บท 83: [83] To the Heavens
[2100 words]
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"Jaya?" Aurora echoed in a confused voice. "Isn't that just a small, lawless zone without much significance?"
Damien just smiled, "Not exactly… It's only a few hours away now, rein in your curiosity till then."
…
[Two and a Half Hours Later]
The Kraken soon arrived at the spring island of Jaya.
From above, it resembled a jagged U-shape; but if turned sideways, it seemed more like the jaw of a skull.
[Jaya Island Image (in Discord)]
Mock Town was the only urban area in the whole of Jaya. Despite its resort-like appearance with healthy trees and well-built infrastructure, it was considered a lawless town where all sorts of pirates gathered away from the Marines or the World Government's reach.
[Mock Town Image (in Discord)]
.
"A few nameless pirates," Damien scoffed as he felt the prying eyes from afar, "let's go."
The two walked off without hiding their appearances.
As per Damien's analysis, Mock Town was littered with some rag-tag groups of scum, most of them enjoyed bullying the few that wanted to run away from the frightening Grand Line and return home.
The despair of realization that Reverse Mountain was a one-way entry made Mock Town a prime spot to raid them.
Naturally, the newcomers from the Outer Seas were just as much of a delicacy.
.
"Let's rob them!" a young, lanky pirate commented as he saw the two.
His senior, fashioning a gray goatee, had a different thought.
"I can't put my finger on it but they look familiar," he mused. "Hmm... it's better to gather some more intel before rushing that ship."
His buddy nodded, "That's right, only two kinds of people would leave such a luxurious ship unattended: ignorant fools or something monstrous."
The younger pirate could only reluctantly nod, his eyes still greedily stuck on the Kraken, completely unaware of the sure death he dodged.
...
Damien and Aurora made their way through the pirate-infested town.
Most of them steered away. After all, the two were quite large.
Aurora had capped off at a towering 10' 5", greatly surpassing the average height of the people of Jaya.
Whereas Damien stood around eleven and a half feet, around a foot taller than Aurora.
[10' 5" = 3.18 m; ~11' 6" = 3.51 m]
In addition to their stature, there was an air of eminence around the duo.
Aurora, who had lived in the Underworld and overlooked a budding Empire while partaking in politics with shady Emperors, had also taken a more intense demeanour.
Damien, on the other hand, had begun to give off a certain vibe that simply made people question their ill intentions, aiming at their survival instincts to flare up and turn back.
Unfortunately, it was not unlike some muscle heads to overestimate themselves.
.
"Brra-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!"
The laugh was thunderous and hearty with every 'r' being rolled with great passion.
"I've sailed the seas for decades and there hasn't ever been a single sucker I couldn't rob!"
Damien seemed bored as he glanced at the man who stood around 3-foot 9-inch (1.14 m).
"I'm Marja 'the Squat', captain of the Squatting Pirates with a booty of 44 million berries!"
Aurora's face showed impatience and was mere moments from silencing the fodder. That is until an overpowering burst of energy exploded out from Damien.
Boom!
She winced as the waves of terror rippled out from her companion, rushing and raging out like a caged beast that was finally let free.
The red and black pulses of volatile pressure expanded from the near-center of Mock Town and began to spread out in all directions.
Fifty meters, five hundred meters, five kilometers; the sphere of Haki spanned continuously, reaching the ends of the island, bathing everything with its dominance.
.
The sound was jarring.
It started with a light hum, much like a dull alarm. However, the sound turned sharper and sharper, reaching a threshold before exploding into an echoing screech which could shatter eardrums.
Aurora, sighed with discomfort, seeing the people nearby begin to fall unconscious as their very bodies were swept away into the air.
Thud! Bang! Thud!
One by one, everyone fell, their mouths foaming and their eyes rolling back into their skulls. It was not just the pirates, but the few workers and residents; they all fell unconscious.
[A/N: Each Conqueror's Haki user has a signature Haki sound. I uploaded Damien's version on Discord.]
"..."
Damien glanced to the side and saw the girl, stuck in motion and grabbing her ears.
"I was a little surprised when I heard the tales of the new Underworld Emperor possessing Conqueror's Haki," he commented with a slight grin. "Looks like you've learned quite a lot while running the Empire."
Aurora, shook her head, trying to regain the full faculties of her mind, "I didn't realize it then either, but your version is a lot more… overpowering and volatile."
Damien narrowed his eyes in thought, indeed, he was quite near the greatest application of the dominant Haki type, but not entirely there.
"Conqueror's Haki is found in one in a million people. Even with 10 billion people worldwide would result in at least 10,000 users."
The pirate looked around, seeing the mess he had caused.
"Though I'd say there's a far higher chance of inheriting it if you come from a family of Conquerors."
.
The purple-haired girl's curiosity peaked as she muttered in thought, "My grandfather led a revolution and founded the Amethyst Kingdom..."
Damien nodded, unsurprised, "And now you rule the Underworld—it makes sense for you to awaken it."
The girl was left to think some more following the explanation.
"With that logic," Aurora spoke up in an inquisitive voice, "wouldn't the Celestial Dragons' have the greatest chance of awakening it?"
Damien paused in his steps.
"..."
"Well, there is merit to that thought," the pirate muttered with a wry smile. "Rahahaha! Unfortunately, most of those golden turds could care less to tap into that dormant spirit."
The thought left the Sin Incarnate shaking his head with some amusement, imagining all of those Astronaut-suited pigs throwing their Haki around like kings.
…
Time passed as the duo made their way to a tree with a speculatory gaze.
{You've been here for centuries, have you seen any relics on this small island?}
Aurora watched with some curiosity as she saw Damien direct the question to an aged tree.
