Haunt 14: Burnt Roots

While Adam had been taking care of sudden twists of fate, his crew was taking care of their own missions.

So as he was having a bit of fun robbing the downright evil and corrupt individuals making up the current government of Wano and Harribel headed towards her own goal, Morgiana and Logan were swiftly making their way to the bamboo grove they had been assigned to scout.

Logan's innate predatory instincts made him an excellent hunter, thus he could be very sneaky if he was on the prowl, while Morgiana was effectively moving like a veteran shinobi as she silently blurred along.

With their speed, they quickly reached the bamboo filled area and were quite interested in the new sight.

Not many places in the world actually had bamboo and certainly none of this size.

Every single one was larger than most men and shot high into the sky, making both young teens feel rather small in the wonderfully green tableau.

"Race you!" Morgiana suddenly shouted as she cheerfully jumped into the grove, bouncing off the bamboo in the air as she barely held back her intense giggles.

"Hey! No fair!" Logan growled, hurriedly sprinting after her, staying on the ground as he was not nearly skilled enough to try and keep up with Morgiana in the air.

The only one who could do so was their captain and that guy could fly.

The crew's youngest wasn't deterred though.

He was rather competitive and his animal instincts flared in excitement over this game with his pack member, and if one looked at it from the outside, it could almost seem like two young teens innocently playing if one ignored the ridiculous speeds, skills and how Logan seemed to almost blend into his natural surroundings while smoothly traversing the wilderness as if it was actually helpful to him, allowing him to keep up with their fastest crew member at least somewhat.

It was fun though.

To be kids in a world where both had to grow up all too soon.

And Logan, even if he would never admit it, would savor any chance he could get at this kind of...innocence after he had gained an understanding of everything those slavers had kept from him. It was one of the reasons why he was so tame with Morgiana, because she was his largest source of it, and a sort of warm calm and excitement all at once that he really liked.

"Hey!" Morgiana called out from above as she held herself aloft by 'standing' between two giant bamboo poles. "I can see the village up ahead!"

From where they stood, and thanks to their excellent eyesight, the two could easily see over a dozen straw roof huts with lazy signs of hearths burning within, all placed somewhat haphazardly on uneven plateaus surrounding a great tree with what appeared to be a shrine at its base.

"*Sniff sniff Sneaze* Gah! The air is so nasty even here!" Logan stated with distaste, much preferring the open sea even if his hair and/or fur can get somewhat matted due to sea water. "But yeah, I can smell a good three dozen people.

They all stink though, so probably poor."

"We both know what kind of person Kaidou is, so that's not surprising." The redhead said with surprising distaste.

This was because Morgiana heavily disliked him and Big Mom. Kaidou for his cruel nature, blood and battle lust, and Big Mom for her insane greed and how she just has children to create her twisted ideal of a perfect world and basically brainwashed them all into becoming soldiers for her.

"So what do you want to do?" The beast boy shrugged with silent agreement. "Boss said to check the grove out and not be noticed."

"Let's just see if there's anything noteworthy." Morgiana answered after a moment's thought. "The entire region beside this place and a few others is basically barren from pollution and whatnot, so there's got to be something behind that."

"M'kay." Logan just agreed without much care.

He'd just sniff around for anything weird, even if it'll take a bit of time to ignore the bad air.

Setting off to scout the peaceful if impoverished looking village, the two split up to get a feel in their own way.

Some ways away, Harribel was following her own instructions as she calmly made her way towards the area Adam wanted her to scout.

Although she did meet more resistance than the others based on the fact that a now unconscious tiger seemed that have its head buried in the path behind her, with its hind legs twitching in the air.

"What a naughty cat." She simply commented while passing some travelling merchants and their guards who had witnessed the scene and could only gawk in complete shock.

That tiger was over 10'(3.1m) tall, rippling with muscles, possessing scars from both animals and blades while obviously confident in killing everyone until this yakuza looking woman showed up and slammed it into the ground with her sheathed blade like it was nothing.

She then continued walking along while the men who prayed to survive against the beast, now prayed to survive her.

"Excuse me, but would this be the path to the old Oden Castle?" Harribel coldly asked the still stunned group.

Seeing her intently looking at them with her piercing eyes, it snapped a few of them out of their stupor as they became afraid of offending this powerful woman who might be a high ranking yakuza, samurai or even Beast pirate.

"Y-yes!" The leading guardsman answered while sweating heavily under her gaze once he did.

"I see." The cold teen simply responded, causing everyone's nerves to become progressively strained as she vanished from where she stood, resulting in the entire group to freeze in fear for a few moments while expecting death, but nothing came.

Unfortunately, with the sudden wave of relief, half of those present suddenly fainted and the others...unknowingly relieved themselves.

