"…My level of perversion has definitely increased..."
Ryuji staggered a step, having a hard time accepting the fact. He leaned against the wall, pressed a hand to his chest, and couldn't help pounding it twice.
He had always been a bit perverted to begin with, but after going to that hentai world, his level of perversion had skyrocketed.
"No, this won't do. I need to think about something hot-blooded. Something related to strength."
Ryuji closed his eyes and activated his Observation Haki.
Observation Haki was the most intuitive thing. In the One Piece world, he could use it to hear the breath of all things, sense lingering spiritual will, perceive what people had experienced, detect emotional fluctuations, even glimpse some surface-level thoughts and certain future possibilities.
He could even converse with all things.
It was top-tier Observation Haki, something that with just a bit more development, could place him among the absolute elites of that world.
But in other worlds, this bug-like ability was heavily limited. In the previous world, for instance, his perception range had been reduced to almost nothing.
"Let's see the limits of the power I can exert in this world."
Ryuji quickly sat down cross-legged on the ground and entered a meditative state.
Then, he activated his Observation Haki.
He had already prepared himself for the possibility that his Observation Haki and some of his other abilities might be weakened here, but the moment he closed his eyes, Ryuji sensed that something was different.
He perceived the earth and the sky, everything within a radius of a thousand meters.
The breathing of animals, the process by which leaves absorbed sunlight and even the emotions, inner thoughts, and surface-level thinking of the three people inside the house behind him, all of it lay completely exposed within Ryuji's perception.
Yet while Ryuji was sensing them, no one in the house, including Hanzo, felt any abnormality or sense of being watched.
Then, Ryuji began testing his powers.
Flames first rose around his body. Golden dragonfire radiated a brilliant golden aura, instantly evaporating the pond in front of him. In the next moment, the flames vanished and the water vapor that had been dispersed rapidly gathered together. Under Ryuji's control, it condensed into solid ice around him.
Then, the fluctuations of mana and blood energy spread simultaneously. An invisible shockwave violently surged toward all the wooden dummies before him. Scorching blood energy and mana together struck the ice.
Mana shattered the ice and the scorching blood energy melted it, turning the ice back into water.
But at that moment, a divine dragon formed from white qi coiled out from around Ryuji's body, swallowed the water vapor filling the air, and plunged into the pond, restoring it to its original state.
Only then did Ryuji open his eyes.
"Hmm… as expected, different worlds impose different restrictions. But in this world, aside from Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki, none of my abilities are being suppressed? No, Conqueror's Haki isn't suppressed either. It's just been transformed into a different form…"
Ryuji clenched his fist. In the next moment, a terrifying aura emerged from his hand. White streams of qi spun rapidly in his palm, and as they rotated faster and faster, black lightning crackled within them.
Anyone who had seen Kaido or witnessed the greetings of Yonko would recognize this as Conqueror's Haki infusion!
At the same time, Ryuji sensed that his qi was different from how it behaved in other worlds, it had become more "solid," more resilient.
"So rather than saying that Armament Haki doesn't exist, it's more accurate to say that Armament Haki is this world's qi… And in the One Piece world, it's probably the same situation: my qi would fully disappear and my Haki would be strengthened instead. After all, fundamentally speaking, all energy is just different combinations of spiritual power and life force…"
Ryuji slowly relaxed his hand. The qi covering the area dissipated, no longer interfering with the people inside the house or alerting them to what he had just done.
But Ryuji couldn't help frowning.
Having his strength completely unrestricted in this world was a good thing, but it also brought two problems.
The first was that this world was likely more complex than it appeared. Because magic circulated extremely smoothly here, which meant that this world didn't just have qi, but also magic and perhaps even gods beyond Gaia's will, such as Orochi.
"When you think about it, it makes sense… After all, Athena Asamiya is apparently the reincarnation of Athena..."
Ryuji suddenly recalled this bizarre piece of trivia.
The second problem was...
"Can the people of this world really help me temper my will?"
Ryuji couldn't help but have that thought.
He could indeed seal his own power, but his Observation Haki wasn't restricted at all in this world, which made things troublesome.
Sealing power was something he knew how to do, he just needed to limit his output.
But restricting his senses and Observation Haki during combat…
That was something he truly couldn't do.
At most, he could refrain from actively activating Observation Haki as a sensory ability, and instead focus on searching for a specific thing while ignoring everything else.
But the problem was, his current perception was simply too strong.
If he didn't perceive things with full intensity, this method of training wouldn't allow him to experience that surging fighting spirit, the desire for victory, or the pure desire for "strength."
And without that, there was no way to use those emotions to temper his own will.
The principle itself was very simple: under restricted power, let the opponent's will ignite his own fighting spirit, then use every possible method to defeat a strong enemy driven by that will. Even if he lost, he'd still gain something.
Put simply, it was about pushing mental limits, using the fighting spirit of strong opponents to create a desperate situation and a heightened mental state, forcing his own spirit and will to believe it had reached its limit and must evolve in order to survive that battle.
This was Ryuji's purpose in coming here.
But with his Observation Haki being this powerful, whether he restricted his power or not made no difference. If he used perception to sense his opponent's emotions, their weaknesses would directly appear in his mind. It would be impossible to stir his own fighting desire or hunger for victory.
Because all he had to do was follow the correct path; there was no need for gambles, and no need to rely on instinct.
His Observation Haki had reached a truly absurd level. When he focused fully, he could perceive the sounds and internal structure of an ant's body from a thousand meters away, even down to the scent it emitted. What chance did ordinary first-rate fighters have against that?
Unless…
Those fighters could force him, even with his perception fully unleashed, to use his full strength without using his swords.
But judging by Mai's level, aside from the Three Sacred Treasures clans, everyone else would probably need to gang up just to have a chance of surviving against him.
Even the Three Sacred Treasures clans might not be able to do it.
After all, their power was specifically meant to counter Orochi and it had no special effectiveness against Ryuji.
With a single misstep, it was entirely possible for them to be beaten to death by him.
~~~~~~~~~~
You can support me by subscribing on Patreon and read up to 20 chapters ahead.
patreon.com/Ranabir_20