One Piece

"Then... What planet are we on?" Yujiro's voice asked in a playful tone, clearly happy to be off on an adventure.

It doesn't remove the awkwardness of having a muscular man approach you intimately.

'It's not fragile masculinity!' Rick thought as he took a sip of coffee.

Currently, both of them were walking through a small meadow, heading towards an enormous structure resembling a nuclear power plant.

"Yujiro... as I said, I'm a god, but before that, I was human, and even as a human, I was endowed with divine talent."

Yujiro interrupted with his doubts. "What does that have to do with where we are?"

"Well, basically everything. My talent could be said to be like a hive mind, with all the information of the universe. I can only appreciate a little of what I understand, but thanks to that I trained hard in martial arts. Many of the techniques I have are copied..."

"That's a bit shameless," Yujiro said calmly. Although he was a bit disappointed to know that his rival didn't create the Six Naval Styles, it is a truly amazing technique, at least for him. It could be said that it's another reason to take martial arts seriously, as he even wants to practice that style.

"So? Have you created your own techniques? Are they on par with or better than the Six Styles?" This is another serious question from Yujiro; he naturally expects the truth. It can't be hidden from him too much, given that he has X-ray vision and can see your heartbeat. Or so he believes.

"Of course, even if you don't believe it, I'm also amazing on my own, but I'll leave you wondering about what I created." Smiling, Rick responded before returning to the main topic.

"The techniques I copied I received from worlds very separate from each other, so after becoming a god I planned to kidnap the planets of interest and place them in my universe as I please. This is the world of One Piece."

"What is 'one piece'? Do you want to kidnap a planet? HAHAHAHA!" Yujiro laughed at such words, but he didn't laugh because he didn't believe it, but because of the absolute display of power that Rick could exert.

Waiting for Yujiro to stop slapping his leg, Rick took another look at the environment.

"So... if I understand correctly, you're going from planet to planet to kidnap them to your universe?" Yujiro, happy, asked for confirmation.

"I'm not going to take all the planets, only the interesting people, unless we pass through these types of planets."

"What happens here in the 'one piece'?" This time Yujiro was curious, so far this seemed like an ordinary world to him. He expected an apocalypse full of monsters with the army killing everyone with fists, knives, and lasers.

"This planet is what in Universe 7 would be a low-level planet. But it is rich in history, and it has its own power scale."

"I have an idea of what you mean, but please, explain." Yujiro asked in a serious voice, his gaze expressing his total concentration. This time he joined Rick because he saw him reluctant to take his weak companions.

"I mean the semi-open training system of planets. Think about it, an ordinary farmer is attacked and his wife is killed. The farmer is weak but seeks revenge. It turns out that the perpetrator is someone with power. Not only financial, since he can also bend steel with his hands. The farmer doesn't know how to be equally strong since he is weak, and training is difficult without knowing where to start. Since he is weak, he can also get injured if he trains too hard. He opts to grab a gun and shoot his target, but this is someone who has trained his body to the top and hides in time."

"Why does that super-powerful someone sound's a little like me?" Yujiro's voice was sarcastic, but he stayed attentive to what was coming.

"If that farmer happens to know a fisherman, and the fisherman gives him a fish that perfectly nourishes the body, what happens? The farmer eats and trains until he sees how far he can go just by training on his own. It turns out he discovers that in the army there is training to bring your body to a superhuman level, this man will enroll in search of revenge. He becomes strong. But it turns out his target was even more powerful, having thousands of people like him under his command, but thanks to that he discovers that there are stronger ones in the world. The farmer trains until he becomes someone at the top of the food chain and has the power to make the state take his demands seriously without even starting a rebellion."

"What are you trying to get at?" Yujiro didn't know what Rick was referring to. What is the difference between the two examples?

"This is simple... basically, the planets I want to absorb into my universe have poor strength. But in them, it must be common sense to know that strength is achieved in one way or another. And in these planets, that way must definitely lead you to become stronger. Even if that means having talent for it."

"So... on this planet, are there things that can make even a farm pig stronger?" This time Yujiro finally understood. The difference is personal power. At least a group of people must be able to strengthen themselves safely by following a previously explored path. And since Rick is a god, he will want planets where only the gym doesn't lead you anywhere, but something that can make you destroy a mountain. And that method must be widely known.

"Is 'one piece'... a technique?" Yujiro's eyes burned with desire.

"One Piece?" A young man with black hair got up from the ground, apparently resting in the grass. He had nothing on his upper body except a necklace and his hat, if that counts. He was tattooed but not too much.

Rick and Yujiro turned at the sound of a voice.

...

"Who are you?" asked the stranger.

"THAT'S OBVIOUSLY OUR LINE!" Yujiro replied.

"Well, well, calm down, it's not like it's a secret. Almost everyone here knows something about the One Piece. Right, Portgas D. Ace?" Rick spoke like the typical background villain. Obviously getting used to each new planet as the final boss.

"Do we know each other?" Ace asked with a frown. He still disliked talking about the One Piece because of its connection to Gol D. Roger. But since it is also his dream to make Whitebeard the One Piece, I guess it's not bad to talk about it. Maybe these are the ones who saved him.