On my flight toward Thriller Bark, I looked down at the stump of my arm. I planned to have Doctor Hogback graft a new arm for me, but I was beginning to have second thoughts.
Firstly, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to use any of my devil fruit techniques, such as shadow armor with a foreign arm. As I understood it, when a person eats a devil fruit, it changes their entire DNA. Their very being! Taking Luffy as an example, his body, blood, bones, they're all rubber. If he lost an arm, and got a replacement, it's not like he can enlarge the new arm, stretch it, or such, right?
My second, and lesser reason for stitching on a new arm would be strength. Would an arm coming from a separate creature ever have the same kind of potential that my base body has? Moria had clashed with Kaido in the past, that takes strength! Could I really gamble on Hogback's medical genius?
During my stay at the Goa Kingdom, I had made many experiments on the crippled and wounded. I had concluded that I couldn't regrow their limbs, eyes, or ears when I placed a shadow within them. However, could it perhaps be different for me? During my fight with the master swordsman and Zoro's sensei, Kōshirō I had suffered from a catastrophic wound. I had been sliced from my shoulder all the way down to my stomach. Such a large wound, and I healed it with shadows. Over a hundred shadows if memory serves correctly. It took a heavy toll on my supply at the time.
Therefore, does it stand to reason, that my devil fruit would be more effective at healing me, than other people? Glancing down at my nub of an arm, I decided to absorb ten shadows from within my pocket as a test.
"Sss." I hissed in pain.
My flesh bubbled, and grew out toward the top half of my bicep.
I couldn't help but grin, and then slap myself in the forehead at the irony of the situation.
'My name is Gecko Moria. Of course, I have a feature that can regrow limbs.'
It was during this time of self-debasement that something went horribly wrong. The vivre card in my hand keyed to Absalom burned into dust.
I blinked my eyes in disbelief, as the ashes scattered onto the horizon.
'Who could it be, Marine's, Revolutionary's, assassins?!' My heart was beating a million times a second at the thought of the unknown.
I had just gone through another tumutluos battle, and haven't slept for more than an entire day. Again! Exhausted as I am, I was confident that with my devil fruit alone, I could still take on anyone below the strength pf the average Vice Admiral. Hell, I could probably kill most Vice Admiral's right now. But if Kizaru caught wind on my operation, or Ivankov somehow struck out in revenge…
I let out the breath I had been holding, and assessed my options.
'It's best if I go in fast, and scope out the enemy. If they're weak, I'll torture them for information. If it's to much to handle, I'll rescue Perona, and Hogback. Perona was my most useful weapon, and Hogback was my key to realizing a zombified army. Besides zombies and my arm, I had a pressing need for his skills. Those two not with standing, perhaps I could rescue a few others if time permits. Assuming I had to abandon ship, I'd do that, then strike back for revenge at a later date.'
Nodding to myself, I pulled out Perona's vivre card, and resumed my flight.
Thirty minutes of nerve wracking flight later, the giant mast of Thriller Bark emerged in the dawn sun. All seemed quiet, and peaceful. As I made my approach, I could smell the distinct tang of gun smoke in the air. The battlements had been destroyed again. It made me wonder if the original Moria had had the same thing happen to him enough times, so he just decided to leave them in a state of semi disrepair.
Flying towards the Wonder Garden, I surveyed the land. A large section of the forest was demolished, but so far, everything seemed relatively normal. My factory seemed unblemished, it even churned up puffs of smoke right now. The mansion was pristine from the outside, and large chunks of masonry weren't missing from my castle. Zombies were milling about, and carrying materials to a fro.
'So far, so good. Based on the current evidence, I'd have to say that a force made a frontal assault. They must've killed Absalom in combat, and then at some point been destroyed, or forced to retreat.'
Nodding to myself, I confidently flew down onto the Wonder Garden.
The ground was torn in several places, and large chunks of wall were missing. Stuffed animal zombies nearby were working on patching up the walls, and trying to save the crops that were damaged.
Bum bump ba bum bump ba bum bum bum
A group of musical instruments played from further in the yard. The style vaguely reminded me of big band swing.
Standing before a group of nervous looking, and sweaty guys, John was directing them.
"Now this is how you play the old school, jajajajaja!" He picked up a bottle of wine, and reclined into a chair.
Sitting next to John were Nojiko, Robin, and Lola? Sitting on Lola's lap was a muscular man with a mohawk. He was wrapped tightly in chains, and had his head resting on Lola's cleavage.
