67 Set Sail
"Come at me with all your might" Ashen said while holding Shusui in his right hand. Amber looked at him in hesitation before she finally gathered her courage and let out a loud battle cry while charging at him, activating the two axes dials at same time, making the first one blaze with intense heat and the second one crackle with lightning.
*Clang*-*Clang* She proceeded to swing both her weapons downwards at Ashen, who replied by effortlessly blocking it before he pushed her away.
"Don't tell me that's all you've got?...Again!" Ashen said with a serious tone of voice while gazing at Amber.
*SWOOOSH* He quickly disappeared dashing at her at a high speed, and then proceeded to rain her down with attacks.
*Clang*-*Clang*
"Look at your opponent eyes, the weapon is just a distraction!" Ashen said before he sent her flying away with a powerful slash "Attack me with the intention to kill me!".
*Thunder* She quickly got on her feet again and attacked him with her Raijintou, generating a thunderclap.
"*Clang*…That's it!...Again!"
…
Ashen and Amber kept sparring for a few more hours before they changed the exercise to train on devil fruit power mastery, the latter proceeded to transform into her zoan form while Ashen fought her bare handed. She suddenly leaped into the air writhing and twisting as she began to transform. Her arms stretched out into wings, her legs fused together, and her entire body grew larger and heavier. Her human features melted away, replaced by those of a massive prehistoric bird.
Finally, the transformation was complete. Amber's once-human form was gone, replaced by that of a giant Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest flying creatures ever to exist. She spread her wings wide and took to the air, her movements fluid and graceful as she soared over the battlefield.
"*SCREECH*!!!" she opened her beak wide and let out a deafening screech, the sound echoing across the island, before she flew down towards Ashen at a high speed.
"Such a big and scary bird" Ashen said meeting her head on with raw power "You pretty fast, you have a sharp talon and a powerful beak, you also gained a lot of strength, and you can fly on top of that. This devil fruit is pretty good!".
After that, they kept sparring for a few more hours before they finished.
"Huff…Huff…" Amber was laying on the ground in her human form panting heavily while covered in sweat.
"We are done for today, don't forget about your weight and Haki training" Ashen said, as he picked up his sword and walked away. He proceeded to go somewhere quiet and started meditating.
He used one of the empty rooms in the big skull building.
Since a few months back I started incorporating a special training to my routine, I was following the instruction of the manual that I found in the government ships, it was a manual of how to learning Semei Keikan.
"*Breath-in*…*Breath-out*"
Mastering this technique could help me acquire a great amount of strength. Something like stimulating the neurons responsible for movement and speed to fire more rapidly and efficiently to increasing my speed could be possible, or maybe manipulating my bone structure to create a technique similar to gear third, but unfortunately it could take years of training or maybe even decades to achieve that 'But it will be worth it' Ashen slowly opened his eyes as he made his way out of the room.
"Captain, are we heading out right now?" Enel asked me while standing with the crew who were all gathered outside.
"I thought we wouldn't have to sail for a while, since we got a new home?" Ken asked me.
"We are pirates, our only real home is the vast blue sea" I said while putting the captain's coat on my shoulder, hanged my sword on my belt and put my pistole on my side "The salty smell of the sea is my drug…I can't stay here and miss all the fun out there!".
"I also agree, I want to discover new places just like we used to do!" Yamamoto said while resting his massive club on his shoulder.
"Me too, there is nothing better than beating up someone to a pulp" Ian said with a grin.
"What does that have anything to do with what he said?!" Diana shouted at him.
"Well things are not simple as then, the damn emperors rule the New World, so we have to clean them out first" Ashen stated while he was walking majestically with the ten core members of the Ashen Pirates.
Once they reached the port, they started loading the ship supplies before Ian's father Kai and his brother Ayden approached them.
"You're heading out?" Kai asked Ashen.
"Yes, it might take several months before we come back"
"Only the eleven of you? Should we prepare the ships and come along?"
"We're not going to war. I need both of you here to take care of the island while I'm absent" Ashen said before he gave each of them a Den Den Mushi "Contact me if anything happens"
"Alright" He turned to his son Ian after that "Be careful out there!"
"Worry about yourself old man" Ian replied in a cold way before he turned back and left
Everyone boarded The Sword of Xebec after that.
"Set sail!"
…
[New World, Whole Cake Island]
"Maaa ma ma ma…Not bad, that little demon managed to bring down Wang Zhi" Said an enormous, round obese old woman with a chin hidden by her torso "He seems pretty interesting, I want to bring him as my subordinate…Perospero!"
"Yes, Mama!"
"Go find that demon and tell him that, Big Mom is going to marry you to one of her daughters"
"But Mama, he doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would quietly submit--perorin"
"If that's the case, then I shall put an end to his journey" Big Mom said with a wicked smile.
"Hai, we can't have a brat taking over islands in the presence of an emperor after all" said Perospero, and then added "Rest assured, I will take care of this matter--perorin"
…
[New World, Unknown Island]
"Captain, are we going to camp on this island?!" Ken asked me while steering the ship.
"Yes, we'll rest for a couple of days before we move on!" I informed him.
"Someone is on that island!" Yamamoto exclaimed while looking with the spyglass.
"What do you see?"
"A raft"
"A raft?...Let me see" When I took the spyglass and got a closer look, I saw a black boat that resembles a coffin and has candles lit on the edges that burn with green fire. At the center is a mast that resembles a large crucifix, with black sails and a seat 'Finally, someone strong I could fight. He may not have reached his prime yet, but he should be strong enough to beat someone like Wang Zhi without a problem' I thought, while smiling excitedly.
"I know that look on your face" Calvin said as he stood beside me.
"If you do…Then don't let anyone interfere"
…
As we landed on the island, a tall lean, and muscular man with black hair, a short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards appeared before us. He was carrying a cruciform and well-ornated weapon with a curved, single-edged, black blade resembling an oversized kriegsmesser.
"What business do you have here pirates?" He said calmly, while gazing at me with his yellow-colored eyes, which resembles a hawk's eyes.
"I was initially here to camp…But it seems that there is a change of plans"
