He wasn't an old man like Whitebeard, whose every move was a burden on his body. He was in the prime of his youth—restless, energetic, and overflowing with power. Occasionally, he needed a proper outlet to vent.
The feeling of constantly growing stronger was truly intoxicating. As a Devil Fruit user, he naturally had one ultimate goal: "Awakening." Through continuous development of the fruit's powers, a user could reach a higher stage of ability.
Thinking back carefully, there didn't seem to be much difference in how Whitebeard and Blackbeard used the ability, aside from raw scale. That was normal; Blackbeard had only just acquired the Tremor-Tremor Fruit at the time, and during the War of the Best, Whitebeard hadn't showcased any specific "Awakened" techniques either.
Without a clear direction to follow, Chu Yan was left clueless regarding how to trigger an Awakening, leaving him to gradually sense his way through.
Awakenings differed by fruit type: Zoans gained incredible recovery speed, while Paramecias could influence things outside their own bodies. The Tremor-Tremor Fruit was the strongest Paramecia of them all.
Chu Yan sat cross-legged on a large boulder, deep in thought. His body emitted faint, constant vibrations. In his eyes, vibrations weren't just simple waves; they were "points," "lines," and "planes." They had form. Controlling the magnitude and range with precision was the current focus of his training.
There was also sound. Sound is essentially a form of vibration, and it can be a potent method of attack.
RUMBLE!!! The ground shook violently once more. The birds and beasts in the forest were thrown into another panic.
"Ah! Too much force! Again!"
RUMBLE-BLE!
"Again!"
Once he was satisfied with his ability training, Chu Yan began exercising his body. As the old saying goes: "The body is the capital of revolution." He took this to heart. After some searching, he had actually managed to collect some resources from the Fairy Tail library.
Specifically, martial arts manuals. Not grimoires—actual physical training guides. In this world, only about 10% of the population possesses a Magic Origin within their bodies to release magic. To stand against wizards, some people created manuals for physical cultivation.
However, most people who followed them ended up being better than average but still far below top-tier wizards. Only mercenaries and wizards who specialized in close-quarters combat bothered with them.
Using Devil Fruit abilities placed high demands on physical stamina; the stronger the body, the longer one could sustain a fight. After all, not every enemy could be defeated in a single strike.
As for magic, Chu Yan wasn't sure if he belonged to the 10% or the 90%. From the moment he ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, its power had taken residence in his body. It was an overbearing power. Whether his Magic Origin was shattered or simply suppressed by the vibrations, he couldn't learn magic. The dream of "magic in the left hand, tremors in the right" was dead. On the bright side, it allowed him to focus entirely on his fruit's development.
In a remote, abandoned city in the Kingdom of Fiore, a young man of about eighteen or nineteen was walking down the street. He had jet-black hair, a handsome face, violet eyes, and wore a black trench coat with the Fairy Tail guild emblem printed on the back. It was Chu Yan.
Abandoned cities like this weren't common in Fiore, but they weren't rare either. Most were destroyed by monster invasions; when rebuilding became more expensive than relocating, people left, and the cities were left to rot.
Some people stayed because they couldn't let go, others because they saw profit. Since these cities were effectively lawless, they were chaotic. Only a few pedestrians walked the streets, mostly local thugs.
You could tell they were thugs by the metal rings pierced through their noses, ears, and lips—and the expressions on their faces that practically screamed "I'm a bad guy."
"Excuse me," Chu Yan said, stopping in front of a group of them. "The dark guild—Phoenix—should be in this city, right?"
"That's right. Who are you, kid?" The thugs were stunned. They were just debating whether to jump him, and here he was, delivering himself to them.
"Me? I'm a good person."
Hearing this, they burst into laughter. "A good person? Hahahaha! Since you're such a good person, why don't you help us out? We're a bit short on cash. Hand over everything you've got."
They surrounded him in broad daylight. If he was looking for a dark guild, he was probably there to post a job, which meant he had money. Maybe a lot of it.
Chu Yan remained unfazed. "Is this a robbery?"
"Kid, some things don't need to be said so clearly," one sneered.
Chu Yan replied with a straight face, "No, I think it's better to make things clear."
"Fine! We are robbing you!"
Chu Yan smiled. "Oh! You should have said so earlier. Now I feel much better!"
"Hey! Are you stupid? Hand over the money! Or don't blame us for being rough. People die in this city every day; it's perfectly normal." The thugs drew their daggers.
"——!"
THUD THUD THUD!
"Waaaaah!!" Their bodies were struck by an invisible force, sending them screaming and tumbling backward.
"What happened?!" The thugs sat on the ground, completely bewildered.
"Alright. If you don't want to be in a life-threatening situation, hand over everything of value you have. You know, people die in this city every day; it's perfectly normal."