Armament Haki

Beichen Haotian returned to shore to rest for a while. After eating a huge amount of food, he went back into the sea, determined to awaken Armament Haki as quickly as possible.

At a depth of 120 meters beneath the sea, the immense pressure would have killed an ordinary person instantly. The blood in Beichen Haotian's body began to flow faster, and his energy started burning intensely. Strands of strange energy flowed from within him, covering the surface of his body.

This process continued for half an hour. The energy he had replenished was rapidly exhausted by Beichen Haotian, and a layer of strange energy began to cover his arms. This energy was colorless and formless, completely imperceptible to ordinary eyes.

Beichen Haotian threw a punch, breaking through the enormous pressure. A column of water burst forth, stirring up waves in the pitch-black depths.

Beichen Haotian suddenly frowned. His Observation Haki sensed several unwelcome visitors entering the area.

"Sharks? Makes sense. The smell of blood here isn't exactly faint. It took them this long to arrive, so they must have been pretty far away. Perfect. I can test out my long-lost Armament Haki."

With a thought, Beichen Haotian swiftly swam toward the surface. Fighting real sharks underwater was far too unwise. No matter how skilled a person was at swimming, they could never match a shark. His newly awakened Armament Haki could not yet cover his whole body, and Beichen Haotian had no desire to test the sharpness of shark teeth with his flesh. The surface was better.

Splash. The moment Beichen Haotian stood atop the water, four or five shadows several meters long swam beneath his feet, charging rapidly toward him.

Armament: Hardening.

Beichen Haotian's forearms immediately turned jet-black, resembling steel. At that moment, a four- to five-meter-long shark opened its jaws and bit toward him. Its eyes were blood-red, and its pale teeth were like daggers.

Beichen Haotian neither dodged nor retreated. His fist, covered in Armament Haki, smashed into a tooth above the shark's mouth.

With a crack, the shark's sharp tooth was forcibly shattered. Its body was driven beneath the surface, sending a column of water shooting into the sky.

"Although I've only just awakened it, it seems pretty decent. All right, the test is over. I'm getting hungry anyway, so you'll make fine food."

Armament Haki: Coating.

Beichen Haotian drew the Tang Saber from his back. Strands of black energy crossed and coiled around it, enveloping the blade. The blood-red Tang Saber turned pitch-black. With two swishes, two crimson blade lights slashed toward the two sharks beneath the surface. Two agonized cries rang out underwater, and the azure sea was instantly dyed red, the pungent scent of blood filling the air.

Stimulated by the smell of blood, the remaining sharks crazily charged toward the two slain sharks. Beichen Haotian was speechless. Two had already been enough. Since they still refused to flee, they could not blame him. Chakra and Armament Haki both consumed a huge amount of energy, while wild shark meat was rich in energy. They were perfect.

With several more slashes, he killed the remaining three sharks that had been driven mad by the scent of blood. Then, grabbing one in each hand, Beichen Haotian made three trips and dragged all the sharks back.

On the island, Beichen Haotian gutted the sharks and prepared to eat to his heart's content. In the past, his appetite had only been about half again as large as that of others his age. Now that he had awakened Armament Haki, he might truly become a glutton. In One Piece, all experts proficient in Armament Haki had huge appetites. Otherwise, they simply could not sustain the energy consumption of using Armament Haki.

Leaving aside Beichen Haotian's preparations to hold a feast on the island, Kushimaru Kuriarare and Munashi Jinpachi, both depressed and irritated enough to kill, were rushing back to Kirigakure at full speed. They intended to wash away their humiliation and report Beichen Haotian's matter to the newly appointed Mizukage.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist held extremely high status in Kirigakure, second only to the Mizukage and the powerful elders. They could easily meet with the Mizukage. The Third Mizukage, Yagura, had only recently inherited the position. At this time, Kirigakure had yet to earn the name Bloody Mist; that would only happen after Yagura was controlled by Obito.

Yagura, who had only recently become the Third Mizukage, was still in the prime of his youth and filled with ambition to accomplish great things. When he heard that two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist wished to see him, he immediately received them.

"Kuriarare, Jinpachi, what is it?"

"Nothing major, Mizukage-sama. The two of us encountered a Konoha genius during an outing. He's only fifteen, yet he has the strength to face both our attacks without falling behind. His strength and potential are both astonishing!" Kushimaru Kuriarare said gravely, shamelessly polishing his own reputation behind his mask.

Munashi Jinpachi stood beside him in somewhat speechless embarrassment. Clearly, the two of them had been suppressed. It had not been an utter rout, but no matter what methods they used, the other party dealt with them effortlessly, while someone on their side had even been injured.

"What? Are you certain he's from Konoha?" Yagura asked in shock. To possess such strength at such a young age—he himself had not been able to compare when he was young.

"There shouldn't be any mistake. He admitted it himself," Munashi Jinpachi answered from the side.

After calming down, Yagura tapped his middle finger against the desk and contemplated quietly. After a long while, he finally spoke, coldness on his youthful face. "No matter which shinobi village he belongs to, take some people and make contact with him first. Invite him to join Kirigakure. If he refuses, you know what to do."

"Understood. Kuriarare and I plan to invite Jinin Akebino and Juzo Biwa to come with us. If he dares refuse Kirigakure's invitation, the four of us will deal with him," Munashi Jinpachi said coldly, intense killing intent in his eyes.

