[2748 words]

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[2 Hours After Damien's Departure from G-2]

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*Thud*

Sengoku lands on the destroyed lands as he sighs.

"Damn that Redfield, to think someone like him would actually save others…" He mumbled.

He then looked at the once-powerful marine base. Thousands of marines, billions of berries, a symbol of power, all in ruins.

.

The grassy landscape was long gone.

Just patches of withered dirt with giant rocks burying the field.

Ravaged forests, thick clouds of dust, destroyed walls.

A battle that levelled the island in less than 2 days.

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Sengoku then spanned his Observation and located a faint heartbeat.

"Basara!" He exclaimed as the Admiral eyed the unconscious man.

Sengoku's face warped in bewilderment, "An Admiral defeated in such a small amount of time… and it was just a modest amount of pirates led by a youth."

His hand curled into a fist.

BAM!

Sengoku slammed his hand onto the ground as cracks ran out from his punch.

.

After ensuring Basara was in a stable condition, Sengoku took out a Transponder Snail.

"Puru" "Puru" "Puru" "Puru"

"Katcha!"

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[Marineford]

[Fleet Admiral's Office]

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BOOM!

A loud explosion filled the enormous Marineford as ripples of force extended through the lands.

"G-2 DESTROYED!"

"THOUSANDS DEAD!"

"BASARA IN CRITICAL CONDITION!"

"KAIDO ESCAPED!"

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"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"

Kong's voice thundered out as a solemn atmosphere filled the room.

Many big-shots were witnessing his anger.

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"To think Basara would fall, let alone in less than 2 days…" Admiral Kurowashi murmured from the side as he leaned his head on the wall. "Not only that but to be left in critical condition and at the cost of an eye."

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Vice Admiral Tsuru, also know as the Great Advisor of the Marines, gave out a sigh.

"We judged the young man too lightly. Giving him the title of Xebec's protege was a mistake and has spread fear into the masses. His strength has grown to such a disastrous level." She said.

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Garp who was munching on some crackers also seemed slightly serious, "Hmm, I guess the boy likes to take away body parts when he defeats marines. Isn't that right, Zephyr? BWAHAHA!"

The purple-haired Vice Admiral just shook his head in dissatisfaction, "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent, Garp."

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Zephyr who was defeated by Damien a year back had lost his right arm.

Yet now he fashions a newly crafted arm made purely of Seastone! A single punch would easily shake up any fruit wielder.

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Garp just chuckled as he picked his nose, "But it is quite amazing, that kid from Water-7 would reach this level so fast, not bad!"

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Kurowashi shifted in his seat, "Kong-san, an Admiral seat is now open until Basara can recover. Plus, that event is coming up soon as well."

Tsuru added, "We should take advantage of what is about to happen. We won't have many more chances beyond that."

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Kong who had slightly cooled down.

"*Sigh*, indeed. With that set to happen in a few months, Basara will be needed. But now comes the case of that boy who had caused so many problems."

He then slammed down a bounty poster on his desk, "Einar D. Damien. Son of the War God, the man who caused quite the ruckus in my years as an Admiral."

Kong rubbed in the forehead, "According to Phantom who was there at G-2, this pirate is also the user of the 13th Supreme Blade. He is the core of this terrible event."

His words brought out many reactions, after all, the birth of the new blade was almost as world-shaking as Xebec's Awakening.

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Kurowashi eyed his superior.

"The boy wields 2 devil fruits of great destruction, a Supreme Grade Weapon, a great comprehension of Haki... If not for Xebec, he would certainly be our greatest problem."

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Tsuru frowned in her seat.

Garp caught her expression, "What is it, Tsuru-chan?"

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She gave out a heavy sigh, "We had a discussion pertaining to the Rocks Pirate when they caused the Water-7 Incident years ago. And now here we are again. I said it then and I'll say it now, these pirates will soon become a threat that cannot be contained by the Navy, from Borealis to Enigma to Herja to G-4 and G-2."

Her eyes grew solemn, "It is best to purge them before all of the New Wolrd falls into their hands!"

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Kong suddenly stood up.

"Agreed. I'm afraid with our hands full with just fighting them off, we will not be victorious, not without heavy casualties."

He turned to the Admiral, "Kurowashi, go and make contact with the World Economy News Paper. We may have lost the control over the news but we cannot have the defeat of an Admiral be too overblown."

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The Fleet Admiral glanced at the marines before him, "I will head to Mariejois myself and speak to Xerxes and the Gorosei. Spread the bounties in my absence."

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[3 Days Later]

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Kong had made a certain plan with the help of Xerxes to destroy the Rocks Pirates and also spoken with the 5 Elders.

New bounties were released of the attackers and the escapee as their feats were resounding the seas.

