Nihilist's Curiosity

by Atlanticfire

In the face of an unbelievable reality, Michael accepts and adapts. How will this new world of super-powered Pirates, Marines, and psychopaths handle a genius with an indulgent personality? Gritty/Realistic/Dark/Sexual Content/ Trigger Warning

1. Chapter 1

NC Chapter 1

His Beginning, The Birth of Nihilist

Disclaimer: If I owned One Piece … A lot more people would be dead and even more would be suffering trauma.

Also permitted by Thanatos...

XLine BreakX

A yawn could be heard within the bedroom of a seventeen year old male. The young man was six foot and four inch in height weighing little over two hundred pounds, and was currently lying down on his bed within his small room. His hair was as black as night reaching a little past his shoulders, smooth and silken, his bangs parting to either side of his face. Silver eyes remained blank-no emotion could be seen within them. The teen was built well for someone his age with lean muscle, lacking any baby fat. The only abnormality was his pale skin, which didn't seem to fit with his body. He wore only a pair of black underwear, shamelessly displaying most of his body.

This boy was Michael Hanes the only son of Harry and Annie Hanes. He was also the adopted son of Rick and Mary Schultz, older brother of Caroline Schultz.

Michael had been living with the Schultz family for the past eight years. He understood why, his caretakers-he did not consider them parents-had taken pity on him when they met. They believed he was some sort of broken boy they could heal.

He shook his head at their ignorance.

The Schultz were fools, but they were useful fools. They were wealthy as they were stupid, and that wealth allowed him access to knowledge he would never reach otherwise. Their free reign tendencies made even easier to take what he required, but outside of their economic value they were worthless to him, more of an annoyance then anything.

Most would question how he could be so cruel towards people who had cared for him-loved him.

The answer was simple. He did not care for the foolish principles of morality.

His father-devout follower of Christianity-was killed right before his eyes by some pathetic serial killer whose name he did not care to remember and his sister had vanished a day later, never to be seen again. More to the point, they received no help from God. Their prayers were not answered and nor were his pleas.

The loss of his father and sister at the young age of four taught him many things. The three years he spent in that orphanage reaffirmed his beliefs.

He let out a sigh of annoyance. Such things no longer mattered.

Michael ran his fingers through his black hair. Today was Monday the start of the school week. He was contemplating on just skipping again. The school systems couldn't teach him anything he didn't already know. If he desired it, he could have graduated already, but the pros were far outweighed by the cons.

Michael slowly got to his feet and sighed deciding he might as well go to school. His caretakers had been pestering him about his skipping all month once they found out. Michael yawned loudly and grabbed the black shirt and pulled it on along with a plain black shorts.

He briefly glanced at his computer screen, the latest issue of NARUTO open.

Manga, a Japanese picture comic, was something that always peaked his interest. He found it by accident, a manga called "Naruto" popped up on his screen as an annoying ad, but what he saw peeked his curiosity.

The concept of Kekkei Genkai, or Bloodline Limit, was simply amazing to him. The characters explained it as something in the blood, genetic abnormalities. But as he pondered it he thought, what else?

He theorized that the answer was simple. Kekkei Genkai was a completely wrong term. It had nothing to do with their blood. The real secret dwelled within the brain. Kekkei Genkai were an abnormality in the process of the mind. It was simple to understand with enough knowledge about neuroscience. All humans with Chakra had the potential for all Kekkei Genkai of their world in them, and likely countless more, but their brain doesn't allow us to function in a way to activate them. Those that have Kekkei Genkai's are not granted with a different body by biology, they were born with a defect that allows their brain to work in ways that a normal brain doesn't, which coincidentally matches the requirement for a specific ability. This ability allows one to perform better, which according to biology allows the individual to be more successful in spawning offspring that inherit the defect, spreading the bloodline. Of course such a power may be prone to change, how else would the famed Sharingan come out of the Sage's Rinnegan? His wife's genes altered the brain of the child, altering its powers. He was aware that clans in the Narutoverse intermarry because the genes of outsiders could blur their genes, robbing the child of the bloodline, so it is forbidden, even if new bloodlines could be found by that process. And it's not just biology. One can alter their own brain-pattern to awaken more bloodlines, or lose what they had. Humans change, and those changes can effect Kekkei Genkai By that logic, it made sense that their were traumatized fighters who no longer could use their limit, even after their trauma was over. The doctors would say that they are subconsciously blocking their abilities, but he theorized that what they went through changed the working of their brains, and they are simply no longer able to utilize their abilities.

He had never read One Piece, though he'd fix that when he returned. The concept of Devil Fruits was to alluring to ignore.

Not that he good ever test such theories, much to his displeasure.

Grabbing his latest reading material, 'Advanced Neurosciences', he walked out of his room and headed down stairs in black socks, his steps silent as he walked down heading towards the living room at the bottom of the stairs. He gazed in finding his 'sister' lazing about on the lounge on her phone chatting with one of her friends.

Even if she was his sister they looked nothing alike. She had natural blonde hair which she dyed green with white tints; while his hair was pitch black. Her eyes were a light shade of aqua while his was rigid silver.

Michael gazed at the clock, it was currently seven in the morning, he had half an hour left till school. He heard footsteps approaching the living room door as his 'mother' began to approach him with a smile.

Michael spared her a bored glance and turned around walking over to his black metal tipped boots with metal plating around the sides. He strapped them on just as his 'mother' walked up behind him.

He ignored her and left through the front door not even bothering to say a simple goodbye. Mary's smile vanished as a sad expression crossed her features.

Slowly she walked back into the living room and to the kitchen slumping against a chair. Caroline looked over at her mother before saying goodbye to her friend and getting up. Caroline left the living room putting her own shoes on and running out to the door not, but before saying goodbye to her mother.

Michael walked along the path way to school, his fingers curled around the three inch spine of his book, with an expression of boredom. He would finished this book by the end of the day.

A simple task for someone with eidetic memory.

Due to complications during pregnancy his mother carried him and his twin for three and a half months longer before he was finally delivered. Though such a feat was usually impossible, he was sustained in the womb with the help of the local hospital. From what he understood his mind and body developed a much greater capacity whilst in the womb, resulting in his current state.

Several tests revealed that his brain chemistry and muscles were more advanced. The first thing they uncovered from all the medical tests was that the advancements to Michael's brain chemistry gave him eidetic memory. He had the ability to recall images, emotions, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision and in abundant volume.

It was also discovered Michael possessed what his mother had called "photographic reflexes" this ability enables him to watch another person's physical movements and duplicate them without practice, no matter how complex. Michael put this to the test by watching every single action and martial arts movie his adopted family owned and found he could perform any action he had seen in the movie perfectly.

One negative side effect Michael got was being constantly hungry. His doctors had explained that the brain used up more nutrients and calories than any other organ in the human body. He now needed to eat more food in order to support his minds mental activities since his brain was now working overtime recording facts and memorizing people's body movements.

Another negative side effect from the experiment was that Michael now found himself craving mental stimulation. This was apparently due to his brain processing information so quickly, it made Michael bored and he needed to be mentally stimulated constantly. Last night he spent four hours researching acupuncture since his brain needed to be active.

He wondered what his sister would've been like had she frown up with him. Would she hate what he had become?

The pale teen gave a loud yawn and his ears twitched as he picked up the sound of someone running towards him.

A gentle voice called out to him, "Michael."

Michael glanced over his shoulder and paused abruptly. The moment he did someone ran right into him. A yelp was heard as the person who hit him fell to the ground. Michael glanced down at the clearly female figure sitting on the ground rubbing his behind. Her name was Skylar Whittem, the closest thing he had to a friend. Though, the term 'friend' was pushing it. He saw her more as an associate who he sympathized with.

Skylar slowly got to her feet, picking up her school bag. She stared at him sighed, "Sorry. Wasn't looking."

A brief flicker of amusement crossed his eyes, "Clearly. Perhaps you should be more aware of your surroundings, Misanthrope." With that he continued walking, not bothering to even look in her direction. Though, he thought he saw something flicker in the alley across from him.

Skylar pouted with a childish expression that didn't fit her normal apathetic features; Michael had always been like this for as long as she could remember. A small smile crossed her features as she watched him. Their relationship was a strange one indeed. She was only person who could stand within three feet of him without being inflicted with severe injuries. It was very clear he held a distaste for people, but his looks worked against him in that respect. She could only assume the only reason she was allowed to hang around him was her misanthropic personality and she couldn't deny her own interest in him. Her natural distaste for humanity was overridden by the inhuman look in his eye when he surveyed others like they were tools. It turned her on a lot more than she was willing to admit. Though her lack of direction caused her problems more often then it helped, she always seemed to end up crashing into him (not that she minded). As such, she was the only person who could say Michael Hanes was her friend. Even if he never actually said it.

