Chapitre 46: [46] Surging Currents

[2370 words]

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[Directorial Lounge]

Four men sat around a large, square table, one on each side.

Each seemed to be around fifty to sixty years of age.

Chad Bizárré, Newman Bradley, Vase Ah Liné, Markus Goji—The Four Directors of the World News Agency.

"It seems an update to the World Threat Index is necessary," Bizárré began.

Goji added a few details of his own: "The Level One Threats are those that demand the absolute and undivided attention of the World Government and all of its assets."

"As of now, two of these threats have been eliminated, being Thaddeus Enigma and Esso Borealis," Bradley summarized.

Liné then concluded the main event: "The Valkyrie Pirates, Prideful Pirates, Roger Pirates and Rocks Pirates are the current top threats, with their respective captains each taking a spot at Level One."

"But the latter two have the likes of Silvers Rayleigh, Whitebeard, Shiki, and Charlotte Linlin who have also moved up in threat to this level. Bringing the total of Level One Threat Index to 10!"

Yet there was more to the equation as Goji chimed in further, "Other threats of Level Two are not far behind."

*Thwack*

He then slammed a bundle of news onto the desk. The bold headline read out: "The North Blue Massacre—the Sin Incarnate Strikes Again!"

Bizárré sighed, "We've been given the task of erasing the names of the Rocks Pirates but lately they've begun to break every taboo in the book!"

"Celestial Dragons, Heavenly Tribute, World Government; they've messed with them far too much! It's not easy to manipulate such fresh news, let alone with CP-10 breathing down our necks!"

Bradley heaved a similar sigh.

"Let's begin by smudging older events while minimizing the new ones. They can only be forgotten slowly."

Though at the drop of that sentence, came the creak of the door.

The Directors simultaneously shifted their gaze to the intruder, Goji unable to help himself to an outcry: "Who the hell do you think you are, what's your Reporter ID!?"

The others also seemed to want to vent their frustrations on the person, though their questions came to an abrupt halt.

"!!!"

Heavy breathing began to huff out from the four as they saw the face of the intruder.

The young man walked over and rolled a chair to the head of the table, pushing two of the Directors to the side.

Thud!

The towering eleven-foot-tall pirate seated himself as if he owned the place.

"Well, haven't you ever heard of the saying, 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear?'" A smirk stretched across the intruder's face as he said, "Well, I'm here now."

Four audible gulps went off at the same time.

The Directors couldn't help but sink into their seats. They wanted to flee, but their survival instincts said otherwise.

"Gentleman, don't worry, this won't hurt a bit."

Damien gave them a smirk and then everything went black; all four fell unconscious under the overwhelming Haki that befell them.

*Gurrug* White froth bubbled out of their mouths in the wake of Damien's will.

He then stood up and walked behind Markus Goji, placing Goji's hand on his shoulder.

"I don't doubt you had some form of obligation to spread the truth over the world in your younger years. The World Government has numbed your conscience with greed. Let's fix that…"

His words were followed by the skin of his right hand turning gray with a white branching pattern on it.

"Purify."

The white light began to pulsate as if removing something from Goji.

The light soon turned wicked black as if cleansing something. The corruption slowly trickled out from the Director's body until the light once again went back to white.

"Next."

…

Damien applied the same technique to each of the Directors and left the briefing room.

"It may take a little while for the full effects to take place, but too sudden a change will alarm everyone."

A smile left on his face as the final piece for Operation Nexus was set in place.

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[Six Days Later]

While Damien was en route elsewhere, something interesting was taking place at the Rocks Pirates stronghold.

"Ufufufu, he is making the Marines run around in circles," Shakky commented.

She had a newspaper in hand.

The Navy had recently been going in circles trying to find Damien. Yet whenever they found a trace of his location and sailed there, he was long gone!

"Massacring a pirate island in North Blue? And being crazy enough to use the Calm Belt as his personal seaway?" Shakky questioned with some surprise.

"Gurarara! Sounds like something that crazy kid would do," the towering Newgate said.

However, their thoughts were disrupted by another big-name pirate's arrival.

