Chapter 165: The Untouchable Promise of a Spirit
Kaito Shirogane hadn't expected this little girl, far from being as naive as he'd thought, to already know everything. She had picked up on the attitudes of Leo and the other Marines, and Old Hank's occasional slips of the tongue. She had already guessed that something very bad had happened to her Captain Coby, just like her own parents who had died on this very street. The blackened corpses that shattered at the slightest touch were a recurring nightmare for her. She was terrified that one day, in some corner of this island, she would find Captain Coby's blackened body.
"Do you know where he is?"
Cindy nodded, then quickly shook her head. "I… I don't know. But I heard that everyone who resisted that man and didn't die was locked up by the God's Guard in the forbidden zone. The aunties in the market also said that besides his temple, that man also demands a lot of food…"
Hearing this, Kaito's mind raced. He had suddenly thought of a way to break the deadlock. His current predicament was that Enel's own abilities were too powerful, and he was effectively trapped on this island. Unlike in The Boys world, where he could move freely and had plenty of space to maneuver, here he was contained.
Even though he knew that Enel's physical combat skills and his own body were not invincible, he had no way to get to him. If he could just bring in an elite Marine Vice Admiral, or one of the elite pirate crews from the New World, a coordinated attack by Haki masters would have a high chance of taking Enel down before the other Reincarnator teams arrived. And once other factions were involved, Kaito would have a lot more room to operate.
"Hey! Big guy! Are you listening?!"
Cindy was jumping up and down, waving her hands. Kaito casually picked her up and placed her on a nearby chair. "I can't save anyone," he said, his voice flat. "And if I do run into your Captain Coby, I'll save him if it's convenient."
He felt no guilt in deceiving a child. In fact, he had never once felt the emotion of guilt in his entire life.
Cindy was overjoyed. She began to tell him where all the "tough guys" in town usually hung out. Kaito committed it all to memory.
The first to stand up against Enel had not been the pirates, but the ordinary townspeople led by their security chief. After Enel had killed them all with his invincible power, no one had the courage to resist again. They could only secretly try to contact the outside world or escape. But the terrifying thing about Enel was his [Mantra], which used radio waves to sense information. All those who tried to send a message were instantly struck down by "divine punishment."
CRACKLE!
As they were speaking, an incandescent bolt of lightning fell from the sky. Kaito looked over and saw, several kilometers away, a four- or five-story building be vaporized. A wave of screams and panic followed. Cindy covered her mouth.
"That's City Hall!"
"Big guy, be careful! I have to go see if anyone needs Cindy's help!"
The little girl pushed the door open and vanished around a corner.
Kaito sat by the window, for the first time experiencing Enel's power, and the terror of this world's inhabitants, as an observer. He had seen it clearly. The dragon-like bolt of lightning, in a fraction of a second, had completely destroyed a building over ten meters high and covering over three hundred square meters. The people inside had no chance of survival. And the people passing by... how many of them had been carbonized by the high voltage?
Human life, he thought, is just a number in Enel's hands.
He had struck from who knows how far away. He felt nothing. This was likely the source of the fear that made the people of this world afraid to even speak his name. The so-called "God"...
Kaito thought back to Shen Wulong's unique yoga breathing method. He had never been able to replicate it because its essence was a special ability that allowed the cells themselves to "breathe," transforming the user into a special kind of life form that needed no breath or heartbeat.
Kaito's own body had already transcended the category of a normal human. His muscle count, density, and strength; his bone count, joint count, and bone strength; his organ strength, his cellular resilience, his blood vessel wall strength… all of it was far beyond a normal human.
He placed his left hand on his own carotid artery and applied pressure. His heart's blood supply slowly stopped. His heartbeat slowed, and his breathing faded to almost nothing. His vision began to go black, but he controlled his body's instinct to breathe, his grip tightening, as if trying to kill himself.
He kept recalling that feeling after his bloodline refinement, of being immersed in a rich life force, of every cell in his body greedily breathing. He was trying to reactivate that special "sense."
Hooo…
In this special state, his vision and other senses were weakened. But his breathing and heart rate had slowed to an absurd once every two minutes. He had not mastered Shen Wulong's technique; this was just his body, in response to this special situation, entering a "power-saving mode."
He pushed the door open and walked out into the street, heading directly for the collapsed district covered in giant leaves.
Enel's [Mantra] was a combination of the Observation Haki that some of the sky-islanders were naturally born with and his own [Rumble-Rumble Fruit] ability, creating an exceptionally powerful, special type of Haki. In close combat, it was a form of mind-reading. At a distance, it was a 24/7-active sensory device that could automatically detect abnormal movements and the presence of those who spoke ill of him.
