Haku began to feel a strange, profound coldness enveloping his body. The sensation was foreign, yet strangely comforting.
"Do you know the most powerful inherent advantage of this fruit's power in the early stages?" Shen Mo asked suddenly.
"What is it...?"
Haku stopped mid-question, his eyes widening.
A long, gleaming sword had materialized out of thin air in front of Shen Mo.
Swish—!
A cold, sharp flash of light.
Under everyone's shocked gaze, the long sword effortlessly severed Haku's forearm.
It dropped to the ground, perfectly sliced in two, without the slightest warning.
"What are you doing! Jar Uncle!"
Naruto cried out, clutching his head in disbelief and frustration, his subconscious reaction to rush and retrieve the fallen limb.
"Don't move!" Sasuke snapped, stopping him abruptly.
While Sasuke hadn't anticipated Shen Mo's action, he instinctively sensed a fundamental shift in reality.
"That's right, look closely, Naruto. There isn't even a drop of blood on the ground," Kakashi said, his voice strained.
Kakashi had already removed his left eye patch, revealing his Sharingan, straining to comprehend the transformation.
The severed arm on the pavement wasn't bleeding. Instead, it rapidly faded to a blinding white, dissolving into a small pile of freshly fallen snow.
And from Haku's truncated arm, the same white snowflakes began to tumble out, surging forth and instantly re-forming a perfectly normal hand.
Fair, slender, and utterly unharmed.
"..."
An eerie, profound silence descended upon the scene.
The sensation was terrifying: the human being standing before them had ceased to be entirely flesh and blood; he was a cohesive, sentient pile of snow.
"It seems you've already grasped the essence," Shen Mo's explanatory voice cut through the silence, the sword now floating harmlessly beside him.
"The Snow-Snow Fruit is a Logia-type Devil Fruit. As the name suggests, the eater can elementalize any part of their body into snow. Just as an ordinary blade cannot sever running water, pure physical attacks cannot harm a snow-man. Even if shattered by a punch, they can instantly reassemble."
This was the terrifying passive ability of Logia-type fruits—it required absolutely no training or development. It was instantly active upon consumption.
Immunity to physical attack.
"How can such an ability possibly exist...?" Sasuke muttered, staring at Haku, his body trembling slightly. "Even for an Epic-level treasure, this is too terrifying."
"Exactly!" Naruto was frantic. "How are we supposed to fight that? If he can shatter and reassemble instantly, isn't he completely invincible?"
Sasuke's razor-sharp sword. Naruto's strength-enhancing fists. Both felt utterly meaningless in that moment.
"If it were not so, why would it be designated an Epic-level Treasure?" Shen Mo asked calmly.
Spending three million Transaction Points for a single item fundamentally differed from buying a hundred lesser items. This was the inherent appeal of the high-tier Jars.
However, seeing the profound discouragement in the young Genin, who seemed on the verge of losing faith in their chosen paths, Shen Mo shook his head with mild exasperation.
"If you lose confidence when faced with an unprecedented ability that merely seems invulnerable, your journey toward destiny will likely terminate here."
"Seems?" Sasuke's head snapped up.
After the initial shock, he had gradually regained his composure, keenly latching onto the implicit meaning in Shen Mo's words.
He contemplated for a moment.
"If he transforms into snow, even if a sword can't cut him, surely Fire Release Ninjutsu would cause damage, right?" Sasuke spoke quietly.
"That should be the case," Kakashi agreed, having already processed the information. "Lord Shen Mo stated that only pure physical attacks are ineffective."
Compared to his students, Kakashi was more accepting of the phenomenon. The Shinobi world possessed similar Ninjutsu, like the Hōzuki Clan's secret Water Transformation Technique, which granted immunity to physical harm but was terribly vulnerable to Lightning Release techniques.
"Elementalization is merely the most accessible ability for Logia users in the early stages," Shen Mo elaborated, looking at Haku. "While it grants immunity to pure physical attacks, you can still be damaged by certain Ninjutsu, especially Fire Release. Therefore, to truly maximize the power of the Snow-Snow Fruit, continuous development and training are essential."
In the world of One Piece, elementalization was almost equivalent to invincibility against those without a Devil Fruit or Haki. But in the world of Shinobi, Ninjutsu provided potential avenues for dealing damage.
"Yes! Sir!" Haku's expression became utterly serious.
He could feel it—a powerful, raw force of nature now contained within him. His control over snow and ice already dwarfed the capabilities of his former Kekkei Genkai.
"In the world where Devil Fruits originated, there was a man who consumed the Ice-Ice Fruit," Shen Mo recounted, a touch of nostalgia in his voice. "His power allowed him to instantly freeze the ocean across a territory spanning over ten islands. You may use that achievement as your ultimate benchmark."
"Over ten islands..."
Haku, Sasuke, and Naruto were all shaken to the core. Those words conjured terrifying, world-ending imagery.
Could Haku's Snow-Snow Fruit truly achieve that level of catastrophic power someday?
"But, but!" Naruto suddenly yelled, pointing at himself. "I don't know any Fire Release Ninjutsu, and the Jars I opened only increase physical strength! Facing Haku now, am I absolutely helpless?"
"He has a point," Sasuke conceded, his expression grim.
In his mind, Haku remained a potential future enemy. But now, all the Kenjutsu Jars he had opened seemed utterly useless. Combined with Haku's previous speed and mastery of ice techniques... relying solely on Fire Release to defeat him would be immensely difficult.
"Why is it strange that you cannot win?" Shen Mo asked dismissively.
"..."
Naruto and Sasuke stiffened, completely unprepared for such a frank assessment from the merchant.
"Haku earned the right to purchase Tier Four Jars, and he successfully opened an Epic-level treasure—this is his opportunity, his investment. Why would you assume that Haku, having obtained such a treasure, should still be weaker than you?" Shen Mo's tone was matter-of-fact, simply stating reality.
Naruto and Sasuke fell silent.
Unwillingness aside, the reality was starkly cruel. Just as Sasuke was born into the Uchiha clan with the potential for the Sharingan, the less talented, less hardworking individuals could do nothing but accept their fate.
"Furthermore, your understanding of your own Jar series is too superficial," Shen Mo added, his gaze now focusing on Sasuke. "I told you, didn't I? Kenjutsu is the path of killing and cutting. If you encounter something that cannot be severed, the fault lies only in your weakness, not in the ineffectiveness of Kenjutsu."