One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 53: [53] Amethyst Kingdom Crisis (III)

[3215 words]

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[Marineford]

"What!?" 

A roar blasted the marine base as the officers nearby were too scared to even ask. All but one man.

"Bwahaha! To get you to yell, 'What?', so loudly, it must have been big!" Garp laughed from the side.

Kong gritted his teeth, "Garp, you brat. I can't believe this is happening!"

Kong then picked up the responder of his snail and dialled: "Puru," "Puru," "Puru."

"Katcha~!"

"How's your situation, Masao, are you free?" Kong asked.

"No, Fleet Admiral, the Golden Lion is currently dueling the Fallen Angel while the Evil Spirit is raging all over the island as her cake was destroyed by a stray attack," the Admiral said.

"...Alright, keep me updated," Kong ended the call, clicking his tongue.

Garp was picking his nose as he asked, "Hey-Hey, Kong-san, why don't you ask me to go?"

"..."

"Puru," "Puru," "Puru."

"Katcha~!"

"This is Sengoku."

"Sengoku, are you finished with G-2?"

The snail shook its head. "No, Kong-san, the damage done by Sol's Six Cardinal Sins was worse than expected, all in hopes of finding Enigma's Research Notes."

Kong hummed with a sign, "Alright, make sure the Science Unit is up and running as soon as possible." 

"Katcha~!"

"...Kong-san, Kong-san... I'm free here," Garp said as he waved his hands, forcing bits of food out his mouth.

"Puru," "Puru," "Puru."

"Katcha~!"

"This is John Wick."

Kong frowned, "My apologies, wrong number."

*Bang!* Garp slammed his fist onto the desk and beamed a confident grin. "Kong-san! Just tell me who pissed you off and I'll punch them to death!"

Alas, the Fleet Admiral heaved a sigh.

"Go to the Amethyst Kingdom, we lost connection to G-4 after turbulence struck the Castle!" he ordered. "I need the five Reverie Attendants alive and safe!"

Garp huffed, "Never mind, I just realized I have a fence to repair."

Kong was not amused. "Take Raito with you and go now!"

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[Amethyst Island]

"Well, I'm here now. Bring it on, Marines!"

The arrogant and lax statement did not catch any marine by surprise. A pirate, let alone a Division Commander of the infamous Rocks Pirates, was more than notorious enough to say such things. 

"The North Blue Massacre and the Encephala Island Raid were both masterminded by him, he's a monster!"

.

Zephyr balled his fists as he felt the nearby marines go lost. 

"Sin Incarnate Damien, so you really were behind this pitiful girl losing her way into piracy!"

Such words drew a scoff from the pirate as he responded, "I think you Marines did that all by yourself." 

The Vice Admiral naturally knew what he meant, clicking his tongue.

"I can admit what happened here was unbecoming of the Navy but that doesn't give her the right to casually slaughter people; if you want to protect her then I'll take you to Impel Down too!"

Damien smiled in reply, "Oh, Zephyr, you wanna fight me?"

"If that's what it comes down to."

The words were music to the pirate's ears; it had been a while since he fought such a tough opponent. 

A sharp glint flashed by the Sin Incarnate's eyes as he muttered, "Well, before that, let's clear away the nuisances."

Boom!

Overpowering waves of Haki soon exploded from the young pirate. The bright sunny weather that had finally returned was once again thrown into hell as wreckage began. 

The black-red waves pulsed out like a heartbeat, aiming at the very mind of the marines. 

Thud!

One by one, they all fell; white foam covered their maws as their bodies hit the floor. Even the Rear Admirals were left shaken, their bodies wavering and threatening to fall over. 

Zephyr shook his head, unsurprised by the outcome. 

.

Meanwhile, Aurora slowly opened her eyes to the blinding brightness of the sun above. 

With an effort that spoke of her deep exhaustion and pain, she turned to gaze at the figure who had become her unexpected protector. There he stood, Damien, amidst the ruins and chaos, a stark contrast to the destruction around him.

"Damien…" the girl's voice was a whisper, a mix of relief, admiration, and a newfound realization of dependence. 

At that moment, gazing at him, she felt a rush of complex emotions—gratitude for being alive, awe at his formidable strength, and an inexplicable sense of safety in his presence.

Damien met her gaze and smirked, his casual demeanour belying the intensity of the moment. "You know, had I not pulled you out of that explosion in time, you would be dead."

His words, though spoken lightly, resonated deeply within Aurora. 