The black haired teenager continued to walk as Skylar walked beside him, her gaze casted down with a small blush upon her cheeks. Michael was well aware of the girls crush on him along with many others. He just did not see it as something worth dealing with. They would eventually get over their petty crushes and if they bothered him with their ignorant fantasies, he would cut their dreams down. Though, he admitted, Skylar was likely not a "petty crush" given her mature attitude.

He was shaken from his thoughts when the sensation of being thrown forward registered, followed hotly by a sudden halt in motion that left him confused.

Shaking his head, Michael noticed something interesting.

In the air around him he saw large rippling patterns, tiny distortions circling around him like the surface of disturbed water.

Then it came. A subtle pressure accompanied the ripples, in a way that could only be described as a changing of altitude. Though it passed as quickly as it came.

It was then he realized he couldn't move. He did not bother to struggle, as he doubted he could pull out of a distortion in space and merely waited for the inevitable reaction.

He briefly recognized screams of fear behind him, but ignored it in favor of his current situation.

Then the pressure came again, so much stronger that the ripples were black with its force. This time it was so intense, so sharp, and consuming it suffocated him. He gave a strangled gasp as all the air left his lunges. He felt a brief surge of panic when he saw the wide tear appear right before him, but it quickly turned into curiosity.

The tear stretched and stretched until it was nearly twice his size.

He briefly wondered how no one had noticed this. Or perhaps they did and he just couldn't see them.

Even as he was sucked into the void, all Michael could think about was the absurdity of his situation.

XLine BreakX

He found himself being pulled through darkness. How? He wondered. He should have been torn apart into his smallest particles, yet he was unharmed. Then he noticed it was not completely dark, as he wouldn't be able to see his hands otherwise. He felt different, a humming sensation that made his fingers tingle, and yet he felt as though he just ran in the Olympics. Well, he was exhausted enough for it to be true. He looked around and his eyes widened. "Impossible" He whispered.

His vision blurred, but suddenly there was light. Michael noticed white clouds, a glimpse of what looked like massive mountains to his right, the sound of breaking waves, bright blue water that was quickly coming closer. Then, nothing.

XLine BreakX

Then something came, or perhaps it appeared. A sound of sorts, a feeling of something happening. It repeated itself slowly. He wondered how to best express this sound and the only way to do so was… Thump.

Thump-thump-thump.

It repeated again and again, covering his body in waves like the ocean coming onto the beach, waves hitting the shoreline. It felt not unlike his heart, but the warmth was stronger then anything his heart could produce. This sensation was weird and new–something that Michael never experienced before. But wait… I can think and feel… and this means that I must exist. Was the only logical thought that came to mind to explain the improbability of his situation. Without much other thought he let the sensation overcome him again and again, spreading warmth and giving him something else, something more. It felt reassuring and strong, yet it made him feel insecure and confused. What is this place? Where am I? He thought, trying to move his body, if it was even there. His attempts yielded no results whatsoever. It felt like only his mind existed in this plane of existence and nothing but thought was left of him. Perhaps it was the last stage of "life"–a state where all things physical were abandoned and cast off allowing the pure thought and mind to develop in full.

In time, however, the waves of warmth nearly ceased, dulling to a faint pulse echoing his heart, and he could feel them only when he concentrated enough on himself.

The sensation was replaced with a monotonous sound of beeping. After some time Michael understood that the sound stopped getting louder and that he started feeling his body. My… body. I can feel my limbs and my torso. My neck is warm and my spine feels. I've never felt like this before.

Although his eyelids felt heavy as lead he tried to open his eyes, only to find himself in nearly total darkness. Memories of 'The Incident' passed through his mind and he realized he had no idea what had happened. All his theorize ranged from a tear in the space-time continuum to psychotic delusions, which he quickly discarded. He was not insane.

He could hear murmuring near him and came to the conclusion that he had no better way to understand what happened then to ask. After peaking through a half-closed eyelid, he deemed it safe to 'awaken', the presence coming from a woman with a white coat, blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and glasses. He sat up abruptly.

The woman turned, and jumped. "Wha...? oh, you're awake. Don't scare me like that!"

Michael looked at her. "Who are you? Where am I?"

The woman gave him a small smile, one hand still clutching her chest. "You're on the West Blue, in the island of Ohara to be exact. I am a doctor, my name is Lilith."

Michael frowned. He knew that there was no place called the West Blue. The statement confused him. "West Blue? Ohara? Is this some sort of joke?" If it was, he was sorely tempted to kill whoever was behind it. But if not...

His mind flashed to what had happened last time he was conscious. Was it possible he had been somehow teleported to a different dimension? Granted, he only knew the basics of dimensional boundaries, but surely it shouldn't just happen? Someone would have noticed by now.

Lilith stared at him. "You're kidding. How can you not know the Ohara, home if the Tree of Knowledge? You really are some country bumpkin, aren't you?"

Now Michael's patience was wearing thin. "Enlighten me then, I do not understand this."

Lilith chuckled, "Confused huh?" She shook her head. "Alright, I might have something laying around here that will help. Just let me find it... here!"

Michael frowned. He looked at the paper Lilith had unfolded... and blinked. It was a map, but what it depicted was not like any map he had ever seen before. In fact , it was completely unrecognizable to his memories as a whole. "What is this?"

Lilith rolled her eyes. "A map of the world, what else?" She cleared her throat. "As you can see, our world is covered mostly with water, with many islands of varying size, but only one supercontinent, the Red Line, which goes from north to south around the entire planet, separating the oceans. Most of the Red Line's shores are 10.000 meters above sea-level, and not even the most vicious storms even get close to us here on the top. You were pretty lucky, once a month fishermen can go down and gather fish, which is pretty easy, considering that the water tunnels underneath us forces them into our nets. You were found by those fishermen, washed ashore, or rather thrown right through one of the boats. You cracked a few ribs there, but I'm amazed you weren't crushed. Anyways, back to our geology-lesson. Aside from the Red Line, which goes from north to south, there is also a giant current going from east to west, the Grand Line. The only safe way to reach it is through River's Mountain, as the Grand Line is boxed in on both sides by the Calm Belt, a area with absolutely no wind, and it is the breeding ground of the giant Sea Kings. The Oceans are the North Blue, the East Blue, the South Blue and the West Blue. If you're looking for pirates, those can be found everywhere, although the Marines keep them in check Anyways, Ohara, where we are, is in the West Blue, and is made up of mostly scholars inhabiting the Tree of Knowledge.

The gears in Michael's head were turning. This made no sense! Either this woman was crazy, or he was losing his mind! Or, the "tear" he encountered was real and he had been pulled into a completely different world! A short check, that went unnoticed by the doctor, calmed Michael, that he wasn't deformed by any means, and a mirror behind Lilith showed him that their was no exterior damage, though the edges of his hair were now bright red. Lilith was focused on the map, and Michael asked the question she had apparently been waiting for. "Could you slap me?"

She blinked, map forgotten for the moment. "W-Wha...?"

"I need you to slap me to be certain this is neither a dream or paranoid delusion." The way he said it so casually stunned her.

"B-but I'm a doctor! I can't go assaulting my patience!"

The blank look in his eyes sent a chill up her spine, "You will be helping me, Women. Is that not your duty?"

Lilith's cheeks flushed red, "I-you...!" She slumped in defeat. "Fine! Fine, I'll do it. I'll slap you. Happy?" Even as she raised her hand in an overly exaggerated expression, Michael noticed how hesitant she was and decided she needed a push.

"Well, women? What is tak-" The sound of hand meeting cheek accompanied with pain caused his muscles to spasm momentarily.

It was then he noticed Lilith was glaring at him, cheeks red with anger rather then embarrassment, "My name isn't woman! Its Lilith! L-I-L-I-T-H, Lilith!"

He sighed, absently rubbing the red mark on his face. Surprisingly it hurt nowhere near as much as it should have, and that feeling of warmth was bubbling beneath his cheek.

"Thank you for your assistance. Seeing as I am unfamiliar with your island, could you possibly direct me to the Oharan library? I wish to study." He really had no idea where to start.

The woman, Lilith, frowned and lowered her hand warily. "You want to go there, where those oddballs are? I guess you're a bit strange yourself. The library of Ohara is famous around the world, so you've come to the right place. It's carved into the Tree of Knowledge, just follow the main road when you leave, you can't miss it."

Michael nodded his head. "My gratitude." As he made to leave, he stilled when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder.

"Woah woah!" A frantic Lilith pleaded when Michael had instinctively twisted her wrist to a submission hold. "I just needed to ask your name!"

Michael narrowed his eyes. He released his hand warily.

He stared at her blankly, waiting for her to explain.

Once she realized he wasn't going to say anything she cleared her throat. "I need to submit your name to the medical records. Its part of the law."

He pondered that. It made enough sense. If they could organize a military then it wasn't so big a stretch they could set up a proper medical system. Suddenly, he froze when he realized he no longer needed the name he was branded with. All his name served as was a reminder of his deceased family. Though, if he were to have a new name it couldn't be something stupid and uncreative. It needed to be special, preferably with Latin roots-it was his favorite language-and properly fit him in this new world of improbabil-

He paused.

