Now, arriving at the place is easy, but how do I enter the place silently?

Was tempted to burst in like a meteor, but that would gather unnecessary attention and alarm the marines nearby. In the later future, the reason why there's not a lot of marines around will be because they're focusing on the incoming war with that old man Shirohige. But now? There's no war incoming.

I guess I'll enter the premises as the guest.

Putting on my nobility disguise, braiding my hair and covering my eyes with my long bangs, and hiding my mask and spear under the clothes, I managed to fool the staffs by saying that my parents told me to go here first and find them a good slave for myself because today is my birthday. I would puke after saying that, but I need to stay composed so I don't fuck this up.

Once I'm given the number board thingy, I observe the guests until my eyes land on where the haughty dragons are. Hmm, I don't recognize them and none of them is that bastard Jalmack. A shame, but better than nothing.

Keeping my eyes on them, I stay at the back by the wall. I can't let anyone recognize my face, and I'm glad the place is dark, leaving only the stage lit up.

"And now, for entry number 5! A local old man by the name Ray! He may looks like a senile old man, but he's strong enough to do labor works! We'll start the price at 500.000 Berries!"

Ah, found the main quest 2nd requirement.

"550.000!"

"600.000!"

"655.000!"

Hmm, he doesn't look that different now. He just has less white hair and it's slightly shorter than his official debut. Maybe less wrinkles too, but he's too far for me to take a good look at.

"700.000!"

"700.000 Berries for that gentleman! Any more bidders? Anyone?"

I raise my number and smile cutely, "1 million!" I exclaim out, which gains surprised looks from the others. No one else seems to bid anymore for old man Rayleigh, so his 'ownership' fell to my hands.

Well, I don't need to buy him to let him go. He can pretty much let himself go if he wants to, but he needs money to gamble, that's why he let himself get captured. But getting him is one of the two requirements of this main quest, so I just need to wait for the right time.

Slaves come and goes, until it ends to the main attraction; a female giant with the name Daisy. Poor lass is scared for her life as the crowd is cheering out for her, numbers flying through until the highest bidder bids for her.

"500 billion Berries!"

I slip on my mask and undo my braid as I take out my spear and aim it at the bidder, who just happens to be my lifelong enemy.

"Athaothl'xel sends me its regards that it will meet you in the sea of souls." I whisper with a sneer, "Matilah kau, naga laknat.*" And I command the keris to detach and plunge itself into the heart of the dragon, making him to drop face down as his bubble pops and blood seeps out from his stupid clothes.

The whole place is silent, until the other dragon screeches out in horror.

"FATHER!"

I command the keris to return, letting the blood splatter over the other dragon and she screeches out louder. I tsk-ed at the unnecessary noise the bitch let out, so with a flick of my finger, the keris slits her throat. She gurgles a bit before joining the pile on top of her 'father', and now the other nobles start to panic and turn around in horror.

"Finally. 2 dragons down, many more to go." I casually say, and that's when they all start running and screaming around like ants during the rainy season while I hop on my spear and float up towards the 'merchandises' up stage.

I hop down on top of the panicked host-guy and strike him away into the wall, before fighting off the guards when they surrounded me. Once they're all down, I take off my shoes and throw them aside as I approach the 'merchandises' and to the old man Rayleigh.

While the others cower behind in the corner, old man Rayleigh only watches me with interest and caution. I just snort in amusement seeing the slaves.

"I'm not interested in hurting any of you, so calm your asses." I tell them before turning to old man Rayleigh and putting a hand on my hip, "Shakky told me you'll be here, so I'm here to fetch you." I say and he blinks in wonder.

"Oh? Did Shakky send you here?" He asks calmly.

"Not really. I was hunting the dragons, and you just happen to be in the same place." I bluntly reply, "Now hurry up and take those collars off. We need to talk before the marines are here, and I'd rather have my conversation when we're both alive."

Old man Rayleigh laughs at that as he easily imbues his hand with haki and easily tears the collar off, throwing it away before it explodes. I really need to learn that. That would make everything convenient.

I hop on my spear and float up as old man Rayleigh does the same to the others and they all cheer out happily in freedom. I smile a bit seeing their happy tears and blink in confusion when they turn around to bow at me before they're off to their freedom. Huh, I wonder what that was.

