[The system has detected interference with Yuuki Asuna's understanding. Her Fate Value cannot be used to complete the manifestation. Making Fake Become Real has failed.]
Makoto froze slightly as he looked at the message before him.
It actually failed!
Failure itself wasn't particularly surprising, but this time, the reason was that interference with Asuna's understanding had prevented her Fate Value from being activated.
Did that mean Making Fake Become Real could only be triggered through spoken words?
Thinking back, that did seem to be how Makoto had always used his Talent. He had to personally speak the lie aloud. Even when he let his Stand do the talking, he still had to silently repeat the words himself.
That part made sense. However, if the Memory Fruit couldn't work, did that mean every supernatural power capable of altering someone's understanding would also be ineffective?
Makoto frowned deeply. Failing to manifest something through Asuna wasn't a major problem, but he was worried that he had discovered a fundamental weakness in his Talent.
Following that logic, even if he didn't personally interfere with an NPC's understanding, what would happen if another supernatural power had already influenced that NPC's mind? Would Making Fake Become Real fail in that situation too?
Sakiko had already learned a little Chakra-based genjutsu, so he could ask her to help him conduct an experiment later.
As for Asuna, this failure didn't mean Makoto could no longer use Making Fake Become Real through her.
He simply erased all the memories he had just implanted, making it seem as though nothing had happened between them. As a result, Asuna only remembered Makoto gently touching her forehead.
"Kitano-kun... what was that?"
Asuna asked quietly, a slightly strange look appearing in her eyes as her heartbeat quickened.
Makoto smiled faintly before explaining.
"Nothing much. Before using my ability, I need to calm my mind. That way, I can make sure the memory manipulation goes perfectly."
"I understand. I'll wait patiently."
Asuna didn't even dare nod her head, so she could only blink to express her determination.
Makoto didn't keep her waiting any longer and began transferring memories again.
This time, however, the memories he gave her were rather special. Instead of directly teaching her the abilities, he implanted memories of himself verbally explaining the three types of Haki and just how powerful a swordsman of the highest level could be.
If this method worked, he could skip the trouble of explaining everything aloud.
He immediately activated Making Fake Become Real.
Unfortunately, just as expected, it failed again.
'So that's how it is. My Talent really does require me to personally speak the lie, and the other person's understanding can't be influenced by supernatural powers.'
'But what's the logic behind that? Could my Talent actually be some kind of Word Magic that requires a response from the listener?'
Makoto considered the possibility, feeling considerably calmer this time.
At worst, it simply meant he couldn't effortlessly exploit a character by repeatedly modifying their memories or manipulating their understanding.
If he wanted to, he could still obtain plenty of benefits from Asuna. He would just have to spend a little more effort doing so.
With that in mind, Makoto repeated his earlier process. He erased the implanted memories once again and began explaining everything to Asuna personally.
"Asuna, you've already seen Armament Haki, Observation Haki, swordsmanship, and Devil Fruit abilities aboard that ship. Now, I'm going to explain Conqueror's Haki."
While examining and manipulating Asuna's memories earlier, Makoto had seen the pirates fighting aboard the ship from her perspective. That experience had also given Asuna a basic understanding of the terms he was using.
With Makoto's explanation, she quickly grasped the differences between Conqueror's Haki and the other two types.
Finally, Makoto used the same method he had employed when transferring power to Tashigi. He activated Making Fake Become Real first, then completed the memory transfer to Asuna.
"I'm about to transfer these abilities, which I've already mastered at 100%, to you. How much you can understand and use will depend on your own talent."
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real triggered...]
[Yuuki Asuna's Fate Value: 60. Trust Level: 50%. Manifestation Points: 30.]
[Your mastery of Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and the swordsmanship of the World's Greatest Swordsman has reached 70%. Your mastery of Conqueror's Haki has reached 30%.]
[Yuuki Asuna's mastery of Armament Haki, Observation Haki, the swordsmanship of the World's Greatest Swordsman, and the Six Powers has reached 21%. Her mastery of Conqueror's Haki has reached 9%.]
Watching the system messages rapidly appear before him, Makoto let out a soft breath.
He now had a much clearer understanding of how his Talent worked.
He had to personally speak a lie and then use the altered understanding of someone who believed that lie to complete the manifestation. Any other method would most likely fail.
