Chapter 64: From Now On, the Roles of Offense and Defense are Reversed!
Gyokko's expression suddenly froze.
The black-haired human's figure was ten meters away just a second ago, and in the next, a fist wrapped in a pitch-black aura was rapidly enlarging in his vision!
So fast!
How can he be this fast?!
Lord Muzan had obtained information from Akaza that flashed through his mind: great strength, amazing defense, strong recovery, but lacking explosive power.
Lacking... explosive power?
Akaza, are you fucking kidding me?! You call this lacking explosive power?
A flicker of horror crossed Gyokko's mind, but his battle instincts as an Upper Rank allowed him to react instantly.
Unlike Lord Akaza, who was a martial arts fanatic who enjoyed head-on clashes, he preferred the art of toying with his enemies in the palm of his hand.
So no matter how powerful an attack was, it was fine as long as it didn't hit!
"Hehe, why don't you go tell Lord Muzan yourself..."
Before he could finish his flippant remark, his body had already made an evasive maneuver, and a pot with a wave pattern appeared in his hand.
That was the pot used for Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Pot. As long as he could trap him—BOOM!!!
A dull, heavy explosion rang out!
The smile on Gyokko's face froze.
He felt as if he had been struck head-on by a giant shark charging at full speed.
It was an irresistible, pure, and ultimate destructive force.
"Crack... crack crack..."
The crisp sound of shattering echoed in his ears.
The eyes on Gyokko's forehead and mouth became bloodshot, and cracks spread wildly across the artwork he took so much pride in.
At this moment, he was like cheap porcelain, with spiderweb-like cracks instantly covering his entire body!
"Pfft!"
Gyokko spat out a mouthful of black blood and was sent flying like a cannonball, plowing a deep trench several hundred meters long into the beach before slamming into a massive reef, shattering it!
"Cough... cough cough..."
He struggled to climb out of the rubble. Only a bit of skin held his upper body together; it had basically been crushed by that single punch and was now slowly regenerating.
Akaza, you gave a false report!
Gyokko looked warily at the figure in the distance, releasing several fish monsters to try and buy time.
"Is this the improvement brought by the azure dragon fruit?"
Ryuji shook his right hand, feeling the surge of boundless power within him, his heart swelling with excitement.
It was completely different from before!
In his previous fight against an Upper Rank, he had relied on his dual-type Haki and the information gap... but now, having consumed the azure dragon fruit, he had completed a leap in his level of existence!
His strength, speed, defense, recovery... everything had increased exponentially!
As expected of a Zoan Type fruit. This immense power was just a passive boost from the azure dragon fruit, not even accounting for the later Beast Form or Hybrid Form... if he could also use Conqueror's Haki Infusion, hiss, he didn't even dare to imagine it.
However, one thing was certain... from now on, the roles of offense and defense are reversed!
Ryuji thought as his gaze sharpened, his Observation Haki instantly locking onto the slowly recovering Gyokko.
He lightly tapped his foot.
Six Powers: Soru!
Now that his physical fitness had reached the required level, many techniques he previously couldn't perform became as natural as flowing water.
Shua!
His figure vanished from the spot once again.
Gyokko's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks!
He only saw a black shadow tear through the night, and in the next second, the man appeared silently before him.
With the cold Moonlight at his back, the shadow he cast completely enveloped Gyokko.
He couldn't see Ryuji's face, only a pair of blood-red pupils glowing in the darkness like a demon.
Who the fuck is the demon here?!
Before he could react, a fist wrapped in pitch-black Haki slammed toward his head once more!
"Blood Demon Art: Octopus Pot Hell!"
At the critical moment of life and death, Gyokko unleashed all his potential, and countless giant octopus tentacles surged from the pot in an attempt to block the fatal blow.
However, it was useless!
That fist crushed everything in its path!
Just as the fist was about to touch his skull, Gyokko suddenly shrunk his body and slippery-ly slipped out of the pot, leaving behind an empty shell that was pulverized by the wind from the punch.
"Whew... whew... that really scared me."
Not far away, a brand new figure appeared.
It was a bizarre creature with a human upper body and a snake lower body.
His skin was fair, and his muscle lines were smooth, looking like the most perfect sculpture.
"Hehe, the demons who have seen this perfect form of mine are all dead. You are the second human to witness this body!"
Gyokko flicked his scale-covered snake tail, the arrogant smile of an artist returning to his face.
Ryuji ignored his mockery, simply staring expressionlessly at the scales on his snake tail.
Seeing this, Gyokko's smile grew even wider.
He thought Ryuji was shocked by his perfect form and was admiring his art.
