Recognition: 52%, New Skill!

"Wait!"

Ivan had just turned around when Zoro called out to him.

Bracing himself on his sword, Zoro struggled to stand upright. He looked up at Ivan, a trace of confusion in his voice. "Why didn't you kill me?"

Johnny and Yosaku had only just breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing that, they nearly jumped out of their skins and lunged forward to cover Zoro's mouth, shouting in alarm, "Boss Zoro, stop talking!"

But neither of the two men paid their cries any mind.

Ivan turned around and said with a flippant smile, "Sorry, but with your current strength, you're not worth killing."

The moment he finished speaking, the familiar notification rang out in Ivan's mind, just as expected.

[For your recent performance, recognition of the Satoru Gojo template increased by 7%.]

[Template: Satoru Gojo · Echo (recognition: 52%)]

[Congratulations! You have obtained the skill: Cursed Technique Reversal "Red"!]

[Cursed Technique Reversal "Red": Compresses repulsive force into a single point to cause destruction. Maximum output can reach positive infinity.]

The next moment, a flood of information poured into Ivan's mind, clearly detailing how to operate Cursed Technique Reversal "Red," how to exert its power, and the finer points of controlling it.

At the same time, a gentle warmth welled up and flowed through his entire body.

This power quietly transformed his body, making his bones tougher and his muscles more explosive, while the functions of his internal organs rapidly improved.

More importantly, it adapted Ivan's body to Red's power, allowing him to wield it at will without thinking.

At last, recognition of the Satoru Gojo template had surpassed 50%, and Ivan had gained a new skill.

Once it was all over, Ivan turned his attention to Cursed Technique Reversal "Red," sorting through the differences between Red and Blue.

Compared with Blue, Red had greater output for the same expenditure!

Red was not perfect, however. Its biggest shortcoming was that it was far less versatile than Blue.

Red's power took an exceptionally pure form: it could only be released outward from the user.

Blue, on the other hand, could create stable points of attraction and be placed anywhere in the surrounding area.

In terms of instantaneous destructive power alone, Red undoubtedly did more damage, but when it came to the upper limit, Blue clearly had greater potential.

Leaving everything else aside, Chibaku Tensei and Tengai Shinsei from Hokage were excellent examples of gravitational abilities developed to their limits, enough to demonstrate Blue's infinite possibilities.

Although Red had many shortcomings, for Ivan, it only needed one advantage to make up for them all.

Extreme numbers could crush everything!

Wait...

Ivan suddenly recalled the principle behind Red in Jujutsu Kaisen. It undoubtedly involved using Reverse Cursed Technique to reverse Cursed Energy, then unleashing Red the same way one used Blue.

By rights, being able to use Cursed Technique Reversal "Red" meant he had mastered Reverse Cursed Technique.

At that thought, he grew immensely excited.

Could he master Reverse Cursed Technique?

After sensing it for a moment, Ivan gave up.

Because the worlds were different, he now used stamina rather than Cursed Energy to fuel his Cursed Techniques.

Stamina had no distinction between positive and negative!

A flood of thoughts flashed through Ivan's mind, but only a few seconds had passed in reality.

Belittled by Ivan yet again, Zoro had no strength left to fight and could only rasp, "Bastard!"

Ivan paid him no further attention. He simply instructed Barton beside him, "Barton, take them below and find an empty room where they can get some rest."

Barton nodded. "Yes, Major Ivan!"

Only after the group disappeared from sight did Ivan turn and head for the warship's uppermost deck.

He stopped beside a few orange trees, their cool shade half concealing him as flecks of light filtered through the branches and leaves onto his shoulders.

Before him stretched an endless expanse of blue sea. A salty, damp breeze swept past as Ivan slowly raised his right hand and extended his index finger.

The next second, a black-and-red glow quietly gathered at his fingertip, gradually shrinking into a sphere the size of a dove's egg.

Even before firing the little sphere, Ivan could sense the terrifying power contained within it.

"With the same expenditure, the power it can unleash is at least twice that of Blue. Extreme numbers, huh? I like it!"

Ivan raised his fingertip slightly, moving the little black-and-red sphere into the air before him, then flicked it with his finger!

The instant his fingertip touched the sphere, the power suppressed within it broke free and erupted!

The little black-and-red sphere instantly became a blurry afterimage, moving too fast for the eye to follow as it crossed hundreds of meters and slammed into the sea!

Boom!

A deafening boom erupted, and terrifying power swept across the sea.

Seawater was forced dozens of meters high by the violent repulsive force, leaving a massive depression in the surface.

Squeezed outward, the surging water formed several towering waves that rushed wildly in every direction.

By the time the waves reached the warship, the sea had absorbed almost all their force, yet they still rocked the vessel violently. Ropes rattled on deck, and the marines cried out.

Tashigi and Nami, standing behind Ivan, saw it all.

Tashigi's pretty face was flushed as she stared at Ivan without blinking, screaming inwardly, Wow, wow, wow, that's so cool! Is this a new move Major Ivan developed?

Nami, however, was somewhat puzzled.

She stepped up beside Ivan, her gaze still fixed on the ripples that had yet to settle on the sea, and asked curiously:

"I remember you said the Devil Fruit you ate was the Press-Press Fruit, didn't you? That move didn't look anything like gravity to me."

Hearing this, Ivan wagged his slender index finger and gently corrected her:

"Nami, you're still underestimating Devil Fruits.

"There are no weak Devil Fruits in this world, only users who don't know how to develop them.

"On the Grand Line, someone developed the String-String Fruit to the point where they could control people's bodies and fly through the air.

"Someone else pushed a Paramecia fruit to its limits, gaining an elemental form comparable to a Logia user's.

"Someone even used the Shadow-Shadow Fruit to create a massive Zombie Army.

"Compared to them, my little tricks are nothing.

"Besides, at their core, both are just applications of force. Attraction and repulsion are simply different manifestations of the same ability, just taking different forms."

Nami still didn't believe him and asked skeptically, "Really?"

Ivan gazed seriously into Nami's delicate eyes.

"That's right. Trust me, nobody understands Devil Fruits better than I do!"

Nami looked thoughtful, seemingly accepting Ivan's explanation.

But the girl's keen sixth sense still left her with an inexplicable trace of doubt.

She had a feeling things might not be that simple.

Attraction and repulsion might both be forces, but the difference between their fundamental natures was as vast as the difference between fire and ice!

One pulled inward, while the other blasted outward. How could they possibly appear in the same person?

Shaking her head, Nami stopped thinking about it.

Perhaps Ivan was right, and this was perfectly normal. After all, she really didn't understand Devil Fruits.

The voyage was not interesting. On the contrary, it was quite boring, but recently, the marines hadn't found the days hard to endure.

Because...

A few days later, just after daybreak, a shout woke the silent warship.

"White Dove, I challenge you!" Zoro shouted toward the captain's cabin.