The process resembled the rituals that magicians in A Certain Magical Index had to follow when casting spells. If even one step went wrong, the entire process would fail.
Once Makoto understood that principle, his Talent no longer seemed quite so mysterious.
At its core, Making Fake Become Real was essentially an incredibly powerful form of Word Magic.
Manifesting various abilities, items, and even rules might sound extraordinary, but in the world of A Certain Magical Index, a Magic God could already accomplish such things.
Makoto's Talent was even more impressive in certain respects, since it could influence entirely different worlds.
As for its ultimate limits, he had yet to test them, nor did he intend to do so anytime soon.
After all, Makoto wasn't even a Veteran yet. If he started meddling with multiversal powers now, he might attract enemies far beyond anything he could possibly resist.
With the manifestation complete, Makoto withdrew his hand and began examining the changes in his own strength.
In addition to Armament Haki and Observation Haki, he could now sense an incredibly powerful yet difficult-to-control presence within himself.
There was no doubt about it.
This was Conqueror's Haki.
Its greatest difference from Armament Haki was how it manifested.
Armament Haki ultimately had to be applied to the physical body or released through a weapon wielded by that body.
Conqueror's Haki, however, could be applied directly to the mind and released through one's spirit.
As a result, its effective range was exceptionally wide, and it could instantly overwhelm or even kill enemies with weak mental strength and willpower.
To explain it using more straightforward system terminology, practically every power in the One Piece world, including Devil Fruit abilities, consumed the user's stamina pool.
Conqueror's Haki was the sole exception.
It consumed the mental energy pool instead.
With this realization, Makoto found Conqueror's Haki considerably easier to understand and control.
Beyond that, he could also clearly feel how much his Armament Haki and Observation Haki had improved.
His Observation Haki could now automatically cover a radius of 500 meters, allowing him to clearly sense the physical condition and vitality of everyone within that range.
He could even faintly detect that something was unusual about several Marines.
Those individuals possessed energy systems that Makoto couldn't identify. They were most likely Players like himself and Sakiko, hiding among the ordinary soldiers.
As for testing his improved Armament Haki, that was much simpler.
With a thought, Makoto's arm turned completely black.
He casually threw a punch.
Although the movement seemed to contain almost no physical force, the air in front of him violently shattered under the impact.
A fierce gust of wind swept outward, making his Marine cloak billow and sending Asuna's dress fluttering wildly.
There was no doubt about it.
He had successfully achieved Armament Haki Emission.
Makoto could even clearly sense that if his control over Armament Haki improved a little further, he would be able to send that force through an obstacle and damage whatever lay behind it.
After finishing his Haki tests, Makoto took out the Hand Sword, which he had neglected for quite some time.
He gripped the weapon and casually swung it a few times.
Several waves of sword energy shot forward, traveling to the far end of his cursed space before striking its spatial barrier and leaving cuts across the surface.
This time, Makoto no longer needed to disguise Spatial Slashes as ordinary sword attacks.
His slashes might not be as powerful as Hawk-Eye Mihawk's, but there were probably very few people left in the entire One Piece world whose sword attacks could surpass his own.
Just then, Asuna opened her eyes.
Confusion still lingered in her gaze.
After all, she had gone from being an ordinary girl living a peaceful everyday life to suddenly possessing all three types of Haki, abilities that were considered exceptionally rare even in the One Piece world.
However, Haki was fundamentally tied to the user's physical attributes and mental energy.
Although Asuna was in reasonably good physical condition, she was nowhere near strong enough to unleash these powers properly.
Thus, Makoto watched as Asuna clenched her fist and desperately attempted to activate Armament Haki.
Despite her best efforts, all she managed to accomplish was making her fist slightly darker.
Seeing this, Makoto couldn't help smiling with amusement.
The observant Asuna immediately noticed his expression. She hurriedly lowered her hand, a faint, embarrassed blush appearing on her cheeks.
"All right, don't be so nervous. It's perfectly normal for your strength to be insufficient right now. Still, with Observation Haki and your swordsmanship, I think you should be able to handle ordinary pirates without much trouble."
The moment Makoto finished speaking, Asuna's gaze shifted toward his hand.
More precisely, toward the Hand Sword he was holding.
Makoto's eyes brightened slightly.
"Want it?"
Asuna hurriedly waved her hands.
"No! That's obviously some kind of valuable item. How could I possibly ask you to give it to me?"
