One Piece: Path to Power - Chapter 67

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[Mortem Island]

(Damien POV)

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“Yo, Kuzan. It’s been a while.” I said as I walked ashore.

The kid was wearing simple clothes. Blue t-shirt and grey pants with black shoes.

He also had his iconic eye cover raised above his forehead, waiting for any opportunity to snooze.

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“Damien-san, you finally came! I felt like I was going to die if I had to sleep in these woods again.” The boy complained.

“RAHAHA! Don’t worry, seeing your energy I guess I should increase the intensity of your training.” I said as I scratched my chin.

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“HA?! This is child labour! Someone ought to throw you in Impel Down!” Kuzan yelled as he said in an annoyed yet fearful tone.

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“You shouldn’t say such things about the one who saved you, kid!” I said as I raised my left fist.

*BONK*

‘A clean smack on the head always works.’ I nodded as I polished my fist via my clothes.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Kuzan cried as he held his head, a big bump forming over it.

“Now come, let’s go find a more comfortable spot to chat,” I said.

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[10 Minutes Later]

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The both of us were now sitting around a campfire, Kuzan on a log across from me.

‘I didn’t expect to find some here,’ I said in surprise as I saw 3 beacons of different colours light up from afar.

My [Fruit Sensor] has only found a few fruits after I left my home island, and most were not worthy of speaking and were recycled immediately.

Right now, there were 2 orange beacons and 1 yellow.

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Kuzan was eating lunch as I looked over his stats.

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Kuzan]

[Age: 8 ⅓]

[Height: 5’6]

[Devil Fruit: None]

[Fruit Rating: —]

[Haki: —]

[Strength: Paradise Pirate (level 3)] (Kuzan = Mr. 2 {Alabasta})

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

For a child less than the age of nine, this is quite impressive.

Strength-wise, he was actually on par with me when I was 8!

I guess that makes sense, I trained him the same way I trained myself at this age, with neither of us having a fruit.

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His body is not like mine where it can upgrade again and again which is why I had to ensure his early training would increase his potential.

And it did.

His body was quite durable and tough.

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“Psst, Damien-san,” he whispered.

“What?”

“Is it alright to eat Sea Kings in front of Cyrus like this, I mean, he is a Sea King too…” He asked.

[A/N: Cyrus is the Sea King who looked after Kuzan on the island.]

“Rahaha! Don’t worry about it, if I asked for it, he would be honoured to be my meal. Though it is a bit weird to think about.” I said while I too ate some meat.

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“So, Kuzan. You remember what I told you before I sent you off on Cyrus?” I asked him.

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“*MUNCH* Oh right, *MUNCH*, you said, *MUNCH*, you would give me, *GULP*, a gift if I meet your expectations or something.” He said as he finished another Sea King leg piece.

I nodded.

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“Right, and now that the time has come, it’s time to test your learnings,” I said.

Even though the System will generate a stats page and all, but it doesn’t factor in mental capacity, many with strength might cower away and be useless.

That is why I had him fight beasts daily to ensure his mind is sharpened as well.

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“Mhm.” Kuzan nodded, though he seemed quite excited.

I guess just like any child, he wants to make his guardians proud.

I smirked at his expression, “Eat now though! You have to eat to get tall.”

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[20 Minutes Later]

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The 2 of us stand in an open clearing in the forest.

There was a 20-meter gap between us.

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“Here I go!” He remarked as he shot forth.

*Quick Steps*

He was quite fast, running around 60km/h as he was already before me in 1.2 seconds.

*Fwoo*

A quick rustle in the wind as he jumped into the air, taking advantage of his smaller frame.

He spun around and delivered a right kick aimed at my throat, with enough power to decapitate a normal human.

Bam!

The kick connected, the top part of the foot slammed onto my neck causing a small boom to resound.

Kuzan grinned but then seemed shaken.

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“Hehe, did you think that would actually wound me, Kuzan?” I asked him with a smirk.

