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It was pure, bone-deep terror. The kind that came from the soul itself.
Too strong.
That brat… he was too damn strong! Strong beyond reason, beyond imagination!
No human should have power like this.
Dan's eyes glowed with a chilling blue light as he stared coldly at Blackbeard, who now looked more like a beaten stray dog than a fearsome pirate.
The boy's small body slowly lifted his right leg.
Blue steam surged wildly, almost alive, condensing around that one leg.
Compression.
Relentless, brutal compression.
That scrawny leg, barely half a meter long, now radiated a destructive force that felt like it could crush the world itself.
And that tiny foot, carrying the weight of annihilation, came crashing down toward Blackbeard.
No fancy name for the move.
Just pure, unrestrained power unleashed.
That kick felt like it could tear apart even the fabric of space itself.
BOOM!!!
The roar shook the heavens, like the world itself was being ripped open.
Blackbeard's massive frame didn't even have time to scream. That little foot slammed directly into his chest—
"Pffft—!!"
A spray of blood exploded from his mouth like a crimson storm.
His enormous body shot down like a cannonball, only several times faster, slamming into the sea with terrifying force.
The already ruined pirate ship beneath him was obliterated instantly—taking with it Burgess, who was too petrified to move, barely clinging to life.
RUMMMMMMMBLE!!!
The sea caved in around the impact point, creating a bottomless, gaping crater in the ocean.
And then came the backlash.
Waves like raging gods rose high into the sky, crashing and howling as if some ancient sea deity had been awakened.
The entire area for hundreds of meters shook violently from that one earth-shattering strike.
Even the clouds above tore apart from the shockwave.
But the most horrifying sight was yet to come.
The sea—vast, endless, unstoppable—had been… split open.
Split apart by that one kick from Dan!
And it didn't heal right away.
"This is only the seventh gate…"
Hovering midair, Dan's small body floated unsteadily as the blue steam around him slowly faded away.
His face had gone pale. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath.
Sure, his stamina had gotten a huge boost. But unleashing the Seventh Gate like that still drained him badly.
The difference this time, though, was clear—he wasn't on the verge of collapsing like before. In fact, he was confident he could still manage another kick if he really had to.
Below him, the ocean was chaos. The pirate ship was gone. In its place, only a massive, terrifying whirlpool remained, swallowing seawater endlessly.
And that scar he had torn through the sea itself… it was slowly closing up, but the memory of that apocalyptic sight was burned forever into these waters.
Then, the cold, mechanical chime of the system rang in his head.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on defeating a Shichibukai-level combatant—Marshall D. Teach, "Blackbeard"!]
[Task Evaluation: Overwhelming!]
[Detected: Host has completed the task of defeating a Shichibukai-level (or higher) opponent!]
[Distributing reward…]
[Congratulations! Host has obtained the Multiverse Ability—Susanoo (Initial Form)!]
[Susanoo (Initial Form): Originating from the world of Naruto, the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō Sharingan ultimate power. Summons a chakra avatar with unparalleled defense. Ability has been optimized for the Host—powered by stamina and Conqueror's Haki.]
Susanoo?!
Dan's weary eyes shot wide open.
His exhausted mind was instantly cleared away, washed over by pure excitement.
Holy crap!
That was the ultimate Uchiha cheat skill.
The giant mecha of destruction, the perfect blend of offense and defense!
After Eight Gates and Amaterasu, the system had dropped yet another broken god-tier ability into his lap.
It was… insane!
Though… "Initial Form," huh?
That meant it wasn't the full version yet. There was room to grow.
And since the system specifically mentioned "unparalleled defense," chances were this first form would only be the ribcage version.
Still—Dan couldn't care less. This was huge.
With this, his weakest point—defense—finally had a shield.
Then the system chimed again.
[New Tasks Released!]
[Task One: Immovable as a Mountain!]
[Description: Endure a full-power attack from a Shichibukai-level (or higher) opponent for one minute without counterattacking.]
[Reward: Massive Conqueror's Haki Capacity!]
[Task Two: Glutton King Challenge!]
[Description: Defy the world's rule! Consume two different Devil Fruits and survive.]
[Reward: Massive Stamina Capacity!]
[Task Three: Double Kill!]
[Description: Before age 4 (current age: 1 year, 3 months), consecutively defeat two Shichibukai-level (or higher) opponents in direct combat.]
[Reward: Random Multiverse Ability!]
The flood of new missions made his little head spin.
He carefully read through each one, his brows furrowing tight.
The first task—tank a Shichibukai's all-out strike for one minute.
Doable. With Susanoo, the odds weren't bad. As long as it wasn't someone like Mihawk—against monsters of that level, even Susanoo might not hold out.
The third task—defeat two Shichibukai before age four.
Also manageable. He had nearly three years to grow. And with the Marineford War coming up soon… there might be some "opportunities" waiting for him to swoop in and finish the job.
But the second task…
Eat two Devil Fruits.
His scalp tingled.
Everyone knew that was impossible. A single body couldn't handle two fruits—the conflicting curses would make you explode on the spot. Dead. No exceptions.
It was an iron law of this world.
And the system was telling him to break it?!
That was practically asking him to commit suicide!
Yet… the reward was massive stamina.
Stamina—the one thing he needed more than anything right now.
Flying, Eight Gates, Susanoo—every single one of his strongest abilities devoured stamina like a black hole.
Especially Eight Gates and Susanoo. Those were bottomless pits.
Without stamina, all his god-tier abilities were just flashy decorations.
The risk was insane… but the reward was just as insane.
The system wouldn't hand out a guaranteed-death mission.
Which meant—there was a way.
Dan glanced one last time at the raging, broken sea below.
Then, still deep in thought, he slowly drifted away.
Not long after he left, on a deserted island nearby, a blood-soaked Burgess dragged the unconscious Blackbeard and Lafitte onto the beach.
He stared at the shrinking dot of Dan's figure against the horizon, his eyes wide with a terror he couldn't even put into words.
"..."
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