Replies to my Reviews
Guest: I wrote this before chapter 1044! Gosh, I thought Nika had been a real character!
JumpRanger: Hmm...
Amatsumi: Just my thoughts on what happens when a Celestial Dragon actually works out. Whenever a Celestial Dragon is shown to actually move their own weight, they actually show some traits that hint at their potential. Mjosgard for example, despite only training a little, was capable of whacking a full grown man and send him flying several meters with an iron club. And that's not considering how heavy the club must have been. Frankly, Doflamingo and Rocinante were Monsters, with the latter only being underwhelming as he trained to become a spy rather than a combatant and had a support-type Devil Fruit, but still ended up as Doflamingo's First Mate by virtue of still being stronger than everyone else other than his brother.
Chapter 02: Boshū to Kaketsu to Kakumei (Recruitment and Adoption and Revolution)
For the next few months following that call, Bell and his crew had been chased after by Marines more ferocious than normal. It was telling that not a single Marine vessel that chased after the Sun Pirates never had a commanding officer ranking lower than a Rear Admiral aboard.
Right, Sun Pirates...
The first time Bell had heard his crew being addressed as such due to his copious Devil Fruit usage as well as the design of his Jolly Roger, he had panicked... for a total of three seconds. Fisher Tiger could just choose another name for all he cared. It's not like there was a single pirate crew that had a choice in how the Marines chose to address them. After all, the original Sun Pirates had been known and addressed as the Fishmen Pirates instead by a lot, including their own homeland.
(Bell studiously ignored the existence of the Barto Club. Did that Barrier guy even have a bounty of his own?)
Speaking of bounties...
"Captain!" Kurome waved Bell down from the mast. "Our bounties got updated again!"
After months of living with him, Kurome barely reacted to the flash and heat of sunfire as Bell solarported right to her and took the posters of her hand.
During his adventures as a pirate, other than training his crewmates (at least for just Elizabeth and Kurome), Bell usually just picked a random island on a map and started to sail there. regardless of whichever sea it was. Not much else to do unless Akame managed to spot another slave trading ship they could sink or raid a World Noble's ship like the last one they had encountered.
(By now, Akame had figured out that Elizabeth had been a World Noble. To Bell's surprise, she'd was mostly surprised on how little Elizabeth had tried to undermine Bell's authority, given a World Noble's usually vain attitude.
Elizabeth was still mostly a bitch to them, though.)
Spreading them out, Bell whistled as he looked over the updated bounties.
Dead or Alive
"Blazing Spear" Rocks D. Bell
B1,400,000,000
Bell's picture looked like it had been taken in God Valley during his battle with Xebec against Roger and Garp, showing his bloodied upper form as well as patches of sunfire burning off his spear and shoulders as he gave a confident smirk.
Dead or Alive
"Dual Shot" Donquixote Elizabeth
B740,000,000
Elizabeth's picture showed her during one of their stays on an island, with her actually posing after shooting a bounty hunter that had tried to arrest her.
Dead or Alive
"Red Blade" Akame
B690,000,000
Akame's picture showed her with her signature katana leaving blood red trails of electric energy. For some reason, Akame had the ability to generate that energy off her blade and utilize it in combat, calling it her 'suppressed murderous intent manifested into reality'. As she neither ate a Devil Fruit or wielded a Meito, Bell simply took her {Lightning of Murderous Intent} and added it to the collection of One Piece Bullshit which included stuff like Sanji's {Flames of Passion}.
Dead or Alive
"Dark Blade" Kurome
B546,000,000
Kurome's picture showed her as well with her sword out. However, unlike her sister's stoic visage, Kurome's soft and sadistic smile when coupled with Busoshoku Haki-colored katana gave off a terrifying feeling.
"Nice..." Bell nodded in approval of his crewmates' bounties all passing the Hundred Million Mark. "Have the others seen them?"
"No." Kurome shook her head and looked over to where Akame and Elizabeth had been sparring for a while now. "The News Coo just arrived and left."
Bell nodded absentmindedly, frowning as he observed Elizabeth's combat form. Or the absolute lack of one. There were several openings in it, however, the moment Akame made a move, Elizabeth simply reacted faster, nearly taking the ex-Cipher Pol agent off guard.
To Bell, who knew how hard it was for a civilian adult to learn martial arts after a lifetime of preferred habits, it was terrifying to see how easily and swiftly Elizabeth's casual stance could shift to a lethal prowl.
Like Donquixote Doflamingo always did. If not for his chronic clumsiness, Bell had no doubt that Rocinante would've been dangerously similar considering how effective he'd already been both as a spy and combatant despite it.
"It's been a week now since you joined in on training her." Later at night, Bell spoke with Akame in the kitchen, as the latter was now the crew's Chef. "So, what do you think of her?"
