Feeling a large amount of wind hitting my back, almost as if I was falling, I snapped my eyes open while flipping myself, only to see that I was indeed falling to the ground; looking around, I spotted the destroyed golden bell falling as well as an unconscious Luffy off to my right, which caused the scene of him and I punching each other to replay within my mind.
'Fuck me, that was one hell of a punch; it managed to knock me out.' Mused Diddy with a slight frown as he rubbed his cheek, which was still very sore.
Rubbing my jaw a little, I shook my head before kicking the air beneath me, propelling me into the sky while Nimbus promptly appeared beneath me while keeping me afloat as I watched Luffy and the destroyed bell fall to the ground, seeing the two crash into the ground, I couldn't help but grin as the golden bell destroyed the bonfire and everything around it.
"Hehe, I may have been knocked unconscious, but I still achieved my desired result." Muttered Diddy with a satisfied smirk as he leaped off of Nimbus and fell to the ground, landing right atop the destroyed golden bell.
Looking around at the demolished scenery, I spotted my crew along with the Strawhats in the distance, completely unscathed thanks to Sebas, while everyone else had run far enough away to survive the impact; clicking my tongue, I hopped down from the top of the bell and landed on the ground, right beside where Luffy was.
Grabbing him by the shoulder, I tossed him towards his crew; it was only thanks to my crew and myself that he managed to achieve that level of strength, though maybe he'll be capable of reaching even greater heights in the future from his own strength.
'I hope he does; I'll love it if he turns out to be someone powerful; he'll be another strong prey for me.' Thought Diddy with a feral smile as he looked at Luffy, only to suddenly tilt his body to the left, dodging a ball of inky black flames, which landed on the ground right behind him.
"Tsk, dammit." Muttered Freyja in annoyance as he shook her hand, dispelling the inky black flame from her fingers while looking at Diddy, who was frowning in annoyance.
"Tch, if you're going to sneak attack me, Freyja, at least try; I'm not fond of these half-assed attacks of yours; are you actually trying to kill me, or are you in love with me? Which one is it?" Remarked Diddy as he folded his arms and eyed Freyja, only to dig his feet into the ground and outstretch his hand, stopping her from charging at him head first.
"Is this better, you fucking bastard?" Asked Freyja with an irritated expression as she glared at Diddy in her Satan Soul form, powerfully flapping her wings, creating powerful gusts of wind, yet she still wasn't able to push him back.
"Yes, but you should know direct attacks won't ever work on me; you're too weak for that." Replied Diddy with a grin as he lifted his leg and grabbed Freyja's horn with his foot before violently slamming her into the ground, causing the entire area to tremble.
"Though I'll give you a passing score for effort." Added Diddy with a feral smirk as he eyed Freyja, who, despite trying to stand up, wasn't strong enough to push against his leg, which just ended up with her cracking the ground.
"FREYJA-SAN!" Yelled Sanji angrily as he leaped towards Diddy, ready to kick him.
Looking at Sanji, I squinted my eyes before releasing my haki, using the color of the supreme king, knocking not only Sanji but every single one of the Strawhats unconscious as they slumped to the ground; however, the drunk swordsman, Zoro, was able to resist my haki for a few moments, though he too, eventually fell.
Releasing my hold on Freyja, I kicked her in the face, flinging her right towards my crew, though before she collided with anyone, she spread her wings, bringing her to an immediate halt.
"Heh, only a broken nose. Have you gone soft, Diddy?" Asked Freyja with a wicked smile as she grabbed her nose before realigning it and wiping the blood, only for Diddy to wildly grin as large amounts of lightning emanated from his body, destroying anything the thick lightning bolts touched.
"Hehe, you're welcome to try again, Freyja, though this time I won't stop until you're crippled." Declared Diddy with a chaotic grin as he glared at Freyja, the lightning obscuring his figure, with only the silhouette of a cloud, a bo-staff, and a pair of golden beastly eyes.
