One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 36: [36] Encephala Island (I)

[2740 words]

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[The Chamber of Schemes]

A man sat with his legs crossed and his eyes shut. He was one with his mind, having been in this position for two entire months now.

Only to just now open his eyes.

"Hmm, the time has come, let us meet the Evil Spirit, shall we?" he thought out loud and got up to stretch his muscles.

The door opened, demanding a deep bow from a beautiful woman who stood outside.

It was one of Enigma's pieces: Queen of the Chessboard.

She had long blonde hair, sporting a golden shoulder guard and a saber at her hip.

"Lord Enigma!" she greeted her captain.

…

[The Chamber of Gathering]

It was a large room with simple purple carpeting and a seating area at the center. 

A giant window spanning across the room gave a complete view of the island, peering through the Sphere of Brilliance and thousands of meters beyond.

Luxurious sofas made with the finest of silk and a jewel-embedded table in the middle, sitting atop an extinct bear's fur made into a carpet.

The couches were large enough to seat a woman as gigantic as Big Mom, covering a good fraction of the head space.

She was currently munching away on the deserts laid forth, splattering the ground with the sweets from her frantic chewing.

Katakuri, Daifuku, Oven, and Perespero, her children, were there as well. All of them were at most ten years old, varying by a couple of years in age. 

Perespero, the eldest of the Big Mom children, wore a long red and yellow hat with bright clothing. 

He was from the Long Tongue Tribe which meant that his tongue was always hanging out of his mouth.

Oven wore similar clothes, though his fire-shaped hairstyle made him stand out. Whereas Daifuku's gray buzzcut made him look awfully inconspicuous.

Katakuri, the magenta-haired brother, was inhaling donuts that filled his mouth to the brim, stretching at his cheeks.

[Kids' Image (in Discord)]

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! These sweets are amazing!" Linlin celebrated in joy.

*Creak*

The doors then opened and the Overlord Thaddeus Enigma walked in.

He wore a black suit, with a black tie and a gray undershirt. Enigma also donned a black coat draped over his shoulders to amplify his elegance.

He carried two glasses in his gloved hand.

The man was quite refined and noble-looking with neatly medium-length blond hair.

He would be considered quite handsome if not for the marks left on his face; a mix of burn marks and battle scars.

[Image of Thaddeus Enigma (in Discord)]

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"Charlotte Linlin. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked in an amused voice, taking a seat before the gluttonous woman.

"You have quite the style for an Overlord, Enigma," she commented while devouring a 12-layered cake in one bite.

"All that brain activity must make you tired, here have some cake!"

"Huhuhu! Linlin, you're not wrong, it is a bit on my psyche," the man joked. "It would be ideal to have the Data-Data Fruit user on my side."

The hungry woman raised an eyebrow.

"Oya? That fruit can see the essence of everything in numbers and patterns; opening a window to the very soul of the world. I guess it would help in controlling your toys more easily."

Linlin's eyes gleamed with avarice at the mention of such an ability. 'Imagine the feasts I could find, the secrets I could uncover... A world of endless delights, all within my grasp,' she thought.

Enigma nodded, "Unfortunately all traces of that ability went dry over seven centuries ago, it is a pity."

The two powerhouses quieted down, silently studying one another's thoughts.

"..."

"Huhuhuhu, Linlin, you came all the way out here to meet the humble me; I wonder what you desire?" the Overlord bluntly asked.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! It's simple, Enigma!" the woman cackled. "I want you to create something for me…"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Linlin heard his curious tone and couldn't help but break a smile.

"I have a dream to bring together every single species under my flag."

"But after having so many children and even more on the way, Enigma, I realized something. No matter how many children I have, I can never enjoy a lovely meal with any of them at eye level!"

Her words began to grow grim in frustration.

"The Giants at Elbaf are too reserved and my children are too small! A meal with my family at one table, enjoying one another's company, eye-to-eye. That is what I want!"

"But for that, I need to make them bigger to match my size," she continued. "I need the help of someone who can create a method to turn humans into giants!"

.

The Overlord narrowed his eyes in thought, leaving a silence to build up.

After a moment, he summarized the woman's words: "A 'Gigantification Serum', you say? Huhuhuhu, you have quite the imagination, Linlin."

Enigma leaned on his gloved hand, looking at the woman with a hint of curiosity.

"What you desire is currently impossible though. To modify one's height, one must modify the genome which links to the pituitary gland. To create a process to gigantify a human requires samples of those who have reached such a height," The Overlord concisely replied.

Finishing his theory, he said, "If you want such a result, you would need the blood of giants."

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"That is not difficult at all," Linlin smiled while envisioning a dinner table with all her children and friends dining upon, all at eye level while feasting away on the finest of dishes.

