12 The Power That Just Manifested

“Psychic Field—Control!”

Saria still activated her psychic field to counter.

The psychic force lessened the impact of the Ice Bird considerably, but she still couldn’t evade it.

If that’s the case, then face it head-on!

Saria clenched her fist tightly, her arm enveloped in Armament Haki.

She pushed her “Strength” attribute to its maximum limit, reaching a value of 78.

“Mighty Force—work miracles!”

It is known that the basic ability of the Strength Fruit is to increase a person’s power, granting terrifying “superhuman strength.”

Her strength alone could lift an entire mountain!

Her right fist, carrying an unstoppable force, collided violently with the Ice Bird’s crystal-clear wings, instantly erupting in a deafening roar.

Under the assault of Saria’s so-called “superhuman strength,” the Ice Bird could not withstand the blow and began to shatter, transforming into countless shimmering shards of ice that fluttered down from the sky.

However, at the moment of impact, the cold air also invaded Saria’s right arm.

Her entire arm, from fingertips to shoulder, was frozen into an ice sculpture, giving off a faint chill.

Kuzan looked up, his gaze fixed on the woman hovering in midair, his brow slightly furrowed.

Unexpectedly, the psychic user was not completely frozen by his attack.

Moreover, the power she had just revealed...

Saria shivered from the cold.

Dragging her frozen right arm with her left hand, she shouted curses at Kuzan below, “Kuzan, you damn *&D&, I f*** you &*￥!”

Taken aback by the insults, Kuzan muttered, “...Hey, hey, it’s just a fair fight, no need for that kind of language.”

He had only intended to freeze the psychic user into an ice sculpture to force her surrender.

But her strength had exceeded his expectations.

Saria’s voice was filled with rage, “If not you, then who else should I curse!”

Suddenly, her expression shifted to surprise as she glanced behind Kuzan, “Admiral Akainu?!!”

“Hm?” Kuzan instinctively followed Saria’s gaze.

But there was no one there.

“Psychic Field—Mental Attack!” Seizing the moment, Saria quickly unleashed a mental assault on Kuzan.

This technique was specifically developed to target an enemy’s mind, akin to Conqueror’s Haki, capable of shaking an opponent’s spirit invisibly.

Against weaker foes, it could stun them.

However, when facing true powerhouses, its effect is greatly diminished, though it can still cause a brief one or two seconds of disorientation.

Even a mere second or two could turn the tide of battle, enough for Saria to take off and flee.

Kuzan felt a sudden sharp pain in his mind, as if pricked by something.

Years of combat experience meant that before his brain could react, his body instinctively activated Armament Haki to protect itself.

When Kuzan looked up again, Saria had already vanished from his sight, fleeing far away.

“Ah, I’ve been tricked.” Realizing what had happened, Kuzan’s expression darkened instantly.

He had underestimated the psychic user in this battle.

***

Neither could it be said that he won, nor that the psychic user lost.

“What a cunning lady,” Kuzan muttered as he sat back down, holding his head in pain.

The Navy Headquarters should increase their attention on psychics, but they must not pressure them too much.

If a psychic were to become a pirate, that would be a serious problem.

***

Saria had successfully escaped, aimlessly flying through the sky while muttering curses.

Her Recovery and Healing attributes had been maxed out, so her arm, frozen solid by Kuzan’s cold air, quickly returned to normal.

Saria felt she might need to find a teacher to guide her.

Her power had been stuck at a bottleneck for months.

She had her own ideas for developing her fruit abilities, but for Haki, swordsmanship, and physical combat, it was difficult to improve quickly by self-study alone.

Initially, she wanted to seek out Dracule Mihawk for swordsmanship, but the sea was vast, and finding one person was incredibly difficult.

Hawk Eye had not yet gone to the Kuraika Island, and she had no news of him.

Especially regarding Haki, Saria had studied the theory from stories but lacked detailed understanding.

Her talent was certainly not bad; to rapidly improve her mastery of Haki, she might need to find a “master” to teach her.

When she thought of a “master,” her first thought was the Yonko Kaido.

But Kaido was too strong, and a drunken lunatic at that.

One strike from his spiked club would surely crush her clone instantly.

She knew about Luffy’s teacher, “Dark King” Rayleigh, who was on Sabaody Archipelago, but she had no desire to become a pirate or Pirate King, and Rayleigh might not be willing to teach her.

