[Note:
" * " : Indicates abilities that can be upgraded with practice, experience, or unique opportunities.]
> System inner voice ["speaking"] <
> Ash inner speech "speaking" <
{}
UTA'S TRAIL: (continue...)
Uta stepped closer to the stone pedestal. Resting atop it was a tablet. She ran her fingers along its surface and saw what looked like a roughly etched map carved into the stone.
She tried lifting it—but it wouldn't budge. So instead, she leaned in closer, carefully scanning the markings.
The layout appeared to show the very ruins she was standing in. From there, a trail curved through the forest, a hill—or maybe a mountain? —along the path, a bridge after crossing it.
Past that, a village, and a beach. Then, farther out, drawn in the center of the sea, stood a larger structure—possibly another temple? The same symbol marked on the ruins she saw earlier appeared again at the temple's location.
"…Sooo this is the place I'm in right now," she murmured, tracing the line along the path. "And this must be where it leads... A temple? Maybe that's what my trial is about, to go there. Whatever."
Thinking she might need the map later; she took out a piece of paper and some charcoal from burned wood. Holding the paper over the tablet, she rubbed the charcoal across it, copying the carved lines. Once finished, she folded the paper carefully and stood up.
"Fine. Let's go see it," she said to herself.
As she stepped out of the ruins, the early morning light hit her eyes. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.
"Wow, I spent the whole night here," she said, surprised. "I didn't even feel the time pass away."
Hoping the enemies from yesterday wouldn't return, Uta took off using Soru, following the trail shown on the map. After some time, she reached the base of a large hill and began making her way up the narrow path winding to the top.
Eventually, she came to sudden stop, her feet skidding just in time to keep her from going over the edge of a steep cliff.
She froze in shock, her eyes widened in disbelief what laid ahead in front of her eyes. Because there was no bridge or anything like the one drawn on the map.
She quickly pulled out the copied map again to check if she had taken the wrong path. As she was checking, something caught her eye a few steps away—old ropes and broken wooden planks hanging limply from the edge of the cliff.
She realized it immediately—it was the bridge. Or what was left of it.
And worse, the land it connected to it was gone. Completely vanished. Only open sea remained where the village and beach were supposed to be like on map. Only waves crashing below the cliff.
"What the…? Where's the village? The beach? What happened here?"
But her thoughts were cut short because her Haki flared warning about danger.
She ducked just in time as a massive hammer came down over where her head had been, struck the ground with a thunderous impact.
Uta skidded back away from the edge, her glare snapping toward the source. The hammer-wielding guy from before stood there again, snarling like a wild beast. Her eyes narrowed, glowing faintly red with anger at him.
She clenched her fist, coated it in Armament Haki, and launched herself forward using soru with a yell. Her punch drove straight into his gut, sending him crashing through a line of trees before slamming into the ground.
"Just because you surprised me once doesn't mean it'll work again," she snapped.
Her pendant shimmered. With a focused thought, she willed it into harp form—its sides extending with sharp, gleaming blades. "Do I look that easy to you?"
The man groaned, blood trailing from his mouth as he slowly stood. Then more enemies emerged from hiding, surrounding her completely.
Uta's eyes moved quickly, scanning the enemies around her. There were more of them than yesterday.
She could now clearly see the difference between the hammer-wielder and the rest. He was bigger, stronger—and the tattoos running across his body, along with his presence, made it obvious. He was their leader.
She knew she'd need to coat her weapon in Armament Haki again if she wanted to break through their defenses properly. Simple attacks wouldn't be enough.
She immediately tried to bring back that feeling from before but it didn't come easily. So instead, she moved first.
Using Soru, she burst forward, aiming straight for the hammer guy. If he really was their leader, taking him down early might scatter the rest.
But his subordinates moved in fast to intercept her.
Uta too met them head-on. She slashed and spun, blocking strikes and countering with her own. Her harp blades tore through them, but without Haki, the cuts were shallow, forcing her to land multiple hits and slashes just to bring one down.
Still, she kept moving—never stopping or giving them a chance to surround her fully. She fought with everything she had, pressing on.
In the middle of the clash, she caught sight of the hammer guy again—still off to the side, clutching his gut. Watching.
A brief smirk tugged at her lips seeing him like that because she gave her everything in that punch.
But there was no time to enjoy it. More of them started to join the fight, pressing in from all sides trying to over helm her.
So, burst of her Conqueror's Haki exploded outward from her across the battlefield. It wasn't enough to knock all of them out, but it staggered many, giving her the room she needed.
She used that opening, cutting through them while still trying to focus, on Armament coating continuously.
