People tense up as they see the girl put Seima on her belt and grab the cursed blade.
"Stop it Miss!" Stella grabs Hebi and easily pulls out the black blade. Before the frightened eyes of the onlookers, they see the snake on the scabbard move and rush towards Stella's hand.
"Look out!" The snake comes out of the scabbard to wrap itself around the girl's arm like a black tattoo and up to her neck. Everyone panics at the sight.
Even more so when the snake opens its mouth wide, all teeth out.
"HAAAAA!"
The girls scream when they see the snake's fangs, but no one expected the snake to close its mouth and just let its tongue out and start tickling Stella's neck.
"Ha ha ha ha! Stop that tickling! Ha ha ha ha! Seima, traitress! Ha ha ha! Why did you tell him?! Ha ha ha ha!" Eyes bulging, jaws open, they watch as Stella writhes with laughter, drops the blade and scabbard, and tries to catch the snake that is starting to tickle her all over. "Haaaa! Stop! Stop! Stop! Ha ha ha! I... I... I give up! You win! Please stop!" The snake lets out a little hiss that sounds far too much like a laugh and disappears from the skin, only to reappear on the scabbard.
Stella is sprawled on the ground, out of breath, trying to catch her breath.
I take a deep breath and look up at the ceiling, the room is silent except for the barely contained chuckle of Crocodile. My head rolls in the direction of the Shichibukai and I stare at him.
"Are you amused?" He silences his laughter with one last chuckle, but his voice is amused.
"I expected a hard fight, a surrender or even a refusal, but I never thought he would tickle you." My eyes roll into their sockets, I straighten up and grab the katana on the ground and its scabbard.
"Contrary to what you think, not all cursed blades are bloodthirsty monsters. All you have to do is talk to them and please them." I say with a big malicious smile. Hebi whistles to confirm my words.
"This is... This is... This is extraordinary! Miss Star, you are full of surprises!" Rengi exclaims as he walks up to me, staring at Hebi like an excited child. "I never thought I would see something like this in my life! Are you able to do that with any cursed weapon? I have one at home and I would love to use it! Can you go talk to him?! I'll offer you anything you want!" Rengi moves closer and closer to me, encroaching on my private space. I take a step back, reaching out in front of me to keep some distance, but not touching him. Crocodile's eyes narrow as he sees Rengi move closer to me.
"Thank you Rengi for your enthusiasm, but I can't convince a cursed blade to be handled by just anyone." The women exclaim loudly, stating that Rengi is not just anyone and that it is not a weapon or me that will stop their boss from getting what he wants. I cross my arms and look at the groupies with a bored expression. "If you don't like it, you can convince this weapon yourself." The girls stare at me, but say nothing more.
Rengi had frozen when he heard my refusal, but he quickly recovered.
"Now, now, calm down my darlings. Miss Star, I understand your words, but won't you at least try?" He puts on a pleading face, ready to beg me if I refuse. I sigh and look at Crocodile with a desperate look. Please save me from this situation. But my silent request doesn't reach him because he looks at me with a smile and an amused look. I turn my attention to Rengi.
"Mr. Dolandiri, if I go to talk to him and he wants to leave with me or with someone else, what would you do?" Rengi's face freezes before he begins to ponder the question, but his answer is not long in coming.
"If he doesn't want me, I will bend his will until he obeys me." I give him a flat look.
"I wish you much courage, the cursed blades are very stubborn and patient. If you don't have enough willpower to resist its hold, then it will all be for nothing." I say shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders.
He sulks like a child.
"That's why you have to come with me to solve this problem." He steps forward and reaches for my hands with cocker spaniel eyes, but they stop an inch from my skin. I raise an eyebrow and look at Crocodile questioningly. Under Rengi's throat, a blade of sand has appeared, ready to slit his throat. The man's eyes widen and he follows the blade to Crocodile's arm, who looks at him coldly.
"If you don't want to find your head detached from your body, I advise you to step back." Warns the Shichibukai. Rengi swallows and slowly backs away, sweating profusely. Everyone looks at Crocodile with wild eyes. The sand blade disappears into his arm and he turns to me.
"Is everything okay?" I roll my eyes.
