One Piece: Path to Power

[2187 words]

I was on a roll and typed up 5000 words of draft chapters, worship me, mortals! ​​

In truth, I finished my homework yesterday so I could get this chapter out for you guys, enjoy.

Join discord for reminders released as soon as chapters are dropped!

https://discord.gg/A2KQAkyCvm

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[At an Island in the Paradise Sea]

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"638 till nap..."

"637 till nap..."

"636 till nap..."

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There was a lone boy at the top of a cliff on an uninhabited island.

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The boy had puffy black hair, simple yet dirty clothes, and an annoyed expression as he continued his workout.

He was currently doing pushups with a giant boulder resting upon his back, he was surely an interesting individual.

One who counted down for every rep rather than the other way around.

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"619 till nap..."

"618 till nap..."

"617 till nap..."

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He continued the monotonous exercise until he heard a noise of a bird.

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"Squak!"

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A seagull landed on the tree, it had a newspaper held in its claws.

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"Hmm? A report... *YAWN*, well let's see what we got...," The kid jumped up as the rock slammed on the ground.

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He took out a coin and exchanged it for the news.

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"Satte~" He sat on a nearby log and started to read.

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...

...

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"A ra ra!"

"Damien-san and his crew have done something crazy again!" He smiled and read on.

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"Rocks Pirates, Roger Pirates & Borealis Pirate..."

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"Mora Island Annual Auction, Supreme Grade Sword..."

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"Navy confronts all 3 pirates..."

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"The 'Great Sin' Xebec and the 'Mad King' Roger fought!"

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Kuzan's eyes traced over the images of the ruined lands.

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"The 'Earth-Shaker killed the Overlord, 'Crazed Wind' Esso Borealis!" Kuzan's eye widened as he saw this.

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The image of Borealis' corpse was then shown.

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"Naval battle rages over the seas while Garp the Fist and Sengoku the Buddha clash with notorious pirates!"

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Kuzan eyes then trace over the next image.

A smirk emerges on his childish face.

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The picture should Admiral Sengoku using his fruit power while facing an amoured man with an ax, a giant youth with a club, and a red-eyed young man.

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"Hehe, Damien-san fought an Admiral, maybe he really can do what he said...", the boy muttered as he continued with the story.

---

The news mentioned a few major events.

The Clash between the Emperor-Level figures.

Damien, Kaido, and Silver Axe vs Sengoku.

Rayleigh & Gaban vs Garp.

Golden Lion Shiki's arrival as Roger Pirates and the Navy retreat.

Shiki and Xebec's meeting...

New bounty posters.

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"Hehe, well I should get back to my pushups... I was at, Ah! My memory is so weak!"

"Right, 46 left!" He laughed with a mischievous smile but then heard a growl.

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"RAWR!"

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A Sea King rose from the sea under the cliff and met the boy's eyes.

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"Alright, alright! It was 173..."

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"RAWR!"

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The news had already spread over the seas, many eyes were drawn into the mess, after all, one of the 3 Overlords has fallen!

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(Damien POV)

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"Aaah..."

I slowly open my eyes as I groan out loud.

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I sit up and check my surroundings.

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'This is...the Titanic...?'

I sighed.

'They could have put me on the bench rather than tossing me on the ground like a sack of potatoes.'

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I then see a giant ogre on the other side, seems like Kaido got the same reception.

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*Groan*

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'Speak of the devil...'

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Kaido too got up and rubbed the top of his head.

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"Ah, morning already?" he yawned.

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"Haaaa, damn ogre, we collapsed after fighting Sengoku, remember?" I jogged his memory.

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"WORORORO! That's right, I forgot..."

He then jumped up and cracked his shoulders.

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"Well, I think they're in the eatery, let's go."

We got up and entered the building as we heard loud sounds from within.

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"JIHAHAHAHA!"

"XAHAHAHAHA!"

"GURARARARA!"

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"Shiki, you damn fool! I already told you to come under my banner yet you are still so stubborn!" Xebec roared.

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"Cheh, Xebec. I told you before I had to make my fleet before anything like that." He responded.

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"Oh, right. Well, since you brought them all over, it seems like you finally accepted?" Xebec asked.

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"JIHAHAHA! Pirates rule the seas! If I can show the world that truth then so be it!"

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I looked at the men before me.

Xebec, a bruised Whitebeard, and another man sat at a large table with booze in their hands.

