Early the next morning, just after eating some fish, Kaos went to the back of the mountain and continued to develop his Golden Fruit abilities, something he had practiced daily for years.
He pressed both hands against the ground, and if there was any gold within a ten-meter radius beneath him, it immediately broke out from the earth, floating in front of Kaos as if it were an extension of his body.
With a mere thought, the gold reshaped into eighteen weapons—swords, spears, halberds, and more. Sometimes, he compressed it into thin golden needles that shot forward like bullets, easily piercing solid rocks and thick tree trunks.
This was hardened gold.
Immediately after, Kaos commanded all the gold to fuse into one massive cube, about a meter in size, unimaginably heavy. This was essentially all the gold on the island—carefully collected and buried by Kaos over the past three years.
Under his control, the cube softened, flowing like liquid until it formed into a massive golden viper. It slithered across the ground, coiling around a nearby tree and tightening with lethal force. With a sharp crack, the tree snapped apart.
This ability was similar to Magneto's power in another world, but instead of controlling all metal, Kaos's domain was gold.
The power was incredible, but it came with a limitation—it only worked when gold was present.
He could not yet create gold out of thin air, nor could he turn other objects into gold. His current mastery allowed him only to transform parts of his own body into gold or manipulate existing gold within his range.
Even Gild Tesoro, the Golden Emperor from the theatrical version of this world, could not create gold from nothing, even after awakening his Devil Fruit.
Perhaps, Kaos thought, with deeper development and imagination, it might be possible someday.
As the golden viper writhed under his control, it seemed alive, slithering and twisting like a true serpent. It was soft and boneless in this state, unlike hardened gold, behaving instead like a fluid organism.
Raising his right hand, Kaos commanded the golden viper to stand upright. With another thought, it transformed, hardening and compressing into a mighty three-meter Square Sky Halberd.
He grasped it firmly and swung it a few times; sand and stone were torn apart with ease.
With a powerful swipe through the air, the halberd fragmented, splitting into dozens of golden swords that launched forward like arrows.
They struck the mountain wall in the distance with sharp, piercing sounds, embedding themselves deep into the stone.
The attack resembled Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon—a long-range barrage of weapons.
Kaos smirked to himself. Once I awaken Armament Haki, this attack will become even more terrifying.
After bombarding the surroundings for a while, he placed his right hand over the scattered golden swords.
The blades softened and merged together, crawling over his body like liquid armor. In just two or three breaths, Kaos was completely encased, head to toe, in airtight golden armor.
It looked much like Iron Man's Mark 85 armor from the Avengers of marvel world.
He took a few steps back and forth with no difficulty. The gold flexed naturally around his joints, as he could soften it at will, preventing any stiffness.
"Hey~."
In the blink of an eye, Kaos vanished from sight and reappeared three meters away, his speed shocking even himself.
He slammed his golden-covered fist into a massive tree, thicker than a man's thigh.
The trunk shattered instantly, collapsing with a deafening crash.
On the back of his right hand, the golden plating shifted and elongated, forming a gleaming blade. With one smooth swipe, he split the broken trunk neatly in two.
Long-range barrages, close-quarters combat, heavy armor, and limitless weapon transformations—his Golden Fruit granted him balanced offense and defense with no glaring weaknesses.
Moreover, when he donned the golden armor, he could also transmute his own body into gold, creating a dual layer of defense.
If I learn Tekkai (Iron Body) and Armament Haki in the future, Kaos thought, my defense will be nearly unbreakable.
The armor slowly retracted, liquid gold slithering off his body and returning to a pile on the ground. Kaos raised his hands, took a deep breath, and focused.
Then something incredible happened—his body began to rise from the ground.
He floated higher and higher until he was ten meters above the earth, gazing down at the landscape below. Even without mastering Geppo (Moonwalk), he could fly by manipulating gold beneath him.
He remembered his first attempts years ago—falling face-first into the ground day after day, struggling like a man on a tightrope. Now, it felt smooth, natural. Silky.
Boom!
Kaos accelerated forward, streaking through the forest, then shot upward again, piercing through the skies until he stood above the clouds.
Endless, boundless white stretched in every direction. He closed his eyes, spreading his arms wide as if embracing the entire world.
