Chapitre 3: Chapter 3: Companion x Departure
//word count = 2940
//comments are appreciated
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Five months later, approximately one year since Kaizen has been in the one piece world.
Inside the hollowed out tree which is his base, things can be said to look completely different.
For one, the 1000 square feet of space was decorated with various furnishings such as tables and chairs.
Kaizen had used them as a means to practice his control over his spiritual power. He would condense a tiny blade of spiritual power and precisely carve out the furniture he needed.
At first, it was sloppy and whatever he made was but a poor imitation.
However, gradually, his control increased, and he was able to produce impressive pieces.
These five months can be said to have been a complete transformation for Kaizen.
It wasn't that before he was doing poorly in his survival, but that he had finally completely adapted to his circumstances. His mind shifted from thoughts of making it back to earth to how he was going to survive and explore this world.
The biggest change though would have to be his strength.
Kaizen understood that this was a world where strength was supreme. Having the chance to improve his own, he wasn't going to waste it.
He created a cycle of going out and fighting with creatures, absorbing their souls, feasting on their corpses and experimenting with his fruit.
The process continuously strengthened his combat ability, spiritual power reserve, physical strength and fruit abilities.
Now he was at a point where he finally reached a bottleneck, there was only one other powerful creature on this island he had yet to fight, and that was simply because he had saved it for last.
It was the 6-meter tall gorilla he had met when he first transmigrated. Since, it had spared him that time they had met, he decided he would sort of do the same.
He knew that the truly strong beasts had some sort of intelligence, so noticing Kaizen killing off the rest of the strong animals on the island should have alerted the beast to the impending danger. If it truly wanted, it could escape into the sea, taking its chances at surviving in the treacherous ocean waters.
'Well, he'd have some shot if he tried to go from my side. If it's the other side, the sea kings will get to him before he even leaves the shore.'
Through his further exploration of the island in subsequent months, Kaizen was able to discover that it was much bigger than he previously thought.
It also was rather peculiar in that one half of it was in regular sea waters, while the other half was in the calm belt.
It was easy to tell when comparing the turbulent waters on Kaizens side to the calmness of the other.
Kaizen was lost in thought as he went about preparing his breakfast for the day.
It was the same thing he always had, meat with a side of more meat.
He had decided today was the final day of him staying on this island. He had reached a point where if he wanted to reach further heights, he would have to leave and explore the rest of the world.
There were no longer any creatures on this island that could provide a boost to his powers after absorbing their souls. Aside from the gorilla, he had already killed all of them.
He also noticed that absorbing the souls of creatures much weaker than him provided little to no benefit, so his only option was to go out and find stronger prey.
His plan was to sail in the direction of the normal seawater. It likely meant that he was in one of the four seas, if not the grand line.
After figuring out where he is and the time period, he would decide upon his further actions.
He had already created a ship capable of carrying him out in the middle of the ocean. Granted, he had found an old one that had washed up on the island with only a few damages and fixed it up using his spiritual power.
Now, all that was left was for Kaizen to settle his unfinished business.
Thinking so, he let out a loud burp in satisfaction after digesting his food and rose to his feet.
With a simple movement of his mind, Kaizen released his perception technique in all directions, searching for the signature of the Gorilla.
Another thing he discovered during these few months was the fact that he had already awakened observation haki. It was just that it had merged with his ability to sense spiritual power evolving into something much more. Allowing him to essentially view everything within his perception with clear accuracy. Living bodies could easily be located through their unique energy signatures.
In less than a few seconds, Kaizen could already perceive the entire island and everything that was on it.
Locating the figure of the Gorilla, he moved slightly and disappeared from his spot, appearing at a table on the far side of the room.
Grabbing the wooden sword that was laid out on the table, he vanished once more.
When he reappeared again, he was standing in the air above his base on the island.
This was another application of his spiritual power, essentially allowing him to create foot holds in the air.
At this time, his full figure could be clearly seen in the sun.
He had used his spiritual power to create an outfit resembling the Captains' uniforms from Bleach as a sort of tribute. He wore a black kimono with a white undergarment, tied with a white sash at the waist. Over this, he donned a white haori, the signature cloak of the Captains, with the null symbol emblazoned on the back, signifying the anomaly he was.
Kaizen's black hair, now long enough to flow down his back, was held back in a bun, keeping it out of his face.
