One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 111: [111] Fog of War

[3000 words]

----------------------------------------------

The carnage at the center had only gotten louder. Still, the same couldn't be said for another collision a few kilometers away concerning the Six Vices.

Gobbler the Gluttony had died, his guts slowly dripping out of his open stomach that had popped with the Evil Spirit's Emission Haki.

Thymos' broken staff was scattered around as the man himself was nailed to a boulder, his eyes lifeless, and his very soul had vanished.

Osca was a mess: his body was cut in half by Napoleon, Big Mom's sword, while his brain matter was present nearby.

Such a depressing sight erupted as the winds blew wild under heavy shockwaves.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma!" Big Mom cackled. "You no longer interest me, Sleeping Demon!"

Ignavi, now Hakuba, was bloodied all over. His clothes were tattered, his right arm and an eye missing. Yet the smile glued to his face remained as his body moved on auto.

"Maybe if you were a rare species, I would keep you," The Evil Spirit mumbled to herself. "But you are just a normal one with a special inborn power... You can die now!"

With her words stated, she clad Napoleon in Haki as it shined in the moonlit night.

.

"Ikoku Sovereignty!"

.

The attack worthy to be dubbed the Spear of Elbaf rang out in a powerful shockwave. Ignavi persisted for a while until his body collapsed; the powerful attack ended his life as all of the Six Capital Vices had fallen!

Linlin hummed with slight fatigue: "Haaaah, I shouldn't have gotten impregnated before coming here… twins make it a little tiring."

Her eyes were drawn to the sudden spike in hell at the collapsing hillside.

…

[Elsewhere at the Same Time]

"AUGHHH!" a primal yell laced with Conqueror's Haki bellowed out.

*Thwack* *Clang* *Slam* Heavy metallic sounds followed as purple lightning lit the dark surroundings.

It was Kaido; his eyes glowed in anger. "That damn Damien… His bounty will get even larger than mine with this!!!"

The Hundred-Beast's black club crashed upon equally powerful counters.

"Oye… you damn broody giant, can't you pay attention to your own fight?" Gaban, his opponent for the past nine hours, said in some annoyance.

Kaido continued his flurry of attacks as he growled like a beast, "Gaban, your bounty is higher than me, just like Indra. YOU PISS ME OFF!"

BOOM!

----------------------------------------------

[Back to the Center]

Night had come, bringing an auspicious sight to the fallen sun.

Damien's crimson eyes were glued to the lifeless figure, dead on his knees. There was a gaping hole at the core with no blood dripping—the residual atomizing energy had ensured that.

*Thump* *Thump* A few light but uneven footsteps rung through the charred floor, followed by the occasional clang.

The Sin Incarnate glanced at Rayleigh, who was shuffling to his side, breathing heavily and using his saber as a cane.

"I knew you could do it."

"Rahahaha! You know, I originally saw you as the sound and reason behind the Roger Pirates… But now I see that you're as crazy as your Captain!"

The Dark King broke into a chuckle, shaking his head. "I suppose the heart of a pirate was born inside me the day he invited me on his ship."

Damien hummed, turning back to the dead Sol. "You think he died understanding what a true pirate is?"

"The Purge Pirates may have vilified him, but I think he understood before swatting me aside," Rayleigh answered, using a few remaining fabrics of his clothes to wipe the blood on his glasses.

The Sin Incarnate nodded, exhaling heavily and letting loose his armour.

With a few thuds, the Haki-armour clattered to the floor in dark red blood, revealing the mess underneath.

Rayleigh whistled at the state of Damien's body, noticing the purple bruises and burnt skin. But before he could even comment on them, the wounds began healing and fading away, leaving all but some light-blue marks behind.

"You're gonna need some new clothes," the older man chimed in, seeing Damien in all but a rag covering down to his left leg and right knee.

"Dammit," the tattered Damien cursed, "My clothes aren't reforming... was getting torched by sunfire the limit?"

The swordsman scratched his forehead, unsure of what to say.

.

*Vvoooo!* Their light-hearted conversation crumpled away with an ominous breeze.

