PSA To Oda: The nerve to make me do this, you crazy bastard.
We're running it back with some extra dosing of crack boys because the Goated Author threw all my plans out the window! Manga spoilers ahead. Also potential spoilers for manga readers (Lotta theory work)
...
So this was Haki huh? I idly mused to myself as I went through my memories, even as the announcement blared out a little too loud for my tastes. To my side, most of my 'colleagues' listened with semi-rapt attention. The cyborg however was not paying it much attention, while Mihawk kept a side-eye glancing towards me in slight bemusement.
Can't lie, Haki ain't shit compared to manipulating Reiatsu.
"And that's why today's execution... Must happen at all costs!" Sengoku's voice washed over the entirety of the 'ford.
Woop'dy fucking a'do. They wanted to execute the brat because he was related to the Pirate King with one hand and gave me a fucking job with the other. Like, at least try to pick a proper struggle, 'cos that public reception ain't surviving my CV after today.
Cracking my back with a somewhat relieved sigh, I idly turned towards Mihawk, earning the man's full attention. "...Come find me after this shit show's over and done with." He blinked at that, before frowning. I didn't give him the chance to respond before I turned around on the spot and started walking towards the scaffolding. "I could use a man with your talents."
To my surprise, besides the heavy glares, most of the marines didn't even try to stop me.
Huh.
I knew the Warlords were treated with, uh, more respect, but I still expected to have to explain why I was suddenly changing positions, during what was no doubt the start- Oh, wait, they weren't glaring at me, they were glaring at the fleet that just popped up in the horizon! Right, right. They probably had friends and family in those 'scouts' they sent up earlier.
Spoiler alert, none of them made it back.
With a snort, and given most of their attention was on the rather famous pirates slowly making their way here, I calmly leaped towards the center area- My action actually startling some of the marines in the process, to the point the giant squadron visibly turned their attention and weapons on me, though they didn't do more than that.
Activating Observation, I distinctly noted the fact most of the Vice Admirals were ready to pounce at me at a moment's notice.
I ignored them as I landed, right in front of the three admirals sitting in front of the scaffolding holding the so-called prisoner.
Aokiju opened and focused a single eye on me, bemusement coloring his face. Borsalino pretended not to notice me and Akainu was already glaring at me enroute here.
"What do you think you're doing?" The Red Dog questioned, his eyes narrowing further at me as he uncrossed his left leg off his right, before leaning back into his little throne.
I shrugged at him and turned around to face the bay center of water, showing him my back in the process. "I wanted a better view."
"...Go back to your place, Doflamingo." To my surprise, hadn't come from the Red Dog though I imagine he'd been just about to say something himself given the sudden build up of slight heat behind me. The voice however came from the top of the scaffolding, courtesy of Buddha himself.
"Nah." I snorted. "I won't be any good there," I remarked, pointedly looking down at the water below me.
To his credit, the man didn't say anything else as I practically felt his focus shift towards the same spot. My observation idly noted the slight bit of panic that filled him as well. Panic that quickly disappeared when nothing actually happened. I idly used Future Sight to see the exact moment the man made to say something else and promptly cut him off a second before.
Was it petty? Good.
"Say, ole Blind Justice old pal." I idly turned an eye towards the ice dumbass, watching as both of his eyes focused and raised an eyebrow at me. "Was it worth it?" I questioned with a slight snort, slowly bringing my arms wide open before me, indicating the marines in front of me. I chuckled. "Was all of this worth not taking Teach's head? When he came crawling to you with fire-crotch's body?" I turned my head towards him fully, a large grin on my face. "Was it worth not adhering to your code, for the first time in your sordid life?"
"...Watch yourself, Doflamingo." Aokiju remarked thinly, a somewhat disturbed look on his face.
"Watch myself?" I questioned, a mock gasp coming out. "Dearie me, watch yourself!" My Observation, for a moment, almost screamed out at me. "Do you even know what your actions led to?"
"Justice." Another voice quickly cut in from the Admiral in the middle. Akainu slowly raised himself up to a standing position, his arms crossed. "Now go back to your place, else I'll put you there myself."
I chuckled at that and distinctly noted the build-up of magma below the man's feet, which I elected to ignore, in favor of looking dead straight at Aokiju. "Do you know what Teach is up to right now?" I snorted and watched as the build-up of magma slowed, ever so slightly, as Akainu frowned. "You helped give him the keys to the house, but when you invited him in to help..." I started chuckling. "He elected to rob your prison blind for the best of its worst!" I waited for a beat. "Blind Justice! Oh, won't you cease to disappoint!"
