Volume 3 Chapter 5

"Get into a Horse Stance," Jinbe yelled out. On the field in front of him were 400 marine officers who were ready for today's training exercise.

"WHAT! You don't know what that is?" Jinbe said as he looked at the marines who had no clue about stances. "Normally you would have to become a fish-man elite, then trained at the Fish-man karate dojo before you can call yourself a Fish-man karate martial artist. I will be using this time we have together to improve not just your physical strength, but also your body balance, body coordination and lastly your willpower."

"I will give a demonstration, watch closely. Stand up straight then put your legs apart making sure that your feet are facing forward. Be aware of your torso, make sure that your spine is straight and your posture is flat. Next, bend your knees and lower the upper body as if you were sitting on horseback. Make sure your feet are still facing forward, your body is still straight and your hips are loose. That's it! When you perform a horse stance you should end up in the same posture as me." Jinbe said as he stood in a horse stance, "for the rest of the day you are to master this stance, tomorrow we will start the training. Each person will have a wooden stick placed on their knees while assuming the horse stance."

The crew members had no idea the hellish training had just begun.

The cave was deep and dark, Ezra was walking trying to feel his way inside the cave. He had lost all sense of time since he entered the cave, everything was drowned in darkness. A little blue-lit orb appeared out of nowhere. This light was so strange, it did not brighten the surrounding, it just hovered on its own. Seeing this Ezra wanted to investigate this strange occurrence, as he stared at the orb, his eyes became blank and his body fell onto the floor.

Thud!

Opening his eyes, Ezra could not believe what he was experiencing. "Where am I? The last thing I remember was blacking out from staring at that blue orb." He checked his body condition while he was still laying on the ground, he was fine but looking around he could tell he was no longer in the cave.

The square room Ezra was in was plain white and empty.

'Shit! I should have known it was all a scam!' he thought. 'This has to be a joke right, I can't believe Poseidon set this up 700 years ago.' These were the thoughts on Ezra's mind as he slowly got up while dusting off his uniform.

Looking up, Ezra could not believe his eyes. In front of him was someone he had only seen depicted as a statue, someone who he had heard stories about and never met. The person had a pronounced cheekbones and wavy hair with bangs that covered the right side of his face. He was also muscular and extremely tall.

"POSEIDON!, sorry Ruler of the Sea" Ezra screamed out in shock.

Don't panic Rose D. Ezra, I can assure you that this is not a scam or a joke. I have been expecting your arrival for a very long time. Although my real name has been lost in time, everyone from 700 years ago called me Uranus.

"You are Uranus, the third ancient weapon?" Ezra asked.

"Ancient weapon, what is that?" Uranus asked

"How can you be called Uranus, there is a statue of you in a temple in the West Blue with a plaque engraved with the words Poseidon" Ezra recounted how he made it to the temple and his acts of refurbishing it.

"Hahahahaha, That was actually a joke I played on some mortals in the past. I think I ended up naming the village Amagus, they became worshippers of the Sea God Poseidon, but all this was 700 years ago" Uranus said casually, not knowing he had shattered every fabric of Ezra's world.

"I am the only survivor of Amagus, I wasn't aware that we worshipped a God." Ezra had never forgotten his people, his family. During all his training, when he couldn't continue, he saw their faces! The pain in his heart still raged on years after their deaths. Uranus words shattered all the defences he had kept the pain in check as tears streamed down his face.

"I'm sorry, in the past they were the sole worshippers of the Sea God and they prospered. Now you tell me they were reduced into a village on an unnamed island and my Temple was in ruin. I can also guess that they also died because of me. Someone must be looking for information on 700 years ago. I don't have much time, I am just a strand of will left behind to convey a message to you."

Listen carefully, there are 3 things I must tell you.

**** God Clan are aliens. Many years ago our world was invaded by another race of humans who called themselves the God Clan. 3 heroes and giants stood together to face the enemies but they were not strong enough. It was then it came to light that the God Clan had already infiltrated this world a long time ago, they have been causing the destruction of grand civilization with the aim to cripple the world, making it easy for their invasion. 20 kingdoms stood with the invaders causing us to lose the war. Just before the second battle, something happened to one of the heroes.

**** Have you ever wondered what the D. in your name signifies? This world has a name, the name I cannot disclose to you until you are ready to take my place. The D. is known as the Will of D, think of it as the voice of the world pushing to regain its freedom. Those who carry this name are blessed and also cursed as they will at some point draw the attention of the God Clan.

**** Your power is only a third complete. If you are to replace me you need to complete your transformation. You found the Special Paramecia Fruit Umi Umi no Mi (Sea Sea Fruit).

"Special Paramecia? Paramecia? Is it not a Logia" Ezra said, interrupting Uranus.

"Think about it, have you not always wondered why the power behaves differently from other Logia's. After some training, other Logia powers can transform without a medium but you can't really do that, I can see that you are a smart one, you even thought as far as mixing seawater with your sweat. That was not a bad idea." Uranus praised Ezra for his ingenuity. "Anyways as I was saying. To complete your transformation you need to find the Logia-type Mizu Mizu no Mi (Water Water Fruit) and the Zoan-type Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake Snake Fruit) Model: Horned Snake. When you have found all this, go to the last island on the Grand Line.

I'm sorry Ezra, I can't tell you more than this without drawing the attention of the God Clan. Remember don't start a fight with the God Clan until you have obtained the last gift I left for you in my palace on the last island of the Grand Line. When your fruit is complete, your guardians will be no...ti...fi...ed…," Uranus slowly faded out as it spoke. "I will be waiting for you in my palace"

"No, No, No don't go! I still have questions. Don't go yet Uranus" Ezra yelled but the bright light slowly deemed and Ezra who still had questions, was returned to this body inside the cave.

He found himself on a raised platform with the lit orb floating over him. Around him were 3 statues bowing in reverence to him. The first statue; was a man who controlled the sea, the second statue; was a man, made entirely out of water and the last statue; was a human-hybrid horned serpent. The scene looked very majestic, as Ezra stood confused at what he had heard and what he was seeing.

As he thought about what to do next, he once again heard the voice of Uranus in his mind. As a parting gift, the orb contains part of my essence, it should be beneficial to you.

Ezra, who was still confused, raised his hands without thinking to grab the orb.

"Good, now your body will be strong enough to house my power when the appointed time arrives, I have great expectations of you." the voice echoed in the cave before the darkness returned.