[156] A Break

[2500 Words]

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[Done~ The Mythical Zoan type Devil Fruit , The Eternal Corrupt Dragon , Nidhogg, has been extracted!]

Upon hearing Miss System's voice, Ren let out a deep sigh of relief.

Finally... finally, this long, grueling battle that had lasted for four days had come to an end.

He was exhausted—not just him, but Nami and Mikita as well. All he wanted now was to collapse onto a soft bed and rest.

He could hear the worried voices of the girls approaching from a distance. They were rushing toward him, and that gave him comfort. He allowed himself to relax, collapsing onto the ravaged ground as his gaze drifted toward the starry night sky.

"Brother!"

"Captain! Are you okay? Nami, Mikita, are you alright as well?"

"Let's get them back to the ship!"

"Come on, Nami, Mikita—you've got some wounds that need immediate treatment! The captain, too!"

"Waaah... that fight was terrifying."

Hearing the various voices of the girls, a faint smile formed on Ren's lips as he slowly closed his eyes.

-----

[The Next Day]

Sky Bloom Island was still reeling from the aftermath of the destructive battle, and it was evident that recovery would take decades.

Above the island, a pirate ship floated magically and silently.

Inside this ship, known as Elsama, particularly within its strange magical dimension, intriguing interactions were taking place.

'So, Miss, do you have any explanation for what happened earlier?' Ren communicated with Miss System. He had gotten plenty of rest, consisting of sleep and some "exercise" with his companions—Nami, Robin, Nojiko, and any other girl who had joined his crew and wished to bond with him.

His body felt revitalized once again. No... he felt stronger and more energized than ever before.

[Hmm~ Where should I start... Fine, I'll simplify things for you.]

'Thanks,' Ren replied without hesitation, his question focused on the peculiar nature of Nidhogg.

Initially, Ren had assumed it to be an actual dragon—Nidhogg, the same one from Norse mythology. However, it turned out to be merely a Devil Fruit user bearing the same name and characteristics.

What truly piqued his curiosity, though, was how the user maintained a fully transformed state throughout the battle and spoke as though they weren't human at all.

More intriguingly, they hadn't used the hybrid form, which likely would've made them even stronger in the fight.

[You must remember what that little dragon told you during your first encounter in that Abyss, right?] Miss System suddenly spoke.

Ren raised an eyebrow and thought hard, delving into his memory to recall the moment she referred to.

"I am the spirit of the dragon, Nidhogg, the Eternal Corruptor!"

"!!!"

Ren's eyes widened as he remembered the phrase, and a bold theory began to take shape in his mind.

Miss System's voice came through again, confirming his suspicions.

[What you fought and interacted with earlier was the spirit of the mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, which had taken over its host and used their body as a vessel.]

Miss System casually unveiled the mystery that had been bothering Ren, her tone almost bored, as though all of this was mere child's play.

'I see...'

Ren took a deep breath. As someone who had finished watching the Wano arc, he was aware that some mythical Zoan Devil Fruits had free will and could choose their host. But… a spirit? This was new. Did it mean all Devil Fruits housed a spirit within them?

At that moment, Miss System interrupted his thoughts, seemingly having read them: [No, Master, not all Devil Fruits possess a spirit. Such cases are rare anomalies... Additionally, the Eternal Corrupt Dragon Fruit, Nidhogg, is unique and not of this world…]

'What exactly do you mean?' Ren's curiosity deepened, but Miss System's next response left him blank-faced for a moment.

[Switching to automatic reply, Miss System is offline currently.]

'Damn it...' Ren cursed inwardly, wondering when this "feature" had been added to the system. It was clear that woman was making it up as she went!

He decided not to dwell on it further and shifted his focus to something else.

A blue light flickered for a split second in his hand, and in the next moment, he was holding a peculiar fruit.

It was a devilish-looking fruit with a unique design—dark and covered in twisted patterns resembling veins or scales, with glowing pink streaks emanating from the cracks on its surface.

The top of the fruit bore the grotesque head of a black dragon with prominent horns, giving the impression that it was tied to the mythical dragons of legend.

[Image Here]

This was the Devil Fruit he had acquired after his latest battle.

Ren's gaze shifted from the fruit to his system interface.

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¶ Name: Eternal Corrupt Dragon Fruit, Nidhogg (Nidhogg Nidhogg no Mi)

¶ Type: Mythical Zoan

¶ Description: A fruit with a glossy black surface and interwoven red patterns resembling roots. It emits a sinister energy when touched, and its surface seems to pulsate with life.

