It was an entire day after the meeting. Kaizen stood at the center of his chambers, books unknown to him at present lay bare to his content.
These were books that held knowledge on the Forbidden Zones of this world. We crossed this topic before—but truly what were these unfamiliar areas? Well Kaizen wondered too.
He reached for a book that read, "Encyclopedia Of Old" a book that held knowledge on the majority of the common and mysterious Forbidden Zones within the Grand Line.
The other two books at his also held knowledge on Forbidden Zones but less of the more common ones and more of the far greater high risk zones.
Moments blurred as Kaizen found himself fully endorsed in his book session. Coming to the end of his first book, he came to a drawn out conclusion—Forbidden Zones were manmade.
No matter how he looked at it—all he saw from their descriptions were the impossibility of their structure and how they operated. If the world deemed it wrong, would it truly exist within itself? Kaizen knew—these zones had to be a trigger effect of the Void Century.
That realization however, only influenced his pursuit of the truth further. He was beginning to grow impatient, unable to stand with his daily life, to serve under the people he knew were truthfully—monsters.
He sighed, deep. Tiring. Closing the first book, he turned to the second one his eyes had landed on. Thicker. Wider. The book looked like it was two dictionaries turned one.
Kaizen did not hesitate however, and began his literature journey with this new book. A few pages in however—he paused.
There it was—his target.
StillReach Zone.
The sea that refused to end.
A Forbidden Zone filled with chilling, suspenseful happenings. It was recorded that once one enters the StillReach Zone, they lose perception of time—images are delayed, the water of the sea reflects false images of the sky.
Glitches would occur— birds, or other creatures of the sky may freeze in one place, as though reality had bugged. Time would move slower than it should, causing wounds to heal far slower than one would like.
Environmental effects would make some go crazy. There were no waves, no current to carry your ship forth or back and no wind to blow away the chill of that reality. Just an absolute—bone chilling calm.
Then there was sound suppression. Voices would feel muted, cannon fire or any attacks made would sound distant even when close and loud impacts always registered late.
It was as though they had to ask permission first. The book also said survivors would come back out screaming about monsters that didn't make sense.
At the end of the list of its effects, the book stated that it was mainly forbidden due to its strange ability to erode meaning.
Strong emotions would begin to dull, then, ambition would start to diminish and finally—memories of the person who experienced these horrifying effects, would begin to diminish slowly.
As for its location, it was located in a place called The Margin. A massive dead gap between magnetic routes.
Kaizen frowned, his mind heavy as he realized he was no longer able to truly use his knowledge of the plot.
He sighed.
This was his destination—where he and those selected to go with him, would fulfil their mission. Closing the book immediately—he began to pack. He put aside the books, some clothes and other necessities before he got up and decided to go back to training.
Kaizen went towards the training grounds, his mind working gears to accept this new knowledge. With an exhale of his breath however, his mind calmed. His eyes sharpened, and Haki was called forth.
'I have Conqueror's Haki, I know it. But to tap into it, do I truly need a moment of emotional distress to activate it?' Kaizen pondered as he began to move. His body moved in accordance to the martial art he'd been developing for years.
Null Impact.
Fwoom!
His fist flew out, a heavy weight followed behind as his Haki thickened and his muscles tensed.
BOOM!!!
The air exploded in folds of itself, as though threatening to tear itself apart. The ground quaked as trees swayed restlessly.
Kaizen was not finished.
Soru.
The world blurred, Kaizen appearing hundreds of meters in the air. His foot was raised into an axe kick, a powerful and thick layer of armament coating swallowed his foot.
Great Axiom Descent.
Fwoom!
His figure blurred as though gravity multiplied and sunk him down back to the earth. His foot slammed into the ground, splitting it in four directions.
Four separate ravines were formed that day. And yet, he continued his refinement of technique.
Palm Of Absolution.
Left Wing Overflow.
Null Divide.
Punches, elbows and kicks were thrown out—each one far more dangerous than the last.
From afar, two teams of trained agents dressed in suits and ties, watched Kaizen's every move. Cipher Pol 3 and Cipher Pol 7.
They seemed unimpressed by his move set and display of power het—the turmoil within their minds said otherwise.
'He's ridiculously powerful for his age.' Was all they could think of.
