Some time later~
The black flames around Xia Chen slowly vanished. His blood-red hair began turning black again, and his pupils returned to the gold of his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils.
Feeling the killing intent gradually settle within his body, Xia Chen's lips curled into a smile.
Goddammit, you really were fucking hard to control!
Luckily, he had the iron will he had honed watching a whole bunch of action stars in his previous life. Otherwise, he really might not have held out!
Now that he had completely regained his clarity, he had to...
"System, get the hell out here and explain why there was a bug!"
[Well... you know I'm just a system. If something goes wrong while a system like me is running, having a few bugs should be... perfectly normal, right?]
The system's words nearly made Xia Chen laugh in anger. Normal, my ass!
"Then explain why this Ape-Ape Fruit's demonized form has such a huge drawback!"
[The host's fruit is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven Form, and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven encountered plenty of injustice as he grew, so naturally, he had a dark side within him too. Therefore...]
"So I inherited the Great Sage's dark side along with everything else, is that it?"
Before the system could finish, Xia Chen cut it off.
[(⊙﹏⊙)... You're so clever, host!]
"I don't care. You made such a serious mistake this time, and this damned demonized state you gave me actually has such a huge downside."
"If I couldn't control my killing intent and provoked some great pirate right now, wouldn't I be done for?"
"So... after making such a huge mistake, you ought to compensate me somehow, right?"
At this point, Xia Chen finally showed his hand.
That was right. He just wanted to squeeze some benefits out of it. Sure, he was completely fine right now, and the odds of running into a great pirate like he had described were very low.
But a low probability didn't mean no probability. And if there was a chance, rounding it up made it one hundred percent!
There was no excuse not to compensate him for that!
[Then... what compensation would you like, host?]
There was a hint of caution in the system's voice. This time, it really had malfunctioned.
As a system with a conscience, it was in the wrong!
"Since you're sincerely repentant, I won't ask for much. Remove the side effect of my demonized form-the killing intent it produces!"
Xia Chen spoke with a hint of anticipation.
Having experienced the demonized state, he understood deeply just how powerful that form was.
It made him stronger in absolutely every respect. It felt just like Luffy activating his Nika Form.
If he fought Hawk-Eyes in this form now, he couldn't say he would win, but he could definitely last longer and force Hawk-Eyes to reveal more of his strength.
However, this form also had two drawbacks. One was its relatively high stamina consumption.
That was perfectly normal, though. Hadn't Luffy looked like he was about to be buried every time he finished using Gear Fifth?
By comparison, his form only consuming a little extra stamina was already pretty good.
The other drawback was the killing intent. In this form, his killing intent practically reached its peak.
He wanted to kill anyone he saw, and the longer he used this form, the stronger that killing intent grew.
The killing intent had gradually diminished earlier because he hadn't entered the form voluntarily. He had been forced into it.
At the same time, he had been restraining that killing intent within him all along, which was why the more he killed, the weaker it became.
Simply put, he had worn down his killing intent through slaughter.
But he couldn't do that every time, could he? What if there weren't that many living creatures for him to kill someday?
What would he do then? Wouldn't that mean he could only use this form in moments of danger?
He wouldn't dare use it normally at all. Something uncontrollable posed far too great a risk!
[Host request detected. Analyzing...] [Analysis successful. Host request denied!] [The core of the demonized form is killing intent. Without killing intent, this form would lose its meaning. The system can make this killing intent controllable, but cannot remove it.] [If the host insists on removing the killing intent, the form must be removed along with it. Would you like to proceed?]
"Huh?"
Xia Chen froze at first, then immediately caught on and hurriedly said:
"Don't remove it! Don't remove it!"
What a joke. How could he possibly remove such a powerful form?
Besides... hadn't the system just said it could make the killing intent controllable?
(☆▽☆)!
If it could be controlled, why the hell was he worrying about drawbacks? That was a massive advantage!
Xia Chen immediately told the system, "Then make the killing intent controllable!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Chen felt a strange energy pour into his body. He involuntarily closed his eyes, carefully sensing the changes within him.
Nearby, Luffy saw Xia Chen's appearance return to normal and was just about to walk over and ask what had happened.
But halfway there, he noticed Xia Chen enter that previous form again, frightening him into retreating several steps.
At the same time, an incomparably powerful killing intent radiated from Xia Chen.
In that instant, everyone felt as though they had entered a world of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with countless bodies beneath their feet.
A few seconds later, when they came to their senses, they realized they were already drenched in sweat. Someone a little more cowardly, like Usopp, had his legs go weak and fell straight onto his backside.
Even someone as strong-willed as Zoro had felt a trace of fear erupt within his heart in that instant.
For a moment, everyone looked at Xia Chen with immense solemnity.
What they didn't know was that Xia Chen was feeling extremely comfortable right then.
After the changes had finished just now, he had felt as though he had inexplicably gained something.
Then he had involuntarily activated his demonized state. Unlike before, however, although he was brimming with killing intent this time,
there wasn't the slightest sign of him losing control. Instead, he could wield that killing intent as naturally as his own limbs, suppressing his opponents both physically and mentally.
After familiarizing himself with the killing intent, Xia Chen slowly opened his eyes, only to see Luffy and the others beside him looking at him as though facing a formidable enemy.
He couldn't help asking curiously, "What are you doing?"
Luffy didn't answer immediately. Instead, he swallowed before stammering:
"Y-you're Xia Chen?"
"No shit. I'm standing right here, and you can't recognize me?"
"But... I remember Xia Chen having black hair and black eyes. Yours are all red! Xia Chen wasn't wearing black clothes either."
"And Xia Chen didn't have those black flames swirling behind him!"
Xia Chen: ...
Can't I dye my hair, put in colored contacts, change my clothes, and add some special effects?
But Xia Chen knew he would never get through to an idiot like Luffy by explaining it that way, so he deactivated his demonized state.
The black flames wrapped around him slowly vanished, and his clothes and hair returned to their original colors. His pupils, however, remained gold.
That was because Xia Chen's eyes had already become Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. There was nothing he could do about it!
His version differed a little from the original Great Sage's. Rather than something he only used when he wanted to, it had essentially become a permanent skill.
It didn't consume anything, either, just like an innate ability he had been born with.
"Will this do?" Xia Chen asked, looking calmly at Luffy.