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The one who just spoke had long wavy golden hair and odd-shaped eyebrows.

He also had 2 long, loose strands of hair running along with his sideburns.

He had a cigar in the left side of his mouth as he drank sake from the other end.

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'This man... he's the 'Golden Lion'! Is this when Shiki joined Xebec?' I asked myself.

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[A/N: Golden Lion Shiki Image]

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Kaido huffed as he saw the man.

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"WORORO! Shiki, fight me!" He yelled out.

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The Golden Lion turned to look at the ogre.

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"JIHAHAHA! Kaido, you want your ass kicked again?" He mocked him.

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Kaido had challenged this man a few years ago and lost and now the ogre wants a rematch.

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"Golden Lion Shiki. So this is why Sengoku let us go?" I asked as I sat at the table, Kaido also did the same.

"Hmm? You're one of the ones who fought Sengoku eh? Jihahaha! To see that golden gorilla bleed, you're not bad!" He roared out.

I shook my head, "I caught him by surprise with my other power, I won't be lucky next time."

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It was true, if it weren't for the surprise factor with my nature powers, Sengoku could have evaded it without much trouble. It would have been the same if he had Futuresight as well.

I am still quite far away from truly facing such monsters.

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"Ara~ It is already impressive for you to push him back, even with Kaido-chan and Silver Axe-kun's help." A feminine voice sounded out.

*Creak*

The doors to the side creaked as our lovely cook walked in with some refreshments and placed them nearby.

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She then smirked as she sat beside me,

"Though it seems like you have more than just the ability to crush things, no, Damien-chan?"

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The 3 powerhouses also looked at me with curiosity as they too wondered about my abilities. After all, having multiple fruit powers is supposed to be a myth.

I just smiled under their gazes, being stared at by such monsters could easily make someone piss their pants but it didn't do much to me.

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"Hmm, well my mother ate a fruit that could manipulate nature. I was a special case and somehow partially inherited it." I said.

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I couldn't lie as anyone with higher Observation Haki could tell if I was being dishonest, but rather told them half of the truth.

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"Gu ra ra? How interesting, a human with 2 fruit powers... GURARARA!" Whitebeard laughed.

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"XAHAHA! Perhaps it's related to your 'hearing of the voice', no, boy?" The captain asked.

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I chuckled, "Hehe, well something like that. Either way, captain, can you tell me what I missed while I slept?"

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Kaido also squinted his eyes, him falling unconscious was rather rare.

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Shakky answered instead.

"Newgate-kun killed Borealis.

Taichou fought Gol D. Roger and got the sword he wanted.

I sailed the Titanic and with the help of Roger's crew and the Borealis ships, we were able to suppress the navy.

But Shiki-kun's fleet was enough to make them retreat after you, Kaido-chan, and Silver Axe-kun fought Sengoku."

She summarized.

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I thought over her words and nodded.

It was as expected, apart from Shiki's arrival that is.

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I then asked, "Silver Axe-san is he here as well?"

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Shakky took a puff of her cigarette and nodded.

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"Silver Axe-kun challenged Taichou in a duel of blades. He lost and is recovering in the infirmary." She informed me.

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My eyebrow went up in curiosity and looked at Xebec,

"You allowed him on the ship?"

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Xebec grinned.

"XAHAHAHA! I like that guy. He twirls his ax quite impressively and his will is quite strong as well."

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I just nodded, this is how this man decided things, if a person is 'interesting' then he can come aboard, period.

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"Gurarara, the marines are all waiting in fear for our next move. Now that an empty seat remains of the 3 Overlords."

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"XAHAHA! That's right! Soon they will all fall and bow down when I sit upon that throne! Once I can Awaken my fruit, they will all kneel!" the madman declared as haki flared off him.

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Shiki then smirked, "Marines, World Government, Celestial Dragons, Admirals..."

"JIHAHAHA. They don't know what's coming!"

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Xebec raised his gourd into the air, "MORE BOOZE! IT'S TIME TO PARTY!"

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[Narrarator POV]

The crew wasn't wrong, per se.

They had taken down an Overlord and now the seas were a mess.

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The vacuum of powers allowed many groups to move.

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The pirates, the other Overlords, the Underworld, major kingdoms; all wanted a piece of the cake left behind by the 'Crazed Wind'.

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Specifically the pirates.

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[Applenine Island]

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A giant apple sat at the center with snow covering the top.

