The Possibility of Yami Yami no Mi Absorbing Conceptual Things

Time passed. Two months had already passed since he set off from the City of Queen Spring.

The routes of the Grand Line were unpredictable and volatile, and coupled with the fact that Dawn needed to constantly check nautical charts to correct his course, delays on the journey were inevitable.

At this moment, he finally arrived at the base of the Red Line, which encircled the world, and reached Red Port, a special zone directly administered by the World Government.

If it were not for the nautical chart in his hands indicating that reaching the West Blue required passing through here, he would never have come to a place so dangerously close to the enemy's main base at a time like this.

Considering the possibility of encountering the CP agent responsible for eliminating his parents back then, Dawn did not drop his invisibility out of caution.

After all, in the world of pirates, the appearances of most biological fathers and sons were extremely similar.

Various sailing ships waiting for clearance or newly arrived were docked at the pier. The two-masted sailing ship Dawn steered had docked without attracting any undue attention. Countless ships came and went here every day, making it all too ordinary.

Even though no one disembarked from this ship for a long time after it docked, it failed to arouse the suspicion of the pier staff or anyone else nearby.

Such a situation was equally common in Red Port. Those who managed to arrive here and attempted to cross the Red Line were mostly factions intending to head for the second half of the Grand Line. For ordinary people, such an action required applying for cumbersome transit permits from Mary Geoise, otherwise they were easily mistaken for pirates by the Marines.

Furthermore, the process of obtaining a permit was time-consuming, often taking months. Therefore, a ship docking and remaining deserted for ten days or half a month was a common sight here.

On the shore, the darkness surrounding Dawn continuously absorbed light, rendering him completely invisible. Compared to two months ago, however, his abilities had undergone new refinement. Aside from visual invisibility, he had now completely eradicated even the sound of his falling footsteps.

Inspired by the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi's ability to repel everything, including conceptual things, and compounded by having previously been discovered by enemies because of sound, Dawn had begun experimenting with using the Yami Yami no Mi to absorb presences close to concepts, such as sound.

During the voyage to Red Port, through countless failures and explorations, he had finally successfully absorbed the existence of sound from around himself. This elevated his stealth capabilities to a whole new level.

Like a true silent ghost, Dawn wove through the crowds, preparing to find a place to eat and replenish his stamina.

The food reserves on the ship had long since been exhausted during the long voyage.

"Hey, the invisible person up front, release your ability."

Suddenly, a somewhat lazy yet unquestionable male voice rang out abruptly in front of Dawn.

A tall figure blocked his path. The opponent had even instantly called out the fact that he was hiding his form!

This single exclamation immediately attracted the attention of quite a few people around. Some individuals with acute perception cast their gazes toward this seemingly empty area one after another.

Dawn looked in the direction of the voice. He saw that the person blocking him was a man wearing a light blue shirt, an antique omamori hanging from his chest, and wooden clogs on his feet, with faint stubble on his chin and a somewhat weathered look on his face.

Gion, the future candidate for Marine Admiral!

Dawn felt a shock in his heart, silently cursing himself for his carelessness.

In a place like Red Port, users of Observation Haki were everywhere, and skulking around here made one easily taken for a suspicious person. Furthermore, he had yet to master the technique of absorbing his own aura, and while he had been constantly thinking about guarding against CP, he had overlooked the fact that there were Marines here as well.

He had actually forgotten about this point; it was truly inexcusable.

Yet he quickly calmed down. If it were someone else, they might genuinely treat him as a suspicious person, but switched to the fellow in front of him, they probably wouldn't.

Dawn took a deep breath and released his ability as instructed. That profound darkness receded like an ebbing tide, revealing his true visage.

An expression of perfectly timed apology and unease immediately piled onto his face as he walked forward briskly:

"I am so sorry, Mr. Marine! I only recently acquired my ability... and found it quite novel..."

His speech was slightly rapid, and his gaze revealed sincere anxiety and unease. Matched with his handsome face, which appeared exceptionally convincing due to his youth, the image of a rookie ability user leapt off the page.

Gion looked Dawn over, his gaze lingering for a moment on the slightly tender face and anxious expression before seven or eight tenths of the doubt in his heart immediately vanished.

Young in age, curious about a newly acquired Devil Fruit ability... Hah, a very reasonable explanation.

The surrounding passersby who had cast concerned gazes heard this explanation, and most of them also revealed understanding expressions, successively withdrawing their gazes and paying him no more mind.

Confirming that Dawn did not look like some heinous criminal, Gion's originally business-like, stern expression also relaxed, shifting to a somewhat helpless and earnest attitude:

"Consider yourself lucky, kid, running into me. If it had been some hot-tempered fellow, they probably would have attacked directly instead of giving you a chance to explain."

"Go on, go on. Remember not to turn invisible again, or you'll be treated as a dangerous person."

Gion had always been lenient toward ordinary citizens, and he could not help but offer a few more words of admonition.

A heavy stone in Dawn's heart finally landed, and he quickly bowed in thanks:

"Yes! Yes! Thank you very much for your understanding and reminder! I will be careful!"

Having spoken, he did not dare to linger any longer, immediately turning around and quickly blending into the crowd, soon disappearing from Gion's field of vision.

Once Dawn's figure vanished, Gion withdrew his gaze, rubbed his chin, and muttered softly, his tone laced with thick envy:

"Damn it... This should be the Suke Suke no Mi... This guy actually ate the Devil Fruit I've been dreaming of... What a terrible waste..."

Shaking his head to cast this little interlude and envy behind him, Gion continued his patrol mission in this area.

On the other side, Dawn quickly turned into a bustling alley, found an operating restaurant, ordered a large amount of food, paid the money, and found a quiet corner seat. While keeping an eye on his surroundings to guard against CP agents who might appear at any moment, he silently replenished his nearly exhausted stamina.

TO BE CONTINUED