Nihil.

Nothing.

Ist.

Is.

Verum.

True.

Nihilist Verum

Nothing. Is. True.

It was perfect. He found the name fitting enough. It was Latin for "Nothing Is True"; an apt description of his situation as it were.

Yes, that would do.

"My name is Nihilist, Nihilist Verum ."

Lilith rose an eyebrow, "Nihilist? Weird name, but I'm not one to judge. Alright, you may go. I've got work to do."

After taking back his clothing, which had been miraculously saved, he left, heading towards knowledge. After all, if one doesn't know how it was built, he cannot truly fathom how and why it stands.

XLine BreakX

Newly named Nihilist, formerly Michael, knocked on the door in the tree. He found it odd that the people had cut away at the lower bark, as that would weaken the stability, though the base was still gigantic. When the door opened, he was momentarily taken aback.

The man who opened had his hair and beard styled so that it looked like a three-leaved clover. What the hell. "Good morning." The man spoke. "My name is professor Clover, how can I help you?"

The only thought that went through Nihilist's head was What an absurd name. Clover? Honestly? Still, he cleared his throat. "Good morning. My name... is Nihilist Verum. You see, I was born far away, and one day realized that I knew little about this world, so I decided to travel. I was told that this was the greatest of all libraries, especially in history, so..." He hated using such a falsely pleasant voice, but it was necessary if he wanted entry.

Professor Clover smiled. "So you came here. Quite understandable my boy, come right in."

Nihilist entered, and whistled. "Color me impressed."

Clover nodded. "Yes, the library is our heart and soul. You can take any book you want, though please don't leave the library with them. They're ordered in three layers. First, here are the more common books, which you can freely read. The further you go in, and up, the rarer the texts become, and I ask you that if you want to read anything from category III or higher, please consult one of our scholars, as we have to supervise you to ensure that the text isn't damaged. The second distinction is, of course, by topic, while in the topics, the books are ordered alphabetically. We ask that you put a book back where you got it from, unless you notice it was misplaced. Any questions so far?"

Nihilist looked around. "Just two. How long is the library open, and where can one wash his hands to continue reading after a meal?"

Clover laughed. "A man after my own heart. The library is open around the clock, as there are always scholars working, of course different ones, but all the same. As for washing hands, we have bathrooms."

Nihilist rubbed his hands, then showing them to prove they were clean. "Is it possible for me to begin now?"

Clover laughed. "Of course not Nihilist, help yourself. I'll pass by sometime to see how you're doing."

Nihilist nodded, and went to the first bookshelf. Category I, Biology, A-C. He pulled out a few books, and started reading.

XLine BreakX

A few hours later, Professor Clover decided to check up on the man that had come. He had halfway expected him to be gone, bored by all the reading, but he was still sitting there, two orderly piles of books framing him. He glanced at the titles, and found they were, while still biology, from the lower half of shelf D-F. Also, Nihilist seemed to be looking for something, as he only scanned the pages for a second or two, before flipping to the next page. He walked down to him. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" He asked.

Nihilist shook his head. "Not particularly. I'm more interested in general information."

Clover nodded. "But why are you only skimming over the books?"

"What?" Nihilist asked, before he had an epiphany. "Of course, you aren't aware of my condition. You see, I was born with a rather unusual gift, if I do say so myself. I have a eidetic memory, which allows me to read faster than normal."

Clover's brows raised. "Really? Do you mind if I test that?"

Nihilist shrugged. "Please. The pile to my right is the books I've already read."

Clover picked one from the middle, and opened it. "Please recite the text on page 74, starting at the 29th word."

Nihilist looked at the title and frowned. "...to remember that, while most of these creatures are harmless, there exists a sub-species, identified by the red stripe on its head, that contains a deadly poison which dissolves tissue, and is highly aggressive. The only known antidote it the fruit of the curtola-tree, which these predatory birds must eat to prevent their own poison from killing them. This, thankfully flightless, subspecies is therefor only found in areas which support the growth of..."

Clover's eyes had widened as Nihilist word for word recited 'Poisonous Creatures of the North Blue', by Olf Cortner. "That's enough, thank you. What an amazing gift."

Nihilist's lips twitched into what could've been a smile. Yes, the mind is a wonderful tool. Though he only replied, "Thank you."

Clover smiled at him. "So how long do you intend to stay on Ohara?"

Nihilist shrugged. "I have a lot of time, so probably as long as I can. Either when I read every book, or when you get tired of me and kick me out." The last part was spoken in a humored tone, and Clover laughed.

"Far be it, Nihilist my boy! It's good that there are still those that seek knowledge in this world. I'm old, and most of my colleagues are also at an advanced age. Every young man and woman who willingly seeks knowledge warms our hearts, as it shows us that our work will continue even after we have passed."

Nihilist frowned. "Now now, it's a little early for such talks, professor. You still have your best years ahead of you."

Now Clover really laughed, and patted his back, with Nihilist being pleased that people were so easily deceived. "If you say so, my boy. But as I said before, call us if you want to read rarer and more valuable texts."

Nihilist smiled. "I will." With that, he turned back to the book.

XLine BreakX

Secretly Nihilist had begun to wonder what was wrong with him. He had never been this giddy or friendly before. He pondered this newest change in personality, and finally came up with an explanation. It was because he was free.

Back in his world, there had always been pressure and expectations on him. Pressure of being a member of society, having to meet high expectations the moment he his intellect was noticed, the death of his parents. The point being there had always been this weight on his shoulders, forcing him to more cold, and emotionless then he was by himself.

Here in this world, nobody had known him, nobody could pressure him. Of course, he would eventually make enemies, especially if his plans came to fruition, their thoughts were without consequence for Nihilist for now. He was not accountable to anyone but himself, he owed nobody but himself. All the things that had weighed him down back in the world prior, here, they were nothing. Nobody could demand anything from him, and nobody had a right to expect things from him. There was no Michael, the only thing that was here was Nihilist, and what he wanted to do.

Nihilist had, for a large portion of his life, never played around, or really enjoyed something, but here, there was an entire world to explore, and nobody to tell him what to do. He chuckled.

"This is certainly new." Nihilist muttered to himself. He small, but genuine smile curled on his lips. "Well, it might be fun."

XLine BreakX

Nihilist was sporting a concentrated, yet content look on his face as electricity arced across his fingers.

He possessed chakra.

Chakra is a mixture of spiritual and physical energy found in all living beings-or so it was taught in the Shinobi world. All shinobi utilized this energy to utilize techniques not unlike miracles. Standing on water, summoning gargantuan creatures, and even creating clones of oneself are all possible using this amazing energy. Although awing, it takes decades of years of focus and training to use adequately.

Ironically, it took Nihilist only four days to realize the warmth he felt was actually chakra, and two hours to unlock it.

He theorized that his shift in dimensions had exposed him to the the energy of another dimension along the way. He counted himself lucky that he hadn't been completely torn apart by the shift, even more so that it granted him powers. It was shortly after he discovered his powers that he learned the extent of his particular brand of chakra. He was an Uzumaki.

Granted, the red highlights had given it away. He was a little disappointed he didn't have a dojutsu, but the Uzumaki clan was more then sufficient for his future, which were still in the making.

The Uzumaki clan were originally part of the Senju clan who split apart and later settled in Uzu no kuni. Uzumaki's were gifted with extreme vitality, and as such possessed an absurdly vast amount of chakra. Their chakra was dense as it was large, females of the clan were apparently capable of creating chains that could suppress a Bijuu in a way similar to Hashirama Senju's Mokuton. It also granted them a long lifespan and mild regenerative factor, which explained how he survived falling from the sky. They were also renowned and feared for their intuitive mastery of Fuinjutsu (Sealing Techniques). He had fully intended to take advantage of the traits he should posses.

Right from the beginning, Nihilist knew that attaining the full potential chakra provided would take a very long time, but he had one advantage over every other chakra user. He remembered every issue of Naruto he'd ever read, every Narutopedia entry, and every second of the anime. So perhaps it wasn't decades away, especially with one technique he had in mind.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique).

Unlike other clones, the Kage Bunshin was corporeal instead of illusions. They were even capable of performing techniques and bleeding, dojutsu's wouldn't be able to tell the difference because they were pure chakra constructs. Most important though, was that all a dispersed clones memories and remaining chakra are transferred to back the original. As he was technically an Uzumaki, he was capable of producing them by the dozen and at a fraction of the cost thanks to his chakra's density.

He spent a majority of his time everyday for nearly a year. Thankfully, outside of the Scholars inhabiting the tree, there were very few others on the island and plenty of trees to hide his presence. Two hundred and fifty Kage Bunshin in all were created. They were broken up into five groups of fifty each.

Fifty practiced Chakra Control.

Fifty practiced Augmentation.

One Hundred practiced Elemental Manipulation, Nature Transformation, and Shape Manipulation.

Fifty practiced Fuinjutsu.

