After returning to his room, Leo closed the door and immediately retrieved the treasure chest, anticipation written all over his face.
"Would you like to open the chest?" the system asked.
"Yes!!" Leo replied without a moment's hesitation, his expression firm.
With a soft puff, a wisp of white smoke appeared before him, and a bronze treasure chest materialized out of thin air.
Leo slowly lifted the lid, hands trembling slightly as he hoped to see something extraordinary.
When the chest was fully open, only a white card floated quietly inside.
Leo picked it up, and at that moment, a stream of information flowed directly into his mind.
Skill: Tatsu Maki Comprehension Card – The user can create a dragon-shaped air current by swinging their arms, forming a defensive barrier of absolute protection. Would you like to learn it?
"Yes!" Leo answered firmly.
The card dissolved into a streak of white light and merged into his body. In an instant, the profound secrets of the Tornado Technique engraved themselves into his mind.
Status Panel:
Host: Leo
Abilities: Conqueror's Haki Lv1, Observation Haki Lv1, Armament Haki Lv1, Tornado Technique Lv1
Next Level: Requires 100 EXP
Current EXP: 75 / 100
A new entry—Tornado Technique—had appeared among his abilities.
Leo knew exactly where this skill came from: the One Piece world. It was a defensive technique created by Roronoa Zoro, designed for situations when a swordsman found himself without a blade.
After all, for a swordsman, being unarmed meant a tremendous drop in combat power.
By swinging one's arms with a special motion, the user could stir the air into a whirling current that guarded the body—simple and practical.
Of course, this treasure chest was nowhere near as valuable as the one that had given him the Three Colors of Haki, but something was always better than nothing.
After a quick wash, Leo changed into clean clothes, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to meditate.
Meditation was a training method taught at the Ninja Academy. It helped one focus their spirit and enter a selfless, tranquil state.
Chakra was extracted through the union of mental focus and physical conditioning, and the quantity of one's chakra determined a ninja's true strength.
Even among elite jonin, the difference in chakra capacity often decides victory or defeat.
Take Namikaze Minato, for example—he possessed no bloodline limit and no noble heritage, yet his chakra reserves were immense, comparable to those of a tailed beast.
Or the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village—a true human beast.
Such differences stemmed from one's training methods and how efficiently they developed their body's potential.
In the end, it all came down to physical training—stimulating every cell to awaken hidden energy.
Perhaps because he had awakened the Three Colors of Haki, Leo found that his efficiency in extracting chakra had significantly increased.
Through Observation Haki, he could even sense chakra coursing through his veins and meridians, flowing into every part of his body—a truly marvelous feeling.
Before dawn, Leo awoke and stepped outside to the open ground to begin his training.
Facing a thick wooden stake, he hammered at it relentlessly—hundreds of strikes without pause, his body drenched in sweat.
"Armament Haki!"
With that silent command, a layer of black coating spread across his fist, turning it as hard as iron.
Under the enhancement of Armament Haki, his strength instantly doubled!
"Haah!"
With a powerful roar, Leo's Haki-infused punch smashed straight through the thick stake.
Crack!
A hole gaped open at the center of the wood. Leo stared at his fist in disbelief.
Was that really his strength just now?
Even a chūnin wouldn't be able to achieve that with raw physical power alone!
The black coating faded automatically—not because Leo dispelled it, but because the effect could only last for a limited duration.
He activated Armament Haki again; the black sheen returned, lasting about twenty seconds before disappearing once more.
This process consumed a small amount of chakra, but compared to casting a C-rank jutsu, the cost was negligible.
Training with Armament Haki consumed chakra, yet its duration depended on Haki level, not chakra quantity.
Currently, he could maintain it for about thirty seconds. Once it ended, he would need to spend a little chakra to reactivate it.
Because the chakra cost was so low, this was actually a great advantage for Leo.
Excited, he practiced Armament Haki several more times, then switched to training the Tornado Technique.
He dropped into a low horse stance and began swinging his arms in intricate, flowing motions.
Upon close observation, one could see that the path of his arms traced the shape of a dragon.
As his movements grew faster, faint dragon roars echoed in the air.
Visible streams of air began swirling around him, sending leaves and grass flying.
At the peak of his speed, Leo seemed to stand within the eye of a tornado, a spectral dragon faintly coiling around his body.
However, this was purely a defensive technique—it held no offensive power.
After some time, he stopped to rest.
"EXP Full. Level Up Available!"
The system's voice echoed in his mind.
Opening the status panel, he saw his experience bar had reached 100 / 100. His EXP seemed to rise constantly, only the rate varied.
All of his skills—Three Colors of Haki and the Tornado Technique—were at Lv1, but he could only upgrade one at a time.
After some deliberation, Leo decided to invest his EXP into Observation Haki.
Upgrading Conqueror's Haki wouldn't help much; at his current level, it wasn't strong enough to knock anyone out.
Improving Armament Haki would boost attack and defense slightly, but not by much.
Observation Haki, on the other hand, was a long-term investment.
At its basic level, it heightened one's perception of surrounding auras, allowing them to sense enemies outside their line of sight or even predict movements in advance.
At higher levels, Observation Haki could let one hear the "voice of all things," foresee the future, even read minds.
Leo reasoned that upgrading it would greatly enhance his awareness—essential in a world as perilous as that of ninjas.
Raw power meant nothing if one couldn't sense danger.
Even the mighty Madara Uchiha, who once defied heaven and earth, ended up getting his heart ripped out because he was caught off guard.
If one could foresee such moments, perhaps even the ending of the ninja world would have been different.
With that thought, Leo made his decision.
"System, upgrade Observation Haki."
Ding!
Upgrade successfully!
Sitting cross-legged, Leo felt his Observation Haki rise from Lv1 to Lv2. An indescribable clarity filled his senses.
The entire world seemed sharper—every rustle of leaves, every chirp of insects, even the whisper of the wind became distinct.
"Rustle… rustle…"
"Who's there!?"
Leo's eyes snapped open. His hand shot to his kunai pouch, gripping a blade in an instant.
He stared toward a large tree not far away. Though the sky was still dark and the trunk blocked his view, he could sense someone hiding behind it.
That was the power of Observation Haki—an unseen eye that could perceive all!
"Leo-kun, it's me!"
After a few breaths, a timid voice came from behind the tree, followed by a small, pitiful figure stepping out.
"Kushina?"
Leo's expression softened. Without a trace, he lowered the kunai in his hand.
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