I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 255 Young man, do you crave power?
Limasava Island
A figure floated in front of the boy in front of the deserted woods next to the island.

"You want me to expel the Nine-Tails' forces?"

"sure,"

Just as Luffy's face lit up with ecstasy, the extraordinary being who called himself 'Ōtakemaru' added a sentence.

"Six months later, I personally cut off those 'tails'."

"Half a year or six months?!"

To Luffy's astonishment, the extraordinary being opposite him suddenly sat down cross-legged.

"Little one, haven't you noticed yet?"

“I am just a 'spirit'.”

The belatedly aware boy then noticed that there was no 'shadow' beneath the extraordinary being before him.

"My true form does not exist in this world."

"What you see now is my spirit—and only a part of it."

If the fully evolved Ootengu had appeared, the world would have been turned upside down and the whole world would have been shaken. How could things still be calm?
"Six months?"

The boy couldn't help but clench his fist.

In the past, half a year would have passed in the blink of an eye.

But now, every minute and every second, people are dying at the hands of the 'Nine-Tailed Force'.

Of course, the boy knew very well that he was not some kind of hero who would save the world, but he couldn't even protect the village where he lived.

If the Nine-Tailed Fox forces send out two 'synthetic beasts', their village of no more than a thousand people will be slaughtered: the Sea King can only deal with one synthetic beast at most, and these armed personnel have almost no chance of winning against a single synthetic beast.

"Lord Ōtakemaru, you're not just passing by, are you?"

After a while, the boy composed himself and looked up at the figure sitting cross-legged in the air.

Whether this 'Ōtakemaru' is real or fake, the fact that he took the initiative to appear in front of him must mean there's more to it—Luffy isn't stupid, he can't just say it was a coincidence, right?

"Of course not, I was drawn here by you."

"To be able to become an extraordinary being at the very beginning of this era; you are quite good."

Sitting cross-legged in the air, with one hand supporting his chin, this 'young master' of the Sea Kingdom smiled slightly.

"Young man, do you long for power?"

???

The topic changed too quickly.
The boy was momentarily stunned and nodded subconsciously.

"think."

"but--"

Ruff's expression turned serious, and he stared warily at the person in front of him.

"I won't sell my soul for power. You wouldn't be one of those demons who 'give me power' and then control me, would you?"

"Hahaha~~"

"Little guy, you have quite an imagination."

Amused by the other party's words, the armored Suzuka 'young master' patted his leg armor.

"My Ootengu is no lesser demon or monster,"

As he spoke, he held up one finger.

"What I'm going to give you, you can't refuse!"

cheat?
He simply didn't care.

After saying that, Ōtakemaru flicked his finger, and a beam of light instantly entered Luffy's body.

?

In a flash,

The boy suddenly felt himself drifting backward.

No: Luffy, wearing capri pants, a short-sleeved shirt, bandages all over his body, and slightly curly hair, was still standing in the same spot.

This is me.
The soul left the body?
Just as the boy's spirit was dancing wildly, Ootengu on the opposite side beckoned with his finger.

The immense pulling force caused the boy's spirit to lunge forward and suddenly merge with his still 'body'.

"As long as I'm willing,"

"Taking your soul is easy."

The self-proclaimed 'Ōtakemaru' arrogantly stated,

The Human Path of Pain can directly extract the souls of Jonin.

Although Yu doesn't have the Rinnegan, extracting the soul of a genin is no more difficult than breathing.

Without needing to use the authority of the 'Otsutsuki,' how could the extraordinary beings of this world possibly resist him, the source of all techniques?
"what?!"

"That was—"

"Wait, something's appeared in my mind?"

As soon as his soul returned to his body, Luffy was surprised and groped around in confusion. Then he discovered that he had gained a 'supernatural ability' in his mind.

Or perhaps "extraordinary martial arts technique" would be a more accurate description. "The Eight Gates Formation?"

"That's right,"

Ootengu, sitting cross-legged and hovering opposite, casually explained while resting his chin on his hand.

"The human body has its limits, and so does the extraordinary."

"To protect their bodies, living organisms impose various limitations on themselves."

