[2584 words]
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*Creak*
The door creaked open as we walked in and saw a handful of powerful people that I was quite familiar with.
Whitebeard, Xebec, Shakky, Shiki.
As for Kaido, well he wasn't the one to plan but the one to act on what he was told by the captain.
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"What's up?" I asked as I and Andor took a seat around the round table.
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Shakky nodded and started to speak:
"Since our actions half a month ago, many things have happened around the world. The ones worth concerning ourselves with are the movements of the Navy and the other Overlords." She said. "We can eliminate Escanor 'The Sin of Pride' from the equation as he is too proud to pay attention to the major currents,"
"The real movements are that of the Navy and the Overlord, Thaddeus Enigma."
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"While the Navy has upped our bounties and increased our threat level to that of the Overlords, Enigma has made a different move."
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"Before that, let me tell you more about the man."
Shakky took a big puff of her cigarette and then continued.
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"He goes by many names. Some call him 'Medulla'. Some, 'The Chessmaster'."
"His Mind-Mind fruit is very unique and very powerful. It has 4 main problems that can easily dismantle our current crew." She said in a rather solemn tone.
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Her words caused me to widen my eyes, after all, we were pretty damn strong already.
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"Problem number 1. His attacks. He does not like to use his fist but rather his mind to defeat his foes. And I mean literally."
"He can use mind waves to send out powerful ripples of mental energy that focus primarily on crushing a person's will."
"In other words, he cannot be defeated by brute strength alone. Only a Supreme King can stand these attacks without immediately collapsing."
*PUFF*
She goes on,
"Number 2: He is very smart."
"His Mind fruit also sharpened his intellect to an absurd amount. He sees the world as a chessboard. With him being the final victor."
"All intricate strategies have been dismantled by him. Even Vice Admiral Tsuru was no match against his mind."
"Number 3. He has absolute control over all his men. And I mean literally once more. Not just that they do as he says but that they move according to his thoughts. He Awakened his fruits and gained the ability to puppet every single person under his control by simply wishing for it."
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"Number 3 is connected with Number 4."
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"Due to this control, over the many years he's been active, he has amassed a huge fleet of pirates under him."
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"He currently has the largest fleet in the seas. His numbers are greater than both the other Overlords combined!" She said with a serious voice.
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"It is estimated that he has around 10000 pirates solely around his castle and another 40000 in the nearby islands of his base. And many more scattered over the world."
"He sits upon his castle in Encephala Island that is surrounded by over 300 ships."
*PUFF*
She concluded with another large cloud of smoke.
Each one of us sat in thought, well, except for Xebec who seemed to be asleep.
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'Xebec acts like an idiot sometimes but he is actually really clever.' I thought to myself.
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"So... I'm assuming that he's the next target?" I then asked out loud.
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Whitebeard nodded.
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"Xebec wants to rule the seas so our goal is to knock down all the Overlords." He said.
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Him saying the phrase 'Rule the seas' was enough for our captain to wake up as he laughed.
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"XAHAHAHA! So yeah, this brain guy is the next target." He said.
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Shiki who was sitting to my far left then spoke,
"I have brought my fleet but that is not enough against this man. After all, we would just be fueling his army by these pirates. They may be many in numbers but weak in mind."
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I tilted my head in confusion.
'So we can't use an army to fight his army since he can control our army as well?'
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I then realized something and nodded.
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"I see. His entire empire is made up by his mind."
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I smiled.
"So as long as we kill him first, all these tens of thousands of pirates will wake up from their illusion and his entire crew will collapse," I said as Shakky nodded with a smirk of her own.
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Andor then interjected,
"His strength is his greatest weakness..."
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I looked at the man and nodded.
"So how will we slay a man who is constantly surrounded by 50000 men that face no distractions nor weaknesses to exploit?" I asked.
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Xebec then grinned.
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"XAHAHA! Nice joke, boy!"
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"The one who will take down Enigma...is you!"
He smirked.
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I blinked and thought for a second.
'Xebec is a very good judge of one's strength... if he thinks I can take on this guy then there may be some merit to it.' I thought.
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"You want me to fight an Overlord, captain?" I asked to verify.
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He just nodded.
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"His mind is strong but his overall strength is only decent. Take Kaido with you to deal with his stronger commanders." He flatly said.
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I scratched my chin and thought for a bit.
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Shiki saw my expression and laughed.
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"What's wrong, boy? Afraid of an Overlord?"
"JIHAHAHA!"
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I turned my gaze to the golden lion and saw his little smirk.
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"Bite me, golden kitty."
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He squinted his eyes at my words.
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"JIHAHAHAHA!" A roar of laugher was followed by a descending pressure.