I shrug and look at old man Rayleigh, "Let's go. You want a ride?" I ask and he laughs heartily.

"Sure, if it's not much of a bother. I'd rather float there rather than walking and running back home." He says as he hops on next to me.

"Hang on tight, because we're going to become speed." I tell him cheerily and he laughs in return, but heeds my words as he holds on tight on the staff. Once he nods at me, I turn to look forward and fly off through the open front door, easily dodging the incoming bullets from the marines as we fly off back to the bar.

Once we arrive, I immediately enter the bar, "I got old man Rayleigh and 2 dragons!" I announce as I run inside and hop on the stool with old man Rayleigh following along behind and Shakky smiles at us as she offers me a glass of iced water with a straw.

"Welcome back, both of you. How was the hunt?" She asks calmly with a smile.

"It went great! I got 2 dragons! It was rather exhilarating seeing them drowning in their own pool of blood." I reply with a laugh, and Shakky just hums in interest, as if she didn't just hear a child just killed 2 important figures that just shook the world a few minutes before.

"That's great to hear." Shakky replies casually as she makes whiskey on the rocks for old man Rayleigh, who takes a seat next to mine and sips on his drink.

"Well then, I suppose you're that infamous 'Dragon Hunter', Garu?" old man Rayleigh starts, "what does a '101 million Berry' wanted person want from this old man?"

Huh?

101 million Berry? Not 50 million Berry?

"What do you mean by 101 million Berry?" I ask in pure confusion, and both adults seem surprised at that.

"Oh? I thought you know. You're a pretty hot topic these days, as the youngest Supernova that originates from East Blue, who's not even a pirate." Old man Rayleigh says. So that's why pirate hunters are all out for blood.

Realizing what old man Rayleigh said, I pout at that last one.

"I may not officially be a pirate yet, but I'm one at heart and I'll be the First Mate of my brother's pirate crew that will become the Pirate King!" I protest with a huff and the old man just laughs in return. "But enough about that, I need to tell you something, old man Rayleigh." I start with a serious tone.

Hearing that, old man Rayleigh looks at me seriously, but still with a smile. "Sure, tell me anything. I doubt anything else can surprise me even more." He says calmly as he takes a sip of his drink.

"Roger has a son and his name is Ace and he lives in East Blue with me and Luffy." I casually tell him in one go and he chokes on his drink, hiccoughing heavily. I just watch him calmly as he tries to calm his coughing down, while Shakky seems dumbfounded at that revelation.

"Oh, you didn't know? Did I just out Ace up?" I ask to no one in particular before shrugging. Oh well. "Well, that's all I wanna tell you. Now I need to strip off my entire 'Garu' persona and go home. My quest is accomplished anyway." I say nonchalantly as I hop off the stool.

I start to rip the bloodied noble outfit off (I wear black turtleneck undershirt and black shorts under all of those shits) and take off my mask, smiling at both adults as I face them properly.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly; my name is Ryuuen A. Eris," I put my hand with the mask on my chest and lower myself down as a salutation, "also known as 'Dragon Hunter' Garu. It is nice to finally meet you both." I smile delightfully at them after I straighten up.

Both of them widen their eyes when they hear my introduction and glancing at each other with a silent conversation between them, while I can see Takao facewinged himself in my peripheral vision.

"Well, that's all I wanna say, and I need a haircut. Lady, you have scissors?" I ask and Shakky blinks before she offers me a pair of scissors, "Thanks! Lemme just…" Using the tool, I start to give myself a quick job haircut. Not perfect, but at least the dyed parts are cut off.

"I see. So Shanks is telling the truth." Old man Rayleigh comments with a wry smile, "to think that there's another, living member of the A. clan other than her that has made contact with the D. clan members."

"Huh? What do you mean, old man? You met Shanks?" I ask as I cut my hair, but Shakky walks around the counter to approach me and decides to take over the haircutting.

"Oh? You didn't know?" If I knew, I wouldn't ask, senile old man. "You from the A. clan are destined to meet and serve a certain figure from the D. clan. I thought you all knew your destiny as the Ancient Weapon of the D."

I just blink at him, dumbfounded. I'm the Ancient what now?

