Shadow grumbled as he nudged his power through his Host's Soul at a mind numbingly slow pace.
Devil Fruits were apparently innately jerks to prior Hosts.
By default, by instinct, a Soul fruit would grow roots and pierce the hell out of their new home without caution or concern.
Why?
To better drain the delicious Conceptual power of the Host when they die, of course!
It was the only nutrients these things needed at this point, raw imagination.
So someone eats a fruit, gets their Soul turned into a sieve, and either rapidly grows stronger to survive the process or quietly dies and the fruit gets reincarnated.
Either way, with such a deep and unhealthy grasp of the Soul? The fruit gains a profit.
Shadow doesn't need that shit. If he wants additional power, he just calls the Darkness. And Gem always had a thought or two if creative juices were called for.
So instead, he was sort of… Melding with this thing. In stages.
First, the roots were slowly coating her entire Soul, creating a protective layer.
Then, after he had a good grip on this place, he could help her fracture her own Soul a tiny bit, in a controlled way! It was a great idea!
Her hardened Soul would be able to continue to grow at a slow and comfortable pace, his/her Soul roots would be able to reach into the void to gather sustenance to nourish her existence through the opened crack, and it would drastically deepen her raw connection to the Darkness!
Everybody wins!
Might hurt a bit at that point though.
Anyway, her body was adapting to the new biological cells surprisingly quickly, which helped this entire process speed up a TON.
Which was good, because all this seriousness and focusing was rough on Shadow, who had a fairly flighty personality at times if he was honest.
Shadow forced himself to stay on topic as he began working the tricky bits: Modifying her body's Soul anchors to be detachable rather than welded onto her flesh.
It should work better than destroying her body and giving her a Darkness Avatar like usual… Better to keep BOTH and simply store one within the other when not needed.
A body for everyday life, a form for combat, and neither one tied to her actual existence… That seems much more secure than simply blowing up your partner and giving them a custom body job.
Still was taking time though, unlike his own vague memories Shadow wasn't going to just fracture a shard of HER Soul with raw power like a moron.
Slow and steady, plus gradual changes… Hopefully this would ensure this process just felt odd rather than bathing her mind with reality rending levels of pain.
At least he had a fun project to keep him busy!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Bell-mère grinned as she left another general shop.
Funding problems? Officially handled! Even paid off this month's 'fees' and 'fines' in advance!
She really felt clever this time too, she had gone two routes: A public excuse, to give her reason to have unexpected cash flows, and a private deal or two to both boost her revenue and stabilize this small town that had supported her girls for so long.
Publicly, the reason she now looked even MORE like sex on legs and sin incarnate, was because she was being fancied by a young merchant.
Something that had happened before, still happens occasionally, and even MORE occasionally actually led somewhere if the boy was a bit rugged and self confident. Nothing long term, but it was a publicly acceptable excuse.
This theoretical boy had met her 'refusal' with determination to 'win her over', and was sending her rare and unusual stuff to try and change her mind to marry him and 'bring her away from all this!'
Lovey dovey shit like that was always eaten up by her crew, they…
She forced her grin to stay unchanged. Focus.
Stuff like that was always bought and bragged about by low level Marine grunts, gossip was king in boring posts out here. It might not even make it into the numerous reports being secretly submitted about her!
Bam!
One excuse explained why she now was a sex goddess, where all her money was coming from, how she kept getting stuff that didn't belong on these islands AND was willing to sell them off without concern or care… Plus a good reason to get those stupid love struck idiots to hit the road instead of pestering her all the time.
As for why the boy didn't show up often? Shame! And a desperate desire to find something valuable enough to change her mind! Plus, this was an island with low levels of trade and tracking all the merchants was unreasonable.
Why didn't she know what he looked like, his name, etc?
Because she didn't care about him!
This story was just full of fun, both to spread and to enact.
As for the private deals, those were done after vanishing into her home, somehow appearing around town for secret chats with small groups she knew could be trusted. At least, trusted not to go to the Marines or talk after getting deep in their cups at the wharf bar.
A fishmonger, three small farmers, and a butcher.
In return for little to no questions asked, on specific days, they would buy fresh fish, produce, and meat for half the cost… Or to be more accurate, 50% of the profits would be stored and given to her in return for the consistent delivery of goods.
