Chapter 228: Matthew: Imu, Joy Boy—Marked for Death
At the Long Island manor villa in New York.
Amid the falling snow, Carrie, already on winter break, had run off earlier to find Gwen and the friends she'd made at Midtown High, either studying together or out shopping. During her time off, Carrie's schedule was essentially tied to Gwen's at this point.
This day, Matthew, unusually, skipped his regular physical training. That was because he had two visitors waiting for him: Reacher and Natasha.
The two of them sat on the sofa—Reacher in the disciplined, upright posture of a soldier, while Natasha sat with noticeably more ease.
The difference in their bearing reflected the difference in their personalities, though it also had something to do with the fact that this particular meeting with Matthew wasn't a formal one. Had it been formal, even Natasha would have followed proper protocol.
Matthew sat on the sofa opposite them. The female butler, Emily, brought several maids over to serve steaming milk coffee and fruit.
Among all kinds of coffee, this was the one Matthew liked.
The sweet creaminess of the milk mixed with the slight bitterness of the coffee beans created a flavor that struck Matthew's taste buds perfectly.
Reacher and Natasha had different preferences in this regard, but neither of them disliked milk coffee.
"Conqueror's Haki?"
After Reacher and Natasha exchanged a glance, excitement appeared in their eyes.
The two had already learned of this after Matthew notified them.
"That's right."
Matthew stretched out his hand, and three fingers slowly gathered together. In an instant, a flash of black-red lightning flickered across his palm. It finally condensed, brewed, and compressed, while its outer layer was wrapped in golden magical patterns.
It appeared as a dazzling blend of gold, red, and black. From time to time, tiny arcs of red-black electricity burst within it.
This thing was the Conqueror's Haki seed Matthew had created.
It was similar to the seeds of the other two Haki types.
Haki was a latent power within the human body. In essence, it was a special power created when humans transformed intangible perception—such as momentum and killing intent—into combat will.
That was the description of Haki.
It was a very unique method of use. Logically speaking, this should have been a power system that existed only in the fantasy world of One Piece.
But in the Marvel universe, it was actually possible. Matthew had even developed seeds for the first two types of Haki, allowing Reacher and the members of the three warbands to awaken them.
That was because Matthew had developed Haki himself and fully understood how it worked.
He refined it into a complete system, then used the two types of Haki he possessed as the foundation, combining them with magic to create Haki seeds. He then implanted those seeds into Reacher and the others, stimulating and awakening Haki within them.
In other words, the Marvel universe had originally possessed no concept of Haki.
But because of Matthew, and because of the system, Haki came to exist. Through him, the Marvel universe acquired a power it was never meant to possess.
By coincidence, Matthew had also learned magic, allowing him to pass this conceptual power of Haki to others.
Once there was one, there could be two. One gave birth to two, two gave birth to three—it was roughly the same principle.
If Matthew had not awakened Haki, then even if he clearly knew the concept and theory of Haki, he would not have been able to create it out of thin air, let alone teach it to Reacher and the others.
Many things were like this. As long as something existed, and as long as its underlying operating logic could be understood, it became easy to realize it and spread it.
Conqueror's Haki was the same.
But unlike the two types of Haki, Conqueror's Haki had far higher requirements.
Both were related to will—combining will with the vitality of the body to give birth to Haki. But Conqueror's Haki was purer, and it also required something more.
That was so-called extraordinary spirit, leadership, or intimidation.
This thing was mysterious and profound.
It was tied to the sense of life's presence. Its underlying mechanism was the suppression of life level itself. In other words, high-density will was regarded by the world as the existence of a higher status, triggering instinctive submission or fear.
It was similar to the current Reacher. Although Reacher was still fundamentally human, his level of life had long since opened a vast gulf between him and ordinary people.
As long as Reacher wanted to, even if he did nothing and simply stared straight at an ordinary person, that person would be unable to withstand the pressure and might be frightened to death.
Their spirit and mind would suffer a shock and die.
That was why Matthew had developed seeds for the first two types of Haki, while his research into Conqueror's Haki seeds progressed much more slowly. He first had to understand its underlying principles.
Fortunately, he had succeeded.
Perhaps it was because after the Terra Empire was established, Matthew's faith and will had already completed a sublimation.
The expectations, faith, and loyalty of more than two million people had, in the unseen, resonated and connected with the responsibility Matthew carried.
This thing seemed vague and illusory, but in reality, it was one of the operating logics of this universe.
As a result, even Matthew himself could not say clearly just how powerful his Conqueror's Haki had become.
At least in his view, Imu-sama, one of the strongest users of Conqueror's Haki, would now be nothing more than a toy before him. As for Joy Boy or whoever else, they were simply marked for death.
The belief that had undergone extreme sublimation made his Conqueror's Haki unbelievably powerful. It allowed him to rapidly deconstruct the underlying logic of Conqueror's Haki and put it to use.
Thus, he developed the Conqueror's Haki seed.
From beginning to end, Haki had always been important.
It was still that same saying—as long as one's faith was strong enough, and as long as one's level of life continued to grow stronger, Haki would never lose value.
As for the issue of talent, that was even simpler.
It was nothing more than so-called intimidation, extraordinary spirit, vision, and the like.
Reacher and the others did not lack any of these now.
After all, every one of them clearly understood just how vast this universe was. The cause they were fighting for was to bring human civilization to the peak above countless civilizations and races in the universe.
Was that belief strong enough?
That so-called Drum of Liberation from Joy Boy was completely childish compared to the ideals and faith of Reacher and the others.
Who else could possess more of a "kingly bearing" than Reacher, Natasha, and the others?
"You two, come together."
Matthew lightly snapped his fingers. With a crisp crack like shattering glass, the three of them instantly stepped into the Mirror Dimension space.
Matthew stretched out one hand again, and another Conqueror's Haki seed appeared.
Then, without any visible movement from him, the two Conqueror's Haki seeds shot out like streams of light and instantly sank into the space between Reacher's and Natasha's brows.
Rumble!
In an instant, dazzling black-red lightning burst across the surface of their bodies.
A terrifying aura erupted like a volcano, destroying the luxurious manor villa inside the Mirror Dimension.
Dust and shattered stone surged violently in every direction.
Amid the raging air currents, Matthew stood unmoving like a reef. He rose to his feet and gazed at Reacher and Natasha, whose eyes were now closed.
The black lightning that had exploded outward suddenly froze.
Then, as if time had reversed, the black lightning surged back and contracted into their bodies.
All movement came to an abrupt stop.
But at this moment, within the spiritual worlds of Reacher and Natasha, an incomparably difficult "war" had begun.
...
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