[Three Weeks Later]
BOOM!
A grand spectacle broke out as cracks formed in the air while crimson currents surged on the receiving end.
A huge shockwave raged on and shattered apart the red barrage of energy as the ground warped in return.
First, it was ripped apart, followed by exploding into innumerable pieces.
"Damn, that hurts!"
A young voice resounded as a body stepped out from a huge cluster of debris formed by a collapsed hill.
The young man had black hair with red streaks running down the left side.
Sharp, red pupils gazed at the ginormous pirate casually standing a few tens of meters away.
"You really don't like pulling your punches, Newgate-san."
"Gurarara," The giant man laughed. "What's the problem, kid? Your body recovers pretty fast."
Even though he said it rather offhandedly, Whitebeard was quite surprised.
He had been humouring Damien's crazed thirst for fast growth by giving him a daily dose of bone-rattling earthquakes.
If only he knew that Damien was trying to further increase his anatomy and devil fruit mastery by taking the brunt of a natural disaster.
.
Dusting off his shoulders, the bold pirate shot forth without much care from the damage from before.
*Vvoosh!*
The air whistled as Damien appeared right before the towering Whitebeard.
"Heh, let's see you stand up from this one, kid!"
*Purrup*
A glowing white orb bubbled around the infamous pirate's left fist.
Damien did not waver; wrapping his Haki-clad fist that began to boil with volatile crimson energy.
The attacks collided.
BOOM!
"Ugh!" Damien gritted his teeth as he felt his entire left arm go numb as if thousands of needles were drilling into his very bones.
The energy from his hand sprinted forth endless currents of pulverizing energy as they swamped towards the overpowering Whitebeard.
Newgate grinned slightly as his fist slowly began to shift ahead, pushing back Damien's emblazing attack.
Boom!
Another explosion followed as the young pirate was shot into another faraway hill, effectively drilling right in.
"..."
A dull silence arrived as the restless air began to calm down in the wake of the recent clash.
Newgate looked down at his fist and squinted his eyes in interest.
"You're copying Haki Emission with your powers," he smirked. "It stings, kid!"
*Rumble*
Soon the huge pile of destroyed earth trembled as a body slowly stood up, clawing its way out.
Damien's arm was bleeding, his forearm broken; a bone visibly protruding out.
*Crunch*
The young man pushed the bone back into place, eliciting a dull groan.
Yet the pained expression was washed away, replaced with a wry smile.
"You're not even using any Haki, my power is really nothing worth mentioning."
"Gurarara! Don't sell yourself short," Whitebeard said, walking toward Damien. "You did well to trim my nails."
Damien rolled his eyes.
The two pirates had become more natural in their interactions with each other; Damien appreciated the future Emperor's help in training while Whitebeard was impressed by the rookie pirate's perseverance.
Damien's routine was: wake up, eat, guide Aurora for a few hours while practicing Observation Haki, eat, train his fruit and Armament Haki with Whitebeard, eat, train in combat with some senior Fishmen who had welcomed him after freeing their people, eat, sleep, and repeat.
A schedule that would leave most with broken spirits and shivered timbers, yet to Damien, it was just another day.
'Yet even now I stand little to no chance against the real monsters of this world.'
That is the thought that drove him to continuously claw at every opportunity to get stronger, subconsciously warding away all other shackles.
…
[A While Later]
Damien had collected himself and left for an area Northeast of Fishman Island.
Just yesterday some mermaids had come to give him an invitation from Neptune to come there.
'Sibyl, bring up my stats,' he said while making his way to the location.
[Coming right up.]
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"The number doubled, most likely the pissed-off Nobles trying to hunt me down for my 'sins'."
…
[Nearby]
"So, you're leaving now?" the distant yet soft voice resounded from the cave.
It was a large clearing made within one of the large coral hills in the outer parts of Fishman Island. The area where Damien and Aurora were training.
"Mhm," he answered. "Your devil fruit goes a little too well with Observation Haki, it's quite impressive."
Damien was talking while glancing at a screen within his mind.
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-==-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
"To think the stowaway I picked up was a princess," Damien teased. "Now I feel like a main character now."
It was a tale Aurora shared with him.
A story about a girl who was forced out of her own kingdom, her family killed and betrayed by their very own minister.
.
Aurora looked at the tall pirate who had vastly broadened her horizons over the past three weeks.
"I won't forget our deal," she said with a resolute tone. "This is an assurance."