I distinctly noted I had almost everyone within hearing distance's attention right now. Sengoku specifically, given the man was currently whispering into a Den Den Mushi right now, his expression turning worse and worse for wear.
I turned my gaze over towards Akainu, and watched as the man turned from his colleague back towards me, his face filled with anger. "...If that's true... And I find out you had anything to do with it..." The man took a menacing step towards me.
I couldn't help the chuckle from coming back. "Oh, it must kill you... To execute a rookie, with a war-criminal right in front of you..." The magma built up faster as the man took another step forward. "Doesn't it just grate on your nerves!?" I raised my head up towards the scaffolding. "Doesn't it grate on all your nerves!? This Justice!? Oh, the things I've done, that boy could never even dream of!" I swept my hands to the side. "But him? Him you kill over bad blood... And you ask me to help you!?" I shouted, locking eyes with a visibly irritated Sengoku. "How low you've fallen Sengoku!" I dropped both my hands and distinctly noted the shadow directly in front of me, courtesy of the magma fuck. "...Tell me Sengoku, how many children did you have executed because you noticed the wrong tuft of hair? The wrong eye color? The wrong timing?" I looked back up. "And you had the nerve to call it justice?" I scoffed. "All of this... Is proof it was needless slaughter, needless blood on your hands."
I shook my head and turned my back towards the Magma fuck now directly behind me.
"And I am considered the pirate? What a jo-" My observation pinged off the threat behind me, the threat that was immediately cut off as three fucking ships popped out from under the water and Akainu distinctly remembered what the fuck he was even here for as he immediately focused on that instead.
Whitebeard's laughter was the first thing to echo through as he appeared. "Aren't you a cheeky little brat, trying to steal my spotlight."
"Well, well, well, if it ain't Captain Daddy Issues himself," I shouted back.
That made him laugh even more.
"Anywho..." I shrugged, enjoying the brief lapse of shock and silence that filled the area as Whitebeard sized everyone up, while the Marines that were hoping he didn't show did their best not to shit themselves. I calmly patted the magma fuck on the shoulder and quickly ducked backward as he swiped at me in, well, anger for the most part. "I'll just make my way back to my place but, eh, just one last thing... Akainu," I remarked, my voice breaking the sudden silence. "Won't we... Die a little tonight?" At the sudden confusion that filled him, I promptly showered the entire area in Conqueror's Haki.
And let me tell you, Conqueoror's Haki, with a former shinigami's soul and willpower behind it?
Heh.
I watched the magma fuck, and every high-ranking marine near me, wobble the slightest bit.
And in that brief, almost non-existent instant, I awakened my devil fruit, every kind of haki infusing itself almost instinctively as I threw everything into the one attack.
And promptly shattered the scaffolding, one single string latching onto the shocked Whitebeard prisoner, sending him rocketing across to the other side of the field while my strings busied themselves ravaging every marine in sight, my laughter growing over the sheer destruction caused. If my strings didn't hit them, my Conqueror's haki certainly did.
"Oh, and for the record, tell Imu-chan I've officially resigned."
"What- What..." Akainu shook the Conquoror's attack off and watched everything fall apart in pure utter outrage. "What the h-"
I didn't wait for the punch line. I just latched a single string to one of the clouds, promptly grappled onto it, and skedaddled my ass out of there, all the while screaming and laughing at a very fucking amused Whitebeard that he owed me. My instincts drove me towards what I assumed was Dressrosa. And given they likely won't be able to launch an attack anytime soon... And by the time they do... Well.
It ain't going to be no regular Dressrosa waiting for them, that's for damn sure.
Still, given Ace's early release and the fact Whitebeard seemed to be contemplating outright retreating given his commander was no longer in enemy hands...
What will happen now?
Who knows. He could decide to stay and lose? Or even win?
Hell Ace might still end up dying for all I know... I wasn't planning to stick around to find out. As far as I am concerned Whitebeard and his crew and of course Luffy himself when he got there, owe me. That's all that matters.
Regardless of whatever happens, the only thing I am certain of right now is that-
It's going to be absolutely hilarious.
...
...
This was... A fascinating turn of events, in truth.
And no, I wasn't referring to my Marineford debacle- Though calling it Marineford was probably an inaccurate statement, all things considered.
