Half a month later.
Under Issho's urging, Naruto's Observation Haki finally advanced to the second stage. Immediately, the system's notification sounded in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully upgrading your Observation Haki and completing Life Goal Two of this 'Real Life' Crossing experience.]
[The rewards for this life goal are as follows:
Life Goal One:
The Host can choose to upgrade any one type of Haki he has mastered by one level.
Qualification to select a life stage in Virtual Experience Mode.
Qualification to select a life identity in Virtual Experience Mode.
Life Goal Two:
Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit (placeholder name), Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Paramecia-type Op-Op Fruit (Host can choose one Devil Fruit from the above).
Qualification to select a world in Virtual Experience Mode.
Hint: The Host can choose to claim the rewards immediately or after returning.]
[The Host has completed this 'Real Life' Crossing experience. The Host may choose to return immediately or wait for a forced return after 6 hours. Please prepare yourself.]
[Countdown begins now: 5:59:59… 58… 57…]
"Upgrade any Haki I've mastered?!"
Naruto felt a surge of excitement when he saw the first reward of the first life goal. At first, he wanted to upgrade his Observation Haki directly. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that his Observation Haki had just advanced, and he already knew the training method. There was no need to upgrade it immediately.
On the other hand, the most special of the three types of Haki—Conqueror's Haki—was said to be impossible to cultivate. It could only grow stronger when the user's spirit itself became stronger.
Compared to the other two, upgrading Conqueror's Haki seemed like the best option.
"Big Fox!"
Naruto hesitated for a moment, unsure what to choose, so he asked the Nine-Tails in his mind, "If I have the chance to upgrade one type of Haki, but only one, which one should I pick?"
"Upgrade Haki? And you can choose?!"
The Nine-Tails was puzzled by Naruto's question but didn't press him for details. Instead, he thought about it for a moment before replying seriously.
"If you can choose, I suggest Conqueror's Haki. Armament Haki and Observation Haki can both be strengthened through training, but Conqueror's Haki cannot. Since you have the chance to upgrade it directly, it's naturally the best choice.
"Also, we've already confirmed that Observation Haki and Armament Haki influence your Yin and Yang Chakra respectively. Conqueror's Haki should have a similar effect—we just haven't discovered it yet.
"If your Conqueror's Haki can be clearly upgraded, we might be able to observe what kind of changes it brings."
"Hm, you thought the same thing as me!"
After hearing the Nine-Tails' explanation, Naruto nodded immediately.
"Then it's settled—I'll upgrade my Conqueror's Haki!"
…
The Nine-Tails was speechless when he heard Naruto say that.
After a moment, he asked suspiciously, "Wait… you can actually upgrade it? What exactly is going on?"
Originally, the Nine-Tails didn't intend to investigate this matter. Too many "absurd" things had already happened to Naruto, and he thought he had grown used to it.
But clearly, he had underestimated his own curiosity.
"Hehehe, it's a secret!"
Naruto chuckled smugly and skipped the question entirely.
Hearing that, the Nine-Tails could only suppress his curiosity for now and stop asking.
Although Naruto had already decided which Haki to upgrade, he didn't make the choice immediately. Instead, he turned his attention to the rewards for the second life goal.
In fact, Life Goal Two had already been marked as completed when Naruto and Yamato left the Grand Line. However, Naruto chose not to return at that time and continued pursuing the first life goal instead, so the rewards were only announced now.
"It's actually a Devil Fruit!"
Naruto's eyes immediately lit up.
He had wanted a Devil Fruit ability for a long time.
"Three choices!"
Naruto looked at the three options and almost instantly chose the second one—the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Naruto had already learned a lot about Devil Fruits and knew how to roughly judge their value.
Of the three options provided by the system, two were Paramecia-type and one was Logia-type. While Paramecia fruits could sometimes possess extremely powerful abilities, the two listed here didn't sound impressive.
The Gum-Gum Fruit sounded useless just from its name, and the Op-Op Fruit seemed more suited for medical use.
That left only the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Rumble meant lightning.
Anyone could imagine how powerful lightning was. There was no reason to hesitate.
"But System, what does 'placeholder name' mean after the Gum-Gum Fruit?" Naruto asked curiously in his mind after making his choice.
The Gum-Gum Fruit had the words "placeholder name" written after it. Could it mean that the fruit had some kind of "true name"?
[Sorry. The Host has already made a choice. The system cannot answer this question.]
"…Alright."
Naruto felt a bit speechless.
He decided that if something like this happened again in the future, he would definitely ask questions before making a choice.
Although it was a little regrettable that he couldn't learn the "true name" of the Gum-Gum Fruit, Naruto didn't think his decision was wrong. Even if he had known its true name, he probably would have still chosen this one.
After all, it was still a Paramecia-type. Even if it had a hidden name, could it suddenly turn into a Zoan or Logia fruit?
And even if it could…
Could it really be stronger than Logia lightning?
Naruto thought that was impossible.
After finishing both choices, Naruto didn't claim the rewards immediately. Instead, he excitedly ran over to Yamato, Robin, and Issho. Then he took out the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and proudly showed it to them.
"Ta-da! Look what this is!"
"What's that?"
