Chapter 2: Urokodaki's Disciple
"Really..."
As the demon lunged at Ryuji, lava seemed to be churning in the depths of his eyes.
His voice was low and heavy, each word squeezed out from deep within his chest: "What... do you take life for?!"
Ryuji's right fist suddenly clenched!
Boom!
The hideous grin on the demon's face froze completely, turning into profound shock and confusion.
It didn't even see where the fist came from; it only felt an irresistible, terrifying force smash into its face.
The world spun as its entire body was slammed violently into the ground by this immense power, sending gravel flying!
How... how is this possible?!
A mere human, how could he have such power?!
I can't win!
"I surrender, ple—"
Before it could finish its plea for surrender, a shadow loomed over it, followed by a gale, a downpour!
No, those were all Ryuji's iron fists, drowning out its surrender in a storm of strikes, punch after punch, raining down without pause!
The sound of shattering bones mingled with the demon's wails, cycling between constant destruction and regeneration like a symphony.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ryuji swung his hands, punch by punch, smashing the face stained with the blood of the innocent into the ground, turning it into pulp.
Until it was severed from the neck, dissipating into ash amidst splashing black blood and bone fragments.
All around, it was deathly silent.
When had these swordsmen ever seen such a scene? They all froze on the spot, their minds going blank.
Watching the demon turn to ash under his fists, Ryuji slowly stood up, his chest heaving slightly.
He tore off his tattered robes and silently wiped the foul blood splattered on the back of his hand.
"Oh... Ohhh! I-I'm alive!"
A swordsman's legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground, his voice carrying the sob of a survivor.
"Th-Thank you!"
Another came to his senses, his voice pitching high with excitement, his eyes filled with a shock bordering on worship: "You saved us! You're so... so powerful! It's unbelievable!"
The other swordsmen who could still move were also gasping for breath: "Thank you so much... but, why were you able to kill a demon with your fists?"
"Uh..."
Ryuji didn't know how to answer.
Just then, a mechanical voice rang out in his mind.
[Ding! Detected host's first pirate kill. Rewards: 1 military merit point. Bonus reward: Armament Haki (Prototype).]
[Armament Haki (Prototype): Armament Haki that occasionally appears during moments of intense emotion. You have a bit of talent and now possess the possibility of mastering Armament Haki—but it's only a possibility.]
Killing a pirate?
Ryuji was somewhat speechless; pirates didn't have the ability to regenerate... It seemed the reason he could kill a demon with his fists was because of the System?
Well, whatever. No point in arguing with a glitchy System.
This reward is actually quite impressive.
Armament Haki prototype?
That was Armament Haki, one of the unique powers in the One Piece world—a combat technique that integrated offense and defense.
Defensively, it was an invisible armor capable of easily deflecting swords and bullets. Offensively, it could wrap around fists or weapons, hardening them into the color of black iron and unleashing destructive power capable of shattering boulders.
Not to mention more Advanced applications like Internal Destruction.
In the Demon Slayer World, this was practically a dimensional strike!
Thinking this over, Ryuji began to examine the System in detail to understand its operational logic.
Simply put, the System was glitchy; it thought he had undergone Transmigration into the One Piece world and joined the Marine faction, with the goal of making him a good Marine.
Under the System's logic, putting morality aside, a good Marine had to be powerful at the very least.
Therefore, as long as he trained or captured and killed pirates, he would receive rewards.
The rewards for the two were different.
Training earned Marine points to strengthen skills and such; that was easy to understand.
Capturing and killing pirates was more interesting. According to the System, anyone who opposed the Marines was a pirate.
From Imu, the Four Emperors, and the Gorosei at the top, down to gang members and petty thugs at the bottom—as long as he personally captured or killed them, he would earn military merit points to exchange for various rewards.
Naturally, the higher the pirate's Rank, the more military merit he would earn.
The rewards made him drool: things like the Glint-Glint Fruit, the Black Blade Yoru, Advanced Conqueror's Haki... everything was there. Of course, the prices were quite blunt!
Just an Elementary version of the Six Powers cost five thousand military merit points, let alone the others... they were ridiculously expensive.
According to the One Piece world's setting, he definitely wouldn't be able to exchange for much because he was just a Marine Soldier—and the most ordinary one with the worst talent from the Four Seas at that!
It was hard enough just to stay alive in front of those monsters, let alone capture them personally. It was practically impossible!
But it was different now. He was in the Demon Slayer World!
Although the demons here were strong, compared to those monster pirates in the One Piece world, these demons were nothing!
Any random pirate from the New World who knew a bit of Haki and swordsmanship could take two nichirin blades and mince Muzan into meat sauce!
Not to mention those Devil Fruits with their peculiar abilities.
Now, as long as Ryuji killed enough demons, he could own those things too!
Thank goodness the System was glitchy.
Otherwise, he might not have survived; he might have been taken out by pirates on his very first mission. Even someone as strong as Zephyr couldn't necessarily protect every recruit.
"Also, why call it the marine system? Calling it the Justice System would be much more reasonable..."
As Ryuji grumbled, a sudden, rapid rustling sound came from nearby, as if something was approaching quickly!
"On guard!"
The briefly relaxed atmosphere vanished instantly.
Everyone's hair stood on end with fear, and they immediately formed a circle, back-to-back.
Ryuji reacted quickly, grabbing two still-usable nichirin blades from the ground, one in each hand. His eyes were fixed on the swaying shadows of the trees, his muscles tensed.
"H-Help!"
Several figures came scrambling out of the woods, all injured and covered in blood, their faces filled with terror.
"Run! Don't stay here!"
The leading swordsman screamed with all his might, his voice shrill with fear: "Over there... there's a demon over there that's eaten so many people! It's terrifying!"
Another added with a sob: "There's a swordsman wearing a fox mask desperately holding it back! Run while you still can!"
A demon that had eaten countless people? A swordsman in a fox mask?
A sharp light flashed in Ryuji's eyes.
It's Sabito and the Hand Demon!
He lunged forward and grabbed the shouting swordsman's arm without a word, his strength making the other man stumble: "Which direction? Speak clearly!"
The man was intimidated by Ryuji's Aura.
Seeing Ryuji's unquestionable gaze, he swallowed hard and pointed a trembling hand:
"It-It's right there... less than five hundred meters... you can hear the fighting..."
"Understood."
Ryuji let go and pushed the swordsman back into the group, saying in a low voice: "Everyone, gather together immediately and look out for each other. That's the only way you'll survive!"
As soon as he finished speaking, without looking at their reactions, he spun around and charged toward the direction the swordsman had pointed without hesitation.
Ryuji's speed wasn't fast; because he used Stone Breathing, which wasn't known for speed, and he hadn't learned any special movement techniques, his travel was somewhat slow.
As he stepped over a clump of bushes, he heard the clanging sounds of battle.
Interspersed were some voices:
"Hahaha, another one of Urokodaki's disciples. You're the second strongest one; the last one was a short little girl..."
"You bastard!"
It was Sabito's roar!
Ryuji's heart tightened. Oh no!
It looks like the man and the demon have reached a fever pitch. I need to speed up!