Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 45 : Meeting of the giants.
- Shin –
I popped to Shakky's bar and this time the crowd didn't look to be so tense.
"So, who's next? Hurry up. I wanna see the spar between my teacher and Shanks."
"Shanks is going to fight your teacher?" Hawkeye was the most interested.
"Yup. Oh, by the way, I think Yassop should come this time. His son is at my place too." And this got the said sniper to widen his eyes. His crewmates looked at him and nodded with a smile and he got up and came next to me.
Hawkeye was not going to miss the opportunity to see such a fight so he came up as well.
The last one to come was Lucky Roo and something told me that it was because of the breakfast that was discussed earlier.
"Let's go." My shadow spread again and connected to theirs and I brought out a mana potion for drinking and popped out towards our destination.
Two apparrations later we were at our place.
The scene that greeted us was Luffy's crew watching over Vivi and Mr 9….was it? while taking peeks at the door of the training room at times.
Our arrival attracted their attention and Zoro and Ussop froze over. So did Yassop.
"What's going on?" I asked not seeing anyone. I spread my Observation Haki around and felt someone in the training room. Ah, so that's why they were peeking. "Have they started already?" I walked towards the room.
Hawkeye was the only one out here apart from me who knew what was inside so he and Lucky Roo followed suit.
Yassop on the other hand stayed outside with a complicated expression on his face.
I opened the door and a massive aura burst out. Bartolemeo, Desire, Vivi and Mr. 9 passed out instantly while the rest snapped in the direction.
I was actually surprised to see that Ussop somehow didn't pass out again.
The three of us entered the room and closed it behind us.
Inside was a scene to behold.
I was worried that if the door was opened for too long, Laboon would have died from the shockwaves.
Inside Roger and Shanks were clashing all out, each clash making strong hurricane-like winds blow out with them as the center.
I saw that Shanks was smiling while his eyes had tears in them. Roger on the other hand was roaring with laughter.
"I am really happy to see that you have grown so much Shanks. My choice back then was correct. You are really worthy of the Straw Hat. Now come, let's finish the match with one last attack. I wanna drink till I pass out today."
"Hahahaha yes…..yes let's have the biggest feast….Captain."
The people around me froze over.
I looked at Beckman, he was already staring at the scene in a stunned manner.
"Oye oye, what the hell did Shanks mean by Captain?" Lucky Roo asked but no one replied.
There were no further chances either as dense red lighting enveloped Roger's swords and same was the case with Shanks.
"Divine Departure."
"Red Crescent"[AN: I made the name up.]
"Are you trying to blow the room up, dammit. If the waves are released, Laboon will die." I shouted while throwing barriers up to contain the shockwaves.
The Gamers Mind keeping the mental attacks from the Conqueror's Haki contained.
After one whole minute, the shockwaves of power calmed down as Shanks and Roger both sat in the middle of the now destroyed training room. The enchantments had mostly cracked along with my barrier.
It was only the fact that Space Enchantments cannot be broken with brute force that the room was still intact. Although I am pretty sure that a direct clash between the two would have directly broken the enchantments, making the space collapse.
The ones responsible for the damage now lay on the floor of the place crackling in between.
"Boss, what's going on?" Lucky Roo asked as all of us went ahead.
I was still trying to fix the enchantments.
"Hahahaha Lucky, what happened here is a miracle." Shanks laughed while still lying down.
The fat pirate was confused to say the least.
Shanks got up and sat in his place and looked towards Roger. "I don't know how this happened but I am still very glad to have the opportunity to see you again Captain Roger." He bowed his head slightly with a smile.
The chicken stick in Lucky Roo' hand fell while even the normally unphased Hawkeye stood there with an open mouth.
"Well I am not alive per say. This brat Shin is weird."
"The fuck do you mean weird, old man. It's not like abilities like this are unheard of in this world. Calling someone's soul back can still be done. As for true resurrection….that's a bit tricky."
"People can be resurrected!" He asked, stunned looking towards me.
"Normally no. If someone does that without permission, they draw the ire of higher entities. She doesn't like people interfering in her domain without permission. If that happens, there is a high chance that someone will be sent to kill you." I didn't mention that I will be the one, neither that I was permitted directly by her to do what I want.
The people in the surroundings looked quietly at the conversation.
"She? Is there really a God?" Rayleigh asked in intrigue.
"Hmm. How to explain this? There are Gods. Even Gods of Death but the one I am talking about here is someone far above that level. 'She' is the one who gives power to all Gods of Death, someone who can erase even Gods without any effort at all. So don't think too much about these things. Some lines must not be crossed without any thought."
"How do you know these things?" Beckman asked with narrowed eyes.
"I know things, that's what I do." I smiled. I just met them. Saying this much was already a show of faith from me.
"Hahahaha it's alright Beckman. Everyone has their secrets. We have just met. Such things are not something that can be said casually." Shanks laughed but I could see that even he was a bit tense at the discussion. "By the way can you bring back the souls of anyone?" he asked himself. "Well you can answer if you want."
"There are Devil Fruits which can bring back the souls of people from the underworld. One is the Shadow Shadow Fruit. Although that one uses disgusting methods, it is without a doubt that the method works. Another is the Yomi Yomi no Mi. That one is a bit different. It can enable the user to control their souls. Normally the user won't find anything different with themselves but once they die….their souls will gain consciousness and they can return back to their body. Even if the body is reduced to a skeleton, the soul can still possess their bodies and live. The current user is in the Florian Triangle. Oh, on second thought," I turned towards Crocus, "His name is Brook, the Captain of the Rumbar Pirates and he is trapped there trying to find a way out to meet Laboon again."
Crocus was surprised at that.
"How do you know that, brat? We tried to find the Rumbar Pirates for years but got no clue about them." Roger asked, suddenly interested.
"I have been traveling around looking for potential recruits and people to beat up. Currently Gekko Moriah, Crocodile and Doflamingo are on top of the list. I found out about Brook because his shadow was stolen by Gekko Moriah among many others."
"Oh!" Shanks raised an eyebrow, interested, "any particular reason?"
"Hmm, Gekko Moriah has defiled the graves of many people and stolen the shadows of many others, making them trapped in the Florian Triangle as prisoners. They will burn if they step out of the place into sunlight. You will be surprised if you know the identities of some of those people. Doflamingo has taken control of Dressrosa illegally."
"Wait, I heard that Dressrossa's previous king went mad and killed many people and was stopped by Doflamingo. The people of the country worship him as a Hero." Lucky Roo asked, now regaining control of his faculties.
"The King was being controlled by Doflamingo as a puppet using his String String Fruit. He was in tears, shouting everyone to run away from him when he and his army were controlled to kill the people. The King back then was Riku who is still alive and suffering even now. As for being worshiped as a Hero, Doflamingo has the user of Hobby Hobby Fruit with him. She can touch anyone to make them toys. The people who become toys are erased from the memory of the whole world."
Sharp breaths were taken when the ability was mentioned and rightfully so. Sugar's ability is an utter hax.
"Yes, the famous toys of Dressrossa are all living people who have been erased from memory. I wouldn't be surprised if he has someone from your crew too."
Shanks' eyes sharpened at that mention. I mean it was a bait but not outside the realm of probability. "Do you know how to free them?"
"Hmm, as long as the user of the Hobby Hobby no Mi is knocked out or killed, the effect will be lifted. Also be reminded that the girl might look like a young child but she is well over twenty years old. That's the side effect of the Devil Fruit. On a side note, Doflamingo is researching a method to make people into Giants and Artificial Zoan Devil Fruits for Kaido. Almost all the test subjects are children."