¶Abilities: Dragon Venom, Black Flames, Destructive Wings, Earth Manipulation, Immense Physical Strength, Dark Roar, Rapid Regeneration, etc. (Click for more in Hybrid Mode Abilities).

¶Rating: ★★★★★ (Top-tier Devil Fruit).

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It's no surprise that his battle against the spirit of this fruit lasted four days and he only won after getting help from Nami and Mikita!

Its abilities were just incredibly powerful!

Sigh...'Unfortunately, I need to find a way to surpass my physical limits and consume another Devil Fruit...'

Even though fruits obtained through the system or given as rewards from the system did not have side effects like weakness to water or Sea Kings' stone, the limit of consuming only one Devil Fruit still remained.

This was simply because the limitation didn't come from the fruit itself but from the body!

A prime example of this is Teach and the theory of three bodies in one.

Although it's just a theory, fans have come up with many convincing and logical "proofs."

[Work hard, Master, and who knows, you might get a reward that will allow you to consume more than one Devil Fruit~]

'Miss System, weren't you offline earlier?', Ren feigned ignorance and spoke in an "innocent" voice.

[...]

The girl remained silent until Ren spoke again: 'So, there's no hidden mission completed despite all the things that have happened in the last few days? A bit disappointing, but expected.'

[Well, Master... there are easier ways to earn a truly generous reward, much easier than fighting for days in intense battles, and you know what those ways are~] Miss System's voice sounded cheerful, and it seemed she was hinting at something.

'I know... and I'm working on it, but such things take time and patience, and they can't be rushed,' Ren replied while shaking his head.

Ren knew exactly what Miss System meant. Of course, the easy way was "Having sex with Women mentioned in the original work," specifically those listed in the system's main quest interface.

After all, that was the essence of the system—The Lust— And it could be seen by the generous rewards Ren received after every "conquest" of a woman.

Ren had a target in mind already—Zala.

Since acquiring the "Harem God Aura" skill, he felt her lustful gazes towards him, even though she tried to hide them. But how could Ren not notice?

[Fufufu~ It seems my Master is about to get back to work~ Well, just enjoy yourself, this system will go offline again~]

[Switching to automatic reply, Miss System is offline currently.]

'Of course, of course... Heh~,' Ren shook his head and smiled wryly, used to Miss System's actions, which he found cute.

"You seem to be in a good mood, my dear~"

Ren's attention returned to the outside world after hearing the soft voice from behind.

The source of the voice was none other than Robin, who had just woken up.

She was lying on a large bed with two other girls, Nami and Nojiko.

In fact, Robin hadn't been there initially. She had been looking for Ren, and when she found him, he had just finished enjoying himself with Nami.

After covering Nami in sleep with a happy smile on her face and seeing that Ren hadn't had enough yet, Robin decided to jump into his bed.

Unfortunately, Ren's body was stronger than ever before, and the pressure from the battle made him want to release all the tension in his body, so the end result was Robin in a state of disarray, with Lewd marks all over her body.

Robin didn't know when Nojiko had come in, but she was glad she wasn't the only one to suffer the "bad" fate at the hands of their captain.

"It's nothing really, take some rest." Ren approached her, looked at her beautiful face, lifted her chin with his hand, and kissed her soft lips lovingly.

"Mmmn...~"

Robin moaned, then Ren pulled away from the kiss after a few seconds and moved toward the door.

"Rest For now."

She watched him leave, smiling affectionately at his back before responding and returning to sleep on the bed, still messy from the previous night.

-----

"Good morning, Captain. How are you?"

A soft voice came from the blonde secretary, Kalifa, who greeted her superior professionally.

Although they were in The dimension, there was still an artificial sun and moon, making the whole setting feel like a miniature version of the world.

In short, a cage smaller than the one called Earth, which itself is in a cage called the galaxy, within an even larger cage known as the universe.

And no one would ever know the reason for all of this.

Back to the main point, Ren looked at her and replied with a slight smile on his face: "Better than ever... is breakfast ready?"

A slight smile formed on her face as she answered: "Of course, Captain. Please follow me."

"Mm, lead the way, please." He smiled at her, and they began walking.

"!!"

Kalifa widened her eyes when she felt Ren's hand on her waist.

