An invisible shockwave burst outward from the stone castle, piercing through every obstacle as it expanded in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, a hemisphere of dark-purple radiance—visible only to those who possessed Haki—enveloped half of Asuka Island.
Not far from the castle, the people who had guarded the Shichiseiken for generations suddenly stiffened, as if struck at the back of the neck. Their eyes rolled white, their expressions dulled, and one by one, they collapsed to the ground.
Across Asuka Island, half of all humans and animals lost consciousness under the pressure of that invisible wave.
Crack.
At the same moment, the three sacred jewels used to suppress the Shichiseiken began to fracture. Fine cracks spread across their surfaces before they finally shattered into drifting dust.
The airwave and the dark-purple aura persisted for several minutes.
Had another shockwave collided with it during that time, Asuka Island would have witnessed a true heaven-and-earth phenomenon, with winds howling and clouds changing color.
When everything finally settled, El stood alone in the stone castle, his emotions in turmoil.
He had never imagined that his Conqueror's Haki would awaken in this way.
In his mind, Conqueror's Haki should have emerged during a moment of extreme emotion—Or in a desperate life-and-death battle against a powerful enemy.
Yet instead, it awakened because he absorbed the negative energy accumulated within the Shichiseiken.
More than that—
El's Conqueror's Haki was clearly different from that of ordinary users.
Just like his other talents, it belonged to a rare, abnormal category.
Calling it a mutation wasn't quite accurate.
Rather, his Conqueror's Haki possessed one additional characteristic beyond the norm—
The same manifestation seen in Douglas Bullet and Roronoa Zoro.
Asura.
Yes.
After absorbing the hatred, pain, resentment, and bloodshed accumulated within the Shichiseiken over countless years, El not only awakened Conqueror's Haki—
He also gained mastery over the Asura state.
The fusion of Asura with Conqueror's Haki caused El's Haki to resemble a Shura field, oppressive and violent beyond comparison.
The price, however, was equally heavy.
El had lost the Shichiseiken, a weapon whose quality rivaled that of the Supreme Grade Swords (Saijō Ō Wazamono).
That was why his emotions were so conflicted.
He didn't know whether he should feel joy—
Or disappointment.
But after a moment, El let out a slow breath and relaxed.
The reason the Shichiseiken could rival a Supreme Grade Sword was the same reason Enma was so dangerous—
It was a sentient cursed sword.
By absorbing negative emotions such as hatred, pain, and blood, it strengthened both itself and its wielder. Its durability and sharpness were enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any Supreme Grade Sword.
Now that all of that accumulated energy had been absorbed and digested by El—
The Shichiseiken had naturally lost the foundation that made it extraordinary.
Its existence quietly dissipated into nothingness.
Having resolved his inner conflict, El bent down and helped the three girls up one by one.
All of them had been knocked unconscious by his newly awakened Conqueror's Haki.
He gently patted their cheeks, waking them.
"My head feels so heavy…""What just happened? Why did I suddenly black out?"
Carina and Nami pressed their foreheads, their expressions uncomfortable as they slowly recovered.
Kuina, however, stared directly at El.
"El… was that you?"
"Yes," El nodded apologetically."I awakened Conqueror's Haki all of a sudden. You were affected by it."
"Conqueror's Haki?"
"Nii-san, you mean the Haki that only people with the king's disposition can possess?""The one that appears in only one in a million people?"
The three girls froze for a moment—
Then Carina's and Nami's eyes lit up.
"Yes," El said with a smile.
"That's amazing, Nii-san!""You've gotten stronger again!"
"Quick, tell us—how did you awaken it?!"
While Carina and Nami excitedly bombarded him with questions, Kuina frowned slightly.
"What about the Shichiseiken?"
El met her gaze and answered calmly.
"It was absorbed by me."
He then explained how the Shichiseiken flooded his mind with negative energy, attempted to dominate his will, and instead was counter-devoured by one of his innate talents—ultimately helping him awaken Conqueror's Haki.
After hearing the full explanation, all three girls turned pale.
"Nii-san…" Nami said worriedly,"Don't ever use cursed swords again, okay?"
"Right," Carina agreed immediately."Swords that can influence a user's mind are too dangerous."
El could only smile bitterly.
"Even if I wanted to," he said,"I don't have that option anymore."
Aside from the Shichiseiken, only two cursed swords in the world were still worth El's attention.
Both were works of the Kitetsu school—
Kitetsu I and Kitetsu II.
Among them, the one El desired most—Kitetsu I—had never appeared before his transmigration. Some even speculated that it was in the possession of the Five Elders.
If that was true, then the possibility of obtaining it was essentially zero.
As for Kitetsu II—
El found it unsatisfactory.
What he wanted was a sword at the level of a Supreme Grade Sword, not merely a Great Grade Sword (Ō Wazamono).
With the Shichiseiken gone, El's remaining option was clear—
The black blade Enma, located within the Florian Triangle.
After two months of hesitation, he hadn't expected his second choice to become his only choice.
Still—
His harvest from this journey was more than enough.
He had awakened Conqueror's Haki.
He had obtained the rare power of Asura.
And the two had merged—
Forming an Asura-infused Conqueror's Haki.
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