[60] New Heights

[2735 words]

I released chapters 59 and 60 together, make sure you didn't miss the previous one.

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[Mortem Island]

A dark-haired young man was currently sitting on top of a tree stump. His regal attire floated in the breeze.

Just being there had let the surrounding grass and nature blossom vigorously. Dead leaves turned vibrant, the grass grew greener than ever; quite the scene. 

"..."

Damien had his eyes closed, fully focusing his mind on the inside. 

Not something like training his soul or whatever nonsense, instead, he was focussing on his very body. The muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, organs, organ systems, and even nerves. 

"I can feel their minute details but not even close to manipulating them, let alone the cells," he murmured. 

Out of boredom, he unloaded his conscience onto the tips of the hair on his head. 

*Fzzz*

Like tentacles, each strand started to stand up and move, as if with its own brain. "Though my hair isn't long enough for anything useful, not that I want to turn into a pervy sage."

He then loosened the ability and pondered. 

Naturally, it was Life Return. 

Though before he could continue, his Observation flared, evident by the red flash of his eyes. 

.

"Oh, so that's what it does," he said while glancing at the purple flower pattern on the ground nearby. 

*Fwooo*

A blast of air erupted as the inscription glowed with purple brilliance. It took but a second for a human silhouette to arise. 

Dressed in black, though without her reflective mask—a wild Aurora appeared!

"So that was your little surprise," Damien commented. 

The girl beamed a slight smile and responded, "I was able to develop a lot of new abilities after you trained me at Fishman Island. One of them is with these Aether Anchors that allow me to materialize myself wherever they are imprinted."

"Unfortunately, even a drop of seawater can destroy them, but they can be very convenient."

Damien hummed at the revelation, nodding at its usefulness.

However, he then switched the topic and addressed the elephant in the room. "So, how was it?" 

Aurora lightly exhaled before giving a deep nod, her eyes firmer than ever before, something Damien picked up immediately. 

"Everything went well!" she said, her chipper inflection betraying the calm response. 

Damien grinned at her attempt to hide her excitement.

"Don't be embarrassed, it felt good, didn't it? To make a bunch of scum dance to your words."

The comment left the girl a little speechless. 

That's their place," Damien said, standing up. "If you want to grasp them by their throats, you must use an iron fist. Otherwise, they will stab you in the back."

The girl nodded with a serious expression, inputting the advice into her mind. 

"And as long as you satiate their greed, they will do as you say. If they get too greedy then make an example out of them."

Aurora nodded once again, "I know, I won't let you down."

Damien was pleased with the turn of events, smiling in return. 

.

"How should I deal with the spies?" Aurora then asked.

During her preliminary scout of the island, she found many spies walking around. The big thing was that they did not even try to hide; Barro's control was so weak that his own men didn't execute the orders to remove said spies.

"What do you think?" Damien questioned back.

Aurora looked as if she was expecting such a response and aired her thoughts, "Kill the ones on the surface to let them know that Barro's weak grasp has been eradicated… leave the more hidden ones alive."

Damien raised an eyebrow at the second part, to which the girl elaborated.

"If I purge them all then it will end up inviting more trouble in the form of attention of both pirates and the World Government."

Damien nodded in agreement.

"Just remember that all of your actions in the Underworld must remain under the veil of the night."

Aurora smiled. "I know, the Government would never allow the Sin Incarnate's evil claws to seep into the Underworld. Don't worry, I'll make sure they can't trace it back to you."

She then took out a Devil Fruit and handed it to Damien, all the while revealing the small book.

The diary brought curiosity to the pirate's face: "That is?"

Aurora beamed a confident smile and replied, "This is my textbook! Since you want me to manage the Underworld, I'll have to read up on every bit of Barro's notes. He may have turned into a shell of his former self but these notes go back decades, even into his prime years." 

Damien hummed. He noticed that Aurora was quite excited by the sound of her tone, perhaps she had some aspirations in business before her life was turned upside down.

"Then I'll leave you to it."

The girl leaked an honest smile before dissolving away into purple clouds and the anchor from before, leaving Damien alone.

"Her powers are a bit broken," he murmured before shaking his head and bringing up some data.

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

[Amethyst Aurora]

[Age: 18 years, 7 months, 29 days]

[Height: 9' 3"] (2.81 m)

[Status: Healthy]

[Devil Fruit: Aether-Aether Fruit (Nigh-Advanced Mastery) ↑]

[Fruit Rating: 6.5 Stars]

[Skills: Shave]

[Haki: Observation Haki (Intermediate Mastery) ↑]

[Strength: Pseudo Yonko Commander ↑] 

(A/N: Her strength levelling back in Chapter 20 was brought down to the "New World Pirate" level.)

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

Naturally, everything had gone up since he last reviewed her statistics, over a year and a half now. Aurora's strength was getting more noticeable.

"But she's still too reliant on her Logia abilities to awaken Armament Haki," he muttered.