"Jihahaha, Newgate, any news on Captain Rocks?"

It was the Golden Lion Shiki!

Whitebeard eyed the infamous pirate and gave a casual response: "Captain Rocks went to Death Valley. He probably won't return for a while."

He then interested himself in a barrel of fine wine, gulping it down.

Shiki, on the other side of the room, beamed a smirk filled with schemes and plots.

"..." Whitebeard chugged a liter of the alcohol and couldn't help but ask, "What are you scheming now, Golden Lion?"

The words evoked a booming laugh from the man in question.

"Say, Newgate, why don't you come with Linlin and me, we're going to clean up the waters."

The words were of no use to the giant man.

"Don't annoy me, Golden Lion. I want no part in your little plots."

The response wasn't out of the ordinary, Shiki also seemed as if he expected it. "Jihahaha, your loss then!"

Shakky puffed out a cloud of smoke, and asked, "Are you going to finish your assignment too?"

Shiki hummed with an excited smile.

"Captain Rocks wants other Level One threats removed… our target is the Valkyrie Pirates!"

He then jumped into a golden stream and disappeared.

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[The Next Day]

[Mortem Island, Grand Line]

A young boy with simple clothes and scruffy black hair was currently doing some push-ups, though with a giant boulder resting on his small back.

"561…"

"562…"

"563…"

"964…"

"Rawwr!" at the latest rep came an island-shaking roar.

A giant Sea King who, comically enough, was resting at the edge of the cliff the boy was at. The beast roared out as if he recognized the disingenuous attitude. The resounding growl left the boy with an annoyed look, as he audibly clicked his tongue to show his displeasure.

"Fine, fine, 654…"

"Rawwr!"

"…"

The young lad continued his training with drive, all the while enjoying the cliff-side breeze.

The island was unlike others, it sported a wide array of conditions: snow in the north which was home to giant snow-capped mountains, thunderstorms in the northeast, a desert in the west, and a barren wasteland with snowy hills in the east.

The cliff was the main safe area that both had a decent climate and overlooked the calm seas beyond, earning the favour of the lone human inhabitant.

[Mortem Island Image (in Discord)]

[A/N: Considering the cliff to be near the south end of the image.]

…

Around an hour later, the boy finally threw the boulder to the side.

*Rumble* The cliff shook and trembled as if in its last life, and the creaking spread throughout and into the deeper parts of the inhabited island.

"There, a thousand reps of a one-ton rock," he grumbled. "Now I can nap…"

However, his thoughts changed at the sight of a distant boat. "What's that?" he muttered, narrowing his tired eyes to the distance.

The vessel approached closer and it was more visible.

"S-Sea Kings pulling a boat?"

At this point, the guardian Sea King also became aware.

He rushed out and displayed his giant body out of the sea as if to announce his territory to ward away the coming trouble. However, the coming party did not waver, rather responding with a casual voice, "Calm down now."

"…"

"That voice!?"

Even the Sea King let out a curious roar which translated to the same words spoken by the boy.

Meanwhile, Damien docked at the edge of the island, storing his Sea Skimmer.

A quick look and a leap later, he landed a hundred meters away, at the top of the cliff. His figure was hidden by the glare from the sun directly behind him.

The boy who had just finished his workout could not help but marvel at the sight like a fan as he heard the calm voice once more: "Yo, Kuzan. You look lively."

The boy was the rough little rugrat Damien found at Sabaody Archipelago around a year ago. He had grown up quite a bit.

Kuzan looked quite excited, outside of his usual lazy demeanour.

Damien walked ahead while completely ruining the sloth-like boy's messy hair with a strong head ruffle.

"Hey, hey, stop that!"

Damien chuckled at his antics.

He walked on ahead and glanced at the Sea King, {You did well, I guess your kids can live happily ever after knowing I won't dine on their father.}

The beast gave an audible gulp as he bowed his head.

{You're free to go.}

The Sea King nodded, gave a final look at Kuzan, and dipped to the deep blue below with a voluminous splash.

Damien then began walking through the island, Kuzan tagging behind.

