[71] A Fruit Worth Cultivating

[3030 words]

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[Room of Authority, Mariejois]

"What's the matter, Nusjuro?" an Elder questioned his bald colleague who suddenly paused in his duties.

The bald man could not help but reach for his treasured blade.

Shing!

A sharp whistle went off as the glorious blade was unsheathed.

"My Shodai Kitetsu has never been so erratic… something has happened!"

The other Elders also straightened themselves in their seats.

"Could it be…?" Saturn muttered.

V. Nusjuro clenched his teeth, "A thirteenth blade was forged!"

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[An Island in the North Blue]

A dinghy sailed across the calm seas of the North Blue and featured an unconventional shape with a whimsical sail and subtle carvings, set against gently rolling waves under a bright sky. 

A lean and lax man lay across a simple dinghy, sailing past a wealthy island.

His rather lanky frame covered the entire vessel; his head leaning on one end and his feet on the other.

At his side was a heavy double-edged blade, one which was impossible to wield in one hand.

It featured intricate dark patterns that gave the appearance of etchings or runes, overlaid with a subtle red glow reminiscent of embers. However, its glory was entirely masked by a dull layer of rust and dried blood, making it seem rather worthless.

"Oya?"

The man looked past his messy white hair and toward the large blade with a hint of intrigue.

*Brr* *Brr*

The weapon was vibrating as if receiving a phone call.

*Tut* The man placed aside the giant canister of alcohol next to a few barrels of more of the fine liquid and flashed a grin.

"Vahaha! Looks like there's still some romance left in the New World!"

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[An Island in the New World]

"Captain Roger, why'd you stop drinking?"

They addressed the mustachioed man at the center of the party.

Roger traced his fingers along his companion in battle.

The blade pulsed in return.

"My Ace is feeling lively, hehe, let's party some more!"

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[Back to Wano]

Damien examined the rugged and wild nature of the weapon in his grasp.

The staff-like handle, the longsword body and the pincer-like claws that formed the blades that were perpetually blazing red.

It was unlike a spear, sword or glaive, with the capability to strike, slash, stab and smash.

"You will be 'Ryushi' meaning particle, as you will render everything to dust."

A soft hum drummed out, almost as if the blade was alive!

And it truly was. 

"It won't be long before the world sees you in your glory," the pirate whispered. In response, he felt a gentle rumble in the blade, almost as if it was excited.

.

"Damien-dono, is that, by any chance…?" 

The pirate in question looked at the shaken Daimyo, however before he could answer, something else happened.

*Rumble* A bolt of lightning struck a tree nearby, igniting it immediately.

Rain fell copiously as the storm above had grown violent. The howling winds returned as they threatened to take the others into flight.

.

Damien looked up at the gigantic cloud. Arcs of lightning visibly crackled, ready to rain hell below.

"Run!"

"There's no escape!"

"Looks like the heat and plasma spawned a few thunderclouds," the pirate clicked his tongue. "Show me what you got, Ryushi."

Damien pointed the clawed edge to the ground, raising the blade diagonally downwards.

His arm muscles flexed as the weapon pulsed with the crushing energy.

*Vvooo!*

The pirate slashed across, arcing the weapon to send out a crimson burst of energy that ripped the air to shreds. It was violent and volatile, one wrapped with the essence of pulverization.

Boom!

The storming cloud cried out as the thunder exploded into a bright spectacle, blinding those below.

The collection of static charge and moisture was dissolved away and cut up into sizes far smaller than the eye could see.

"..."

Peace returned as the huge cloud the size of all of Hakumai was utterly dismantled. The bright rays of the sun graced the earth once more, bathing the panic-struck spectators with warmth.

"Just one strike of that weapon and the entire thunderstorm is gone!"

"Is this the power of a god?"

Damien twirled the blade in circles, leaving a crimson trail behind.

Boom!

A strand of pulverizing energy leaked past the weapon and carved itself into the ground, shattering it apart.

"I didn't even use my Devil Fruit ability, it seems Ryushi truly absorbed my power and made it its own," Damien muttered.

"It's hard to rein it into control, It'll take a while to get a hang of," the pirate told himself,

The damage done to the nearby land was a bit of a problem, after all, he couldn't be doing that on a ship and risk capsizing.

