[2844 words]
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*Squak*
A cheery morning rose in the mellow lands of Sabaody Archipelago.
The people were embraced in the warm rays as the birds did their usual flyover.
It was peaceful.
The crowd was bursting as usual. Some pirates could be seen here and there.
Perhaps it was due to the serene weather or perhaps that the Celestial Dragons had stopped appearing beyond the safe walls of Mariejois for a few weeks now.
And under the unsuspecting eyes of the public, 2 people walked through the mangroves.
.
One seemed like a woman, her head covered with a hood while wearing a loose cloak.
The other was a man of small stature, barely hitting the 7-foot mark.
.
"Ara~, I've never seen Semei Kikan work so fluidly, Damien-chan," she said. "I can't even sense anything off about you with my Haki."
The young yet small man gave a knowing nod - it was Damien.
He was using Seimei Kikan in tandem with his Persona skill.
"Well, revealing my identity right now could bring a lot of trouble to your establishment, Shakky-nee."
.
He wasn't far off. Damien's face has been broadcast all over the world. Added to his somewhat large height and a rather distinct appearance, it would be troublesome to be recognized now.
Though he wasn't afraid of any marine response, it was more for Shakky's safety.
.
The lush grassy roads of the archipelago were well maintained, perhaps for the luxury of the Celestial Dragons that like to roam here.
The usual design was found throughout the land, a wide street with food stalls and markets for the crowd.
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[A While Later]
[Grove 13]
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The 2 then made their way up the hill and onto a plateau. It was at least a hundred meters above the ground yet nothing compared to the sheer massiveness of the actual mangrove that stood even taller before their very eyes. Seemingly scraping the skies.
"Here we are!" Shakky said with a satisfied smile.
.
Damien eyed the area.
Grove 13 was near the center of the Archipelago.
It was connected to the other larger industries, the amusement park, the hotel area, the tourist zone and even the lawless region.
The one place it was far from - the marine base located at Grove 66.
Quite a nice place for a pirate establishment to flourish in.
Plus, it was located on a high altitude, giving Shakky a decent time to react in the case of any mobs of pirates or marines that may attempt to take the reward on her head.
.
"Did you think of a name for the bar?" Damien asked the excited woman.
Shakky hummed while tapping her chin and gave a nod.
.
"Shakky's Rip-Off Bar!"
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Damien rolled his eyes, "At least you're honest."
He then walked slightly forwards.
He raised both hands out, extended before himself.
"Grow freely, Kenny."
Under Shakky's curious eyes, the hillside suddenly began to shake.
*Rumble*
The giant mangrove far behind the area seemed to mould about as some of the roots began to dance like fluid material.
At that moment, Kenny, the conscience of the Yarukiman Mangroves trees, was churning as per Damien's will.
It took a few minutes but it seemed as if a large structure had appeared out of the ground, seemingly connected to the roots of the giant tree behind it.
It was mixed with the sediments and other earth matter as it came into being.
Brick walls with a rounded front area. Large doors and windows frames set.
It was move-in ready!
[A/N: Image of the Bar.]
.
"Ara~, your powers will put all the construction workers out of commission."
Walking in, there was a nice simplistic bar with a large counter and seating.
"You'll have to order the appliances and other furniture, I made what I thought would fit," Damien said.
Shakky saw the main design and was instantly in love.
'Well I did put up what was in the original bar with some better quality,' Damien thought as he tapped his finger on the thick wood.
"I love it, Damien-chan, thank you!" The woman responded with a cheery smile.
[A/N: Bar layout.]
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"Well, as long as you don't rip me off when I come here then it's all good," Damien said with a nostalgic smile.
Though he was only doing what he owed. Shakky had previously spent many hours helping Damien perfect his Observation Haki. On top of that, she was one of the select few on the Rocks Ship that actually meant something after the past 3 and a half years since he became a pirate.
.
The woman sat down on a stool while Damien sat on one of the seats.
The 2 seemed lost in thought.
"You know Damien-chan," Shakky spoke up. "Since Taicho… no, Xebec-san's crew came to be, I had weeded out tens of Cipher Pol agents and thousands of undercover marines. The number of pirates who tried to attack at night with poison or sneak attacks wasn't low either."
She blew out a large cloud of smoke and continued, "My Ravens were almost always there to take out these threats before they swelled up too much. But with that gone, the amount of infighting and chance of betrayal will balloon."
Damien narrowed his eyes in thought and couldn't help but nod.
"Mhm, even with the captain's overwhelming spirit, the number of men trying to swipe the absurd bounties on our heads is only increasing."
He then paused, But Shakky-nee, you should know that I care less about a bunch of living corpses."
.
The former pirate burst out into a hearty chuckle.
"Of course I know that. Some weak pirates who have to rely on sneak attacks can never take you down. But the one you need to be careful of is Cipher Pol."
*Poof*
Another cloud of smoke came into being as the woman continued to speak.