“Hmph!” He grunted as he flipped backwards.

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*Quick Steps*

He sidesteps to my right, I guess he was trying to go after my non-dominant side.

He slightly bent down and used a roundhouse kick to my face.

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BAM!

This time, I caught his foot with my hand as I didn’t want to make him feel too bad. After all, no matter what he does, he simply cannot penetrate my defence at his current strength level.

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“Come on now.” I urged him as he once again pulled back.

BAM!

Bam!

BOOM!

BOP!

He rained down a flurry of punches and kicks all over my body, yet every single one was dodged with simple Observation.

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He was struggling but did not give up.

*Grab*

He squatted down and grabbed some dirt with his left hand.

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Leaping up to my eye-level, he shot his right hand out, which was caught. He then swiped over his left hand and threw the handful of dirt in my face.

‘Hmm, at least he isn’t too foolish to fight ‘fair’ with someone 100x stronger than him.’ I nodded.

The dirt was about to impair me but a red light shined as each grain of dust turned crimson and fell to the ground.

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“Ahh!” He was caught off guard as I drove my right fist into his stomach.

*Roll* *Roll* *Roll*

The child ended up rolling a few times till he got back up with some blood streaming out the corner of his mouth.

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“Hehe, not bad, but I hope that isn’t all you have…” I said cryptically as he didn’t seem too down from his failure.

“Cheh! Try this then!” He roared as he bent to the ground.

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I used my Observation and saw his foot muscles and arm muscles constrict as if he was gathering energy for a final attack.

His feet then flashed a bit as they kicked the air in the way.

*FWOO*

A sharp displacement of air caused a sound as the boy shot forwards, going at least 100km/h as he was already on my left.

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He clenched his right fist and drove it straight onto my left cheek.

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Boom!

A loud boom resounded as a powerful hit smacked me dead-on.

“Haa, Huu, Haah,” Kuzan’s breath was erratic but he was smiling as he felt proud of his strike.

But that smile turned upside down as he saw me smile, his fist pushing on my cheek, yet failing to leave behind a single scratch.

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“That’s unfair!” He cried and hmphed to the side.

*Thud*

He then collapsed onto the ground for some reason, his breathing growing heavier.

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I was smiling just to be petty but was shocked inside.

‘This kid actually made his own ‘Soru’ and simple ‘Semei Kikan’. Though each was lacking and lost a lot of energy while executing the move, it was astonishing nonetheless.’ I concluded.

I then turned to him, Kuzan was huffing and puffing, I guess those 2 techniques overdrew his stamina as the backlash kicked in.

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The boy seemed quite down, he was trying to hide it but I saw him slightly gritting his teeth in frustration, his hands shaking in sadness.

I smiled at his childish behaviour, but it only made sense, he is a kid after all.

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“Kuzan,” I called out.

He looked up with a hint of fear, perhaps he thought I was angry from his failure to hurt me.

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*Crouch*

I squatted down to match his eye level and smirked.

I moved my right hand towards his head causing him to flinch.

*POKE*

Though against his expectations, he only felt a sharp tap on his forehead.

I had tapped his forehead with my right index and middle finger, gently pushing his head back.

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“Don’t look so down. If anything, I am quite content with your progress,” I said while nodding in appreciation, causing him to widen his eyes.

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“Of course if it weren’t for me you’d be a loser sleeping all day long.” I nodded with my eyes closed, teasing him further.

“Cheh,” He clicked his tongue, though with a childish smile plastered to his face.

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*Snap*

I snapped my fingers as the sound echoed through the forest.

*VWOOO*

A shake in the air as the trees around us converge and form a few chairs to sit on.

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Kuzan was once again sitting across me, with an excited expression.

He looked like a kid who was waiting for his parents to open a gift box for his birthday.

I chuckled at his expression and said,

“Alright, alright. Colour me impressed. Your progress has exceeded my expectations so naturally, I will hold my end of the bargain.”