Going further into Mortem Island beyond the cliff was a mix of heaven and hell.

A wide crescent-shaped forest existed first, filled with flora and fauna, home to thousands of different plants and trees. Beyond the haven was a place flooded with endless beasts and monsters.

*Rustle*

The two pushed past a tree which had leaves the size of a small ship, all the while continuing a chat.

"Say, Big Bro, do you have any idea how many people are talking about you?" he asked.

Kuzan didn't wait for an answer: "The news that came said that they were ready to dispatch a Buster Call just to take you down, but couldn't find you. Hehe, that's pretty cool!"

Damien smirked at the boy and did not give much of an answer, opting to continue moving.

"..."

Kuzan felt something afoot, "A ra ra~ The beasts got a little shy since you came here, why didn't I get this lucky?"

He then glanced at Damien from the corner of his eye and thought, 'They aren't shy… they're afraid of him. These guys have been harassing me for a whole year and become so docile now, how's that fair!?'

Damien felt the boy was lost in thought and gave him a quick whack upside the head.

*Bonk!* The young child crouched down, holding his ringing head with difficulty, "Ugh, what was that for!?"

"Just seeing how much you've grown; looks like your head has gotten a little tougher."

Damien's casual response made him more annoyed. While the child was sulking, the pirate pulled up a set of statistics in his mind.

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

[Kuzan]

[Age: 7 years, 8 months, 28 days]

[Height: 7' 6"] (2.29 m)

[Status: Healthy enough]

[Devil Fruit: None]

[Strength: Paradise Pirate (level 3)]

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

A few moments later, they reached a nice spot.

"What the heck, I've been on this trashy island for a year and I didn't know such a nice spot existed? I spent so many hours sleeping in a place with shifting climates when such a spot was right here!"

Damien could not help but laugh.

Perhaps Kuzan thought Damien had visited this island before, naturally, that was not true.

Rather, it was the very nature present that purposefully cleared the way to guide Damien to the most hospitable place on the island.

Thud!

Damien's towering frame sat on the broken log, enjoying the breeze.

The area he was in currently was unlike the chaotic parts of Mortem Island: nice trees that provided a nice shade and a cover against any unpleasant winds. A nice and clear view of the island, free of dangers.

Kuzan grumbled out some of his frustrations while sitting opposite his pirate friend.

His frown turned upside down as he recalled something: "You know, Big Bro. A year ago you said, and I quote, 'If you meet your expectations, I'd give you a priceless prize that even the Celestial Dragons would be envious of,' end quote."

Damien stared at the boy's cheeky expression.

"It seems I need to increase your education times a little, you're quoting skills are lacking," Damien said. "However, I did promise a suitable reward."

The first part of the statement completely turned the world upside down for Kuzan, but he found solace in the latter few words.

The excited and enthusiastic appearance was obvious, matching Kuzan's age.

"Oh? You seem to have convinced yourself that you've met my expectations?" Damien asked with a tone mixed with playfulness and curiosity.

Kuzan shot up from his seat and waved his hands frantically.

"Of course! I've been under great stress for so long! I nearly died four thousand, six hundred and twenty-two times! I counted!"

Though he did not stop there, his voice reached sky-high in decibels, "I've been reading those books you sent through those weirdly cute birds, I've trained seven hours a day, and slept a measly, inconsiderate and underwhelming eight hours a day!"

The incessant exclamations made by the boy were overpowering. Damien had to plug in one year to mitigate the yelling voice.

It was as if Kuzan took out a year's worth of frustration in a few sentences.

'It really isn't as bad as he makes it sound,' Damien thought to himself, convincing anyone reading this chapter.

"Okay, okay. I get the idea," he said while raising his hands in surrender, "you do deserve a reward."

Damien then put his hand into his coat pocket, dramatically slowing down.

His actions earned Kuzan's undivided attention as his eyes followed every small move with a budding sense of excitement.

"..."

The suspenseful pause ended after what seemed to be an eternity as the notorious pirate pulled out a fantastical item.

Kuzan's eyes widened as he pointed out his finger, "A Devil Fruit!?"

