This chapter is lenghtier than I plan for most chapters to be, and the next one will be as well. But after that, we will go to the mini-arc that will give the reason for Issei to go to Kuoh Academy.
The dragon rises...
At six, he awakened the monster
"Aura is like haki, it's actually very similar to it in many ways. Both are forms of spiritual and life energy, and both also allow you to locate and predict enemy attacks." Kaimon started his explanation and as he spoke, a blue aura began to cover his body. "At the same time, there are things that can only be done by either one or the other. You can't use aura to touch a logia user, and you can't use haki to do this."
Both Kaimon and Lucario focused their auras on their hands. Both pointed to different sides of the ship, and two spheres of energy, each made of different shades of blue, formed in the hands of the blue haired prince and the Pokémon, before being throwed. The two spheres travelled at rapid speed for tens of meters, before meeting their ends in a great explosion.
Cynthia swallowed hard. Contrary to appearances, however, she was excited to learn how to use and control her aura. Though she was not as excited as Issei, whose eyes shone like stars.
"AMAZING! COME ON BRO, TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT! PLEASE! PLEASE!"
Issei begged, almost jumping on his older brother.
Cynthia laughed, and Kaimon sighed, but a smile on the corner of his mouth was noticeable.
"Relax. Luck will take care of your training directly, just like he did with our brothers."
Issei looked with twinkling eyes at Lucario, who returned a confident smirk to the boy.
"What about me?"
Cynthia asked, confused as to why Issei would have a different training than hers. However, before Kaimon had the chance to respond respond, Jeanne literally jumped across the deck in front of her blue-haired brother.
"Your training is with me. Issei can understand Lucario, but you'll need to be instructed by one of us."
The pink haired said, instructing the younger girl.
"Hey, I thought her training was going to be made by me."
Kaimon told his sister, as he scratched the back of his head. Even if those were his words, he didn't seem to mind that she'd interrupted, he was just slightly confused.
Jeanne turned to him as she pulled Cynthia closer to her.
"Yeah, but my sisters and I decided that one of us had to take care of her training. Any problem?"
Kaimon just looked at Jeanne, at Cynthia and then at the other of his sisters, that were silently watching from the deck.
"None."
He finished by saying that. He also moved away from the deck since he wouldn't have to train anyone anymore.
Cynthia had a weird smile on her face as Jeanne dragged her to outside of the ship.
Issei looked at that whole scene curiously, until he decided to not to worry about it.
"So, let's start?"
He asked, raising his fist and staring at Luck excitedly. The Pokémon in turn laughed, knowing he would enjoy the training.
...
"Do you know what you want with my little brother?"
It was Jeanne's first question to the blonde.
"Sorry, what?"
Cynthia's confusing made Jeanne sigh.
"You know how honesty he is about his wishes." The two remembered the several times Issei declared his desire to have a harem during lunch or dinner. "You may be used to the idea, mainly because of my father, but you are still very young. Currently, except when you meet those other brats, Ise's attention is all yours. Are you sure it won't bother you when you can't monopolize him anymore? After all, seeing my family in that situation, and being in that situation, are two completely different things."
Jeanne's tone was serious, and it caught the blonde girl completely off guard. Cynthia couldn't help but to think over and over about what she had just heard. In fact, she felt a little jealous when she saw Issei paying attention to other girls on the occasions they met, but she had never thought much about it.
"To share Issei..."
The two stood still. Jeanne had her arms crossed while Cynthia remained thoughtful.
She thought of situations where she felt jealous, with him giving attention to others, but then... He always turned and held his hand out to her, every single time.
"Yeah, I don't think it's going to be a problem."
She suddenly said smiling.
"Oh, and why?"
Jeanne asked interested.
"Because I know Ise will never leave me aside."
Cynthia replied with the best smile she could have given.
"Hah! I knew it would be like this. Right answer, Cyn. Now, we can start!"
...
"As your brother said, aura and haki are fruits of the same tree. Since you are already initiated, even if just as a beginner, in one, you should be able to catch up with the other quickly."
Luck explained to Issei, who manage to understand word per word of what the pokemon said thanks to the Voice of All Things.
And to better exemplify everything he said, Luck showed his aura to Issei, letting the boy feel it so that he could understand how he should go about with his.
