One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 99: [99] History in the Making

[2315 words]

Last day of the giveaway in Discord.

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[Off the Coast of G-2]

A huge array of battleships spearheading a marine fleet. 

Ten thousand elite troops were dispatched from Marineford, under the control of a powerful officer.

"Admiral Sengoku, we will arrive at G-2 in two hours," a soldier, with the rank of Vice Admiral, stated.

The man seated at the desk before him was not overly satisfied. 

"It's been ten hours since we lost communication with G-2, and four hours since Basara hung up his call. I have a bad feeling about this."

"T-This is Admiral Basara we are talking about," the Vice Admiral exclaimed with disbelief. "Do you think something could have gone wrong?"

Sengoku took off his glasses, wiping away a stain. "The waves and tides that were incessantly being generated had suddenly died down, which means the battle has come to an end," he concluded.

"Yet Basara has made no contact regarding it."

The Vice Admiral, named Rizzo, thought for a second and chimed in, "Perhaps his transponder snail was damaged during the clash."

Sengoku sighed into his seat. "The enemy is the Sin Incarnate of the Rocks Pirates, alongside a handful of his pirates."

Rizzo still felt his superior's worries, hoping to settle them with an insightful thought, "Sir, you were able to defeat him a few years back at Mora Island, how could he possibly reach the level of beating Admiral Basara…"

Sengoku looked at his deputy and could not help but rub his temples.

"The pirate I fought was a rough gem in need of carving, Rocks saw that as well. He's been pulling world-altering moves over the past two years now."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Damien had something to do with the World News Agency's actions too," the Admiral joked to himself.

Though his tone shifted into seriousness once more, "He has bested Zephyr and was a major reason for the Remote Reverie, added to that is the blasted 'D' in his name—a recipe for disaster."

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[Hachinosu]

"Kong, that wily fox. He actually hid the janitor crew with three masked Vice Admirals," Shakky sighed. 

A few papers lay scattered at her desk in the main lounge. 

"Looks like he knew we'd send troops to break Kaido out." The words attracted her attention as she turned to the other pirate in the large room. 

She acknowledged his presence and ran through another few pieces of intel, "Thankfully the intel on the Admiral being Basara was correct, and not Kurowashi."

Newgate, who was casually sitting at a huge chair, became curious, "What do you mean?"

Shakky puffed out a cloud of smoke, eyeing the giant pirate. "Damien-chan has a glaring weakness. At his age and level of experience, he is not fit for extended battles; a drawn-out conflict will be his downfall."

The woman tapped the informational papers in front of her, a sheet of paper detailing the top-level marines. 

"Masao aka Kurowashi, can easily counter that weakness. At least with Basara, there's still a chance to overpower him… Not that it's that much easier with a man who can control mountains."

Whitebeard put down his jug of alcohol with narrowed eyes, "You want me to go?"

Shakky paused for a second, only to shake her head. 

"Since he said he would deal with it, it's best to let him be," the Black Death answered. "Damien-chan has a habit of pulling crazy results, let's see how it goes."

.

Shakky then glared at Whitebeard with a questioning look, "When did you start dwelling on the condition of pirates?"

"Gurararara! I've seen all kinds of scum at Hachinosu. Then came that fearless pirate out of a small sea, it would be a waste for such a kid to die young."

Shakky sucked on her cigar, beaming a smirk, "I stayed past my bill to see how far Damien-chan can go, looks like he'll be all grown up soon."

Newgate nodded, though he could not help but bring up another thought. 

"Do you think he can take Basara out? That guy is pretty strong."

Shakky puffed a cloud of smoke, and answered with a question, "You're the one who clashed with him most recently, what do you think?"

Whitebeard leaned back into his seat, gazing at the sky visible through the window. "He was still a little green, but I noticed his Haki was at a breaking point."

"Is that why you used that technique, to teach it to him?" the woman asked with a smile. 

Newgate grinned at the clouds, "He's an interesting little monster, if he can learn that power then perhaps he has a chance at an Admiral."

"After all, Haki can only bloom in high-stake battles."