As his clones perfected his chakra control through exercises like tree walking and later water walking, it became clear all chakra control really was really just complex manipulation of energy in the body. The more you practiced it, the faster and more precise it became. It functioned like a muscle in that respect, and like any muscle, you had to constantly exercise it to keep it fit and even grow.

While this was technically a part of chakra control, chakra augmentations focused purely in the physical benefits of chakra, or rather how he could make himself better then he was. This was by far the easiest to learn. His clones focused chakra into there limbs and tested there durability, reaction times, and strength. All three factors were only marginally increased, but he began to notice a steady rise in that margin every time clones practicing chakra control dispelled. As he suspected, the more efficiently chakra was distributed to a specific part of his body, the greater the margin became. He also learned that chakra augmentation gave you a better work out then normal exercises did. Muscle tearing healed much faster with chakra and allowed him to work out for shorter periods and provide better results then normal exercises.

Elemental Manipulation and Nature Transformation had been more challenging. Simply finding out his affinity had been trying. His clones came to the hypothesis that, if they tested a low level technique from each element, whichever reacted best was likely his affinity. Imagine his surprise when he suddenly relieved memories of several clones death by either shredding wind current, drowning in copious amounts of water, or giant stalagmites piercing him.

Professor Clover nearly had a heart attack when he suddenly fainted.

Seeing as the clones practicing with fire and lightning hadn't been subject to horrible death, it was safe to assume they were his affinity. From there, the clones focus split between Katon (Fire Release) and Raiton (Lightning Release) technique and pure element manipulation.

Fuinjutsu wasn't so much difficult so much as it was was extremely dangerous. He knew the japanese language, even kanji, as he did not want to wait for anime episodes to be translated and found it easier to simply learn the language. Seal configurations started out simple, but became increasingly more complex. One wrong curve on the paper and you were probably dead. Thankfully, one clone made a breakthrough. Seals, or at least his variation of them, worked on a pyramid basis. One 'main' character would be defined by two 'lower' characters and those two would be specified by four 'supportive' characters. This pyramid structure could be extended indefinitely. Though, applications of seals themselves were still somewhat temperamental, mainly due to his inexperience with writing kanji, but that was being remedied with time.

He learned how chakra fueled many shinobi arts and techniques.

Taijutsu required chakra pumped to the muscles to increase their speed, improve their offense and defense, as well as use advance taijutsu moves. One example of this was the Hyuuga's Juuken.

Ninjutsu required chakra molded through the use of hand seals to manipulate it for certain effects. An example of this was elemental jutsus or supplementary jutsu, like the Henge, Kawarimi, and Bunshin.

Genjutsu was similar to ninjutsu but was geared into molding chakra to form illusions.

Fuuinjutsu, or the Art of Sealing, requires chakra to activate and deactivate seals.

Kenjutsu, or the Art of the Sword, was similar to taijutsu but Kenjutu Masters utilize chakra to reinforce their weapon or transforming their chakra into different elements to release devastating attacks.

Nihilist was intrigued and enthralled as he digested the information, liking the idea of utilizing his chakra to do all these things. It was then he decided to ignore the traditional hand sign technique (though he would still study them and how it effected his chakra) and focused on manipulating the element in its most basic nature.

He briefly recalled a cartoon he saw the other kids watching whilst he read called Avatar: The Last Airbender in which they manipulated the elements with simple movements. Benders, humans capable of manipulating an inner energy called chi, could bend the four basic elements to their will with simple gestures and strikes compared to shinobi who were defendant on hand seals. In his perspective chi was a less evolved form if chakra. Chi could control elements but chakra possessed limitless potential from resurrection to the warping of space and time.

If he could perhaps mimic benders in raw manipulation and adapt to his own abilities he wouldn't be hampered by the need for hand seals.

His training aside, he remembered the life changing meeting Nihilist had was with a little girl that lived on the island. She was cute, with black hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes, and apparently she was quite lonely. Nihilist had first met her under quite unusual circumstances.

XLine BreakX

Flashback Begin (Three and A Half Years Prior)...

Nihilist had to, on occasion, leave the library on errands outside of his training, mainly to buy food. On one of his trips back, he noticed a quartet of kids running in a direction, and curious, decided to follow them.

He found them in front of a clearing, observing another girl, who seemed to be reading. He dimly recalled seeing her a few times in the library, but aside from that, he knew nothing of her. Then he noticed that the other kids were picking up rocks, and his eyes narrowed when they threw them.

"Monster, monster." One called, while another shouted "Why don't you just die, nobody misses you anyways!"

'How pathetic. Picking on a child.' Nihilist approached the children, but it seemed the girl could fend for herself. At first he thought her hand was stretching, then he saw that hands were sprouting, a new one out of the palm of the one before it, until they bonked the closest brat, apparently the leader, on the head.

"Ah, the monster's attacking!" One cried out, and they spun around... only to be face to stomach with Nihilist.

Said man looked down on them. "Why are throwing rocks at a innocent girl? You are acting like fools." His eyes narrowed, his apathetic tone gaining a sharp edge. "I do not like fools."

"Who cares, she's a monster." The girl of the group called out.

Nihilist looked to the attacked girl, who looked almost confused that someone would take her side. "You there, what's your name?"

"Me?" the girl asked. "I'm Robin. Nico Robin."

Nihilist gave her a small smile. "Well then Robin, could you look after my shopping?" He nodded towards his bags "Seeing as I am forced to teach theses ignorant fools a lesson." And really, two kids each were hanging from his outstretched hands.

Nihilist looked at them. "So, you think throwing rocks at others is acceptable, yes? Perhaps she should try this game, see how pleasing it is for her."

"That's different. Robin's a monster!" The boy declared.

Nihilist stared at them blankly. "She consumed a Devil-fruit, that's all. Many others did too. Several marines, and incalculable number of pirates. What do you think will happen if they here you call them monsters? You are aware that all of the admirals posses them aswell. Will you throw rocks at them too? I warn you beforehand, they will probably kill you."

The kids shook their heads. Nihilist snorted. "I Didn't think so. Really, four of you must gather so you're brave enough to attack one girl, what heroes. You should learn self control, I do not see such fools capable of even swimming."

Now the kids were upset. "What?" "Of course we can swim!" "We're not babies!"

Nihilist looked at them, playing shocked. "So all four of you can swim."

Four heads nodded.

"You are all sufficient swimmers?"

They laughed. "Of course! We're the best of our age, not like the monster."

Nihilist's eyes flickered with a hint of evil, his face still stoic. "Good, then I won't have a guilty conscience when I do this."

They hadn't noticed, but Nihilist had carried them to a shore while talking, so he was now standing over a cliff, dropping nine feet before reaching the water, which was fairly deep. Nihilist had a few clones mentally map out the island beforehand, so he knew the route. With those words, he tossed the children over the edge, and into the water.

He wasn't worried, thirty feet away was a beach that they could climb from.

He turned to Robin, silver eyes staring at her with a softer expression, glinting with a hint of worry. He noticed the slight shake in her frame and frowned slightly, "Are you...afraid of me?"

She looked at him, thinking back on all the things everyone had said and done, all the things she'd heard people called her. She felt...wary of other peoples help...but her eyes softened and she looked at him squarely.

Hopefully.

Tears formed again. Tears for him...for the kind stranger that stood before her now, who actually helped, who seemed so patient, in his own way, for her reply.

"No...I'm not afraid."

Nihilist carefully listened to her answer, "...I see." A rare half-smile appeared on his stoic face, She saw her own reflection in his eyes and realized those few simple words surprised him.

To his quiet surprise, he watched Robin raise her own hand and reach for his own. His eyes were transfixed on her hand, her fingers, getting slightly closer.

There hands met one moment and the next Robin was crying into his shirt, sobbing out years of sadness. She cried and cried, clutching Nihilist desperately as she curled into his chest like a newborn.

She didn't know how long she cried, and she didn't notice it was raining, the stranger had used his umbrella (henged from a clone) to shelter her from the rain. The strangers things were drenched as result as the umbrella he had was only enough for them. He also looked unbothered by the loss of food, and more than anything he wrapped an arm around her, comforting her with warm hug and gentle pat.

"There… there… don't cry little one, it's not your fault…"

She sobbed, "It is my fault! And Everyone hates me because I'm a freak!" She didn't know this person but he was the first who stayed with her in the middle of downpour willingly even though he could leave anytime he wanted. "I am alone! All alone! Hic! Hic!"

His eyes softened at that, "Then… I will stay with you little one, so you won't be alone anymore."

Her cries stopped at that, it was not like her sadness stopped too but she was dumbstruck by the stranger's words. "Why would you stay with me? Won't everyone hate you too?"

"Is that it?" He shrugged, he didn't particularly like the villagers of this island anyways, "I care not for what ignorant fools think. They are simply unable to comprehend how special you are." Just like that he diminished her worry, "I will stay with you because I do not want to be alone either."