.

However, a booming voice soon brought him out of his reverie, drawing eyes from every corner of Hakumai.

"KOKOKOKO, FINALLY I HAVE DONE IT! I HAVE FULFILLED MY AMBITION AND CAN FINALLY DIE WITHOUT REG-"

Thud.

Katsuyoshi was declaring his heart out with a spanning grin until he suddenly fell to the ground, dead.

Nearby personnel confirmed that the 'Divine Blacksmith' Katsuyoshi passed away at the age of 182 after forging a Supreme Grade weapon.

…

Damien personally held the funeral of the old man. Summoning everyone at Hakumai to attend.

It was a celebration!

Katsuyoshi told death to wait until he was done, and now he was. Tears would only bring dishonour to a man who died without regrets!

Yasuie also arranged a transport to take his coffin to be buried along with the greatest heroes of Wano at the Northern Cemetery, next to the grave of the Sword God Ryuma!

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[The Following Night]

Damien had spent time learning his weapon.

Ryushi was born under the embrace of his pulverizing fruit power. It practically became a generator that could create that very energy itself.

'Pulverizing Blade' Ryushi.

It was an intrinsic quality of the weapon. Some swords could ignite into flames, while a few churn with electricity, in the same light, Damien's weapon could generate pulverizing energy naturally.

"Oh, amazing! Let me try that weapon too, Damien!" 

The excited voice came from the gleeful noble son, Oden.

His eyes shined bright as he expectantly looked at the pirate in front of him.

"Sure thing," the pirate said as he threw the treasure blade over.

Oden reached out, grabbing Ryushi by its handle.

He oohed and ahhed, swinging and slashing, "It's terribly well-balanced!" he commented in admiration. 

Though his excitement dialled down with a hiss as Oden felt the pores of his skin get dug into with some minute power. 

"The hell!? Ow, ow ow!" 

Oden could not help but drop the weapon as he blew on his hands.

"It hurts!"

*Fwooo*

He breathed heavily onto the hands that had begun to bleed, the pain drilling into the nerves and shaking up his central nervous system.

.

Damien picked Ryushi up who gave a dull hum, almost as if angered by swordsman's boldness to wield it. It even pulsed with a red light, washing away the oily fingerprints.

"Oden, come with me to the Flower Capital, I will help you clear your name," Damien said.

The samurai made a 'yuck' face as if throwing up at the thought of meeting his father. Meanwhile, Kin'emon and Denjiro sighed as they wiped away the blood on their master's hands.

"Oden, you didn't just come here to try out my weapon, right? Just admit it that even a man as crass as you can feel accountable for his actions." 

…

Darkness has arrived over the Daimyo's Estate.

"Yasuie-san, have you dispatched your men?" Damien asked the Hedgehog.

The Daimyo returned a nod, "I released the Samurai of Hakumai to trace down and eliminate the Kurozumi survivors."

He then placed three wooden sticks with names etched onto them.

They read:

Kurozumi Kanjuro.

Kurozumi Higurashi.

Kurozumi Semimaru.

"Our historians were able to trace these three down the Kurozumi Clan, they are distant relatives and just their births are documented. It seems they were able to escape from Wano."

Damien was surprised by the intel.

It seemed Wano did have quite the system of tracking their own.

"Since you are aware of their exploits into the seas, you should be wary of the possibility that they hold Devil Fruit powers."

Oden and Yasuie both paused in thought.

"Sorcery from the seas, indeed," the Daimyo nodded. "Though I recall you stated they have a weakness?"

Damien smiled, "Mhm, there is a certain mineral in Wano itself that can help you contain these threats. I intend to talk more with your Shogun on this matter."

Yasuie nodded once more, "I see, I'll leave it up to Sukiyaki-dono then."

...

Time came to an end as the five left for the Flower Capital, under the grace of the moon.

The carriage had been vastly expanded. Pulled by six fully-grown horses capable of surviving terrible conditions.

Oden was even taller than Damien so naturally their transportation had to accommodate it.

.

It was around four in the morning.

Denjiro and Kin'emon had fallen asleep and were sprawled over the floorboards, their feet in each others' faces.

Toki was reading a book on Pharmacology, enjoying her studies.