Her personal costs were basically nothing to begin with, but she had experience with the more Dark sides of life and… Well, this was to pump some stability into the Conomi Islands.
Any profits from this would be welcome, sure… But more importantly, the costs CHARGED by her contacts was up to them. She had made it clear that even if it sold for almost nothing, she wouldn't care or complain… As long as she got half.
Had to keep that bit in, so that they 'understood' her 'angle' and didn't freak out or something.
But now?
If fishing is bad, Cocoyasi village and those who traded with Conomi Islands would still be able to provide needed catches.
If a drought hit the lands, high quality wild vegetables would be on the shelves anyway.
If unexpected 'taxes' or embargoes or cargo 'confiscations' occurred, at least the costs of food wouldn't go up in her town or those who dealt with them.
And in times of plenty? A steady supply of profit!
What business WOULDN'T love to get fresh product without having to fight the Sea or struggle over limited island resources?
So that was dealt with.
A public money stream and excuse to keep pulling out odd spices and gems and stuff, a private revenue source that also ensured price gouging and resource denial wouldn't pop up unexpectedly or be effective…
And a good excuse for her girls to have about why they suddenly could get better food, clothing, and supplies! Hee hee hee!
Her new skill was so KICK ASS!
Though, privately, she had freaked out a bit during her tests of her power.
When she had first just tried to Twist some 'Fancy Food', she actually FELT it start to target some arbitrary source of the 'high quality' goods available… And random chance basically stole a meal about to be served to some rich guy.
Oops.
It got sent back before anyone noticed, but what shocked her MORE than the initial situation was the RANGE of her Twist.
That bowl of stew had been 'borrowed' from the West Blue sea, off a Marine battleship, about to be served to some fancy pants.
It had crossed nearly half the damned known world in moments and no one else had noticed.
She uh. She had been more cautious in the other tests.
Thankfully, her innate grasp of Twisting grew with practice.
Now she had mental profiles for arbitrary targets!
Local: Within boat range of my current island. Within hunting/fishing/gathering range of a Marine Captain with my former abilities if I were at those locations.
Unclaimed: Undiscovered by others, or not routinely checked or maintained by others.
Sustainable: Only mature specimens, no pregnant females, leave a breeding population.
After all, she didn't want to risk killing off the local sources of food for the islands or something. Or accidentally harvest some poor person's private garden without knowing it, or steal some person's giant tasty pet.
That uh… Did lead her to make a few other profiles.
Lost: Items that were unclaimed and uncared for, that would not be recognized by their owner or their minions.
Plausible: Similar targets that are indistinguishable from Local options, but not restricted by region.
Most of the junk she was selling publicly came from the Local Lost profiles, while the food was being delivered thanks to Plausible Local Sustainable sources.
She also found a few exotic fruits and veggies and stuff that must be coming from the Grand Line somewhere, off one of the odder islands, when she asked for new foods that would grow well on this island.
Those seeds and saplings had been passed off to the interested farms she had made deals with and uh… Well, they seemed eager, but time would be needed to see if that idea ever panned out.
Point is, there was a certain amount of flexibility here… In fact…
She paused, having just gotten home.
The girls weren't back from playing yet, and she had a bit of time…
Yeah, let's do one more experiment.
Before, she could ask for anything.
When found, she would just instinctively KNOW where it had come from, the before and after conditions, and could reverse the decision instantly.
What about now, after all this practice?
Could she do the question/knowing stuff WITHOUT Twisting away the object first?
She closed her eyes, absently soaking into the Darkness as she felt something… Familiar.
Unconsciously, she spoke.
"Yami Yami no… Dark Visions."
Her eyes saw nothing… No.
She saw Darkness.
Something without and within, a part of her and a friend.
The Devil Fruit, Yami Yami no Mi… But Consumed by the Darkness.
And Darkness was
humming a cheerful tune!
Amused, she couldn't help but hum along as she absently connected with the endless Darkness.
As always, her thoughts drifted to her little girls…
And before her, Nojiko was trying to get Nami to help her find shellfish for dinner.
Because the girls were worried about how little she was eating.
Daww!
Her heart warmed, and she almost felt an echo of Love here in the Darkness as well…
Heh, looks like they were going to have clams tonight.
