Ch14
In the city of Daizu on Soja Island, a commotion was going on. Issho Fujitora had appeared at the base to pay a visit to someone.
The men in the base quickly put one and one together, and given their rising curiosity at the meeting of the two, many activities in the base ceased.
Bam! The door to Commodore Jonathan's office opened violently. He was about to reprimand said person but stopped as he saw his wife.
His mind went blank. 'My god, she figured it out. She must have found all the vegetables in the trash...'
"FUJITORA JUST ENTERED THE BASE!"
It did not take him more than 2 seconds before he stood at the door and ran out the hallway. He did not know where they were, but he simply followed the direction in which some other men were running.
Only to find Fujitora talking with one of his men. Said man was Morris, the one appointed to deal with the two giants, and he left towards Ainz's quarters in the very moment Jonathan arrived at the scene. Most men stationed at the base were present and stared at Fujitora with wide eyes.
Fujitora seemed perplexed at the presence of everyone and opted to simply wait it out.
Not a single Marine left, and even Jonathan found himself seated at the sidelines while waiting for Ainz's arrival.
He arrived. Clad in the same dark robes as usual, he simply walked towards the crowd, followed by Morris, before stopping, giving the crowd a perplexed look, looking at Fujitora, and then simply walking closer.
It was then that both Morris and Jonathan noticed something.
Fujitora had the habit of facing people he expected as if letting them know he knew of their presence. It did not happen this time. Perhaps distracted by the Marine's presence, he did not seem to notice the towering Ainz, who closed in on him. Only at a certain distance did Fujitora turn around, as if looking for something.
It was the first time that they had seen Fujitora act in a way that could truly be considered blind.
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'They really are excited...'
Fujitora thought. It was funny. He had come out of curiosity about this Ainz, and his presence alone had apparently been enough to get everyone off work. Even the Commodore was present with his wife, and everyone simply surrounded the place where he was waiting for Morris to bring Ainz.
He overheard whispers of ridiculous and admittedly hilarious expectations of how their meeting would go when he suddenly noticed a surge in their excitement.
That was strange. Why did they get so excited?
He heard footsteps.
He instantly went on alert. He had not noticed anyone. He scoured his surroundings for a presence only to find nothing. The footsteps stopped at his right.
There was no one there.
He focused. There is something. Deep imprints on the ground. Someone is standing there.
Yet he couldn't "see" that person.
He tried to see the emotion. It worked instantly. He did not see the figure, but he noticed the greyish mist that surrounded the place where he should be. It was something like their mood or aura. He had never seen such a neutral aura before, but he did not dwell on that.
'Why can't I sense him?'
It was disconcerting. Observation: Haki was not known to just fail like that. It meant that the man in question was somehow avoiding it. It did not make any sense to him.
Meanwhile, in front of him, Ainz had a different turmoil.
"Why did they want me to meet a blind dude?. Why is everyone so excited?? Why is the blind dude suddenly frowning so hard?
Why does he wield a sword?"
He cleared his throat with the intention of letting his presence be known.
"Greetings, I am Ainz Ooal Gown. It is nice to meet you, sir...?"
"Fujitora. Issho Fujitora."
He seemed distracted, peering at Ainz.
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The silence stretched on.
"I was told you wanted to meet me."
Fujitora smiled: "Yes, I heard a lot about you and grew curious."
Ainz, not wanting to let the conversation die again, asked another question.
"Truly? I hope all good then. Is there something you wish to know about me specifically...? Or do you wish to perhaps take a look at my wares?"
"I honestly have a lot more questions that arose after meeting you...
Why can't I see you?"
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Ainz was about to respond with "Sir, you are blind," but Fujitora explained himself before that.
"You seem to be able to avoid my Haki. I cannot sense your presence. It is the first time this has happened to me, so I am a bit disconcerted."
Ainz groaned internally. Yet another thing to investigate. But if it was some sort of ability to sense others, then it was most likely negated by the [ring of non-detection].
'Crap, I can't just say I have an item that negates that! Not even my devil fruit excuse can explain that.' ("Indeed, I stored stealth inside of this ring.")
While he was lamenting his situation in his mind, Fujitora had taken notice of his silence and figured he wouldn't just explain such a powerful and useful ability to just anyone.
"Well, I suppose you must have trained up your Haki to incredible heights if you are capable of concealing your presence like that. Truly impressive."
Ainz seemed silent for a moment before answering.
"Indeed, it was through long and arduous training that I have gained this ability. I apologize, but I would like to keep the details to myself."
"That is understandable."
