The second option was to fight stronger opponents.
However, the pirate with a bounty of 300 million Berries turned out to be no match for him and was crushed with ease. The battle ended far too quickly, yielding only a pitiful amount of progress points.
If he could face someone of equal or greater strength than himself, the amount of progress points gained would surely skyrocket.
Still, earning twenty points wasn't bad.
At present, the progress points for El's Sage Body had reached 970, with only thirty more needed to break through to the mid-stage. Once it reached that level, his power would undoubtedly soar.
And besides that, there was also the special lottery El was eagerly anticipating!
After finishing off the enemies, El began to search the ship for the Devil Fruit that Anos had mentioned. Eventually, he discovered an exquisite box hidden in the cabin's lower deck.
Click!
El opened it, revealing none other than a genuine Devil Fruit.
"Finally found it," he murmured, emotion flickering in his eyes.
They had spent an entire year drifting at sea, facing countless battles. Now, at long last, the Devil Fruit he had been searching for was right before him.
El couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
Ding! "A Devil Fruit has been detected in the host's possession. Would you like to use it to unlock Kurama?"
"Of course."
A faint smile tugged at El's lips as he confirmed without hesitation.
Ding! "Congratulations, Host! Kurama has been successfully unlocked!"
Ding! "System Notice: The Devil Fruit sacrificed by the host will not vanish from this world. It will reappear somewhere in the sea one day."
Another voice echoed in his mind.
"So it won't disappear? That's good," El muttered with a nod.
Devil Fruits, the mysterious treasures of the sea, were exceedingly rare and precious. The system's explanation meant that even if one was sacrificed, it would eventually resurface.
That also meant El would have more chances to find and use powerful Devil Fruits in the future.
The system never failed to impress him.
As the system's voice faded, El's status panel automatically appeared before him:
Host: El
Abilities:
Armament Haki (900 / 1000)
Observation Haki (900 / 1000)
Conqueror's Haki (700 / 1000)
Special Ability:
Sage Body (970 / 1000) — Beginner Level
Progress points can be gained through training or combat.
When the progress bar is full, the Sage Body levels up, greatly enhancing physical strength, combat skill, and recovery speed. Each level-up grants access to a special lottery.
Unlocked Special Ability:
Celestial Eyes (Will awaken once the Sage Body reaches the Advanced Level.)
Tailed Beasts:
Progress: 1 / 9
Unlocked: Tailed Beast Ball, Kurama Chakra Mode, Kurama Mode
(Each time a Devil Fruit is sacrificed to Kurama, more of his power will be unlocked.)
Although El had used a Devil Fruit to awaken Kurama and could now access part of his power, he could currently only unleash the Tailed Beast Ball.
Even so, that single technique was already devastating.
In the world of Naruto, the Tailed Beast Ball was an S-rank jutsu that only Jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts could perform—the ultimate symbol of their might.
Its destructive power was immense, capable of leveling entire mountains or obliterating a town in the blink of an eye.
Truly, the Tailed Beast Ball possessed the power to destroy worlds.
In the original Naruto manga, even a Jinchūriki must be in a half–Tailed Beast form to unleash the power of the Tailed Beast Ball.
In other words, the original El would have needed to unlock at least four of Kurama's tails to enter that state and use the Tailed Beast Ball.
But right now, El has only unlocked the power of a single tail—yet he can already use the Tailed Beast Ball!
He had to say, this system is truly amazing!
Even with just one of Kurama's tails unlocked, the power boost granted to El was already immense.
Now, with the ability to unleash the Tailed Beast Ball, his strength has reached its absolute limit!
After closing the system panel, El turned his gaze toward the pile of jewelry in the basement.
Though he had been wandering the seas for some time, he had never cared much for treasure.
But then, a thought struck him.
If he gathered enough jewels… couldn't he use them to buy Devil Fruits at an auction?
After all, while Devil Fruits were incredibly rare, they were still occasionally sold at exclusive auctions in the New World.
Instead of scouring the vast ocean aimlessly, wouldn't it be far more efficient to trade jewels for them?
With that idea in mind, El decided to move all the jewels from the pirate ship onto his small boat.
Just then, the familiar voice of the system echoed in his mind.
"Would the host like to store these items in Kurama's mental space?"
"It can be stored in the mental space?" El asked in surprise.
"Yes."
The system's voice faded, and a stream of information flowed directly into El's mind.
Following the system's instructions, El focused his thoughts—and in the next moment, his consciousness entered Kurama's mental space.
What appeared before him was a boundless, pitch-black world.
And in the center of it stood a massive, brown-furred beast with nine tails swaying behind him.
It was none other than Kurama, the Nine Tailed Fox himself!
Kurama was the strongest among the nine Tailed Beasts.
When the Sage of Six Paths divided the chakra among them, he intended to split it evenly.
But seeing the wise and proud Nine Lamas shed tears, the Sage took pity on him.
So instead of dividing the chakra equally, he gave each of the other eight beasts a share—and then gave ninety-two portions to Kurama.
That's why, in the original Naruto manga, even half of Kurama could completely overpower the other eight Tailed Beasts combined.
(Hehe, don't take that part too seriously—it's just a joke! But still, Kurama is undeniably the strongest.)
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