"How is it? Isn't it beautiful? This is a masterpiece that took me many years of effort to complete! If you are willing to become a demon, I can also..."
"Pfft."
Gyokko's unfinished sentence caught in his throat, and he asked with some irritation, "What are you laughing at?"
Ryuji raised a hand to hide his smile and shook his head. "I just think..."
His voice gradually turned cold. "A tiny little loach dares to speak so arrogantly in front of a dragon."
Before his voice had even faded...
ROAR!!!
A dragon's roar, never before heard in this world, suddenly resounded through the skies!
Ryuji's figure began to change rapidly, elongating!
Azure Dragon scales erupted from beneath his skin, covering his entire body. Majestic dragon horns grew from his head, piercing the heavens.
His body transformed into a lithe, ten-meter-long dragon form, coiling and spiraling in the air. Four dragon claws gleamed with a cold light capable of tearing through anything!
An Eastern Azure Dragon, which existed only in myths and legends, had descended upon this world!
Gyokko... was completely stunned.
He stared blankly at the majestic and sacred Azure Dragon in the sky, his mind a total blank.
What is that?
What on earth is that thing?!
He had lived for hundreds of years, devoured countless humans, and witnessed all sorts of strange Blood Demon Arts and Breathing Techniques.
But he had never seen an existence so far beyond imagination!
That sovereign pressure made his whole body tremble, and even his thinking became sluggish.
Before he could react from the extreme shock, the Azure Dragon in the sky changed once more.
The massive dragon body quickly shrank, returning to human form.
He transformed back into Ryuji.
Watching this, Gyokko suddenly began to laugh maniacally: "Hahaha! It's all fake! So this is your Breathing Technique, a phantom, right?"
His eyes were bloodshot. He would rather believe he had fallen under a special effect of a Breathing Technique and entered a phantom realm than believe this was real!
There was no such perfect creature in this world!
None!
"Heh..."
Returning to human form, Ryuji clenched his claws. Yes, at this moment, his hands had turned into sharp dragon claws.
Entering the third stage, the Hybrid Form!
He was generally human-shaped, but a pair of majestic dragon horns grew from his head, and his body was covered in a layer of Azure Dragon scale armor that shimmered with a metallic luster under the Moonlight.
Behind him was a thick dragon tail!
A peerlessly domineering aura radiated from him.
"Come, let me see if your art is durable enough to take a beating."
A cold voice rang out, and in the next second, Ryuji's fist smashed forward once again!
"Blood Demon Art: God's Hand!"
Gyokko finally reacted, a flash of euphoria and greed crossing his eyes.
No matter what you are! Anything touched by this hand of mine will turn into a fish!
This is the strongest technique of my perfect body!
And you still want to trick me?
All of this is a phantom!
It's all fake!
He swung his seemingly soft right hand, which could turn anything into fish meat, and met Ryuji's dragon claw head-on.
Just one touch!
Just one touch is enough!
He would turn the Fist Hashira into the most perfect artwork in his collection and present it to Lord Muzan!
To exchange for Lord Muzan's reward!
The two hands collided fiercely in mid-air, but there was no loud sound.
Ha!
It hit!
Gyokko's eyes were filled with euphoria, but confusion immediately followed. What was going on?
The scene he had envisioned of Ryuji turning into a fish did not occur.
He looked at Ryuji's dragon claw, only to realize that his own right hand was gone.
It had vanished as if it had been vaporized.
Intense pain followed!
"Ah!"
Gyokko's eyes were bloodshot. His God's Hand, the Blood Demon Art he was so proud of, his perfect body!
The moment it touched the other's dragon claw, it crumbled inch by inch, so fast that there wasn't even time for the pain to register in his brain!
Ryuji looked at the surprised Gyokko, the corners of his mouth curling up. Red light flashed in his eyes, and his fist continued its momentum, slamming directly into Gyokko's neck!
"No!!!"
Gyokko let out a desperate roar, and in the next moment, he felt the world spinning.
His head was forcibly torn from his neck by Ryuji's ferocious dragon claw!
Ryuji lifted Gyokko's head to his eyes, looking into those eyes filled with rage and indignation, and said each word clearly:
"Muzan, Tsugikuni Yoriichi sends his regards!"
Crack!
Without giving Gyokko a chance to speak, the dragon claw suddenly clenched shut!
Like a ripe watermelon, Gyokko's head was completely crushed.
upper rank five.
Gyokko!
Subjugation successful!
Subjugator: Fist Hashira, Ryuji!
