Clay Fruit Awakening! (Seeking Follow-ups!)

Extreme Cold Hell, the wind biting cold.

Storm sat cross-legged in his solitary cell, his exhaled breath quickly turning into puffs of white mist.

"Truly as cold as the rumors say."

Storm raised his right hand, flexing his fingers a few times, feeling not a trace of stiffness.

"Good thing I upgraded my [Endurance] stat to five stars beforehand."

"Otherwise, a four-star physique wouldn't be able to withstand the chill of Extreme Cold Hell."

Storm looked outward.

His gaze passed through the frost-covered bars and landed on the solitary cell across the way.

The prisoner locked in that cell, with a bounty over a hundred million, was entirely covered in ice, with no sign of life left.

This prisoner had been frozen to death by the extreme environment of Extreme Cold Hell!

"What a waste of a Golden Trophy..."

The regret in Storm's heart flickered and vanished.

He spread his [Observation Haki], probing the world beyond.

In Storm's perception.

The shivering Hannyabal had already led a group of guards in protective suits out of Extreme Cold Hell.

Well, the rumor that the Lord Chief Jailer was "impervious to heat and cold"...

It seemed that was indeed just a "rumor."

"Regardless, Hannyabal is finally gone!"

Storm felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

He hadn't entered Extreme Cold Hell willingly because he actually wanted to serve time!

He was here for the [Big Trophy]!

Compared to the layers of hell above.

Extreme Cold Hell not only held prisoners with greater strength but also lacked surveillance Den Den Mushi.

A Den Den Mushi's vitality wasn't as tough as one might imagine; it simply couldn't withstand the terrifying low temperatures of Extreme Cold Hell.

Excluding Level 5.5—Newkama Land—which had yet to be discovered by others.

Extreme Cold Hell was one of the few "monitoring blind spots" in Impel Down!

This meant—

Storm's time for free movement had finally arrived!

Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the chopping.

Storm didn't immediately begin his trophy hunt; instead, he first summoned his own [Big Trophy].

The Platinum Trophies he'd obtained from defeating the four Prison Beasts earlier.

Storm had only used one, leaving him with three in hand!

Now was the perfect time to allocate points!

Storm took a deep breath and invested one [Platinum Trophy] into his [Clay Fruit].

[Clay Fruit: ★★★★★★]

He still had two Platinum Trophies left.

Storm had originally planned to invest them into his [Physique] stat.

But resources were scarce in Extreme Cold Hell.

If Storm chose to boost [Physique] now, he'd likely have to go hungry for several days.

"Once the lockdown ends, I'll allocate points to [Endurance]!"

Storm put away the two [Platinum Trophies] and turned his attention to the [Clay Fruit], now upgraded to six stars.

Endless inspiration seemed to explode in his mind.

In an instant.

Storm grasped the gap between "five and a half stars" and "six stars"!

He extended his right hand, pressed it against the cell floor, and suddenly activated the power of the [Clay Fruit].

Under the influence of the Devil Fruit's power.

The solid permafrost of Extreme Cold Hell, frozen for who knows how many years, instantly softened.

Storm's right arm sank downward, plunging directly into the depths of Extreme Cold Hell's ground.

From the gap between his arm and the ground, endless white clay gushed out like a fountain.

"Six stars!"

Storm merely had to think it, and the power of the [Clay Fruit] spread across the entire cell, the frozen ground instantly softening into loose clay.

"Awakening level!"

The hallmark of a Zoan Devil Fruit's awakening is granting its user unparalleled recovery and vitality.

The hallmark of a Paramecia Devil Fruit's awakening is the ability to affect things other than the user themselves!

The moment Storm raised the [Clay Fruit]'s star rating to six stars.

The [Clay Fruit] awakened!

Storm unleashed the [Clay Fruit]'s ability, transforming the cell floor into a soft clay bed.

He bounced and rolled on the clay bed, his expression as excited as if he'd caught the "Nika Virus."

Once he'd initially adapted to the [Clay Fruit]'s awakened power.

Storm didn't hesitate and immediately got moving.

"Golden Big Trophy, here I come!"

Because this was "solitary confinement," not "imprisonment."

Storm wasn't fitted with the Seastone shackles that symbolized a prisoner's status.

But even if he had been, he wouldn't have worried at all.

Storm's ability to use the [Clay Fruit] relied on the power of the [Demon Ring].

Seastone suppresses Devil Fruit Users—what did that have to do with him, a non-User?

Storm had already tested this himself.

Back when he'd received that [Seastone Tonfa] from the Navy Equipment Department.

Storm had tested Seastone's suppressive effect on him.

The final conclusion was—

Seastone was just a worthless lump of rock, completely useless.

From that point on, a vague "prison plan" had already taken shape in Storm's mind.

Now that he'd been sent to Extreme Cold Hell, Seastone couldn't hinder his movements.

