One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 148: [148] Cradle of the Gods (V)

[3390 words]

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"My duty is to keep you from reaching him. Death can wait its turn."

The man-faced lion released a growl, leaning its head toward the pirate.

"It takes us at least a decade to train our agents to be steel-willed and prepared to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the World Government," Xerxes uttered, his mind lost in thought. "Why is it that you can put your life on the line for the Sin Incarnate, let alone a pirate of the Rocks Crew?"

"..." Indra said nothing and stood tall under the flurry of sand that had once again arrived and encircled him.

"Hmm, I'm a little envious now… If I had such a reliable subordinate, I wouldn't have to bear the Five Elders' anger so often; Warborns really are enviable pawns!"

The sand whirled with fury again, releasing powerful gusts of wind that could tear entire forests apart. The sky turned dusty, and the atmosphere was impossible to see through as the sand.

.

.

Upon Xerxes' command, the sand began to churn in the shape of a beast with tens of heads, each shooting toward Indra. 

"Grauwl!!!" they thundered, aiming to shred their sole enemy.

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

Indra, a man of lightning, could naturally move faster than almost every man alive. Even with his intangibility voided, he could still zap around.

*Crackle* Indra turned into a burst of blue, bouncing through the air and dodging every coming attack. He was but a strand of electrons, using the heat in the atmosphere to travel around.

Each sand head of destruction was easily dodged one by one while closing in the distance to Xerxes.

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"Rumbling Sword Style: Sacred Charge!"

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It was a flash of white lightning followed by a thunderous roar.

"Aguh!" Xerxes grunted in pain, feeling a deep gash cut across his front leg that spanned dozens of meters.

Before he could even think of the next attack, another slash came.

Boom!

The next cut went across his chest.

Then, his rear leg.

Then, his tail.

Then, his face.

All he saw was streaks of blue followed by pain. 

The Sphinx roared loudly and expelled vast amounts of sand across its pores, exploding into the surrounding air.

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"Kaftí Ammothýella!" (Scorching Sandstorm)

.

The white electricity was soon overwhelmed, blasting it away and embedding it into the scorched ground.

"Your Haki can't keep up with your power, Hellspawn!"

The Sphinx didn't stop and moved a giant paw at the falling Indra. A burst of hardening later, and the limb was thick as metal!

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"Ágrio Télos!" (Feral Ending)

.

The collection of electricity was shovelled further into the ruined earth; the heat alone was liquefying the ground, evaporating all moisture nearby.

"Hmm?"

Xerxes lifted his paw only to see a giant crater buzzing with a loose electric charge.

"He can move faster than any pirate I've seen," Xerxes cursed. The Sphinx was about to engage in another attack, but not before the pirate reappeared with his own move.

Tenmei, the Sacred Blade, was raised to the heavens, summoning stormy clouds that roared even through the sandy skies.

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"Pillars of Creation!"

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At Indra's command, three separate columns of blinding-white lightning fell from the angered skies, each crashing onto the giant mythical creature.

BOOM!

The roar of thunder was as loud as ever, sending tremors through the island under its mighty power.

Plumes of smoke burst out following the fiery trials of the pillars that were dense enough to liquefy metals. The Sphinx released a pained cry, shrinking in anger.

…

[Nearby]

The members of the Fourth Division were all busy with their opponents, and the same could be said about their Commander.

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"Utter Ruin!"

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"Impact Wave!"

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Two dense streams of shockwaves crashed onto one another, releasing a red and golden spectacle.

On one side was a giant Buddha, a literal divine being, while on the other side was a pirate with arms wrapped in black armour leaking hellish-red energy through its cracks.

BOOM!

The two destructive powers released untold chaos, sending torrents strong enough to take entire warships to the clouds and force that could reduce cities to dust.

Sengoku, the Buddha, heaved a dull sigh, glaring at his enemy through his indestructible glasses. 

At the last moment, he saw his shockwaves turn into a checkered pattern and explode back onto him. "You can pulverize my shockwaves and turn them into your own power… Awakening."

"You hit the nail on the head, Admiral," Damien confirmed, calming down the partial Empyrean over his arms. "So let's up the ante!"

The pirate suddenly exploded into a stream of tiny, red particles that lacked weight and flowed through the air. With a snap, the energy trail separated into three equal streams, each swirling.

*Whururu!* The spiralling energy threw about chaos, growing increasingly more intense.

Sengoku winced under the screeching sound of the atmosphere being atomized, releasing tremendous energy in the process. 

Damien materialized before the Buddha, pulling his tornados around the Admiral in a triangle configuration.

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"Pillars of Destruction."

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"Tch!" Sengoku clicked his tongue as he had three columns of energy howl forth onto him, tearing apart the Sacred Land in their wake.