Yamato stared at the strange fruit in Naruto's hand. She blinked for a moment before her eyes lit up.
"Is it tasty?"
Although Yamato had eaten a Devil Fruit before, she had done so without knowing what it was. As a result, she didn't really remember what Devil Fruits looked like.
"It's a Devil Fruit!"
Robin looked at the fruit carefully, surprise appearing on her face.
"And judging by the patterns, it seems to be a very rare Logia-type Devil Fruit. Where did you find it, Naruto?"
"Oh? A Logia-type Devil Fruit?"
Issho also looked surprised when he heard Robin's words.
"Naruto, you actually found a Logia-type fruit. Your luck is quite remarkable."
It was well known that Devil Fruits could appear anywhere on the sea. Because of that, finding one was considered lucky, not suspicious.
"Mm-hmm! Naruto, you're really lucky!"
Yamato nodded excitedly.
Then her expression suddenly twisted with disgust.
"But this thing tastes awful!"
At that moment, she finally remembered the one impression her own Devil Fruit had left on her.
It tasted horrible. Not just a little horrible—extremely horrible.
"Hehehe, I found it!"
Naruto laughed proudly.
Then he turned to Robin.
"But Robin, you're amazing! You could tell it was a Logia-type just from the patterns!"
"The patterns of the three types of Devil Fruits are different. I've just happened to read about it before," Robin replied calmly.
She then looked at the fruit again.
"However, I can only tell that it's Logia-type. I don't know its exact ability."
"It's the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
Naruto declared proudly.
"How about it? Pretty amazing, right?"
"Yes, it's very powerful," Robin nodded.
"The power of lightning can be considered nearly 'invincible' among natural abilities."
"Indeed."
Issho also nodded in agreement.
"Lightning is an extremely powerful force with limitless potential."
"Invincible?"
Yamato immediately caught the key word.
Her eyes lit up with excitement.
"Does that mean if Naruto eats this fruit, he can defeat that frozen bastard and Kaido?!"
Robin shook her head with a complicated expression.
"I'm afraid not."
While lightning was powerful, she didn't believe it could surpass Kuzan's ice—at least not for someone who had just eaten the fruit.
Issho chuckled softly.
"Do not worry. All of you are extraordinarily talented, and your abilities hold limitless potential. As long as you patiently hone your strength, one day you will surpass those you wish to defeat."
As someone already standing at the peak of the sea, Issho understood something clearly.
No matter how powerful an ability was, it was only a tool.
True strength came from the person.
"Hehehe!"
Naruto understood Issho's point, but it didn't dampen his excitement.
He lifted the fruit toward his mouth.
"Well then—I'm going to eat it!"
He took a big bite.
Immediately, his face turned green.
It tastes horrible! I want to spit it out!
"You have to eat it!"
Just as Naruto was about to spit it out, Robin suddenly spoke seriously.
"And you have to eat the whole fruit to gain the complete ability."
"Ugh!"
Naruto's eyes widened.
He looked at Issho, who nodded calmly.
Seeing this, Naruto steeled himself.
Enduring the terrible taste, he swallowed the bite in his mouth and forced himself to finish the rest of the fruit.
"Ugh—!"
After eating the entire fruit, Naruto clutched his stomach and started dry heaving.
He felt certain he would never forget that awful taste.
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Issho and the others burst into laughter.
Robin smiled and said, "I was just teasing you. Actually, you only need a single bite to gain the ability."
"Eh?! Really?"
Yamato looked shocked.
"But I ate the whole thing too!"
Everyone froze for a moment.
Then they laughed even harder.
Even Naruto started laughing. Somehow, the fruit didn't seem quite as terrible anymore.
Zzzzt!
Suddenly, Naruto felt a strange change in his body.
Faint lightning flickered in his eyes.
"This feeling…"
Naruto raised his hand. With a thought, lightning crackled between his fingers.
"I feel like I've turned into lightning!"
It was completely different from using Lightning Release. This time, it felt like his body itself had become lightning.
"What a magical feeling!"
Lightning surged through Naruto's body.
With a single thought, his entire body transformed into a bolt of lightning. He flashed back and forth between Robin, Yamato, and Issho before returning to his original form.
In a single instant, he had traveled between them hundreds of times.
"This is the power of nature—it's incredible!"
Naruto clenched his fist as lightning burst from his palm.
"I feel like I'm omnipotent now!"
Thump!
Issho suddenly tapped Naruto on the head with his staff sword, instantly raising a large bump.
"Never lose yourself in the illusion of newfound power," Issho said sternly.
"Only by respecting power can you truly control it."
Naruto rubbed his aching head, but Issho's words quickly calmed him.
He bowed deeply.
"I understand, Mr. Issho. Thank you for reminding me… even if it hurt a little."
After speaking, he winced and rubbed the bump again.
It really hurt.
Issho sensed Naruto's sincere attitude and smiled in satisfaction.
"A teachable child."
Although his reminder had been sudden, Naruto had quickly broken free from the illusion of overwhelming power and regained his composure.
Now, Naruto possessed unparalleled talent and limitless potential.
Issho became even more certain of one thing.
In the future, at the peak of this vast sea, Naruto would surely stand among the strongest.
Perhaps…
He might even rise beyond that peak.
---
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