"Kaido does have the dream to have an army of Zoan users. This doesn't sound out of the realm of possibilities." Ben Beckman lit up a cigarette and took a puff letting out a cloud of smoke.
"What about Crocodile?" Shanks asked as the atmosphere became much more somber.
"Crocodile is trying the same thing as Doflamingo right now but he went even one step ahead. He is after….Pluton."
Everyone's jaws opened slightly at the mention of the name.
"Brat, do you know about the ancient weapons?" Roger asked seriously this time.
"Hmm, I don't know about Uranus but the other two I have an idea. I could get them in a day if I wanted but…."
"But…." Beckman asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I have no interest in those."
"Heh….you are telling me that you have no interest in weapons that could easily conquer the world?" he asked, not withholding his doubt in his tone.
"Why would I conquer the world? Do you know how much paperwork is involved in looking after the world? Does it look like I have that much time?" I asked incredulously.
I have never understood the motives of people who want to conquer the whole damn world. Why would you do that? Taking so much unnecessary work on your head. I'd rather spend time with my beautiful wives and playing with my children in the future. I mean even if I have a territory in the future, there was no way in hell that I was going to manage it myself.
"Pfffthahahahahaha well said brat? We are pirates. We set sail to be free." Roger burst out into laughter.
Shanks smiled lightly and shook his head as did Rayleigh.
+40 Reputation with Shanks(30/100)
+40 Reputation with Ben Beckman(30/100)
+40 Reputation with Lucky Roo(30/100)
+30 Reputation with Dracule Mihawk(50/100)
Perk Gained [Dracule Mihawk – 50]
[Sword Nerd]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with sword users.
"No no….you don't realize it. I am technically a noble. A Lord to be precise and of three Noble Families. Believe me when I tell you that if not for my fiancé watching over all of that for me, I would have probably left those properties to rot. I have seen the paperwork and I absolutely hate politics. Ruling the whole world….yeah too much work." Or I would have assigned those to one of my peerage members to manage. Rossweisse would have done a wonderful job.
"Oh, a noble who ran off and became a pirate eh."
"Well most of the nobles are stuffy and boring. I can see why you would do that."
The conversation went on to some casual and more importantly, more calmer topics until we got more comfortable with everything.
"So what exactly is Crocodile doing?" Beckman asked, looking at me.
"Crocodile is using Rain Powder to make it rain in the vicinity of Alaburna while all the other cities suffer from draughts. The people are starting to doubt the king who has actually been desperately trying to help those people. To find out the truth, the princess of the country snuck into Crocodile's 'secret' organization, Baroque Works as an executive. His next plan is to use one of his subordinates who has the Clone Clone Fruit's ability to disguise as the King and order an attack on the rebels who will soon be coming to Alaburna. While this happens, Crocodile will find the location of Pluton while the entire crowd of around 200,000 people, both soldiers and rebels, will be killed by a bomb in the center of the city."
Beckman's cigarette fell from his mouth and I decided to throw in the last shot.
"Oh, by the way, the girl who was tied outside….was Princess Vivi Nefertari, who is currently under cover. Her cover has unfortunately been blown and she will soon be hunted by other agents of Baroque Works."
….
It was after several moments of silence that Beckman finally uttered some words. "How do you even know all this?"
"I watch and I hear….and things come to me. Don't worry about it. I know things, that's what I do."
"Aye brat, let's stop with all these serious talks. Let's have a feast. I have met Shanks after a long time and he has made such a good family for himself. This requires a celebration."
"Hahahaha Captain, in that case I should throw the party. I couldn't let my junior pay for us the first time we meet." Shanks laughed.
"I will get your cadres here then. I don't think the people could take Teacher to come out in front of them so early so it is better if this is kept between as few people as possible."
They nodded their heads in agreement.
"Go on, bring the others in and we will prepare the feast by then."
I did just that.
Making connections. I had to overthrow, but it was never mentioned that I had to rule it. It was simply not possible with just me and a few people to do that so it was necessary to make connections.
Shanks' crew is someone who can be trusted.
I am saying this despite knowing that Shanks had a meeting with the Five Elder Stars is because of two reasons.
First, my Reputation System can make sure that they will not betray me. I just have to grind. Until now my observe has given me no warning and it's something which detected even Luna's hidden talent. So, if Shanks was really a world government spy in canon, he is not so here.
Second….well it's in the Game's warning.
The worlds will not be like the originals.
What we think is the character of people in canon, might not be true in this world.
I already have examples with Lord Phenex, Zeoticus, Dumbledore, James and many others.
So while general information can be helpful, not everything should be seen through the rose tinted glasses of canon. I have Observe, I have a fucking Gamer System. That's more than what most can imagine.
Oh, look at you. Learning finally. Yes, the worlds in the future will be created with some twists. After all, it would be pretty boring if there are no twists in the story.
"Ah Shin, if you go there, can you tell someone to bring the box we got recently from a pirate crew in the New World? They will know what I mean." Shanks asked me and I nodded.
It took me three more trips to bring all the cadres of Shanks' crew to our place.
They also brought a box with them but finally all the main cadres of Shanks' crew were present.
In the meanwhile the old guys had already interrogated Vivi and also found out the veracity of my information. She was now sitting on the dining table with the rest of us.
It was at that instant that I felt someone entering the Barrier I had set around Laboon.
Two people entered the barrier and came at a great speed towards us.
The rest seemed to have noticed it too.
The Cadres of Shanks' crew seemed to ready the weapon until we saw who it was.
Dragon, and he was being followed by a blond haired boy with a burn mark on his face.
Sabo.
He was surprisingly quite strong. Not as strong as any of the cadres of Shanks but surprisingly at the level of a Vice Admiral and that was extremely surprising.
Dragon was taken aback at the gathering in the place.
I waved at him to assuage his worries, "Don't worry. These are all my friends. Come on in. We are having breakfast." I looked at him and suddenly remembered about Luffy.
What's with all the fathers meeting their sons today, might as well name it Father's day.
I turned towards the rubber boy, "Luffy. I brought my surprise gift."
"OHHH WHAT IS IT? SHOW ME. SHOW ME. SHOW ME."
"Well look there, the man in the cloak is your dad. His name is Monkey D. Dragon. He is a revolutionary, but the real gift is the boy beside him. Do you recognize him?"
Luffy's crew were petrified at the identity of the man and looked at him in shock and horror.
"Dad? I have a dad?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion while he looked at the two.
I sweatdropped, "What you thought you were left by a stork with your mother?"
Luffy however didn't reply.
He was frozen over.
He didn't move and kept staring at the blond haired boy.
"Y-y-y—you….you…..Lies. HE'S DEAD." Luffy shouted.
Sabo looked at Luffy and I saw a slight discomfort on his face and sure enough, his face started twisting in pain.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Dragon shouted, Conqueror's Haki bursting out.
"Hey hey chill out. Laboon is not good with Conqueror's Haki. The guy is just remembering his memories. Did you know that he was your son's sworn brother? Kinda like your adopted son? They thought he died so they had a funeral and all. Well you are welcome."
I saw the slightly open mouthed look of Dragon as his Conqueror's Haki dissipated into nothingness with satisfaction.
What's wrong with strong people in this world? Throwing around Conqueror's Haki like that.
Dammit, I'm so jealous.