Fujitora nodded. Throughout their conversation, Morris, Jonathan, and very few more experienced Marines understood the meaning of that. While most of them did not have Haki, those who had served longer had heard about it or seen it in action. The fact that this Ainz was capable of completely avoiding Observation Haki was proof of incredible skill. At least, that's how it was interpreted.
Meanwhile, Fujitora wore a resigned smile. He was confident in his strength, but he was completely blind if he could not sense his opponent. While the nature of his Devil Fruit and the fact that he was very skilled could get him to land a few hits, he did not see exactly how he could win.
'Well, I suppose a Meteor would handle the issue.'
That was indeed one of his favorite problem solvers.
'Come to think of it. Is he constantly suppressing his presence like that?'
Haki was difficult to use. An experienced or talented Haki user could keep up their concentration for a long while if it was just basic Observation Haki.
But it became an entirely different story when it came to more intense versions of it. He himself had to focus more to read emotions or to precisely pinpoint the actions of his foes, so he did understand the strain on the mind.
He could not imagine that a powerful technique such as Ainz's would be easy to maintain.
Trying to put these thoughts aside, he instead delved into the topic of the pirates and his devil fruit, which Ainz seemed nearly excited to talk about (he had practiced for this.)
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"Goodness, what happened here...."
It looked like hell. An island in tatters. The stench of rot and decay. They had yet to actually step on the island, but even from their ship, the destruction was obvious.
Rear Admiral Strawberry had recently seen that island when he had left Soja Island a few months ago to chase down a few pirates who had recently appeared.
They had passed by this island on their way and were aware of what it had looked like.
"It definitely was not like this before...."
Most, if not all, of his men had gathered on the port side (left) of the ship to gaze at the formerly beautiful island. Now, even from a distance, the island reeked to the point that it was painful. Some of his men were going around distributing masks to cover their noses and mouths.
"Turn the ship to portside. We will investigate the island."
No one seemed thrilled about setting foot on that place, but there were no complaints. The ship was stopped at a certain distance, and a quarter of his men accompanied him to the island by boat. The water in the vicinity of the island was strange. It was calm with no waves. The water itself was milky white and did not look like anything that should be touched.
Usually, they would have disembarked the boat and waded the rest of the way through the water, but that did not happen this time. The boat continued, and only when it hit the sandbank did they step foot outside of it.
As everyone gathered on the beach, they noticed the contrast between colors. The water was milky white while the ground of the forest blackened and charred. The beach was the only place untouched, but the roots of withered trees seemed to try to grow towards it and the sea.
"Alright, spread out but never leave each other's line of sight. We will scour the island in a distanced twin-line formation."
His men quickly arranged and started scouring the island. He himself was part of the formation and advanced in the first row.
Advancing through the forest, they found only destruction. It was as if a war of devil fruits had happened on the island. Traces of acid, partially frozen and burned trees. As if a gigantic katana had split the island, they found a thin, straight cut that had split rocks, earth, and trees alike. The entire island was covered in white and black... something, and the nature had withered away. They found a small pond or lake, which consisted of a strange bubbling black ooze. Each time a bubble burst, a black mist escaped the bubble.
The smell worsened.
The formation had to stop. The forest had ended, and they found the worst part of the island. There were no marks of damage.
No traces of explosions, no traces of acid or ice or of anything like that.
No.
Instead, everything was simply dead.
Trees were still standing tall but had withered. Not a single trace of green or any color other than black, purple, and white was in that area.
He suddenly heard a scream coming from the right flank; his men immediately moved, and the entire formation converged towards the scream.
One of his men pointed at the corpse of a bird. Strawberry frowned. He had seen no dead animals on the way, but was this really such a reason to scream? A dead bird?
"Really, Jeff? You're screaming because of a bird?"
That statement lifted the mood. His men and he himself broke out in smiles, and the entire tense atmosphere seemed to grow less somber.
"It... I-it moved."
The uprising mood was instantly killed.
In a normal situation, everyone would have laughed at such a statement, but that wouldn't happen on an abnormal island like this. Everyone was too much on edge.
One of them carefully poked it with his weapon and immediately jumped back.
Nothing happened. Until it started twitching.
His men gasped, and weapons were immediately pointed at it. He quickly raised his hand to halt his men and watched as the bird seemed to try to get back to its feet with twitching movements.
Its feathers were drenched in black goo, and the small bird spread them out as it managed to stand up. It raised its head to stare at them.
"What the hell is this..."
A quiet whisper of someone. The empty eye sockets of the bird immediately fixed one said person. The bird behaved just like a bird would if it had no fear. It tilted its head and seemed to try to make a noise but failed due to the lack of vocal cords.
