[11] A Fated Meeting

[2500 words]

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Boom!

A loud explosion echoed through Renaissance Island as a giant Sea King attacked the bay. 

'Moonwalk.'

A black shadow jumped on what seemed to be air as it reached 50 meters in height. 

The shadow resembled a young man as he shot forward from the sky and toward the Sea King. 

His fist was coiled back, ready to shoot forth. 

Oddly enough, the fist was soon wrapped with a dull sheet of black armour.

The youth's fist went on and slammed onto the Sea King's dome. 

Bam!

A quick shockwave erupted as a fist dug into the skull of the beast.

"Rawr!" it roared in pain and fury, its eyes dimmed as blood splashed from its cracked-open skull.

The young man landed on the ground with a thud, his black fist returning to normal.

A few large chunks of flesh were about to rain on the red-eyed youth as he instead aimed out his right index finger.

'Flying Finger Pistol Barrage.'

*Zip* *Fwip* *Zip*

An onslaught of air pockets shot out from the tip of the finger as they were nailed into the raining meat, causing it to explode in the sky.

This way, not even a speck of dirt landed on the young man's body, allowing him to casually walk away.

.

He had medium-length black hair with red streaks running down the left side while fashioning a thin scar above his right eye.

The crimson pupils carried firmness and great ambition.

Damien, who had cleaned up a rather large Sea King, had been preparing himself to depart from his home island.

Having spent two more years in hardcore training, he was ready to sail the seas and take another step towards his path to power.

The years of training and an incredibly healthy diet had led to a sizable growth for the now-sixteen-year-old.

Damien's body was muscular and brimming with power, enough to send just about any lady from his back home into a coma from just a peak.

He had grown rather handsome as well, perhaps the genes of a Dryad could be considered quite enviable.

[Image of Damien (in Discord)]

.

"Sibyl, bring up my stats, it's been quite a few chapters since I've seen them," he said.

[Coming up…]

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

[Einar D. Damien]

[Age: 16 years, 2 months, 4 days]

[Height: 10' 1"] (3.07 m)

[Status: Thriving]

[Devil Fruit: Pulverize-Pulverize Fruit (Nigh-Intermediate Mastery) ↑]

[Fruit Rating: 6.5 Stars]

[Seastone Resistance: 56.6% ↑]

[Skills: Rapid Recovery (+), Beastly Vitality (+), Evolable Anatomy, Natural Conscience (+), Will of D., Rokushiki]

[Haki: Observation Haki (Intermediate Mastery) ↑, Armament Haki (Initial Mastery) ↑]

[Strength: Bottom Tier Yonko Commander ↑] (~Brook; Tesoro Level)

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

Yet again the feeling of pent-up power had arrived after the two-year training session. Both the physical and spiritual growth had led to feelings of a flood of power building up.

Damien jumped straight into concentrating his body into a meditative posture as he felt the growth in bodily capabilities.

His bones and tendons hardened as the flesh strengthened and solidified further; the blood vessels dilated as the muscles devoured energy for their evolution.

[{Rapid Recovery} has evolved into {Lightning Recovery}]

[{Beastly Vitality} has evolved into {Mighty Vitality}]

A wave of heat passed through the young man's body as his eyes sharpened with his newfound power.

[{Lightning Recovery} – 3 times the speed of {Rapid Recovery}]

[{Mighty Vitality} – 3 times the durability of {Beastly Vitality}]

He had grown in strength once more.

"Hehe," Damien gave a wry smile. "Even with this recovery and vitality, I still pale in comparison to the real monsters out there."

"Kaido's acclaimed invulnerability, Big Mom's steel balloon and Whitebeard's absurd vitality," he listed to himself, people vastly beyond himself.

Though it could be considered a step in the right direction.

"!!!"

"This feeling," Damien muttered as he felt his senses feel rather constrained.

It was something that he had felt throughout the past few months as his Observation Haki had continued to grow.

Not long ago he raised his Observation to Intermediate Mastery.

Essentially it allowed him to further his range of Haki and allow him to sense finer and sharper movements. 

The main point was that the feeling of Observation was similar to his {Natural Conscience} which gave him the ability to converse with nature.

The same feeling of evolution was present.

His mind felt overwhelmed with newfound senses as the world slowed down around him.