I want it too.
"Isn't that the Most Wanted Man in the World….ah the former Most Wanted Man in the world?" Rayleigh called out from the side. "Come on, join us. We are having a party."
"Silvers Rayleigh. I didn't expect someone of the previous era to be here. Especially the first mate of the Pirate King." Shanks and his crew looked at Roger and then at Rayleigh. Damn, the Captain was ignored for the Vice Captain. Roger must be feeling complicated right now.
Luffy rushed at Sabo and the two were having a tearful reunion. If only Ace was here.
Ah, but I have to make that possible soon too.
"I didn't expect you to have such a big guest today, Shin." Shanks said while looking at Dragon.
"Akagami Shanks. Your acquaintances are really unique." He replied, looking at me.
"Well, the people here might be different but I believe we share a common goal today. This is also my proposal to you, Dragon." I started, Dragon looked at me while the others watched in silence.
"What proposal. I will offer you funding and information and all you have to do is what you do best. Start a revolution and save civilians. Nothing more, nothing less."
His eyes narrowed slightly, "Just that?"
My smile widened, "Just that. People in these seas are too busy causing storms and turning the world upside down most of the times", I looked at Roger and Shanks and they smiled without any shame, "but the ones who suffer the most from these storms are the civilians. Innocent people die by millions, due to various reasons. I have seen only your organization doing something even remotely good for them. While it is true that to topple an organization that has lasted for the last eight hundred years, gigantic waves are needed but that just makes it even more imperative for there to be a force that will save the common people when the waves hit the world though. We don't want to liberate a world where there are no people left after all. Gather people. Teach them. Make your own forces. I will provide you with the money."
The people listened in silence and I continued.
"The current world is in a vicious cycle. The Pirates loot the kingdoms. The kingdoms cannot support themselves so they become associated with the World Government. They have to pay Heavenly Gold, which comes from the pockets of the common people….yet, these same people are treated lower than dirt. The Marines keep pirates away from these Nobles….yes Nobles, not civilians mainly. The people still bear it because of a very simple reason….because they don't have any alternative. Yes….just because there is no other alternative. If they don't then they will simply be razed by Pirates or captured by the World Government and sold as slaves. The World Government has the Army and the Cipher Pol as well. And even after that, not all of them are safe. A Celestial Dragon saw a princess or even a queen, the king will have to offer them without resistance. This is not protection. This is selling the kingdoms into slavery. Do you think that these kingdoms and people will bear it if they have better alternatives? If they had another force which can protect them against the Pirates and the World Government? Your organization has a lot of room to develop. I will offer you the tools. Do it. Make the people independent."
There was silence in the whole area. Even the princess of Alabasta looked at me slack jawed in awe.
Dragon on the other hand was moved, but he still asked me, "Why, why are you doing this?"
I smiled brightly, "Because I want to. No complex reasons. I am a selfish person. I won't say that what I am doing is for selfless and heroic reasons because I have killed for things I want. In a way I am a pirate. I am doing this because I don't like to see people suffer unnecessarily. It makes me feel bad. I don't like feeling bad so I do this. Plain and Simple." Also I have this world assigned to me as a hub world. I don't want it to be a shitty one. The World Government will be an annoyance and so will be the Pirates. A stable world is better for growth.
+40 Reputation with Monkey D. Dragon(40/100)
+20 Reputation with Gol D. Roger(85/100)
+20 Reputation with Silvers Rayleigh(60/100)
+40 Reputation with Sabo(70/100) for letting him meet Luffy and helping the Revolutionary Army.
+20 Reputation with Shanks(50/100)
+20 Reputation with Ben Beckman(50/100)
+20 Reputation with Lucky Roo(50/100)
+40 Reputation with Yassop(50/100) for letting him meet his son.
+10 Reputation with Dracule Mihawk(60/100)
Perk Gained [Silvers Rayleigh– 50]
[Aye Aye Captain]
Perk already owned.
Randomizing….
+1 Skill level in Swordsmanship.
Perk Gained [Shanks – 50]
[Conqueror's Pride]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with rulers and conquerors.
Perk Gained [Sabo – 50]
[A Rebel's Heart]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience gains with rebels and revolutionaries.
Perk Gained [Ben Beckman – 50]
[Aye Aye Captain]
Perk already owned.
Randomizing….
Skill Gained
[Navigation(Apprentice)](Passive)
Gain the knowledge of basic Navigation.
Perk Gained [Lucky Roo – 50]
[Big Eater]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with big eaters and fat people.
Perk Gained [Yassop – 50]
[Keen Eyed]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with Marksmen.
Navigation is a helpful skill. The best one however is Swordsmanship.
I thought that my Swordsmanship would take a month to reach the Adept Rank after I get Master Rank on both Haki. This upgrade made me reach that level earlier than expected.
I think any decent Vice Admiral must be on the Master Rank while people like Roger and Shanks are on the Legendary level.
"Well said. Then let's toast today for this." Shanks raised his drink.
"For future storms in the sea." Roger laughed and raised his drink.
"For freedom." Dragon smiled slightly.
"For my peace and quiet life." I raised mine too.
"I am going to be the King of the Pirates." And three guesses who this was?
After the drink, we talked among ourselves.
In this time, I got a better sense of Shanks' character with my Senjutsu. He is someone who doesn't like unnecessary violence. His actions are guided by this simple fact. Too much trouble is bad. He is extremely respectful of Roger. That alone makes him trust me because Roger trusts me.
"Still I didn't think I would meet legendary figures like Mr. Rayleigh. I have heard a lot about you and your crew."
"Yes yes, he was on the Pirate King's Crew. Ace would have liked to know about his dad too." Luffy blurted out in excitement.
"Ace? Portogus D. Ace, your brother?" Shanks asked.
"Umm, Ace is my and Sabo's brother but he is the son of Gol D Roger." Luffy grinned. "Ah, Ace doesn't like telling others that. Don't tell him I told you."
Shanks was almost petrified for a moment before he looked in Rayleigh and Roger's direction. Dragon was wide-eyed too.
"It's true. I found out about it recently….from someone." Rayleigh gave Roger a dirty look. "Roger had asked Garp the location of his child. His wife Portogus D. Rouge had carried the child for twenty months to escape the World Government's pursuit and died after giving birth to him." Rayleigh's mood was probably the most complicated when saying this.
"This…." Shanks looked very complicated.
"What? Is there something we should know?" Rayleigh asked while Roger kept quiet. Dragon was new to the group and not someone Roger could trust so easily.
Shanks took on a serious mood. "Ace has been chasing a member of the Whitebeard Group who killed a crewmate and became a traitor. The name of that person is Marshall D. Teach."
"I do remember a trainee like that."
Shanks nodded and touched the scars on his face. "Of all the wounds I have gotten till today, there is only one that aches this bad. Teach is someone very strong. He had been hiding his strength all this while. Since he finally made his move, then there must be something much deeper in this."
"So Ace is chasing a bad guy? Don't worry about it, Ace will win. He was the strongest of us three." Luffy said with full confidence in his sworn brother. "Although now that I think about it I can totally kick his ass hahahaha."
"Luffy you?" Sabo shook his head and then looked at Shanks. "Is this Teach really that strong? Will Ace be in danger?"
At this time though, the previously silent Roger spoke up. "Leave Ace to Shin. Don't worry about it. Nothing will happen to Ace. If you make any moves, the world will be alerted unnecessarily."
