This pillar was about two point two meters long, slightly longer than the Adamantine Staff that Enma transformed into. Its entire body showed a dark bluish gold color, with a subtle flowing luster that seemed restrained, as if containing infinite power.
The most eye catching thing was that on the pillar's body, there were naturally imprinted some profound patterns, like traces of some creature's scales. They faintly formed a pattern of a coiling cloud dragon, emanating an ancient and majestic aura.
This was completely different from the smooth and glossy "Adamantine Staff" that Enma transformed into. This pillar carried the mark belonging to Tenji's own bloodline. That was the draconic characteristic produced under the influence of the Azure Dragon Fruit's power!
Sora's eyes erupted with a light of pleasant surprise. He stepped forward and reached out to grasp this bluish gold pillar.
To the touch, it was warm and smooth, carrying a strange sense of vitality and temperature. It felt as if he was not holding an inanimate object, but a slumbering life.
Its weight was extremely heavy, far exceeding that of steel of the same volume. But for Sora's strength, it was just right.
A feeling of perfect harmony, of moving it as effortlessly as moving his own arm, instantly spread throughout his whole body from his palm.
Sora focused his will slightly, and this pillar seemed to sense it, emitting a resonating hum that was like a dragon's roar.
"It succeeded. It really succeeded."
Sora could not help but exclaim in admiration. He swung the pillar in his hand forcefully. The sound of it cutting through the air arose, as if it could easily stir the winds and clouds.
"From now on, your name shall be 'Pillar of Heaven, White Jade Column'. Abbreviated as. Pillar of Heaven."
Hum.
The pillar's body emitted another wave of pleased, light tremors, as if cheering for itself receiving a formal name.
"Now, let me see what you are capable of."
Sora stood holding the pillar, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
He first moved his body, holding the Pillar of Heaven as he practiced a set of basic staff techniques in the small oasis clearing.
Chop, sweep, collapse, thrust, lift. Every movement was concise and fierce, accompanied by the whistling sound of the Pillar of Heaven cutting through the air.
Sora discovered that the Pillar of Heaven operated in his hand with incredible smoothness, almost without any sense of sluggishness, as if it was an extension of his own body.
Moreover, when Sora tried to channel chakra into the pillar's body, those scale like patterns would glow faintly. The pillar's body seemed to become heavier, and the force carried by its swings increased exponentially.
He casually swept the pillar at a sandstone rock about half a person's height beside him.
That massive sandstone instantly turned into a pile of powder, scattering with the wind.
"Hiss."
Sora secretly inhaled a sharp breath. "This power. Ordinary kunai or standard ninja swords probably couldn't withstand a single blow before shattering."
He also tested the Pillar of Heaven's hardness. He fully activated his Super Strength and swung the pillar to smash it against the ground.
"Boom."
The ground shook violently. With the point of impact as the center, spider web like cracks instantly spread out for dozens of meters. A large crater nearly ten meters in diameter appeared before his eyes.
And the Pillar of Heaven itself was completely unharmed, without even a single scratch.
"The hardness definitely surpasses most known chakra conductive metals."
Sora reached a conclusion.
Afterwards, Sora tried its ability to extend and retract. He discovered it could indeed change size freely, just like Enma.
The more Sora tested, the more pleasantly surprised he became.
Whether it was hardness, transformative ability, or compatibility with himself, the Pillar of Heaven was practically perfect.
"However. Compared to the Adamantine Staff that Enma transforms into, the current Pillar of Heaven is probably still a bit lacking."
Sora rubbed his chin, looking at the now calm pillar in his hand as he pondered in his heart.
He recalled the details from the original work. The Adamantine Staff that Enma transformed into could withstand blows from the Kusanagi Sword without damage. To a certain extent, it could even cooperate with Sarutobi Hiruzen to fight against Orochimaru's Edo Tensei of the First and Second Hokage.
However, Sora was not disappointed about this. Instead, he felt even more expectant.
Tenji was still very young. Given its growth speed, surpassing Enma in the future was only a matter of time.
...
After testing the basic abilities, a thought uncontrollably emerged from Sora's mind.
"Perfect timing. I can try that."
A glimmer of eager light flashed in Sora's eyes.
Thinking of it, he acted. After confirming the surroundings were safe, Sora slightly lowered his body, shifted his center of gravity backward, hoisted the Pillar of Heaven onto his shoulder behind him, and assumed a pose brimming with explosive power.
This was different from the chakra outburst of the Eight Gates, and also different from the precise chakra output of Super Strength.
This time, Sora was trying to mobilize the power belonging to the Azure Dragon Fruit.
Faint streaks of azure blue electric arcs began to jump uncontrollably from the surface of his body, making crackling sounds.
At the same time, a heavy, majestic, dragon like oppressive feeling spread out with him as the center.
Sora did not possess something like "Conqueror's Haki". But he had the power of the Azure Dragon, he had a formidable body, and he had boiling chakra.
He poured all of this into the Pillar of Heaven on his shoulder behind him.
The dragon scale patterns on the staff's body seemed to come alive. The bluish golden light shone brightly, even faintly entwined with lightning.
"Not enough yet. Speed, power, and. that indomitable will to destroy everything."
Sora's eyes turned sharp as he forcefully pushed off with his foot.
"Boom."
The ground was stamped with a deep footprint by him, cracks spreading out.
His figure instantly disappeared from the original spot. It was not the Body Flicker Technique, but a terrifying speed nearly like "shrinking the earth to inches", achieved purely by relying on physical explosive power.
And at the exact same moment he disappeared, he had already appeared in the air above that sandy area a hundred meters away.
The Pillar of Heaven on his shoulder behind him had already been swung out at some unknown time.
"Thunderclap. Eight Trigrams."
Boom crack.
It was like ten thousand thunderclaps exploding simultaneously.
An impact wave mixed with bluish golden light and destructive lightning radiated violently forward.
The sandy ground was as if ruthlessly plowed by an invisible giant plow. It was instantly lifted up, annihilated, vaporized.
A massive trench hundreds of meters long, tens of meters wide, and bottomless, accompanied by lava like crimson light and curling smoke, appeared impressively in the desert.
The power of a single strike was actually terrifying to such an extent.
Sora's figure slowly descended from mid air, breathing slightly heavily. Looking at the destruction he had caused, a trace of surprise also flashed in his eyes.
"Indeed, a technique that combines a weapon, taijutsu, chakra, and the fruit's ability has a completely different power."
"However, it's not proficient enough. The force application technique and energy fusion are still very rough. The consumption is also somewhat large. This can only be considered a 'Pseudo. Thunderclap Eight Trigrams' at best."
Sora analyzed in his heart. But it was foreseeable that as he became more familiar with the Pillar of Heaven, and as his control over his own power deepened, the power of this technique would continue to increase.
The Pillar of Heaven on Sora's shoulder now also emitted a series of faint hums, transmitting a mixture of fatigue, excitement, and immense satisfaction.
Clearly, that strike just now also let it feel the release of its own power.
Sora gently patted the pillar's body, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"Let's go, Tenji. Time to go back and rest properly. Our road is still long."
In a flash of light, the Pillar of Heaven disappeared, transforming back into Tenji's form. Although it seemed somewhat tired, its eyes were shining brightly. It nodded heavily towards Sora.
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