The old and brittle tree that looked as if it was about to collapse at any moment, suddenly exploded with vitality, shaking in its bark.
"..."
Damien nodded as if conversing with the greenery.
Aurora could not help stifle a giggle as she saw Damien's serious expression borne from chatting with the tree.
{Lead the way,} he soon commanded the tree, which obeyed hastily.
The grass and bushes cleared a wide route, leading to a vast forest.
…
[Twenty Minutes Later]
"Another Poneglyph, wow," Aurora muttered at the sight of the moss-covered blue stone.
Damien squinted at its sight, spanning his hearing.
The Voice of All Things did not necessarily perfectly decipher the Ancient Script, rather it gave a rough outline. The same reason why Roger needed Oden to translate the scripture.
However, the ability manifested in all users differently.
For example, Roger could hear it well, enough to hear the voices of non-living things. Oden and Momonusuke had a finer hearing, even above Luffy who seems to only hear living things like Sea Kings.
[A/N: Roger did use the VoAT to procure Big Mom's Road Poneglyph but in my eyes, it was to simply write down its text rather than to translate it, letting Oden do the fine work.]
.
Damien, on the other hand, combining his Voice of All Things with his great affinity to nature and talent for Observation Haki, allowed him a very strong translation ability, even word-to-word.
"What does it say?" Aurora asked from the side, her curiosity piqued.
Damien hummed, closed his eyes and gave a summary.
"An Ancient Race, the Shandorians, fled their distant home to settle here, in Jaya. They used to be one of the more powerful societies on the Grand Line, but their city of Shandora was invaded during the Void Century by the Twenty Kingdoms. Their people were ravaged, leaving a small tribe, called the Shandia, behind."
Aurora did not speak, a little blown away by the information.
"This pirate-infested land was once sought by the Creators of the World Government!?"
Damien slowly nodded, "Yes, their wealth and/or power must have been quite mouth-watering to invite the Twenty to their turf," he commented.
"What happened to the ones that lived, the small tribe?"
Damien smiled at the curious girl, "The stone doesn't document this part, but I know that said tribe was sent to the heavens."
"..."
Aurora drew a blank, "The heavens…?"
Damien was not surprised by her reply, choosing to give a quick response.
"It is one of the reasons I brought you here," he smiled at the girl. "I recall you were quite yearning for the freedom of the skies, so I'll take you there now, to the Sky Island!"
Aurora's eyes widened, the violet pupils visibly sparkling at the information she received.
.
Damien turned his sight to the far sea and made a quick decision.
"Well we could ride the Knock-Up Stream that should burst in a week or two," he then glanced at the girl and suggested, "or, you can use your powers to fly us up."
Aurora did not need to be told twice: she directed a palm to the ground as the familiar purple energy squirmed out, encasing them both.
*Rumble*
A dull tremor blew out as a circle of earth went around the two like a ring.
*Creak*
The ground separated as the block of earth began to float up, the repulsive forces shooting it to the clouds above.
Under the eerily silent Jaya, the two soon disappeared, leaving behind an island of unconscious people.
…
[Ten Minutes Later]
"Sky Islands really do exist…"
Aurora was lost in the sea of white around her. The fossilized clouds were dense and lacked water vaporous qualities.
The two now stood near a giant star-shaped gate. A huge column of clouds was behind it, leading to the city far above.
A middle-aged woman sat by the gate, "Hello, my name is Amazon, welcome to Skypiea."
It was the same woman the Strawhats would meet, just a lot younger.
"You must pay th-"
She could not finish her sentence before Aurora's unrestrained excitement knocked her out, leading the two to shoot on forth, the rock still beneath them.
They entered the milky-white road and shuttled on ahead.
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[Back at Jaya]
"Gather up the unconscious criminals, be wary of the ones responsible for this."
The words graced a row of soldiers, all donning white sailor uniforms.
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
The man nodded, sending his men off.
"Vice Admiral Zap," a Rear Admiral called out, "we have an identification on the two perpetrators."
The marine handed two sheets of paper, each with a sketch drawn onto them.
Zap examined the faces, his eyes widened, forcing out an audible gulp.
The Vice Admiral reached into his pockets, pulled out his snail and warned, "Do not engage if you find an enemy; keep your distance while your transponder snails remain within reach!"
.
At the side, a few criminals had woken up.
They grasped their skulls, still feeling a throbbing headache.
"Why did that marine scramble after we described their faces? Aren't they here straight from G-8, what can make these guys afraid?"
A veteran marine scoffed, "You idiots don't even know who you almost messed with, here, look at these…"
The marine tossed two posters at the men, bounty posters.
The youngest of the three, the recruit, could not help but shake in his shoes. His jaw nearly dropped as his blood pressure jumped sky-high.
The young lad's breathing hitched as he recited the data:
"A-Amethyst Aurora, Bounty: 430,000,000 berries,"
"E-E-Einar D. Damien, Bounty: 1,987,600,000 berries!"
Thud!
He collapsed to the floor, his face warped in fear.
The other two looked at each other and heaved a heavy sigh of relief, wiping their brows.
One of them eyed the veteran marine and questioned, "What's gonna happen to us now?"
The marine scoffed as he saw some hope in their eyes, "We came here after a half-dozen informants and undercover marines all went offline simultaneously. You think I told you all that information to clue you in?"
He pointed his rifle at the three and yelled, "Get on your knees with your hands raised!"
To Be Continued…
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Author's Corner.
Would you agree with their thoughts on Conqueror's Haki? Doflamingo is indeed a good example of a Celestial Dragon with esoteric potential.
Let's be honest, the majority of the people here skipped Skypiea (you know who you are). It is a mini-arc that may welcome some surprises.
Check out Damien's Haki sound effect: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q
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