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There are always some geniuses in this world who are born exceptional.
They are monsters from birth, blessed by the world with immense talent.
Ochoku was one of them.
Born into a martial arts family in Kano Country, he possessed astonishing martial talent and an extraordinary physique from the moment he came into the world.
By the age of fourteen, he had already mastered nearly every martial art practiced in Kano Country and could be considered a true master.
By the age of twenty, he was capable of defeating the strongest man of his era in Kano Country, Huajiao, the Tenth Generation Pillar of the State of the Eight Treasures Navy.
He had always been the strongest one.
The most talented one.
He disdained Devil Fruit powers and thus founded the Martial Exercise Sect.
"Before my martial arts, Devil Fruit abilities are nothing more than an extra weakness that makes a person afraid of water."
He became the sect leader among pirates and rampaged across the seas without equal.
"I will become the World's Strongest."
That was his ambition, and it was something he believed in absolutely… Until he met that man.
In that battle, Ochoku suffered the first utterly one-sided defeat of his life.
"Hey! You're pretty strong. Since you've lost to me, how about joining my pirate crew?"
"You want to become the strongest? Hahahaha! What's the big deal? My crew has room for any ambition!"
"If you've got the ability to kill me, I don't mind giving the title of strongest to you."
He joined that pirate crew, and within the organization known as the Rocks Pirates, he witnessed… The true monsters of the world.
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Big Mom,
The monsters whose names now shook the seas were all officers of that crew at the time. Ochoku discovered that the physique and martial arts he had always taken pride in were not particularly outstanding compared to their power.
And that wasn't even mentioning the commander of the Rocks Pirates,
The monster among monsters.
He was no longer the special one.
He was merely one member among many in the Rocks Pirates.
Ochoku could not accept that.
He was supposed to be the one who stood at the very top. The one who became the strongest.
How could he remain beneath others forever?
"It's only because of their abilities."
The Float-Float Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Soul-Soul Fruit...
If he possessed a Devil Fruit of that caliber, combined with his martial arts, then he too could become the strongest. Especially after he noticed that even the young "apprentice" who had joined the crew not long ago was searching for powerful Devil Fruits.
Ochoku changed his views.
He began secretly gathering information about Devil Fruits.
And it was precisely then that, the world extended an olive branch to him.
"We can give you immense wealth. We can give you the top-tier Devil Fruit you desire. You can even become the Governor of Pirate Island and inherit Rocks' position. We only need you to do one thing."
So… He chose betrayal.
He kidnapped the unattainable beauty of the pirate world. He killed his own comrades. He sold everything to the World Government, and in doing so, he triggered the God Valley Incident.
He obtained the power he had always desired.
The only thing that left him somewhat uneasy were certain rumors he learned through Pirate Island's information network.
Rumors that claimed a certain man had not died.
However, Ochoku soon relaxed, because that man never appeared again.
Those rumors were eventually swallowed by the tides of time. The Rocks Pirates disbanded smoothly, and he successfully became the new Governor of Pirate Island.
Everything proceeded perfectly.
"I will become the strongest." His ambition reignited. With the Write-Write Fruit combined with his martial arts, he was certain he could stand atop the seas.
However… An accident occurred.
The fact that he had eaten a Devil Fruit could not remain hidden forever.
His subordinates.
His followers.
They believed he had betrayed the sect's doctrine that "abilities are useless."
A rebellion born from conspiracy erupted.
Although he survived, he was poisoned.
Ironically, the poison known as Decay Poison originated from his homeland, Kano Country, and Ochoku knew better than anyone that there was no cure.
His body gradually rotted and deteriorated. He was forced to rely upon his Devil Fruit ability merely to stay alive. The physique and martial arts that had once been his greatest pride became difficult to use.
His Devil Fruit powers were likewise heavily restricted as a result.
And so Ochoku realized… He still wasn't the special one.
The seas gave rise to the Pirate King.
But it wasn't him.
His body simply could not support a voyage across the Grand Line like Roger's.
The seas gave rise to the Four Emperors.
Yet he still wasn't among them.
That brat named Shanks had risen out of nowhere and claimed the position that should have belonged to him, and so he could only remain on Pirate Island, clutching the power and wealth he had gained through betrayal while quietly rotting away in agony.
Until not long ago.
He heard of a place called Dreamland Island. He heard of the legendary Fountain of Youth, and hope was rekindled within him.
Thus, he came to Whole Cake Island to seek an alliance with Big Mom.
Yet the ambition in his heart had never changed.
The alliance was only temporary.
Once he obtained the Fountain of Youth and restored his body, he would still ascend to the throne of the strongest, but then, fate played another cruel joke on him.
Just like the question he was asking Inu at this very moment.
Why had someone come after him now?
Why did his plans always fail at the last moment?
"If I could just obtain the Fountain of Youth and restore my body, I could become the strongest! I could become the Pirate King!"
His voice was filled with deep-seated hatred and fury. He was barely maintaining his body through his ability, but now he had been forced to remove the King's Armor, releasing the power that sustained him.