"I think I get it..."
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Issei concentrated on sensing Lucario's aura, and he rapidly succeeded.
It was like a flame, burning brightly but steadily, and not dimming or flickering. Through the aura Issei could see Lucario's strength, and at the same time he could feel a connection with the Pokémon. It really was similar to haki in some ways, but the differences were even vaster. One wasn't better than the other, in reality they could be used to complement and further strength each other.
"Yeah, I understand..."
Issei said, looking almost entranced.
He took another deep breath, and it was like a flame ignited inside him. First it was a spark, and then, like oil thrown on fire, his aura intensified.
A dense layer of dark blue aura, but that interestingly enough also had details of red in the center, came out of the boy's body, forming a column of energy that extended for meters into the air.
At the same time that happened, a deep roar came out of Issei's body, even though, during this whole time the boy had his eyes and mouth shut.
Feeling Issei's aura expanding, Luck jumped back a few meters, looking surprised at the kid's aura.
On the ship, everyone else also felt it. Seeing and feeling his son's aura, Luffy couldn't help but laugh happily, proud of the boy.
"He's reminding me of Kaido."
Law commented.
"Yeah. What a strong draconic aura."
Zoro said, nodding, and looking towards the direction where his considerate nephew was.
A smile was on the green-haired swordsman's face, as well as on Luffy's and several other members of the crew.
…
Marianne, Mikita's younger sister, ex-member of Baroque Works that also joined the crew and was the kids older sister figure, was at the kitchen table, with her hand flying over the papers on it. In a matter of seconds, she formed designs and more designs. The art was stylized and in black and white, telling a progressive story that seemed to build towards a climax, with the heroes facing off against the villain.
"Are you drawing that manga, Mari-nee?"
Issei appeared in the kitchen, and noticing Marianne's drawings, he asked, jumping into one of the chairs at the table and looking at her work.
The woman gave a smile, one of the things she was most proud of was her family showing interest in her work. Even if what she was currently was only a hobby to pass time.
"Yes, it's a fun hobby, and I've taken a liking to this art style. From what Susanoo told me, this manga became very popular in that world as well." She paused, remembering something. "Speaking of which, we are going back there in a few days, going to meet Susanoo, and I'm going to deliver this chapter. You and Cynthia could play a little with those friends of yours, what do you think?"
The redhead asked, with a generous smile. She already knew what the younger boy's answer would be.
"It will be great!"
He responded with excitement.
...
"Arg!"
Issei exclaimed for the thousandth time, after being knocked to the ground by his father.
"Shishishi, were they taking it easy on you by any chance?"
Luffy asked, teasing his son.
"Shut up! Is you who doesn't know how to take it easy!"
The user of the leviathan said to his father as he struggled to get up.
"Once more?"
Luffy asks to confirm.
"Several more!"
Issei responds in a determined manner, making his father smile proudly.
Luffy takes a fighting stance, a martial arts pose used when someone is about to engage in combat. And promptly Issei copies it. But it wasn't a simple copy, as if he was mindlessly repeating his father's movements. In fact, if one looked closely, they would notice that although very similar, there were slight differences between the father and son poses. Such differences were due to the different capacities of both, each one did the pose in a way that suited him.
One would think that this could only be the result of a lot of training and practice, however, for Issei, this was the first time he had done those poses and movements.
Just like his brothers and sisters, this was yet another frightening trait they inherited from their father. In reality, it is more accurate to say that this is a common characteristic of the Monkey D. family, after all Garp and Dragon were also capable of doing the same. It was only necessary for them to see a martial technique, or a fighting style, once, and they were able to copy it perfectly.
Monkey see, monkey do. Ironically, this perfectly defined their family.
"Let's go!"
And once more father and son stepped forward. One could only try to imagine, after having passed through so many different worlds, the immense number of martial arts that the Monkey D. are capable of using.
...
"Oho! It has been some time!"
Zoro, Marianne, Issei and Cynthia were in what, to them, looked like a room with typical Wano architecture. Tatami mats covered the floor, and in the middle of the room was a table with some tea, but mostly lots of sake.
Looking out of the opening in the wall, which covered the entire upper part of it, making it look like a gigantic window, it was also possible to see a beautiful view of the open sea.
