One Piece: Path to Power - Chapter 96

[2048 words]

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Gan Fall had given me the Ore of Gods as we left his estate.

Aurora and I spent another few days exploring the Upper Yard, the Hidden Cloud Village and the rest of Skypiea.

I also grew to learn more about the girl, she was quite bubbly inside, once you removed the super-assassin part.

She had the same eyes as Toki but so different.

.

Toki was passionate and open with her love. She was the perfect housewife.

Aurora liked to show her affection through more open actions. She did as she was told with a smile and never questioned me.

She was happy to simply be around me and was willing to fully commit to that.

.

They were both different but that is what made them special.

———————————————-

We spent around 2 weeks here and I got a few cool things.

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1. The Ore of Gods.

2. The Great Grade Sword – Junketsu.

3. Money, money and MONEY! Skypiea has a giant golden bell that they didn’t seem to find valuable. Their ideas about wealth were opposite to ours.

Where we found gold to be treasure, they found it to be cheap as dirt.

They actually found literal dirt and soil to be incredible.

It was known as ‘Vearth’ here.

Since they are in the sky, naturally, they had little to no soil.

.

I simply made a beautiful trade in which I got a mind-boggling amount of gold for a large amount of dirt.

If that isn’t a great deal then I don’t know what is.

—

*DING!*

[You have successfully exchanged the {Shandorian Golden Belfry Bell} for 100 Billion Berries.]

I used my Balance-Balance Fruit to immediately convert it for a huge amount of cash.

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It reminded me of a scene from a movie I watched in my previous life.

“What are your superpowers again?”

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“I’m rich.”

////

Well, Fulcrum needed money and, well, I got quite a bit of it.

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4. Poneglyph. Naturally, the stone that the Strawhats will find and even Roger will find was here.

[A/N: The Ponegpyph]

I knew what it said but listened to it nonetheless.

—–

(Supremacy of the Sea!)

(One of the 3 Ancient Weapons with the power to shift the balance of the world!)

(It sleeps within the soul of the one who can mould the sea!)

(Seek it, seek the great power of Poseidon in the land submerged in the sea, where the fish become men and the mermaid sings, it rests there! Poseidon is eternal!)

—–

I nodded at its words.

This detailed the location of one of the 3 Ancient Weapons, Poseidon, though useless information for me.

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All this aside, there was a 5th treasure I found.

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Devil Fruits!

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

[Zoan]

[Human-Human Fruit: Ancient Model – The First Man]

—————

[Paramecia]

[Ugly-Ugly Fruit: Allows the user to become very ugly.]

—————

[Logia]

[Rumble-Rumble Fruit: allows the user to create, control, and transform into lightning at will.]

>=-=—-[]—<>—[]—=-=<

The Zoan gave the Ancient model of the First Man.

In other words, it would essentially take the user’s body to the absolute peak of a human. A superhuman, if you will.

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The Logia, Goro Goro no Mi, aka the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Nico Robin called it the ‘invincible’ devil fruit!

A great find, though expected, after all, Enel would have eaten it here as he did in canon many decades later.

———————————————-

We left Skypiea.

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“Did you enjoy it?” I asked the girl who was leaning on my shoulder with her eyes closed.

She hummed, “Mhm! I loved it.”

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I nodded with a small smile, “Good, we’re going to a place you’ve been to before next.”

She looked at me with interest, her eyes gesturing for me to elaborate.

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“We’re going to Fishman Island.”

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[Fishman Island]

[6 Days Later]

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Under Neptune’s rule, the isle of Fishmen was flourishing.

No humans were allowed in as slavery was almost null. All but pirates trying to sneak in and kidnap some mermaids.

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I didn’t announce my arrival yet as I made my way to the Sea Forest.

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“Why return here?” Aurora questioned as we stood before 2 giant stones.

They were the Apology Stone and a red one.

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The Road Poneglyph is a piece of 4 red Stones. When put together, they will lead to the final island that will eventually be named Laughtale!

