Midnight on the Grand Line.
Ash Thalos had just arrived on when a system alert rang out in his mind.
[Your Iron Body has automatically advanced to LV2]
[Your physique has met the threshold; Armament Haki has automatically awakened]
"Huh. Counting the days, today makes exactly five since I ate the fruit."
"Open the panel."
[Devil Fruit Editor]
[Host Personal Panel]
[Name: Ash Thalos]
[Age: 13]
[Physique: 100]
[Spirit: 60]
[Abilities: Iron Body LV2 (expandable), Armament Haki (expandable), Observation Haki (expandable)]
[Energy: 17]
[Devil Fruit Ability: Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Di Jun]
[Subordinate Fruit Abilities: Wind Element Control 60%, Lightning Element Control 60%]
[Status: Stellar Inner Containment / Physique Enhancement]
Ash frowned slightly.
"Spirit is already sixty? When did that happen?"
His Observation Haki had awakened automatically the moment he consumed the fruit. The elemental abilities had followed after Pini ate the Mythical Beast Yingzhao form. But Ash had no memory of doing anything that should have raised his spirit.
[Due to the Stellar Inner Containment state, the host's spirit has reverted to its original value and is slowly rising]
Ash grinned.
"So spirit grows passively, just like physique. That means I will eventually have no real weaknesses left."
[Subordinate abilities include physique and spirit boosts, but they will not assist in raising Iron Body or Haki]
"That explains it. I have felt sharper and stronger these past few days, but the panel showed nothing."
[Would you like to add a custom entry for easier viewing?]
"Add it. Good notes beat good memory. Seeing it at a glance is better."
[Updating host personal panel]
[Subordinate Fruit Abilities: Wind Element Control 60%, Lightning Element Control 60%, Physique Amplification (expandable)]
"Expand Physique Amplification."
[Physique Amplification]
[Yingzhao Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
"All thirty? So after Pini ate Yingzhao, both of us gained fifty in physique and spirit total, and my share of the boost and elements is sixty percent?"
[Analysis correct]
Ash clicked his tongue.
"I swear, even the system sounds smug."
He kept Observation Haki active as he floated above the ancient jungle. Then, suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
"Found them."
Two massive life signatures stood out clearly, like blazing bonfires in the dark.
The twin captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates.
and .
Recruit them as crewmates?
Not a chance.
These were pirates with bounties of one hundred million Berries a century ago. Past and present, they were real criminals, not future adventurers or innocent dreamers.
Ash might consider pulling Nami or Robin onto his side before their pirate days. But converting active pirates? Never.
He did not believe in killing everyone on sight. Still, a little spiritual cleanliness was necessary.
Once someone chose the pirate path, innocent people inevitably suffered.
That alone made them unforgivable.
"Innocent people" meant villagers like those in Diwen Village. It also meant Ash himself, before his cheat ever existed.
To Ash, pirates were not romantic symbols of freedom. They were parasites living off the suffering of others.
Brook?
Who said Ash wanted that skeleton as a crewmate?
He would only spared him because the Rumbar Pirates' ideals and their final song resonated with him. That, and no one knew how long the Yomi Yomi no Mi would even keep a skeleton functioning.
Let Brook remain a wandering musician for his fallen crew.
Ash thought of giving him two lives worth of mercy.
Saving him later in the Florian Triangle, one.
Not harvesting his energy, two.
As for Crocus, the old doctor had sailed with Roger. Even as a physician, even without killing anyone directly, he had still prolonged the life of the man who ignited the Great Pirate Era.
Indirect harm was still harm.
Small Garden was not large. Just an ancient island frozen in time, filled with extinct monsters and endless jungle.
Ash soon reached Dorry's location.
The giant was asleep.
Ash did not bother with conversation.
Lightning gathered around his body, crackling violently.
Boom.
Ten seconds of compressed lightning slammed straight into Dorry's skull.
The massive giant jerked awake for less than a second, let out a thunderous cry, and collapsed again, smoke rising from his head.
The shockwave echoed across the island.
Brogy, who had been resting not far away, instantly stood up.
The once-feared captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates should never have been this careless.
But after nearly a century of dueling on this forgotten island, their vigilance had eroded. Outsiders were rare. Real threats were nonexistent.
"Dorry! What happened? Are you alright?"
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Each step shook the ground as Brogy charged through the jungle.
Ash hovered calmly above Dorry's unconscious body, arms crossed.
"Up close, a twenty-meter giant really is impressive."
Brogy burst into the clearing and froze when he saw the scene.
A tiny human floating in the air.
And Dorry lying motionless beneath him.
"Bastard! Who are you?! Why did you kill Dorry?! I have not beaten him yet!"
Roaring in fury, Brogy raised his massive battle axe and swung.
Ash drifted higher, easily avoiding it.
"I did not kill him. Relax."
Ash spoke casually, as if chatting about the weather.
"I hate pirates, but you two never harmed me personally, so I would not cross the ocean just to murder you."
"Then I remembered something."
"I still need energy."
"So I will hand your corpses to the Marines and collect the bounty."
"As for him, I honestly did not think that far when I struck."
"Blame those annoying anime memories for stopping me from going straight for the kill."
Brogy did not understand half of what Ash said. He only heard one thing clearly.
Dorry was still alive.
But this human had attacked his partner.
That alone was unforgivable.
"Come down here, you coward! Fight me properly!"
"Sure. Coming."
Ash raised his hand.
The sky above them darkened instantly.
A blinding spear of lightning descended.
Boom.
The bolt struck Brogy square in the chest, exploding outward in a storm of electricity.
Ash had watched the anime. He knew the giants' ultimate technique.
Hakoku Sovereignty.
He did not know whether Brogy could still use it alone.
And he had absolutely no intention of finding out.
===
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