Bell-mère honestly wasn't an astounding cook or anything, give her a rifle and she was a goddess but uh… Well, she didn't burn water at least?
However, due to repetition and necessity if nothing else, she had grown fairly talented when it came to wild foraged island produce and seafood.
But THIS time, let's kick it up a notch!
With a few clams coming in from the girls, plus a few extra she would slip in to the final dish, let's make a big seafood feast today!
What had been that one thing she had at that other island? Right, uh…
Clams with spicy tomato broth and garlic mayo. It had been freaking good, but not too complicated to put together.
Especially when she could just collect fresh ingredients as desired mid cooking.
It mostly went alright, although something seemed a bit strange about the salt… Although what the Darkness meant about it being residue from '
Aqua Laguna', she wasn't sure? It sounded familiar though.
Meh, the stuff tasted awesome and that was good enough. And the other ingredients were sparkling a bit too, since she didn't mark these ingredients with the Local profile since only her family would get to sample this stuff.
It should be fine, though she didn't recognize where in the world all these things came from. [[Dark Visions]] assured her that no one would miss this stuff and all of it was unowned, so more for the pot!
She stirred the dish, absently Twisting away filth and impurities from each ingredient before adding it in. Still had to chop and stuff, since that felt less awkward than Twisting a few thousand times to get tiny slices of material tossed away… Unless?
Instead of imagining a single slice cutting the amazing smelling chives, she visualized them already chopped and Twisted something nearly invisible away…
And the small mound of vegetation fell into perfectly parsed parts.
She couldn't really enjoy her success though, because in her hand was… An invisible framework? Some sort of mesh?
Uh. Just in case. "Yami Yami no: [[
Dark Visions.]]"
Whew! Just a matrix of chive particles! She hadn't just Twisted the concept of binding or uncut away or something silly like that. Holding something invisible that also had structure had made her a teeny tiny bit concerned, honestly.
Right, let's get most of this done before the girls get home! Plus some side dishes, a few deserts, a bowl with some nuts and another with fruits and…
Humming along to an unknown song, she bustled in the kitchen, absently purifying ingredients that glowed from powerful locations untouched by man or beast as they got tossed into a broth. Oh, right, better make some bread too!
This stuff would be great on toast!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Captain Nezumi was FURIOUS! "Damn it! ANOTHER love struck idiot is supporting that bitch!?"
It was ridiculous! He had been trying to get that thorn in his side to leave his territory for MONTHS now!
But no matter how many tricks he pulled, no matter how many favors he requested or fulfilled, it seemed NO one was able to get this woman to move SOMEWHERE ELSE!
This was HIS territory, and he had been FORCED to place nice and legit and legal for YEARS now! Mostly.
His 'personal funds' had been limited to his paycheck and confiscation routines only! Not a single payback or table deal, no bribes or nudges, no suggestions or confidences!
How was he supposed to operate like this! "What we got on this guy?"
His minion winced. "Smarter than the last six, hasn't publicly declared love or anything. We can't pressure him or his sources until someone lets something slip, but after the last few a lot of our contacts are being suspected and cautious."
Damn it. So what if he had gotten a bit impatient? There had been a huge deal in the works!
If he could just get this woman to leave, or to weaken enough to be 'handled', there was an entire CREW of social rejects just waiting to grease the wheels of bureaucracy with golden suggestions!
That they were escaped slaves or currently pirates didn't matter, this group was powerful for the East Blue and would quietly DOMINATE this area, paying him to be silent in the process.
That was pure profit! Only a few insignificant ants would even be bothered, if only this one freaking monster of a woman would just GO AWAY!
He felt his whisker-like mustache twitch. "Double surveillance, find her new sugar daddy, and get that cut off. The local office says she actually paid off TWO months of fees in one go!"
He had to fucking REPORT those! Trying to keep these nearly redundant bills and fees from cropping up higher on the administrative overview log was tripling his work load!
Just fail to pay a few times! Or leave! Or die! SOMETHING!
He focused on the idiots. "We still cracking down on trade there?"
Nods.
Right. Couldn't push this too far or it would get noticed, but funds should be tight and if they could cut off this new love struck idiot fast enough… "Get out there, find that moron, and we can pass it off to someone else."