With the public's eye already pointed at the Rocks Pirates from before, this event was even more shocking.

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The stronghold of G-2, a mightly beacon of hope for the world under the power of an Admiral was destroyed and the invincible Mountain had shattered?!

Such an event could not be concealed and with Morgans working on the reports, well, let's just say every child and their mother knows what went down.

Kurowashi though was able to reach a deal to have the news remain objective and highlight certain things.

He then went base to base to spread some propaganda and used the chaotic event to fuel the World Military Draft and increase the flux of recruits. It worked wonders.

---

The politics aside, the Sin Incarnate and his Division had made the headlines! Even topping the Angelic War that happened not so long ago.

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As of now, The Rocks Pirates Fifth Division is now worth over 5 billion berries!

The smallest Division under Xebec's banner yet one of the strongest in terms of pure power.

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As for Damien, his name, regardless of his age, is now held in the same light as the other Titans of the Rocks Pirates.

He is now the 4th Titan crowned by the public, the Navy and the Pirates together!

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His feats ranging from:

- Defeating a Rear Admiral at the tender age of 14.

- Killing 3 Celestial Dragons and attaining the epithet of 'Sin Incarnate'.

- Holding off Admiral Sengoku and being revealed to having 2 fruit abilities.

- Attacking and killing the Overlord - Thaddeus Enigma.

- Causing the West Blue Massacre.

- Destroying the Marine Base, G-4 and causing the Amethyst Kingdom Crisis.

- Disarming the Admiral Candidate - Zephyr.

- Forging and wielding a Supreme Blade.

- Destroying G-2 and defeating Admiral Basara.

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With such a history of terrifying feats and doing it all before the age of 18 was enough to see him as a powerhouse on his own, rather than being in Xebec's shadow.

As for the sword fanatics, they have already noted down the name of 'Ryūshi' as the newest addition to the Saijō Ō Wazamono!

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[Hachinosu, The New World]

[6 Days Later]

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The Division Ship finally reached Hachinosu as the ramp fell upon the sandy beach.

"You feel that, Damien?" Kaido questioned as he eyed the giant skull rock.

I nodded with some excitement, "Yep, the boss is back."

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Walking down the road to Skull Rock was quite interesting.

For one, the looks of reverence and fear stemming from the crowd of thousands of pirates.

The worst of the worst gazing at us like we were monsters, quite amusing.

I didn't even need my {Empathy} skill to see their fear, it was practically oozing out of them.

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*Thud*

A few who were too close even fell to the ground, courtesy to my new skill, {Natural Dread}.

I tasked my Division Mates to just laze around while Kaido and I went to the core of the island.

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[Skull Rock]

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The air was quite surprisingly calm.

I could feel the powerful presences with my Observation.

We went up the hundreds of stairs until finally arriving at the top area where the Executive Hub was.

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*Halt*

I stop in my tracks as I saw him.

Well, I suppose it was a natural response to stop in the face of an apex predator that was glaring at you with the eyes of death.

It was Xebec just chilling before a giant glass window.

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I could feel a different aura around him. A bloodthirsty-er one.

[Damien, this is Xebec's ability he gained from Grandmastery over his Conquerors. The ability, {Shadow of Despair} is when the user will endlessly exude a certain feeling of despair upon all those weaker than them.] Sibyl interjected.

I just nodded.

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"Old Bastard, you're back," I said with a slight grin.

The man gave out his usual grin, "XAHAHA! Kid, your Haki has grown a lot since I last saw you."

I hummed, "You're one to talk. I guess you Awakened your fruit?"

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Xebec's eyes glowed menacingly as my Haki picked up a threat.

*Wssss*

An eerily mist was released from his palm as it danced in the air in a frightening current. The atmosphere started to wither away in its wake.

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"Augh!" I grunted as I felt incredible pain.

*Wither*

My arm was... dying?

My left hand started to decay as the muscles dried out and the skin aged to dust.

All the flesh had withered away!

The only thing left was my glorious Black Bones that resembled a human skeletal hand.

It was excruciating!

Feeling your nerves literally wither away as death itself pulled you into her embrace. It was a jarring feeling.

It was the cold touch of oblivion that I felt when I died in my previous life.

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Xebec was intrigued by my bones as his powers slowly went away.

*Creak*

The bones started to creak as the muscles, the tendons and the flesh reformed around them, my healing kicking in.

"XAHAHA! You have some interesting powers, boy." The man laughed from the side.

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A black blob of hair suddenly flashed towards me.

"Damien-chan, are you alright?"

Shakky was tending to my healing arm as the blood vessels began to reform and the skin grew back.

I just smiled at the woman, "I'm fine, Shakky-nee, it's good to see you after so long."