The rest of the parties looked at me. "I know some information about Marshall D. Teach and I know that guy is strong and extremely cunning. He must be near Drum Kingdom right now and will proceed to Java Island after that in case there are no deviations." I smiled, "Don't worry. I have already taken some precautions. Even if Ace is caught, I will just grab him out of Impel Down. It will be better if he doesn't attack Teach though. He has no chance of winning. Ace relies too much on Devil Fruit powers and Teach….has the Dark Dark Fruit." I saw the slight widening of Rayleigh's eyes. "It can absorb damage and….nullify the Devil Fruit powers of other people. But the most ridiculous part of the fruit is probably its ability to take the Devil Fruit powers from the fresh corpses of the deceased. Its user can have more than one Devil Fruit powers at a time and that's what Teach is planning for. His real target is….Whitebeard."
"That's ridiculous. Even he wouldn't be so mad to challenge Whitebeard Pirates alone. Whitebeard might be old but he can still fight on par with Captain." Yassop shouted.
"Well maybe not alone….but if we add the Marines to the mix? Teach is planning to grab a high bounty Pirate and exchange it for the Shichibukai position. He can then attract Whitebeard and the World Government being what they are, will try to take down the entire crew at once."
Half the table gasped at the scene I had painted.
"Whitebeard will never abandon his son….no matter if it is the World Government itself. There will be war." Shanks replied in a gloomy voice.
The others realized it and looked serious as well.
"Don't worry. I have already planned for this." I continued when their attention was drawn to me. "I have applied for the position of a Shichibukai. With my three goals, Crocodile, Doflamingo and Gekko Moriah taken out, there will be more vacancies in the Shichibukai. It will even make the Marines rethink twice before taking a further step. Teach's method heavily relies on the Marine's willingness to entertain them. With the things we are going to do, the Marines and the World Government will have their hands full already."
I thought of something else at this time as well and turned to Dragon.
"Actually Mr. Dragon, help me out with Dressrossa. You appearing in Alabasta would have a bad meaning this time since King Cobra is actually one of the rare good kings in the whole world. I will help Princess Vivi solve the Crocodile problem," I looked at the girl who was staring at me dumbfounded, "If she agrees obviously."
"I agree Mr. Shin. If you help me save my country, I will be eternally grateful to you. Please." She even bowed down quickly as if worried that I would change my decision.
"In that case consider yourself having a deal. I will help the country reveal the truth about Crocodile and solve your problems but you will owe me three favors."
"Deal." She agreed hurriedly.
After this I explained in detail everything I knew about Dressrosa to Dragon and Sabo. Doflamingo's conspiracy and King Riku's current state, everything.
We made plans to take action against Doflamingo together. I would take down Sugar while the revolutionary army will take advantage of the chaos caused by the toys turning into people to free everyone in the country. I will use my identity of Dio Brando to take down Doflamingo so as to not ruin my chances as a Shichibukai.
Beckman threw in some comments.
"Do whatever you want brat but in a month's time, we are going to Wano. Oden's country will be freed and his daughter will be rescued. This matter will not be delayed at all." Roger said very seriously. In fact I hadn't seen him this serious even when he heard about Blackbeard and Ace or Ace dying. It might be because those things hadn't happened yet but still….
"Wano? Mr. Oden's daughter? Hiyori-chan? I heard that she passed away with Lady Toki and Momonuske-kun twenty years ago." Shanks looked very surprised.
"Shin found out that Hiyori is still alive while Momonuske was sent forward in time by Toki's ability. He will be arriving in two years." Rayleigh explained.
"I believe Whitebeard will be interested in this news as well. We couldn't save a brother, how can we let his children suffer for so long?" Roger's tone was regal as he said these words. "Shanks, help me talk to Whitebeard."
"Wano is extremely difficult to enter. We would have attacked Kaido a long time ago if it hadn't been for that. The place makes it almost impossible to attack and very easy to defend. We need a way to reach the place first." Beckman spoke, taking a puff from his cigar.
"Leave that to me. I will take care of bringing us there." I said, a plan already forming in my mind.
"Is it a good plan?"
"I have two, I am just wondering which one I can complete in one month."
One is to find and kill Shiki and take his Float Float Fruit and use it to make the ships float over Wano. The other is to beat Enel and take his Rumble Rumble Fruit which has been on my list of to do things for a long time now. There is also Arc Maxim there which can probably carry everyone to Wano.
There is also a third and fourth one.
They involve the Door Door Fruit to open a channel to Wano or the Mirror Mirror Fruit to enter Wano.
"Can you tell us what those are, maybe we can help?" Shanks asked.
"I will have to invent something. It is not something you can help with. If I do need something, I will contact you. As for what it is." Here I smiled, "Well if it succeeds then Shiki will not be the only Flying Pirate Group in the world.
"Flying?"
"You can do that?"
"I can try, not sure if I can do it in time. Anyways, I will find a way to get inside without Kaido finding out even if I have to ferry everyone myself as a last resort."
No questions were raised at this. They had already seen my apparration and there was no doubt that I could make them infiltrate the place very easily.
Plans were discussed. Dragon decided that since Wano is outside the World Government's jurisdiction, then they can make a base there. It is isolated and can act as a very secure base for them.
Shanks and Rayleigh will visit Whitebeard. I will take Roger with me when Whitebeard agrees.
Yes, when. It was not a question of if anymore.
Whitebeard will never abandon his children or the children of someone he called brother.
As for my participation. My current crew was completely unprepared. In a month though, they will be prepared if barely. They still won't be enough.
The only chance to completely win this with one fell swoop is to summon my peerage to this world and that would mean getting started on the Poneglyphs.
The discussions lasted for hours and Dragon decided that he will have to meet his commanders and discuss further about the cooperation with me. I agreed readily too.
It was when it was time for us to leave that Shanks brought out the box he had asked me about. "Shin, this is from me." He said pushing the box towards me. "I have learned under both Captain Roger and Vice Captain Rayleigh as well as the Roger Pirates and you are a junior to me. This is a gift from me as a greeting."
I took the box and opened it. Inside it was a Mushroom shaped fruit with swirls on it.
"We don't know what Devil Fruit this is but it is a Zoan Type Devil Fruit. Take it and use it well. Maybe some of your crew members can use it to aid in your journey."
I used Observe on it.
Fuck.
Human Human Fruit Model : Seraph.[B/N: here we go more, Shin is God fuel for the angels to see and once again misunderstand… The Game is clearly conspiring to set this up.]
A Mythical Zoan type.
I looked at the man who was grinning with genuine expressions and smiled. Well since he gave me something….
I brought out a potion. "Drink this. It might be slightly painful at the start but do bear it."
His crewmates raised eyebrows and some showed slight suspicions but no one said anything.
Shanks simply took the bottle for me and chugged it down. No questions asked.
A show of trust.
Well then be rewarded for your trust in me.
Slight sweat started appearing on his forehead.
Soon he clutched his left arm and gritted his teeth.
The skin of the stump broke and blood gushed out.
"Shanks!"
He raised his other hand while calming them down.
The wound opened even further and soon enough from it, his bones emerged. The bones grew at a speed visible to the naked eye and were covered with tendons and muscles and then a layer of new skin.
In five minutes the whole arm regrew.
"Congratulations. I believe that Mihawk won't reject your challenges anymore." I grinned at the person who was huffing on the ground while checking his arm with sheer amazement and awe in his eyes. The rest of the people had similar reactions.