Standing in the air, with the island spread out below him, Kaizen exuded an aura of confidence and strength, reminiscent of the powerful Captains from Bleach. His spiritual power had not only enhanced his abilities but also transformed his appearance, making him look much more mature. Not only that but his experiences on the island had refined his mind, adding a sense of resolve to his demeanor.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Kaizen disappeared in the direction he had sensed the gorilla.
With each step he took, he created miniature platforms in the sky made of spiritual power. Combined with his Shunpo, this effectively allowed him to fly through the sky.
In less than a few seconds, he crossed the entire island and appeared on the opposite end, where he had sensed his prey.
Waiting below him in a clearing was the same behemoth he had sensed that one fateful night.
Kaizen descended from the sky and landed directly in front of the beast. During the whole process, it simply stood and observed.
After making eye contact with the creature for the second time, now on an equal footing, Kaizen could clearly sense the intelligence in its eyes. The surprise and... sorrow? This was unlike any other beast he had encountered.
Confused and lost in his thoughts, Kaizen was caught off guard when the gorilla suddenly lunged at him with all its strength.
The gorilla was but an arm's length away from him when Kaizen reacted and vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was standing on a tree branch in the distance.
He was slightly startled but had still detected the attack long before it posed any real threat to him. Observation Haki was no joke.
Tossing aside his messy thoughts, he decided to end this battle quickly. It didn't matter if this beast had more intelligence than the others; in the end, it still attacked him. If you attack someone, be prepared to be killed in return. This is the law of the jungle. He would at least make it quick and painless.
Locking eyes on the gorilla again, he saw it slowly backing up, spreading its body while guarding a specific direction.
Kaizen's eyes, however, missed this and were instead drawn to the vivid sight of the beast's muscles coiling into place, ready for action at any moment.
Not hesitating any longer, Kaizen activated his Shunpo once again, disappearing from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was behind the massive gorilla.
ROAR
A panicked roar escaped the beasts lips as it hurriedly turned to attack Kaizen.
But when it finally threw its fist, it was astonished to see it had gone right through his body. What it hit was an afterimage.
The real Kaizen had already silently appeared behind the gorilla, raising his finger toward its heart.
A soft chant escaped his lips.
"Hado #4, Pale Lightning."
On command, a concentrated bolt of lightning formed and was fired from Kaizen's fingertip in a split second.
The beast, realizing that the Kaizen in front of it was a fake and the real one was behind, once again attempted to turn back around.
However, by this point, Kaizen had already released his Kido chant.
The beast could only stare wide-eyed at the small figure floating behind it as a sharp pain stabbed into its body and exploded in its heart.
In less than a few seconds, the beast was dead, its heart fried from the inside.
BOOM
As its body hit the floor, Kaizen observed it closely. He noticed immediately something that seemed like a tear forming on the beast's eyelid.
The sight reminded him of the creature's strange behavior during the short fight. Thinking back, he noticed it had glanced several times in a certain direction.
'Matter of fact, it seemed as if it was trying to stop me from going in that direction.'
Thinking so, Kaizen immediately unfolded his Observation Haki.
Probing the areas it seemed to be protecting, he immediately understood the situation.
Kaizen disappeared from his spot. When he reappeared, he was at the entrance of a ginormous cave.
Heading deeper in, he found what he was looking for.
Sleeping peacefully on the ground was a baby gorilla. He called it a baby, since it was only about the size of a toddler, Though, he knew the heights it could grow to.
Kaizen understood at that moment why the beast had acted so strangely. In fact, he felt kind of bad, referring to her as a "him" this whole time.
But what did that really matter? In the end, it was he who killed her.
A pang of regret coursed through Kaizen's body. It had been the first time he felt that in a while.
He sat and relished in the feeling. He didn't want to forget it—regret was a reminder of his humanity, a sign that he hadn't lost who he was.
"Waaaaa! Waaaaa!"
The sound of crying echoed through the cave, breaking Kaizen out of his thoughts.
Looking down, he saw the baby gorilla, awake and likely searching for its mother.
Kaizen's feeling of regret only doubled as he observed this. He pushed the feeling aside, knowing there was nothing he could do to change the fact that he had killed the baby's mother.
He felt like a hypocrite at that moment though. How many other baby animals had he left orphaned in his quest for strength on this island? Was it because this one showed more intelligence that he felt bad?
As he began to sink back into a mental whirlwind of thoughts, the baby gorilla's cries, louder this time, interrupted him.
Glancing down again, Kaizen decided to follow his heart. He bent over and gently pulled the baby gorilla into his arms. Then, he exited the cave and took off into the sky in the direction of his home base.