'Ah...~ That amazing feeling again... this is bad... if this continues... if this continues... I'll go crazy~!'

She struggled to keep her cold expression, but a slight flush crept onto her cheeks, which would shock anyone who knew her.

Is this the cold and reserved Kalifa? That would certainly be what Rob Lucci and his companions would think if they saw her in this state.

Given her previous personality, Kalifa would normally shout, "That's harassment!" and slap Ren's hand off her waist.

But that didn't happen... She didn't even think of doing that.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for Kalifa, Ren had no plans to let go of her waist anytime soon.

-----

[Four Days Ago]

[East Blue, Goa Kingdom]

[Foosha Village]

Foosha Village was just a small, insignificant village in Goa Kingdom. The villagers were far removed from the affairs of the city. Each of them was kind and understanding. They knew each other well and helped one another with any problems they encountered.

They lived off their crafts, fishing, and farming. After a long day of work, they would head to the only tavern in the village.

It was called Partys Bar.

Currently, inside this Bar, there was a scene that would shock the entire world if they saw it.

It was an incredibly shocking scene, and no one would ever think it could actually happen. No, they wouldn't even dare to think about it, let alone believe it.

The famous pirate, known as one of the Sea Emperors, was in the tavern with his crew, but the shocking part was the man sitting across from him.

Marine Hero Garp!

Who would have thought that these two would meet in this unknown tavern in the East Blue?

"Give me one good reason, kid, why I shouldn't give you my Iron Fist..." Garp spoke, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

But Shanks didn't get angry. On the contrary, he smiled cheerfully, handed over a bag of rice crackers that he had obtained from an unknown source, and said, "Here's one."

"..."

Garp looked at the rice cracker bag and took it silently.

In fact, Garp had wanted to land some punches on Shanks when he saw him arrive on the island a few hours earlier, but he refrained.

Because Luffy was here.

But Luffy... sigh...

The old man couldn't help but sigh in regret, anger, guilt, and many other negative feelings.

Shanks noticed the old man's expression and sensed his emotions through his Haki, so he asked, "Hey, Marine Hero... I have one important question, what happened to your grandson, Luffy?"

"..."

Garp stopped eating the rice crackers and looked seriously at Shanks. "I don't know how you found out about my relationship with Luffy... but I can see that the brat respects you a lot," he sighed before continuing, "If only you hadn't filled his head with those misguided thoughts..."

Garp's mood was too dark for him to shout and berate like usual, so he settled for speaking calmly.

"It was Luffy's choice. He's a young man who loves freedom and did what he thought was right." Shanks didn't stay silent when he heard Garp's accusations.

Garp seemed angry and was about to ruin the "calm" conversation, but then he thought about Luffy's current situation, and an idea came to his mind.

This might be the first time Garp used his brain wisely.

His expression turned serious, and he looked at Shanks. "I'll tell you what happened with the brat, and let's see what you can do about it."

Before Shanks could respond, Garp began recounting the fall of the Straw Hat Pirates.

With each word, the expressions of Shanks and his crew shifted to shock and utter rage.

But the one responsible for all this didn't know, at least not for now.

In the tavern, there were several Marine soldiers whom Garp had brought with him.

Among them was a young man with pink hair.

His eyes were innocent, but there was a cold gleam that could be noticed if one listened carefully to what Garp was saying to Shanks.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make out the exact content of the conversation, but he did hear something about the fall of the Straw Hat Pirates.

'I must inform the captain about this...' he decided in his mind. But, unfortunately for Koby, he couldn't find a chance to act or contact his captain.

Even after several days, the situation remained the same.

He was waiting... waiting for the moment Shanks would leave the village. As an exceptionally powerful user of Observation Haki, it was likely that he would notice Koby if he made any suspicious moves.

But Koby, who was merely a Slave to his master, was determined to succeed in this mission.

-----

[Present Time]

[Grand Line, New World]

[Sky Bloom Island]

A ship floated calmly above the island, as if it had been there forever.

"This was a great time to rest... but we have to get back to work," Ren looked around at the crew gathered around the table and announced.

"We still haven't found the treasure. There's still one last island we must visit... Iron Jaw Island!"

"OOOOOOWWWWWWHHH!!!"

The girls cheered enthusiastically in unison, causing the room to shake.

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To be continued....

Things will get tougher in the coming days, but I'll try to maintain a good update pace.

Maybe throwing some power stones will help motivate me? ;⁠)