Boom!

They whirled without mercy, drilling the Buddha from the front, back and top with shredding energy that had a single intent: to reduce everything it touched to dust! 

[Attack Image (in Discord)]

Sengoku shrank a little, huffing from the pressing weight from all directions. It was like being hit with a 10-meter-wide drill from the sides, back, and front; even the Buddha was being torn apart!

"You better not think this is enough to take me down, brat!" The Admiral's eyes sharpened, releasing a powerful golden shockwave that carried great weight. They weren't born of his powers, rather, his Haki.

Boom!

The oppressive energy folded the pillars into themselves, sweeping aside their insufferable spirit and popping them like grapes.

Sengoku shot through the exploding energy. His ginormous body was like a bolt of lightning appearing ten meters above the pirate—he used Damien's bursting attack as a launchpad!

With a palm directed downward and the target within point-blank, he yelled:

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"Big Buddha Impact!"

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A wave of shock that could shake the island of God Valley, bringing down the Sin Incarnate with it.

.....

"You better not think this is enough to take me down, brat!"

Damien's eyes narrowed, flashing in Observation. Currently, Sengoku was getting hammered by the swirling pillars, moments from breaking through.

"As expected, he opted toward Haki and turned the small window into an attack of his own."

Sengoku's power allowed him to produce shockwaves similar to Whitebeard's. This could be considered a grave countermeasure to those with thick skin.

Seeing the future, the pirate shot into the air straight up, his fist spiking up with pockets of atomizing energy. Black lightning crackled from the veins, pumping the strike with twofold power! 

*Whoosh!*

A giant Buddha suddenly appeared in the way, its palm extended down.

Sengoku's eyes widened momentarily, seeing Damien all but five meters away from landing his hit. Still, it didn't stop him from following through.

BOOOOOOM!

The collision of such cataclysmic forces took its toll on the island. When combined with the other fights happening nearby, it was genuinely mind-numbing. 

The earth below tore open from the quaking energy. The showering debris and ruin were layered in crimson patterns, turning to dust that was shovelled across the island from the excess energy.

"..."

With a thud, Sengoku landed on the hellish grounds, Damien across from him—both unhurt.

"Your shockwaves and my Pulverization; our fight will go on forever."

Sengoku squinted through his spectacles. His words were as sharp as his demeanour, "I'll adapt to your Observation soon. Tell me, how long can you sustain all of this? One day, two, three?"

As a veteran Admiral for a few years, the Buddha had long become used to battles lasting over five days, some even reaching the week-long mark.

Damien glanced at his partial Empyrean and smirked at his opponent. "Rahaha! I can do this all day!"

…

[Castle of God Valley]

Hours had passed, and the Celestial Dragons had retreated to the Inner Sanctum of God Valley. This safe and secure location could easily tank a nuclear bomb.

Though it was not before nearly four dozen of them had been ravaged by the battles and the rage of the Slaves, their divine corpses, bodies and organs that would go for billions in the underworld were obliterated in the face of the battle taking place nearby.

"Iva-chan, I got the fruit!"

The big-headed one waved his hands, flashing the paw-shaped item. "Kuma, don't think, just eat i–"

*Boom!* A passing guard shoved Iva to the ground.

Even with his head pulsating in pain, the lad was still defiant: "Y-You have to eat it to save them! If we manage to get a single person off this island alive…ve can call this…a victory over them!"

Kuma, the giant slave, nodded—his eyes were filled with determination as he devoured the paw-shaped fruit.

The disgusting taste dug into his tongue but was soon overshadowed by the sudden taste of blood.

BAM!

Kuma's eyes rolled into his head as a fist slammed across his head. The throbbing pain sent him rolling across the ground, kicking up dust.

"You're that Buccaneer brat," the aged attacker calmly stated, tapping his cane through the mess. "You can either live as a slave or die. Nothing else can be tolerated for someone of your ilk."

Kuma forced himself up, ignoring the pain.

He looked over and saw an elderly man with a full white mustache and beard. He also possessed white dreadlocks, over which he wore a flat black hat. His scarred face did not detract from the majesty of his black suit and purple tie.

"Saint Saturn…" a guard said with absolute fidelity, lowering his head.

Yet he was waved aside by the Supreme Elder. "Go tend to the other slaves; too much divine blood has befallen this holy occasion."

"Are you somebody important?" Kuma murmured past his bloodied mouth, attracting the older man's eyes. "I don't understand how someone can be born more or less important…"

His eyes sharpened with resolve: "...if you're born a slave, then what's the point in being born at all!?"

The stubborn words were followed by aching pain, forcing Kuma to the ground again, "Ugh!"

He tasted the blood in his mouth, smelling the ash in the air. Memories of his past flashed by, granting him strength once more.

