Not for any other reason but to make sure his woman wouldn't have to fight for money.
The amount didn't matter.
But unfortunately, he couldn't just casually take out tens of millions of dollars right now. The things he could carry between worlds were limited.
Even if he brought jewelry over, it wouldn't fetch a good price.
But I remember there are huge gemstones in the One Piece world?
Ryuji glanced at his somewhat embarrassed girlfriend and started thinking about how to get her some money next time.
In the One Piece world, palm-sized rubies weren't rare at all. Any random treasure could contain them and they were only worth a few million or tens of millions of Berries. Even football-sized gemstones were only valued in the hundreds of millions of Berries. By One Piece's pricing standards, that was absurdly cheap.
Next time, I'll just bring a few gems over.
Ryuji thought it over and made his decision.
Since they needed money, everyone from the Shiranui-ryū returned to the dojo to pick up their weapons before heading to the hotel where Helena and her mother were staying.
But calling it a hotel didn't do it justice, the wealthy lifestyle still greatly shocked Mai. Though it was technically a hotel, it was actually a three-story private villa.
Each of them was assigned a room. Fortunately, Mai remained rational. Although she counted her father and grandfather as part of the Shiranui-ryū's fighting force, she didn't include Tifa or her mother. She simply brought them along so they could stay together.
Helena didn't mind at all. The only person she truly wanted to hire was Ryuji. Even if he included Tifa and Mai's mother in the deal, she wouldn't care.
It had to be said that although Helena didn't consider herself particularly important, her composure and ability to handle situations were worthy of someone from a prominent family.
After a conflict, she quickly worked to mend and build relationships and turn things around, far better than the so-called "young masters and ladies" in many novels.
What should have been a hostile relationship was, through her handling, turned into an employer-employee relationship.
"Money really does let you do whatever you want."
Ryuji sat on the rooftop of the villa. The guest rooms they were given were far superior to anything at the Shiranui dojo.
But Ryuji knew they were paying big money for his combat abilities, so naturally, he had to do his job properly.
He spread out his senses, observing his surroundings while also feeling the natural world, searching for enemies, at the same time refining the Satsui no Hado within his body and his Conqueror's Haki.
From the earlier battle, he had realized something...
Compared to the Satsui no Hado (killing intent), Conqueror's Haki felt somewhat… lacking.
It wasn't that Conqueror's Haki couldn't contend with Satsui no Hado. Whether it was coating or other applications, its destructive power wasn't really inferior to the Satsui no Hado.
As for those exaggerated feats and the power the Satsui no Hado displayed in crossovers like shattering meteors or destroying gods and demons...
Those were mostly the result of different world mechanics.
In this world, without him as a catalyst, even if Akuma trained his whole life, the Satsui no Hado would at most be able to sink a small island. Overall, its combat power wouldn't even match that of pirates.
But in his hands…
The ability of Conqueror's Haki to intimidate the weak, Satsui no Hado could do even better.
Conqueror's Haki coating? The Satsui no Hado could also achieve it more effectively in his hands.
Conqueror's Haki didn't require cultivation, only mastery. But Satsui no Hado had already fused with him. Once he fully mastered it, unless the gap in strength was so large that he'd be instantly killed, it could boost his combat power by at least three times, making it an excellent tool for fighting opponents above his level.
It seemed like one of them might become obsolete...
Ryuji closed his eyes and sensed his own state for a moment, then nodded.
"Not a big problem."
With a brief attempt, he fused his Conqueror's Haki with his killing intent, recreating the crimson lightning he had used in his fight with Akuma. Even when releasing Conqueror's Haki, he could now easily mix in Satsui no Hado into it, multiplying its intimidation effect.
And even…
Ryuji suddenly glared at a bird flying in the sky. In the next instant, the bird's body exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
"So, when Conqueror's Haki reaches the level of causing physical damage and I add Satsui no Hado onto it, not only does the power multiply, but it can even directly crush weaker creatures... Though the surge in killing intent from using the Satsui no Hado doesn't disappear even with mastery."
Ryuji rubbed his temples. He wasn't fully proficient with this move yet and it wasn't purely the power of the two forces that caused the bird to explode.
He had used a bit of technique.
First, he intimidated the bird's mind with Haki, then injured it with Satsui no Hado. The explosion happened because the bird's own killing instinct was stirred and its fragile body simply couldn't withstand that powerful killing intent, causing it to burst apart.
If it were just direct damage from Conqueror's Haki and Satsui no Hado, it would have simply fallen and died.
Against humans… it would probably cause the capillaries in their bodies to burst, knock them unconscious and let killing intent take over their bodies, turning them into mindless killing machines.
Of course, they might also just be scared to death.
Conqueror's Haki alone rarely kills, because its effect feels more like overwhelming submission. But when combined with Satsui no Hado...
Anyone unable to withstand the dual pressure of Ryuji's Conqueror's Haki and Satsui no Hado would die.
"The problem is, the mental energy consumption is too high, basically double the consumption… and the range of Conqueror's Haki is clearly much larger than the oppressive range of Satsui no Hado. The two aren't even on the same track."
Ryuji shook his head. Although after reaching the state of "killing intent is life," he no longer had to worry about the Satsui no Hado taking away his will, the Satsui no Hado itself was a technique that stimulate the mind and dig out one's desire to kill. Even if he mastered it, it only meant he wouldn't passively become insane.
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