His body was decaying at every moment.
Even if he put the King's Armor back on afterward, he would never recover to his previous state.
And for the current Ochoku, there was only one solution.
"I won't share any of it with Linlin anymore! The entire Fountain of Youth will be mine! No... even that won't be enough. I'll need more, enough to completely restore my body!"
He had to defeat the enemy before him as quickly as possible, and then force the location of Hitsuji and the Fountain of Youth out of him.
In other words, he no longer had any reservations.
"Let me show you my true power!" He growled as he raised a hand.
"Freeform Script · Thunder Martial Body!"
As Ochoku's roar echoed out, countless Thunder characters appeared around him.
Endless lightning coiled around his body.
"Freeform Script · Flame Martial Body!"
Then blazing flames erupted. The lightning became the tendons of his decayed body. The flames became the bones of his ruined frame.
And amid the lightning and fire… Two characters slowly appeared upon his body.
[Victory]
At that moment, Ochoku bared his teeth in a savage grin as he looked at Inu.
"Do you see it?"
"My martial arts and my ability are the most perfect combination possible!"
He clenched his fist tightly, his eyes fixed on Inu.
[Write-Write Fruit LV5: Devil Fruit Awakening, Words Become Imagination. The ability can influence the surrounding environment. The effects of written words become even more powerful, and the user can write words anywhere within a 100-meter radius through thought alone. Permanently unlocked at 12.5 billion Beli.]
Yes.
Just as Inu had suspected earlier.
As one of the sea's top-tier powerhouses who had possessed his Devil Fruit for more than thirty years, Ochoku's mastery over his ability had long since reached the level of Awakening.
The only reason he had never displayed it fully was because most of his willpower and ability had been devoted to maintaining his body.
But now,
Now that he no longer cared about preserving himself and had completely unleashed his powers, he could use imagination and written words to temporarily reconstruct his body itself.
He could write and imagine victory, forcing himself into a state resembling his absolute prime. As a result, the decaying body before Inu now erupted with an unimaginable level of pressure and Haki.
Of course, such a state could not last long. In fact, the characters surrounding Ochoku were already visibly fading away.
In less than a minute, his body would once again return to decay.
But Ochoku clearly no longer cared.
"Your abilities are powerful and strange."
He sneered.
"But in the end, tricks like that are nothing but flashy decorations. Before absolute power, they'll be crushed without resistance!"
A cold smile spread across his face.
"The current me is the strongest!" As he spoke, his body slowly lowered into a combat stance.
Then, he explosively pushed off with both legs!
And from that single movement alone,
Buzz!!
The overwhelming Haki and power erupting from his body instantly transformed into a shockwave that spread outward.
In the next moment, Ochoku's figure shot forward like a cannonball.
At the same time, a large number of illusions once again launched attacks against him.
But,
BOOM!
Ochoku's charge did not slow in the slightest. No one could even see him throwing a punch. Yet within a single instant, every illusion shattered and disintegrated. Only the countless fist marks blasted into the walls of the Mirror World revealed how many punches Ochoku had unleashed in that brief moment.
[Shadowless Fist · Rainstorm]
"Meaningless! No matter how many of these weak illusions you create, it makes no difference!" Ochoku roared as he charged toward Inu like a monster wrapped in lightning and flames.
Kicks.
Palm strikes.
Punches.
Knife-hands.
Knee strikes.
Shoulder tackles.
Countless martial techniques flowed effortlessly from him.
And with every attack, words such as [Speed], [Power], and [Impact] would materialize around his body.
Those words empowered each strike with almost unbelievable might.
[Martial Exercise Secret Art · Word Fusion Flow]
In only a few moments, Ochoku had already reached Inu.
By now, his body was once again beginning to show signs of decay.
Yet beneath that twisted expression burned the madness and exhilaration of a man staking everything on a single gamble.
"One strike… I'll finish you with one strike!"
As he shouted, his right leg suddenly drew back.
[Power]
[Speed]
[Break]
[Pierce]
[Fortitude]
"Martial Exercise Grand Secret Art, Five-Word Fusion: Dragon-Carving Hoof!"
A kick containing the speed of lightning, the might of flames, and the very essence of martial arts erupted forth.
Ochoku's eyes shone brightly.
He was certain that if this attack landed, victory would be his.
However,
At that very moment...
He saw Inu.
At some point, Inu had already reverted from his Big Mom form back to his original appearance.
Facing the shattered illusions, there was no panic.
No attempt to dodge.
In fact, Ochoku could clearly tell that behind that mask, Inu's gaze was almost completely calm.
"The strongest?" The next moment, Ochoku heard Inu speak.
And only then did he notice something else. The eight clones surrounding Inu had also reverted to his original appearance.
Moreover, they were merging into Inu's body in an incredibly strange manner.
Literally merging.
Like pieces of a puzzle, their forms continuously fused into Inu's body.
That was the power of the final Devil Fruit he possessed.
[Fusion-Fusion Fruit LV4 , Allows siblings sharing the same bloodline to fuse together, creating a combined warrior possessing the strength, physique, and stamina of all participants.]