Whitebeard had been a part of the Rocks Pirates, and he wasn't afraid to show it to the fools who had tried to execute his son in all but blood.
Admittedly enough, I was both, happy for the extended break given the Marines were no doubt licking their wounds, and offended enough that they hadn't tried to send an Admiral after me for pretty much being the cause for it.
Yes, the two of those Admirals were in intensive care but that hardly mattered!
No. All of that aside...
This really was a fascinating turn of events.
Mostly because... Well. I let out a chuckle, that seemed to unnerve one of my crew members- The sludge fuck. I really should try and re-learn their names at some point.
Where was I? Right. I'd seen this play out before. Well, at least a little of it. I didn't exactly have the free time to pursue the alternative universe this was back then, on account of being busy middle-fingering a Soul King. Honestly, besides the excitement I'd felt back then at the idea of rewatching an entirely brand-new version of what had been a favorite anime of mine in my original life, I didn't really pay it that much mind.
Sucks to be me I suppose, but who could've predicted the fact I'd be pummeled into the same alternative universe?
There were a lot of ways to take that in truth.
Perhaps it was an alternative retelling because I was expected to come here from the start, and so the retelling effectively would've locked me out of any dangerous truths, or rather truths that hadn't existed yet. Not that that it'd stopped me from breaking open the hornet's nest that Soul Society was and I'd done that by barely having seen the anime alone.
Perhaps it was an alternative retelling to give me a glimpse of what my immediate actions would result in if I'd tried to save Ace, even if I hadn't read or seen enough of it to matter.
I doubted it was either of those, in truth.
No.
The real truth felt, darker. More foreboding.
Perhaps it was all set in stone by the time I'd gone to Soul Society.
I wondered about that. Wondered whether I was running a timeline backwards- There was some sense of peace at knowing the endgame of it but... Every other sense of it felt wrong. Dangerous even. I wondered if I looked far and wide enough here, would I find an excerpt of my next adventure? Or rather, given the fact I'd seen this for what it was before I'd even shown up here, my next replay?
Did it matter? In the grand scheme of things perhaps, right now though? Not really.
The most important questions for me right now were rather simple.
Was I Jumper? Was it mere luck, or intended that I'd wound up in a position to replicate the world that Kyoka had become addicted to reading about?
Was my path predetermined already? Had my actions as Aizen Sosuke resulted in fixating it, despite it being my beginning, as the endgame for everything else?
Had I already reached my peak then? Was my status as Aizen Sosuke, the greatest I would ever reach? I doubted that- Yes, I was far weaker now than I ever had been back then, but as far as the world itself was concerned... I was the Aizen Sosuke of it power-wise.
Doflamingo had never been anything more than a Warlord, at most perhaps he could claim the rank of a commander- But an Emperor? An Admiral? That I doubted.
Alone, Doflamingo was a malicious dolphin at best.
With me in control? Well... I started chuckling at the thought of it. "Are you ready yet?" I called out, turning towards a frozen stiff crew member. My appearance and actions at the so-called war had, well, convinced my subordinates I was either a fake or under someone else's control.
Evidently, the idea that Doflamingo would so quickly throw away every protection he held dear to him, was something the Heavenly Demon would never consider, let alone commit to.
Thankfully, however, a small dose of shinigami-grade Conqueror's haki had put them all back in line.
Poor little Sugar hadn't expected that when she'd tried to Toy me to undo whatever so-called power was holding me down. The Not!Brat was fine, she was only a little under the weather. She ought to wake up soon.
That was a few days ago.
Since then, I've been preparing for my real entrance into the grand stage of the New World.
I was certain, that every single ally, enemy and neutral alike was either planning to wipe me out themselves or holding their breath wondering what my response to my removal from the Warlord system would entail. What my new bounty would be.
"...It's ready, young master..." The sludge fuck whispered, his eyes filled with resignation. "...Are you sure you-"
I gave him a stern look, one that had him wilting almost immediately on instinct as he took a step back and let out a whine, his body shivering as he hesitated to turn on the live recording I intended to make.
Granted, a small part of me couldn't blame him entirely for his hesitation.
After all on my way back to my little island, I'd taken the slightest, little, detour to grab hold of a little trophy.
A trophy who'd wandered a little too far away from his nest.
A trophy I had installed directly on top of my throne!
My chuckle grew a little louder.
It was time to break every misconception about the world. About its history. It's rules.