Akame paused in preparing for the next day's breakfast and frowned as she recollected everything about Elizabeth's progress. "She's progressing too quickly. Are you sure she hasn't had the tiniest bit of fighting experience before you met her?"
"She was a World Noble."
"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that last week, Elizabeth didn't know how to counter or dodge a punch to the face." Akame stressed. "3 hours ago, she moved faster than I'd thrown a punch. I actually had to fight like I was seriously fighting an enemy to defeat her. Is this... why the Gorōsei favor the Tenryubito so much? They're aware of the sheer combat ability they innately possess?"
"Possibly." Bell answered. "I only have evidence from three other World Nobles, but they were all of the Donquixote Family so I don't know whether such a thing is just them or all of the Tenryubito in Mariejois."
For obvious reasons, Bell would not be directly referring to Doflamingo and Rocinante's names out loud.
It was terrifying to believe that the Five Elder Stars had possibly pampered the descendants of the 19 Precursor Royal Families, just for the sake of keeping potentially powerful bloodlines separated from the world.
Bell honestly didn't know why they would do that, but knew better than to think on something he couldn't affect at all.
Wait.
Wasn't Vivi's family the 20th Royal Precursor that had stayed away from Mariejois? Did that mean that Nefertari Vivi could've had the same potential as Donquixote Doflamingo?!
"Let's just chalk it all up to innate aptitude and leave it at that. Our weakest crewmate getting stronger at a fast rate isn't exactly a bad thing." Bell sighed, causing Akame to reluctantly nod in agreement. "On other matters, how's our food situation going?"
"Pretty good, if I say so myself." Akame replied with a small cheer in her voice. "I really appreciate not having to struggle as much as we did before meeting you, Captain."
Nodding in acceptance, Bell bid Akame goodnight and left the kitchen, only to stare at the snowflake that suddenly appeared before him.
'Wasn't it sweltering hot 2 minutes ago?' Bell wondered before shaking his head. 'Right, Grand Line weather. Even if we're currently in Paradise, sudden snow out of nowhere isn't that surprising.'
The next morning, Bell stared in awe at the island before them. He had only managed to see a glimpse of it in the anime but that had been enough.
"Karakuri Island!" Bell cheered. The homeland of Vegapunk! Was Vegapunk's workshop present at the moment? Only one way to find out!
"Hold it!" Before Bell could literally rocket off the ship as they made port, Elizabeth grabbed his collar. "We need to choose who's watching the ship this time."
Right.
Unlike Akame who had to frequently disembark to stock up on their food and medical supplies, the rest of the Sun Pirates didn't have such duties.
"Just have a Rock-Paper-Scissors match with Kurome." Bell said as he leapt over the railing after Akame. "The loser's on guard duty."
"No fair!" Kurome shouted back. "Liz's luck is way too high!"
Bell paid no mind to that, already several miles high in the sky as he tried to locate what Franky had found several years in the future.
After flying about for some minutes, a blizzard started to emerge over the winter island, forcing Bell to land near one of the many laboratories over the island.
"Purururu. Purururu. Purururu. Purururu."
Bell answered his personal Transponder Snail after retrieving it from one of his front pockets. "What's wrong, Akame?"
"This island is heavily guarded with Marines!" Akame hissed through the line. "Where are you, Captain?"
Bell looked around and noted his surroundings. "I'm currently inside an abandoned laboratory. It's looks like it's regularly cleaned, but none of these computers and equipment have been used for years."
"I see... In that case, can you please stay there until the storm passes?" Akame stated. "I'm quite sure the storm might freeze our ship in place so once it's over, you'll have to get back immediately."
Bell sighed in frustration before replying an agreement. Putting away the now shivering Transponder Snail back in the warmth of his clothes, Bell noted the billowing storm through a nearby window and kept exploring the area.
Just as he was wondering how the area was constantly kept cleaned, a chime sounded through the lab, preceding the movement of several girls appearing out of opening holes in the walls and moving about. Despite looking the same, they were all dressed differently, each one having a unique but familiar archetype.
For a moment, Bell wondered how his Kenbunshoku Haki had missed all of them, then as he saw one of the girls sporting mechanical fins where her ears were supposed to be, he realized that he hadn't missed anything.
Automata didn't have souls to sense after all.
Bell stared idly as one of the girl's approached him. She had the appearance of a teenage girl with short purple hair, wearing a simple but form fitting medical outfit with a very short skirt, complete with a nurse's hat.
She kinda looked like that Angeloid nurse looking girl from Heaven's Lost Property, only lacking the wings.
"'Nice to meet you,' says Omicron #69 as she introduces herself to the visitor." The girl spoke, curtsying a bit and raising her already short dress even higher. "'I am one of the many caretakers of Dr. Hakaro's laboratory.'"
