Hello dearest readers! I'm back! I'm so sorry for taking so long to post the latest chapter of this fiction. My real life has been a bit tumultuous and it's been hard to just sit down and write. Even so, I managed to produce several new chapters that you can read ahead on my Patreon!
Again, shout out to Angel Zamora who is the first and so far only member of the Advanced tier on my Patreon page. Thanks Angel for staying on despite my sub par release time. You are amazing!
Chapter 5
Breakthrough! Luffy Takes The Next Step!
"What's going on here?" Usopp asked. "Why does that pretty guy have the same power as Luffy had this morning? I thought that was an inherited power from Luffy's mother? Don't tell me this guy is-"
"Long nose," Ryuuhei said darkly, his back to the crew. "Finish that sentence and I'll rip off your nose and jam it down your throat!"
"Eek!" Usopp shrieked in horror.
"Anyway, you already can guess what's happening here, right, Luffy?"
"Mom gave you a piece of her ability," Luffy realized.
"She gave it to him?" Nami said in surprise. "Is that possible?"
"Ah, yes," Robbin murmured. "I forgot. Aura D. Lilia is famous for being able to give her allies her power. It's the unique trait of her devil fruit."
"That's amazing!" Chopper said in awe. "She can give it to anybody?"
"She can," Luffy said. "But she always says she only wants to give her power to people she really likes."
"Hard to say if Lilia likes me. It just happens that we had to fight a certain insurmountable monster a long time ago, and she gave me this gift. That was years before you kids were born. Truth be told, she used us guinea pigs to see how this works, but I'll admit. This has proven useful over the years. For example..."
Ryuuhei outstretched his right fist and a fist of darkness fired from his fist and hit Luffy square in the gut. Luffy keeled over in pain.
"Its long range attacks are convenient. On top of that, its attacks bypass a devil fruit's defense."
"Cheap shot, you jerk!" Luffy groaned.
"Don't be such a child," he said coldly. "If you didn't want to get hit, you should have dodged."
"Alright, that's it! I'm tired of being your punching bag. I'm going to hit you back now."
"Go ahead, if you can. It'll be a miracle if you can even land a hit as you are. Better hurry, my meal's almost ready. At least try to activate your inherited power."
Luffy charged head on. He swung his fist at him. Moving swiftly, Ryuuhei sidestepped to avoid him. He didn't give Luffy a chance to reposition himself, opting to kick hard at his side.
Luffy gripped the ship's deck with his feet and skidded backwards until he hit Sunny's railings. Luffy didn't take a breath before firing a double Gum-Gum Pistol at the floor of Ryuuhei's feet.
He remembered when he fought Eneru. While direct attacks were detectable with Haki, indirect attacks weren't.
His fists bounced off the floor and ricocheted directly for Ryuuhei's face, but the man vanished where he stood. Before Luffy could even retract his arms, he was struck by a blunt object and was knocked down.
Ryuuhei stood over him, a dark staff made of darkness in his hands. If it were a sword, Luffy certainly would have been killed. He looked coldly down at Luffy.
"Weak. And foolish. Don't go assuming your flat attempt at strategy will work against me. Or against anyone of a comparable level to myself. On that note, as you are, you have no chance. You can't even land a hit. Weak and worthless is the only way to describe you. You were lucky to survive up to this point. That's all. If you don't change, you will certainly be killed soon, and your crew will share your fate."
Ryuuhei was attacking Luffy's most sensitive insecurities and vulnerabilities. His crew gritted their teeth in frustration watching him berate their captain.
Luffy, on the other hand, smiled and laughed, surprising everyone.
"You're laughing," Ryuuhei said dryly. "Did I break your already barely functioning brain?"
"It's just… you're a lot like Grumpa Axel. And Kyosuke."
Ryuuhei narrowed his eyes at him as Luffy got onto his feet.
"Grumpa Axel scares me even more than grandpa and my mom… but I think he always tries to help me. As for Kyosuke, he's always got my back, even if it means kicking it. And you too, Ryuuhei-ji. You're being mean to me, but I can feel it. You're helping me, aren't you?"
Ryuuhei was silent. His expression was unreadable.
"I can't stay as I am… right? If I want to keep moving forward, if I don't want to lose my friends, then I have to get stronger. Stronger than anybody else. Including you, right?"
