Chapter Thirty-Nine: Battle with Kurosta, Tyrant Spear! [First Update]

[Three chapters today, this is the first!]

Krostal’s body instantly hardened, a sheen glimmering across his skin. Shu Mingyuan’s finger jabbed heavily at Krostal’s chest, power erupting at his fingertip, but instead it rang out with the sound of metal striking metal. His finger failed to pierce Krostal’s body, not even leaving a mark.

“Hahaha, so you’re nothing but a silver spear candle—looks impressive, but useless.” Krostal mocked.

Shu Mingyuan frowned. It seemed he’d only grasped the principle behind the Finger Gun; how to amplify its power remained a subject for further study. But of course, others had obsessed over the Navy Six Styles for countless years—if he could master it at a glance, how could anyone else compete? These stolen martial techniques were never as complete as those directly granted by the system, which would have been at the master level.

“Just need to practice more.” Shu Mingyuan paid no mind to Krostal’s ridicule. His purpose here was to learn by observing; developing true power would depend on his own efforts.

The eerie Sharingan spun slowly, and Shu Mingyuan’s finger shot out again like lightning.

“Finger Gun!”

Krostal remained motionless, but his eyes flickered strangely. He could sense that this Finger Gun was stronger than before, but still far too weak—it could not breach his Iron Body.

With the Sharingan, Shu Mingyuan saw through Krostal’s torso: all his chest muscles tensed simultaneously, as if his flesh had been infused with his entire strength, becoming an immovable iron ingot. In this moment his defense rivaled true steel—impervious to blade or bullet!

But the user of Iron Body, since all force was devoted to defense, could not move; break the balance and the Iron Body would fail. In the original story, only CP9’s Jabra could move during Iron Body.

“So that’s it. But Iron Body is too limited, far inferior to the convenience of Armament Haki hardening. Still, in a pinch, it could be useful.”

Shu Mingyuan understood: Iron Body’s principle was simple, but ultimately required the flesh to withstand damage. If the opponent’s strength surpassed his own, Iron Body became nothing but a target for attack.

“Kid, your attacks are nothing but tickles to me!” Krostal laughed, his massive fist swinging down, hammering viciously at Shu Mingyuan.

“Iron Body!”

With a thought, all his muscles surged with explosive tension, strength channeling into flesh—his chest felt as hard as iron.

Bang!

Krostal’s fist struck Shu Mingyuan, sending him crashing into the wall. Iron Body instantly faded, his blood and qi churning wildly.

“Brat, you might as well call your Iron Body tofu! One poke and it breaks—pathetic, truly pathetic! Killing you would be child’s play!” Krostal’s fists came down heavier and heavier. Shu Mingyuan’s brow furrowed; he couldn’t let himself be pummeled like this. Even his physique couldn’t endure it forever.

“Shadow Leaf Dance!”

He stamped his foot, darting from the corner, rushing toward the cell door.

The cell was too cramped; he couldn’t maneuver properly.

“Hmph, think you can escape? Not so easy—Shave!”

Krostal’s form pursued him like a shadow, delighted to fight outside.

“Tempest Kick!”

Krostal’s thigh whipped down like a lash, a vacuum-formed slash tracing a bizarre arc through the air, aiming straight for Shu Mingyuan’s neck.

The three-tomoe Sharingan spun furiously in Shu Mingyuan’s eyes. He relied on its ability to read movements, dodging while carefully analyzing the Navy Six Styles.

Shadow Leaf Dance and Shave both burst forth with high speed, but Shave was a technique that could be used repeatedly, stomping the ground over ten times in an instant to generate explosive movement, invisible to the naked eye; the more stomps, the faster the speed. Shadow Leaf Dance was a sudden burst for displacement; compared, Shave was superior.

Tempest Kick, like an air cannon, used high-speed leg swings to create a vacuum slash capable of severing rock—let alone flesh.

Under Krostal’s storm-like assault, Shu Mingyuan dodged and weaved without counterattacking. A few times he failed to evade and used Iron Body to block.

Gradually, wounds appeared, blood at his lips. Krostal, once a pirate worth three hundred million, even after twenty years imprisoned, still possessed immense strength.

“Tempest Kick!”

“Tempest Kick!”

After dozens more moves, two matching slashes crashed from beneath their legs, colliding mid-air. One was slightly smaller and dissolved after a brief moment.

“This kid… He’s mastered Tempest Kick now too?”

He’d long realized this brat was using him as a sparring partner; with monstrous perception, Shu Mingyuan dissected his techniques during battle and could imitate them convincingly. The power wasn’t evident yet, but with time, his mastery might surpass even Krostal’s.

“This kid is too dangerous—he can’t be allowed to live!”

“Shave!”

“Overlord Gun!”

Krostal flashed before Shu Mingyuan, hands joined, ten fingers splayed, then shoved fiercely forward. A wave of force surged out, a huge shockwave erupting visibly as Krostal poured all his strength into this move.

At such close range, escape was impossible. Shu Mingyuan let out a low roar, Iron Body hardened instantly, and the lightning cloak of Chidori Style enveloped him.

Boom!

The shockwave blasted for dozens of meters, shattering all ice in its path. A figure was thrown back, crashing into the prison wall. With a thunderous roar, the cell collapsed, echoing across the frozen hell.

Along the destroyed path, blood splattered and was quickly frozen into beads by wind and snow.

“Huff… That monster should be dealt with now.” Krostal squinted at the collapsed cell. Overlord Gun was a skill mastered only by those proficient in Navy Six Styles; it combined all his strength, his deadliest attack.

He couldn’t imagine any reason that monster could survive.

Clatter…

Bricks and stones shifted among the ruins, and a weak, coughing voice slowly emerged, causing Krostal’s pupils to contract sharply.

“Since you’ve called me a monster, if I were so easily killed, wouldn’t that insult the name? Don’t you agree, Major Krostal?”

ps: [Thanks to Ning Liang, Jin Nian, Ming of the Night, Low-key Boy, Burial, Book Friend 119***, 0~0, and several with symbol-only names for your recommendation votes. Three chapters today, this is the first. Thank you all for your support!]

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