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BOOOM!
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Screeching golden waves of Haki burst out of the Golden Lion as his gaze sharpened, wholly focusing upon me.
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The pressure from his aura was powerful enough to knock out 99% of the pirates on our ship, along with the many smaller ships that were sailing by our side.
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The ones still standing were then oppressed further as another boom resounded the seas.
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Booom!
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A counteracting wave of crimson energy met Shiki's advance as my Haki also fired back, refusing to submit.
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'After Xebec 'woke' me up from my illusion 7 months back, my mind had evolved to holding up against such forces.
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BOOOOOM!
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A loud echo of collision berated the mellow seas as 2 bubbles of gold and scarlet, pushed each other back, sending powerful pulses of pressure forth.
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FWOOO!
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Alas, the show ended and the clash concluded.
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My Haki was weaker than his but it was enough to hold myself up, even when against a Yonko-level pirate.
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"I will naturally do as told. However, I will need a bit of time. My fruit and Haki are nearing a breaking point. Once that is done then I can take him down for sure." I said with a plain face.
'My fight with Sengoku was enough to show me certain flaws in my way of fighting. The same goes with Haki. It also showed me the huge leaps in strength that were possible by fighting powerful foes.'
Xebec squinted his eyes at me then said.
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"Alright then. You have half a year."
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[A/N: This is the minor timeskip]
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Xebec then stood up and walked to the door to leave.
Though he snuck a few words in as the door closed.
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"Don't fail, boy. Prove your worth to remain on my ship."
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I heard his words and smirked.
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"Hehe, that old bastard."
I turned my eyes to Whitebeard.
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"I might need your help, Newgate-Ossan. Our fruits are similar in a way and it would surely help."
He just laughed.
"Gurarara! I don't have much to do anyway."
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We all got up and cleared off as I thought to myself.
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'Taking down an Overlord alone. I have Kaido with me but that guy is muscles and strength, he won't be that helpful in a battle of minds.'
'First things first, I must sharpen my Haki over these 6 months.'
'Also to focus on entering the next stage in my fruit powers. I feel like I can do so much more.'
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'I have been breaking things apart mechanically. But what if I do so subatomically?' I asked myself as I too left to train.
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[The Next Day]
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I had just woken up.
I am extremely thankful that we got Blood Ore coated around rooms as well.
Having 1900 pirates on the top yelling, fighting, and killing each other is very annoying to wake up to.
I freshen up and walk out of the room and to the eatery.
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"Damien-san, you're here." A voice said.
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I turned around and saw my only division-mate.
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It was Zenora Indra, long brown hair, black eyes, tall and slender with a sword.
His strength was enough to fight an inexperienced Vice Admiral, give or take.
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"You know, Indra, I won't have many under my division. You can switch out if you'd like. I prefer quality over quantity if anything." I said to him.
He may be in a messed-up crew but he isn't a bad guy, per se.
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Indra shook his head, "I would like to work under you, please use my blade as you like."
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I just yawned, "Allllright. But just so you know, you'll have to keep up with me if you wish to stay."
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He nodded.
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---
After breakfast.
[The Dueling Platform]
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I and Indra are standing face to face.
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It was time to test my one and only division member, a bit depressing but I didn't really care.
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"Come," I said as he nodded.
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*Shingg*
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A clean sound of wind being cut was heard as Indra unsheathed his sword from his hip.
It was a nice shiny katana with a yellow-black grip.
I immediately felt a certain sliver of 'voice' as the sword was made by a true master forger.
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'A Great Grade Sword,' I thought to myself as I saw the man rush forwards.
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He dashed on ahead, his sword in his right hand.
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Indra slashed down his sword diagonally, a quick and clean cut that was nearing my throat.
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'Hardening.'
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Clang!
My back of my hand was clad in haki as it made contact with his sword, halting it in the air.
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Indra saw his move stop as he executed another move. He side-stepped and whizzed over to my right side and slashed horizontally at my midsection.
Bang!
Once again, stopped by my Haki and thick skin.
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"One Sword Style - Weeping Dusk."
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He grabbed the sword by the hilt with both hands and raised it over his head, slashing down at my body. Seeing the force behind the sword, I had to make a move.
I willed my powers as a red mist was released out of my left hand as it gathered into the air, forming a large diamond-shaped crimson barrier. The air and everything else beyond the shield were literally devoured.
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"Devoured Space."
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The energy I sent out was gas so it didn't shield me, rather it pulverized the air and space beyond it so that anything trying to pass through would halt in surrender.
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[A/N: Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Ability. Looks like this]
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BAAAM!
