10,000,000 Berry. That was all that separated him from that idiot Straw Hat. It wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. He needed to be the best. The title of Pirate King would only belong to the best. 10,000,000 was easy to catch up to. Straw Hat could have him beat any day. He snarled as he threw a dart at the smiling boy's WANTED poster. At that very moment, he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he growled, already certain he knew who it was.

"Kid," Killer began as he entered, "the people are throwing a party in your honor."

Eustass smiled cruelly.

"They seem to know how to respect their new emperor," he sneered.

They had conquered the Beeougul people just the day before. While the rest of the world seemed to think him cruel, Eustass knew that his way was the best way. Fear was stronger than Respect. Much stronger. He rose from his seat, and walked out the door, spreading his arms wide. He admired the scene before him. A large feast had been prepared, and a table for Kid's crew was being set up. He descended the tree house's steps, and took his place at the head of the table. The seat of power. The seat that governed this village, and ensured him a territory once he became a Yonko. From there, all that was left was to conquer the Raftel, and the Grand Line would be his! He couldn't understand why those other idiots that stood at the top refused to take any action.

While Kid mused on the several reasons, he was served a large plate of meats and cheese, the island's specialty. As he bit into a particularly juicy piece of beef, Eustass contemplated the Yonko's actions up until now. Red-Hair was hardly taking action, and seemed completely content with his current standing. Teach was anxious for power, though noone knew why. The same went for Kaido. Big Mam was just a gluttonous hag who was exploiting the islands she'd claimed for candy. Kid only had to usurp one of them, and then he would be golden. He was impatient, but he knew he had to take it one step at a time. So for the time being, he would just enjoy his birthday feast, and anticipate an even larger one next year, as a stronger, even more powerful person.

Otohime woke up to a breakfast in bed, prepared by her lovely sons.

"You work too hard, Mother," they chorused, chiding her. "Let us take care of you for once!"

Otohime gave them a small smile as she took a sip of the starfruit juice they'd brought her. Her campaigning was going exceptionally well, and was well on the way to success. She didn't want to stop now, but she knew her sons wouold never let her work today. So she'd decided the night before she would enjoy this day, and get back to her campaign as soon as possible. She finished her breakfast, and quickly got dressed.

She wandered around the palace for a while, and met with some of her chambermaids. It was nice to talk with other women, but they didn't treat her as their equal. She'd offered to help them with their work, but they adamantly refused, saying it was 'beneath her'. She'd been so busy with campaigning for the next World Summit that she hadn't even realized that she was lonely. Yes, she had her children and her husband, but she didn't have a trusted confidante, someone she could really talk to in times of need. She supposed it couldn't be helped, and went on her way once again.

After a while of swimming around and admiring the palace, she felt that something was off. She hadn't seen many guards all day, and had only seen her sons once during breakfast. It was so quiet, that she soon became restless, and frantically returned to her room to find a novel to read.

She returned to her room, and found a package wrapped with brown paper and tied with a string. She smiled, knowing that the simplistic gift came from her husband, who knew best of her simplistic tastes. It made her feel warm inside that, even though her husband was busy, he still found time to care. Inside the package were assorted books and novels, all written by explorers in the overworld. She wrapped a robe around her, and sipped on a hot mug of tea as she read about fierce dragons and beautiful princesses. She'd just about reached the ending, and had reached an intense part when she heard a knock at the door. She sighed, and marked her place in the book before bobbing over to the door.

"Yes?" she asked, opening the door just the slightest.

"Happy birthday, Mama!" chorused her sons, presenting her with a large box filled with paper. She opened the door wider, and beckoned them in. Fukaboshi handed her the box, and she set it down on her bed. Her sons sat at her feet expectantly, urging her to read the paper. She picked a slip out of the box, and read aloud.

"Midori Usui. Konako Tesuta. Yuki Kataosume," she said, beginning to recognize what the boys had done.

"They're signatures!" exclaimed Manboshi, delighted at the smile that was growing on his beloved mother's face. "For your petition! And I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, the guards accompanied us to make sure we were safe. Anyways, we know how much it means to you, so we went out today and campaigned for you"

"You sure did!" Otohime declared, digging her hands into the wonderful box, filled with the love and hope of her people.

"Shirahoshi said she wanted to come, but she knew she couldn't," said Ryuboshi, "so she stayed behind and wished us luck."

Otohime smiled, thinking of her youngest cheering on her older brothers. They'd worked so hard for her, and they'd done it reaping no reward. Selfless and kind, they would truly rule the kingdom well one day.

"You've done me all proud," she said, embracing her children. "I'll be back to it tomorrow, though."

"Can we help?" Fukaboshi asked timidly. Otohime's smile couldn't have grown wider as she exclaimed, "Of course you can!" and kissed them all fervently on their cheeks. What great children she had! What great leaders they would turn out to be one day!

I hope I portrayed Eustass fairly. He's an awesome character to work with. In contrast, Otohime's part had lots of fluff. Tons of fluff. Anyways, Reviews, Subscriptions, and Favourites are much appreciated. See you next time on January 17th for Capone Bege!