Harribel on the other hand, was moving along and had only stopped to make sure she had been heading in the right direction. Her captain had only given vague directions and distances, so without any kind of overly developed senses like their youngest, she decided to make sure she was going to the right place by asking a few travelers she passed.

There weren't many, and she made sure to avoid those she knew would be troublesome based on her large amount of experience being and having seen men harass women. It was at those times she understood very well the policies of the Kuja.

Regardless, further she might have to go and slower she might be than Morgiana and Adam in terms of speed, she did far outstrip the former in terms of stamina and could keep up her full speed for much longer. Somewhat like the differences between a sprinter and marathon runner. As a result of that, her target came into view after less than two hours of traveling with small stops to clarify her heading.

Before her was a place she could easily identify as having once been prosperous.

Key word being once.

After years fighting alongside the Whitebeard pirates, Harribel had become somewhat numb to seeing destruction and the aftermath of the true scums of the sea. To the point that she started being able to recognize patterns in the remains of raids, becoming capable of estimating just how much anyone could gain from these raids and how many suffered from them. And today, she was seeing what used to be a place where people could feel safe based on the lack of wall or fortification remains, with even the elevated castle which had once stood above the town some distance away not possessing anything hinting at them. Lots of building of varied sizes too, wide streets and a previously vibrant surrounding.

All burnt down by Kaidou in his greed and rage.

Only blackened remains and deathly silence remained after this destruction.

Although, interestingly enough, she did find evidence of individuals regularly coming to this place based of foot prints, evidence of old campsites and how some parts seemed to have been moved. Having confirmed that no one was here through her Haki, it likely wasn't someone living it the burnt town, but she did feel many signals coming from the nearby mountain.

She wasn't foolish enough to head over due to the many stronger presences hinting at the mountain most likely being guarded by the powers that be, but she did make a note of it for her Captain.

Having observed this area as well as the path leading up to it, Harribel decided to take a quick break before looking around some more and heading back.

The journey was even less eventful then it had been the first time, not needing to ask direction as she knew very well where she started from, and unsurprisingly she returned after Logan and Morgiana but more interesting was that it was also before Adam.

That meant something happened.

Whether it was good or bad was still to be seen.

So as the three, or more accurately as Morgiana talked to Harribel about everything she'd seen while Logan took a nap and Harribel mostly nodded, they passed the time until their captain returned.

Which he did, after about another hour or so as it started to become dark, with two additional figures no less.

One was only slightly shorter, but much stockier with a large hat, and the other was much smaller in both height and frame, but seemed to possibly be animalistic based on the large tail they could see.

This was confirmed by three as the surprisingly met a fish-man, which on its own wasn't really surprising considering how most lived on Fish-Man island and the third had been part of a crew with a decent number of them plus his own pack having two hybrids, it was just odd seeing one in a country as isolated as Wano, and the other was a lupine girl with pale teal fur, wearing a beaten up kimono and with a large, almost flame-like, tail.

The prior looked disciplined and somewhat guarded, while the latter was very curious and starry eyed.

"Hey guys!" Adam cheerfully called out with his usual big smile, but it seemed brighter today. "Meet my half-sister, Hiyori, and one of my father's Red Scabbards, Kawamatsu!"

Landing before them, said half-sister did become a bit shy as she clung to their captain's arm while the retainer moved his hand near his blade.

"Hiyori, Kawamatsu, meet my current crew!" He then continued after giving the fish-man a little nudge to let him know it was ok. "Morgiana and Harribel are basically sisters, while Logan is everyone's naughty little brother."

"Hey!" Logan barked, not liking being called little in general, earning soft giggles from the girls. "Grrr. Whatever.

Why's she in her hybrid form?"

"I was wondering the same thing." Harribel admitted with more polite curiosity. "Although Logan could have asked in a better manner."

"I-I not sure what you mean, but... someone put a curse on me." Hiyori answered with sadness and difficulty. "That's why I became something they all call a monster.

But that's ok!

They call Kawamatsu a monster and he's the most honorable samurai in all the lands!"

Looking very touched and embarrassed by her words, the fish-man couldn't help but try to hide his blushing face using his hat as Adam shot a teasing grin.

"That's stupid. You're just a newbie Devil Fruit user." Logan snorted as her shifted into his own hybrid form, gaining some height as he turned into something like a werewolf but with a mixture of ursine and feline species as well.

Gasp*

Hiyori couldn't help but react hopefully at seeing the young teen around her age being able to change in such a similar fashion.

One must be aware that Hiyori was just a babe when traveling with the Roger or Whitebeard Pirates, and even then the crews did not possess that many Devil Fruit users. Currently only Whitebeard and Marco have any kind of fame from the latter and the only significant figure with one amongst the Roger Pirates were Buggy, who was an apprentice with lousy talent with it, Douglas Bullet. But due to her age and the culture of Wano, she essentially had few exposures to such things and simply learnt that they were 'Yojustsu/sorcery'.

