Waking up after a fantastic night's sleep, I loudly yawned while sitting upright as I promptly leaped out of my hammock before landing perfectly on the ground.
"Mhm, I feel amazing!" Said Diddy with a large smile as he stretched his stiff body, releasing growls of satisfaction with every crack.
Once I finished reinvigorating my body, I grabbed my hammock and ripped it off the latches before tossing it out into the ocean while I followed right after it. I reeked of blood, and the constant scent was starting to annoy me; I may not have been awake for most of the last ten days, but that didn't mean I wasn't sniffing it; after all, I still needed to breathe.
'Ahh, this feels good.' Thought Diddy with a faint smile as he submerged himself under the ocean, aggressively rubbing himself, scratching patches of dried blood off his body and revealing his golden brown fur.
When I finished cleaning myself, I leaped out of the ocean like a dolphin and propelled myself towards Pandemonium in the distance, yet I hadn't quite gotten accustomed to my increase in strength, so I ended up smashing right into the fortress.
"Tsk, I just cleaned myself." Muttered Diddy in annoyance as he emerged from the knocked-over shelves while brushing off dust and debris from his body.
I pushed random pirates out of the way and accidentally sent them flying off Pandemonium, though I didn't bother with them as I used this chance to gain proper control over my increased strength. It didn't take me long to get somewhat accustomed to the increase in strength, and when I did, I couldn't help but grin as I clenched my fists; although I had nearly died during that battle, in the end, that is where one undergoes their most drastic improvements.
So, in the end, not only have I physically grown much stronger, but my haki has significantly increased, yet, to top everything off, I managed to achieve black bones; I couldn't actually see my bones, but I knew I had achieved it, I had turned my bones black from that battle.
'Heh, if it weren't for my black bones offsetting some of the damage, that last attack would've left me dead.' Thought Diddy with a feral grin as he clenched his fist while intensely staring at his arm, sensing the sheer strength his entire skeleton exuded.
Shaking my head, I left this part of the fortress and headed towards the lounge; I was hungry and curious to know where we were going. Landing on the ground just outside the lounge, I opened the doors and entered, spotting Reiju, Sebas, and Chala sitting at the table while Scar was in the kitchen grabbing food.
"I've already spit all over my food." Said Scar lightly as he glanced at Diddy, who was reaching towards his plate, only for him to stop at his words.
Grunting in annoyance, I ignored Scar and grabbed a tray, yet when I opened the fridge, I noticed a large tray filled with food, along with a note with my name on it.
'This food is Captains. Eat it only if you're suicidal. — Trenza.' Mused Diddy with a faint grin as he grabbed the tray from the fridge and headed towards the table.
"Hoho, a meal fit for a King. My daughter is spoiling you." "Mhm, that looks and smells tasty." Said Sebas and Chala, respectively, as they glanced at Diddy, who sat down beside Reiju, prompting her to grab the note.
"Read this before making a move, Chala." Said Reiju lightly as she tossed Chala the note, causing her to furrow her brows while she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"So, where the hell are we going right now?" Asked Diddy as he glanced at Sebas while stuffing his mouth with enough food to feed a family every few seconds.
"Currently, we're heading towards Totto Land; Bullet figured it would be best to take the Road Poneglyph from Big Mom's territory to ensure no one could make it to Laugh Tale except for you." Replied Sebas calmly as he glanced at Diddy while eating with manners, unlike a certain someone who sat diagonally from him.
"He also said before we have an all-out war with the Marines, we'll need to bolster our forces, and what better way to quickly expand our crew than to steal the pirates from a former Emperor of the Sea?" Added Sebas with a faint chuckle as he stroked his beard while Diddy raised an eyebrow.
"Bolster our forces? Huh, I guess the Marines do have a lot of cannon fodder." Muttered Diddy lightly as he nodded in agreement, only for him to pause as he swallowed a large bone without chewing.
"Anything else?" Asked Diddy as he glanced at Sebas, who pondered before shaking his head, causing him to nod.
