In the Plaza of Fate, William stood silently in the open space, his gaze lifted toward the endless expanse above.
Countless silver threads—each representing someone's destiny—floated overhead, intricately intertwined like a vast celestial river of gleaming silver with neither beginning nor end.
William suddenly narrowed his eyes. Under his watchful gaze, dozens of silver threads abruptly snapped simultaneously. Among the countless Threads of Fate suspended above, such a change would have been imperceptible to anyone not specifically looking for it.
"So something has indeed happened," William murmured to himself.
He couldn't be certain if Harden's fate was among those severed threads. Unlike years ago, when the Plaza contained only a handful of destiny lines and he could immediately deduce that Vallon was in trouble when one broke, William now possessed tens of thousands of connections. His influence extended across all age groups and countless industries, with threads both increasing and decreasing daily. Some disappeared due to accidental deaths or illness, while others changed because their bearers had developed grievances or resentment, altering their allegiance to him.
After all, regardless of his strength, William remained just one man with limited reach. Many policies and initiatives required implementation by subordinates. When faced with incompetent officials or scheming opportunists who failed to execute his vision—or worse, those who abused his name to oppress the innocent—such problems inevitably multiplied.
As William's empire continued to expand, he could foresee such individuals becoming increasingly numerous.
However, the simultaneous breaking of dozens of threads—many of them particularly resilient destiny lines—was a rare occurrence. Considering recent events, this clearly related to Harden's mysterious disappearance.
William approached the stone table where special specialties could be redeemed. Golden statues adorned its surface, representing various significant figures: Gin, Kuro, Yasopp, the deceased captain of the Blue Sapphire Pirates Brugem, Captain Nezumi, and Aramis.
Captain Nezumi's statue had appeared after Arlong's crew murdered Captain Purinpurin. William theorized that Nezumi's statue only materialized now because, despite extensively leveraging William's power previously, the corrupt Marine had never truly considered himself William's subordinate. Their relationship had never been strictly hierarchical, and Nezumi hadn't fully committed his fortunes to William's cause. Even amid his corruption, the Marine hierarchy still held greater significance in Nezumi's mind than William's influence.
However, as William's power in the East Blue grew increasingly dominant and Nezumi sank deeper into corruption over the years, the Marine's mindset had subtly shifted. The distant authority of Marine Headquarters diminished in importance, while William's nearby influence grew increasingly compelling.
After relying on William's backing and colluding with Arlong to eliminate his colleague Captain Purinpurin, Nezumi had finally committed fully to William's faction, thus earning his place on the stone table.
As for Aramis, he evidently hadn't possessed a special destiny initially. Having sworn fealty to William long ago, he would have appeared on the table much earlier if he had. However, after slaying Arlong, Aramis's destiny seemed fundamentally altered, resulting in his sudden appearance among the golden statues.
William speculated that perhaps by killing a figure with a special destiny, Aramis's own fate had become extraordinary by association.
Currently, William's attention focused on Kuro's statue. The absence of any anomalies suggested that Kuro himself remained unharmed.
This was William's primary motivation for venturing into the Grand Line. Knowing his men were likely still alive, he couldn't simply abandon them to their fate.
William wandered through the Plaza of Fate. The Devil Fruit bonsai had fully matured, its fist-sized fuzzy fruit appearing ready to drop at any moment. William had refrained from harvesting it because he remained undecided about its recipient.
He had tentatively approached trusted confidants like Edmond and Aramis about Barbarossa's fruit, but they showed no interest—likely because they had witnessed firsthand how William had defeated its previous owner.
William approached the central bronze statue in the plaza. Over the past two years, the stone pedestal beneath it had undergone several notable changes:
Morgan Stolt William
[Youthful Godfather] (from East Blue)
[Sword Prodigy] (from Isshin Dojo)
[Great Philanthropist] (from Kalmar City's slums)
[Uncrowned King] (from Navia Kingdom)
Sea Calendar 1490 — ???
Birthplace: East Blue - Faraise Kingdom
Skills and Specialties:
Advanced Swordsmanship, Swordsmanship - Iron Cutting, Basic Navigation, Advanced Life Return, Basic Fish-Man Karate
Special Specialties:
Lightning Reflexes, Zen Sword Arts, Robust, Heightened Alertness, Heroic Aura
Achievement Specialties:
Gekokujō, Sudden Enlightenment, Perfect Vengeance, Integrated Mastery
Background Specialties:
Apprentice of Isshin Dojo, Treacherous Alliance-Breaker, Swordsman's Obsession, Dragonslayer
Devil Fruit Specialties:
Elementalization - Steam, Vaporization, High Pressure, Steam Power, Overheat
His navigation skills had improved due to William's occasional study of nautical texts over the past two years.
Basic Navigation: Even without instruments such as compasses, your exceptional knowledge and rich experience allow you to predict certain weather patterns through naked-eye observation alone.
The training methodology for Life Return was uniquely specialized, emphasizing spiritual cultivation over physical exertion. It required minimal time and space for practice, and because it was intimately connected to developing his Steam-Steam Fruit abilities, William prioritized it highly. He practiced whenever possible, resulting in remarkable progress.
Advanced Life Return: Your mastery over your physical form has reached extraordinary heights—mind connected to every vessel, consciousness extending to your furthest extremities. Your control over your body has achieved a transcendent level of perfection.
Additionally, when learning Fish-Man Karate, William's already considerable physical prowess accelerated his progress, allowing him to quickly establish a solid foundation.
Basic Fish-Man Karate: As a human, your understanding of Fish-Man Karate surpasses many native practitioners. Your strikes can effortlessly shatter a thousand tiles with a single blow.
Among his achievement specialties, a new addition had appeared—Integrated Mastery.
Integrated Mastery: As your comprehension of combat deepens, you've developed the ability to synthesize techniques across different martial disciplines, ingeniously adapting and combining various fighting methods with unprecedented creativity.
William had discovered that, compared to special specialties (which could only be redeemed or obtained through specific quests), achievement specialties maintained a closer connection to real-world accomplishments. They could be earned by fulfilling certain conditions or triggering specific events through actual achievements.
The Integrated Mastery specialty had manifested when William experimented with combining Fish-Man Karate techniques with his Steam-Steam Fruit abilities. Prior to this, he had also attempted to blend Rokushiki's Rankyaku (Tempest Kick) with his Devil Fruit powers.
Background specialties differed fundamentally from both special and achievement specialties in that they conferred no ability enhancements. They functioned more as descriptive markers and honorary medals, with symbolic significance outweighing practical benefits. To William, they resembled biographical entries documenting his journey.
After killing Arlong, his background specialties expanded to include a new entry commemorating the event—Dragonslayer.
Dragonslayer: In Sea Calendar 1513, you slew a "dragon" who had come from the Grand Line to the East Blue, dismantling the evil empire's machinations and liberating fourteen settlements—including Cocoyasi Village and Hosha Town—from the Arlong Pirates' tyranny. Those you saved eagerly spread tales of your heroism, and generations hence, local residents may well transform your deeds into legend.
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