She was not even aware that her mother, and a few Ted Scabbards, was a devil fruit user either.

As a result, she actually believed that she had been cursed after eating a horrible tasting and weird looking fruit out of hunger. Simply thinking, after the fact, that it had been a cursed fruit.

Kawamatsu wasn't much better since his exposure to outside knowledge was also limited, but he at least knew this kind of power was controllable based on Kaidou's transformations into a dragon and other pirates under him being able to do so as well, but he had no idea how.

"Like my precocious little crew mate was saying, your transformation is almost certainly due to what the people outside of Wano call a Devil Fruit.

An odd looking fruit with terrible taste capable of giving its eater incredibly varied powers at the price of never being able to swim in the sea and gaining a weakness to Sea Stone." Adam explained as he too transformed for a moment. "Myself, Logan and apparently you as well, are people who ate fruits classified in the Zoan category. These fruits give the eater powers related to animals, including humans.

I ate a fruit from the Human-Human series, the Ghost model, making me what people call a Mythical Zoan user. They are the rarest fruits to find and give users special powers on top of the standard Zoan abilities. Logan is what is called an Ancient Zoan, due to his Weasel-Weasel fruit being the model of the extinct Megalictis, a very popular fruit type amongst the beast pirates as is evident by all three of Kaidou's commanders.

And from what I can tell, you seem to have eaten a fruit belonging to the mythical Zoan category as well Hiyori. The same as myself and Kaidou."

Now that made Adam's crew focus more on the shocked girl.

It has to be known that only two Mythical Zoans are even known to be active by the world at large, with another having been captured or killed by Marines a few years ago and Adam being a relative unknown. So the appearance of another is a big deal considering the three known are a titled Emperor, the second-in-command of another and an extremely feared female pirate until her capture, while Adam might be unknown but he was stronger than all but the first.

"B-but i have no such powers nii-sama!" Hiyori protested.

She might appreciate some aspects of her 'curse' as the fur helped her feel actually comfortable in the cold of Ringo and her increased abilities allowed her to help feed herself and lessen Kawamatsu's burden, but she couldn't dream of comparing herself to her brother and even less with Kaidou.

"Because no one taught you, or more accurately, because you haven't accepted this power yet Hiyori." Adam softly reassured her. "This is something many aren't really aware of, but Devil Fruits, Zoan in particular and especially mythical Zoans, have wills of their own.

If they can, they will choose their wielders based on their own criteria.

And this fruit chose you because it saw something in you that resonated with it. It granted you its powers so you can use them, so don't be afraid.

Look inside yourself and accept it. Then you can start growing and become worthy of the mythical being who saw you as its best choice."

Hiyori was stunned.

Not just by the revelations, but by this new way of thinking about this form of hers and what I now meant.

Something so rare and powerful chose her.

It gave her hope.

Hope that she could do more than wait and be a burden.

Hope you help those suffering.

Hope you actually fulfill her mother's last words.

"Please... please teach me how to do it Nii-sama!" She cried out emotionally.

Pat*

"Of course I will." He brightly smiled, suddenly making her feel so much lighter as the image of their father seemingly appeared to mix with him.

The feeling of warmth and security. The strength and confidence he exuded.

It was just like him.

Because of this subconscious link, without even realizing it, Hiyori felt safe and her transformation lifted as she feel asleep in her brother's arms right there and then. Much to the amusement of most.

"Poor thing must have been really stressed if she was constantly using her fruit without even knowing how." Morgiana sympathetically commented.

"*Sigh* I still have a long way to go." Kawamatsu murmured self-admonishingly.

"Don't say that Kawamatsu-san. In fact, on behalf of our father and Toki-san, I can only thank you for everything you have done to help ensure Hiyori was safe and cared for in our stead." Adam bowed as best he could while trying not to disturb the girl. "You are someone who truly embodies what it means to be Samurai and the Kozuki family is honored to have such a loyal man like yourself in it."

Those words struck deep for the kappa as he dipped his hat anew to conceal the tears of relief, which he could not stop, spilling out.

He had always felt like he had failed.

Failed his liege and master.

Failed the family he was sworn to protect.

Failed Hiyori everyday as they had to scavenge to barely eat on most days.

Thus, to earn recognition for these 7 years from the son of his lord was simply something he almost felt unworthy of.

"Thank... Adam-sama." He quietly chocked out.

"No. Thank You Kawamatsu." Adam responded as he lifted his half-sister. "Now come and take care of yourself. We can prepare a bath and food to help you recover from your malnutrition.

The girls will take care of Hiyori for now and she can begin to recover once she wakens.

After that, we will talk about what comes next."