If Kaito wanted to move freely, he had to be able to hide from this [Mantra]. This was why he had been performing his seemingly useless "self-harm."
His footsteps were now light, and his pace was extremely fast. He was now a ghost in Enel's Mantra. As long as he didn't do anything to draw Enel's active attention, he was, to a certain extent, free.
Kaito arrived at the coast. The exquisite Western-style houses here had completely collapsed. The cause of the collapse was not just a lightning strike, but an entire mountain that had overturned, sending a landslide of mud and rock hundreds of meters down into the sea. And on that overturned mountain, a giant vine, so large it was almost terrifying, was lying crookedly. A single one of its leaves was nearly a hundred square meters.
And on that fallen mountain, a massive snake was lying on the ridge, a giant golden trident pinning it in place. Kaito guessed that the battle that day had likely been caused by this giant python, the [Sky Lord], falling from the sky and going on a rampage, for which it had been killed by Enel.
Hssss…
Kaito heard a sound like the wind. His pupils contracted. This snake is still alive?! The great fall from the sky had happened two years ago. This snake had been pinned here for almost two years, and it was still alive?
Kaito's eyes flashed. He stepped onto the rubble of what was once Jaya and began to climb. His heart and breathing had almost completely stopped, and his movements were weightless. He was like a non-existent being.
He tapped his foot, and the [Rakshasa Demon] milestone's short-range flight ability activated. He floated up and landed near the giant python's neck. He could now see it clearly. This [Sky Lord], which had lived for over four hundred years, was truly, still alive.
He held up his hand, a powerful ki gathering.
"Could you not kill it?"
A voice suddenly spoke. Kaito's pupils contracted. His senses were so sharp that he could hear a needle drop from ten meters away. But this voice had just appeared less than two meters behind him. And he had heard no breath, no pulse, no heartbeat.
He didn't believe a plot character in this world could do such a thing. He slowly turned. The sea behind him was now covered in a thick fog. In the mist, a faint figure was standing less than two meters away. A special sensation, a sudden drop in temperature, accompanied the fog.
Kaito knew what he had encountered. A spirit.
"This is the first time I've met someone who isn't afraid of me…"
A gust of wind blew, and the fog completely enveloped Kaito. He could now clearly see the man's appearance. He had a brown ponytail and was wearing a Marine's cap at a jaunty angle. He was not wearing the [Justice] coat of a high-ranking officer.
"You're… the Captain Coby that Cindy was talking about?"
The ghost seemed a little surprised by Kaito's calmness and sharpness. He smiled bitterly and spread his hands. "Hah… you met the little one. Is she well? I hope she's living a good life…"
Just as Kaito had predicted, and just as the little girl had feared, this Marine captain, who was supposed to one day return with reinforcements, had died, long ago.
Kaito's eyelids lowered. "She's fine."
The ghost's expression was about to soften, but Kaito continued. "She's following your orders. She has saved a number of people who were crippled by the lightning, hiding them in the sewer. She goes to the market every day to steal food to feed them. At this very moment, she is still doing that."
A fierce wind suddenly blew in from the sea, and the ghost's form began to waver, as if it were about to be torn apart.
"She… I just wanted… her to live a good life…" The ghost covered his face, and though no sound came out, he seemed to be sobbing. A cold liquid, carried by the wind, landed on Kaito's hand.
"She said it was Captain Coby's promise to Petty Officer Cindy," Kaito added, his expression unchanging.
Coby thought back to his actions. How weak and naive he had been. He had just been on a routine patrol when he had noticed an abnormal signal, and on a whim, he had approached this sea area, and on a whim, he had led his team to infiltrate the island. And in the end, as he was fleeing for his life, he had still tried to play the hero, making a promise he could never fulfill, and leaving a little girl to suffer and wait in endless danger.
"I… I was so weak! So arrogant!" He remembered how he had been praised for his talent, how he had been given a chance to train at Marine Headquarters, but he had gotten complacent and had lost the chance to learn a true skill. He had returned to his branch, still dreaming of becoming a hero like Garp. He now dared to admit it. It wasn't a whim. He had, at every moment, been fantasizing about finding a great crisis, where he could stand up, save everyone, and become a hero.
But the result… was that all his friends had become blackened corpses.
He looked at Kaito and suddenly stepped forward, raising his hands.
A cold, special sensation.
[You have completed the Milestone: Spirit Toucher (Rare)]
[Spirit Toucher (Rare): You can now perceive the existence of spirits and freely touch them. Your attacks will no longer be ignored by spiritual beings. Your spiritual strength has been slightly increased.]
"Can you help me?" the ghost pleaded. "I'm begging you!"
[You have triggered the Hidden Side Quest: The Unfulfillable Promise.]
~~~
Guys We cross the 300 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 400 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 2 extra chapters
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter