Kane held the thin slip of intelligence between his fingers. His face was a mask of calm, showing not even a flicker of emotion to the outside world. Deep inside, however, a massive wave of triumph surged through his soul. He had waited for three long years for this moment. This was the lever he needed to move the entire world and change the era itself.
"System," he whispered in his mind.
With a simple thought, a glowing blue screen expanded across his vision.
Host: Kane Physique: 90 (Monster-class) Skills: Storm-Storm Fruit (Unawakened), Advanced Conquerors Haki, Peak Great Swordsman, Top-tier Rokushiki... Discipline points: 824,500
Kane stared at the bright, burning numbers on the screen. He did not hesitate for a single second. This was his entire fortune. He had spent three years painstakingly gathering these points through a series of ruthless and cold operations. He thought of the Red Earl's forced donations, Stussy's creative account optimization, and the way he had exploited the three Admiral Candidates as free labor. Every rule he broke and every person he used had led to this. It was all for this specific moment.
"System, exchange my points for the awakening of the Storm-Storm Fruit ability."
[Ding! Detected Host's application for Logia: Storm-Storm Fruit ability awakening. This process requires 600,000 discipline points. Do you confirm?]
"Confirm," Kane said.
A satisfied smile curled the corners of his mouth. To Kane, money and points only had real meaning when they were spent and turned into absolute, crushing power.
[Exchange confirmed! Fruit ability awakening process initiated...] [Linking to World Core... Analyzing Atmospheric Laws... Reconstructing ability sequence...]
As the cold, robotic voice of the system faded away, a massive force that words could not describe pierced through Kane's soul.
Buzz!
In that heartbeat, Kane felt as if his physical body had vanished. His consciousness stretched out infinitely, soaring away from the Governor's Mansion and climbing ten thousand meters into the sky. He felt himself becoming the wind. He was the first morning breeze blowing through Foosha Village in the East Blue. He was the scorching, rising heat of the Alabasta desert. He was the freezing blizzard howling over the ice ports of the North Blue. He was even the chaotic magnetic storms that plagued the Grand Line.
He heard the movement of every cloud. He felt every drop of rain as it condensed. He sensed the birth of every bolt of lightning deep within the heavy clouds. The entire atmospheric system of the planet was now open to him. That vast, incredible power that covered the world was no longer something outside of him. It had become an extension of his own body, his own breath, and his own heartbeat. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and air pressure were once tools he had to control with effort. Now, they were as natural to him as blinking.
He was the storm. He was a walking natural disaster.
Above the Governor's Mansion on Punk Hazard, the sky changed instantly. One moment it was perfectly clear for miles, and the next, heavy, dark clouds appeared from nothing. They gathered so fast it looked like a pair of giant, invisible hands was pulling the sky down toward the earth. The entire island was suddenly plunged into a terrifying, pitch-black darkness.
Boom!
A massive, purple-black thunder dragon tore through the clouds. It was as wide as a mountain and roared with a sound that shook the ground. The blinding light of the lightning illuminated the terrified faces of the Marines on the training ground below. Their skin looked deathly pale in the flashes of light.
"What... what is that?" Sakazuki asked. He was in the middle of extreme weight training, but he stopped to look up. The hard ground under his boots was turning into dust because of the invisible, crushing air pressure falling from the sky.
"Ara-la... you have to be kidding me," Kuzan muttered. The air around him grew cold, and ice crystals started to form in the air, but they were instantly crushed into nothing by the overwhelming pressure of the storm.
"How scary," Borsalino said. He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching the rolling thunderclouds. His voice was casual, but his eyes showed a level of worry and caution no one had ever seen from him before. This power made even these three monsters feel a deep shiver in their souls.
Inside the Governor's Mansion, Kane slowly opened his eyes. In the depths of his pupils, it looked as if miniature storms and lightning strikes were being born and dying away. He turned toward the window and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The dark clouds, the thunder, and the howling winds vanished instantly. It was as if an invisible hand had wiped the sky clean. The blue sky returned, and warm sunlight washed over the island again. Only Kane knew that what had just happened was very real.
"So, this is awakening?" Kane asked himself. He opened his palm, and a tiny, swirling storm appeared over his skin. Lightning and vacuum forces twisted together inside it, giving off a feeling that it could destroy anything it touched. "Six hundred thousand points. It was definitely worth the price."
Kane closed the system screen, feeling very satisfied, and stood up from the sofa. He walked to the large window and looked down at the steel fortress below. This place was now his private kingdom. It was finally time. It was time to go meet the man who had started this entire era. It was time to give the King of the Pirates the most magnificent funeral possible.
Kane walked out of his office. With a quick flash of movement, he appeared down at the harbor.
"Big Brother Kane!" Gion called out. She was busy commanding the soldiers during their daily drills, but she hurried over when she saw him. "Are you going somewhere? Should I prepare a warship for you?"
"No, there is no need for that," Kane said. He waved his hand and, because he was in such a good mood, he reached out and pinched Gion's soft cheek. "I am going to the South Blue to relax for a bit. While I am there, I will track down Roger's location. Tell Marine Headquarters that my bonus for this year is due. Tell them not to be late."
Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino walked over as well. They looked at Kane with very complicated expressions. They knew the terrifying aura they had felt earlier came from this man.
"Kane..." Sakazuki started, his throat tight. He couldn't help but ask, "Just now... what was that?"
"What? You want to try it for yourself?" Kane asked. He glanced at Sakazuki with a playful, dangerous smirk.
Sakazuki went silent immediately. He loved to fight, but he was not stupid. The power he had just sensed was beyond anything he understood.
"Keep a good eye on the house while I'm gone," Kane said. He patted Sakazuki on the shoulder and left them with those mysterious words.
Then, as everyone watched in shock, Kane's feet slowly lifted off the ground. The air began to swirl around him, forming two solid wings made of pure storm energy.
Whoosh!
There was no loud explosion or sonic boom. His body seemed to simply melt into the wind, and he vanished from the spot instantly. All that was left was a ring of white vapor in the air to show he had been there. Gion and the regular Marine soldiers stood there with their mouths open, completely stunned. Only the three Admiral Candidates kept staring at the spot where Kane had disappeared. None of them spoke for a long time.
Kuzan whispered softly to himself, "That guy... he has become a monster that we can't even understand anymore."
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