The voices, the sounds, and the whispers of life were all magnified to the nth degree!

"Ugh," Damien groaned in discomfort, grabbing his head.

And then came a ding in his mind.

[{Natural Conscience} has evolved into {Voice of All Living Things}]

Damien subconsciously took in a deep breath as the 'voices' of trees, grass, and greenery were mixed with the voices of the animals, birds, and even insects.

.

"This is like the 'Voice of All Things' used by Roger, Luffy, Oden and Momonosuke," he murmured. "But mine only hears living things."

"Perhaps as my Observation grows in mastery, I can take this skill to the level of Roger," Damien surmised.

However, the feeling of progress was quickly dispelled as Damien clenched his hand.

*Fwwm*

The same sound of armour being plated went off as a dull-black sheet of metal was wrapped around his hand.

"My Armament Haki is barely worth talking about, staying here any longer will be a waste of time."

The same was true with his devil fruit.

The thing was that training his body could only increase his stamina which would then increase his fruit ability usage as well.

But it wouldn't increase his mastery of the devil fruit to the next level.

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[A Few Hours Later]

Damien had familiarised himself with his new abilities and made his way to the heart of the island. 

The one area he visited almost every week to remind himself of his past weakness. 

Damien heard the welcome from the nearby nature as he sat down in the soothing land. 

The well he once hid in had broken down though was filled with water after years of no usage.

He gazed at the grove of trees that formed the portrait of his mother. 

Still the same over the past nine years. 

The scene was a mix of nostalgia and old pain. 

After a few silent moments, Damien stood up from his seat and touched the warm bark of the tree. 

"You told me to live…," he murmured. 

"I will put everything I have on the line to stand where no one can push me down."

Under the solemn face of the young man were the two crimson pupils that seemed to glow in response. 

It was a flash of pure ambition.

What Damien didn't know was that deep down in his mind was a whirlwind of wild currents that churned all over, like a hurricane building up, waiting to free itself from its confines and break the chains that shackled it. 

"I'll be back, one day."

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[A While Later]

"Goodbye, Renaissance Island," the red-eyed youth muttered as he unfurled the sails of the broken-down ship that was once under the control of the Gambino Family.

Damien held up a crinkly map in front of him, adjusting the ship to head East at full speed.

The weather was quite nice and a smooth journey was expected.

.

The West Blue was known for its Five Mafia Families and two major sites that Damien was familiar with.

Ohara, where the Tree of Knowledge was rooted, and Kano Country where Don Chinjao hailed from.

However, Damien had no real reason to go to either site as of now, rather his goal was somewhere else.

"Severa Island, the island right before the Reverse Mountain, kinda like the Loguetown of West Blue," Damien thought out loud as he read the name of the island.

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[Eleven Days later]

[Severa Island, West Blue]

A sixteen-year-old young teen walked through the crowd of hundreds under the joyous atmosphere.

Bright and clear skies, flocked with the island's inhabitants.

All one could hear was their endless chatter.

Most people here think the area to be a relatively safe and healthy society but those with sharp enough eyes would feel the wisps of danger hidden about.

As this was the island right before the Grand Line the pirates' population here was noticeable. But there was an unofficial rule to abide by, don't make too much noise and the marines will not bother you.

.

Damien made his way to a small bar by the edge of the road, a few rats scurried through the side as some droplets of water dripped onto the stone road.

*Creak*

The wooden doors parted as the young man walked into the crowded pub.

Some drunk men sat near the front of the bar, talking amongst themselves.

"Give me some saké," Damien said casually as he sat on an empty stool.

The waiter blinked as he examined his customer, "Uhm, perhaps you are a little youn-"

His words were interrupted with a subconscious gulp as crimson pupils locked onto him.

"R-Right away!"

…

The order came fast as Damien drank down the island's special drink.

He wasn't an alcoholic like many pirates, rather he tasted the saké from the Gambino Family a few years ago and found the taste intriguing.

*Slurp*

He sipped down the throat-burning liquid while in thought.

There were a few paths Damien could go down. 

He could put up his own pirate flag and traverse the seas with a crew he would need to put together.

But there was a major problem.

The Rocks Pirates were the big dogs of the current era and who knows what other monsters were present. Riding into the sea now would be disastrous.

