"Ten thousand!"
With the final strike, excitement flickered across Shiki's defiant face.
The ninja blade in his hand trembled violently—
Crack.
A flash of sword light.
The iron training post split cleanly in half, the cut so smooth it reflected the sunset.
But the blade in Shiki's hand also began to fracture.
"After all… it's just an ordinary ninja sword."
He glanced at the broken weapon, completely unfazed.
He tossed it aside without hesitation.
As his strength grew, normal blades simply couldn't endure his training anymore.
But in the ninja world, true "legendary weapons" were extremely rare.
He had searched for years for even a clue about the Kusanagi Sword…
And found nothing.
Not even a rumor worth chasing.
Shiki exhaled deeply, regulating his breath.
Then he sat cross-legged on the courtyard ground and closed his eyes—not to rest, but to connect to the thing only he possessed.
His cheat.
His system.
Yes—no Reincarnator leaves the factory without one.
Shiki's title as the Golden Lion was largely thanks to this system.
A faint mechanical chime echoed in his mind:
[God-Level Template System]
Current Template:
Golden Lion – Shiki
Fit: 49.99%
Template Abilities:
Intermediate (Conqueror's Haki)
Intermediate (Armament Haki)
Intermediate (Observation Haki)
Sword Master swordsmanship
Skills:
Basic Three- Ninja Techniques
Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker)
Daily Task:
Swing your swords 10,000 times – Completed!
Collect reward?
This was Shiki's cheat.
His current strength came almost entirely from the Golden Lion template.
The Three-Ninja Techniques came from the Academy.
The Body Flicker he learned under White Fang.
Everything else?
Pure template support.
Many people underestimated Golden Lion Shiki because he was defeated by Luffy after landing on sea stone.
But the template Shiki had…
Was not "weakened old man Golden Lion."
It was Golden Lion Shiki at his peak—
One of the Three Legendary Pirates rivaling Roger and Whitebeard.
The Flying Pirate,
the Pirate Governor,
a monster with all three Haki at their peak
and a dual-blade swordsmanship that had reached the realm of true greatsword masters.
Shiki's current synchronization wasn't enough, so his abilities were still "intermediate."
Even his swordsmanship was only at the level of cutting iron and launching flying slashes.
But when he reached 100%?
He would have everything.
Every technique.
Every ability.
Every ounce of strength Golden Lion possessed at his apex.
Shiki's eyes remained closed.
But his heartbeat quickened.
Because today…
Today was the day he reached 50%.
Today, he would awaken something far more important.
"Collect today's daily task."
He had waited for this day for years.
The moment the command left his mind—
Everything changed.
[Daily Task Completed]
Reward: +0.01 Fit
A surge of power roared through Shiki's body as the template shifted.
[God-Level Template System]
First Template: Golden Lion Shiki
Fit: 50%
Template Abilities:
Intermediate Conqueror's Haki
Intermediate Armament Haki
Intermediate Observation Haki
Sword Master Swordsmanship
Fuwa Fuwa no Mi — Primary Unlock
Skills:
Basic Three-Ninja Technique
Body Flicker Technique
A new ability appeared.
A legendary one.
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
Golden Lion's devil fruit—the source of his sky-spliting power and flying landmasses—had finally activated within Shiki.
Even at "primary" level…
It was enough to change everything.
Shiki opened his eyes slowly.
He could feel it.
A new force in his body.
A strange weightlessness.
A power that made the world feel different.
50% synchronization.
From this moment onward—
He could use the Golden Lion's fruit abilities.
He stood up, excitement barely contained.
"For today… I've been preparing for a long time."
"Now… it's time to test the abilities I imagined!"
Even though Shiki inherited Golden Lion's template, he didn't plan to use the fruit the same way the original Shiki did.
After all—
he was a Reincarnator.
And if Reincarnators had one universal trait…
It was overwhelming imagination.
Long before reaching 50% fit, Shiki had already envisioned dozens of possible uses for the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
Now, with the power awakened—
It was time to test them.
He opened his eyes, lifted his hand toward the courtyard—
BOOM…! BOOM…! BOOM!
The ground trembled violently.
Fissures tore open.
And from those cracks, streams of stone and rock surged upward as if coming alive.
One after another, floating in midair, rotating under Shiki's control.
"Exactly… as I imagined."
A proud smile lit his face.
It worked.
Everything he envisioned...
Everything he theorized...
The Fuwa Fuwa Fruit could do it.
"Vortex—Dragon!"
With a light command, the swirling fragments merged and reshaped—
Forming a small stone dragon twisting through the air.
"Rolling Earth—Asuka!"
The dragon collapsed and reformed again—
this time into a bird constructed entirely from stone.
This…
was Shiki's personal interpretation of the Fuwa Fuwa Fruit.
Everyone in the pirate world thought the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi was only used to make islands float or let the user fly.
But in Shiki's view?
Golden Lion Shiki massively underutilized his own power.
The Fuwa Fuwa Fruit removes gravity from anything the user touches.
Which means—
As long as Shiki's feet touched the ground…
He could control everything connected to the earth.
Every rock.
Every stone.
Every piece of land.
And if taken to its limit?
He could control colossal stone giants surpassing Susanoo.
He could reshape the battlefield itself.
He could become...
A man undefeated on land.
"Using it just to fly islands…?
That's something only a dumbass would do."
Of course...
Shiki's Fuwa Fuwa Fruit was only at the primary stage.
He was still far from reaching that level.
Far from the peak.
Far from mastering Shiki's original sword arts and top-tier Haki.
But he would reach it all.
"The task is heavy… and the road is long."
He sighed slightly.
50% synchronization was only the halfway point.
There was still a long journey ahead.
"Shiki-nii! I heard you came back!"
A voice called out from outside the courtyard.
Shiki snapped out of his thoughts.
With a casual wave of his hand, all the floating rocks settled back to the ground, the courtyard returning to normal as if nothing had happened.
A small, cute head peeked over the gate—
A little girl of seven or eight, with delicate features and bright crimson eyes.
Her expression lit up when she spotted him, and she ran in with excitement.
"Shiki-nii, why didn't you tell me you were back?
If my father hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known!"
Her tone even carried a hint of resentment.
Shiki glanced at her with his usual cold expression, picking up his coat and slipping it on.
"You should be calling me uncle."
"No way! I don't wanna!"
"Besides you aren't that old in the first place."
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