"Fine. Go handle it. If negotiations fail, make sure it's clean."

"Don't worry, Mizukage-sama. Is there anyone in Kirigakure better at this sort of thing than the two of us?"

"Mm." Yagura neither confirmed nor denied it.

Although Beichen Haotian knew the two would likely seek revenge, he had his own plans and was not worried. On the island, he thoroughly familiarized himself with the powers of his previous life. Although the strength of his Armament Haki was far inferior to what it had once been, his control over it was no worse. Only when the boatman arrived did he board the vessel and head for shore.

Beichen Haotian's purpose in traveling through the Ninja World was not only to relax and broaden his horizons, but also to improve his strength and gather more forging materials. He had originally come to the coast merely to awaken Armament Haki and attain Unity of Man and Blade, but he had unexpectedly encountered the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

That gave Beichen Haotian an idea. Of the seven Ninja Swords, the regenerative trait of the Kubikiribōchō and the powerful Lightning Release of the Lightning Blade: Kiba both suited his tastes. As for the other five Ninja Swords, Beichen Haotian had little interest in them, even though Hiramekarei and Samehada had decent abilities.

However, obtaining those two Ninja Swords would not be easy. Even the weakest and youngest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist possessed Jonin-level strength, and with their Ninja Swords, they could rival ordinary Elite Jonin. Some among them were considerably stronger than ordinary Elite Jonin, while the leader of the seven, the genius known as the "Second Coming of the Demon," Hozuki Mangetsu, possessed Pseudo-Kage-level strength.

If all seven joined forces, even a Kage-level expert could lose their life through carelessness. Therefore, without knowing exactly how many people the enemy would send, Beichen Haotian had no specific plan. He only had a general strategy: discover their exact numbers and defeat them separately. That would be best.

After coming ashore, Beichen Haotian entered a coastal city named Wave Crest City. He headed straight into a general store and took out Root's command token. The shopkeeper immediately ushered Beichen Haotian inside with great respect. Upon arriving at a secret chamber, he dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and said respectfully, "What are your orders, Lord Haotian?"

"Immediately contact all of Root's hidden and open operatives in the coastal region. Issue the order in my name. Have them abandon their current missions and devote all efforts to finding the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The instant they are discovered, send the information to me using the highest intelligence clearance," Beichen Haotian said coldly.

"Yes. We will obey Lord Haotian's orders."

"Mm. Go make the arrangements. Also, send someone to order a banquet for me."

"Yes!"

Beichen Haotian waved his hand, and the shopkeeper slowly backed away before leaving respectfully.

Although Root was not as strong as the Hokage's directly controlled Anbu, it had its own intelligence agents and spies in every country. The more tense the situation in an area, the more Root shinobi would be stationed there. The coastal region needed to guard against Kirigakure, so Root had quite a few personnel there. If the Hokage's Anbu were included as well, Konoha undoubtedly had the greatest number of shinobi deployed in the region.

Two hours after Beichen Haotian left the island, four figures—three men and one woman—arrived there by boat. After discovering that Beichen Haotian had departed, they also began using their authority to mobilize Kirigakure's coastal informants and investigate his whereabouts.

The strength of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was no exaggeration. With so many informants searching, they quickly found Beichen Haotian's trail. Of course, that was also because Beichen Haotian had made no effort to disguise himself. He had been far too conspicuous.

As the four swaggered toward Wave Crest City, Beichen Haotian also received intelligence on them. They had no idea who Beichen Haotian was; otherwise, they might have disguised themselves. If they frightened Beichen Haotian into fleeing, that would be rather unpleasant.

However, Beichen Haotian had no intention of leaving. It had been many years since he had encountered anyone capable of forcing him to use his full strength. And that had been before he awakened Armament Haki and stepped into the realm of Unity of Man and Blade.

Beichen Haotian now estimated that his strength had reached at least Pseudo-Kage level. As long as he continued accumulating sufficient Chakra, reaching Kage level was only a matter of time. Could a Great Swordmaster from his previous life possibly lack the strength of a Kage-level expert? Obviously not! After training this new account for so long, he had finally left rookie status behind and become a veteran. Beichen Haotian desperately wanted a fierce, satisfying battle!

"Blast Blade, Long Blade, Lightning Blade, Severing Blade. Perfect. The two Ninja Swords I want most are among them. This time, I'll go crazy and fight to my heart's content!"

In an inn, Beichen Haotian drained a cup of wine in one gulp. Lightning flashed in his hand, reducing a piece of paper to ash. Then, picking up his old companion from the table, he used the Body Flicker Technique. A flash of white smoke later, he vanished from the inn.

What? You're saying he skipped out on the bill?

For such a trivial matter, Root's funds would naturally settle the account. Why would he need to worry about it? When a leader came to eat, when had a leader ever needed to pay?

Thanks to w.z, South of North Mountain, Giant Salamander, Old Wang Living on the Fifth Floor, Carefree Boundless Three Saints, Zhuhán Wàndāndàn, and Qiqiqiqiqiqiqi for your recommendation votes! Thank you all for your support. There have been too many troubles lately; your support is my only comfort and motivation. Thank you, everyone!