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“Hehe,” He giggled as he waited.

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A shot out my right hand and held it mid-air, palm facing upwards.

Kuzan’s eyes were glued to my hand.

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‘Sibyl.’

[Yup.]

A blue flash of light glowed in my hand as a single fruit appeared out of thin air from my {Inventory}.

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Ice Ice Fruit (Hie Hie no Mi)]

[Logia Fruit | Elemental Type]

[Fruit Rating: ????????????????????????⭐]

[Allows the user to create, control, and transform into ice at will]

[Allows the user to practically negate the greatest weakness to fruit users, water. Though lacking in overall destructive power, it makes up for it by controlling a powerful element]

[User becomes an Ice Human]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

The description popped up as I recalled the stats from a while ago, back before when I was still at my home island.

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Kuzan’s eyes were widened as he looked at the beautiful fruit before his eyes, still in my hand.

It was an apple-shaped fruit with a purple stem. Sharp blue scales all over it. Blue swirls printed all over.

[A/N: The Ice Ice Fruit Image]

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“A-A devil fruit…?” He muttered, I suppose he has never seen one before.

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“That’s right. Do you know the 3 types of fruits, Kuzan?” I asked.

He nodded, “The weird ones, the elemental ones, and the animal ones.”

His words caused me to chuckle as I corrected him,

“Well, you’re right. The weird ones are called ‘Paramecia’, the elementals ones are ‘Logia’ and the animal ones are ‘Zoans’.”

“Do you know which are the strongest?” I then asked.

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Kuzan thought for a second, “I heard the others saying that Logia are the strongest types and also the rarest.”

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I nodded, “Yes, Logia are generally considered the strongest out of the 3 types but not necessarily the rarest.”

I didn’t go into Mythical Zoan as their powers were debatable depending on the form itself.

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“This fruit is a powerful Logia type fruit, the Ice-Ice Fruit,” I informed him.

Kuzan’s mouth turned into an ‘O’ as he heard me.

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“T-This is a Logia?!”

“Yep, you want it?”

*Gulp*

“Can I have it…?”

“Sure.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

*Nod*

“Hundred percent sure?”

“…”

At that point, I looked at him with an annoyed face.

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“If you don’t want it then I’ll save it for someone else.”

“No, no! I want it! I’ll take it!”

He panicked as I started to draw my hand away, much to my amusement.

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“Here,” I tossed the precious fruit towards him as he fumbled.

He then brought it towards his chest and covered it with both hands and looked at me with a peeved face.

‘Does he think I’m going to take it back?’ I smirked.

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“Eat it quickly. Make sure to eat ALL of it.” I said, laughing on the inside.

One bite is all it would take to gain the power but caused my sadistic side to awaken.

“Mhm!” he nodded eagerly as he bought it near his mouth.

*MUNCH*

“…”

“OUGH! This tastes horrible!!” He grimaced as he slowly chewed on the chunk he bit off.

“RAHAHAHA!” I burst out laughing as I saw a kid acting as if he was trying to gorge down some crappy medicine as fast as he could.

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“Eughh…” He groaned as he finished the fruit.

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He stood up to his feet and closed his eyes.

*Freezing Sounds*

The ground under his feet slowly creaked as a thin layer of ice spread out around him.

Everything within 7 meters of Kuzan was now frozen.

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“Hehehe!” He snickered like some 3rd-rate villain.

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Seeing his face I couldn’t help but bonk him.

*BONK*

A black fist slammed onto his head as the child fell onto his rear, grabbing his bruised head.

“Augh! My head! You’ll pop it!” He cried out.

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He then paused and blinked his eyes, “Hey, you said it was a Logia!”

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I smiled, then walked to the side.

I grabbed a pebble from the ground and…

*Vooosh*

The rock shot out and,

*Shatter*

Kuzan looked in amazement as his chest shattered into ice as the rock went through.

