After Urouge and the Rogue Monks ran off, laughing, Yun Lie walked up to the panting, furious shopkeeper. "Uncle, what's the deal with these monks?"
The shopkeeper slumped onto the steps, rubbing his hands with a worried expression. "You're from the Blue Sea, aren't you, young man? No wonder you don't know—they're all orphans from this island. Most of their parents were killed by Blue Sea pirates. Now that they've grown up, they've become thugs and bullies, relying on their tough bodies to run rampant in town every day."
As the shopkeeper spoke, Yun Lie gradually pieced together the Causality Power.
It turned out these Rogue Monks had grown up on Liuyun Island, and many of their family members had died at the hands of Blue Sea pirates.
They hated the Blue Sea people and resented the Sky Island populace for not avenging their families. They grew up with this hatred, and over time, they became the island's bullies.
Especially after Urouge suddenly changed a year ago—the more he was beaten, the stronger he became. His fists were like iron lumps, capable of smashing a large pit in the ground with one punch. For ordinary people like them, who would dare provoke Urouge?
The shopkeeper sighed and shook his head. "Last time, someone hit him on the head with a stick. Not only was he fine, but he punched the person's roof off. Who dares to argue with them now?"
Yun Lie's mind became clear: Urouge's 'gets stronger the more he's hit' transformation was, in all likelihood, due to eating a Devil Fruit.
The Karma Karma Fruit of the Rogue Monks Pirate Crew in the original work was an heaven-defying ability—it could convert damage taken into power. Urouge relied on this ability to defeat Snack, one of the Four Sweet Commanders of the Mama Pirate Crew, in the New World, directly reducing the 'Four Sweet Commanders' to 'Three Sweet Commanders'.
This Causality Power, in terms of its domineering nature, was in no way inferior to his own spatial ability!
"Time is supreme, space is king. Without fate, Causality reigns supreme." Yun Lie silently recited this old saying, popular among ability users, then patted the shopkeeper's shoulder to comfort him before walking in the direction Urouge and the others had disappeared.
Tracking this group was not difficult.
Turning two corners into Cloud Rock Alley, he saw Urouge swaggering at the front, reaching out to grab a skewer of grilled conch from a roadside stall.
The stall owner, an old man with white hair, opened his mouth to argue but ultimately swallowed his words, only watching helplessly as they walked away.
The surrounding shopkeepers exchanged glances, all silently suppressing the anger they had just felt—clearly, they were long accustomed to such scenes.
"Yo, little girl, that flower cake looks pretty good. Mind letting big brother have a bite?"
Urouge rubbed his hands together as he leaned towards the little girl selling flower cakes, grinning to reveal two rows of white teeth.
"No! Mama made this with morning dew and fresh flowers. We need to trade it for rice!" The little girl pulled the bamboo basket closer to her chest, her fingertips tightly gripping the rim of the basket.
"Just one bite, just a tiny bite!"
As Urouge spoke, he reached out, his rough palm about to touch the flower cake—suddenly, a figure cut in diagonally. Yun Lie gently blocked with a raised hand, holding Urouge's wrist in mid-air.
"A Blue Sea person?" The smile on Urouge's face instantly froze, especially when he saw Yun Lie's back was smooth and wingless. His expression immediately darkened.
"Big brother, run!" The little girl recognized him as the Blue Sea person who had asked for directions earlier, and her voice was tinged with tears from urgency. "They'll beat you to death!"
Yun Lie didn't look back, only looked at Urouge and curled his lips. "What kind of skill is bullying a child? If you have the guts, follow me."
Before he finished speaking, he pushed Urouge back half a step with his palm, and his figure suddenly vanished from his original spot. The next second, he was standing on a cloud rock a hundred meters away, wiggling his finger at them with his back turned.
"Damn it! Brothers, let's go! It's been a long time since we've seen such an arrogant Blue Sea guy!" Urouge roared, taking the lead in pursuit, followed by several Rogue Monks howling with bloodthirsty excitement on their faces.
But every time Urouge was about to catch Yun Lie, the latter would instantly teleport away again, as if he were walking on wind.
As they chased to the Cloud Mist Canyon outside of town, Yun Lie finally stopped. "This should be good. Let's not alarm the people in town."
"You bastard Blue Sea person, pay the price for your foolishness!" Seeing Yun Lie stop, Urouge's iron-tower-like body surged forward. The air currents from his punches sent loose stones scattering on the ground.
Yun Lie did not dodge. He thrust his right fist forward—"Boom!" The muffled thud of the two fists colliding was like a battle drum, and the shockwave caused the surrounding clouds to churn.
Urouge was shaken back three steps, his tiger's mouth numb, but his eyes burned with even fiercer fighting intent. "Interesting, but now lie down!"
He roared, activating his Causality Power. The recoil he had just absorbed from the clash transformed into a visible halo, coiling around his fist.
The next second, Urouge's robust 3.8-meter body made a 'crack' sound, suddenly growing to five meters. His bulging muscles tore through his monk robes, and his fist, with the force of a landslide, smashed towards Yun Lie's face: "Causality Retribution!"
This punch carried a strange suction force. Yun Lie was about to activate his phasing ability but found his body sluggish, as if bound by invisible chains.
"It truly is Causality Power?"
He showed no fear; instead, excitement flickered in his eyes. His arm instantly covered in black Armament Haki, he changed his fist to a palm and met the incoming punch.
"Bang!" The moment palm and fist met, the halo around Urouge's body suddenly dimmed. His five-meter tall body actually shrank back to four and a half meters, staggering back two and a half steps, staring at Yun Lie with shock and uncertainty. "How are you so strong!"
"Boss is actually being reverted to his original form?" The Rogue Monks who had caught up were stunned.
In their understanding, Urouge's ability to draw strength from injuries had never failed. Yet now, they saw Yun Lie effortlessly neutralize his killing move, even causing cracks in the boss's gigantification state.
"It seems your subordinates really admire you." Yun Lie shook his numb palm, a smile playing on his lips. "If they saw you being beaten to the ground by me, would they cry?"
Before he finished speaking, he actively stepped closer.
Urouge roared and gigantified again: five meters, six meters... his body eventually grew to seven meters.
After exchanging several more punches with Urouge, Yun Lie completely understood the details of his opponent's ability—this Causality Power could not only convert received damage into strength but also maintain a peak state through it. Each hit was like recharging his body.
But everything has its limits. Initially, Urouge's body expanded rapidly, and his efficiency in absorbing power was astonishing. However, as his height approached ten meters, the 'cracking' sound of his bones became more frequent, and the speed of his muscle expansion visibly slowed.
"It seems your limit is here. You can't even make me enjoy myself!"
Yun Lie let out a low growl, and his fist was suddenly enveloped in pitch-black Armament Haki.
This time, he was no longer testing—a vast power surged from his arm. Before the punch even arrived, the air was already exploding under the pressure.