[2070 words]

RANT ALERT: ​​

Honestly, I had a bit of a writer’s block as I was writing the later chapters. I have the story ready, it’s just a bit difficult to continue building on things of which there isn’t much to go off at. We know of God Valley and who participated in it and how it ended. I have to write the process to that point and that requires a lot of original content in which it is easy to go off tracks.

That’s what happened with adding the 3 Overlords and some people didn’t like the Escanor addition as it disrupted the flow. I won’t say much but he won’t cause a huge impact on the actual story which is AFTER the Rocks Era. So yeah, expect his personality, I already explained the fruit power pretty well so it should be okay.

Especially the fight scenes with these guys where you just don’t have much to go off. They are big characters that are easy to mess up so I ended up putting it off a bit and didn’t upload for 2ish days.

I think I’m fine now, it was definitely a bump in the road but I have gotten over it now.

But I will need to go back to 1 chapter every 2 days as I just can’t keep up with my tests and exam.

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Enjoy the chapter!

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[Mora Island]

The merchant-themed island has a very welcoming and pleasant atmosphere.

A dense pine forest surrounded the residential areas.

A deep fog waved through the island.

A large mountain range etched across the horizon.

[A/N: Mora Island – Where Ace will fight Jinbei]

The forest stretched through around 80% of the island.

Only the Southend was habited.

A large city built with stone buildings and houses.

The ground was stable and well-kept as thousands of merchants ran about.

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Thousands and people, countless pirates, members of the Underworld, and undercover marines were present.

The Annual Mora Island auction sponsored by the Borealis Pirates was about to happen.

The main attraction was the grand finale of the Auction, one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords!

29 days had passed since the news of the auctioning of the Inferno Blade ‘Mokushiroku’.

And the auction was to occur very soon.

5 different docks were available for the people to enter.

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At the center of the city was a giant stone building, the Auction House!

Flags flew in the wind as the jolly roger of the Borealis Pirates danced about.

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[Dock 1]

A giant gray-coloured ship pulled into the dock.

It had a thick dull frame with blue masts that held together with the blue sails.

The foremast had one word printed upon it,

[ BOREALIS ]

The ship came to a stop as the pirates walked off.

50 or so men slowly flooded out as they cleared the way for the big dogs.

4 men with equal height.

Each peaking at 15 feet.

Each had 1 letter printed on their chests.

N

E

W

S

‘The 4 Cardinal Directions of the Borealis Pirates!’

The odd thing was that they were all identical!

Quadruplets!

The only thing that set them apart was the letter on their chests and their facial hair.

Though currently, they too moved to the side as another man walked out.

*STEP*

*STEP*

*STEP*

Loud clangs sounded out as an older man stepped off.

He had tanned skin.

An extremely muscular body.

Veins popped all over as the sheer strength hidden within was prevalent.

He had gray hair and a large gray beard.

He was quite old yet no one dared to look at him with the wrong gaze.

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He is one of the 3 Overlords of the Sea!

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‘Crazed Wind’ Esso Borealis!

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[A/N: Esso Borealis Image]

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“Bobobobo, looks like the Auction is going well, North,” he said in a deep voice.

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“Hai, Borealis-sama. It will begin in 20 hours now. Many have already arrived.” The man answered.

Borealis nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. This will rack in a lot of berries. Make sure to keep your eyes out for any who make trouble!” He declared.

“”””HAI!””””

The 4 pirates all shouted as they moved to the auction house.

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[20 Hours Later]

[At Noon]

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“WE NOW BEGIN THE ANNUAL BOREALIS AUCTION!”

“The first item: A rare relic from 300 years back!”

“Starting price, 100 million berries!”

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“100 million!”

“103 million!”

“169.69 million!”

…

The auction continued for another 2 hours.

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“The 69th item: 10 large slabs of Adam’s Oak Wood!”

“Starting price: 700 Million Berries!”

…

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The final piece then arrived.

2 men walked up and stood at the side, guarding the stage.

East and West.

Both commanders stood straight, ready to fight off any who get in the way.

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“AND FINALLY! WE PRESENT THE GRAND FINALE!”

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South walked on the stage holding a long black box.

