Chapter 15: Progress - Overlord x One piece "Skeleton's Wish"

Ch 15

Frustration.

The Supreme one's clue had been clear, but the Lich could not help wanting to speed thing's up. It had succesfully placed it's summon's inside of the ship of these so called Marine's, but it was difficult to maintain a connection with them. He had been forced to diminish his summon's on the island and was frantically studying his magic to further his efficiency on maintaining a connection with them.

The summon's needed Mana.

He himself needed it as well in order to survive. The island's corruption was capable of sustaining him for a long while, but he also had to extend his Mana to his summon's.

'Truly, a problem it's Master would never encounter.'

The lich knew it's Master had reached the highest plane imaginable and it would never be seen struggling with the concept of summoning. And here it was, a lich with Tier magic of the second tier, struggling to keep control over a few undead birds and Mammal's.

Ohh, the shame. The shame it felt when it previously thought it could one day kneel in front of it's Master. The lich would have gladly ended it's unworthy existence if it would not have inconvenienced the supreme One.

Yet it would not give up.

It had scanned the entire island and knew it had been fully corrupted. The cycle inside of the island was complete, but it encountered a problem.

It needed more. If the Lich left the island, it would have to scour the world for soul's which was a problem it did not encounter on the island. The corruption was the perfect sustenance after all. It meant that it's power and freedom would grow proportionally to the corruption.

'Problematic.'

The Lich itself was not capable of corrupting a place in the way it's Master did, but it could help direct the cycle and expand it.

The corruption around the island had throughoutly slowed down due to the lack of the Master's Magic, but he was sure it would keep corrupting everything for a very long while. But it would be pointless if it just kept affecting the sea. The Animals in the sea had an innate sense of good and bad living condition's and rarely would they enter the water around the island. The corruption would stagnate and so would the Lich.

"Unacceptable."

The undead stared out at the sea. It could not simply leave the island. It was not capable of [Fly] and travelling underwater was risky and not sustainable. The souls of fish were not exactly nourishing after all.

[Thunderlance]

In front of the undead, a thin spear out of lightning was formed before it was hurled at the water. Several small fish, who had carelessly entered the islands water were instantly fried and appeared at the surface.

The spell was rather weak. It lacked speed and while it dealt a bit of damage, it was nothing you wouldn't expect from a second tier spell. But it would be enough.

The lich waded through the whiteish water and collected them before simply using it's bony hands to claw them open and drop them back into the water.

'This should be enough for a trail.'

It would hopefully be enough to bait in some bigger fish. The cycle needed to grow after all.

Meanwhile, in the evening, a figure was seen walking through the streets of Daizu. The thug was walking at a relaxed pace seemingly lost in thought. He had just received a message from a contact of his and had found out the location of two devilfruit's.

That was rather unexpected, as devilfruit's weren't that common in the west blue. The great five families which spanned through the entire west blue had it easy. Given their network, finding a Devilfruit was only matter of a few week's.

The two devilfruit's perfectly suited what the Gambino family had asked for and that was exactly what made it suspicious.

The family was well off. It had a good network, plenty of money and a good amount of manpower. But they were also in a bit of a risky position. Most of their territory was heavily beset by the Marines and that resulted in their family being heavily investigated.

The occasional bribes and corruption in the Marine were not enough to fully get them off their back's and the situation was not easily salvagable. The so called "Warning's" that fool Carlambino wanted to send to the Marine would only make them rethink their approach and lead to a more crushing defeat in the end.

The thug did not care much however. He was looking out for himself and he only needed the family to stay afloat in order for Momonga to conduct his business. He was planning on defecting to him at the first opportunity. Until then, he'd show off his competence a little.

It had been three weeks now since his first meeting with Momonga. He had chilled and found out a bit more about the dude. The most important find of his was this:

From the death poison to the Strange weapon's, there was no way for Momonga's business to fail.

He had met and talked with Momonga a bit more after his little presentation at the family's place and he was confident of his assesment of the man.

'The guy is just too careful. Doesn't take any risk's even though he's strong enough to deal with nearly everything.'

That had only motivated him more. Sure, he had his ambitions, but he would not reach them if he died. So working with an overly careful freak who was immensely strong? There was no better option.