Damien had a feeling that Zephyr had woken her up from that faux reality of invincibility, reflected in her recent initiatives.

"Sibyl, bring up my stats as well," he ordered.

[Coming right up…]

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

[Einar D. Damien]

[Age: 17 years, 10 months, 9 days]

[Height: 11' 3"] (3.43 m)

[Status: Thriving]

[Devil Fruit: Pulverize Pulverize Fruit (Advanced Mastery) ↑]

[Fruit Rating: 6.5 Stars]

[Seastone Resistance: 100.0% ↑]

[Notable Characteristics: Black Bones (III) ↑]

[Skills: Titanic Recovery, Titanic Vitality, Evolable Anatomy, Voice of All Things, Will of D., Rokushiki, Underwater Breathing, Life Return (Initial Mastery) ↑]

[Haki: Observation Haki (Advanced Mastery), Armament Haki (Nigh-Advanced Mastery) ↑, Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate Mastery)]

[Strength: Bottom Tier Yonko ↑]

(The requirements to unlock {Underwater Maneuverability} have been reached.)

>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<

Such a row of data was not overly surprising to the young pirate; as expected, quite a lot of increasing arrows.

Fruit mastery, physique, seastone resistance, and Armament Haki had all gone up. Ultimately reaching the level considered to be a 'Yonko' of the future.

"Unfortunately, it's the weakest bound of a Yonko, the likes of Shiki, Linlin, Whitebeard, Rayleigh, Roger, and Rocks, all outclass me by miles," the pirate muttered, cupping his chin.

However, the final little line left Damien quite intrigued.

"Is that the bar to get that other skill?"

[Yes, Damien. To begin with, the skills of {Underwater Breathing} and {Underwater Maneuverability} were only locked to prove your worth to the original System User. You have met both requirements so it's all yours,} Sibyl explained.

"Absorb it, then."

*Krr*

Damien felt his body tingle for a second, though perhaps that was just his excitement. All in all, it was rather anticlimactic.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to test it out."

*Vvoosh!* He utilized his masterful Rokushiki and appeared at the edge of the chaotic island and without a wasted second, dived into it.

A large burst of water went off as Damien's towering body fell to sea.

The pirate's throat itched for a second as the gills made their appearance, enabling him to breathe.

He felt comfortable with his current breathing and tried to swim... And beautifully enough, he was swimming!

'Rahaha! It's been a while since I've been able to feel the grace of the sea!'

For the next hour, Damien soared through the seas, relearning his swimming techniques and simply feeling the freedom of the infinite water. It was truly exhilarating!

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[Marine Branch G-2, Grand Line]

G-2. Home of the current Marine Science Unit.

It was headed by a mad scientist that the Government found trying to destroy the world, so naturally, they recruited him and gave him resources to spit out something ground-breaking.

"We have gotten the necessary measurements, Zephyr-kun," the head researcher said.

He was naturally addressing the tall Vice Admiral who sat patiently on the table.

"I'm grateful," the navy man replied.

The researcher nodded and walked to a box of metal. With a click, It opened.

Zephyr glanced at it from afar with a look of appreciation. "Such pure seastone, where did you get it?" he could not help but ask.

"Kukuku! Government secrets, Zephyr-kun. I simply cannot tell you that Cipher Pol has been excavating a mine filled with sea prism at the bottom of the sea."

"..."

The Admiral Candidate had to pause but chose against bringing it up. The researcher also acted like it did not happen, carrying the box onto the metal table.

A huge contraption armed with laser emitters and other complicated wirings was held directly above. A mould with an arm-sized depression was placed under the huge brick of seastone.

"Do cover your eyes."

The engine then roared as the machine did its thing.

*Bzzzz* Loud drilling sounds went off as the laser began to slice apart the main size of the arm, leaving the finer details off for later.

It then began to emit an immense amount of heat, enough to melt human skin.

The heat was transferred to the arm-like piece of metal, turning it red-hot within tens of seconds.

Water in the air evaporated at great speeds as a huge piece of diamond-tough metal was directly lowered onto the arm.

The heat made the Seastone malleable and the tough metal lowered on top squeezed the molten ore into the arm-sized mould, filling it up as desired.

It took but two minutes to finish, leaving behind the fiery arm that was still way too hot. The researcher then lowered the mould with the arm into a huge tub of water.

*Sizzle*

Sharp hisses went off as the heat began to dissipate, bringing the colour down to a shiny silver.

Five men walked over, picked up the metal box and placed it before Zephyr with a loud thud. The sheer weight was enough to leave the burly men gasping for air.

"It's 100% pure seastone which is truly hard to acquire outside of Wano. I hope you don't lose this one, Zephyr-kun."

The Vice Admiral nodded, duly noting the Five Elders' warnings through the scientist.

He walked over and grabbed the arm with his left one, clawing at the metal. He picked it up with ease and held it on display.

The clean shine of the pristine metal. The sleek design was exceptionally resemblant to a human arm, if covered with cloth and glove, it would be indistinguishable.

