Chapter 88: Extreme Blade

As another wave of experience flowed into his body, Gao Wen’s sword skill finally reached LV-10.

Countless insights into the way of the sword surged into Gao Wen’s mind; he absorbed everything from the system like a sponge.

And through this new perspective, he contemplated his own abilities.

He pushed further beyond the sword technique he had already streamlined under the Harmony entry, elevating it to a new peak.

A few minutes later.

Gao Wen slowly opened his eyes, one hand resting on the hilt of Kanshizheng, feeling the blade’s hum, a faint smile on his lips:

“Upgraded to LV-10, my understanding of the sword has risen again—my strike speed and my grasp of the sword’s essence have both improved dramatically.”

“Overall, it’s probably not much different from before—maybe a thirty percent increase—but that’s not the point…”

Gao Wen turned his attention to the system panel before him.

Just as his physique had gained two new branch abilities upon reaching LV-10, his sword skill now added two brand-new branch abilities:

Iaijutsu, Extreme Blade.

Gao Wen glanced at the first one and immediately understood its meaning.

In crude terms, Iaijutsu meant drawing and cutting in one motion.

After awakening the Instant Step entry, his combat style had already evolved toward closing distance at speed to obliterate foes instantly—this ability was perfectly suited to his fighting approach.

When you can break defense, the first strike must be as fast as possible.

Gao Wen knew this well, but he also understood the flaw of merely stacking speed: it fails against top-tier opponents who can’t be pierced.

Almost no one in the East Blue could withstand his Instant Step rush, but such opponents were countless in the Grand Line.

True, boosting Armament Haki and physique to raise base stats could let him cut through, but it would cost far more time.

“Besides, Iaijutsu, like my previous Air Slash, can be improved through training.”

“Even if I choose wrong this time, later… I’ll have Zoro spend time on Iaijutsu, and I’ll gain the corresponding improvement.”

Gao Wen turned his gaze to the second entry: Extreme Blade.

Honestly, he couldn’t tell what this ability did—he only remembered seeing something similar in a game.

“Extreme Blade… Break Extreme Blade? In games, it boosts attack and critical hit rate—mine should be similar, right?!”

Thinking this, Gao Wen made no further hesitation:

“I choose Extreme Blade!”

Soon after.

A brand-new branch ability appeared after the sword skill entry:

Sword Skill-LV-10: 653/12000 (Divine Speed, Extreme Blade)

Unexpectedly,

Gao Wen’s body felt no change whatsoever—the new ability had not altered his physique. He frowned slightly:

“What’s going on?”

As he puzzled,

Gao Wen instinctively glanced at Kanshizheng in his hand—and froze when his gaze touched the blade.

A faint luminescence clung to the blade’s surface, visible even in darkness, and now it radiated a chilling aura that struck straight to the soul.

Gao Wen had an inexplicable intuition.

The blade wrapped in luminescence could cut through anything.

“Is this… a direct boost to cutting power?!”

Gao Wen took a regular sword and lightly slashed it with Kanshizheng enhanced by Extreme Blade.

Shhh!

The glowing blade sliced through like butter—no resistance, no sound—and the ordinary sword split cleanly in two.

“It really does boost cutting power?!”

Gao Wen froze, then burst into elation—he flung open the window and vanished in a flash.

A few minutes later.

On the back mountain of Parra Island, Air Slashes shot through the air, crossing the distant sea and vanishing beyond sight.

Roars echoed through the sky; several peaks were severed, and dense cutting scars crisscrossed hundreds of meters.

…

…

…

East Blue.

Near Crow Harbor, waves rose, and in the howling wind, a pirate ship cut through the swells.

“Rabute, how much longer?!”

A tall, slender pirate with a cat-like face sat on deck, frowning at the distant sea.

Rabute, short and fat like a fat cat, glanced at the map, pulled out a compass from his pocket, checked it carefully, then said:

“We’re less than ten nautical miles from Crow Harbor—we’ll reach it before the storm hits.”

“If all goes well, we’ll see the Devil Fruit the captain wants tonight.”

As he spoke, Rabute glanced at the wounds on the tall pirate’s body, his eyes darkening:

“That Smoke Man actually wounded you this badly?!”

“Even in the weakest East Blue, there are Logia users?”

Rachet’s face darkened, his voice thick with resentment:

“Logia powers are secondary—the key is his weapon contained Sea-Prism Stone. Otherwise, how could I lose?”

Rabute nodded.

“As long as it doesn’t affect the mission. Also, according to Hanafuza’s intel, Crow Harbor has close ties to another pirate crew.”

“Who?”

Rabute explained:

“The Gao Wen Pirates—Captain Gao Wen, bounty eighty-five million. Highest bounty in the East Blue.”

“A force that rose suddenly in the past few months—likely planning to enter the Grand Line.”

Rachet smirked, sneering:

“Born in the weakest East Blue, never endured the brutal battles of the Grand Line—no matter how high the bounty, he’s just a paper tiger.”

“We’ve taken down pirates with bounties over a hundred million before.”

“And now, with our new power, we’re far stronger than before!”

As he spoke, Rachet arched his back—within a few breaths, he transformed into a towering, bipedal cat, his body covered in black spots.

The form resembled both leopard and cat, radiating the ferocity of a predator.

He stared at his clawed fingers, eyes glazed with obsession for power:

“This is the truth of this sea! Power is everything!”

Rabute glanced at him, a faint smile on his lips:

“True enough—but we must still follow Hanafuza’s orders—!”

Bang!

Rabute’s voice was cut off by a sudden gunshot.

Rachet, standing before him, tilted his head back, white smoke puffing from his lips, a black bullet clenched tightly between his fangs.

Puff!

Rachet spat out the bullet, scanning left and right—but saw only endless sea.

For a moment, Rachet was bewildered, then roared:

“Who?!”

The pirates on deck instantly went on alert, scrambling for cover.

The lookout on the mast scanned everywhere, but saw nothing—he could only nervously report:

“Captain Rachet, no suspicious vessels detected nearby—even the closest island is ten kilometers away.”

“Are you joking? Can he shoot from under the sea?!”

(End of Chapter)