Chapter 26: Promise Complete
"For my first act as Captain of the Frenzy Pirates, I shall appoint you, Freyja, as Vice-Captain of the Frenzy Pirates!" Stated Diddy with a grin while pointing at Freyja, causing her to release a huff of annoyance.
"Just know when I kill you and take over the spot as Captain, I'll immediately disband this pirate group." Remarked Freyja while eyeing Diddy, who laughed in response.
"Hahaha, whatever you say, Freyja the beast tamer." Replied Diddy with laughter as he approached the helm while Freyja clutched her fists in anger, wanting nothing more than to rip the beating heart out of his chest.
Walking up the stairs, I arrive at the upper deck, where the helm is located; approaching the helm, I signaled Freyja to raise the anchor. While she was doing that, I was currently getting a feel for the wooden steering wheel, and I'll tell you what, it was much more comfortable than I had anticipated; it didn't even really feel like wood.
'Heh, I must give Freyja props; she found a great shipwright; I just hope this thing can last until we find a proper ship.' Mused Diddy while carelessly spinning the wheel.
When I got decently accustomed to the helm, I let it be and approached the left side of the ship as I began pulling the ropes to lower the sails; once I finished dropping both sides of the sail, although it was slight, I could feel the ship moving.
"You have to turn the sail to catch the wind." Remarked Freyja blandly as she began shifting the direction of the sails until they were catching the wind, causing the boat to pick up speed quickly.
"Tch, I know, woman; I was just about to get to that part." Said Diddy with a click of his tongue as he looked at the dock they had just left from.
"Well, you were too slow; be faster next time." Mocked Freyja as she folded her arms and looked at the island that was slowly getting smaller by the minute.
"Heh, bet you didn't say that to the beast you fucked." Replied Diddy with a feral grin, his words filling Freyja with wrath.
"How long do you want to play this game, Diddy!?" Exclaimed Freyja angrily as her body started morphing into her monstrous form while she unleashed her killing intent.
"Hehe, it seems like someone is finally deciding to get serious!" Said Diddy with a grin as he also unleashed his killing intent while brandishing his staff.
As we dangerously eyed one another while the two of us also released our killing intent, although it looked like we were about to break out into a fierce battle at any moment, both of us knew it wasn't going to happen; Freyja knew she couldn't beat me in battle, and she still hasn't reached her peak. So after provocatively staring at each other for a solid minute, we reeled in our killing intent and calmed down as we quietly looked at the island in the distance.
"You know, I couldn't care less about Karate Island, but as I look at it now, I can't help but reminisce about it. I created various memories in that place, most of them I don't care about, but there are a few that I'm very fond of." Said Diddy calmly with a slight smile while looking at the island as he stood beside Freyja.
"I suppose I'm not too different; I was born on that island and knew nothing but that island, yet now, for the first time, I'm leaving it; after having brought it to ruins." Added Freyja as she also reminisced, and for the first time in seven years, she displayed a smile of happiness.
Just as I was about to turn around and man the helm, I suddenly stopped and widened my eyes as I remembered I had left an unfulfilled promise to myself; looking back at the island, I quickly ran forward and jumped off the ship while propelling myself through the air as I headed toward the island once more.
"I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Yelled Diddy to the confused Freyja as he swiftly approached the island in merely a few seconds.
Arriving back at the dock, I kept moving through the air while overlooking the desolate and ruined city beneath me that was filled with nothing but hundreds upon hundreds of corpses; once I passed the city and entered the forest, I momentarily stopped when I arrived directly above a large clearing, the same clearing where I had fought that lemur and transformed for the first time.
'Now that I think about it, that lemur must've eaten a Devil fruit; he smelled similar to Freyja and that Shu. I guess that's good to know; it seems like any species is capable of eating a devil fruit. Though I wonder, could an inanimate object eat a Devil fruit?' Thought Diddy while standing above the clearing before shaking his head as he continued to propel himself through the air.
Leaving the center area of the forest, I quickly entered the inner area, only to swiftly bypass it and arrive in the outer area while glancing at the waterhole before eventually nearing the beach where I used to stay; within a matter of a few minutes, I managed to arrive at the other side of the island, though from what I know, this island is pretty tiny, so my achievement wasn't that impressive.