Gratefully nodding, the crew went about fulfilling their captain's unspoken orders, any kind of reports would await the next day when everyone was refreshed and rested.

For Hiyori however, everything that happened felt like a dream.

The elder brother her parents had told her about, the little half fish-man who was incredibly strong for his age, had suddenly appeared and lifted burdens her young self simply hasn't been able to handle and swept her off her feet to safety alongside her parental figure. He then explained what her 'curse' was and reassured her just like she had always imagined he would.

So when she awoke in a bedroom she did not recognize, in different clothing and noticeably not looking like a half-beast, she reasonably needed some time for everything to really click.

When it did, she began crying tears of joy and relief.

"Hey now... don't cry Hiyori." She heard as Adam came in to check on her.

"*Hick* I'm just so *Hick* relieved that it wasn't all a dream." She sniffled as she tried to hold back her tears rather comically before him.

She was the daughter of a samurai!

She was not crying!

"It wasn't. No how about we get you ready for a proper breakfast?" He asked her with a pleasant smile, earning a loud grumbling from her stomach which caused her immense embarrassment as she blushed furiously while clutching her continuously crying belly. "*Chuckle* Looks like your body agrees.

So come on. We can chat while eating. Harribel and Morgiana decided to go all out today, so it's going to be good stuff."

Not trusting herself at the moment, and definitely not pouting at her older brother for laughing at her embarrassment, Hiyori silently followed along to the eating area where the two found the two other girls placing dish after dish of medicinal cuisine on the table for their two malnourished guests.

Harribel might be quiet and very, very driven to better herself as a swordswoman, but she also cares a lot about the well being of her close ones. So when she learnt to cook way back when Adam was the only one in the Lion Acupuncture household capable of doing so, she also took many of the lessons she learnt about internal and herbal medicines from Tami and Grandmaster Anguin to make the healthiest dishes she could with them.

It was something she was proud of as it was her favored hobby, just like how Morgiana loves to dance and Logan feels most at home hunting or being in the wild.

Kawamatsu was already there, unaware of the drool leaking from his mouth as his self-discipline barely held him back. Especially when faced with so many egg dishes.

"Whoaaa!" Hiyori exclaimed in wonderment at the smell and abundance.

"Come! Sit down and we can all eat!" Morgiana cheerfully called her as Adam guided her to her own chair.

Soon enough, both their new additions were scarfing down as much of the delicious and incredibly beneficial food as they could while almost crying tears of joy.

Adam didn't stop them or warn them about not overeating and its dangers while malnourished because the food and supplies he had stocked up were specifically chosen for such states. He knew of the issues plaguing Wano due to Kaidou and Orochi, so he prepared both short and long term solutions for what he could using the wondrous and bizarre things of this world.

Large crews do have their advantages, and the Whitebeard pirates are the most powerful, as such they also have many contacts and lots of money. It's just that Whitebeard and a few others generally pour their earnings into Sphinx Island. Adam just took advantage of that during his preparations and readied everything he could think of, including food and herbs which would go a long way in helping people recover from malnutrition and various ailments.

"So good! *Munch munch* So tasty!!" Hiyori cried out in delight.

"Eggs! *Nom* So many delicious eggs! *Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom*" the pretend kappa devoured any egg dish in his reach, now with actual tears of joy.

Harribel was very pleased to see them enjoying her food like this, with Morgiana feeling both pity and amusement at the sight, only distracted by sometimes lightly scolding Logan for his terrible table manners.

Not taking too much time to finish everything as everyone present did have good appetites, breakfast was finished with the new duo patting their satisfied stomachs and unknowingly gaining very smooth skins.

"That was the most delicious meal I have ever had Harribel-dono. To think a swordswoman such as yourself would also be so accomplished in the kitchen is truly a pleasant surprise." Kawamatsu praised earnestly, earning a pleased nod as Logan and Adam cleared the table and began doing dishes.

"I am sorry for not helping." Hiyori quietly murmured as she couldn't muster the strength to get up yet.

"Don't worry. Let the boys take care of things and just recover." Morgiana reassured her with a caring smile, causing the younger teen to still blush. "Plus, the Captain is very good at using his devil fruit powers in creative and useful ways."

Pointing at the young man, they saw how all utensils, cooking tools, plates, bowls, glasses and even cleaning products seemed to move by themselves while Logan dried whatever came out of the now seemingly haunted sink area.

"Nii-sama said I gained powers, would I be able to do things like that?" Hiyori innocently questioned aloud.

"That's really unlikely." The redhead answered, causing the younger girl to deflate somewhat. "Not because I don't believe in you, but because every Devil Fruit is different you see.