Thinking they were discreet however, Kaizen, whose back was turned against them suddenly turned around slowly. His eyes scanned the distance far from him before finally stopping at one specific location.
He grinned, raised his hand and waved eerily before zipping out of their sights. Both Cipher Pol teams widened their eyes.
A chill suddenly ran through their bodies as immediately, they activated their Soru and vanished from their initial surveying spot.
BOOM—
A loud and expansive explosion sounded—a large shadow soon followed that swallowed everything lesser in size, as though it disdained things below itself.
"Come on,"
A deep, gruff voice ushered into the silence that had followed at that moment.
"...I was just greeting you." Maniacal and intense, Kaizen stood at the center of a massive crater—a neutral expression plastered upon his face yet mad and intense eyes observing the beings meters away now.
Normally, Kaizen wouldn't have made a move—however, he was currently frustrated with his overthinking and so, he needed to vent.
Fortunately Cipher Pol decided to be nosy and curious. Either way this outcome was good as well. He wanted to test the level of those that had to follow him into such a perilous zone.
"Come—"
He did not taunt. He commanded.
Hearing his words, all traces of hesitation vanished as several powerful figures blurred towards the towering Kaizen.
Both Cipher Pol teams consisted of five members, totalling ten fully trained members of the World Government. And they all launched themselves to a young and unbridled, Kaizen.
Soru!
A synchronized Soru sounded in the air, leaving literal vibrations of sound to linger. Several blurs melded into the environment as the world shifted.
Kaizen smiled—it was calm, cool and collected. But those eyes—they were nothing short of terrifying. Haki spawned into reality, black and hard—coating Kaizen's arms. They screamed a quiet brutality.
He moved—
The air shifted, a literal boom, muffled yet loud appeared in the place where he no longer stood.
Ascendant Ruin Style—
Doom Step!
A martial art style he had developed and nurtured throughout his years of being under the knight's training.
He appeared behind three of the CP3 team's members' backs. He arched his arms back, muscles coiling under tensed flexing. His breathing steadied as his core tightened—his feet then planted firmly into the ground.
Severing Impact—
Two fists flew out in a flurry of blurs—they felt heavy. They felt brutal. His Armament Haki gleamed murderously under the shimmering light of the sun where suddenly—finality approached.
Crack—
BOOM!
First it was their clothes and skin, then their bones rattled and cracked and finally their organs quaked.
Three bodies arched through the air with blinding speed, crashing into a distant mountain peak.
The other Ciphor Pol 3 and 7 team members couldn't help but widened their eyes at the effortless take down of their own members.
Layers of sweat, cold and nervous formed on their faces.
'—Monster!'
Was all they could think about. Kaizen turned, his body and mind synchronized as he wasted no time. He executed another Doom Step, his body booming out of reality and appearing next to the remaining CP3 members.
Ascendant Ruin Style—
Crescent Moon Deviation!
Kaizen spun on his heel, dark and stiff Armament Haki concentrated from his forearms to his elbows—his next attack sharp and decided.
He swung his arms out in a dual elbow strike. They connected on both remaining CP3 members tearing open the skin of their temples and rattling their brains.
WHAK!
BOOM!
Another explosion sounded—chaotic yet controlled. Their bodies blurred, sent afar back by Kaizen's ruthless blows.
He stood, straightened and intense. His body moved slowly in a rhythmic step as he observed the remaining CP team.
Cipher Pol 7.
"Hoh…"
"Is that all?" He asked. The boredom practically dripped off of his voice. Yet if this was the strength of his 'to be peers', then he could only wonder—were the stories of this Forbidden Zone exaggerated?
He shook his head, that long dark bundle of void mixed with snowy white streaks of lightning. His pupil-less eyes observing the remaining team that regrouped and huddled into an offensive formation.
He saw their cold, almost unfazed expression. His neutral expression cracked, a smile of madness stretched. But it wasn't unrestrained madness, no.
It was controlled, it was him.
Doom—
—Step!
BOOM!
He flashed forth in an explosive manner.
Soru!
And so did the CP7 team.
How would they fair? Would they overcome the great anomaly or, would they be the one overwhelmed instead? Find out next time on ONE PIECE: ABSOLUTE ANNIHILATION!