Whitebeard took a deep sip of his saké, twisting the grip of the jug in his hands, forcing the drink to swirl within its container. "If he takes Basara down, then it would be time for the Fourth Titan of the Rocks Pirates to emerge."

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[The Ruins of G-2]

All that remained of the once fear-inducing marine base was a cacophony of debris. 

Broken forests, ruined walls, destroyed foundation of the base, even corpses of the three giants.

On one such collection of debris was a group of pirates.

Damien was laid out like a corpse, his body greatly weakened. Nearby was the body of Indra, breathing, but immobile.

"Commander… are you still breathing?"

The Sin Incarnate's eyes opened and glared at the darkened sky, "My body feels heavier than the mountains Basara threw at me."

His eyes traced the starry sky and toward the direction where the voice came from. "Indra, you're not planning on dying on me yet, are you?"

The fallen swordsman exhaled a tired heave, realigning his thoughts, "Just a few scratches, I'll be good to go soon…"

…

Other pirates littered the floor, and each nearly passed out. 

All but Pablo were on their deathbeds. "I told you, mi amigos, excess adrenaline will kill your spirit the moment it dies down."

He smoked on a cigar, polishing his twin pistols.

Pablo eyed Indra from the side, trying to hide his shock by the smoke of his cigarette. 'Five shots of stimulants of that intensity will practically cause your heart to explode from hypertension, what a monster.'

He did not even try to think about Damien's condition, it was beyond his cognition.

"Here, these bullets will help hide the fatigue away."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! 

He unloaded a clip of pink bullets into his companions.

.

Kaen slowly got up, his breathing erratic, "There was some serious art in that move of yours, Commander! You sank the goddamn base!"

Nomu, the saké man, felt the opposite, "I thought we'd be swallowed by the sea as well, I've never seen the Curse of the Sea be so ruthless!"

"Arai thinks so too."

They all turned to the new addition who had somewhere strung along their division.

"Is turning into a giant snake a thing of your people, amigo?" 

Arai tilted his head, taking in the question, "No, Arai was hungry and ate cute fruit, the taste was not cute."

Kaen drank some saké, credit to having a saké-fruit user on your side, and shot back, "That was no ordinary snake!"

Damien, who had recovered enough energy to talk, cleared the confusion. "Snake-Snake Fruit – Ancient Model Titanoboa."

[Image (in Discord)]

He turned to Arai and remarked, "It's a rare power, though not as rare as your inherent one."

Damien picked up a pebble and threw it.

*Fwooo* The projectile shot at great speeds, zooming through the air and onto Arai's shoulder. The entire deltoid exploded into a fountain of stones, littering the debris island.

The victim blinked, scratching his head, "Arai body weird."

He pieced back his shoulder, all back to new.

Damien felt his horizons being broadened, the vast array of species and tribes of One Piece were simply too many to count.

With innumerable islands came countless specialties and quirks of their inhabitants.

…

Eventually, the others slowly collected the bearings, giving Damien some time to think.

He looked to the far right, his eyes landing on a body resting on a large log: shredding clothing, bloodied appearance, visibly a corpse.

A giant weapon with a claw-like edge gorged into the body's chest, pulsing with a dull red.

'Basara was considered as a Middle Tier Yonko level threat by Sibyl, no wonder my strength hasn't advanced to that level,' Damien thought.

'But I did pick on something else…'

At that moment, the young pirate recalled a special feeling in his heart from earlier. He raised his left arm and concentrated the sensation once more.

*Grrrrrr* *Spark*

The air started to grumble as the Haki flooded in. A raging dark red coat of Haki aggressively churning, ready to be unleashed.

Within seconds, black lightning began to spark out around the limb, coursing with the volatile Haki. The actions drew the attention of the rest, their eyes glued to the display.

.

Kaido, who was sulking in the corner from a mood shift, glared at the Haki.

"Oye, Oye! *Hic* That's the technique the Captain uses," he muttered.

Damien felt his gaze, turning to the beast. *Fwoo* The pirate flickered away, appearing above the hulking pirate.

BAM!

With the left fist, Damien met Kaido's face, sending ripples of force to swim through his skin, echoing through his skull.

"Augghh!" he groaned, going full Humpty Dumpty and had a great fall. 