"I don't know what you're playing at, but you only did this for your own benefit." He lets out a growl and turns to our guest, towering over him and casting an intimidating shadow.
"Wha... What did I do wrong, Sir Crocodile?" Rengi asks, trying to sound relaxed but his tremors betray him. Crocodile's gaze fixes on him.
"If you thought I was unaware of your devil fruit power, you are sadly mistaken." I raise an eyebrow at hearing this.
"Uh... I... I had no intention of using it on your friend, I promise!" Crocodile squints his eyes, not convinced by the man's words.
"What is your power?" I ask as I approach him. Rengi looks at me, then at Crocodile and then back at me before swallowing.
"I... I am able to shape the feelings of others by touching them." I blink and look at the girls behind him.
"Like the girls behind you?"
"Yes, I can increase a particular feeling people have for me tenfold."
"I assume you meant to increase my feelings of adoration or love for you tenfold? Hence the soft eyes."
"Um... Yes..." I shrug.
"I don't care what you do with your power, as long as it doesn't affect me." I clap my hands. "Well, I took the item I wanted. Mr. Dangus, I'll let you pay for my sword. Loly, I'd like to buy something else, but it will be without all these people." Loly, who had been standing back the whole time, gasped when she heard her name.
"Huh?! Ha! Yes, yes, of course Miss, please follow me." We move away from the men and the group of girls under the influence. Not that I don't care about their fate, but they seem to have enough free will. Besides, if their sense of freedom or hatred is greater than their sense of love, they will know how to fend for themselves.
We walk far enough away to be safe from prying ears.
"What do you want to buy now, Miss?" Loly asks with a professional smile on her face, even though she is shaking with apprehension. I give her a slight smile to calm her down and let her know that I am not a threat.
"Do you have any wigs?" My smile seems to calm her down a bit, even though she's not comfortable.
"Yes, of course, follow me." We pass three different rooms before we come to a white wooden door with gilding. Inside, it's a real small, high-end store. Many mannequins display beautiful dresses and outfits. Hats, gloves, and shoes are in displays, showing them off. My eye is immediately drawn to a dozen wigs of all colors and lengths. "These are the wigs we have in store, but we are able to custom make them. " I am surprised when I hear this.
"Really? How long does it take to make one?"
"It depends on the color and length. If we have the materials, it takes about two months to make it." I let out a sigh, two months is way too long.
"Unfortunately, I don't have time to wait that long. So I will settle for a model that is already made."
"No worries, I'll let you watch as long as you like. " She bows and goes to stand by the door, as is protocol. The wigs are of very good quality. There are as many wigs for men as for women. The colors are varied even if they remain standard for the most part, brown and chestnut are the most present colors, there are two that are blond and five that have flashy colors. A wig with mid-length spike hair in red with black tips catches my eye, the red is almost the same as Skanks' hair, just a little lighter.
Another wig with long light blue hair and purple highlights also catches my eye, the blue is a little darker than Vivi's hair, kind of like Baggy's. I let out a laugh as I think of these two brats. There is a reason why Aoi and Maru wear their color.
"I think I've made my choice." Loly approaches me.
"Which wigs do you want?" I point to the two wigs in the store window, she pulls out a key and takes out the two items. "Would you like to try them on? " I think about her request, she is going to see my whole face, but especially my hair. However, I'm sure Crocodile will pressure her not to say anything about me being here.
"Yes, I will, but please promise not to divulge my appearance." I ask as I lean towards her with a mischievous smile. She blinks before nodding her head. Without waiting, I lift my hat, revealing my long white hair.
Her eyes widened, she didn't expect to see such a beautiful woman under that cowboy hat. Her tanned skin has no imperfections, her white hair makes her skin and her ice blue eyes stand out even more. She understands why Sir Crocodile is so attentive to her. Even she, who is a girl, looks at her with admiration.
I first try on the red wig, putting it on my head and properly hiding my hair inside. The mirror in front of me reflects the face of a handsome man with piercing eyes. This gives me an idea to further hide my identity. Perhaps I could pass myself off as a man? By changing my wardrobe and bandaging my chest? And wearing red or brown contact lenses? There is also Ivankov who could provide me with hormonal pills, the only problem is that they only work for a few hours, my body quickly eliminates all types of toxins.