Then she felt it happen after what felt like of hours.
In the middle of battle, with one clean strike from her harps blade she sliced one guy half in a single strike dropping him instantly.
The battlefield went still.
The other attackers froze, staring at this. Until now, it had taken Uta several hits to bring one down. But this time, she took him in one slash.
Uta too stopped and her eyes fixed on her blade. "Finally," she said, smirking. "I did it again." She held onto that feeling not letting it go.
Before the others could recover, Uta dashed forward again.
This time, her harp blades cut deep—piercing through their defenses and slicing past their haki with ease. One after another, her attackers fell landing clean hits on them.
The leader seemed to sense the shift. With a snarl, he finally jumped into the air, his massive hammer raised high overhead.
Uta glanced up at him as he descended, the hammer crashing down right where she stood at until now.
With a smooth backflip she landed a short distance away from her previous place, with her weapon already ready in hand.
"Finally decided to join in, huh?" she said, steadying her stance.
Uta didn't go for the leader right away. Instead, she shifted her focus on the others—if she didn't deal with them first, they'd might only get in the way again.
As the leader charged in with his hammer, Uta quickly willed her harp back into its cymbal form, still coated in Armament Haki.
She brought one cymbal up just in time, blocking the hammer's swing with a sharp metallic clash sending him back with the same force.
Then, using the opening, she threw both cymbals with force—spinning through the crowd slashing them out instantly, just like last day, taking many of them instantly.
Suddenly, her Haki flared again, just as the hammer guy lunged again for her legs, Uta jumped using Geppo, flipping high into the air. The hammer missed, crashing into one of his own subordinates taking a couple of them.
While airborne, she caught the cymbals as they returned to her like boomerangs. Midair, she willed the weapon back into its harp form.
Her fingers swept across the strings, invisible air blades shot outward, slicing through the last of them. At the same time, she ran to them slashed wide with the harp's side blades, cutting down the few that were still standing.
She landed lightly, with only she and the leader remaining. "Now," she said, eyes locking onto him, "let's fight without interruptions."
The two stared each other down—then moved at once, lunging forward.
The leader let out a roar, swinging with terrifying speed. His massive hammer came crashing at her down like a meteor. Uta vanished using Soru, the ground behind her erupting from the impact. Dust and stone flew into the air.
She reappeared beside him, she slashed him with the harp in hand, its bladed edges shimmering with Armament Haki.
But he caught it with the shaft of his hammer and with a snarl, he twisted, swinging again in a wide arc. Uta ducked under the blow, feeling the wind rush past her head. She countered with a rising slash aimed at his side.
It landed—cutting through part of his guard and biting into his ribs.
He grunted, instead, he powered through the pain, hammer already coming down in a brutal overhead strike which was too fast to dodge.
Uta reacted instantly, shifting her harp into cymbal form again in a flash. She raised it just in time, the hammer slammed into it, the shockwave blasted both of them back.
Uta flew across the ground, boots digging furrows in the dirt as she skidded to a halt same for her opponent.
They locked eyes again, and without a word, they charged once more.
Mid-sprint, Uta hurled her cymbal, coating it in Armament Haki. It spun through the air cutting through wind.
The guy just raised his arm to block—his Haki is stronger than the others. The cymbal struck hard, biting deep into his forearm but not cleaving through like others.
The cymbal curved back to her like a boomerang, and Uta caught it in stride, immediately willing it back into harp form.
He charged her again with a furious roar, ignoring the pain. Their weapons collided mid-motion clashing. Uta's Conqueror's Haki, kept leaking between strikes as the fight intensified.
The clang of steel echoed through the hills, each impact shaking the ground and trees around due to the force.
Uta ducked again beneath a sweeping blow, sliding low and sliced with her harp upward. He blocked just in time, then twisted his hammer sideways, slamming the hilt into her chest.
She gasped, the jolt of pain sharp, as skid across the dirt. Blood lined her lip, but she wiped it away with her sleeve.
He came at her again, roaring, with his hammer raised.
Uta's harp shifted back into cymbal just in time—the hammer came down at her. The cymbal blocked it, the sound explosive. The recoil sent him hurtling backward with thrice the force from the impact, slamming him into a boulder.
BOOM!
The boulder shattered on contact, dust billowing in all directions. He dropped to the ground, groaning, half-buried in rubble.
Uta too skidded a few meters back herself, her boots digging into the earth.
She didn't give him a chance to get back up. Immediately, Her cymbal shifted into a zither, strings shimmering with Armament Haki as her fingers danced across them.