So here he was, equipped with what Momonga had called a "magic knife" during an obvious slipup.

The icy short sword had been taken by the family, so he had to buy another item. It was apparently a simple reinforced knife, which could boost his speed by a bit. Perfect for him.

He now just had to report the two devil fruits, which were apparently in the possession of a minor family.

[Pace of the Wind]

A gust of air surrounded him and his bodyweight felt next to nonexistent. His next few steps covered a huge distance as he soared forward. He hit a few wall's and corner's on the way, but it felt easier than the first time he used it. The sensation had been similar to falling and had ended with him being disconcerted and hitting the ground, not hurting his body, but rather his pride.

A grin formed on his face. The best aspect of the weapon aside from the speed was the cushioning. The [Pace of the wind] detonated on serious impact creating an air cushion. Momonga had advised to hit people with it, which was something he was looking forward to do.

But for now, it'd have to remain as a convenient speedboost.

It did not take to reach Pastellano's temoirary residence.

Pastellano was deep in thought. He had just received the news, and they were honestly hard to believe. The devilfruit's were apparently in the Posession of a minor family belonging to a young guy who went by Capone Bege. Yet, their family was in the possesion of two devilfruit's? Either a huge stroke of luck, or a set up.

He smirked. Even if it was a set-up, there was not much a minor family could do against them. They were most likely trying to gain some income or connections.

Leaning back on his seat, he thought a little on Momonga's devilfruit abilities. The information Momonga had shared with the Marine was that his Store ability was limited by weight and size of his object's. But did that count for more intangible thing's as well? Stamina, strength, vitality, as strange as it sounded, Momonga was capable of storing and releasing those thing's on command. Were they limited by any restrictions?

He froze.

If he could store such thing's, then what about other intangible thing's? Pain? Illness? Tiredness? Emotion's?

Quickly opening his notebook, he compiled the notes and theories he was gathering.

In front of him, the thug was watching him and trying to read his notes without him noticing, but he did not care.

"The poison..."

This devilfruit and it's application was far too interesting. It was obvious that the Deathpoison did not fully stem from any sort of alchemy, but rather Momonga's devilfruit.

But what about the ingredient's? Momonga claimed they were "difficult to come by" but it was most likely an excuse as to not sell too much of this stuff.

...

Did he store ...death?

The thug was unaware of his thought's, instead focusing on that little knife and twirling it around. He had originally just come here to report the two devilfruit's but Pastellano had not let him leave, wanting to find out more about Momonga/Ainz through him.

"Say, do you think Momonga can create specialised gear?"

The thug shrugged.

"Dunno. Probably? Being a merchant is all about fulfilling the clients wishes, ain't it?

You thinking to get something special?"

Pastellano lightly shook his head and responded.

"Not really. I want to understand how he created his items."

Seeing that the thug was about to interject, he quickly followed up.

"I know he is using his devilfruit. But what about the death poison?"

"Ahh..."

The thug leaned back. He was probably considering the same question as Pastellano. What could that man store?

"Well, he does have a lot of stuff... I asked about his weapons once. Not just what he has, but rather what he uses in battle. He didn't want to show me but he did say it was his trump card. He got all nostalgic talkin bout it.

I bet his trumpcard is some kind of weapon with ...death or something."

It was reasonable. You'd have to be one hell of an idiot to sell something so powerful without using it yourself. He probably had a way to protect himself from it.

"It also explains the clothes. The guy is always covered up in case someone decides to use the poison on him. He might even wear armor underneath."

"Hmm, i was thinking to have him create more of these liquid fire scrolls. He did mention being able to create some more powerful ones, remember?"

The thug did not try to think back to that meeting. He did not have great memory anyway, and if Pastellano said so, it was most likely true.

"Hoooh, aren't you getting greedy? It's already capable of wiping out district's. What, you wanna destroy an entire city???"

Pastellano smiled.

"Don't you know? When you struggle to hammer a nail into a wall, you take the biggest hammer you can swing, and you swing it with all your strength."

"A great way to ruin the relationship with your neighbor."

"The neighbor is already a problem. The broken wall is a message."

The thug looked amused.

