The Dawn Ship drifted under the fading light as Ash stepped back onto the deck courtyard, carrying the barely breathing Rayleigh over his shoulder.
The sight that greeted him was grim.
The once lush forest aboard the ship was nearly wiped out, reduced to broken trunks and scattered debris. The hull itself had been slashed so deeply that it looked like it might split apart at any moment. Turning his gaze, Ash saw Pini and Youki, both battered and exhausted, their condition no better than the ship.
Ash did not blame them.
Even though the two had gained powerful Devil Fruit abilities far beyond ordinary standards, they had only been sailing and training for less than three years. Facing someone of Rayleigh's caliber and surviving was already an impressive feat.
This gap in strength was exactly why Ash had decided to head into the New World.
If his only concern had been Kaido targeting Sali, Ash could have gone to Wano alone and erased Kaido completely. With his current strength, that was not an exaggeration.
But Ash had other plans.
He expected more from Kaido.
Without another word, Ash infused a small amount of Wood Element power into Rayleigh's body, stabilizing his condition just enough to keep him alive. After confirming this, he glanced around the group and paused.
"Where is Tsuki?"
Everyone instinctively looked around. As expected, the usually loud and energetic Tsuki was nowhere to be seen.
Nami, who had been about to check on the orange grove with her sister, suddenly remembered something.
"Tsuki said Kirk hadn't come back after going to find you, and since the ship was getting worse, he went to Gourmet Island to look for you."
At that, several people rolled their eyes.
Kirk had spatial abilities, so it made sense for him to go. Tsuki, on the other hand, had no reason to get involved.
Kirk exchanged a glance with Ash. Seeing that Ash had no intention of moving, he sighed.
"I'll go get him."
After Kirk left, Youki pointed at the unconscious Rayleigh.
"Why bring this old man back?"
Ash smiled faintly.
"He wrecked the ship like this, killing him right away would be too easy. Keep him alive. Use him as a sparring partner."
He paused, his tone calm but firm.
"When you can defeat him one-on-one without pressure, then you can kill him."
Youki and Pini exchanged looks.
"That might take a long time," Youki said.
Ash's smile sharpened slightly.
"Then you're underestimating what's coming. Prepare yourselves."
Not long after, Kirk returned, dragging Tsuki along.
"This idiot was going from one restaurant to another looking for you," Kirk said, clearly exasperated.
Tsuki scratched his head awkwardly, but no one paid him much attention.
Ash handed Rayleigh over to him.
"Watch him. Don't heal him, just make sure he doesn't die."
Tsuki nodded, though his expression quickly turned miserable as he realized he was now responsible for guarding a half-dead legend.
Ash, meanwhile, had something else to deal with.
The ship.
As Saff had already pointed out, the Dawn Ship needed repairs, but Ash had no intention of doing it himself.
With a thought, he summoned Vergo from Twin Capes, along with Lanchi and Jebao from the Thunder Dragon Gaya.
With two Wood-type ability users and one Earth-type ability user working together, the repairs progressed rapidly. Broken sections were restored, the hull reinforced, and the devastated forest began to recover.
For once, Tsuki was spared from repair duty.
Instead, he was stuck guarding Rayleigh.
That evening, once the work was complete, the crew held a bonfire party in the courtyard. Wyper and others from the Thunder Dragon Ship joined in, bringing even more energy to the celebration.
Laughter, food, and drink filled the night.
Later, as the festivities quieted down, Pini and Youki began a drinking contest, while others sat around chatting.
Ash finally reclaimed his usual lounge chair.
To everyone else, he appeared relaxed, lying back and staring up at the stars.
But in reality, his focus was elsewhere.
A translucent panel hovered before his eyes.
[Host Personal Panel]
[Name: Ash]
[Age: 16]
[Physique: 5490]
[Spirit: 169]
[Abilities: Iron Body LV4 (Deployable), Armament Haki (Deployable), Observation Haki (Deployable), Conqueror's Haki (Deployable)]
[Energy: 6798]
[Devil Fruit Ability: Zoan Type, Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Divine Beast Form (Awakening)]
[Affiliated Devil Fruit Abilities: Wind Control 360%, Lightning Control 180%, Ice Control 120%, Gold Control 120%, Wood Control 180%, Water Control 360%, Fire Control 180%, Earth Control 60%, Toxin Control 180%, Space Control 180%, Time Control 60%, Soul Control 60%, Physique Amplification (Deployable)]
[Status: Stellar Inner Containment, Physique Enhancement, Tipsy]
[Physique Amplification]
[Mythical Beast Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Doom Serpent Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[White Sage Beast Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Storm Sovereign Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Ninefold Inferno Hydra Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Emberwing Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Night Howler Fruit: Physique +45, Spirit +45]
[One-Legged Rain Spirit Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Primordial Abyss Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Iron Polarity Fruit: Physique +30, Spirit +30]
[Voidborn Chaos Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Eclipse Wyrm Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[World-Serpent Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Netherworld Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Celestial Dance Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Stormlord Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Gilded Reaper Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Inferno Sovereign Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Worldshaper Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Verdant Warden Fruit: Physique +50, Spirit +18]
[Total Amplification: Physique +815, Spirit +495]
Ash rarely opened this panel anymore.
Two and a half years had passed since he returned from East Blue and began distributing Devil Fruits widely. Over time, checking the panel became unnecessary.
Only a few moments stood out.
When he created the Castle Fruit for Bonney at Punk Hazard.
When Pini killed Don Chinjao and he checked the energy gained.
When Robin joined, and he experimented with longevity-related abilities.
When Sali dealt with Doflamingo's forces in Dressrosa and Sabaody.
Aside from those instances, he barely paid attention.
Even during New Year visits back to Cathay Village, his focus was on convincing the elders to accept Devil Fruits and extend their lives. Every time, they refused.
They chose to live naturally.
Ash respected that, even if he did not agree.
The last time he had glanced at the panel was six months ago, when the Four Emperors stabilized their dominance in the New World. Back then, nothing had seemed worth noting.
But now, something was different.
Ash's eyes narrowed.
"Conqueror's Haki?"
"And Devil Fruit Awakening?"
His voice turned cold.
"System, stop pretending to be silent. Explain this."
After a long pause, the system responded.
[Spirit exceeding 150 automatically awakens Conqueror's Haki. Physique exceeding 5000 initiates Devil Fruit Awakening]
Ash frowned.
"So reaching 150 Spirit unlocks Conqueror's Haki? Then what about all those people who have it? Do they all meet that requirement?"
"And 5000 Physique for awakening? Are you saying people like Doflamingo, Katakuri, or even someone like Tesoro all have that level of physique?"
The system answered calmly.
[The host's understanding is incorrect. Conqueror's Haki awakening varies. For over 99% of people, the threshold lies between 120 and 180 Spirit. However, the natural Spirit limit for most humans is between 30 and 100, making natural awakening impossible without innate potential]
[Devil Fruit Awakening differs as well. The host achieved passive awakening due to extreme Physique. Indigenous individuals awaken through prolonged training. These two methods are not comparable]
Ash fell silent.
Then his expression darkened.
"So what you're saying is…"
A vein pulsed on his forehead.
"You think I'm lazy?"
His voice rose.
"You're saying I'm lazy?"
===
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