Damien gave him a small grin, holding the treasured fruit in front of the curious young lad. "It's something I found lying around… The Logia-Type: Ice-Ice Fruit."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Do you think Damien is being too hasty in trusting Kuzan with such a powerful ability?

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
Paradox_

Make those powerstones rain as this will be the only week with daily uploads.

commentaire Commentaire 28

Voter

Chapitre 47: [47] A Situation

[2930 words]

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"The Logia-Type: Ice-Ice Fruit."

Kuzan froze at the sight of the blue fruit.

He raised both hands and smudged at his eyes as if trying to wake himself up. He even slapped himself.

Ever so slowly, he opened his eyes once more. The fruit was still resting in Damien's hands!

"Well, if you don't want it, I can give it to someone else."

The words woke the boy up from his reverie: "I'll take it!"

He swiped at the fruit so incredibly fast that it set off a blast of wind. Kazan glared at the fruit and then locked onto Damien, narrowing his eyes.

"You're sure?" he slowly asked with a hint of maturity.

Damien returned a nod.

"Logia are a priceless treasure; y-you have five seconds to ask for it back before I keep it for good!"

The pirate remained unresponsive, leaving a silence to build up.

"…"

Kuzan glanced back at the treasured fruit.

He admired the light blue-coloured flakes protruding out from it. A purple stem with the appearance of a handle.

[Image of the Fruit (in Discord)]

He eyed Damien once more, and then back to the fruit.

Kuzan slowly but surely took a mouthful.

*Munch*

"…"

A second passed.

"Disgusting!" The boy gagged, as if ready to barf it all up. His face scrunched up in disgust as the nausea hit his very mind.

Damien stifled a laugh from the side and instead offered some advice of his own, "Kuzan, to ensure you get the ability, eat the entire fruit and leave not even a crumb behind!"

The innocent boy looked at the Sin Incarnate and slowly nodded, placing his trust in the older youth. With great pain, he swallowed the remaining pieces, much to his chagrin.

It took a few moments but he finally finished it.

*Huuu* Kuzan then took a deep breath.

The influx of the basic properties of his newfound power flooded his mind, distracting him from the bitter aftertaste.

Damien watched from the side, examining the boy's movements.

Like a child given a new toy, Kuzan wanted to try it out. Such emotion was easily picked up by the sole spectator.

*Vvoo!*

At the corner of his vision, he saw Damien chuck a pebble at his forehead. It was going fast enough to break the sound barrier!

Kuzan habitually raised his hands to protect his head, but then, it happened…

*Shatter*

His arms exploded into countless pieces of ice, his forehead following suit.

Bits of crystals and ice shards rained onto the grassy floor, reflecting the sunlight with an array of colours.

The pebble continued its advent and slamming onto a century-old tree.

Boom!

The thick bark imploded, felling the tree with little effort.

Kuzan ignored the blatant deforestation, opting to study the oddness of his body.

Though from afar, he seemed like a living corpse! His entire right arm had been removed and his head had a gaping hole through it.

"My body feels light up top, but it doesn't hurt at all… is this a Logia fruit?"

At the same time, the broken shards moved about.

*Krrrr*

The ice shards creaked back into shape, slowly reforming the missing arms and forehead. "This power is really amazing…"

Such was the passive invincibility of the Logia Fruit types.

Damien nodded in satisfaction, and directed the boy, "Go play around the island; get used to the power."

Kuzan nodded and ran to the most dangerous part of the island with an excited grin.

However, before he could disappear into the sea of trees, Kuzan turned around and locked eyes with his pirate friend.

Even with such a priceless treasure, a power with the ability to essentially void away the one weakness of Devil Fruits, Damien did not seem to waver before giving it away.

Kuzan balled his fists in conviction, his breath was uncontrollably cold, freezing the air into a white cloud.

"I won't let you down…" he firmly said before going off to do his testing.

Damien naturally heard Kuzan's words and could not help but give a dry laugh.

Unlike Garp, the Sin Incarnate had little inclination toward training enemies.

"An investment is a rather blunt way of saying it," he muttered.

