As soon as Yamato let out that last scream, black lightning bolts shot out from Yamato's body, causing minor damage to the ground. After a few seconds, the lightning stopped being emitted by Yamato, who turned towards Damian with an expression of realization.
Yamato: "Thank you, Damian..."
Damian: "Tcharara~ no need to say thank you!"
Yamato: "No! I do need to! Imagine how much I could have disrespected Oden's image if it weren't for you!"
Damian: "Since you want to thank me so much..."
As he spoke, Damian got into a fighting stance.
Damian: "I'd love to have a fight with you, Yamato!"
Yamato: "Are you sure?"
Damian: "Of course I am! Nothing excites me more than a good fight!"
'Well... there are things that would excite me more... but I don't think we're close enough for me to ask for that yet...'
With Damian's confirmation, Yamato grabbed her Kanabo and also entered her fighting stance.
Yamato: "Huhahaha~ you're a bit strange, Damian! I like that! So let's go!"
In her fighting stance, Yamato gripped her Kanabo with both hands and aligned it with her waist. Seeing her assume this posture, Damian finally perceived her aura. It was a white wolf with an ethereal light emanating from its head, and it was eager to play.
Yamato: "雷鳴... (Raimei... - Thunder...)"
And on the other side, Damian began to perform various dance movements, making his blood boil.
Damian: "War Dance: March..."
Then the two charged at each other. And the moment their blows were about to connect... a figure appeared, leaping over Yamato.
????: "ONIHIME! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Then the figure began to spin at high speed, and as it got close to Yamato, the figure pushed her before...
????: "Ul-Zugan (Ul Head Gun - Ulti-Mortar)"
Hitting Damian squarely on the forehead with a headbutt. The force of the blow was strong enough to sink Damian's feet slightly into the ground, but...
????: "Ouch! What a hard head!!"
The figure fell on its backside, holding its forehead with its hands. No longer moving, the figure revealed itself to be a little girl with the appearance of a dinosaur, more specifically a Pachycephalosaurus. Her hair was dark blue with pink streaks, and near her temples, she had a pair of horns similar to a bull's. Her attire was a simple white dress, and her skin color was a very light green due to her hybrid form. Other features her hybrid form brought were her forehead, which was more prominent than normal, super sharp nails on her feet and hands, and longer arms and legs, making her reach a height similar to Damian's.
Seeing the girl's situation, both Damian and Yamato approached her to check on her and offer help to get up.
Yamato: "What are you doing here, Ulti?"
Damian: "Is your head okay?"
Seeing the hands of both waiting to be taken, Ulti ignored them and stood up on her own with a fake angry huff.
Ulti: "Hmph! I was strolling through Onigashima, and suddenly I found some of Kaido-sama's henchmen unconscious on the ground, and I thought Onihime was behind it, but to my surprise... as I was arriving here, I heard Onihime's screams, so I rushed over to see how you were."
Yamato: "And what were you planning to do if I was actually losing?"
Ulti: "Hmph! Even if you're an idiot who doesn't respect Kaido-sama... you're still Onihime."
'How strange... she usually hates being called Onihime...'
Damian: "Tcharara~ it seems she really respects Kaido!"
Ulti: "Hey!! Who do you think you are to call Kaido-sama so casually, you damn intruder?!!"
Damian: "Who am I? My name is Damian, and I will be the strongest being this world has ever had the honor of knowing!"
Ulti: "You'll never achieve that stupid dream! Not in a million years could you defeat Kaido-sama!"
Shouting this, Ulti quickly left, leaving Damian and Yamato alone once again.
Yamato: "That's a truly... crazy dream. Good luck with it."
Damian: "Thanks, Yamato."
Yamato: "You're welcome, Damian! But anyway... shall we continue our fight?"
Damian: "I'd love to, but not now."
Yamato: "Huh? Why?"
Damian: "That Ulti person made my rhythm cool down."
Yamato: "I still don't understand, speak in a language I can understand."
Damian: "Tcharara~ my bad. Simply put, my technique is based on dancing, and this dance increases my blood flow. So when I stop moving after dancing long enough for my body to start cooling down, I have to wait for it to return to normal."
Yamato: "Why don't you just start dancing again to increase your blood flow?"
Damian: "Because of how my blood flow is right now. If I try to use any dance that doesn't naturally increase the current flow, I'll simply turn into a puddle of blood."
Imagining the scene as Damian spoke, Yamato made a disgusted expression.
Yamato: "Urgh! ...I guess I didn't need to know that... Okay, so what do we do? Ulti must have gone to warn someone about what happened here."
Damian: "And how long will that take?"
Yamato: "I guess a few hours. Most people are doing something important at this time."
Damian: "Hours? Seriously? Wow, then we have plenty of time."
Yamato: "Yeah... so what do we do until you cool down?"
Damian: "Well... I guess we can figure out how or what made me teleport here?"
Yamato: "Of course! What do you think it was?"
Damian: "Since the last thing I did before appearing here was eat a fruit... I assume the fruit I was about to eat turned into a Devil Fruit, or I didn't realize it was a Devil Fruit, one of the two. Not that knowing that matters, but what matters is... if it really is a Devil Fruit... how do I use it?"
