four ranks of captain, Commodore, Rear Admiral, and Vice Admiral, then gain enough influence to sway a faction. That won't be easy."

"Where there's a will, there's a way. I needed to rise through the ranks anyway. Before, the Soul Reaper and I were limited because we complemented each other too little. Now, with your help, my strength has entered a period of rapid growth."

"You could also recruit subordinates to give yourself a stronger voice."

"Now that you mention it, basically all of Straw Hat's crew could be recruited into the Marines, except Nico Robin."

"Zoro is the main one, right? The others can fight too, but their roles on the ship are more supportive. Zoro's combat strength and talent are both exceptional, and he might even have Conqueror's Haki."

"Speaking of Conqueror's Haki, Marine, you already have Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Have you felt anything from Conqueror's Haki?"

"No." The Marine Wang Chuan looked dispirited as he said it.

Conqueror's Haki was a power possessed only by those with the qualities of a king, one in ten thousand. Without it, reaching the pinnacle of combat strength in the Pirate King world was not impossible, but since he had come to the Pirate King world, he wanted to experience it.

"There are only so many ways to grow stronger in Pirate King: the Three Types of Haki, swordsmanship, Taijutsu, and fruit abilities."

"Going by the timeline, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit should already have been eaten. What a shame. I don't have enough strength or merit to enjoy much freedom in the Marines, or I could go and snatch that fruit."

"The Gum-Gum Fruit doesn't have an owner, but there are too many things tied up with it. Who knows how badly the Marines would come after me if I ate it? I don't have a Vice Admiral for a grandfather."

"There aren't many other unclaimed fruits left. Most of the powerful ones already have owners, like the Float-Float Fruit, the Combine-Combine Fruit, the More-More Fruit, and the Vampire Fruit."

"If you're strong enough, you could consider calling them out one by one. None of that lot count as good people anyway. You could earn merit and take a gamble on whether you can get the fruit."

"That's one way. If only I had Admiral Kuro's magical backpack."

"Wake up. That's the heroine's exclusive divine artifact."

"Looks like our golden finger still isn't strong enough."

"Don't be too picky. At least we have one."

"I hope we see eight or ten newcomers next time we come here. Then we could really take off."

"I hope a few sword users show up. I want to see if they can help me achieve Shikai."

"Even your dreams are that small? I hope Heavenly Dao Wang Chuan shows up. I'd go straight to max level and kill Kaido tomorrow."

"I hope a few come from worlds full of big sisters."

Tamaki rubbed his hands together, looking a little bashful, and received scornful looks from the Marine and the Soul Reaper.

"Hey, don't tell me you two don't want that."

"I'm a spirit. I still don't know if my equipment even works."

"The Soul Reaper world has the Five Great Noble Clans, and they have descendants to carry on their lines. How could it not work?"

"I don't think about that much. I have too many things to do."

"Come to think of it, there are plenty of beauties in the Hokage world too, like Kushina, Tsunade, and Konan."

"I'm still a minor. Do you want a taste of the iron fist of 404?"

"Sorry, I was wrong."

"It's all right. I forgive you."

Tamaki planted his hands on his hips. With that attitude, it was no wonder he got along with Obito and Asuma.

"Come to think of it, there aren't many female characters from the original story who are your age, are there?"

"Don't you think it's a little early to be worrying about that for the Ninja? You don't know if yours works, but he can't use his at all right now."

The Marine quipped from the side.

After some joking around, the three returned to their respective worlds.

"The spiritual-power version of the Eight Gates Released Formation?"

Thinking over the technique the Soul Reaper had shared with him, Tamaki licked his lips, a little excited.

But he did not act immediately. He could not take risks with matters involving the mind.

To be safe, he would ask his eldest uncle first.

Looking at the book before him, titled "Eight Gates Released Formation (Spiritual Power—First Edition),"

Ichite Ki felt somewhat numb.

His nephew was simply too much of a genius, a genius to an unbelievable degree.

A year and a half ago, he had come to tell him that he had created a hand-seal-free offensive Ninjutsu of his own, which he had named Rasengan.

By his assessment, its power had reached A-rank.

This time, however, they had not submitted it to the village. A technique like this could be kept as a trump card.

A year ago, he had learned several Earth and Water Release Ninjutsu, something Ichite Ki had only discovered by chance.

Half a year ago, he had brought out an improved version of Life Return.

And now he had brought out a method for cultivating and explosively unleashing spiritual power.

His nephew was a little too much of a genius. Still, he did not need to worry too much; the boy had always been even-tempered.

"Uncle, this technique is only a preliminary idea and still needs work. I'd like you to take a look at it for me."

"I haven't had much experience in this area." Ichite Ki pinched the bridge of his nose.

"My suggestion is to ask the Yuhi Clan, the Yamanaka Clan, and the Nara Clan, who are skilled in Yin Release, for help. Forget about the Uchiha Clan."

"Kurenai Yuhi is my classmate and will soon be my teammate. We could ask her clan to take a look. Uncle, sorry for the trouble, but could you help me with this? It's better to keep my reputation as a genius under wraps for now."

"I'm glad you think so." Ichite Ki smiled and nodded.

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye, and the technique was preliminarily refined. Tamaki had graduated and was about to meet his Jonin instructor and teammates.

Tamaki already knew who his instructor was: White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

Leaving Jiraiya aside, Minato Namikaze was already leading Kakashi, so it followed naturally that White Fang would lead Tamaki.

As for his teammates, they happened to be Asuma and Kurenai.

Tamaki was about to officially become a Genin.