William glanced at the background feat, understanding that it served as a sort of character biography. His deeds of killing Barbarossa had already spread widely among the people of East Blue. The truth about Roy and Arcadio's deaths was known to quite a few, but fewer were aware of his treachery against Zeff.
The Plaza of Fate seemed intrinsically connected to William himself. Once he had reviewed all the contents on the pedestal, the text was mysteriously erased, as if wiped away like chalk marks by some unseen force.
New text then appeared:
Morgan Stolt William
[Young Godfather] (From East Blue)
[Sword Prodigy] (From Isshin Dojo)
[Great Philanthropist] (From Kalmar City Slums)
Sea Calendar 1490 — ???
Birthplace: East Blue - Faraise Kingdom
Skill Feats: [Advanced Swordsmanship], [Swordsmanship - Iron Cutting], [Basic Navigation]
Special Feats: [Lightning Reflexes], [Zen Sword Arts], [Robust], [Heightened Alertness]
Achievement Feats: [Gekokujō], [Sudden Enlightenment], [Perfect Vengeance]
Background Feats: [Apprentice of Isshin Dojo], [Treacherous Alliance-Breaker]
Devil Fruit Feats: [Elementalization - Steam], [Vaporization], [High Pressure]
In addition to the feats he already possessed, several new ones appeared. As William focused on them, small descriptions appeared beside each:
[Advanced Swordsmanship]: You are an explorer of swordsmanship. After mastering certain techniques, you begin advancing toward the realm of "swordsmanship," gradually developing your own insights and innovations.
[Swordsmanship - Iron Cutting]: Listen to the breath of all things; nothing is uncuttable.
[Elementalization - Steam]: Through the power of the Devil Fruit, you can transform into steam and manipulate steam influenced by the fruit's abilities.
[Vaporization]: Through the power of the Devil Fruit, you can rapidly vaporize substances by continuously heating yourself.
[High Pressure]: Through the power of the Devil Fruit, your body can withstand high pressure.
Beyond the powers of the Devil Fruit, William's swordsmanship had also advanced.
William turned his attention to other areas of the Plaza of Fate. The stone table for exchanging special feats stood quietly in one corner of the plaza, but William's focus was on a new item—a bonsai placed on a pedestal.
Every time the Plaza of Fate upgraded, it unlocked new and intriguing functions. It seemed this bonsai was the new ability revealed by this upgrade.
As William approached the bonsai, he suddenly felt a tremor. A small red fruit hung conspicuously on the green tree stump bonsai.
Though its size was greatly reduced, William immediately recognized it as a Devil Fruit!
William gazed at the clearly underdeveloped Devil Fruit, his mind racing with questions.
Where did this Devil Fruit come from? Barbarossa's? Why was it here?
What shocked William most was the Plaza of Fate's ability to bring something from the real world into its internal space.
After pacing around the Devil Fruit bonsai, William ultimately walked toward the stone table for exchanging special feats. The mysteries of the Plaza of Fate were not something he could unravel in a short time.
In addition to Gin, several toy figurines had appeared on the stone table. William picked them up one by one, discovering they represented Kuro, Yasopp, and the deceased captain of the Blue Sapphire Pirates, Blujam.
Playing with Blujam's toy figurine, William was unsurprised by the presence of Kuro and Yasopp on the stone table, but Blujam's appearance caught him slightly off guard.
It seemed that not only did characters tied to his storyline create special Threads of Fate, but even those he had killed could generate similar connections.
William first placed Kuro and Yasopp's figurines into the slots beneath the [Heroic Aura] feat. As soon as the slots and figurine bases connected, they fused irreversibly, while two more slots appeared beneath other feats.
"The required figurines increase exponentially?" William remarked in surprise.
He set Blujam's figurine aside. Now, exchanging feats required four figurines with special Threads of Fate, making it impossible to continue exchanging at the moment. He turned his attention back to the special feat descriptions on the central pedestal.
[Heroic Aura]: Your destiny is one in a million; your unique aura captivates others with every move you make.
As William studied the pedestal, a commotion suddenly arose above the figurines. Countless Threads of Fate poured onto the ground like liquid mercury, yet afterward, there was no further movement in the plaza.
William knew the new path of fate was composed of Threads of Fate, but he hadn't expected the emergence of a new road to be so challenging. Nearly ten thousand Threads of Fate had just appeared, yet they couldn't even form a single stone tablet?
William frowned slightly, but he had no solution. For this mysterious space, he could only adapt passively, unlike the power he wielded in the real world.
Seeing that he had learned and exchanged all he could, William thought of leaving the Plaza of Fate. As soon as he had the thought, before he could ponder how to exit, his vision blurred, and his consciousness instantly left the Plaza of Fate, returning to reality.
In his field of vision, everyone shifted from bullet-time slow motion back to normal speed.
William still had his hand on Sherlock's shoulder, the abrupt shift in consciousness and time causing him to pause momentarily.
But William was quick to react. He gently patted Sherlock's shoulder, comforting the elder who struggled to conceal his emotions after avenging his great wrong: "After this, you can return home in glory, rebuild the Flash Gold Guild, and reclaim everything you've lost. I'll help you get it all back!"
...
While William was exacting his revenge at Arcadio's estate, elsewhere, Harden led Yasopp and hundreds of pirates against the army incited by Rielde.
At Arcadio's mansion, with William personally overseeing the operation, only about a dozen men were needed. The rest, aside from those blocking the sea route under Selkirk's command, were all with Harden.
Many of these men were seasoned pirates who had battled on the seas for years, fighting both men and nature. In terms of strength and bravery, they far surpassed the army led by feudal nobles. Even Arcadio, who had little influence within the military, could freely requisition supplies from the kingdom's army, highlighting the corruption and chaos within the Navia Kingdom's forces.
Harden led the veteran pirates at the forefront, with Yasopp close behind. Armed with two revolvers, Yasopp severely injured twelve leading noble officers in a single encounter, swiftly depriving the army, which wasn't very large to begin with, of most of its commanders. The Morgan Pirates easily scattered them.
Following William's instructions, Harden and his men then advanced toward the city center's palace, cutting down any criminals from the slums who didn't immediately lay down their weapons upon meeting them.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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