"Let us all calm down; it's still the middle of the night." Said Sebas lightly as he stepped forward, trying to pacify the Captain and Vice-captain, though his words only resulted in Diddy unholstering his bo-staff.
"Heh, you think I don't know you three combined your strength when assisting Luffy? Don't back down now, Sebas." Remarked Diddy with a large grin, the whites of his fangs just barely visible from the chaotic ball of lightning he was.
"Are you angry, Captain?" Asked Mael with a faint frown as he preemptively clutched his golden axe while stepping forward.
"Hehe, angry? No, I'm just ensuring you three aren't trying to challenge my spot as Captain. After all, even when together, you three aren't ready to fight me." Declared Diddy with a chaotic chuckle as he glanced between his three crewmates while Grand and Trenza silently excused themselves.
"Are you sure about that, Diddy?" Asked Freyja provokingly as she squinted her eyes at Diddy, only for the lightning coming off him to increase in intensity further, causing her, Sebas, and Mael to take a step back instinctively.
"Positive. Though you're welcome to try, just know it'll result in your death." Replied Diddy solemnly with a large grin, though now his whole figure was concealed by the rampant lightning, leaving only the faint yellowish glow from his golden eyes.
After a few moments of standing off, Sebas retreated, which was followed by Mael, and although reluctantly, Freyja did so as well, causing me to smirk as I stopped wantonly discharging lightning from my body.
"Heh, with that out of the way now. We'll be leaving in a few days, so until then, do whatever." Said Diddy lightly with a smirk as he eyed his crew before leaping onto Nimbus and flying away through the night sky, while Freyja angrily scoffed.
"Hmph, fucking monkey bastard; I'll kill you soon." Muttered Freyja angrily as she clenched her fist before spreading her wings and taking to the skies, followed by Mael doing the same while Sebas stayed on the ground.
___
___
Sitting on the topmost part of the beanstalk, I sat crosslegged, in a meditation position as I, well, mediated quite deeply as I intently focused on the insides of my body, following my nervous system while refining my connection with it. For several hours, I sat here unflinchingly while the sun bore down on me as I continued to perfect the technique I'd been working on shortly after Sebas joined the crew nearly two and a half months ago.
I was at an incredibly crucial point; just a few more hours and I'd have completed the technique; despite how excited I was, I made sure to stay calm; I didn't want my excitement to possibly make me lose focus or the sort. A few more hours passed, and all of a sudden, I felt a deep connection with my whole body; I could feel each and every tissue of my body, and I could control every muscle fiber within myself; while I've always had excellent control over my body, it was never to such an insane degree like what I was feeling right now.
Standing atop the leaf, I outstretched my arm before flexing as hard as I could, causing my arm to grow to a size never achieved before since I flexed each muscle to its maximum capabilities. Not only can this technique increase my strength, but I can passively train my body by constantly twitching my muscle fibers against each other, which will damage them, and in turn, when they are repaired, they'll be stronger than before. There were numerous other minor and even a few major benefits that I possibly don't even know of, but having such fine control over my body was euphoric, to say the least.
Clenching my fist, I looked up at the dawn sky, staring right at the moon, causing me to feel a faint, mighty power coursing through my body.
'Heh, looks like I just figured out another benefit.' Mused Diddy with a smile, his eyes flashing in silver while his golden brown fur took on a more silverfish appearance, though only briefly before returning to normal.
Grinning, I leaped off the top of the beanstalk before allowing gravity to take hold of me as I fell, smashing through each layer of clouds, only to summon Nimbus and fly through the sky right above the forest.
"Five days, longer than I wanted, but that's fine; hopefully, the Marines won't be anywhere near us. Speaking of Marines, did we finally get new bounties?" Muttered Diddy with a faint smirk of anticipation as he headed towards Angel Island, which had returned to normal after Freyja's so-called training.
Nearing Angel Island, I spotted my ship in the distance before leaping off Nimbus and landing on the side of the mast as I eyed my crew, who were, surprisingly, all present.
"Set Sail!" Yelled Diddy with a smile as he pointed downwards, referring to their next destination: Paradise.