As I faced off against Bear King, a thought occurred to me.
This is the perfect training dummy.
He was just a big, hard target. If I used Haki, I could probably end this in one hit. His attacks were telegraphed, simple punches—I could tank them with Tekkai if I had to. (I completely forgot about his heat-generation ability in that moment.)
"This is good practice for my Observation Haki," I muttered. I slammed my five-ton mace into the sand with a heavy thud, letting go of the handle.
"What's this?" Bear King sneered, his massive frame looming over me. "Giving up your weapon against me? You've got a death wish, Marine!"
"A weapon is wasted on a bottom-tier pirate like you," I countered, cracking my knuckles. "I'll handle you with my bare hands."
"Gue-hahahaha! DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!!!"
He swung a massive right hook, then a left, followed by a double-fisted hammer strike. To a normal person, it would be a terrifying onslaught of steel-hard muscle.
To me? After sparring with Sakazuki? It was like watching a movie in slow motion. I didn't even need Observation Haki; I could have dodged these with my eyes closed. I stepped inside his reach, grabbed both of his massive wrists, and held them firm.
"Is that all, tough guy? Is that giant body just for show?" I yawned—a big, exaggerated, wide-mouthed yawn right in his face. "You're making me sleepy."
I let go of his arms and closed my eyes, standing perfectly still.
"YOU BRAT! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
His speed increased. Right, left, right, right, overhead smash! I tilted my head, swayed my hips, and stepped back—swish, swish, swish—letting the wind of his punches graze my skin. I relied entirely on the 'echo' of his presence through Observation Haki.
Right, right, left, right, left, overhead smash— "HOT BORING SPECIAL!!"
"AH—! HOT! DAMN IT!"
A searing heat blossomed against my side. The sudden temperature spike caught me off guard, and I was sent skidding across the sand.
I snapped my eyes open. Bear King's right arm was glowing a dull, angry red.
"Gue-hahahaha! See that?! That's what you get for napping in a fight!"
"You're the Kachi Kachi user! What the hell is with that arm?!"
"Steel, boy! I told you I'm steel! Who said I couldn't turn myself into molten steel?!"
He was surprisingly helpful with the explanation. He also didn't stop punching. Since I couldn't afford to take a direct hit from a thousand-degree fist, I shifted gears.
"Long-Range Cannon Fist: Quad Fire! Followed by... Rankyaku: Crossroads!"
I blasted out four shockwaves to stall him, then sent a cross-shaped flying kick to maintain distance.
"Guh! Weird tricks, but those pea-shooter attacks won't scratch me!"
He was right. The blunt force and the kick weren't enough to break his hardened skin. I kept up the pressure with the Cannon Fists, but I started tweaking my form. I visualized the "cutting" sensation of the Rankyaku, but I tried to channel it through my arms instead of my legs.
Click.
The movement and the mental image finally snapped into place.
"Eat... THIS!" I lunged, swinging my arm in a wide arc.
SLASH!
I didn't cut through his body, but a clean diagonal rent appeared across his thick coat. The vacuum blade—the Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)—was a success.
"Now let's see if the real deal works..."
I drew the mass-produced katana from my waist, holding it in a high overhead guard.
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU! BLADES DON'T WORK!"
Bear King came charging at me like a freight train, his feet thumping against the earth.
I activated Tekkai to add artificial weight to my frame, maximized my swing speed, and pulled the sword back until the tip was almost touching my heels.
"Maximum Output... (Storm Flash)!"
I swung the blade with a speed that broke the sound barrier.
CRACK!
The katana shattered into a thousand glittering shards. But the sheer force of the air pressure I'd displaced erupted in a terrifying roar. BOOM! The entire landscape in front of me—the trees, the sand, and the pirate—was simply... gone.
"Uh... I hope I don't get billed for the property damage," I muttered, looking at the broken hilt in my hand and the massive trench I'd just carved into the island.
Luckily, my base was in the opposite direction, so my snacks were safe.
I looked around. Pin-Jack and Beauty Queen had pulled a disappearing act the moment they saw the blast, and the rest of the crew had scrambled back to their ship. Bear King was face-down in the sand, motionless. I walked over and poked him with my mace. No response.
"Namandabu, namandabu... don't haunt me, big guy."
I couldn't just leave a body there, so I dragged his heavy frame to a clearing and laid him out. I noticed he had a pretty rugged-looking pistol on his belt. Yoink. Mine now.
Since I didn't have a shovel, I used the clearing to practice my new move.
"Kamaitachi! Twin Kamaitachi! Quad! Octo...!"
I rained down vacuum slashes until I'd carved a decent hole in the dirt. I rolled Bear King in, covered him up, and placed a massive boulder on top as a headstone.
I gave a quick prayer, gathered the weapons left behind by the fleeing mooks, and headed back to my camp for dinner.
That's when I saw it.
I had a small pile of fruit I'd gathered earlier. But sitting right in the middle was something that definitely wasn't there before. It was a fruit with bright, swirling patterns and a toxic-looking hue.
A Devil Fruit.
"What the...? Why is there a Devil Fruit in my lunch?"
I stared at it. It hadn't been there when I picked the fruit. Then it clicked. The lineage factor transfer. In the original story, when that gas-creature died, a nearby apple transformed.
That meant if a user died, the nearest compatible fruit would become the new host for the soul of the fruit. This was likely the Kachi Kachi no Mi.
"Do I eat it?" I wondered aloud.
Pros: I'd become a steel-human. Massive defensive boost. High-temperature attacks. I'd probably get promoted to Captain on the spot just for having a decent Logia-like ability.
Cons: I'd lose the ability to swim. I'd become vulnerable to Sea-Prism Stone. And most importantly... if I become a high-profile "Ability User" now, it might mess up "The Plan" later. I need to be a powerhouse based on my own strength first.
"Decision made."
I'll keep it. I'll find a box, bury it somewhere safe, and maybe check the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia later to be 100% sure. I'll eat it only after I've mastered everything else the Navy has to teach me.
I was just looking for a container when a sudden sound echoed across the coast.
BOOM! BOOM!
The sound of heavy cannon fire.
"The Marines? Or the pirates coming back for revenge?"
I grabbed my five-ton mace and headed for the shore.