"!!!" Instincts went into overdrive as the duo whizzed away, appearing ten meters from where they previously were.

The hair on Damien's arms shot up as a chill ran down his back. Rayleigh was the same, feeling flares in his mind—they both saw a grim future!

"Damien," the refined swordsman defeatedly muttered, "you're an educated young lad, remind me of the life cycle of a star."

The Sin Incarnate sighed, massaging his temples, "A star only truly dies when it runs out of fuel at its core…"

Their doubts were answered as the maw of the corpse opened once more with a roar.

.

"Radiance Reborn!"

.

A catastrophic sight followed.

The bloodied figure of the broken Overlord once again exploded with endless energy. The torrents of lost heat returned, hotter and more turbulent.

The previous golden red turned into pure white, a ghostly-white colour resembling nuclear fission's location!

The magma field melted further and warped into someone beyond what the laws of physics could support. 

*Szz* Damien's body began to steam up; slowly but surely, the layers of his skin were scalding—first, second, even third-degree burns and nearing fourth!

"Tch, Rayleigh, you broke the first rule of battle: celebrating too early!"

The older man raised both hands to shield his face, but that didn't hide his disapproval. "Shouldn't you share some of the blame?"

The sizzling skin and the screeching air thundered all over, bringing Damien's reply, "You're the older and veteran pirate while I'm the Super Rookie, so I can put the blame on you without problem."

A spider-web crack appeared on the swordsman's spectacles, an omen for the hell to follow. "This is beyond our pay grade…" he commented, feeling the flesh on his palms melt off.

Damien nodded with deep solemnity and locked on the white figure exploding with energy. *Krrr* Cracks formed all over the Overlord, almost as if he was starting to break apart.

"He's reached the sun's core," Damien surmised, squinting at the blinding figure. "A place so dense that it will end up collapsing on itself."

Rayleigh slowly nodded, gnashing his teeth from the pulsing pain, "In other words... Sol will soon fall apart from his own power."

"Yes, but not before reaching a terrifying level of strength." The internal line of text confirmed Damien's thoughts in his mind.

[Pryde D. Sol's Strength: Top Tier Yonko → Beyond Yonko.]

The duo stared at the Overlord, their feet sinking into the liquidated floor.

In his final form after the revival, Sol stood as a magnificent and awe-inspiring 10-foot-tall figure (~3 m), his body glowing with an intense, radiant, white energy. Fiery tendrils of light emanated from his form, creating a halo of flames that encircled him like the corona of a sun.

His eyes burned with a piercing white light, and the gaping hole in his chest was now a brilliant, pulsating core of pure energy. The very air around him seemed to shimmer and warp as if bending to the overwhelming heat and power he exuded.

A form fit for a god.

[Sol's Final Form Image (in Discord)]

.

In Damien's eyes, Sol's revival was marked with death—a final struggle of a star hoping to stay alive even when running on fumes. "But this also means that a certain someone will be quite interested…" he muttered.

"..." Rayleigh sighed, feeling a shadow of despair fall over him.

"Xahahaha!" came a savage voice. "Finally, something interesting."

Damien greeted the older man, "Captain Rocks… this was all part of your game, no?"

The wild figure of said pirate appeared, reeking with blood and death. "You did well to bring out Sol's power; a job well done."

Damien sighed at the turn of events. 'He used Rayleigh and me to set the board for him to play,' he wryly laughed.

"Let us retreat then," Rayleigh stated, glaring at Rocks with narrowed eyes.

.

Soon enough, the two Captains were facing one another—a man of light and a man of death.

"I have never gone so deep into my powers!" Sol revelled, his empty eyes filled with satisfaction. 

Rocks licked his lips at the divine spectacle, "You look just like the figure in the myths… the Sun God."

"I've always wanted to be like Nika…" Sol muttered, locking onto the personification of evil. "Sun God is a little boring… I think I'll go with the 'Sun of Pride'!"

Sol walked on. The previously crushed ground was reborn in ghostly flames, granting way to their master.

His current state was of no concern to him; he exercised the final level of his ability to break out with endless strength.

The pure-white energy came with a heat that most would be swept away by, but not Xebec.

