One Piece: Path to Power

[2725 words]

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*Crackle*

Kaido's club thundered with purple lighting as he recklessly shot ahead, not considering any defensive maneuvers.

Damien mobilized his devil fruit to spring forth a stream of pulverizing energy, strong and turbulent enough to ignite the air around his attack.

"Raimei Hakke!"

"Fury Road!"

"Divine Departure!"

Their attacker simply reeled his arm back and swung his sword in a simple yet powerful diagonal arc.

A black slash of sword energy followed and toward the younger duo.

The attack was as simple as it could get, yet in its simplicity lay dense Haki and indomitable might that tore through the two incoming pirates.

*Grrrr!*

The magnificent strike tore and shredded apart all obstacles; Kaido's club was pushed back as cracks ran through its body. Damien's left fist was cut open, leaving his hand bones visible. Both their attacks dissolved within moments as their bodies were flung back and carried away to the distance. 

BOOM!

An already creaky wall shattered apart from the rookies who were sent flying, the lone sword slash digging its way into their bodies.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They kept bursting through wall after wall, ramming in and out of dozens of separate buildings before finally coming to a stop at the far South of the island.

…

Back at the auction hall.

The man with a thick mustache stood grinning, his saber was now sheathed.

"Roger," the man beside him complained. "You need to learn how to keep your hand sometimes."

The boisterous pirate just waved him off. "Wahaha! Those two little monsters won't take that much damage from that, I just wanted to test out the new fish in the sea."

He then gazed towards his far left, his Observation zooming to a single area and sensed great destruction and damage.

Earthquakes and tornadoes were being thrown about with care, leaving thousands dead by the side.

"Edward Newgate," Rayleigh muttered. "The man who ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit."

"Who do you think will win?"

Roger grinned at the question. "Borealis' reign will end."

He then changed his sight to something else.

"Oh? Looks like someone dropped the treasured sword…"

[Image of Gol D. Roger (in Discord)]

[Image of Silvers Rayleigh (in Discord)]

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[Further Out from the Auction Hall]

Mora Island was currently in a jam.

The constant shaking and turbulent winds had already taken the roofs from the citizens' homes. The people were looking for underground shelter to survive the tribulations, begging for the gods to grant mercy.

Going from a sunny and pleasant day to a hellish armageddon brought them to their weakest point.

"W-What's that?" a tired civilian uttered.

He was in a larger group running away from the fight and towards the outskirts of the main city.

The man pointed at a huge dust cloud that began to appear from the far forest. The people near him also saw it.

"Maybe some runaway animals kicking up dust while fleeing?"

"No… look! It's getting closer…"

*Gulp* A terrible thought soon came forth in their minds.

And their foreboding thoughts were soon confirmed.

They saw men. Hundreds, thousands even.

They rushed ahead through the forest, even climbing and stampeding on one another. Weapons and guns were unleashed as they continued their run.

Each one of them had a manic expression on their face, their eyes were missing something—humanity!

"R-Run!!!"

The sight of the predators approaching kicked an instinct to flee from the people; they ran with all their might but soon were forced to stop.

In one direction was the coming tide of bloodthirsty pirates, and in the opposite direction was the battle of natural disasters!

Deep fear and despair swamped the lucky survivors, leaving them at the mercy of the Rocks Pirates' siege.

A tragic fate; the story of a weak man's life.

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[Near the Southern Docks]

*Ptui*

A wad of blood splattered onto the ground.

It came from the red-eyed young pirate who was in the process of observing his injuries.

Damien glanced at his left arm.

The gap between his middle and ring finger was cut through to his wrist, opening his palm in half. Blood flooded out, though the rate of hemorrhaging slowed down fast.

Moments later the bleeding stopped, leaving the ripped hand seeming a little alien-like. Most would be terrified as they'd seen it, and yet the following scene is even scarier!

Damien's torn-open hand visibly began to regrow flesh, muscles and tendons as it began to stitch itself back together.

The broken bones regrew and remodeled themselves. The dried blood fell to the ground like clay as new and potent blood replaced it. The nerves reattached themselves as the unbelievable sight left a perfectly new hand behind.

*Crack*

The young pirate stretched his sore body as the impact from the future Pirate King was beyond his expectations. The dense Haki left behind a pulsating pain throughout his body.

"Ugh..." Kaido also got up from the side, holding his head.

Damien was a little surprised. "Oye, Kaido, did your skin grow thicker?"

The giant ogre stood up, his mouth dripping with blood. The right arm was purple and broken, and the treasured club had shattered.

"WORORORO!" 

"You're not the only one who had grown at Fishman Island, I trained outside their little bubble, it helped make my skin a little tougher!" he proudly proclaimed.

Damien blinked.

'This guy used the water pressure of being around 10,000 meters below sea level to thicken his defense?'

Damien shook his head, Kaido was not something you could understand with simple logic.

