One Piece: Path to Power

Chapter 24 - [19] Calm Before The Storm

[1946 Words]

[Drops stones or I start dropping bodies] ??

[PS. I moved the awakening explanation later as it would get in the way right now. Just wait a bit]

----- 5 Days Later --------------------------

It was a rainy day with the occasional breeze.

Shakky and I were eating breakfast in an open shop as we heard murmuring from the people nearby.

"...did you hear about G-8...."

"...pirates..."

"...Admiral Basara deployed..."

"...Vice Admiral Garp is en route..."

"...G-8 destroyed..."

"...thousands of marines dead..."

...

Pretty much it seems like Xebec and Whitebeard have started their little 'distraction'.

They seem to have deployed Basara and now sent Garp.

'One thing's for sure is that G-8 is no more...' I chuckle in my head.

-------------

*Heavy Footsteps*

Many marines were rushing out, perhaps welcoming another marine.

A couple sitting near our seats were talking about some interesting news.

"Hey, Rachael. Did you hear they sent Vice Admirals to the islands near G-8?" The man said.

"Is it because of the raid on G-8 by the pirates?" The woman asked.

"Yeah yeah! My cousin works as a Captain and he said they even sent a high-ranking marine here. They think the pirates who attacked G-8 might be here too." The man responded.

"What?! High-level marine is coming here? Just what kind of Pirate demands such powerful people to come here?"

...

"Well, that's to be expected. I guess we need to be wary about our time here, Shakky-nee." I tell her.

"Hmm. It is indeed a Vice Admiral-level marine near the port. I wonder who they sent." She smiled while mixing her coffee.

"I'll be back soon," I tell her as I get up.

"Be careful, Damien-chan." She warns me.

I nod at her words and start moving to the where the marine squad ran towards.

[Persona Activate]

Running to an empty alley I changed my face, shadow, size, weight, practically everything to match some random fodder marine I killed a while back.

My [Persona] is at its highest so only higher-level Observation's Haki users will see through me.

---

I see another squad run by as I yell out,

"W-Wait! Can you tell me what's happening? I was in the bathroom when my captain ran off!" I asked another fodder.

"Bathroom?! How can you run off when an executive officer is due to arrive any minute now!?" The man roared out.

"Sorry Sorry! Can I come with you?" I asked with a fearful tone.

"Fine! Just remain formal alright?" He sighed.

I nodded vigorously as we walked off to the port.

-------

'Now let's see who we have got...'

I am now standing in a little squad of 10 while another row of guards stands perpendicular to the shore.

A marine battleship was visible on the horizon.

After a few minutes, the ship docked on as the ramp fell in front of the saluting marines.

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

Militaristic footsteps echoed through the port as a squad of HQ Marines walked off.

They too stood at the side and saluted.

A man beside me whispered, "I heard the sent the youngest ever Rear Admiral!"

"I can't wait to meet him!"

"His father is legendary! He too must be quite impressive!"

While they were fanboying I did feel a weird power release, though it only happened for 2 or 3 seconds.

Though at that moment, the rain stopped and the clouds floated away.

The morning sun shines bright as a warm breeze remained.

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

Slow yet calm steps were heard as a youth stood at the top of the ramp.

The sun was shining in my eyes so I couldn't see his face at the moment.

*Step*

'He is strong.'

I surmised right away as I could sense his presence, far from Xebec or Whitebeard, but on par with Kaido and me.

He looked around 15-16 years old, he had short, spiky black hair with a serious expression on his face.

He was shorter than me, around 7 feet tall.

His face reminded me of someone...

I couldn't place my finger on who though.

'This kid, his strength for his age, almost as impressive as me! And I have a cheat system!' I can't help but exclaim.

The marine Commodore stationed at Water-7 walked to the middle and heavily slammed his foot on the ground, saluting the youth.

"Commodore Blitz reporting. Our marines are at your service." He stated.

He slammed both arms to his sides and continued in a formal tone,

"Please instruct us,"

.

.

.

"Rear Admiral Dragon."

.

[A/N: Dragon I guess, not many pics for his youth]

-----

My eyes widened as my lips curved into a smile, 'This is 'The Revolutionary Dragon' in his youth!'

'To think I'd meet Luffy's father... And that spike of fruit energy I felt earlier...' I squinted my eyes.

.

'Definitely came from him. His fruit, as many fans guessed back in my previous life: the Weather Weather Fruit!!'

.

Having finished my little investigation, I prepare to return back to the Galley-La HQ.

The 2 were talking about some formal marine matters as I made my exit.

'It seems like I can have some fun soon as well...' I grin as I disappear into the shadows.

.

Dragon, who was busy instructed the Commodore, felt something as he glimpsed to the alley to the left.

.

"Rear Admiral-dono?" The commodore asked.

.

Dragon squinted his eyes for a second, continuing to span the area nearby with his Observation, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

He then shook his head and turned to the Commodore in front of him and answered,

"Never mind that, come, let's continue at the marine base."

----------------------------------------------

I was already nearing Shakky's position as I smiled once more, 'His observation is impressive, as expected from the future's 'World's Most Heinous Criminal.''

'RAHAHA! How ironic! It makes sense he's in the marines but to think a Rear Admiral became the single most threatening entity for the future World Government! Rahaha!' I continue to laugh in my head at the sheer irony of this event.