One of the 4 keys to becoming Pirate King!

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“Why, you ask? Listen here, Aurora, this red stone is probably worth more than the Outer Seas combined.” I told her.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, “W-Worth more than the Outer Seas combined?! Are you sure!?” She reiterated.

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I nodded and grinned at her, “Yes, so tell me, Aurora, what do you think I should do with it?”

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She didn’t hesitate, “Take it with you, of course!”

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I nodded.

Big Mom.

Kaido.

Both of these future tyrants had a Road Poneglyph in their grasp.

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This, apart from their absurd strength, was one of the reasons they were considered the Emperors of the Seas.

As for Shanks and Whitebeard?

The latter cared little for the Final Island so he let it be. Shanks, he would have seen them when he was with Roger, if not that, he could just ask Rayleigh and he would tell him.

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This Road Poneglyph was left by Joyboy’s apology till it was ‘lost’ by 1499.

No one knew where it went or what happened to it.

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So why not just take it now?

Plus, it may lead to a rather interesting encounter in the future…

*VWOOOOO*

The ground shook as the entire red cube was slowly sucked away from its position and into my {Inventory}.

Just like that, I now hold a huge amount of power.

———————————————-

[Ryugu Palace]

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“Hoh hoh hoh, Damien-kun, you should have told me you were visiting-jamon.” Neptune laughed heartily.

I returned the greeting, “Neptune-san, you seem as cheery as always.”

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He nodded.

“This is Aurora, my companion and crewmate.” I introduced the girl.

…

We went on with some small talk and onto the juicy bits.

“You wish for me to deliver a message-jamon?” Neptune asked.

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I smirked, “That is correct. A man will come to you asking about that red stone in the Sea Forest. Tell him to come and find me.”

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Neptune was a bit unsure of the reasoning behind my actions but he nodded, “I am sure you will be a great ally to the Fishmen in the future, very well, I will pass your message.”

He then laughed, “Hoh hoh hoh, you must be tired, do rest here, I’m sure you’ll be welcome here-jamon.”

…

Aurora and I spent another 4 days here.

The people were quite friendly.

My {Ancient Voice} greatly increased my charm to other intelligent species, making them feel comfortable in my presence. Any non-humans would instantly feel joyful around me.

It was quite fun spending time with some luxuries and amazing sweets.

———————————————-

We bid farewell to the fishmen and the mermaid alongside the King.

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“Let’s go back, Aurora.” I nudged the girl.

She nodded.

And we set sail back to Mortem Island.

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[Mortem Island]

[2 Days Later]

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“You returned!”

Toki was in my arms as I played with her hair while she nuzzled in my chest.

Aurora seemed a bit jealous but she was content with our adventure alone as she treasured the memory.

——-

“Oh? Skypiea!?” Kuzan yelled out as he heard my story.

Mihawk was also quite interested while Toki had shining eyes.

I nodded and went on with the story.

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“Fishman island too?” Kuzan tapped his chin.

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He then raised an eyebrow, “Did you meet any mermaids with big bazongas?”

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*Flick!*

Toki flicked his forehead with some Haki as he groaned.

“Children shouldn’t speak such words.” Toki scolded him.

She was practically his older sister and mother at the same time.

———————————————-

[Nighttime]

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Toki was laying by my side.

“Did you and Aurora get closer?” She asked.

I hummed, “She is a nice girl, very loving like you.” I smiled.

She then climbed onto my chest and laid her head upon my heart.

“Then why do you hesitate?” She whispered.

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I thought for a second while Toki went on to say, “You don’t need to worry about me, as long as you love us equally then I don’t mind her.”

Toki then looked up and initiated a deep kiss which I responded to with equal vigour.

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“You are correct. I shouldn’t keep her waiting too long…”

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[Next Morning]

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Guess who’s back?

The clone!

The business with the news has concluded as they have begun to become fully autonomous, some bribes here and there but 100 times better than before.

