Arthur Watts' work only increased after his initial success. The plants that produced the black seeds seemed to do so on a bi-monthly basis at best. And unfortunately, the trait that allowed some of the Pop Greens to survive the Grimm liquid and produce black seeds was a mutation within that generation, rather than something passed down by the parents. In order to increase the production rate of these new seeds, which could not be used to create new black seed bearing plants, more trial and error was required. Hopefully, whatever mutation caused the first batch of plants to be able to survive would occur again. Until then though, the creation of these new powerful Grimm would be quite slow.
The first creature created, a 'Pop Grimm' as Salem had called it, ran off to somewhere unknown. It was some unholy combination of several types of Pop Greens, and it was slightly larger than even a Goliath. Naturally, he conducted several more experiments with the remaining seeds, but with so little data, it was hard to come to any conclusions on how any specific Pop Green merged with any specific Grimm. He was however, able to learn things that seemed to apply to all of the Pop Grimm, or at least the ones spawned from this batch of seeds.
First of all, Pop Grimm would grow to their full size, whatever that may be, immediately after fully exiting the pool. He was able to tell from the bone markings that appeared on them. Their bodies were like those of an Alpha, but with the reckless mentality of a newborn Grimm.
Second, if a corrupted seed was thrown into a Grimm Pool at the moment that a new Grimm was about to be spawned, that Grimm would be a hybrid between the base Grimm species and the Pop Green.
He had also tested to see if 'Pure' Pop Grimm could be formed by throwing a seed in without a base Grimm to merge with, and from his only test, it seemed to be the case. However, there simply were not enough seeds to test everything, so there could have been hidden factors involved.
His one test was with a Devil seed. In its Pop Grimm form, it grew to heights even taller than Salem's Castle, and it was now tasked with its protection. It had its black and thorny vines wrapped around the castle protectively. With a creepy grin that was only accentuated by its pointy and bony teeth, it was truly a monster that would inspire terror.
The Pop Grimm was not always so subservient to Salem, however. At first, it was like a rampaging beast trying to destroy all within reach. That changed however when Salem managed to beat the massive and powerful monstrosity within an inch of its life, instilling a fear into the monster that it did not have by instinct.
Salem is truly a terrifying mistress. I don't think she even needed her immortality to beat the damn thing.
Taking a breath, he prepared himself to give his latest report.
By asking the locals about what year it was, Maria was able to confirm that it had indeed been about sixty years since she lost her eyes and was sent to Amazon Lily. On the flip side, by comparing the date that Usopp was sent to Remnant and the date Maria was sent back to Remnant, they could conclude that it had only been six days since Usopp disappeared.
That raised more questions for the two, as the difference in time flow between the worlds wasn't even consistent. But regardless, a flicker of hope clawed its way into Usopp's heart.
I can still make it in time to fight in Wano… I can still help Luffy become the Pirate King!
After buying Maria some Gravity Dust, they set off. They encountered some weak Grimm almost immediately, but Usopp was able to easily dispose of them. After being on the road for about thirty minutes, Maria decided to start Usopp's training.
Usopp moved his head to the side to try and dodge an attack from behind, but Maria adjusted and hit his head from the side with the back of her scythe.
"Do we really have to do this while I'm pulling the cart?" Usopp asked?
While the cart's main purpose was to act like a mobile garden, Maria was sitting on it in a position directly behind Usopp. "Haki training isn't done overnight, you know."
"I know that, but maybe you shouldn't try and knock my lights out?"
"I wouldn't think that 'God' Usopp would get knocked out by something simple like that."
"And I wouldn't have thought that the 'Grimm Reaper' would need my help fighting a Beowolf!"
Maria kicked Usopp in the back. "W-we agreed not to talk about that!"
To Maria who relied on Observation Haki to sense things, the Grimm were practically invisible. If she had been on her own, she probably would have won against the Beowolf using her Preflexes, but with the chance of injury possible, Usopp ended the fight.
"Hmm, did I?" Usopp said with a grin.
Maria whacked him upside the head again. "This… this is just training, by the way. And you're not doing so well."
Between trying to dodge Maria's attacks, keeping watch for Grimm, using his Haki to detect any bandits, and pulling a cart that was slightly heavier than it should be, Usopp's travels were harder than he would have imagined. It wasn't until the sun set that Maria told Usopp to stop and set up camp.
"Now, it's time to start some real training. Let's start with a spar, so I can see what level you're at."
