One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 40: [40] Mission Complete

[2000 words]

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"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma!"

Damien turned his gaze to the towering woman who walked up to him. 

Her rather voluptuous body was left on display, a single bikini trying its utmost hardest to hold strong. 

"Looks like Captain Rocks found another monster," she said with a smile.

"Haki tends to bloom in grave situations." Her eyes then locked onto Damien, "Your Haki Bloom is quite scary." 

The words came with a hint of threat. Her eyes were deep, almost as if playing a few scenarios in her head to decide Damien's fate. 

"..."

"Oye, brat, how old are you?"

Damien felt a little conflicted by her change of expression but answered nonetheless, "Seventeen."

Linlin gave a creepy smile: "Next year then!"

Damien felt an ominous wind blow. 

"…till what?"

Her smile deepened even more, almost looking manic. "One year till I come to collect your seed!" 

Damien nearly fell to the ground from the honest answer that resounded in his head. Linlin's children seemed to have no response to their mother partaking in such thoughts as if they'd grown used to it.

Damien gritted his teeth and boldly told her off: "Don't even think about it, you overgrown harlot! I'm not one of your toys that helps you pop out your brats!" 

Linlin had already given birth to twenty-four kids as of now. 

If anything, Damien would opt for her uterus to be displayed in a human anatomy museum. But he had no intention of joining the party. 

.

The young man's words brought a big smile to the towering woman's face.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! The stronger you are, the more potent your seed is," she explained. "Just try to grow taller or I will have to extract it manually."

Damien was left speechless. 

The woman still did not stop talking: "I see you as a little brother like Kaido, so behave and I'll show you the wonders of this world!" Linlin declared. 

The ogre by the side couldn't help but grimace.

"Linlin, don't go deciding things on your own, I'll kill you!" he roared, slamming his club on the ground.

The words evoked a laugh from the woman. 

"Now, now, Kaido. We don't have time to play here, the Navy will be taking over the island very soon."

Damien finally found something he could agree on with the gigantic woman.

He spanned his Haki and met a satisfying image. 

"Looks like all the Mindless Ones have fallen unconscious, even the ones that were headed here by sea from the other islands."

Linlin shrugged, "Of course, his death removes the Devil Fruit effects on any that were controlled by him."

She then flared at Damien, "Speaking of Enigma, where's his body?"

Kaido too looked around, unable to find the Overlord's corpse. 

Damien acted oblivious, "Who knows, he probably fell into the ravines."

Naturally, Damien knew exactly what had happened to the body. Before the two had come over, he also had the chance to bring up the fallen Overlord's stats.

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

[Thaddeus Enigma]

[Age: 48 years, 3 months, 11 days]

[Height: 10' 1"] (3.07 m)

[Status: Deceased] 

[Devil Fruit: Mind-Mind Fruit (Awakened)]

[Fruit Rating: 7 Stars (Ultimate-Class Fruit)]

[Time till Fruit Departure: 2 minutes, 12 seconds]

[Haki: Mastery of Observation Haki, Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki]

[Strength: Bottom Tier Yonko]

(A/N; 'Mastery of' means having reached and stopped right before Advanced Mastery of said Haki Type. Refer to the Haki Index for more info.)

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

The fruit departure was alarming.

Damien hadn't thought of recovering the fruit, but with such a timer, he wanted to try something… to store the body in his inventory!

It was a test of the inventory being able to store non-living things.

The inventory is outside time, allowing Damien to preserve the corpse. Though he was unsure if he could remove the fruit, it was a worthwhile thing to test out.

He had done all of this before Big Mom's appearance a few moments ago.

.

The two other pirates lost interest in the body and shifted focus by a loud grumble. Damien rubbed his abdomen, feeling quite empty. 

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma! Exploding in Haki will leave you hungry."

"Plus, you have no ship," She then beamed a smirk. "How about this, I take you both back to Hachinosu and give you food, in return, you give my precious son some tips on that Haki of yours."

Damien's eyes fell on the boy she was pointing at. 

Seven in age; short magenta-coloured hair; sharp teeth that resembled spikes; outfitted in a biker-themed leather attire. 

He stood at a towering 12' 2" in height (3.71 m), eclipsing even Damien. Future Master of Observation Haki—Charlotte Katakuri.

.

Damien examined the boy. 

He had respect for the character in the anime, but as of now, he was just a little squirt. 

"Let me see your resolve."

Damien's words were followed by a strong boom that resounded on the broken island. 

The sky was darkened by the spreading Haki that reached out to envelop everything in its path. The Supreme Will fell upon the tall boy, weighing him down to the point where his eyes almost burst out. 

"Ugh!" Katakuri groaned as his knees shook and his bones creaked. 

The boy's eyes wavered but remained locked on Damien, almost like a prey's final act of intimidation.

Katakuri's struggle evoked a smile from Linlin as she watched in intrigue. 

'I need strength to protect my brothers and sisters!' The desperate cry came with a familiar explosion. 

Blue waves of Conqueror's Haki crackled out of Katakuri's head, responding to his cries and clashing in opposition to Damien's Haki with a resounding boom.

Suddenly, the wailing halted as Damien took back in his suppression. 

All that remained was a panting Katakuri, his tired body creating quite the contrast with the conviction in his eyes. 

.

Damien smiled and thought over something. 

Katakuri was deeply loyal to his mother and poaching him was unlikely to succeed. However, he may be a worthy card in the future. 

"Very well then, I'll give you some tips; how much you get out of them is up to you."

