[2860 words]
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The ship docked as three people walked off the ramp.
Before the protagonist could even take a breath of fresh air, a lithe figure crawled out from his shadow and wrapped around him.
Damien lightly smiled as he stroked the silky purple hair, hearing the girl's light breathing.
"Damien-san!" a voice came as Toki ran over. The pirate extended his right arm, allowing the green-haired girl to sink into his grasp.
The others arrived as well, though they watched from the side.
"..."
Damien noticed Toki's tearful eyes as she ran her hands through his torso, looking for the injuries that were so boldly shown in the papers not too long ago.
"You're unhurt…"He slightly nodded at the doctor's interrogation, "They were just flesh wounds."
Toki sighed in relief, smiling into his embrace once more.
Aurora wasn't the type to overexpress her emotions through words. She simply watched while leaning on Damien's shoulder, examining his body to corroborate his words; the worry in her eyes was apparent.
Unbeknownst to the girls, Damien felt the most moved of the three. The dark edge along his Haki was suppressed further.
Thud!
The ice-boy landed in front of the newly arrived, beaming a grin.
"Big Bro, you were the first to break out of Impel Down in history!" Kuzan remarked. "That's pretty cool!"
"Technically, I'm the only the first known escapee… the one deserving of that title is a giant from sixty years ago."
Kuzan didn't really get what Damien meant, but he was still as excited as before—that was until he noticed the stranger.
"Psst," he whispered, masking his mouth with a palm. "Who's the homeless old bum you brought with you?"
He gestured at the Ares, who stood with a fatherly smile by the side. He was still wearing his previous cloak from Impel Down, which looked like it had survived seven wars that lasted a century each.
Damien hid the smirk at his father's widened eye from being slapped in the face. "I picked him up floating in a barrel from a sunken ship. It's my daily good deed of saving the misfortunate."
Kuzan nodded twice, quite pleased with Damien's moral compass. He marched ahead and waved down the hobo, "Old man, if you want, I can donate the clothes I grew out of. They're a little worn-out, but they'll keep you warm." 𝘙𝖆NỗＢƐṨ
Ares, who was assaulted by the constant mention of "old" and "homeless," couldn't help but twitch in his spot. He raised an annoyed fist and thundered, "Let this 'old' man teach you some manners!"
The scarred fist shot ahead, smacking the young child. Oddly enough, the boy exploded into shards of ice, littering over the grassy floor.
Ares raised a curious brow, feeling the chill around his knuckles.
"Hehe, so you want to fight, old man!" Kuzan reformed from the hail of frost with a grin and landed a kick that froze the moisture in the air.
Bam!
"Cheh!" Kuzan grimaced, feeling an iron-vice clawing around his shin, obliterating every hint of frost.
.
"Ice-Block: Partisan!"
.
With a wave of his hands, the boy materialized four thick, icy spears around him, moulding the moisture to his will.
Ares met the projectiles by waving his open arm across, shattering them like glass. But at that moment, Kuzan had reached for the arm holding him in midair.
.
"Ice Time!"
.
The War God breathed in the frost in the air, feeling his nose hair freezing. With an appreciative grin, he exclaimed, "Looks like you ate quite the special fruit, young buck!"
Like a broken record, he shot his arm out faster than Kuzan could react, holding him once more.
.
Damien stood with his arms crossed, watching the spectacle. Meanwhile, the girls moved as well.
'Is he testing us?' Toki thought, seeing the boy she had raised for a few years struggling. In a burst of green, she had materialized her nullity bow and showed no mercy.
*Swoosh!*
A single green arrow rocketed through the air, aiming at Ares' head. Every meter it rocketed through would leave behind a dull growl of the wind, greying the air around it.
"!!!" Ares' Haki flared wildly as he saw the incoming attack. He tilted his head, dodging the attack.
Bang!
The arrow sailed ahead and hit a tree. Within a fraction of a second, the tree's bark turned from a healthy brown to black, right before withering away into nothingness.
"Oye, oye! That's a dangerous power!"