This Devil Fruit had originally belonged to Charlotte Newshi of the Big Mom Pirates.
For most people, it was of little value.
After all, Newshi could only make effective use of it because he happened to have nine siblings as part of a set of decuplets.
But for Inu… Blood siblings?
From a bloodline perspective, his clones were naturally his brothers.
Therefore, the aura erupting from Inu's body began increasing at an unbelievable rate.
[Shadow Gathering Ground, Can devour one's own Shadow and gain power equivalent to the Shadows of 200 people.]
[Fusion-Fusion Fruit - Can fuse all beings sharing the same bloodline and obtain their physique and stamina.]
In other words, the power and physique Inu possessed at this moment were equivalent to having absorbed the Shadows of 1,800 people.
And the result was,
BOOM!!!
Inu casually waved a hand.
That alone unleashed such overwhelming and violent pressure that Ochoku could barely keep his eyes open.
"This guy..." Ochoku gritted his teeth as he stared at Inu in disbelief.
Yet… This still wasn't the end.
Because Ochoku could already see that the flame clouds flowing around Inu had begun to change shape.
Within those clouds, countless phantom figures seemed to flicker in and out of existence.
At that moment,
"You'd better not throw around words like the strongest so casually."
Inu lightly snapped his fingers.
"Leaving our Leader aside, I know someone who is definitely stronger than you."
As he spoke, his body began to change.
And then,
"..."
Ochoku's expression shifted from solemnity, to shock, and then...
To utter disbelief. Because standing before him was someone he would never have believed he could see, even in his dreams.
The wild white-and-blue hair. The domineering, heroic bearing.
That figure was,
"Rocks!?"
For a brief instant, Ochoku completely forgot about his deteriorating body and instinctively tried to halt his attack.
Yes… The person standing before him was unmistakably Rocks D. Xebec.
But only moments later,
"No! Impossible, you died!" Ochoku suddenly roared. "I investigated it! There were rumors that you'd appeared in Elbaf, but I asked Linlin myself! Nobody saw you! You died at God Valley! I even asked the Government! They confirmed it! You're dead, you died!"
The overwhelming pressure shattered his composure, causing him to babble uncontrollably.
Indeed.
After the God Valley Incident, he had once heard rumors that a figure resembling Rocks had been sighted near the Giant Kingdom of Elbaf.
That rumor had terrified him for a very long time.
Especially recently, after news of the Star Lord spread and the name God Valley once again returned to the center of the world's attention.
Ochoku had been plagued by nightmares.
So much so that not long ago, he had even contacted the World Government for the first time in over thirty years to verify Rocks' death.
Yet at this moment, he heard the figure before him speak softly.
"You're the one who betrayed us and kidnapped Shakky, aren't you?" That seemingly casual sentence caused Ochoku's entire body to tremble.
At the same time, he saw Rocks slowly raise the sword in his hand. It was a movement Ochoku knew better than almost anyone.
The motion of drawing a blade.
"You... you really are..." At that instant, Ochoku's psychological defenses finally collapsed.
His body began visibly deteriorating at an accelerated rate.
Yes,
As mentioned before, the power of the Write-Write Fruit depended upon imagination.
Even Ochoku's current state existed only because he could imagine himself overcoming Inu.
But without question,
Faced with the man before him...
Even after thirty years, Ochoku still had to admit the truth.
Even after obtaining his Devil Fruit.
Even after gaining all this power.
He could not imagine a version of himself capable of surpassing that person.
Especially after the other side had directly exposed him as the traitor.
At this moment, Ochoku felt only fear.
"No! No! I don't believe it, this is an illusion!"
With a desperate roar, Ochoku waved his hand.
BOOM!
Lightning once again crashed toward his opponent.
But,
Bang!
The lightning was casually dispersed before it could even reach him.
And at this moment, Inu, now transformed into Rocks, looked calmly at Ochoku.
[Mirage Fruit LV5: Devil Fruit Awakening , Illusionary True Mirage Shadow. Allows one designated illusion to become a real "Mirage Shadow" through Mirage Energy Flame Clouds and merge with the user. This places an enormous burden on the body, but grants the combat skills, strength, and physique of the Mirage Shadow for a very short period. Devil Fruit abilities and Haki cannot be copied.]
That was the true power of the Mirage Fruit's Awakening.
It could temporarily make a single illusion become real.
The only requirement was possessing a body strong enough to withstand the tremendous burden imposed by that illusion.
Through the combination of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit and the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Inu had gained a physique capable of bearing that power.
Therefore, at this moment, he had become,
[True Mirage Shadow · Rocks]
"Even so, the duration is still very short."
"At most, I can only attack once."
The next moment, "Rocks" swung his sword.
"But..."
A grin spread across his face as he looked at Ochoku.
"That's enough."
"Mirage Shadow · Abyssal Curse!"
The blade descended.
And so,
The entire Mirror World… Along with the Pirate Cult Leader, Ochoku was cleanly split in two by that single strike.
(End of Chapter)