New Move

P.S.: What's going on? Big Tree is really depressed. I was wondering why my results had dropped so much these past two days. When I updated once a day before, bookmarks would increase by over a hundred, but they've fallen so much these past two days. Well, I'll get ready and post three updates tomorrow! It's the weekend anyway, so I'll finish writing even if I have to stay up all night. Dear readers, please bookmark and vote for me. Big Tree offers his thanks here.)

The Shichibukai had existed for more than a decade and had long since become too powerful to control. At first, the World Government might truly have intended to use the Shichibukai to stabilize the seas, and in fact, that was what they had done over the years. Whether it was Shichibukai who were little more than side characters in the original work, like Gecko Moria and Sand Crocodile Crocodile, or top-tier powerhouses of the sea like Tyrant Kuma and Hawkeye Mihawk, their existence had caused countless pirates to suffer defeat and vanish into the Grand Line.

From that perspective, it was a positive thing.

But every system slowly decayed with the passage of time. Just like the World Government, the Dragon People had long become the greatest cancer of this world, and the Shichibukai system naturally could not escape the same fate.

A few years later, Crocodile would bring disaster upon Alabasta and incite war in order to obtain the ancient weapon, Pluton, plunging the entire country into chaos. Meanwhile, Doflamingo was using his identity as a Shichibukai as cover to build an underground port in Dressrosa for illegal trade.

All of this proved that the Shichibukai system had begun to rot.

After all, they were pirates. If they could remain peaceful for a few years, could they really remain peaceful for over a decade?

Thus, the Shichibukai system had long become a source of headaches for the Marines. The turmoil they created was now even worse than that caused by ordinary pirates. But constrained by the World Government's orders, the Marines had no good solution. Abolishing such a deeply rooted system was not something that could be accomplished overnight. They could only slowly gather evidence of crimes and wait to strike a fatal blow.

However, none of that was something Loa needed to worry about right now. His strength was limited, and he was still only a recruit. No matter what the Shichibukai did, it was beyond his ability to interfere.

After saying goodbye to Momonga and Doctor Oliver, Loa returned to his dormitory and treated his wounds.

The cool ointment touched his skin, making him shiver comfortably. This was Marine Headquarters, after all, so its medical capabilities were reliable. His fractured ribs began to itch, while the burning pain rapidly receded like a tide.

After wrapping the bandages, Loa silently activated his cheat and opened the panel.

Name: Christopher Loa

Energy Stage: Second Stage, Third Layer

Energy: 400/700

Magic Power: 5000/5000

Magic Power Recovery Speed: 450/s

After this period of training, Loa had finally reached the third layer of the second stage.

Although the attribute panel only displayed magic power and magic power recovery speed, Loa could feel that every level-up improved his strength, endurance, and physical toughness. It was not limited to the things displayed on the panel.

However, what had influenced him the most during this period was the combat experience he had gained through Kuzan's high-pressure training.

On the deserted island, his opponents had all been beasts with IQs below five. Not to mention being as intelligent as the Mink Tribe, they were probably not even as smart as Kung Fu Dugongs. Fighting them gave him nothing beyond familiarizing himself with his own level of strength.

But things were different now. Kuzan was not Kizaru. Whether it was his use of Devil Fruit abilities or close-quarters combat, he was worthy of an Admiral's standard. Under his personal "guidance," Loa's strength had improved by leaps and bounds. His ability to take a beating, in particular, was no less impressive than Arudo's. Even if his defenses were lacking, his recovery ability far surpassed Arudo's.

Of course, that was rather tragic.

"Today, I gained a total of 75 energy points. Not bad." As his ability stage rose, even a fight with Kuzan only gave Loa fifty energy points now. After closing the panel, Loa stretched and prepared for his next training session.

Dragon Slayer Magic was the kind of technique that broke force with force. As long as his magic power increased, its might would rise dramatically. And with Kuzan, the Ice Man, around, his Ice-Make Magic naturally improved quickly as well.

But that was not what Loa sought.

Who didn't have some passion in their heart after watching Japanese anime? What Loa yearned for was the kind of battle where fists struck flesh, not standing at a distance and trading skills. But limited by factors such as his own strength, he could not achieve that yet.

So Loa intended to develop a new move, one that could improve his close-combat ability.

The idea came from the explosive state Dragon Slayers entered after swallowing massive amounts of magic power in the original Fairy Tail. But there was a problem. Although this world had bug-level things like Devil Fruits, it had no magic power—or rather, no one capable of using magic power.

You wanted the horse to run, yet refused to feed it grass.

Even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice~

So Loa came up with an unconventional solution. Didn't he have magic power himself? And didn't he know Maker Magic? Why did he have to absorb magic power from outside? His Dragon Slayer Magic had not been taught by some dragon girl anyway. What if it worked?

So he did something suicidal: he used Maker Magic inside his own body!

Although it hurt like hell every time, after many attempts, he really did work out a feasible method!

Loa slowly gathered magic power in his hand, recalling the sensation from his previous battles, then suddenly pressed his hand against his stomach. Magic power was formless and intangible. As long as he did not let it form into ice, he could force it into his body from the outside.

Sss~

The instant the magic power entered his body, Loa's eyes widened sharply. It felt like his intestines and organs had been turned inside out and left exposed on a snowy field. It was quite stimulating.

But the sensation vanished in the next instant. The special physique of a Dragon Slayer detected the invading external magic power and rapidly underwent changes even Loa could not understand.

He only felt his hand go slack. The magic power connected through his palm instantly disappeared, and then his body began to heat up. His heartbeat accelerated, and his magic power started boiling.

Seeing this, Loa knew he had succeeded in entering the state this time. He abruptly rose to his feet and took a deep breath, letting magic power envelop his entire body. Next, he needed to test its intensity.

Buzz!

A ring of ripples spread through the magic power around him, and the invisible air was pushed outward in circles like water. Blue magical patterns emerged from within his body, flickering with every breath and making him appear unfathomably mysterious.

Feeling the boiling power within him, Loa raised his fist and threw two punches at the air.

Crack! Crack!

Two crisp bursts of air echoed out. Loa smacked his lips and shook his head in disappointment. It was a little stronger than before, but still limited.

Although he had received a considerable boost, with his speed and strength nearly doubled, his physical toughness in this state was probably still inferior to officers who had learned the Six Powers. It was far too early to use this as a standard combat method.

Just as Loa was feeling regretful, he suddenly noticed that a patch of skin on the back of his hand seemed to have cracked open, with dried dead skin curling upward.

"What is this? Old grime?"

Loa scratched at it with his fingernail, but the sensation transmitted to his fingers made him blink blankly.

"This hardness feels like a fingernail... No, could it be?!" Thinking of a possibility, Loa formed an ice needle on his finger and fiercely stabbed it into that spot.

Clink~

The ice needle on his hand snapped instantly. Loa saw a flash of deep blue from the cracked patch of skin. The dry dead skin around it was shaken away, leaving behind a blue outline the size of a fingernail. From its shape, it seemed to be some kind of scale.

Recalling scenes from the original work, Loa withdrew his hand and examined it carefully. "Could this... be a dragon scale?"

He still vividly remembered the mutation that had occurred when he crossed from the first stage into the second. But after that, although every level-up still caused quite a commotion and the dragon's might he released disturbed countless people, nothing resembling a transformation had appeared again. Gradually, he had forgotten about it.

Now that he had seen dragon scales on his hand again, he immediately remembered what they were.

Loa caught a spark of inspiration. Holding the dragon scale up to the light, he narrowed his eyes.

"Perhaps I can actively enter that half-dragon form."