"So, the boss wasn't lying? He really wants to send a "message" to the Marine?

"Not just the Marines. The poison was already used in some smaller branch families that tried to mess with us, and we will use it against the other families. It'll send a clear message."

He was not convinced.

"It'll work on the families sure, but the Marines will retaliate. We might not get an admiral, but you do realize that there should be an vice admiral stationed here?"

Pastellano's answer was unexpected.

"We don't have much of a choice. The family is besieged on several front's and we need some breathing room. We're aware of the flaws this plan has, but the lethality of the poison will make them think twice. And the other weapon's as well."

The thug was obviously long aware of the family's problem's, but he did not think it was already that bad. It looked like the family was more focused on survival than anything else...

He grinned. Good thing he had acted. Cozying up to Momonga and showing/informing him about things in the last two weeks had been the best choice he could have made. He wasn't really "friends" with him, but their relationship was good enough for him to jump ship.

If push came to shove, he'd grovel at Momonga's feet.

Who could say no to a cute, beautiful and stylish thief like him?

His grin faltered. Thinking back to a few days ago, Momonga had told him that he sold some "items" to the Marine commodore and a few men who had showed moderate interest.

It was rather bold. Selling stuff to the Marine's AND the Mafia? He knew that most merchant's were shrewd, but Pastellano had literally said or rather implied that they would try to strike at the Marine's.

....

The very same Marines he just sold a few items to. The family had expected him to be dealing with Marine's, but they did not think he'd deal with the Marines at the very base they were hoping to strike.

It was probably exactly as bad from the Marine's side. To sell thing's through the underworld was one thing, the governement was strangely unbothered by that.

But sell it to both sides? Or rather both camps? Not to mention forming relationships in the two camps who were at each other's throat's?

He had seen him with a few villagers kids and talking with a young Marine. He had asked Momonga about his actions but had only received a very simple answer: "Who i deal with is my problem, isn't it?"

It had reminded him that Momonga wasn't the type to let people into his inner circle. It would take a very long time before Momonga fully trusted him. They may have a good relationship, but that would only persist as long as he'd remain useful.

And useful, he would certainly be.

Morris was in a good mood. He was currently on the to Ainz, but that wasn't the reason for his happiness. The reason for his happiness came from the Date he'd have in the evening!

He had also talked a bit with Terrifying person nr 2 and the fear he felt had mostly faded. Personality wise, the guy was literally just Fujitora with ambitions and a royal vibe. He was polite and nice, but seemed fixated on getting information and furthering his Business.

But he was also a LOT more intense.

Morris had wanted to ask him for training/information in Haki and had immediately been tested.

"Tell me everything you know about Haki first. I want to appraise your knowledge of it. I will think about your training afterwards."

The entire Atmosphere around Ainz had changed, as he had leaned forward, nearly getting into his Morris's face.

Knowing that this had been a test, he quickly started.

"There are three different versions of Haki. Observation, Armament and Conqueror's Haki. Out of the three of them, only Observation and Armament can be learned. Conqueror's Haki is something you have to be born with. Only one in Million's can awaken it."

He paused, to see if he had been correct so far. Ainz simply nodded, so he continued.

"Armament Haki is used to strengthen the body. You cover yourself with it in order to become stronger and you can even attack Logia users with it!

And Observation Haki is used to witness your surrounding's. You can sense your opponent's presence and Predict their attack's. Issho said some people can even see the future with it!"

Ainz was silent for a moment before nodding.

"And what about Conqueror's Haki?"

Morris tensed up.

"I don't know...'

He stared at Ainz with an anxious expression. He seemed disappointed, although it was hard to tell with the mask.

Ainz seemed lost in thought for a moment before shifting his attention back to him.

"A-ah, hmm. Indeed. Your understading of Armament Haki and Observation Haki is solid, although rudimentary. Given the Conqueror Haki's rarity, you currently have no need to understand it. Only witnessing it, will you truly grasp and understand what it is."

Morris nodded, although a bit disappointed. Ainz continued.

"I will not personally teach you now, but i will try to come up with a plan for you. However, if in doubt, you should go to Fujitora. He most likely can explain it better than i can."

