A Chance Encounter with "Ace" at Sea

"..." Kizaru looked down at his lower body. His laser kick had clearly landed squarely on the white-haired boy, yet it hadn't budged him. No... rather, had it actually failed to touch him at all?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Kizaru's upper body turned to light and rejoined his lower half. He closely examined the strange "barrier" separating the laser beneath his foot from Ruidio's body by a few centimeters.

"The Barrier-Barrier Fruit? It doesn't look quite like it~~" Kizaru said. "Your ability really is strange~~" As far as he could see, there was clearly nothing on the surface of Ruidio's body. He obviously couldn't see or sense Cursed Energy.

Behind Kizaru, however, a dark-blue gravity sphere that Ruidio had set to attract only him had no effect on him whatsoever.

It seemed he still needed to learn Armament Haki to deal with Logia users.

Ruidio beckoned, and the Seastone Three-Section Staff flew back to him.

[Satoru Gojo mode remaining: 10 seconds]

Kizaru naturally turned to light and flashed away. He was already bored. He had come all this way for the assignment, so he would have to apply for two months of leave when he got back...

Just as he was about to speak...

The white-haired boy raised his left hand and seized the little pirate with the Op-Op Fruit from a distance, pulling him into his grasp. At the same time, he formed a hand sign with the index and middle fingers of his right hand, like a child playing a game, and said:

"Domain Expansion, Unlimited Void."

The white-haired boy raised his left hand and seized the little pirate with the Op-Op Fruit from a distance, pulling him into his grasp. At the same time, he formed a hand sign with the index and middle fingers of his right hand, like a child playing a game... The white-haired boy raised his left hand and seized the little pirate with the Op-Op Fruit from a distance, pulling him into his grasp... The white-haired boy raised his left hand... The white-haired boy... He saw... He saw... He saw... He saw... He saw... He saw...

Behind his brown-tinted sunglasses, Kizaru's eyes went blank. It seemed as though an endless torrent of information was pouring into his mind, yet it also seemed as though that information couldn't enter his thoughts at all, endlessly filling his consciousness...

Kizaru stopped thinking.

Held in Ruidio's hand, Law stared in astonishment at the strange space around him, as deep as a star-filled universe. It had appeared in an instant after Ruidio formed a hand sign with one hand and said, "Domain Expansion, Unlimited Void."

He noticed that the instant the strange space enveloped Kizaru and the old man pinned to the wall by the stone blade, both their eyes had immediately gone blank.

Even Admiral Kizaru stood motionless where he was.

This man can actually defeat a Marine Headquarters Admiral?!

Law was horrified and utterly bewildered. Why am I fine? Am I stronger than a Marine Admiral? There's no way I could be, not as I am now!

[Satoru Gojo mode has ended]

The surrounding Unlimited Void barrier instantly began to crumble, breaking into countless fragments of energy that fell away. Ruidio's white hair turned black again, and his blue Six Eyes faded from view.

He let go of Law.

Once Unlimited Void was deployed, its effect was certain to hit. This was the sure-hit, sure-kill rule set within the domain barrier. Moreover, the attack had no intermediate process: its result manifested directly on the target, making it impossible to defend against.

Unless the opponent also deployed a domain to resist it. But Kizaru obviously didn't know Jujutsu, much less Domain Expansion, the pinnacle of Jujutsu techniques.

Kizaru still stood motionless where he was, his eyes blank.

"Leave the Admiral alone for now." Ruidio strode over and kicked the shriveled old man, whose eyes were just as blank, in the face. The old man drooled, his consciousness scattered.

Thud, thud, thud... Only after Ruidio kicked him several more times did the old man gradually wake up.

"Not bad," Ruidio said with a smile. According to the experience he had inherited from Satoru Gojo while in Satoru Gojo mode, a person whose consciousness had been scattered by the impact of Unlimited Void would wake up early if attacked or startled. Of course, it also depended on the individual's strength. An ordinary person wouldn't wake up easily from even 0.1 seconds of Unlimited Void, much less a full 10 seconds.

Law came to his senses as if waking from a dream and rushed over to ask the shriveled old man, "Where's Bepo?"

The shriveled old man giggled foolishly. "I won't tell you."

Ruidio asked, "Is he in the coffin?"

The shriveled old man chuckled. "Maybe. Why not have that Op-Op Fruit brat take what's inside out and see?"

Law's face darkened. "Is that why you kidnapped Bepo to threaten me?"

"He's not on this island?" Ruidio asked again. The old man chuckled. "Give it up. I won't tell you."

"Somewhere else on this island?"

"Heh heh..."

"There's a hidden passage in this room leading inside the tower, and the white bear is hidden in there?"

The shriveled old man gaped, mucus dangling from his nose. "Heh heh, n-no, he's not..."

So he was.

With a squelch, Ruidio pulled the Seastone Great Grade Sword out of the old man.

"Haha, idiot," the shriveled old man said with a sinister laugh. "Now I can use my ability. I'm going to drain you both dry—"

"You're already dead," Ruidio said calmly.

Law watched in shock as, the next second after the shriveled old man shouted about using his tentacle ability, his face flushed red and blood spurted from his eyes and nostrils. He died on the spot.

