22 Gods and Devil Fruit powers

- perspective change -

Ansarah was worried. She was currently doing the primordial god equivalent of pacing.

She had just ended her meeting with the God of Earth. She had expected things to get heated, but the other primordial was quite respectful, If slightly shrewd. Though the other gods actions worried her to no end.

She knew why Earths god wanted to meet with her, but she didn't expect it to go the way it did. The god may have smiled and left politely, but after peering through the void to watch, she could tell by the response that this being wasn't happy.

"It's all my fault. I hope James is alright." Her voice was still as clear and melodious as ever, yet the air around it trembled slightly as she spoke.

It had all started when she sent James to Odwalla, or as he called it the world of One Piece.

After seeing his soul to its vessel she sought out some of her friends for a chat. They were thrilled to see her, though quite surprised. They had a lot to catch up on. They simply reminisced on random memories and enjoyed each others company. As they were relaxing in comfort, two of her friends the primordial god of time and the celestial god of the sea, asked what made her think to visit. That's when Ansarah spoke of James, the Adventuring soul that she helped into the world of his dreams.

They were shocked. To think a common human soul could survive that long without becoming a vengeful spirit, going insane or just straight up dissipating. They even asked her if he was a young god and if she could have been mistaken. Ansarah new she was right though. James comes from a planet that the natives called Earth. She told them his story with a smile on her face.

Of him slipping through the cycle of reincarnation only to end up a wandering soul. Of him traveling the stars and throwing himself into a black hole. And because he was always alone on earth he didn't feel much different after death. What kept him sane was his desire to see the world and traverse the universe. His endless curiosity and total lack of meaningful connections were what allowed him to retain himself after millennia of loneliness.

Her friends among the gods were shocked that a single soul with no past knowledge could maintain its sanity for thousands of years of solitude. Even some lesser gods may have fallen into depravity after that length of time.

Alittle fact about Gods. They are born just like humans are. They live their lives and pass on into the cycle of reincarnation just the same as mortals.

When an ordinary mortal soul achieves a certain status in one of its former lives, that soul has a chance to reclaim all its past memories. All its knowledge, its skills and experiences will then consolidate into a single new life form. That is what is referred to as the birth of a celestial god.

As that new god grows, it will eventually create a new body out of the greatest aspects of all its past forms. Many gods at this stage also decide to bond elements or aspects into their new form. Making something like that apart of them gives the god control and command over said aspect or element.

When a celestial conceives with another celestial, they give birth to a natural born god. One that's soul doesn't have any past memories, but is strong enough to match any newborn celestial. Zeus and the Olympian's from Greek mythology were all born in this manner.

When a celestial god dies they still travel into the path of reincarnation, only now their soul is too strong to be whipped clean. They retain all their memories and abilities after each death. Every time a god dies they return and forge a new form that's greater than the last. Thats why the older the god, the more powerful they are.

Gods that have died and reformed their bodies countless times through this manner are referred to as Primordial gods. Some are as ancient as life itself. They were said to have fanned the flame of life throughout countless galaxies in many a universe.

They then govern the worlds that they breathe life into. Controlling the souls of those worlds is part of the universes ordeals and one of the many duties of the primordials. All gods of creation must adhere to this rule. Lest souls run amok and the cycle is broken. Often if this goes on for too long I can lead to an unbalance which causes the slow decay of the universe itself. That's why gods tend to pay close attention to their universes reincarnation cycle. And why a god who fails to do this properly is looked down on. It is the most basic duty of the higher beings.

If a god lost track of a soul it wouldn't be that big of a deal if that soul had stayed in the gods territory, but for a soul to leave the universe for another, means that god wasn't doing its job. And no god would collaborate with or respect another god that had lost multiple souls.

Like a warden for a prison. No government trusts a jail that can't hold its prisoners.

So when Earths god heard about a lost soul from one of his worlds being sent into another universe, the god was forced to take action. Too many souls had slipped through the cracks recently, all of Earths young gods were still trying to sort them out.

After nearly a thousand years they found the problem, but it was not an easy one to mend. Turns out a new god was born on Earth and had spent its time trying to master its power. This wanton destruction caused many unknowing lives to come to an end. Leaving many souls to die before their time and allowing more than afew to slip through the cracks. Almost all of these were still in the god of Earths territory, many dissipated before they could be reclaimed, but one soul had gone unnoticed for too long and managed to leave the entire universe behind for another.

But how did news of James travel to Earths god so quickly.