"Xerxes."
"I was able to get one of the CP-3 agents to speak. Xerxes is the one who will surely have his rats sneak in. I wouldn't be surprised if they were already on board."
Her eyes then drifted to the rays of sun that crept through the door left ajar, "There is also another marine division I've heard about."
Damien nodded, "Like Cipher Pol Aigis Zero is meant more to protect the interests of the Celestial Dragons. The Navy also has their own super undercover force."
He then smiled, "I already found a few of them. Rahaha! Though it's more fun to keep them thinking their cover is still intact."
Shakky shook her head with a defeated smile, "Well, just take care of yourself."
.
The newly crafted wood boards creaked as some remaining air seemed to escape from below due to Damien's weight. He walked in front of the woman.
"I should be heading out now, Shakky-nee, it will be hard to find Extinction Valley once the night hits."
The woman nodded with a small smile as the 2 then walked out once more, the morning wind gracing them.
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"Visit from time to time, you're always welcome here," Shakky said as she hugged the far taller young man.
Damien was initially 8'4 and pathetically weak when he met the former pirate before him. Now, after 3 and a half years, he had almost hit 11 feet and with vastly superior strength from before.
Rising from the West Blue to becoming one of the strongest pirates currently alive.
"I know you have a big goal in mind, Damien-chan," She said as they separated, barely reaching his upper chest.
"I've seen you grow from a young seedling to a strong and powerful tree that even the World Government can't cut down. I guess I can only watch from the newspapers now," she said, chuckling at the last part.
"I'll be rooting for you from my little bar here, good luck, Damien."
.
The red-eyed youth nodded slightly, noticing Shakky's lack of usual joking demeanour.
The multiple World-Level Quests still sitting, waiting to be claimed were the first thing that came to mind. And yet, even after so much time and training, they still felt a ways away.
"I'll see you soon, Shakky-nee."
The woman reputed as the Black Death could only stare at the horizon as she saw the air squeeze out a low whistle as the young man disappeared, off to untold horrors of the New World.
"I feel like he'll make me worry even more than usual," she hummed, walking back into the bar.
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[A Few Hours Later]
.
Through the sea of clouds was a flash of black and red.
Damien was currently jetting through the skies, utilizing his [Flight] of the 6 Supreme Arts. A very handy skill.
In unison with his [Weather Warping], it seemed as if a cut in the skies was ever-present as the horrid weather of the New World was kept in control.
'Awakening is fully understanding the true capabilities of one's Devil Fruit's power,' he thought.
Paramecia with emission-type powers like growing mountains or producing strings gain the ability to turn the surroundings into their powers. Added to far greater control of said powers.
A few notable Awakened that came to be found were the likes of Xebec, Whitebeard, Shiki, Basara and the future Doflamingo and Douglas Bullet.
"Extinction Valley aka the Isle of Disasters. It should give me the push I need to fully Awaken, I've partially done it with my Hadean Form, just a little more and it should be fully set," He said while zipping through the air.
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"Sibyl, tell me about what comes after Awakening."
A voice erupted in his mind.
[Every fruit's final stage is that of complete comprehension, Awakening, as you know it. But that doesn't mean you can't take it to a higher level either.]
Sibyl went on to say, [Every fruit is restricted with a limit, the Fruit Rating.]
Damien nodded.
The System Fruit Rating was a scale of 1 to 7 stars.
7 Star fruits were dubbed as the 'Ultimate-Class Fruits'.
Whereas the 6.5 Star fruits were called the 'Exceptional-Class Fruits'.
Damien's Pulverize-Pulverize Fruit belonged to the latter.
.
"I remember Toki's fruit Evolved when I gave her the Eternal Ore. Tell me exactly what Fruit Evolution can do," he asked with a certain expectation.
[Before getting to that, you need to know that all fruits follow a certain Path. Each fruit has an inferior and/or superior version of itself.] she said.
[For example, the Chill-Chill Fruit is the weaker version of the Cold-Cold Fruit. And the Cold-Cold Fruit is the weaker version of the Ice-Ice Fruit. Flint-Flint Fruit of the Fire-Fire Fruit and so forth and so on.]
[Usually, these are made distinct by the fruit rating gap between them. If Ice-Ice Fruit is a 6.5 Star fruit, then the Cold-Cold Fruit would be only a 6 Star fruit.]
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Damien understood the main idea, "My fruit has such a thing too?"
[The Press-Press Fruit leads to the Divide-Divide Fruit and finally to the Pulverize-Pulverize Fruit. From 5.5 to 5 to 6.5 Stars, respectively.]
"I take it they can go beyond into the 7 Star category?"
[...]
There was a bit of a pause until the voice continued.
[Normally that category is kept minimal. All fruit taken under the 12 World Laws.]
They were the 12 forces that held the universe together.
Life.
Death.
Eternity.
Infinity.
Mind.
Time.
Space.
Soul.
Power.
Reality.
Creation.