Morris had already asked Fujitora, but he had not exactly been helpful beyond a few explanations. Nevertheless, he agreed to it and left Ainz alone, who had already started writing in a notebook out of nowhere.

Honestly, Ainz seemed really invested in helping him.

Ainz was thinking. He had only recently found out about the three different kinds of Devilfruit's. The thug had told him about them and had even requested a logia and a Zoan for him.

But frankly? It was the Paramecia which interested him. They seemed far more abstract than the Zoan and Logia's which were basically only Animals and Elements. Nevertheless, he'd be contend with anything.

The Marine Morris suddenly appeared. Despite the mans obvious nervosity, he had persistently approached him, even just to ask how he was doing.

But today? It was different. He suddenly asked for instruction about Haki.

Momonga did not know about Haki. He knew that it some kind of detection ability, because Fujitora had tried to localise him with it but that was it.

He immediately grasped the opportunity.

"Tell me everything you know about Haki first. I want to appraise your knowledge of it. I will think about your training afterwards."

Morris pulled back a bit before composing himself. He started.

"Armament Haki is used to strengthen the body. You cover yourself with it in order to become stronger and you can even attack Logia users with it!

And Observation Haki is used to witness your surrounding's. You can sense your opponent's presence and Predict their attack's. Issho said some people can even see the future with it!"

Ainz was surprised. This did not sound like a technique similar to the Marine's six styles. It was more akin to a superpower!

He froze.

'Wait. The result's from Mana essence. There was that strange Aura. Could it be...'

He set those thought's aside. Morris was waiting for his evaluation, but Ainz wanted to know one more thing.

"And what about Conqueror's Haki?"

Morris only shook his head: "I don't know..."

He was a bit disappointed at that. It certainly sounded more aggressive than Observation and Armament Haki, so it was most likely some kind of offensive ability.

Morris was staring at him.

Momonga quickly recovered out of his musings.

I will not personally teach you now, but it

will try to come up with a plan for you. However, if in doubt, you should go to Fujitora. He most likely can explain it better than i can."

There was no way he could teach that Marine anything.

But he was going to look into it nevertheless. These abilities were probably linked to that Aura and it'd be interesting to see their development.

He had his notebook out and was already scribbling on it, writing down what he had learned as he walked to the training grounds in order to observe the Marine with Mana Essence.

A croissant. Or a crescent moon. That was what the island looked like from above. A gigantic fortress equipped with walls and cannons.

The entire island was made for war. Men and women were running through training regiments and tasks alike. Over 20 ships were docked at the port and more were coming and going.

In the center of the island, a gigantic japanese style fortress was erected and stood tall over the entirety of the island.

This was the Marine's headquarters.

Marineford.

Inside of one of the many rooms, a few people were discussing something.

"You read that report? About whitebeard?"

"You mean that he claimed fishman island? I just got the report a few days ago..."

Rear admirals and vice admirals were sitting around a roundtable, eating, drinking and discussing some topics which had lately come up.

Some of them looked as if they were in a considerably bad mood, notably rear admiral Sakazuki who was quite literally fuming. Next to him, rear admiral Kizaru was sitting, boredly watching over his drink as the other current rear admirals discussed these topics.

"Damn it, it's unacceptable!"

Blam! A smoking fist crashed down on the table. The people present in the room did not need to turn around in order to know who made that statement.

"How dare those fishmen associate with pirates!"

Sakazuki was angry. For him, it looked like Marine influence was waning.

A few other vice admirals had wry but annoyed smiles on their faces as they watched their hot blooded colleague melt a bit of the table. They had already replaced the wooden table with a stone table once, and they were now considering the costs for a seastone table...

"Well technically, the inhabitants don't really have a choice when it comes to pirates marking their territories..."

The statement fell on deaf ears as the temperature kept rising.

On the other end of the room, Rear Admiral Kuzan was slowly trying to lower the temperature.

"Settle down, Sakazuki!"

Everyone tensed up as three admirals entered the room. They had just come back from a meeting with the fleet admiral himself, a private briefing in order to catch the Golden Lion Shiki, who had escaped Impel Down and who seemed to be trying to lay low.

Sengoku, Zephyr and Soken entered the room.

