Hey everyone, I want to say I'm a bit disconnected since I've been playing Hollow Knight, and I've gotten really hooked. Right now I'm in the White Palace, and it's making my life difficult; I can already imagine how I'll spend it on the Path of Pain.
I also want to say that I'll do things quickly again, since I feel like I've been on this arc for a long time in the One Piece world, and, as you can imagine, I'll get it to the point where Luffy goes off to become pirate king and a little bit beyond.
Most likely, I won't write parts of the story I had planned to write now, like the skirmish with Hachinosu, but I won't do that now. They're creative changes to advance the story as quickly as possible, but without losing the essence, since after that, Dante wasn't going to do anything with the island.
Well, without anything else to say, let's tell the chapter.
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I could see a fairly large waterfall next to a wall of earth that made climbing very difficult, but not impossible.
Now that I think about it, I could enter any part of this country; not only can I fly with the boat, but I can fly solo. I'm alone; there's no need to continue with the boat.
With that said, I got off at a shore on the outskirts of the country, stowed the boat in my inventory, grabbed my bags, and, sprouting wings from my back, flew to the beginning of the waterfall, finally entering the country of Wano Kuni.
...
It's been 15 years since I began my journey; I'm currently 28 years old. It's worth noting that I'll be 29 this year, but that's still months away. I'm getting old.
It took me a while to find this place, as I quickly went to see an old acquaintance: Garp.
I had a small argument with the old man, but nothing too severe, with him scolding me and praising me for what I'd done. I went mainly to explain some of the things that had happened and also to ask him to let me know immediately if he found the alchemical Devil Fruit.
I also gave Gil Arthur's spear, the Durindana. I had no plans to use it; it would likely gather dust in his inventory. Besides, Gil needed a weapon to make his Devil Fruit more effective.
As for Marie, well, she was in a state of trouble. She noticed the ring and wanted to go to Celestia and rip her head off. Obviously, she couldn't; after a while, she calmed down a bit with Gil's help. We had to tell her that her greatest dream of having a family had already come true, with Gil himself being the biggest proof.
And that was the most important thing, since I didn't do anything but travel, I didn't stop anywhere, since I wasn't playing a hero, and I don't think you play that role, at least not in this world. I'm kind of tired of all that. I just want to be myself, to be free from everything. I'm not going to force myself to be a hero and be recognized in the world again; if it ever happens again, it will.
After a few moments of silent flight, he arrived at an empty beach, devoid of anyone. Using Haki, he sensed that there was a small village not far from where he was.
The place looked somewhat empty, as if it had been left aside—not abandoned, since there were no traces of abandonment, but rather neglected, or as if this place wasn't used for anything, not even for fishing, which is rare. Knowing that, what they were experiencing made sense.
I took all the things I had and moved them away from where they were. I had to give another identity and change my appearance; I've been in the spotlight for a long time; I'm too recognizable. The idea is to keep them from knowing it's me and to be able to travel around the country as peacefully as possible.
He dressed me in loose sweatpants, a loose T-shirt, and a cape. I left the rest somewhere where no one would notice. With all this ready, I fully transformed into my "Angel of Death" form. Yes, I think I'll call it that.
This will serve two purposes. First, to hide my identity, as it changes my entire appearance, making me unrecognizable. So far, no one has seen me this way except my teammates; the others are no longer alive. And second, to help me adapt to the transformation and train with it.
I also keep the Fusion Sword for the same reasons as my appearance change, and I strap Murasama to my hip, ready to use it at any moment.
Right now, I was out of my Victorian Gothic armor, as I could have left it off if I wanted, as well as the mask. But I kept the mask on, as I didn't know what was more terrifying: a guy with a horned skeleton mask or a faceless one.
Putting all that aside, I walked to where the townspeople would be.
When I arrived, I was quickly greeted with strange, frightened looks. People immediately moved away from where I was standing; it was as if I had repellent.
I went to a place that, from my perspective, looked like a store or something, and as I was getting there, the door was slammed shut. I don't know what happened here, but if I were a pirate, I would have been pissed off about it.
???: "What are you doing here, bandit?" "Get out of here," said a guy, along with others with weapons that looked cheap or were simply work tools. I could see they were all scared stiff at the sight of me. I had to take credit for standing up to me without knowing who I was, but at the same time, it was very stupid; no wonder these same guys attacked Ace in the future and ended up leaving this town in ruins.