I end up shrugging, I'll think about it later. The blue wig is very feminine, if I let my eyes drop, you would think I am the most innocent and cute person in the world. I smile maliciously without distorting the cute look.
These two wigs are perfect. I put the red wig back on and hand the blue one to Loly.
"I'll take both, can you wrap this up for me and provide everything I need to fix it, please?" My soft, slightly charming smile makes Loly blush, and she looks down as she takes the wig.
"Of... Of course, Miss." She walks away from me, while I continue to look at myself from all angles, striking ridiculous poses. Aoi and Maru take the opportunity to come out from under my shirt and look at me with a raised eyebrow, judging me. I give them a flat look.
"Don't judge me, I have to check that this haircut looks good on me. Besides what do you think? " He looks in the mirror before nodding his head, Maru has a big smile seeing that I totally match him. Aoi makes a slight pout. My fingers caress his shell to comfort him. "Don't worry, I also bought a wig to match your colors." Aoi's smile immediately reappears and he lets out a few musical notes.
Loly quickly returns with a golden bag with the casino logo on it.
"Here are your items, would you like to attach it now?" I nod.
"Yes, if possible. I'd also like to see your colored contacts." Loly sits me down on one of the chairs in the room and brings me two boxes.
"The first box contains lenses ranging from red to brown, the second is for blue lenses. I'll let you look at them while I fix the wig. Is this okay?"
"Yes, that's fine, thank you very much." I open the first box which contains a dozen colored lenses, giving a nice red and brown color gradient. I place Maru and Aoi next to the box to get their opinion. The red lenses are bright, very visible and intimidating. My opponents will only see my red hair and eyes, it will allow me to pass for someone else. An amused smile appears on my lips, I point to two pairs of red lenses, one is a bright blood red while the other is burgundy red.
"Which one do you like better?" Immediately, they point to the blood red lenses. I giggle softly.
"Is everything okay, miss? Am I not tickling you or hurting you?" Loly asks, slightly concerned.
"No, no, no, it's okay Loly. You can continue." I say as I pick up the second box with the blue lenses. My eyes are immediately drawn to blue lenses with purple spots like little galaxies.
"I think we're okay to take this one?" Aoi nods, totally agreeing with me.
"Have you made your choice, miss?"
"Yes, I'll take these two pairs, can we get more than one?"
"Sure, one pair lasts about two months. How many are you taking?" Loly stares at the last pin before pulling away from me and looking in the box.
"How many do you have?" I ask, pointing to the two colors I want.
"We have 15 pairs for the red one and 10 pairs for the blue one" I nod, making my new hair dance before my eyes. My hand goes between the strands and I pull lightly on it. I could believe this is my real hair so close to the real thing.
"I'll take it all. You did a great job with the wig, I could believe this is my real hair." She smiles at the compliment and bows.
"Thank you so much, miss. Your compliment goes straight to my heart."
I turn to the mirror again and look at my outfit. It is very pretty but it shows off my feminine attributes too much.
"Do you have an outfit for men in red and black? " She lifts her head looking down at my body.
"Yes, they are on this side, but I'm afraid I understand…"
"Don't worry, go get the colored lenses while I look at the outfits." I grab the sleeve of a black felt jacket with the red silk lining, red arabesques are drawn around the collar and on the chest. I remove it from its holder and slip it on easily. The jacket reaches my knees. When I close it, it goes to the sides, leaving plenty of room for my legs to move. I grabbed a burgundy shirt and black pants with matching shoes. In the mirror, I look a little like Dracule Mihawk. My orange hat doesn't quite match, I let it fall down my back. All that's left is the colored contacts and I'll be unrecognizable.
Only Aoi, Maru, my hat and my swords are left, betraying me. Loly returns and freezes in front of me, looking at me from every angle while blushing.
"Miss... Miss Star?!" I offer her a charming smile and reply in a deep voice.
"Is there a problem Loly?" She blushes even more.
"I... I... No... I... I have your contacts. Would you like to put them in now?" I approach with a feline gait and smile at her.