Well, the celestial god of the sea had been very lonely lately. All seven of the ocean worlds he created were devoid of life. He was a very young god. He was attempting, and failing, to help speed up the process to create life, when Ansarah visited. He welcomed her and they spoke for a long while. It gave him a chance to vent his feelings and ask questions to the greater gods. Ansarah had been the first god he had met after being reborn as a celestial. She taught him how to form his new body quicker and helped him choose an element that suited his personality. He chose water. Or more accurately, the sea itself.

After the topic of James came up, Ansarah gave him this interesting tidbit of knowledge. Since he was stuck at the most basic phase of planetary development he figured this was exactly what he needed to get his mind off it. That's when he realized it was also a good opportunity. After chatting some more and parting with his friends among the higher gods, the celestial god of the sea left with hopes of getting answers to his life problems.

He headed for Earth to speak to its god. Earths god did rule over several dozen worlds that are filled with life. He couldn't intrude on another gods territory randomly, but he figured if he gave this higher god the knowledge of the 'adventuring' soul, then Earths god would be happy to help him understand what he has been doing wrong with his worlds. After all, it's not exactly good for a gods reputation if they loose track of a soul for thousands of years. I mean a few hundred can be forgiven, but to loose a soul for as long as James' is just ridiculous. So the new god thought that letting Earths god know what was happening was a sign of curtesy. And at the same time hoped to get something in return.

He was right. The Primordial god of Will, who governs earth, was happy to help solve the new gods plight. So the god of the Sea happily told Earths god all about Ansarah and James before leaving to go consolidate the newfound knowledge bestowed on him. He hoped to finally breathe life into his aquatic home. He thanked Earths god and left.

A moment later the Primordial god of Will tore a breach in space and hurled into it. Appearing before the black hole in the centre of the Milky Way. Diving forward and locking the image of the desired destination. The god was face to face with Ansarah a fraction of a second later.

The two primordials were cordial and respectful, but the tension was clear for any to see.

He requested information on James' location. Only ever referring to him as 'the soul.' Ansarah had no reason to lie, but didn't know the god in front of her, so she only told the simplest truth.

Which realm he was in. Earths god could only take the information and leave since Ansarah made it clear that was all she would say. If she hadn't said anything a fight may have been inevitable. The god of earth wasn't known for patience after all. And a battle between primordials would reek havoc across many dimensions.

"What a crude god." Was her only thought as she watched Earths god drift through the cosmos. The god peered into Odwalla's realm. Each realm constitutes an entire multiverse, so finding a single soul among countless is near impossible. That's why Ansarah answered the way she did.

What she didn't expect was that Earths god had placed a seal on every soul, a seal meant to control them, should they ascend to God-hood. This was how they had figured out why souls were dying before their time, because the god who was causing the chaos had been marked.

This seal acted as a beacon. When activated it was like a lighthouse on a cloudy night. Guiding Earths god right to James' soul.

Though in the end James' soul was far too old and the seal was meant for souls less than 1000 and should be reapplied after a certain period, meaning moments after James' mark activated it disappeared.

It was only enough time to locate the world in which he resided. Not an exact location, but better than nothing. The primordial god of Will wished to hunt for James' soul personally, but knew it would caused to much enmity between Odwalla's god. So the second option was chosen.

Ansarah watched through her godly eyes, which were connected to all the various realms and all their connected worlds, as Earths god called a celestial up from Earth. It seemed this gods body was formed of lightning.

Earths god then spoke to this being and sent the young god into the world of One piece to collect James' soul. Ansarah knew that if she interfered in another primordial's duties that god could rally others against her. She also knew that was why Earths god sent a proxy. The politics of higher gods are complicated to say the least.

She could only watch as Earths god picked a vessel and placed a second foreign soul into the world of One Piece. This time it was the soul of a god. Two souls from the same universe will naturally be drawn to one another. Eventually they will cross paths. It may take years, decades even, or it might happen a month from now.

She was shocked further when the vessel of this new god turned out to posses one of the powers from that world. She remembered James talking about them. From the looks of it this vessel's power it allows them to become an element.

She gasped as she recalled what James had said about Logias. "Anyone without Haki is practically trash to even the weakest Logia user."

That means, this being that was sent into the world of One Piece to find James, will have a portion of its godly power, as well as a powerful devil fruit! Luckily it's only a fraction of that gods true power since being sealed in a mortal form will prevent most of a celestials might from effecting the world around it.

Ansarah panicked. Earths god, the Primordial god of Will, had sent a young celestial to follow James and collect or destroy his soul. Why would he go that far to cover a single mistake? Unless it's not a single mistake? But why would a Celestial agree to be placed in a mortal vessel, limiting their power? Is it a punishment?