We don't know what yours can do yet, but Marco, another Mythical Zoan we know very well, he has very different abilities than Adam. He ate the Bird-bird fruit, Model; Phoenix, so he gained the ability to fly with his wings, could turn his legs into talons or turn into a large bird, but he also gained something called the Flames of resurrection.

These flames were very hot and powerful, but what made them mythical was that they could also heal. Especially when it came to Marco since he becomes almost impossible to kill or even hurt with them, and he can use them to be an even better doctor than he already is."

"But why can I not something like that?" Was the follow up question.

"I might not have a Devil Fruit, but I do know that it takes a lot of effort to master them and you just started to understand what you are, so don't feel too bad." Morgiana comforted her with a side hug. "Plus, we already know you're fruit falls under the Dog-Dog Fruits, so we just need to figure out what kind of Canine Creature you have and that'll help a lot."

"Since I haven't seen anything relating to her devil fruit in the encyclopedias I've read, you might want to consider that it might have only been in Wano this entire time. So think about local ones." Adam advised from the sink as he overheard the girls. "But there's no need to worry too much.

Once Hiyori can properly feel her fruit, she'll know.

How else would our wild child know about a very specific extinct species?"

That earned him a glare, but Adam just teasingly smiled at Logan who grumbled as he worked on the wet kitchenware.

"*Giggle* True." Morgiana agreed, to the look of betrayal on the boys face which made her giggle again. "It's very hard to get him to read any kind of book."

Poor kid now had dark clouds above his head due to the emotional blows.

"Ignoring that for now, what I want to know is the situation of Wano." Adam suddenly said, causing the expanded duo to turn both somber and serious. "Our father left me writings of Wano, but obviously things have changed and now I find my half-sister to be a fugitive, Red Scabbards hunted like heinous criminals, Wano a desolate and poisoned land with a tyrannical set of rulers draining the life out of it and its every living inhabitants, no sign of said father and the castle he told me was his home burnt and destroyed alongside the nearby town.

So what happened?"

"*Sigh* We failed." Kawamatsu bitterly answered with clenched fists before sagging somewhat.

He then began explaining everything he knew in regards to the events which took place 7 years ago and even before, trying to tell the tale of Oden's sacrifices as Hiyori silently held back her sadness and anger at those who betrayed her father and besmirched her entire family.

"I see." Adam ponderously went through the information to find any sort of hints and clues he could piece together to ease matters in the future, but he found them lacking and decided to check the regrets and resentments in Wano to possibly create the links he would need.

Now he 'knew' of Toki's last words, prophecy and actions, while also being aware of Oden's desires and how things developed to this point, so he could actually move forward with his plans.

"What about the Scabbards who remained in this time? I know at least one is in Kuri, which I believe to be Ashura Doji, but what about the other three?" Adam questioned sharply.

"I would agree that Ashura would be the most likely to be in Kuri, but as for Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, I am not aware of their fates but neither has any kind of announcement been made regarding their capture, deaths or even sightings, as such I am not even certain they are still in Wano. Denjiro is another issue as he completely vanished from sight." Kawamatsu informed with some regret at not being more useful.

"That's fine. We have time and I have very unorthodox ways of gathering information thanks to my devil fruit, so we'll find them." Adam waved away Kawamatsu shame as it was quite natural with the fish-man having to make Hiyori's safety his number one priority. "For now, your priority is recovering your strength and retraining while Hiyori does the same and we start teaching her how to use her devil fruit and fight with it.

I'll look for more information in the meantime, but I might need your's or Hiyori's presence when I do find other Scabbards."

"Of course Adam-sama! I shall sharpen my blade anew!" The very loyal kappa proclaimed.

"I will help in any way I can Nii-sama." She declared with a determined look on her face.

"Good. Talk to Harribel about training and sparing, I'm sure you both could learn a good deal from each other. I'll have Logan help you with your fruit and Morgiana there to smoothen the process while you do so." The young captain nodded to them.

"But Adam-sama... are you certain that she should train for battle?" Kawamatsu hesitantly asked as he did intensely care for her and obviously did not wish for her to be forced to fight.

It was his duty as a samurai of the Kozuki family to fight her enemies!

But Hiyori wasn't thinking the same at all.

She wanted to fight back.

To do something to help take back her homeland or at least prepare for the return of her other brother and the rest of the Scabbards.

"I understand how you feel, but ask yourself this: Would Hiyori want to stand aside while those she cares about fight?" Was the simple response, which stopped the fish-man immediately as they both looked at the look of absolute refusal to just stand by. "Because only knowing her properly for less than a day and I can tell that my half-sister will fight.

She is the daughter of Oden and proud of it. She wants to avenge him and help us in doing so, especially now that she has gained the possibility of standing beside us as it happens.

So instead of hampering her due to my worries, I shall make her as powerful as I can. With everything I can use, I will make sure she can stand on her own two feet as a proud member of the Kozuki clan."