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A loud clang resounded the dueling field as the sword was held in mid-air by the red diamond barrier.
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"Assail."
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The barrier which was used for absolute defence was now used for offence.
I simply sent a higher pressured gas cloud of pulverizing energy that built up behind the barrier and shot it forwards, devouring all in its wake.
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*FWOOO*
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The air quaked as the attack went on.
Indra clenching his teeth as he was forced back by the raging barrier 10 meters.
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Indra's eyes focused as I felt a change in the air.
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*FWOO* *FWOO* *FWOO*
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3 quick slashes followed by arcs of sword energy were thrown in my direction. Indra used them as cover as he leaped into the air for a final attack.
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'Shigan Frenzy'
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I used one of the Rokushiki as I gathered and condensed the air around my index finger,
*Pew*
*Pew*
*Pew*
Each bullet hit and cancelled out the sword slashes as Indra used his final attack.
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"One Sword Style ..."
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He twired in the air with his slender body, gathering centrifugal force as he danced in the air.
An image of pure fight spirit formed behind him, it was a beautiful peacock with razor-sharp feathers pointed out in a mesmerizing picture.
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"Evil Befall."
[A/N: Totally didn't rip off Beyblade. IMAGE here]
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A red current followed Indra as he launched himself from 40 meters in the sky, the peacock followed behind as its countless feathers ran forth.
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'This attack is pretty strong!' I smiled and met the attack head-on.
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2 streams of crimson energy coursed through my left arm as they charged up.
A red glow wrapped around my dominant arm as I jumped up.
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A fiery blaze lit around my raging fist to meet the descending sword.
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"Great Vanquish!"
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BOOOOOOM!
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The dance between a fist and a blade wreaked havoc in the air as the fist slowly but surely pressed onwards.
The sword started to shake as its attack slowly lost power and was being pushed back.
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"Puuah," Indra clenched his teeth as blood flowed out of his mouth as my fist drove into his stomach as the sword was thrown out of his grip.
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BOOM!
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A 9-foot tall man crashed into the ground as a youth of similar height landed near him, though much gracefully.
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"Your sword techniques are quick and effective but the strength behind them is lacking. You need to work on your Armament Haki, Indra." I advised him.
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"I will make sure to improve, commander," He responded as he slightly lowered his head to thank me in a samurai-esk way.
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With his strength noted, I went off to my own devices.
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I was in the training chamber made specifically for me.
A cube-shaped chamber, 10 meters in all directions, coated with blood-ore.
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"Sibyl, what's my fruit mastery at?" I asked my system.
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[Hmm, I thought you forgot about me, Damien.] She complained.
[But to answer your question, your fruit mastery is nearing Peak-Intermediate, but lacks a certain push.] She said.
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'So I am almost at the peak of this tier, eh?' I scratched my chin in thought.
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I learned how to break things down to around half an inch in size while being able to put things back together thrice as large.
I can also release my powers in a gaseous form to destroy the air around me.
I can burst my powers out as a domain but it's a very simple and raw concept.
I need to refine... to direct my pulverizing energy more conservatively. I waste a lot of it just trying to make it flow the way I want without controlling it too heavily.
It's a conscious power and that is the problem. If I can make it flow without directing it bit by bit and wasting energy, I would greatly increase both control and damage output.
I want to minimize the crushing size from half an inch to a size far smaller but that requires a lot of concentration.
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The solution... mixing Observation Haki with my fruit powers!
[A/N: So he can subconsciously guide his powers. Not wasting an once of energy trying to lead it as it is a very volatile ability. Controling it will lead to couter-acting results and guiding it himself costs energy and drains a lot of stamina.]
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[Narrarator POV]
With that decided, Damien will spend the next 6 months refining his Haki and trying to further understand his fruit power.
He will engage in many duels with the pirates on board to sharpen his senses, all in preparation to dethrone an Overlord!
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[The following is excluded from word count]
Author's Corner:
I didn't want Damein to always fight the 'weaker' enemies in all situations and let Xebec take the big dogs, so I brought in an enemy who is considered a huge threat yet his actual strength is not too high.
And it won't be Kaido and Damien vs Enigma.
Kaido is not good with mind power, he prefers brute strength and overwhelming power, mind battles are not his thing.
Damien alone will fight Enigma and a certain other problem will arise...
I also didn't want him to be 'alone' on the Titanic so gave some depth to his new division-mate.
So yeah this will be the minor TS. After this arc will have the major one where he will go solo and train while fulfilling his plans stated in chapter 17.
Thanks for reading!
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Random Trivia:
Would you rather have to use a friend's toilet when you've got diarrhea or have someone with diarrhea use your toilet?
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