"Yo. I'm Rocks D. Bell, Captain of the Sun Pirates." Bell raised a hand in salute before looking around again. "I've got some questions if you don't mind."
"'No, go ahead,' says Omicron #69."
"What is the purpose of this facility?"
"'This was built by Dr. Hakaro as a private laboratory for the study of his personal projects.' says Omi-'"
"Can you please stop talking in a describing manner?" Bell cut her off. "You've only spoken three sentences and the Author feels exhausted from trying to mimic that speech pattern in written words."
"As you wish."
"Thank you." Bell sighed. "So how long has this place been here?"
"I, along with my siblings, were built to serve as this laboratory's control terminals. That was 853 years ago."
'So they really weren't human... wait a minute.' "Did you just say that you were created 853 years ago?!" Bell replied in shock. "But that's... That'd be during the Void Century!"
The Void Century.
A blank period in One Piece history in which Bell suspected might've been a world spanning war with the victors being the precursors of what would later become the World Government.
To think that a conscious being from that era was right before him... "You're one durable machine."
"Not all of me is mechanical." Omicron #69 replied. "I have some biological parts that were created with Irrationalium, as well, so 'an amalgam of machine and Irrationalium life form' would be a more proper description. By the way, even though I cannot produce offspring, I am still capable of sexual intercourse."
"As interesting as that sounds, I didn't ask about... that..." Bell blinked. "Irrationalium? I didn't mishear that, right? Did you just say Irrationalium? What in the world is that?"
"Irrationalium. This is an ambient but incalculable energy that the planet is saturated in and constantly exudes. Because of this energy, it allows the world to constantly violate and twist it's own Laws of Reality. It has also been found present in several lifeforms as well, allowing them to perform acts that would logically be impossible, such as literally bursting into flames or temporarily increasing in size when sufficiently enraged or release tremendous amounts of tears when crying. This, in effect, loosens physical limitations and/or exaggerates capabilities without accounting for the side effects of the exaggeration, allowing the existence of various phenomena that should be much more difficult or impossible in reality."
'Oda, you beautiful genius! There was a scientific explanation for how nonsensical and weird this world could get... I think!' Bell silently marveled. "Can you please explain more to me?"
"Take the Devil Fruit for example. A Devil Fruit, when divided into it's three types, represents aspects of the World condensed into tangible forms. Logia, the Devil Fruits that embody the natural forces of the World. Paramecia, the Devil Fruits that embody the various concepts that exist in the World, which is why for every new concept created in the World, a Devil Fruit surely exists to embody it. Zoan, the Devil Fruits that represent all possible lifeforms that may have existed, no longer exist and surely exist in the Present World."
'Huh. This explains a lot...' "In that case, why does the Sea hates us?"
Omicron #69 frowned in dejection. "I apologize. The reason for the paralysis and draining effects on Devil Fruit users from 'still water' was never able to be determined."
'I guess that's one secret that staying a secret.' Bell sighed in annoyance. "One last question. Why is such an important place so unguarded, then? It was easy to spot and enter from outside."
Omicron #69 blinked in confusion. "It isn't unprotected in the slightest. This facility is completely invisible and inaccessible to those who do not possess the Sun-Sun Fruit."
Bell gawked. "What? Why is my Devil Fruit your passcode or something?!"
"Because your Devil Fruit used to be my creator's Devil Fruit." Omicron #69 replied. "And since there are no two or more Devil Fruits of the same kind, it served as an excellent access tool as well as energy source. Even right now, the laboratory, as well as my sisters, are all being powered by an artificial sun created by Dr. Hakaro."
"...I see. I don't know how's that actually possible, but that's a Void Century scientist for you, I guess." Bell sighed before looking out the window. A considerable amount of time had passed at this point, but the blizzard still raged on. It was a winter island, after all. "So what now?"
"Now, I can officially register you as the master of this laboratory. As of this moment, Housekeeping Specialist: Omicron, code name 'Oregano', will be transferred to your command. Shall we begin the Imprinting?"
'So you are the nurse Angeloid from that series! Which means that you've most likely gotten wings as well hidden away.' Bell blinked. "Imprinting? How does that work?"
"I need a record of your genetic information." Oregano approached Bell until she was right before him. Slowly getting to her knees, Oregano kept eye contact with Bell as she unbuckled his belt and fished out his slowly hardening cock. "Please, relax. Judging by the lustful nature of your gaze over my body, I am certain you are currently sexually frustrated. I shall multitask, simultaneously performing the Imprinting while alleviating your stress."
'Am I about to get a blowjob so suddenly like this?' Bell thought before shrugging. 'Well, it's not there's ever a reason to turn down good sex.'