Ares' admiration of the unholy power was interrupted as he felt his own shadow grow consciousness. With alarm, he noticed the darkness swirling like liquid, wrapping around his entire body like a rope and binding his open right arm to his waist.
'Gravity!?' He exclaimed, feeling a force lock him in place, drawing purple vertical lines around him. But it was a spiralling stress that hit the arm grasping Kuzan. 'No, any physical force!'
He saw a purple shadow grow before him, forcing him to let go of the icy lad and unleash a punch.
*Whuru*
"Another Logia…" Ares murmured, feeling the cold aether melting around his strike. At the same time, he felt a blade at his back: "Oh?"
Glancing behind, Ares saw a tiny brat holding a katana way too large for his body, stabbing him in the back.
The twin hawk-like eyes didn't wave as Mihawk swapped his attack form to a barrage of quick and intense attacks, each aimed at a major artery or organ.
*Swish!*
*Fwooo!*
*Vvooo!*
The air whistled from the sharp sword collided against Ares' left index finger, slicing and dicing the air in perfect arcs.
"Where'd he find such a feisty little runt who can swing a sword like this!?" the War God exclaimed, feeling the nicks along his digit while also dodging Toki's nullity arrows.
While playing off the assault from Mihawk, Ares noticed the purple-haired young woman not too far behind. 'So she's the one who can throw forces around.'
He saw her locking on the battle, raising her right arm.
With a flick of her hand, Mihawk was pulled back at incredible speed while another burst of force sent a new enemy hurling at Ares.
Clang!
Ares' knees slightly crouched, feeling the oppressive weight of horizontal gravity boosting the giant, creepy monster made of rotten wood.
*Grrrr!* Sparks exploded around the older pirate's arm from the branch-like fingers digging along it.
"A Mythical Zoan, too. You guys are worth quite the pot of gold!"
Solomon, in his Wendigo form, burst into a monstrous grin of his cow-like skull. He showered a flurry of strikes with arms as tough as famed blades, each boosted by Aurora's forces.
But even with the nefarious fog all but suffocating the God of War, he stood tall against their combined efforts.
"Kuhuhuhu! What a monstrous old geezer—you actually don't fear anything!"
Ares reached up to shield himself from Solomon's pummeling attack, beaming a confident smile in the process.
"Ruhahaha! I ate fear for breakfast this morning… It was a little salty!"
With a show of force, he burst past the twin rotten arms, grabbing the towering Wendigo by its shoulders and yanking it toward himself.
BANG!
A merciless headbutt shook Solomon from the inside out—the cow skull was printed with cracks, leaving its user woozy.
…
Damien continued to watch, humming at the turn of events. He was committing his current roster's strengths and weaknesses.
Toki had released the colossal gap in Haki, prompting her to stay at a distance.
Aurora had realized Damien's intentions, letting Solomon, Kuzan, and Mihawk, the offensive unit, show their worth.
'This new era is sneaking up on us, and I can't let it take us by surprise,' the Sin Incarnate thought, running through the pieces at his disposal.
"Commander."
It was a confident voice from behind, spoken in the form of wanting permission.
Damien glanced at the dark figure to his right, slowly nodding, "Go ahead, try him on."
…
Ares was once again playing around with Kuzan and Mihawk, laughing at their stubborn nature.
"!!!" The hair along the War God's arms stood up, sending a flare of Haki in his mind. With narrowed eyes, he noticed the tiny sparks of blue in the air, feeling a boiling heat aiming toward him. "Woah, now, here comes a tough one!"
Kuzan and Mihawk flickered to the distracted Ares' sides, only to be met with a fist each.
*Crackle!* BOOM!
The air exploded under the blue lighting that surged forward from out of nowhere, travelling at speeds beyond what normal humans could compute.
Ares chuckled against the brutal assault crashing against his frame. His thick boots dug across a dozen meters, leaving a trail of resistance. With his hand raised to shield his face, he mumbled with disbelief, "I didn't realize that Logia fruit had begun growing on trees… you all have them!"