And finally, Destruction.
Each category had a few Devil Fruits associated with them, some Damien had come into contact with.
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[A Devil Fruit can evolve if it comes into contact with an item that can also be scaled at the same rating all the while having a certain connection to said fruit.] Sibyl said.
[Like for Toki, as you said. The 'Eternal Ore' grants Eternity and endless Time. Due to this connection and her Time-Time Fruit, she was able to evolve a step further.]
[Can a 6.5 Star Fruit evolve into a 7 Star fruit? Of course it can!]
Damien's eyes brightened as he heard the rather exciting news.
[But you need to find a fitting Fruit Evolution Token for that to even be something more than a dream.] She concluded.
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[7 Hours Later]
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Damien had been continuously speeding through the clouds, leaving behind a trail of broken gases. The man was on a mission for sure.
After hearing the possibility of Fruit Evolution, naturally, he was rather excited.
That aside, his current goal in terms of increasing power remained to finally Awaken.
He ate his fruit at the tender age of 7.
After a decade of growth with those powers. Understanding them, reaching greater heights with them, he would finally Awaken them!
He was currently rated around the Upper Stages of High-Tier Yonko and the next big jump was only steps away.
---
Another few minutes passed as Damien neared his destination.
Xebec had gone to the Isle of Spirits - Death Valley, to fully understand his fruit and now Damien made his way to one of the other 2 Valleys, Extinction Valley.
Death Valley was a constantly mobile location that resided in an eternal hurricane. The howls of the fallen spirit were the legend that kept these winds ever-raging.
As for Extinction Valley?
The accepted legend states that every natural disaster known to man could be found at this hell-hole.
And that all the terrors that have ravaged the world had originated from here.
According to some conspiracy theorists, the Isle of Disasters is where quite a few fruits had come into being from.
These included the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Tornado-Tornado Fruit, the Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit, the Volcano-Volcano Fruit, the Storm-Storm Fruit and many more.
The theory seemed to hold some plausibility.
.
All that aside, no rational soul would want to go here!
Not even the Titan-Class Sea Kings dared to enter the boundaries of such a place.
As for its location?
It isn't fully documented.
Naturally, there are those brave enough, or more accurately, foolish enough, to venture to this area.
Alas, none returned to tell the tale. Only some broken legends pieced together.
You wish to go to Extinction Valley?
Head west beyond the New World.
That's all that's known.
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After 11 hours of westward flying, Damien arrived at something out of the ordinary.
Beyond him were the usual turbulent seas, except the real wonder was what was beyond it.
He could see the giant tsunamis from far away.
They weren't normal waves either…
"The waves are..., upside down?" Damien was left stumped.
For the land within his vision was being bathed by tides that seemed to be upside down!
Powerful bangs erupted as endless amounts of waves smashed down upon the rocky lands.
It was a giant land of coastal tsunamis!
Added to the constant rain, it was quite the terror of a spectacle.
*Flutter*
Damien then took out a parchment, it was a large brown paper that seemed to have been weathered by age. Left crinkly and greatly oxidized.
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
[Map of Surroundings]
[Shows all land and sea area within 100 kilometers in all directions.]
[By studying prior human interactions, the map can also generate certain qualities about distinct regions found within the map.]
[This item has been {Refined}.]
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
This item had been in Damien's inventory for a long time now. He got it all the way back alongside his Beginner's Gift Pack! (Chapter 3)
The parchment seemed as if it could be blown away any second, alas, it began to flutter.
Damien felt the subtle vibrations as the map seemed to be blessed with ink!
Slowly but surely, distinct and rather exact imaging became apparent as a map was drawn, titled - Extinction Valley.
.
Damien studied the map.
There were 11 major regions.
Where he was, in the East, the "Tempest Channel," could be found.
Further north would lead to the "Desert of the Starved."
Down to the Southeast was the "The Unknown Regions."
To the Southwest, was the region named "Hell."
At the center was a ring-like region called, "The Ring of Untold Horrors."
Within said the core of said ring was a small area titled, "The Haven."
Near the northern center was a smaller land called, "Tremor District."
Beyond that was, "The Savage Lands."
If you went even further north, you would find, "Stormy Beach."
Travelling past all these would lead to the northernmost region - the "Tundra of Fleeting Hope."
And lastly, one region unconnected to the rest.
It was on the west side, a smaller island of its own.
It was dubbed, "No Man's Land!"
[A/N: Map Image.]
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Damien currently needed to fully understand his fruit.
Technically speaking, in another 2-3 years, he would Awaken naturally.
However, a greater war was about to erupt where even Yonko-Level powers may fall!
It was the grand event that was said to have caused the absolute annihilation of the Rocks Pirates, a time not too far from now.
Considering the danger of the coming terror, Damien had opted to Awaken as soon as possible.
He required a catalyst, one that stood before him now.
.
A satisfied smile was worn on the young pirate's face, "Well, let's begin."
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