She couldn't tell. She didn't have enough information. All she knew was that she wanted to help James. So the moment Earths god returned to govern the realm in which Earth resides, she searched through Odwalla until she found what she was looking for. A devil fruit with a similar energy frequency to the wavelength she felt from the electric gods vessel. Some fruits she saw felt weak compared to what she felt from the gods new vessel, but after searching through dozens of islands, Ansarah found what she was looking for. She hoped it too was a Logia. She opened a portal and the fruit vanished. She then connected that portal with James' location and placed an order on the fruit.

Gods can imbue their desire into an object and she sealed her desire to find James within the fruit. She could have sent it right to him, but felt he might not eat it if he knew that it was given by a god. He wants to live his own life after all. And she can't exactly talk to him and explain the situation. She spoke directly to his soul before, but now he is technically mortal again and mortals can't perceive the voices of gods, unless they are devote followers.

When the fruit landed near Grassroots town it was picked up and passed around as her desire seeped into the minds of those who touched it, stopping people from eating it. Until eventually one of James' new companions handed him the fruit and after several moments where she had worried he wouldn't eat it and that her efforts were for naught, he finally took a bite. 'Whew' If she could sweat she might have needed to whip her forehead.

"Hopefully it will be enough to help protect him. Facing a god in human form won't be easy. You'll need every advantage you can get. I know not when you'll meet, so grow strong little one. Hopefully you'll get one of those logia powers as well. I can't control what ability you'll get, so this is all the help I can give you. Good luck my strange friend and may you overcome all obstacles and your adventure continue unhindered."

- perspective change -

'BLEGH'

"Damn these things really do taste terrible. I almost threw up." I began to absorb the nutrients from the fruit instantly. It had become second nature.

"What the hell?!" I could feel it even before I used the gurus technique, a strange energy permeating my body coming from my stomach.

If I wasn't a soul, basically an energy being, I wouldn't be able to notice a thing. The energy isn't hostile, but it is tyrannical. It's flowing through every cell in my body and forcibly changing everyone of them into something else. Rearranging my DNA to suit its purpose.

It was a fascinating process. When it was finished and the energy seemed to calm down, only a few seconds had gone by. As the energy began to disappear I started to feel different, yet still the same. It was a rather interesting feeling. Like the feeling after one takes a massive dump.

I felt new and energized. I could tell that the energy didn't vanish entirely. Instead it just melded naturally into every finer of my being.

"How strange." There was a piece knowledge that suddenly popped in my head.

"Dragon-Dragon fruit, model Turtle?" I didn't even have time to think the name over before I felt the energy within bubble and roil. My very cells seemed to be in an overly excited state as if begging my me indulge them in bathing in the energy. So I did. There was a cooling sensation coursing through my veins.

My skin started turning green as it became more loose, leathery and scaly. My body began to swell in both width and height. A dark greenish, brown shell began to form from my spine. It was round at first, but seemed to sharpen into near spikes in some places. Three rows of them to be accurate. All perfectly spread out starting from the top and going vertically down. Almost like that of an alligator snapping turtle. I was surprised that I could understand even the most minute changes without seeing them at all.

My butt started to itch slightly just before a spiny thick tail sprouted from it. The shell continued to spread until there was a lighter brownish covering on my stomach and chest as well. My neck grew upwards as my face elongated, my nose flattened and my eyes bulged out. As my arms grew they Increased more in width than in length. My fingers became nubs connected by webbing and my nails grew into gleaming long claws. The same happened to my feet and legs.

I was a 15 foot tall, dark green turtle, wearing a dress shirt, dress pants and bowtie. Just as I was wondering what I could do with this form, more information came to me and I felt something bubbling in the back of my throat. At first I thought I had to burp, or maybe throw up. But it wasn't either, so I let it out forcefully.

'PPPSSSSSSHHHHH'

A plume of crimson fire burst from my mouth the moment I opened it. The flame died out several seconds later when I closed my jaw. A small puff of dark smoke came from my nostrils when I breathed out.

I was a Mythical Zoan user! I could turn into the legendary Dragon Turtle!

"I knew it was the right call to eat this thing. That calling sensation I felt from it really made me hesitate, but I'm glad I went through with it." I tried to jump for joy, but lost my balance due to the tail between my legs and fell onto my back. Or more specifically my shell.

My arms flailed wildly and my legs kicked, trying desperately to get the ground beneath them.

I struggled to get up. Only to fail miserably.

I tried rolling my self from side to side, but the jagged spikes on my shell wouldn't let me. I panicked for a second before trying again. Still nothing. I tried everything I could think of, but It was all for naught. I couldn't reach around or use my legs to push myself up because the shell was in the way.