Dante: "I look like a bandit." I clearly had the face of a bandit with my appearance; I wouldn't be surprised if they mistook me for a brutal pirate.
Just as I was about to say something, I heard someone shout.
???: "Enough, get out of here, I'll take care of this," an old voice came. Only to look at a short guy with a red mask and a long nose.
I recognized him immediately, so I walked over and stood in front of him, looking him in the eye.
Dante: "Tell me, oji-san, can you tell me where we are?" He just looked at me strangely, not expecting me to say that, much less sound as sincere as I did.
...
Hitetsu: "I see, that's what's happening to you, but why do you look like that now?" the old man, introducing himself as Tenguyama Hitetsu, told me.
I told him a short story about how I was a descendant of the ancient samurai known as Shimotsuki Ryuma and how I'd lived at sea all this time and made a great name for myself, but at the same time, many enemies. I had come here because I'd heard that Kaido had devastated this country, so after training all this time, I decided to come and see how things were going.
Dante: "The truth is, I'm very well known in the outside world, so if I showed up in my real appearance, I'd be recognized immediately, and the amount of trouble I'd bring these people would be too much. They're already living in misery; I don't want to make their lives any more complicated."
Hitetsu: "That makes perfect sense, and I appreciate you thinking that way about the people of this country." I just nodded.
The truth is, I didn't lie much; From what I know, my mother was born in Wanokuni, so I have blood from this country in my veins, but regarding the rest of my descendants...
Dante: "The truth is, I wanted a little help from you, something that could cover my features and face, along with a map of the country, so I could make my trip less chaotic."
Hitetsu: "No problem," he said, standing up. "I only ask in return that you let me see that katana on your hip."
I simply drew Murasama from its sheath, revealing its sharp, crimson blade as if it were blood. Hitetsu was amazed by the katana in front of him; he tried to grab it, but the moment he touched it, a large amount of energy, including a bit of Haki, burst out in a great burst, knocking the man away.
I did nothing; I simply picked up my weapon again and sheathed it. Hitetsu returned to the scene with his clothes in tatters and his mask torn; He didn't expect this, so he wasn't prepared and suffered like this.
Dante: "Oh, I forgot to mention that the weapon has a mind of its own; only I can wield it." I saw the old man look at me with a strange discontent. It might have ended badly, but not as badly as for some of the members of the Whitebeard Pirates; in fact, the one who ended up the least badly was the old man himself, who could only hold it for about 20 seconds.
Hitetsu: "What an incredible weapon! It reminds me of Emma and Ame no Habakiri. Do you know who made it? Why couldn't they have come from Wano? Would there be a record of this kind of katana?"
Dante: "I have no idea. I only found it in a cave on an abandoned island a long time ago. Before, I couldn't even draw it, but now I'm capable of using it to its full potential."
I should be a match for Usopp, with all his deception and lying.
Hitetsu: "I see, that's a shame. I'll give you something to use and a map of Wanokuni in a moment." With that, he left, leaving me waiting, sitting on the tatami staring into space.
...
Right now, I was wearing a man's yukata, along with some rather comfortable socks and sandals that looked too small at first glance, along with that oni mask that covered everything where my mouth and nose should be, and along with this, I had a straw hat that covered everything else.
Hitetsu: "Right now, the Shimotsuki family is gone. I don't know any living clan members, so right now, you could be considered a ronin, so this appearance fits with the ring on your finger."
With this, I can deactivate and activate my transformation without any problem; the only thing that would change would be my hair color, but since it was tied so it couldn't be seen with the naked eye, there wouldn't be a problem.
Dante: "Thank you very much, oji-san. Someday I'll repay you somehow." I said, adjusting the bandages on my body that covered the excess skin of the ronin attire, and leaving the room.
Hitetsu: "What are you planning to do right now?" He said behind me.
Dante: "Obviously, to cause a lot of trouble for the current government; that's why I'm hiding my identity," I said without looking back, waving goodbye. And so, we left Amigasa Village.
...
Life isn't so bad; it's just that this is happening so slowly, I feel like it's too slow, and it's boring me.
Bandit 1: "Help."
Bandit 2: "We won't do this again; just free us."
It's been two weeks since I arrived in Wano. Since I arrived, I've only encountered the occasional defenseless bandit.
