West Blue, somewhere on the sea.
It was early morning, and the sky was a clear, pristine blue. The ocean sparkled under the sunlight, carrying a fresh, invigorating scent that left one feeling utterly refreshed.
A small wooden raft, patched together with logs and rigged with a simple cloth sail, drifted leisurely with the breeze.
"Sigh… I have no idea where I am right now."
Ashen lay on his back on the raft, eyes half-closed, lost in thought.
"Whatever, thinking too much won't help. I'll just take it one step at a time. For now, I need to fill my stomach."
Feeling the pangs of hunger, Ashen sat up, opened a cloth bundle, and took out a few pieces of food. He slowly chewed on them, washing them down with half a bottle of wine.
The supplies were limited, barely enough to last him half a month, by rough estimate. He'd have to start rationing immediately.
Half full, Ashen began tending to his wounds.
He had to admit, people in this world had freakishly resilient bodies.
After just one night, the large gash across his right chest had mostly closed up. As long as he didn't move too violently, it would soon heal completely.
He tore off part of his sleeve, dampened it with a little fresh water, and wiped the dried blood from his body. Then, he quickly rewrapped the wound.
With that done, Ashen had no choice but to start thinking about his future, specifically, the path he would take to grow stronger.
The most important thing, naturally, was his own strength.
"Martial arts, Haki, swordsmanship, Devil Fruit powers…" Ashen listed the four pillars of personal power in his heart.
Combining his own thoughts with the original body's memories, he mused.
"Devil Fruit abilities will have to be developed over time. I don't have a clue where to start yet, so I'll take that step by step."
"As for Haki… that's something I can manage. I am, after all, a native of the New World.
Plus, I've watched the scenes where Rayleigh and Hyogoro trained Luffy countless times. At the very least, I have a rough direction."
"But for now, the most crucial thing for me is improving my martial arts. Without a solid foundation in hand to hand combat, swordsmanship, Haki, and Devil Fruit powers are all castles in the air."
"Thank goodness this body's in great shape."
Looking at his near perfectly proportioned physique, even a seasoned One Piece fan like Ashen couldn't help but feel satisfied.
His body had already fully developed, with strength and endurance that needed no special attention. As long as he put in the work, it would only become more powerful.
In simple terms, he had a great base to build on.
Of course, a good foundation wasn't enough. Martial arts was more than just having the body, Ashen lacked the technique.
Having a strong physique without knowing how to use it properly meant he was just relying on brute strength. That wasn't martial arts at all.
During his time with the Rocks Pirates, aside from gaining battle experience, Ashen had learned the most by pestering Whitebeard for training in hand to hand combat.
Their similar childhoods and compatible temperaments made Whitebeard surprisingly tolerant of Ashen's persistence.
When Ashen asked, Whitebeard didn't hold back in sharing what he knew.
Was Whitebeard's martial arts strong? Yes, very….
But to be honest, his strength didn't lie in technique. It was in his body.
That monstrous physique of his, he could fight at the top level without needing refined technique.
Otherwise, how could he possibly handle a Devil Fruit as damaging to the user as the Tremor-Tremor Fruit?
So, even though Whitebeard had been generous with his knowledge, Ashen remained weak in terms of actual technique.
Whitebeard's methods were tailored to himself and lacked a clear system.
With that in mind, Ashen now had a goal.
"Rokushiki, Fish-Man Karate, the King Punch from the Prodence Kingdom, Hasshoken of the Kano Country, even the Elbaf exclusive technique, Hakoku Sovereignty!
If I ever get the chance, no matter the conditions, I'll get my hands on all of them for study!"
As for swordsmanship, Ashen already had a foundation. He even technically had a master, though that person would never admit it.
Flipping through the original host's memories, even Ashen was stunned at his predecessor's guts. To learn swordsmanship, the guy had almost gotten himself killed.
While with the Rocks Pirates, he had the audacity to approach the Golden Lion, Shiki, and ask to be taught swordsmanship.
