One Piece: Path to Power - Chapter 71

[2105 words]

The current Ultimate Fruits introduced thus far and their users: ​​

– Death Death Fruit (Xebec)

– Mind Mind Fruit (Damien)

– Soul Soul Fruit (Linlin)

– Time Time Fruit (Toki)

– Op Op Fruit (Some random doctor)

———————————————-

[3 Days Later]

[In an Uncharted Island, Paradise Sea]

(Clone #1 POV)

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“RAHAHAHAHA! FINALLY!” I bellow out as I hear the beep.

*DING*

[Your physique has reached the stage of {Black Bones (III)}. Congratulations!]

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After 3 and a half months of being crushed by mountains, jumping off sky islands and swimming to the bottom of the sea, I have finally done it!

*FWOO*

I will some fruit power to materialize in my hand.

It was a crimson dagger with a very sharp edge.

‘Hardening.’

I imbue it with Haki and weaken the muscles around my arms.

*Slash!*

*Spurt!*

A rain of blood explodes as my hand hangs off.

“Good!” My remark echoes beyond the fleeting horizon as I see the result.

.

After obliterating the excess blood with some Pulverization Energy, I see my muscles and tendon but then I see the bone.

*Drum Roll*

It’s black!

Well, more or less a dark-purple with a polished gleam.

I sharpen my dagger to the rough amount of a Great Grade Sword and,

*SLASH*

The red edge slashes down onto the bone.

*CRUNCH*

Sounds of bone being shred are heard as I see the result.

Nothing!

It held!

Subarashi.

.

Now I can finally recombine with my original body…

———————————————-

[Mortem Island, Paradise Sea]

(Main Body POV)

.

Good, very good!

My first clone is on its way to me now, it should take a week or so to get here but it’s worth the wait.

.

Speaking of progress, let’s see what my new fruit release stats are…

‘Sibyl, please.’ I ask.

[Mhm.]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Empyrean Form]

[Damage Multiplier: 4.5x]

[Armament Haki Integration: 82%]

[Drain Rate: Above Desired Amount]

[Lost Energy Factor: 11%]

[System Remark: Can still be improved]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

My Armament Haki went from 64% to 82% which raised the multiplied up by 0.5.

My Energy loss factor decreased by 6%, not bad.

.

Once I recombine with my clone, it ought to increase more as my Armament comprehension is expected to increase.

.

As for Kuzan,

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Kuzan]

[Age: 8 ⅔]

[Height: 5’7]

[Devil Fruit: Ice Ice Fruit [L]

[Fruit Rating: 6.5 Stars]

[Haki: —]

[Strength: Paradise Pirate (level 4)]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

If he was a bit older and his body was more developed, his strength would surely increase more.

.

As for the other guest…

———————————————-

(Toki POV)

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*Sigh*

Damien-san has already been really kind to me.

And he is right, why do I continue to run?

Why?

To see my hometown? Then what?

It’s been almost 820 years since I was born!

.

What have I accomplished? The centuries go on as I run and run from my fate.

…

Everyone I knew is long gone. The world changes every time I use my powers.

Sometimes I see my powers as a curse than a gift.

What’s the point?

…

What do I want…?

———————————————-

(Back to Damien – POV)

.

Well, she has certainly been fidgety since I asked her for her purpose.

I guess it’s only reasonable, she probably forgot all real ambitions from fleeing for 820 years and all.

.

Oh, here she comes.

I now look at the 6′ tall green-haired girl as she stands before me.

Her eyes seemed to waver a bit but then shined with resolve.

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“Damien-san, I think I have found an answer.” She says in a soft voice.

I raise an eyebrow, “Do tell.”

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*Deep Breath*

She calms herself down and then starts to speak.

“I have long forgotten all those who were close to me as the River of Time flowed on.”

She then clenched her hands in determination.

“I ran simply because I could, but now I no longer wish to do so!”

.

“I wish to live on my own accords, and not simply because I was too weak and chose to run.”

“I wish to no longer return decades later to see my companions as aged or in bones!”

“I wish to see more of the world!”

“I wish to enjoy the breeze without the need of jumping in time and return to a place in ruins!”

“I wish to enjoy a fulfiling life free of the shackles of time!”

—

I look her in the eyes.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect a naive 17-year old girl to suddenly shine with such resolve, heck I was ready for a half-answer but got a full-on bucket list.