…

[A Little While Later]

*Munch* *Munch*

*Grumble*

*Swish*

*Munchy* *Munch*

An odd occurrence took place within the cake-like ship of Big Mom. 

A mountain-sized pile of food began to flatten and got smaller every second. 

Giant parts of the mountain were eaten up and devoured by a red-eyed young pirate. Damien had been here for just a few minutes and he had already inhaled enough for fifty adults. And he wasn't slowing down. 

…

"Is your fearless little subordinate not here yet? Where did he run off to?" Linlin asked. 

She too, had her pile of food.

Damien looked up, not pausing his feast, and alluded to the imminent future: "Speak of the devil."

Linlin paused.

She looked away from her pile of food and saw Damien's eyes that momentarily glowed red.

Her doubts were answered by the words of her son, Daifuku: "Mama, that Indra guy is on the ship with a lot of stuff in hand."

Linlin waved in reply, returning to her meal.

*Creak*

The floorboards grunted as the dark-haired pirate walked in. 

*Cruck* *Clatter*

He had five giant sacks in his hands.

The sound of the gold jiggling was evident. However, a couple of sacks were lighter and softer in texture; containing treasures beyond gold.

"It's nice having subordinates, they can do all the hard work while I relax," Damien said as he examined the goods.

Linlin also excused herself from the food.

"Ma-Ma-Mam-Ma!" She cackled. "You brought so many goodies on an enemy ship, you don't think I'll loot you, kid?"

Damien gazed at the giant woman's frame.

He shrugged while uttering in a rather relaxed tone: "You can try it."

Damien's feet simultaneously churned with some pulverizing energy. A naked threat to sink the ship at his discretion.

"..."

The woman pirate returned a laugh, "Don't get so worked up, Damien! I don't want your gold, but I won't mind trading you for some of Enigma's other treasures."

The Sin Incarnate hummed at her words and waved at Indra to open up the sacks.

*Clatter*

The goodies fell on the wooden board, their weights resounding with a dull thunk.

The berries were the first to be seen. The shine and vibrant gold brought about its own glory from some of Big Mom's children.

Damien and Linlin, instead, looked at the other treasure: Devil fruits!

The protagonist of the day quickly went through his mental database to match each fruit to its name and power.

PARAMECIA:

Puff-Puff Fruit – Allows the user to summon a genie from their body by rubbing their abdomen, making them a Lamp Human.

Burst-Burst Fruit – Allows the user to create explosions from the pores of their skin, making them a Bursting Human.

.

ZOAN:

Rhino-Rhino Fruit – Model Black: Rhinoceros – Allows the user to transform into a black rhinoceros and its human hybrid at will.

Bug-Bug Fruit – Model: Parastratiosphecomyia Stratiosphecomyioides – Allows the user to transform into a Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides and its human hybrid at will.

Dragon-Dragon Fruit – Ancient Model: Ankylosaurus – Allows the user to transform into an Ankylosaurus and its human hybrid at will.

…

Damien patted his stomach which had already shrunk down from his slightly higher-than-average metabolism.

Linlin smiled at Damien, "How much for the Ancient Zoan Fruit?"

Such words showcased the woman's knowledge, the same Yonko who would one day be known for her powerful chain of information.

.

Damien almost let out a laugh, "Don't even think about it, if anything, I'll let you take any fruit outside of the Ancient one."

Big Mom sighed in defeat, fully expecting that answer.

"Alright, I'll buy all of those."

She gestured to Daifuku to grab some berries from inside the captain's quarters and settle them down. A solid quarter of a billion berries.

.

Linlin then grabbed one of the fruits that was shaped like a lamp and tossed it to one of her children.

"Daifuku, take this, your shoulders remind me of a carnival tent, this fruit will go well with it."

The boy was a little lost by her words but ate the fruit regardless.

"Phwah!" He fell to his knees from the disgusting taste but finished the fruit eventually.

.

Damien cared little for the genie fruit. The act of rubbing one's lower body to summon a male genie was unsightly to him.

He pocketed the Ankylosaurus Fruit and said to a nearby chess soldier made from Linlin's Soul Powers, "Help me pack up the gold."

He then walked out of the cabin with Indra by his side. The two casually went on further to reach a silent deck of the ship, void of eyes and ears.

"So, where is the real treasure you didn't bring up?"

Indra nodded and reached into his pocket. He took out a short bundle of paper and handed it to his captain.

"The one thing that even the World Government would be greedy for," he explained. "Enigma's research notes."

Damien nodded, taking hold of the bundle of paper.

Thaddeus Enigma was known for his smarts and keen intellect. His Devil Fruit granted him great intelligence that enabled him to stand centuries ahead of other researchers.

The man was also very organized, detailing his main research topics into four sections.

1. A Deep Dive into Seastone.

2. A Study on Sea Kings.

3. Geography: the Grand Line and the entire Log Pose Route from Reverse Mountain to Lodestar Island.

And the final collection of notes put a smile on Damien's face. After all, it was regarding the nature of fruits.

"Seems like Enigma's Mind-Mind Fruit was true to its Ultimate Nature, something like this is revolutionary…"

The young pirate was glued to the final note, one truly priceless treasure that could lead to endless bloodshed.

The title read: "Devil Fruit Extraction Theory."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

Recall that the 7 Stars fruits are what can be considered OP. So far you've seen Tremor, Ope, Death and now Mind Fruit belong to this category.

As stated previously, each Ultimate-Class Fruit allows its user to manipulate abstract characteristics that build up the Laws of Reality (Physics).

What do you think is the best 7-Star fruit thus far?

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