Twilight painted the sky a blood-red hue.
Atlas D. York, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, painstakingly climbed up the sheer cliff face of the Skull Mountain. He pulled himself into the right eye socket of the massive stone skull.
He exhaled softly, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the hollow eye. Below him lay the bustling pirate town.
He clasped his hands in prayer.
"Holy Light Illumination."
"That kid…"
Down below, Rocks looked up, a frown on his face. "Instead of quietly recuperating, what is he doing now?"
Flash!
The town of Hachinosu was instantly bathed in the pure white radiance released by York.
Dozens of pirates wandering the streets stiffened. Their knees buckled, and they collapsed to the ground, expressions of pure euphoria washing over their faces.
Immediately after, under Rocks' watchful gaze, the light shifted.
Several glowing, white tentacles erupted from York's body. They extended downwards from the eye socket like the limbs of a sea monster, gently coiling around the bodies of the pirates closest to the mountain.
Slurp.
A faint pink energy was drawn from the pirates, flowing up the tentacles and into York's body.
As the pink light entered him, York's pale, blood-loss complexion instantly flushed with color. The vitality of the pirates became his own.
Feeling his condition stabilize, York released more tentacles.
Ten... fifty... a hundred.
The number increased geometrically. He was feeding.
It wasn't until night fully fell that the web of light covering the island dissipated like bursting bubbles.
York slowly stood up in the eye socket. He grabbed the end of his bandages and unraveled them. As the linen fell away, it revealed skin without a single scar. The severe internal injuries from Rocks' attack were completely healed.
"Hoh?"
Rocks was suddenly standing right beside him in the eye socket. He looked at York with genuine surprise.
"Your Devil Fruit ability has this kind of use? You can steal vitality?"
York stretched his neck, his bones popping satisfyingly.
"Of course. Otherwise, what did you think I relied on to come to the New World alone?"
"Wahahaha! It truly is a wicked ability! But I've never heard of a fruit quite like yours in any Devil Fruit Encyclopedia."
York smiled mysteriously.
"The number of Devil Fruits is not constant, Captain. They are born from human desire. They can increase or evolve at any time. It's not surprising if a completely unexpected ability appears in this era."
"Wahahaha! You know a lot about the nature of fruits, kid!"
A strange, dangerous light flickered in Rocks' eyes.
York met his gaze without flinching. "The feeling is mutual."
Crack!
The sound of crimson lightning grinding against the air rang out. Rocks' blade unsheathed an inch, leaking Conqueror's Haki.
"How about it? Now that you've fully recovered, do you want to continue our 'lesson'?"
"Not for now," York declined smoothly. "I need to digest the gains from the last beating. Once I'm ready, I will seek you out."
The night passed without incident.
Most of the pirates on Hachinosu slept incredibly well, having the sweetest dreams of their lives. The only side effect was that they woke up with sore kidneys and a bit of fatigue, but they assumed it was just a hangover.
Rocks didn't press the issue. Perhaps he was tired from the raid, or perhaps he was still contemplating how to resurrect the Frozen Giants sitting behind his mountain.
The Tavern.
Stussy had another day of futile efforts.
Whitebeard remained indifferent to her advances and complaints, treating her like air. He didn't seem to care that the line of men pursuing her could stretch from Hachinosu to the Red Line.
"This blockhead! He truly doesn't know how good he has it!"
After complaining about Whitebeard one last time, Stussy stomped back to her quarters. She stopped at her door.
A cardboard box was sitting there. A note was attached.
"For you. —Scientific Research Materials."
Stussy paused. She slowly walked forward and kicked the box open.
She wasn't worried about traps. Rocks had established the "No Infighting on the Island" rule yesterday. As long as York valued his life, he wouldn't rig a bomb.
The box fell open.
As expected, it contained the stacks of research data from Punk Hazard—the documents she had been forced to abandon when he ambushed her.
"Sigh~~"
Stussy leaned against the doorframe, letting out a soft, frustrated breath.
"Why is it that the men I like ignore me... and the one who is obsessing over me is a perverted brat?"
Behind Skull Mountain.
York was back to training.
He was practicing Advanced Armament Haki, specifically the technique of flowing Haki outside the body. In the distant land of Wano, they called it Ryuo.
Bang! Bang bang!
York stood in front of a massive boulder, punching the air just inches away from the surface.
"The key is not the amount of force... it's the flow. Concentration and release..."
The sword strike Rocks used on him wasn't just brute force. It utilized Conqueror's Coating, Emission, and likely other high-level techniques.
York couldn't replicate the Conqueror's Coating yet, so he focused entirely on the Armament aspect.
Emission (Flowing Haki).
Half a month passed in this peaceful routine.
York was immersed in training. Regarding Stussy, apart from delivering the "gift" to remind her of his existence, he didn't harass her.
Two weeks later.
"Focus..."
York took a deep breath. He visualized his Haki flowing from his shoulder, down his arm, and pooling in his fist.
BANG!
He punched the air. His fist stopped three inches from the rock.
CRACK-BOOM!
The boulder didn't just crack on the surface; it exploded from the inside out, shattering into gravel.
Internal Destruction.
He had done it. He had mastered both Emission and Internal Destruction.
"Nine-year compulsory education truly didn't deceive me!" York grinned, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Relying on the discipline and logical comprehension from his previous life, he took only half a month to master a technique that took Luffy two years to even begin learning.
'Though, to be fair,' York thought, 'Luffy's awakening against Kaido was practically a cheat code from the world itself. My talent is pure stats.'
Just as York mastered the technique, the speakers on the island crackled to life.
"Set sail, lads!!"
Rocks' voice boomed.
"The target of this operation is the Sanctuary of the International Charity Alliance!!"
The Pier.
The Rocks Pirates prepared to depart.
Seeing Stussy again after half a month, the woman was as beautiful—and dangerous—as ever.
However, her gaze towards York now carried a strong sense of vigilance. She hadn't thrown away the research data, but she hadn't thanked him either.
York walked past her, smiling calmly.
"Be careful out there, Miss Stussy. Remember, the 'No Fighting' rule only applies to the ship and the island. Once we hit land... I might attack you at any time."
Stussy's lips twitched.
She stepped closer to Whitebeard, grabbing his massive arm. She looked at York haughtily.
"You don't know yet! I'm Newgate's woman! If you dare to lay a hand on me, be careful Newgate doesn't kill you!"
Whitebeard turned to look at Stussy hanging off his arm. He didn't shake her off, but he didn't confirm it either. He just stared at the horizon.
York watched this reaction with an amused smile.
'Interesting.'
As a man, if your woman is being hunted by another male and you don't get angry...
Either you don't care about the woman at all.
Or you have a cuckold fetish.
York looked at the stoic face of the future Strongest Man in the World.
'I'm pretty sure it's the former. Their relationship isn't nearly as intimate as the rumors say.'
'Which means... she's fair game.'
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