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It was a bit weird to look at him though after all this is how I looked ~12 months ago.

Not even 10-foot tall, ha! A midget.

Plus, my face has matured quite a bit now, the ladies are dropping like flies.

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[Merge]

A bring light erupts as the 2 of us walk towards each other, becoming one once more.

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*DING!*

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[Your Observation Haki mastery has been upgraded to (Peak-Advanced) Level. Congratulations!]

[Your Futuresight can now span 10 seconds into the beyond!]

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*DING!*

[Your Observation Haki has reached the final step before The Grand Mastery Stage! Congratulations!]

[A/N: Note that the Grand Mastery Stage can also be broken down to L-M-H and Peak]

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Mmm, I feel it.

I see it, I see it all.

My range went from around 2.6 km in every direction to 4 km!

I can now span my Sixth Sense to nearly 8 kilometers in diameter.

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‘Sibyl, I’m still a bit surprised I didn’t go to the next stage from all that training.’ I said in my head.

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[The Grand Mastery stage is not so easy to reach. Conqueror’s Haki is unique and relies on other factors but Observation and Armament follow a certain rule.]

She went on, [Reaching Grand Mastery for these 2 Colours of Haki is as difficult as awakening an Exceptional-Class Devil Fruit.]

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I nodded, a bit dissatisfied, but accepted it nonetheless.

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*Loud Yawn*

A turn my head to the side as I see Kuzan walking towards me.

I concentrate on my hearing on the puffy-haired kid.

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((Ah, I need more sleep. Damien-san should be more considerate, cheh, what a tyrant.))

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*BONK!*

“OW!”

I saw him roll around while wailing in pain.

“What was that for!?”

I scoffed, “Who are you calling a tyrant? Should I ramp up your training?”

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His eyes widened, “NO! You can’t! I-I’ll die!”

“…”

He made a sudden pause.

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“Wait, I never said that out loud…” He muttered to himself.

—–

Everyone was gathered now.

Toki, Aurora, Kuzan and Mihawk.

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“What are we standing on this cliff for?” Kuzan asked.

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I took out the [Ore of Gods] as it shined a warm yellow.

The boys were curious about what I was going to do.

*Thump*

I placed it onto the ground and waited.

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Kuzan deadpanned while Mihawk tilted his chibi head.

Toki was puzzled as well.

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“Huh? You woke me up from my dream with 5 neechans to see you show me a damn rock?” Kuzan was annoyed.

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Toki was not amused, “Kuzan-kun, you are too young for such things.”

Her eyes were squinted upon the youth as they emanated a powerful aura.

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“Ah… Toki-neechan, have mercy-”

BOOOM!

His words were interrupted, however.

*SPLASH!*

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“Ugh!”

A huge tsunami wave poured onto our position as the entire cliff was doused in water.

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“What the hel- *Cough*, what the heck was that!?” Kuzan yelled out, the air freezing around him.

Mihawk had taken out his chibi sword as he stood ready.

Aurora was in her Night Form as purple mist exudes out of her body while Toki was covered with green rings of time.

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It was a huge shadow that eclipsed the entire nearby region!

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“I have never seen such a large Sea King…” Mihawk commented as he squinted his piercing eyes.

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I nodded, “Hmm, it’s here.”

Aurora was confused, “Were you summoning this beast?”

I grinned, “Of course! This one here is our ticket to supremacy.”

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It has dark red skin, red and white fins, and very sharp teeth. Its most prominent feature is a giant esca attached to an illicium on its head that glows very brightly.

The size was utterly massive, at least 10 kilometers wide!

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“This right here is a Titan-Class Sea King, Bonbori the Super Lamp Anglerfish!”

[A/N: Image of the Sea King.]

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author’s Corner:

Bonbori is out, yes, I know he resides in the New World as the emission from the Ore of Gods is even more powerful than normal Pure Gold, baiting it immediately.