One Piece: Path to Power

[2445 words]

Drop stones before I call my clowns to hunt you down.

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[A Few Moments After Sol's Fall]

.

A few bodies were laid out.

Gobbler the Gluttony had died, his guts slowly dribbled out of his open stomach as he was popped with Linlin's Emission Haki.

Thymos' broken staff was scattered on the ground as the man himself was nailed to the ground, his eyes lifeless as if his very soul had vanished.

Cupid was knocked out, her breathing erratic. .

Fox D. Osca was a mess. His body was cut in half by Napolean, Big Mom's sword, while his brain matter was present nearby, his head shot mercilessly with Mars the flintlock belonging to the same woman.

.

*Clang!*

Winds blew wild as a heavy shockwave burst out nearby.

.

"Ma-MA-mam-MA!" Big Mom laughed. "You no longer interest me, Sleeping Demon!"

Ignavi, now Hakuba, was bloodied all over. His clothes were tattered, his right arm and an eye missing.

Yet the smile glued to his face remained as his body moved on auto.

.

"Maybe if you were a rare species, I would keep you," The Evil Spirit cackled. "But you are just a normal one with a special inborn power... You can die now!"

With her words stated, she blacked Napolean in Haki as it shined in the moonlit night.

.

"Ikoku Sovereignty!"

.

The attack worthy to be dubbed as the 'Spear of Elbaf' rang out in a powerful shockwave.

Ignavi persisted for a while yet his body collapsed, the powerful attack ended his life as all of the 6 Capital Vices had died!

.

Linlin hummed in slight fatigue, "Haaaiz, carrying twins at this time gets slightly tiring."

Her eyes were then drawn to the chaos at the center of the island.

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[Elsewhere at the Same Time]

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"AUGHHHHH!" A primal yell infused in Conqueror's Haki bellowed out.

*Thwack!* *CLANG!* *SLAM!*

Heavy metallic sounds followed as purple lightning lit the dark surroundings.

.

It was Kaido, his eyes glowed in anger.

"That damn Damien… His bounty will get even larger than mine with this!!!!"

.

The Beast's black club crashed upon equally powerful counters.

"Oye… you damn broody giant, can't you pay attention to your own fight?" Gaban, his opponent for the past 9 hours said in some annoyance.

Kaido continued his flurry of attacks as he growled like an animal, "Gaban, you're bounty is higher than mine too. YOU PISS ME OFF!"

.

BOOM!

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[Back to the Center]

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*Thud*

A soft echo went off as Damien flew to the ground.

*Sizzle*

His feather made of Haki and gas-like Pulverizing energy had mostly burned away as the remaining slowly faded away.

His Hadean armour was chipped and broken, mist of red escaped as some blood, too, followed.

*Cough* *Cough*

Damien let out some grunts as his body regained some energy, his breath still heavy.

Aches spread over his limbs and torso as the stress from the fight flowed in.

.

His injuries may have healed but his stamina was nigh-empty.

.

"Old bastard… how long will you stare in the crater for?" Damien asked, seemingly to no one.

Yet a reply shot back with great savagery, "Xahaha… you surprised me again, brat."

Xebec suddenly appeared a few meters from the Sin Incarnate, his wild-red hair loosely tied, as usual, his clothes soaked in dried blood.

.

The captain went on, "You gave me a great fight to watch, Damien-brat. But now I'll take over as that flying chicken will be returning."

Damien nodded, "He has already exploded in strength a few times now. It may have infinitely but every burst overloads his body. He's already at the point of breaking down."

Even without the system, Damien had figured out that Sol simply was not driven enough to unlock his fruit. He hadn't even Awakened it yet!

.

Xebec grinned, "Your eyes are quite sharp… Xahaha! I just hope Sol can entertain me even if it's the last thing he does!"

.

On cue, a loud rumble went off.

*VRooowwm!*

The ground shook incessantly as at the area of Sol's fall, a giant cloud of dust went off.

.

A silhouette of a man was seen.

Blood dripped everywhere.

A missing limb plus a giant gash that cut deep enough to show the beating heart of the Overlord.

Yet even with that, his body constantly emitted heat and power, a rather extreme amount of it.

Even in the darkness of the night, the golden flames were apparent.

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"Coming of Infinite Pride!"

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An island-shaking boom went off as Sol seemed to have blown himself once more.

"From the ashes, I have risen!" He roared out. "Even if I fall, it won't be with some upstart just barely having stepped into the New World!"

.

The heat released was far greater than before, the armour that remained on the broken Hadean form sizzled and boiled away.

