One Piece: Starting in God Valley as a Slave

The sea of blood surged, and a throne made of blood rose from the ground. Darian supported his chin with one hand and looked at Carl below with an evil smile.

He snapped his fingers, and all Darian clones attacked at the same time, rushing towards Carl in the center.

Carl's face was calm, and as he waved the sword in his hand, an airtight sword net formed around him, slicing through all the Darian clones that charged toward him.

The strength of these clones was only about half of the original body's. If Carl used all his power, he could eliminate them with a single strike.

However, their numbers were overwhelming. The most frustrating aspect was that even if these clones were shattered into blood, they would quickly reform, seeming endless.

Carl cleared an open space around him with a swift Shinra Tensei. Before the next wave of attacks could land, he knelt on one knee and plunged the sword into the ground.

With Carl's body as the center, an endless darkness spread out, absorbing a large number of clones and crushing them. The clones caught in the darkness had no chance of reuniting.

After this move, only ten clones remained on the battlefield. Unlike the other clones that were devoured by the darkness, these ten managed to break free from its grip and merged their lower bodies into the blood throne.

Darian on the throne clapped his hands and laughed.

"The Dark-Dark Fruit truly lives up to its name. Unfortunately, you still haven't awakened its full potential."

Darian had acquired the Blood-Blood Fruit after Carl, yet he had developed it to the point of awakening.

However, it wasn't that Carl lacked talent in developing Devil Fruits. Natural-type fruits were notoriously difficult to awaken compared to the other types of Devil Fruits.

Moreover, the Blood-Blood Fruit was considered one of the easiest to awaken since it only required the user to indulge in blood-sucking until a specific amount was reached.

But with power came a price, and for Darian, that price was the accelerated demise of his own life.

Black energy radiated from Carl's body. He gripped the sword tightly, launching a surge of black energy that cleaved the blood throne beneath Darian. Three of the ten clones fused with the throne met the blade's energy head-on and deflected it.

These remaining clones were clearly more formidable than the ones before. Earlier, Carl's sword energy could have cut down numerous foes.

Now surrounded by these powerful ten clones, Carl found the battle increasingly challenging, with his previous wide-area moves proving ineffective.

Carl fought defensively, alternating between attacks and evasions. He wielded his sword, and with every strike, he managed to eliminate one clone. He grabbed the necks of two clones and twisted them apart, absorbing all their blood into his body.

At the same time, the sword penetrated another clone's head, devouring it whole.

The remaining seven clones quickly regrouped, closing their ranks and preventing Carl from isolating them again.

Carl roared low, flames igniting across his form, creating a massive fireball.

He raised his hand and unleashed Ten Thousand Things Heaven Attraction, pulling the five clones toward the fireball.

As the clones were drawn in, the temperature of the fireball spiked, and the massive heat engulfed them.

"Cause trouble to the Fire Realm!" Carl yelled.

The fireball continued to expand until it detonated, and the devastating heatwave left a deep, charred crater in the ground.

When the smoke cleared, the five clones had evaporated, leaving Carl standing in mid-air.

Only two of Darian's clones remained.

Darian descended from the blood throne, standing before the two clones.

He showed no signs of fear or panic, merely smirking as he observed Carl.

"It seems your body has completely adapted to the bloodline factors. I must say, I'm quite impressed!"

Carl sneered and unleashed a silver lightning bolt. One clone instantly intercepted it, shattering the lightning with a palm strike.

Darian pretended to sigh. Then, in a flash of blood, he lunged at Carl with incredible speed, striking him before Carl could react.

With a thunderous impact, Carl was sent crashing into the ground, motionless.

As Garling was about to draw his sword, Carl burst out of the crater. He stood, wiping the blood from his mouth, his expression more serious than ever.

Darian's strength and speed had increased significantly since his fruit's awakening. And what was even more troubling was that the remaining clones were almost as strong as Darian himself had been before his transformation.

Darian, arms open wide, asked with a smirk, "So, Carl, do you still think you can beat me now?"

Carl stood resolute, his flames extinguishing as he switched to the speed mode of the Lunarian tribe.

His lips moved, and suddenly, Darian and his clones seemed to tremble as if their blood composition was destabilizing.

The ground beneath them fractured, and as Darian and his clones were momentarily disoriented, Carl's figure blurred into near invisibility.

In a flash, Carl bisected Darian and his clones, though Darian quickly reformed. However, one clone was absorbed by Carl in that split second.

Darian and the last clone retreated to a safe distance, his face contorted in anger.

"What was that?" Darian demanded.

Carl remained silent, unwilling to divulge the secrets of his Vampire Fruit abilities.

Without hesitation, Darian's face twisted into a feral grin, and with bloodshot eyes, he sneered,

"No matter. Soon, you'll belong to me."

As he spoke, his face became more grotesque, covered in a web of veins.

Garling looked at Carl with a conflicted expression and muttered, "It's now or never, Carl. Darian's losing control. This is your chance!"

Hearing this, Carl raised his sword, locking his gaze on Darian.

Darian turned his gaze towards Garling and sneered, "My dear brother, Garling, it seems you really do want me dead!"

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+115 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg