Chapter 17: Tenacious Will

'Hehe, she's crazy for actually jumping into boiling water, yet that's all the more reason why I'm interested in her sudden change.' Thought Diddy with a slight grin as he watched the woman erratically thrash around in the tub of boiling water while screaming in pure agony.

I didn't drive joy from seeing her writhe about in pain; no, I found her mentality exciting; how many people would be willing to do this? Let alone ordinary people who've never experienced hardship, like her, how many hardened veterans would willingly jump into a tub filled with boiling water that can cook them from the inside!? If it were the past me before I reincarnated here and was allowed to embrace my true nature, I wouldn't have done something this suicidal, never in a million years; of course, now, it would be a different story.

While looking at her, I just shook my head and entered the tub of boiling water, which to me, merely felt like warm water, before sitting down and attempting to relax; however, I should've known that would've been futile. Looking at the clock in the distance, covered by a dense layer of steam, I noted it's only been ninety seconds since she first jumped into the tub. Focusing on the woman, I could discern her skin was already burning, and it was even beginning to bubble; her eyes were closed, probably from having constantly been splashed with water, though I could feel her gaze had never once left me.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but it's only been about 2 minutes; you're ⅕ of the way there, and only 8 more minutes." Remarked Diddy with a grin as he closed his eyes and waited for the time limit to end.

The first three or so minutes were probably the worst for both her and me; she kept constantly screaming and thrashing about in the beginning, but once it neared the four-minute mark, she started to quiet down while her movements slowed as well. By the five-minute mark, she was nearly immobile and was just floating in the tub while her skin began to burst as steam came off her body. Once it hit the seven-minute mark, she was completely immobile, and if it weren't because I could still hear her beating heart, I'd have thought she died; just like this, for the remaining three minutes, she stayed precisely like this.

Her previous white skin was now like charcoal and burnt to a crisp; any hair that used to be on her body had disappeared, and other than that, there wasn't anything else to mention, well, except for the fact her face never once veered from my direction.

'There go the 10 minutes; let's see if you're still alive, though, from the lack of a beating heart, you didn't manage to survive; a pity, I was curious how the Devil Fruit worked.' Thought Diddy calmly as he glanced at the clock before approaching the floating corpse and picking it up.

Exiting the tub, Instead of throwing her on the ground, I gently set her down; she may have been a pathetic weakling, but her determination was something that had earned my respect, even if it was just for a fleeting moment.

Giving one last glance at the charcoal-like corpse, I turned around and headed toward the door, pondering how I would get stuff down now that she was dead.

'Should I just kill all the wealthy people? I don't know; probably shouldn't, at least not yet; I'm pretty sure she said Karate Island has some connection with the World Government.' Pondered Diddy as he grabbed a towel and dried himself off.

It's not that I was scared of offending the so-called world government; it's more like this island still had things I could benefit from, so I found it more logical to wait a few more years before finally deciding to cause severe chaos among the residents. Besides, I may be slightly crazy and a little battle hungry, but I wasn't suicidal; thanks to that woman's help, I've gotten a great deal of information about how this world works, and going against the world government before I believe myself to be ready isn't the smartest thing to do, in my opinion.

However, knowing myself, I won't be able to wait that long; the only reason I've survived these relatively peaceful two years is that I have a decent amount of things to occupy my time, such as training, mastering different techniques along with Martial arts, and the occasional killings I do at night. Once I reach a level of strength where weight training doesn't provide benefits, or when I master all the different martial arts on Karate Island, I'll most likely start getting restless, and once that happens, it won't be long before I start causing chaos.

'Still, while I'm sure I can master all the available martial arts within the next year, I'm currently in the process of creating my own fight style, and from how things are currently progressing, it's going to take quite some time, possibly a few more years. Ugh, such a long time.' Thought Diddy with an irritated sigh while exiting the bathroom, though just as he was about to leave, his eyes suddenly widened as he instantly came to a halt.

"Heh, aren't you supposed to be dead? To think you've still got life in you after all that." Said Diddy with a savage grin as he turned around and eyed the unmoving charcoal body.

Just as I was about to exit the room, through my senses, I noticed a slight gust of wind so minuscule that even the most perceptive of beasts wouldn't notice it; yet, even so, it couldn't escape my acute sense. Though, I will admit, if it weren't for the current location, I would've mistaken it for an insect, but no insect is going to be in an enclosed room with a tub filled with boiling water, resulting in the rest of the room to exceed one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

While grinning, I approached the lady and squatted down until I was just above her, and gently placed my hand atop her chest, directly above her heart, before closing my eyes and using a technique I learned from the first few dojos I visited. It's a complicated technique to master, taking me nearly three weeks to do so, though what was ironic is that I wouldn't say I liked the technique; I learned it because I knew it could be helpful in the future.

By focusing all of your senses on someone, you'll be able to sense their vitality or lifeforce, which is a perfect way to check if someone is still alive; however, once you master it, you can transfer your vitality into someone else. It's not a very practical technique for humans to use; they don't have that much vitality, to begin with, let alone enough to transfer to someone else; however, I, on the other hand, have a tremendous amount of vitality, though regrettably, most of it is inaccessible because of my child-like body, which is, unfortunately, limiting some of my potential, but as time goes on that'll change.

'Damn, I'm impressed she's managed to survive; her vitality should've disappeared at least a minute ago; the only reason she's still alive is her sheer willpower, though even that won't last forever.' Thought Diddy with a crazy smile while looking at the supposed corpse.

"You've got enough willpower to fight off Lady Death for some time; hehe, no way in hell can I let her take you just yet!" Stated Diddy as he started transferring some of his vitality into her, causing her flickering flame of life to quickly erupt into a blazing fire.

Although I had given her more than enough vitality to heal her injuries, Lady Death has already gotten a firm hold on her; what I've done is merely prolong her life; however, that's fine; if the Devil Fruits are as legendary as they are rumored to be, they should be able to help her.

'I really got a colossal amount of vitality, huh? I'd just transferred an amount of vitality comparable to 25 grown men, yet I hardly noticed it.' Thought Diddy in slight astonishment before shaking his head and looking at the woman's trembling burnt finger.

"So that's how you got my attention; you're quite lucky, I'll give you that, though I'm even luckier; I've entered Lady Death's embrace and even managed to escape; I'd doubt you'd be able to do the same." Remarked Diddy with a slight grin as he reached down and picked up the woman before exiting the bathroom.

Setting the woman down on my bed, I got clothed and figured it would be best to give her the devil fruit once I'm no longer poisoned because if they are truly as powerful as the rumors claim them to be, I'd much rather be at full strength.

"Now then, what should I do next?" Muttered Diddy as he exited the room, leaving the burnt woman alone.

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Currently, it's the next day in the middle of the afternoon; I've fully recovered from the poison, and I'm back in perfect health, so it's time to feed the women the devil fruit as I promised. Standing before my bed, I reached from my back pocket and took out a red fruit with weird swirls on it; though it looked very similar to a pear, in my opinion, the only thing that stood out was the three stems.

"Well, here goes nothing." Muttered Diddy as he approached the woman's face and shoved the fruit into her mouth before forcefully closing her jaw, causing her to bite off a piece of the fruit.

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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, also it works this time, I've reset it, https://discord.gg/ejGpcdvD

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Elven Legacy (Chapter 138: Leaving?) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 16: Mana) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 25: Diddy Sets Sail; The Frenzy Pirates) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]