Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 116 The Transparent Fruit and the Special Instructor

A gaunt boy was driven out of the cemetery, wearing a tattered top hat and with a bandage on his forehead.

He was shirtless and wore only shorts on his lower body. His body was skin and bones, and the most valuable thing he owned was probably that broken shovel.

In Mitchell, most people make a living by digging graves for others in various cemeteries.

Ultimately, only a minority of people need this service, and in the competition for more business, local bullies have emerged in these cemeteries.

People who are small in stature are more likely to be ostracized.

One of them is known as Absalom.

Although we've left the ice field, it's not much warmer. A gust of cold wind blew by, and Absalom sneezed several times in a row.

"You just wait! I will become the King of Graves someday, and then all the graves here will be under my control!"

"Ha, you skinny guy like you, thinking you can be the King of Graves? Are you kidding me? Having you here will only slow down our grave-digging efficiency. Get out of here!"

Another man emerged from the cemetery. He was much stronger than Absalom and looked at Absalom with disdain. He picked up his shovel and was about to strike him.

But when he picked up the shovel, he found that he couldn't swing it at all.

"Having strength isn't for bullying others. Why would an adult like you bully a child like him?"

The man wanted to see who was in the way, but when he turned around, he saw a girl who was much taller than him.

Although he is tall, his youthful face doesn't lie.

He could insult Absalom at will because he knew that Absalom couldn't fight back no matter how hard he tried, and he could just throw Absalom out like a chick.

He was a local tyrant in the area, and no one would stand up for someone like Absalom.

But today he happened to run into a busybody, and someone who looked like a difficult person to deal with.

He tried to pull the shovel out of his hand, but Leliana's hand wouldn't budge, gripping the shovel handle like a pair of pincers.

This strength already indicated that he was no match for the girl.

"This is none of your business; it's our private matter. That's just how things are here."

"Then it means your rules are wrong. Since whoever is stronger here calls the shots, then I am stronger than you, so I have the final say. I don't think this is right. Let's shake hands and make peace."

As she spoke, Lyliana grasped one of the other's hands, effortlessly pressing it down and directing it toward Absalom.

"Are you kidding me?"

The man wanted to resist, but the difference in strength rendered him powerless.

bang.

With a crisp crack, the man's wrist suddenly went limp. In the struggle with Lyliana, his wrist was the first to give way, and it had already dislocated due to external force.

"Ah! Let go, let go now, my hand is broken! I promise you, I agree to shake hands and make peace with that kid!"

The man eventually succumbed to external forces and was forced to make peace with Absalom, but at that moment, Absalom disappeared.

"Hey, that kid ran off on his own, so it's none of my business now, right? He's always like this, he always manages to sneak into the cemetery."

One of the parties involved had already disappeared, and Leliana had released the man's hand. He didn't linger at all, and even ignored Leliana's offer to put his dislocated hand back in place.

"That's strange. He was just here a moment ago. When did he disappear?"

Absalom was standing to the side, and Leliana didn't even notice how he disappeared. She even moved a large rock, taller than a person, to see if Absalom was hiding there.

"Don't worry about such a small matter. To survive in this world, you have to have some tricks up your sleeve. That kid does have some little secrets."

Oran took out a pair of glasses, looked around, and made up his mind. With the help of special equipment, he could see the thermal outline of a human being nearby.

"Okay, but Dad, isn't this country a republic? Does nobody care if these people do bad things here?"

"That depends on the situation in different places. As you can see, this country is filled with a sense of lifelessness. Perhaps in Mitchell, this behavior is quite normal."

"But that's not right."

"Yes, that's wrong, but Riley, do you know that good and evil, right and wrong, were born with the rise of human civilization? In places with lower levels of civilization, there is no good and evil, only strength and weakness."

The same principle applies even on this vast ocean: only when you are strong enough can you maintain the order you desire and get others to accept your ideas.

Therefore, we need greater strength to make Piltover a utopia, rather than a target for others.

"Yes, yes, I've become very good. I've mastered that boxing technique. Dad, when are you going to teach me something new?"

It was the same unlucky rock again. Leliana gathered a burst of energy in her fist and punched towards the center of the rock.

Click.

The spot hit by the fist cracked inch by inch, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered into pieces.

"Not bad, it seems you've mastered it. Now it's time to try incorporating the power of Armament Haki into it."

Leriana is currently specializing in Armament Haki. Compared to Observation Haki, she has mastered Armament Haki much faster and has already reached the basics, which impressed Zephyr greatly at the time.

After all, Zeff himself only mastered Haki in his thirties, and compared to Lyriana, the gap was truly enormous.

The three continued walking towards the port without stopping until they were almost out of the area when a voice came from behind them.

"Um, please wait a moment!"

A figure gradually emerged from the air; it was Absalom, who had just vanished into thin air.

"Hey? You're still here? Where did you just run off to? I was hoping that person would shake hands and make peace with you."

"Riley, he was nearby just now, but he used his Devil Fruit ability to become invisible. He's been following us all this way. I thought he wouldn't show up again."

"Is he a Devil Fruit user? This ability sounds pretty good."

"I don't know what a Devil Fruit is. My name is Absalom. Once, I found a strange offering in a graveyard. After eating it, I gained the ability to become invisible."

To be precise, it's not invisibility, but transparency. The fruit is a Paramecia-type Clear-Clear Fruit, which can make the eater's body transparent.

When using their abilities, the user's body neither reflects nor absorbs light, making them invisible to the viewer.

