New World, Unnamed Sea.
Kaelen and Robin stood quietly on the ship's deck, gazing back at the chaos they had just escaped.
Far in the distance, a massive whirlpool had opened up in the ocean, stretching several miles in diameter. Like a giant funnel, the sea churned endlessly into its depths.
If not for Kaelen's skillful use of the Float-Float Fruit to suspend the ship, they might have been swallowed whole.
"So this is the New World... Danger really lurks at every corner," Robin muttered, her voice calm but her eyes betraying lingering tension.
Kaelen chuckled, amused by her rare display of unease. "Danger? That's just another Tuesday in the New World."
Pulling a camera from seemingly nowhere, Kaelen snapped a few photos without warning.
Robin flushed and looked away, retreating behind her usual cool demeanor, though a flicker of annoyance crossed her face.
Kaelen finally stowed the camera with satisfaction. His photography had improved lately, but without proper gear, the experience lacked half the fun.
"According to recent intel," Robin began, brushing her hair back, "the rest of the Supernova have already made landfall here. Who are we targeting first?"
Even during Kaelen's absence, Robin had picked up scattered reports about his exploits—stealing Devil Fruit abilities, possibly even replicating them, and doing it all without suffering the usual curse.
He was a monster in human skin... a walking anomaly.
Kaelen tapped his chin, thoughtful. "Let's start with Capone 'Gang' Bege and the gluttonous girl, Jewelry Bonney."
Capone's Castle-Castle Fruit allowed him to create and store immense spaces within his own body, even transforming into a fortress. Bonney's unnamed ability let her control age, reverting people to infants or aging them rapidly.
One fruit dealt with space, the other, time. Both were exactly the kind of powers Kaelen wanted.
Recently, Kaelen had added several abilities to his collection.
After defeating Wapol, he encountered a newly-set-out Bartolomeo, and a single slap earned him the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. Then, from Don Accino, he claimed the Heat-Heat Fruit, and from Foxy, the Slow-Slow Fruit.
But what pleased Kaelen the most was the [system]'s newly activated feature:
Ability Fusion.
Powers of similar origin could now be combined and refined.
For example, the Heat-Heat Fruit and the Flame-Flame Fruit—both fire-based—could be fused. The result: Kaelen's firepower had skyrocketed several-fold. Even Admiral Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit was now significantly outmatched in sheer elemental heat.
His current target was clear—mastery over space and time. With the new fusion system, if he could claim both, he would become fundamentally untouchable.
---
That day, the sea was calm.
On deck, Robin pushed herself through an intense training session. Sweat poured down her face as she strained to enhance her physical endurance.
Kaelen, seemingly napping on a recliner nearby, was in fact meditating—mentally familiarizing himself with the abilities he had acquired. His goal was simple: to make them truly his.
He had realized something important.
Though [system] absorption allowed him to "copy" abilities, their usage felt artificial—like wielding a blade through a layer of cloth. The raw power was there, but his connection to it was not.
And now, he worked to tear down that invisible barrier.
No telling how long passed before Kaelen opened his eyes. He looked over to see Robin staggering, her body pushed to the limit.
"Alright, take a break."
"Hah… Hah…"
Robin dropped to her knees, panting hard. Her sweat-soaked shirt clung tightly to her body, revealing every curve. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, and for a moment, her vulnerability showed.
Kaelen wasted no time. He lifted his camera and captured the scene.
Robin glanced at him, rolled her eyes, and sighed. She had gotten used to this by now.
Putting the camera away, Kaelen stretched and rose to his feet—but paused when something caught his eye across the sea.
Waves surged, winds howled, and cutting through it all came a lone figure on a bicycle.
The man pedaled casually across the water as if it were solid ground, utterly undisturbed by the storm.
Sunglasses, messy curls, lazy posture—there was no mistaking him.
Admiral Aokiji.
The man looked like he was out for a joyride in his own backyard.
Kaelen grinned and called out from across the waves, "Yo, Aokiji! Been a while!"
"..."
The former admiral glanced over but made no effort to reply. He didn't even acknowledge Kaelen, clearly recalling their single, silent meeting during the Marineford War.
Robin froze behind Kaelen, her face drained of color.
Her shoulders trembled slightly, fear leaking through her composed exterior.
Aokiji had been the source of her childhood trauma—one she had never truly shaken.
Smack.
Kaelen placed a warm, steady hand on her shoulder. Power and calm seemed to pour from his touch.
She turned and saw his reassuring smile.
"There's nothing to fear, Robin. Not anymore."
His words were gentle, like a breeze easing through the heart.
Robin took a deep breath, her hands slowly unclenching. "Okay," she whispered, forcing a small smile.
Kaelen nodded, then called out again to Aokiji, "Hey, why not come aboard for a chat?"
"I heard Akainu shattered your leg. Want me to break his too? Call it even."
---
Apologies for not uploading the chapters earlier today
I've been sick (still am, actually, lol).
That said, I'll be switching the update time back to the original schedule: 6 PM to 7 PM (WAT).