Naruto: Limit Breaker-Chapter 329: The Real Rules

Chapter 329: The Real Rules

Under the bright glow in his eyes, Ryosuke’s body gradually began to shine as well.

The pale white chakra of the Tenseigan surged through him at incredible speed, and the light it produced was so intense that even his flesh could not hide it.

White radiance washed over him, wrapping his entire form in shifting light.

Whether it was his physical body, his chakra, or the full capabilities of the Tenseigan, Ryosuke had already pushed himself to his current peak.

A serious punch?

Ryosuke, who originally planned to continue testing Saitama’s ordinary punches, did not stop him. Instead, he silently adjusted his body and prepared to meet that punch with everything he had.

Under the light, his gaze locked onto the fist rushing toward him.

The pressure was overwhelming. There was no room to dodge.

It was just an ordinary sized fist, small even, yet when swung before him, it carried the weight of a god descending to crush all creation. The power behind it was enough to silence everything under heaven.

Ryosuke remembered it clearly. As Boros, he had been shattered by this very punch.

There was no question. This punch reached the level of destroying a planet.

Even the word "star destroying" felt too small to describe what he was seeing.

The rules embedded in that fist were like the sealing power of the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei that bound Kaguya. That oppressive force crushed body, soul, and chakra all at once, constantly weakening him while sharpening Saitama’s power in an instant.

No wonder Boros, who once possessed star destroying power, was reduced to dust.

But now he was no longer Boros. He was Ryosuke.

Boom.

The punch struck.

The first impact was like hitting an invisible barrier.

A cracking sound echoed, like glass shattering, and then Saitama’s fist slammed into him completely.

In that moment, Ryosuke felt divine power pour into him like icy spring water. It entered through the point of contact and surged straight through his entire body.

Bang.

There was no pain. His body simply burst from the inside out.

Flesh and blood scattered in all directions, splashing across the ground. Some pieces vaporized instantly, drifting away like dust.

Even though Ryosuke tried to block the rules embedded in the punch, the momentum behind it was unstoppable. The aftershock became a violent gale that swept across the horizon, triggering massive storms in distant cities half a world away.

"...Huh."

Saitama scratched his bald head as he stared at the destruction. "Uh... Mr Ryosuke?"

He called out carefully.

Ryosuke had shown impressive strength earlier, so Saitama had taken this test punch seriously. But now the silence frightened him.

Please don’t be dead...

Annoyance and regret rose in his chest. He had gotten carried away again.

Damn it. Why did he throw that so seriously? The guy only wanted a test...

"I am here."

The voice rang directly in Saitama’s mind.

"Your punch really is powerful. I think it will take me a while to recover."

Saitama released a long breath of relief. "You scared me to death, Mr Ryosuke. Sorry, I went a little too hard."

"If anything, I expected your punch to be about that heavy."

Ryosuke’s mental voice sounded again, calm as always. "But yes, I need some time. I want to feel something."

"Mr Saitama, if you have things to do, you can go back first. I will look for you later."

"Are you really alright?" Saitama worried. "Do you need me to call medics...?"

He trailed off as he looked at the scattered flesh on the ground.

There was nothing on this planet capable of healing something like that.

"Don’t worry. I’ll recover soon, just like how I regenerated my arm earlier."

Hearing Ryosuke’s relaxed tone, Saitama stopped insisting. But he did not leave. He simply sat nearby and waited quietly.

Ryosuke didn’t tell him to leave either.

Even though his body had been scattered, his consciousness was still spread across every fragment. His perception of the outside world remained clear.

His current body was essentially immortal unless destroyed by the rules themselves.

Ryosuke now had a guess.

He wasn’t angry about nearly being killed.

If anything... he was deeply satisfied.

That punch felt exactly the same as the one from his past life, and now that he was experiencing it firsthand again, the oppression felt even heavier.

Boros’ memories had only given him the sense of overwhelming force, but not the details.

This time, as Ryosuke, with his higher realm, he could feel the actual structure of those rules embedded in Saitama’s strike.