"Sure, can you teach me how to put them on?" She nods shyly, totally forgetting her professionalism. I learned how to put the lenses in for a good ten minutes, between putting my finger in my eye and them slipping out, I had to go over it a few times. I finally got them on correctly but my eyes are slightly red from irritation. In the mirror, I am totally a different person, even Shanks couldn't recognize me, although with his Haki of observation he could see through it.
Loly hands me a sheet of paper.
"Here's the bill, miss. The two wigs are 100,000 Berrys each, 250,000 B for the lenses, 30,000 B for the shirt, 55,000 for the shoes, 25,000 the pants, and 60,000 for the jacket. That's a total of 620,000 B." I understand why only VIPs can enter here, everything is excessively expensive. I give her the wad of bills she counts while I take my bag which contains my purchases, my old outfit and my hat. "The count is good. Do you want anything else?"
"No, I found everything I wanted. You can walk me out, Loly." She nods and walks me silently toward the exit. On the way, we pass other customers, including women who turn and whisper to each other. I give them a charming smile and a wink. Their giggles amuse me greatly. Soon we arrive at the exit door with the two guards looking at me strangely.
"Thank you very much for your visit and I hope to see you again soon." Says Loly as she bows.
"Thanks for everything Loly and see you soon." I said a quick goodbye to her before starting to walk down the stairs.
"Ha ! Loly there you are, where is the woman who left with you?" Crocodile's deep voice calls out to me and I turn around. Loly looks at me, then looks at Crocodile.
"Well, I..." Taking pity on the poor girl, I walk back up the stairs.
"Don't you recognize me anymore Crocrodile? Should I be offended?" Crocrodile looks at me coldly, not recognizing me at all.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to listen to other people's conversations, sir? " I roll my eyes and hand him Hebi. He glances apathetically at the sword before his eyes widen, he looks at the sword, then at me, then at Loly and back at me.
"No... Don't tell me that... Pfff... Ha ha ha ha!" He laughed at the strange situation.
"That's right, laugh at me, meanwhile I'm going home, bye ~" I start walking down the stairs again. Behind me, Crocodile says something to Loly before catching up with me.
"Wait Stella, I have something to tell you before you leave." I turn my head as he gets to my level. He leans towards me and whispers. "I am going to strike a blow in Nanohana and the capital in two days, I advise you to stay away. You might get caught in the crossfire." I raise an eyebrow.
"Thanks for the warning, I'll be careful. On that note, good night Croky!" I reply with a big mischievous smile, chuckling at the insults Crocodile shouts behind me as I exit the Casino.
My smile fades when I am a good distance from the Casino. So Crocodile is going to attack in two days... I guess he will use the revolutionaries and his men to overthrow the Nefertari royal family.
I let out a sigh and rub my temples, it pisses me off that Crocodile is attacking Alabasta, unfortunately I can only watch. I find the inn a little easier and go straight to my room without stopping at the surprised look of the innkeeper.
I put my bags on the floor, take off my clothes, remove the lenses and fall into bed to fall asleep quickly.
Meanwhile, Dangus contacts a number of mercenaries to get revenge on the girl in the orange hat and retrieve her sword. He's stationed several of his men around the casino to track her down, but she still hasn't come out as the sun rises. He'll get his revenge, no matter what!
The sun filters through the thin curtains, illuminating the small room. With a groan, I roll over in the small bed several times and end up falling to the floor.
"Ha!" Aoi and Maru, who haven't lost any of the scene, burst out laughing as I try to get up. "Hello to you too..." I say as I look at my snails with a murderous look, which doesn't cool the mollusks. I yawn loudly and crack every bone in my body. After a few stretches, I groom myself, put on the red contacts and yesterday's clothes, adding a bandage around my chest. The mirror definitely reflects a red haired version of Mihawk, all I need is the black hat with a feather and my cosplay will be complete.
"Come on you two, let's get some breakfast." Aoi and Maru jump up and down, eager to try the food of this town. I walk down the wooden steps and back past the innkeeper, who is reading his newspaper, barely moving as I pass.
Outside, the weather is still cool, but soon it will be terribly hot. The stores are starting to put out their wares while the bars and bakeries are full of people having the first meal of the day. I let my nose lead me to a stand selling honey and banana cakes.