At first, the name just sounded familiar to Oran, but after discovering that he had the ability to become invisible, he realized who this kid was.

Perhaps Oran and Moria were destined to meet again, because not long after Oran moved Oz's body away, he encountered one of the three oddballs under Moria's command in the original timeline.

"So what are you trying to do by coming out at this time?"

"I...I want power! I overheard your conversation, and I also want the power to shatter rocks with a single punch. Please let me follow you!"

Mitchell was just an ordinary member state of the West Sea, and no monsters had ever been born in the country. Although Leliana was big, her power to shatter rocks with a single punch made him yearn for it.

When Absalom appeared on Thriller Bark, he was already a monster modified by Hogback.

He possesses the jaw of a lion, the skin of an elephant, and the muscular strength of a bear and a gorilla; he is willing to sacrifice many things to gain power.

This is also why Oran didn't recognize him at first; compared to the cyborg's appearance, the difference between them was too great.

"To gain power, a very straightforward reason."

But there's no such thing as a free lunch. I can give you strength, what will you give in return?

"This power will serve you!"

Absalom seemed to see a glimmer of hope and immediately made a loud statement.

He craved power. Although he ate the Transparent Fruit, it did not provide him with any real power boost, but it did make it much easier for him to infiltrate certain places.

In this country, breaking rocks with a single punch is quite rare. From Leliana's words, Absalom misunderstood something again, thinking that everything Leliana said was from the Oran Church.

If we look at it from another angle, this understanding isn't wrong, since Oran handled everything from Leliana's birth to her upbringing.

Absalom wanted to seize this opportunity to become stronger, and Leliana's casual actions made him think that this group was not bad, so he deactivated his invisibility just before Oran and the others were about to leave.

"It's quite interesting, come on."

"yes!"

"Kid, let me warn you first: gaining power comes at a price. It could be sweat, or something else. Your body might not be able to achieve the same results through conventional methods."

As the saying goes, the rich rely on technology, while the poor rely on mutation. Hextech is more inclined towards technological modifications, but Oran has more than just technological enhancements. Zaun's genetic modification is also one of his projects.

"I know I wouldn't care if it meant becoming powerful. If you can grant me great power, then you will be my master!"

At the dock, Orlando bought a ticket to O'Hara and took Absalom with him off the island.

That night, Kate quietly slipped into Oran's cabin and saw Oran still reading documents.

"Kate? What's wrong?"

"Orlan, that kid we brought on board today, should we trust him?"

"Let's see how it goes; his Devil Fruit ability is pretty good."

Absalom himself isn't very strong, but the Clear-Clear Fruit's ability is quite good. If intelligence gathering isn't done well, the Clear-Clear Fruit can be surprisingly effective in surprise attacks.

The bloodline factor of Deli, the deceased user of the Forward-Forward Fruit, can be used by Oran to make special medicines, so Absalom, as a living user, will provide even more benefits.

The invisibility of the Transparent Fruit is far superior to ordinary optical invisibility methods. Using this lineage factor, Oran could even create an invisible armored force.

Aside from that, there's the issue of Absalom's personality. Theoretically, his loyalty shouldn't be a major problem; in the original timeline, he was quite loyal to Moria.

Even though the World Government ordered Moria to be eliminated, Absalom used his Clear-Clear Fruit powers to rescue Moria from the Marineford War and continued to follow him until he died at the hands of the Blackbeard Pirates and had his powers taken away.

"But that's all there is to it. Just treat him like a newcomer. You don't need to explain most things to him. We'll see how things go later."

The assessment process is definitely not going to be reduced; getting into Oran's core circle is actually quite difficult.

Loyalty is a good trait, but it falls short compared to that of machines.

Frankenstein, Lyliana, Blitzcrank, and Zac—these are all beings born from Oran's hand. Even Terra, the dragon, was hatched from Oran's time.

Kate, Bear, and Ginny were among Oran's original comrades-in-arms, having gone through life and death together. For those who joined later to catch up with that level of camaraderie would be extremely difficult.

"Should we give him intensive training? Along with Riley?"

"No need, just have Brand take him for basic training when we get back."

"Hey Oran, have you heard? The residents of Firefly Island seem to be saying that Brand is gay."

If he brings it...

Upon hearing the name Brand, Kate suddenly recalled some rumors; Brand's reputation on Firefly Island was rather strange.

"I've heard more than just that; Brand didn't even deny it, but it doesn't matter. This attribute might just be perfect."

"Meow?"

Kate is now completely baffled, since she didn't know that Absalom had a lecherous side in the original timeline.

Although it's uncertain when this attribute appeared, handing it over to Brand will certainly greatly reduce the possibility of this happening.

"It's nothing. If you're tired, you should rest. Zack will be on guard tonight. The Four Seas are much safer than the Grand Line, so there's no need to be so vigilant."

After several days of sailing, the ship docked in Ohara. Although the days at sea were rather boring, Oran was a well-off man, so life on the ship was quite comfortable.

The World Government's passenger ships are also divided into classes. He has the means to enjoy them, so there is no need for him to experience the cramped economy cabin.

Leriana and Kate didn't seem to care much; they were used to it. Zach was even less concerned. In special circumstances, Zach could even treat the wine bottles as his home. But Absalom succumbed to the sweet talk.

The experience of living in first class was something he had never imagined before, which made him even more convinced that his choice was right and more determined to follow Oran.

(End of this chapter)