The homunculus grasped it carefully, running her tongue up the length several times from the base to the tip. She swirled her tongue around the head before slipping the head between her soft lips and beginning to suck.
Her hand started to jerk up and down, lubricated by her saliva. Her head bobbed slowly and sensually at first, but Bell could see that she was building speed and progressively plunging deeper on his shaft with each bob. Soon her lips were meeting her hand as she stroked.
Oregano grabbed his hips tight as she began to fuck her own mouth with Bell's cock. The pirate himself leaned back against the wall, enjoying the feeling of the beautiful homunculus taking the head of his cock against the back of her throat.
Diving onto the cock with a wide open mouth then wrapping her lips firmly around the base and pulling back to the rim of the top, Oregano slurped and sucked hard, pushing her tongue against the shaft and licking it slowly.
Bell placed his palms on the back of her head, causing Oregano to look up at him as he pushed her down, making the girl take his cock deeper while she made no resistance against his motions.
The pirate's hips finally started to move, slowly taking charge. As the sounds of the sloppy facefuck increased in tempo, Oregano gagged a bit but didn't budge an inch, allowing the pirate to increase the speed of his thrusts with even more aggression, causing spit to start dripping off her lips as one of her hands caressed her chest while the other danced against her moistening crotch.
As Oregano gave a heavy moan, Bell grabbed two fistfuls of her indigo hair and sheathed himself fully, releasing white hot ropes of cum down her gulping throat.
The gynoid continued to idly suck and clean his cock after he pulled out before leaning back and licking her lips clean. "Imprinting... complete. Ownership of the Synapse Laboratory is now transferred to Rocks D. Bell."
"That's great." Suddenly Bell's hands were grabbing her sides as he roughly pulled the girl to her feet and set her down roughly on a nearby desk. "But now it's time for me to... initiate my new nurse into my crew."
Oregano's eyes widened as Bell positioned himself between her spread legs and slapped his still erect cock right on her slender stomach, the fluids on it staining the white dress.
"For starters, let's test out your stamina."
And with that, Bell ripped off the drenched panties separating him from his prize and bottomed out in a single, brutal thrust, earning a throaty moan out of his partner.
Several meters away, Akame blinked as the blizzard finally calmed down. Stepping outside the shop she had taken refuge in, she swiftly made her way for the ship only to come to a halt halfway and instantly seek a hiding spot.
Just as she had successfully hidden behind a tree and a bit under some snow next to the pathway, a group of marines matched up the way, being preceded by a freaking Admiral.
He was a young but tall male with spiky black hair with a widow's peak and very, very muscular. Even the black suit with green shirt did little to hide his downplay his muscular figure, as it was capped off with the usual white of coat of Justice hanging off his shoulders with green being the color for the cuffs.
Akame clenched her fists upon identifying him. 'Admiral... Hisuiryu...'
She'd heard of him. Admiral Hisuiryu (Jade Dragon) was the most recent and youngest of all the three current Admirals. However, his rise was very meteoric in nature as she hadn't even had time to properly observe his militaristic history before he was slapped with a Code Name and put into ranks with Kinbutsu (Golden Buddha) Sengoku and Yorukuma (Night Bear) Zephyr.
Hisuiryu suddenly stopped and picked out his Transponder Snail. "All of you, keep heading to the base. I just remembered that I need to call my old man for something."
"Sir!"
With twenty other voices saluting as one, the marines kept going on their way, leaving the Admiral alone as he stared at the still unused Transponder Snail until- "They've all gone far enough. Come out, Cipher Pol Agent Akame."
With a steely expression hiding her trepidation, Akame stepped out from her hiding spot, not even bothering to question how he had discovered her, despite how she had suppressed her presence and Haki as much as she could. "That's ex-Cipher Pol to you."
"I am aware." Putting away the unneeded Transponder Snail, Hisuiryu turned to fully face her. "However, I care little for that at the moment. I am hereby arresting you for treason against the World Government and piracy. Will you surrender peacefully or will you resist?"
Akame sighed before suddenly unsheathing her blade. "Has there ever been a pirate who took the first option?"
"No." Hisuiryu hadn't made the slightest motion to ready himself for battle, but that didn't deceive Akame in the slightest. "I believe it is always important to lay out the option from the start."
The already cold air between them chilled to an absolute zero... before Akame launched herself at him!
"[Shūbun Seirai(Thunder Swarm)!]"
With several slashes of her katana, arched waves of crimson lightning surrounded Hisuiryu as Akame herself charged straight on. Just as the Admiral took the attack head-on, Akame swung her blade, hoping to decapitate him as swiftly as she could before he could recover-
"[Ryusei Naguri(Meteor Punch).]"
The fierce punch came out of nowhere, a whiplash of unbridled power and dangerously potent Haki. It was only thanks to that potency that Akame had sensed the danger and barely managed to turn her attack into a defense as the fist slammed into her blade, and then into her midsection, flinging Akame backwards and smashing her through two trees and into a third.