"Hello sir. I'd like two slices, please."
" Of course, young man." Says the older man as he prepares my food order. I bug a little when he called me young man until I remembered my new appearance. "And this is for you. That will be 300 Berrys" I take the two packages of cakes smiling at him and handing him the money.
"Thank you very much, do you know where I can find a store that develops photos?" The man rubs his beard for a moment before pointing to the road on the left.
"If you follow this road for 100 yards and then turn right, you will come upon the store."
"Thank you very much, sir. Goodbye!" I waved, following his directions.
"Goodbye."
I bite into the cake and smile at the sweet taste of honey and banana. Aoi and Maru also bite into their portion and smile with their puffy cheeks. I look around, noting the stores and restaurants that look interesting. A few minutes later, I find the store. It's a simple terracotta building with a window displaying photos and paintings of different landscapes. The doorbell rings as I push open the door.
"Hello! Welcome to Photoshop! What can I do for you?" A woman with black hair in a ponytail greets me with great energy. As she sets her eyes on me, she smiles wider.
"Hello madam, I'm here to develop the pictures that my two companions took." I say pointing to Aoi and Maru.
"Of course! Do you know how many pictures you took?" I rub the back of my head, usually Den Den Mochi's aren't able to take pictures by themselves, but mine are completely self contained.
"Well... I haven't counted, but I'd say a lot." She chuckles at my answer.
"I see, we have a terminal to choose the photos you want to develop, without having to print them all. Are you interested?" My face lights up, my two companions are capable of storing over a thousand photos each, imagine the printing time...
"Yes, of course! How long does it take you to print a picture?" I follow the woman into the back room. In a small room, there is a projection Den Den Mochi, next to it a small terminal allows you to scroll through the photos.
"A photo takes 1 minute to print, but we have the ability to make the photos indestructible, but the photo processing takes about 10 minutes. "I sit down on the chair and put Aoi and Maru on the table.
"Thank you very much, I just need to select the photos I want to print on the terminal. Is that it?"
"Yes, exactly. They will be sent directly to the printer after validation. I recommend that you send them in packages of 10 photos, as this will allow you to start printing while you continue making your selection." I nod, focused on the terminal.
"Thank you so much for the advice." She smiles and heads for the door.
"You're welcome, see you later." She says as she closes the door, leaving me alone in the small room.
"Well, we'll start with you Aoi. You must have taken a lot of pictures of Little Garden and Drum's kingdom." Aoi nods and easily lets me put on the vision camera.
The photos scroll by one after another on the wall. I select only the photos where the Straw Hats are present, along with a few shots of scenery, enemies, and danger they faced. All the others I save for later as they are mostly illustrations for my books. After two hours of reading, I chose all the photos to print for Aoi and Maru. On the terminal a number of 45 photos have been chosen, it's already a good start for a first sorting. I get my Den Den and leave the room to go back to the reception.
What a surprise it was to see the navy who fought Zoro in Logue Town talking to the receptionist.
"I'd like you to print about 50 of these posters. He's a dangerous pirate." She said as she pulled up a poster of Luffy.
"I'll start printing in about 15 minutes, right now they're printing pictures of a customer." Aoi and Maru go to hide in my long coat, it's better that the navy doesn't see them, otherwise they could easily make the connection between my different appearances. I walk forward until I am in the receptionist's field of vision. Her face immediately lights up.
"I see you are finished. As you may have heard, you will have your photos in about 15 minutes." Tashigi turns to me and her eyes widen when she sees me, reflexively she puts her hand on her sword. I raise an eyebrow.
"Is there a problem?" She blinks and blushes as if she just realized what she was doing.
"Ha! Sorry! I mistook you for someone else! Please forgive me!" She bows to me, proving that her apology is sincere.
"Who did you think I was? If it's not too intrusive?" She lifts her head and scans me.
