"Ace."
Lin Xuan suddenly spoke, his voice lighter than ever before, carrying the uninhibited ease of a burden lifted.
He raised his hand and, in front of everyone, tipped back the entire glass of vodka he had yet to properly savor.
Ice struck his teeth, and liquor scraped down his throat. The burning pain made his already bright eyes burn hotter.
Bang!
The empty glass slammed down hard on the bar.
"I was going to send you off with the hand-to-hand skills I've spent fourteen years honing. They would've been enough to beat you, but since the timing worked out so well..." Lin Xuan turned, the hem of his long black robe tracing a sharp arc. The aura he gave off made Makino instinctively retreat half a step behind the bar.
At that moment, in Lin Xuan's vision, the faintly golden [Beginner's Gift Pack] icon lay quietly in the storage slot on the other side of his thoughts.
Whether it contained a divine weapon or an unparalleled physique, a system calling itself the "Strongest Template" would never offer beggar's scraps as its first welcoming gift.
Lin Xuan licked the lingering liquor from his lips, the playful smile at their corners widening. Though his gaze remained on Ace, his consciousness had locked firmly onto the golden package in his mind.
Perfect. He would use the future "Fire Fist" of these seas to christen this cheat that had arrived fourteen years late.
System.
He spoke silently in his mind, a shiver of anticipation racing up his spine to his scalp.
Open the Beginner's Gift Pack.
Chapter 2: Fight Ace with a Wooden Sword? Has My System Gone Insane?
At a thought, the golden gift pack floating in his mind burst apart as though it could no longer withstand the pressure inside, accompanied by a soundless roar.
A violent surge of heat instantly swept from his brain through every limb and bone.
[Congratulations, host! Acquired: Character Template-Kenpachi Zaraki (Bleach: Soul Society arc ver.)] [Current unlock progress: 5%] [Passive skill acquired: Beast Instinct (beginner)] [Item acquired: Asauchi (Zanpakuto without Shikai release, deposited in system storage)]
Kenpachi Zaraki?
Lin Xuan's pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.
That battle maniac who had to wear a spirit-energy-devouring eyepatch, and even hang bells on his Zanpakuto, just to enjoy fighting?
A scorching heat climbed his spine.
This was an awakening of instinct.
His body had remained steady for fourteen years, but now every muscle fiber trembled, yearning to tear something apart.
With only 5% unlocked, the explosive power filling him already gave him the illusion that his body was swelling.
Lin Xuan instinctively pressed a hand to his neck. The artery beneath his palm throbbed heavily and violently, as if it would burst through his skin.
So this was what having a cheat felt like?
Damn, that felt good. Almost intoxicating.
"Hey, Lin Xuan! Are you even listening to me?"
Ace's disgruntled shout snapped Lin Xuan back to his senses.
Before him, Portgas D. Ace hefted the steel pipe with a clatter, even the freckles around his eyes and brows seeming smug. "Don't think you can get out of this by acting all brooding. I practiced a new move at Gray Terminal just for today's fight, specifically to break through your defense."
Lin Xuan's monstrous strength had kept him thoroughly suppressed over the years. With his departure at hand today, he desperately needed this victory as the starting line of his pirate career.
Lin Xuan exhaled a stale breath, forcibly suppressing the restlessness inside him.
His gaze swept over the water pipe in Ace's hands, and for some reason, he found such a blunt weapon rather unworthy.
Now that he had loaded Kenpachi's template, even if it was only a fraction of it, fighting with his fists, feet, or a blunt weapon would be beneath him.
"Since you're taking this seriously, I can't be too halfhearted either."
Lin Xuan turned, his gaze passing over rows of liquor bottles before finally settling on the wall beside the bar.
A wooden sword hung there as a decoration, a souvenir from a swordsmanship demonstration once held in Foosha Village. Its craftsmanship was crude, and a thin layer of dust covered it.
"Makino, let me borrow this."
Lin Xuan stretched out his long arm and took the wooden sword straight off the wall.
It felt light in his hand, almost weightless, but the instant he gripped its hilt, the template's muscle memory made his wrist naturally lower, adjusting to the angle that let him exert force most smoothly.
"Huh?"
Ace's expression froze, his eyes widening like brass bells. "A wooden sword? Did you drink your brains away, Lin Xuan? Since when did you know swordsmanship? And..."
He pointed at the wooden sword, which looked like a child's toy, his voice carrying the anger of being belittled. "You're going to fight me with that piece of firewood that'll snap at a touch? Are you looking down on me, or do you think I'm joking around too?"
Luffy, standing nearby, thought nothing of the sort. Seeing Lin Xuan take up a weapon, he immediately cheered with shining eyes. "Ooh! A swordsman! Are you becoming a swordsman, Big Brother Lin Xuan? So cool!"
"Try me, and you'll find out whether I'm joking."
Lin Xuan offered no further explanation, merely twirling the sword casually.
The rough wooden sword cut through the air with a not particularly sharp swish, shaking loose a few specks of dust.
Ignoring Ace's look as though he were insane, he headed outside. The hem of his long black robe stirred a breeze, and he did not stop as he passed Ace. "Let's go outside. If we break Makino's things, selling you wouldn't cover the cost."
"You..." Ace gritted his teeth, gripping the steel pipe tightly. "Fine. If you want to embarrass yourself with that wooden stick, I'll oblige!"
The afternoon sunlight was somewhat blinding.
In the clearing outside the tavern, the sea breeze sent grains of sand swirling across the ground.
