Traveling Through Multiple Realms: The Supporting Character's Counterattack

"True Spirit Space... Abel?"

With a thought, Xuanjian did not resist at all. His consciousness was instantly drawn away, and the next moment, he was standing once again in that void where starlight flowed.

Footsteps landed on the illusory river of starlight, creating ripples.

Almost at the same moment his figure solidified, Abel's figure opposite him also changed from blurry to clear.

However, after only a year apart, Abel's transformation was so dramatic that even Genma was taken aback.

The skinny boy who was just over ten years old, with eyes filled with fear and confusion, has disappeared without a trace.

Instead, a very tall and robust young man appeared.

Just as Genma sensed, Abel's height had increased by nearly a meter, reaching over five meters. His muscles were bulging, stretching his simple experimental suit tightly, exuding an explosive sense of power.

His dark brown skin gleamed with a metallic sheen under the starlight, and his white hair, still disheveled, only added to his wildness.

What is most striking are his eyes; the fear and confusion of the past have been honed into a profound resilience and a hidden sharpness, like a suppressed volcano.

"Genma".

Abel spoke first, his voice low and hoarse, yet carrying an undeniable sense of power.

His gaze fell on Genji, and after carefully examining him, he nodded slightly. "You also seem to have become much stronger."

Through the soul connection, he could vaguely sense Genma's growth over the past year.

"Abel, your transformation is truly astonishing."

Genma looked up at this "other version of himself" and sighed sincerely.

He could feel the immense life force within Abel, like a lurking beast.

How has this year been for you?

Although they could share some of the feelings, Genma still asked the question.

Abel grinned, revealing an expression that was hardly a smile, tinged with bitterness and mockery: "What else can we do? Day after day of 'tests,' electricity, fire, ice, toxins—those hyenas of the World Government are doing everything they can to squeeze the last drop of value out of the 'God Race.'"

He raised his thick arm, where some experimental marks were still faintly visible. "However, thanks to you, the optimization effect of the 'vegetative state' physique is stronger than expected. Not only has the recovery ability greatly increased, but the body's growth and potential development have also accelerated considerably. This body has now become their best, and also their most troublesome, 'experimental material'."

He paused, his eyes flashing even brighter: "I'm used to this torment. This time, I bring you good news!"

Genma's heart stirred, and he looked at him expectantly.

Abel didn't keep them in suspense and said directly, "After Observation Haki, I have finally awakened Armament Haki!"

Before he finished speaking, he voluntarily opened his soul imprint.

Unlike the previous Observation Haki, which focused on perception and mental information, this time, what flooded Genma's sea of ​​consciousness was a more substantial and violent sense of power.

It is an ultimate application of "defense," "hardening," and "attack," a method of combining one's will and vitality to transform into invisible armor and offensive power.

When this power system originating from the One Piece world attempted to merge with the rules of the Naruto world where Genma resides through a soul connection, it once again underwent a wondrous adaptive change.

Before he began training in Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation, Genma had tested himself with chakra test strips and found that he possessed both Fire and Earth chakra natures.

The fire-attribute chakra most likely originated from the shared constitution of the Lunaria clan, while the earth-attribute was Genma Shiranui's original chakra attribute.

With the sharing of Armament Haki, he could clearly feel that the chakra within him, which had been dormant and represented the "earth" attribute, was instantly boiling as if it had been thrown into ice water from a red-hot iron.

An unprecedented sense of "hardness" and "solidification" naturally welled up in my mind.

He had a sudden inspiration and subconsciously raised his right hand, concentrating his mind.

The next moment, his entire right hand, starting from his fingertips, skin, muscles, and even nails, instantly lost its original color, transforming into a deep, restrained, and seemingly all-absorbing pitch-black.

This blackness is not deathly still, but rather, under the starlight, it subtly flows with a cold, hard metallic sheen.

"This is... a change in the Earth attribute? It's been forcibly activated and maximized!"

Genma was shaken.

He tried to move his dark fingers, and the joints made a slight "click" sound, as if they were not flesh and blood, but precise metal components, yet still flexible.

He flicked his finger.

"Clang!"

A clear, melodious sound, like the clash of metal, echoed in the silent space of the true spirit.

"It seems this force has evolved into a similar effect in your world!"

Abel's eyes lit up with surprise. Although he couldn't directly experience this change at the chakra level, through the soul connection, he could feel an incredibly solid and powerful force coming from Genma, which was the same as but different from the feeling he had when he awakened Armament Haki.

Genji was filled with excitement, and an even stronger thought arose within him.

He concentrated his mind and pushed that "hardening" intention to its limit.

Om-!

The deep blackness, like a tide, began to spread rapidly from his right arm to his entire body.

Chest, limbs, head...

In the blink of an eye, Genma, who was standing in front of Abel, had completely transformed into an "Iron Man" that was entirely black and seemed to be forged from black iron.

Even his ordinary training clothes seemed to be covered by this indestructible energy layer.

He raised his two dark arms and slammed them together.

"clang--!"

This time, it was no longer a slight tapping sound, but a deep, resounding boom like a great bell.

At the same time, a powerful counterforce came, but it only made Genji feel an unprecedented sense of stability, as if he were shaking a mountain, but he himself remained unmoved.

"Earth Release·Earth Spear!"

Genma instantly recalled the name of the technique from the original story, and a sudden realization dawned on him. "No, this is even more perfect than Kakuzu's Earth Spear! Kakuzu's Earth Spear requires hand seals to activate, and there seems to be a gap in the transition, while mine, with a thought, covers the entire body, integrating offense and defense, with almost no delay. This is simply an absolute defense and close-combat weapon tailor-made for me!"

Kakuzu was able to withstand many attacks with his earth spear technique, and if it weren't for the Raikiri, which has a counter-attribute, he would have been almost invincible.

The "Armed Hardening" that Genma has just obtained is activated faster, covers a wider range, and is bound to his soul essence. As he continues to share and optimize with Abel's physique, its strength has unlimited room for growth.

He dispelled the hardening of his body, returning it to its original state. Feeling the activated and fully responsive earth-attribute chakra nature change within him, he was filled with ecstatic joy.

This means that he has filled the gap in his "defense" capabilities.

"Abel! This Armament Haki came just in time!"

Genma looked at the tall Abel, his eyes filled with gratitude.

In these times of looming war, every bit of strength brings a greater guarantee of survival and protection.

Abel sensed Genma's joy, and a rare, genuine smile appeared on his dark brown face: "It's good that it's useful. We are one; your enemy is my enemy. If the opportunity arises..."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "While I'm here, I'll let those World Government hyenas taste the power of 'Armament Haki'!"

Two "selves" from different worlds smiled at each other in the True Spirit Space, a tacit understanding and fighting spirit flowing between them.

……

As his consciousness returned to his body, Genma abruptly sat up on the tatami mat.

The moonlight outside the window remained the same, but the world he saw was different.

He slowly raised his right hand, a thought stirring in his mind.

Swish!

His palm instantly turned a deep, dark black, gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen under the moonlight.

"The ultimate attack of the Fire Release: Rasengan, the absolute defense of the Earth Release: Armor Hardening, plus the ever-improving Body Flicker Technique..."

Genma clenched his jet-black fist, feeling the terrifying power contained within, enough to split rocks and shatter monuments, and a strong sense of confidence welled up within him.