"I thought you were Dracule Mihawk, I..." Her eyes land on the three swords at my belt. "HA! But?! But?! Those are two Star Blades (Hochi)!" She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small book, which she flips through frantically. "I found it! These are Hebi Hochi and Seima! Representing the snake and the horse!" She reads a few more lines but her face fills with fear. "These are cursed blades, very aggressive and anyone who wields them will die within the hour..." Her eyes go up to my face and she sees the red haired young man smiling at her, she quickly understands that she is not in front of just anyone. "You... Can you really handle them?" She asks incredulously.
I chuckle at her quick change in demeanor, she really is a sword fanatic. Who walks around with a pocket book that lists all the named swords?
"Yes, I'm able to wield them without worry, although I haven't been able to test Hebi yet." My hand lands on Hebi, who hisses in contentment.
"Really? I... uh... Do you..." She hesitates, not daring to ask.
"I can show you the blades, but you must not touch them. Is that okay?" Her mouth opens and closes several times, before she nods with a huge smile.
"Yes, of course! I'd love to!" I pull out Seima first, the shimmering blade reflecting the sunlight, giving the impression of a mirage. "Wow..." Tashigi puts on her glasses and brings her nose dangerously close to the blade. "It's amazing, it's like it's not really there. I feel like I can see through it." Her head comes even closer, I pull the blade out before she gets hurt. Obviously she can't see the edges of the blade clearly.
"Be careful, you almost hurt yourself. " She straightens up, blushing.
"Sorry! I was so engrossed I didn't pay attention." I shake my head and put Seima away. Then I take out Hebi. The black blade looks ordinary in comparison, but Tashigi scrutinizes it even more carefully.
"The quality of the blade is extraordinary, I wonder what secret it holds!" Hebi whistles to get my attention, on the scabbard I see it rippling, encouraging me to do the same. I glance around the store, trying to wield it in this cramped place is probably not the best idea.
"If you want, I can show you what it can do. But it won't be here, I wouldn't want to break anything. " The marine straightens up, looking at me with bright eyes.
"I'd love to!" But his face sags again. "But... Captain Smoker is waiting for me."
"Anyway, you have to wait for your posters to be printed, so you might as well go somewhere to demonstrate, rather than wait here." I turn to the receptionist. "How long until his posters are ready?"
"In about twenty minutes, young man."
"Thank you. You see, we have twenty minutes ahead of us. So what do you say?" Tashigi thinks for a moment, alternating her gaze between me, the posters, the receptionist, and the outside.
"I... I don't think it should be a problem."
"Perfect! Madam, can you put a leather photo album in addition to the pictures, please."
"Sure, I'll get that ready for you. See you later." With a final nod, I head for the exit. Tashigi hesitates a bit more before finally following me. We walk in silence through the streets.
"By the way, my name is Tashigi and I'm from the Navy. Let me introduce you to Shigure as well! She's not as famous as your swords, but I wouldn't part with her for anything, she's my partner." She says shyly as she points to the longsword at her belt. I give her a slight smile while quickly thinking of a name. Since we're in Alabasta and it's a desert country...
"My name is Sandy and I am an explorer. I travel the world looking for the other star blades, so that they don't end up alone, away from their brothers and sisters." Tashigi's face lights up even more.
"Really?! My dream is to recover all the named blades that are in the hands of outlaws! Such swords don't deserve to be treated like this, which is why I joined the navy. Pirates and bandits use these blades to hurt and kill innocent people, I wish to stop all pirates. The world would be better off without them!" My face remains neutral as I think of Roger's, Whitebeard's and Shanks' pirates, but also the corrupt world within the navy.
I have traveled a lot... Tell me... In your opinion, is the Navy always fair?" My serious tone makes the navy frown.
"Of course it's always fair! Otherwise, what would be the point of the navy!"
"So if your superior asks you to kill all the people in front of you, you'll do it?"
"If they are pirates, yes I will." My face turns to the woman, my eyes sad, which surprises Tashigi.
"And if they are innocent, mere civilians?" Her face is filled with anger.
"What! The navy is there to protect the citizens! We would never do that!" I continue to look at her sadly, she will soon face the reality of the world.
"Do you know about the Buster Call?"
"No, what is it?" She still asks angrily. Around us there are very few people but I take her to a deserted alley. "Hey I asked you something!" She grabs my arm and pulls me towards her. I lower my head a little to look her in the eyes.