Even though she has simple dreams, each one can be considered a fool’s errand without enough strength in the world of pirates.

A raid. A storm. A stray cannonball. It’s that simple.

.

Dreams will remain dreams unless you put the effort into turning them into reality!

—

Though I was impressed I did ask her one last question, “And just what are you willing to do to protect your wishes, Toki?”

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She didn’t waver this time. Her eyes remain calm as her determination shined through.

“Whatever it takes!”

.

I smirk at her answer.

“Very well. I will help you understand your fruit. But make no mistake, this is not pity. I simply wish to see just how far you are willing to go for your wishes.”

‘Of course, I also would like to see just how far an Ultimate Type Fruit can go…’ I thought in my head.

“That aside, it will be quite brutal,”

“I will not go easy on you even if you are a girl,” I told her in a flat tone.

.

She simply nodded while beaming a small smile.

“Good, we begin tomorrow.” With that, I disappeared.

———————————————-

[10 Days Later]

.

The clone was due to arrive 2 days ago but it seems like the Navy has upped their game.

I also wasn’t willing to risk it as this clone is weaker, nor does he have {Ancient Voice}.

If he were to die now, I would have to retrain my {Black Bones}, not something I’m too keen on doing.

So, I opted for him to take the longer route and he finally arrived.

—–

“Woah! Damien-san’s twin brother!” Kuzan gawked at the 2 of us standing face to face.

A tick formed on my face as I bonked the ice-boy.

“Ahh! So cruel,” He cried.

“Kuzan-kun, are you alright?” Toki asked in worry.

.

She is very kind, too kind at points.

Even though I put her through some brutal tortu- *Cough*, training, she still stood strong and continued.

She even collapsed a few times out of exhaustion and it wasn’t wholly my intention, she was just trying harder than I guessed.

.

I had underestimated her determination.

—

“He is my clone. I had him training a technique and he has now concluded it.” I vaguely answered.

“Cool!” Kuzan remarked.

.

I smirked at his reply and focused on my conscience.

[Merge!]

*FWOOOOO*

A bright light flashes as my two bodies walk into each other.

It was quite odd.

It’s like feeling half yet full, then feeling full, then half once again. That was of course excluding the clone back at Fooljack Peak, so I guess I was ⅓ empty yet ⅔ full.

.

*DING*

[You have acquired a new physique, {Black Bones (III)} Congratulations!] A mechanical voice resounded in my head.

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“Hehe, good.”

“Very good!” I was quite happy after 4 months of suicidal training of my clone.

.

‘Sibyl, report.’

[Judging by the bones, I’d say your overall defence has tripled! It won’t necessarily be useful against superior opponents like your captain right now, but you would definitely survive after a loss.]

[A/N: He can be defeated by upper-Yonko level pirates but not killed. Not without A LOT of effort.]

.

Sweet!

“Um, Damien-san, aren’t you gonna grow in size or something? That would be quite cool!” Kuzan said.

I sighed, “What do you take me to be, a Megazord?”

.

“I don’t know what that is but it sounds cool!”

“Get back to training before I give you my ‘Fist of Love’,” I say in a plain voice.

.

He panics, “ICE AGE!”

The entire ground cracks with ice as the temperature drops from freezing the water in the air.

“Soru!”

And he’s gone.

.

‘Does he think this measly ice can hold me?’ I scoff in my head.

‘Flash Step.’

.

Like a ghost, I materialize in front of the escaping youth, a black fist raised near my eye level.

Kuzan shakes in terror as I smile like a devil.

*BONK!*

“AHH!”

A shrill cry erupts as a young child wails out from intense pain.

.

Heh, I see why Garp enjoys delivering those punches.

—

“So, Toki, here’s your schedule.” I pass her a sheet of paper.

It was a page filled with great pain, especially for a girl who has never truly trained in her life.

She gulps a little but then nods.

“I’ll get right to it!” She says as she runs away elsewhere.

.

Oden was quite lucky to find such a stubborn yet decisive woman.

———————————————-

[A Nearby Island]

.

BOOOOM!

I was in my Empyrean form, seeing the changes from the new bones.

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Empyrean Form]

[Damage Multiplier: 5x]

[Armament Haki Integration: 91%]

[Drain Rate: Slightly Above Desired Amount]

[Lost Energy Factor: 8%]

[System Remark: Can still be improved]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

Merging with the Black Bones surely increased my familiarity with full-body hardening.