High-pitched notes rang out, invisible air blades slicing through the dust—striking him just as he tried to rise. The shockwaves slammed him back down, knocking him flat again.
Uta vanished again with Soru, reappearing beside him mid-dash. Her zither shimmered, shrinking into her pendant once more as she bent down and grabbed the hammer he'd dropped.
Coating the massive weapon in Haki, she gritted her teeth, let out a short battle cry, and swung it down right into his chest.
WHAM!
A burst of blood shot from his mouth as he flew backward again, smashing through trees and slamming into a boulder. The ground trembled. This time, he didn't move.
Uta dropped the hammer beside her with a clatter. "That's for smashing me yesterday, now, Stay down," she said, turning away.
She pulled out a basic healing potion, downed it in one gulp, and wiped her mouth.
Then she faced the cliff's edge again, eyes scanning the distant sea.
The coastline the map had shown was gone—no sign of anything shown in the map after this hill. Only sea water and waves, stretching far in every direction.
"How do I even get there now…?" she whispered. Just then, the ground beneath her feet cracked.
Before she could react, the cliffside gave way with a loud crack, crumbled under her. Uta's eyes widened nearly popping out.
"Ahhh—!"
Uta's scream was swallowed by the wind as she plummeted off the cliff, and she hit the water with a splash, vanishing under the sea.
In her panic, she hadn't even thought to use Geppo. She expected the worst—she thought she will sink like an anchor, not able to breath like every Devil Fruit user.
She flailed for a few seconds, heart pounding in her chest. But then… she paused in realization.
"What the…?" she thought, slowly turning in place, staring at her hands, then around at the sea. "I can breathe… and I'm not sinking? That's not supposed to happen. I ate a Devil Fruit—I should be sinking like an anchor. Shouldn't I?"
She drifted quietly in the water, confused.
"Is this because of the trial?" she taught inwardly. "Maybe it is some kind of protection?!."
And she looked around her, saw schools of fish shimmered and darted through shafts of early morning light streaming in from the surface. Kelp swayed gently in the current.
Bright coral formed natural archways and reefs. The ocean floor below was more alive than she had ever imagined.
Then something caught her eye. Just ahead, partially hidden behind tall rocks and seaweed, was a collection of structures, so she swam towards it to take a look at it.
Shattered rooftops, broken walls, empty windows. The buildings seem, long swallowed by the sea. Faded carvings and coral-covered fences still remained.
"…No wonder I couldn't find it earlier," she thought recognizing. "The whole village seem to sank beneath the sea."
She stared for a moment, taking it in. Then, she swam around, the ruins of the sunken settlement hoping to find way to the temple was hidden within.
As Uta swam through the submerged ruins, her eyes swept across crumbled homes, shattered stone walls, and the remnants of a long-lost village—all coated in layers of algae and coral.
The buildings, worn down by time and tide, leaned and cracked with age. Streets had turned into uneven trenches filled with sand and drifting seaweed.
Then she saw it—at the heart of the village stood a broken statue. The upper half was gone, crumbled long ago, but the base remained: a stone fish tail, still clearly carved.
She floated in place, recognition dawning. "This was on the map…" she taught to herself. She remembered the statue, the village, and just beyond it—marked clearly on the etching—the beach. And beyond that should be the temple located at.
If the village had sunk, then it made sense. The temple must have, too.
With a final glance at the ruined statue, she turned and began swimming in the direction the beach would've been.
After some time, she finally saw the temple looming ahead through the hazy water a massive, elegant structure.
Stone columns stood tall, draped in vines and sea moss. Grand archways opened into darkness. Strange carvings glowed faintly along its surface
Uta's eyes lit up with a mix of awe and determination.
"There you are," she taught, smirking.
Without another word, she kicked off the seabed and swam straight toward it—ready to finish this trial, no matter what awaited inside.
As Uta swam steadily toward the submerged temple, her Haki suddenly flared—warning her of danger again.
She turned just in time to see a trident streaking toward her. Reacting instantly, she shifted her body, the weapon narrowly missing as it veered slightly mid-swim.
A dozen figures emerged from the coral-covered rocks. Their upper bodies resembled humans, but their lower halves were fishlike tails swaying behind them.
Some bore features like hammerhead sharks, others like eels or creatures she couldn't name.
Uta immediately used Tekkai and Armament Haki. One of them lunged, trying to skewer her with trident.
She caught the shaft and tried to counterattack with a punch—but the water dragged at her movements. She realized that fighting underwater made her slower, heavier dulling her usual speed.
So, she released her Conqueror's Haki, the pressure rippling through the sea staggering the fishmen staggered, momentarily making them disorient.
