Chapter 12

Rayleigh was stunned for a moment after hearing that, then laughed. "What's so hard about that? There are plenty of those things in the sea. I can get them whenever I want. But have you figured out how to preserve them? That stuff won't keep for long."

No matter how strong Sea King meat's vitality was, without freezing conditions, it would start to stink after a month at most.

"Don't worry about that. I have a way." Xunjing gave a mysterious smile.

He planned to store it directly inside the Space-Time Gate's storage space.

As for whether that would expose any secrets—the Pirate World had far too many strange Devil Fruit abilities. Even if Rayleigh found it odd, he would only assume it was the effect of some Devil Fruit and would never guess Xunjing's true background.

Besides, opportunities to get such a huge amount of Sea King meat for free were rare.

He couldn't exactly ask his mother to hunt them, could he? With her methods, she would probably only be able to use Susanoo. Genjutsu might work, but there was no guarantee. Other ninjutsu were not especially effective against Sea Kings with massive bodies and overwhelming vitality.

More importantly, Uchiha Chisato's current physical condition was completely unsuitable for using Susanoo.

"Fine. I've got nothing better to do anyway. Let's go!" Rayleigh did not ask any further questions and simply waved his hand.

"Hehe, great!" Xunjing nodded happily.

"I'm coming too. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, kid. It'll be troublesome if something happens." Uchiha Chisato stood up as well.

She was still uneasy about letting her son go out alone with Rayleigh. Once Rayleigh was busy dealing with Sea Kings, he might not be able to watch over Xunjing.

"I'll be troubling you, Mr. Rayleigh." Uchiha Chisato gave Rayleigh a slight nod.

"Haha, it's nothing. Come on, we'll have Kuja Island's ship take us out to sea."

Rayleigh took Xunjing and his mother aboard Kuja Island's warship. After greeting Naki, who was leading the crew, the ship quickly set sail.

After traveling more than ten kilometers, the ship stopped.

Without another word, Rayleigh jumped straight into the sea.

Before long, thunderous booms sounded from beneath the waves, and the seawater began to churn violently.

"Glugluglu... Splash!!"

Not long after, a sea-serpent Sea King over a hundred meters long and at least five meters thick floated to the surface, its pale belly turned upward.

Rayleigh surfaced beside the sea serpent, looked up at Xunjing on the ship, and shouted, "Little Xunjing, is this sea serpent enough? Do you need me to catch a few more?"

"I'll need another ten or so around the same size. I'll be counting on you, Uncle Rayleigh!"

After speaking, Xunjing turned to look at his mother beside him.

Uchiha Chisato did not say much. She merely smiled gently, grabbed the back of Xunjing's collar, and leaped forward, landing steadily on the sea's surface.

"Oh?"

Rayleigh and everyone aboard the ship froze. "She can stand on the sea?"

"Is it because of that strange energy? It really is something mysterious!"

Rayleigh noticed the layer of Chakra beneath Uchiha Chisato's feet. Though curious, he did not ask further and casually said, "Then I'll get another ten, though they might not all be sea serpents like this one."

"No problem!"

Xunjing nodded. "As long as they're Sea Kings, it's fine. I'll be counting on you, Uncle Rayleigh! When we get back, I'll treat you to some good liquor."

He remembered that there was plenty of fine liquor stored in the cellar at home, stuff Rayleigh had definitely never tasted.

He was sure his mother would not mind.

Trading a few bottles of liquor for so much Sea King meat—she would be delighted.

"Haha! Sounds good. It's a deal!"

Rayleigh's eyes lit up, and he grinned broadly.

At that moment, held by Uchiha Chisato, Xunjing approached the Sea King floating on the surface.

He placed a hand on the Sea King's body. With a thought, he directly stored the entire creature inside the Space-Time Gate's storage space.

Immediately afterward, he used his spatial authority to kill the Sea King on the spot, preventing it from waking up and causing trouble.

With another thought, the Sea King was automatically broken down into chunks of meat and neatly arranged in the time-stilled storage area.