.

Kaido soon laughed. "That Roger guy was strong, he is…" He fixed his arm back into position with a low grunt before finishing his sentence, "...my third-ever loss!"

The two sprang up from their injuries which were now healed enough to get back into the fight.

"!!!" However, both their Observation senses flared in their mind, diverting their attention to the distant sea.

The expected tides from the clash of disasters were nowhere to be seen, rather in its place was something far more frightening.

Damien saw dozens of warships sailing toward the island, spanning the horizon with their esoteric might.

"Looks like we have company."

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[At the Ruins of the Auction Hall]

"It's a nice sword, a little too flashy for my taste though," Roger muttered as he picked up the molten blade.

The sword was pulsating with strong heat, almost as if it was offended by the man's words.

"Wahaha! A moody one, this is."

Rayleigh sighed at the man's demeanour, such a treasured blade being toyed around with.

The two were standing in a sea of rubble and a thick cloud of dust. A lake of blood had spawned from the collateral damage, showcasing the grave nature of piracy. What was once a majestic auction house had been reduced to dust and debris.

Suddenly…

*Shing!*

It was a movement within a fraction of a second; Rayleigh's saber was unsheathed, shining with thick, black Haki. 

The eyes of both swordsmen flashed red in Observation, both seemingly looking beyond the current time!

And their readiness was valid as a gloomy stench filled the area.

The breath of a wild beast descended onto the nearby ruined lands as a black figure dropped from above with a thud.

*Rumble*

The atmosphere grew despairing, even the grass and trees outside began to wither and die.

Roger took a deep breath as he slowly uttered, "Rocks D. Xebec." He then smirked, "Wahahaha! I didn't think you'd come here personally!"

Rayleigh did not share the same interest, his eyes were sharp, ready to attack immediately.

Rocks reflected the future Pirate King's smile.

"Xahahaha… I knew I sensed a powerful figure nearby, looks like today will be more fun than I thought."

Roger threw Mokushiroku away and took out his own blade.

Yet Rocks just laughed in a heavy voice at the sight of the two swordsmen.

Roger narrowed his eyes and gave a quick order, "Rayleigh, there's someplace else you need to be, go!"

The bespeckled man paused for a moment, sighed and took his leave.

"Xahahahaha!" Rocks let out an insane laugh as he impatiently shot ahead, his fist dripping with black miasma.

Roger responded with a powerful slash, jumping into the abyss of death with open arms.

BOOOOM!

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[Elsewhere]

'5, 12, 23, 29, 35…'

"Forty marine ships approaching," Damien counted. "Looks like the Navy isn't letting this chance go."

Not just 40 normal ships, but even 10 Warships that carried a thousand troops each. 

Kaido cracked his knuckles and announced, "Sengoku the Buddha, Garp the Fist!"

In the face of those who led the Marine assault, he laughed. 

Fortunately for the duo, they weren't alone as not long after, the ground shook.

Three figures landed beside them, drawing their attention away from the incoming armada with their sharp flair.

.

A dignified man with golden hair, glasses and a goatee.

Another man with long black hair and sported sunglasses. He held twin axes in both hands.

A 9-foot tall (2.74 m) man wholly encased in silver armour with a shield affixed to his right arm and a silver axe held in his left hand.

"You're here too?" Damien questioned the arrivals.

"Hehe, don't worry, young man," Rayleigh chuckled. "Roger is running wild so I can't let these marines interrupt my captain, now can I?"

"Hehe, Rayleigh, last time Garp got a nice punch in, I guess it's time we pay him back, no?" the other man said.

Damien recognized him as well: 'Scopper Gaban! Another one of Roger's big guns.'

.

The young pirate then curiously looked at the third man who had arrived.

"My axe awaits to cut down strong foes. I came to see the might of the sword and was not disappointed," the man said. "I wish to duel the man who can properly wield such a blade."

He answered in a smooth voice with no emotions.

"You can call me… Silver Axe."

[Image of Silver Axe (in Discord)]

"WORORORO! Let us fight!" Kaido roared as he smashed his club into the ground.

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[On the Marine Ship]

Sengoku had a grim look on his face as he saw the chaos before him. He could easily feel the shockwaves ripple out, the power levels were quite high.

"This situation is far worse than we expected. I can perceive at least Four top pirates in battle," he said with a serious tone.

"Bwahaha!" Garp laughed from the side, slapping his thigh. "Don't worry Sengoku, I'll protect you from the scary pirates!"

A throbbing vein was made evident on the Admiral's forehead as he gnashed his teeth. "Damn you, Garp!" he roared out. "Don't you see how serious this is? We have brought enough forces for an Overlord but this is far worse than that!"

The Vice Admiral looked back at the island and shrugged, "Well, I guess you have a point."

He then jammed a finger up his nose and picked on it while waiting for the battle to begin and inspecting the distant enemies.