"I'm the Ancient what?" I replied dumbly. Whatever this juicy info about my 'clan' of this world is, it's too advanced for my shrimp brain.

Old man Rayleigh takes a sip from his drink and crosses his arms on his chest, expression tight, "It seems you were thrown into this world with no basic knowledge in hand. Well, we can talk about that later. You were talking about Roger's son? Ace, was it?" He asks carefully, as if making sure.

"Yeah! He got black, unruly hair like him, and a beautiful face with freckles like his mother. Or so he said." I confirm before remembering the important point, "Oh, and he hates Roger because Gramps is a shitty caretaker that didn't tell him jack shit about his dad." I add with a scowl.

"'Gramps'?"

"Garp. He gave me a surprise adoption when we first met and we're apparently an adoptive family now." I replied.

Old man Rayleigh seems too dumbfounded to even begin, especially about the fact that Roger apparently has a son.

"You didn't know he had a son." It's not a question, and he lets out a sigh.

"Roger is the type of man who will give his all to keep his friends and family safe," Old man Rayleigh starts, "and if it's biological, he must've wished for his child to not get condemned for his actions or even having relation to him. That's possibly the reason why he never said a word about having a lover or even a child to any of us, and he gave custody of his child to no other than Garp." He explains and I scowl at that.

"Yeah, and now I'm the one that fills Ace up with some truth about his dad instead of that shitty Gramps and those propagandas the Marine shared to the world that gives him existential crisis." I spat in annoyance and old man Rayleigh just smiles wryly in return.

"Okay, it's done." Shakky says as she brushes off the chopped hair from my shoulders. I reach my hand to my now short hair.

The back is very short, while the sides are longer. Shakky then braids the side hairs before pinning a hairpin with a bunch of morning glories to the side of my hair. I thank her and she just smiles, giving me a pat on the head before giving me my glass of water for me to drink. She starts to gather up my discarded shits and eventually walks off somewhere through the door behind the counter.

"So what's up with Roger leaving Ace and his lover behind?" I ask, pretending to not know anything. "Surely if he's that overprotective of those he cares about, he won't do that to them, unless he's dying."

"…You're not wrong. Roger was deathly ill. It was a miracle that he stayed alive for a few years after he was declared the Pirate King." Old man Rayleigh explains, "And that's the reason why he turned himself up to the Marine."

The Pirate King, infamous for his power and riches, yet not even him can escape mortality.

Humans are such fickle things.

"I won't say anything bad about a dead man," I start with closed eyes before opening them again to look sharply at the old man, "but if he ended up leaving his actual family behind to deal with his past and thought that they can just deny their bloodline, to me he's nothing but an asshole. If I'm him, I would rather not siring a child if I can't even protect that child in the end."

Old man Rayleigh is silent, but his eyes are calculating me until I break eye contact.

"But I won't lie that I'm kinda glad he did." I huff and cross my arms on my chest, "Because we get to meet Ace, even though he's broken, we can piece him back together and finish the job that he or even Ace's mom can't do. He won't be perfect, but that's okay. We love him and we're sure he loves us too, so that's all that matters."

Hearing that, old man Rayleigh just chuckles.

"I see. Well, then I must thank you for doing so much for my captain's son. I cannot do much but to relay this information about Roger to you." Old man Rayleigh says apologetically and I shake my head.

"I'm just doing what I think is good for Ace. He tends to run away rather than dealing with this family bullshit, or fight it head on with his fists." I reply before deciding to change the topic. "…So, what's this about the part of this A. clan being an Ancient Weapon?" I ask with furrowed brows and take a sip of my water.

"I suppose I'll start with the legend that travels in these seas," old man Rayleigh starts after he downs his drink, "Have you heard about Ancient Weapons?"

"Yeah. I heard there are only 3, though." I reply and he seems impressed by that.

"Hoo, aren't you knowledgeable? Yes, there are 3 known Ancient Weapons; Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus. Each of their own has the destructive ability to even destroy an island." He explains, "But there is another one that's not publicly announced or even widely known. The Ancient Weapon that came from the Otherworld that goes by the name 'Discordia', a living Ancient Weapon that is fated to be the D. Clan's sole Ancient Weapon."