---

Arriving back at the café I gesture to Shakky who had seen me go back to the hotel.

We calmly walked into the lobby as she turned towards me and asked,

"Who did they send?"

.

"Garp's Son, Monkey D. Dragon."

.

Shakky's eyebrow lifted as she deduced, "Hmm, he is strong but his experience is lacking to engage Xebec-san and Newgate-kun. So I guess they sent him here as a backup."

"The ship should be ready soon, hopefully, the Old Bastard and others will be here in time. I'm getting bored of sitting around." I groaned.

----- The Next Afternoon ------------------

"Ta hahaha, come, come! The ship is ready!" The giant Fish-man laughed as he merrily led us to his fine creation.

A huge ship figure, covered by an equally huge cloth.

"TA HAHAHA, this ship is definitely capable to stand before a hundred marine warships!"

Tom went off about the many qualities of the ship and whatnot before we could calm him down.

"Ta haha, here it is!" He wrapped his webbed hands on the cloth and yeeted it off, showing us the ship hidden underneath.

And lo and behold, the majesty of a titanic ship.

A colossal ship...

Size-wise... 600 feet in length, 100 in width, and 200 feet in height!

Half of the height was naturally submerged in the ocean, but the ship on its own was absolutely colossal!

It's ginormous!

[A/N: This is the REV Ocean Yacht Image || it's almost exactly 600ft by 70ft. So that's the size]

[Size: In easier terms, 22 Kaido's in length, 3 ? Kaido's in width, 7 ? Kaido's in height]

---

The hull itself was thick and solid, coated with a crimson gleam.

The entire outside body of the ship was a true sight to behold.

The body was lined up with numerous cannons.

3 large masts made with the Tree of Adam, coated with Blood Ore.

The main mast was the tallest, around 750 feet high, the foremast was nearly the same in height, give or take 720 feet.

The mizzenmast was around 650 feet with a vertical sail connecting it to the large cabin in the back.

The masts themselves had 3 white horizontal sails.

Though the lower foresail was black with a single word printed on it.

[ R O C K S ]

The simple phrase was bolded white while the 'O' was in the shape of a red flaming skull.

The figurehead was that of a white skull with a curved front.

The wood running along the top of the deck was golden.

The wood used all elsewhere was coated with a red sheet of metal, it didn't shine bright but rather had a dull crimson glow.

.

[A/N: The Rocks Crew Ship Image]

.

A wide ramp extended down from the side as both I, Shakky, and Tom boarded it.

----- The Summary of the Ship -----

- The huge cabin on the top of the ship was for recreational space, eatery, kitchen, navigation chamber, meeting room.

- All of them were large, like really large. Enough to house people under 35 feet in height.

- There was even a 100x80 feet open on top of the eatery, right above the kitchen. It was space to fight and duel with a 2 feet thick Blood Ore-reinforced platform.

- The deck below, as in the 150 feet of basement space under the deck of the ship

- The sleeping quarters, with 80 rooms for people 10 feet and below in height

- Another 20 rooms for those who could hit 20 feet

- Another 10 rooms for those who were able to hit between 20 to 30 feet

- And 5 rooms for actual giants

- The sleeping area was 150 feet in height with tens of floors while the absolute bottom area of 50 feet was used mainly for storage for gold and whatnot and the shipwright's den

- The mainmast had a large crow's nest for a few scouts

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[A/N: Describing a ship is a pain in the ass btw.]

"Ta hahaha! She's a beauty alright! My finest creation!" Tom laughed on.

Shakky smiled at his display of pride, "You have made us a great ship, Tom-san."

"Ta hahaha! Good! Working with such fine wood and such precious metal, how can I not create a ship like this?" He said.

I smiled while looking at the ship, "To take 6 days to make such a ship... your reputation as the best ship maker is well deserved, Tom-Ossan." I complimented the old man.

"TA HAHAHA!"

----- A While Later -----

Tom had left while this titanic ship was being prepped to sail.

I frowned and asked, "If we sail now then the marines will surely notice, especially with the [ROCKS] printed in the front, Shakky-nee."

"Ufufufu, Taichou was never discreet with his adventures." she mused.

"*SIGH* I guess we wait till he arrives then? -"

I couldn't finish before I heard a howling wind.

*FWOOOO*

I couldn't hear the thoughts of the wind as they were too chaotic, but I suppose that itself gave it away.

Shakky's eyes gleamed as she said, "they're here... and they brought company."

'Her observation spans so wide!' I exclaim.

"We set sail? It's not like they can actually sink this ship." I offered.

Shakky smiled, "fufu, you seem excited." She nodded, " Let's go."

Shakky also was our temporary navigator so she could steer this beast of a ship with decent mastery.

We were in the port behind the main populace so no eyes were there.

But the moment a ship this large sailed, it alerted everyone.

----- Marine Base of Water-7 ------------------

A tall youth sat on a desk within a formal office.

A marine uniform with green and white colours.

.

The door blasted open as the marine stood up with solemnness.

"R-Rear Admiral-dono!" The man yelled out.

.

The youth nodded lightly, "I felt it too."

He then turned his eyes to the window and said,

.

.

.

"It seems that we're in for some stormy weather."

.

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author's Corner:

A storm is coming...

Grab your umbrellas as another clash is about to ensue.