Kuzan was a future Admiral of the Navy Headquarters. Damien had freed him from Sabaody, the same day Garp was meant to arrive and save the day.

"Fiery Justice was his first motto when he joined the Marines," the pirate muttered, recalling some information from his past life. "It even converted a lazy boy who liked laying around into a man with great zeal and energy."

"But the Ohara Incident left his heart torn and fate shattered; adopting Lazy Justice, returning to his previous, sloth-like self until canon times."

In Damien's mind, Kuzan had a strong inclination towards good and peace but the light he saw the Navy in turned dark and decrepit, eventually leading to his resignation.

In theory, Damien could easily deprive the young Kuzan of any budding thoughts of disloyalty but such an option was quickly dissolved away. Forcing loyalty was akin to admitting that he lacked the charisma and strength to earn it from his companions. "My Conqueror's Haki is a little picky, Rahahaha!" he laughed.

The pirate then shook his head, clearing his mind as he muttered to himself, "Well, there's no point in thinking too much, let's see how the future proceeds."

*Tweet* Tweet*

The deep thoughts were quickly waved aside as Damien heard the sharp chirp from the side.

*Swish*

A bird shot down from the sky and landed on his shoulder.

Damien gave a smile at the sight of the feathered creature, raising both hands, one to pet the bird and the other to accept the "offering" graciously.

It was another Devil Fruit!

"Looks like I was right, Mortem Island had been effectively untouched for centuries now, it's only natural a Devil Fruit has spawned here."

He glanced at the fruit and examined its appearance. His memory and past studies granted the name immediately.

"Paramecia-Type: Narco-Narco Fruit," Damien concluded. "Allows the user to imbue narcotic elements onto anything, making them a Narcotic Human."

He pocketed the fruit into his Inventory and went to see what the little rug-rat was up to.

…

"Ice Time!"

The chilling words came with a shuddering wind that was cold enough to freeze a person alive!

A giant gorilla roared out in great pain as his equally large arm was turned into thick ice, freezing it to the very bone!

"A ra ra~ You've been trying to kill me for a year now, what's the matter, afraid of a little chill?"

Kuzan grinned like a mischievous brat as he stood in the jungle region of the Island. The two were surrounded by trees that seemed to scrape the skies!

The gorilla crying out in pain was nearly forty feet tall yet he was dwarfed by the colossal trees that littered the region.

Thick dark-green vines ran down the hundreds of meters of trees, creating homes for a multitude of animals. The grass was wild, filled with many poisonous shrubs and prickly bushes.

"Raawr!"

The gorilla bellowed out, slamming his other arm onto the tiny figure of the child.

Upon impact was not the expected sound of broken bones, but rather, the shattering of ice!

Countless shards of ice floated in the air as the gorilla removed his arm from the crater.

The beast watched in fear as the tiny light-blue crystals slowly reformed the chilly figure of Kuzan. His body was partially frozen and emitted a strong frost, the white vapour exhaled at a periodic state.

*Woosh!*

Kuzan jumped into the sky, his figure flickering above, leaving a trailing of frozen air.

He landed at the top of the beast, both his hands placed on its dome.

Before the gorilla could roar out in fear, his mind was already frozen.

"Ice Time!"

A coat of bright blue ice had spread across the head of the beast, freezing it solid. Every second it would travel further down its body, digging deeper into the very skeletal system of the gorilla.

*Vvoo!*

Kuzan jumped off the freezing animal and threw a fist.

*Shatter*

Like glass, the entire skull shattered into innumerable shards of ice, clattering the ground!

The gorilla's body went limp as the now-headless state sent a geyser of blood shooting into the sky, raining onto the tall trees.

The corpse fell with a loud thud, sending volumes of dust through the jungle.

Kuzan also landed on the ground, grinning a satisfied smile, and then came the pain…

*Bonk!*

Like a gong, his mind rang loudly as his eyes threatened to pop out of his sockets.

He fell to the ground, rolling in pain, almost as if he was set on fire.

Damien ignored the pained child and glanced at the broken gorilla; blood still dribbled out from the headless beast, spreading through the soil.

