One Piece: From Marine to Legend

Over the next two days, Storm didn't continue his hunt for trophies. Instead, he focused on digesting the many attributes and skills he had recently improved.

With the active cooperation of the Okama King, Ivankov, Storm smoothly adapted to his skyrocketing strength.

His current attributes stood as follows:

Physique: ★★★★★★

Clay-Clay Fruit: ★★★★★★

Armament Haki & Observation Haki: ★★★★★

Six Styles: ★★★★★

In Ivankov's words—

"If I hadn't seen your face clearly, I'd have thought the Charlotte family's greatest masterpiece was locked up in Impel Down!"

Of course, Storm didn't take Ivankov's flattery at face value.

From Ivankov's perspective, Storm's current strength was comparable to Charlotte Katakuri, the second-in-command of the Big Mom Pirates. However, Storm knew there was still a considerable gap between them.

The most glaring difference?

Katakuri's future sight.

Even with his enhanced Observation Haki, Storm had yet to grasp the ability to glimpse into the future. But that didn't discourage him.

He couldn't see the future now, but that didn't mean he never would.

Just as he once knew nothing about the art of clay, but now…

Deep within Freezing Hell, inside his solitary cell, Storm extended his right hand and tossed several clumps of white clay into the air.

The moment they landed, they morphed into small, white spiders.

Then...

A force compressed them inward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A chain of explosions erupted inside the cell, blasting deep holes into the floor.

After two days of relentless experimentation, Storm had successfully merged the Death Wink explosion technique with his Clay-Clay Fruit.

Although the clay itself wasn't inherently explosive, it could now trigger explosions.

For now, Storm was half an "artist".

"Tomorrow, my detention ends…"

Storm glanced at the craters he had created before smoothing out the damaged floor with a wave of his hand, briefly transforming it into clay.

"Then tonight, I'll begin my first test run."

That evening, after a satisfying meal, Storm left the Newkama Paradise.

The moment he stepped into the dense forest, the ground beneath him changed into clay, and his figure vanished.

However, he wasn't simply burrowing through the earth.

He was merging with Impel Down itself—fusing with its structures, walls, and floors like blood moving through its veins.

With the Clay-Clay Fruit's awakened abilities, Storm moved swiftly through the prison, following the layout of Impel Down stored in his memory.

His destination?

Burning Hell.

The hunt begins.

Storm didn't immediately reveal himself. Instead, he used the camouflage effect of his Color Change skill, scanning the cells for a specific target.

After some time, he found him—

A prisoner with the highest bounty in Burning Hell.

The one who had previously clashed with Storm—the Zoan-type Chameleon Fruit user.

Storm seamlessly phased through the walls of the prisoner's cell and converted it into clay.

In an instant, the Chameleon Fruit user was subdued and knocked unconscious before he even had the chance to scream.

A bronze trophy appeared.

Storm ignored it.

With the floor turned into clay, he dragged his prey underground, moving effortlessly through the layers of Impel Down.

Seconds later—

He emerged not in Burning Hell, but in Freezing Hell.

Just like that—

A prisoner from Burning Hell had been secretly relocated, with no one the wiser.

Now, it was time for the main experiment.

Storm placed the unconscious Chameleon Fruit user onto the frozen ground and took out two fruits he had previously prepared.

Both were simple, ordinary fruits—borrowed from the food warehouse.

"Let's hope this works."

Taking a deep breath, Storm pointed the Devil Ring at one of the fruits and activated its power.

Seconds passed.

The ordinary fruit began to change.

Its bright peel faded into a pale clay color.

Intricate spiral patterns—like the signature of a Devil Fruit—slowly emerged across its surface.

Moments later—

A new Clay-Clay Fruit was born.

Storm checked his ability panel.

As expected, his own Clay-Clay Fruit powers had disappeared.

"After transferring the Devil Fruit's power, my skill was removed... It makes sense."

Although the sudden absence of his Clay-Clay Fruit felt strange, Storm quickly pushed past it.

His attention shifted to the newly created Devil Fruit resting in his hands.

The system quickly displayed the fruit's details:

[Name: Clay-Clay Fruit]

[Star Rating: None]

[Type: Paramecia]

It was identical to the one he had seen in Aokiji's office.

This was a genuine Devil Fruit.

Now for the final step.

If someone else ate this fruit...

They should inherit the Clay-Clay Fruit's power.