"No, that is about everything. What are your orders, Captain? Now that you're awake, Bullet is no longer in charge." Asked Sebas as he curiously stared at Diddy, who took a moment to ponder silently before shrugging his shoulders.
"Nah, not really. I suppose I could fight Kaido again, but I've already surpassed him; besides, I want to test something with the poneglyph, so let's stay on track." Replied Diddy with a smirk as his eyes eagerly shone while Sebas softly sighed, already knowing what he had in mind.
"So, what were we doing?" Asked Scar as he set his tray down beside Chala before sitting down, only for her to steal a slab of meat.
"Oi! That's my food!" Stated Scar angrily as he pushed his food away from Chala, who grunted before scoffing in annoyance.
"Hmph, stingy bitch." Muttered Chala as she quickly finished Scar's food, causing his expression to constantly twitch.
Once I finished eating, I promptly left the lounge to go and train, well more so to how strong I've become, but also to train.
"Hmm, where's Naga-sa?" Asked Diddy in confusion as he used his observation haki, which had grown massively, allowing him to observe several islands at once across the vast New World.
Not sensing Naga-sa anywhere, I tried to summon Nimbus, yet even after several tries, it never appeared, causing me to click my tongue as I finally realized the two were still fused together.
'Well, that makes this whole thing easier.' Thought Diddy as he raised his arm, summoning Naga-sa despite being separated by hundreds of miles.
After a few seconds, I spotted Naga-sa soaring through the sky, causing me to grin as I leaped into the air and clutched it, only to be nearly taken out of the air from the unexpected weight.
"Well, it should be fine; it'll probably help with the training anyway." Muttered Diddy lightly as he coated his holster in haki before storing Naga-sa onto his back, only to dive into the ocean, where he disappeared for numerous hours.
___
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Standing on top of Mony's head, I watched as my crew dealt with Big Mom pirates that had remained at Whole Cake Island; most of the loyal pirates had already been killed, and now we were simply integrating the remaining Big Mom pirates into our own crew.
'In a few days, the Big Mom pirates will cease to exist. Huh, I wonder how that will be when I die; will the Frenzy pirates just disband?' Thought Diddy with a curious expression as he rubbed his chin, only to nod without an ounce of hesitation.
"Yep, most definitely; without anyone strong enough to keep all these massive egos in cheek, the crew won't last long at all." Muttered Diddy lightly as he gazed between Chala, Grand, Scar, Sebas, Mael, Bullet, and Freyja, only to chuckle in amusement.
I had one powerful crew, and I was honestly somewhat proud of it because I knew no one else could maintain such a crew full of extremely powerful pirates; not to mention, when I first set sail, I never really intended to be a pirate, I just knew the marines and World Government would label me as such.
"Though death, huh." Said Diddy softly as he stared into the sky while his eyes briefly glowed red, only for him to shake his head.
After a few stretches, I leaped off Mony and propelled myself towards the castle in the distance where I sensed the poneglyph, and with a wave of my hand, I sliced through several floors as I dived right toward the vault where they held the pongeglyph.
Landing right in front of it, I outstretched my hand and placed it on the poneglyph, only to surge the full might of my haki into it; after several seconds, I retracted my hand, and although I was somewhat expecting to see no damage, I couldn't help but grin when I noticed a palm-sized crack an inch deep.
"Hehehehehe… just a little bit more." Muttered Diddy with a feral smile as he licked his lips while staring at the crack, only for him to grab the poneglyph before lifting it into the air.
"CATCH PANDY!" Yelled Diddy loudly as he threw the poneglyph out of the castle towards Pandemonium, only for Pandy to catch it with his tongue.
With that out of the way, I decided to venture around the castle to waste some time; besides, I was a little curious to see what a freak like Linlin kept in her house.
'Heh, maybe I'll find a giant-sized dildo or something. I'm sure Freyja would love that.' Mused Diddy with an equally amused and disgusted expression as he strolled through the halls, searching for something interesting.