Chapter 96: The Sound of Thunderous Steps
"Armament Haki: Hardening!"
Ragnar's right arm, from the shoulder down, was instantly encased in the familiar pitch-black shell, its surface laced with faint, pulsing crimson. It was like obsidian given life.
"So, this is that 'Kekkei Genkai' of yours?" Tsunade asked, her eyes sharp. She didn't understand the principle of Haki, but she recognized the immense boost in defensive and offensive power it provided. In her mind, it was simply another form of a bloodline limit, a strange power enhancer.
"Tsunade, here I come!"
Ragnar didn't wait. He threw a punch from where he stood. The air itself compressed and screamed, forming a cannonball of pure concussive force that ripped across the clearing toward her.
Tsunade recognized the fundamentals. This was the first stage of the Strength of a Hundred—concentrating chakra and physical power to launch a shockwave capable of shattering stone.
But the scale was different. Ragnar's punch wasn't just shattering stone; it felt capable of leveling a small hill.
"I invented this technique! You think you can outdo me with it?!" she roared, her pride stung.
"HA!"
She took a single, grounding step back. Every muscle in her body coiled, power gathering along her right arm with the terrifying focus of a drawn longbow. Her frame seemed to swell with condensed might.
BANG!
She counter-punched. Not at Ragnar, but at the air itself. Her fist expelled a visible, spiraling tornado of force that met Ragnar's projectile head-on.
BOOOOOOM!
The collision was deafening, a thunderclap born of pure kinetic energy. The air between them shredded violently, creating a momentary vacuum that sucked in rain and leaves before blasting them outward again. The shockwave tore at the earth, carving a deep furrow between them and sending a hurricane of debris swirling in all directions.
Uchiha Mikoto, watching from the tree line, was forced to retreat further. The mere aftermath of this clash was beyond her ability to withstand.
The two combatants, however, stood firm as mountains, unmoved by the chaos they'd birthed.
BANG!
Another explosion, this one from close quarters. They had closed the distance. No more projectile testing. This was raw, close-combat Taijutsu, amplified to monstrous levels.
Shunshin afterimages flickered across the clearing. Their movements were a blur of impossible speed and earth-shaking power. Each impact—fist on forearm, kick met by a block—was punctuated by the ground cratering beneath their feet, the sound a continuous, percussive roar of destruction.
Even with her Sharingan active, two tomoe spinning wildly, Mikoto could only barely track their general direction. To follow their movements, let alone predict them, was impossible. Her eyes could see, but her body could never hope to keep up.
"My legs are numb!"
Tsunade launched herself into the air, then came down in a devastating axe kick, her heel aiming to split Ragnar like a log.
"Good!"
Ragnar didn't dodge. He shifted his weight, turning his punch into an open-palm catch, his Haki-hardened fingers closing around her descending ankle.
THUMP-CRACK!
Another shockwave radiated out, pulverizing the ground in a fresh circle. Tsunade's eyes widened. The feeling was wrong. It wasn't like hitting flesh or bone; it was like kicking a block of solid, unyielding adamantine.
With a powerful twist, she wrenched her foot free and flipped back, landing gracefully.
Ragnar analyzed coolly. Tsunade's raw strength, her 'Strange Power,' currently surpassed his own. She hadn't yet developed the Strength of a Hundred seal, so her chakra had limits, but in pure physical output, she was a titan. No ordinary jonin could survive a direct hit.
Of course, neither of them was going all out. This was just a contest of taijutsu and brute force.
"Tsunade, let me show you the results of my recent training. Be ready." Ragnar's stance shifted, centering his weight.
"Bring it!" Tsunade grinned, the thrill of the pure-strength duel still buzzing in her veins.
Ragnar took a deep, calming breath, focusing his mind to a razor's edge.
"Strange Power: Shave."
The words were a whisper, but the action was cataclysm. His legs, empowered by the concentrated, explosive force of the Strength of a Hundred, pistoned into the earth.
KA-BOOOOOOM!
It sounded like a direct artillery hit. The ground didn't just tremble; it heaved. And Ragnar vanished. Not in a blur, not as an afterimage. He simply ceased to exist in that spot.
"What?!"
Tsunade's confidence evaporated. Her eyes, her chakra sense—nothing could lock onto him.
"Behind you." His voice was calm, right at her ear.
She whirled, fist already lashing out—but she struck empty air. He was gone again, the only evidence a thunderclap of displaced air that shoved her back a step. The sound was inside her skull, disorienting, terrifying.
This speed! It wasn't movement; it was teleportation fueled by pure, destructive force. She couldn't track it, couldn't predict it. Her only defense was decades of battle-honed instinct.
Whoosh!
He reappeared three meters to her left. Tsunade jumped, a hand flying to her chest. "Alright, alright! Enough! How am I supposed to fight that? It's cheating!"
"Heh." Ragnar allowed himself a small, satisfied smirk. If this speed could fluster Tsunade, it was a potent weapon indeed. His legs, however, throbbed in protest. The strain of the 'Strange Power Shave' was immense, a tax his body was still adapting to pay.
"But how?" Tsunade pressed, catching her breath. "That speed… it's Kage-level. Not all Kage are that fast."
"Want to learn?" Ragnar offered, surprising himself.
"You'd teach me?" Tsunade's eyes widened, genuine shock breaking through her competitive frustration.
"You taught me the Strange Power when I had nothing," Ragnar stated simply. "This speed… it's built upon that foundation. Others couldn't learn it even if they tried." It was the truth. The technique required the specific, immense physical power the Strength of a Hundred provided. Tsunade was, perhaps, the only person in the world besides him who could safely wield it.
"Thank you," Tsunade said, her voice soft with gratitude, not taking the offer for granted.
In the days that followed, the cave became a training ground. Ragnar taught Tsunade the fundamentals of Shave. Uchiha Mikoto watched from the sidelines, absorbing what she could, though the core technique reliant on monstrous strength was beyond her current capabilities.
Tsunade took to it with a zealot's passion, her shunshin improving by leaps and bounds as she integrated the principles. The forest echoed with new, smaller sonic booms as she practiced.
Finally, seeking solitude, Ragnar found a secluded spot far from the cave. It was time. With a focused thought, he drew the Platinum Treasure Chest from his system inventory. The reward for annihilating the thirty-two Iwa-nin. A tier above Gold.
The lid, ornate and gleaming, swung open silently.
Inside, resting on a bed of light, was not a card.
It was a Devil Fruit.
Its shape was unique, resembling a plump, almost divine ginseng fruit. But its skin was a lustrous, radiant gold, traced with intricate, glowing patterns that pulsed with an inner light. It exuded an aura of majesty and immense, untapped potential.
"Another Devil Fruit…" Ragnar breathed out, a surge of fierce anticipation flooding him. The question now was… which one?
(End of Chapter)
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