In addition, every joint was wrapped with a golden metal to provide flexibility and range of motion. 

[Image of the Arm (in Discord)]

.

"It's incredible."

The researcher agreed, slowly taking the tiny wires at the shoulder end of the arm and connecting them to a receiver that was drilled into Zephyr's stump before this moment.

The Vice Admiral grunted in pain as the screws lodged in his bones began to pull with the weight of the arm, slowly clicking into place.

A few drops of blood dribbled down the sleek limb, reflecting a crimson gleam.

Zephyr started to extend, doing some simple motions, his mind learning the new limb.

"You still need a few months of therapy to get used to it, don't strain your bones too much," the scientist warned.

Zephyr nodded, admiring the weapon that had become his arm.

"My thanks to you, Tensai, I knew you could use your genius mind for good."

"Once you've all healed up, you will truly become the bane of Devil Fruit, Kukuku!" the researcher could not help but smirk at the thought.

The Vice Admiral concurred.

The time was coming for him to prove himself to the top dogs once more, Black Arm Zephyr would return with a bang!

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[Marineford]

"Herja was defeated and thrown to G-1 by Shiki, what a ruthless pirate."

Kong leaned into his seat, pondering at the news.

"It also seems that we underestimated Charlotte Linlin, she truly deserves her spot as a First-Class Threat."

He massaged his temples as his tone turned sour, "Then there's Rocks. For some reason, I feel more and more apprehensive since his sudden departure than I ever did when he was making a mess…"

Kong had it tough; it would not be long till his hair was completely gray with all this chaos.

He then answered a call and finally received some good news.

"So Zephyr will soon be back in action, thank the seas."

He then brought up a stack of bounties and outlined all the major threats. It was time to re-examine the threats of the New World once more.

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[Mortem Island]

[The Very Next Morning]

"Shiki has no patience," Damien muttered as he held onto the newspaper.

It detailed every bit of the war, simply stating the facts. 

Shiki and Linlin took their Divisions to raid the Angelic Sea. The two wiped out the Angelic Sixteen Fodders with ease, inviting the wrath of Herja.

Though it seemed her huge fleet of pirates took quite a while, nearly five months to wipe out due to the constant interruption of the Marines led by Kurowashi. The Admiral was committed to wasting away the pirate forces' numbers.

Alas, it ended yesterday, marking its existence in the history books to come.

.

"Such high numbers, it really makes people envy," Damien casually said as he looked at the two bounties.

One with the menacing grin of Shiki, and one with Linlin's voluptuous figure on full display, perhaps credit was due to the magical photographers of the seas.

-----< WANTED >-----

< CHARLOTTE⋅LINLIN >

< 'Evil Spirit' >

< 𝔅 2,188,000,000 - >

< DEAD or ALIVE >

-----< WANTED >-----

< SHIKI >

< 'Golden Lion' >

< 𝔅 2,804,990,000 - >

< DEAD or ALIVE >

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Though apart from the high reward, there was a little detail in the report Damien noticed.

"Looks like those Directors still have a good sense," he said, "Limiting any negativity toward the World Government, bending enough to somewhat calm the Five Elders."

"Though it's a river ready to burst, I need to liberate the Agency soon."

.

At the same time, he saw a purple shadow materialize in front of him.

"Damien," the figure called out. "You called for me?"

"Yo," he greeted, looking at the girl dressed in all black.

Aurora smiled at her captain. However, that joy soon plummeted at her next thought: "Are you leaving for Wano soon?"

"That's right, the Sea Kings are ready to escort us, it's about time I go to the Land of Samurai," he answered.

The girl nodded, though her mood was slightly dim.

Damien then reached into his regal coat and pulled out a small pendant.

He inched forward and casually moved aside her silky hair to put the accessory around her neck.

Though his casual intentions left the one on the receiving end to freeze; Aurora's face reddened up as she felt Damien's breath hit her neck as the pendant was fully equipped.

The girl was so enraptured by what took place that her mind seemed to ignore the seastone's effects for a second.

"…"

Soon enough, she fell to the ground, though enough time for Damien to grab her shoulders to stabilize her.

"This…" she weakly muttered.

"It'll help you build immunity to the metal. I want you to liberate your reliance on your Devil Fruit and master the Haki you have seen Zephyr and myself use," he lightly explained.

The girl tried to hide her difficulty. "Armament Haki…" she murmured as she recalled her desperation against the Black Arm.

Someone who essentially overwhelmed her powerful ability to the point of trying to kill herself to take him down.

Ignoring her weakness, she slowly escaped Damien's grasp and stood up, trying to show a look of determination.

"I will have Barro's Empire ready by the time you return!" she declared with a resolute voice, surmounting the weakening of the Seatstone.

Damien was pleased with her determination as his crimson eyes fell upon the purple-haired assassin.

"Very good, I look forward to the height you can reach by the time I return from Wano."

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner.

That deals with the side activities, off to Wano now.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q