I was stuck. Like a common tortoise on their back. "Damn it!"

I lay there for nearly a minute struggling foolishly, before I berated myself for my utter stupidity. I relaxed and thought for a second.

"I just need to revert back." So I focused inward and concentrated. I commanded my body to return to normal.

I began to shrink. My shell sank back into my spine and my tail disappeared. I was finally able to get up. It was like closing a door. I could open it and call that power out when ever I wanted. Though my body did feel slightly heavy. It seems transforming like that takes energy. Even if it's only a little.

"Well that was just sad. Im glad no one was here to see it." I couldn't have been more wrong.

Lenora, Mikayla, Stephen, Arthur, Vandanna and Ruben were all staring at me this whole time. Trying to hold back their laughter as they watched me turn into a massive fire breathing reptile one second only to fall onto my back and fail to get up repeatedly in the next.

Ruben was the first to speak. Though he did so while laughing. I think I could even see tears in his eyes. "Hahahaha, man that was good. I haven't laughed that hard in awhile." He walked over to me and sat down so as to not stare downward the entire time.

'Sigh' "I couldn't help it. I've never had a tail or a shell before. What did you expect." I said in defence.

"What do you say we test your might in that form?" He spoke with a massive grin on his face as he punched his oversized fist into the palm of his other hand. He was clearly excited at the prospect of fighting someone more his size.

"Perfect. It'll give me time to adjust." My reply was quick and simple. I don't like to be laughed at, so I'll have to get him back for that. A devilish smile came to my face as I transformed once more.

Ruben was wearing several pieces of armour along with his usual cloths. Wear does he even get those? Is there a big and tall store in this world?

He was still nearly twice as tall as I was. He swung his Kanabo over his shoulder and readied his stance.

"Come!" I slapped my tail on the ground to provoke him.

He lunged at me with pure glee pouring off him. He wound up like I had never seen him do before and tried to slam me into the dirt with a single strike.

I went onto all fours and tried my best to angle my shell to absorb the impact.

'DONG' The sound of his studded club hitting my shell was like a gong being struck. I reeled from the blow as my arms and legs sunk into the ground. I had taken the hit. Dead on and I could still fight. It felt amazing. My arms were shaking slightly, but my shell was fine. It could probably take a hit from a cannon.

Ruben seemed thrilled as he gripped his Kanabo tight. He wailed on me several more times as I shifted my shell to redirect the blows. Just because I can handle them full on doesn't mean I have to. It was difficult honestly. Especially since I had never had a shell before today, but something from within was driving me forward. I guess this is how Zoan users learn to run on all fours without needing to practice, it comes naturally with the devil fruit along with the instincts of an animal.

My claws dug into the dirt as he pulled back his weapon to ready another blow. It was swift and quick. Within a moment he would hit me again. But not this time. My new form had draw backs, for one it was considerably slower than my normal state. That caused an even further delay in my body's reaction time, but it was still fairly fast. For another, I couldn't move my arms too far back because of my shell. However the strength and defence given counters the drawbacks.

I lunged out to bite his ankle. 'SNAP' I missed as he avoided my head.

He then brought his hands high, holding the Kanabo with a solid grip. As his muscles tightened, I spun around at full force and slammed my tail into his legs. I had expected to wound him, make his stagger slightly, but what happened next surprised me completely.

I caught him right in the back of the heels and knocked him clean off his feet. He didn't even realize what had happened until he had smashed into the ground. By then it was too late. My body may take longer to respond to my mind, especially since I have to send the signals from my soul to my brain before they travel to my nerves, but I still react faster than most. I'll need time till my soul merges perfectly into my new body, until then I'll have to work on my reaction speed.

I lunged forward and using my bulk pushed down on his arms and pinned his chest. I was practically sitting on him. He seemed to calm down as he realized his predicament. He then used every ounce of strength he had to force me off of him. We were in a stalemate for a moment. But eventually Ruben's strength prevailed.

Lifting me clean into the air and throwing me face first into the dirt. 'BOOM' Dust and pebbles flew everywhere.

I instinctively pulled back into my shell before getting slammed like a rag doll. He went for his weapon as I readied to receive him again. He ran forward into a sprint and came at me charging dead on. Swatting trees aside as he built up momentum.

I relished the challenge. I lifted my self onto my back legs and steadied my body with my tail.

He swung just as I expected. Pulling back and exposing his armoured chest piece like I've seen him do a dozen times before. But I'm larger and stronger now and giving me an opening like that is just foolish.