Damien's skin reddened and melted off in a bronze liquid. His inner flesh was heated enough to cook eggs as it started to denature his very proteins.

.

*FWOOOO!*

Yet the feeling of having your skin melted off was nothing compared to the sickness of life that swirled nearby him…

Around Xebec's body was a tornado of black smoke as it started to resemble the very colour of death!

Cries of souls echoed in Damien's mind as his eyes stared at his Captain's powers.

.

A screen popped up in the youth's mind.

[Pryde D. Sol's Strength: Peak of Yonko → Well Beyond Yonko.]

Sibyl's voice then went off, [Sol has fully exploded with enough power for him to enter his final form. He has forcefully Awakened himself!]

[And until it runs out, he will be incredibly strong. Though this power comes at great expense... his body cannot handle it, he will die very soon.]

.

Damien nodded as the pain of hell itself was thrust upon him, yet his body healed as always, 'How long can he stay in this?'

[No more than a day's time.]

.

"Oye, kid. You aren't ready for this stage yet. Shoo away, maybe go and deal with those flies buzzing around us." Xebec's raspy voice broke Damien's train of thought.

He saw his captain that brimmed with excitement as his Haki materialized around him, the very air withered away as empty space remained.

Under the power of 2 Awakened Ultimate-Class fruits, well, let's just say Glint Island was no more.

.

Damien flew to the edge of the island as he sat on the sandy beach to inspect some other things.

'The profits were rather nice from that battle,' He grinned.

The Sin Incarnate then extended his left palm in front of himself.

*Vwooo~*

A mellow noise went off.

Damien gave out an uncontrollable smile as he saw the red cube that floated in his hand.

*VZZZZZ*

A soft howl escaped the hexahedron as it radiated in great power.

It was cube-shaped with a crimson core that seemed to glow bright, it held Damien's power. Outside the cube was a black cage that seemed to hold the power in.

[A/N: Image.]

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*Vrrr*

A grating noise then boomed as the red energy in the cube started to escape out in a red mist.

The air particles were crushed into obsolete sizes... reduced to atomic levels!

*BRRRR*

Yet the cage that kept the power started to fall apart, the outer edges unable to sustain the power as it fizzled out in dismay.

.

Though it seemed rather sad, Damien simply grinned as he felt his control over the Pulverize-Pulverize Fruit had increased and refined from the battle against Sol.

'Awakening... it's within my grasp.'

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[4 Hours Later]

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It was around 5 am.

Glint Island had started to shatter into pieces.

Whitebeard and Roger continued their duel, earthquakes thrown around as sword slashes sharp enough to slice mountains collided.

Shiki shaped his part of the island to his desire as the Red Count, Patrick Redfield matched with his strength.

.

And one not to be forgotten was at the center.

Xebec's death storms clashed with the flames of the sun fueled by the newly Awakened powers Sol. It was the end of the world, for all it seemed was exactly that.

The skies cried drops of blood as nearly 28000 deaths had occurred in this very landmass.

.

Damien sat at the edge of the island as he recovered some stamina, lost in thought.

'Sol will die here, the Era of Overlords will end with him. The eventful incident of God Valley is to happen in a mere 12 to 14 months.' He recollected.

'I can invoke atomic-level dismantling with Hadean Form but it isn't enough without it. I'd say I can surely match the current Newgate and Shiki.' Damien concluded.

.

*Thud*

A quick rumble of the earth went off as a shadow landed near the Sin Incarnate.

He hummed, "Linlin, you sure took your time."

.

Big Mom, still in her sexy attire of revealing clothes let out a laugh.

"Ma-Ma-MAM-ma! Damien, if I wasn't pregnant now I would push you down and take your seed right away!" She claimed.

The youth in question rolled his eyes, "You depraved woman still living in your fantasies. With the number of brats you've popped out, I'm surprised if there isn't an entire grand canyon formed down there!"

.

Linlin grew furious! Her body that was yearned by tens of thousands of men of all ages was called out as if she were a common whore!

"You damn kid! I'll rip your soul out!"

The woman was about to release her powers yet saw Damien's eyes flash red.

The youth turned his gaze to the horizon, the darkness of the night slowly faded as dawn approached.

.

"So they couldn't wait any longer, eh?"

"What is it?" Linlin asked as she knew of Damien's superior Observation.

.

The young man stood up with a grin, "Marines."

"Tens of thousands of them," He said. "With some rather powerful presences in their midst."

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[5 Kilometers Away]

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"All forces, advance!" A loud voice mixed with great charisma went off.

*Swish*

In the embrace of the rising sun, hundreds of ships set off.