"…You're still not as cute as Dragon," he said after a beat. Luffy made a weirded out face. Ryuuhei grinned softly. "But you're still pretty endearing. So, what are you gonna do next?"
"I guess I can't expect to be able to use Haki or mom's power in a single day, huh?"
"That's a pretty unrealistic expectation."
"Then I'll give it my all to try and hit you in your pretty face!"
"…What's with everyone's obsession with my face?" Ryuuhei asked.
'It's a really nice face,' Nami and Robin swooned internally despite themselves.
Luffy got into a certain stance. He leaned forward, put his fist on the ground, then pushed it against the deck. Something inflated in his arm, then went upwards into his body like water in a rubber hose.
His body turned pink and steam came out of his body as if he was overheating.
"Second Gear!"
"What is that?" Nami asked, her eyes widened in shock.
"I don't know," Zoro said, his eyes narrowed.
"Hold on," Franky said in realization. "I've seen that before. He got like that when he fought Lucci!"
A chill went down through several of the crew's backs. And it had nothing to do with Haki. Zoro and Nami both experienced first hand how fearsome Rob Lucci was when they first faced off against him and CP9 at Iceberg's home.
"Oh, yeah," Usopp said. "I saw Luffy look like that, too. At Enies Lobby, when he fought that leopard guy. So much happened, I didn't think anything of it. Do you understand what's happening, Chopper?"
Chopper was quiet as he analyzed Luffy with his doctor's gaze. A horrified look spread across his face. "Don't tell me…?!"
"Second Gear, huh?" Ryuuhei said, a dark look on his face. "I saw it, you know? When you fought the man with the Door-Door Fruit power, as well as your duel with Rob Lucci."
Ryuuhei had been there at Enies Lobby. He watched everything go down. This shocked Luffy, but he put it aside for the moment.
Luffy disappeared in a blur. He moved far faster than he had before. Ryuuhei moved as well. Both of them moved so fast only Zoro could follow them, but even he could only barely keep track of them with his gaze.
It seemed like Luffy was finally able to match Ryuuhei's speed.
But he really wasn't.
'Damn it!' Luffy cursed. He had been trying to land a hit on Ryuuhei, but the man kept out speeding him and avoiding his blows. He was moving just fast enough that Luffy could track and chase him, but moving just fast enough to slip away from his punches. 'He's just like Kyosuke in that way!'
They were mid air. Luffy was in front of Ryuuhei, close enough to reach out and grab him even without stretching. He fired Jet Pistol, but Ryuuhei vanished from his sight, despite being in the air.
Luffy was struck in the back of the head and was sent crashing down to the center of the ship.
"Luffy!" His crew cried out. His fall sounded really bad, even for a rubber man.
"Isn't this enough?!" Nami screamed, as Ryuuhei landed. Hot guy be damned! She could stand seeing Luffy getting beaten up like this any longer. "This doesn't feel like teaching at all!"
"Yeah!" Usopp shouted. "You'll kill Luffy at this rate!"
"Please stop!" Chopper begged.
Ryuuhei only gave them a sideways glance, his attention on Luffy as he forced himself up. His Second Gear wore off and his body stopped steaming and his color returned to normal. "Your crew is begging for mercy on your behalf. Does that make you happy or embarrassed?"
"It makes me wanna keep on fighting!" Luffy answered with a fearless grin. "And show them their captain isn't useless!"
"Hmph," Ryuuhei grinned. "You and your dad only have one thing in common, and that's that you're both gluttons for punishment. Alright, I do see that you aren't really going to learn anything if I just keep beating the crap out of you, so you have sixty seconds. There's about two minutes left on the timer. I won't attack you for sixty seconds, so figure out some way to bridge the enormous gap between us. Obviously, if you try to attack me with a pointless move, I'll just resume kicking your ass until you vomit blood. Understood?"
"Guess I got to, huh?"
"One more thing…" Ryuuhei said in a dark voice. The darkness around him gathered in his hand to form a spear like shape. He got into a stance as if preparing to lunge at Luffy. "Once the sixty seconds are up, I will pierce you through the chest."
"Say what?!" The crew shouted in horror. Even Zoro couldn't keep his composure at that threat. "That's insane!"