She willed her pendant into a massive trumpet, then she played.
A deep, resounding note blasted through the water—compressed sound waves erupting from the mouth of the instrument.
The sea around her shook. Coral trembled. Sand burst from the floor below her. The shockwave forced her backward, but it did far worse to her enemies.
The dozen fishmen convulsed, eyes rolling back. One by one, they went limp, floating unconscious, their weapons drifting from their hands.
Uta exhaled and let the trumpet shrink back into its pendant form resting around her neck and she was lucky there were only few.
The distance to the temple had closed considerably thanks to the backlash of her own attack.
In few minutes, she swam through the wide entrance and landed on solid stone flooring just inside the temple. The moment her feet touched down; she realized the sea water hadn't followed her in—the interior was completely dry.
Standing upright, chest heaving, Uta took a deep breath of air.
She glanced around slowly, taking in the strange stillness. Somehow, this temple was shielded—protected from the ocean outside, untouched by the sea.
"Finally," she murmured, brushing her damp hair from her face.
She stepped carefully into the temple's depths. Though the temple sat beneath the sea, the interior was strangely bright—light seemed to radiate gently from the walls and ceiling, as if the ocean above had no power here.
Uta stayed alert, her Haki fully active in case of traps or surprises. But as she moved through the empty corridors and chambers, time ticked by with nothing. Every room she checked revealed nothing—until she reached the last one.
It was the largest chamber yet, positioned at the very center of the temple.
At its heart, a single ray of light pierced through from above, illuminating something floating at its center.
A devil fruit. Uta smirked, recognizing that.
The Devil Fruit hovered in the air, gently spinning in place. She could hear it—not with her ears, but somewhere deeper. A distant, ethereal melody… like someone singing just beneath the surface of her thoughts, calling to her.
The fruit shimmered with a sea-blue color, patterned with fish scale-like swirls. Seaweed-like green leaves curled at the top, and it was shaped like a muskmelon.
Uta reached out slowly, almost hypnotized by the strange pull it had on her. But just before her fingers touched it—a shadow suddenly fell over her.
Her Haki also screamed in warning, snapping out of the trance, her hand stopped mid-air. Slowly, her eyes lifted upward.
And then widened in shock. "I knew this wasn't going to be that easy…"
She stepped back instinctively, lowering her arm as the massive creature above came into view.
It's a snake…. No..No—a monstrous serpent with seven enormous heads, that what it is.
Each one with different color, forming a living rainbow of scales. It loomed high above, hissing deeply, each head swaying in the air like ready to strike.
All heads hissed at her like as if warning her get out of its territory.
Without warning, the violet head struck first—spitting a sizzling blob of purple liquid straight at her. Uta darted aside using soru just in time, and the stone floor where she had just stood hissed and melted on contact. Her eyes widened.
"Acidic venom…?" she muttered, grimacing.
Before she could recover, the red head reared back and let out a shriek—a piercing, sonic screech that rattled the entire chamber.
Uta staggered, wincing, her ears ringing painfully. The force of the scream disrupted her concentration—just long enough to leave her open.
The blue head took advantage of it, unleashing a high-pressure arc of water that sliced toward her like a blade.
Uta twisted away at the last second, but not before it grazed her arm, drawing a thin line of blood. She cursed under her breath, because of the red she didn't have time to activate her Tekkai or Armament Haki.
Immediately first she did it. But the assault didn't end there.
The indigo head exhaled a cloud of freezing mist, chilling the very air around her. The blue head followed up with another surge of water—this time, the two attacks merged.
In midair, the moisture from the water flash-frozen in the indigo mist, forming deadly ice spears that rained down in an instant.
Uta's used Geppo! She flipped backward in the air, avoiding the first volley. Then Soru! Her figure blurred as she weaved between the falling shards, while her Observation Haki helping her to its fullest.
The ice spears exploded where she had just been, scattering frozen debris across the temple floor.
Before she could retaliate, the yellow head roared and unleashed a crackling bolt of lightning.
Uta gritted her teeth and dashed away using Soru, but mid-step, one of the ice shards from the blue and indigo combo clipped her. The impact sent her crashing backward into a pillar.
She gasped; as the wind knocked from her lungs—but she forced herself upright immediately because the orange head was already spewing a wave of fire her way.
Uta rolled aside just in time, the flames licking at her heels and melting the pillar where she'd been.
She sprang up, using Geppo mid-air to gain height and she launched a barrage of Rankyaku air blades straight down at the monstrous serpent and caught the red head, slicing half of it clean off.
But her eyes widened in disbelief because the green head, silent until now, released a pulse of green light pulsed as its eyes glowed, and before her eyes, the severed red head regenerated—reforming as if it had never been hurt.
