"Mm... mm."
A girl's breathy voice echoed through the room.
Zhao Yingkong's breathing grew faster, every exhale revealing the effort she was putting in.
Her movements were swift, yet to Yujin's eyes, they seemed to unfold in slow motion — every subtle action clear as day.
Yujin's figure darted around the room with graceful ease, his every dodge and counterattack flowing naturally, as if he were dancing.
His Observation Haki allowed him to sense Zhao Yingkong's intentions before she even struck, and with his three-tomoe Sharingan, he could capture every minute motion she made.
No matter how fast Zhao Yingkong moved, under Yujin's dual perception, all her attacks became futile.
The way her chest wrap rose and fell with her intense breathing almost made Yujin chuckle. Finally, he stopped dodging and said, "Alright, that's enough."
But before his words could sink in, Zhao Yingkong couldn't halt her momentum — her dagger thrust forward!
Clang!
The blade struck Yujin's Iron Body defense. The dagger's tip snapped off, and Zhao Yingkong nearly stumbled straight into his arms.
"What— what kind of skill is that?" she asked in shock.
"Iron Body," Yujin replied casually.
"What's that? How many points does it cost to learn?"
"It's more of a technique than a skill," he said. "Not sure if you could learn it."
"You're amazing," Zhao Yingkong admitted, her voice filled with genuine admiration.
Their sparring match ended there.
On the surface, Yujin had regained his freedom after surviving three horror movies.
But in truth, the rewards he gained from the Lord God Space were rather limited.
Most of his strength came from the efforts of his other selves in different worlds.
"Alright, I'm going to return to the last horror world for a while. See you soon," he said.
As soon as Yujin finished speaking, Zhao Yingkong's vision blurred — and in less than two seconds, Yujin appeared again before her.
This time, he looked completely different — stubble on his chin, the faint stench of exhaustion clinging to him, and dark circles under his eyes.
"What happened? Did you run into Freddy again?" Zhao Yingkong asked.
"Not exactly," Yujin sighed. "But our faces ended up on the wanted list. I've been hiding from the police for days — barely got any sleep."
He smiled tiredly. "Still, I managed to improve my Observation Haki… and I learned a new ability."
The moment he finished speaking, he synchronized his mastery of Observation Haki and the fully learned one of Six Powers—Shave (Soru)—with all versions of Yujin.
Pirate Yujin thought: "It's kind of funny. Now my two skeleton teachers both think I'm a once-in-a-century prodigy, but in reality, if you add up the time all of us have been learning, it's only been about three months, right?"
Uchiha Yujin replied: "Being able to learn it at all is pretty good. In the New World, even the Kung Fu Dugong have mastered Armament Haki, but the main cast took a long time to figure it out. Take me as an example: if I were a genius, my Sharingan would have awakened long before I connected with you. Fortunately, diligence makes up for shortcomings, and we're learning in parallel."
Marvel Yujin said, "I just don't know how long it will take to master magic. Now that I've successfully linked with Asgard's line, I still don't know when I'll be able to control teleportation magic."
Pirate Yujin understood Marvel Yujin's implication.
Break out!
Pirate Yujin said, "Before you get your teleportation magic, I need to get out for some fresh air."
Lord God Yujin frowned. "You're going to break out? What if you get caught again? They'll impose even stricter restrictions."
Pirate Yujin shook his head. "I have to try. I can't wait. I need to find Iron Head. He was captured for teaching me Iron Body. Without Iron Body, we might have died a dozen times already. I can't ignore what happened to him."
He cut off the chat, took a deep breath, and looked at his skeleton teacher. "Carlson, what time is Hiramisi released?"
"How should I know? Soon, I guess. Hehe. Look, Bennett, anyone locked in Starvation Hell—even if they once thought Hiramisi was disgusting and inedible—after a while, they'll start treating it like a sacred treasure!"
Bennett chuckled. "Don't laugh at me, but when I was in the New World, a pirate with a 200 million bounty knocked me down. He didn't kill me. His punishment was making me eat a whole bucket of Hiramisi."
As Hugo remembered, his face lit up with a smile. "My crew looked at me differently after that, and my first mate even planted the seeds of betrayal that day. But whenever I think of that huge bucket of Hiramisi..."
Slurp~
He wiped his mouth. "Delicious! I wish I could have another bucket like that."
Listening to the two skeleton teachers describe Hiramisi—worse than a drunk's vomit—as if it were Michelin five-star cuisine, Pirate Yujin felt a surge of emotion.
Because of long-term malnutrition, he looked fragile and weak.
Thinking about the last time he had eaten that chicken beast in front of Shiryu, Yujin's stomach growled loudly.
Bennett laughed, "Hahaha, don't worry, Hiramisi will be here soon! One big bowl per person, drink up!"
In the stiflingly hot prison cell, three starving figures huddled in a corner, their stomachs growling in a rising and falling rhythm, like a symphony of hunger.
Yujin closed his eyes, trying to find a moment of peace in the chaos, but his ears remained sharp, catching every sound outside.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps echoed down the corridor. To Yujin and the other two skeleton prisoners, the sound was like music from heaven.
Yujin's eyes snapped open, his sharp gaze cutting through the shadows of the cell. He knew the moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.
The other two skeleton prisoners lifted their heads as well. Their eyes widened, their shriveled fingers gripping the bars tightly, eyes shining with the thirst for food, eagerly waiting for the delivery team to approach.
As the food delivery team neared the door to their cell, Yujin suddenly spoke, "This… do you really want to eat it? Can each of you handle a whole bucket?"
The two nodded vigorously, their eyes filled with desire. "Of course we can! I dream three times a day about drinking a whole bucket of Hiramisi!"
Yujin nodded. "Good! Wait a moment. When the delivery team arrives, I'll take care of the guards. Once the cell door opens, I'll run, and you two jump into the bucket and drink!"
The two skeletons said in unison, "Okay, we'll drink!"
After saying that, they suddenly realized, "Wait… what did you just say?"
Yujin stood up, three blood-red tomoes spinning rapidly in his eyes. Without looking back, he said, "Yeah, I'm breaking out of here. Take care of yourselves."
****
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