And at the front of the group, across the table, was a man. He looked at least three meters tall and dressed like a fisherman, but a more antique one. His hair was brown but the tips where white. His hair also appeared to be combed rather wildly.
This man had a big defiant smile on his face, one that was paralleled by Zoro's.
"What did you bring this time, Susanoo?"
The swordsman asked.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The storm god laughed, laugh that seemed to reflect thunder, as he slammed a large pitcher of sake down on the table.
"This one was made at my request, by the best distiller in Japan. It was made with the strongest ingredients, and a lot of experimentation. I was involved in the entire creation process, and did my best to make sure it was the best it could be."
Susanoo finished the presentation of his alcohol, crossing his arms with a proud expression.
"Oh, not bad." Zoro greeted, and soon after, just like Susanoo did, he hit the table with a big bottle of sake as well. "This one was also made especially at my request. An old man from a village who was suffering from giants, did it at for me after I killed the giants when they woke me up from my sleep."
Everyone in the room started laughing because they knew he was serious.
"I don't know all the ingredients he used, but I know he used some of the giants' blood. So, would you like to have a try?"
Both swordsman and god had bold smiles. They couldn't wait to try the sakes out.
"Before you start, Susanoo, here's the manuscript."
However, before the two started turning down the bottles, Marianne said to the storm god, showing a pile with the drawings of the newest chapter of the manga story she produces.
Susanoo's eyes lit up, and without having to ask, Marianne just handed him the pages.
"It's great." He said, while quickly flipping through the drawings. "Hehe, I can read before everyone else, being an editor sure is great. After reading I will send to be printed and distributed."
He said, putting the sheets aside in a pile next to him.
"This is not what I imagined gods did."
Issei commented with crossed arms and a contemplative expression.
"Ise, don't say that. I'm sure that, for uncle Susanoo to be doing this, it must be an important job."
Cynthia however seemed to have confidence that if the god was going out of his way to distribute something that Marianne was only doing as a hobby, as a way to pass her time, then he must have good reason for it.
"Hahaha, no, it's completely banal."
Reality, however, was several times completely different from what one could imagine. Cynthia now had an incredulous expression, while Issei's had a smug smile that screamed "I told you so".
"Things have been quiet on our side of the world for centuries. The conflicts that exist are specific to certain groups, so if I didn't do that kind of thing, I would die of boredom. Meeting your family was the best thing that happened to me in ages."
Susanoo concludes, laughing loudly once again.
"Hehe, you're also cool Susanoo."
Issei replied, raising his fist towards the god, who repeated the act, making their clenched fists meet in a gesture of friendship. It was just a little weird because Susanoo's arm was twice the size of Issei's torso.
"Oh, yeah. I meant to ask you that last time Ise. What's your type of woman?"
Asking the question, the god's expression turned solemn, as he crossed his. He seemed to meditate, waiting for the user of the leviathan fruit's response.
Cynthia was also anxiously waiting for the answer, and even Zoro and Marianne were curious.
"Older and with big boobs."
The young dragon answered without a second of hesitation.
Zoro and Marianne started laughing, mainly because of how much it reminded them of Luffy.
Cynthia silently celebrated the fact that she was a year older than him.
"Ha! I liked! You know what? I'll introduce you to someone in the future… hmmm, maybe her daughter... you know what? Maybe you can go for both!"
Susanoo said, giving the boy a thumbs up. Issei didn't quite understand, but responded, also giving the god a thumbs up.
"Hi, don't put strange ideas in his head yet."
Marianne said, sighing.
"Hahaha, sure!"
The redhead rolled her eyes and turned to the two children.
"Let's go. Don't you want to go meet your friends?"
...
"Issei! Cynthia!"
The scream calling for the two came from five different children.
One was a girl with chestnut hair who wore a blue cap, and boyish clothes. When they first met, Cynthia needed to point out to Issei that she was a girl, her name being Shidou Irina. She was of the same age as Issei, and self-declared herself as his best friend after Cynthia. And Issei himself had no intention of disagreeing with her on that.
Irina wasn't the only tomboy in the group either. Another girl who also had short hair, but this time of dark color, and who wore the same style of clothing as Irina, also excitedly called out to the two. She was only slightly taller than Irina, and her name was Arisawa Tatsuki. Tatsuki was a year younger than Issei, despite not being very notable.