Bandit 3: "We'll never come back to this place again."
Based on my experiences in this world, to become stronger I must face stronger guys, but since I started my "Crusade," I've only encountered guys who can be redrawn by the wind itself.
Bandit 2: "You didn't hear us; we won't come back here again, so let us go."
Dante: "Will you shut up? You're not letting me think about my ramblings," I said, crushing the guy on top of me further with my foot. I could only listen, a little like a squeal of pain, as his ribs cracked. I wasn't going to kill them, but the urge to do so crossed my mind.
During all this time I've been hunting bandits, I haven't encountered a single brutal pirate; I don't know if it's good or bad luck, but I know that at some point I'll face them.
In gratitude for hunting bandits, the people of the towns or villages—I don't know what the difference is; to me, it's all the same—have been giving food, water, and a place to rest. It's like when I was a hero, but different at the same time.
Bandit 4: "You, how dare you do this to our comrades?" someone was heard speaking in the distance; four bandits could be seen approaching with weapons, eager to fight.
I simply removed my foot from the bandit, who groaned in pain, drew my sword, and pointed it at them. They stopped dead when they saw my sword. Word of a dangerous ronin with a crimson katana must have spread by now. I've never killed anyone in this country yet, so the bandits who confronted me had to say things about me.
Bandit 5: "What do you think you're doing, attacking him?" I heard them say it, but before they could do anything, I moved swiftly and slashed the swords he was holding with the Murasama; all four were cut in half.
When they realized what had happened, I was in front of them, sheathing my sword to kick the guy who was leading this whole thing in the face.
The other bandits stood still in fear, not moving; I ignored them and walked over to where the guy I kicked was. He was writhing in pain; his nose was broken, along with some of his teeth knocked out. If he was deformed from this, I wouldn't be surprised.
Dante: "You want me to fix your face? That'll cost you the rest of the teeth in your mouth."
Bandit 4: "How dare you? Do you know who we are? We're the robbers of Mount Atama." He said between moans, tears, and anger.
Dante: "Ah, I remember hearing something about you; from what I understand, your leader is very strong; take him to him." The guy was about to say something, but I interrupted him. "Ah, yes, my intentions. I want to join you. For that, I must see the leader, right? And if you refuse, well, you'll be finished, but it's your friends back there," I said, pointing to the bandits I had already attacked.
Obviously, what he said was a lie; I only said it so they could reach their secret base more calmly. I'll have so much fun watching that disappointment, Red Scabbard, go from noble samurai to bandit leader; he's clearly a disappointment. Maybe he redeemed himself later, but that's not the case yet.
...
After a somewhat informative walk, we arrived at Mount Atama. The base of the Atama thieves. I don't know why I didn't think to come to Mount Atama, knowing that the name of their organization is Mount Atama. Atama.
The guy who runs this place is Shutenmaru, Oden's former ally. From what I understand, he was loyal only to Oden, but that doesn't mean he's not a coward, at least for now. Still, there's a lot of anime and people stuff; I'll only know what this man is like once I meet him.
We arrived at a place that looked like a village; it looked much cleaner and nicer than other villages I've seen. It's a shame that people who are starving and suffering can't live in a place like this.
Wake up, Dante, you're no longer a hero; you're now a ronin. Live to fight and nothing else. You shouldn't worry about others.
The art of the sword is one with the sword; I mean katana, I mean, whatever.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a big guy with pink hair, not very masculine, but it's 2025. I mean, I don't know; everyone dresses and looks however they like. If you judge, it's wrong; it's like the Middle Ages, when you don't have an opinion and you're burned at the stake, only here it's on social media.
I think remembering certain things is making me sick. All I know is that in this world where there is a world government, there's greater freedom of expression than in my other world, ironically.
Shutenmaru: "Who are you bringing here now?" said the big man drinking alcohol.
Bandit: "Boss, er—" the NPC was saying, but I interrupted him.
Dante: "I've come to distribute a fat duel," I said to his face.
Everything stopped suddenly; The bandits around him stood still in shock, staring at what was happening.
Shutenmaru stared at me, his eyes wide open, and he slammed down his canteen with clear anger.
Shutenmaru: "What did you just say?"
Dante: "Let's fight to the death, fatty, or maybe I'll call you fat, or maybe something like sumo with big bones; that's less direct to your excess weight."