Just 10 days have passed and I have accomplished nearly 3 months’ worth of training.

Yet I feel like it would be a bit slower to get it to 100% but not too far.

I’d say another 2 months and we’d be all good.

—–

‘Sibyl, pull up my stats.’

[Coming right up…]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Einar D. Damien]

[Age: 16 ¼]

[Height: 9’10]

[Status: Extremely Healthy]

[Bloodline: Fishman-Human Hybrid]

[Physique: Black Bones]

[Strength: Quasi Yonko*]

[Devil Fruit: Pulverize Pulverize Fruit (Mid-Advanced Mastery*)]

[Seastone Resistance: IMMUNE]

[Skills: … Observation Haki (Mid-Advanced Mastery), Armament Haki (Peak-Intermediate Mastery*), Conqueror’s Haki (Controlled Stage – Mid-Advanced Level)]

[Points Balance: 48631 SP]

< Quests Available to be Claimed >

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

Well, time to resume training…

———————————————-

[Néa, Paradise Sea]

(3rd POV)

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“Kuwahahahaha!” A young laugh resounded a damp and broken-down home.

“Finally, after 4 months of on-the-dot writing, I have received it!” Morgans remarked with pride.

Before the albatross laid a simple card.

.

[W.N.A. – Apprentice Reporter – Morgans]

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“KUWAHAHAHAHA!” He laughed on in his young voice.

.

“Chirp!”

He stopped his prideful moment and looked to the side, “Ah, my little friend Rowen! What have you brought for me today?”

.

Morgans looked over the news.

A big smile plastered to his face.

.

“KUWAHAHAHAHA! The Golden Lion kills 6 of the Angelic 16 in a single attack! This is BIG NEWS!” Morgans roared in his childish voice.

———————————————-

[The Angelic Sea, New World]

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“Wuaaaah!”

“Euuuuugh!”

“Waaaaaah!”

3 slightly different cries erupted in a ship sailing amid a war.

The Rocks Pirates were still fighting against the Valkyrie Pirates.

.

Just 2 days ago, Golden Lion Shiki had delivered a single attack that cut apart all 6 of the Angelic Commanders who were on this front, greatly hurting the morale of the opposing side.

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“Oy! Linlin, have you popped out your brats yet?” Shiki’s voice bellowed over the seas as he drank some saké.

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“How impatient. You men won’t know the pain of childbirth yet you complain so much.” Linlin’s slightly tired voice replied.

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“JIHAHAHAHA! You’re the one who came to war pregnant with 3 kids!” He fought back.

“Hmph, Brûlée, Custard, Amande, look after these children.” Linlin ordered her children.

“””Hai, Mama!”””

.

But then Custard asked, “Mama, what are their names?”

Linlin thought for a second,

.

“Charlotte Moscato, Charlotte Mash and Charlotte Cornstarch.” She decided.

The 3 girls nodded and took over their new triplet siblings.

.

The Charlotte Family now has 27 children!

———————————————-

[A Well-developed Island, Paradise Sea]

(??? POV)

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I have finally finished my training.

I have also mapped out all the areas, counted down the guards, sensed their powers.

.

The traitorous minister and the usurpers will host a grand dinner and invite neighbouring royals.

This is my chance, my chance to avenge my family.

.

The only problem is the marines.

They will surely send out forces here from G-4 nearby…

But no one strong enough to sense my powers so it should be alright.

.

With my sixth sense being able to encompass the entire castle, everything should work out!

.

Mother, father, sister. I will cleanse myself of this shadow that plagues my heart with the blood of the ones who stole your joy.

.

I then sigh and look at the night sky and see the bright moon.

Damien told me that there exists life on that giant rock in the sky, maybe one day I can explore it with him.

I wish I could see him again but must finish my revenge first.

I owe it to my family, my sister and myself!

.

I even promised him not to fail in this, he trained me for months, so I must succeed, regardless of the cost!

———————————————-

[The following is excluded from word count]

Author’s Corner:

Developing Toki’s ambition as her fruit power will now start to shape as you’ll see next chapter.

Morgans has been hired into the World News Agency as he will start to develop his own rep as a reporter.

Linlin still popping out her kids…

Timeskip of a few months after this, then a pure action arc as MC will fight a powerful foe to test out his newfound strength.

———————————————-

Random Trivia:

Time Stone or the Reality Stone, which one would you want at hand?

Thanks for Reading!