Days blurred together. Hours bled into minutes. Minutes snapped into seconds.
And just like that, three days had passed since Rimuru had given names to every goblin and wolf—and then collapsed into a coma.
Inside the cabin where Rimuru's body rested, the slime stirred for the first time. A faint ripple of movement spread through his gelatinous form.
In the corner, a shadow peeled from the wall, rising before reshaping into Al.
Over the past three days, he'd pushed his cloning experiments further. He'd learned the hivemind only functioned if he was in his human form, or in {Diglett}/{Dugtrio}. If his clones matched forms, the link held. If not, the connection fractured.
The largest number he had managed to sustain? Twenty-seven.
But when the {Gengar} clone sensed Rimuru stir, the signal flooded through the two Al in unison. This one wasted no time.
"Rigur!" Al barked, his voice slicing through the village.
The hobgoblin dropped what he was doing. Rigurd, too, froze mid-order, looking up from where he directed the construction of a new home.
"Yes, General Solis!" Rigur rushed over.
"Spread the word. Training will resume later. For now, prepare for a feast—Ruru woke up."
Al's lips curved into a rare smile as he turned toward the cabin. Finally, the burden of command could return to its rightful owner.
He pushed the curtain aside. Inside, Rimuru rested atop a wooden pillar, blinking slowly and looking almost dazed.
"Yo. Good to see you up." Al said.
Rimuru turned, recognized the voice, and bounded onto Al's head."Al! How've you been?"
Before Al could reply, a gale blasted through the room. A massive wolf, fur bristling, star blazing on his forehead with a horn at its center, bounded in.
"Master! I heard you were awake!" Ranga's booming voice shook the cabin as his tail whipped back and forth, stirring a small hurricane.
Al tilted his head, unimpressed."Ranga. Calm down before you send him flying."
The wolf froze, then straightened instantly, eyes shimmering like a scolded puppy as he bowed toward Rimuru.
With a chuckle, Al stepped outside. Rimuru perched atop his head again, and the hobgoblins and wolves were already gathered at the doorway.
Al grinned. Without warning, he tossed the slime into the crowd.
Cheers erupted. The village roared in celebration. Their lord had awoken.
---
Later, when the celebrations died down, Al and Rimuru found themselves in a quiet clearing. Ranga sat just behind them, his massive frame casting a long shadow.
"So, Ruru… what are you going to do now?" Al asked, his voice calm but curious.
Rimuru bounced lightly on the grass, as if shrugging."Not sure. I guess… run the village, see what happens next."
Al smiled faintly, knowing full well how far things would go from this simple start."That's how nations are born."
Then his smile wavered. He exhaled, eyes narrowing slightly."I'm sorry, Ruru. I won't be able to stay and see it."
The slime tilted toward him, its expression one of surprise."Why?"
Al looked away for a moment, then turned back, his expression firm."I've found a place… somewhere out there, where the species connected to my DNA actually lives. I need to see it for myself."
Rimuru stayed quiet for a long second, then shifted into his small humanoid form and stepped closer. He raised his hand.
Al glanced down, then chuckled softly before gripping it."Until I see you again, my friend."
He tipped his head respectfully, then walked off into the trees.
Rimuru and Ranga stood in the clearing for a moment before turning back to the village. More than once, Rimuru looked over his shoulder. But Al was already gone.
---
Hours later, Al was walking deep into the forest when a shadow suddenly stretched from the trees. A Gengar slid out of it and sank back down into its own shadow, merging seamlessly.
Al sighed. He didn't even need to look back — he knew what it meant. His dugout was gone, collapsed by his own hand. He hadn't wanted to leave behind any traces that enemies could exploit. Some might call it paranoia, but Al called it survival.
As he departed, his friend Rimuru was already stepping into the role of a leader, laying down the three rules that would shape a village into something greater.
Then, in the blink of an eye, six other Gengars materialized and slipped into Al's shadow, their grins vanishing with them. They were his eyes and ears — a small but reliable intelligence network. And thanks to them, he had learned of something important.
An island.An island where monsters and even Demon Lords dared not tread.
It was said to be home to beings unlike any other. A place where Pokémon existed freely… and where a god dwelled. Not just any god, but one that had been there since the very beginning of this world.
A divine figure said to resemble a celestial llama, with a golden ring encircling its body.
'If I'm not mistaken… that's Arceus.'
Al's lips curled into a thin smile, his eyes burning with determination.
He closed his eyes, focused, and in an instant, his form shifted. Lightning arced across his skin, feathers flaring outward as wings of storm took shape. With a shriek that split the sky, Zapdos burst forth, its form outlined by crackling thunder.
Every flap of his wings carried the sound of storms — sharp, booming cracks that echoed across the clouds.
---
Minutes later, after soaring endlessly above the sea, Al's wings cut through the sky like crackling lightning. His senses burned with instinct — something ahead was calling to him.
'That must be it…'
His eyes narrowed as he spotted land in the distance. But surrounding it was no ordinary coastline. A translucent barrier shimmered, spanning across the horizon like a dome, pulsing faintly with ancient energy.
Al's heart skipped a beat.
He pushed himself faster. The air split with thunder as he rocketed forward, but as he neared the barrier, unease gnawed at him.
"Wait—!"
He tried to stop, but momentum betrayed him. His body smashed through the barrier, and in that instant, everything changed.
His form shifted violently. Muscles warped, aura twisted — his Pokémon body unraveled into something unstable. His vision blurred, then tunneled. The barrier had forced him out of his chosen form.
Then came the wind.
A gale howled behind him, stronger with every passing second. The force shoved him downward, pushing him like a comet through a storm-torn sky. He felt the air scorch his skin, pressure building in his ears.
"What the hell is—!?"
He couldn't finish the thought.
Al slammed into the earth with devastating force. The ground cracked, dust exploded outward, and silence followed.
---
Okay, Ozzy, back again, so what about One Piece in that power I thought of.