The Obelisk stood silent.

  Even a day after the Devil Fruit disappeared from its list, people still passed by it slower, more deliberately—glancing over its runes like they might flicker again, might reveal something else was gone. But nothing had changed. Only that one word remained grayed out, burned into the minds of all who saw it:

  Inu Inu no Mi – Model: Jackal

  Remaining: 0

  For Jake, it was a shift. Not just a log. Not just a tally.

  It was a race

  Camila stood beside the map tree with Miriam that morning, her arm resting against the hilt of her blade, shed gotten one of the Marine Sabers. Earth and wind magic swirled subtly through her aura, not visible—but felt. She’d learned to keep it low, simmering beneath the surface, enough to react at a moment’s notice.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Camila asked, eyes scanning the crude charcoal map.

  “Probably,” Miriam replied. “We need more than fences.”

  “Walls?”

  “More like layers. And more people who can actually defend them. It’s not just about surviving anymore—it’s about pace. Someone else out there is gathering points. Strong enough to claim a fruit already. I’m not na?ve, our groups pretty good as it comes morality wise, but what about other groups, what if they had an attack like we had, but on the first night.”

  Camila nodded once. “It’s not just that, power corrupts. Unless there’s others to balance it out, it’s not difficult for someone to become a tyrant. We start ranking threats today. Everything we’ve seen—boars, goblins, bears, that spider. Maybe even rumors. We make it public. Clear.”

  “I’ll bring it up tonight.”

  Nearby, Wren crouched over a makeshift chalkboard she'd painted using ash and clay. She was scratching a symbol into the center—something circular, with four spokes. Yusuf stood over her shoulder, watching intently.

  “That’s our training wheel?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Outer circle for Ten. Inner for Ren. Center for Hatsu... if anyone ever gets that far.”

  “Travis might,” Yusuf said, glancing toward the lean-to where the silent man sat, meditating beneath the morning sun. “He doesn’t talk much. But he’s got intensity. Just needs to unlock Nen. But with the basics in regards to information, well he should progress fast hopefully. Luckily we’ve got Miriams ceremony thing tonight”

  Wren smiled faintly. “We’re becoming instructors now.”

  “We’re becoming targets,” Yusuf corrected. “Which means everyone else needs to catch up.”

  In the clearing near the firepit, Ellie sat beside Li and Hana. The three of them had been talking about magic, with Ellie and Li trying to develop other magic using the knowledge gained from their respective power choices. Hana who had recently chosen the Fairy Tail path, is taking part in the ‘ceremony’ later tonight that others have taken to calling it.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “We’re getting better” Ellie said.

  Hana nodded.

  “I still think we need a spellbook,” Li muttered. “This trial and error crap is going to get someone hurt. Getting transformation magic helped in understanding magic more buts its specialised to transformation magic”

  Marcy wandered over, hair damp from a morning wash. “If we want assistance that way, there are books and stuff that you can buy. But might be better to buy the power directly, I mean Ellie’s got the Ice make which just made a bunch click for you, no?”

  “True” Ellie murmured.

  That afternoon, a new hunt set out—Camila, Alex, Grace, and Raj. They followed deer tracks through the western ridge, passing moss-covered stones and corpses of trees blackened by old fire.

  They didn’t speak much.

  Alex could feel it—the pressure.

  Since the announcement, the confirmation of others, something had shifted. Everyone was working harder. Talking less.

  Like time was running out.

  “Up ahead,” Camila whispered, crouching low. She pointed at a trail of broken leaves and a faint smear of blood. “Two deer. One injured.”

  “Think we can drive them back to camp?” Grace asked, brushing her fingers along the haft of her saber.

  “No,” Raj said. “Not without losing them.”

  “Then we finish it now,” Camila said.

  They fanned out. Alex surged chakra to his feet, sprinting up the slope ahead of the others. A flicker of movement through the trees—he leapt, crashing into the clearing ahead.

  The deer turned—wild-eyed, bleeding from its hind leg.

  Camila’s spear hit first, driving into its shoulder. Alex tackled it from the side, blade in hand. Raj followed fast behind, finishing the second. It was bloody work. But efficient.

  By the time they returned, the sun was dipping. Two deer. Four people. A good haul.

  They passed Matt and Vin, who were dragging buckets of water toward the firepit. Both looked up at the carcasses, and Vin gave a small cheer. “Stew night again!”

  Matt grinned. “Ellie’s gonna freeze some. She’s been dying to test food storage.”

  Jake was already at the Obelisk when they arrived. He’d been scribbling most of the afternoon, revisiting tallies and predictions. At the bottom of the page, he’d marked a new section:

  Confirmed Other Groups: Yes

  First Claimed Devil Fruit: Jackal (Zoan)

  Later that evening, as the deer roasted over the flames and voices rose with the scent of cooking meat, Miriam stood by the firepit and cleared her throat.

  Silence spread like ripples.

  “We’ve seen what’s out there,” she said. “We’ve seen what this place holds. Goblins. Monsters. Unknown threats. But now we know what we’re really facing.”

  She turned toward the Obelisk.

  “Others. Like us. But ahead. Stronger. And we don’t know where they are—or if they’re coming.”

  The fire popped loudly.

  “So starting tomorrow, we’re building more than defenses. We’re building knowledge. We’re listing every creature we’ve seen. Every trait. Weaknesses. Patterns. We’ll study the land. Learn it. Exploit it.”

  Jake stepped forward, holding up a leather-bound log. “We’ll call it the Cradle Bestiary. First entries go in tonight.”

  “Anyone with info—talk to Jake,” Miriam finished. “You want to live? Then act like it.”

  “Now the moment you’ve been waiting for, ‘the ceremony’ as I’ve heard some of you mention it. As you know we still have a number of tools and items taking over from Earth. The items from our fallen friends. Reality is, we don’t have the luxury to keep mementos, so. Raj, Hana, Grace, Dev, Stan, Melissa, Matt, Vin, Travis, Becca, Harper and Omar. All of you, having awakened your paths, now need power, come forward take these items, sacrifice and grow.”

  They all came forward

  Raj – One piece – Haki Awareness

  Omar - One piece – Haki Awareness

  Grace - One piece – Haki Awareness

  Matt - One piece – Haki Awareness

  Hana – Fairy Tail – Basic Magic Potential

  Dev – Bleach – Reiatsu

  Melissa – Bleach – Reiatsu

  Harper – Bleach – Reiatsu

  Travis – Hunter X Hunter – Aura detection and Activation – Ten

  Stan – Naruto – Chakra

  Vin – Naruto – Chakra

  Becca – Naruto – Chakra

  Excitement was in the air, many of these individuals were already close to the power, whilst some need much more help. But either way. They can really start abusing the training.

  That night, as stars peeked through the canopy and the last of the stew was scraped from the pot, the camp sat a little closer.