Hiyori found herself completely moved by Adam's words as she felt her spirit soar with every word.

She was a Kozuki!

She was the daughter of the greatest samurai ever since Ryuma himself!

She has the power to bring change and protect others herself!

And she would not meekly watch as her homeland was ravaged without end by those bastards who almost took everything from her!

In the face of such will, Kawamatsu could do naught but feel pride through his worries.

"I understand Adam-sama. Please forgive me for doubting you Hiyori-sama." The fish-man bowed apologetically.

"Nonsense! I'm quite happy to see you care so much! Now you two go rest and recover some more, maybe start some light exercises to get back into shape." Adam cheerfully told him with a hearty back slap. "As for you, my dear half-sister, you'll need to start training as well since the power augmented by your fruit is based on your own strength and all devil fruit abilities take a great deal of stamina and willpower to use, so you will be training hard once ready.

"Of course Nii-sama! I won't let you down!" She passionately declared.

"Remember, it'll never be me who you let down by giving up, but yourself and those you fight for." Her half-brother corrected, making her etch the correction in her heart to fan the flames of her will. "Now, go relax a bit and enjoy the beach.

You two have been in a heightened state of survival for years and had to go through a lot, so you need to let your spirits rest before you start training. I'll be going to follow up on my other lead regarding Ashura Doji."

"Adam-sama, if I may, please be prepared when meeting him. He was always one of our most... direct members." Kawamatsu warned with some worry.

"Haha! I know well what our father had to say about him!" Adam care-freely responded, but Kawamatsu could feel the excitement and fighting intent held just beneath the surface, reminding him the similarities between this teen and his lord even if he seemed much more thoughtful and intelligent in general.

"I can't wait to see Ashura-ojisan again!" Hiyori smiled brightly at the thought.

Getting everyone she knew and cared for together was like a dream for her, so obviously she was all for it, simply believing Adam could do it on a subconscious level.

"Might come back for you if he's being stubborn, but I'll bring him over!" Her brother assured as her pat her head, causing her to lean into the feeling of warmth and security with a happy smile.

Kawamatsu just couldn't believe how in synch these recently acquainted siblings seemed to be.

"While I'm gone, Harribel's in charge. Logan's on guard duty and Morgiana, I'll bring you to where I hid everything I obtained yesterday so you can bring it back." He then quickly ordered as the trio nodded. "I'll drop you off where I stashed everything, but so be aware that I took a lot of gold from a few... less than honorable individuals."

"Aye aye Captain!" She grinned with amusement.

They were pirates after all, so some thefts and plundering was par for the course. They just preferred to do it to assholes since they were good kids and assholes tended to hoard some good stuff.

The words did cause Kawamatsu to go into a coughing fit at the sudden revelation that his new young master was a skilled thief, but Hiyori couldn't help but giggle slightly at the unrestrained way they acted. It reminded her of her father and his tales at sea when she was too young to remember.

"Alright, we'll be off as soon as you're ready." Adam told the redhead who finished up and went to her quarters.

The advantage of having a literal ghost crew being that everyone could have their own quarters and lots of storage.

She quickly came down wearing a more neutral outfit, having tied up her hair and choosing to wear a hat similar to those she had seen from the nearby village, concealing her status as a female to look more like a farmer. Just in case anyone did spot her, they wouldn't be able to see her more prominent features.

Declaring she was ready, Adam bid everyone a quick 'see you later' before the two left the hidden cave.

Adam quickly dropped her off outside of Bakura town, then headed towards Okobore, the 'leftover' town of the Kuri region since it was near the area Ashura and Jack were said to have clashed.

Not expecting much due to its title, Okobore wasn't the only town of its kind in Wano, it being a common in every region as the Beast Pirates and Orochi loyalists took over the affluent areas and capitals, shunting every undesirable out to form these towns together. It was actually in one of those towns that Adam knew he would find an important ally later, but for now he looked at he impoverished town from above.

While he might be able to 'see' more thanks to Observation Haki, Ashura Doji was experienced and clever when it came to acting like a bandit or criminal. He knew very well how to hide from such things, especially after 7 years of hiding from those in power.

The man might not be afraid of clashing against those like Jack and King, but he certainly wasn't stupid and ardently held to the twenty year promise with his men.

And an easy way to conceal his much stronger presence was simply to be surrounded by others.

So instead, Adam released a few wisps to look for a very large man with pink hair and flower shoulder tattoos.

Not exactly an average looking man.

As for why Adam believed he would be here, well it's because it made sense.

Ashura Doji was born and grew strong in Kuri, ruling as its strongest bandit until Oden took him down and made him his retainer, but because of his past, the man had many connections and the respect of a lot of people regardless of the swill Orochi tries to force down everyone's throats. Okobore is thus the best place for the man to conceal himself since this is where his people could easily do so as well, on top of his connections also moving there.