"The vegetation nearby is crying out for you to stop pummeling it with this overgrown monkey," Damien scolded the boy

Kuzan was still on the ground, gathering his breath, unable to respond.

"..."

"I-I'm made of ice… why can you hit me?" he slowly asked with an indignant expression.

The attacker just shrugged, raising a single fist.

*Fwwm!*

"Listen clearly, kid. No matter the Devil Fruit, Haki is always supreme!"

Kuzan seemed to have forgotten his pain, now staring at the jet-black coating of metal on Damien's arm.

He gulped, his previous confidence in the invincible body was gone, rather replaced with yearning!

"That's cool! Teach it to me too!"

Damien scoffed at the boy's words. "You're not even eight years old and want to learn Haki? Who do you think you are, me?"

"…"

Kuzan was speechless and could not help but cross his arms in annoyance.

However, his head was soon assaulted with a strong grasp as Damien once again ruffled Kuzan's hair to oblivion.

"Stop doing that!"

Damien hummed and responded with a smile. It was fun to mess with kids, especially when they could not do anything about it.

Alas, returning a grin to the young lad.

"Well, either way. One thing you should know is that your training will now have to double."

Kuzan almost fell on the floor.

"W-What… why!?" he roared out.

Damien shrugged, "What, you think this power excuses you from your physical training? If anything, I will need to bring in more training to match the fruit advancement too," Damien casually said.

"Come now, let's go eat."

He grabbed Kuzan by the back of his neck and held him up like a suitcase.

The boy was too broken to respond, plagued with the thought of losing sleep to train! Almost as bad as sacrificing sleep to study!

…

[A While Later]

*Munch*

*Chomp*

*Gurr*

Two young men sat across one another, a simple fire in between.

The sun had set and the day was coming to an end with night slowly taking its place.

Damien inhaled a few tons of meat within minutes. Kuzan was trying to catch up; after eating a devil fruit, he felt hungrier than ever!

Quiet minutes passed as they two ate through an entire giant Sea King!

*Munch* *Munch*

The grilled meat seasoned with exotic peppers and herbs found on the island was surely a delicacy!

"Big Bro, *Munch*, you know, the newspaper that came a month ago, *Munch*, showed you using that super-cool form where you were covered black and red, *Munch*, what the heck was that?"

The pirate in question devoured a full leg of meat before answering.

"Oh, that. Enigma kinda pissed me off and things got out of hand," he answered.

Kuzan was not satisfied with that answer.

"All the cool people have different forms of fighting. Every time the enemy is strong enough, they switch to a stronger form and do the impossible; this could be yours!" he exclaimed, pumping his fists.

Damien glanced at the boy with a weird look.

He saw Kuzan's eyes sparkling, almost as if he were his number one fan.

"Did you get all that from those Germa comics I sent you," Damien said as he took another huge bite, "Well, I do need to work on that form so I guess you're not wrong."

Kuzan gave a child-like smile, "I really wanna see it!"

Damien smirked at the child's innocence.

"Alright, alright, now finish your food. You want to get tall and strong like me? Eat, eat, and eat some more!"

…

[The Following Morning]

Damien had woken up at five in the morning.

With his current vitality, he only needed four hours of sleep. Plus, going without sleep for some days was not a problem.

He let Kuzan snore away, instead, using the peaceful time to think things through.

"Different forms, eh? Sounds like an anime thing. It's only right for me to conform to it," he joked to himself.

Damien had naturally thought about it before.

At first, it was an uncontrolled release of his power. Though it left him with only so much time to use it.

"Perhaps if I can use my Haki to fully mould it into a more efficient shape then it could be useful!"

The pirate cupped his chin, thinking of the things he needed to train in the next little bit.

1. The fruit released form.

2. Black Bones.

3. Overall Haki.

Then his mind went to something else.

*Fwiip*

A sharp Shing went off as a sword appeared in Damien's hand. It was a Famed Blade of the 50 Skillful Grade.

The Sin Incarnate cared little for the blade, nor its name.

The arriving dawn shone by the sharp edge of the sword, slicing through the morning breeze.