He suddenly looked up to me and kneeled and bowed. His crew understood and soon followed suit. "Thanks Shin. This is a favor that I will always remember. If you ever, ever need our help for anything, please call me. I will do my best to help."
+30 Reputation with Shanks(80/100)
+40 Reputation with Monkey D. Luffy(75/100)
+5 Reputation with Gol D. Roger(90/100)
+20 Reputation with Silvers Rayleigh(80/100)
+20 Reputation with Ben Beckman(70/100)
+20 Reputation with Lucky Roo(70/100)
+40 Reputation with Yassop(70/100) for letting him meet his son.
+50 Reputation with the Red Haired Pirates(60/100)
+10 Reputation with Dracule Mihawk(70/100)
Perk Gained [Monkey D. Luffy – 50]
[Protagonist's Favorite]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with protagonists.
Perk Gained [Red Haired Pirates – 50]
[Sir, Yes Sir]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with your subordinates.
"Oi oi get up. You called yourself my fellow student and I helped you. Is that a reason for you to kneel?"
They got up with small smiles on their faces.
"Shanks….your arm….your arm has returned….I am so happy." Luffy was crying now.
That should remove chances of backstabbing a lot.
The whole Red Haired Pirate Group owes me too much now to simply backstab me.
Shanks felt his arm around and practiced for a while. "It still feels a bit off using my left arm again. I will need some time to get used to it."
"I think Mihawk would love to give you a hand with that….no pun intended."
"Hahahaha yeah, what do you say Mihawk, would you like to play around like the old times."
Mihawk gave the man a smirk which was extremely rare for the stoic swordsman.
The crew talked around for a while and Luffy remade the promise to return the hat to Shanks when he became the Pirate King.
After that I had to carry them back to the Sabaody Archipelago. A few rounds were needed.
When thinking about these things, I think that I might just kill the CP0 agent with the Door Door Fruit.
It is too convenient when I cannot use my Devil's Magic.
Long Range teleportation with other people is not that simple.
Dragon stayed for a while because Sabo and Luffy had to catch up.
I had caused too many waves already and I cannot guarantee if Luffy's journey will be as safe as before so I suggested Rayleigh to train the Straw Hat crew for a while and while they were reluctant, a simple spar with Rayleigh made them desperate for their lives.
He as expected, single handedly crushed the entire crew with a hand behind his back.
The only thing that was left was Sabo's advice to Luffy to train.
Rayleigh agreed and took the entire Straw Hat Pirate Group with Dragon to another island to train.
I did hand over a butt-load of funding to Dragon.
And with that canon is utterly screwed, forget the rails, no one will even be able to find the train!.
I sat down and felt the effect of the Charm Potion pass from my body.
This was a certain something I had prepared for a while in my Alchemy experiments. It gives the user extreme persuasiveness and has a similar effect to the hypnotic charm of a Succubus but in a much more subtle way. In gaming terms, it temporarily increases my CHA stat by 1000. Yup, a complete 1000. Unfortunately it was too hard and too costly to make and is basically worthless in the DxD world where Supernatural races have amped up mental defenses by simply being born. Without this, I wouldn't have opened my mouth so easily. But since I used it, I had to make the most of the situation.
I took this when I brought Shanks back here the first time just to prepare for what was to come. It basically makes people believe in my words more.
The people in the world are very strong in terms of physique but too weak in terms of the mind. This is what makes mind related magic such a disaster in this world. Conqueror's Haki, while can make Imperious almost moot as no one with the ability of a Conqueror can be controlled with Imperious, it can still work on the normal people quite well.
This was my sales pitch which could reduce my months of work in a moment. Combined with a sip of Felix Felicis from my inventory the whole plan was completely smooth. Dragon's entry at that point could only be attributed to the Liquid Luck.
With a major step like this out of the way, I am ready for the next phase of the plans.
Beating up a Sand Crocodile.
- Scene Change –
Vivi and her partner from Baroque Works agreed to wait till the next day.
At night I entered the ID with my budding crew.
"As we have already heard today, we are going to war in a month against someone who is said to be invincible in this Pirate World. Although we will have help, we cannot deny the fact that each of his people will be monsters. Pirates of one hundred million berri bounty and above will be dime a dozen. I will obviously make it so that you all become strong enough to fight that sort of crowd in a month but….if any of you doesn't want to fight, I suggest that you train outside the IDs. I will arrange it so that you don't have to participate in the War."
"I will fight." Law said in a completely no nonsense tone.
Rindo was a bit quiet which was obvious as she was originally from a normal world with no fighting background. "I would like to support you. I am not sure about killing."
"Sure."
The last two Nami and Nojiko were completely unexpected, "We will fight. That Kaido is like Arlong who has been tormenting the people of Wano. If we can fight and help to free the people, we will be happy to help."
"Okay. In that case we will speed up the training. We will start attacking the higher level enemies from today."
And that's what we did.
I took them to the beast ID and we fought against different kinds of beasts and beastkins. It also serves as practice against Zoan types. Although not the same, they do share more than a few characteristics between them.
My goal is to raise their levels to between four and five hundred in pure stats.
That is more or less a Reserve Admiral level and at that level, they will be able to survive against cadres of the Beast Pirates if they somehow get involved.
Law went completely berserk with his devil fruit. This dimension helps him grow his base stat at an insane speed. Even if he grasps the basics of Haki, he can still do a lot of damage against Orochi's men with his Devil Fruit alone.
- Scene Change –
I woke up the next day. Although it has been the same as the last one and half month where I exhaust myself every day to sleep, waking up alone in the bed is not something I like.
I miss my Rias. I miss my Sakuya and Akeno and Kuroka too.
I wonder if Robin knows about the location of any other Poneglyphs.
I got washed up and ready for the day.
Unlike Law and the others who will be trained by Roger today, I will have to escort Vivi to Whisky Peaks first to check on Ingram and then to Alabasta.
The two were already ready for my arrival.
"Mr. Shin, we are ready to leave. The boat outside is ready too. We can set sail whenever you say." Vivi said as soon as she saw me coming out.
Her Affection is at 35 with me since my promise to free her country from all these troubles yesterday.
"In that case, show me to the boat." Their boat was a basic one. They had come here to hunt Laboon for food. In a way their whole town was pitiful. Feeding pirates and drugging them to sleep and then getting their bounties which had to be shared by so many people. They could hardly feed themselves.
The people in the whole town were not bad people. They did catch several pirates who would have hurt innocent people if left unattended. In a way they were doing very good work.
From Vivi I learned that there were a total of one thousand five hundred people here, mostly those men and women who had nowhere to go and no real skills except fighting. They were not particularly strong and so were willing to team up together to earn a living.
I snapped a finger and their boat turned into a marble and I kept it in my inventory.
"Whaa…"
"Don't be surprised. We are going to Whisky Peak but this method is too slow. Just stand still." My shadow stretched and latched onto their own and the next instant I popped out of the ship to Whisky Peak.
The location was relatively near and we reached the place in one pop.
The scene that greeted us was that of a burning place with explosions going all over the place.
The place had been attacked.
I spread my Observation Haki over the place and found out the place with the most activity and Shadow Walked to it.
Sure enough. Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine.
Vivi came rushing to the place as well.
Mr. 5 had a man with a funny blond hairstyle in his grip. Our arrival was noticed soon enough.
"Miss Wednesday or rather Princess Vivi Nefertari, so you finally show up. Hurry up and clean her up Mr. 5, we need to get back soon too. Boss will be angry if we take time." the girl with the Umbrella shouted.