*Fwooo* An ominous wind blew about, emanating from the crazed pirate; around Xebec's body was a tornado of black smoke as it started to resemble the very colour of death!

Cries of souls echoed out, almost as if conveying their torturous existence.

"Xahahaha!"

"Sohohoho!"

…

Damien flew to the island's edge, crashing onto the sandy beach to inspect other things.

The winds across the island had turned venomous, bringing fractions of the hellish and deathly energy with them.

'The profits were rather nice from that battle,' he grinned, ignoring the chaos in the background.

The Sin Incarnate then extended his left palm in front of himself, letting his powers run instinctively.

*Vwooo~*

A mellow noise went off.

Damien gave an uncontrollable smile as he saw the red cube floating in his hand.

*Vzzzz* A soft howl escaped the hexahedron as it radiated in great power.

It was cube-shaped, with a crimson core that seemed to glow bright. Outside the cube, a black cage appeared to support the power's volatile nature.

[Entity Image (in Discord)]

*Vrrr* A grating noise then boomed as the red energy in the cube started to escape in a red mist. The air particles were crushed into obsolete sizes and reduced to atomic levels!

Yet the cage that held the power started to fall apart, the outer edges unable to sustain it as it fizzled out in dismay.

Although it seemed rather sad, Damien simply grinned as he felt his control over the Pulverize-Pulverize Fruit had increased and refined from the battle against Sol.

And the ding in his mind amplified the joy: [Fruit Mastery has reached the Final Stage before Awakening.]

----------------------------------------------

[Five Hours Later]

It was around six in the morning. Glint Island had started to shatter into pieces, slowly chipping out of existence.

Whitebeard and Roger continued their duel, earthquakes thrown around as sword slashes sharp enough to slice mountains collided.

Shiki shaped his part of the island according to his desires, and the Red Count, Patrick Redfield, matched his strength.

And one to be remembered was at the center. Rocks' death storms clashed with the flames of the sun's core—it was the end of the world.

The skies cried drops of blood as nearly 28,000 deaths had occurred in this very landmass.

.

Damien sat at the island's edge as he recovered some stamina from munching on a boatload of Sea King meat, lost in thought.

The hell in the background had grown stale, leaving his thoughts to mingle elsewhere.

"Sol will die here; the Era of Overlords will end with him. The eventful incident of God Valley is to happen in a mere year or so," he recollected.

"I can invoke atomic-level dismantling with Hadean Release, but not my base form yet," Damien concluded. "And my stamina is the main problem; there's no way I can hold Hadean Release long enough."

A quick rumble of the earth broke any further thoughts and earned a greeting, "Linlin, you sure took your time."

Big Mom, still in her sexy attire of revealing clothes, laughed. "Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! Damien, if I wasn't pregnant now, I would push you down and take your seed right away!" she exclaimed.

The youth in question rolled his eyes, "You depraved woman still living in your fantasies. With the number of brats you've popped out, I wouldn't be surprised if an entire Grand Canyon was formed down there!"

Linlin grew furious hearing the words. Her body, which was yearned by tens of thousands of men of all ages, was called out as if she were a common whore. "You damn kid! I'll rip your soul out!"

The woman was about to release her powers yet saw Damien's eyes flash red.

The young pirate turned his gaze to the horizon; the darkness of the night slowly faded as dawn approached. "So they couldn't wait any longer, eh?"

"What is it?" Linlin questioned with some curiosity.

*Fuuu* The morning fog formed from the chilly breeze hid a terrifying sight under its veil.

The young man stood up and cracked his shoulders. "Marines," he answered. "Tens of thousands of them, with some rather powerful presences in their midst."

…

[Five Kilometers Away]

"All forces, advance!" a loud voice mixed with great charisma went off.

In the embrace of the rising sun, a sea of ships set off.

Twenty battleships lined up in the back, each holding a thousand men. Eighty smaller marine ships were present as well, totalling 100 Navy vessels!

*Vwooooo!* The winds howled as a giant, 90-meter-tall ship (~300 ft), nearly 1.5 times larger than the standard battleships, came into view.

