"Truly wonderful..."
The kneeling figure was staring at its tree with a gaze that could only be described as fanatical.
"To have studied the humans' hearts to such an extent..."
The Lich extended its arm, reaching out towards the tree. Behind it, the sickly Den Den Mushi could be seen, its eyes whitened and body unmoving.
The Lich only spared it a glance. He found it to be a fascinating life form and vowed to take better care of the next one. The most interesting thing about those things was that they seemed to know their place in the world. They existed only to serve and kept quiet and docile, as if understanding their entire duty.
"An enlightened being."
Truly agreeable. A worthy tool for the supreme one's plan.
It was regrettable that the Den Den Mushi had already died and had to be resurrected.
He turned his attention back to the mental link he had with his summon. Having sent off its summons with that rear admiral was the best decision it could have made.
The island was apparently known as Soja Island, and the city in the vicinity of the forest his four summons had been hiding in was called "Daizu."
He had seen him. He had seen the supreme one.
The first thing he had felt was anger.
To see his master stooping down to the level of these lowly humans infuriated him to no end. His anger was directed at the humans and even more so against himself. To be so powerless...
But he had calmed down upon seeing his master's interactions. He was integrating the human society and making connections in order to use them as pawns, no doubt.
It was all part of his plan.
The Master had noticed him at a certain point and destroyed his summon by simply taking control.
The POWER.
The sheer power of the Supreme One's crushing presence as the Lich had the control of its summon forcefully taken from it.
The sheer efficiency of its master's mana control and the perfection of the magic circle. The lich did its best to emulate what it had seen and noticed.
The lesson had been humbling, but it had more purpose than just teaching.
"I am to stay distant from the Master for now. To learn and study until my power reaches greater heights."
Yet, despite the obvious message of keeping distance from its master, the lich was elated. The supreme one's lesson had taught it a valuable lesson and had led to it making a breakthrough into the third tier.
It had immediately been able to enhance itself with more negative energy, expand upon its mana reserves, and create more summons.
"Truly, there is no better teacher..."
The undead was currently making a mental analysis of its now enhanced magic circles.
"A single lesson carried me into the third tier..."
Its new summons were scurrying the sea and slowly enhancing the corruption. 4 sharks, 3 rats, and 7 birds were flying long distances, and even more would be created soon.
"This one shall focus on creating a network of eyes, ears, and teeth. This sea, known as the West Blue, will be the beginning."
Fresh blood could be made out, slowly trickling from something dangling down the tree.
"Combat shall not be prioritized for now..."
It would fully delve into the arts of summoning for as long as it'd take.
Its bony hand suddenly reached out to the now undead Den Den Mushi.
It promptly straightened up with an empty gaze as it started the call.
"That vice admiral has more information I might need. More summons will have to stow away on his ship in order to reach more islands..."
The undead raised its head, its half-destroyed face contorting into a content expression.
The two humans who were dangling down from the branches of the tree were nearly out of blood.
They were found by one of the undead sharks, clinging to life on a ship destroyed by a storm.
There had been more, but the wildlife of the sea had wasted no time devouring the other few survivors and bodies. The sharks were not able to contend with such beings. Not yet.
The two humans would be enough for now.
'Only a few hours now...'
The call connected.
"This is Vice Admiral Strawberry. I'm listening!"
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'If any outsider was watching this, it'd be reported as straight-up bullying.'
Ainz was a little amused. He was currently watching Emi trying to avoid being whacked by several people, clearly benefitting from a lot of the focus potion. She seemed to know everyone's position, rarely missing or not noticing a Marine sneaking up on her.
She had tried to challenge several Marines with an "attack me and I'll dodge," which had been a reason for them to deny her and laugh at first.
Until she used a technique she had likely learned from Ainz in the lesson of the art known as baiting.
"No Balls."
Her remark had been too effective, as she now stood between 4 Marines who all wore serious expressions as they whacked her with wooden swords. Her goal was simply to dodge said swords, which she managed quite well given the circumstances.
She still got hit 7 out of 10 times, but that was to be expected when starting out fully surrounded without fighting back.
The whacking kept going for a while, but Ainz had already confirmed that Observation Haki, at the very least, was heavily reliant on focus.
