Ultimate Move

Duen didn't know what kind of skill "Sin Shatter" was, but did he even need to think about whether to learn a free skill?

"Yes."

The moment he answered in his mind, several more lines appeared in his head.

[Sin Shatter]: After using Geppo to leap high into the air, pour all your strength into a downward slash, using powerful wind pressure and air friction to create a violent explosion. Moderate stamina consumption.

Note: Ugliness is the original sin.

[Requirements]: Swordsmanship LV, Geppo LV, heavy-bladed weapon

So it looked somewhat similar to Sanji's Diable Jambe, except it acted on a different object. It seemed to require a blade as its medium.

Duen currently met the Swordsmanship requirement, but his Geppo level was insufficient. In fact, only [Geppo] and [Phantom Mirror] among his abilities could currently be upgraded. As for [Swordsmanship], which was tied to physical strength, advancing from LV to LV required not only enough emotion points, but likely other restrictions as well.

Still, the upgrade from Swordsmanship LV1 to LV had already raised Duen's strength by a huge margin. Going from LV to LV should elevate him by another considerable tier.

So it was perfectly normal for the requirements to become more demanding.

After pondering for a while, Duen decided to save 4,000 emotion points to upgrade Geppo and continue drawing first. Maybe he would get something else.

Returning to the lottery screen, Duen pressed the red button again.

[Congratulations, you received: Thank You for Participating]...

[Congratulations, you received: Thank You for Participating]...

[Congratulations, you received: 10,000 Beli]...

[Congratulations, you received: Thank You for Participating]...

Finally, on the fifth spin of the wheel, something miraculous happened.

[Congratulations, you received: Paper Arts]

Note: Feel with your heart. Treat the airflow created by every breath as your enemy.

[Would you like to learn it?]

Paper Arts! That was a great thing!

It might not compare to Observation Haki, but it was still quite good. With this martial art, ordinary bullets would pose far less of a threat to him.

"Yes."

As his words fell, a surge of power flowed from Duen's heart and spread through his veins to every part of his body. It felt as though his entire body had become lighter.

Glancing at the remaining balance of 8,886 points, Duen opened the [Abilities and Enhancements] interface.

[Mond Duen]

Overall Evaluation: A seafaring warrior with combat capability.

Note: You defeated a pirate with a bounty of seven million Beli for the first time, but the road ahead is long. This is merely an insignificant beginning.

Primary Discipline: Swordsmanship LV

Devil Fruit Ability: Nightmare (Fragment) [Derived Skill]: Phantom Mirror LV1

Martial Arts: Geppo LV1, Paper Arts LV1

Haki: None

[General Skills]: Sin Shatter (Unavailable)

...

Aside from the addition of [Paper Arts] under [Martial Arts], [General Skills] had appeared at the bottom of the interface. However, "Sin Shatter" was different from the others—it was an out-of-place gray. In other words, he still didn't meet the requirements...

Duen looked at the upward arrow beside [Geppo].

He tapped it.

[Would you like to enhance it? Requires 4,000 negative emotion points.]

"Yes."

The negative emotion points at the bottom immediately began plummeting like water being continuously pumped from a tank. Duen felt his steps becoming lighter and lighter, yet also increasingly heavier, like the numbness and exhilaration produced by ice and fire striking him at the same time.

At last, the sensation vanished.

Looking at the status panel again, Geppo LV1 had become Geppo LV, while "Sin Shatter" under [General Skills] had changed from gray to black. The "Unavailable" marker in parentheses beside it had disappeared.

At the same time, the upward arrows beside [Paper Arts] and [Phantom Mirror] vanished as well... In other words, the 4,000 emotion points that had originally been enough to raise [Paper Arts] and [Phantom Mirror] by one level were no longer sufficient to meet the upgrade requirements.

Seeing that he had 4,686 emotion points remaining, Duen exited the system. He was rather superstitious and believed in the conservation of luck, so he had no plans to draw again for the next few days.

After letting out a small yawn, he forced himself to stay alert, rose to his feet, and walked out of the crude cabin.

"Still not asleep?" Nami sat on the deck of the fishing boat and glanced back at Duen.

"Yeah, I had something to do." Duen gave a vague reply, then suddenly stomped down and shot into the air with Geppo, maintaining a steady rhythm as he continuously leaped higher.

After gaining a level, Geppo's maximum distance per midair step had increased from three meters to five. Moreover, as he continued using it, his heartbeat did not accelerate sharply. It was still somewhat irregular, but compared to the LV1 [Beginner] stage, he had now likely reached the [Basic Mastery] stage.

Next, Duen drew his broad blade, faced the sea, used Geppo in reverse, gripped the blade with both hands, and dove downward.

The move had been directly imprinted in his mind. Without any practice at all, he could execute it with the ease of long mastery.

For a moment, he clearly felt the power within him continuously gathering in his arms. In the blink of an eye, faint white smoke began to rise from the broad blade in his hands, followed by rings of chain-like flames coiling around it.

From afar, Duen looked like a blazing meteor dragging a white tail as he streaked through the sky and plunged rapidly downward.

An extremely low pressure spread outward in all directions. Nami, whose senses were keenly attuned to the air, looked up in surprise.

The broad blade, filled with immense energy, whipped up a vast current of air before striking the sea. The ocean surface seemed like a sheet of white paper folded in half. Starting from the center, a thin depression appeared, while the waves at both ends surged ever higher.

Then, accompanied by a thunderous explosion, the waves within a fifty-meter radius violently erupted, forming a terrifying wall of water over ten meters high. It splashed wildly, collided, and crashed together. Like the arrival of a rainstorm, the entire sea seemed to be churned by an invisible giant hand.

Nami's slender figure curled up on the fishing boat as she desperately controlled the sail to keep the vessel from being overturned by the chaotic currents. Besides being shocked by the terrifying power Duen had created, she was also thoroughly furious. What the hell was this guy doing out of nowhere?!

Less than thirty seconds later, the stormy sea finally calmed. A moment ago, it had seemed ready to devour people; now, it was gentle and peaceful again, as though it had fallen asleep beneath the cold moonlight.

Duen stepped down from the air onto the fishing boat's deck, gasping heavily. His whole face looked as if it had just been fished out of the water, covered in dense beads of sweat.

He took out some fresh water and gulped it down, then leaned against the backboard and let the water run down his chin. With a carefree grin, he said, "Damn it... that really burns through stamina!!"

The instant he swung that slash, Duen had felt more than half his stamina drained away. If he had to describe the physical cost more accurately, it was roughly equivalent to the percentage of stamina a couch potato would use sprinting two hundred meters at full speed.

No wonder the description called it moderate stamina consumption. About half his stamina really could be measured by the standard of "moderate."

Still, the move's power was truly tremendous. It could no longer be considered an ordinary sword technique; it was more like an explosion of energy built upon swordsmanship. If he encountered a pirate ship of a certain size, he could probably sink it in one blow...

Seeing the commotion Duen had caused, Nami spoke with both excitement and a trace of anger. "Duen, are you trying to murder me? Do you know how dangerous that was just now? If the boat had capsized, our chances of surviving in this vast ocean wouldn't even exceed ten percent!"

"There's still ten percent..."

Duen very much wanted to say that, but the words only moved on his lips and never came out. Having earned over four hundred negative emotion points from Nami, he knew he was in the wrong. He gave an embarrassed smile, apologized, and then used the "Beli Comfort Method" to finally soothe Nami's emotions.

Only then did the atmosphere aboard the fishing boat gradually grow peaceful again.