Opening my eyes, I tried to sit up, but I was met with a wave of pain that came from seemingly every inch of my body, causing me to hiss as I subconsciously flexed, which only worsened the pain. However, after a while, some of the pain began to subside, allowing me to observe my surroundings, only to see nothing but the ocean, which confused me.
'How the hell did I get out here?' Thought Diddy in slight confusion as he turned his head, causing him to growl.
Not too far away from my current position, I could see land, though as I viewed every angle, I only ended up more confused than before since surrounding me was land in every direction.
'Okay, so I'm in a lake? But there isn't a lake in Elbaf.' Thought Diddy in confusion as he looked towards the sky, eyeing the full moon high in the sky.
Seeing as the full moon was still in the sky, not much time had passed since I faced that attack; either that or I'd been unconscious for a month, but since I wasn't hungry, I highly doubted that to be the case.
'That attack wasn't a joke; not only did it knock me out of my sulong state, I wasn't even able to completely stop it.' Thought Diddy with furrowed brows, only him to sport a feral grin while staring into the sky.
I had no idea what kind of weapon could create such a powerful attack, but the fact that something this powerful existed meant I still had more room to grow, and that only made me smile; not to mention, what doesn't kill me will only make me grow stronger.
'Heh, I can't wait to heal from this; how much stronger will I grow again?' Mused Diddy with a ferocious expression as he released a low grow that reverberated throughout his body, only for Sebas to catch his attention.
"Captain? You're still alive, correct?" Asked Sebas lightly as he descended towards Diddy, who blankly stared at him.
"Urgh, w-what do you think?" Replied Diddy hoarsely as he eyed Sebas, who heaved a sigh of relief while nodding before chuckling.
"Hoho, I just had to make sure." Muttered Sebas with a faint smile as he glanced at Diddy before waving his hand, lifting his body off the small piece of land.
"Though, I'm slightly surprised you survived that attack; the power it had was something incredible. If it weren't for you, the destruction it caused wouldn't have been limited to merely this small hole… The entire Island would've been obliterated." Added Sebas solemnly as he ascended higher into the sky while Diddy motionlessly floated right beside him.
Once we reached high enough into the sky, I got to witness how much damage the island actually sustained, and Sebas was correct; it was nothing more than a small lake you'd find at a park; however, I was still annoyed I wasn't able to fully stop the attack.
"Hmph, I should've been able to stop it." Said Diddy with a slight frown as he eyed the small lake, his words causing Sebas to faintly shake his head.
"You did more than enough, Captain; not only did you prevent the Giants from being killed, but you also got to test the full extent of your strength; you can't be upset with that, can you? Not to mention you saved every Frenzy Pirate, except for Freyja, Bullet, Scar, and Mael, from death." Remarked Sebas as he glanced at Diddy, who clicked his tongue and grumbled under his breath.
"Hmph, I guess." Muttered Diddy with a scoff as he closed his eyes before pointing his tail toward Pandemonium.
"Take me to Pandemonium." "Aye, Aye, Captain." Said Diddy and Sebas, respectively, as the latter saluted before speedily flying through the air, reaching Pandemonium within mere moments.
"Could you watch after Captain Pandemonium?" Asked Sebas lightly as he floated Diddy toward Pandy, who nodded before opening his mouth and outstretching his forked tongue.
Feeling Pandy's slimy tongue wrap around my body, I wanted to protest, but I wasn't really in the position to do so, and after a minute or so, I was gently laid into my hammock, though since I was coated in saliva, it wasn't exactly comfortable.
"Annoying." Muttered Diddy as lightning danced across his body, burning the saliva and leaving behind a disgusting stench.
Thanks to my black skeleton, my internal organs didn't receive much damage, but pretty much everything had been either fried or turned to mush, my muscles being a major part; I was even surprised I was able to move my jaws to speak.
'I guess I'll just go back to sleep.' Thought Diddy with a slight frown as he closed his eyes, falling into slumber moments later, oblivious to what was occurring within Mariejois.
___
___
"Peter… What do you mean to tell Lord Imu Elbaf still remains." "Yes, Vegapunk has stated the Mother Flame can produce infinite energy." Said Nusjuro and Warcury with a deep frown as they stared at Peter, who simply nodded while looking at a piece of paper in his hand.
