16 The Morning Star Dreams Not (1/2)

6 hours have passed since I began immersing myself.

Despite the time passage, to me, it felt like only 5 minutes had passed, and was surprised when Kuro called me.

Therefore, despite my unwillingness, I took my eyes off Ace in Luffy's arm and turned to Kuro.

"How was it? How far have you read?" Appearing out of nowhere, Kuro asked me.

"It was great. I've read up to Impel Down," I answered.

"Already? You're a fast reader," Kuro was surprised at my answer.

"All this time reading the newspaper, I thought Whitebeard was some terrifying monster that could destroy the world anytime he wants but he turned out different than what I thought," I couldn't help but imagine the amount of manipulation newspaper publishers did in the past as I read how the Impel Down Arc went by.

Although I had many things in my mind, the only word that came out of my mouth was, "Blackbeard he..."

Whilst reading One Piece, something that surprised me the most was undoubtedly Blackbeard's fight with Ace. 

"He used the same Devil Fruit with Grandpa Ban," I said. Based on my knowledge, two Devil Fruits cannot exist at the same time.

Kuro only intently listened to me, nodding.

"...It's okay!! I already knew that he would bite the dust anyway. Kuro, did you know? He even secretly hid a note for when he died but his hiding skill sucked so I found it soon!!" I forced a smile.

Seeing my forced smile, Kuro could no longer stay quiet as he invited me, "Want to move around to relieve the stress? I will teach you a few moves I made from traveling through universes."

I gratefully accepted Kuro's suggestion and went down the hallway once again. It seems like the interior design of a Western Japanese castle was only around Kuro's room as we returned to the high-tech area.

"Nier, it's me. Can you open up the door to the Gym?" Kuro spoke up in front of the metal gate.

[The Gym is currently in use by: - Murasaki Shion, Minato Aqua - Nekomata Okayu, Roboco - Ookami Mio, and Shirakami Fubuki. - Sir Kuro, would you like to use the spatial expansion?]

"Laplus is not in? That lazy girl... Anyway, please do and select Battleground, Falling Leaves," as Kuro finished speaking, the gate started opening, 

Revealed in front of my eyes was the endless space boundless by the distance confusing my common sense of the world. 'Just... how big is this place?'

At this moment, I noticed that not once had I gone outside, my senses had been twisted weirdly by the artificial sky in Kuro's room and the vast hallway.

Inside the gym consisted of four areas. The first one was a vast ocean releasing deafening sounds from time to time and a clash of two individual beings that I couldn't catch with my bare eyes due to the terrifying speed they were moving.

"This place is made of the collaboration of cutting edge technologies from Roboco and the world's best spatial esper, Pekora. Each area can infinitely expand in space so the scene ongoing in front of you is much larger than it seems. This battlefield: Ocean is roughly the size of hundreds of thousands of miles."

"Don't worry about being hit by the stray attack because Pekora created a border in each area causing an infinite to exist between the distance of two," after Kuro started explaining, the scene that was unseeable to me due to the two beings moving at extreme speed began to slow down as if the time itself has slowed down.

"This time slow technology is-..."

Just as Kuro was about to explain the phenomenon, the two beings, someone whom I couldn't see until now, a catgirl approached us, while being followed by a missile and spoke in delight as she saw Kuro.

'Miss!! You have a missile following you!!' That was what I wanted to say because I was afraid that the missile's explosion might hit me despite Kuro's explanation because, to be honest, I didn't understand what he was saying.

"Kuro!! You appeared at the perfect time!! Let me borrow your and Ayame's move!!" the catgirl ignoring my expression of panic, said this and rotated her body back to face the missile traveling at unimaginable speed.

<Strike Trap> 

Just as the missiles were about to hit the catgirl, her feet stably captured the missile.

Despite the textbook-like perfect attempt to parry the missile with a leg, the missile exploded upon contact as the metal shrapnel began to emit extreme heat from within and explode, causing the black fire that combusted even the flame to spread.

Just as I expected the explosion to spread, the black eruption stopped from spreading after making a perfect sphere in the catgirl's feet.

After catching the missile's explosion in her feet, the catgirl kept her rotational motion going as she somersaulted on the spot and swung her leg toward her opponent, returning the jet-black sphere.

The explosions that had stopped its advance gradually began expanding once it was launched from the catgirl's leg.

However, the catgirl was unsatisfied with the force that could blast heaven and hell as she prepared for her next attack.

<Mana Domain: Katana> 

With her head facing the ocean floor, her surroundings began to emit countless minuscule purple orbs, and the countless orbs gathered in her hand, forming the sharpest sword surpassing even the Named Blades of One Piece.

<Shura's 3rd Realm Tears>

"Wait, don't use that move!!" Kuro shouted but it was a step late as the catgirl launched her attack.

The sheathless katana was unsheathed from her hips as she launched a decisive diagonal slash.

In front of the catgirl's sword, the conception of distance has lost its meaning as the very air itself seemed to split asunder by the otherworldly forces causing the spatial energy to move in order to repair the split realm.

"Copying Kuro and Ayame's move is unfair!!!" shouted the robot girl as she was cut in half.

Soon afterward, the incomprehensible sparring ended as the catgirl exited, rushing toward Kuro.

"Kuro~ I wanted to meet you!! Are your work done? Ahh... after all that moving suddenly it's so hot♥" the catgirl began seductively pulling her combat shirts, revealing her cleavage.

"No, I'm not breeding with you... That's not it!! Out of all the moves I have, you had to use one that can damage infinite," Kuro began scolding the catgirl who is named Okayu, and lightly chopped her head.

After a while listening Kuro stopped scolding Okayu who had damaged the Gym's interiors.

The fact that Kuro was casually scolding Okayu who had put up an incredible fight and the fact that her move was copied from Kuro surprised me greatly. 'I... do I have to fight this guy after this?'

When Okayu's attention shifted from Kuro to me, I couldn't help but become nervous as the catgirl in front of me could casually kill me if she wanted it, "K-Kuro!! Who is this boy? Did you cheat Ayame?"

"I did not. He is someone I summoned from another universe," Kuro replied

Disappointed that her teasing didn't work, Okayu decided to check me out as her eyes changed to cat eyes, "Hmhm, interesting. A feather ability!!"

Kuro nodded to Okayu and said, "That's it. We're going to play a bit so see you later. Don't act too mischievous with Korone."

"Sure~" Okayu replied.

By the time the two finished discussing, the robot girl who was split in half had already regenerated, surprising me with her tenacity. "Okayu~!!" the robot girl called Okayu with a frustrated voice.

As we walked further, the scene changed to a port with many ships standing by. Aqua and Shion, instead of fighting like Okayu and the robot girl, were testing out their combination move.

After a few greetings we left soon as Shion and Aqua weren't the type to talk much... at least when I was by there.

Moving on, the scene once again changed to a Japanese shrine, with a wolf girl and a different cat girl(?) were meditating.

We passed by without saying anything. "Disturbing a samurai's meditation is rude," is what Kuro said to me.

Arriving at our destination, I spotted a single colossal tree and countless yellow leaves fluttering in the air making a beautiful landscape, inspiring me to draw the same scenery someday.

"Let's have a small sparring, shall we?" Kuro said and without waiting for my response, he prepared himself.

<Black Hope: Higanbana>

"This is a technique inspired by Akaza's Destructive Death if it's with your talent close to 21's, you can learn it in a day," Kuro spoke to me.

'Though he did it in a day,' added Kuro.

I gulped my saliva as I prepared myself to face Kuro who had formed out a black spider lily domain below him.