The girl wouldn't receive many potions in the future, so Ainz had told her to use one of three Focus potions now and keep the others for serious situations in the future.
He had also created something else. A small notebook with notes on what he considered good training for Haki. One of them was given to Morris and another to Emi.
It contained simple techniques that sounded effective, but Ainz had no clue if they'd actually work. It was just a simple assortment of things that explained basic meditation, spatial awareness, reflex training, and a few other separate pages that basically consisted of information about basic physiology with the strong points and weak points of the human body and the purpose of basic muscle groups.
He figured that these things would be useful for Observation and Armament Haki and at least made him look like he knew what he was talking about.
He had given them those notebooks and had addressed something odd as soon as they left.
An undead presence. A small squirrel was watching him from a distance.
He had immediately taken control over the undead, confirming that it was indeed a controlled being, and had been relieved to find out that whoever controlled that thing was rather weak. Not even scratching the third tier. Even the lowest summons should at least reach the third tier...
'Probably someone having eaten a Devil Fruit. I heard the Marines talking about someone called Gecko or something. He can supposedly bring back the dead.'
He was well aware that he had probably alarmed said Gecko, but he was going to leave soon anyway and was confident in his assessment of that guy's strength.
'Well, no point seeking out trouble.'
He had simply dispelled the summon.
'Should I say goodbye to Fujitora?'
He considered it. They had talked a little, but he wasn't sure whether they truly were friends. Fujitora seemed a little guarded against him.
'I suppose it wouldn't hurt.'
Leaving the Marines and Emi to her beating, he promptly left, heading towards one of the man's favorite places to gamble. He used the time to think about his travelling method. His departure was sure to be witnessed by a lot of people, as a lot of interest had been put into his allegedly stored ship, and he was considering what ship to use.
His hoarding habits led to him owning several ships of different themes, and he had used a few [Gate]s in order to reach an uninhabited part of the island and test his different ships.
He soon noticed that they were a little bit too grand and simply resorted to simple creation magic. [Create item] was capable of creation with only the simplest of unenchanted resources. It was basically a weaker version of [Create Greater Item, which was capable of using stronger materials.
He had managed to build a small wooden boat with it after a few attempts. It was nothing impressive, barely having enough space for 5 people. He decided to simply use that one in order to stay inconspicuous.
He soon reached one of the gambling houses but was quickly disappointed as Fujitora seemed absent.
"Haahh, I'm not going to go through every house in the city. I'll just ask Morris to pass on a message."
Not wanting to linger any longer, he soon returned towards the Marine base. He'd be leaving tomorrow morning.
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"Got it. We'll set out tomorrow morning."
Kacha!
Strawberry let out a sigh as she hung up. He had just received a call from the half-dead. Frankly, he wasn't sure whether this whole information thing would work out.
'A last attempt. If I don't get any information out of him, I'll just apprehend him.'
There was no point in keeping this up. The once-a-man seemed unstable, and it was not clear if, or rather when, he'd start hurting innocents. It also wasn't clear how much of a threat he or his master was. The team of scientists had arrived as well, and they'd inspect and determine the cause of the island's corruption while he'd talk with that half-dead. Further actions would be determined after what the scientists or the half-dead would say.
The rear admiral sent his mountain of paperwork a resentful look as he dutifully went through each report. His commodore had been managing the base in his place during his absences, but the paperwork was a never-ending curse. No matter how much of it you thought you finished, there would always be more.
He soon took a look at the reports about the Merchant. He had already learned that they would be leaving at around the same time, but he was apparently heading towards the Grand Line, in the opposite direction of his own destination.
The merchant had apparently sold some interesting items; even some of the scientists had wanted to meet him. But there was no point in doing so given his timely departure.
He soon redirected his thoughts to that half-dead. He most likely wanted a little information on the Marines, and given his naivety, he was sure that feeding him false information was the way to go. If he did not get apprehended anyway.
But the half-dead had mentioned letting him in on "the supreme one's great plan," and that meant that this whole thing could be paying off in the end.
"I'll just decide once I finish talking with him..."
His thoughts soon drifted off to that guy's master. His first idea was Gecko Moria. Moria was a formidable pirate who had recently clashed with one of the strongest pirates in the world, 100 beasts Kaido.