Storm stood before the cell door, walking steadily toward the Seastone-infused bars ahead.

The moment his body touched the Seastone bars, it instantly softened into clumps of white clay.

The Seastone prison couldn't restrict Storm's movements!

A gust of cold wind blew past.

Storm stepped out of the cell door with calm composure.

His next course of action was, of course—harvesting the Golden Trophies within Extreme Cold Hell!

The quality of a [Big Trophy] was mainly tied to the opponent's strength.

And in the pirate trade, bounty amounts were undoubtedly the best symbol of strength.

Just as Storm had speculated earlier.

Every pirate with a bounty over a hundred million could bring him a [Golden Trophy]!

Starting from his solitary cell, Storm continuously scoured the surrounding prisoners for their big trophies.

One [Golden Trophy] after another fell into his pocket.

By the time Storm cleared out the cell block he was in.

The number of [Golden Trophies] in his hands had reached double digits!

Fifteen Golden Big Trophies in total!

"This number is passable."

Storm's steps finally stopped before a snow-covered dense forest.

"But that's fine—Extreme Cold Hell has not only prisoners but also the corresponding prison guards.

"Army Wolves!"

Before heading off to find the Army Wolves.

Storm first summoned his own [Big Trophies], planning to add another round of points.

One by one, the Golden Trophies vanished like bubbles.

One by one, five-star abilities appeared in Storm's ability list.

[Armament Haki / Observation Haki: ★★★★★]

[Tekkai / Kami-e / Shave / Shigan: ★★★★★]

In the blink of an eye.

Storm had used up twelve [Golden Trophies].

Since the exact strength level of the Army Wolves was still uncertain for now, Storm deliberately left three Golden Trophies behind.

He had previously raised his [Endurance] attribute to five stars, but the other two [Physique] attributes were still only at four stars.

These three Golden Trophies were prepared for the [Strength] and [Speed] attributes.

Everything was ready, only lacking—

"Army Wolf!"

A sharp red gleam flashed through Storm's eyes, and his [Observation Haki] swept through the dense forest ahead like the wind.

"Found them!"

Storm raised his right hand, creating a towering [Clay Clone], and manipulated it to charge into the forest ahead.

The master of the forest soon sensed the disturbance.

With a rustling sound.

Army Wolves draped in snow-white fur appeared before the [Clay Clone].

The Army Wolves were not as massive as the beast Prison Guards in Beast Hell.

But every single Army Wolf's eyes glowed with a blood-red light, making them look extremely formidable.

"Awooo—"

With a soul-shaking howl.

The seven or eight Army Wolves encircling them seemed to receive a command, all dashing at the [Clay Clone] at once.

The Army Wolves moved at incredible speed, nearly matching Mino Zebra.

But no matter how fast a wolf moved.

It couldn't outpace the clay of the [Clay Clone].

Under Storm's control, the [Clay Clone] suddenly punched forward.

Its massive arm burst apart like a cannonball, splitting into seven strips of clay of equal thickness and size.

The tips of these clay tentacles were deliberately shaped into fists, striking the Army Wolves with pinpoint accuracy.

"Clay Rain!"

The Army Wolves' speed was no match for the awakened [Clay Fruit].

They charged forward like rolling thunder.

Then, under the storm of clay fists, they immediately bit the dust.

Thud! Thud! Thud!—

With eight crisp sounds of skulls being knocked.

All eight surrounding Army Wolves were knocked unconscious.

[Golden Trophy: Army Wolf] X8

"So they really are Golden Trophies!"

A faint hint of delight flickered in Storm's eyes.

But just then.

A figure hidden in the shadows suddenly appeared.

Only an orange-yellow blur flashed through the air.

The [Clay Clone], which had been wreaking havoc moments ago, had its head sliced clean off.

Plop!

The headless [Clay Clone] toppled like a collapsing mountain, crashing face-first onto the forest floor.

"Got it?!"

The orange-yellow blur halted, revealing its true form.

His hair and clothes were split—left half orange, right half white—and a massive lightning-shaped scar ran from his forehead to his right eye.

Notably, this guy's arms were not human arms, but two enormous scissors.

Lightning, a high-ranking officer of the Revolutionary Army.

Before Lightning could step forward to confirm the situation, the [Clay Clone]'s "corpse" suddenly emitted a strange sound.

Squelch—squelch—

The clay abruptly softened, as if influenced by some force.

The [Clay Clone]'s body, along with the head that had been cut off, reformed before Lightning's shocked eyes.

"Hey..."

The [Clay Clone]'s emotionless white eyes stared fixedly at Lightning, its lips curling into a mocking smirk.

"That hurt..."

Finally made it onto the new book rankings!

Even if it's just the light novel sub-ranking.

Even if it's barely hanging on at number ninety-something.

Still, I'm on the list!!

Please keep reading!