"This..."

Seeing such a massive Sea King vanish from the sea the instant Xunjing touched it, Rayleigh, Hancock, and the others' pupils contracted sharply.

"You really do have some tricks, kid! Haha!"

Rayleigh gave Xunjing a long look. "Since you have this ability to store things, I can rest easy. I'll go catch more."

With that, Rayleigh plunged back into the water.

Uchiha Chisato first took Xunjing back onto the ship.

She was afraid that another Sea King might surface later and hurt Xunjing.

"Xunjing! Xunjing, what kind of ability is that? Is it some kind of spatial Devil Fruit?"

Hancock ran over curiously and asked.

"More or less."

Xunjing smiled and nodded.

"That's amazing! I never thought you'd eaten a Devil Fruit!"

Hancock exclaimed in amazement.

At this point in time, Hancock had not yet eaten the Love-Love Fruit and become the arrogant Pirate Empress she would be in the future. She was much livelier and more easygoing.

With Xunjing's current body, he had better not push his luck.

As for Supreme King Haki, the ideas Rayleigh had provided were basically meant for those who had already awakened it. As for how to awaken it, the notes only mentioned it briefly. It was probably triggered when one's will was strong enough, one's resolve firm enough, and one's spirit grand enough. Rayleigh himself believed that it was something one was born with. If you had it, you had it. If you did not, no amount of effort would help.

But after reading those records, Xunjing had a different idea.

He felt that it was related to willpower and the spiritual level. It sounded mystical, but as long as he found the right path, it was not impossible to cultivate it himself. With the Heaven Rewards Hard Work talent supporting him, he felt a little more confident. He believed that sooner or later, he would figure it out and develop a complete cultivation method for Supreme King Haki.

"Hahaha, that's true!"

Rayleigh laughed heartily after hearing that. The others beside him laughed as well, their faces full of agreement.

"But you understood it after just one look? You're not fooling me, are you?"

Rayleigh stared at Xunjing, surprise in his eyes.

"Of course it's true."

Xunjing nodded matter-of-factly, his tone firm. "I have a good memory, and my comprehension isn't bad either."

"Oh?"

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow slightly, smiling at the corner of his mouth. "Then I'd like to see what you manage to come up with once you're well."

"Just wait and see, Uncle!"

Xunjing grinned, showing a row of white teeth.

"Haha! Fine! I'll wait!"

Over the next five days, Xunjing spent most of his time in the Pirate World, staying at Shakuyaku's shop. Every day, he practiced the Life-Nourishing Art and the Meditation Method, and his body visibly improved day by day.

Uchiha Chisato, meanwhile, had to make time each day to return to the Ninja World and deal with clan matters. Fortunately, it was not wartime yet, so there was not much to handle.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen days passed.

Ten days earlier, Xunjing and the others had said goodbye to Rayleigh's group and set off from the Sabaody Archipelago for Drum Island. After ten days at sea, they finally arrived.

Over these days, Xunjing's congenital weakness had eased considerably. Combined with the Sea King meat he had constantly been eating to nourish himself, his body grew stronger each day. He no longer looked sickly and skinny as before; he was changing almost every day. In just over ten days, he had even grown ten centimeters, finally reaching one meter ten. At least he had barely reached the passing line for children his age.

[Uchiha Xunjing]

[Talents]: Space-Time Gate, Heaven Rewards Hard Work

[Lifespan]: Twenty-seven years, five months, twelve days (congenital weakness, Life Origin: 6.13/10)

[Chakra Attributes]: Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, Yin

As soon as Xunjing and his mother reached the entrance, Dr. Kureha's gaze swept over them.

The old woman's eyes were sharp. In almost an instant, she had assessed the pair's conditions with remarkable accuracy.

She raised an eyebrow, surprise in her voice. "One of you was born with a weak foundation, while the other has damaged her origin. But it looks like both of you are recovering quite quickly. You probably don't need me to intervene, do you?"