These three figures seemed to tower over everyone, radiating authority and experience.

Zephyr, a towering man with purple hair and tanned skin, had unofficially become an instructor, but given the fact that an admiral wasn't just replacable, his title and duties as Admiral remained.

He walked over to the table were he plopped down with some of his former students who immediately flocked to him. Even Kizaru stopped looking into his drink for a moment to acknowledge his presence.

Meanwhile Sengoku walked in and immediately walked over to a snoring Marine Hero in the corner.

"Garp! Wake up you idiot! This is no time to sleep!"

Sengoku and Garp were both respected figures, less for their behavior than for their might and experience. Sengoku was known as the resourceful admiral. He was a powerful Warrior who had the brains to back up his brawn. His Devilfruit, the Hito Hito no mi: Daibutsu (Golden Buddha) backed up every single one of those aspects and made him a formidable warrior. He had personally fought against many foes and had even fought Whitebeard on many occasions.

Garp was renowned as well. He was the one who personally hunted down the pirate king and who stood in front of most powerhouses of the sea. Not even having bothered to eat a Devilfruit, he relied on his mastery of Haki and was therefore known as "Garp the Fist."

Yet, despite all the respect these two commanded, it all flew out the window when they were together.

They bickered and fought, sometimes even brawled. Sengoku desperately tried to get Garp to get his act together, and Garps negative influence had resulted in Sengoku acting like a child during their moments.

It happened again as Sengoku was shaking Garp who had woken up with snot dripping down his nose and they were pacified shortly after by a bag of senbei Crackers and donuts handed by Vice admiral Tsuru.

She was the Staff officer of the Marines and one of the few who could deal with the two legendary marines aside from Kong, the fleet admiral.

"Really you two. You should think a bit more about the image you project!"

Meanwhile, the final admiral to enter was Soken Kato. Another towering man with short black hair and narrowed eyes, yet undeniably smaller and less impressive than Garp and Sengoku. He had his fair share of battle with the legendary pirates of the sea, but had usually focused on supporting and intervening in already ongoing fights. It was an ongoing myth that the mans caffein addiction vanished upon battle and he apparently fully relaxed during fights.

He had eaten the Daburu Daburu no mi (the double double fruit) and could create a clones of himself who were as strong as he was. So, despite his lacking power in direct confrontation, every serious fight he had usually resulted in his opponents being jumped.

He immediately headed for the coffee machine, already having drunk 8 in this morning alone. The people present knew what it meant. The clones consumed energy and there was always at least one clone eating and drinking even during Fights which meant that the real Soken Kato was most likely somewhere else doing something else.

People smiled a bit seeing the Admirals trembling hands spill a bit of his coffee.

"So. Whats news?"

The man's shaky voice but coherent sentence led to the discussion starting again, this time about the newly acquired genius known as Vegapunk.

"I heard that the guy invented a way to cross the calmbelt without stressing about sea kings. That true?"

"It's confirmed"

Sengoku nodded and continued.

"In fact, we're currently having it installed on some of our ships in order to facilitate the hunt after that bastard Shiki. He always used to lure the fights into the calmbelt, because the weather did not sabotage with his devilfruit. We might be able to catch him again."

"The guy escaped from Impel down last year huh... He'll be a pain to catch again."

"He was apparently seen in the north blue. He is using the chaos to hide himself. He will probably look for an island somewhere to regain his strength."

No one doubted the resourceful admirals assesment of the situation and they instead turned their attention to other reports.

"Hmm, by the way, do you know where rear admiral strawberry is? Is he still deployed in the West blue?"

Rear admiral Momonga's question did not gather much attention, but a few curious people turmed their heads. Strawberry was one of the rear admirals who should have attended this meeting.

Sengoku answered.

"He refused the meeting. The ship which was sent to pick him up returned without him because he has a bit of a situation at hand."

That garnered attention.

"Pirate trouble?"

Sengoku's tone was serious.

"Worse. An entire island was ravaged, and he is currently investigating the scene. He mentioned many anomalies in his report and is gathering a team of scientists to investigate the island."

"Ooooh. Hmmm. I read that report."

Borsalino's statement had a few people turning heads. He was known for his laziness and usually did not bother to participate in the meetings.

