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Chapter 63 - Heavenly Lightning Greets the World: Without Me, No Blade Shall Cut

Chapter 11 – Heavenly Lightning Greets the World: Without Me, No Blade Shall Cut

"One for Sensei's wife... one for me... another for Sensei... and, yeah, another one for me..."

With a soft whisper, Tachibana Kyūjō counted the shimmering crystal-red shrimp—each one a rare deep-sea delicacy—hanging from the net strapped to his waist.

Once he made sure the numbers were right, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Perfect. Time to head back."

He turned to swim upward from the abyss, ten thousand meters below the ocean surface.

But suddenly... he stopped.

Something was wrong.

Like a predator creeping through pure darkness, a suffocating presence brushed the very edge of his perception.

Holding his breath, every muscle tense, Kyūjō remained motionless, suspended in the inky void. The dark surrounded him completely—swallowing him whole—yet he blended in seamlessly.

And then it came.

A low, ancient rumble... like the growl of something long forgotten, echoing through the sea.

About a hundred meters ahead, a dim green-blue glow flickered in the deep—like a floating lantern the size of a house.

It drew closer.

From behind the glow, the silhouette of a monstrous creature slowly emerged—an anglerfish-shaped Sea King, so massive its head alone resembled the peak of a small mountain.

It glided through the ocean like a living nightmare, its jaws wide open, consuming all in its path.

And yet... Kyūjō didn't even flinch. A faint smile formed at the edge of his lips.

"If this had been a year ago... I probably would've screamed and bolted."

But now?

Not anymore.

He still couldn't defeat his master, Shimotsuki Kōshirō—but he wasn't a helpless little kid anymore either.

Soft streaks of yellow and blue light swirled around him like an aurora, gently rippling through the water. Kyūjō calmly reached for the blade at his left hip.

In an instant, his arm and sword were cloaked in a deep, reddish-black hue.

Armament Haki, Stage Two: Full Imbuement.

— — —

Kyūjō's mastery over Busōshoku Haki had grown exponentially in just a year.

It was thanks to the perfect fusion between his Breathing Technique and the system he called Infinity.

His breathing technique—born from a different world—strengthened his physical body with rapid efficiency.

Infinity analyzed every movement, every variable, and fine-tuned his training to perfection.

Two systems from opposing worlds—Breathing from the Demon Slayer universe and Haki from the world of One Piece—had now merged into one within him.

What would take even the most seasoned swordsmen decades to achieve... Kyūjō now wielded in his hands.

He had earned the title.

A True Swordsman.

Until recently, his swordsmanship rivaled the finest warriors, but he lacked one thing—advanced Haki.

But now...

With this, he could finally unleash it—the signature move of any true swordsman:

Flying Slash.

A ranged sword strike, capable of cutting through anything in its path.

But for a true swordsman, power alone wasn't enough.

It required total precision—channeling every ounce of energy into the blade...

...and sensing the "breath" of all things.

These were skills he'd trained tirelessly back in the Demon Slayer world. And that's why, the moment he set foot in this world, people recognized him as something extraordinary.

— — —

Now, for the first time—

Two powers from different worlds united:

Lightning Breathing and Busōshoku Haki.

And from their fusion, a brand-new technique was born.

"Lightning Breathing – Tenth Form: Heavenly Lightning Greets the World – Without Me, No Blade Shall Cut!"

(Kyūjō's personal note: "Okay, maybe it sounds lame... If anyone has a cooler name, let me know.")

The sea, long silenced for hundreds of years, now roared.

A bolt of lightning tore through the pitch-black depths.

A massive crescent-shaped slash of electric energy, spanning hundreds of meters, soared through the water—slicing straight through the Sea King.

Then—silence.

The flash disappeared as quickly as it came.

For a moment, it felt like a dream.

But then—the creature's mouth split open. A jagged wound erupted wide, spewing a torrent of thick, crimson blood like a dam collapsing under pressure.

The sea turned red.

The Sea King's body slowly sank... like a collapsing mountain fading into the abyss.

Kyūjō stared in silence.

A memory surfaced—a moment from long ago, when he tasted deep-sea fish for the first time. The flavor had been so rich, so pure... he'd cried without realizing.

Now, saltwater tears streamed from the corners of his mouth.

He couldn't cry properly underwater, after all.

Without wasting time, he swung his blade again—slicing off a portion of the beast's body the size of a small house, weighing several dozen tons.

"I can't carry all of it... The rest'll just become food for the other Sea Kings."

He gave the sinking corpse one final glance. Part of him hated to leave it behind.

But in this ocean, time was the enemy.

With a twist of his body, he hoisted the massive slab over one shoulder, net of shrimp in the other, and blasted upward—his legs kicking like ship propellers.

As he rose toward the surface, a thought crossed his mind:

"Okay, I've shown them what I can do. Time to get out of here... before Grandpa, Grandma, and every Sea King ancestor shows up for revenge."

Because in this world, Sea Kings weren't just monsters.

They were kings of the deep.

Back on Earth, the balance of sea and land was 70/30.

But here—in the world of pirates—the land was little more than dots on an endless sea.

In the uncharted depths of the ocean, unimaginable beasts lurked—creatures large enough to wipe out cities in seconds.

"If one day... someone truly gains control of the Sea Kings…"

"…they could flip the human world upside down overnight."

— — —

Shimotsuki Village – Shoreline

Near the docks, a young student from Isshin Dōjō, Barry, stood frozen, jaw dropped.

From afar, he saw Kyūjō-nii—his idol—cutting through the sea like a torpedo, hauling a massive chunk of meat... and a net full of glowing crimson shrimp.

Moments later, Kyūjō landed on the beach with a smooth thud. He took a deep breath and began opening his body's pores, replenishing the oxygen he'd depleted during his dive.

"K-Kyūjō-nii... w-was that a Sea King?! That... THAT big?!"

Barry stood speechless.

They were the same age, technically.

But their growth? Worlds apart.

In just one year—with the help of Infinity and his breathing techniques—Kyūjō had grown over 180 cm tall. His build and presence were already close to that of a Marine Admiral.

Meanwhile, Barry barely reached his chest.

He looked up at Kyūjō like a toddler looking at a giant.

Kyūjō glanced at him and grinned.

"Barry, you've gotta eat more meat."

"If you stay this short... don't go telling people you're my brother, alright?"

Barry's face turned bright red.

He looked up at Kyūjō with watery eyes and a pout.

"W-Wait, hey! Don't look at me like that!" Kyūjō raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! I'll leave the meat here—make sure everyone in the village gets some, alright?"

With that, he unsheathed his blade once again and sliced off a third of the massive chunk.

One hand carrying the meat, the other gripping the net of shrimp, he began walking toward Isshin Dōjō.

The stride of a swordsman.

The walk of someone who brought hope.

And of course... the promise of a feast to come.

— — —

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