One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 88: [88] Sorcery

[2105 words]

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As the year 1484 began to wrap up, things only got more turbulent.

The year thus far has welcomed many major events. 

It began with the Reverie which was put on hold for months. Ultimately, due to unforeseen circumstances, it was held remotely, over a transponder snail system. Much like a past Reverie which was done online, though it was due to a worldwide pandemic.

The news that followed this online summit was even crazier, it came in the form of the successful withdrawal of the World News Agency from the World Government's grasp.

As the months went on from then, quite a few crazy headlines began to surface:

A major player that led to the Reverie going remote, Einar D. Damien, was spotted on a small island in the Paradise Sea: Jaya. 

His arrival was marked with an event coined as the "Jaya Island Snooze" where every person on the island had fallen unconscious, credit to the Sin Incarnate.

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[G-5, The New World]

Marine "Grand Line" Fifth Branch.

It was the home of the Marine Base located in the New World, near the Red Line. It housed quite a few suspicious marines, all once criminals of their time, now serving in the Navy.

It is said that the Marines of this branch were insane, cruel, and merciless people who stuck needles into pirates, fed them to sharks, or used them for campfire kindling.

However, that also made them perfect to man a base near the start of the New World.

Yet even with all these bad eggs in their batches, they could not help but scream in terror at what was currently taking place.

"RUN! I-IT'S AN ISLAND!"

"Where can you run? I-It's too damn big!"

"I didn't sign up for this!"

The marines cried out in fear as the colossal-sized land mass fell onto their base with a booming explosion, sending out a mushroom cloud that spanned hundreds of meters into the air.

*Rumble*

The impact alone was enough to shake G-5 to its core, shattering it to oblivion.

A lone man floated in the air, smoking a cigar. A crazed grin etched his face as he viewed his craft—the Golden Lion in the flesh. 

"Hoh? A few survivors," he commented with amusement. "So tell me, what will you do about the second one?"

At his question came another jaw-dropping event.

A giant land mass, a small island, touched down from the skies, creating a sight out of a horror story.

Shiki pointed his finger down and the island obeyed the command.

BOOM!

Another world-shaking explosion followed as the very core of the island cracked, splitting it into rubble.

"Jihahaha! Have another one!"

The same scene played out once more as the third mass of earth arrived, shooting toward the broken base below.

The golden-haired man broke out into a menacing laugh, witnessing the island at the brink of sinking.

.

"Captain Shiki, it's bad, Garp and Sengoku are here!"

The Flying Pirate looked at the snail on his wrist which took upon the face of the pirate relaying the news with a frown.

"…Get ready to withdraw."

He floated up into the sky, beyond the clouds and touched down on his ship.

The funny thing was that his ship was not exactly a ship… it was an island itself!

It had a giant golden lion figurehead while sporting actual trees as the masts of the ship. The sheer size was enough to leave people quaking in fear.

[Island Ship Image (in Discord)]

…

The extent of the damage before the arrival of Garp and Sengoku was beyond acceptable. It left Kong enraged as he scrambled his troops to hunt Shiki down.

Everything that went down was covered in an extensive report by the newly risen World Economy News Paper, under the pen of their star reporter: Morgans.

Hell continued to break loose as the other Rocks Pirates' top dogs made moves of their own:

- Edward Newgate had sunk three Marine Warships as they came too close to Sphinx Island.

- Charlotte Linlin had gone out of her way to scout out a chain of islands in the New World, her oldest ally, Streusen, was left there to terraform said island into a wonderland befitting the Evil Spirit.

- Captain John was sent to collect resources now inaccessible through the Underworld, attacking any Nations in their path. Looting and burning everything in sight.

- The survivors of the Valkyrie Pirates had completely been absorbed by the Rocks Pirates, under the hand of the Shakuyaku and Silver Axe.

- Pitch-black thunderstorms had arrived, reaching out from the ever-spinning hurricane that housed Death Valley. A place which was synonymous with the notorious Rocks.

- A few Super Rookies had made a name for themselves: Voyd Nomu, Henso and the strongest of the bunch, Agon. 

.

What left the marine higher-ups even more panicked was that the Rocks was not the only ones making trouble.

Gol D. Roger and his band of pirates had begun to journey to the final stretch of the New World! According to reports, they were headed straight for the end.

On top of that, The last remaining Overlord, Pryde D. Sol, had also greatly increased his troops after the surging currents in the Underworld.

His proud hand had started to stretch out of Superbia, taking down rival pirate groups and nations alike; he was surely up to something nefarious.

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[Fleet Admiral's Office, Marineford]

Bang!

The newspaper slammed onto the desk, cracks stretching out.

Boom!

It lasted a mere second before the entire structure collapsed, cluttering into a mess.

The doors shot open as five marines ran in. Three of them carried a brand new desk while the other two cleaned up the mess.

…

Two minutes passed as the office had returned to its original appearance.

"Damn Whitebeard, damn Linlin, damn Shiki, damn Sin Incarnate, damn Rocks—damn them all!"

The mighty marine gnashed his teeth in anger, his eyes carrying it further.

Boom!

His arm smashed onto the desk once more. The wood creaked in pain, shattering into pieces once again.

"..."

"Replace it already!" he called out.

The door burst open again, but a sole marine came in this time.

He gulped at the sight of the mess and fearfully reported, "F-Fleet Admiral, we've run out of desks! T-There's a global shortage of them!"