Strawberry bent down and held out his arm, which he had hastily covered with some tissue. The bird approached, although it fell down several times. One of its feet was missing, and it seemed to struggle to move. It stopped in front of his arm and tried to step onto it, only to fall backwards.
Strawberry touched the bird's chest. It did not move. It was not breathing.
"It's like it's alive and dead..."
That was the impression he got from that bird.
"Maybe a sort of parasite?"
One of his men suggested.
"Maybe. Doesn't explain anything else though, so not likely."
He stood back up. "Let's leave it here. Don't take anything you find off this island. We'll look around a bit and just report it to HQ later."
His men went back into formation. They noticed a lot more of these half-dead animals, some of them of which looked in better or worse shape than the bird.
He was about to give the order for his men to go back to the ship when he saw a figure kneeling on the ground in front of a huge tree that seemed more corrupted than any they had seen. The figure was covered in dark, torn clothes and garbs, which covered its full body. Its back was facing their formation, and his men had noticed it as well.
Their formation having halted, they slowly closed in on it. The figure was muttering things about a great plan and the will of a supreme being while tracing signs on the ground using a branch.
A silent order to his men, and they carefully started surrounding the area. Corpses of animals had been tied onto the corrupted tree, these ones unmoving and fresh. Their blood had, or was still, spilled onto the roots of the tree.
To say that Strawberry and his men were concerned was an understatement. They were witnessing a sight that could only be referred to as an unholy ritual. Nevertheless, they stayed calm. He had always believed that a calm mind could thwart any threat, and he had made sure to drill that ideology into his men.
They stayed in formation, clearly disconcerted but disciplined nevertheless. The twin row formation had surrounded the tree along with the figure, and some of the men of the second row were facing outwards in order to stay alert for the likely scenario of this being some sort of trap.
Strawberry closed in on the figure and stopped at a certain distance. He noticed that the thick roots of the tree spread out wide, and it was most likely the cause of the island's corruption. A few of his men had taken out den den mushis in order to record the area for the investigation and were still recording while standing in formation.
Strawberry focused on the figure. He had his hands on the hilt of his sword and simply waited. As disgusted as he was by the ritual and the entire situation, rushing in without thinking was not his style.
The figure at the base of the tree had gone silent, most likely having noticed their presence. Yet it stayed in a kneeling position, seemingly in thought.
"I apologize for the delay. The great one's actions are not easily interpreted."
A raspy voice emerged, to which some of his men recoiled. The figure turned around, and Strawberry felt a wave of disgust pass over him.
The figure had a similar affliction as the other animals on the island. Parts of its skin on its face were peeling off and exposed its skull. It had only one eye in its socket, and that eye had swollen and had yellow pus leaking out of it.
The rest of its body was cloaked, and the only other exposed parts of its body were its white, bony hands.
It remained in its kneeling position, only having turned around enough for them to see those traits, before simply turning back to the tree and looking at it.
"I am Rear Admiral Strawberry of the Marines. We are currently investigating what happened on this island."
He paused as the figure got to its feet. It seemed reluctant to turn away from that aberration of a tree but faced them nevertheless.
It was not very tall. Even smaller than the size of an average person. Maybe around 1.60 m.
He continued.
"Who are you, and what happened on this island?"
He was 99% sure that the disgusting figure in front of him was either a victim or the cause of what had happened on the island. His men closed in on the figure, their weapons not drawn, but they were ready to draw them anytime needed.
The figure noticed his men closing in on the tree and frowned.
Strawberry, who was trying to keep things cordial, quickly signaled the men in the vicinity of the tree, which was probably the figure's object of worship, to distance themselves from it.
"This one does not have a name. And as for what happened to the island..."
The figure looked around before sighing wistfully.
"...that is yet to be understood. But this one knows it will understand soon. Its master has laid out all the clues together for this one to determine its next course of action."
"Is it alright if I approach "this one" a little? I would prefer not having to raise my voice while talking."
The figure gave a slow nod. Strawberry approached until he stood in cutting range and stopped.
"So, have you already figured out some of your master's clues?"
The figure stared at him. "The master's plan is unfathomable to this one's lowly existence. It could never claim to have figured out even a percentage of its wisdom.
However, it believes to have correctly interpreted it's master's intention's.
The connection between this one and its master is faint. This one has not been created through normal means. The [Field of the Dead] was a mere experiment. To test what, I do not know."
It paused, seemingly disappointed in itself. Strawberry was already lost, but he understood one thing. Whoever this master was, he was behind the devastation of the island and the affliction of the thing in front of him.