She looked up and smiled at me.

"Mhm, you've grown taller in the past 18 months… a lot taller."

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She then gently rested her hand on my chest as she was too short to do much else, "You've grown stronger, good. I hope you can live happily out of this cold dark era."

Shakky was looking at me with a big sister-like expression as then turned to the side.

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"Kaido-chan… you shouldn't drink at such a young age."

The Ogre grumbled, "Wo ro ro ro, it's just for… celebrating my return!"

She narrowed her eyes at the Beast as the latter looked away, resuming his drink.

*Creak*

The door opened once more as the others arrived.

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"Gurara! You defeated that Basara, good job kid." Newgate laughed merrily.

"JIHAHAHA! G-2 is destroyed as well. I'm impressed, I thought you would have been crushed by the Mountain!" Shiki cackled.

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I rolled my eyes at him, "I heard you ran away like a little cat who had his tail stepped on at G-5. So much for the Golden Lion, more like the Golden Rat."

The man somehow frowned with a grin as his golden Haki started to stream out.

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"Didn't you try this before, do you really think it would work now?" I questioned him.

My dark-crimson Haki bursting out in equal fury, both pushing ahead with persistence.

BOOM!

A huge spark of energy blasted off as the pirates nearby Skull Rock fell to the ground as their eyes rolled back into their heads.

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"Ma-MA-Mam-Ma! Damien, it's time I reap your seed!" A loud voice shook the halls.

I saw the voluptuous woman wearing loose clothes highlighting her curves.

She had a large pie in her hand as she took giant bites every few seconds.

[A/N: Her figure for reference]

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"Linlin… you should cut down on your carbs, it'll hurt your figure."

She seemed rather annoyed, "Ha? Are you saying I'll go fat if I stop eating my sweets? Don't joke around, kid!"

I then raised an eyebrow, "Say, aren't you pregnant right now as well? You crazy woman."

"Ma-MA-Mam-Ma! It's just twins this year, nothing too difficult to deal with!"

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I sighed at the crazy chick, she was the only one messed up get pregnant in the Rocks Crew.

*Creak*

The door opened once more as 2 men walked in.

I nodded in greeting to Silver Axe and just eyed Captain John.

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"JOHOHO! We meet again, Damien kid. You helped me with that haul of treasure at Sabaody." John laughed.

I just gave him a smirk yet I thought something else inside.

'This guy… my Haki is telling me to be careful. He's scheming something for sure.' I concluded.

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"John, I didn't think you were bold enough to join such a crew. It's not exactly a place for the hesitant." I said to him.

He just laughed it off, "I just follow the road to gold and it has let me here!"

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Our little discussion ended as the captain spoke up.

"It's good that you all are here…"

*Burp*

He gave out a loud burp as he finished his drink.

"With my powers Awakened, the seat to the King of the World is close!" His eyes then glowed in madness, "XAHAHA! Only a few steps left and a few nuisances to overcome."

He went on, "The Navy and the World Government have ruled the seas for many centuries now. But now, I will have it for myself!"

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His voice wasn't only filling the room but even reaching out to every soul on the island.

The tens of thousands gathered on land heard his declaration as the weather above started to grow even more chaotic.

Xebec's Haki was now materializing in solid form. The winds grew erratic as rain poured down.

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"XAHAHA! Our next stop is to remove the last of the Overlords, the Sin of Pride himself! The World Government will be next!" He roared out as the land shook from his ambition.

""""OOUUGHHH!"""" The pirates below screamed out with their hearts burning in greed.

A jovial atmosphere picked up below as the men were lost in thoughts of attaining endless treasure, power and other material goods.

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"Shakuyaku, explain the rest," He waved to her as he went back to drinking.

The woman nodded and stood at the center of the room.

*Poof*

A cloud of smoke was exhaled as she began to speak, "The Overlord Escanor. I'm sure you've heard of his recent movements. He has been up to something grand for quite some time now. He is chasing a single ambition:

To become the one and only ruler of the New World!"

Her words echoed in the dimly lit room as a cold wind graced us from the open windows.

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Shakky puffed out some smoke once more, "He has invited every powerful crew in the New World openly to his lands." She said. "It has already reached the Outer Seas that all the strong crews will gather in his little game by August."

"Escanor will host the Pirate Festival at his home ground of Superbia to challenge the last remaining pirates." She continued, "The Captain will take care of the Sin of Pride, the rest of us will hold back the other pirates and the Navy, 3 months remain till then!"

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author's Corner:

The Pirates Festival is the same as the one in the movie: Stampede but on a far grander scale.

This event will lead to the end! Though it is just the beginning...

Discord: https://discord.gg/DSPpVvnz4c