"I doubt you'll die," Ryuuhei said, casually. "It wouldn't be the first time you've been impaled, right? I'll also avoid your vitals. Are you cool with that?"
"I'm good," Luffy said nonchalantly. "You Wolves are always so brutal."
"Better than you Monkeys lack of seriousness. We have to be, or else you idiots never learn."
"Luffy!" Nami screamed. "He's going to kill you!"
"I know you take things like this pretty lightly," Usopp shouted. "But getting impaled is not okay!"
"Run, Luffy!" Chopper said. "Doctor's orders!"
"This is getting real," Franky muttered. "Do we stop this?"
"No way," Zoro said harshly, although his hand was on the hilt of his Wado Ichimongi. "It's hard to explain, but that guy isn't being malicious. He's helping Luffy, despite it all. And Luffy doesn't seem concerned. He's excited. Happy, even."
"I suppose," Robin said. "It's like playing with an uncle for him."
This certainly didn't feel like playing to the Weakling Trio.
60 seconds. It wasn't a long time. It was nearly nothing. But all it took was an instant for a miracle to happen. Especially, in the heat of battle.
Somebody told Luffy that one time. Although, he struggled to recall who.
He thought about how he could reach Ryuuhei even a little. Third Gear probably wasn't the best choice. It wasn't safe to use it in the Sunny like this, plus he was so fast, he'd just dodge whatever he'd throw at him.
Nothing he had tried so far had worked. So, he might as well bet it all on something new.
Luffy closed his eyes and looked inside himself. It was dark. He probably wasn't doing it right. Meditation and thinking were hardly his specialty. How does Kyosuke do it?
Should he try to think like him? That seemed impossible.
Maybe Layla… but how would chemistry help?
Lucilia, Luma, Riruka, Aiko, Reina!
Nah, none of them.
…Sona? As if! She was as dumb as him.
Yuki? Pretty sure he could never think like her.
Ace. Sabo. Shanks. Grandpa. Grumpa Axel. Granny Carla.
His crew. His enemies.
Mom! Aunt Nagika! Uncle Rizen!
Dragon!
Dammit, he was wasting time!
He was a dummy so he couldn't think like anyone but himself. Not smarty pants. Not fellow idiots.
He was an idiot that didn't know anything. All he knew was that he didn't want what happened with Angel to happen again.
The very thought of seeing Nami and the others at that bastard's mercy both angered and terrified Luffy. He knew he never wanted that to happen again.
"Times up," Ryuuhei said coolly. "Seems like you weren't able to find your answer. Hopefully a spear through the chest will teach you something."
He launched himself Luffy. The crew cried out for him to stop. They would have jumped in to protect Luffy, but even if they tried, Ryuuhei was far too fast. The black spear construct in his hand pierced the air as it approached Luffy at sonic speeds.
Luffy was pierced straight through.
Or not?
Ryuuhei only pierced the air. Luffy vanished where he was standing less than a second ago.
The Straw Hat pirates blinked several times in confusion. They looked to see where he was. Finally, they saw him leaving against the Thousand Sunny's railings, gasping for air, the darkness coating his body.
"He's alive!" Chopper cheered.
"Hell yeah he is!" Usopp shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
"I'm so glad!" Nami said in relief. "But what happened?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Zoro grinned with pride. "Luffy discovered something."
"Super!" Franky cheered. "That's awesome!"
"My, my," Robin sighed, breathing out all of the air she had kept in for the past sixty seconds. "I don't think I've felt that stressed in a long time."
As the crew cheered for their captain's safety, Ryuuhei grinned. Those kids didn't understand a thing yet. He glanced at Luffy, who was emitting the darkness of his mother's power. He stared at him with the red eyes of the demon. "Luffy… you didn't just 'hear' it. You 'saw' it, too, didn't you?"
"I don't know what just happened," Luffy admitted. "I thought you impaled me. I saw it. Then my body just just moved on its own. And mom's power just activated. I really don't get what just happened."
"That's fine," Ryuuhei said. "It's enough that you broke into the next level. Now that you've tasted the power not once, but twice today. Activating it a third time will be much easier. You're even conscious this time. Sooner or later, you'll master it. It was rough going, but I'll give you a passing grade."