As soon as the last sentence was uttered, little four year old Robin looked at his eyes and she saw the same eyes as hers boring to hers. A pair of eyes that knew of loneliness and loss.

"W-what's your name?"

Nihilist blinked, and chuckled at his own slip up, "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name name is Nihilist, Nihilist Verum. It means 'Nothing Is True' in a very old language." He ruffled her hair, and was amused by the embarrassed blush that stain her cheeks. "I'm certain I've seen you a few times in the library. So, what is it you are interested in?"

Robin's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, "Archeology!" She froze, her blush spreading across her face, "I-I mea-EEP!" her stammered was cut off by a startled squeak as Nihilist poked her nose.

Nihilist's chuckled slightly, surprising both her and himself, "I see. You like archeology, yes? Why don't you tell me about it?"

Robin happily talked about her interest in archeology, and Nihilist was impressed by the girl's knowledge. By the time she had finished he noticed it was starting to get late.

A small frown crossed his features, "Its getting late and I still have to buy some food before the stores close."

Robin looked down sadly, "O-oh... I'll see you again, right?" She didn't look at him, she didn't want him to see her cry. So she was surprise when she heard a chuckle.

"What are you talking about? You will be coming with me."

Her head snapped up in shock, "R-really?"

Nihilist chuckle as he reached for her hand "I made a promise that you would never be alone. I won't break it now." His eyes softened, "Let's go Robin, from now on you are part of my family…"

At that day, her tiny cold hand accepted his warm and larger one, with a promise that she would never be alone again.

That was her first warm memory in the middle of cold rain, and even though rain had not stopped following her… for the first time in her life, she was happy.

As she trailed Nihilist, four year old Nico Robin's heart fluttered with warmth. She had never met her father, but she imagined him to be just like this person, warm and gentle. He was her family, a father, a friend, a teacher… and her only companion for a long time.

Flashback End...

XLine BreakX

He allowed a slight chuckle to escape his lips. Nihilist had stayed for nearly four years the island of Ohara, reading and expanding his knowledge at the Tree of Knowledge. He was twenty-one now, not that he ever celebrated his birthday, even with Robin's insistence he thought it a waste of time. Though she was saddened she couldn't get him a gift, knowing he celebrated her birthday every year made up for it.

He now worked with the doctor that had treated him, Lilith, as a personal assistant. The library had five rarity-grades, and he had read everything up to Category IV, though a few works might have slipped past him, and Category IV still had half its content for Nihilist to read. The scholars liked him, as he not just blindly believed what he read, but asked questions and developed his own ideas. In fact, they had allowed him to stay in the library hours after the sun went down, and most scholars slept.

In one of those occasions, he finally managed to sneak into the hidden room he had noticed on his first day, without anyone noticing. He found a room, thankfully empty, which had no books in it. Instead, there were handwritten papers spread all over, and a giant square rock with odd carvings. Nihilist made a few Kage Bunshins to read the texts, and memorized the rock. Then he left and meditated, preparing for the moment that the clones would dispel and send back the information they had gathered. Of course, only one dispelled every fifteen seconds, to prevent him from getting migraine.

He had read about the Void Century before, but the knowledge and theories the Oharans had developed were way beyond anything else. What they were doing warranted their executions.

It was curious, but not on his to do list at the moment.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist hummed pleasantly as he looked himself over.

His face still retained its paleness, but he was noticeable more muscular them before, taller aswell. His current outfit consisted of a tight black ninja-styled outfit highlighted by metal plating on his shins, fore-arms, shoulders and chest. He wore black combat boots with steel toes over his feet and as a long black cloak with a drooping hood, which was pulled back for now. On his waist, hidden from view, was a small pouch packed with senbon, large needles he had purchased months prior.

Nihilist's eyes flicked to his current home, which he shared with his adopted daughter, Nico Robin (though, she had taken to calling herself Robin Verum).

Nihilist's dining table (and surrounding floor) was laden with books, bowls, towels, and plants, among other paraphernalia. Latex gloves littered the wooden surface, and small ceramic orbs with flat bottoms and short necks–capable of sitting in the palm of his hand-were set to one side, most of them with cork stoppers and labels written in inelegant kanji.

He sighed pleasantly, looking at the green glow covering his right hand. While everyone knows the five main elements such as Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning. But what others may not know of a Sixth element the Yin-Yang Release or the Creation of all Things. Not much is known to of the element but that The Sage of the Six Paths mastered the element along with the original five.

I was able to master the Yin part of the element as well as circulate through my system, in doing so I increased my original healing factor tenfold. Anyway, with the mastery on the Yin out of the way all I have to do is master the Yang chakra, While difficult it will all be worth it I might eventually be the second person since the Sage of the Sixth Paths to master The Ying/Yang release.

While my initial Elemental releases' were originally Lightning and Fire I had to work myself to the bone to master them. but they were far more easy too master than the elements I'm not allied with. Since Wind wasn't my natural element it naturally took longer to master it. I had to tech myself how to manipulate Wind Chakra by making it as Sharp and thin as possible, but my scientific understanding of the properties and makeup of each element improved my mastery in leaps and bounds. After months of grueling training I was able to use the wind to cut a water fall half. With the mastery of the wind chakra I improvise with the idea to augment to my wind chakra to my Chakra Scalpel making it far more precise and far more deadly.

It took about two weeks to successfully combine Wind, Lightning and Yin releases to actually use the swift release. While Using the Swift Release I become incredibly fast, so fast I left afterimages of myself. The downside to incredible speed is my body started to tearing itself apart, though my healing factor to takes care of it.

Earth and Water are by far my worst elements, With a mastered the other forms of chakra it made the earth and water unstable to control was frustrating but even with my understanding it was almost completely worthless. I had to learn step by step how to use both chakra's which was difficult considering the differing methods in which I use chakra. It took only several months to get my control over Earth and Water to an acceptable condition.

Unlike his table, Nihilist's home was relatively clean, if a bit ramshackle. The walls were in dire need of a paint job, and several jagged cracks announced the need for spackle in some places. Nihilist's furniture-limited to a simple futon, a dresser for clothes, and a two-door storage cabinet-was placed in the corners, allowing him to maximize the middle space of his home. There was a potted plant beside his bed, and another one next to the dining table, which stood by the dresser. His kitchen area–consisting of a refrigerator, stove, and several cabinets for cookware and non-perishables-took up the corner area on the opposite side of the table. The only other rooms in his house were the bathroom and Robin's room-both of which were the only part of the house that was both decorated and repaired. All of the appliances were old but functional, and Nihilist knew that once he could safely afford it, replacing them (or learning to) would be his top priority.

Only Robin had known that Nihilist had a somewhat unhealthy obsession with biology but it only really hit when they saw it. Pages of drawings and schematics for devices unknown littered the walls and floor, cluttering up what appeared to be a workbench in the corner of the room.

Many would be creeped out if they looked about the various jars hanging from the walls, the ceiling or anywhere else Nihilist could fit them. One could literally see the progression of his side art as chemicals became more refined and clearer, the creations becoming smoother and more professional.

Aside from that, his home was bare. Most of the old pictures, posters, and odd notes that had been stuck to the walls during their last occupants stay. A small family who suddenly died a week prior from a series of heart attacks. Coincidentally, they were the ones who lived with Robin. Several items had been torn down and trashed almost immediately after purchasing the home. This home now hosted both Robin and himself.

Robin.

Adopting her was much easier then he had suspected. She wasn't actually an orphan, but the woman who raised Robin was a despicable fool. When he came to her and told her he would be taking Robin she went on a rampage, claiming that Tobin was her relative and she should be grateful for serving someone like her. By the time she finished, Robin was a sobbing wreck again and Nihilist hadn't hesitated to break the woman's nose before taking Robin with him. He knew of the legal ramifications, as he basically kidnapped her, so he dealt with the problem in the most efficient way possible. He used a simple application of Raiton to stop her heart, killing her.

After the official adoption, Nihilist found himself being a teacher, which was a surprisingly pleasant experience for both Robin and himself. She was amazingly gifted and even more dedicated in her studies then he was at the tender age of four, and more than anything he enjoyed her company, he loved to have someone close he could protect and showered with attention. Something he himself did not personally indulge in.

Robin was a smart girl, and very eager to learn. Although he suspected she was more eager to please him in any way she could than learning anatomy (at his insistence of course) and archeology, which was why she always forced herself to excel. He had to assure her again and again that he adopted her not because he wanted a talented disciple; he wanted Robin to be herself. He didn't want Robin to go through what he had in his childhood, to live under the pressures of other people, especially himself. That she didn't have to be the best at anatomy or archeology, she could simply be Nico Robin.

Ironically, Nihilist purchased the home of the person he killed and had painted a room bright blue just for Robin, usually Nihilist wouldn't do such a thing because Nihilist disliked most bright colors. However the sight of absolute delight on Robin's face to see the beautiful capital convinced him that it was worth it. He wanted Robin to relax, to enjoy her childhood while she had it, but only a week after Robin declared she had enough playing so she should continue her study. Since they came back to the inn this afternoon, seven year old Robin's eyes had been glued on book after book. Her birthday was coming up in two months and he was pondering what to do.