The Arlong pirates would be happy enough to take down a human vessel or two, especially filled with loot and Beri's… Yes, that would work.
Keep the literal shark at bay while also cutting off this monster of a woman from recovering from this financial pit he had dug.
He snarled at the paperwork required for these spinning plates to keep turning.
The sooner she left or died, the better!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Nojiko couldn't help but grin even as Nami tried to hold her own bucket with both hands.
They had stumbled on a whole BUNCH of clams! And this time she hadn't cut herself, she used a stick like mom had told her to!
Nami wasn't quite mature enough to do a lot of work, but she was happy enough to help add the collected clams to the bucket and try to carry it for a bit. Something about getting food themselves for mom made this all seem MUCH more important and interesting to the girl, and they both were looking forward to her surprise!
But when they reached home, they both paused in surprise.
Was… Was this their house?
The paint almost looked new, untouched by salt from storms and harsh wind, the yard perfectly tended, almost too clean to mess up with their dirty shoes.
Nami though was more focused. "Mom! Mom, we got clams! And I put em in the bucket!"
That warm voice laughed inside, and suddenly it was all fine again as mom called them in. "Bring them to the kitchen, I got a big surprise for you two!"
Huh!? Awesome!
Nojiko mentally relaxed as she helped Nami into the house, making sure the bucket didn't spill. Mom had sounded… Relaxed. Less stressed, less tightly wound and worried.
Only she had noticed in recent weeks, but even Nami had noticed something was a bit wrong recently and had been a bit restless. It was why both girls had gone exploring farther down the shore than usual, and why they had stumbled on the clams.
However, opening the kitchen door was like being smacked in the face by a pillow of amazing smells! "What is THAT!?"
Nami instantly let go of the bucket, distracted, but thankfully Nojiko's hand took over the job before a mess was made. "Um! Mom, smells so good!"
Mom turned around and… They both blinked.
She looked AMAZING! And so happy and… Nojiko had to ask. "Mom?"
Her smile warmed her Soul. "Look at all of these clams! Oh you girls look like you both had quite the adventure!"
And that was enough to set Nami off a mile per minute, talking about the big wave and some odd rocks and the clams and maybe a dragon and clams and another rock but it wasn't a clam and…
Meanwhile, Nojiko noticed her mom casually working with an actual feast worth of food. The smells were one thing, but this was enough food for a festival! What was going on? "Hey mom?"
She casually hugged a giggling Nami as her other hand stirred a few pots and added some stuff. "Yes, Nojiko?"
The warmth helped her calm down a bit and focus. "What…What's going on?"
The laugh was rich and hearty and felt like the sea. "I got some special luck and we are going to celebrate! Leave the clams with me, you two go wash up, and then Nojiko can set the dinner table while Nami puts out the napkins."
And despite the awesome smell, the idea of a party had Nami already dashing off with grins to quickly wash her hands and Nojiko had to follow to make sure she did it right. Don't just wiggle them under the water, you got to use soap and scrub!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Shadow blinked.
Oops.
Uh… Wait, he can fix that.
Just… Add a bit more Darkness for power and uh… Maybe grow some more Soul roots over here?
Yeah, no problem!
This was going great!
Gem sighed with fondness and exasperation as Shadow continued to stumble along the path of progress and his new Host unknowingly gathered more and more power.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Bell-mère was astounded at the food on her plate.
She was NOT this good a cook.
Honestly, it should have been marked as 'fine' and 'warm with love' at best, not 'stop everything, I must eat this!' levels of amazingness.
She tried the potatoes, and like the other dishes they were mind numbingly delicious. And she felt something like raw potential soaking into her bones with each bite, which was a bit concerning.
Still, [[Dark Visions]] assured it would be nothing but beneficial to the girls… And based on the rapid rate they were consuming all the dishes, THEY had no complaints.
Plus, her own intuition kept insisting these things were basically treasure given a delicious disguise…
She took another bite.
Damn, even this corn was godly.
What the HELL was up with these ingredients!?
Thank goodness she had made sure to mark everything for sale with the Local profile, if she had sold something like these onions or those peas to an outsider things would have gone crazy.
Better not share any leftovers with neighbors, after this.
Although, based on the rate the girls were chowing down, that wouldn't be an issue. "Make sure you both have room for dessert."