"…You're being nice to me now?" Luffy laughed.
Everyone struggled to understand what Ryuuhei was saying. Luffy saw something instead of hearing it? They didn't understand. Even so, Luffy was alive and whole. They could ask for nothing more.
"We've got less than a minute. Care to see if you can keep up with me any better?"
Luffy grinned despite almost being impaled. He was raring to see what he could do with this new power he unlocked.
They both charged at each other. Both moved at insane speeds.
They punched and their fists collided, a shockwave generated on impact that nearly knocked the pirates on their butts. They both fought hurled punches and kicks at ridiculous speeds and moved across the ship like blurs.
"Is Luffy finally holding his own?!" Usopp asked.
"Seems like it," Zoro said. "But I have a hunch that guy is holding back a lot. Now he's just helping Luffy get adjusted to this new power."
Luffy's strength and speed went up significantly higher than when he used that so called Second Gear. But if he lost focus for even a second, the inherited power he unlocked would slip away.
Not that he was thinking about any of that. He was just having fun with Ryuuhei now, trying to finally land a punch. Of course, Ryuuhei wasn't going to make that easy for Luffy.
In fact, Ryuuhei wasn't going to let him touch him at all. Why make it easy for him?
"You were copying my move, you know?" He said casually, grabbing Luffy's arms and hurling him to the sky. Luffy was sent flying over a hundred feet into the air. Ryuuhei jumped and followed after him. "It wasn't bad, but it was a poor imitation. Let me show you a real Dragon Fang!"
Haki and the darkness gathered into Ryuuhei's fist as he rocket towards Luffy, who tried to stop himself by forming wings, but at the moment he couldn't. He could only use the physical boosts of his inherited devil fruit power.
"The… Dragon Fang!" Ryuuhei punched with unimaginable power. The image of a flying dragon came to the minds of Luffy and his crew, who watched from below. If they had the ability to sense Haki, they'd be truly amazed.
Not that what they could see and feel wasn't already amazing. The clouds were blown away as incredible power burst in the sky.
They weren't the only ones amazed. On a certain ship almost a day's away, those with the ability to feel Haki felt what was happening.
"That is some amazing Haki," Oscar of the Demon Unit said, looking in the direction of where the power was coming from.
"I'll say," Ridge said, impressed. "Not your average Haki user, that's for sure. It's on par with an admiral or an Emperor's commander. Maybe better?"
"But where's it coming from?" Ellie asked. "You don't often see many Haki users on this side of the Grand Line. Although, we are getting closer to the Red Line."
"Do you guys feel anything?" June asked the group of Ren, Shauna, Leoha, and Akina. About half the ship could use Haki. Those that could, stared seriously in that direction. Of course, June could not use Haki.
"…Kind of," Leoha said, trying to focus. "I can sort of feel it from here, but it feels so far."
"Same for me," Akina said. "Still, what I can feel is really something."
"It really is," Ren said. "It's amazing."
"The power of a true monster," Shauna said.
"Hey, this feels familiar," Rizen said. He stood with both Lilia and Nagika on the upper deck of the ship. "This reminds me of somebody. Somebody I know. Somebody important. Somebody…"
He wasn't going to remember.
"Lily-chan," Nagika said, looking at her friend.
"I know," Lilia said, staring down at the vivre card of a certain young man in her hand. The vivre card pointed in the same direction as the powerful Haki. "That pretty son a bitch better not hurt my boy!"
'Luffy…' Yuki, the Princes of Hell, stared intently at the sky. She stood atop the crows nest of the Demon Unit's ship. She could feel the incredible Haki best from there. She could feel the presence of the boy closest to her heart right at the core of it. She had the urge to shift into her hawk form and fly to him. But that'd be pointless. Whatever was happening would be long complete by the time she ever got there. She was fast in the sky but not so fast that she could cross a day's sailing distance in an instant.
Besides, from what she could tell, the Haki they were all feeling wasn't malicious. If anything it was playful. She wasn't sure what the owner of that Haki was doing with Luffy, but she had a hunch Luffy would have an interesting story for them when they finally reunited.
The story ends here for now. If you want to read further, then become a patron on my P treon. Again special thanks to Angel Zamora for joining the 10 dollar Advanced Tier.