'It's currently the year of May first of 1482,' Damien thought to himself. 'The God Valley Incident that led to the annihilation of the Rocks Pirates happened in 1486.'

Damien was lost in thought as he leaned his head back.

.

A large shadow was cast over him suddenly.

"And here I thought I came for a drink but ended up finding a big wad of walking berries!" a grumbly voice broke out.

A few tens of men soon came surrounding the young man on the stool, vicious grins plastered over their faces.

"Though you've grown older, you should be the kid on this poster, right?" the 11-foot tall (3.35 m) man questioned as he waved an old bounty.

Damien glanced at the poster and simply nodded, "If you want an autograph then you gotta wait for me to finish my drink."

"..."

The pirates blinked and then broke into a boisterous laugh.

"Yababababa! I want your head, kill him!"

The pirate unsheathed his scimitar and slashed down with great power.

The blade cut the air and descended on Damien's neck but the result was not what the onlookers expected.

*Crack*

The blade shook upon impact as the force ripped it off from its handle and was shot and driven into the ceiling with a bang.

A deafening silence ensued.

*Thunk*

Damien lowered his empty cup and slowly stood up, much to the fear of those surrounding him.

"He was a monster two years ago, perhaps it's a bad idea to mess with him now…" a younger pirate muttered.

Damien simply cracked his neck, raised his leg and swung it around.

.

"Tempest Kick: Orbital Slash."

.

A near 360-degree slash of the air followed Damien's swinging foot as the collection of air raged onwards.

The pirates were too slow to move as their bodies were quite literally split in half.

The slash continued as the tens of pirates were halved, sending out geysers of blood to paint the worn-down floorboards.

*Krrrr* Boom!

The entire bar was split in two!

*Crash*

The building fell upon itself as a cloud of dust rose as a result.

Damien looked satisfied and suddenly thought of a funny thought.

*Click*

A pen materialized in his hand as he picked up his bounty poster.

*Scratch* *Scratch*

"Take this," he handed the signed paper to the quivering barkeeper. 

"In a few years, it'll sell for a lot."

The man was too frightened to speak but he did as told, pocketing the poster.

…

Damien stepped out from the dust cloud as the people around him simply gulped in fear.

And yet something odd happened at the distance.

Boom!

A huge explosion shook the island as a mushroom cloud dominated the sky, sending the birds and wildlife into a panic.

The people were no better; creating a stampede to escape.

Damien squinted his eyes to the far end of the island, it was the pirate area.

He made his way over, pushing past the hordes of citizens wanting the escape.

…

Damien soon saw the docks that were broken and ripped apart.

Dead bodies floated over the muddy sea as a large group of marines circled the ship nearby.

A stench of blood mixed with the salty sea air assaulted the young pirate's nose, alongside the wailing cries of anguish and pain.

It wasn't entirely clear due to the dust and fire but Damien could make out a hulking frame on a rampage; massacring a crowd of marines.

Blood splashed wildly as the marines were whittled away.

Damien was watching from a hundred or so meters away but then a voice made its way to his ears.

"Ufufufu, I found quite an interesting person on this small island."

'I couldn't sense her,' Damien thought in alarm, whizzing to the side to see the woman who had snuck up on him.

She was only a mere 6' 1" in height but had quite the figure.

The woman had short black hair, with two tufts pointing upwards and, casually smoking a cigarette.

She wore a pink tank top with a spider motif, exposing her large cleavage for all to see.

A thin smile etched on her face as she watched the young pirate in front of her with curiosity.

.

Damien then glanced at the battle that embroiled the Marines not far away.

The dust had cleared, alongside the marines that were left in broken bones and ruined bodies.

He saw the hulking figure responsible for the carnage.

Thick, muscular arms, a simple shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a black vest over it.

Long dark hair added with the two large horns protruding from both sides of his skull, a heavy mace in one hand, dripping with flesh and blood—a terrifying image.

Though under the viscous appearance was a young face, not much older than that of Damien.

.

"These marines of the West Blue are too weak!" the monstrous young man roared out with a grin.

The woman then replied with a casual tone, "Don't expect so much from the Outer Seas."

The large young man simply grumbled and went into the ship to fetch something.

"Einar D. Damien," She said with a small smile. "I've been meaning to find you."

"My name is Shakuyaku but my friends call me Shakky, care for a chat?"

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Images: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q