The entire island was layered with fresh snow as the cold wind flowed through the cities.

[A/N: Apllenine Island Image]

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A tall woman with a hat and a pink bikini sat with food placed before her.

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Her eyes darted to the side of the table as she read from the latest newspaper.

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"Xebec and Shiki are meeting up? Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma!"

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She was quite a beautiful woman with a desirable figure yet the huge amount of food stuffed in her mouth made one look away in discomfort.

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"I suppose it's time I will meet them again soon... It's been 2 years already."

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"All of you, get ready to sail to Encephala Island!" She yelled out to the ones around her.

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"HAI, MAMA!" Many voices of varying ages responded as they jumped up from what they were doing.

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[A/N: Charlottle Moscato (the one she killed at the start of WC Arc) was 41 at death. He will be born 1 year from now. In other words, she already has 24 children.]

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[The Island of Superbia]

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Within the New World was a rather peculiar island.

It was a medium-sized island.

Large ports on all sides.

Tens of ships swayed in the gentle current at each dock.

The island had 3 rings, each divided up by large walls.

The outer ring was for imports and exports.

The inner ring is where the main population was.

The city had many people, around 300000 citizens.

Farther into this island's center was the core ring.

Walls surrounded a giant golden castle.

This is the Island of Superbia, the main residence of 1 of the 3 Overlords of the Sea!

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[The Throne Room]

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"Escanor-sama!" A voice ran out as a pirate walked into the hall.

He was looking up as the layout of the room had a giant throne mounted upon a large staircase.

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"Hmm?" A deep voice questioned.

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"E-Escanor-sama, it's the Overlord Borealis... He's dead!" The pirate said in a hurry.

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"..."

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"Ho-ho-ho, interesting." The Overlord said.

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This man was currently sitting upon the golden throne, his frame was muscular yet lean.

He stood at around 10'8 in height and had simple orange hair and mustache.

He wore golden armour and had a magnificent ax mounted into the wall above the throne.

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"Who was it?" He asked.

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"Ah! I-It was the 'Earth-Shaker', Edward Newgate who killed him!" the pirate informed the Overlord.

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"Is that so? Ho-ho-ho-ho."The man laughed.

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Then a silence fell upon the hall.

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"..."

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"U-Um... Escanor-sama, the 'Earth-Shaker' is under the man called Rocks D. Xebec..."

"They say that his strength is even greater than 'The Fist!'"

"W-We should be caref- "

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"You ask me to be careful?" Escanor asked.

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"His strength may rival that Garp, but to me, the one who stands at the top of all beings, he is only worth my pity."

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The man gazed down at the pirate.

"Isn't that right?"

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"O-Of course!"

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[The Island of Encephala]

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Another location in the New World.

A string of 12 islands surrounded one larger one in the center.

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At the center of the large island was a huge factory.

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Tens of thousands of citizens were walking with blank expressions, they showed no exhaustion, no emotion, no nothing.

They simply went on and did what was told by the huge speakers mounted on the watchtowers.

Some carried large pieces of metals, some tended to animals, some fished.

Even the guards held the same demeanor.

It was quite a horrifying sight, there was no sound, no extra movement, just pure synchronization.

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Within a large brain-shaped fort was a man leaning on his right hand while smiling.

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He was the other Overlord of the Sea, Thaddeus Enigma!

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The man was quite well dressed for his line of work.

Though his regal appearance was off-set due to the large burn marks on his face, yet he was carrying a powerful presence.

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He sat before a simple table.

A chessboard laid before him.

The board was a bit unique.

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Instead of the black and white pieces, there were 4 types.

Green, orange, gold, and blue.

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The Overlord was staring at the board as he said in an elegant voice,

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"Borealis is... dead."

"How refreshing."

He smiled and picked up the blue king piece and removed it from the board.

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"It seems like a new piece has entered the game."

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"I suppose it's my turn to make a move now."

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author's Corner:

Hope you liked Kuzan's little cameo, he is training right now and will reunite with MC soon.

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I derived the word 'Encephala' from 'encephalon' which is the scientific name for the brain.

Do recall that Thaddeus Enigma ate the Mind-Mind fruit which allows him to have absolute control over all his subordinates.

Thanks for Reading.

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Random Trivia:

Would you rather go through life unable to forget anything ever or go through life unable to remember anything?

Thanks for Reading!