I wasn't entirely worried at the end result- Matter of fact, I wanted it to be as explosive as possible. As faith-shattering as possible. Because if there was one thing I'd learned the moment I woke up in this world, it was that everything was watching.
Perhaps it was a result of my soul. Perhaps it was a result of my history. Perhaps it was a result of my knowledge.
It didn't really matter.
What did, was the fact that Kaido had been wrong.
Willpower, Haki, wasn't the greatest power in the world.
No.
The greatest power in this world was a dream.
And there was nothing more dangerous, than a dream that everyone believed in.
The dream of living created the Pirate Era.
The dream of freedom created the Drums of Liberation.
The dream of eternity created The Endless War.
Kaido was right about one thing though. A devil fruit alone, wasn't enough. But it was certainly handy. And what most, barring those at the very top of the food chain failed to realize was that while a devil fruit changed a user's present, the user changed its future.
The Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika wasn't something used by Joyboy after all, it was created because of who he was.It really was just a regular old rubber fruit before him. It was why, despite his lack of experience, Momonosuke would in another timeline be able to damage someone from a much higher weight class than him, because of the simple fact he had access to a fruit that was considered to be the bread and butter of an Emperor.
The user changes the fruit.
You didn't need one to reach the summit, but you sure as hell needed it to keep your legacy alive.
It was also the reason the so-called world government, whether they knew it or not, strived so very hard to prevent myths from being born.
And it was time to show the world that truth. It was time to turn the dream of a paramecia, into the nightmare of a myth.
For my dream was done already, it was only a matter of molding the fruit it bore.
My chuckle grew in volume again as I watched the Snail meant to broadcast to the world at large, wake up.
And what better way to start it, than with the heads of a few Celestial Dragons?
...
...
I cleared my throat a few moments after the Snail picked up the view before it. The Snail, and it certainly deserved its emphasis, on account of the sheer fuckery it was about to send off to the world, for a brief moment seemed to recoil the slightest bit on account of the three heads above my throne.
Or maybe it was just the constant Conqueror's Haki I was releasing?
Apparently, even it knew better.
"Now, now," I calmly started, to no doubt panicked cries at the sight of dead dragons. "Before everyone throws a hissy fit about the heads above my throne, I just want to point out two things!" I remarked with glee, two digits of one hand outstretched to the camera, all the while the sludge fuck to my side haphazardly opened and immediately closed the snails near him that had rung out the moment the live stream started. And continued to do that for that matter.
"Yes, they are exactly what you think they are, Celestial Dragon heads- but for the sake of everyones nerves and sanity, I just want to point out that this isn't the first time I've killed a Celestial Dragon." I nodded. "And they sure as shit didn't give a fuck about the last one! Shit, I even gift-wrapped the head I gave them!" I cackled, before leaning back into my throne. "Ah, anyway. Onto the important matters of why I am co-signing myself for every life sentence available!" I promptly stood up, my hands stretched wide, even as the number of snails suddenly picking up calls from all across the seas once again started ringing, to no avail.
"Would anyone like to know what the Will of D. Stands for?"
A quarter of the fucking snails I had were suddenly ringing now.
Evidently, they did.
I grinned at that, and promptly sat my backside down again.
"Our little story starts just about eight hundred years ago." I promptly raised a hand up. "Yes, this is absolutely going to piss everyone off but please, save your questions for later!" I finished with a grin, faked a cough and a shiver, and promptly started my tale. "A long time ago, in a kingdom far far away, there lived a suckling babe under a dastardly mother who'd just had her heart broken because her husband died." I winked at the camera. "Don't worry, I'll keep the rest of this PG, so don't go covering your children's ears just yet!" A beat passed. "Anyway, this dastardly mother had, well, quite celestial connections, connections she used to her advantage." A beat passed. "For the sake of not having to repeat the words' dastardly mother, we're just going to call this woman a whore and go from there." Another beat passed. "Huh, maybe I should've stuck the disclaimer after that."
In the background at the slight silence that followed- Well, if one ignored the non-stop ringing of half the fucking snails in the room anyway- I created a few strings that I willed into vibrating a jaunty little treacherous tune whose favorite listener I'd grown all too familiar with.
Yes. For those not in the know, I am currently referring to Aizen Sosuke's background music.
Also yes, the man did admit to having that shit play out whenever he'd disposed of someone in private.
Anyway, where was I?