There was a third girl in the group, but this one didn't look like a tomboy, quite the opposite actually. She had long dark hair that fell past her shoulders to her back. Her outfit was also clearly more feminine than Irina and Tatsuki's, but still appropriate to wear when playing in the park. She was Kamado Nezuko.
Unlike the other two, who seemed to know how to impose themselves and clearly demonstrated their energy, Nezuko seemed calmer and shier. That didn't stop her from trying to get Issei's attention anyway. Nezuko was also the same age as Tatsuki.
Next to her was an orange haired boy, who was of same height as Tatsuki, and that just like the others, where happy to see Issei and Cynthia. He was Kurosaki Ichigo.
Both Issei and Cynthia felt something different about Ichigo, but they could never describe or understand what. As they came from a family of multidimensional travelers, they had already seen many kinds of species and types of powers, and even with their short life experiences, they were sure that Ichigo looked like to be simply human. Even if they always felt something more coming from him.
And lastly, waving at the two was Nezuko's older brother, putting him around Issei's age, Tanjiro.
Just like Ichigo, the duo of of the Straw Hat crew felt something non-human coming from Tanjiro and Nezuko, but these were simpler to understand. They were clearly half-human hybrids. The only thing was that, both brother and sister didn't seem to know it, and neither Cynthia nor Issei knew which other race they might belong to. And anyway, it's not like they could just explain these things out of the blue to the two of them.
"It's been a while guys!"
Issei greeted them excitedly. He smiled from ear to ear. Although very different from what he was used to, he loved these encounters with this group.
One day, while walking around after being separated from their family that was meeting with Susanoo, they ended up meeting this group, who called them to play. The children got along very well, and were impressed with the ease in which Issei and Cynthia did various things. After that, whenever they had the opportunity, the two returned to this world to find them.
"Hey, Ise! You will be my partner today!"
Irina suddenly said, practically demanding, grabbing the boy's arm, and trying to pull him closer to her.
"Not fair! You always get him, Iri, now it's my turn!"
Tatsuki wasn't far behind, and grabbed Issei's other arm, attempting to pull him away from Irina.
"But Ise prefers to stay on my team, right?"
Irina spoke, making a sad face as she stared at the brunette. She knew exactly what she needed to know to get him on her side.
"No, he prefers to stay in mine!"
"I-it's not fair! Ise will be on my team this time!"
Nezuko didn't take long to join the two, and as the brunette's arms were already occupied, she grabbed the collar of his shirt.
"We're still here, did you know that?"
"Hehe, it would be good if Issei could side with Nezuko this time."
Ichigo sighed with his arms crossed, but with a smile on his face. Just seeing his friends made him happy.
The same went for Tanjiro, although he would like his sister's wish to come true.
Seeing that scene, Cynthia understood what Jeanne wanted to tell her. If things were like this now, what would they be like in the future? Would she really ever feel jealous? The answer...
"Ok! Let's do like this, one round with Iri, one with Tsuki and one with Nezu. What do you three thinks?"
To put an end to the "conflict" in a friendly way, that was Issei's proposal, so that he could do what the three wanted.
The girls stared at each other. In the end, the reason they wanted to be on the same team with Issei so badly was quite simple, he was just the best on their games. No matter what they did, he always won. Of course, there was no way for the other children to know that, in addition to inheriting phenomenal strength, he was also constantly trained. Obviously, they wouldn't stand a chance against him in these childish games. And besides that, there might be some childish admiration that they felt for him. If this one day would turn into something, only the future could tell.
"We accept!"
The three said in perfect sync, shaking their heads in agreement.
"Ok." Ichigo started to speak. "So, Cynthia-"
But he is interrupted by Issei.
"No way!" The boy protests firmly. He turns to the blonde, who smiles. She already had her answer. "Cynthia stays with me, of course!"
Issei says without giving room for argument.
"Hihihi, Ise-kun is so jealous."
The blonde said playfully.
"Ahh... they're dating..."
Nezuko whispered. Her eyes looked defeated.
"Argh! But it's not fair, if you two are on the same team we can't win!"
Ichigo complained in frustration, pointing at Issei and Cynthia. Like the young dragon, Cynthia was also trained, so keeping both of them on the same team was really unfair to the others.