Sighing to himself he molded chakra and mouthed, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A poof of smoke and a perfect copy of himself. Quietly exchanging a look with his clone, who he had begun calling C1, he removed his gloves and allowed his clone to take his place.

Making his way to the only other room in the house, Nihilist found himself frowning what he saw when he entered.

Robin's room was painted sky blue, several paintings on the wall, all done by Robin herself. Robin herself was sitting on her twin sized bed, eyes locked on the book in her hand labeled "100 Facts About The Brain". She looked tired and her slouching composure added to his worry.

"Robin…" Nihilist began, "Take a break… it's almost your bed time." He told her gently.

Robin didn't pry her eyes from the scroll, her eyes teary from frustration. "No… I… I… will get this down tonight! I will not disappoint Tou-sama!" She said determinedly.

Nihilist sighed, but was inwardly pleased by her stubborn determination. "Robin, you have done well… " He assured her.

Robin fidgeted at that, "But I want Tou-sama to be happy!"

"I am happy to have you by my side." He assured her. "Now tell me Robin, what I have to do to make you happy?"

Robin shook her head frantically, "T-Tou-sama has done enough! I only want to be with you!"

Nihilist gave her a small smile of amusement, "Then… that's all I wanted too." Robin looked happy, but Nihilist could see hesitation in her eyes. He knew what she felt, she didn't want to take his kindness for granted. "Robin… the reason I teach you anatomy is because it's something I greatly enjoy, and I want to share it with you, a family tradition of sorts that will mark you as part of my family." She tensed at that, "However, I will always see you as part of my family even if you refuse to learn it…"

Robin shook her head frantically, "I loves to learn anatomy! Don't stop teaching me!" She pleaded.

"I won't." Nihilist assured her, "Beside my other reason to teach you these things is my hope for you to accomplish your dream…" Robin titled her head to the side in confusion, she had no dream and she was happy as long as she was with him. "Isn't that why you learn archeology? To learn about the Void Century?" He chuckled at the look of shock on her face, it was highly amusing. "Don't look so surprised. I teach you all of this so you can protect yourself." He drawled patting her head, "I've learned a lot in the library."

"I… I'm fine now, it's fine if I could never learn about it." She mumbled timidly. "I'm happy… but I don't know why I feel so confused."

"Because you're still hurting Robin…" He answered.

Robin looked hurt that Tou-sama said she was still hurting because those people hated her. She didn't care! She had Tou-sama now! "But I'm not! You took me in and even adopted me! I don't care about everyone else that hates me anymore..."

He stood up from his chair and patted her head comfortingly, before enveloping her in gentle embrace she loved. "Robin… I'm not the most experienced when it comes to emotion, but I know from personal experience that pain of the heart is not so easy to heal, sometimes it's impossible to truly forgive what others have done."

Robin couldn't deny it, as deep in her heart she still hated people who abandoned her because of something she couldn't control.

"I lost my father when I was still a child. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When I was seven my mother had beaten me bloody before she passed out in a drunken stupor on the couch. I was so angry; I never wanted her to hurt me again. So I poisoned her alcohol and made it look like a suicide." Nihilist's eyes darkened, "Something inside me snapped. I killed her. I killed the decrepit woman who stole my mothers face. There wasn't any sense of satisfaction-no pleasure from my vengeance. It made me feel hollow. It was then I decided to just stop caring. I deemed the concept of religion and morality useless to me. God hadn't answered my parents prayers and he definitely hadn't heard mine so why would I believe such a thing. For many years there was only me and what I wanted and to a degree there still is. That's what makes you special. You make me smile and laugh by just being around." He sighed and clamp both of his hands on her shoulders, not breaking eye contact. "What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to forgive anyone. There opinions are something you shouldn't have to care about. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Hesitantly, Robin nodded, "What your saying is that what everyone else thinks of me doesn't matter and that only what I think is important?"

Nihilist smiled approvingly, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." The smile was wiped from his face when he remembered why he had come.

Nihilist took a deep breath, "Robin…I will be leaving for little under a month."

Robin's eyes opened wide, she certainly had not expected him to say that.

"I don't mean to say I'm leaving you or anything like that. I don't break my promises, especially not to someone so important to me. I need to test a theory of mine, but I need to get something this island doesn't have to test it. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm abandoning you, but this is something that of need to do." Nihilist explained gently.

"Alright, I understand," Robin muttered. She understood that her Tou-sama had dreams of his own, just like her.

"Good. Don't worry about me, I'll be back before you know it. In the meantime, C1 and C2 will be taking care of you while I'm out. They should have enough chakra to last a little over two months, okay?"

Robin pouted as she recalled her teacher's powers, he didn't tell her everything, but just from little of it Robin knew he was capable of a lot more then any single Devil Fruit was.

She thought he was amazing, too wonderful to be a mere human but he told her that he was as human as she was. At least for now.

She didn't actually understand what that last part meant...

"Make sure not to focus on just your studies. Enjoy life a little alright?"

She grinned, he always knew what to say to lift her spirits.

"Hai, Tou-sama!"

XLine BreakX

An hour later on the eastern shoreline of Ohara, Nihilist steeled himself as he broke out into a run, feet gliding over the water.

This would take awhile.

XLine BreakX

And it had. He reached the island just before dawn, exactly thirty seven hours after leaving Ohara's beach, and managed to infiltrate without being seen. He then had to decide on a henge-disguise. He decided to shorten his hair until it barely reached past his ears, spiking it out while changing it's color to copper. His Shinobi outfit was replaced by simple clothes, brown pants, a blue shirt and boots. His eyes turned a vivid amethyst, while his face widened a little more, losing it's aristocratic features, giving him more of a rugged look. To top it off, a short beard covered his jaw, reaching above his lips. Nothing dramatic, just the look of someone who hadn't shaved in a few days, or rather chose not to shave. Altogether, he would probably turn a few heads, but it was worth to keep his identity secret. Still, he looked forward to completely his goal here.

The island he was currently on, Lonny, was a moderately sized village along with a large Marine outpost. That outpost hosted just under two hundred men, but more importantly, it was run by Captain Lunz, who possessed a unique moniker.

White Eye Lazuli.

After a little digging, Nihilist grew more and more convinced that the 'White Eyes' Lazuli possessed were actually the Byakugan. So he intended to capture Lazuli Lunz so he could discover if it was true-if others like him existed in this universe with similar abilities. If it was?

Then that opened an even greater world of opportunity and Lazuli would be the first of, hopefully many.

On that note, he had entered the village, pretending to have arrived with a boat that had conveniently come by this morning to bring some supplies for marine troops. Altogether, this was a peaceful town, nothing like a military base should be. The people were mostly friendly, giving short nods, which he answered alike. The biggest surprise was when he found no one even asked his name when he purchased a room at the Inn nearest to his target, but he wasn't about to complain.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist jumped down from the wall that surrounded the marine headquarters. With a few quick steps he was at the side of the building and started scaling it. After a few minutes he reached his entry point–a window on the eastern face of the building. It only took him a couple of seconds to unlock the window before sliding stealthy in through the opening.

"Entry complete," Nihilist whispered to himself.

Getting into the building had been laughably easy, security was so bad even an idiot with only the barest basics of military training could've gotten in. He didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned.

Although there had been a few marines patrolling the area the tower was surprisingly sparse when it came to security. These fools are lucky I'm not an assassin. Thought Nihilist with his opinion of the marines lowering with every unhindered step he took deeper into the building. The corridors were completely empty.

He had already decided what he wanted to steal. The captain kept a number of sealed books here, so he'd be relieving him of all of them. With a bit of luck they wouldn't even notice someone had ever taken one.

Moving on, he crept towards the room that housed the scrolls but stopped. He heard something. Someone was moving in his direction quickly. They would be on him in a few seconds. He calmly drew his senbon, making sure they were from the paralytic poisons pouch. This was an infiltration not an assassination. Yet. His sharp eyesight caught a glimpse of the captain moving his way.

Did he sense me? Thought a displeased Nihilist. Thinking quickly Nihilist molded chakra in his stomach. With a poof, Nihilist was replaced with henge. He pulled out a syringe filled with clear fluid and waited for his target.

XLine BreakX

Lazuli Lunz had awoken a few minutes earlier, he'd sensed someone moving through his house. The sensation was faint, barley any presence at all. Whoever it was, they were very, very good, but he wasn't a captain for nothing. He may be old, but his other senses were still top notch. With a grumble he got out of bed and went to investigate. He intended to give a piece of his mind to whoever interrupted his sleep.

Walking quickly he made his way down to where he sensed the faint presence. He was sure whoever it was down this corridor; he couldn't see the person yet as his eyesight was pretty bad these days but he could sense them. He felt a slight chakra spike, faint but it was there, the person had just done something.