"If I have some kind of power now…" he said, staring at the tiles below. "I'm gonna use it to save as many people as I possibly can…just like Nika!"

The final word left the Elder visibly angered. Black lines etched across his weathered face as Saturn spat, "That is precisely why your people need to be erased."

…

[Nearby]

Where there was a Saint on one side of the Castle, there was a Devil on the other.

The menacing Rocks stood tall, his wild hair dripping with blood as he seethed with pure death. Black smoke emanated from his body while a stench of rotten flesh pervaded the ruined halls.

Mokushiroku was in his hands, pulsing with heat and anger.

"Xahahahaha!" The man laughed in the face of danger, and there was indeed danger in the form of two titanic adversaries.

To Rocks' right-hand side was Monkey D. Garp, a marine Vice Admiral with the strength to sink islands and known as 'The Fist.'

To his left was an infamous pirate who conquered the Log Pose Route to Lodestar Island, Gol D. Roger, the King of the Seas. 

Both men were clean-shaven; Roger had shaved his mustache to declare the end of his adventure, while Garp had shaved the goatee grown over his vacation.

[Garp and Roger Image (in Discord)]

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*Fwwm!* The marine clenched both hands, wrapping them with his impenetrable Haki, twice layered to perfection. The green Haki popped into a burning orange, resembling lava! 

Roger held a Supreme Grade Blade clad in dense Haki, his Ace, resting it over his shoulder and neck.

Funnily enough, all three men sported wide grins!

"Bwahahaha!"

"Wahahahaha!"

"Xahahahaha!"

Garp cracked his seething knuckles, "This is not how I expected things to turn out," he muttered.

"Life is all about surprises, Garp!" his ally, Roger, remarked.

Meanwhile, Rocks creepily laughed, looking at his opponents with an undisguised glare. "The two of you really are quite the team, hehe! You best be ready to kill me here with every ounce of your strength and will!"

The pirate's roar forced the duo into silence.

Garp glanced at Roger, then back at Rocks and casually concluded, "Either you die, or we die."

The two shot out immediately, wrapping their weapons with esoteric Haki.

Rocks' Mokushiroku sizzled with black lightning and molten flames, meeting both his enemies.

BOOM!

The blade crashed into Ace and the Fist, turning the world upside down.

The very Castle forged with thick steel and fine Adam's Oak was made to house the First Twenty was instantly eradicated.

The shockwave of their collision destroyed everything, from the floor to the ceiling, from the doors to the walls, from the foundation to its very core.

*Vvoooo!* The destructive whirlwinds released took the rotten corpses and sent them to the skies, raining them down alongside dust and blood.

It stretched to the edges of God Valley, birthing tides that swallowed the ships beyond its coasts. The entire evening sun was dulled out, and the heavens themselves were reduced to smithereens. All the land near the clash was blackened earth overseen with a scarred sky.

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"Hehe!" Rocks chuckled at the sight of their weapons failing to physically meet his foes.

"Come on then!" With a resounding cry of wrath, the evil pirate forced his weapon forth, even burning off bits of his hand against the combined Haki of Garp and Roger.

The skin of his fingers was boiled away, exposing the skeleton below. The man broke into a crazed laugh as the weapon continued its onslaught, meeting the two incoming attacks.

Boom!

A deep tremor coursed like a gong shaken with a dull clang. Garp and Roger flew across ruined earth, quickly coming to a safe stop.

Roger looked down to see his feet had sunk a meter into the earth and grinned. "Hehe, Garp, nail him down!"

He didn't wait for a reply and recklessly tossed his Ace into the sky before running ahead.

*Fwwm* An annoyed Garp's right arm pulsed with infinite momentum, an effect born from his Haki Layering.

"Don't tell me what to do!" With a guttural roar, he punched ahead, meeting the butt of Ace like a hammer hitting a nail.

BOOM!

A sonic boom went off as the Supreme Blade was shot forward with speeds going faster than lightning, tearing the infernal atmosphere open.

Rocks grinned, his impeccable Observation tracking the projectile with great accuracy.

Clang!

The sound was enough to pop eardrums, but it was simply music to Rocks' ears. He dug his feet into the ground, pushing Ace back.

But it was then a dark shadow arrived above, arcing with black lightning.

*Purrup* A thick layer of Ryuo wrapped alongside Roger's fist, which he slammed onto Rocks' head. Unfortunately, the enemy pirate was long prepared.

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"Deathly Hallows."

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The thick, black smoke formed a shield, harvesting the deaths from the war. It was as hard as diamonds, quickly locking the famed pirate at a safe distance.

*Szzzzz* Roger frowned as he felt his Emission Haki corrode away, effectively dissolving it.

Rocks grinned at the frozen Roger and reached out to grab Ace with his open hand, forcing it into submission with the Colour of the Supreme King.

