Fruit Awakening and Sage Mode

"This is Sakazuki. Is Jon there?"

As soon as Pemberton connected the Den Den Mushi, Sakazuki's voice came through before he could even speak.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, this is Pemberton. Jon's in his room, I'll get him."

"Good."

Jon sat cross-legged alone in his cabin, eyes closed. His brow furrowed and relaxed intermittently, as if grappling with a difficult problem.

Years of training had brought Jon's abilities to a bottleneck. He no longer lacked powerful plants; the issue was that the many powerful plants he had mastered couldn't yet be used to their fullest. His control had reached a plateau—he could feel the next step, but couldn't break through.

"Is this about awakening?" he muttered.

Having read the original manga, Jon naturally knew the characteristics of Devil Fruits. Beyond their base powers, there was another level—awakening.

But awakening a Devil Fruit was incredibly difficult. Not even one in a hundred users would achieve it.

Jon felt his abilities had reached their limits. To become stronger, he would need to awaken his Devil Fruit.

However, he had no idea how to make that happen.

From what he knew, awakened Paramecia users could affect their surroundings. Since his Plant Plant Fruit was a Paramecia-type, that should be his route too.

But even understanding what awakening looked like didn't make achieving it any easier.

After many failed attempts, Jon decided to try a different approach.

Sage Mode!

Yes, his next idea for advancement was to replicate Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode.

Since he'd eaten the Plant-Plant Fruit, and was essentially a plant himself—plants being attuned to nature—he figured absorbing natural energy and creating a Sage Mode might be easier than awakening.

That turned out to be wishful thinking. He had no clue how to even begin.

He tried sensing the natural energy around him—there was plenty of it. But when he attempted to absorb it, he couldn't. He simply couldn't guide that energy into himself.

Without natural energy, there could be no Sage Mode.

Jon guessed this might be due to the different worlds. In the world of One Piece, physical training reigned supreme. Compared to that, absorbing natural energy was likely far more difficult—at least in this world.

Still, Jon wasn't discouraged. Training was meant to be a gradual process. A few failures didn't warrant despair or self-doubt.

He had time to explore both paths. Whether Devil Fruit awakening or Sage Mode—he believed in his potential to succeed eventually.

Knock knock.

"Jon, it's Sakazuki on the line."

Opening his eyes, Jon stood up and walked out of the room.

"What does Sakazuki want?" he asked.

"No idea. Talk to him yourself."

Jon took the Den Den Mushi. "Hello, this is Jon."

"Jon, it's Sakazuki. There's an important situation I need you to handle."

Jon's expression turned serious. If Sakazuki called something important, it definitely wasn't minor.

"What is it?"

"We just received intel—former members of the Rocks Pirates are showing up frequently. It looks like they're gathering. The sightings are near the Shirole Archipelago."

"Former Rocks Pirates gathering? Is the intel reliable?"

"Very. It came from one of our undercover agents on Hachinosu."

This was no trivial matter. Though the Rocks Pirates had disbanded over a decade ago, anyone who knew their history understood how dangerous they were.

Their captain, Rocks, may have been defeated, but the remnants were still fearsome. Even a partial gathering of them could shake the entire New World.

The Navy would take this seriously even if it were just a rumor—this was solid intel.

Hachinosu, the Pirate Island, was a notorious pirate haven even before the era of Rocks. It was considered the holy land for pirates in the New World.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Head for the waters around Shirole Archipelago immediately. I'll also deploy personally. We'll meet up once we're there."

"No problem. I'll have the ship change course right now."

"Good. And Jon—be careful. The pirates involved this time are complicated. Stay in touch."

"Understood."

After hanging up, Jon turned to Pemberton. "Change course. We're heading to the Shirole Archipelago."

The patrol ship quickly adjusted its heading.

"Former members of the Rocks Pirates, huh… Interesting. But why are they gathering now?"

Back in the day, the Rocks Pirates included more than half of the New World's top pirates. After the God Valley incident, Rocks was defeated and many of his crew were killed—but some escaped.

Notable survivors included Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and others like Captain John, Wang Zhi, Silver Axe, and Kaido.

All of them had become household names in the New World, with bounties exceeding 300 or 400 million berries. A few of them gathered together could easily cause mass chaos.

But in Jon's knowledge of the story, such a gathering never happened. The remnants had supposedly gone their separate ways after Rocks' fall.

"Whatever the case, we'll find out when we get there."

Even if it didn't turn into a major incident, this could be a huge opportunity for Jon. Capturing a major former Rocks Pirate would mean enormous merit.

Two days later, low on supplies, the crew stopped at an island to restock.

Jon hadn't gone ashore in a while, so while Pemberton supervised the ship and the others gathered supplies, Jon decided to wander the island.

He strolled through the forest but didn't find any worthwhile plants. Disappointed, he started heading back—when his ears suddenly picked up a loud disturbance coming from the west.

Activating Observation Haki, Jon instantly sensed multiple presences—many of them intense and chaotic. A fierce battle was underway.

"Interesting… There's a fight going on, and it sounds intense. Let's see what kind of trouble this is."

He sped toward the source. Even before arriving, he felt powerful gusts and sand-filled wind lashing at his face.

Jon narrowed his eyes. Despite the coastal terrain, such heavy sandstorms were rare.

Just then, a massive blade suddenly appeared—a giant sword made entirely of sand, dozens of meters long, slashing downward with a thunderous crash.

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