"Byakugan (White Eye)..." He mouthed silently.

Moving quickly down the corridor, the veins around his eyes bulged and the paleness of his eyes sharpened, he came face to face with the person who was standing before him, making absolutely no effort to hide. The sight caused his mind to freeze. He stood mouth agape in shock, standing before him stood the most beautiful woman he'd seen in years and she was naked!

Midnight black hair, flawless white skin, and those breasts…the Byakugan user couldn't take in anymore, his perverse thoughts sent his mind into overdrive and any further thoughts were halted by a massive nosebleed which sent the old man flying backwards. He slipped into unconsciousness with a stupid grin on his face.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist frowned at the pervert's unconscious form. The man may be the most talented marine in the village but he had one glaring weakness-he was a huge pervert. Prior analysis earlier that day made the point quite clear if his lecherous leers and wandering hands were any indication. Nihilist had seen him reading those pornographic books on more than on occasion. He knew that Lazuli wouldn't be able to handle seeing his mother naked, though admittedly he thought it'd only distract the old man enough for him to make his escape not knock him out completely. He would have sweat dropped if he wasn't in such a serious mood (or in an anime), he had almost been caught.

His smirk turned into a frown as he observed the old man still had a perverted smile on his face even while knocked out. No doubt dreaming about his mother of all people.

Shaking off thoughts of his deceased family, Nihilist it his senbon away and drew a syringe with clear liquid and plunged it into Lazuli's neck. After he was certain his sedative had taken effect, he pulled his glove from his hand, revealing a sipilinske triangle in his palm with 'Human' in kanji at its center, and placed it on Lazuli's prone form.

The Ningen Seishijōtai Fūin (Human Stasis Seal) was one of the first seals he developed, specifically fitting it for human transportation.

Nihilist left the corridor and proceeded to the room where the scrolls were located. Nihilist stopped and examined the door for traps. Finding nothing he opened the door and stepped into the room. Nihilist observed that the room was full of scrolls.

Are all these scrolls chakra techniques?

"You'd think they would have the room sealed or some sort of security system in place for something so important." Nihilist commented.

It was like they had never conceived that someone would break into the marines headquarters. Fools, thought Nihilist, they were basically asking for someone to steal their secrets.

He looked at the collection of scrolls poorly organized on the shelf. He had every intention of stealing all of the scrolls, they were being kept here for a reason and his curiosity demanded he learn why. With that in mind, he randomly picked a scroll from the wall and unsealed it.

"Dendō Kairo (Electric Circuit)?" A chakra control technique? He was intrigued, why would these idiots keep such things here?

He could find out later, it was time to make an exit. He briefly considered taking another look but thought better of it, he didn't want them to notice anything missing and he already had one problem tonight since he had almost been caught by his own target no less. Placing the scroll back in the pile, he sealed them all into the storage seal on the underside of his left arm.

Nihilist took the porn mags, which was stacked in a ridiculously large pile. He guessed they would be a sufficient replacement for what he had swiped. With a simple application of a basic henge no jutsu, it looked pretty much the same except it wasn't sealed and contained a basic henge no jutsu. He replaced the original scrolls with fakes, hopefully they wouldn't actually open the scrolls anytime soon.

Pleased with his work, Nihilist made his way out of the compound the same way he entered and back to his Inn. Simple.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist awakened a week later in the same Inn to the sound of shouting.

Against his better judgement, he decided to stay and see how the military reacted to Lazuli's disappearance.

Lazuli Lunz had a record of achievements that practically hit the floor from two stories. The clone he sent to the library henged as a stranger had gathered that Lazuli was even being considered for position as admiral before he spontaneously asked to be posted on the outer reaches of the West Blue. Apparently, he simply wanted to relax for the rest of his days, a foolish notion in a world of killers. Even more foolish was how blatantly incapable of functioning he had become, his years as a lax captain had ultimately weakened him to the point that something as simple as perversion defeated him.

Lazuli was still within his special Ningen Seishijōtai Fūin (Human Stasis Seal), uniquely fitted to keep his future test subject alive within the seal for at least two weeks. Even better, his body was essentially frozen in time, lowering his heart beat and brain activity to minimum requirements. The air the seal provided would allow him to survive until he was back on Ohara

Anyways, after discovering Lazuli's disappearance the marines had been in a panicked frenzy which he had to scoff at. Really, they were part of the military, they should be prepared for these things.

At the moment several scrolls, which he had stolen the prior week, now had his attention. He was slightly disappointed to know that nearly every scroll was filled with detailed instructions on chakra control exercises and sensor techniques, but the knowledge was useful nonetheless. Sensory abilities could tell you exactly where an opponent was, how powerful they were, and provide you the time to come up with a plan before they even arrived. He supposed such knowledge would come in handy if he ever had an injured ally as well. He didn't plan on being solely a sensor-nin though.

With his revelation of shadow clones years back, his reading had increased a tenfold. As he could get through books five to ten times quicker. It was a double edged sword though, read too much too quickly and you only develop a shallow understanding on what you read. So he made sure not to use too many clones and have them go slowly through the library.

Speaking of clones, right now he was working on a useful application of the shadow clone technique. He learnt that any good strategy is largely dependent on information; you can't really make one unless you know what you're fighting against, and the more accurate the information, the better. That had been one of the huge benefits he discovered from the clones; their utility as disposable scouts and spies.

He'd practiced using a group of clones as a spy network. Creating a small group and then after making each look a bit different he sent them out into the village to gather information everyday and dispel at night, then repeat the process the next day. It was proving useful, he'd discovered that the entire village thought he was a weirdo and that most just ignored him. He also found out that the entire village seemed to despise Lazuli for his perverse tendencies.

Presently, he had just sent one clone off dressed as a civilian to scout out the marines arriving soon. He didn't know much about them and it was a good opportunity to determine if his clones were capable of long term spy missions. The clone was to stay in the village an entire week and gather as much information as possible. He had dispelled most of his other clones for the week since he knew the feedback from a clone operating for long would give him a major headache.

Looking down at his book in contemplation, his muscles spammed suddenly as twenty seven hours worth of memories returned to him, his clone have dispelled itself.

Reviewing his memories, he noted only a single marine crew had come, led by Lucy 'The Blossoming Rose', a stoic pinkette whose powers were type logia, allowing her to turn into plants, and manipulate them accordingly. It reminded Nihilists of the Senju clans Mokuton, a clan which he had always wanted on an examination table.

Even better, his clone had taken the initiative by dosing her with a timed paralytic gas while he "tripped" onto her. It would take effect sometime tonight, and combined with the disorientation and drowsiness it causes, Nihilist was certain her symptoms would be written off as her getting drunk.

Suppressing the giddiness that threatened to overtake him, Nihilist began preparations for acquiring his second test subject.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist crouched atop one of the buildings, observing the streets below him. It was almost midnight and the streets were empty except for the lone vice-admiral who was wandering, or stumbling rather down the street barely putting one foot in front of the other. The vice-admiral was oddly dressed in a white blouse with the marines cross embroider on it. She had long, silken pink hair and cherry red lipstick. She was very pretty, if he was being honest with himself, though it wouldn't save her from his examination table. Right now she appeared to be a bit intoxicated if her staggering was anything to go by. Clearly his drug had taken effect.

He shifted his gaze to the group of men following her. There were four of them, four men, one carrying an elegant looking katana that piqued his interest. They were following the woman while trying, and failing, not look suspicious while they ogled her. It wasn't working, they were clearly ogling the woman, in fact they barely took their eyes off her ass the whole time. He highly doubted their intentions were virtuous. You'd think they would at least pay attention to their surroundings, thought a nonchalant Nihilist.

His only real concern was that the woman was a vice admiral, so she knew how to handle herself and may very well defeat him, and though he disdained to admit it, he would be at a disadvantage, especially since she was a logia type. He was outnumbered but he had an advantage they didn't.

Patience.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he observed them quicken their paces. He took a deep breath, it was time to act. With that thought he crouched down and jumped off into the darkness below using chakra to jump between buildings silently.

Nihilist saw the men follow the woman drugged women into an alley. He was watching form above using chakra to stick to the shadows along the wall, none of them noticed him of course, not even the two ninja.

That'll cost them, He thought.

The men grinned when Lucy fell to the ground hard and all of them were distracted. It seemed thing were about to start up.

"Time to act."

With that said he dropped down to the alley without making a sound, letting his knees and the balls of his feet absorb the fall. Moving forward he quietly snuck up behind the closest man, one of the men, the man hadn't noticed him, too distracted by the sight of the woman on the ground. With no time to waste he reached his left hand around the man's shoulder clamping his hand over the man's mouth so he wouldn't make a sound. He then forced the man backwards towards his own body while at the same time driving a senbon straight into his kidney. The man's body tensed as the weapon pierced his flesh and drove deep into his organ, he tried to scream but no sound escaped his mouth. It was a fatal attack, and quickly the man stopped twitching as he bled out.