"Hmm, Rayleigh... Gaban... that shine? Silver Axe too?" he raised an eyebrow. "And those two crazy brats from Xebec's crew! No wonder the seas are so messed up, Bwahaha!"

Sengoku, instead, was annoyed.

"He's the one who played me for a fool, even taking the lives of four Celestial Dragons…" the Admiral cursed.

"The world's a better place without them," Garp muttered under his breath, scoffing at the slain 'Gods'.

"I heard that, Garp! You better not be caught saying such things with Cipher Pol around or they'll hunt you down!"

However, the threat was entirely ignored by the flamboyant Vice Admiral.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

Garp walked to the side, paying no attention to Sengoku, and rolled up his sleeves.

A few marines had already prepped the deck with Garp's favourite weapon as he had a line of cannonballs ready within hand's reach. They were placed on conveyor belts that kept supplying a lengthy line of cannonballs.

Garp picked up a ball in each hand and flashed a grin.

.

"Genkotsu… Meteor Swarm!"

.

*Fwoo!*

*Vvoosh!*

*Swish!*

His arms moved at absurd speeds as he quickly grabbed the balls one by one and launched them without delay.

Thousands of cannonballs were thrown like a baseball pitch as they rocketed toward the pirates beyond! The speed itself caused the water below to explode as it followed their momentum.

*Fwoo* *Shrrrr* *Shree*

Thousands of the thick projectiles were whizzed on forth, filling the clear region with black flashes.

Shing!

Rayleigh unsheathed his saber and slashed the air a few times, causing arcs of sword energy to fire out and cut apart hundreds of balls in the process.

Gaban used his twin axes and used an X-shaped attack, releasing powerful slashes that destroyed the incoming fire.

Silver Axe raised his weapon over his shoulder and slashed down. The simple movement caused a white-coloured column of energy to blast out, partially splitting the sea below.

Damien raised his left hand and shot out a pulse of Pulverizing Energy, instantly crushing the cannonballs apart to dust.

Kaido just stood there as the balls exploded all over his body, leaving behind a few white marks, revelling in the pain of war.

.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The forty marine ships also began to fire countless other projectiles. Forcing the five pirates to defend from the shore.

Chains of explosions lined up Mora Island's edge, bringing a sight that belonged in a fantasy setting. Yet the five pirates held up their end even under the thick cloud of sand and dust.

As of now, the marine advance was only 100 or so meters from the docks and had halted as they used distance over the seas to their advantage.

…

[Marine Ship]

"Keep firing!"

"We have 10 Warships! Even these pirates cannot hold against the might of a Buster Call!"

"Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Sengoku are with us!"

"FIRE!"

They kept lighting the cannons as they shot hundreds of balls out without delay.

"What the hell is that?" a marine whispered.

"Holy shit!" another exclaimed.

"That ship is a bit too big, no?"

.

The sight was quite intimidating.

Such a massive ship that towered over even their grand Warships. An enemy vessel around a hundred meters in height was now approaching with great speed from behind the marines.

It was twice as tall as their warships but the length was way longer than anything they had seen before.

Not just the size was frightening to watch, but also the aura of the ship. It had been bathed with the greed and lust of the worst of the worst. The stench had drilled itself into the very wood that held it up.

On the other hand, another ship was seen sailing from the left side of the marine armada.

It wasn't that large but seemed quite sturdy, the red sails were quite eye-catching. Both of these ships had words printed upon their foresails:

[ R O C K S ]

[ GOL ⋅ D ⋅ ROGER ]

[Image of the Oro Jackson (in Discord)]

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Hundreds of cannonballs spitfire from the two ships rained down upon the 40 marine vessels.

"Damn it! Switch the target to those ships and reverse their flank!" Sengoku ordered.

Forty marine ships vs one Titanic and one Oro Jackson.

Unfortunately for the Marines, the enemy was firing from opposite directions, making it quite difficult to hold on; the crossfire was devastating.

…

The battle was at a standstill, the other Vice Admirals were able to keep most attacks under control.

The Oro Jackson and the Titanic were not even scratched and had tanked the many attacks, their hulls were simply too sturdy!

Beyond that, the Titanic had deployed numerous small sailboats that carried dozens of pirates. It was a suicide mission but under the notion of 'first come first serve,' they opted to go first.

Most of these men were crazy and cared little for their lives, gambling on taking down some shaken marines was quite enjoyable for them.

And yet a discerning eye could spot at least 2-3 shivering pirates on each of these boats. They were the spies Shakky had found, serving a good purpose as fodders!

"Cheh, there is no need to hold back anymore! Sengoku yelled. "Sink them!" 

And thus a naval battle ensued, blanketing the once-glorious Mora Island in its fog of war.

[Image of the Battlefield (in Discord)]

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Usually, these battle arcs take a chapter or two to fully set up so I may choose to release a double-drop in there.

https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q