"Reports say that when the attack was seen above Elbaf, Chaos Kong, in his Sulong state, managed to mostly push back the attack… allowing for only one beam to sneak by him before hitting Elbaf." Stated Peter solemnly as he gazed at the paper before setting it down on the table beside the transponder snail.
"The Mother Flame is capable of powering an Ancient Weapon, yet the reports say one person… A Mink… Managed to stop the attack? A single being managed to match the power of an Ancient Weapon? Only one other being has ever done that." Remarked Saturn solemnly with a deep frown as he stared at the paper on the table before glancing at Peter, who nodded.
"Are we certain he isn't perhaps Joy Boy's reincarnation?" Asked Mars as he glanced at his fellow Elders for confirmation, though none responded.
"He's proving to be far more dangerous than initially expected. Not even Gol D. Roger or Rocks D. Xebec was this powerful; if he isn't quickly disposed of, he could prove to be a serious threat to us." Declared Nusjuro solemnly as he clenched his hilt while eyeing Diddy's wanted poster.
"Hmm, Let me go, Lord Imu." Asked Saturn respectfully as he and everyone else glanced at the transponder snail.
"Joy… Boy." Said the transponder snail, their words causing Saturn to nod.
"We understand, Lord Imu. We shall first deal with Joy Boy." Said Warcury with a nod as he slightly bowed towards the transponder snail, only for it to shut off a few moments later.
"Still, we will need to further bolster the Marines; this will be far deadlier than the previous war." Declared Peter solemnly, his words causing everyone to nod in agreement.
___
___
Thanks to my black skeleton preventing severe injuries on my internal organs, I healed much faster than usual, taking only two days in total, and the increase in strength I received was once again massive. However, that meant I was required to adjust to my newfound strength, which didn't take long, and after a few hours, I had grown accustomed to it, which only made me smirk as I was confident in completely blocking that Island destroying attack.
'Heh, my haki has grown once again.' Mused Diddy with a smirk as he raised his hand into the air, extending his armament haki nearly eight meters.
With how strong my haki now was, I started to think back to Shank's ability to attack from the future, which, while very strong, could still be blocked; however, what if instead of attacking from the future, I simply attacked THE future?
"Is that even possible?" Mused Diddy with a curious expression as he sat on his hammock with a thoughtful expression.
If I wished to attack the future, I'd need to make my observation haki capable of inflicting damage, which I don't know if that is even possible. However, if my theory were possible, I would be able to attack my enemies from an untouchable spot; after all, how could my enemies attack someone from the past?
'Hmm, but how do I make my observation haki destructive?' Thought Diddy with a slight frown as he repeatedly tapped his chin while staring into the sky, only for his eyes to widen.
"WAIT! I might not need to make my observation haki destructive; I just need to make it strong enough to the point where no one can see farther into the future than me, and I might've already achieved that." Remarked Diddy with a grin as he clenched his fist before closing his eyes.
Using my haki, I looked into the future, seeing roughly half a minute into the future; locking my focus onto a fish that would jump out of the ocean in twenty-eight seconds, I manipulated my armament haki and attempted to fuse it with my observation haki. If I could do the same with my Conqueror's haki, why couldn't my observation and armament haki do the same?
Of course, even with my immense talent, I didn't succeed on the first try, nor the second, hell, not even within eight hours did I succeed; however, after nearly a full day of concentrated training, I finally managed to somewhat interconnect my observation and armament haki into one. Without missing a chance, I controlled my haki to crush the fish that leaped out of the sea.
Snapping my eyes open, I shifted my gaze into the sea and patiently waited for the specific fish to leap out of the sea.
'There it is.' Thought Diddy with a feral grin as he eyed the bluish fish swimming through the ocean, only for it to leap out of the water.
Before the fish could enter back into the ocean, at the peak of its jump, an invisible force suddenly crushed it, and I wasn't able to sense anything; it was like the world itself had crushed that fish.
"Hehehehe… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Yelled Diddy loudly as he erupted into chaotic laughter at the creation of his new technique.