Enigma ignored her excitement and elaborated, "You would need pure giant blood. As in the one that runs in the royal family, Linlin. For this, you must attack the country of Elbaf and clash with the King of Giants. He is not an easy enemy."

He crossed his hands, "But that aside, I do not see how this would benefit me."

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Big Mom narrowed her eyes, leaking a hint of malice.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! Of course, it would not be free. Everything comes at a price, Enigma. And I am willing to pay for it!"

"I'm sure with your Mind-Mind Fruit and great intelligence, it won't be too lengthy of a project!"

"!!!" Enigma was about to respond till he felt something.

His eyes widened, forcing him to his feet.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

He walked over to the large window that overlooked the island and zoomed in on the 'Sphere of Brilliance.'

A smile appeared on his face as he looked with intrigue. His eyes were locked onto the rickety ship that had fallen past his mind sphere, landing at the heart of his kingdom.

"Plunging into my territory so dauntlessly, I wonder if this is their bravery or stupidly."

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[A Few Moments Ago]

"Ohhh… I see it! We're right about the castle!" Kaido alerted. 

Damien glanced at the ogre with some frustration. 

"Not every dark spot in vision is a castle Kaido… plus, that was a bird!"

Kaido walked around as if he wasn't listening, his desire for war taking over. 

Meanwhile, Damien was spamming his Haki, looking for his target.

"Any second now…"

His words were followed by a tapping sound as he touched the floorboards.

"Now!"

Damien's hand pulsed with crimson energy, swallowing the ship and bubble. 

*Pop* 

The blasting wind that was once shielded by the bubble swarmed into the ship as it began to freefall. 

*Vvooo!*

The chaotic currents that swamped the pirates were mind-boggling. 

Damien felt his cheeks warp from the air, his eyes threatening to fall out. 

He had sky-dived before in his previous life, but that was with goggles on. Without them, it felt as if your eyes were dry as a desert!

[A/N: I went skydiving from 14,000 feet (~4.3 km) once, quite the experience. I recommend doing it at least once in your life.]

.

The distance from the clouds shortened fast to around 45 seconds until it reached sea level. 

The island became more and more visible. 

Damien's eyes had adjusted to any chaotic currents and could clearly see every minute detail; the vibrant shield made by Enigma's powers was ever-bright. 

The three pirates braced for impact. 

Damien shifted himself, straightening his body, trying to land feet-first. 

Kaido could not care less, his massive frame just embraced the fall. 

Indra was not as daring as the other two. 

*Shing*

His dark weapon shined in the warm sun, slicing the turbulent gusts of wind and slashing down with a diagonal cut. 

The graceful slash generated its own current as it aimed to obliterate all acceleration. 

Alas, they soon hit the land. 

Boom!

The built-up momentum crashed onto Encephala Island and sent out loud rumblings. 

The ground cracked and shivered from the three pirates. 

*Rumble* 

Indra gracefully landed on his feet, gathering his thoughts on the raid. 

Damien's leg hit the ground first, springing into a crouch position and absorbing all the impact. 

His knees buckled and let out some cracks, but held strong. 

He looked to the side and saw the giant crater. 

"That idiot belly flopped."

Sighing, he walked to let out some stiffness in his legs and surveyed the surroundings.

Encephala Island was rather dull.

The lack of inhabitants with free will had left the vibrant land void of both colour and spirit.

Though forests and ponds outlined the island, they seemed to blend into the surroundings.

The animal life was silent, even the greenery failed to respond to the Sin Incarnate's voice.

'It's all fake… this entire island is man-made,' Damien thought to himself.

"Ugh, my head hurts…"

A low growl broke out as Kaido's giant hand slammed out from the hole, the other massaging his dome. 

Damien chose not to waste any thought on his supposed companion, instead, focusing on his target. 

"We're around three kilometers from the Citadel, let's get moving."

Next, Indra chimed in his worry, "Even by clearing so many islands, we still have at least a few thousand Mindless Ones in-bound."

"WORORO! A good warmup!"

Kaido took out his club that magically appeared in his hands and rested it on his shoulder. 

The three needed no words to begin a charge. 

The rugged terrain under the warm sun was simply a bonus for the hell that was to be wrought. 

The three continued their run forward without delay. The welcoming party was close. 

*Fwooo!*

Damien zoomed in on the coming horde, speeding at them.

Three thousand Mindless Ones, rushing out like a chaotic tide from the seas. 

They climbed upon and over each other, stampeding on the unlucky ones who lost their balance. Their eyes were dull, their bodies moving mechanically. 

The grassy earth was left in tatters as the weight of so many zombie-like people left it trampled and crushed.

It was a 3 vs 3000 situation. 

[Mindless Ones Image (in Discord)]

"One-Sword Style: River of Reckoning!"

"Surging Thunder!"

"Utter Ruin!"