Storm set the fruit aside.

Then he turned to the Chameleon Fruit user, who was still unconscious.

By now, it no longer mattered if he woke up or not.

Storm stepped forward, placing a firm grip on the man's throat.

A sharp snap echoed through the icy prison.

The Chameleon Fruit user was dead.

Storm immediately activated the Devil Ring, aiming it at the corpse's heart to extract the devil's power.

Within moments, the process was complete.

As he inspects the Devil Ring's status, new information appears before him:

[Devil Fruit: Zoan-type Chameleon Fruit]

[Star Rating: ☆]

Storm looked at the newly acquired Devil Fruit ability, and a hint of satisfaction flickered across his face.

"I had already noticed that some of the functions of the Devil's Ring were similar to the Dark-Dark Fruit," he mused. 

"It seems the Devil's Ring can also forcibly plunder the abilities of existing Devil Fruit users!"

A realization settled in. The Devil's Ring was even more powerful than he had initially expected.

He focused his attention on channeling the demonic power of the Devil's Ring once again.

Just as he had previously extracted the Clay-Clay Fruit's abilities and stored them within the ring, he now guided the "devil's power" of the Chameleon Fruit, transferring it to the fruit he had prepared earlier.

Under Storm's gaze, the transformation took place.

The fruit's skin, originally smooth and unremarkable, suddenly became vibrant with streaks of bright colors, as if it had been splashed with paint. Tiny, rough bumps sprouted from its surface—dense, textured, and eerily reminiscent of chameleon skin.

A Zoan-type Chameleon Fruit had been reborn!

Storm examined the fruit carefully, then directed his focus to the system. The information presented was exactly as expected.

[Name: Chameleon Fruit]

[Star Rating: None]

[Type: Zoan]

[Effect: Grants the user the ability to transform into a chameleon, allowing them to blend seamlessly into their surroundings and undergo multiple stage transformations.]

[Remark: Now you see me... Now you don't...]

Storm weighed the devil fruit in his palm, feeling the smooth yet rough surface. At that moment, a heavy weight in his heart lifted.

The Devil Fruit Rebirth Experiment was an undeniable success.

This meant that the overall value of Impel Down's Infinite Hell was even greater than Storm had anticipated!

Based on his previous investigations, he knew that the number of Devil Fruit users within Impel Down wasn't particularly high. Most prisoners within the first five levels—Crimson Hell, Wild Beast Hell, Starvation Hell, Burning Hell, and Freezing Hell—were not devil fruit users.

The real question had always been: Where were the true Devil Fruit prisoners detained?

If they weren't on the upper floors of Impel Down, then where were they being held?

Were they all locked away in Infinite Hell, the infamous Level 6, where the worst criminals were erased from history?

Or worse… had they become raw materials for Vegapunk's artificial Devil Fruit experiments?

Storm didn't have the answer.

But there was one thing he was absolutely sure of—there had to be many Devil Fruit users in Infinite Hell.

And some of them would have extremely powerful abilities.

Legends spoke of a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit even rarer than Logia.

According to rumors, one of those mythical fruits was locked away in Infinite Hell.

The Dog-Dog Fruit: Mythical Beast Model - Nine-Tailed Fox Form.

Storm narrowed his eyes.

Without hesitation, he sealed the Clay-Clay Fruit's devil power back into the Devil's Ring. As he did, the familiar sensation of his Awakened Clay-Clay Fruit abilities returned to him.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit... a mythical beast with transformation abilities…"

A name flashed through Storm's mind.

Catarina Devon.

The infamous Titanic Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates' Sixth Ship.

She was one of the rare female prisoners locked away in Impel Down's Infinite Hell, known for her cruel and ruthless nature.

If the rumors were true, she consumed the Mythical Zoan Nine-Tailed Fox Fruit, granting her the ability to transform into others at will.

If that fruit was still somewhere inside Infinite Hell…

A smirk tugged at the corner of Storm's lips.

"That fruit is destined to be mine."

He clenched his fist, determination surging within him.

Tonight's experiment had proven one crucial fact—his plan was possible.

The Devil's Ring allowed him to extract and transfer Devil Fruit abilities.

He would hunt down every Devil Fruit user locked away in Impel Down.

One by one, he would strip them of their abilities, collecting and redistributing power however he saw fit.

Storm took one last look at the Chameleon Fruit in his hand before storing it away.

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