There was a table at the center where he placed the treasure.

*CLICK*

The locks were opened as the box was unlocked.

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The audience, nearly 500 people, all drew in as the pirate pulled out what was within.

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It was a katana.

The hilt was simple, a red oval that sat before the blade.

The grip, however, was quite eye-catching.

It was mainly black with red diamonds lining down the grip.

The blade was sheathed with a black cover.

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South looked at the audience and warned,

“Beware, this sword is a cursed Inferno blade. I will unsheath it, though even I can only hold it for a few seconds.”

He then focused on the blade.

South took a deep breath and put his right hand on the grip and his left on the scabbard.

*Shingg*

The sheath smoothly slid off as the sword was unleashed.

BOOM!

A deep cry of blood and death burst out as the blade was unfurled.

It was seething in fury as the air around it started to steam.

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*Gasping Audience*

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The blade was very wild-looking yet it only enhanced its beauty.

The blade itself was black.

Yet there were many cracks all over it as a molten red glow pulsed upon the metal.

A red aura surrounded the sword as South desperately tried to hold it.

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[A/N: ‘Inferno Blade’ Mokushiroku image]

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“AHHH!”

*Shing*

The sheath was slid back on as the blade calmed down, ready to be released once more.

Though this itself drew in a wonderous response from the crowd.

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“What a deadly blade!”

“I felt like I was cut in half while sitting all the way over here!”

“I almost pissed myself!”

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Though these fodders were not the main guests.

Quite a few powerful people sat in the corners of the hall, hiding in the shadows with varying intents however a loud bang resonated through the hall, shutting all else.

BOOOM!

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A loud bang rang through the auction house as the door was blasted open.

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[20 Minutes Ago]

(Damien POV)

We docked off at the island bit further away, after all our ship draws in too many eyes.

Xebec was against is but he eventually gave in as Shakky and Whitebeard both protested.

Xebec wanted to enter and raze everything to the ground.

“Don’t get in my way, Xebec! Borealis is mine.”

Whitebeard roared as he grabbed his weapon.

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[A/N: He does NOT have his ‘Murakumogiri’, he uses a similar glaive as his current weapon. He will find his true weapon soon.]

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“XAHAHAHA! Newgate, you better end it soon, or else I might end up giving in to my urges and fight the both of you!”

Xebec responded with battle-lust radiating off him.

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“WORORORO! I can’t wait to finally fight! It’s been too long!” Kaido bellowed out.

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‘Looks like this island may need to be rebuilt ground up.’ I shook my head with a wry smile.

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“Let’s go!” Xebec said.

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We left Shakky at the ship, we would alert her when we were ready to leave, after all, if we went straight to the docks then it would give away our intents.

We don’t exactly have a good rep.

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*THUD*

A little explosion rattled through the stone flooring as 3 of us landed.

Whitebeard is in the center, Kaido to his left and I to his right.

Xebec had disappeared once more, he is probably not expected anyone to fight as the main ‘attraction’ was Whitebeard’s enemy.

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“Hey, isn’t that…”

‘Yeah, from 7 months ago!”

“The report said that they killed 3 World Nobles!”

“What do they intend to do here?”

“Surely they won’t try to fight an Overlord of the Sea, right?”

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Tens of hushed voices whispered out as the people around us started to recognize our faces.

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Other than that, we did stand out quite a bit.

A man around the height of a lampost.

A crazy ogre.

And then there’s me, though shorter than the rest, still quite tall with distant hair and eye colour.

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*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

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“HEY, YOU! STOP HERE!” The guards yelled.

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We stopped until…

*Step*

One man walked forth.

Kaido.

He had his Kanabo club ready as he cracked his shoulders at raised his weapon over his right shoulder.

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“HEHE…”, he cackled.

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“W-Wait..!”

*FWOOO*

The wind howled in fury as the giant club swung with endless momentum, bashing into the 2 poor guards.

The spiked edges drilled into their heads as they popped like grapes.

The attack didn’t stop there.

It went on and continued as it inched near the giant door.

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BOOOM!

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The gate was blasted open as the huge pieces of debris rained into the hall within.

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“They’re crazy!”

“This is an Overlord’s territory!”