…Okay, that's a lot to take in but the old man keeps on going anyway.

"From what I know from an old friend, 'Discordia' chooses their own 'master' and is blessed by this world's Ancient Sea God. Their power is gradually given by the god, and the closer they are by the sea, the stronger they will be." Old man Rayleigh continues, "And once it reaches their maximum power, they can destroy an island with relative ease, just like the other Ancient Weapons."

"Despite that, he always said that she didn't need the god's power to destroy an island. Her magic power is strong enough to do so if she wanted to." He murmurs in thought, stroking on his beard.

"…An old friend?"

"Rein's spirit companion, who goes by the name of Puro. He's the one that revealed that there's a 4th Ancient Weapon." Rein and Puro. I need to meet them someday. "Still, it's been decades since the last time I met the pair. Until now, I still don't know where they are after Roger left the crew."

"If that's the case, then I suppose Roger was…" old man Rayleigh nods.

"Yes, Roger was her 'master'." He confirms, "Following her 'master', she left the crew along with him. That was the last day I saw and heard from her and Puro."

"But of course, I use the word 'master', but to Roger, Rein is his left-hand woman and to Rein, Roger is a close friend. Both of them are inseparable and always arguing that sometimes the Marine thinks that she's Roger's lover." Old man Rayleigh laughs as Shakky returns and lights a new cigarette.

But before he can continue on, I raise my hand to stop him.

"So to put it simply," I start, "The A. clan members are just Otherworlders that are destined to have someone from the D. clan members to be the 'master', and we have the power of the sea god that basically allows us to destroy islands, or possibly the world, am I right?" I explain shortly and he smiles.

"Something like that, yes." He nods, "Considering you were thrown here without any basic knowledge on how it works, I think telling you the basics from what I've learned is your best bet to understand your standing in the world, until you manage to learn more as you live on here."

"Well, I'm just here to tell you about Ace and hunt some dragons, but thanks for the juicy extra info about my existence here." I tell him bluntly and he laughs in return.

"I see that Shanks is right about you. Your personality reminds me of Rein, in a way." Old man Rayleigh says and I blink as he continues, "he tells me that there's this kid with four-pointed star pupils in her eyes from the A. clan that he found at the shore and bonded with another kid named Luffy in East Blue by the name of Eris, who is surprisingly very clever for her age." He states.

"I sure hope he didn't say bad shit about me." I comment.

"Well, he did tell me that you're very short and small, and he fondly called you Shrimp." He reveals with a laugh and I give him an unimpressed look at that. I'm gonna kick Shanks ass when I meet him! "And how he gave you his other treasure that Rein gave him, while his straw hat I believe was given to Luffy."

"Yeap! I still have his heart locket here." I confirm as I pull it out from my undershirt and fiddle on the golden heart locket, "So this locket was given by this Rein person?" I ask and he nods.

"It was a memento from someone back in her homeworld, I believe."

"Woah, does that mean this thing is basically a thing with huge sentimental value? I sure hope I don't fuck up and loses it." I whisper with a nervous smile, but I shake my head and look at both adults, "Anyway, my business here is done, and from what I feel, there are lots of marines incoming. I need to bounce now."

"I suppose you shouldn't dawdle more than you should." Old man Rayleigh nods and I reach for my satchel. I grab my money bag after I put the mask inside my satchel and give it to him with a grin, "my payment for 'buying' you." I tell him when he gives me a confused expression, before he lets out a bark of laughter.

Slipping on my satchel and taking out my cape jacket, I put it on and grab my spear. Letting the keris to detach, I revert them back to their old forms and I attach the pipe to the buckle on the back of the jacket, while the short wooden sword is in my satchel. This way, my disguise is complete.

"Well, I'll be off now, old man Rayleigh, lady Shakky. Let's hopefully meet again in the future!" I tell them and walk up to the front door as Takao flies off and perches on my shoulder, I look back at them with a grin, "I'll send Ace your regards." I promise them before I exit the premises.

Once we're outside, Takao hops off from my shoulder to transform into his fully-bird garuda form. He looks just like his normal self, but much bigger. Hopping on his back, I grin.

"Our last destination: home."

* "Die, you damned dragon."

(Posted on May 13th, 2022)