Yet, despite the sudden attention, he did not continue talking and just ... sat there.

A tick mark appeared on Zephyr's face. He always disliked Kizaru's lazy attitude and it was showing again. He did not understand how such a lazy man could climb the ranks so quickly. He would even get promoted soon!

Before he could get angry, Tsuru urged the lazy rear admiral to continue.

"Hmm, so impatient...

Well, i was contacted by Strawberry a few days ago... He asked if he could borrow some people."

Garps voice suddenly chimed up.

"Hah? Why'd he ask you?"

Sengoku answered.

"Pay attention during the meetings! Borsalino was the one who went and dealth with Vegapunk and oversaw the matters with the scientific division!"

Garps booming voice grew surprised.

"Hah? That sleazy guy?"

Kizaru, unbothered by the insult just continued.

"Yeaa. That island is really spooky. There are, like dead animals which move. And there is someone who lives on the island...

Apparently a guy who looks half dead. Like more dead than alive. Really scary stuff."

People exchanged glances at this information. Tsuru interjected.

"Hold on. Didn't that Gecko Moria retreat to the West blue? After his fight against Kaido? He has the Kage Kage no mi, doesn't he?"

"Ohh i fought that dude."

Soken's voice echoed through the room. The coffee had worked its magic and his voice sounded a bit better than before.

"That guy's a real counter to me. His devilfruit allows him to steal shadow's and he can use them in order to get stronger and even create a shadow clone. His Haki isn't bad either. He was a pain to fight..."

Tsuru nodded. "I heard that he can bring back the dead if the body of a person is in good shape."

Sengoku shook his head. "We got tabs on Moria. He retreated to the florian triangle after his fight with Kaido. His crew got decimated and he wasn't seen leaving the place ever since arriving. It can't have been him. But the report indicates that the guy who lives on that destroyed island is a servant to someone. He might be a a subordinate who was sent out. But it's not likely. The undead animals on the island aren't stitched together like Moria's creations."

Akainu frowned.

"Wait a minute. You mean that guy on the island hasn't been aprehended for questioning? What is strawberry doing?"

"Strawberry is acting carefully. His report indicated the man in the island to be rather weak but dangerous nevertheless. So he is trying a careful approach of extracting informarion about whoever it is who that guy serves."

"Then why not apprehend him?"

Akainu seemed to be stubborn on the idea that he'd spill everything after a bit of interrogation but Kizaru, much to everyone's surprise interjected again.

"Maaan. You should not be so hasty...

The guy was reported to be some real scary fanatic. He did a full sacrifice with animals. And give the shape he was in, he wouldn't talk even under interrogation."

Tsuru nodded. "It's true. He seems to be a little messed up in the head. He tried to recruit Strawberry for some cause and ended up buying it when strawberry said he'd feed him information. We don't even know what this cause is."

Akainu crossed his Arms. "So he is just a lunatic? Not worth my time."

The discussion after this quickly spiraled away. They had read the reports about the blind man Fujitora and the Merchant Ainz, but it did not warrant their attention.

'Damn it, i want to leave...'

Yet he couldn't. Ainz, who had initially planned to leave Soja island and travel, was still waiting for a shipment of devilfruits which the Mafia was trying to provide for him. It was now nearly a month after having arrived on that island, and he had learned quite a bit. He had another example of Devilfruit user and had come to understand that this Fujitora's devilfruit, which allowed him to control gravity, was quite powerful.

The only reason Ainz wasn't worried about his strength, was that Fujitora's unability to both sense and see him created a huge advantage for him in battle.

Another thing he had come to understand was that Haki really was linked to that strange Aura he saw. He had talked with Fujitora the day after Morris came to him for training, and [Mana Essence] led to quite the result.

The first thing he had noticed, was that Fujitora's Aura was a lot bigger than that of the normal Marine's. And it was layered. There was a very wide circle around fujitora which changed depending on what he was focusing on. When Fujitora looked towards a gambling house, that Aura extended, and entered/surrounded the place.

'Observation Haki.' He was quite sure of that.

He had not seen any signs of Conquerors and Armament Haki, but he was sure he'd recognize them once he'd see them. Armament Haki would most likely cling to their user's body after all.