"Husband." Lola cooed, and stroked his head. She repeated herself three times, and I had only just arrived for less than a minute.
My eyes shifted back to Robin, and I saw her staring at me. The only person in the garden to have noticed my arrival. I grinned, and walked over.
"Welcome to Thriller Bark once again, Nico Robin."
One of the trumpet players made a mistake at my appearance, producing a sound like something you'd hear in an old timey slapstick comedy.
"Ack! Just because the big man is here, that's no excuse to stop playing!" John splashed some wine on the musician, before turning to me with a lazy salute.
"At ease John. You can tell me about the situation here in a minute."
John nodded in acknowledgement, before going back to conducting the band.
"You there, zombie! Have this transported to Dr. Hogback immediately! Tell him, that I want this man saved, but that he must stay in a coma. Understand?" I commanded.
"Yes, Moria-sama!" The stuffed animal zombie bowed. Dropping it's equipment, it moved to carry out my orders.
"And you, there, take this to the Frozen Block. It needs to be well preserved."
Deciding that Thriller Bark must be safe for the time being, I turned to regard Robin.
"Greetings Moria-sama, how can this humble one be of assistance to you." Robin stood up, and bowed. Her tone of voice was all business, but through my shadow reading, I could tell she was a mess of emotions on the inside.
I waited a moment to gather my thoughts, and give her some pressure.
"To my understanding, you have spent the majority of your life on the run. Fearful for your life, and unwilling to put your trust in anyone after being the victim of many betrayals. To tell you the truth, you're pathetic."
I created a throne made of shadow, and took a seat. I hovered around, and circled behind Robin.
"Knowledge of the world's history, the ability to read poneglyphs, and most of all, your devil fruit. What is an intelligent, powerful women like you doing so much running for? You're what, in your late twenties?" I talked down to her in disdain.
Her face fluctuated for a minute into a grimace before smoothing itself out.
"How, how could you possibly be so weak?" I whispered into her ear.
Robin's fingers twitched.
My grin from earlier was now spreading to the edges of my mouth. Like a shark about to devour its prey.
"Someone like you doesn't deserve friends. You couldn't even protect the one's you love most. Like that giant. Oh, what was his name again?"
Robin began to shake in place from my taunts.
"Oh yes. Saul."
Robin turned around quick as can be, and crossed her arms. "Cien fleur!"
A six arms appeared out of my side, and attempted to strangle me.
The band in the background stopped playing.
"Gilipollas! Keep playing!" John threatened the band.
Nojiko, and Lola stumbled backwards out of their seats.
"Oh, you are a keeper." I spoke through the strangulation.
Slowly reaching my one good hand up, I ripped the arms off.
"Are we done throwing a tantrum? Did you really think that would do anything? What, because Crocodile was made of sand, Aokiji made of ice, that those were the only people you couldn't strangulate? How naïve."
"What do you want with me? You talk about things that no one should know.
"I didn't bring you here because I want weapons of mass destruction. I don't need you to lead me to the One Piece to achieve some sill dream such as becoming the Pirate King. No, I brought you here, because it was fucking funny! Ki shi shi shi shi! Ki shi shi shi shi!"
"You brought me here for what. For your amusement?" Robin stared blankly at me. As if what I had to say was some unsolvable riddle that fundamentally changed her entire world view.
"That's right. I wanted to flip the table, to blotch out this world's script. You Nico Robin, are the key to the One Piece. The very thing that every single pirate is salivating after."
"I'm not that important, I can read poneglyphs. I'm a historian." Robin tried to down play herself.
"It is precisely the poneglyphs that map the way to the One Piece!" I shouted.
Robin flinched backward from my excited outburst.
"While I hold the key, no one will do something as stupid as to proclaim themselves Pirate King so long as Roger's treasure goes unclaimed." I spat out in derision at the mention of the title.
"Chaos and opportunity go hand in hand! This is a tumultuous time. A time of change! Brawn, beauty, and brains. A young women in your position should be one of those so called 'Supernova.' Think Robin, think! What is the one thing you lack? The one thing standing in your way from having a home to call your own. The one thing between you and the freedom, love, and acceptance you crave?!" I reached out my fist, encased it with armament haki, and punched with all my might towards the sky. Huge fluctuations of air currents disrupted the peaceful morning air.
Head down, Robin bit her lip. She refused to answer, or play my games.
