Chapter Eleven: Duel with Monka, The Grand Fireball Technique!

“A handful of brats, acting so brazen before the illustrious Colonel Monca—do you really think I’m invisible? You have violated naval law, and the sentence is death, to be carried out at once!” The executioner Monca was enraged by their defiant attitudes.

Shu Mingyuan turned to gaze at the group of navy soldiers, feeling somewhat helpless. At present, he only possessed a single ninjutsu, and his arsenal of large-scale destructive techniques was nonexistent. Was he really supposed to deal with these marines one by one with Chidori? Using an A-rank ninjutsu against mere marines was like wielding a sledgehammer to kill a fly—utterly excessive.

If only he had the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique at his disposal, these lesser marines could be wiped out with a flick of his finger. Thinking of those overpowering, wide-range jutsu from the world of the Hokage, his heart burned with anticipation. Ultimately, it was the lack of Justice Points that made things so frustrating.

He opened the system. He hadn’t looked through it properly since obliterating the Alrita Pirates, but what could he possibly exchange for just 345 Justice Points? As he scrolled through the ninjutsu categories, he spotted one C-rank technique lit up.

Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!

It required only 320 Justice Points to redeem. Shu Mingyuan vividly remembered how Sasuke, upon first demonstrating the Grand Fireball to Kakashi, scorched a two-meter wide crater into the earth; and Itachi’s version was even more terrifying. It was as though his desires had manifested instantly. Without hesitation, Shu Mingyuan tapped to redeem it.

“You have spent 320 Justice Points and successfully acquired the C-rank ninjutsu, Grand Fireball Technique. The host automatically gains the Fire Style attribute,” the system intoned in his mind. In a flash, his head was flooded with data, and mastery of the Fireball felt innate—as if he himself were its creator.

To fully grasp a ninjutsu in a single second—what a marvelous sensation.

The surrounding marines closed in, armed with iron swords, since Luffy’s rubber body rendered him nearly immune to bullets. They raised their blades, ready to strike.

“Hmph, trying to match swords with me? You’d better be ready to die,” Zoro rested his sword on his shoulder, lips curled into a chilling grin.

“Zoro, let me handle this,” Shu Mingyuan smiled indifferently, stepping forward to shield the group.

The marines drew ever closer. Luffy and Zoro frowned, poised to intervene, but then watched as Shu Mingyuan’s hands moved with dazzling speed—a series of cryptic, intricate signs that left the onlookers bewildered.

“Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!”

A low incantation rumbled from Shu Mingyuan’s throat, and a blazing stream erupted from his mouth. The fireline swelled rapidly, transforming in an instant into a scorching fireball ten meters in radius. Under the marines’ horrified gazes, it engulfed them all.

Within that mutated, colossal fireball, the screams of the marines echoed sharply. They scrambled out of the inferno, rolling desperately on the ground, hoping to extinguish the flames.

As for the others—Luffy, Zoro, and the rest—they stood transfixed, dumbstruck, all thinking the same thing: What manner of monster is he?

Even Shu Mingyuan himself hadn’t expected the Grand Fireball Technique to mutate in his hands, its power multiplied several times.

“Is this really just the Grand Fireball? It’s practically a knockoff of the Great Flame Ring: Flame Emperor!” Shu Mingyuan marveled inwardly.

He savored the heat lingering in the air, recalling the state he’d entered while casting the fireball. His mind had been clear as crystal, the technique flowing effortlessly from his heart—as though he had perfected it over countless years, as if he were its true inventor.

A smile spread across his face; the greater the power of his ninjutsu, the happier he became.

As the fireball faded, the execution ground was scorched pitch black, the sturdy flagstones cracked and splintered. Dozens of marines rolled on the ground; the flames had been snuffed, but their bodies were severely burned, and without treatment, their lives were in peril.

The remaining marines looked at Shu Mingyuan with terror in their eyes, no longer daring to approach. Was he even human? If he was, how could he spit fire? The rubber boy was frightening enough, but clearly this man was the most dangerous of all.

“Hiccup—”

Shu Mingyuan seemed to burp, sparks drifting from his throat.

Monca stared at Shu Mingyuan in fear—a man who could spit fire, the ability of a devil incarnate.

Suddenly, he recalled an old legend passed throughout the sea, and blurted out, “Have you eaten some kind of Devil Fruit? Are you a Devil Fruit user?”

“Devil Fruit?” Shu Mingyuan grinned, sending chills down their spines. “No. I am far more terrifying than any Devil Fruit user. If they are devils, then I am the Demon King.”

“All soldiers, attack! Kill this demon!” Monca roared.

Yet, with so many cautionary examples before them, not a single marine dared to move.

“All cowardly soldiers, shoot yourselves! This Colonel has no use for worthless trash!” Monca thundered, his rage erupting.

Bang! Bang!

Faced with this devilish man and the tyrannical rule of the wicked colonel, some marines trembled and shot themselves.

Shu Mingyuan witnessed this clearly, and a surge of anger welled within him.

“Fallen Navy Colonel Monca, your opponent is me!”

“Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!”

Once more, Shu Mingyuan formed the hand signs, and a massive, scorching fireball blasted from his mouth, barreling toward Monca.

The fireball surged forward, heat searing the air. Monca’s face was grim, but he neither dodged nor flinched. His right arm, transformed into a battleaxe, was raised high overhead, and he brought it down fiercely upon the fireball.

“Brat, do you think spewing fire makes you special? I am the ruler here—Colonel Monca the Axe-Hand, honored and renowned!”

His aura burst forth, and he split the enormous fireball in two, carving a narrow path just wide enough for a single person. The remaining flames swept past him, and he stood amidst the inferno like a king.

Shu Mingyuan’s eyelid twitched—Monca’s strength seemed greater than Alrita’s, contrary to his expectations that the Grand Fireball would finish him off; instead, it was easily countered. He frowned slightly—Monca wasn’t supposed to be so powerful in the original story. Could his arrival have altered the fundamental attributes of this world?

The youth stamped his foot, and a brilliant burst of lightning exploded from his left hand, his aura surging to its peak in a heartbeat.

“If the Grand Fireball won’t work, then I’ll end you with this!”

“A-rank ninjutsu!”

“Lightning Style: Chidori!”

Like a hundred birds singing, the youth shot forth like an arrow from a drawn bow, wreathed in wind and thunder, crashing down upon Monca with unyielding force.