*Fwwm!*

He wrapped the blade with his Haki and channeled a stream of pulverizing Haki.

*Purrup*

The pulverizing energy bubbled like magma, slowly covering the entire blade with its ominous light.

Damien slashed the weapon in the direction of a grove as a bright, black slash of energy shot out in its wake.

*Swish!* The slash cleaved through tens of trees, leaving a finely sliced valley that sent dozens of trees to the sky.

However, the impressive sight did not satisfy Damien.

"Swords this, swords that… I don't see why everyone wants a sword," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at the blade.

*Crack*

The residual Pulverizing Haki had worn out the durability of the Skillful Grade Sword, leaving it effectively useless.

Damien shook his head and came to a new thought. "Well, swords aren't my thing anyways. I need something more unique to work well with my powers."

He threw the sword away into the sky, uncaring of its destination.

*Squack!* Unfortunately, it hit a seagull that fell into the deep blue sea.

"…"

"Anyways," Damien offhandedly said. "Great Grade Blades are the minimum quality to hold up my power but a Supreme Grade would be ideal…"

He balled his fists in a deep desire to grow. The feeling of weight born by the inevitable God Valley Incident truly sent him into overdrive.

"Where's the intruder? Let me fight him!"

The notorious pirate looked to the side and saw a sleepy Kuzan frantically walk out. He had one eye covered with his eye mask, his nightsuit still on. He waddled around, looking for a fight.

Damien sighed, "Kuzan, there's no enemy."

The boy looking to fight froze. He glanced at Damien, then looked at the cleaved-up section of the forest.

"Huh? Why'd you cut apart half of a forest then?" he crossed his hands with some irritation. "Yesterday you said the vegetation was screaming in my heroic battle with the mountain gorilla, and yet you cut apart so much of it like this."

Damien shrugged, "This is different. They didn't scream when I cut them. If anything, they were happy to be cut apart by me."

"That's ridiculous!" Kuzan exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger.

…

[A Little While Later]

The two eventually made it to the breakfast table, aka a stump of a giant Sea King that was recently cut after offering itself as a meal.

"Now, let's eat some more."

Kuzan nodded as he saw the delicious meat barbecued to perfection.

"Looks delici-"

*Fwooo!* *Rumble*

Yet at that moment came an island-shaking boom.

Powerful winds blew about as the trees cried out. The birds and animals were thrown into a loop, panicking at the sudden spectacle.

Damien's eyes sharpened at the sky as he saw a giant stream of green energy forming, much like a river.

*Purrup*

*Creak*

Red mist gathered at the palm of the pirate's hand while Kuzan's body turned strikingly cold, releasing chilling winds.

The two went to the spot near the heart of the anomaly, an open patch of grass surrounded by trees covered in snow.

Damien stood in front of Kuzan, simply watching to see what happened.

Under their examining eyes was a beacon of green light that befell the island. The blinding light caused Kuzan, alongside the other animals present, to flinch.

[Spectacle Image (in Discord)]

A burst of air went off as the green light fell onto the clearing in front of Damien, spreading out in all directions. Everything fell under Damien's sharp Observation; a silhouette of a person standing at the core of the blast.

Damien squinted his eyes, zooming into the mysterious figure.

"A woman?"

The sight became clearer and clearer as the appearance was fully visible.

"Um, it's a pleasure to meet you," a soft voice resounded in the eerily silent woods.

"My name is Amatsuki Toki," she said, locking her green eyes with Damien. "Can you tell me what year it is?"

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Mainly a chapter for Damien and Kuzan, focussing on their dynamic, amongst other things.

Someone mentioned Kuzan wasn't lazy at this age… There's no evidence for that. All we know is that he had Fiery Justice in his years as a marine but he wasn't in the Navy till 19. The direction I went is where he was lazy from a young age and rather it was joining the Navy which lit the fire in him. Then came Ohara which returned him to a state which was most comfortable after losing hope in the Navy: Lazy Justice.

When his backstory is explored by Oda, I'm sure it will drastically vary, hence AU.

Anyways, it seems that breakfast time has been ruined by an unpredictable situation.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q