Foosha Village was small to begin with. Luffy's earlier shout, followed by the two youths striding out so aggressively, soon attracted quite a few villagers who had just returned from seeing someone off.
"Oh my, what's going on? Are those two little monsters from Mr. Garp's family fighting again?"
"Isn't Ace setting sail today? Is this a farewell match?"
"The one in black is Lin Xuan, right? What's he doing holding a piece of wood?"
The crowd whispered, forming a small circle.
Makino stood in the tavern doorway, twisting her apron in her hands, her brows tightly knitted.
She knew these two all too well. Their usual roughhousing was one thing, but today there was an unprecedented seriousness in Ace's eyes, while the suddenly unfamiliar air about Lin Xuan unsettled her even more.
In the center of the clearing.
The two stood facing each other, barely ten meters apart.
The sea breeze tousled the loose hair across Ace's forehead. He lowered his center of gravity and held the steel pipe across his body, assuming an opening stance for attack.
It was the stance he had worked out through countless brawls and hunts, the one that best let him exert his strength.
Lin Xuan, meanwhile, simply stood casually, holding the crude wooden sword in one hand with its tip angled toward the ground, his posture as loose as if he were strolling through his own backyard.
His gaze, however, locked onto vital spots such as Ace's neck, left shoulder, and heart.
It was the look of a butcher sizing up livestock, purely searching for a place to cut.
Under that gaze, the hairs on Ace's back stood on end, and he instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon.
Looking at the wooden sword in Lin Xuan's hand, which might snap at any moment, he knitted his brows tightly. The feeling of being belittled made his chest tighten, and he finally could not help speaking.
"Lin Xuan, I'll say this one last time..."
Ace stared at the harmless wooden sword, his voice dropping.
Chapter 3: One-Hit Victory with This Piece of Firewood!
"Are you planning to tickle me with that piece of firewood? Throw it away. Go get your gauntlets, or anything made of iron."
Ace's gaze lingered on the dust covering the wooden sword for half a second, his brows tightly furrowed in impatience. "I don't want to beat someone who didn't even bother choosing a proper weapon, then have that bigmouth Luffy blabbing about it everywhere."
"No need."
Lin Xuan lightly flicked his wrist, the dry wood grain rubbing against his palm.
The instincts from Kenpachi Zaraki's template made him find the youth before him somewhat noisy, yet deep down, he faintly anticipated their coming clash.
Lin Xuan raised his eyelids, something seemingly stirring deep within his pupils. "This piece of wood is enough for you. If I accidentally cut you to death, things will be a hassle when Garp comes back."
"You... stop looking down on me!"
Provoked by those words, Ace flushed red with anger.
Just as he was about to explode, a chill suddenly shot up from his tailbone.
In that instant, Ace discovered in astonishment that the languid Lin Xuan before him had changed.
His posture was still just as loose, yet in Ace's perception, his figure seemed to stretch in an instant, becoming a ferocious beast baring its teeth in a savage grin.
The feeling of being targeted by an apex predator made Ace's breath catch, cold sweat coating the palm gripping his water pipe.
"Hey! Stop staring at each other!"
Luffy cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hurry up and fight! The meat's getting cold! I wanna see that swish-swish-swish swordsmanship!"
That shout broke the strange atmosphere in the clearing.
The suffocating pressure eased slightly.
Ace shook his head fiercely, casting off the heart-pounding sensation from a moment ago.
What a joke. I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King. How could some guy who's never been to sea scare me with a look?
"Fine. Just fine."
Ace took a deep breath, bending his knees slightly and pressing a shallow pit into the ground beneath his feet. "Since you have a death wish, I'll oblige. Lin Xuan, within ten moves, I'll have you on the ground begging me to let you change weapons!"
"Ten moves?"
Lin Xuan looked as though he had heard a joke.
He lowered his head, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably as a low laugh rumbled from his throat, sounding somewhat crazed.
Along with his laughter, a golden aura erupted from Lin Xuan's body.
This time, it was no longer a probe, but an unrestrained release.
The watching villagers felt as though a boulder weighed on their chests. Several elderly people even had their legs buckle, collapsing to the ground.
This was Spiritual Pressure.
Though the template's progress was only five percent, to these ordinary people of the East Blue, it was no different from a natural disaster.
Even Luffy, who had been yelling just moments earlier, now resembled a duck gripped by the neck, his mouth open without a sound. He instinctively clung tightly to the wooden post beside him.
Ace, standing at its center, felt it most directly.
He seemed to see a scar-covered demon standing behind Lin Xuan, raising a jagged greatsword and roaring at the sky.
"Come fight, Ace."
Lin Xuan abruptly raised his head, his eyes frighteningly bright. His mouth spread into an exaggerated grin, revealing stark white teeth. "Forget counting ten moves. We'll settle this in this very instant!"
The instant those words fell, Lin Xuan moved.
He used no footwork technique, simply charging straight ahead.
The wooden sword in his hand rose high, leaving his chest and abdomen wide open, full of openings.
"Bastard! You're charging with that many openings?!"
His scalp prickling under the force of that momentum, Ace's face alternated between ashen and pale. His survival instincts drove him to unleash astonishing speed.
He did not retreat. Instead, he charged straight at Lin Xuan, the water pipe whistling through the air toward Lin Xuan's completely exposed left ribs.
"Go down!"
The two figures rapidly closed in amid the flying sand.
Closer.
Just as the water pipe was about to touch the edge of Lin Xuan's clothes, the golden light in his eyes surged.
Lin Xuan did not dodge. He did not even glance at the water pipe.
Before you continue