Red Ogre Brogy was instantly alarmed by what he saw. Now he finally understood where that terrifying rumbling sound had come from.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Ash Thalos, who had been high above the clouds just moments ago, was now wrapped in blazing lightning, crashing straight down toward him like a descending god of thunder.
Boom!
Brogy was slammed into the ground. He did not lose consciousness immediately, but his entire body spasmed violently as electricity surged through his muscles, leaving him completely paralyzed and unable to stand.
Ash stabilized himself in mid-air and glanced down calmly.
"So it is because you were prepared and I missed a true vital point. No wonder you are slightly tougher than Dorry."
He raised one hand and made a simple grasping motion.
The earth responded instantly.
Soil churned. Tree roots tore free from the ground like living serpents, coiling tightly around Brogy's arms and legs, binding the giant in place.
Ash lifted his other hand and began charging power again.
Ten seconds.
The sky darkened once more.
Boom!
A second lightning strike descended directly onto Brogy's skull.
This time, Red Ogre Brogy finally went completely unconscious.
Ash slowly descended, floating between the two fallen giants. Lightning crackled faintly around his body as he gathered power once more, then extended both arms to his sides.
"Tetanus Blade."
Two massive wind blades erupted outward.
They whistled through the air with terrifying force, slicing cleanly through both giants' necks. The shockwave tore across the jungle, nearly splitting Small Garden itself in half.
The two legendary captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates were decapitated in a single instant.
Ash hovered in the air, staring at the fallen bodies without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
"I could have killed you directly using the True Fire of the Sun. But I chose to knock you unconscious first and send you off without pain."
"With a kind personality like mine, I really am not suited to being a pirate."
He pulled out a high-grade camera worth thirty thousand Berries and calmly took several photos of the two massive corpses.
Then, with a simple wave of his hand, a powerful hurricane formed, lifting the two enormous heads into the air and carrying them behind him.
Ash turned and flew toward the edge of the island.
"This spot will do."
He landed near a cliff and activated his elemental control. Using earth manipulation, he constructed a small stone table. He placed the Log Pose on top, then summoned thin vines that wrapped around it, fixing it firmly in place.
"Hmph. You better behave and record the next island for me properly."
After finishing his preparations, Ash took off again, flying straight toward Reverse Mountain, the two giant heads following behind him like trophies.
This time, he did not need the Log Pose to guide him.
Any location he had visited was already marked by his Mental Imprint, acting as a coordinate for future Instantaneous Teleportation. This was the authority of Innate Divine Sense.
"Two hundred million Berries should cover expenses for a long time. Once I gather enough Energy to design my third Devil Fruit, I can head to Jaya Island and look for a way to reach Sky Island."
"Speaking of Jaya, there should be a place called Mock Town there, right? In the anime, that place was packed with filthy pirates."
Ash's lips curved into a faint smile.
"That is basically a free Energy farm."
He suddenly paused mid-air.
"System, open the panel."
[Devil Fruit Editor]
[Host Personal Panel]
[Name: Ash Thalos]
[Age: 13]
[Physique: 102]
[Spirit: 60]
[Abilities: Iron Body LV2 (deployable), Armament Haki (deployable), Observation Haki (deployable)]
[Energy: 521]
[Devil Fruit Ability: Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Di Jun]
[Affiliated Devil Fruit Abilities: Wind Element Control 60%, Lightning Element Control 60%, Physique Amplification (deployable)]
[Status: Stellar Inner Containment / Physique Enhancement]
Ash stared at the numbers.
"My physique increased again? And wait… 521 Energy?"
He froze in mid-air.
"System, are you joking? Two Giants gave over two hundred and fifty Energy each?"
[Confirmed. Two Energy Extractions of 250 points]
"That is five hundred total. I remember my Energy was only seventeen when Iron Body upgraded!"
Ash's expression darkened.
"Seventeen. When I wiped out the Wolf-Guzzling Pirate Group, the fodder only gave four points. That Marine Major from Base 175 gave eight. That should have been twelve total."
"Then where did the extra five points come from?"
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Pini and the others… have they already started working at Twin Capes?"
[Host, do you wish to activate the Daily Notification Function]
[This includes Battle Logs, Energy Acquisition Logs, Physique Growth Logs]
"…No."
Ash sighed.
"I prefer to call you myself. I do not want random system sounds popping in my head all day."
[…]
"Were you just trying to call me lazy?"
[This System is a Devil Fruit Editor. It does not possess emotional functions]
"Fine."
Ash exhaled slowly.
"Either way, five hundred Energy is far more than I expected. That means a lot of plans can move forward earlier than scheduled."
The following afternoon.
Twin Cape.
Pini and the other two stared silently at the two enormous giant heads placed before them.
"…So you made a round trip just for these two?"
Ash looked offended.
"What do you mean just? These two were Great Pirates worth one hundred million Berries!"
"One hundred million?!" Dicken exclaimed.
Ash felt satisfied by the shock in Dicken's voice and raised the stakes even higher.
"That is one hundred million each. These two heads are worth two hundred million Berries."
Crocus, who had come over after hearing Ash had returned, also felt speechless as he stared at the slightly charred giant heads.
They clearly had not passed away peacefully.
This brat really is a terrifying Pirate Hunter.
The moment he got a Log Pose, he immediately went to Small Garden and erased two giants who had been fighting for nearly a century.
Even worse, those two giants had good relations with Roger and Shanks.
Crocus could only sigh inwardly.
Ash rubbed his face tiredly.
"I am exhausted. Brother Pini, take these heads and exchange them for the bounty. Two hundred million Berries will last us for a while."
"Big Brother Dicken, come with me for a moment."
"Alright. Coincidentally, I also took down a few pirate crews these past days, total bounty a bit over ten million. I will exchange them together."
"A few crews and only ten million? They already entered the Grand Line and their bounties are still that low?"
Ash yawned.
"Remember to wear a mask."
It was no wonder Ash was this sleepy.
He had flown non-stop for nearly a day and a half. His physique could endure it, but his Energy could not. When he finally could not resist sleep anymore, he had used Instantaneous Teleportation repeatedly just to shorten the trip.
Dicken followed Ash back to the wooden house.
"So why did you call me here?"
"Wait a moment."
Ash sat on the edge of the wooden bed, barely keeping his eyes open, and summoned the Devil Fruit Editor.
Since he already knew which Demon God Dicken desired, he did not bother asking.
He began designing directly.
[I. Name: Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Fei Dan] (Conditions Met)
[II. Background: A congenital divine beast from the Primordial World, one of the Ten Great Demon Gods] (Conditions Met)
[III. Abilities: Flight, divine beast form of a rat with bare feet and twin wings, Poison Element manipulation, Wind Element manipulation, enhanced physical body, sun-attuned constitution] (Conditions Met)
[Confirmation Complete]
[Energy Deduction: 100]
[You have obtained: Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Fei Dan]
A Devil Fruit instantly materialized before Ash.
It resembled a banana, colored in alternating blue and purple, covered in black cloud-like patterns.
Ash caught it casually and extended his hand toward Dicken.
"Here. Your Fei Dan Fruit."
Dicken stared at it in shock.
"…"
----
Translating the Devil fruit names is tricky, considering they're beings from Chinese mythology...so I'll have to leave it as it is.