One Piece: Path to Power

Double release.

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[The Prawn's Keep]

A large room in the Fish Tank, home to Ebi the 'Red Prawn'.

"Barro, that son of a bastard! He really lost his mind since that news came out!" he roared.

The man was of a frail build. All the while boasting a bald head that reflected 94% of the light that hit it. Topped with plain features and nothing noteworthy apart from his bare dome.

[Ebi image (in Discord)]

The man sat on his large bed, holding his head in his hands. He felt things were breaking apart, shattering like glass.

"He is quite pathetic now, isn't he?" a voice echoed in the empty room.

"..."

Ebi's breathing halted as blood rushed to his head in a matter of fight-or-flight.

Slowly but surely, he raised his head with bated breaths. "W-Who's there!?"

He looked up and saw the familiar room, no one else was there.

*Click!* The man pulled out a vintage revolver and held it up. 

"You know who you're messing with? I'm the Red Prawn!"

The voice seemed to ignore his pride and continued, "In all your years of loyalty to Barro, have you never once desired more power and control?"

The man turned in the direction of the voice and aimed strongly. Once again, no one was present.

"Damn it… show yourself!"

However, Ebi's anger warped into fear as he saw his very own shadow warp and churn with unsettling noises.

"!!!" There was no time to react as a gargantuan loud of force fell upon the man.

"Ugh!" he cried out while being brought to his knees; almost prostrating under the gravity-like power.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* 

Slowly, Ebi heard soft steps ring out as a figure appeared in front of his kneeling posture.

With great difficulty, the man raised his head, no, instead, it was as if the force allowed him to raise his head.

What he saw was a woman. Her black attire wholly covered her body, not unveiling an ounce of skin outside of outlining her curves. The assassin's head was draped with a black hood, and her face was hidden with a smooth black visor-like mask that was entirely reflective. 

[Image (in Discord)]

.

"W-Who are you?"

The man was quite visibly intimidated; sweat dripped from his shaken face.

For one, the weight imposed on him was beyond human; also never seen such a tall woman before. After all, he was a meager 6 feet in height, whereas the assassin was at least nine feet! (1.83 m vs >2.74 m)

Ebi gulped in fear as he stared into the black mask, only seeing his frightened face in return.

.

"I came to make a deal," the same, somewhat distorted voice echoed out. "Help me take over Barro's Empire; dedicate your loyalty to a new King of Shipping."

Ebi tried to stabilize his breathing while thinking over the statement.

"And if I don't?"

The assassin's voice did not fluctuate, but came out as calm as before, "Then I'll find someone more cooperative."

*Creak*

Though with her words came the extreme weight once more, this time twice as worse than before.

"Augh!"

The man cried out in pain as the very floor he was subjected to began to creak. Cracks spread across the nice room as dust fell from the ceiling.

Such noise would naturally alert all others present, however, there was a fluid dark curtain encircling the room, disallowing all sound from escaping.

.

Blood dripped out from Ebi's eyes and nose as he struggled to remain conscious.

"Alright, alright! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

*Vvoo!* The assassin did not stop and doubled her weight once more.

Ebi could not even scream anymore as the vertical force was compressing his lungs and throat to the point where words simply could not come out.

"…"

The hell continued for a few moments that seemed like an eternity for the wailing man. Finally, the invader halted the weight and allowed the Red Prawn to move.

His deep and bated breaths now echoed throughout the room while the assassin simply stood in patience.

"I want you to draft up the names of any of Barro's loyalists; anyone who would disagree with his resignation," the assassin announced.

Ebi did not even bother to interrupt nor disagree, his hand reached out to a piece of paper and began diligently writing.

The silent room now resounded with nothing more than the scratching of a pencil. Though to Ebi, he felt the emissary of death watching his every move.

"H-Here!"

He handed the piece of paper with desperation, some blood having dripped onto it.

The assassin grabbed the paper, gave it a look and absently stated her thoughts, "That's it? Seven people?"

Ebi remained on his knees and explained, "Y-Yes! Barro fell apart ever since some crazy chick he tried to mess around with got connections with the Rocks Pirates…"

"He pushed away all his best men into terrible missions to test their loyalty…" Ebi gnashed his teeth as he leaked a few venomous words: "If the other Emperors knew just how weak our forces are then we would be long dead by now!"

.

The woman under the mask could not help but feel amused at the turn of events. However, in Ebi's eyes, the assassin was waiting, almost as if deciding the fate of him and everyone else.

"Call up everyone important to the meeting room, use whatever excuse you need," she ordered. 

The man crawled back a little, "R-Right now? Shouldn't you at least plan things a little?"

His voice was unsure and broken in tone as if fearing for his life per syllable uttered.

"Be bold, these chaotic times will not wait for you to plan out every move," she responded. "Barro is just a big fish in a small barrel. Get it done."

"Y-Yes!"

…

[A While Later in the Briefing Room]

Dozens of people gathered around.

They shared a look of irritation. It had gotten late and many of them were pulled out from their 'nightly affairs' with their partner(s) in bed. Some were in the middle of a drinking contest, while some were asleep.

Barro strolled in with his cane and cigar in hand, sporting a scrunched-up face. "Who does he think he is!" the King of Shipping roared out and sat upon the seat at the head of the table.

*Creak* The door opened once more, this time to welcome in the bald man himself, Ebi.

"So you've finally come, Ebi. Since when did you think you could just demand for my presence like this!?" Barro questioned, his majesty returning for a bit.

Ebi scoffed, after having his bones nearly turn to smush, Barro was not all that scary.

.

"Gentlemen," the bald man addressed the room, ignoring his superior. "I think it's time we elect a new leader of our great Empire."