"A Buster Call is the outright destruction of an island, killing and destroying everything on it indiscriminately... And... The Navy owns it." Her eyes widened in fright and her face paled.
"No... You're lying... IT'S A LIE!" She shudders away from me. "It's not true! The Navy would never do that!"
"The navy is under the command of the celestial dragons, who despise ordinary humans, who kill just for fun, and who turn free people into slaves. They are called gods... But they are only spoiled and protected children... If their quiet little world is threatened, you will have to kill innocent people, because your superiors obey them. You yourself will have to kill, because it will be either you or the person in front of you who dies, except that you are the one with the gun in your hands." She stares at the ground, her fists clenched and she shakes with anger.
"I... I..." She lifts her head, a determined look on her face. "I will make sure that never happens! I joined the Navy to protect the citizens. And I'm going to do it no matter what!" I let a smile spread across my face.
"I look forward to seeing you succeed, young navy girl. Don't let others cloud your free will, but always remain cautious and vigilant." Tashigi watches me turn my back on her and continue on my way.
"Who the hell is this guy?" She whispers before following me.
We walk for a few more minutes before we finally arrive at the exit of the city. In front of us, the desert stretches on forever.
"I think that here, I won't risk hurting anyone. Are you ready?" Tashigi nods, her smile returned. I pull out Hebi and hold it in front of me.
The sun reflects on the blade, the warm wind sweeping the sand makes it rise around us. Hebi whistles again, undulating in a steady, precise rhythm. My hand begins to move from right to left to make the blade ripple in front of me. I repeat several times before I get the rhythm right. The blade begins to buckle more and more, undulating in the same rhythm as me.
"Wow... That's amazing!" Tashigi exclaims with a big smile on her face. I continue the rhythm until I make a quick strike in front of me. What a surprise when the blade separates into several fragments, connected together by black silk. Turning the blade into a multi-bladed whip. I wave the whip several times in front of me, making it snap with a loud noise. I finally give a blow to retract the whip, which becomes a blade again without any problem. I take a deep breath, thankfully I have some knowledge of how to handle a whip, otherwise I could have hurt myself.
"This is amazing! This is the first time I've seen a blade like this!" I put Hebi away and turn to the young navy girl.
"I have to say this is a first for me too, I can't wait to train with it." Hebi hisses as he wanders down my arm, slipping between my fingers and wrapping around my index finger like a ring. I chuckle at the sensation. "Are you using my hand as a tanning area?" He hisses in amusement as he tickles me with his tongue. Tashigi looks at my hand with wide eyes.
"It's..."
"Extraordinary?" I finish her predictable sentence. She blushes and turns her head away.
"I... Yes."
"Lieutenant Tashigi!" Captain Smoker's deep voice startles Tashigi.
"Captain Smoker!"
"I asked you to go print some posters and I find you outside the city with a stranger. Don't tell me you're having a good time?" Smoker crossed his arms, glaring at his subordinate. Tashigi's cheeks flushed violently with shame at this accusation.
"No... I..." I place myself between the girl and her leader. Smoker shifts his gaze to me.
"Come on Captain, I just offered to teach her a little more about swords while we waited for her posters to be printed. I think the twenty minutes are almost up. Right Lieutenant?" I finish by turning to Tashigi. Who looks at me before walking over to Smoker.
"That's right Captain Smoker, I ran into Mr. Sandy at the photo store and saw the katana's on his belt, I couldn't help but ask him to show them to me. We decided to go out of town so that Mr. Sandy could use his new weapon without doing any damage or hurting anyone." The captain lets out a sigh.
"That makes sense to me. I hope she didn't bother you, Mr. Sandy." Smoker looks into the blood red eyes of the man who looks just like Dracule Miwalk. The red haired man gives him a small smile.
"No, it's all right, meeting someone who is so passionate about weapons is really pleasant." Tashigi blushed even more as she stared at the ground. Smoker looked at her and sighed.
"As nice as your company is, we have things to do today. Tashigi, let's go!"
"Yes, Captain Smoker!" The two navies began to walk away and the young man followed them. Smoker noticed him right away.
"Are you following us?"