Hearing her new friend's doubt, Yamato pointed to herself with a confident smile.
Yamato: "Luckily for you, Damian, I'm a Devil Fruit user, and I'd say I'm pretty good at it."
Damian: "Tcharara~ how lucky I am to have you here, Yamato. And what would your Devil Fruit be?"
'How can someone like this exist...?'
The instant the question left Damian's mouth, Yamato's body began to change... from the pores of her skin, snow-white fur began to grow. Her teeth sharpened, her ears elongated along with her horns, which gained a white section at their base. Her nails, both on her feet and hands, turned into sharp claws, and her legs gained an animalistic physiology.
Damian: "Tcharara~ wow...! What model is that?"
Yamato: "It's the Inu-Inu no Mi: Model Okuchi no Makami!"
Damian: "Okuchi no Makami...? I don't know it... what is it?"
Yamato: "According to my father, the Okuchi no Makami is a guardian deity of Wano."
Damian: "Guardian of Wano? How interesting... it seems the universe is trying to tell you something."
Yamato: "...? What do you mean?"
Damian: "That's something you have to figure out on your own... but I'll give you a hint... what's the best way to protect Wano right now?"
Yamato's face became thoughtful, and just as she was about to say something...
Damian: "Don't answer now... think carefully about it... but let's focus now! How do I use this thing!?"
Yamato: "Okay... well, since my Devil Fruit is a Zoan. The basic full animal and human transformation came naturally, like instinct. But for this hybrid form you're seeing now, I needed a bit more effort. Simply put, I focused on my inner self and then managed to control how much I transformed."
Damian: "Focus on my inner self... I get it!"
Yamato: "Seriously? People usually tell me I make no sense when I explain something."
Damian: "They say the same about me."
Following Yamato's advice, Damian closed his eyes and began to concentrate on the abyss of his being. At first, he felt nothing, but after a few moments, Damian felt a kind of pull in his consciousness, and as a reflex, he opened his eyes.
Damian: "Damn...!"
The surroundings Damian was in now were completely different from before... the place he was in seemed... esoteric...
The ground looked like an infinite sea of stars that made small waves due to Damian's foot movements. And looking up, Damian didn't see the sky, but branches and leaves. The branches were so white they seemed to emit their own light, and the leaves were the reddest red Damian had ever seen in his life. However, the strangest thing about this red was... the feeling it conveyed... it was as if these leaves attracted Damian's deepest desires...
Damian: "...What interesting leaves... they seem to have some attractive effect... but what does this have to do with the Devil Fruit?"
Seeing this place, Damian began to follow the branches in the sky, trying to find their origin.
Damian: "This place is very beautiful... but a bit lonely..."
After what seemed like days of walking, Damian finally arrived at what looked like a gigantic tree, so large that Damian wondered how he hadn't seen it as soon as he arrived.
Damian: "Finally... I've arrived... what a big place..."
Standing in front of the tree, Damian slowly reached out his hand to touch it, but before he could do so, a feminine voice echoed.
????: "What is your desire?"
Damian: "Desire?"
????: "Exactly... what is the thing you most desire in this world?"
Damian: "I had never thought about it... but I guess the thing I most desire is... to have fun!"
????: "What a... interesting... strange, but interesting young man."
Damian: "Tcharara~ I know!"
????: "Tell me, why fun? And not riches, power, fame, or anything like that?"
Damian: "It's simple! Power! Fame! Riches! All these are cool things to have, but they are things that are more fun to conquer. Everything I do in my life is based on whether I find something fun or interesting!"
????: "Puh...! Puhahahaha~! I guess in all the years I've been alive, I've never seen anyone as interesting as you! All right... I'll help you have fun!"
Then one of the tree's branches began to descend slowly, revealing a fruit on it.
Damian: "What is that?"
????: "It's your desire! But I'm warning you, it only lasts one day, so come back tomorrow."
Damian: "Only one day? And I thought you liked me."
????: "But what would be the fun if I gave you everything on a silver platter?"
Damian: "You're absolutely right!"
Then Damian grabbed the fruit from the branch and ate it.
Damian: "I expected a worse taste... or any taste, actually..."
????: "Next time, do you want me to add some flavor to it?"
Damian: "Only if you want... but then... what did this fruit do?"
????: "No idea! So go test it out!"
Damian: "How exa..."
When Damian was about to say he didn't know how to use it... a strange sensation hit his body, and then... Damian began to perform his War Dance.
Damian: "War Dance: March to Νίκη"
????: "And so... what was your desire?"
Damian: "Thermal point..."
With heavy and wide movements of an imperial march that made the sea of stars beneath him produce increasingly larger ripples until a massive giant wave was created, and then...
Damian: "War Dance: Road of Βία"
????: "Control of the thermal point of things... doesn't seem very useful."
Damian: "To me, it is..."
With impressive speed, Damian ran to one of the wave's edges and began to attack it with such brutality that before he finished delivering the blows... the wave had already been completely destroyed, but that wasn't important to Damian, who continued...