If I remember correctly, she had the Kilo Kilo Fruit while the other was a Bakugo wannabe.
I didn't waste much time on them and used Shadow Stitching on them and the very next moment, a sword wave was sent towards them, missing them by inches.
Their eyes widened and they tried to move but to no avail.
"I don't want to repeat myself so listen well and answer me – Is there anyone else with you?"
"D-do you think we-we would…."
Squelch.
Her thighs were stabbed by my shadows interrupting her speech once and for all.
The guy tried to spit on me with his Devil Fruit power but I shut his mouth with a shadow strangle and the spit blasted on his own face.
"Now is your last chance….answer."
I peeked in their brains as they looked at me with fear.
No, there are no backups yet. There will be if the higher ups are informed.
"Good, so if I take you down before the Higher Ups know, then there will be no problems."
I do need some test subjects so I made them unconscious and changed them into marbles, storing them in my inventory.
Transfiguration is really a convenient skill.
I spread my observation haki around and found the one I was expecting. Near the ship and darting towards the sea right now.
Without waiting for anyone else to say anything, I shadow walked to the girl dressed as a cowboy.
She must have spied on our situation right now and was fleeing at the fastest speed.
Too bad, I'm faster.
As she got into her small boat and sighed, I appeared behind her.
"Hello Ms. All Sunday. I actually like that name. Imagine all the days being Sundays. That's the dream."
The girl in question was spooked as she nearly yelped while jumping in fear.
Her hands crossed as she got ready to use her Devil Fruit powers on me but….couldn't move any further. Shadow Stitching is one of my favorite spells against low powered enemies.
"Hey hey, chill out. I am not here to harm you. In fact I have a deal for you, Miss. Robin." Fear flashed in her eyes as I addressed her by her name but was soon suppressed and replaced by a calm look. Observe shows that her expressions are bullshit as she is still totally nervous as fuck.
"Oh, what might that be handsome? Making deals with young women like this is quite naughty."
"Aye that might be true but I rather like my neck facing the right direction when I have a conversation with someone. Also, I believe that you will like this deal better than tricking Crocodile for the information about Pluton just to read a Poneglyph."
Yup, throw them out of their games.
She did regain her calm quite early.
"Oh my, you are quite well informed aren't you? Unfortunately I am more on the naïve side. Could you please enlighten me with your name? I would have to know the name of the person I am working for after all?"
"Me….I am no one famous but you might have heard of my nickname."
"Nickname?"
"Yes….it's Dio….Dio Brando."
"Well the Devil of the Seas and the Devil's Child make a nice group, wouldn't you agree?" I gave her my best sunny smile.
Say what you will about this girl but she has one hell of a poker face and equally good nerves.
"That does sound good, so what's in it for me?"
"I want you to read the Poneglyphs. I don't care about Ancient Weapons. I already know quite a lot about them and honestly I have better ways than Ancient Weapons. What I want you to do is collect the True History of the World, maybe help a dumb friend of mine read the Road Poneglyphs to find Laugh Tale."
"Road Poneglyphs?" she asked, suddenly intrigued.
"There are thirty poneglyphs in total, all made in Wano eight hundred years ago. Among them, there are four red coloured poneglyphs which contain the location of Laugh Tale, the fabled last island of the Grandline. The remaining twenty six of them contain the true history of the Void Century. I have the location of many of them and I hope that you have the location of the others. I am interested in those. If you cooperate with me, I promise that you can read the Poneglyph in Alabasta's Royal Tomb as well as others that you might not even have heard of. I am even planning to go to Wano to find out more about it. So what say you?"
"You seem to know a lot about them?"
"I do a bit."
"What's in it for you?" she asked but this time there was a trace of seriousness in it.
Well what do you know?
"I want the Revolutionary Army to spread the information about the World Government so that the world can see the truth. A personal goal. Do a good thing every month or similar." I smiled.
"Hehe in that case, I can only join you. How can I say no to someone doing good work?"
Ow damn, she doesn't trust me at all. Then again, she is probably the sanest person whom I have met in this world yet.
"Let's go. We got work to do. A sand crocodile needs a beating and a country needs saving. Chop Chop." I grabbed her shoulder and popped next to Vivi who was rushing towards us. On my way out, I shot a shadow ball towards a bird who was taking our pictures. No advance information for Croc.
His death will be a surprise.
"Princess, are you done here?"
"Mr. Shin. MS ALL SUNDAY!?. Mr. Shin get away from her, she is the partner of Crocodile and one of the bosses of Baroque Works."
"Nope she was. Now she is working for me. Let's go. Alabasta needs saving."
"B-but Ingram and the others…."
"Princess please help Alabasta first. We will manage everything here." The man in question spoke up from his exhaustion but his voice was resolute.
"Well you heard the man. We need to be fast. I have temporarily stopped the information from spreading but I don't doubt that there are spies among the people here. They will spread the information soon enough. We need speed on our side."
She looked a little indecisive but agreed nonetheless. Robin on the other hand was quiet the entire time.
I didn't give her any time to think. My shadow attached to the two girls and a duck that was surprisingly anxious to follow Vivi and I popped directly to the Alabasta Royal Palace.
"Mr. Shin….this is…."
"Your Palace. Now why don't you be a dear and go talk to your father? See that Robin can read what she wants till then I will beat Crocodile up."
"That might be a bad idea if you attack Crocodile directly. He is a Shichibukai and the World Government will not sit idle if you do that."
"Hahahaha who says that anyone will know who did it? After all, I am Shin, a simple bounty hunter. Crocodile will die at the hands of…. Dio Brando."
….
The scene of seeing their mouths open slightly was hilarious.
In front of their dumbstruck looks, I used Gaea Foundation and changed myself to my Dio Brando persona and popped out to an alley of Alabasta near Rainbase.
I made a Shadow Clone and gave it a bag of money and got inside its shadow. The Shadow Clone had my normal appearance instead of the Dio persona.
The Shadow Clone walked inside the place casually with the bag of money in its hand. I took the opportunity to use the 'Eyes of Darkness' to spy all over the place while my Shadow Clone gambled.
Crocodile was inside a room in Rainbase. I left my clone's shadow and Shadow Walked to the place where Crocodile was talking to Mr. 1.
"Are you sure that they saw Ms. All Sunday with Princess Vivi and they left together?"
"Yes Sir. Although my subordinate didn't get the picture of the man who they were following, it was indeed Ms. All Sunday."
Crocodile crushed his cigar, "Nico Robin. Do you think you can just escape by double-crossing me? Who do you think will shelter you from the World Government if your location and identity is revealed? The Nefertari family are nothing. I will obtain my goal with or without you."
Well no you won't. I brought out the handcuffs I had stolen from the Marine Base last time and snapped my finger while casting a Shadow Stitching spell on Crocodile. While the Logia would easily bypass the Shadow Stitching but it will cause a moment of delay and that's what I am counting on. The cuffs were transfigured and directly attached themselves to the legs of the two people who fell directly to the ground stunned.
"I would be very displeased if Robin gets caught so….would you please sleep?" a stunner at the weakened Crocodile along with some of my curses and he was down for the count. My stunners can knock down even a dragon, let alone someone like Crocodile and Mr. 1.
I transfigured them into candies and threw them into my inventory. Now the time for a drama.
