After the Lion, The Giant Ape roared as it charged at Tony, fists raised to crush him.
Boom!
Just as the ape's massive hands were about to land on Tony's head, Tony activated his Armament Haki. A layer of indestructible armor wrapped around his arms.
With a simple spread of his fingers, he blocked the ape's fists, causing the ground beneath them to crack from the force.
Frustrated, the ape began to roar in confusion, unable to express what it wanted.
"Shut up!"
Tony leaped onto the ape's head, deactivating his Armament Haki on his arms and shifting it to his legs. With a spinning kick, he slammed his foot into the ape's head.
Boom!
The ape staggered backward, crashing to the ground. It groaned in pain, blood dripping from its mouth, clearly suffering from the force of the blow.
Tony's Armament Haki was now at an early stage of 20%, and the physical training he had undergone made his Armament Haki even stronger.
Suddenly, a Giant Crocodile appeared behind Tony, opening its massive jaws to devour him whole.
"Now that's some guts! Bring it on! I'll deal with all of you!"
Tony's Observation Haki had already sensed the crocodile's attack path, and he easily jumped high into the air, dodging the strike.
Tony's Observation Haki had reached 30%, and thanks to his Sharingan, his predictions were even more accurate.
The crocodile missed.
Tony swiftly drew his Sword, which, though not yet fully awakened, was still sharp enough to rival any sword in the world.
With his three years of swordsmanship training, Tony didn't hesitate. He slashed through the air, cleaving the crocodile in two.
Splat!
Blood sprayed everywhere, and before the Giant Crocodile could scream, it was already split in half, its purple blood pooling on the ground.
The Giant Ape and the Red-Furred Lion, now back, watched in horror as Tony stood over the crocodile's remains. They were terrified, afraid of suffering the same fate.
Tony, holding his blood-stained Zanpakuto, turned and looked down at the creatures. His wicked smile sent chills down their spines.
"Don't worry. If you cooperate with my training, I won't eat you."
They seemed to understand and nodded quickly, not daring to show any disrespect.
It was clear Tony was threatening them outright... If they didn't listen, they'd end up as his next meal.
The Giant Crocodile had already served as Tony's food for the next few days.
...
On Rusukaina Island, Tony continued his daily training in Haki and his Flame-Flame Fruit abilities as usual.
About a month after Rayleigh left, Tony discovered that his Zanpakuto, and the Flame-Flame Fruit seemed to resonate with each other.
Curious, Tony asked the system in his mind:
"System, can you help me understand? What's the connection between this sword and the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
The system responded:
["Answering the host, Ryujin Jakka is already a flame-type Zanpakuto. Since you've eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, it now feeds Ryujin Jakka with fire, promoting its advancement. This is how it works."]
The system's answer caused Tony to feel elated.
For example, when Tony wielded his Zanpakuto, it absorbed the fire temperature from Tony himself, and its progress bar would rise slightly, speeding up its progression.
Meanwhile, the Flame-Flame Fruit also benefited from the sword becoming heated, causing its own progress bar to increase as well.
In simpler terms, Tony, now a "man of flame" due to his Flame-Flame Fruit abilities, was wielding a fire-type weapon, making it a perfect synergy between fire and fire.
This resonance was a means of advancement, though small, it was an incredibly powerful phenomenon.
It meant Tony was constantly growing stronger, accumulating strength little by little. One year, two years, three years from now, who knew how far he could go?
~----------------------------------------------------------
T/N:
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