The combined attack of all three sent out an extremely large and intense shock of energy and destruction, overwhelming all the coming enemies. 

They were picked up like rag dolls into a current while their bodies were ripped to shreds. 

Boom!

The attack swarmed on and eventually met a large hill where the splotches of red were quite harrowing. 

Damien and co continued their charge towards the Citadel, slightly solemn. 

"Looks like the fifty thousand are spread out over the island, but still leaves around twenty thousand in just the citadel alone."

His words were supported by the 5,000 incoming Mindless Ones. 

It took a few minutes before the invading pirates were surrounded. 

Thud! 

Eight synchronized booms went off as an equal number of men landed at the front of the horde. They were Enigma's eight Pawns!

"Intruders, surrender yourselves!"

Yet their voices were quickly muted while another, more intimidating voice took over.

This one came from the giant mind sphere encasing the citadel. 

"Young pirates, you don't think you can be victorious in my greatest stronghold?"

Damien had not heard the voice before but it obviously belonged to the Overlord.

"I have an army beyond your imagination."

Damien looked up toward the tower with a smile. 

"We have a Kaido."

" WORORO!"

"Raimei Hakke!"

The thunderous club slammed onto the eight Pawns, obliterating all of them together. 

He then began to rampage throughout the horde, their attacks not even enough to cut his skin. 

Kaido's face was perpetually smirking, reveling in the red mist each of the mindless ones left behind. 

Indra also joined in the mayhem, slicing and dicing with powerful aoe attacks. 

Damien remained, however. He was spamming his Haki beyond the island. 

He felt them. 

They were coming. 

 Seventy thousand strong upon hundreds of ships from the outer string of islands. 

Add that to the other nearly 40,000 on this very island and it was a bit much. 

"We need to set it up…" he muttered. 

'It would be nice if Conqueror's Haki worked on them, but their lack of consciousness makes it impossible for it to work…' Damien sighed to himself.

However, there are always alternatives. His thoughts were followed by a crimson boom of energy. 

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"Desolation Zone."

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Damien's entire body flooded with crimson energy as it fell upon the thousands nearby. 

The entire nearby region, encapsulating thousands of mindless ones, was dawned with the red energy.

It crashed upon each of their bodies and began to crush and shatter their skin and into their bones. 

*Pop* *Splatter* *Pop* 

Red blotches went off like fireworks as thousands of bodies exploded like grapes.

*Pop* *Splatter* *Pop* 

If it was a video game, Damien would surely have hit a few thousand combos.

Kaido turned around and saw the chain of bodies explode from the befallen pressure and grimaced.

"They're really weak, damn Enigma, can't he get tougher puppets?"

Damien ignored his words and took the lead to shoot toward the Citadel once more.

…

It took around two minutes to reach the base of the Citadel; the intruders now stood at the entrance to the Overlord's home.

As before, there were quite a few fodders in the way.

"You did well to make it here, but now you die!" 

The ones in front of them this time were Enigma's Two Knights and Two Rooks. Each held onto either a sword or a mace.

They lead a horde of ten thousand mindless ones!

The two duos combined their movements into a unison raid.

.

"Zugzwang!"

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The four weapons came together as a burst of energy was sent out. The current picked up heat and power as it rushed toward the three pirates.

Damien took a few steps forward, reaching out with his hand.

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"Devoured Space."

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A wide rectangular-shaped crimson barrier appeared before him. The air and space beyond the barrier were crushed and destroyed, leaving a blanket of void behind.

The attack slammed onto the shield and gave out not even a single decibel of noise. The crushing energy laced in the barrier did its duty to devour the coming attacks into nothingness.

Damien then made a shoving gesture with his raised hand:

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"Assail."

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The barrier used for defense suddenly shot out at great speeds, switching to the offense! 

A trail of broken air was left behind as cracks spread across the earth below.

The four top pieces were taken off guard as their entire bodies were hit by the rushing barrier that paused for but a second until only a fresh trail of red remained.

Meanwhile, Indra shot into the horde with not a second wasted, his sword in his hand.

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"One-Sword Style: Dance of the Dead."

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The blade swished and slashed through the air.

The sheer speed of the attacks created quite the spectacle as the blade went from one neck to another. A trail of vibrant red arcked alongside every slash, sweeping through the masses.

Kaido lifted his kanabo club high as it crackled with purple lightning.

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"Divine Thunder!"

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He swung his club around his body as a circular wave of thunderous air shot out in all directions, picking up and annihilating all the Mindless Ones caught in the fray.

Damien joined in as well, though controlling his attacks to save as much energy in the fight with the Overlord who awaits.

Within moments, the once-flooded plaza was nothing more than bloodied grass and broken corpses.

"To the final room!"

To Be Continued...

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Author's Corner.

As you may recall, Big Mom had Caesar Clown research a Gigantification Serum back in Punk Hazard. 

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