After "sending" Buggy and his group sky-high, the central square of Orange Town fell back into silence. All that remained was wreckage everywhere and the scattered groans of Buggy Pirates lackeys.
Tabito didn't immediately deal with these leftover Pirates. Instead, he found a relatively intact eave, sat down cross-legged, and settled himself. He needed to digest the "Haki" knowledge he'd just gotten from Buggy.
Mad Treasure's corpse puppet stood beside him like the most loyal guard, silent and unmoving. Its chains hung half-lowered, its crimson eyes sweeping the surroundings. Any Pirate who tried to approach or run would be knocked down or bound without mercy.
Closing his eyes and focusing his mind, Tabito let his consciousness sink inward. He first tried to understand Kenbunshoku Haki.
According to Buggy's half-baked explanation, Kenbunshoku was an ability to sense presences, perceive danger, and even predict attacks. After thinking it through, Tabito realized it resembled a cultivator's divine sense in many ways. When projected outward, divine sense could also perceive the environment, probe living auras, and lock onto an enemy's location.
"The basic principle is the same—extending perception through mental power." Tabito understood at once. He tried spreading a faint thread of divine sense in a more "active" way, placing more emphasis on "life presence" and "emotional fluctuations." Very quickly, he saw the struggling movements of those Pirate lackeys not far away, saw the conversation between Nami and the others farther off, and even vaguely grasped the subtle changes in the airflow.
"Interesting." Tabito opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. "I can grasp the basics of Kenbunshoku in an instant. As for the higher realms of Kenbunshoku—briefly foreseeing the future, reading surface thoughts, even hearing the Voice of All Things…" The corner of his mouth lifted. "That's nothing more than a natural extension that comes when mental power is cultivated to an extremely high level. Since I've already laid the foundation—and it's far sturdier than most people in this world—stepping into mastery and seizing those mysteries is only a matter of time."
Next, he began to ponder Busoshoku Haki.
This was more like a technique that combined willpower with life energy, coating the body or weapons to form formidable defense and offensive power. Especially noteworthy was its property of being able to touch the "Logia" elementalized body—something Tabito valued highly.
"Coating the body with power (True qi) to form protection or enhance attacks is a common method among body-refiners and certain defensive arts in the cultivation world." Tabito drew on the gray-black True qi in his dantian and tried to spread it evenly over his right arm.
At first, the True qi only circulated naturally. But when he deliberately concentrated his mental intent—imagining it as an indestructible "armor" that could break anything—something wondrous happened. The gray-black True qi flowed faintly beneath his skin. The skin of his arm seemed to take on an extremely thin, nearly invisible metallic sheen, and a sensation of solidity and hardness followed.
He flicked a broken brick beside him with a finger.
With a soft puff, the brick shattered on the spot, and his finger felt nothing at all.
"So this is 'hardening.'" Tabito nodded in satisfaction. This was more efficient than simply using True qi for protection, and it seemed to carry a unique "spell-breaking" quality as well—potentially effective even against energy-form attacks.
"As for the more advanced 'coating,' 'flowing emission,' and even 'internal destruction'…" Tabito's thoughts stirred. He tried peeling that layer of power off his arm to wrap it around his fingertips, or firing it outward from his body, but all attempts failed; the power quickly collapsed. "I need a deeper understanding of this power's nature, and stronger mental control. Still, with a clear direction and foundational method, what remains is simply grinding practice and real combat insight."
He exhaled long and slow. The last trace of regret he'd felt about letting Buggy go vanished into thin air. Trading a corpse puppet that might be refined from the Split-Split Fruit in the future for a complete key to this world's top-tier power system—and a clear cultivation path—was far too good a deal. Blind groping without guidance and following a defined method were worlds apart in efficiency.
Rising to his feet, Tabito wasted no time. With a thought, he commanded the Human Emperor Banner. The dark-red banner unfurled, and an invisible suction blanketed the square. Those Buggy Pirates lackeys—whether unconscious or awake—had their souls stripped away and drawn into the banner. Over a hundred decent-quality souls were added to his store. The banner's baleful aura thickened by several degrees, and the feedback even loosened the long-stagnant bottleneck of his Qi Refining Third Layer cultivation.
When it was done, he casually tore down Buggy Pirates' flag—the red-nosed skull insignia—and, with Mad Treasure's corpse puppet, returned to the street where Nami and the others were.
When Boodle saw the all-too-familiar Pirate flag in Tabito's hand, and then heard Tabito calmly say, "Buggy has been driven off," the old man froze in disbelief for a moment. Then, murky tears burst from his eyes.
"R-really? That terrifying Buggy… he's truly gone?" Boodle's voice trembled. He clutched the Pirate flag tightly, as if gripping hope that had been lost and regained.
"Mm. He shouldn't be back for a while." Tabito confirmed, then gestured toward the empty street. "Now, can I purchase some supplies from you? Fresh water, fresh food—and if possible, some clothing."
"Purchase? No! No! Benefactor—you're Orange Town's benefactor!" Boodle was so excited his words tangled. Wiping his tears, he shakily pulled Tabito toward the small shack where he'd been hiding. "Please, you must let me host you! Even though the town's been looted clean, I still have a little food stashed away… Please, you must accept Orange Town's meager gratitude!"
The old man rummaged through boxes and cabinets, producing a treasured bit of cured meat, a few well-preserved potatoes, and even a small jar of honey, insisting on cooking personally. Seeing this, Nami and Carina hurried forward to help, lighting the fire and washing vegetables.
Soon, simple but steaming hot food was set on a battered wooden table that had nonetheless been scrubbed clean. The aroma of cured meat stewed with potatoes mixed with the smell of coarse bread warmed over a flame, filling the surviving little shack.
Tabito sat at the table, looking at the steaming bowl before him, and at Boodle's grateful—almost devout—gaze. A trace of something utterly unfamiliar brushed through his heart.
In his previous life, as a heretic cultivator condemned by all, he'd endured betrayal, pursuit, and endless deceit, and he'd enjoyed the luxury seized through plunder—but he'd never once seen ordinary people show him gratitude so pure, untainted by any calculation of benefit. In the life before that… those memories of being a normal person, of accepting another's kind hospitality, had long since blurred into the river of centuries.
The experience was novel—so much so that it stirred a ripple in his hardened defenses, faint enough to be almost imperceptible. But he suppressed it quickly. Warmth and gratitude, across his long heretic path, were nothing more than fleeting mirages. Power—enduring benefit—was the only true foundation.
Even so, he did not refuse their kindness. He calmly finished the meal. Amid Boodle's endless thanks, he replenished enough fresh water and some easily stored food. He also took a few sets of relatively clean coarse-cloth clothes found in abandoned homes—for Nami and Carina to change into—then prepared to set out once more.
(End of Chapter)
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