"But, a lot of my Pop Greens are lethal to people from this world. I know you were a living legend, but..."
"At least against human opponents, I'm even stronger than I was before. It's only Grimm that I have a problem with now, which is ironic, considering I used to be able to... well, forget it."
"But if I hit you with an Impact Wolf, you'd probably die."
She shrugged. "Probably. But what makes you think that you'll hit me?"
In a flash, Maria had already kicked Usopp in the face.
In the underwater headquarters of the White Fang, Adam Taurus kneeled in front of Arlong, who had called him back with haste.
"Adam Taurus… I trust I need not tell you what you have done wrong…"
"I have done nothing wrong!"
Arlong twitched. "Then let me enlighten you… I don't want to see your miserable existence ever again. I've already sent messengers to the other branches of the White Fang explaining your exile…"
"You're the one who taught me what I know!"
"You're blaming me?! Tell me, when did I ever teach you to hurt the Faunus?! When did I teach you to ally with the damn Grimm?! Your actions at Beacon almost ruined what the White Fang has fought for during the last five years! You've crossed the line by involving innocent Faunus in your schemes, Adam!"
"That line needed to be crossed, or else what the White Fang has fought for would truly be wasted. You're too soft... Not all Faunus deserve our help. The ones living with humans, the misguided ones that you're so worried about, are in the way."
"Enough! Do you have no love for your brothers and sisters?! If they are misguided, then so be it. They still don't deserve to die because their pasts are different than ours! And not all can afford to move out of the Kingdoms, even if they have to suffer under humanity."
"This mentality is why you've barely accomplished anything! I've done more to hurt humanity at Beacon than you've done in the five years you've led the White Fang! I even sacrificed an arm to do so!"
"At the cost of dealing just as large of a blow to the Faunus… Adam, I'm disappointed in you. You show no remorse for your actions, so get out of my sight."
Adam looked up at Arlong and glared at him. "You have no right to do this! You're squandering our shot at eliminating humanity because of the lives of Faunus that won't fight for our cause! You won't even give me a chance to bring my new allies over here, to show you what they can do! You're not even a Faunus! So don't make these decisions for us!"
Arlong's two guards pointed their spears at Adam. "Take that back right now, scum!"
"I refuse."
Arlong himself was silent, but his eyes were bloodshot. He breathed for almost thirty seconds before deciding to speak.
"Adam," He started slowly, "If I am not a Faunus... then what am I? I'm clearly not human, so… What. Else. Could. I. BE?! ARE YOU SAYING I'M ALONE IN THIS WORLD?! ARE YOU SAYING THAT I HAVE NO ONE TO CALL MY KIN?! ANSWER ME, ADAM!"
Without flinching, Adam said, "You're a monster that deluded itself into believing you're one of us."
Adam found himself being punched straight across the throne room. He cracked the walls above the main doors before falling to the ground.
"If you don't want to die, I suggest you leave. NOW!" Arlong yelled.
Adam coughed blood, but he started laughing soon after. "If you want to try and kill me, go ahead. But..."
The doors to the throne opened up, and hundreds of Faunus under Adam filed in with their weapons raised.
"You'll have to bathe in the blood of your so-called 'Brothers and Sisters' if you want to get to me. It shouldn't be too hard for you, right? I know more than anyone that you're strong enough to kill everyone in this room."
"You bastard… I only trusted the Branch Leaders and the guards of this base with my identity, so what are they doing here?"
"Naturally, I told the Faunus of the Vale and Mistral Branches about you, about how you're actually a monster. And they agree that it shouldn't be you who holds that throne. So... just hand over your position peacefully, or there will be Faunus blood on your hands..."
Arlong stood up, staring at the crowd. His guards pointed their spears towards the massed Faunus.
"High Leader Arlong," one guard said, "If we let Adam lead the White Fang, he'll undo all of the progress we've made."
"Even if we have to kill a hundred or so Faunus, we'll help far more by stopping them!"
"I know..."
He punched his hand through the wall behind his throne, grabbing a weapon shaped much like his old Kiribachi saw sword. It was however black with blue highlights, and it could transform like many of the weapons in this world.
"Are you all prepared to die for Adam? Because I'm sure he wouldn't die for you."
The massed Faunus gulped and looked at each other nervously. One of them said, "Hey wait Adam, you said he wasn't going to harm us!"
"He won't," Adam said, "If he was going to kill us, we'd already be dead."