*Whurrr!* The two Supreme Swords released an X-shaped arc of energy, withering black in colour in Roger's direction. Rocks' wild yet overwhelming strength perfectly showcased the sheer sharpness of the famed blades. 

"This might sting a little," the stubbled Roger mused, feeling the hellacious attack inching toward him. But the flash in his eyes brought a smile to his face.

"Hehe, I knew you'd have my back!"

"Shut up!" Garp's roar echoed through the chaos as he released an unstoppable force of his own, spinning in the air and punching downwards.

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"Galaxy Impact!"

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The dual-sword slash was easily obliterated, allowing Roger a window of opportunity.

The future Pirate King's hand shot out through the dust cloud, snatching Ace from Xebec's hands. 

He flipped off the ground, twirling the air and landing a slash at the enemy's nape.

Clang!

It was like hitting metal—a dense plate of Haki swirling around his neck. The force echoed through Ace and into Roger's hand; it felt like punching a brick wall.

.

"Touch of Death!"

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Mokushiroku released a deathly attack that sent shivers down one's spine from its chill and demonic nature, shrieking its way to Roger.

"Damn you, Roger. Making me do all the work!"

Garp flickered ahead, his muscular, Haki-blessed body eating the entire attack and being thrown aside.

"It's 'cause I trust you!" Roger's eyes sharpened much like his blade. Thick strands of Conqueror's Haki spazzed from Ace and released a deafening attack at the open Xebec.

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"Divine Departure!"

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Rocks raised his empty right hand and grabbed at the coming attack with his bare skin.

The slash cut open the earth as it was directed across, only to meet a palm howling with black energy.

"Huh?" Roger blinked as he was held up in the air, and his mighty attack withered away.

Xebec licked his lips at the pain born from the flesh within his palms being decimated. 

With a violent tug, he pulled Ace and Roger down and slashed the Mokushiroku in his left hand.

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"Deathly Departure!"

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Roger's eyes widened as his body was folded across the ungodly attack. He was thrusted across the hellfire land, crossing hundreds of meters in an instant.

"This kind of pain reminds me that I'm still alive..." the Abyssal Sin murmured, looking at the deep gash at his right palm.

*Drip* *Drop* Corrupted black blood dribbled out, mostly hiding the cracked and shattered bones within.

But it was then a dark figure appeared in front of the lost Xebec, bubbling with Haki.

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"Black Hole!"

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Garp's vice-like grip reached Rocks' jaw, digging his thick fingers into the mandible. The Vice Admiral then slammed the evil pirate deep into the darkened ground, black lightning crackling from the impact and opening a crater.

Boom!

Rocks grunted as he was drilled deep down, his deathly body corroding through the land.

The Machine known as Garp didn't stop there. He popped the air with Moonwalk, spinning around and unleashing another overpowering attack.

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"Galaxy Impact!"

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The fist had no mercy—it painted a beautiful picture of a nebula in deep space. It shattered a hefty chunk of God Valley, and all that force crashed onto Xebec.

…

"Wahahaha! This is getting fun."

Garp scoffed at his "partner" appearing next to him. However, the gravity of the situation made him relent.

Instead, Garp solemnly remarked about something he noticed in his tussle so far, "That monster can see the future...but he chooses not to."

Roger rubbed the back of his neck, dryly laughing at the thought. "Wahaha! I bet he's tired of spoiling the fun with his own Observation. I guess that's what happens when you're the strongest."

*Vvvooo* Yet their cheery mood fell apart as they smelled the stench of death again, washing the battlefield with an ominous breeze.

The monstrous figure of Rocks exploded out of the ground like a corpse escaping its grave.

"Xahahahaha! This is what I've been waiting for!"

He wiped away the black blood leaking down his scarred face, even licking at the fresh liquid on his fingers. 

The marine-pirate duo watched in apprehension, seeing Rocks swarm with his deathly powers.

His scarred face turned black, not shiny like Haki's, but dull and emanating with rotten heat.

His ripped clothes had left his chest bare, unveiling a plethora of scars. Each was now sizzling with black lightning as the remaining flesh was covered with darkness.

He was a spirit of pure, unadulterated malignance towards the world, fuelling his desire to sit atop its throne.

"Don't either of you die too soon," Xebec spat with a hoarse and broken voice, smirking like the devil incarnate. "You'll ruin my fun."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

While Saturn oversees the safety of the Gods, Rocks faces the team-up of Roger and Garp.

Garp wishes to reduce the casualties, while Roger does not want to give Xebec even a remote chance of surviving. After all, by now, Roger has chosen to give up pirating and, as seen in canon, will soon enter a ten-year-long vacation before returning to find the One Piece as he learns of his damning sickness.

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