There was no expected sharp pain, only a tingling sensation as if the cerebral cortex was being lightly brushed by countless feathers.
A cool current of air seemed to surge from the depths of his soul, washing over his entire mind.
The next second, the world changed.
The originally silent night suddenly became incredibly noisy. This was not a sound heard by the ears. Instead, an essential 'wavelength' crashed directly into his mind, forming a three-dimensional scroll constructed of countless 'voices'.
The groans of the desk's wood, speaking of the moisture from growing in a rainforest a hundred years ago.
The whispers of the sea breeze outside the window, the joy generated by the friction between air currents and water molecules.
And even further away, thousands of meters deep in the seabed, the roars emitted by those massive Sea Kings in their dreams.
As long as Tatsuki wished, he could hear the breathing of the entire island of Marineford.
"So noisy."
Tatsuki frowned, and with a thought, that complex flow of information was instantly blocked, leaving only precise perception within a five-kilometer radius.
This sense of control from a God's perspective was intoxicating.
"Next is the main event."
Tatsuki stared at [Physique: 90] on the panel.
Ninety points was already the limit for humans in this world, the domain of monsters. To take another step forward was extremely difficult.
"Let me see if this so-called human limit can actually be broken."
'System, max out Physique. Go all in.'
[Ding! Consumed 280,000 Violation Points. Physique raised to: 100 (Mortal Limit).]
BOOM!
"Ugh!"
Sharp pain struck, yet Tatsuki let out a suppressed low chuckle, his laughter filled with madness and enjoyment.
The muscles in his arms suddenly bulged, stretching the Admiral uniform to the edge of tearing.
Every cell was being torn apart and then reorganized with even more violent energy.
Bones were compressed to a density far exceeding alloy amidst their groans.
Muscle fibers twisted, weaving into living steel cables that surpassed biological limits.
The sound of his heartbeat was no longer a "thump-thump," but a heavy roar like a beating drum.
Ten minutes later.
When the final spasm that pierced his entire body subsided, Tatsuki slowly stood up.
Sweat had long since soaked his back, but at this moment, he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue, only an illusion of power overflowing to the point of explosion.
He threw a punch casually, without using any devil fruit abilities or Haki. The wind from the punch, brought by his physical strength alone, caused the air pressure in the entire office to drop sharply, and the window glass cracked with lines.
"This body..."
Tatsuki looked down at his palms, which hadn't changed much but contained the power to destroy the world, and smiled.
"Now, even without using Haki, Garp's Fist of Love would probably just be an itch to me, right?"
The more startling change was in Haki. After the "container" of his body was expanded, the total amount of Haki within him surged like a floodgate opening. The three types of Haki, which were already at the pinnacle, were now so thick it was practically unreasonable.
Especially Conqueror's Haki.
Under that extreme accumulation of quantity, a marvelous qualitative change occurred.
With a thought from Tatsuki, an invisible wave spread out.
He could clearly feel that if there were a top-tier Observation Haki master now, who dared to peer into the future before him, he would only need a single thought. He could use this violent Conqueror's Haki to forcibly overwhelm the opponent's perception, turning their "future" into a patch of unknown darkness.
"Observation Killing." Tatsuki grinned.
What an unreasonable ability.
He liked this lack of reason.
"One hundred points in Physique, Voice of All Things, plus this Observation Killing..."
Tatsuki walked to the window, overlooking the island below that was still brightly lit and cheering for him. There wasn't the slightest self-awareness of being a "hero" in his eyes, only the coldness of an ambitious man inspecting his territory.
"Current me, even without the Storm-Storm Fruit, should be able to pin Kaido or Whitebeard to the ground and beat them with just this body and Haki, right?"
This strength was real but Tatsuki did not indulge in this illusory sense of invincibility for too long.
He was a man who had seen the script. He knew that in the shadows of this world's history, there was still that old monster Imu who had lived for eight hundred years, and all sorts of ridiculous legends left by Joy Boy.
Those were the true "Gods."
Tatsuki sat back behind the desk and relit a cigar.
Amidst the swirling smoke, his gaze became deep and greedy.
'System. This isn't the end yet, is it? Tell me, can Conqueror's Haki still be upgraded?'
[Of course.]
[Current Conqueror's Haki, regardless of how it is infused or projected, is essentially a physical extension of spirit and will.]
The cold blue light screen flickered in the darkness.
[The next upgrade will step into the domain of the gods.]
[Those who step into this domain no longer merely possess deterrence and destruction, but the authority to interfere with reality and distort rules.]
[Reference Case: Sun God Nika, the nonsensical power that turns 'imagination' into 'reality'.]
Tatsuki's fingers holding the cigar paused slightly, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.
As expected.
The pinnacle of this world was never the reckless brutes like the Four Emperors or the Admirals but those existences who toyed with rules, nearly akin to "Gods".
That old monster Imu, who had lived for eight hundred years, definitely held more than just Ancient Weapons in their hands.
At that level, simple physical strength was useless. It was a contest of whose cheat was bigger and whose rules were more unreasonable.
'What do I need to do?'