The sails had a word printed on them: [K U R O W A S H I]

(A/N: Meaning 'Black Eagle.')

Loud clangs of a bell echoed over the waters as the sun peaked from the east. The Admiral stood at the ship's bow, and other marines of even greater power were also on board.

Kurowashi's voice went off, "The pirates are in disarray. Raise your weapons and steel your hearts; justice will prevail!"

The marines roared out, their spirit fuelled with the sense of duty.

A sense of invincible power whirled in their hearts. With nearly thirty thousand marines deployed and with the leadership of such powerful commanders, just who can stand in their way?

…

"Damien, call them," Linlin said as she walked next to the youth, swinging her hips. The two of them were at the shore of Glint Island, watching the enemy fleet.

"Yeah, yeah." The Sin Incarnate reached into his pocket and took out a device.

It was a transponder snail that had magically survived the hellish incursions at Glint Island. The snail had its swag with matching crimson eyes and the Regal Attire which was now destroyed.

"Puru," "Puru," "Puru," The snail rang a few times. "Katcha~!"

The red-eyed pirate smirked as he scanned the armada of marine ships in the distance. 

"Damien-chan, you finally called. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Shakky-nee," he smiled. "You can send over the fleet now on the eastern shore; the marines are almost here."

The woman responded with an affirmative tone, "Ufufu, they will be right over."

.

"..." A few ominous seconds passed as the orange glow of dawn bathed the seas.

*Rumble* The air shook in trepidation as a great sight was to behold.

*Vrooo* *Vooo!* *Wvooo* Tens to hundreds of gray portals opened at the sea before the two pirates.

Apart from the occasional wind, the calm silence was replaced with the uproar of thousands of voices!

A plethora of ships exited from the portals; each had weathered great battles headed by the most formidable men.

"We can finally fight!"

"So many marines, come to me!"

"Eyes, lungs, pancreas... so many snacks, so little time!"

"Je suis prêt à me battre. Venez, marines!"

"For the gold!"

"Blah-Blah-Blah! I hear there are some hotties in the marine ranks. I hope they don't mind if I borrow them!"

It was the Rocks Pirates' Grand Fleet that made their flashy entry! Nearly a hundred ships had arrived with a force equal to the Navy's.

Divisions 1 through 8 were made of the absolute worst pirates on the seas; these were the men the demons of the New World would fear.

*Whizz!* Damien and Linlin jumped from the shore to the ship at the center, surrounded by the other Division. His very own Suicidal Rambo. Shakky was present upon it as well. 

"We have the Sin Incarnate on our side!"

"The Marines will cry in fear!"

"Charlotte Linlin, please step on me!"

…

The men and the women roared in joy as the two entered. Damien ignored the commotion and walked to the very front.

He saw the familiar woman sitting peacefully while the marines inched closer. "Shakky-nee, we have enough troops, but there is a bit of a problem…"

Shakky puffed out a cloud of smoke as her eyes scanned the marines and approached from afar. "I see them, Damien-chan," she replied solemnly, "it won't be an easy fight."

Both pirates understood the gravity of the enemy fleet. The Sin Incarnate zoomed in on the men who stood upon the giant marine ship and saw five men, each with rather distinct features:

1. One with a large, black afro with simple facial hair, donning a simple marine outfit;

2. A serious man with a missing eye and stern expression, his grim appearance amplified by his sharp yet intimidating brown uniform;

3. A younger marine with messy silver hair in sharp and black clothes;

4. Another with purple hair, sporting a metal arm and distinguished demeanour;

5. Lastly, a marine with a robust body and a giant grin. The man cracked his knuckles with sounds that seemed to echo all the way to the shore.

.

The ones at the helm of the marine ship that led the 30,000-strong fleet were Marine Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Basara, Admiral Kurowashi, Vice Admiral Zephyr and Vice Admiral Garp.

Undoubtedly, it was a force that could dismantle any threat that stood against the esoteric might of the World Government!

[Layout of the Coming Battle Image (in Discord)]

To Be Continued…

----------------------------------------------

Author's Corner:

How would you rate the Sun-Sun Fruit? Is it as broken as Nika gets?

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