Chapter 19: Nimbus

Stepping off the plank leading off the Oro Jackson I stretched my arms into the air. A smile on my face.

Because after three weeks at sea we've finally found an island to make land-fall on and stretch our legs.

Which feels good.

Especially considering the area of sea we just finished traversing.

The temperatures were below freezing during the day, but then reached close to 100 degrees fahrenheit during the night.

To say sailing through that particular stretch of water was not fun would be an understatement.

But I didn't complain one bit.

Since going through things like that is what happens when one chooses sail on the Grand Line, especially once they enter into the New World.

Where the crew and I currently are.

We entered the second half of the Grand Line just a few weeks ago.

Right after we did so I immediately came to understand why this sea is nicknamed Hell.

The weather phenomenon I've seen since coming here would make the eyes of meteorologist and weather scientist back in my old world pop out of their skulls.

I myself was at a loss for words at the things I saw, and I was witnessing them first-hand.

But eventually I came to terms with it all.

Following me several other crewmembers de-boarded the Oro Jackson. Until eventually we were all standing in front of the Oro Jackson.

"Alright men, we'll make camp here for the next week or so before setting sail once more." Roger said.

Everyone nodded.

Once we did so we went about completing several tasks. Such as surveying the surrounding area for any dangerous beasts, and looking for sources of fresh food and water.

Then once all this was done Roger gave everyone some much needed free time to do whatever they wanted.

After he did this I moved over to a secluded spot in the nearby forest.

This way I could practice my devil fruit powers and not accidently injure anybody.

Well I don't think my powers could actual injure of the Roger pirates, save for Buggy and Shanks, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Standing in the middle of the clearing I found I practiced turning my body completely into clouds and then back again as quickly as I could.

I counted the time it took me to transition between the two states in my head.

After preforming this over 100 times I stopped.

"Three minutes." I muttered.

Out of all my attempts as switching between states that is my fastest time to date.

I shook my head at this. "Not good enough." I muttered.

My goal is to be able to shift between states instantly like the future navy admirals. This will give me a huge edge of many opponents I will fight against in the future. Especially once I form my own crew.

Taking a seat on the ground I let my body rest for five minutes before continuing. Moving on to another aspect of my devil fruit powers that I have been constantly trying to grasp.

Changing the density of the clouds I create.

Which is more difficult than it sounds, believe me.

Even so, I feel like more recently I am close to grasping the concept.

After my five minute break came to an end I stood to my feet. I then generated a nice amount of clouds in my left palm and focused on it.

As I did so I finally noticed the clouds in my hand becoming heavier, until finally their consistency changed.

Seeing this I smiled.

It's true what they say, hard work pays off.

Jumping for joy a little bit in finally grasping the ability to change the density of the clouds I can create I also didn't forget to memorize the feeling itself.

Then once I did so I repeated the process several times until I felt I got a good handle on it.

"Alright, let's try it out." I said to myself.

I then started producing a cloud underneath my feet, while also changing the density of it.

Focusing with all my might I created a circular cloud 2 meters (6.56 ft.) in length and then before I knew it I was floating in the air about a meter above the ground.

When this happened I put a smile on my face.

"Yes, finally." I said.

I had achieved a technique I have been working on for the past two years.

[Flying Nimbus]

Now its time to test it out.

Directing my personal Nimbus I started moving higher into the sky, and picked up some speed as well.

I wobbled at first since I wasn't used to flying on my cloud creation, but after a few minutes I got the hang of it.

Then once I did so I truly began to enjoying soaring through the air.

The feeling it brings me is indescribable.

This is probably what birds, and air benders from Avatar series feel like when they fly as well.

I think I just found a new hobby.

Circling over the forest I then headed in the direction of the beach and started flying over the Roger pirates and my fellow apprentices.

"Hey guys!" I shouted down at them from above.

"Eh, Sieg is flying!" Buggy shouted. His eyes and tongue then extended like in the anime.

"Oh, looks like he's coming along quite nicely in mastering his devil fruit abilities." Rayleigh commented. Stroking his beard as he did so.

"Hey Sieg, are you having fun?" Shanks asked me.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, this is the best." I said.

Now more than ever I am glad I ate the devil fruit I found those few years ago.

I am also happy I am one step closer to mastering my powers.

Since this means I am one step closer to awakening my devil fruit.

The original One Piece work never featured an awakened logia-type devil fruit. But a lot of fansites and fanctions speculated that an awakened logia-user could permanently change the environment of an island or land-mass.

So following that logic if I am able to awaken the powers of my fruit then I should be able to pull it off. Only considering I ate the Cloud-Cloud fruit I'll probably be able to create several different type of storms to permanently change the environment.

Though I am not sure.

Which is exactly why I'm going to work my ass off to find out.

Life isn't worth living if you don't have goals after all.