This train of thought was mostly accurate as Adam's wisps did exactly find the man in town, but actually discovered a gathering of people in a nearby underground cave.

Flying over, he was actually surprised to discover that the hole exuded a steady stream of heat.

Heading in while invisible, Adam discovered sentries, even if poorly dressed ones, then he found a series of surprisingly well maintained tunnels and chambers, many with supplies, living areas and weapons.

Adam had to give it to the man, he knew how to work on the seedier side of things very well. No wonder they imprisoned the Yakuza bosses instead of killing them if they all had the smarts and charisma to pull something like this off. If they were killed, many would simply riot due to just how much they likely helped the downtrodden find meanings in life.

Down in the depths of this underground hideout, Adam found the source of the heat; an underground hot spring.

One currently being used by quite a large number of men, with the easily distinguished Ashura Doji drinking at the back with bandages around his chest and arms visible above water.

He was one of the larger men Adam had witnessed in this world, with Whitebeard and King Neptune being very high up there, with fluffy pink hair going down to the middle of his back, floral tattoos on his shoulders, a bulky frame with a layer of fat from indulgences concealing the very powerful body beneath, rounder face with a large mouth and naturally dark brows shadowing his deceptively perceptive eyes.

Seeing that, the young ghost teen decided to have a bit of fun.

Shucking off his clothing, shame was for those with small packages and fragile egos, Adam plopped himself down next to Ashura Doji, grabbed a nearby sake bottle and chugged.

"*puah!* Kampai!" He called out, causing everyone present to jump in fright and shock at someone suddenly appearing, many unconsciously going for their weapons which they obviously didn't have in the water, but they were nearby just like how Adam's Moonlit was resting behind him. "Hehe. You guys are jumpy, but well trained."

"Hm?" Ashura simply raised an eyebrow, knowing very well that someone who managed to get there without even himself knowing had to have a reason, and he couldn't feel any sort of harmful intent, plus he was confident in his strength. "Who are you kid?"

"Kozuki Adam, bastard son of Oden. Nice to finally meet you Ashura Doji." Was the casually answer as said kid grinned widely at the sudden head turn from the bigger man and the momentary silence of all those around them.

"WHAT???????!!?!?!?!?!?"

It was rather impressive that they all shouted, expanded their eyeballs, had their jaws drop and nearly fell at the same time.

Adam was enjoying the very 'One Piece-esque' reaction with a chuckle and sip of sake.

"Prove it." Ashura frowned a moment later.

"How many half fish-men," Adam stared as he pointed out his gills near his neck, mildly webbed hands and sharper than normal teeth, "with these looks, that sword and amulet, do you think exist in this world?"

"Not convinced." The pink haired bandit grunted with narrowed eyes, which Adam could understand since there were many weird powers in this world and the former user of the clone-clone fruit was a Kurozumi clan member who effectively orchestrated the downfall of the Kozuki clan.

"Well, we can fight when you aren't going to worsen your health, you do have people relying on you after all, or I could bring Kawamatsu or Hiyori. Maybe both." Adam offered as the two continued to drink and soak as the place grew very tense for others simply from anticipation.

They almost expected both men to draw their blades at any moment.

That caused the larger man to pause his drink and glare slightly for more information, which Adam really wasn't against since he subtly placed shades in the shadows of everyone present to make sure that if any would blab, they would be identified as traitors or possibly killed depending on when they perform the betrayal.

"I heard about one of the 'monsters' from the 'traitorous' Red Scabbards and a demon wolf being found and hunted in Ringo, so I went over and got them out." Adam shrugged. "Turns out Hiyori ate a devil fruit, or gained a yojutsu as you might put it, and was said demon wolf who just couldn't control her abilities, so I rescued her too.

They're both at my ship with my crew mates right now, resting and recovering from these last few years. They both told about Toki-san's last words, Orochi's betrayals, my father's efforts and death, alongside a few other things, but I thought it would be good to try and find you as well to plan for their return in 13 years."

"Well, looks like the kappa mostly did his job right then." Ashura barked with a grin at receiving a proper update on his friend one of the only Kozuki left.

He knew of Adam's existence from his liege of course, having instantly recognized the teen on sight from the details he and the others have been told about, but Hiyori was like the niece of every Red Scabbard and they would all go to hell and back to protect her. If he was honest, Ashura would say that he was curious as to how much she had grown up over the last 7 years.

"A true example of a samurai he is." Adam sincerely stated with weight everyone could feel.

It wasn't something they felt they could challenge because then they would be challenging the honor and dedication of someone who earned a strong man's respect. Most may not have had the chance to truly live as Samurai since the fall of the Kozuki clan, but they still were such and hearing those words was a mark of pride for any who followed their path, as such they would respect it.