[Ding! Host detected killing a Supernova Pirate. Reward: 5,000 military merit points! First kill of a Supernova Pirate reward: One personal guidance session from Admiral Zephyr.]
Supernova Pirate?
Ryuji watched Gyokko's body gradually disappear, curling his lip. That was actually quite fitting.
Five thousand military merit points.
Not bad... and the extra reward is personal guidance from Admiral Zephyr again?
Ryuji's lips curled up. He figured he would probably give Zephyr a surprise now.
However, he didn't plan to use it immediately. He wanted to digest the things he had recently acquired.
The application and development of the fruit, the improvement of his physical fitness, and so on.
And... Ryuji looked at his restored palm and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it wasn't broken. Mr. Tetsugane Iwao was truly farsighted.
That's right, his nichirin blade was retractable.
"However, I'll probably be transforming into the Hybrid Form frequently from now on... Even without the nichirin blade, the properties of Armament Haki can also kill demons."
He gently removed the nichirin blade from his hand and tucked it away in his robe for safekeeping.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he touched his neck.
Damn!
His necklace was broken!
His Observation Haki instantly swept across the entire beach, and he quickly found the jade plaque lying in the sand.
Ryuji picked it up, rubbed off the sand sticking to it, and took a look.
"Hmm?"
Ryuji frowned. Under the Moonlight, the blurred characters on the jade plaque seemed to have become much clearer.
No!
It wasn't the Moonlight; it was slowly restoring itself!
"The sixteenth year of Guangxu, the sixth day of the sixth lunar month in the Gengwu year, during the hour of the Rabbit..."
Ryuji softly read the characters. The more he read, the lower his voice became. This... was indeed a set of Eight Characters of Birth.
And this thing... He shook his head, pushing all the thoughts out of his mind. "I'll deal with it later."
Tearing a strip of cloth from his clothes and twisting it into a rope, he tied the jade plaque around his neck again.
"Ugh..."
A faint groan sounded.
Ryuji lowered his eyes and looked at the tower made of human flesh and fish, letting out a soft sigh.
He walked slowly to the front of the tower. Looking at the villagers who hadn't died yet, he felt a pang of pity.
"Please rest in peace. That demon has been killed by me..."
Hearing Ryuji's words, a villager who still had a breath left and was weeping tears of blood seemed to have a hint of a plea in their eyes.
Ryuji took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "I will give you release..."
With a swipe of his palm, all the surviving villagers died with smiles of relief.
For a moment, the only sound on the beach was the waves crashing against the shore.
A moment later.
Ryuji looked at the high tower and slowly uttered two words:
"Bolo Breath."
A scorching dragon breath erupted from his mouth, slowly turning the tragic tower into ashes.
The firelight reflected off Ryuji's cold face.
Demons must be killed!
The sea breeze blew, scattering the ashes and merging them into the ocean.
"Hey! Ryuji!"
A familiar voice came from behind. It was Mochizuki Inasaburo's voice.
Ryuji turned around and looked at Mochizuki Inasaburo, who was hurrying toward him. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Aren't you a bit too late? Master..."
Before he could finish, his brow furrowed. There seemed to be bloodstains on Mochizuki Inasaburo.
Mochizuki Inasaburo arrived in front of Ryuji and scanned him from head to toe. His clothes were in tatters, but there were no wounds.
After confirming he wasn't injured, he pulled Ryuji into a hug, tears instantly streaming down his face: "Thank goodness. I'm sorry, I'm late. To think you had to face upper rank five alone... It's good that you drove him off."
Ryuji opened his mouth. "I didn't drive him off..."
Shua!
Mochizuki Inasaburo reacted instantly, moving behind Ryuji and pressing against his back, looking around warily: "He has not left? Then why are you so relaxed! How did I teach you! If you can't win in a bit, just run..."
Ryuji said softly with a smile on his face, "I killed upper rank five."
Mochizuki Inasaburo reached out and touched Ryuji's forehead: "You don't have a fever!"
"..."
While the Master and disciple were having their lighthearted conversation, Muzan, inside a private residence, suddenly snapped his eyes open, gasping for breath: "Ah! What do I take life for! Tsugikuni Yoriichi! Ah!!!"
He sat bolt upright in bed, sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall.
"Mmm... what's wrong? Darling, did you have a nightmare..."
Shua!
Without looking back, Muzan thrust his hand through the head of the woman beside him. His eyes were bloodshot as he hissed through gritted teeth, "Nakime! Summon all the Upper Ranks to me!"
Deng!
The sound of a biwa rang out.
Loving Book So Far Check Out Complete Book In Advanced At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FictionsTL