Shutenmaru: "Do you want to die?" he said, abruptly standing up, shaking even the floor.
I just looked at him and started laughing like crazy; everyone could hear me clearly, as they were all as quiet as if at a funeral.
Dante: "You kill me, you should go to a hospital; he's delirious."
My opponent just glared at me with burning fury; his pride was being called into question, and these guys have pride the most, and it's the thing they value the most. He quickly unsheathed his katana, ready to attack me.
I removed my hat and mask, revealing my chilling appearance. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at me wide-eyed; he tried to guess what kind of creature I was.
Dante: "That's why I came, to fight, not to socialize," he said, unsheathing Murasama, placing it on my shoulder and extending my outstretched hand forward, placing me in a battle stance. "And who of us goes first?" I said.
If I had a mouth, you'd see me smiling.
...
You could see that Mount Atama was almost completely destroyed; many of the bandits were lying on the ground, unconscious, not moving; they were all alive, so there wasn't much to worry about.
Dante: "I see. It was my fault for thinking you were once a great samurai, but in reality, you were always a bandit, even before Oden, weren't you, Ashura Doji?"
Shutenmaru: "How so?" he asked, lying face down on the ground, covered in sword wounds. I was sitting, leaning against his large body with a small cut on my shoulder; other than that, I had nothing else.
Dante: "Looking at your qualities, besides your appearance, it's not difficult to decipher who you really are, besides your old name."
Shutenmaru: "That's not what I meant," he said, moving his head so that it was no longer face down but to the side where he was sitting. "How are you so strong with such a poor level of ryou?"
Dante: "Pure hard work and honesty; unlike you, how could someone without honor to their country understand me?" He said nothing, just grumbled and returned to his cabin, face down.
Shutenmaru: "I only had loyalty to Oden-sama, not to this country; this place is rotten, there's no salvation, nothing to fight for."
Dante: "And you don't contribute anything; on the contrary, you make the lives of innocent people worse. In my eyes, you're no different from the beast pirates. I can only imagine what Oden would say to you if he saw what you're doing."
He didn't say anything; it's as if he'd been knocked unconscious.
Dante: "Well, I can thank you a little; with your help, I was able to better understand how ryou works. See you later."
And with that, I leave the place, ignoring all the destruction this place has caused. I hope my words make him reconsider a little more.
Shutenmaru: "What's your name?" I heard him say.
Dante: "I don't have a name, but if you want to call me something, just call me Murasama, Senji Murasama." And so I left the mountain.
...
It's been two months since I arrived in Wano, and right now I'm training my Armament Haki. Thanks to the confrontation with Ashura, I've been able to understand a little more about how this ability works. If I'm not mistaken, it's called emission, like creating a barrier with my Haki, except my imagination is a bit complicated when it comes to creating things out of nowhere.
Not long ago, about three days ago, I just managed to do this, and right now I'm practicing so I can use this ability at any time. From what I understand, the next level is used with Harden, but I'm not sure.
With all this, I grabbed my things from a bag, transformed again, put on my mask and hat, and left the forest where I was staying to train.
My next objective is the Flower Capital; from here, I can go to any region of Wano.
As I passed through the town where I was feeding while training, I heard a fight breaking out.
I went closer to see how some people with weapons and only a katana were defending themselves from some thugs, but they were not just any thugs, but rather beastly pirates.
I threw my bag to the ground and walked slowly toward the pirates. I think it's time to get these people's attention; there's no one else I can fight anymore. The rest are people I don't mess with, not because I don't want to, but because it doesn't make sense to make enemies of people trying to help this country; my cover would be ruined. All I have left to do is stand up to Orochi and Kaido's men.
I walked through the crowd, ending up in the middle of the beastmen pirates. They just laughed at how more people were joining in so they could shed blood, while the others just wondered who I was.
Before anyone realized it, I drew my sword, and in less than five seconds I had killed the five beastmen pirates in front of me, leaving only one alive. I had to prove that someone other than these people did it; that way they would turn on me, not them.
Dante: "Senji Murasama, just so you know who attacked them," and with that, I punched him hard enough to knock him away, but not kill him.
Everyone stared at me for a moment; I didn't know if it was with fear or admiration. I didn't look for those reactions in people anymore, so I ignored them, grabbed my things, and set off on my journey to the flower capital.