Yesterday's battle against Don Krieg had brought Ethan Chen substantial gains.
Dismantling the pirate fleet earned him a mastery point. The loot salvaged from Krieg's ship was worth billions in treasure. On top of that, he'd acquired the Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake-Snake Fruit), and the addition of Ada Wong to the crew greatly boosted their overall strength along with two more mastery points gained from her.
All of this didn't just bolster the crew's finances, but also elevated Ethan's personal power significantly.
With enough mastery points in hand, he finally upgraded his Energy Recovery skill to Level 5 maxed out, just like his Martial Arts skill.
Now, the accumulated life energy within him once passively used for healing through food could be actively channeled. He could direct that energy through his limbs, enhancing different parts of his body at will.
This opened up a new arsenal of techniques, allowing Ethan to move beyond brute-force combat and step into the realm of true martial arts techniques native to this world.
"Iron Finger!"
With a sharp thrust, his fingertip launched forward like a bullet, punching a clean hole straight through a thick wooden training post front to back.
"Whoa, amazing!"
Tifa jogged over, bouncing a ball in one hand. She caught Ethan's hand, only to flinch as his finger, still smoldering from friction, nearly burned her skin.
"How can you do that with just your finger? Aren't fingers too fragile for that kind of impact?"
"They would be," Ethan replied, "but mine are coated in life energy. It reinforces them makes them strong enough to withstand the force."
"Life energy? Is that like my chi? Or magic?"
"Probably something similar," Ethan admitted. "Different systems, same concept."
"Here, punch me," he said suddenly, pointing to his abs, which were clearly defined even beneath his training tank top.
"Don't hold back hit me hard. I want to test something."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Absolutely." Ethan planted his feet in a solid stance and centered his breath. "Go ahead. Don't be polite."
Seeing how serious he was, Tifa didn't argue. She curled her fist and launched a punch at about seventy percent power. Her small knuckles landed squarely on his abs with a deep, resounding thud.
She froze, wide-eyed.
"Did you hide a steel plate in there? Why is it so hard?!"
"No steel," Ethan chuckled, pulling off his tank top. "Just solid muscle."
"Wow..." Tifa reached out and pressed against his abdomen. It was firm yet slightly springy clearly muscle, not metal.
"But it felt like steel just now. What was that?"
"That's 'Iron Body' a technique that reinforces the body to become as tough as iron."
Just like with Finger Gun, by channeling life energy into the body's surface, he could drastically boost his defense and make his flesh almost impervious.
The effectiveness depended on how much energy could be channeled, and how broadly it was spread.
The wider the coverage, the weaker the effect. The more focused, the stronger the reinforcement.
"You didn't go all out just now, did you? Try hitting me again this time at full strength."
"Alright."
This time, Tifa didn't hold back. She bounced lightly on her feet, drew her fist to her core, and unleashed a full-powered punch.
Thud!
The impact echoed through the room as Ethan was blasted backward several meters, skidding across the wooden floor and leaving two long drag marks.
"I'm fine," Ethan said, brushing a hand across his abdomen as he evaluated the sensation. "Didn't feel a thing."
"That's insane!" Tifa stared at him, astonished. "That means no one can hurt you anymore!"
"Yeah." Ethan grinned. Iron Body was incredible. No wonder the Straw Hats had such a hard time facing CP9 for the first time in the original story.
Of course, Iron Body wasn't invincible. It had its limits. Once incoming damage surpassed a certain threshold, pain and injury still followed.
He remembered that well from his earlier sparring match with Commander Hina's female Marines. Without full mastery, the defense boost wasn't much better than a regular human's resilience.
That he could now tank Tifa's full-powered punch was already a significant milestone.
Maybe it was the abundance of life energy or maybe the solid foundation he'd built from maxed-out martial arts skills.
Feeling a little proud, Ethan said, "Want to try hitting me with your Zangan-ryu Unified Spirit next? I want to see how my Iron Body holds up."
"Are you sure?" Tifa hesitated. "That move isn't something normal defense can stop. Remember that pirate with a body full of shields yesterday? I knocked him out cold even through all that armor."
"Let's test it anyway." Ethan readied himself again. "If you're worried, just dial the power back. Try half strength. Half power plus Unified Spirit that should be safe."
Tifa thought for a moment, then nodded.
She stomped the floor, planting her stance. Her eyes sharpened as she shouted:
"Zangan-ryu Unified Spirit!"
A surge of pressure enveloped her. Faint yellow chi and crackling lightning coiled around her gauntlets.
With a cry, she launched a punch powered by half of her strength straight into Ethan's abdomen.
What happened next was something out of a martial arts movie.
Ethan doubled over like a shrimp, his eyes wide in shock. The pain was so sharp, he nearly spat blood.
"Are you alright?" Tifa rushed forward, panic on her face. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"I'm fine," Ethan coughed, waving weakly. "Just... help me over to the bench. I need to sit and catch my breath."
"Okay."
Tifa helped him to the long bench and sat down, letting him rest his head on her lap her soft thighs slightly marked where her shorts dug in.
Cradled by the comfort of her lap and aided by the healing flow of life energy, Ethan began to recover quickly.
As he lay there, he replayed the moment in his mind and came to a realization: there was a reason his Iron Body couldn't withstand even a half-powered Unified Spirit punch.
That wasn't just a martial arts move.
That was Armament Haki specifically, the kind with internal penetration!
The blow hadn't just hit his muscles it had pierced through his skin and muscle and struck his organs directly.
Iron Body, without any Haki reinforcement, simply couldn't defend against a technique like that.
Still, Tifa's Armament Haki wasn't like the version native to this world. Hers required charging beforehand concentrating chi into her fists before each use. Once that energy was depleted, she had to charge again. It couldn't be used continuously like the advanced Haki users in this world.
Then again, Ethan recalled that Tifa's "Limit Break" could store two charges at once. And she had an even more advanced move Limit Break: Shatter. But so far, he'd only seen her use the first-tier Limit Break.
That meant her true strength was likely far beyond what she'd shown.
After all, in the original game, this woman could solo world bosses from other realms with ease.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Caught in the thrill already? What sparked your fire? Share your thoughts in a review and ignite the next chapter of this journey!
The heat is rising. Venture further into OneJourney and blaze your trail ahead of the pack.
P@treon.com/yanxx
Change @ to a.