As Akame slowly slid down the snowy tree while blood dribbled down her chin, Hisuiryu approached in a completely relaxed manner, correctly assured that she was unable to get to her feet again. "Where is your captain? I have some questions for him."
A bloody spit against his cheek was his answer.
"Alright then, if I capture you and let him know, will he come for you?"
Akame frowned. She... truly didn't know if he would come for her and risk fighting an Admiral of all marines. "Unlikely. As strong as my Captain is, he's not suicidal... I think."
He was a D. after all... Some of the ideas he'd randomly spout at times, had all of them wandering for his sanity at least thrice for each of them.
"Only one way to be sure then."
And with that last sentence, the last thing Akame saw was another obsidian fist rapidly approaching her face.
"So what now?" Bell asked as he and Oregano stood outside the lab some hours later, the duo staring at the building. "I get that you managed to keep this place safe from the World Government for centuries, but I don't feel comfortable leaving this on one of their territories. I mean, you've got 12 Poneglyphs in there!"
Hadn't that been a shock to discover. Neither Bell nor Oregano had been able to read them though. Still, the fact that they existed was more than enough to take priority.
"That is not a problem, Bell-sama." Oregano pointed her hand at the facility, creating a red, spherical forcefield that grew to swallow the entire laboratory before shrinking back into her palm, leaving behind nothing but a crater. "I have consumed the Mise Mise no Mi(Store-Store Fruit), making me a Storage Homunculus. Anything I store away is frozen in time and animation, so there is no need to worry."
"Wow. That's so useful, especially if you can put away whole buildings." Bell whistled before holding her hand. In an instant, Bell and Oregano burst into sunfire and solarported all the way back to the ship. "Welcome to your new home-"
"Captain!" Kurome tackled Bell in an instant, her tears soaking his shirt. "Nee-san... Nee-san got..."
"Akame has been captured by the Marines." Elizabeth approached, sporting some bandages on her head. "Bell, this time, we're dealing with an Admiral."
'Aokiji, Kizaru and Akainu can't be Admirals yet.' Bell frowned. "Who is it?"
"Hisuiryu." Elizabeth replied. "The youngest ever Admiral. What's worse is that he left behind an Eternal Log Pose. He wants us to chase him down."
On a Marine-controlled island, Admiral Hisuiryu and his squad docked the ship, dropping him and the shackled prisoner in a nearby station before hastily clearing it of all important documents and personnel, then retreating to a safe distance while leaving Hisuiryu and Akame behind.
Akame slowly awakened, wincing at the throbbing headache that surged to life with her returning clarity.
"So you're awake, now. Just in time, too."
Regretting the sharp pain it caused, Akame snapped her head to the left, seeing the Admiral that had captured her.
"I have good news for you... or bad, depending on how you see it." The Admiral leaned forward in his seat. "Your Captain hasn't abandoned you. Right now at this moment, our sensors have detected a pirate ship approaching the island we've docked in. They'll be making contact in 30 minutes or so."
Akame gained conflicting emotions at that. On the positive side, the pirate she had handed her fate over to truly cared enough for her sake to chase after an Admiral. On the negative side, they were chasing down an Admiral.
"How old are you?" Hisuiryu suddenly asked. "I've never met a pirate so young."
Akame stared back at the young Admiral. "I could say the same. You look 19, like me."
"I'm 17, actually." Hisuiryu corrected, only to suddenly turn his stare towards the open window. In the relative dimness of the early morning, the bright golden flare of her rapidly approaching Captain brought a smile to Akame's lips. "Well, let's get go that answer."
Hisuiryu walked outside, stretching his arms as the distance between him and Bell grew shorter and shorter with every second.
Up above and swiftly descending, Bell's Hardened spear was grasped in both hands, turning it's golden metal obsidian with a yellowish luster while crackling with Infused Haoshoku Haki. On the beach, Hisuiryu's cocked fist took a similar form, turning obsidian with a greenish sheen while releasing the same blackish red lightning that crackled off his incoming opponent's weapon.
Stomping the ground hard enough to crack it, Hisuiryu swung his fist just as Bell reached and swung down his spear...
And the Sun God's Spear and the Jade Dragon's Fist refused to meet.
A crimson, jagged patch of energy erupted between both of them, crackling and letting loose bolts of lightning that were black-tinged-with-red.
And then the shockwave blasted out.
Gale-force winds beyond anything a normal storm could produce ripped through the entire island. The buildings disintegrated, along with Akame nearly being flung away if not for her shackles holding her down. Waves around the island rose and barreled away as the sea itself wanted nothing to do with the two Conquerors throwing down. The sky above them burst clear of clouds for miles as if a deity had punched right through it.
