Chapter 70: Breakthrough Beyond Perfection — The Secret of Longevity

It had been half a month since Gin tamed the Millennial Dragon. Today, beneath the floating skies of Skypiea, in the quiet courtyard, Gin was immersed in a deep meditative flow, practicing his perfected health-preserving exercises. He felt it—he was standing at the threshold of something greater.

[You consume Sea King meat to assist in your training. Your Health-Preserving Technique has reached the Limit of Perfection. Skill +10. You've broken through the ceiling and attained insight...]

In an instant, Gin's awareness exploded outward. His mind felt infinitely agile. A surge of inspiration hit like a tidal wave, and his hands began moving instinctively, crafting a new prototype of a technique—refining it, reshaping it, evolving it.

"Gin?" Kushina called softly, pausing her training nearby.

"Wait," Mikoto whispered, grabbing her arm and speaking in a low voice. "He told me about this—he's having an epiphany. We cannot interrupt him."

Kushina's eyes widened. "Like when he created the Initial Chakra Purification Technique?"

"Exactly. Don't make a sound. Minato—set up a barrier."

Kushina nodded and clapped her palms to the ground, releasing a ripple of sealing runes. A silent dome of chakra surrounded Gin, isolating his energy and movements from the world.

"Will he be alright?" Minato asked with concern, watching Gin's strange movements within the barrier.

"He'll be fine," Mikoto replied calmly. "Just watch…"

Inside the barrier, Gin's body flowed through a graceful series of movements, far removed from his original health exercises. His form shifted seamlessly from one pose to another, as though dancing through enlightenment. The aura around him intensified—radiating profound clarity and ancient strength.

Half an hour later, the movements slowed. His breathing stilled. The barrier was lifted.

[Your Health-Preserving Exercise has transcended the Limit of Perfection. You have unlocked the Secret of Longevity.]

[Secret of Longevity]: A technique born of enlightenment. Greatly enhances life span, body regulation, recovery, healing, and bone marrow purification. Ten times more effective than its predecessor.

Gin exhaled, eyes gleaming with understanding.

"This… this is a breakthrough," he murmured. Though the name echoed ancient Chinese practices, what he had just achieved was on another level entirely. It was a complete reimagining of those old methods—his version, perfected.

As if to mark the transformation, a thick sludge of black grime seeped from his pores—waste expelled from deep within his marrow and muscles. The purification had begun.

"Gin! You done?" Kushina called, the barrier now gone.

"Not quite!" Gin vanished in a flash, teleporting straight to the bathroom of the Ninja World. There, he scrubbed the foul impurities from his skin and burned his soiled clothes with a burst of fire chakra. Donning a fresh outfit, he returned minutes later—radiating clarity and power.

"Yo! I'm back," he waved.

"Took you long enough!" Kushina teased.

"Yeah, sorry. Had to finish cleansing after the breakthrough." Gin grinned. "Massive body detox, you know how it is."

"Let me guess—the breakthrough triggered it?" Mikoto asked, folding her arms.

"Exactly," Gin nodded. "Once you exceed the limit of a technique, your body reacts. And trust me—this time, it wasn't subtle."

"So what did you learn?" Minato asked, visibly curious.

Gin smirked. "I created a new technique—the Secret of Longevity. Ten times more potent than the original health exercises in every way."

"Ten times?!" Kushina gawked. "That's insane!"

"Yeah, but there's a catch," Gin added. "You can't even begin to learn it until your current training reaches Perfection. So for now, keep practicing the basics."

"Aww, still not there yet," Kushina groaned, then quickly perked up. "But we're getting there!"

Mikoto laughed. "You're an optimist through and through."

"Alright then, back to work!" Gin clapped, summoning shadow clones to focus on ninjutsu, chakra control, and fūinjutsu. Meanwhile, the original Gin resumed mastering the Thunder Fruit ability.

Progress was steady. Within ten days, he had reached a professional level of control. Although he wasn't growing as rapidly as he did in the early days, the limit was now with his physique—not his skill. But the Secret of Longevity would help with that too.

Thanks to the new exercises, his physical development had accelerated to the point where he surpassed most warriors in the Pirate World—by more than ten times. Compared to the average shinobi, he was in another league entirely.

"Feels good to be a cheat character," Gin thought, grinning to himself.

Just then, a pulse flickered through his mental space—a message from Kuro, his eagle-ninja companion.

[Notification: Shimotsuki Island Map is illuminated. Please confirm ownership.]

Kuro, Gin's loyal eagle, had benefitted immensely from the Sea Kings' meat and had been training with a customized version of the Health-Preserving Exercises. His growth had accelerated rapidly—now capable of human speech and even writing, thanks to the spiritual knowledge Gin shared with him.

As for the Millennial Dragon—it remained temporarily stationed in Skypiea. There, it followed a regimen of life-extension exercises and hunted Sea Kings in the Blue Sea for sustenance. While it hadn't fully recovered to its prime, its flight speed still vastly outpaced Kuro's.

But for now, Gin had what he needed: a new secret technique, an eagle scout, and a growing empire of knowledge and longevity.

And this… was only the beginning.