He would take the baby gorilla under his wing, at least until it was strong enough to survive on its own. Without its mother, Kaizen wasn't sure if it could last on such a treacherous island at such a young age.
Though he was taking it, he wasn't going to delay his journey any longer as a result.
They would be leaving the island first thing tomorrow.
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The next day
Kaizen was abruptly awoken by the sound of things crashing to the floor. Shooting out of bed, he quickly locked onto the source of the disturbance. A crease formed on his forehead before he shook his head and sighed.
It was the baby gorilla he had brought back, now named Saru, the Japanese word for monkey. Despite its small size, the little creature had managed to knock over a stack of supplies, leaving a mess in its wake. Kaizen couldn't help but smile at its innocent curiosity.
Yesterday, after bringing Saru back, Kaizen had almost developed a permanent migraine from constantly having to stop him from knocking over and destroying things. It was surprising, though, how Saru never acted aggressively toward Kaizen from the moment he saw him back in the cave. Even now, Kaizen felt the look in Saru's eyes was more akin to that of a child looking at their mother.
What Kaizen didn't know was that he had killed the female gorilla during a critical period of Saru's development, a time when Saru would have acknowledged her as his mother. As a result, Saru was now beginning to think Kaizen was his mother.
Walking over to the little baby gorilla, Kaizen put on the best mean face he could muster and raised his voice to lecture him. He didn't know if Saru could understand his words, but based on Saru's reaction, he could at least read his tone. Whenever Kaizen did this, Saru would remain seated in place, lowering his head and ears in submission.
Honestly, every time Saru did this, Kaizen wanted to forget about the mess and cuddle him. Alas, he understood that now was the period for Saru to learn and understand right from wrong. Kaizen needed to be strict, especially if Saru was truly as intelligent as he guessed.
Based on the little interactions he had so far with Saru and his observations of his mother, Kaizen theorized that this beast might be way more intelligent than he initially thought possible. What limited them might be their environment and the lack of proper guidance, or to put it simply, time. In a few hundred or maybe thousand years, they would probably naturally evolve to have intelligence on par with humans.
This deduction made Kaizen even more interested in little Saru. Maybe he wouldn't have to leave him when he reached sufficient strength and instead could join Kaizen on his journey.
After lecturing Saru, Kaizen turned and began preparing the things he needed for his voyage.
"Custom Hado: Spirit Net"
Kaizen clapped his hands together before performing a simple chant. When he pulled his hands apart, a dense, intricately woven net of spiritual power appeared between them. This was one of the kido abilities Kaizen had personally created.
He had finally overcome his hurdle and could create his own kido abilities as well as replicate those from Bleach that he remembered. The attack he used to kill Saru's mom was an example of that. Pale Lightning, a Hado spell, transforms and condenses the user's spiritual power into lightning and fires it from their fingertips.
At first, Kaizen had a hard time understanding how to pull off such a transformation, but after mastering it, it became second nature to him. The application and use of all kido spells, and spiritual power in general, rely on willpower and control. If one has the appropriate control over spiritual power as well as the will to manipulate it, the applications of spiritual power are endless.
This can be seen in Kaizen literally transforming his spiritual power into clothing for him to wear. Doing the same for lightning only took a bit more time to figure out.
Kaizen proceeded to lay out the spirit net on the ground before moving the various materials he would be bringing on his journey on top of it. Things such as food, essentials like cutlery and cookware. Kaizen didn't have much, everything he did have was created by hand, so that limited him.
After loading up what he needed, he snapped his fingers, causing the net to close in on itself, capturing all the materials inside into one big bag. The ability wasn't too crazy; if he could, he would have created a pocket space-like ability so that he wouldn't have to carry around such a big bag.
Brushing off these thoughts, Kaizen gave the room one last glance to ensure whatever was left behind was intentional. Confirming this, he grabbed the bag of supplies and hoisted it over his shoulder before calling out to Saru.
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Currently, on the side of the island facing toward regular waters, Kaizen and Saru could be seen making their way towards a boat that was platformed on the beach.
Kaizen carried a huge bag over his shoulder with one hand and Saru walked with a little backpack Kaizen had made for him to hold some of the toys he had stolen from Kaizen.
The scene was kind of picturesque... that was until Saru tripped and dived headfirst into the sand.
"Hahaha," Kaizen couldn't help but bend over in laughter. The previously serious look on Saru's face had made this even funnier.
Saru, obviously dissatisfied, could only huff in anger and continue walking forward after spitting out the sand and patting himself off.
Kaizen followed after him, a small smile etched on his face.
//chapter thoughts?
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone