The Breath of All Things

Lu Zhuo didn't even glance at the destruction he'd caused. With a light leap, he boarded Kuro's ship and walked up to him, smiling faintly. "Normally, I don't bother talking to nobodies. But since you appeared in the original story and have a particular skill I'm interested in..."

Kuro finally came to his senses. A hint of wariness entered his eyes, but he didn't wait for Lu Zhuo to finish. He paused, and then his figure vanished.

Lu Zhuo raised an eyebrow and quickly scanned the area, but he couldn't spot Kuro.

The next moment, Kuro suddenly appeared behind Lu Zhuo. Lu Zhuo's sword whipped around.

Clang!

Steel struck steel. Lu Zhuo gave Kitetsu a slight shake, blocking Kuro's Cat Claws.

On the other side, the hypnotist Jango finally came to his senses. Terrified out of his wits, he scrambled over to the Nyaban Brothers, who were barely clinging to life.

The brothers' throats had been slashed, and they were struggling weakly. Jango's eyes filled with horror.

He'd killed so many people in an instant! Even Captain Kuro couldn't be this strong when using that move, could he? Who was this man?

Lu Zhuo turned to Captain Kuro, a hint of approval in his eyes.

"This skill of yours isn't bad, but it's not quite like it was in the anime."

Though Captain Kuro was astonished that Lu Zhuo had blocked his Cat Claws, his expression remained confident, with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.

"What's an anime?"

Lu Zhuo chuckled and thrust his sword, saying, "Something that's going to kill you!"

But before the blade could reach him, Captain Kuro's figure vanished again without a sound.

Lu Zhuo couldn't help marveling at it. Kuro had really disappeared completely from sight!

"But it's a shame you ran into me!"

With that, Lu Zhuo slowly closed his eyes. The next moment, a peculiar sensation came to him.

Clang!

His sword met the Cat Claws again. A look of shock crossed Captain Kuro's face. His ambush from that angle had never failed before. And yet this time... it had been blocked again?!

Startled, Kuro hurriedly used his skill again, and his figure vanished once more.

"So this is the so-called Breath of All Things? I understand now!"

With his eyes closed, Lu Zhuo sensed the energies around him, a smile tugging at his lips.

The Breath of All Things was actually an ability much like a sixth sense. At its most basic level, it allowed one to sense everything around them, forming a unique kind of perception.

As for the second level...

Lu Zhuo's eyes snapped open. He didn't draw his sword, but lightly swung it while it was still in its sheath.

Ting, ting, dong, dong!

After a few faint clinks, Captain Kuro appeared on Lu Zhuo's left, staring at him in shock. The Cat Claw on his left hand had been snapped in two!

"How is that possible...? His sword never even left its sheath!"

The hypnotist Jango was utterly aghast. Trembling, he spoke in disbelief, unable to understand what he'd just seen. When had a first-rate swordsman appeared in the East Blue?

The Nyaban Brothers, their throats cut, watched the scene. At last, their heads lolled to the side, and they died with their eyes closed.

"Heh. Once you sense the Breath of All Things, you can sense... the weakest point. Striking that weakest point with enough force to kill in one blow—that's what makes a true first-rate swordsman."

As if talking to himself, Lu Zhuo looked thoroughly satisfied. After all, his way of thinking was different. Once he figured it out, he could achieve it!

"What an incredible swordsman... Who are you?"

Captain Kuro could no longer keep his composure. His body trembling, he asked the question.

Lu Zhuo glanced at him, a cruel smile appearing on his lips. "Just a nobody. But I'll be famous soon enough..."

By now, Captain Kuro's so-called skill was beneath Lu Zhuo's notice.

He smiled faintly and uttered two words that sent chills through everyone present.

"Shakushi!"

Without a sound, Lu Zhuo vanished.

The next moment, the heads of the hypnotist Jango and the few remaining pirates hiding in the distance shot into the air, blood spraying behind them.

"You! You! That's impossible! How could you learn my skill?"

Captain Kuro stared at Lu Zhuo in disbelief, madness in his eyes. He shouted, "Shakushi!"

Whoosh!

With a murderous rush of air, Captain Kuro vanished from where he stood once again.

But Lu Zhuo shook his head and gave his right hand a slight flick. In that instant, he completed the motions of drawing and sheathing his sword.

Behind him stood Captain Kuro, despair and unwillingness in his eyes. His body had been sliced cleanly in half!

This skill was practically useless. Anyone with sharp eyes could keep out of its blind spot. It was also no use against an equally skilled first-rate swordsman, and it wasted a great deal of stamina.

A hint of disappointment entered his eyes as Lu Zhuo walked forward.

He hoped Soru and Geppo, two of the Six Powers, wouldn't let him down.

As Lu Zhuo walked along the ship, he sensed the Breath of All Things. Within a few breaths, he found Nami's location.

He gently pushed open a door in a corner and looked at the small figure in the corner of the room. He didn't seem angry; instead, he looked at her with a warm smile. If Nami didn't try to escape and pull all sorts of little tricks, she wouldn't be Nami.

He'd expected her to be angry and embarrassed, but neither came. After spending the past few days constantly looking for a chance to escape, Nami was exhausted from her repeated "battles" with Lu Zhuo. Once she'd hidden herself away here, she'd promptly fallen asleep in the corner.

Looking at Nami sleeping, so adorable, Lu Zhuo felt his affection for her reach its peak. He wished he could make her his woman right then and there.

But the time wasn't right yet...

He gently picked Nami up, carried her back to his own ship, and laid her in her own bed.