Before their clash, the weather had been almost completely cloudy. Now? There wasn't a cloud in the sky to block the morning sun's rays for over a mile in every direction from the epicenter, and the hole was still growing.
Waves would have battered both pirate and marine ships, had both their leaders not warned them to get as far away as possible.
As the Wills of the Supreme King dominated the entire area, Akame gasped at the sight, completely in awe as she witnessed what very, very few people got to see in their entire lives. "They... They aren't even touching each other!"
Indeed, the two Conquerors hadn't lessened up the pressure on each other in the slightest, their eyes gleaming scarlet as they gave each other glares monstrous enough to send angels and demons alike screaming for the hills.
Finally, it died down and Bell landed on the beach. Looking over and noting Akame's still alive form, he relaxed a little. "What exactly do you want with me, capturing my crewmate to lure me here?"
"Don't worry." Hisuiryu cracked his neck. "This is just a personal endeavor of mine. I'd like to challenge you to a duel, Rocks D. Bell."
"...what."
"A few months ago, an incident occurred with the World Nobles at God Valley. However, even with my authority as Admiral, none of the marines who were present on that now sunken island were allowed to divulge of the matter to anybody at all." Hisuiryu cracked his knuckles and started to warm up. "As a Rocks Pirate who was present then and there, you can give a firsthand account."
'An Admiral who isn't a Justice nut?' Bell raised an eyebrow at that. "And what do I get out of this... duel if I win?"
Hisuiryu pointed over to the other side of the island. "Assuming that you win, I guess I wouldn't be able to stop you from raiding that spare galleon on the other side of the island. For pirates as Wanted as you, I'm guessing that you can never be too lacking in various items which happen to include a White Den Den Mushi."
Bell's widened at that. If he remembered correctly, that was the Transponder Snail used to block eavesdroppers who might tap in on his calls.
"Okay, I'm interested. But mostly because I want to promise my crewmates that I can protect them from even Admirals like you." Sending a reassuring wink at Akame, Bell instantly replied, getting into a stance. "Captain of the Sun Pirates, 'Kaenyari(Blazing Spear)'."
Hisuiryu slid into a stance of his own. "Admiral of the Marines, 'Hisuiryu(Jade Dragon)'."
For a bit, there was utter silence...
*BAM!*
A loud clap was heard as the combatants clashed. Bell's fist centimeters from Hisuiryu's face, the punch stopped by his grip on the Logia's wrist.
Hisuiryu's own strike, also being stopped by his wrist being grabbed by Bell, was an odd-looking strike that pressed his index and middle finger together, separate from his ring and pinky finger that were also pressed together with the thumb by itself parallel to the other four fingers...
'Oh... my... GOSH...!'
The two separated and jumped back to make some distance from one another. They were quickly back at it in another blur.
Bell lashed out with a kick which Hisuiryu blocked with his forearm. Hisuiryu then struck with his 'claw' but was parried away. A back fist from Bell was caught and a Hardened knee was sent towards his midsection. Bell's own Hardened knee came up to block, causing a small shockwave on impact.
A flurry of strikes and kicks were then exchanged and Akame laid there, her mouth agape as she actually saw living human beings become little more than blurs without needing the Rokushiki!
'I can barely see them...' Akame clenched her fists as she remembered her swift defeat. 'Before I left Cipher Pol, I was at least confident that I could defeat a Vice Admiral.'
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
*BAM!*
'To think that the gap between a Vice Admiral and an Admiral was this far...' Akame gasped they briefly paused in their movements as they simultaneously landed hits on each other's chest, creating a shockwave as they were both blown away from each other... only to instantly continue as if they hadn't received blows that would've pulverized a regular human's torso! 'And to think my captain is matching him!'
"[Sunny Bombardment!]"
Bell flew up and gathered up an immense amount of sunfire before literally blanket firing it over Hisuiryu's area, giving the image of a meteor shower. However...
"[Renzoku Ryusei Naguri(Continuous Meteor Punches)!]"
A flurry of onyx fists utterly blurred the air before Hisuiryu as the shockwaves smashed into the miniature sun bombs and caused explosions after explosions.
After that bit, there was a brief lull in which the two stared at each other before a small chuckle escaped Bell's lips.
"As expected of an Admiral, you're crazy strong. Still, ren't you going to use it?" Bell raised a finger and strongly pointed it at Hisuiryu. "Your Devil Fruit, that is!"
Akame blinked. 'Eh?'
"So you noticed after all. I should've expected nothing less from a New World pirate." Bursting into a chuckle of his own, Hisuiryu replied. "However, I'm afraid not. You see, I only ate my Devil Fruit last week. I'm still very much lacking in control."
