Surprise

I whistled as I tended to my garden. After claiming Fish-man island as his territory, Whitebeard refused to stay a moment longer. My garden was a haven. The only ones allowed inside were Marco, Whitebeard, and Bane, and those three barely visited.

The room had taken me almost two months to complete. Instead of soil, I used hydroponics. Underneath the bamboo slat floor, there was a tank full of fish. Their excrement was chock-full of minerals to promote plant growth.

The plant would then clean out all the toxic waste and leave behind clean water. Besides my medical herbs, Thatch also asked me to grow a few fruits and vegetables for meals. Currently, I was tending to my bonsai tree, and it was a tree.

Clipping a few branches, I stepped back and smiled as I put away my pair of scissors. After recording the growth of my other plants, I was done with my rounds. Locking the door behind me, I walked next door and entered my room.

It was relatively plain adorned with only a dresser and a sleeping mat. Sitting down in the middle of the room, I turned my focus inside my body.

After every battle, I made it a habit to see if I had any cell growth. I found out that my cells were incredibly adaptive, and I could even see slight changes in each cell's DNA.

Combing through my cells, I found a muscle cell that had mutated. Isolating the cell, I started to examine if the trait was worth replicating—the attribute for this particular reduced lactic acid build-up by 0.003%.

It wasn't much, but I would take it. Taking another muscle cell, I got rid of the nucleus and implanted the mutated one. Eventually, the gene would replicate and replace all my old cells.

Standing up, I walked out on deck shirtless and holding my sword, "Hey Vista, do you feel like sparring."

"You finally asked. I almost thought you were afraid." Vista was a fellow division commander and a dual-wielding swordsman.

"Come on, Rosy, let's dance." Vista laughed as he unsheathed his swords and sent out two condensed air blades.

[Iai Sutairu: Gentle Wind]

Holding out my sword, when the two air blade touched my sword, it destroyed them. But Vista was right behind them. We exchanged a flurry of blows in the blink of an eye.

Kicking Vista in the side, I sent him flying. When he landed, I was already in the air above him, the sun right behind me.

[Iai Sutairu: Sun Fall]

Vista knew better than to try and take my attack head-on. I crashed into the deck, my feet squared.

"Come on, Rosy, I thought this was going to be fun." Vista growled, "Fine, I guess I'll stop holding back."

[Rose Rondo]

Vista jumped back and slashed the air sending out a whirlwind of rose petals. I smiled, "I was hoping you would use that move."

Sheathing my sword, I white-knuckled the handle.

[Iai Sutairu: Line]

Slashing the air like I was about to send out an air blade, nothing seemed to happen, but at the last second, the air seemed to split in half, destroying the cyclone of petals.

I whistled in appreciation, "I should save that move for last. It has a charge up, though, so it might not be the best."

Vista blinked as I pulled out a notebook and started to write down notes, "Soren!!" I jumped, and I glared at Vista, "What, the fight's over. We did our wushu standoff now. If you don't mind, I have work to get to."

I walked away, still jotting down notes, walking into the medical lab. I was about to start my work when I found that the room was already occupied.

"Oh, Marco, why are you here." Marco looked up from his work, "Soren, just the guy I need, can you help me with this."

I looked over Marco's shoulder and saw he had some sort of liquid in a vial in hand, and he was heating up with his Phoenix flames.

"What are you trying to do."

Marco shrugged, "I'm trying to see if my flames healing properties can somehow be infused. I saw your work, and it got me thinking."

I thought about it for a while, "I think you're going about this in the wrong way. Devil fruit powers change your body. I would start with body fluids, blood, and the like."

Marco smiled, "Thanks Soren, I owe you one." I nodded and left Marco to his work. Going back to my room, I went back to meditating.

I didn't leave my room until the next day. My body was covered in a white waxy substance. It was all the impurities that I flushed out from using the pill.

Hoping my private shower another perk of being a division commander, I washed off the wax. Toweling off I dressed, when something rocked the side of the ship with a loud boom.

Swearing, I grabbed my sword and ran to see what was going on. It was clear that we were under attack. It was the marines. They had us surrounded. They ambushed up in the dead of the night when our guard was down.

But even more surprising was the intimidating figure standing on the main marine galleon, "Bartholomew Kuma."

"Soren, what's going on." I looked over and saw Bane running towards me when the ship rocked as another cannon struck the side of the ship.

"Tell Whitebeard I'm going to create an opening, and when they have a chance to haul ass out of here." Bane nodded and ran off to relay my instructions.

[Body Art: Tsubasa]

Flying into the air I surveyed the area, we were surrounded by ten marine ships. Two galleons at the north and west and Bartholomew was on the northbound ship.

" It's too bad I can't kill you, you're too important to the plot." Unsheathing my sword I descended like a vengeful devil.