She ruled out the Navy—she had no wish to be bound by their rules or serve the Celestial Dragons.

Though Saria was inexperienced, that didn’t stop her from looking down on the people of the “One Piece” world.

Even Pirate King Roger was someone she could mock.

What Saria wanted was a “master” among the top-tier strong.

But how to find a suitable master and have them teach her was a problem.

As she flew, she stroked her chin in thought.

Money and alcohol—two seemingly ordinary items—were the most effective means she could currently think of to attract and impress those powerful individuals.

And she lacked neither at the moment.

In her previous life, she had been a brewmaster. After transmigrating, once her fruit abilities had developed to a certain degree, she tried to start a liquor trade in the West Blue.

While controlling her “Charlemagne” clone to explore the West Blue, she arrived at Boleca, one of the World Government’s allied countries.

Every year, the allied countries of the World Government had to pay tribute known as “Heaven’s Gold” to the Celestial Dragons, essentially a protection fee.

Most nations couldn’t afford this payment.

Those who didn’t pay Heaven’s Gold lost Navy protection, allowing pirates and human traffickers to run rampant, causing economic and social decay and hardship for the people.

Some countries, despite barely gathering enough wealth to pay Heaven’s Gold and gain allied status, remained chaotic internally.

Boleca was such a country. After paying Heaven’s Gold, the kingdom’s finances became dire, forcing its people into poverty.

When Saria set foot on the island ruled by Boleca, the country was trapped in an unprecedented crisis.

The financial strain had reached a critical point; they could no longer afford the upcoming year’s Heaven’s Gold.

If this tribute was not paid on time, Boleca would lose its status as a World Government ally.

This meant no more Navy protection, leaving its territory and citizens exposed to pirates, raiders, and other threats.

Boleca’s economy relied mainly on shipbuilding and fishing.

However, these two industries were firmly controlled by the aristocracy.

Commoners wishing to fish had to rent boats from nobles, often at exorbitant prices and harsh terms.

To gather the next year’s Heaven’s Gold, the nobles intensified their exploitation of ordinary people, drastically increasing fishing-related taxes and arbitrarily raising boat rents.

This plunged the already impoverished fishermen into deeper hardship.

The plight of Boleca’s common folk was dire and widespread.

Having witnessed too many tragedies after transmigration, Saria’s heart had grown cold; she was powerless to change such a situation.

At that time, she had recently acquired the Thunder Fruit and planned to strike down a few Boleca nobles, steal their wealth, and give it to the king to ease the burden on the people before leaving.

But before she departed, she met Lilian, the king’s third child.

Princess Lilian was a Honey Fruit user with a kind heart. Seeing people starve, she used her ability to gather honey and prepare honey water for the poor.

Thus, the princess was beloved among the commoners.

Saria approached Lilian and asked, “If it were possible, would you be willing to sacrifice yourself to feed these people?”

Lilian’s face was worried but she nodded without hesitation.

Without another word, Saria unleashed lightning with her Thunder Fruit.

In less than a night, she had struck down all the nobles of Boleca except the royal family.

With the nobles dead, Saria quickly seized their fortunes.

Her “Charlemagne” clone was her strongest avatar, empowered by the Thunder Fruit, even stronger than her original body.

When she controlled “Charlemagne,” she could use both Thunder Fruit and Strength Fruit powers, effectively a double Devil Fruit user.

Countless gold, silver, and jewels were thrown before the commoners and Lilian under Saria’s command.

Saria said, “This fortune should roughly cover three to four years’ worth of Heaven’s Gold for Boleca.”

Lilian was speechless.

She had expected to lose her life, but instead, the nobles were wiped out.

Under overwhelming force, Lilian was pushed onto the throne within a week.

At first, Lilian was terrified and wary of this sudden man with the natural Thunder Fruit power—“Charlemagne.”

He had massacred the nobles and advised her to kill her own siblings and father, threatening to destroy all of Boleca if she failed as queen.

To protect her nation, Lilian reluctantly accepted the crown.

Half a month later, Saria feigned departure from Boleca.

Less than a month after ascending the throne, Lilian was challenged by the former king—her own father—and disgruntled siblings, who demanded she relinquish the throne and restore power to them.

Saria did not intervene this time.

Lilian, having abdicated, was imprisoned by her father and sentenced to death.

In the prison, Lilian finally fell silent.