The words aroused a huge pop from the audience who could not help but jump out from their seats. The atmosphere in the room turned tense, allowing a pin-drop silence to pervade.

Barro was about to explode, but even with his timid nature, he still noticed something wrong.

*Vrooo~*

He looked around and felt the walls get darker and darker, almost as if a fluid wisp was slowly covering everything. The ominous hissing noises became more distinct, echoing in the ears of those within the chamber.

"Ebi, w-what did you do!?"

The Red Prawn did not respond, rather he waited patiently.

*Shing!* Barro raised his cane, unsheathing a hidden sword. 

"Kill him!"

Though before anyone could move, a powerful storm of forces was soon imposed on a few people present.

Boom!

"Augh!"

"Ugh!"

"Eugh!"

Groans and grunts resounded in the large room as seven people fell to their knees in a mix of shame and confusion. Their eyeballs turned red and blood pooled into their pupils from the sheer weight.

The remaining men subconsciously retreated up to the walls, yet the cool touch of the concrete barriers covered in the viscous substance sent chills down their backs.

*Fuuu*

A small blast of wind erupted as the purple energy began to manifest into a human figure, clothed entirely in black.

Barro was unable to speak, though he did find the strength to raise his head and examine the intruder.

*Pop*

The chain of red splatters went off like a bang in their ears, dyeing the expensive carpet and furniture with a fresh coat of red. They all died, Barro's loyal seven.

The metallic smell of the liquid was palatable, dousing the room with a grim atmosphere.

.

The assassin then turned to the few men who were backing up as far as possible.

She gestured at Ebi to speak and so he did, "Ahem! W-We are a proud democratic Underworld Empire! I now elect the sole candidate as our new Leader!"

"..."

After a brief moment of silence, the men, whether it was out of fear or duty, began clapping into boisterous applause.

The rhythmic claps continued, almost as if hoping to calm the assassin down.

"That's enough," the woman commanded.

And like a gunshot, everyone froze into a resounding silence.

"Ebi, where's Barro's treasury?"

The bald man answered immediately: "Barro keeps it in the far end of the Fish Tank, though after the… incident, he changed all the locks."

The assassin turned to the man still kissing the floor and waved her hand. Like a marionette, the Underworld Emperor was lifted into the air. His height was too little to even meet the woman's eyes and was being forced to look up.

"G-Go to hell!"

Barro's eyes widened as he felt incredible pressure concentrate on his frame.

"Aughhh!"

His head popped with veins as forces from every direction drilled into his cranium. The skull cracked as it threatened to explode his very brain, making the Emperor tap out quickly.

"Five-two-zero-one-three-eight!" he yelled out with all his strength.

Ebi nodded, rushing to open the vault.

.

Meanwhile, the newly-elected Leader turned to the men hugging the walls and spoke, "You're only alive because you have the power to command all the other scum of Unso Island. Now you have a choice to submit."

Every single one of them lived lavishly from the embezzlement, robbery and schemes. Therefore they cherished life even more. 

Tens of thuds went off as the men bent their knees, ducking their leads to the floor.

"Good choice."

*Pop* Barro's head exploded into a crimson burst of blood, a few droplets landing on the men at the sidelines.

The lifeless body of the Underworld Emperor fell to the ground, the gushing red seemed endless.

.

"B-Boss… there's 12 billion berries in the vault!" Ebi exclaimed, rushing back at great speed, holding a few trinkets in hand.

The female assassin paused for a second, running through a few thoughts on how to proceed.

"Take two billion and spread it through all the men; let them celebrate their new leader," she ordered, immediately calming the others.

"Go and spread the word."

They frantically nodded before scurrying out.

.

Ebi blinked and hesitantly asked, "C-Can you trust them?"

"I can only trust their greed."

She then looked at the crimson fruit in the bald man's hand. Ebi saw her attention and presented the token.

"T-This is the Ignite-Ignite Fruit," he explained. "It allows its user to ignite any surface of their choice by the snap of their finger; Barro found it before leaving the North Blue to move our operations to Paradise."

The masked woman picked up the red tomato and tossed it up and down.

The man then presented a small diary. "This is Barro's Diary of Assets which documents everything, even things that he didn't tell me about!"

.

The shrouded woman flipped through and it indeed was what she expected, a book of all of Barro's biggest customers and deals. It outlined all his connections and their locations, alongside all the dirt Barro had on them for leverage.

"Number one customer: the World Government," she muttered with an ironic tone.

Ebi nervously chuckled and said no more.

"Go and use your influence to calm everyone down; things will change a lot come tomorrow."

"Y-Yes!" The man bolted off, leaving the assassin alone.

She remained motionless.

*Fuuuu*

A soft hiss went off as the assassin removed her mask, bringing down her long silky hair, and unveiling a young, beautiful face.

Aurora seated herself on the wide sofa and breathed out a heavy sigh. Her hands were slightly shaking, though her eyes were shining bright.

"Things worked out well…" she softly comforted herself.

A self-deprecating smile soon appeared on her young face as she thought over the turn of events.

"Fortune favours the bold, Damien was right," she said out loud, "this way, I can help him."

She then crouched down and tapped the floor. An odd yet symmetric design marked the ground, blooming like a flower. Meanwhile, Aurora felt a tug in her Night Realm, almost as if an anchor had been dropped down.

[Inscription Image (in Discord)]

She then walked out, leaving behind a warmly painted room of primal red. 

Her body floated over the splashes, making sure they did not sully her boots. The raven-black mask was donned once more, reflecting the unpredictable fate of the Underworld.

To Be Continued…

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Author's Corner. 

Barro's empire has some foundation but needs a complete overhaul, a difficult task, let alone in this unpredictable era.

Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q