She had barely escaped death, yet her voice remained firm, though now tinged with a hint of vulnerability: "I was hoping to kill Zephyr at least, it would be of some use to you…"

"You are of no use to me dead," Damien's response was straightforward, yet Aurora sensed an underlying concern, a subtle acknowledgment of her worth beyond just an asset in battle.

.

He then turned his attention back to the Marines, speaking under his breath, "Plus, there was never a chance for you to take him out."

The assassin helplessly sighed, feeling the aching pain throughout her body. "I reconned the island for months... the previous Vice Admiral was old and had been stationed here for years, never having been to the New World."

"I didn't think they would suddenly replace him with an Admiral Candidate."

Aurora couldn't shake the sense of frustration at being blindsided. Months of careful planning and preparation had been undone in an instant, easily showcasing the extent of her underestimation of the Navy's tactics.

The pirate hummed, glaring at the calm marine in the distance.

"We both underestimated the brains at Marineford. Using you to draw me out of the chaotic New World, Rahahaha, it was a good plan!"

The revelation of his planned killing brought a smile to Damien's face.

"Can you move?" 

Aurora struggled to her feet, masking her pain and fatigue, determined not to show weakness. 

As Damien continued to confront Zephyr through the staring contest, he instructed her, "Go and rest in your Night Realm; things are about to get messy."

The girl regained her breathing and nodded.

Retreating to her Night Realm, Aurora grappled with a whirlwind of emotions, ranging from gratitude for Damien's intervention to frustration at her own miscalculations. The image of the pirate standing tall amidst the rubble, a beacon of strength and defiance in the face of adversity, lingered in her mind as a reminder of the challenges that lay ahead.

…

Zephyr cared little for the disappearing assassin, rather, his focus was on his troops. "You guys, retreat from here," he said sternly, "this won't be a battle you can participate in."

The younger marines wanted to speak up but they were hushed by the Commodores and Rear Admiral present.

*Whizz*

Damien appeared on the ground, standing at eye-level with the striking Marine.

*Fwwm!*

A dull hum went off from the two as they both coated their arms in powerful Haki.

"..."

A brief silence; calm before the storm.

Boom!

Cracked earth remained at their previous positions as the two appeared but a meter from one another.

Damien's fist shot ahead and met Zephyr's right one. 

Clang!

Their knuckles both dug into the other's hand, their bones creaking as a result. 

*Grrrr!* The coating of Haki was as thick as steel and under the pressure of both their strength, sparks lit ablaze from the friction!

The ground beneath cracked and cried out as the fistfight was at a standstill. Waves of shock spread out from the collision as the nearby terrain was terraformed into something new; the destruction had just begun.

Neither side wanted to give the other the first good hit and the two continued to push with their might.

Bam!

Another explosion went off as both men were thrown back to their respective sides—the first clash was a tie!

'What monstrous strength hidden in his body,' Zephyr thought.

'His Haki is well above mine,' Damien thought.

*Vvoosh!* The two shot at each other again, flickering through the air.

Damien swung his left hook, slicing through the air at great speed.

Boom!

Zephyr defended himself by crossing his arms over each other in an X-shape. Once again, both sides cancel the other out.

But Damien did not stop, he instead jumped a few feet in the air and swung his left leg at the Vice Admiral in a horizontal motion.

Zephyr opted to dodge as he ducked below, clearing the pirate's strike and creating a window for a counterattack.

His right arm, which was hardened with Haki, blazed on to meet Damien's stomach.

Boom!

"!!!" Zephyr grimaced as he felt a huge shock ripple through his arm, 'Is he made of steel!?' 

However, the Vice Admiral did not stop his assault as he released an unrelenting assault with his other hand.

"Shave."

Damien flickered from his position and appeared a few feet above Zephyr, though upside down.

He swung his foot in a wheel-like motion, crashing it onto the Vice Admiral's dome.

*Creak*

Zephyr blocked it with a forearm that shook from the deadly force. The marine then locked his open hand onto Damien's leg, pulling the young pirate toward himself.

.

"Finger Pistol: Seismic Stab!"

.

The man's finger was as black as the night sky as it shot ahead and toward Damien's heart.

*Crack!*

Zephyr's eyes shook in shock, "Ugh!"

He jumped back a few meters and glared at the pirate, ignoring the fact that his index finger was bent at an unnatural degree.

"What kind of monster are you?" he muttered under his breath.