Arlong glared at Adam, but then turned towards his two guards. "We're leaving."
"High Leader, you can't be serious!"
"Please reconsider! If Adam takes the throne..."
"I'm not joking… You don't have to follow me if you don't want to, but I'm leaving."
"Of course we'll follow you."
The crowd parted ways for Arlong and his two guards, and once the doors to the throne room closed, hundreds of Faunus let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding.
"That was scary..." one Faunus said.
"Adam, did you really have to provoke him so much? Calling him a monster is going too far, is it not? He's no Grimm, just a strange Faunus."
Adam shook his head. "It was necessary to show that Arlong is far too soft to lead the White Fang. In that moment, while he was wrong, he truly believed that killing me would help the Faunus as a whole. Even so, he just left peacefully. If that doesn't prove that he's not fit to be the High Leader, then I don't know what does. When the other branches learn of this, I'm sure they'll flock to me."
"Even Sienna Khan's Vacuo Branch?"
"..."
After her kick, she followed up with slashes from her scythes. Usopp tried to block with his slingshot, but Maria always managed to slip past his guard and damage his Aura.
I have to gain some distance!
Using his most practiced technique, he turned his back to Maria and ran away, or er, tactically retreated. Surprisingly, she didn't give chase, but he realized why once a haki infused bullet struck the back of her head. Even with his Aura, it hurt a fair amount.
I forgot here scythes were guns as well... which I REALLY shouldn't have forgot since everything is also a gun in this world... But I should still be able to outclass her in a ranged duel.
Turning around, he took another bullet to the head before getting a shot in himself. "Green Star: Platanus Shuriken!"
Maria gracefully dodged the projectiles and cut them from the side.
"Bamboo Javelin!"
Maria stepped to just the right position to avoid being impaled by the deadly bamboo. She then cut the bamboo and kicked several of the javelins back at Usopp. He was able to dodge them fine, but the distraction let Maria fire another bullet that took another large chunk of his Aura.
Usopp felt the urge to complain. While he should have figured that it would be hard to hit someone with Observation Haki, it didn't make things any less irritating. It was even more annoying than fighting that priest in Skypiea.
Of course, the way to counter it is to immobilize them or break their focus, but she seems far more disciplined than that priest. And her Aura will block out any sleeping gas… Maybe an explosion will work?
Trying to move as fast as he could, he prepared to fire a Skull Bombgrass seed without spending too much time aiming. Just as he released the shot, a scythe flew past him and hooked itself on a tree. A purple glow came from Maria's other scythe, and she flew straight towards Usopp. It seemed like the Bombgrass seed would hit her directly.
Wait, is she not even dodging? She could die… Damn, why did I use such a deadly seed again?! Am I an idiot, this is just a spar!
However, in midair, Maria transformed into a small horned beige snake. Moving her serpentine body in a way that a human would simply be incapable of, she narrowly avoided the seed. Soon after, she transformed back into a human and slammed the awestruck Usopp with the blunt end of her scythe.
The ground shook soon after from the skull shaped explosion, but Maria was already outside of the blast radius, and Usopp's Aura had broken. He layed on the ground for a few seconds before saying, "That was annoying."
Maria laughed. "I can imagine so. Luffy praised your accuracy with a slingshot, so missing every time must have been frustrating."
"It's not the first time I had to fight someone who could predict my attacks, but this time felt even more annoying for some reason."
"My Semblance probably has something to do with that."
"And that is?"
"I call it Preflexes, it lets me react to things almost before they happen."
"That seems kind of redundant, since you can already do that with Haki."
"That's what I thought at first, but they actually work well together. Observation Haki lets me see someone's intent, and my Preflexes allows me to react to that intent almost before they even have that intent."
"Seriously? That just seems unfair."
"That's what makes it such a useful ability. And of course, my Devil Fruit and Gravity Dust lets me dodge in ways that would not normally be possible."
"I'm guessing it's the Snake-Snake fruit?"
"The Horned Viper model to be specific… I think it might just be a Kuja thing. There are two other Snake fruit users in that crew after all. I found the fruit on a voyage, but I was asked to keep my powers a secret to the Kuja populace."
"Why?"
"I didn't ask… I just knew it was important to Hancock and her sisters, so I obliged. Luffy might actually know more about their story than I do, since she did fall in love with him. You should ask him when you get back."
When I get back…
Franky's jaw couldn't help but hang loosely after seeing the shattered moon.