Their battle had apparently gone on for 3 entire days. Kaido, apparently drunk, had not taken the fight too seriously, but surviving a drunk Kaido was a feat in itself. He was sure that he wasn't capable of that himself.
Moria's crew had apparently been completely wiped out, and Moria had fled from the Ringo Area of Wano with his tail between his legs. His current status was under investigation, as he had not been seen leaving the Florian Triangle ever since.
Yet, despite his loss, the Marine was still very wary of him. The 580 million bounty pirate had clashed with an admiral and gotten away. He had a versatile Devil Fruit, and it was unknown how much he could grow if left unchecked. That was the actual reason for Strawberry's investigation.
The pirate, even in defeat, was very dangerous and could wreak havoc upon kingdoms. The sudden appearance of that half-dead, coincidentally when Moria went into hiding, was suspicious. If Moria really was this "Supreme Master," it would be better to stop whatever he was trying to pull.
"And we Marines really thought that Roger's execution would calm things down..."
Strawberry had joined the Marines before the pirate king's fame, and despite the previous powerhouses and danger of the seas, there weren't as many pirate groups as there were now. The execution had led to an era of piracy, something the Marines had not expected.
His hands soon came by a special report, one that he had already gone through but that he had set aside to read again because it had angered him to no end.
The Shichibukai system.
It was the third time he read it, and his fist clenched yet again. He understood the principle. The idea itself was... acceptable. Logical. To have pirates hunt down pirates. Spare marine life. A good idea.
But the execution... It entailed giving the Shichibukai an amount of leeway he could not support. The legal right to plunder? Oh sure, nations affiliated with the world government were spared from that.
But what about coastal towns? Those places that weren't noteworthy enough to be recognized by the world government?
The innocent civilians lives were sacrificed for the sake of efficiency. Exposed to the villains of the sea.
And he had to accept the fact that those pirates would now work side-to-side with the Marines?
Rear Admiral Strawberry was torn between absolute justice and moral justice. He understood the idea of necessary sacrifice, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth.
Ohara had been a tragedy for him.
But he still recognized it as necessary. The risk of having ancient weapons being discovered was just too dangerous. Nations could be wiped out by whoever would one day set their hands on them.
But now, allowing pirates to run free and do what they want? In exchange for them taking care of other pirates in the name of the world government? Pirates fought each other all the time anyway!
He genuinely hated this idea, but resistance was futile. The world government was of the opinion that the Pirate Era had started due to the Marines failure to properly dispose of the Pirate King. Now, that narrative was spun in order to humble the Marines.
He sighed as he went through the list of names on the roster.
The names on the list were pirates who had been in obvious conflict with the more powerful pirates of the New World. The idea seemed to consist of locking the Yonko in the New World by having the Shichibukai reside in the Grand Line.
But the selected pirates had yet to be contacted, as they were still under investigation in order to make sure that they wouldn't be a threat to the world.
"And now, Moria pulls this... More work for me."
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While a certain rear admiral was working through his paperwork until deep into the night, a certain lovable thug was slowly getting himself familiarized with the layout of the base. He was simply watching the base from a rooftop, planning to attack the day after Momonga would leave. That way, the Gambino family wouldn't have much time to find and punish him, as the Marines would surely retaliate at an executive of the Gambino family's attempt at assassinating the commodore.
"Perfect."
Sure, there would most likely be a few problems despite his unrivaled genius, but he'd deal with them once they appeared.
His main goal was to lightly injure the commodore, make it look like an assassination attempt, and run. The death poison was just in case something went wrong and he risked being captured or killed.
The Gambino family would take the blame after his disappearance, and he'd use the chaos to leave the island.
He had received 2 knives from Momonga, one enhanced with a lightning-based stun attack and another that was apparently capable of "nullifying shock" in order to block heavy attacks. The thug wasn't even going to question where or how Momonga found or created these things.
At this point, he wouldn't even be surprised if Momonga pulled out a sword and annihilated the redline with it. You just didn't fucking know when it came to him.
Nevertheless, he was grateful. He knew his way around the knife but wasn't exactly strong enough to truly be dangerous. But a lightning knife, a wind knife, and an anti-shockwave knife? Time to go fight Whitebeard!