Nihilist lowered his first victim to the ground and repeated the process with the second man. Like the first he performed the kill without making a sound, it was one of the most basic silent killing methods, sneak up behind target and either cut the throat or stab the kidney. He'd practiced this maneuver enough times on his clones that he didn't need to think, just let his body do the work. Just as he finished lowering the second body the third man turned around to see why his friends were so quiet and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of his friends bodies lying on the ground looking quite dead.

Moving quickly Nihilist took two paces forward reaching the man within less than a second and drove his senbon through his the bottom of his chin. Unfortunately this action made some noise and the katana wielding soldier started to turn around to see what the fuss was about. Before the man could finish turning around and spot him Nihilist quickly let go of his latest victim, letting him fall to the ground and jumped onto the alley wall and into the shadows using his chakra to run quietly along the wall and deeper into the alley.

The man turned around and looked at the scene with shock. His three friends lay dead and he hadn't even noticed a thing.

Nihilist watched the fool from the shadows, waiting, his only concern was the logia user; he was waiting to see if the man would try and run away with her.

The man didn't, instead he yelled, "Come out you bastard, you'll pay for killing them!"

Nihilist smiled slightly, he very much doubted that.

Good, the man's an idiot. The woman is the only thing keeping him alive. thought Nihilist.

As soon as the man uttered his last syllable (literally) Nihilist sprung from the wall using chakra in his legs to project him forward at a very high speed. As he moved through the air towards the man, he tensed his muscles in his abdomen and arms preparing to strike. Passing the marine, he drew his senbon at lightning speed and threw it straight through the man's neck using chakra augmentation before landing silently on the ground in a roll.

Perfect. The maneuver had taken less then a second. He heard the man's body drop to the ground behind him, and didn't even bother looking back. Instead, he wiped of the specs of blood that landed on his face and frowned in distaste.

His attention was now on the woman who was on the ground behind the man, she hadn't moved since he started killing.

How does a fool like yourself make vice-admiral? He wondered. She hadn't moved since she fell, though not unconscious yet.

He wasn't concerned about her identifying him, he knew she couldn't. Not only was was she drugged, it was dark, and he didn't match anyone's description, certainly not his clones. Nor had he used any distinctive techniques besides the use of senbon.

XLine BreakX

Lucy couldn't believe what she just saw. She was just about to pass out when suddenly one man, who was leering at her on her left, eyes went wide and he dropped, or rather was lowered slowly to the ground dead. Behind him was a giant of a man who only looked to be in his early twenties. What the hell is going on? The boy just killed the man like a professional would.

The boy proceeded to kill the second grunt by sneaking up and stabbing him in the back as well. And he did it so quietly, she marveled. He killed for a third time as the grunt behind her stalker, Hidanji his said his name was, turned around and got a large needle through the chin.

That was a bit..brutal, but effective.

What amazed Lucy was that the marine hadn't noticed any of the kills, they were silent, perfect assassinations. Just as that thought passed Hidanji started to turn around, his eyes moving from her to the corpses behind him. He must have heard the third kill.

Lucy was again surprised as the figure leaped onto the wall and literally disappeared into the shadows.

H-how...?

Hidanji was yelling something out by then but she wasn't paying attention, instead trying to find the boy who was in the middle of killing her men. As if on cue the boy leaped from the shadows, senbon in hand, and threw it into his spine, killing him instantly, before landing in a silent roll.

Seeing her stalker fall dead in a limp pile of limbs caused a surge of horror to spike, followed shortly by satisfaction when she realized her body wasn't responding to her, nor was her Devil Fruit.

Lucy got a good look at him now. He was wearing a black set of ninja clotheing that had oddly long sleeves, almost too long as they covered his hands when his arms were hanging down. The rest of his body was hidden under his cloak, pointed hood drooping over most of his face while threads of black hair hung out and appeared to have some fingerless gloves on. She couldn't see his face as his back was turned to her.

Who is he? Lucy wondered.

The boy turned towards her but she couldn't get a good look at his face since it was covered by the shadows. She did however notice his eyes, or eye rather as she could only see the one. It was a striking shade of apathetic silver, incredibly distinctive and not something she would soon forget. It felt like that eye was piercing her soul as he observed her.

"You will do just fine." She heard him mutter and reached into his cloak and pulled out another needle.

"W-Wha-" She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her neck and fell unconscious.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist allowed a smile as he pulled his left glove off, revealing a perfect copy of his Ningen Seishijōtai Fūin (Human Stasis Seal). He spent an hour copying it onto his other hand earlier in the day.

Gently pulling out his senbon from her neck, he placed his left hand on her abdomen, and with a poof of smoke she was safe within his hand.

Quickly gathering the senbon in his other victims, he vanished into the shadows, the world oblivious to his presence.

XLine BreakX

Nihilist pondered his existence as he laid in the grass, reviewing the performance in which he'd killed just awhile ago. He laid himself out on a small patch of grass, and just stared up at the sky, his eyes watching the stars with curiosity.

I...actually killed...there really is no going back now...

He didn't really surprise himself with his complete lack of empathy towards their deaths. He supposed that made him a monster, but frankly he just didn't see the importance in feeling anything towards killing. It was simple and necessary for his future goals and that's all that really mattered to him.

XLine BreakX

The next morning, Nihilist checked out of the Inn with his henge and began the run back home, an almost unnoticeable grin on his face

He had an experiment to begin.

XChapter EndX

...

...

...

X*Omake: C1 and C2*X

C1 sat at the dining table, silver eyes fixed on the saucepan he had placed on the stove. The stovetop was a bit faulty, with the feed flue coming in bursts and intervals–whether because his apartment building was old or because his landlord was biased against him, he didn't know-so boiling water took a little more time than it should have. He was getting used to the wait time, having performed many similar experiments over the past two weeks, but even so, his patience was not limitless, and so he had intentionally used less water to try to decrease the time it would take to boil.

That, plus less water meant the poison he was brewing would be more concentrated than his previous doses…or so he theorized, anyway. C1 would freely admit that chemical jargon made only moderate sense to him, but he could also admit that he was definitely learning in regards to this subject.

Too little too late, he noticed the chemicals in the saucepan bubble sporadically. Just as he made to flat out throw the pan, the liquid burst into a gas.

The paralytic gas flooded his chakra-born lungs, quickly spreading through his body. Even as a culmination of energy, C1 was not immune to the effects of poison infused with the very energy he was made of.

Crap...

His limp body fell to the ground like a dead fish and the still burning pan followed.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

XLine BreakX

"Ok, so you hold the needles like this… aim for the trachea… release with fingers extended."

On the outer edge of Ohara's woodland are, C2 carefully instructed Robin as she practiced using senbon to attack the fake human skeleton before her.

Robin followed the directions C2 gave her as she practiced using senbon to attack the fake human skeleton before her. Lilith had given C2 a very strange look when he had asked for a cadaver or a skeleton. But, really, how else was he supposed to teach his cute little student about human anatomy?

Admittedly, Robin knew it was one of her most frustrating topics of study as there were so many books to read and terms to remember. Robin didn't understand why she needed to learn the different positions of signature tendons on the dorsal and ventral sides of the body or the opposing direction of blood flow in veins versus arteries.

"OWIE!"

... It didn't help that C2 always poked her nose whenever she did it wrong.

"Oh calm down, Robin. Its not like I hit you or anything." C2's personality, like all shadow clones, was slightly different from the original. C1 was an arrogant asshole. C2 on the other hand was rather laid back and teasing. "I'll grab the other senbon for you, just practice your grip again." With that, he made his way to the cadaver.

Robin gripped the final senbon in her hand tightly as she glared holes into C2's back, when suddenly an idea popped into her head.

Smiling evilly, she lightened her grip on the senbon.

"I hold the needle like this… aim for the gluteus maximus… and..."

"YOOOWWWCCCHHH!"

"...release with fingers extended."

XLine BreakX

At the end of the day, both clones learned their lesson.

Always be aware of your surroundings.

XOmake EndX

When I wrote the first few chapters of Michael to Malaki the most apparent mistakes I made were in his personality changes and abilities. They were too fast and illogical. I also decided to deviate from the cliched joining Luffy's crew. I wanted a world with more free range and unpredictability that allowed me to actively mold new characters and factions. This was an idea going around in the back of my head, one of many, so I eventually decided to just write it down. My line of thought here was that in pretty much every a-OC-character-lands-in-the-One Piece-world, it's practically always a Marie Sur who gets sent, either through divine interference or not really explained. So I thought myself, 'Why can't anyone land there with his own strength?' and 'How would I make the character?', and I chose to make him more sociopathic than emotionless, more indulgent in what he wants and smart enough to get it. The whole advanced brain chemistry was an inspiration of thought so I could create a reasonable explanation for his intelligence. He won't be evil, although he definitely will be dark. Nihilist won't be completely insane or bent on world domination, although I've given him an ability inspired by Heroes, but you'll have to wait and see.