Conqueror's Haki? He did not have a single clue.

Another thing was the man's Devil Fruit. It seemed to rely on stamina and willpower as well, yet it was different than the whole Haki thing.

A purplish energy had appeared when he had demonstrated a little of his devil fruit, but it wasn't measurable in the same way Mana was.

Ainz sighed. It had become a bad habit, but he could not help it given everything the world threw at him.

He leaned back in his seat and simply allowed time to pass, thinking about how crazy it was that he could actually stop it. Yggdrasil only made it paralyze the enemies, because [Timestop] obviously did not affect real life.

But here? Absolutely crazy. It simply stopped. It drained his Mana reserves a lot, but given the sheer size of his reserves, it was probably the strongest and most useful spell he had.

He had exchanged most of his rings and talisman with others which boosted his Mana recovery and reserves because he figured that rings like [Wish upon a Star] were a bit overkill in such a setting. And more Mana was always good.

'I should've taken the world items...'

That was the decision he regretted the most. In the last moments of the game, when he was in the treasury, he should've taken them all. He had a lot of strong magic items, but things like [Ginnungapap] or [Depiction of Nature and society] would have been absolutely broken in the real world.

'Who am i kidding. There is not a single world item which wouldn't be broken.'

The only items he had taken were the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] and his [Momonga's red Orb].

And their effects were overhelming.

These items were special items, one gifted to them by the Shitty devs, custom made for him as a special reward achievement for being the number one roleplaying villain in the game. It had many Boosts and abilities which were meant to put the Overlord on a pedestal. His guild's infamy had highly contributed to the game's success, and the orb had been a reward for that. He could use one ability of the Orb per day, and it would cost levels if he wanted to use more.

The staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was pretty similar. It was the Symbol of the Guild, created by the member's and approved by the Devs.

It carried heavy boosts for all of Momonga's classes due to the 7 Elemental Orbs who held 3 abilities each. Each Orb was a Divine level Artifact and carried a Special Spell, a [Primal Elemental] and a powerful passive boost. It was a player made item which was said to rival the world items and was entirely tuned for Momonga.

The seven Gems held the following elemental powers:

-Sun

-Moon

-Earth

-Wind

-Fire

-Water

-Time

(Idk, i copied them from the site)

Given the fact that each orb alone held three powers, and the staff itself held a few more spells and boosts for his necromancy and arcane spells, it was a world shattering item.

The sheer confidence which had flowed in him as he held that weapon was on an entirely different level.

But, despite the Power it carried, the most important aspect of it was it's meaning and the memories. The amount of effort and farming it took to build it spanned several years and it was a symbol of their unity as many of his friends had taken time off from work and family just to build it.

So he stashed it away. But he was resolute in using it one day, not just letting it be forgotten in his inventory.

"Today is the day they will get my devilfruits. The thug mentioned another family had them..."

He took off his Mask and robes. He had a shower in his room, no doubt part of the VIP treatment he received and he had used it a few times. The time it took to clean him was bothersome, but he did not want to rely on simple spells like [Clean.]

He had also prepared different sets of robes and masks. Constantly wearing the same things was an easy way to be called out as a dirty person who did not change clothes.

So he alternated between 4 sets of different robes, the original black one, a red and golden one(After taking over e rantel), a brown one (vs shelltear) and white golden one (holy kingdom i think.)

The main reason for the different oufits however, were the boosts. Each set had different resistances. The original set was the most powerful one, but the others had different resistances and boosts which could prove useful when it came down to it.

(Felt nasty if he never switch up. Not important though)

500 million berry. Bege still couldn't believe the Gambino family had accepted this offer. They had tried to negotiate a bit but it had obviously been for appearance's sake. They wanted those fruits. Badly.

The normal price for an average Paramecia and Zoan were 100 million and 150 million respectively. Yet, the Gambino family was ready to pay nearly double the normal price. They had been overly careful during the negotiations and the trade would take place in a place which granted Bege a lot of security. Yet, he had been warned. If this was a lie or a trick, the Gambino family would stop at nothing to make them pay. For Capone's small family, this was a serious threat.