*Snap* His words came with the crack of a finger as Zephyr put it back into place, not an ounce of pain was felt.

.

Meanwhile, Damien looked down at his chest and saw a depression: his sternum had slightly sunken in from the previous clash.

He bopped his cheat like a gorilla as it popped back into place.

"Don't sell yourself short, Zephyr. Your hand-to-hand skills are something to fear."

The Vice Admiral audibly scoffed, "You've yet to use your Devil Fruit ability."

Damien shrugged, "And you haven't shown me your pristine Haki yet."

Zephyr hummed. "Seems like we should step up the pace."

Damien smiled, "Agreed."

Boom!

The ground cried out once more as Damien shot on ahead like a wild beast. He utilized Rokushiki and appeared near the Admiral Candidate.

*Purrup*

Fluid-like sounds resounded as Damien's fist was swarmed in crimson, pulverizing energy. The very air screeched like a banshee in its wake.

"Fury Road!"

The red arm went on ahead to catch on fire as it inched near the marine's face.

Though naturally, Zephyr was not immobile. Instead, he held both arms across his chest with a small gap in between.

"Six King Gun!"

His muscles strained as a powerful blast of energy shot out via amalgamation of force and friction and rushed onto Damien.

The flame crashed into the rushing energy in a powerful collision that bore no fruit for either party.

"Desolation Zone."

At the drop of his words, Zephyr felt a powerful force fall upon his body; his very pores shook under the crimson rays of vertical pressure, slowing him down.

*Whizz!* Damien flickered in front of him and slammed his bubbling palm into his core.

.

"Deathly Rupture!"

.

The wide hand rang the marine's body like a gong as another power seemed to travel deeper in.

Zephyr's eyes widened as he felt his ribs shake from the hit, unable to stop himself from being launched far away.

He skidded across the ground like a stone tossed over a river, eventually meeting a stop with a now-broken hill.

The dust was sent into disarray as the brown clouds overtook the Vice Admiral's body. Damien was not an idiot; he was not going to let the man take a second to recover.

.

"Omega Beams."

.

*Szzzz!*

Two identically destructive beams of crushing weight whizzed on from his eyes, bouncing and ricocheting from the very air around them.

Their trajectory sent out explosions that followed their path.

Boom!

The two beams fell upon Zephyr's position in a cataclysmic spectacle.

*Rumble* The entire region near the attack soon flooded with a checkered pattern as it collapsed into innumerable pieces and birthed a spanning crater.

However, Damien had no time to celebrate.

"!!!" A flare in Observation demanded a retreat from the pirate, killing his momentum. His body, which had already jumped ahead, immediately reclined into a defensive position.

Bam!

Damien groaned as he felt a hit on his arm, only to see a black figure appear out of nowhere. The arms were pushed back and slammed his chest from the incredible brute strength.

The Sin Incarnate's towering body flew across the ruined field and crashed into a mass of earth, digging a crater.

.

"I'm sure I blocked that hit and yet I was still flung afar," Damien muttered, blinking at the sky from his crash-landing. "So that's the Emission of Armament Haki, Advanced to the stage of Internal Destruction."

Zephyr, lightly exhaled and shook his head. "I was sure that it would fully connect, so that's the Future Sight gained through the mastery of Observation Haki."

.

Unfortunately, there was no time to rest!

Damien dug himself out of the pit without much difficulty, only feeling a dull ache in his chest.

Zephyr readied himself, both arms coloured black.

.

"Utter Ruin."

.

A wide stream of pulverizing energy was soon released from the open palm of the Sin Incarnate.

The attack left a path of shredded despair. It even spawned howling winds that uprooted sizable trees from the surroundings, taking them to the sky.

Zephyr was quick to dodge, moving out of the way of the river of destruction as it continued to ravage everything in its path.

The marine quickly swung his leg into the open air in front of him.

.

"Tempest Kick: Crescent Moon!"

.

The slash of energy shot ahead at Damien. It was wide enough to span the entire region, chopping through the sky.

*Vvoooo!* The air shrieked from the sudden gust, crying out in pain. Yet all that noise was suddenly silenced.

.

"Devoured Space."

.

The red energy rushed out and spanned a wide area, wholly covering its master.

Boom!

An explosion went off, not from the shield meeting the slash, but rather the excess energy of the attack that was outside the shield's range and had met the ground.

Damien's ward was strong enough to hold against Zephyr's attack to the point where even the sound waves were eaten up.