"How are they?" The bandit asked as they both silently toasted to him.

"Hiyori isn't too bad, especially since her new abilities were incredibly suited to Ringo's climate and helped her hunt at least some of her food, but she needs some rest and proper nutrition. Kawamatsu is much worse since he often forwent food to feed her, the constant cold is not very suitable for a... Kappa without any water to help, and he also fought many people while protecting the Eternal Graves." Adam summarized quickly, but his words truly made those present gain respect for the fish-man.

Any true Samurai and citizen of Wano would fight to protect those who passed and now rested with their blades in Ringo. So a man who did so against a force they all lost to was extremely commendable.

"That is good. I still want to fight, but I will believe you and agree to meet them on Mt. Atama in a few days if what you claim is true." Ashura said a after a moment of silence, feeling a bit like his friend had outdone him even if he's been clashing against one of the Commanders of Kaidou frequently over the years. "I should be good enough by then."

"I guess we'll see you then." Adam grinned as the two seemingly just decided on a formal meeting in the most casual way possible. "But this is really a nice hot spring.

How'd you guys score this?"

"Heh! One of Mt. Fuji's vains passes near an underground lake that flows up here. It's actually part of the reason why Kuri is so warm and used to be so fertile." The larger man explained as the two just started sharing drinks.

Ashura just naturally felt like he was back in the old days at the moment, wanting to enjoy this nostalgic feeling as memories of his time amongst the Scabbards and his liege flashed through his mind, so he went with the flow and found himself surprisingly accepting of the teen.

"Neat. I'm guessing that's how my father created that now privatized farm near where his home used to be." The teen deduced as it would make sense since that place now supplies a large amount of the fresh water and food for the powerful people in multiple regions.

"*Snort* Like they can stop us from taking what we want from it. I helped build the damn place." The bandit proudly grinned as Adam laughed and toasted it before telling him about his little theft spree in Bakura Town, starting a bragging competition amongst those present which he could only keep up with by telling tales of his adventures with the Whitebeard Pirates, a group which Ashura Doji had heard much about from Oden and was surprised that Adam had apprenticed in.

It slowly devolved into an impromptu party as more sake was brought in and woes were forgotten as Adam's presence seemed to have just lightened their worries with it alone. His approachable nature and the subtle feeling of strength and confidence was just too charismatic as he and Ashura started to have fun.

Most ended up passed out from either staying in the hot springs too long or from the booze, leaving only the two strongest before Adam promised to meet him at Mt. Atama in 4 days and that he'd provide the food and drinks this time, earning him an approving grin as he walked straight out of the hideout.


Author notes:

I think I'm doing well with this chapter and the depiction of the characters. If you guys have any advice, please let me know and I'll do my best to correct or adjust things, maybe just give an explanation if I think I'm still right. One Piece is just so massive that I literally cannot get everything right, prime example being my little mistake with having Adam and Whitebeard say Oden was another of the latter's sons instead of his 'brother'.

Not a big deal and I just wanted it to have Adam and Whitebeard to have a similar vibe to Garp and Luffy, just with less stupidity.

As for this chapter, I wanted to focus more of the weight of the burdens of the characters and how much receiving genuine gratitude and praise from a member of the Kozuki, even if from a bastard cause he does give Oden vibes but in a more reliable and thoughtful manner instead of the pure charisma the man had, would mean to the Scabbard and the impact of struggles.

Just imagine how far from their peak Kawamatsu, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were in the Wano arc. Even Ashura Doji wasn't really at his peak due to having given up 10 years prior but was still better since he lived as a bandit chief and could clash with Jack. So I'm thinking about fixing matters while here (and a bit later for the Mink) and just really having them prepare for the 20 year promise.

That's starts with recovery and then retraining.

Plus, Im really invested in my vision of the now three Kozuki siblings all wrecking shit up with Mythical Zoans, even if Momo's is artificial.

As for the Ashura Doji bit, I liked just writing that Adam found them and just joined them in the hot spring and just started chatting with them.

Feels very One Piece to me.

Some random guy shows up, you start chatting, then drinking and by the end of it you have a friend for life.

Also, the man might have been the least classically educated, but I would say Ashura is probably the sharpest after Denjiro in terms of leadership and cunning. He'd easily be able to determine if Adam was lying to him and would not hesitate to strike if he determined him to be a liar and threat. That's why the two of them just talking 'casually' was basically the best proof of the two actually approving of one another and enough to let the others know that it was ok to relax and have fun.

Let me know if the way I'm trying to flesh out my own characters is working out. Trying to bring up their efforts outside of fighting and how they can actually serve multiple roles on the ship each, with hobbies outside their goals.

Hope you enjoyed.