But it made him rethink. Why would they want these two devil fruits so desperately? The Leopard Fruit was obviously a powerful Zoan. Selling it for 200 million or more wasn't an exaggeration and was pretty much fitting. But the breadfruit? He could not confirm it due to the lack of mention in any notes and books, but he was confident in his assessment. There was no way it was actually worth 250 million berry. Even selling it for 150 million would be a stretch.

"I don't get it."

It made no sense. But even so, he would not pull back. 500 million berry was some serious income. He could buy a lot more land and deal with more families in order to establish a better foothold as a dominant family when the time came. Trying to pull one over now was dangerous, as the Gambino family really seemed desperate.

"I guess they will get their fruits..."

The ships of the Gambino family were already on the way. They had only sent two small ships equipped with strong security. It had been stated that the security would not leave the ships and was only present in order to ward of Pirates.

The negotiations were under Bege's turf. Whoever they had sent to negotiate would be at his mercy.

...

If he did not care about the aftermath at least.

[Magic arrow]

The whistling sound of the arrow flying could be heard as the undead threw the bolt at a 2m long shark. The shark was big and strong enough for exploration and he would use it in order to lead the corruption of the island towards the east through the ocean. All, the soon to be undead shark had to do, was consume and bring the dead prey back to the island, leaving them at the eastern shore of the island.

[Magic Arrow]

The weak spell managed to pierce the nose of the shark, which was it's most sensitive point.

Yet the shark would not die. The undead was surprised at it's vitality, but he wanted to lure it closer to the shore anyway, so the magic arrows only purpose were to keep the shark moving.

It did not take long for the shark to reach the undead who was waiting at the shore.

Just before the shark tried to take a bite of its leg...

[Thunderlance]

The electrocution proved to be enough as he holsted the shark up and started walking through the forest.

Using a rope made of the insides of some beast he hung it and started the ritual. He was not strong enough to use [Animate dead] without a small sacrifice, but he was sure he'd perfectionate the spell soon.

'That rear admiral will be contacted soon.'

He had managed to mantain his control over only 4 of his smaller summons, as the ship of that "Strawberry" had landed on an island in order to refuel for Ressources.

Carefully managing his control, he had distanced his summons from the Civilization bristling on the island, in order to avoid having them detected by anyone. His summon's used their undead advantage to wound some smaller animals and one of the birds who had kept it's ability to fly even after the resurection was tasked with carrying the wounded animal back to the island.

'My strength is lacking. My control is not enough.'

The undead's unhappiness could be sensed. It had arrived on the base of the tree and started tying it onto a branch using the entrails of another animal.

'It needs to remain in the best shape possible. It needs to fight.'

The ritual took over two hours. Using only a few live animals brought back from whatever island it had been brought, he soon managed to get the undead shark to live. It was in the best of shape. No wounds, with exception of three or four holes creates by his [Magic Arrow] and no blood due to all of it being absorbed by the tree.

'You wouldn't know it was undead unless it was studied.'

The undead's mood rose after it's success and the shark was carried back to the sea, where it immediately set out for smaller fish.

'I only need time. That Marine's curiosity will grant me a lot of it. I will contact him soon. A lie about our master's ambition will open more question's than answer's. It will be enough for them to treat me like a treasure trove of information. I will survive.'

He took it out. A small sickly looking Den Den Mushi. It had been fed nothing but leftover fish and the corruption of the island clearly wilted away at it.

'I WILL RISE.'

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Marine Ranks are difficult. I did a blunder. Kuzan, Sakazuki and Kizaru were already Vice admirals during the Ohara incident, 3 year prior.

Yet i already wrote them as rear admirals in former chapters and i dont want to change it.

Please forgive me.

About the world items. I don't know anything about Momonga's red Orb, just that it was strong against dragons and had multiple abilities.

I think the staff of Ainz ooal gown is kind of overpowered but that's correct, at least lore-wise.

And i also wanted to apologize for the time it took to write this. I rewrote the entire thing three times because i rushed the first two versions.

I realize that some people might think im moving too slow. I don't know but i usually like longer written stories with details and many things going on. I hope you can tell the story IS in fact moving somewhere.

Advice and critic is always welcome.

Im tired, im sleeping.

Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: Progress