Damien examined the purple-haired bounty hunter.
He then looked down to see her open palm holding a thin piece of plain paper.
Yet every moment, the paper would inch toward the girl like a magnet.
"Your Vivre Card," Damien smirked. "It's akin to putting a tracker on yourself for anyone to hunt you down."
Yet his words failed to invoke anything more than a determined gaze from the girl.
Pocketing the paper, he nodded.
"Good luck. Try not to die, otherwise, it'll cause some troubles for my plans."
Damien left the cave, waving backwards to the girl.
Aurora looked at the slowly shrinking figure, her gaze inexplicable.
Did she sell her soul to the devil for her revenge?
She balled her fists, throwing away loose thoughts.
Her time with Damien taught her some patience.
To bide her time and train in the powers of Haki. For the first time in her life, the path ahead was no longer covered in darkness, rays of hope lightened the way.
Such hope could either make or break a desperate person.
[By the Edge of Fishman Island]
"Dammit!"
Boom!
A huge explosion echoed through the coral grounds as a black club hammered down.
Blasts of powerful thuds rippled through the terrain as a giant pirate rained down attacks on a smaller one.
"Damien, you bastard!"
"Why is your bounty higher than mine all of a sudden!"
Kaido was throwing a fit of rage as he began to pummel the recently arrived Damien.
The latter was dodging all attacks with his smaller and quicker stature.
"What's wrong Kaido, you can't even land a single hit, no wonder there's an eighty million gap between our bounties!"
Damien fashioned a grin as he shaved through the air, further enraging the beast.
"Raimei Hakke!"
"Fury Road!"
The purple lightning and crimson energy exploded all over the nearby land as waves of shock spread forth.
Cracks formed all over the soil beneath as dust and debris soon remained.
*Bang!* *Bang!*
Two pitch-black bullets fired at the clashing pirates as the air whizzed in their wake.
Damien and Kaido's eyes shone in Observation as the two instantly recoiled by instinct.
"That's enough, the ship was finally fixed and you're already trying to break it apart!"
The annoyed voice came from the unassuming woman with the pistol in her hands.
It was naturally Shakky.
"Tch!" Kaido couldn't unload his irritation anywhere so he simply went to the ship and fell asleep.
Another towering pirate soon arrived on the scene.
"If you want to fight, I'm sure you'll get that chance soon," Whitebeard casually said.
Damien narrowed his eyes, 'The New World… the unconquered sea with endless monsters awaiting, I'm finally there!'
Shakky nodded at her 'companions' and began the ascending protocol to sail up.
"To the New World!"
…
[A Few Hours Later]
Traversing through the dark sea took a while, though the ship was repaired to sail, its structural integrity was long lost, and its expiry date was coming soon.
Damien soon saw the ocean end as the ship emerged from the depths.
*Rumble*
The storm alongside the constant thunder was awfully conspicuous.
The rain poured incessantly, while it was snowing in the far East, and hailing further South.
Tempestuous currents carried the ship while the sails creaked in response.
The weather was not the main attraction.
*Purrup*
Whitebeard's right hand soon pulsed with a blue orb as the air inside was long ravaged.
*Click*
Shakky's pistol cocked in a bullet and she let out a cloud of smoke.
*Thunk*
Kaido slammed his mace on the deck of the ship with a wide grin.
*Szzz*
Crimson energy sizzled out from Damien's hand, ready to fight.
A loud voice resounded from the chaotic seas: "You bastards are finally out, I was running out of rice crackers waiting for you!"
Another voice soon followed.
"Garp, this is not the time for your nonsense, these pirates must die here before they can reach Hachinosu!"
The conversation took place at the core of the welcoming party.
Ten large marine warships, bred for battle.
Damien's sharp eyes zoomed in on the two figures standing on side-by-side ships.
Their mighty frames cast a wide net of relief to the thousands of Marines, leaving them in high spirits.
It was a force beyond even a Buster Call!
.
"Ten warships headed by ten Vice Admirals," Shakky blew out some more smoke as she casually said. "All under the command of Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Basara."
Damien smirked in response, his crimson eyes reflecting the upcoming battle, "Quite the welcome to this hellish sea!"
To Be Continued…
Author's Corner.
That draws an end to the mass release of 20 chapters. Hopefully, they were of decent quality. Thanks for getting all the way up here... and now you wait.
Images: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q