Meanwhile, Solomon had regained his wits, roaring at the enemy, "I won't let him take all the glory!"
The War God's single eye sharpened as he burst out with flowing Haki, crumpling the incoming electricity into a more manageable stream. With impeccable speed, he redirected the stream of lightning into the bulldozing Solomon, throwing him hundreds of meters away.
*Whizz!* Indra's eyes widened as a dark shadow appeared in front of him like a ghost. He tasted the boiling Haki in the fist moments away from hitting him in the chest. "Let's test your defenses!"
.
"Warstrike!"
.
The single limb blurred through the air, sending shrieks of air from the absurd density hidden within the simple strike.
'He's ridiculously fast… but I'm faster.'
Indra's reaction speed as a man of lightning was only second to the Glint-Glint Fruit, allowing him to reach for his prized Tenmei, swarm it with lightning and meet the fist in all but a fraction of a moment.
.
"One Sword Style: Sacred Charge!"
.
BOOM!
The sword clanged hard against the fist, sending dull tremors through the island, all the while generating giant tides in the nearby seas.
Torrents of wind blew about, all under the grace of the raining black lightning.
"Ruhahahaha!"
Ares' laughter boomed under the island-rattling exchange, revelling in the combat. The Conqueror's Haki of the two men continued to pulse, surging through Mortem Island. Birds fell from the skies while the island's wildlife was slowly knocked out, all in the wake of the clash of two Supreme Kings.
BAM!
The punch pushed back the sword and slammed into the swordsman's chest, leaving a deep imprint and seeming to tear apart a few ribs.
Indra shot through the air, his body loose like that of a corpse, much to the shock of the other Division Four members.
*Rumble!* Yet before he could crashland into a hill, a thick bolt of lightning fell from the clouds and entirely swallowed the limp swordsman.
Boom!
Another lightning bolt roared, crashing onto the ground in front of Ares.
"..." As the bright light calmed down, Indra appeared, lacking any sign of injury, glaring at the God of War with Tenmei in hand.
Ares felt a rush of solemnity for the first time since the skirmish began. His sole eye, which had seen endless war, landed on the tribal marks, hissing with a red flush. They hadn't been activated yet, but it was almost as if the fury trapped within was leaking out.
However, the tense atmosphere evaporated as Damien placed a hand on the swordsman's shoulder. "Alright, that's enough of a welcome."
Indra calmed down, sheathing his blade while his increasingly red markings regained their normal, dark colour.
Damien ignored Ares, who was threateningly scanning the slightly on-edge Warborn and turned to the others. "Everyone," he addressed them, "This is my old man."
"..."
The casual words evoked an array of reactions.
Kuzan's jaw hit the ground running as he gawked at the homeless man's identity. Mihawk's surprise was similar but not as pronounced.
Toki's eyes bounced from father to son, noticing the similarities. "Damien-san, you mean he is your…" her voice lost confidence, turning meek.
The young pirate nodded and answered.
"Right, this is my father: Einar D. Ares."
Aurora absently straightened up—she was a little perplexed. For one, this was her lover's father, but he was also the God of War, deemed dead for twenty years.
Ares, a man with thick skin, broke out in a chuckle. "Ruhahaha! The seas would despise my son keeping such pretty ladies all to himself."
Toki woke up from her trance, stepping ahead and lightly bowing her head in tradition. However, she suddenly shook her head and walked ahead. "Uhm, m-my name is Amatsuki Toki of Wano. It's nice to meet you."
Aurora took a deep breath at the titanic figure from a forgotten time. "I'm Aurora," she quaintly introduced herself, "Amethyst Aurora."
Ares hummed, stroking his stubble. He noticed the warmth and lively Toki contrasting with the dark yet graceful Aurora—opposite in demeanour but equally as beautiful.
"Looks like that girl Herja has some competition," he remarked, nodding in appreciation. "My grandchildren will be just as beautiful as Nadia and handsome as myself."