I first of all looted the entirety of Rainbase and then popped back to the Alabasta Palace. Finding Vivi and Robin was extremely easy with my current skills. I directly Shadow Walked to the place. The two guards of the king were spooked at my arrival and pointed their weapons at me but were stopped by Vivi at the right time.
King Cobra(Oda really has an awesome naming sense), got up from his seat. "Are you Mr. Shin that I heard about from Vivi?"
"That would be me, yes."
He bowed slightly despite his position as a King, "I sincerely thank you for your help Mr. Shin but….please excuse this old man for asking…."
"Why? You want to know why I am helping you."
He nodded a little embarrassed.
I looked at his Reputation score and it was already at 20.
"Do I need a reason to help a good man, King Cobra? If you see a person in distress, would you search for a good enough reason to help them? I am helping you because I want to, because if I don't then millions of people will be dying in the coming war. Also, Vivi promised me that Robin here can read the Poneglyph in Alabasta's Tomb of Kings. We have a fair deal."
+20 Reputation with King Cobra(40/100) for helping them.
"In that case I beg for you to help my country fight against Crocodile, Mr. Shin."
"Oh, that is already done. Crocodile and his chief Mr.1, Daz Bones have already been taken care of. The only thing left is for a show."
"Taken care of?" Vivi shouted. Robin's eyes widened while her fists clenched slightly.
Even Cobra was shaken.
"What show?"
I smiled and explained my plan to everyone.
"Do you really think Crocodile will do such a thing? Why would he reveal himself while confessing everything after working so hard for it?" Vivi asked confused.
I smiled and used Gaea Foundation and changed into Crocodile. "Well he won't….but who says he has to be the one to do it himself?"
- Scene Change –
The next day Alabasta resounded with the news of Crocodile's attempted assassination of King Cobra to upsurp the throne.
The soldiers of Alabasta had already found crates of Dance Powder in Crocodiles bases, especially Rainbase.
I had transfigured sand blades and attacked the walls of the palace and many of the people were injured. They were mostly the close and royal guards.
Robin had helped by revealing the plans of Bon Clay and King Cobra had taken charge and issued a warrant against them immediately.
The biggest surprise was the rebel army who attacked the Billions near the outskirts of Alaburna. Koza had met Vivi the day before due to my interference and I had collected(and planted) the evidence against Crocodile which made both of our work much easier.
The best thing in all this for me was 'The Bounty Hunter Shin Kageyami' valiantly fighting against Crocodile and chasing him away in front of an entire crowd of civilians while saving the lives of many others.
Meanwhile the Marines had their asses on fire when thinking of the amount of chaos this will cause. Especially when I made it a point to keep it so that Crocodile's escape was witnessed by everyone.
The news about Pluton was hidden by everyone.
I even had a chance to find the first Poneglyph in 'The Tomb of Kings'. Robin's affection rose by 20 as soon as she finished reading it.
There is the possibility of another one in the desert of Alabasta near the ruins of an old city.
I had my clones search the place along with all my shadows.
The crowd of the Baroque Works gave me plenty of shadows to work with.
I simply placed that one in my inventory and with that two Poneglyphs are already in my hand.
As a show of trust Robin informed me that Ohara had one Poneglyph while there is another one on an island in Paradise. I got the location of the island from her but Ohara's Poneglyph was probably under the sea.
Right now I am waiting for Robin to return back to the Ship. Although I made a round trip for the last two days to help them train in the IDs, they still wanted to train more. Moreover my own Haki training needs to be sped up. I reached the Expert Rank in both the Hakis and started the Upgrade Quest for the Master Rank at the same time.
It is estimated that I will need at least a month's worth of intense training and IDs to reach that level.
Master Rank is what most of the Vice Admirals and even Admirals have. None of the current Admirals were known for their Hakis after all.
Above that is the Legendary Rank and I think only someone like Roger and the legends have that Rank of Hakis. The difference between the strong and the legends. That, according to me, is the highest ranked skill of the people in this world.
I have a Skill Token which can increase my skill level to Legendary directly that I had gotten from my Peerage's spotless, zero damage taken win against Riser. I haven't used it yet because both Haki and Swordsmanship training already have a 100% buff as Roger's disciple.
There was no point in wasting it.
As I was thinking about this, I heard my Den Den Mushi ringing.
Puru Puru Puru Puru Puru Puru Puru Puru Puru Puru
"Yes."
"It's me brat. I heard that you beat Crocodile up. Good Job Wahahaha."
….
He seemed to have recovered from the little emotional attack last time. I am not a fool to throw that away. I never hated Garp anyway.
"He attacked at the wrong time. I was in the palace with Vivi and the idiot tried to 'assassinate' the King by walking through the front door. Even after knowing his plans, I don't know if I should call him smart or an idiot."
"An idiot what else. I didn't like that snobbish brat anyways. So where are you? Still in Alabasta?"
"Yes. Vivi and King Cobra asked me to stay to show their gratitude for my help. The food here is great."
"Anyways, this incident has caused a lot of trouble. Sengoku was going mad trying to handle the repercussions. It was very funny to look at him like that. The vacant seat needs to be filled up so the Marines have decided to invite you for the post of the Shichibukai. Do you agree?"
….
I bet that only Garp would be someone who would throw a news that would shake the Grandline….like this.
"Mmm sure, why not."
"Good. In that case I will send someone to send you the Shichibukai certificate and you will have to come to the Naval Headquarters someday in the near future to show your face."
"Sure. Will the person be arriving at Alabasta soon? I was about to leave Alabasta in a day."
"They are already in Alabasta. Captain Hina is the one incharge this time. She's the girl that was in the office when we met last time."
"I know who she is."
"Well then get that Shichibukai letter from her. She will be meeting you there."
With that said, he hung up the call.
Yeah, that's about right for the Garp I know.
"You are getting a Shichibukai post?" asked Robin who arrived just now.
"I am. Would you like to meet the Marines with me?" I smiled.
Her face gained a nervous look.
"Oh my, I don't think they would allow you to keep me by your side even if you become a Shichibukai. I am too dangerous for them." She said after collecting herself.
"Wanna bet? I can take you to meet the Marines and they will also treat you well."
She raised an eyebrow in part confusion and part intrigue.
I brought out the Gaea Foundation and handed her the set.
"This is?"
"Hold it, you will know."
And she did. As soon as she used it, the information rushed into her mind and her eyes widened.
"Is this a Devil Fruit….?"
"Not every good thing has to be the product of a Devil Fruit. This is my invention. Try it."
Robin changed into a different form to look like another girl with a different face and slightly different height.
"Just remember not to use your Devil Fruit and we are golden. That would cause unnecessary scrutiny on us."
We talked for a while knowing that the Marines would be coming to meet us in the Alaburna Palace soon.
In about an hour, we were informed that there were Marines asking for us to talk about the situation. King Cobra was holding them back for now.
I reached there to find Captain Hina was waiting in the meeting place. She had a complicated look in her eyes when she looked at me. On checking, I found out that she had a decent Affection score of 20. It seems that last time's drama worked quite well.
"Captain Hina, so nice to meet you again. Last time was a ….bit uncomfortable and we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. I hope you will forgive me for being too emotional back then."
"Hina doesn't mind. Hina heard that you fought and defeated Crocodile when he attacked the palace to assassinate the King of Alabasta. Can you tell me something more about this?"