Just as he was about to reach me and his studded club had reach its apex, I ran forward hurling myself shoulder first and rammed him in the stomach full force. Halting his advance before he could attack again and pushing him back a dozen feet before he could get his legs behind him to steady himself.

Before he could jump back to gain his distance and counter attack, I grabbed his steel plated chest piece with my clawed right hand, gripped his right elbow with my left hand and lifted with everything my new form could lift with. I rotated slightly while using my legs and tail to keep him off balance. My shell pressed right into him. Squeezing my legs together and straightening them completely, with the help of my tail, I pulled him over my shoulder, lifted him off the ground, flipped him over my head and slammed him into the ground back first.

'BOOM!'

And like that, In the form of a giant turtle wearing a bow tie, I used a judo technique to flip a 30 foot man trough the air. Damn I love this world.

He managed to get up fairly quickly and punched me in the face with his full weight behind his blow.

I had to take a step back before steadying myself and punching him in the stomach. We continued to exchange blows for awhile until I stopped slugging it out and started countering and predicting his moves. I was wearing out faster than him after all, but now it was different. He was slowly being worn down.

He clasped his hands together in a massive fist and slammed it into my head. It pulled back into my shell in time so he missed. I swiped my tail at his feet trying to knock him down once more. At the same time I sprung my head from my shell and bit towards his shoulder. He jumped back to avoid it

and kicked me in my chest.

My tail helped steady the impact as he came at me again. We locked hands and faced off trying to force the other back. Dark smoke left my nostrils and Ruben's face turned even more copper. I lost out and was being pushed slowly backwards. I belched a ball of fire towards his face. He moved his head to the left to avoid it. That's when I slacked effort in my left arm and pulled it back along with his fist, all while I pushed forward with my right arm and slide my hip towards him.

All this in one motion as I swung my tail under him again and tore him off his feet. I had flipped him once more.

I placed my foot on his chest and roared into the sky. 'RRRAAAAAAAAWWWWWW' I couldn't help but think I sounded and looked like Gamera, even if only slightly.

'Flame burst from my mouth and lit up the surroundings.

I looked down and into Ruben's eyes. Breathing dark smoke into his face.

"Ok, ok I give. No need to go all primal on me. " He said as I lifted my weight from my foot. I extended my hand to help him up before transforming back into my human form.

"My bad, got a little too into the whole monster smack down thing." Scratching my head as I spoke we both started to laugh. "It seems mythical Zoans can be difficult to control. My body moved on instinct for some of the fight."

"That's some might though. Im still physically stronger, and if I had used my head alittle, out maneuvering you would have been pretty easy, but your defence is much higher than any person or beast I've ever seen. I had to go for your head and arms the whole time. If you can manage to move as fast as you do in human form while your that dense, you'll be a truly formidable adversary to any hand to hand fighter."

Lenora and Mikayla seemed too shocked to speak. Though I did hear something from Lenora. "The Grand Line is full of people like this?" I guess she realizes how difficult it will be to reach her goal. Standing at the top of anything will always be difficult.

We had basically destroyed this section of the forest in our brawl. I could see the squirrels staring at me through the trees again. They don't seem too happy with how we've treated their homes. I really don't like how they're looking at me. I mean Ruben's here too you know, why are you only staring at me?

Stephen on the other hand only had afew words to say. "I can't believe I gave up that kind of power. Why didn't I eat it myself." He slapped his hand to his forehead in a manner reminiscent of Homer Simpson. He then sighed and shook his head before running over.

"That was amazing. Seriously one hell of a fight. I've never seen anything like it. A true clash of titans. With that kind of might, Keith's stronghold won't stand a chance." He didn't dwell on the fruit and immediately starting thinking about our next move. I admit I'm starting to like this guy.

That clash of titans remark was a little much, but given his small world view it makes sense. I wonder what he would think if he ever saw the real titans in the new world clashing with all their might. Then again it's not like he could stay conscious long enough to see anything. The New World is filled with Conquers Haki users after all.

I should find a way to properly repay him, a devil fruit is one hell of a gift. Maybe I should properly train him instead of just casually commenting on his technique when he spar.

Eating the fruit was the right choice. It may not have made me untouchable like a Logia user, but this type of power was exactly what I wanted. I couldn't help but imagine myself wielding different weapons and transforming into my hybrid form while blending it with martial arts.

I was suddenly reminded of the Ninja Turtles theme song. As I hummed it to myself we walked through the forest and towards our quarry.

This form will make a nice trump card in the coming battle.

The attack on Kieth's Stronghold starts at midnight.