Chapter 16: A New Skill and a Perfect Guinea Pig
10:00 PM.
Marine Headquarters, Fifth Training Ground.
The quiet moonlight draped the sandy training field in a silvery sheen. A rustling sea breeze whispered through the treetops lining the grounds. Tina had endured her "military training" during the day; now, it was Ian's turn for the system's regimen.
Today's task: a 100-meter sprint. The reward: Enhancement Points. Even on the Grand Line, Ian adhered to his principle of frugality. Points were a currency never to be wasted.
As he ran, his mind was busy, pulling up the system interface.
2,150 Enhancement Points!
The bounty from defeating Gladius, combined with several days of diligent training, had filled his coffers. It was enough for two full enhancements.
The battle with Gladius had clarified one thing: his current level of Haki and physical prowess was more than sufficient to handle notorious New World pirates. Therefore, for these two enhancements, Ian allocated all the points to [Fruit Skills].
[Ding!]
[Hearing Ability Enhanced. Existing skill 'Sound Collection' heightened in sensitivity. Ability coverage expanded. 1000 Enhancement Points Consumed!]
[Mental Perception Ability Enhanced. New Application Skill 'Dream World' Acquired. 1000 Enhancement Points Consumed!]
Each enhancement cycle only allowed him to choose the broad category—[Fruit Skills] or [Overall Prowess]. Which specific ability within that category was strengthened, however, was entirely random, beyond his conscious control.
The auditory enhancement didn't surprise him. 'Sound Collection' was simply a more refined application of his super-hearing. This upgrade just made it sharper and wider-ranging, with no radical new mutations.
The mental enhancement, however, was a different story. He had strengthened this category before, but this was the first time it had yielded an active skill. He continued his steady pace, reading the skill's description in his mind.
[Dream World (Active): Exerts control over the target's senses and mind, trapping them within an illusion crafted by the ability user.]
*Skill Features: If the illusion created by the user is indistinguishable from reality, it can achieve a truly lifelike effect. If the illusion is overly fantastical, the target may realize they are trapped, causing the skill's failure rate to increase dramatically against enemies with potent Haki or mental willpower far surpassing the user's. Current effective range: 100-meter diameter. The number of targets controllable is determined by the user's mental fortitude.*
A thrill of excitement coursed through Ian. It sounded complex, but the core concept was simple.
It's an illusion technique. Just like in those old stories.
The key details were in the fine print: the more realistic the illusion, the harder it is to break. In the realm of this skill, Ian became a veritable god of perception. Everything the target saw, heard, and felt would be his creation. A dream, a mirage, a perfect lie.
As his fruit's abilities continued to branch out in such bizarre ways, Ian's own suspicions about his "Human-Human Fruit" grew. First, the power to dampen and enhance the senses of others. Now, this—precise mental control and full-sensory hallucination. No wonder Headquarters was so curious; he was growing intensely curious himself!
But there was no time for idle speculation. The immediate priority was to test this new skill's efficacy. He couldn't just experiment blindly; he needed to gather crucial data on its limits.
And for that, he needed a test subject.
Training with Garp tomorrow was out of the question. The old hero's indomitable will and monstrous Haki made him a 99.9% guaranteed failure. He could always go back and use Nami as a guinea pig. While her willpower was weaker, making it safer to establish a baseline, it wasn't the most efficient path.
Fortunately, there was another, bolder, and frankly more brilliant option currently hiding in the shadows at the corner of the training ground.
Peacock.
She had slipped into the training grounds twenty minutes ago, believing herself undetected. While performing his physical training, Ian kept his visual and auditory skills active, using the constant output to build their endurance. Peacock's furtive arrival had been within his reconnaissance range the entire time.
He hadn't exposed her. Partly because his daily task wasn't complete, and partly because he wanted to see what she was plotting.
Since her arrival, the troublesome girl hadn't made a move. She merely toyed with the whip at her waist and occasionally let out a soft, unnerving giggle, muttering to herself.
"A man working so hard, training all alone so late... how adorable."
...
"I wonder if big, strong little Ian will be well-behaved when he's all tied up?"
...
They said Devil Fruits could influence one's personality. It seemed true enough!
Ian could no longer pretend he didn't hear Peacock's unsettling commentary. She was literally plotting to whip him, and he was supposed to just carry on? His mind was now wholly occupied with the feasibility of using Peacock as his experimental subject.
First, her power level. An elite Headquarters Captain, a future high-ranking officer, a Devil Fruit user proficient in dual-color Haki. She possessed combat prowess equivalent to a pirate with a bounty well over a hundred million Berries. Not too weak, not overwhelmingly strong—a perfectly suitable benchmark.
Second, the opportunity. It was late. The two of them were the only souls on the entire training ground. Ian had expanded his sensory range, confirming again and again that there was no one else within a kilometer. It was a rare, heaven-sent chance. Going back to practice on Nami was the safe option, but would he ever find such a perfect environment and subject again?
Starting tomorrow, his time would be consumed by Garp. It could be weeks or even months before he found another lone, suitable guinea pig. The frustration of holding a powerful new tool and being unable to safely test it was immense.
Finally, the motive. He had to consider how to end the encounter without raising suspicion if he failed. If this were a lone pirate, the solution was simple: a dead man tells no tales. But she was a fellow Marine, at Headquarters no less. Murder was off the table. He needed a pretext—a plausible reason for an attack or a test of his abilities. If he'd chosen someone like Vice Admiral Momousagi or Doberman, how would he explain his actions after a failure? There was no motive.
But Peacock was different. She had provoked him openly during the day, and now she was skulking in the shadows, spying on him. Attacking her was completely justifiable. To put it another way, even without the need to test his skill, Ian had already planned to teach her a lesson.
This wasn't just convenient; it was perfect.