'Last week?!' Akame silently freaked out. 'Does that mean everything he's been doing so far was all just his natural power?!'
"Hah?" Bell tilted his head as he gave a wide grin only a D. could pull off. The kind that looked at danger and chaos but saw wonder and triumph instead. "Do you think I'm not capable of matching it like I nearly matched Garp the Fist's strongest attack?"
For a second, Hisuiryu stared at Bell with unbridled shock before it was replaced with a maniacal but determined grin. "Alright, then!"
'Why do I suddenly feel too close to Ground Zero?' Akame shivered as the air suddenly tensed up to an unbearable high.
Bell grinned as he became his own sun. He became too bright to even look at directly as he revved up for an even more powerful technique, sending a golden pillar of solar energy towards the heavens!
Hisuiryu responded in kind, his body becoming lost as wind surged to life around him in a greenish haze, rapidly picking up in speed until an emerald tornado stood to rival the sunny pillar!
Watching this most abnormal of phenomena, Akame would swear that over the roaring of blazing sunfire and the howling of the surging wind that two roars were heard.
"[Ranryujin no Tensho(Tempest Dragon God's Heaven Piercer)!]
Hisuiryu's voice rang out loud and clear from within the tornado. The rising tornado formed into a massive Eastern Dragon, it's long serpentine body, the long whiskers, the antler-like horns, the four legs, each with three claws, and the long tail that flew behind it all composed of razor sharp winds that glowed green, with it's white eyes making it look almost alive.
"[Sunny Prominence: Rising Dragon Emperor!]"
Bell called forth from the massive pillar of solar energy that was his body, which transformed into a massive Western Dragon, it's broad, muscular body, the horns, and tremendous wings each almost as long as the dragon's length, all composed of blinding sunfire, it's eyes showing signs of proud sentience as well.
The two titanic dragons rushed towards each other at their creator's will, their clash surely being able to level the entire island at a minimum!
"CAPTAIN BELL!" Akame screamed at her captain, the sound of her voice somehow heard above the two massive dragons about to clash.
Just as the two dragons would have clashed, they both veered away from each other.
Hisuiryu's Sky Dragon was headed towards the ocean while Bell's Sun Dragon headed upwards towards the cloudless sky. The windy dragon kicked up a massive spray of seawater as it crashed into the drink, slowly dissipating and breaking apart as it's creator no longer powered it.
Up above, the Sun Dragon lost cohesion and disappeared in a shower of plasma liquid drops that could be seen even in the bright morning light.
Reforming from his solar form and watching the wind stop surrounding Hisuiryu, Bell rushed over to his numb crewmate and swiftly crushed her shackles off with a strong dosage of Armament Haki.
Hugging the delirious Akame against his chest, Bell turned to see Hisuiryu still standing nearby, making no motions to impede him. "You're a really weird marine, you know that?"
"Let's just help each other out." Hisuiryu sighed. "Tell me what really happened on God Valley and I'll gladly be on my way."
"...Xebec and I found a piece of the World's True History." Bell stated after he pressed one of Akame's pressure points to render her unconscious, leaving just the men to their privacy. "However, the Gorōsei, along with several World Nobles, found out as well, which led to the clash that ended my brother's life. We were each given a Question from the World and it still awaits my own Answer, even after the island sunk itself. What will your own Answer to the World be if I grant you the Question? Are you even worthy of learning the Question without your Haki ripping itself apart if you cannot handle it? My brother was very insistent that nobody other than a true D. ever learned of the Question. You do not want to be found Inadequate."
Hisuiryu blinked before smiling the Grin. "That only makes me more curious."
Bell returned the Grin. "I shouldn't have expected any less. You really are a fellow D. like Xebec and I. I only hope Roger and Garp are similar enough. Now, listen closely, for I am only permitted to state this once..."
And on that island, the Question was passed. And the very moment the two who possessed the 'Will of D.' both stepped off the island, it promptly sunk itself under ten minutes, taking the history of what happened down to the inky depths...
Akame woke up again to a throbbing head. A quick cursory glance around caused her to relax as she recognized her captain's room. All over her torso were bandages, woven far better than she could've ever done herself.
"You've awakened."
Turning to her left, she both an asleep Bell along with a nurse? A new crewmember, then, judging by the gentle sway of the ship and the girl's calmness while being so close to pirates.
"My name is Oregano. Master Bell recruited me to act as this crew's Doctor before he learned of your capture." Oregano bowed before leaving the room. "I shall alert the rest of my new Nakama."
"Akame." Bell had awoken, surprising her as he lean over the bed to cup her cheek. "Are you alright-"
Akame kissed him, causing him to freeze against her. Her hands cupped his face as she tilted her head to thrust her tongue into his mouth. The moment she found his tongue, he moved, tilting his head to the other side.