"Perhaps the test encompasses this lowly one. To see whether this one would understand and gain the ability to comprehend even a morsel of its wisdom. Th-then, mayhaps, this one m-might one day serve the Supreme One in person.
For that, this one needs to strive to greater heights. This island is dedicated to him. It shall be his fort and a testament to his might."
The figure's attitude changed into a more dangerous tone.
"You lowly humans who have stepped onto my master's domain. I shall present to you a morsel of his generosity you are so undeserving of. Join the cycle. The great honor to dedicate every action, every breath you take to his existence, as the entire world will do soon. Be among the first to do so."
It finished its speech and waited. Strawberry and his men were a bit too taken aback to answer, but the figure seemed patient enough. He noticed his men exchanging looks, and frankly, he started growing more disconcerted. The figure in front of him displayed a surprising aggressiveness at that statement, and he was sure it would come to conflict if he were to decline.
At the same time, the figure in front of him had information. They needed to find out more about its master and everything that had happened.
"I cannot simply dedicate myself to your cause."
The figure did not react in any way, but the bad feeling he was having was intensifying.
"I am a rather high-ranking member of the Marines. If I stay in the Marines, I can feed you information to help with your, uhh, our great master's cause."
His men looked shocked, and some openly chuckled at that. There was not a single one who did not understand what he was trying to do, and they did not believe anyone would ever fall for such a statement.
"Very well. Your sacrifice of distancing yourself from our Master will not be forgotten. I shall mention your unworthy existence when the day comes."
His men's jaws dropped.
"Hmm, very well then. This here is a Den Den Mushi. It is in contact with mine and mine only."
The creature took the Den Den Mushi, seemingly inspecting it. It then turned around, having lost interest.
A quick signal later, and he and his men were on the way back. They were walking at a brisk pace and hurried to their ship as quickly as possible. They did not relax when they entered the boat and only did so when on the ship.
Some of them felt like laughing at the creature's naivety, but they were still a bit concerned about the island's state and the generally strange circumstances.
Strawberry, however, smiled. They had managed to gain a lot of information about the island, avoided conflict, and gained contact with a strange creature.
He was obviously planning to report everything to HQ.
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"Foolish Humans."
On the island, a lone figure stared at the supreme one's gift.
A tree that had been surrounded by a myriad of different death spells and had gotten corrupted by them. A tree whose corruption would spread through the island and the world.
He stared at it, his birthplace, his gift, given to him by his master.
His chance to contribute to the Supreme One's will and to hand him over the world.
And the most important clue he had gotten from it.
"These humans think this one is blind."
A slow grin spread across its ruined face.
"Just as it took time for me to have been created, it took time for this island to have taken the shape my master envisioned for it. It will take time for me to grow in strength and power. Just as it will take time for me to understand even a fraction of your wisdom."
He turned his head. On the ground behind his birthplace lay bones. The relics of his master's former experiments. Undead summons created by his power.
Oh, he was jealous. To be able to claim to be personally summoned by his Master...
But that was not important. A lowly existence such as his would never dare to presume his wishes out loud. Besides, he had received a great purpose.
"My dear predecessors. For you to have been personally selected by the Master, it shows you must have been powerful and worthy...
But you failed the Master in another aspect."
Yes. An aspect that, thanks to the Supreme One's great foresight, he could fulfill.
"Growth."
He had not been created or summoned by Lord Momonga. He wasn't even the original effect of a spell. The summons from [Field of the Dead], along with the other necromantic spells that had taken effect, had been dispelled, and only the spell had remained until it naturally dissipated.
But after the spell had dissipated, it was already too late.
The tree, which had survived the onslaught, had been deemed a worthy birthplace for the naturally born lich.
As the remains of negative energy had corrupted the natural cycle, he had been born, and it was now his duty to strengthen the island. Ohh, how he would have loved to kill the unworthy ones and to sacrifice them to the cycle. But the clue given to him by the Supreme One had been clear.
Time.
He just had to bide his time. The world would fall into the Supreme One's hands eventually.
Rushing in and attacking the members of a faction without any information on them was foolish and dangerous.
He could not fully trust the information they would give him, but his summons would follow the ship and verify everything for himself.
They were only undead wildlife that had climbed up the ship as soon as his Bird had notified him of their presence. He had immediately ordered others to infiltrate the ship.
They had found hiding places and would expand his network of eyes and ears.
Now, it was time for him to learn and study those who stood in between his master and the world.
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Meanwhile, in a castle standing on an island not too far from Soja Island, sat a person. 27 years old and whose family was rising.
Capone Bege.
A 19-year-old Vito sat in the room with him and a few others reading through a report of one of their spies.