Saitama’s strength really did come from rules. His guess had been correct.

The suppressive force was so strong that even his regeneration was slowed.

But that only excited him further.

Before meeting Saitama, Ryosuke had already suspected that the gap between them was not physical strength, but the level of rules. Saitama’s overwhelming power came entirely from a realm difference.

That was why he didn’t challenge him immediately.

He needed to test the gap.

And the result was exactly as he predicted.

Their difference was in rules. If he didn’t close that gap, their battle would never be equal.

And now he finally understood how to catch up.

The rule suppression wasn’t too extreme, likely because Saitama didn’t intend to kill him. With effort, Ryosuke could break the suppression and regenerate instantly.

But he didn’t want that.

This was the perfect chance to feel the pressure of the rules firsthand.

Compared to the vague restrictions he felt while crossing worlds, the direct suppression on his body was far more vivid and useful for analysis.

Ryosuke had recovered Otsutsuki techniques from scraps of ancient information, sensed natural energy from the faint traces of Naruto’s sage chakra... he had always excelled in comprehension.

Rules were higher than those things, but not beyond his reach.

He wanted to seize this moment to push his understanding from observing rules to manipulating them.

That would not be easy.

So he told Saitama not to wait.

Time passed slowly.

From day to night and night to day again, Saitama sat in the wasteland, waiting in silence.

Ryosuke did not respond.

His flesh did not regenerate.

Saitama began to worry again.

"I’m still here."

Ryosuke’s voice finally sounded in his mind. "Really, you don’t need to wait. I’m fine."

As the one who was blown apart, Ryosuke sounded calmer than Saitama.

That only made Saitama feel more guilty. "Should I check with the Hero Association to see if—"

"No need. I sensed something strange in your punch. I am trying to bridge the gap between you and me."

A pause.

"If I succeed, I can fight you. A battle of equal strength."

"...So you’re training like this?" Saitama said, stunned. Then he suddenly laughed. "You really are like me from back then!"

Even while blown apart, he was still thinking about training.

It reminded Saitama of his younger self, back when he still had drive and passion.

"In that case!"

Saitama stood up and shouted, "I’ll train too!"

Ryosuke, deep in his comprehension, was startled for a moment. When he shifted part of his focus outward and saw Saitama doing normal sit-ups and push-ups, he withdrew his attention again.

Maybe Saitama himself didn’t know that his power came from rules. He probably had no idea what rules even meant.

That made everything feel a bit unfair.

Ryosuke had worked endlessly, trained endlessly, endured endlessly to reach this level...

And Saitama, through some ridiculous twist of fate, gained strength that surpassed everything.

If it were anyone else, Ryosuke might not care.

But that person was Saitama.

The one who defeated him in his past life, whose shadow he had chased all the way into this life.

Of course there was bitterness.

But Ryosuke’s mental strength had never once wavered.

He adjusted his emotions and returned to his training.

Saitama’s strength was one obsession. But Ryosuke had many mysteries left unsolved.

His Boros memories.

His afterlife memories.

His memories as an ordinary human.

All sealed, locked behind something in the reincarnation cycle.

He needed to grow stronger to break those seals.

Time flowed.

One day.

Two days.

A week.

A month passed.

Ryosuke remained alone in the wasteland.

At first, Saitama asked him daily to confirm he was alive.

Later, once he was sure Ryosuke was truly immortal and undergoing extremely intense training, he stopped staying with him.

His own daily routine was short, and he couldn’t sit in the wasteland all day doing nothing.

After a week, he left temporarily but told Ryosuke to contact him anytime for their future fight.

During this month, Ryosuke made tremendous progress.

He had previously been able to observe rules.

Now, under the direct suppression of those rules, analysis became far easier.

He had even begun making small changes to existing rules.

For example...

Ryosuke spent two full days rewriting the rules inside a small stone beneath his foot.

He replaced its internal rules with the rules of clouds, while keeping the outer rules intact.

Before his eyes, the stone slowly rose into the air, drifting gently like a cloud...

But still looking exactly like a stone.