Oden sat in the corner, drinking some saké.

"Hmm, I still prefer swords, carrying that big thing around looks troublesome," Oden frankly commented.

He patted his treasured swords that meekly fit within their scabbards.

Damien turned toward Ryushi who gently lay before him and in the space between the two.

"Perhaps you should rethink that."

His words came with a flick of the wrist and the weapon was soon enveloped in a crimson bubble.

*Krrr*

Sounds of pixelation went off as the mighty weapon shattered into innumerable shiny particulates, gently floating in the air.

Oden's jaw dropped as he saw Damien wave the countless pieces around after they finally formed a ring over his left middle finger, one with a detailed black dragon design coiling around a red gemstone.

[Ring Image (in Discord)]

"How pretty!" Toki commented, seeing the gem glisten under the lanterns of the carriage.

"Hmm, looks like Ryushi has a bit of an ego too," Damien muttered, tracing a thumb over ring that pulsed with heat.

Bang!

Oden stood up, banging his head on the ceiling, and sat back down while sporting the bump on his dome.

"No one told me that weapons could do that!"

Damien shrugged, "Just a little thing I found out when I was training for Ryuo. Hehe, my powers are more than just destruction."

"Since Ryushi was configured with my powers, naturally I can mould it as I wish."

Oden gulped at the information, "Wait, so you can turn it into any weapon you wish?"

"Yeah, be it a traditional sword or a warhammer, I can make it," the pirate nodded. "Though I'm not a weapon master and have no intention of shifting through tens of them."

"it is cooler than your knives, no?"

The Samurai looked to the side, somewhat annoyed, "I wish mine could do that too…"

*Buzz* *Buzz* His words sparked the anger of Enma and Ame-no-Habakiri who violently shook in fury, forcing Oden to calm them down with some cheap words.

.

After that episode, he turned to the girl.

"Also Amatsuki woman! I almost forgot you froze me in the air, what was all that!?"

Toki put aside her book and tilted her head.

"Hmm, well, since time flows at a certain rate, I figured out how to slow it down," she casually replied.

"I read that there were always grave worries of people bleeding to death from uncontrolled hemorrhaging and infection so slowing them in time helps a lot!"

Damien leaned his cheek onto his fist, thinking over a discussion from a month ago.

It was when Toki brought the idea of 'freezing' wounds in time while he made a few connections to physics.

Time was considered the fourth dimension and flowed at a fixed rate of 1.0 spacetime units.

It brought Damien to a thought: 'Toki's Devil Fruit allows for positive time manipulation, so as long as she shifts time between 0.0 and 1.0, she can effectively slow down time.'

.

Oden frowned, rubbing his head in confusion.

"Slowing down time is messed up and it made me feel so woozy!"

Damien nodded in agreement, "It's certainly a little broken."

Toki heard the compliments and smiled back, "Anyone with high enough Haki can break out of my powers but at least I can help keep things under control!"

…

[Eight Hours Later]

The morning sun graced the lands of Wano.

The warmth brought joy to the horses as they arrived at their destination.

"I didn't think I'd return to the Flower Capital so soon," Oden murmured as he breathed in the familiar and homely air.

The people took notice right away.

"Damien-sama is here!"

"Lady Toki always looks bright."

Yet their words warped into invisible arrows instantly.

"Who are those three refugees that struck a ride with them?"

"Damien-sama is really generous, giving a ride to the homeless inside his carriage!"

"We of Wano should learn such benevolence!"

The exiled son's face slumped, almost melting off under the dozens of fingers being pointed at him.

"Oden, the foolish man, is back! Hide your wives and daughters!"

.

However, Damien also got off the transport and drew away the attention once again.

"At least Lord Damien seems far more responsible than that troublemaker."

"The guest from afar is more charming, I wouldn't mind if my wife spent a night with him."

"He's worthy of the most beautiful woman of Wano!"

…

Oden almost fell to the ground, all the while Denjiro and Kin'emon wanted to shove their heads into the dirt like ostriches.

"Looks like your reputation precedes you," Damien said as he gave him a friendly slap on the back.

Toki, on the other hand, seemed to have heard some other comments and subconsciously glanced at the leading pirate.