Not that Issei minded.
"I don't care! She stays with me!"
Issei said firmly, pulling Cynthia closer to him. In addition to her smile widening, the girl's face turned bright red.
"Me too! Me too!"
Irina bounced around full of energy.
"Soon after it's my turn!"
Tatsuki said, with arms crossed and a slightly dissatisfied expression.
"I will not be left behind!"
Nezuko spoke to herself, as if gathering motivation.
Ichigo couldn't help but sigh as Tanjiro chuckled.
They all really loved being able to meet like this. It was just a pity, that even if the kids weren't aware yet, that it wouldn't last much longer.
…
"Cut slowly!"
"The fire has to be lower!"
"Don't put so much seasoning!"
"Cut thinner!"
Constant complaints could be heard from the kitchen as Issei did his best to follow Sanji's teachings on cooking. It just happened that he was the strictest teacher on the subject the boy could ever have.
"Honey, don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"
Pudding asked her husband, feeling some pity of Issei.
"No way!"
Sanji answered seriously.
"If he wants to be with my little girl, that's the least he has to be able to do. Besides... between a man who cooks whatever she wants, and one who can't even touch a frying pan, which do you think a woman will prefer, Issei?"
"THE ONE WHO COOKS!"
The boy replied, while taking care of the pot. The intensity with which he went about things almost made it seem like he was putting his life on the line.
"EXACTLY! THEN LET'S GO!"
Sanji replied, with the same intensity and excitement as his apprentice.
"YES!"
Both had their eyes on fire. Pudding could only watch the scene with a weak smile and a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead.
Outside the kitchen, leaning against the wall was Zoro, and he seemed to be considering something. Then the swordsman smiled, as if he'd had an amusing idea.
...
"Issei, come here."
Suddenly, Luffy called out to his son. The Sunny was docked on a deserted island in some random world.
"What it was, dad?"
Hearing his father's call, Issei promptly responded, though he couldn't imagine why Luffy would call him now, as he had already trained and done everything he had to do.
The Pirate King glared at his son, but he tried to see past Issei. Using his haki and the powers of the soul fruit, he once again sensed a unique presence within the boy.
"Come with me, let's see something."
He said, picking up his son and jumping onto the island. He had avoided this until now, as he wasn't sure that, whatever that was in his son, if forcibly awakened, could negatively affect the boy if he wasn't ready. But now that a year had passed since his son ate the Leviathan devil fruit, and had already started his constant training with haki and aura, Luffy felt confident in dealing with whatever was attached to the little one.
"Dad, what is it?"
The brunette couldn't help but ask, finding it strange that he was randomly called by his father and then dragged to some island.
"You know Ise, when you were born, I felt something in you."
"Hmm?"
The boy was confused, not understanding what his father was getting at.
Luffy knelt down, placing his head at his son's level and placing his hand on top of Issei's head.
"And what was it?"
The boy inquired.
"I asked Susanoo, wanting to know if he had any ideas. He explained to me something called Sacred Gears, but even he didn't know what it could be exactly. Then..."
Issei looked at his father confused, while Luffy, more serious than the boy was used to seeing him, closed his eyes.
With the powers over soul, derived from the Soru Soru no Mi, he focused inside his son's soul. It took few moments longer than he originally thought it would, because whatever was with Issei, it was intimately tied to the boy's soul. But now, having located what he was looking for, the rest was simple.
"Wake up."
A single word came out of Luffy. At that moment, in his mind, Issei heard a grandiose roar and an image of a gigantic red dragon appeared in his mind, carrying power and majesty.
[Interesting.]
A third voice was heard, seeming to come from nowhere, but both father and son looked at Issei's left arm, where there was now a large red gauntlet, but without the fingers, and with a green crystal in the center.
Both Issei and Luffy looked on curiously, the father, now seeing that the boy was fine and that it didn't seem to affect him in any negative way, was much calmer and actually quite intrigued.
"Who are you?"
The Pirate King asked the question his son wanted to ask as well.
[Y Ddraig Goch, hello.]
About Susanoo, he is basically Raiden from Records of Ragnarok, but with fisherman's clothing
For Cynthia, she looks like Ereshkigal from Fate.