"You guys, look at this! The Gambino family seems to have started a devil fruit hunt! They are ready to negotiate a fair price with just anyone, they say."
Laughter rose from around the room.
"Don't they know they are already finished?"
"The Marine is all up their arse!"
"Do they really think they can gain something by getting a few devil fruits!"
Bege smirked. It was indeed ridiculous. They stood virtually no chance. In fact, he had been planning to perform a takeover and to become one of the great 5 families of the West in their place.
He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, wondering how he could benefit from their strange Devil Fruit hunt.
"Vito, do we have any Devil Fruits in the storage?"
Yes, maybe that would work. Just a small scheme to help gain some of their assets. It was always good to have more up his sleeve.
Vito left to check, and Bege started thinking about how to go on about the negotiations. He considered pulling a fast one on them, but they were not likely to gain anything from it even if it would have been entertaining.
'Well, they can have any shitty fruit they want...'
In fact, he'd welcome seeing them make it out of their situation. It'd be an entertaining sight for sure to see them struggle like this.
It did not take long for Vito to come back.
"We do! A Paramecia! And I remember hearing about some pirates who found a Zoan! They are still in the city."
"Go find them."
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It did not take long. They had been rookies inspired by Roger's execution like most, and they had no strength to speak of. It did not help them that they had started fighting about who would get to eat the devil fruit, and it ended with them being massacred by a few members of Bege's small team.
The fruit itself was a simple Zoan, giving the ability to transform into a leopard. It was something he would most likely keep for his own crew, but he could use it as bait before that. The Paramecia was the Pan Pan no mi (bread-bread fruit).
He inspected both fruits for a moment before opening a small notebook. The notebook held notes and information on various devil fruits, although many of them were missing. This was nothing like the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, but just notes that generations of pirates and travelers had compiled and had been traded or stolen by different groups. There was no mention of the breadfruit, but the distinct pattern made it obvious enough. However, he did find a bit of info about the leopard fruit.
'I'd be a fool to give this away. Let's just use it as a written bait for now.'
He considered just feeding it to one of his people and being done with it, but frankly, none of his men were really close-range fighters. It might be better to just sell it or get rid of it afterwards. He could also use it to instigate some trouble between two different families.
But for now, he'd dangle his possession of two devil fruits in front of their noses and try to get as much as possible out of it.
Who knows, he might even really sell it to them if they are generous enough.
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Meanwhile, Jonathan had returned to his quarters. He had hoped to see something spark between Fujitora and Ainz and had been disappointed with a calm discussion.
None of them seemed to show any interest in a spar, and their conversation had gone off in tandem about different kinds of noodles, the most beautiful places they knew, and more and more mundane topics. Ainz had taken out a few foods and drinks and proudly presented them and offered some to Fujitora. He himself did not eat any but seemed enthusiastic about asking how he felt after eating, which solicited answers such as "energized," "strengthened," and "calmer."
It was a disappointing experience for both him and his men, to the point that one of them had booed them.
Their conversation had ended on a pleasant note, and Seaman Apprentice Morris had accompanied Fujitora back to his inn.
Ainz himself excused himself back to his room, mumbling and seemingly lost in thought about buffs and debuffs being "disproportionate" and "broken."
Sitting in his office, Commodore Jonathan let out a wistful sigh. He had received a message from Rear Admiral Strawberry a while ago saying that their arrival would be slightly delayed and that there was no need for any grand fanfare.
It meant that they would most likely dock in the late night. Strawberry was not a very flashy man, but he did believe in following protocol and rules. The fact that he was alright with exempting the stationed Marines from welcoming them was a sign that something had happened.
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Nevertheless, a small group would welcome them for the sake of security.
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So another chapter done. I think this one is a bit shorter than the one before, but I'm still trying to get used to writing longer chapters.
I don't know what you think about Fujitora's Haki problem, but I think it's logical. I know it is kind of overpowered, but, well, so is everyone in One Piece.
The ring of non-detection basically protects him from anything that counts as information magic.
That means he himself is undetectable through Haki UNLESS he buffs himself or does anything involving his magic. I mentioned before that his magic is not included in the nondetection thing.
At the same time, if he affects his surroundings, Haki can pick up on that too. His steps in the ground and the sound—they can localize him through that. It's just that he himself is undetectable by default.
Now what if he uses a spell like [invisibility]?
He'd turn invisible to the naked eye but visible through Haki. The same counts for [Fly] or any other spells. Basically, if his magic is in action, then it's visible.
What about [Perfect unknowable]?
I honestly don't know. I figured that unless someone really looks for him hard, they might see through it, but I'm open to suggestions.