Taking 10 full seconds of Unlimited Void head-on was equivalent to having over a decade's worth of information forcibly crammed into one's brain. The old man naturally couldn't withstand such terrifying aftereffects, and his brain blew out.

Squelch!

Ruidio cut off the old man's head with one stroke. As he turned, the sword in his hand vanished into thin air.

Perhaps Ruidio's strength had stunned Law. He obediently refrained from using the Op-Op Fruit's ability to move whatever was in the coffin out, but he found an entrance to a hidden passage beneath it.

Law went down to look for his white bear companion, while Ruidio sat on the floor, watching Kizaru, whose eyes were still vacant as he stood stiffly in place.

137, 138...

Ruidio had been silently counting the seconds in his head ever since the domain ended.

He knew that, given Kizaru's strength, touching him would most likely wake him up. In that case, he might as well take the opportunity to see how long 10 seconds of Unlimited Void would stun Kizaru without interference.

...150.

Only after a full 150 seconds did Kizaru's eyes suddenly move, and he woke up.

"..."

Kizaru scratched his head and looked around the stone room, which was missing its roof and three walls. The old man who had been suspected of stealing the coffin had lost his head. The white-haired brat and the pirate brat were gone too.

Still, as long as the coffin was there and he could report back with it, that was enough.

Kizaru didn't ask for much. He had nearly come to grief this time, and it would take six months of leave to soothe his frail old heart~~

Chapter 46: A Chance Encounter with "Ace" at Sea

East Blue—

Ruidio appeared out of thin air on the deck of the former Black Cat ship, which was drifting with the wind, and couldn't help squinting. Going from the darkness of night to a day bright with the morning sun in an instant was like suddenly having a flashbang thrown in his face...

"Turning into an element is such a cheat."

Ruidio sat on the deck with his arms folded and briefly reviewed the fight he had specifically sought out with Kizaru.

In Satoru Gojo mode, his speed in both attack and defense hadn't fallen far short of Kizaru's.

The system's assessment of his overall strength as six-star after transforming had been reasonable.

Unfortunately, Cursed Energy attacks were completely ineffective against a Logia user's elemental body. They couldn't deal any meaningful damage at all! Although he had been mentally prepared, it was still a bit of a pain in the ass.

Fortunately, Unlimited Void's effect hadn't disappointed him. Even a top-tier powerhouse like Kizaru would be immobilized on the spot once struck by Unlimited Void's mental impact.

And even Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit attacks couldn't break through Limitless's protective defense.

It's true I can't hit you, but you can't hit me either.

But I have Unlimited Void to immobilize you, and you don't.

Kizaru, when it comes to the performance of our abilities, I have the advantage!

Ruidio smiled.

What if I add Armament Haki on top of that in the future? What would happen then?

Even if I can't learn it, surely I can learn it as Satoru Gojo?

What kind of fighting power could the combination of Six Eyes and Armament Haki unleash?

"Heh heh heh..."

Ruidio stretched and gazed out at the blue sky and sea, full of anticipation for the future.

He paced across the deck, and before long, the quest scroll duly displayed a notification:

["Rescue Bepo" quest completed]

[Quest rewards: 1,120 Essence; Omniscience Potion x1]

As long as Ruidio had accepted the quest, Law, the client, personally rescuing Bepo also counted as Ruidio completing it, and the rewards were automatically credited.

Once the quest was completed, the scroll item also became a normal quest record and was incorporated into the system panel.

Not bad luck. A three-star quest dropped an item too?

Ruidio opened the quest rewards tab and inspected the new item.

[Omniscience Potion]

[Description: After taking the Omniscience Potion, you will have an experience similar to hyperthymesia for the next 24 hours, perceiving all the memories in your brain as clearly and vividly as if you were living through them. After 24 hours, your normal memory will improve significantly.]

[Note 1: The hyperthymesia experience has side effects. There may be a risk of being unable to distinguish memories from reality. Please use with caution.]

[Note 2: This item cannot be duplicated.]

"..."

What kind of lousy thing is this?

I thought drinking it would at least reveal the whole map once!

Ruidio quickly lost interest. Like the Heavenly Restriction Tyrant and the delay card, he left it stored in the quest record rather than taking it out. It would waste an inventory slot.

He spent 7 Essence on a delicious, substantial brunch.

Ruidio enjoyed the breeze on the ship's roof, gazing at the sea and sky meeting in the distance as he ate his feast. On a whim, he opened the system's quest radar.

He wasn't the kind of person who felt he had lost out if he forgot to use a free radar scan.

In any case, what each radar search turned up was a matter of luck, so he might as well leave it entirely to chance. He would search when he remembered, and if he got busy and forgot one day, he wouldn't care. He would just count it as saving up luck.

[Quest radar searching...]

"Ruidio! You're here!"

"Bonney, did you go out to play today?"

"Not yet! I've had my green bath. Can we go play by the sea together?"

"Did you take your medicine?"

"I take it once every three days. I took it the day before yesterday, so I'll take it again tomorrow!"

"Good girl. Let's go! Oh, right, Queen Mother, I'm taking Bonney shopping in East Blue. Do you want me to bring her back on time?"

"What are you talking about? Of course we do." "Oh, oh..." "Bonney, did you bring your watch? Don't forget, one hour at most—huh? Where are you going shopping?!"