“They’re courting death!”

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The bystanders gasped at the display and ran for their lives.

They may be weak but they definitely know the battle that happens near an Overlord and had no desire to stay near it.

The audience inside had started to clear out, it’s almost like they came prepared to run at any moment’s notice.

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Whitebeard walked in first.

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*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

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“Borealis you bastard, come out!” He yelled.

…

“You are… Newgate.”

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A deep voice rumbled from afar as the wind grew erratic.

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*Howling Winds Sound*

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The wind gathered together to the center of the stage as the figure of a 15-foot tall old man appeared.

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“Borealis…”, Whitebeard said softly as he gazed at the Overlord.

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“You abandoned your home. You forsook your own people! You are the kind I hate the most! The ones who turn their backs on their own people!”

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“Hmph. You are as foolish as when you were a little child, Newgate.” He commented.

“Enough talk!” Whitebeard declared.

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*FWOOO*

A white halo formed around the giant’s hand as it encased his right fist.

Whitebeard jumped from the entrance all the way to the stage.

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Borealis saw the attack and narrowed his eyes.

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“Howling Winds!”

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The old man’s arms popped with muscles as winds gathered all around them.

The wind cried as it was brought together into the man’s grasp and became one with him.

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A small tornado wrapped around Borealis’ right arm as he jumps forward to meet the attack.

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BOOM!

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Tornado vs Tremor!

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The battle raged on.

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(Damien POV)

‘Geez, seeing Whitebeard going berserk is quite the sight!’ I commented as I saw the two duel.

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However, a laugh interrupted my train of thought.

.

.

.

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“WAHAHAHAHA.”

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“What an interesting sight, no, Rayleigh?” The man joked as he stayed seated on the chairs.

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“Hmm. Indeed, that man is Edward Newgate who ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!” Rayleigh said with clear admiration.

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As for me…

‘The fuck? Is that the damn Pirate King chilling here?’

‘The Dark King as well… to think these guys would come here too… oh right, they are sword-wielders after all.’

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[A/N: Gol D. Roger Image]

[A/N: Silvers Rayleigh Image]

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Roger then turned his gaze at me.

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“Yo, kid.”

“You’re on the same ship as that Newgate guy, right?” He asked merely.

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“That’s right… and you are Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh,” I replied.

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“WAHAHAHA, I heard of a crazy crew who pissed off the marines, to think you would come here.” He said.

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He then got up from his seat.

‘I’m no match for this guy, but that doesn’t mean I will retreat.’

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Boom!

A small explosion and ground cracked beside me.

A giant club hit the ground as a huge youth landed.

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“WORORORO! Damien! You found some powerful people and didn’t call me over?” Kaido complained.

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“Ah, young man, you should know your level is still far from us,” Rayleigh said, though he too got up from his seat.

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“WAHAHAHA!”

“Rayleigh, let me deal with it!”

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*Shing*

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He drew out his saber from his side, it rested comfortably in his right hand.

The sword in his hand looked quite plain and simple, yet my Observation was blaring at the sight of it.

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“WAHAHA, come, kids!”

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He ran forwards with no sight of hesitation, the seating area was already a mess from earlier, leaving behind a clean platform.

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‘The future pirate king running at you with a crazy smile and his sword drawn… what do I do?’

‘Meet it head-on of course!’

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“Let’s go, Kaido!”

“WORORO!”

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Boom!

The ground cracked apart as the 2 of us raced forwards.

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Kaido’s club started boiling as a black aura was released and sparks lit in the air.

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My arm was wrapped with crimson energy as even more gathered in my left fist, the air bursts apart as I began my attack.

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Roger just grinned as he ran forwards, his sword was resting at the back of his neck.

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Holding his sword in his right hand, Roger pulls his arm back and swings it forwards in a diagonal movement, creating an all-powerful slash.

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“RAIMEI HAKKE!”

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“ALL CRUSH!”

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“Divine Departure!”

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[The following is excluded from word count]

Author’s Corner:

Well, that’s the first of the next few chapters, hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger as much as I did writing it!

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Random Trivia:

Would you rather work more hours a day, but have longer weekends or work fewer hours a day with more workdays?

Thanks for Reading!