Her cheeks were rosy, and she was smiling in her sleep. Lu Zhuo gently kissed her cheek.

Standing there, Lu Zhuo said softly, "Your body is mine, and your heart will be mine too!" His words were possessive. As if she sensed something in her sleep, Nami curled up a little tighter around her blanket.

Lu Zhuo gently closed the door and went out onto the deck. After cleaning it up, he gazed at the sky.

"The story's changed a lot. Kuro's gone, and Nami will be mine soon. I wonder if there'll be a butterfly effect that changes the whole world beyond recognition?"

A hint of worry entered Lu Zhuo's eyes. After all, his greatest advantage was knowing how the story unfolded. If it changed completely, he would lose one of his greatest assets.

Whatever. Even if he lost it, it wouldn't matter. With enough power, he could handle anything. Besides, even if the story changed, the information he knew wouldn't.

Since he already knew the abilities of the enemies ahead, he could find ways to counter them and kill them one by one.

Apart from Big Mom and Kaido, two of the Four Emperors, he already knew the abilities of nearly all the other top players. Of course, there were also the mysterious Fleet Admiral of the entire military, Kong, and the Five Elders.

But he wouldn't be able to encounter them anytime soon. So his first target would be one of the Four Emperors!

Determination filled Lu Zhuo's eyes as he gripped Nidai Kitetsu in both hands. The sword trembled.

Three seconds later, a massive sword slash swept across the ship, cutting the Black Cat Pirates' vessel in half!

After doing that, Lu Zhuo looked somewhat exhausted. He was only a first-rate swordsman, still a long way from becoming a master swordsman. Using an unorthodox method to unleash a powerful sword slash took a great deal of stamina.

The day passed quickly, and Lu Zhuo was up early as usual to practice his swordsmanship.

A scream suddenly rang out from inside the ship. Nami came rushing out in a panic. The moment she saw Lu Zhuo standing on the deck, drawing and swinging his sword like a machine, her body swayed, and she nearly collapsed.

"How far are we from the nearest Marine Branch?" Lu Zhuo asked with a smile.

But in Nami's eyes, his smile was as terrifying as a ghost's. Stammering, she said, "A-about a day and a half..."

Was she dreaming? No, that couldn't be!

Wait, she had to be dreaming. That bastard had worn her out so badly...

At that thought, Nami relaxed. Then she spotted a head mounted on the ship's mast.

That was... Captain Kuro, with a bounty of sixteen million Beli!

Nami covered her mouth, nearly crying out. She'd known Lu Zhuo was powerful and had even seen him fight the Flower Blade Captain, but she'd never realized just how much she'd underestimated his strength.

In his fight with the Flower Blade Captain, Lu Zhuo had been left with less than a tenth of his stamina, and his sword had happened to be countered by a good-grade sword. That was why he'd struggled so much.

Looking at the man still swinging his sword like a machine, Nami's eyes showed a hint of inner conflict.

If he could defeat Captain Kuro, who had a bounty of sixteen million Beli, then he should be able to defeat Arlong, whose bounty was twenty million Beli too.

No, she couldn't! The man was obviously no good. He was definitely a pirate too—she couldn't trust him!

Thinking this, Nami shook her head and left the deck, looking dejected.

Lu Zhuo saw the whole thing but said nothing. He continued with his practice.

He raised the sword in his hand, then slowly lowered it. Once it reached his waist, he suddenly exerted force, making a tiny slash.

From the original story and the three years he'd spent practicing swordsmanship in this world, he'd learned that the most important thing about becoming a master swordsman was grasping sword pressure.

What was sword pressure? When Lu Zhuo first heard the term, he hadn't understood it at all.

As his swordsmanship improved, his broad and open way of thinking soon helped him grasp what sword pressure meant.

Once you became a master swordsman, you could unleash powerful slashes, sending out massive sword arcs capable of cutting a ship in half!

When you swung a sword and felt the air resist it, you could use that resistance—overcome it and make your sword faster and stronger. That was how you became a master swordsman!

Once he'd learned about sword pressure ahead of time, Lu Zhuo had practiced the Draw Sword Strike nonstop.

This basic move allowed the sword to unleash tremendous force in an instant.

It meant that even without grasping sword pressure, Lu Zhuo could still unleash tiny sword arcs! That was the real source of his strength. As someone from another world, his ability to think outside the box was what let him progress so quickly!

After practicing for a long time, a light sheen of sweat appeared on Lu Zhuo's forehead. He took a deep breath, then went into the cabin.

"By the way, Nami, drawing a simple map of the East Blue should be easy for you. Help me with that, and then you can leave!"

Lu Zhuo called out to Nami, who looked a little downcast.

At that, Nami's spirits lifted. Her eyes darted around before she turned to him. "No. You'll have to pay me at least ten million Beli for the map! My maps are the most detailed in the whole world. They can turn someone who knows nothing about sailing into a navigator, and..."

"Fine, I agree!"

Lu Zhuo smiled at her and cut off whatever she was about to say.

Hearing Lu Zhuo agree, Nami nearly bit her tongue.

He actually agreed? How was that possible? Was this guy an idiot? That was ten million Beli!

She lowered her head, hiding her smile.

But the way her body kept trembling gave her away.

Seeing her like that, Lu Zhuo couldn't resist teasing her. "You stole eleven million Beli from my pirate ship last time. You only need to give me one million Beli, and we'll be even!"

Nami's cheerful smile suddenly froze. It felt as though black and white lines were covering her forehead. She'd stolen from plenty of pirates and had never met Lu Zhuo before, but she couldn't deny it.