[U.T] Ch 6: Inspired by Aizen

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"Luen, are you sure you can handle all these guys?"

Luffy looked at Luen, who had stepped in front of him, facing off against Alvida's pirate crew, and asked with concern.

"Relax. Compared to you, my abilities are much more suited for dealing with small fry like these."

Luen smirked, his eyes flashing with a faint red-black glow.

"Small fry? You little brat, you talk big! Do you think you're that 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro or something?"

Alvida's forehead bulged with veins, her already unattractive features twisted in anger.

At this time, the name 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro carried significant weight in the East Blue. Even pirates with bounties in the millions were wary of him.

"Zoro? No, I'm not him. But..."

Luen's eyes suddenly sharpened, and in the next moment, the ominous red-black glow in his eyes solidified and erupted like a storm.

"Remember this name—'Sky King' Luen."

"No one stands on top of the world? Then from this day forth... I will be the one to stand above the heavens."

BOOM!!!

A surge of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.

Red and black lightning crackled violently through the air.

Alvida's entire crew, including the woman herself, stared in utter horror before their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed unconscious.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One by one, the members of Alvida's crew dropped to the deck like lifeless puppets.

Total annihilation.

Before the overwhelming power of Conqueror's Haki, the weak couldn't even stand in the presence of a true king.

As the red-black hue in Luen's eyes gradually faded, a loud exclamation rang out.

"AWESOME!!!"

Luffy's eyes widened to an impossible degree as he watched Luen take down the entire pirate crew—including that crude old hag—without lifting a finger.

Seeing Luffy's exaggerated reaction, combined with the exhilarating rush of releasing his Conqueror's Haki for the first time, Luen couldn't help but feel satisfied.

There was no doubt about it—Luffy's ability to hype up his comrades was top-tier.

"But this power... I think I've seen it before. Back when I was a kid, something similar happened."

After his initial excitement faded, Luffy's expression turned thoughtful.

He recalled a childhood memory—when he and his brothers had been captured by some thugs. Just as he faced a crisis, those same thugs suddenly collapsed unconscious.

"This is called Conqueror's Haki. Those who are weak-willed will faint instantly under its pressure."

Luen chuckled as he explained.

If his guess was correct, Luffy was referring to the time when Portgas D. Ace unconsciously awakened his Conqueror's Haki as a child to protect him.

However, Ace later suppressed his Haki completely because he hated that this power came from his bloodline—the legacy of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.

Luen didn't judge Ace for his choice. After all, he wasn't Ace and hadn't lived through his pain. It was easy to say, "If you have power, you should use it," but Ace had suffered all his life because of his lineage.

His mother died because the Marines were hunting down Roger's bloodline. As a child, he was despised and told he should never have been born.

By modern psychological standards, Ace was a textbook case of trauma caused by a dysfunctional upbringing. All he wanted was to sever his ties with his origins.

But if he hadn't sealed away his Conqueror's Haki, with his potential, he might not have met the tragic fate he did in the original timeline.

In the end, Ace lacked the qualities of a true king.

However, for Luen, Ace's decisions and the inevitable Marineford War were opportunities.

Whitebeard—hailed as the strongest man in the world—was the ultimate figurehead of the pirate era.

His downfall would unleash an enormous shift in the world's balance. If Luen could harness the "fortune of the battlefield," how much stronger could he become?

The mere thought excited him.

And then there was Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit—a Devil Fruit so powerful that it was said to be capable of destroying the world itself.

Top-tier Devil Fruits like that were leagues apart from the weaker ones. The old saying "There are no useless Devil Fruits, only useless users" had long since been disproved.

Every Devil Fruit had a predetermined upper limit, clearly stated in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. Its strength was determined by the fruit itself, plus the user's stamina and physical constitution.

Of course, Whitebeard's terrifying reputation wasn't just because of his own strength—it was because of his Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

There was no way Luen would allow Blackbeard to get his hands on it.

The Marineford War… Luen had to be there.

From this moment forward, he had to grow stronger at an accelerated pace. Only by doing so could he claim the biggest piece of the pie when the war erupted.

Luen's eyes gleamed with determination.

"But, Luen, that thing you said about standing above the heavens was really cool!"

"'Sky King'"

"Shishishi! That's an awesome title!"

Luffy, completely ignorant of the weight behind Conqueror's Haki, was far more excited about Luen's words than his power.

"The Pirate King's right-hand man—the one known as the 'Dark King'—that means Pluton."

"Since you're aiming to be Pirate King and I'm your crewmate, I figured Uranus would be my choice. So my title will be 'Sky King.'"

Luen smiled as he explained.

It wasn't that he was trying to be edgy—this was his official debut on the Grand Line.

In the world of One Piece, the World Economy News Agency's reporters were lurking everywhere.

If he didn't establish his own title now, who knew what ridiculous name the Marines would slap on him later?

As for how he chose his name, it was simple: One Piece had three ancient weapons—Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus.

"Pluton's meaning was somehow taken by Rayleigh, and Poseidon didn't quite suit someone like him."

So naturally, Uranus was the perfect choice.

His declaration of "standing above the heavens" also served as an explanation for the title's origin.

He was also inspired by his idol Aizen and felt like saying it.

And most importantly, it was a test.

[Connection with target strengthened. System loading progress increased.]

Seeing the glowing text appear before his eyes, Luen's smirk deepened.

As expected.

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