Sage Mode-Haki Is Still Haki, Gotta Learn It!

"You earned the recognition of the Will of the Overlord. You helped the members of Baroque Works face reality and made them understand that your power was unstoppable. You obtained the ninja sword, Thunder Sword: Fang!"

"Your words made Kuzan fall into self-doubt, throwing his thoughts into disarray. He faced reality and understood his situation. Your fist woke him up. You obtained Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode."

Brando lay atop Banlei, waiting for his injuries to recover, when recognition from the village arrived.

"Woohoo, the stats are here!"

Brando's eyes lit up.

He had been unable to overpower Kuzan in their earlier exchange of fists because his stats were insufficient. Secondly, he lacked Armament Haki. Now, he had another buff that increased his strength.

Brando felt that even if they fought again... his chances of winning would not be very high. He still had to learn Armament Haki. The mechanics of a Logia were truly ridiculous.

Brando did not leave immediately. Instead, he had Banlei drift through the waters near Alabasta, because once the Reverse Summoning Jutsu ended, he would be transported back to his original location.

But he was constantly drawing on Shukaku's chakra to help Banlei maintain the Summoning Jutsu, which was why he had not been sent back yet.

His superficial injuries had mostly healed, but his broken bones would not mend so quickly. They still needed time, and Brando was in no hurry.

He waited a full two days and two nights. Only after his injuries had fully healed did Brando have Banlei dispel the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, returning him to the site where he had fought Kuzan.

The ice here had completely melted. Only some remnants of the Black Flames were still burning, refusing to go out. Brando used his ocular power to erase them.

"Just one full-power battle, and my eyesight has already deteriorated?"

Brando could clearly feel the side effects of the Mangekyo. Fortunately, the impact was not too severe, and he could still endure it.

During his battle with Kuzan, he had not dared deactivate the Mangekyo at all. He could need ocular techniques or the Susanoo Skeleton for defense at any moment, and that had placed a tremendous burden on him.

Kuzan was nowhere to be seen either. After all, two days had passed. Kuzan would not remain in such a scorching place; he had probably continued his vacation.

"There's nothing worth staying for in Paradise anymore. There's a chance Celestial Dragons might spawn in Sabaody, but I should learn Armament Haki first, then go capture Celestial Dragons!"

Brando did not intend to keep following the Log Pose route. He planned to head directly to the New World, capture a few people, and use the Sharingan to read their memories and learn Armament Haki.

Observation Haki was also worth learning.

And there were plenty of beings in the New World worth showing his dominance to.

This time, Brando sat directly inside Banlei's body and had Banlei carry him by swimming straight to the New World.

Banlei sensed Brando in his mouth. His throat felt itchy, and he somewhat wanted to swallow, but after considering the consequences, he gave up on the thought.

"It's so damp. This environment is really uncomfortable!"

Shukaku complained within the spiritual space.

It liked dry, sunny environments. This place was far too humid; it did not even want to use chakra to form a body and go outside to play.

"Most of this world is ocean. There's nothing we can do about it."

Brando closed his eyes, sensing the changes Sage Mode had brought to his body.

The rewards granted through the villagers' recognition were always perfect, and Sage Mode was no exception. He could enter and exit it freely.

Brando's face changed. Purple eyeshadow appeared at the corners of his eyes, while his pupils turned into those of a snake. Two small Y-shaped dragon horns appeared on his forehead, making him look rather cute.

But once he activated the Sharingan, his snake pupils would take on the appearance of the Sharingan.

"When can we get out of this stinking snake's mouth? At least let us stay above the sea."

Shukaku disliked Banlei, who looked like a snake. In Shukaku's eyes, Banlei was just a spicy strip.

"Probably another five days or so."

Brando did not know the exact distance either.

But Prince Luffy had reached Sabaody three months after setting sail from Foosha Village. If that useless Rayleigh had not interfered, he would probably have cleared the entire sea within a year.

Luffy and his crew had stopped and started along the way, occasionally getting into fights. That was why it had taken them around three months.

At Banlei's speed, five days should be more than enough.

"Hmph, that's too long. I'm going to sleep first."

Shukaku was uncomfortable, so he prepared to sleep first.

Brando continued sensing the changes in his body.

"The strength boost doesn't seem as great as Mount Myoboku Sage Mode's, but my perception of the surroundings has become stronger. And are these scales?"

"My defense should have increased too, along with my regenerative ability."

Brando examined the improvements brought by Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode.

After entering Sage Mode, scale-like changes appeared across his skin. They covered the surface of his body and were extremely tough.

At the same time, the scales Brando forcibly pulled off quickly grew back.

It gave Brando the impression of a Devil Fruit user's human-beast form.

"If I ate the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon Form too, would I get some special bonus?"

Brando suddenly thought of that possibility.

Now that he had stacked the Sage Mode buff, if he stacked the stats of a Zoan or Mythical Zoan on top of it, Brando felt he could stomp the Four Emperors beneath his feet.

Brando did not waste these five days. He remained inside Banlei's body, but sent five Shadow Clones to the sea surface to practice combining Sage Mode with other ninjutsu.

After a day of training, Brando confirmed that Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode did not boost ninjutsu power as much as Mount Myoboku Sage Mode. However, it excelled in versatility and came with Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation.

Although Brando knew Magnet Release, the power he could unleash with it was actually rather average. It was more useful for its utility.

But by using Inorganic Reincarnation to control Magnet Release, its power increased dramatically, and his control became far more precise. It was similar to how a Paramecia changed its surroundings after awakening.

Brando

Bloodline: Mangekyo [Sasuke], Uzumaki bloodline [Elder]

Kekkei Genkai: Magnet Release

Chakra: Seven attributes, Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode

Ninjutsu: Rasenshuriken, Lightning Release: Cell Activation, Multi-Size Technique, Fire Release C-rank complete set... omitted

Tailed Beast: Shukaku

Summoning Beast: Banlei

Taijutsu: Soru, Geppo, Hakoku, Supreme Kingdom

Weapon: Ninja Sword: Fang

...

During those five days, Banlei spent all his time moving aside from stopping for one hour to eat.

Ever since following Brando, Banlei occasionally went without food. Yet Banlei felt as though his body had grown stronger. Was it because of training... or abuse?

Banlei traveled to the New World from beneath the sea and almost never took a wrong turn, because the Calm Belt lay on both sides. He only needed to swim forward, and he even passed Fish-Man Island along the way.

Brando had initially been tempted by all that seafood, but in the end, his displeasure toward the Celestial Dragons won out. He chose to learn Armament Haki first.

Brando felt that in this world, not knowing Armament Haki was like being unable to refine chakra in the Shinobi World.

Sure enough, just as Teacher Kaido had said, Haki—the Will of the Overlord—was the strongest. Armament Haki was Haki too. As a villager, he had to learn it!