Damian: "War Dance: Conquest of Κράτος"
????: "Oh, right! You told that girl about blood flow, didn't you? So controlling when your blood will evaporate can actually be useful."
Damian: "... ...!"
Damian's movements became less erratic and brutal, turning into something contained and powerful. Each movement created a gust of wind that created a wave, but the next blow destroyed it before it even formed.
Damian: "How strange..."
????: "What is it?"
Damian: "...I don't know... I'm feeling a strange energy... I'll test it."
'What is this flow...? I've never felt it before, but... it feels so familiar...'
As the dance was about to end, Damian felt a strange energy coming from a place he didn't recognize... but his instinct told him it was something very important. So Damian decided to continue dancing.
Damian: "War Dance: Glory of Ζñλος"
????: "Man... my instincts are telling me this is going to go wrong..."
Slowing the rhythm of the dance, Damian continued his barrage of blows, which were now even more potent. Instead of creating gusts of wind, his punches now created wind bullets with a power similar to a cannon, and his kicks made wind blades as sharp as real ones.
And as for the strange energy, Damian let it flow naturally through his body. With each movement it flowed, this energy became increasingly condensed and heavy. Damian, feeling this energy becoming more and more potent, prepared a final move... a Breakdance Flare, which sucked in the surrounding air and grew stronger with each rotation. And as a finisher, Damian brought his legs together high up while continuing to spin. This created a mini-hurricane around him, but... at this moment, the strange energy reached its peak. It went to Damian's dominant leg and...
Damian: "AHHHHHH!"
????: "I warned you, no matter how strong a Devil Fruit's power is... even it has limits."
As soon as the energy stopped at Damian's leg, it began to emit a jet of blood vapor that milliseconds later ignited, turning Damian's leg into a flamethrower. And the hurricane was completely swallowed by the flames, creating a pillar of fire in its place.
Damian: "IT'S FUCKING HOT!!"
????: "How strange... that wasn't caused by the Devil Fruit! Damn it! Hold on! I'll help you!"
Feeling all that heat, Damian then swung his leg with all his might against the "sea" of stars. But this only extinguished the pillar of fire, leaving his leg still in flames, while the pillar was launched forward like a wall of fire.
Damian: "Okay... that... was awesome... but why didn't this damn thing go out!?!?"
????: "I'm coming!"
However, Damian's leg continued to burn, and he tried to put it out with a punch, but when he threw the first punch at his leg... his hand hurt.
Damian: "What!?"
'How strange... the energy didn't dissipate?'
And as he was about to throw another punch... a branch descended to him, and then the branch began to spray a foam similar to a fire extinguisher on his leg... finally putting out the flames.
????: "I told you I was coming."
Damian: "Hey... what happened to my leg...?"
????: "What are you talking about? It's fine, you crazy person."
Damian: "Exactly! I was feeling so much heat, it felt like I was bathing in a damn volcano!"
????: "Ah! That... well, somehow you canceled the Devil Fruit's ability, which made the boiling point return to normal, and since the heat you were producing was enormous, you immediately combusted."
Damian: "I had already assumed that... but why did the ability cancel itself, and how did my leg not disintegrate with the fire? Was it the energy I was feeling?"
????: "I don't know why you canceled it. But your leg must have been due to high resistance, right? After all, in all the times I've had a user, this is the first time I've seen someone like you."
'Even though my last/first user was about 900 years ago.'
Damian: "That's not possible... the cells would be burned by the fire... that has nothing to do with resistance..."
????: "Wait...? Are you trying to use logic? In a world where there are fruits that can basically mold reality?"
Damian: "Yes...? After all, even Devil Fruits have their logic."
Upon hearing Damian's answer, the entire place began to tremble slightly, as if an earthquake were happening.
????: "Desisisisire~ you're funny! I've never heard anyone say anything like that!"
The tremor continued for a little longer before gradually stopping.
????: "I'm loving our time together, but I think it's time for a 'see you later'."
Damian: "Why?"
????: "I know! Talking to me is amazing and all, but you've stayed longer than necessary. You'd better come back tomorrow, or your friend might get worried about you."
Damian: "Tcharara~ I get it! See you tomorrow, ...wait, what's your name?"
????: "Do you think I'm that easy? You'll need more than just one encounter for me to tell you my name."
Assuming the voice had its reasons, Damian said nothing about it. Instead, he just closed his eyes and tried to "wake up."
Upon opening his eyes, Damian found himself in a somewhat strange situation... his legs were being dragged on the ground, while he was being carried on the back of what looked like a white-furred dog.
Damian: "What's happening...?"
Hearing Damian's voice, the dog stopped as if it had engaged the handbrake, throwing Damian into the air. But before he could realize what happened, the dog transformed into Yamato, who quickly jumped towards Damian and caught him princess-style.
Yamato: "Damian! Are you okay?"
Damian: "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"
Yamato: "It's just... after you did what I told you, you stayed completely still for a whole hour... so I... got worried and was going to take you to my father, to see if he could help you..."
Damian: "Oh... where are we now?"
Yamato: "In front of her room... room."
To Be Continued