Boyhood Arc: Ryuo

Given the current situation, swordsmanship could only inflict superficial wounds. I might as well give up the sword and use the impact of my fists to hurt him.

With Dragon Saint Battle Aura and Haki, I could offset the damage from the recoil. Kanasi had merely wrapped his body in a layer of steel protection; the impact could still reach his body.

Though weak, it was still better than endlessly scraping at him with a sword.

Having made up my mind, I sheathed my ninja blade, adjusted my breathing, and raised my fists in a forward-and-back stance.

"Giving up the fight? You're actually abandoning the swordsmanship you were so proud of. If you obediently come over and die, I don't necessarily have to kill you cruelly."

"You sure talk big. So far, you've only grazed me twice. Hey, Man-God, is this piece of trash really the apostle you picked?"

"What did you say?!"

Just as I thought, he looked like the type to rise to provocation. Still, I hadn't expected him to take the bait so easily.

Kanasi, a heavily armored mage, rose to his feet and left the position he had been holding. He charged toward me at full speed, his hands rapidly forming seals.

"Let's see how you block this without swordsmanship! Steel Release: Scatter Steel Bullets!"

Once the seals were complete, dense-looking steel appeared before Kanasi, then transformed into dozens of steel pellets that shot toward me.

"Who said I lost my swordsmanship?"

When the steel pellets were just inches away, I swiftly drew my blade. Coating it in Haki and Dragon Saint Battle Aura, I used Water God Style to deflect every single pellet.

Once I closed in, I tossed my ninja blade upward. The next instant, I coated both hands in Armament Haki. My left fist struck his abdomen with a backhand blow, using the impact to stagger him, while my right fist drew back behind my head and continuously gathered power.

Flowing Haki... it was actually similar to Battle Aura. It wasn't merely coating the surface; it involved moving the Haki, letting it flow outside the body and form invisible armor.

Make it flow, like water. Treat Haki like breathing.

The image grew clearer and clearer. I could distinctly feel something within my body flowing continuously, yet I still couldn't properly control it.

I threw a heavy punch. It didn't feel like I had used Ryuo at all; it was just an ordinary Haki-coated blow that landed squarely on his chest and knocked him back several steps.

After stepping forward, I coated my knee in Armament Haki as well. Grabbing his shoulders with both hands, I fiercely drove my knee into his abdomen.

Though the damage wasn't great, Kanasi's expression had clearly changed. Unlike when I had slashed him with my ninja blade, he no longer seemed completely unfazed.

Leaping into the air, I focused once more on sensing the flow of Haki within my body. After gathering power in my right fist, I swung it straight at his face.

I still failed to use Ryuo. Moreover, this guy had even covered his head in steel. The impact seemed a little lacking, unable to give him a concussion.

Still, the blow sent Kanasi rolling across the ground several times. He had to be feeling plenty of pain.

It was about as powerful as a punch thrown during an ordinary fistfight.

After throwing a barrage of punches, I widened the distance between Kanasi and myself again, desperately recalling the sensation of Haki flowing through my body just now.

The feeling was incredibly strange and wondrous, like the accelerated heartbeat one could clearly sense after strenuous exercise, or the airflow one could distinctly feel while breathing.

Using Ryuo wasn't about consciously releasing it. Rather, some condition served as a medium that triggered its release.

The explanation of Ryuo in the show... was to make Haki flow, release it outside the body, and form invisible armor.

This power could attack someone without physically touching them, and it could even pierce through defenses to strike directly at the inside of their body.

"You're getting distracted while fighting me... There should be a limit to how much you can look down on someone!"

Dude, I've been thinking of ways to deal with you this whole time. Are you a fucking idiot?

His words interrupted my train of thought, and anger flared within me. I had finally found a hint of Ryuo's secret, only for him to cut me off.

I was about to get close and punch him twice to make him shut up, but the moment I took a step forward, a sense of foreboding suddenly washed over me.

In an instant, a steel spear shot toward me. I was about to twist aside to dodge when Observation Haki frantically warned me of something.

However, I couldn't clearly see that future. So after twisting away from the steel spear, I prepared to charge forward.

But the next instant, I felt my left thigh being pierced. Intense pain struck, twisting my features as cold sweat broke out across my body.

"Aren't you curious why I've been calmly letting you attack this whole time?"

You call that calm? I insulted you twice and you wanted to risk your life fighting me, yet you're talking about being calm?

"It's finally complete. After grazing you, I obtained your blood. Unfortunately, there was too little of it, so I only managed to finish my technique now."

"You're even kindly giving me a live explanation? What, does revealing your technique double its power or something?"

Suppressing the excruciating pain, I tried to pull out the steel spear, but it seemed to possess a will of its own and kept resisting me.

Could it be...

"I see. As long as your steel comes into contact with my blood, you can control it to track me."

"You've got some brains after all. How is it? Even after telling you everything, isn't this still a technique you have no way to deal with?"

Marking someone through blood before tracking them truly was a difficult technique to handle. It meant every attempt to dodge would be useless.

This steel spear was also difficult to destroy. My current Dragon Saint Battle Aura alone wasn't enough to forcibly shatter it.

Before I could deal with the first steel spear, another one came hurtling toward me at incredible speed.

With no other choice, I seized it with both hands at the right moment, using my own strength to resist the impact before firmly pinning it into the ground and stopping it.

Another steel spear came at me. I had intended to repeat the same move and drive this one into the ground as well, but the ground beneath my feet suddenly gave way, making me lose my balance.

The steel spear pierced through my abdomen. Ringing filled my ears again, and dizziness overwhelmed me. My stomach felt as though it had been plunged into both ice and fire.

Blood sprayed from my mouth, while cold sweat kept dripping down my face.

Luckily, I had eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. Otherwise, that strike would probably have killed me.

No matter how much it hurt, I couldn't show pain right now. I had to keep smiling. If I lost in terms of momentum, I would truly be at a disadvantage.

"Can you still smile? The steel spears that come next have all been carefully created by me. You can't even break through my armor, so don't even think about cutting these spears apart!"

Furan, who had been hiding nearby without saying a word, grew extremely worried when she saw Qingyue's body pierced through and him kneeling on one knee.

She wanted to stand up and help him, but reason stopped her.

If I go, Qingyue will scold me. I'll cause trouble, so I can't go.

Her heart filled with worry, her black eyes fixed on Qingyue as she continuously prayed that he would stand up and fight back.

Without realizing it, a special chakra surged within Furan's mind and acted upon her optic nerves, causing some kind of change in her black eyes!

Of the two facing each other, Kanasi was now standing upright, with more than a dozen dense steel spears scattered across the ground around him.

On the other side was Qingyue, who had shakily risen to his feet. Sweat streamed down his face, blood remained at the corner of his mouth, yet he was smiling.

"Next, I'll make sure you never smile again. The final adjustments are complete. The next spear will blast your brain into pulp!"

Forget it. I'm too lazy to think anymore. I've been thinking nonstop lately—about the meaning of existence, about how Haki should be used...

No wonder I've had Conqueror's Haki for so long but never truly felt it. Would someone with the qualities of a king worry about this and that like I do?

I'm done. I'm done thinking. I'll just go with my instincts.

"Man-God's apostle, die here."

Casting aside every distracting thought, I sensed the flow of Haki within my body with even greater clarity.

So that's how it is. What the hell, it was so simple, yet I kept overthinking it and making it complicated...

I just need to release an excessive amount of Haki!

Gripping the steel spears embedded in my body with both hands, I released an excessive amount of Haki and instantly shattered them!

"You fucking wait. My turn now, you little bastard!"