Moving about to straddle him on the bed, Akame slipped her hands down his chest, feeling along the muscles and small scars along the way.
Bell's breath began to quicken, their tongues tangling with one another's as he grasped her hips. Akame undid the button of his jeans, and he jerked in shock, pulling back just enough to whisper with a husky voice. "What ...?"
"I should have been doing this every day to thank you." She drew the zipper down with slow anticipation. Akame had often heard from others that few things were as arousing as a man strong enough to protect his woman. At first she hadn't believed that chauvinistic bullshit, at least until she saw Bell's fight against Admiral Hisuiryu.
As one who had been raised to become join Cipher Pol, Akame was one of the few in the world who would loudly declare that something like age as an indicator of strength meant utter shit at times. Case in point, her 18-year-old Captain and the 17-year-old Admiral who had fought each other like gods in human flesh.
And there was just something about having a god like that honestly grant her and her sister his genuine protection that made her loins want to combust.
"Ever since I saw you and Liz that night..." Akame gasped as she freed his throbbing erection. True to his word, despite how many times he had indeed flirted or boldly cupped several feels from her and Kurome, Bell had kept all of his sexual acts only with Elizabeth. To think she'd been missing out on so much.
Kneeling at the bed between his legs, she brushed her hair behind her ear so it was out of her way as she began to lean over his swollen cock. With a breathy gasp, she swallowed him in one fell swoop, causing him to moan and cup the back of her head like in her usual fantasies.
Bell twitched, panting as she started bobbing her mouth up and down his rigid cock.
Her tongue found several throbbing veins to follow. She peered up at him, pausing a moment to suckle on the tip. Bell gazed back down at her with heavy, lidded eyes, breathing hard. He licked his lips before pressing her mouth back onto his cock and moaning as she let him. She moaned as she pulled back, and paused again with a teasing stare.
Shuddering, he pushed her down again, beginning a rhythm with her until she was almost thrusting her mouth onto him like a piston.
Just as he suddenly grabbed her head and thrusted deep enough to enter her throat and start cumming, the door slammed open to reveal Kurome, whose excitement swiftly turned to a nice mixture of embarrassment, disgust and shock.
"What the fuck?!"
To Kurome's indignance, neither of them urgently tried to separate from the other.
"This... is exactly what it looks like, Kurome." After pulling back and licking her lips clean, Akame took off all her clothing in one swift movement. "I'm getting laid! You can either join in, stay there and watch quietly or get out!"
Considering how close to death she had been today, Akame refused to stay a virgin any longer than she had to!
No more.
He had had enough. Pops could not convince him to look the other way no longer.
A world in which such evil was permitted by the highest authority... could no longer be called a world he wished to live in. Can one find happiness in a world in which innocent people are treated as unnecessary by it's highest authority?
Well... They weren't the highest authority after all. They just wanted everyone else to believe otherwise.
"What will your Answer be to the World? Make no mistake, for you will have an Answer to give in some years."
His Answer?
This was time for a rebellion. No, a Revolt.
"Admiral! We are ready for your command!"
Hisuiryu turned back to see the Marines assembled behind him.
No.
None of them were really Marines anymore, were they? He had stated his intentions to the entire group as bluntly as he could. Rather than earning their scorn and hatred as he expected, he had instead cemented their loyalty for him.
They were all like him. A couple more traitors and turncoats, who were told that saying No in the face of Injustice was a crime punishable by death.
All of them, who want to do right in the world and rebel against the World Government, but can't find themselves as Marines or Pirates.
They would start out as turncoats and traitors, soon gaining more members than just disillusioned marines.
"No. As of this moment, I'm no longer a Marine, let alone an Admiral." He shook his head to face the first of what would soon become one of the World's 'Fourth' Great Power, giving off a Grin that would soon become the bane of the Five Elder Stars.
As his belief in the Marines finally and completely died, Hisuiryu's coat with the symbol of JUSTICE proudly emblazoned upon it, slipped from his shoulders and wafted away into the wind. "From this moment, I am simply... Monkey D. Dragon."
The Question has been asked...
Three who possess the Will of D. have been Tested and found Adequate...
One sails with Davy Jones... Two sails the six Seas above...
The Gears have been sent into Motion...
Some will be put into place, Some will be irrevocably cast away...
How many will Rise? How many will Fall?
For Want of a Nail, A Battle might be Won or Lost...
Scores of Nails, Lost and Found and Destroyed and Created, a Battle out of sight of the World...
Despite Earning a Page of the Akashic Records, the Rocks Brothers were still too Early...
But even so, the One who will carry the Weight of the True History soon comes...
Dread it... Run from it... Destiny arrives all the same...
Just because you defeated us... does not mean that we died out...
Do you understand what we're saying... Imu?
KingVessel: To be continued... with a time skip!