Kong huffed in anger as his right fist smashed into the pile of rubble below.

Boom!

This time, the pieces were reduced to fine particles of dust.

"…"

"I see, thank you for your prudence," he calmly stated, seeming almost humane.

The low-level marine was shaking in his boots, muttering to himself, 'They really did it, they made the Fleet Admiral lose his marbles!'

"T-Then I will excuse myself…" The attendant disappeared faster than Kong could blink.

.

A deep sigh then echoed in the room.

Kong rubbed his temples in frustration, "Tens of billions of berries in damages, those Rocks Pirates really won't stop at anything to leave the New World in shambles…"

"Breaking so many taboos, they really are testing the Five Elders' patience," he muttered to himself.

His eyes drifted to the bounties nailed on a board.

Dozens of wanted posters.

Each was placed in a pyramid shape, aligning with the World Threat Index. It was ordered through levels, the lower the level, the higher the threat.

"Level One, with Herja gone, the number has dropped to nine, then why has hell broken loose even more than ever before!"

Just in the past year, most of these threats had made their names heard, earning their place as the top threats to the peace of the seas: Rocks, Newgate, Roger, Linlin, Shiki, Sol and Rayleigh.

"Thankfully the remaining two have some self-control," Kong mumbled.

His eyes then drifted to the Level Two Threats.

Quite a few big names: Scopper Gaban, Einar D. Damien, Kaido, Silver Axe, Captain John, Shakuyaku.

The Fleet Admiral ran his eyes through the level but he ended up locking onto a single one.

The paper furled about as the top marine tore it off, holding it in one hand.

With a scrutinizing gaze, he thought to himself, "Sin Incarnate. You left a blaring mess at Jaya and disappeared for four months, just what the hell are you up to?"

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[Mortem Island]

Three and a half months had passed.

The date was December 31, 1484 – New Year's Eve.

At the turbulent Mortem Island was a certain someone that the Fleet Admiral would love to get his hands on.

The Sin Incarnate currently sat still on a thick tree stump, his eyes carried a mix of emotions.

"With the constant rumbling of the New World, it is the right time to return," he told himself.

He looked around—Mortem Island, the place he called home for a good portion of his "vacation".

"It's quite poetic to depart at the start of the new year," he decided. "I wonder how Indra is doing with the recruiting sessions."

Damien slowly stood up, stretching his muscles.

The towering pirate had reached a height plateau as he entered the final stretch of his nineteenth year of life.

He stood at a respectable 11' 7" (3.53 m), eclipsing quite a few of his friends and foes, yet being dwarfed by others.

His body which was once scrawny and stick-like back at Renaissance Island, had become ripped with muscles, brimming with endless power.

The imposing figure had garnered a certain air that would leave most nearby trembling in fear.

Over the past few months, Damien had time to ponder on a certain technique, one involving his Deprivation ability.

As it was from his Tokens, it could not be used to physically harm someone, rather it was to be used in a more inanimate nature.

With this thought in mind, Damien began to experiment.

First, he was able to deprive moisture from objects, by drying them up. He could also deprive a rock of its sturdiness, causing it to fall apart. Furthermore, he could deprive the very heat and pressure in the atmosphere to reach a desirable level.

.

With a look of curiosity, Damien brought out a Devil Fruit from his Inventory.

It was a white coconut with feathery swirls all over it.

"Since Devil Fruits reincarnate to the nearest fruit of the same type; the fruit itself is just a vessel to contain the power, one that can switch to a person when eaten."

Damien held the fruit in his right hand as he conversed with himself, "If that's the case, I should be able to do this now…"

As his thoughts cleared up, the pirate unleashed a power from his hand. It took on a gray colour with cracks of white peaking out.

The devil fruit began to shake and rumble, almost as if it was alive.

Damien watched curiously as the fruit's colour dried up, losing its cloudy whiteness. At the same time, silver energy began to leak out from the fruit and into his hand.

…

A minute went by as the mystical coconut had turned into an ordinary, everyday coconut.

Damien tossed it aside as his attention fell onto the energy sparkling in his hand.

He then reached to the side, grabbed an inconspicuous rock and placed his right hand on it.

*Fwooo* A dull wind cried out as the silver energy moved, rushing from its locked position into the mossy rock.

Seconds went on as the energy was no more, leaving behind a simple rock in Damien's left hand.

"Hmm."

A quick thought ran through the pirate's mind, linking itself to the rock. 

Damien's eyes flashed in a crimson shine as he foresaw the inevitable future, "Nice," he muttered.

Time ticked on as his prediction turned into reality.

The mossy rock, no different from any other rock, began to shake. Its hard surface warped and bloomed with two wings. A cute head popped out alongside a sea of white feathers—a white carrier pigeon!

The bird nuzzled into Damien's hand, meeting its creator.

The pirate smiled to himself, placing the rock-turned-bird on the ground and recalling the previous command. 

As expected, it returned to its original shape, an inconspicuous rock with no correlation to the avian from before.

.

"From what I recall, that rat Spandam will eventually acquire a sword that can transform into an elephant, probably a work of Vegapunk."

He then tapped the rock, telling it to transform.

And it did. The gray rock turned into a pigeon once again, showing off its feathery wings, "Then this is my version of 'feeding' a Devil Fruit to an inanimate object!"

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner. 

This was the final timeskip that led to an auspicious date for his 'vacation' to resolve at. 

You may want to remember the names of the Super Rookies for later. 

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