It was quite a dramatic arrival.

…

[Shogun's Manor]

Sukiyaki stared at the five people in his office.

Toki sat to Damien's right while Oden and his retainers sat to the left.

"Damien-dono, welcome back," the man said with a thin smile.

He side-eyed his 'son' who grinned at the scowl of his 'father', "I didn't expect you to bring back such… loud company."

Sukiyaki sighed, thinking about a different story, "By any chance, were the recent 'unusual' events over Wano caused by you?" 

Damien nodded and casually answered, "Oh right, the late Katsuyoshi forged me a Supreme Grade Weapon so it caused a bit of a ruckus, but nothing too bad."

"Ah, I see. You got a Supreme Weapon."

"..."

The Shogun blinked.

He turned to the side and looked at Toki who smiled in some confusion. He then turned to the Captain of the Ninja Forces, Kaka Shi, with the same look. He then returned to Damien.

"You… Did you say a Supreme Grade Weapon?"

"That's right."

"What!?"

Sukiyaki gulped, hoping to calm his heart, "You know, I'm somewhat of a swordsmith myself."

"I crafted Sandai Kitetsu and Ame-no-Habakiri of Twenty-One Great Blades," he explained.

"They were modelled after the Nidai Kitetsu that was made by my ancestor, Kotetsu. Though to bring about a Supreme Weapon is well beyond my imagination."

He rubbed his temple, recalling the old Shimotsuki man who had recently passed, raising his respect for Katsuyoshi to the level of Ryuma.

Sukiyaki finally sighed, proceeding to address the elephant in the room.

"May I know what Oden is doing here?"

The prized son chuckled, "What's this, Lord Shogun won't even regard his own blood? Wahaha!"

The Shogun frowned, he did not enjoy Oden's company.

"Sukiyaki, I brought this fool to help clear his name. You see he uncovered a ploy by some surviving Kurozumi Clan Survivors that wanted to kill you and take over Wano," Damien casually answered once more.

"Ah, I see. So you found some Kurozumi Survivors who wanted to take over Wano."

"..."

"What!?"

Another conversation came up.

"So you're telling me that the Voice of the Universe helped you find those Kurozumi scum, that sounds familiar… I recall my father once telling me about that."

"That's right, Oden can also hear the voices."

Sukiyaki nodded, cupping his chin, "Oh, my estranged son holds the power to listen to it?"

"What!?"

"..."

This time, Damien spoke up first.

"Sukiyaki, I brought him here so that you give him another chance, he may be dim-witted, a no-good fool and surely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he does have some use."

The Shogun resolutely nodded at Damien's words, much to Oden's chagrin.

"What do you propose?"

This time, it was Toki who chimed in.

"I think Kuri is a good place to start," she offered. "It is the single region that is swamped with the ill-bred and unfortunate folks, I think Oden-san will fit in quite well."

Sukiyaki nodded in thought.

Oden felt a volley of invisible arrows pierce his chest as he heard the incessant barrage of casual insults.

.

"I don't know, Oden tends to ruin all my hard work, how can I be sure that he doesn't make Kuri even worse?"

This time, Oden stood up, pointing his finger out.

"Lord Shogun, the Flower Capital is too restrictive for me, I will just take all the Nobles' wives and do it myself if you don't send me to Kuri with your blessing!"

The words brought seething anger to the Shogun who cracked the brush in his hands.

"Fine, Oden! As the Shogun of Wano, I will send you to Kuri to reform the lands and fix all the wrongs! I don't want any of the thugs and the criminals remaining before you ever think to return here again!" Sukiyaki declared.

Oden smirked triumphantly, "I wouldn't want it any other way!"

The two began bickering back and forth, Denjiro and Kin'emon trying to calm them down. A task they failed at.

Toki giggled at the side: "They get along quite well."

Damien slightly smiled, "Hmm, perhaps Wano does have a chance of becoming a future Superpower."

Toki clapped her hands in thrill, "I hope Wano can truly one day open its beauty to the rest of the world."

Though under Damien's lax expression was a more calculated one. The pirate narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, 'Wano is truly a fruit worth cultivating, but I need to wait till it's fully ripe!'

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Wano certainly has its riches, ones even beyond Damien's thoughts.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q