"Let's see. I was visiting the palace with Princess Vivi whom I had met while sailing on the sea. She was stranded due to a shortage of food on her boat and I helped her out. We got along very well while sailing here and she invited me to the palace to treat me to a feast. Who am I to reject that? It's just that food with sand doesn't taste good and I had no choice but to beat Crocodile for ruining our meal. As for the political and conspiratorial things, King Cobra would be able to inform you much better about those."
"Where did Crocodile run?"
"We were fighting in the desert and that's basically the home field for Crocodile. I could beat him but not keep him from running away. He ran away after I cut his other arm off."
"You….you fought Crocodile in a desert….and cut his arm off?"
"What can I say….I am very strong?" I smiled my most sunny trademark smile.
She took a moment to collect herself and then continued.
"The Marine Headquarters has invited you to accept the vacant post of Crocodile as the new Shichibukai. You will have to visit the Naval Headquarters soon though. Hina only has the certificate of the Shichibukai for you and if you accept it, the Marines will announce your new identity in the papers."
"Yes, Mr. Garp called me a while ago informing me about it. Sure, I'll accept."
"Vice Admiral Garp called?"
"Yes, about an hour ago."
"In that case Hina has nothing extra to say. Do come and visit the Navy Headquarters though. By the way, is she your crew member?"
"Yes. I just recruited her recently. Her name is…."
"Nicole. Nice to meet you, Captain Hina.
+10 Affection with Hina(30/100) for accepting the invitation and not being a jerk.
Hina didn't stay for long and left after questioning King Cobra and even Vivi for a while. Vivi and I had already collaborated on the story for there to be any holes.
My affection with both Princess Vivi and reputation with King Cobra had reached the sixties and got me two perks.
Perk Gained
[Royal Grace]
Increases the Affection, Reputation and Obedience gain with Royalty.
[Princess Lover]
Increases the Affection and Obedience gain with princesses.
It also got me the support of a huge kingdom like Alabasta. In the later phases of the plan, this will be a huge support.
I didn't wait any longer and brought Robin back to our base as well.
I was thinking about making a decent base. Staying inside Laboon's stomach was not a permanent solution either.
- Interlude –
"What did he say?"
"Agreed. Hina said that he was actually more welcoming of the suggestion of collecting Pirate Bounties than looting. His character was never a problem in the first place."
"People change Garp. I investigated the situation. It is indeed true that there was a soldier whose child was killed in the purge but he still stayed in the Marines and was later reported dead for insubordination by Akainu. He also had another child mysteriously who had gone missing and there was no news of him. The soldier's colleagues tried to find the child but there was no information. Most thought that he had been killed by pirates or died in another accident somewhere. I didn't expect that child to turn out to be someone like this. The name on the file is different but the rest of the features match perfectly. How strong would you say he was?"
"Strong. Quite strong. Except for us old ones, no other Vice Admiral could touch that brat. He had the confidence and power to stand within my Haki and not even blink an eye. It was….to be really quite honest….unnerving. Even the three Admiral brats would at least shift to a combat ready position when faced with my Haki but….but that brat had no reaction whatsoever."
Sengoku's face became serious. "It's another one then. A Conqueror."
Garp nodded in a rare moment of seriousness.
Every owner of Conqueror's Haki makes their name in the world. Whether it was good or bad, they always make a name.
"Are you sure that he won't be a problem, Garp? He has more than enough reason to be so. The Marines have not given him any reason to like us." Sengoku asked once more. In his mind, if such a person was to become an enemy, it was better to finish them without giving any chance to grow up. A seventeen years old Vice Admiral. One has to know that even the current Admirals only joined the Marines at the age of sixteen and even with top level Logia were a Commodore at best. Kizaru was even eighteen at the time. Such a person if they become an enemy will be someone like Garp or Roger….or maybe even worse….Rocks. Sengoku shook his head in a hurry to shake those thoughts away.
"And whose fault was that?" Garp snapped.
"That might be but what's done is done. I cannot change everyone but I am a Marine and I will take whatever action is necessary." Sengoku answered equally loud.
"You two shut up for a while. The boy has already stated that he doesn't like us but he dislikes Pirates even more. That's why he won't ever become a Pirate. All we have to take care of is not to push him into piracy. It's not like we haven't worked with people who don't like us before. This boy on the other hand is much more calm….and has much more to offer too." The senior most woman in the room spoke.
"Let him be Sengoku. The Marines have made a mistake so we must also try to work to fix it. The boy doesn't like the Marines for obvious reasons. I am not sure I would have been that sane if I was in the same situation. He is doing much better than I would have so I would rather not judge him. What Tsuru-san said just now is correct. It is better not to push him into piracy. He even saved us from major trouble with Crocodile this time. I heard from Garp that according to him those who hurt the civilians are pirates. Isn't that what we believed in too when we joined the Marines? I would have liked the boy as my own student but that is not to be so the least I can do is maintain a good relationship with such a person." A purple haired man in his late ages spoke while taking a sip of his tea.
"That Crocodile incident has been a major pain. The member countries are shouting at the World Government and the Five Elders have been dancing on my head. What am I to do? It's not like they didn't agree to Crocodile's name when selecting the Shichibukai."
"It was a good thing that Shin joined as the new Shichibukai. Him clearing the problem and his identity as a Pirate Hunter compared to the other six people who were pirates is already a great step towards improving the image of the Marines. If we take any action against him right now, the member nations and especially Alabasta would not sit quietly. Alabasta's position is a bit special and we have to consider that too. Right at this time Shin Kageyami being in the Marines and as a Shichibukai is the best thing for the image of our Marines. It will also send a message to the other six to reign in their behavior a bit." Tsuru explained.
Sengoku slumped on his chair and sighed out softly.
"Did he say anything about the potions?"
"I didn't ask him. If you want to, ask him later on your own when he comes here." Garp replied indifferently while eating a rice cracker. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "What was the boy's name anyways?"
"His name? The real name you mean?"
"Hmm."
Sengoku lifted the file on his table and turned the pages. There was a slight, very imperceptible widening of eyes but he collected himself and answered.
"Walter D. Harrison."
….
The rice cracker in Garp's hand was crushed before he let out a sigh and closed his eyes leaning on his chair, not speaking a word.
"Another D. Will this one cause a storm as well?….and if so, whose fault will it be?" Tsuru spoke the word which was currently running through the heads of all the people in the room.
_x_x_
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author's Note :
Well that summed it up for this chapter.
Shin is seriously working full time now. Two Poneglyphs have been collected. A third one is in sight and Shin knows the location of some others too.
A major alliance has been made. Kaido won't know what hit him until it hits him.
Shanks….I know there are many theories for him but I am going for a good Shanks this time. To be honest if he pulls an Aizen on Luffy, something like I planned your whole life until you reached here and all that shit, I would probably flip a table or something. Other than that, I can see Shanks as a good character till now and will also write with that thought in mind.
Crocodile was subdued. Some might not be convinced but Shin has too many advantages against someone like Crocodile who was shown to not even have a basic use of Haki in his fight against Luffy.
Setting up some evidence and framing someone is something very easy for Shin who has access to Legilimency. We will see some very amazing uses of these in the next chapters.
The fallout from this will be shown in the next chapters.
The Pirates will have their own thoughts.
Marines have their own thoughts.
And the resultant storms caused by the Kaido sized butterflies will show its effects starting from the next chapter.
I am planning to summon Rias and the other girls in the next chapters maybe.
I am currently planning the next arc of 'Deal with the Devil', a basic outline before I go back to the story again. I don't want that story to be with plot holes so maybe the next few chapters will be 'The Game Must Go On.'
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.