The supposed father-in-law's words were quite blunt and shameless. Damien, however, wasn't as amused. "The only one you're fooling with that last part is yourself, old man."
He then grabbed the scruffy ice boy by the neck, placing him in front. "This is Kuzan."
The lad scratched his mess of a hairstyle, dryly speaking, "So you're Big Bro Damien's dad? No wonder you're a bit of a tough cookie."
Damien then tapped the inquisitive Mihawk's head. "Dracule Mihawk."
.
"Ugh," a grunt broke out. The other looked to see the shirtless Solomon ambling from a sea of trees, his giant scar on display. He glanced at the unassuming Ares, clicking his tongue. "The name's Solomon, you monstrous oldtimer!"
The father in question chuckled at the defiance in the zoan-user's eyes, but another voice took away his attention.
"Zenora Indra."
Ares locked onto the dark-skinned pirate, lacking any speck of injury. He also saw Damien's unchanged look and sighed. "You're unlike Mors. Where he embraced his Figures that led him insane, you clearly seek to avoid them."
Indra's gaze became lost, and he was unable to find words. His battle to the death against Xerxes had awakened a buried past, leaving him uneasy and even unstable.
'Just what are you doing letting a Warborn so close?' Ares thought to himself, feeling his son's faith in who could be considered a ticking time bomb.
Ultimately, he chose to trust Damien with whatever he was up to.
"Quite the collection of talents you got here," Ares raised his arms, welcoming the sight of the endless potential before him. "The World Government has no idea what's cooking on this tiny island!"
.
With his father acquainted with those he trusted, Damien waved the silent Kraft by the side. He had chosen to wait at the island's edge, and the sight of such natural disasters had left an average human like himself without words. The same could be said for Pablo and his little friend.
"You're one of us now, so don't act like a guest," he heard his Captain say, calming the apprehension in his heart. He cleared his throat, addressing the many pairs of eyes, "Quentin Kraft. Cap' recruited me as the shipwright of the crew!"
His voice was a little shaky, unsure of himself.
The man's words drew various reactions, but Solomon was the first to welcome him. "Looks like I'm no longer the newest member," he slapped the escaped prisoner's back. "Welcome aboard, Kraft."
The shipwright wryly smiled at the ache in his back—even a casual tap from the Extinct rang his entire body. Such was the problem of being only an 8' 2" human against the 14' 5" Extinction Valley native Solomon.
.
However, the warmer atmosphere fell apart alongside Ares as he slumped forward, his eyes widening.
The throbbing pain returned, this time all over his body. It was like ants crawling from under his skin while suffocating on lava!
Toki moved fast, extending a hand toward Ares' chest, a doctor's instinct.
*Fuuu*
A soft hum went off as the green energy floated on, diffusing through the man's body and attaching themselves to his organs. The lungs were instantly relieved of the built-up pressure. At the same time, another stream of energy relaxed the heart muscles, considerably calming down his condition. However, it failed to do more than provide temporary relief.
Ares breathed heavily, smiling at the worried Toki. "You hold a terrifying power I've never seen, daughter. But I cannot be healed with Devil Fruits…"
Toki frowned, using her Observation Haki to sense the illness. She looked at Ares' bloodied eye with confusion: "How come…?"
"Ruhaha! Come now, I didn't string along to ruin the mood." He wiped the blood running down his lips, nodding at his son.
With a light sigh, Damien drew away the green-haired girl's attention. "Toki, did we raid lunch in time?"
The girl was still visibly disappointed about failing to heal Ares's illness but replied with her usual cheerful spirit, "Yes, I paused them, so everything is still warm and fresh!"
And just like that, the feast grew three seats larger.
To Be Continued…
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Author's Corner.
Ares has met his son's companions in the only way a pirate should—through combat. While only a casual welcome, it also allowed Kraft to feel a little more at home. Note that the Adam Fruit brings a human to superhuman levels. But to people like Damien and Solomon, this is not worth mentioning. It's more a power to boost a "regular" person to a somewhat respectable level—it's perfect for people like Usopp.
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