"A devil!" That was the young pirate's final thought. The grip on his throat had sobered him up enough to see Ian's transformed face.

Then, he was obliterated by a blinding white light, a Cero fired point-blank.

"Still too weak," Ian muttered, shaking his head. Currently, it could only destroy a single person's head. It was far from the level of the Espada in the original series, who could obliterate an entire city in an instant.

Sonido. That was the Arrancar movement technique he'd just used. Similar to the Shinigami's Shunpo, the Marines' Soru, and the Shinobi's Body Flicker Technique from the Naruto universe.

The difference being that Shunpo was spatial manipulation, the Body Flicker was a ninjutsu, while Sonido and Soru were purely physical techniques.

"What's this?" His pale green eyes focused on a faint white glow emanating from the headless pirate's corpse.

"Soul Absorption!" This must be his soul. Almost instinctively, he used the Arrancar ability to devour human and Hollow souls. The white glow surged towards him.

After absorbing and processing the soul, he felt a slight increase in his fusion rate, though not much. The pirate's soul was too weak. What about the souls of a Yonko, an Admiral, or a Warlord?

This was undoubtedly his path to power. If he could devour souls without limit, he might even surpass the second Resurrección and achieve the legendary winged form, the third release only seen in games.

He could see souls. This must be the Hollow's soul-sensing ability, similar to Observation Haki in the One Piece world. The difference was that Observation Haki could predict the future, while soul-sensing could also trace past events and movements by sensing residual spiritual pressure. Something worth studying.

His Soul Absorption was still too weak. Yammy Llargo, the Decima and Cero Espada, could absorb the souls of almost all of Karakura Town, even the living with weak spiritual pressure.

"Good job, lad!" the villagers cheered. They felt no sympathy for the pirate. Some even spat and kicked at the corpse.

"I'll be going now," Ian said to the villagers. Next up was a direct confrontation with the White Skull Pirates. He recalled their captain's bounty being around 9 million berries. His soul shouldn't be too weak.

He licked his lips, a predatory glint in his eyes, a true Devil. If angels wouldn't act, he, the ruthless one, would deliver justice.

"Boss, that guy's been gone awhile. You think something's happened?" The White Skull Pirates' first mate asked his captain, White Skull, a hint of worry in his voice. The young pirate was one of his men, and they were close.

"What could a bunch of caged slaves do? You worry too much," White Skull scoffed. He was a large, greasy-haired man, much like Blackbeard.

But a flicker of unease crossed his mind. It was his first mate's cautious nature that had kept them alive in the brutal world of piracy and allowed them to become a 9 million berry pirate crew.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

They were somewhat notorious in the latter half of the West Blue, but nowhere near as infamous as the rookie Eustass Kid, who was approaching a 100 million berry bounty at a young age.

BAM! The door to the hold burst open, and over a dozen figures charged out.

"Damn it! How did you slaves escape?! Get back in there if you want to live!" White Skull roared, smashing his bottle. The pirates raised their guns and swords, pointing them menacingly at the escaped captives.

They saw only a weak, pathetic group, easily recaptured.

"White Skull, is it? Using a skull as your flag… It's a miracle you're still alive," Ian said coldly, emerging from the group. The skull was a symbol of pirate faith.

Even the Yonko, Gol D. Roger, and other powerful crews only adorned the skull with their own symbols. He, however, had made it his entire flag.

Or perhaps, with their simple minds, they couldn't conceive of a more elaborate design.

"A Devil Fruit user, eh? Doesn't matter. Can you withstand bullets and blades?" White Skull sneered, observing Ian's transformation. He assumed it was a Zoan or Paramecia type, nothing too powerful. Their superior numbers should be enough.

"Is that so?" Ian's pale green eyes met White Skull's, sending a shiver down his spine.

A wave of spiritual pressure, similar to Conqueror's Haki, erupted from Ian. Though only at 10% fusion, it was more than enough to intimidate a 9 million berry pirate.

"Fire! He's too dangerous!" White Skull shouted. But several of the weaker pirates had already collapsed, only two or three still holding their weapons.

The next second, Sonido activated. Flashes of light erupted as the remaining gunmen were struck down with Ceros to the head, including White Skull's first mate.

Streams of light flowed into Ian - their souls. His fusion rate rose to 11%. Only six or seven pirates, including White Skull, remained.

A 9 million berry crew wasn't that large. Even with the cook, they likely numbered around a dozen.

"I surrender!" Two or three pirates, realizing Ian was no ordinary opponent, threw down their weapons, kneeling and begging for mercy.

"Cowards!" White Skull roared, slashing them in two. Even powerful pirates wouldn't tolerate potential traitors.

"Despicable" Ian muttered. To betray one's own crew so easily was a sign of true depravity.

A pale fingertip glowed as a Cero charged. White Skull, sensing danger, charged forward, weapons raised.

"Just one guy! I can take him!" he roared, slashing furiously at Ian, displaying surprisingly decent swordsmanship.

But in the next instant, a Cero pierced his skull, sending him crashing down. His momentum carried his attack forward, but the blade only scratched Ian's 11% Hierro.

He wasn't immune to bullets and blades at this level.

"We surrender!" The remaining pirates, terrified, surrendered. Their captain was dead. What hope did they have?

Fear of death was natural, nothing to be ashamed of. But resorting to any means necessary to survive deserved universal condemnation.

"I'll leave the rest to you," Ian said to the villagers. He headed towards the feast on the deck, his stomach growling. He knew what fate awaited the captured pirates.

"12%, huh?" he murmured, closing the Dimensional Template System interface.

His appearance slowly reverted to normal, though he was noticeably more handsome, a subtle influence of Ulquiorra's features.

Absorbing the soul of a 9 million berry pirate had only increased his fusion rate by 1%. It seemed even pirates with over 100 million berry bounties wouldn't offer much more.

Night fell. Ian sat at the bow, enjoying the cool breeze. As for the pirates…

The villagers had them strung up and tortured, stopping short of killing them. They planned to hand them over to the Marines.

Let the law handle them. Killing them would make the villagers no better than pirates.

"Swordsmanship… worth practicing." He tapped the open box on a nearby table, revealing a beautifully crafted black katana.