However, Makoto simply beckoned her closer.
"I don't mind giving it to you, but you'll have to agree to one condition."
"A condition?"
Rather than becoming nervous, Asuna felt a hint of excitement.
She now possessed power, but what she lacked was an organization she could rely on.
In fact, compared to simply becoming stronger, Asuna believed that belonging to a dependable group would make her feel far safer.
And what Makoto was about to propose was exactly what she wanted to hear.
"If we have the chance to meet again after this mission, let's form a permanent team. I think you have tremendous potential, so everything I've done for you today can be considered an early investment in your future."
The girl standing before him possessed 60 Fate Value.
Once he brought her onto his team, her remarkable potential practically guaranteed that she would grow into someone extraordinary, regardless of how he chose to train her.
Besides, Yuuki Asuna had considerable talent for clearing difficult challenges and organizing and coordinating Guild members.
She was even an exceptionally gifted cook.
Any one of these qualities would have been enough to make Makoto interested in recruiting her.
Originally, he had intended to tell Asuna that she could take some time to consider his offer.
However, before he could say anything else, Asuna placed both hands neatly in front of herself and bowed toward him.
Then she eagerly declared,
"I accept! Please take care of me from now on, Captain!"
Seeing the expression on Asuna's face, as though she had just obtained something incredibly precious, Makoto finally realized how tempting everything he had offered must seem to a newcomer.
He couldn't help reflecting on his own behavior.
He had been so blinded by the alluring prospect of Asuna's 60 Fate Value that he had nearly forgotten the most important thing about her.
She was still a newcomer.
No wonder Veterans and Guilds were always so eager to recruit newcomers.
Newcomers really were excellent fuel for helping teams and their senior members grow stronger!
As Makoto considered this, he handed the Hand Sword over to Asuna.
The weapon had originally been designed to help Jujutsu Sorcerers with insufficient physical strength increase their attack power.
Giving it to Asuna was therefore quite fitting.
However, watching her gradually progress from awkwardly swinging the long sword to handling it with impressive agility, Makoto began feeling that simply giving her the weapon was a little too straightforward.
He signaled for Asuna to stand still, then raised his hand and placed it against her forehead once more.
The familiar warmth made Asuna feel as though her cheeks were burning.
Yet she found herself enjoying the sensation.
She even took a small step forward, allowing Makoto's palm to rest more comfortably against the curve of her forehead.
Makoto noticed her movement but didn't comment on it.
He merely smiled and activated the Memory Fruit, temporarily suppressing the memories he had previously implanted in Asuna.
Only then did he speak.
"This sword is yours now. It comes from the world of Jujutsu Kaisen. You don't need to understand much about that world yet."
"All you need to know is that this blade possesses the greatest possible sharpness and exceptional durability. At its maximum, it can grant you strength and speed comparable to Jinbe's, and it can even leave your hand and fight independently according to your commands."
[Ding, Making Fake Become Real triggered...]
[Yuuki Asuna's Fate Value: 60. Trust Level: 50%. Manifestation Points: 30.]
[Your Cursed Tool, Hand Sword, has evolved. Its sharpness and durability have increased significantly. It now grants its wielder strength and speed comparable to a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral.]
The next moment, the Hand Sword in Asuna's hands flashed with light.
Its original katana-like shape became longer and slimmer, while a silvery-white gleam spread across the blade.
It now resembled a Western rapier more than a traditional Japanese sword.
If someone examined only its current attributes, they would never imagine that it had been a low-grade Cursed Tool just moments earlier.
Makoto nodded in satisfaction.
He was about to restore Asuna's suppressed memories when he suddenly remembered something.
There was still a Devil Fruit sitting inside his storage space.
He lowered his head and asked,
"Asuna, would you be willing to eat a Devil Fruit?"
Makoto had already explained the concept of Devil Fruits to Asuna, and she had personally witnessed Luffy and the others using their abilities.
She therefore had a clear understanding of what Devil Fruits were and how they worked.
Without the slightest hesitation, she nodded.
"If it can make me stronger, then I'm willing to use it."
Only then did Makoto take out the Devil Fruit that could arguably be called the most useless Devil Fruit in the entire One Piece world.
The Garb-Garb Fruit!
Of course, calling it useless only applied to its original state, before Makoto got his hands on it.
Because next, he intended to give this Devil Fruit a massive upgrade.
…