Landing on the bench, I felt the soft and warm sand caress my feet as I approached my home, which seemed to have fallen apart over the years, though my hammock still looked to be in relatively good shape. However, what I had come here for wasn't to appraise my first home; walking past my wrecked house, I approached a tree in the distance, a perfectly ordinary tree, yet that alone was why it stood out; I should've destroyed this tree years ago.
"Hehe, don't think I've forgotten about you; I made myself a promise all those years ago, and I'm not the kind of person to ever go back on my words or promise." Said Diddy with a savage expression as he stabbed his staff deep into the sand while getting into a horse stance.
While in a horse stance, I placed my two arms before me, one above the other, as I pointed my fists toward the tree in front of me; once I was ready, I used all six techniques, which I've come to learn are called the Rokushiki, after stumbling across the manual in one of the most prominent dojos.
The instant I used all six Rokushiki techniques at once, I felt a tremendous amount of power form at the base of my feet before it began to make its way up through my body while increasing in strength. Once it arrived at my abdomen, instead of continuing to my head, I diverted its power to my arms, causing my arms to forcefully swell from the sheer amount of power they contained.
"ROKUOGAN!!" Yelled Diddy with a savage expression as he released all the accumulated power from his fists toward the tree.
The power I released was so great that I was even pushed back a little, and if I hadn't firmly planted my tail against the ground to keep me steady, I might've fallen back. When the rokuogan was launched from my fists, an utterly massive and dense gust of wind smashed into the center of the tree, as it tore it to shreds instantly while continuing into the forest, destroying everything it came into contact with, leaving nothing but a path of destruction through the forest for as far as the eye could see.
"Hahaha!" Exclaimed Diddy as he chaotically laughed, admiring the sheer destruction his attack made.
'Well, now that I've accomplished my promise, time to head back; I can't leave Freyja for to long, or she'll chase after me.' Thought Diddy with a grin as he grabbed his staff and jumped into the sky while heading back toward the island's north side.
While propelling myself through the sky, I looked down, appreciating the path of destruction I created, yet at the same time, curious about how far it went; it wasn't until I arrived toward the inner-area did I finally spot the end of my destruction which was quite shocking, since while the outer-area is the smallest section of the forest, it's still large, at least half a kilometer.
'That is, without a doubt, my strongest attack to date; to think it blasted through numerous trees until finally arriving at the edge of the inner area before dissipating.' Mused Diddy with a smirk before speedily propelling himself through the air as he headed toward his ship.
A few minutes later, I spotted the ship off in the distance, a few kilometers away from the island, shooting toward the boat; just before I crashed into it, I hit the air again, instantly stopping my moment a few meters above the deck before landing on it softly.
"What were you doing?" Asked Freyja curiously while sitting on a barrel in the corner.
"Hehe, nothing spectacular, just honoring a promise I made to myself a few years ago." Replied Diddy as he leaned his staff against the wall while also sitting on a barrel, the two looking at the island in the distance until it eventually disappeared.
"So, Diddy, do you have any idea where to go?" Questioned Freyja as she looked out to sea.
"No idea; besides, don't you need a log pose to navigate?" Replied Diddy, causing Freyja to sigh in annoyance.
"No; apparently, you haven't done any research, Captain." Said Freyja sarcastically while Diddy merely laughed.
"Normal compasses are fine, at least until you arrive in Paradise; then, we'll need a log pose to navigate unless you wish to stay forever lost." Added Freyja as she reached into her bra and revealed a compass before tossing it toward Diddy, who caught it with his tail.
With the compass in hand, I reached into my pants pocket and grabbed a map of the South Blue, and after a couple of moments, I determined our next destination.
"Baterilla, that's the next closest island, though we have to go east to get there." Declared Diddy as he hopped off the barrel while tossing the compass back toward Freyja, who also caught it with her tail that suddenly appeared.
Walking up the stairs to the upper deck, I grabbed the helm and turned it toward the right until we began heading east before I straightened it out.
"Baterilla, you're next on our destruction list!" Stated Diddy with a feral smirk while Freyja once again sighed.