"Unimpressed hm? I can see why you may look down upon me. The last time we met, I had two arms, and wasn't dressed in rags." I leered down at her.
"But you're not looking underneath the underneath. No, perhaps you are. You were an accomplished spy under Crocodile after all. Yess. You saw them." Leaning forward, I lifted Robin's chin, and looked her dead in the eye.
"Join my crew, break these chains of weakness that are holding you back. Abandon the gut churning fear of rejection, refuse to be a prisoner ever again!" I extended my arm in offer.
She took a step back, trepidation in her gaze.
"Tell you what. Pathetic as you are, I do pity you. Take it as a sense of nostalgia. You may not believe me, but as a man interested in this world, I took an interest in you ever since the government issued your first bounty. You are many things Nico Robin, historian, spy, killer. However, first and foremost, you are a survivor."
I leaned back into my chair, and rested my fist against my cheek in contemplation.
Silence reigned, and a quiet staring match ensued between us.
I couldn't help but want to rap my other hand on the arm rest, only to slightly stumble in the process. Grimacing in embarrassment, I spoke first.
"How about this. Work for me wholeheartedly for the next four years. I give you my word that by the end of those four years, you'll be strong enough to fight against any Cipher Pol, or Marine short of an Admiral coming your way. At the end of those four years, if you're dissatisfied with my methods, we go our separate ways. Savvy?"
"How can I trust your words?" Robin held her gaze with mine.
Blue eyes stared into tiny black pupils.
'Aha, gotcha now.'
Eyes twinkling, I focused inward. It wasn't long before I found what I wanted, and coughed up a shadow.
The shadow took the shape of the giant blue fishman I had captured during my attack against Byrnndi World. I directly shoved it into Robin before she had a chance to react.
She fell to the ground, coughing from the sudden forceful insertion.
"The first time is never easy." I nodded with poise akin to an elderly sage.
"What, what did you do to me?" Robin's eyes widened fearfully.
"Why, delivering on my promise of course. Why don't you close your eyes, and tell me what's behind that wall."
"…"
"Go ahead Robin. This is my sincerity." I sported an encouraging smile at her obvious disbelief.
Following my instructions, she closed her eyes.
"It's. It's a girl crying into her stuffed bear!" Robin exclaimed in disbelief.
'! Oh yeah, I was going to check on Perona before I got sidetracked.'
"Ahem. Did you see how I punched the air earlier? How my fist suddenly became black? Now you try." I gestured towards the sky.
Striking towards the sky, Robin successfully coated her arm in haki.
"Wonderful!" I raised my hand to clap, only to swish empty air.
Frowning, I spawned an arm made of shadow, and clapped.
I nodded to myself, then regarded Robin.
Robin quickly composed herself before regarding me in turn.
"Just what is this technique? Is it some special martial art you've transferred to me?"
"What you just utilized is called haki. It is one of the fundamental forces of this world. The sensory ability that you used to see through that wall is known as observation haki. Most people develop observation haki unique to themselves. Some people can see far, see through things, or even think differently! The most common type of observation haki develops in warriors, and can help predict futre attacks. When you coat your arm in that black energy, it is armament haki. It can counter devil fruit abilities, yes, especially logia users."
"I could go into much more detail regarding haki, and it's applications. Once you learn to apply these techniques in conjunction with your devil fruit, you'll be the bane of the battlefield. I'd be more than happy to teach you about the subject. That, however is for another time. That is, if you're willing to join my crew." I grinned, and held out my hand once more.
While reduced, the trepidation in her eyes still hadn't gone away.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she approached me. Finally, she stopped less than a meter apart. She reminded me of a wild animal approaching a human to eat out of their palm.
Another brief bout of silence ensued.
"Come now. Won't you take a poor sinner's hand?"
AN: I was going to make this a mega chapter, but I guess faster release equals smaller chapter. Btw, big news snuck in between the cracks of this chapter. Guess who's alive?!
Plot should be good for the rest of this arc, I think. Gotta wrap up stuff on Thriller Bark, do some character reveals for the Wu Tang Clan, then maybe a side plot or four, some training, then a big fight(s). Or something like that. Should be fun.
Things I'm curious about are 1) what will rev army do without dragon. 2) World govt lost an admiral, and is missing a shichibukai. 3) Wtf are Kaido, Big Mom, and Shanks doing. 4) How are Luffy, and Ace doing? Will the Straw Hats break apart?! I'll probably explore some of this somewhere in the side plots, and introduce some forgotten players along the way.