Despite saying that, Cyrus had no immediate plans to leave Shimotsuki Village.
After all, he had already paid.
Wouldn't it be a loss to leave now?
"Is what you're describing really possible?"
...
Several days later, Koshiro looked at Cyrus with a pained expression.
He had seemed so composed before, so why had he suddenly become so eccentric?
Controlling a ten-million-degree heat and wearing it like a coat, or covering a sword with it?
What kind of sword could withstand such a high temperature?
Besides, how could there possibly be flames that hot?
"That's why I'm asking for your guidance!" Cyrus said to Koshiro with a serious expression.
Hmm?
Koshiro took a deep breath, suppressing his exasperation.
"I'm sorry, I can't comprehend what you're talking about either. But I can tell you that the 'Slicing Touch' you mentioned is indeed possible. Many Swordsmen on the sea can imbue their blades with Haki and unleash powerful slashes. Such slashes might be similar to what you call a 'Slicing Touch'."
After hearing Koshiro's words, Cyrus scratched his slightly overgrown hair, sighed, and stood up.
"Thank you, Master!"
"No need for thanks, I didn't help you with much. However, I can try to demonstrate the 'Slicing Touch' you mentioned. Of course, it definitely won't have the power you described."
With that, Koshiro stood up and left. A moment later, he returned holding a sword with a pure white scabbard and hilt.
"Let's go, it's not convenient here!"
Koshiro turned, and Cyrus followed.
Soon, the two stood on a cliff on the other side of the island, looking out at the boundless sea.
Koshiro took a deep breath and assumed a stance. His right hand rested on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.
The next moment, Armament Haki covered his hand and spread along the blade of the sword.
Cyrus watched in silence.
In an instant, a drawing slash combined with an extremely fast strike appeared, followed by the sound of the sword being sheathed.
The flying slash cut a gash over a hundred meters long on the sea's surface, which vanished in an instant.
"No, according to your description, it should be a vertical slash."
Koshiro shook his head slightly.
His slash had actually been diagonal.
"That's enough, I think I understand now," Cyrus called out to Koshiro, who was about to try again.
Different worlds, different effects for the same moves.
In the other world, old man Yamamoto's flames, which could reach tens of millions of degrees at a whim, were far too difficult to achieve in this world.
Especially since he had to rely on his Devil Fruit ability to reach that level.
Of course, if he could really achieve such high temperatures, he wouldn't need any special moves at all.
No matter who it was, they wouldn't be able to withstand tens of millions of degrees of heat.
No, he wouldn't even need tens of millions of degrees.
A temperature of a few hundred thousand, or even tens of thousands of degrees, would be enough that no one could withstand it.
Even the Magma-Magma Fruit, the superior version of the Flame-Flame Fruit, only produced magma at one or two thousand degrees.
A temperature of just a few thousand degrees would be enough to vaporize magma.
However, the flames he currently controlled were only five or six hundred degrees.
Of course, by adding other controls to the flames, he could raise the temperature.
Since it was the Flame-Flame Fruit, the focus of its development should be on increasing the temperature.
Cyrus sighed.
All those moves were useless if the temperature wasn't high enough; their power would be very limited.
Thinking of this, Cyrus's gaze fell on the data panel that appeared before him.
[Flame-Flame Fruit (Fully Mastered): A powerful Logia Type fruit ability, granting the user the ability to become and control fire; continuously enhances the body; fruit drawbacks have been removed (weaknesses and parasitic soul); current fruit development (25%)]
Fully Mastered?
So the method he was thinking of was correct?
Seeing the change on the data panel, Cyrus had a realization.
But the development was only at 25%.
It was still just an idea, and he hadn't even found a specific method to increase the flame's temperature, yet it was already "Fully Mastered."
Perhaps this "Fully Mastered" wasn't what he imagined it to be.
Cyrus was a bit confused.
Koshiro, who had relaxed his stance, saw Cyrus frowning in thought and left quietly without disturbing him.
Cyrus noticed Koshiro's departure but didn't break his concentration.
The change in the panel sent Cyrus into deep thought, and he began to ponder how to increase the temperature of his flames.
Compression!
That was the simplest method.
By compressing the flames, their temperature would surely become extremely high.
Cyrus raised his hand, and a watermelon-sized fireball floated above his palm.
How to compress it?
With Haki?
Cyrus looked at the fireball on his palm and tried to cover it with Armament Haki.
But the result was not what he had hoped for.
The Armament Haki and the flames on his hand couldn't touch.
After several attempts, Cyrus flicked his wrist and extinguished the fireball.
Either Haki couldn't cover something like fire, or his current Armament Haki training was insufficient.
If it were a tangible Elemental Transformation, perhaps he could cover it with Armament Haki.
Like the Swamp-Swamp Fruit, the Magma-Magma Fruit, or the Ice-Ice Fruit.
But the Flame-Flame and Glint-Glint Fruits, strictly speaking, had no tangible form after Elemental Transformation.
However, the Mochi-Mochi Fruit, which was very similar to a Logia Type, could be coated with Armament Haki after creating mochi arms.
If that method didn't work now, was there another way?
An idea struck Cyrus.
In an instant, another fireball appeared in his hand.
When he had just eaten the fruit, he had once controlled the flow, or rather, the rotation of the flames to speed up the roasting of bird eggs.
Accelerating the flow would absorb more oxygen and speed up combustion, or rather, it would make the plasma that formed the flame more active, creating a higher temperature.
The fireball in Cyrus's hand began to flow, then to rotate.
Streams of orange-red flame, or plasma fluid, formed several blade-like ribbons.
The orange-red color of the flame faded, and as the rotation speed increased, a ball of pure orange-yellow flame, with a core of white-hot fire, appeared in his hand.
'Damn!'
'Isn't this a freaking Rasengan?'
'This works too?'
White flames meant the temperature was at least over a thousand degrees, which meant the method was a success.
However, the rotating fireball in his hand now looked exactly like a Rasengan infused with fire.
Thinking of this, Cyrus threw the fireball toward the sea.
Then, the spectacular scene he expected didn't happen.
After flying just a dozen meters, the rotating fireball completely burned out.
Well, it's a long road ahead.
Cyrus wasn't disappointed.
He didn't try again and turned to head back.
And on the data panel, another change had occurred.
[Flame-Flame Fruit (Preliminary Control)]
And the development level had changed to 31%.
Was this an advancement?
So, as long as he found new ways to develop the Flame-Flame Fruit, the progress would lead to "Proficient Control" and "Complete Control," and then what?
'Could it be an Awakening?'