15 battleships lined up in the back. Each held a thousand men.

Smaller marine ships totalling nearly 50 in number were present as well.

.

*Vwooooo!*

The winds howled as a giant ship, nearly 1.5 times larger than the normal battleships came into view.

The sails had a word printed on them.

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[KUROWASHI]

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*Bell Clanging!*

Loud clangs of a bell echoed over the waters as the sun peaked up from the east.

The Admiral stood at the bow of the ship, other marines of even greater power on board as well.

Kurowashi's voice went off, "The pirates are in disarray. Raise your weapons and steel your hearts. A great battle is to come, one that shall be won with the justice that we bring!"

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""""""OUUUGHH!"""""

The marines roared out, their spirit fuelled with the sense of duty.

.

A sense of invincible power whirled in their hearts. With nearly 25000 marines deployed and with the leadership of such powerful commanders, just who can stand in their way?

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[Back to the Shore of Glint Island]

[30 Minutes Later]

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"Damien, call them," Linlin said as she walked next to the youth, her body far taller.

"Yeah, yeah."

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The Sin Incarnate reached into his pocket and took out a device.

It was a transponder snail that was kept in his {Inventory}. The snail had its swag. A black long coat that resembled Damien's and matching crimson eyes as well.

"Puru" "Puru" "Puru" "Puru"

The snail rang a few times.

"Katcha!"

It was picked up.

.

Damien smirked as his eyes scanned the armada of marine ships that were just visible by the naked eye.

"Damien-chan, you finally called. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Shakky-nee," the youth smiled.

"You can send over the fleet now on the eastern shore, the marines are almost here."

The woman responded with an affirmative tone, "Ufufu, they will be right over…"

.

A few ominous seconds passed as the orange glow of dawn bathed the seas.

*Rumble*

The air shook in trepidation as a great sight was to behold.

*Vrooo* *Vooo!* *Wvooo*

Tens to hundreds of grey portals opened all around the 2 pirates.

The cool silence apart from the occasional wind was replaced with the uproar of thousands of voices!

A plethora of ships then exited out from the portals, each made with ships that had been weathered in great battles headed by the toughest of men.

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"We can finally fight!"

"So many marines, come to me!"

"Eyes, lungs, pancreas... So many snacks. so little time!"

"Je suis prêt à me battre. Venez, marines!"

"For the gold!"

"Blah-Blah-Blah! I hear there are some hotties in the marine ranks!"

.

It was the Rocks Pirates' Grand Fleet that made their flashy entry!

30000 men upon nearly a hundred ships had arrived.

Division 1 through 8 made up of the absolute worst pirates upon the seas. These were the men the demons of the New World would fear.

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*Fwooo*

Damien and Linlin jumped from the shore to the ship that was at the center, surrounded by the other Division. His very own Suicidal Rambo.

Shakky was present upon it as well as the other pirates throughout the armada gave out powerful cries.

.

"Damien-sama is here!"

"The marines will cry in fear!"

"Charlotte Linlin-sama, please step on me!"

…

The men and the women all roared in joy as the 2 landed.

Damien ignored the ruckus and walked to the very front.

.

He saw the familiar woman that sat peacefully while the marines inched closer.

"Shakky-nee, we have nearly 5000 more men than the marines but there is a bit of a problem…" The youth uttered.

Shakky puffed out a cloud of smoke as her eyes scanned the marines then approached from afar.

"I see them, Damien-chan," She replied. "It won't be an easy fight."

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The Black Death was quite serious in her words, to which Damien concurred as he long sensed the powerhouses that led the marines.

Damien zoomed in to the men that stood upon the giant marine ship.

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He saw 5 men.

Each with rather distinct features.

One with a large, black afro with simple facial hair.

A serious man with a missing eye and shaved head.

A younger man with messy silver hair in sharp, black clothes.

Another with a metal arm and purple hair.

And lastly, a marine with a robust body with a giant grin. The man cracked his knuckles with sounds that seemed to echo all the way to the shore.

.

The ones at the helm of the marine ship that led the 25000-strong fleet of marines were none other than:

Marine Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Basara, Admiral Kurowashi, Vice Admiral Zephyr and Vice Admiral Garp!

.

[A/N: Layout of the Coming Battle Image.]

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Author's Corner:

I'm sure there will be comments about Sol living and a waste of 3 chapters and all that... well it was more like Luffy vs Katakuri where Damien grew significantly stronger. Mainly being Hadean and even invoking atomic-dismantling. That aside, the only way for him to Awaken his fruit is through great battles and so he has done.

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