His grin faltered. Despite his delusions, he was very well aware he would need to get a lot stronger. He was planning on trying to steal information on the Marine Rokushiki, and he even considered finding a way to get that ice sword back from the family.
'I'll just go back today and say that Momonga told me it had a hidden feature I can unlock or something. His name is basically a problemsolver at this point.'
That ice sword? Yeah, he wanted it. 30 meters of fan-shaped ice? That's huge. Even a thug like him could become superpowerful!
[Pace of the Wind]
He left the area, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, his steps supported by gusts of wind propelling him onward. He wasn't worried about falling; the wind would detonate at impact, creating an air cushion.
He soon arrived at the outskirts of the city and started heading towards the mansion. Acting like always, he simply disregarded the security, who did the same in return, as he headed towards the lower floor, soon noticing a muscular figure in one of the storage rooms.
"Ahh? Oh, it's you."
His superior's warm welcome nearly had him shed a tear.
"Yo. This is about that ice sword. I was talking with Momonga, and he mentioned a way to unlock more power. Figured I should try it. Don't have anything to do anyway."
Yes. Calm and casual. Like always.
His superior raised a brow. "Unlock more power? I'm pretty sure you're going to have to ask the boss about that. I can go tell him about your request tomorrow."
Tomorrow was the day Momonga was leaving. Bad time.
"Uhh, Momonga kind of wanted to demonstrate today? It might be better to get it now. So I can meet up with him soon. Yeah."
His superior remained silent for a while before answering in a strangely calm tone.
"I suppose I could do that."
The thug immediately went into high alert. The voice of his superior was calm and calculating.
"But before I do... I wanted to ask about how you got Momonga to stay.? I did not hear much, you know. Only that you apparently sold your service to him."
His voice took on a sharper edge.
"And I don't see how much worth you alone can have to that merchant. Making connections and preparing more deals in the Grand Line? Yeah, not your expertise.
I don't understand how no one saw it. Maybe they just don't know you well enough. Young Pastellano might be a little naive, but I'm not. So, I figured you had some kind of private deal going. Maybe, hmm, I don't know. Returning a certain sword to him?"
His superior had circled him during his rant and now stood in between the thug and the door. His expression was empty as he looked down at the thug.
The thug just laughed. "Wait, hahahah, you re-a-lly think I would do that? Are you stupid? Momonga is staying here for the next three months. THREE MONTHS. The consequences of pulling something like that would happen in less than a day!"
The thug buckled over laughing as sweat covered his face.
His superior laughed a bit as well, but his eyes remained empty.
"Hahaha, of course you're right."
His hand rested on the handle of a katana.
"Except... what if he doesn't?"
The thug's laugh froze, and his superior continued.
"Yeah, what if he leaves this evening?"
Clang! The thug's knife was immediately blocked by a katana. The short windknife was held in a right-handed reverse grip as the thug immediately drew his lightning knife and immediately followed up with a stab towards the neck.
But he was facing a weathered swordsman who had risen through the ranks of the family with his skill.
His superior parried the lightning-infused knife with no effort, simply twisting his katana and pushing the knife back with the handle of the sword, and immediately followed up with a forward lunge.
The thug barely managed to dodge, activating the [Pace of the Wind] and immediately creating some distance, seemingly gauging his opponent.
"Oh? You're not running?"
His superior seemed surprised. The door was right there. Did that thug think he stood a chance?
The thug attacked again, this time simply sprinting towards him in a straight line while muttering a sentence as if it were a holy hymn.
"Please work. Please work. Please work. Please work."
Despite the fact that the distance between the two had been closed in less than two seconds, his opponent did not seem surprised and simply swung his katana in a horizontal arc, aiming for decapitation.
The moment the sword came close to the thug, a sudden violent gust of wind exploded, throwing the katana wielder through the room like a ragdoll, crashing against the wall. The thug, a thin line of blood trickling down his throat, followed him with bloodshot eyes as he immediately aimed to end the fight, aiming at his superior's chest.
But even sitting against the wall, his superior swung his sword while silently cursing Momonga's items.