"Your muscles can't exert 100% of their strength. If they are subjected to more than a certain level of damage, you will feel 'pain' and so on."

As the boy listened attentively...
Ootakemaru drew a simple human figure out of thin air with his finger.

"The same applies to extraordinary powers,"

"Extraordinary power flows through the meridians at a safe level that will not harm the body."

The essence of the 'Eight Gates' is to temporarily gain powerful strength by opening the channels that bind chakra within the human body; however, the power does not appear out of thin air, but is simply an explosion of all the chakra in the cells.

The power depends on the user.
It is a secret technique that greatly enhances the power of physical combat!
For example, Kakashi also knows the Eight Gates, but he only uses it to replenish his chakra when he's 'out of mana'.

The leader of a certain ninja also possessed the 'Eight Gates Formation', but because he was essentially a doctor, he could only use the Eight Gates Formation to 'release energy waves' and was only qualified to perform gua sha on the Crown Prince.

The true power of the 'Eight Gates' can only be unleashed by the kind of taijutsu that Might Guy possesses, who is prepared to gamble his youth, passion, beliefs, and future!
"This ability allows you to unleash power far beyond your limits."

"but--"

In the simple human figure drawn out of thin air, the chakra that was originally a trickle suddenly turned into a huge torrent!

In the blink of an eye, these torrents broke through the constraints of the meridians, causing the body to swell:

Thump,

As the drawn human figure exploded, Ōtakemaru's smile vanished.

"The immense power will destroy your body!"

"Only through unconventional, excessive, and prolonged training that pushes beyond limits can one withstand the impact of this force. So—"

Will you still be able to use this power?

"Of course!"

The boy answered without hesitation.
"And thank you, Mr. Ōtakemaru."

As he spoke, the boy named Luffy bowed respectfully.

Is this ability extremely risky? Activating it is tantamount to burning one's life force?
What does it matter!
Luffy wasn't some naive child. During this time, he had seen too many ordinary people who tried to fight back against the demons but were swallowed whole; he had also seen too many soldiers who had run out of bullets and could only helplessly raise their middle fingers; and he had seen too many comrades who died in front of him before they even had a chance to react.

If given a choice, these people would be willing to burn their lives, even their souls, to fight, even if it's only for a few seconds!
However, the cold reality is that ordinary people don't even have the 'right' to fight so hard.

"You're welcome,"

Ōtakemaru's 'spirit' stood up.
"I just thought Tamamo-no-Mae's 'tails' were too arrogant, so I gave them something to do."

"I was just using you—"

After he finished speaking, his phantom vanished into thin air, just as abruptly as it had appeared.

"Use?"

Ruffy wasn't angry about it.
"I still want to thank you, Mr. Ōtakemaru."

Being able to be used proves that someone still has value: most people don't even have the value to be used.

And since the other party said it so openly, there's naturally nothing to complain about: so the next thing to do is—

brush,

With a flip, the boy braced himself on the ground with both hands.

"Before dinner, walk around the island fifty times while upside down!"

If you can't finish, add another fifty laps!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"What a passionate young man,"

Using the 'telescope' technique, Yu's clone can observe and locate all extraordinary beings within a radius of several thousand meters.

The clone, which had not gone far, floated in the sky above the island. After using 'Transparent Escape', no one could detect its existence.

Looking at the boy walking upside down on the island below, sweating profusely, You nodded.

Not bad.

He had already hidden himself and wandered around this village and town once.
This young man, the son of a militia leader, was at the forefront, leading the group out to search for the 'Extraordinary Pearl' in an attempt to change the situation in this sea area.

Whether it's tactical skills, work ethic, or passion and determination, they are all top-notch.

Giving him the "Eight Gates Formation" would be a fitting tribute to his name.
“Ruf,”

Funny little guy~~
With Yu's current strength, even if it really is 'Nika', he is confident that he can put up a fight.

A young man who has just stepped into the extraordinary realm is not going to resort to any 'this child must not be allowed to live' tactics: besides, what in this world can escape his grasp?

"Let me see how far you can develop the 'Eight Gates Formation'."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I haven't been feeling well lately, so I'm a bit shorter today. Sorry!
(End of this chapter)