Two tiny faces looked up, cheeks full of food. ""Mrph murple Murm murmmle!?""
Heh, just like her old gang. "Yep, managed to make a cake!"
The flour had seemed a bit translucent and sparkly, but it seemed to turn out alright? And the frosting had been so good she nearly ate that stuff directly when decorating the thing.
She grinned with amusement as deep internal conflict broke out as the girls debated endless consumption of delicious foods versus eating less now but more cake later. It was a troubling issue that they both must find a solution to!
They were just so cute!
Today has been the best of days!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
When food prices on the island began to rapidly drop, everyone quickly took notice.
Not only this, but the quality and quantity of food had actually skyrocketed…This was NOT normal!
But, as small people oppressed on all sides, they knew not to speak up about this.
Even those who normally sent secret reports and subtle messages stayed quiet. After all, they had been growing hungry too. They'd tell someone about this… Eventually.
But for a short time, a subtle tense concern that floated in the air over Cocoyasi Village had relaxed and settled down a bit.
There were a few more smiles, shoulders didn't slump as far when they prepared to go face the sea, the children laughed a little louder and ran a bit more.
More than that… Trade began to pick up. Stories began to spread. Rumors about lucky finds, rare deals, trinkets that were found that had been lost long ago just turning up in random shops.
It was sort of self fulfilling, in a way. As more and more merchants came to Cocoyasi Village to try their own luck, they'd find the others that also flocked here and offer a bit of trade between these other outsiders as well.
Despite pressure to avoid the area, random ship examinations and so forth, the call of profits was a bit too sweet of a siren's call to allow such a place to go unvisited.
With more trade, came more oversight. More patrols, more stability, more observation… Shady practices became more uncommon when held under a spotlight. Though hidden forces attempted to prevent too much improvement to the area, for many reasons.
Then… Whispers. Certain stores, if you had the money, if you asked quietly, could find things. Either special objects or materials, or something far more valuable: Clues. Information. Hints.
For a short period, tourism boomed and the whole island chain became a popular destination spot… And then the stories shifted a bit. The whispered words came from a new location.
They say there was a shop that didn't sell any of the goods within, that had no shop owner, which didn't accept any money… But you could leave a message on the paper left on the counter.
Despite no one working at this shop, it never closed. The door was never locked. No one ever entered or left, except the potential customers.
Nothing was ever stolen.
The few who tried found empty shelves and a lonely room with no clues.
Some claimed it was haunted… Yet that wasn't enough to stop those in need from seeking it out, from looking for that one last chance, that fragile sliver of hope in these uncaring waters.
The Haunted Shop allowed you to leave messages. Requests. Questions.
And the next night at midnight, no matter where you were or what you were doing, you would find a note next to you with a price… Or a refusal, if your request or question was something considered unacceptable.
At least the refusals were polite? Though many slavers and criminals raged anyway at being denied their desires and vulgarities.
For those who had the opportunity, they could place the listed price in a room or a container with that letter, and all of it would vanish… And you would get a response.
A note. Or clues. In very rare circumstances, the item itself… Or the person being sought would appear, confused and unsure, in person. Prisoners freed, slaves unbound, loved ones reunited.
In the more sad situations, corpses were retrieved, maps of where they fell provided, and so forth. Closure, even if for some it also sparked the fires of vengeance.
But those tales were just stories, one of many that swam these seas. Another legend that drifted by the docks, another fragment of hope to be clutched by the hopeless.
Cocoyasi Village grew swiftly with trade, goods, and profit flooding this small unimportant island.
Such things could draw eyes… Even more eyes than those already hungry in the shadows.
Fearing competition, furious over being denied their desires, a group of escaped victims made an unfortunate decision.
Turning their rage towards an entire species due to the actions of a powerful few, they decided to conquer this location anyway despite the recent changes… Or due to them.
Several weeks after the booming growth of Cocoyasi Village, the
Arlong Pirates reached these shores without the approval of their corrupt Marine contact.
They were without fear! They were all part of a Fish-man crew, their species each over ten times stronger than these pathetic humans, even when just born and untrained!
When underwater, they were literally unmatched! Kings of the sea! To be rulers of the whole East Blue sea itself! Small gods, sure, but Gods nevertheless!
They'd probably be fine.