[Overcharge]
Not wanting to lose his advantage, the thug immediately used the stun art of his lightning knife and flicked it at the legs of his opponent. The throw was weak, but it did not matter, as the effect hit as soon as it came in contact with the target.
The muscles of his superior spasmed, and his attack was interrupted as he lost control over his body. His eyes widened as the thug dove at him with the windknife.
A wet squelch resonated through the room as he coughed up blood. He stared at the knife in his chest and the other leaning against his leg with an unbelieving expression.
"H-how could-d I lo-ose..."
A proud swordsman like him not even having the time to use a fraction of his strongest attacks? And that only due to the strange weapons of that damned merchant...
The light in his eyes soon faded as the thug stood back up. Breathing heavily and in a bit of a daze, he soon pulled the body to a corner of the storage room and covered it with tarps.
"Whoahahahah."
He soon broke out in hysterical laughter, thinking about how helpless the swordsman had been. Without those weapons, the thug would never have stood a chance.
"Ye-eah. I—it's decided. I'll build a shrine in Momonga's name and pray to him every day."
Only then did the thug seem to remember where he was, as he immediately snapped out of his daze and checked if anyone had noticed their short battle.
Luckily for him, it did not look like anyone was coming to check.
He stopped for a bit, allowing some time for his legs to stop shaking. To run into an attack of a swordsman without even trying to defend his throat had taken every little bit of willpower he had. He felt like he was going to die at that moment.
"Haaah. Alright."
He left the storage room and scoured the other rooms for the magic items. He was specifically looking for a certain scroll or the sword but was left rather disappointed.
"Uhh, no. No way. I'm not leaving without those weapons."
For a weak thug like him? The power of that scroll, allegedly capable of destroying a district, was a trump card sent by the heavens. It took him quite a while until he finally found it, the icy short sword, which had apparently been stashed away with the common weapons. He took it and bit his tongue to avoid screaming out in joy.
The scroll? Well, regrettably, the fact he did not find it after going through every storage room meant it was most likely with some higher-up he should avoid messing with.
"Whatever. I'll just leave. Nothing happened. No fight. I just came back to report something and left. Nothing suspicious.
After that? The Gambino family assassin failed at his job, and now Marine is all over the Gambino family's ass. Assassins slipped away. Perfect plan."
His short recap of everything served more as a pep talk than anything else. He was planning to go through with another not-so-well-thought-out plan tomorrow, and that required some courage after this whole ordeal.
He stepped outside the mansion, sending the guards a shaky grin, which they did not reciprocate as he simply walked towards Daizu.
No one stopped him as he disappeared into the night.
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A small fleet was moving towards the west blue. Equipped with experimental technology, they were currently crossing the calmbelt. There were yet to arise any problems and Admiral Sokuon Kato and his protegé, Rear Admiral Kizaru were lounging on the deck. They had been sent towards the Florian triangle, with the orders to go confront Gecko Moria and look into his involvement with the destruction of that island.
"Well, that Vegapunk really outdid himself with this. Can't believe we're crossing the calm belt without worrying about having our balls bitten off by a sea king!"
Soken Kato was habitually sipping on a mug of coffee as he watched the calm sea. His crass language went unaddressed as Rear Admiral Borsalino slowly flipped the page of a newspaper.
"Hey, Borsalino! Are you really the one handling things with the scientific division? Did you volunteer? Or did Kong force you?"
The barrage of questions finally seemed to strike a chord with the man as Borsalino finally answered.
"Hmmm, well, Admiral Kato. I figured I should learn to take a little responsibility...
I can't just say that I don't feel like doing anything all the time, after all..."
The admiral nodded repeatedly, a grin featured on his face. What Borsalino had insinuated with that answer was not lost on him.
"So, you now have an excuse to act as if you're busy? What makes you so sure it's an easy job?"
Borsalino's glasses flashed white as he returned his attention to the newspaper.
"A scientist rumored to be 500 years ahead of our time. You don't really think he'll be left to the Marines's devices, do you? Sure, it'll look like that on paper, but in the end, whatever the Marine tells him to do most likely came from the world government. So, I don't really have much to do. Bet he'll have plenty of protection already."
Soken grinned at that. The lazy rear admiral had found a way to appear busy in order to slack off.