The outcome was obvious. With Shiki's personality, there was no way he'd pass on his techniques, he didn't see Ashen as worthy, and he didn't want to teach anyone to begin with.
Faced with rejection, Ashen's predecessor came up with a dumb plan, challenge Shiki to a duel.
No need to go into detail, the memories alone made Ashen feel bad for the guy.
Shiki treated him like a toy, a training dummy for his blades. Every time, he left Ashen barely alive, just short of death, before stopping the beating.
"Still, those years of getting my ass handed to me weren't for nothing. When it comes to understanding and sensing swordsmanship, I'm more than prepared.
What I lack now is real combat and a proper mastery of Haki to tie it all together."
With a sigh of relief, Ashen suddenly remembered the sword he had obtained last night.
He reached for another bundle. It was heavy, mostly filled with the Celestial Dragons' gold and jewels.
Opening the bundle, Ashen first pulled out the longsword and laid it across his knees, carefully examining it.
He called it a sword rather than a katana because it had a straight, double edged blade, unlike the Katana, which was more popular among pirates.
It more closely resembled the longsword wielded by Aragorn, the king in The Lord of the Rings from his past life.
The sword was forged in a single piece with no sheath. Only the hilt was wrapped with an unknown type of leather to provide grip.
At the center of the crossguard, a blue gemstone was embedded on both sides.
The pommel resembled a crown, and in the hollow center of that crown sat a blood-red gem, giving off an air of noble dominance.
"It's slightly heavy in the hand, but the balance is good. At 1.8 meters, it's the perfect length for my 3.5 meters (11 ft) frame.
I don't know its exact grade, but if it was part of a Celestial Dragon's collection, it can't be garbage."
"As for the name… hmm… since it looks so similar, I'll call it Anduril."
Stroking the blade, Ashen felt immensely satisfied.
After admiring Anduril for a while, he stuck it into one of the raft's wooden posts and took out two other items he'd found alongside the sword.
First was a thick book. When Ashen opened it, he found it was a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
Then came the small box. Just as he'd expected, inside was a Devil Fruit. Ashen immediately flipped through the encyclopedia in search of its identity.
"Found it, Paramecia-type, the Emotion Emotion Fruit. The user can influence the emotions of others, amplifying either positive or negative feelings.
It also allows control over the user's own emotions, suppressing fear, increasing anger, and so on.
Not bad. Definitely a fruit with potential. I'm just not sure whether 'others' means one person or multiple people at a time."
Holding the fruit, Ashen cross-referenced its image with the entry in the book and read through the summary.
"Oh, right. I should also check what fruit I ate!"
He opened the encyclopedia again and began flipping page by page, using his memory to guide him.
Finally, on page fifty three, he found a photo and description. The fruit was pitch-black, shaped like a jawless skull, with flame-like ridges curling across its surface.
The most distinctive feature was two smooth patches where the skull's eyes would be.
"This is it!" Ashen was certain. He looked down at the description.
Netherworld Fruit.
Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.
Suspected to be an advanced form of the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit)
Ability:
The user gains no power while alive, only suffering the sea's curse. After death, the user's soul receives the fruit's power from the Underworld, allowing them to return to their body and revive.
It is rumored the Netherworld Fruit is a product of the Underworld, capable of linking the living world to the dead.
After resurrection, the user's soul is gradually eroded by Underworld energy. Eventually, the soul weakens and vanishes, leading to true death and the fruit reappearing in the world.
Other abilities: Unknown
Previous user: Name unknown. Details unclear. Soul perished on the third day after resurrection.
"So that's how it is. Looks like the original host's soul had just returned from the Underworld when it was immediately hit by Big Mom's attack. The soul shattered on the spot."
"And since the power had already passed into the body, my own soul must've been drawn here by that leftover force."
"And the reason I'm not affected by the Underworld's erosion… is probably because I'm not a soul from this world at all."
A new theory formed in Ashen's mind.