"It healed them?" she realized. She understood that who she has to focus on.
She targeted the green head willing her pendant into zither, unleashing even larger, sharper air blades. But the moment the attack neared; the other heads moved in.
They threw themselves in the way of the attack—shielding the green head—and in seconds, the injuries were healed again.
Uta ducked as another barrage of lightning bolts rained toward her, the coordinated strikes leaving her no room to breathe.
Each head supported the others. Any time she inflicted damage; the green head restored them. There was no opening. Like this the fight continued with no result for Uta.
Then, a shard of ice from the earlier attack struck her legs—freezing her in place.
"Damn…!" she grunted, trying to break free. She strummed her zither, launching more attacks—but no matter how much damage she caused, it was all healed.
With a heavy hiss, the snake's tail whipped around, smashing into her chest. The force launched her through the air. She struck the temple ceiling, then crashed down hard, coughing up blood.
The colossal serpent slithered toward her, all seven heads looming above—ready to finish her.
She had seen this creature before or at least a depiction.
A great seven-headed serpent, looked like dancing on the mural she saw in the ruins with musical notes floating around a partially destroyed figure—its lower half clearly that of a fish, like a mermaid or fishman.
That memory struck her like lightning during the time she took the attack because it distracted as she remembered where she saw it.
As the seven heads lunged downward with gaping jaws, she did the something unthinkable.
She sang. She didn't know if it will work but she went forward with the idea trusting her instincts.
A soft, beautiful melody escaped her lips—pure, resonant, echoing through the vast temple chamber.
The serpent froze.
All seven heads stopped, teeth mere inches from her face. They pulled back slowly, as she kept singing.
Her voice rang sweetly and slowly, the heads began to sway. The serpent began to wiggle, hissing gently as if dancing.
Uta rose slowly to her feet limping, never stopping her song. Step by step, she approached the beast. And to her shock… it lowered its heads as if submitting to her.
She smiled in surprise seeing this but didn't stop her song.
She slowly reached out a hand and gently petted the serpent and it responded with a low, purring hiss, almost like a giant cat.
When the song ended, the massive creature coiled its body gently around her, nuzzling like an oversized pet.
Uta let out a breathless laugh.
"If I hadn't done this myself, I wouldn't believe it," she said, grinning. "You turned all mellow the moment I started singing… huh, guess you really like music."
Uta looked up at the serpent, asked away the question that had been lingering in her mind finally slipping out.
"You know, I saw the murals and that broken statue… but who was that?" she asked, hoping the creature could understand her.
"And the people on land… why did they seem to hate that person? I saw your mural too you know, at the ruins with that same figure. Do you know who is it? Is it your owner, by chance?"
The giant serpent turned its heads slowly—toward the floating Devil Fruit at the center of the room as if that answered all her questions.
Then, it moved toward the fruit. Uta too followed behind, as she approached it again, that same trance-like pull returned as if calling her.
The green head of the serpent gently pushed her back towards the fruit with its snout. Uta blinked, snapping out of it.
"You want me to take it?" she asked.
The massive serpent nodded once more.
Uta laughed softly, shaking her head. "…Alright, alright."
She reached out and took the fruit into her hands.
The moment her fingers closed around it, the entire temple began to rumble. Dust fell from the ceiling, the walls cracked, and seawater began to leak in from every direction.
"Wh…what's happening?" Uta gasped, backing away.
The giant serpent let out a long hiss as if happy. Just then, a massive wave of seawater burst through the wall—crashing into the serpent. As the water hit, the creature vanished, as if it had only ever been an illusion along with the water.
"Hey—wait!" Uta shouted. "Where did you go?!" She looked around, but the serpent had disappeared completely.
Suddenly, another surge of water slammed into her, and a whirlpool formed, swirling violently inside the collapsing temple. Uta was caught in its pull, spinning helplessly.
She reached out to get hold of something but the water swallowed her whole, and her vision faded to black as she fell unconscious, the Devil Fruit still clutched tightly in her arms and she too vanished like the serpent as the last stone crumbled down.
To be continued...
Hey everyone! I'm always looking for ways to make this story even better, and I'd love to hear your ideas. What powers do you think should be available in Ash's store? Maybe you have some cool concepts for abilities, weapons, or items that could make the adventure even more exciting!
Feel free to drop your suggestions in the comments, and if there's anything specific, you'd love to see in future chapters, let me know! I might even integrate your ideas into the story.
Also, don't forget to give some Power Stones if you're enjoying the journey! Your support means the world. 😊