He was about to respond when a marine stopped in front of them with a salute.
"Admiral, Rear Admiral! We have left the calm belt! The wind is picking up, and it won't take long to reach the Florian Triangle! But we located a few pirate ships! Shall we engage?"
Soken shook his head, his expression changing into a smirk.
A silvery liquid left his body and created a single perfect copy of himself.
The muscular figure bent its knees and leaped off the ship, using Geppo in order to avoid falling into the sea.
The copy's leg muscles bulged as it unleashed a Rankyaku, splitting one of the ships in half. The pirates did not hesitate as they attempted to fight back, but the fight proved to be hopeless as soon as the first weapons bounced off the admiral's Armament Haki.
Another figure suddenly appeared, identical in looks to the first, splitting another ship in half with a devastating axe kick and simply allowing itself to sink into the sea along with the ship. It wore a smirk, despite the fact it was drowning.
More such figures appeared on the pirate ships, and the fight ended nearly as soon as it started.
Back on the Marine ship, the admiral silently watched the battle unfold until a few Marines started bringing him plates of food.
Their fleet hadn't even bothered to slow down
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Jonathan woke up at 5, as had become a routine for him at a certain point. Stretching and yawning, he immediately headed towards the coffee machine and stared out at the sea.
Pfft! He immediately spat out his coffee, seeing a certain robed figure seemingly inspecting a small boat.
"What the hell? He is already leaving? It's only 5!"
He immediately went to find his clothes but then stopped himself, thinking that if Ainz wanted to leave so early, there was no point in trying to stop him.
"A shame, though. I would have liked to see him unstore his ship..."
He watched it from his window while sipping on his coffee. He could barely make out the size of the ship as the sails dropped and it left the port.
Jonathan sighed and headed towards his drawer. Surprisingly, he still felt the strength the small totem was supposed to give him whenever he held it. Yet, Jonathan had not been close to it the entire night.
"It probably serves some other purpose. Hope it's not something experimental..."
He frowned a little, thinking about the merchant's bad habit.
"Well, let's just keep it until I find out if it actually is what Ainz said it was."
Pocketing the totem, he simply sat down on his seat, thinking about how nice holidays would be.
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"Damn it..."
The sound of whimpering and crying resonated through a ship.
Said ship was in a miserable state. The sails were intact but the hull of the ship was badly damaged and the steering wheel was gone. A ship which looked like it had barely survived a war.
The remnant of a Jolly roger was sprawled out on the Deck. It featured a white skull surrounded by a whiteish cloud and purple batwings.
The Flag of the Gecko pirates.
Torn apart, a gigantic figure kneeling in front of it, sobbing and crying.
"...Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!"
The former captain of the Gecko pirates, a man who had fought and survived an Admiral and who had managed to trade blows with the new Yonko, Kaido of the 100 beasts. Said Man was now broken. Staring at his flag with a tearfilled gaze.
Several bodies were lying on the deck, the bodies of his Nakama, the Men who had been his subordinates, those he had promised the world.
Those very same who had carried Moria's unconscious body back to the ship after his battle, those who had endured the retaliation of the Beast pirates and managed to steer the ship through the calm belt. Those who had died... for him.
They had not allowed a single pirate to board the ship, not a single body to be taken from Moria's collection and not a single weapon or treasure be taken at the cost of their lives.
He regretted it. He regretted it so much. He really thought he could have won that fight.
"DAMN IT ALL!"
Gecko Moria, the man who was supposed to become the Pirate King.
A 6m tall man, now on his way towards becoming an empty husk. Someone with the potential to rival the Yonko, being reduced to becoming one of the weakest Warlords of the Sea.
A burst of purple energy emerged from his body, something which had been his pride and should have been a symbol to his ascension of an Overlord of the Sea.
His conqueror's Haki.
Broken.
He could feel his control over it dim as he broke out in another fit of rage and sadness and eventually, Desperation.
The slowly drifting ship was not something one man could steer and he was now trapped on the sea, together with the remains of his mistakes.
He did not notice the Maritime fleet of the Marines approaching his location.
Nor did he notice the bird, standing on the mast, observing him with empty eyesockets before flying off.