Though in the moment he took to shield himself, Zephyr had already appeared to his far right with a blackened arm.

Damien didn't waver and moved his hand at the shadow who had arrived, almost as if he knew what was to come.

.

"Assail."

.

The rectangular-shaped shield was soon sent rushing ahead like a rocket and into Zephyr's direct position.

"Cheh," The man was annoyed at his future being read. In response, the Admiral Candidate crashed his arm onto the coming shield-turned-spear and shoved his Haki into it.

*Shatter* The ward shattered like glass from the Emission into a crimson light.

Damien, meanwhile, had shortened the distance between the two. His left hand which was covered in his fruit ability, thrusted out. 

*Bzzzzzz!* The drill-shaped energy buzzed loudly as the air was left destroyed.

Zephyr, who had dealt with the previous attack, had no choice but to meet the next one.

.

"Deathly Fracture!"

.

"Black Arm Suppression!"

.

BOOOM!

The drill spun at incomprehensible speeds, digging its way into the very flesh of the Vice Admiral.

Zephyr turned off his pain and continued to push on with his emblazoned fist.

BAM!

The two attacks were connected in more ways than one. First was the collision of Haki, and then was the collision of internal destructive components of each respective attack.

A deafening explosion went off as the waves of pressure released were enough to generate large tides from the ocean far away.

The grassy region within a kilometer had gone from its healthy green to a dull brown, ripping the beauty of nature from its roots.

Alas, the clash came to an end with a fiery spectacle.

*Fwooo!* A body was sent flying back into the ruins of the marine base and crash-landed with a voluminous cloud of dust.

"..."

A tall shadow remained standing at the core of the recent clash, though huffing loudly.

"Even if you substitute your powers to mimic that of Emission, it will never measure up to the real thing," the man slowly muttered. "Haki will surmount Devil Fruits!"

Zephyr then shifted his gaze to his arm.

The same arm that had pummeled countless pirates, hailed as the 'Black Arm', was now bloodied up.

*Drip* *Drop* Blood leaked from the knuckles as significant cuts and shredded skin remained, enough to even see the bone below.

However, his attention was soon diverted to the destroyed base shrouded in dust clouds.

"Hmm, the man who took down an Overlord won't be beaten with just that…"

He felt the ground shake as copious amounts of debris were expunged from its resting position, mixing into the air of dust and filling it with the aroma of smoke and metal.

Soon, a dark silhouette could be made out.

"Rahahaha! We're just getting started!"

The pirate clawed his way out from the graveyard of fallen concrete and steel, his body visible.

Damien's coat had ripped for the time being, leaving his upper body bare. The muscles forged from years of brutal training were on full display.

The only flaw of the pirate's appearance was the dull scar that sat above his eye, one that was a stark reminder of his past.

.

"I have been trying to perfect a little technique of my own for a while now. And as you said before…"

*Purrup* At this point, Damien's entire body began to pulse with energy, dawning the dull surroundings with its fiery light.

"Let's step it up once again!"

*Szzz* A grinding sound graced the barren wasteland that now remained.

Zephyr's eyes widened as he saw Damien's chest crack with crimson light. Explosions went off as the energy below sizzled out in its fury.

The entire mass of the Sin Incarnate was soon flooded with a surge of red, overtaking the setting sun's brilliance.

However, the volatile energy suddenly calmed down and began to settle.

*Fwwm!* Lustrous black shined all over as armour, plating across his body; potent Armament Haki containing the eruptive power.

The coating of Haki spread out from the heart to the limbs, and up to Damien's face and over his head. It took but a few seconds before the crimson mass of energy was now wholly encased in armour.

Few cracks were visible, almost as if magma itself was coursing underneath. 

*Huuuu* Ever so often, the leaking energy would send out creaking whistles of the air right before it was pulverized into nothingness. 

A black halo materialized above the demonic figure with an ironic twist.

Damien, or rather, the Sin Incarnate, now stood around thirteen feet tall (~4 m), embracing the volatile energy. A crooked smile stretched across the figure's face and a distorted voice then broke out.

"Empyrean Release!"

[Image (in Discord)]

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner. 

Aurora had scouted the entire island alongside its defenses for a while. However, a mix of Xerxes' intel (Chapter 41) and Tsuru's brains gave them a chance to use her to get to Damien, sending Zephyr at the very last second to catch the assassin off-guard, and it worked.

And it can't be an anime world without the protagonist having different forms, right?

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