The gold beneath his feet shifted into a massive sword, carrying him like a flying blade. He soared through the clouds, leaving behind holes and trails in the mist, riddled with marks from his passage.
At that moment, he had truly become a legendary Flying Swordsman.
This was also why Kaos had the courage to eventually venture out to sea—flight increased his chances of survival exponentially. On the open ocean, if you couldn't fly, you were never truly safe.
"Wow!"
"Cool!"
Kaos laughed wildly, his voice echoing across the skies. This sense of freedom was intoxicating—as if he were a bird owning the entire world.
The massive golden sword softened again, flowing onto his back. Kaos dropped in freefall toward the brilliant blue ocean.
Just before hitting the water, two enormous golden wings sprouted from his back, catching the air like those of a mighty birdman. With a powerful flap, he soared upward once again.
Rising above the clouds, the golden wings shrank, reshaping into countless palm-sized swords. They shot forward like bullets, forming a dazzling torrent of golden light that streaked through the skies.
Under his feet, two small golden swords carried him upward, while dozens more surrounded him in a swirling storm.
The clanging sound of gold striking gold—the metallic clash of countless blades—filled the air, stirring his blood with excitement.
For nearly an hour, Kaos recklessly experimented, shaping weapons, wings, and armors, pushing his limits in the clouds.
Eventually, exhaustion took hold, and he plummeted back toward the island.
He landed lightly, three feet above the ground, before the golden armor fell away, crashing onto the earth with a heavy thud. By now, the weight no longer fazed him.
Still, he couldn't help but regret the limited amount of gold he had.
If there were more, he could wear the armor daily and train under constant weight, building even greater strength.
Sitting cross-legged, Kaos waved his hand.
The pile of gold in front of him shifted and twisted, writhing into the shape of a humanoid statue about 1.7 meters tall.
Under his control, the golden figure performed backflips, leaps, and even stretches like a gymnast.
"The Golden Warrior," Kaos muttered, naming his creation.
This was his golden doppelgänger, inspired by Donquixote Doflamingo's string clone technique.
Like his other ideas—golden armor, flying swords, Gate of Babylon—Kaos borrowed concepts from various people: Iron Man, Magneto, Gilgamesh, Doflamingo.
Compared to Gild Tesoro's relatively monotonous use of the Gold-Gold Fruit, Kaos's imagination was far more diverse.
For example, Tesoro never thought of using gold for true flight. That was the difference between rigid thinking and boundless imagination.
Devil Fruits thrived on creativity. With even a small foundation, imagination could turn the impossible into reality. Of course, baseless fantasies would remain just that—fantasies.
The Golden Warrior stumbled through its motions.
Though it could mimic Kaos's commands, it lacked fluid coordination and could not match Doflamingo's string clone in precision.
Still, Kaos saw great potential. If he could perfect this, then one day at sea, he wouldn't need to fight personally.
Enemies might battle desperately against the Golden Warrior, only to discover it was nothing more than gold controlled remotely. Their despair would be delicious.
Yet, for now, the technique had flaws. The Warrior lacked fluidity and, worse, could not move beyond ten meters of Kaos. Any further, and control was lost.
"It'd be perfect if I had Observation Haki…" Kaos muttered. If combined with his Golden Warrior, the range of his perception could define the range of his control.
Despite being a transmigrator, his soul having undergone baptism, Observation Haki still hadn't awakened in three years.
If not for that advantage, it would have taken him an eternity to reach his current level.
He sighed.
Beyond Haki, there was also Geppo (Moonwalk). Even if he could already fly using gold, Kaos was determined to master it.
If he ever lost his Devil Fruit powers, or found himself without gold, Geppo could still save his life.
It was a principle he refused to ignore.
Not just Geppo, but all Rokushiki techniques—even Life Return (Seimei Kikan)—were on his list.
Physical training could never be abandoned. It built stamina, resilience, toughness, and overall strength.
In the world of pirates, physical skills were just as important as Devil Fruits, if not more.
Kaos clenched his fists, eyes gleaming with determination. His Golden Fruit was already a weapon unlike any other—but with imagination, training, and discipline, it could become unstoppable.