"Hey, wolf bro, what the hell happened to the moon?"
"The name's Marrow… but what do you mean? I don't see anything strange with the moon."
"Are you blind?! It's partially shattered! In what world is that not strange?!"
Marrow couldn't help but furrow his brows in confusion. "But… it's always been like that."
Seriously? Then… the talk about different continents, the advanced technology, the strange monsters… Is this actually another world? How am I going to get back?! And how did I get here in the first place?!
Franky swiftly stood up. "THIS IS NO TIME FOR ME TO BE SITTING AROUND!"
I have to get back!
He was about to try and force his way out of the Manta before Marrow said, "Stay!"
Franky's body froze, and Marrow shook his head. "What was that about all of the sudden?"
Marrow cuffed Franky's arms and then released his Semblance.
"Whatever's gotten into you, you're going to wait until the General arrives, got it?"
"Grr… Like I have a choice… What the hell did you do?"
"I have no obligation to tell you."
"Fine..."
I might be able to force my way out of these cuffs, but I'm not sure what I'd do after that. Now that I think about it, even if I escaped from him and his strange power, I wouldn't have any means to return to my world. There wasn't even anything about inter-world travel in Vegapunk's Lab, so I'd have to start from scratch.
In that case, wouldn't being on the good side of these seemingly technologically advanced people be advantageous? Maybe they could help me out. Even if they don't believe me, I can come up with another reason why they might benefit from the technology as well! A super idea, if I do say so myself!
"Hey, Marrow bro, would you believe me if I said I was from another world?"
"Absolutely not. You've said less insane things that I'm still skeptical about."
"And all of it is true. So how about it, if I can prove that what I said about my cola power and farts, you'll at least consider me being from another world as a possibility?"
"No."
"Really? Well, how do you think I just appeared in the middle of a monster infested frozen wasteland, obviously not clothed for such an occasion? I was too far inland to have been able to walk there without dying from the cold."
"Like I'd know. Maybe you just landed there after one of your 'cola powered farts'."
Franky roared with laughter, not stopping for half a minute. "You're pretty funny, bro. You know what, Franosuke is super long, so why don't you just call me Franky instead?"
"No thanks. I'll stick to Franosuke."
Dammit! Am I going to have to deal with this for the entire time I'm here?!
Even though Marrow outwardly gave no inch to the thought that Franosuke might be from another world, the sheer amount of strangeness that it would explain made him thoughtful. Of course, he didn't discount the possibility that Franosuke was acting, but the evidence was enough to make him waver.
At the very least, it was something to bring up to the General and the other Ace Ops if Franosuke didn't mention it first.
"How long am I going to have to wait? I'm bored."
Marrow looked at a notification on his scroll, and then back at Franky. "It seems the General is on his way. So… maybe an hour."
"That long?!"
At the White Fang headquarters, there were around thirty or so Faunus stationed as guards. Arlong found the 28 others that were not in his throne room tied up near the exit.
All of them were Faunus capable of breathing underwater. This is because the thirty guards were among a group of underwater dwellers that were the first Faunus Arlong ever encountered in Remnant.
Even Adam knew that should they be killed, Arlong would enter blind rage and kill not only him, but every other Faunus he brought with him as well.
Freeing the tied up Faunus, Arlong explained the situation to them.
"We're sorry, if we had been able to send out a message to you before being knocked out then you could have finished off Adam before his hostages arrived!"
"The fault is with Adam, not you. I understand if you don't want to follow me anymore, but if any wish to join me, I'll be swimming to Menagerie."
"Menagerie?"
"Yes, it will be my first step on my journey to check in on the other branches of the White Fang... While it seems that the Vale and Mistral Branches are loyal to Adam, the loyalties of the Menagerie and Atlas Branches are still in question..."
"What about the Vacuo Branch?"
"I know Sienna Khan wouldn't betray me... While checking in on her followers would be a good idea, her branch isn't as much as a priority as the others. So, are you all still willing to follow me?"
"Of course!"
A/N: Admittedly, I didn't get as far into Usopp and Franky's plotlines as I expected to this chapter, so the part with significant plot progression is Arlong's. Something to note about Arlong is that if he was only as strong as he was when Luffy beat him, I don't think he would be that much stronger than Adam. However, having Aura, a Semblance, an upgraded weapon, and 20 years on the old Arlong made him stronger than even the drugged Fishman executive that Usopp beat.