*Creaking Ice*

The ice shards floated in the air and converged back to reform his body.

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“SUGOI!” He yelled out as he felt the supremacy of a Logia.

Something I had to look out for.

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“Kuzan! Don’t get arrogant now. Don’t you want to know how I was able to bonk you while that rock didn’t even hurt you?” I said, causing him to think.

“Right… how come your punch still hurts even though I am ice?” He asked.

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I nodded at his question, “Logia wielders generally become their own element and gain intangibility from all things. As in no normal matter, apart from their opposing or negating element can touch them.”

“But since I am not a heat-type fruit user, I should not be able to hurt you. Yet that was not the case.”

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I then show him my fist.

*Fwwwwm*

A cool sound erupts as my fist blackens with a gleam, causing Kuzan to widen his eyes.

“This is called Haki in the Colour of Arms, or simply, Armament Haki. With this, I can cancel out your or any other Logia user’s intangibility and use it to hurt them.” I said.

My words caused Kuzan to nod in understanding.

‘Good kid.’ I was glad of his matureness.

“And this Haki is used by many people beyond Paradise. Every person with decent strength would have this.”

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Now, these words caused his eyes to widen in surprise.

“You are not invincible as a Logia, but you have nigh-infinite potential with it. I want you to remember to never get cocky with your powers, as it will bite you in the back.”

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“Can anyone learn Haki?” He then asked.

I smirked, “Yes but it is quite difficult to awaken. But you are not ready for Haki. I will teach it to you when you can handle it. Until then, you will train BOTH your body and fruit power.”

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Kuzan nodded but then seemed a bit perplexed.

“…How do I train my ice powers?”

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“All powers have a few main components. Strength, versatility, stamina cost, range, strengths, weaknesses and so on.”

“The strength will increase as your mastery over the fruit grows.”

“Versatility increases with your imagination. The Logia is great in this department.”

“Stamina cost is a big one. Intangibility might not cost you anything, but using any other fruit power does. You will need to improve this with your body.”

“Range is attributed to mastery. Strengths of ice are huge, especially when it comes over naval battles.”

“The weakness would be heat-type attacks. As your mastery increases, the heat required to combat your ice will also increase so remember that.”

“As for the rest, you will learn it yourself as you understand your fruit,” I conclude my lengthy summary.

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Kuzan was nodding through and through, committing each point to memory.

“Um… Damien-san. Will you be… staying here for a while?” He asked with some shyness of a child.

I was a bit surprised at first.

‘Ugh, kids do need someone to socialize with to grow. I should be more considerate.’ I berate myself.

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I then look at the Kuzan who seemed a bit nervous, “Yeah, I’ll be here for a while.”

He smiled, then frowned at my next sentence.

“Of course, I have to ensure you don’t skip any of your workouts. After all, it’s time to increase their intensity. Mwah hahaha!” I laugh as I look at his defeated expression.

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“Well, get some rest now. Your body is tired from the earlier battle.” I told him as he nodded.

He reached up to his forehead and pulled down his eye cover.

*Snore*

And asleep.

‘This technique of insta-sleep… it would have come in handy when I was in school.’ I sighed in regret, remembering the torture of my past life.

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*VWOOO*

I wave my hand as some wood pops out from beneath and make a softer bed with some leaves nearby.

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‘Now then, let’s go check out what fruits are on this island.’ I thought to myself as I started zooming towards the nearest beacon.

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Though a certain voice picked up.

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“Ara Ara~ Onee-san has been waiting for you, Damien-kun!”

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author’s Corner:

As many have guessed, Damien intends to bring Kuzan into his crew so naturally, he deserves a chapter of his own.

Plus, I almost forgot to put in some ‘childish attitude’ since he isn’t even 9 years old yet. He is a lot more mature due to his past but a kid nonetheless.

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Random Trivia:

If you were reborn in One Piece, would you want Shanks’ Haki or Kiado’s nigh-invulnerability?

Thanks for Reading!