"Not really, but I need to get my pictures and you need to get your posters from the same store. So we're headed in the same direction." The young man's mischievous smile tends to make Smoker tense up. There's something strange about him... He feels like he's seen him somewhere before, especially his piercing gaze.
We join the photo store in the silence, Tashigi remained agitated during all the journey while I play with Hebi between my fingers. The bell rings as we enter the store.
"Ha welcome, everything is ready." She picks up a red bag and hands it to me. But I sense that she is not at ease. "Here. That'll be 14,500 Berrys, 4,500 for the pictures and 10,000 for the photo album." I reach into my pockets to pull out the amount. Meanwhile, she hands a packet of posters to Tashigi. "Here are your 50 posters." Tashigi quickly reaches out to grab the package, but because of her clumsiness, the posters crash to the floor.
"Ha! Ho no, ho no, ho no! I'm so sorry!" Smoker lets out a sigh before helping the poor girl. I hand over the money to pay for my purchases and help retrieve the Luffy posters from the floor, setting my bag down next to them.
"I see you can be a great swordswoman and be clumsy at the same time." Tashigi blushes even more, both at the compliment and the remark. I look at Luffy's poster and smile with amusement at his big smile.
Smoker notices him out of the corner of his eye, he also noticed the strange behavior of the shopkeeper looking at the red bag and the posters, biting her lips.
"Mr. Sandy, may I ask what's in your bag?" I look up as I hand a new package to Tashigi.
"Those are pictures from my last few trips, why?" I'm starting to understand why the saleswoman has become so tense, she must have seen Luffy in my pictures, but why isn't she saying anything in this case?
"From your last trips? I take it you're not from around here." Says Smoker suspiciously. I shrug.
"I'm an explorer, so I'm not the sedentary type. I stopped in Alabasta to gamble at the casino and develop photos. How about you? I don't get the impression you're a local either." His eyes crinkle.
"What makes you say that?" I smile and point to Tashigi, then him.
"Your complexion is far too pale for someone who lives in a desert country like Alabasta, so it's easy to determine that you're just passing through or have just arrived. " He lets out a twitch as he bites lightly into his cigars.
"Are you traveling alone?"
"Why? You want to recruit me?" Hebi sneers with a hiss. I hand the last few posters to Tashigi who holds them tightly so they don't fall off. "Here are the last posters Tashigi, is it someone dangerous?" I ask as I point to the posters.
"Yes! Monker D. Luffy is a pirate we've been chasing since East Blue. If you ever see him, let us know right away. With a bounty of 30 million Berrys, he's not someone to underestimate."
"I'll be careful, but he doesn't seem like someone who attacks others for free." Smoker frowned.
"What makes you say that?" I smiled at him as I pointed to the picture.
"His smile, he looks like a kid who just wants to go on an adventure. Also it' s a D."
"A D? What does that mean?"
"Do some research on them, but I can tell you that D' s tend to help those who ask for their help and like to make the people around them smile." I grab my bag and put it on my shoulder. "Not all pirates are cruel, some break the law to save innocent lives, because the Navy is trapped by the rules, their hierarchy and the law." I look at Smoker with a defiant smile. He stares at me, eyes squinting, and lets out a growl.
"Laws are written to protect people, if you break them you must be punished."
"So a child who stole an apple to eat it must suffer the same punishment as one who steals money from a nobleman?
"No. The punishment is not the same!" exclaims Tashigi. I turn to her.
"Really? Yet both of them are thieves. So in the eyes of the law, they will suffer a punishment that will depend on the judge. In a country where theft does not exist, the child will have his hands cut off. In a country where theft is commonplace, the thief will get nothing. So, where is the justice in that?" " Tashigi opens his mouth several times, but cannot answer. Smoker looks at me coldly.
"I have a feeling that these are not random examples." I walk past Smoker and push the door open, bowing my head.
"You still don't know the ugly secrets the Navy keeps to maintain this system. " The door closes in a deafening silence.
Thank you very much for reading this chapter!
We've caught up with the French chapters, now it will be about two weeks between chapters.
Let me know in the comments what you think by then!
It always makes me happy, especially the English corrections, so I can make this story even more enjoyable to read, without being taken out of the story because of a syntax error.
See you soon!