Kaido spat out some blood, grabbing his ringing head while beaming a bloody grin, "That power is nice, I'll master it and beat the shit out of you!"

Damien scoffed at the Oni, "That sounds vastly different from gratitude, Kaido. Don't forget, you owe me big time."

The bloodied beast glared at him, "Huh!? I would have broken out of there eventually anyway!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Kaido smashed his club onto the floor, nearly causing their debris island to sink.

"Just wait, I'll break you in half soon enough!"

"Your measly bounty tells me a different tale."

…

[An Hour Later]

Slowly but surely, the pirates had recovered enough to move around.

Damien, who had depleted his stamina, opted to fish out a few Sea Kings into a hearty meal.

"Eat quick, we gotta flee soon, the marine reinforcements can arrive any time now and I have no fuel left to take on another Admiral."

The eight pirates dove right in, devouring a month's worth of food within seconds.

Sea Kings arrived once more, as per Damien's order, washing their necks as Indra sliced them apart. Kaen used his fruit to cook them ready while Nomu supplied the drinks with his powers.

…

"Man, I never thought Admirals were so tough," Kaen muttered as he gnawed at a giant piece of meat.

"Awakened fruit ability, what a ridiculous power," Nomu grumbled from the side, drinking his own fluids from his thumb.

Indra polished his sword, listening to their conversation, "Admirals are the greatest weapons at the Navy's disposal, natural disasters, even."

Shing!

His sharpened sword pointed at the five fodder pirates, its blade reflected the moonlight. "You'd do well to remember that, next time I won't go about protecting you," Indra said with a sharp tone.

Majin gulped, remembering the time when Indra came to their rescue a few hours ago. "There won't be a next time!"

The other four nodded along without any hints of disagreement.

.

The stern swordsman then turned to his commander and put out a vial containing a few green pieces of ore.

"Commander, I found these at G-2," he said, placing the glass vial in front of Damien.

"What are they?"

"I'm unsure, but the few notes scattered around stated that these are experimental minerals found by the World Government in islands blanketed in darkness for the majority of the day."

"They were sent here to be weaponized."

Damien hummed in thought.

"There's a few symbols on it," he read out, referring to the three pictograms on the seal.

"Vacuum sealed, explosive, highly reactive," Damien interpreted, much credit to his years of study.

Beyond that, they were similar to the hazard symbols detailed on chemicals. "They should react strongly to oxgyen, producing heat and energy."

Indra nodded in understanding, "An explosive."

"Of course, the Government would seek to weaponize it. Rahaha, Those bastards."

Damien pocketed the ore, perhaps it would be of use someday.

.

He then looked around and felt something missing from this impromptu feast.

He slammed his saké jug onto the ground with a bang, loudly declaring, "For now, we celebrate our victory over an Admiral of the Navy Headquarters! Enjoy it while it lasts!"

"Majajajaja!"

"Ura-girururu!"

"Eughuhuhu!"

"Arai is laughing!"

"Pabobobobo!"

"An Admiral, we brought down an Admiral!"

A mix of distinct laughter, further amplified by that of two louder ones.

"WORORORO!"

"Rahahahaha!"

Even the reticent Indra smirked.

.

Though the cheery atmosphere, one born out from the fall of Basara and the ruining of a beacon of the Navy, G-2, was disrupted.

The boisterous air warped into that of deep and unabated tension to the point where the hair on one's skin would spike up.

*Shing!* Indra reached for his sword, wrapping it with Haki.

Kaido's laugh warped into an all-out grin as he readied his club.

The others tossed aside their food, bringing out their weapons as well.

"..."

Damien's eyes ran to the sky, narrowing at a coming threat. "Looks like we have an uninvited guest," the pirate muttered. 'Stronger than Basara.'

The figure gracefully landed, almost as if he had floated down from the clouds. White hair, blood-red eyes, a refined appearance and an umbrella added to a kind smile.

Damien recognized him immediately, after all, he was a threat listed at the same level as his Captain.

"What is a man as aloof as you doing here… Patrick Redfield."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Redfield is not an original character, he was made by Oda.

The custom Super Rookie giveaway ends in less than a day (3 winners): https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q