Right.
The whore.
"Now this whore was crafty, and the fact she'd married for love the first time was a miracle in of itself- I mean honestly, I can't imagine the amount of red flags she must've emitted. Why I'd hazard a guess her husband to have killed himself!" Unfortunately, I didn't get any applause from my peanut gallery of a crew.
"Not that it pertains much to the story mind you, I am just trying to dig myself a bigger hole here!" I cackled out loud. "Anywho, at the ripe of old age of two, the baby she'd given birth to had somehow found himself amongst Royalty. Now don't get me wrong, the babe was noble at best before that but... Well, this was no Empty Throne age back then. No, they had a real, visible, sightful king to look at- Yes, those same bubble-headed spoiled fucks that occasionally come around to steal and/or hunt wives, actually had someone they had to obey back then! And the Whore married the King. The Ancient King." I let a massive smile grow on my face.
"The Ancient King, of the Ancient Kingdom." I mock gasped to myself. "Now I know what you're wondering, what Ancient Kingdom!?" I started to chuckle behind my left hand, while my right fixed my sunglasses ever so slightly. "Yes, you heard me right folks, I didn't fucking stutter."
I waited for a single beat as the number of ringing snails dropped down.
"Ancient. Kingdom." A beat passed. "Repeat after me. Ancient. King. Dom." I swept my right hand through my hair. "One more time folks!"
"Ancient. King. D. Om."
I faked another cough as the song filling my background got the slightest bit louder, while my voice turned smooth enough to make the best singers of my old world jealous.
Every single fucking snail had started ringing now.
"There once was a whore with a babe." I sang. "The whore married a King with no kids." I swung my head the slightest bit, side from side, as a smile grew on my face. "The babe grew up with the promise to be king..." I chuckled the slightest bit. "But the king had a kid, and the world held it's wit as they watched the prince, turn in his sleep." A beat passed. "The king was lost. The king was confused. The older child was already named his heir, the older child was smart, but he could not understand. He had power but he had no heart. He was keen yet he had no true sight." The smile slipped of my face.
"But his younger, was a fool. A fool that could writ chaos of all kind, for there were no limits to his imagination. To his endless spirit." I turned my gaze upwards to the sky. "Yet... The older one could writ the end... And so the old king was lost, until the morning, his fool of a son did what none other could ever hope to do." I looked back down towards the Snail. "The fool of a son told him a tale. The fool of a son made him laugh. For the first time, in a long time, the King felt joy again."
Every single snail had stopped ringing.
"And so he laughed, and he laughed, and when he asked his joy for an answer to his problem, the fool, unlike the elder didn't ask for the crown... No. He asked for a challenge. He asked to earn it. For otherwise, he didn't want it."
Treachery rang louder and louder in my background.
"And so he spoke, and so he queried. And so the will of the king was writ in stone. And so, the Will Of Dream was born. The crown of King Dream would go to whoever could find his Romance Dawn."
I let a brief moment of silence, one interrupted by the sound of a single snail that had started ringing.
A snail not amongst the rest that Trebol was quickly shutting off.
"Enter, Lily." I smiled, my mouth open and wide as my teeth shone through. "The Elder did everything he could to win the heart. He showered her with gifts. He showed off his strength. He promised her the entire world. All for the price of being his queen." I started chuckling again. "But the younger beat him still with one simple trick"
The single last snail continued to ring.
"He made her laugh." I started chuckling again. "And so a fool was crowned. And so joy was to be found. But the Dragons refused, their nests already made. The Godknights rose, their loyalty already bought. And the Endless War began."
I could practically feel my Conqueror's haki start to change the slightest bit as I felt the very world react to my words.
"And the war for the throne carried on for years and years with no end in sight. The imagination of the younger equal to everything the elder threw at him... Until the dark night the elder broke the cardinal rule. Committed the cardinal sin..."
I took in a deep breath.
"Until the elder gave up the rest of his humanity and used the power of the fruit of eternity, to take the place, form, and body, of the younger's wife. Of Joyboy's Lily. And in the form of the one thing the younger loved more than anything else, he killed him." A beat passed as I let out a sigh.
"But he never returned back to himself, for he couldn't. For the power was bestowed to his body, and he was in control of another and so, he broke another rule, and killed his own body as well and in the process forever cursed himself to be in the body of Lily. The rightful crown he'd lost. But in the midst of it all, he'd gained something more dangerous than anything else- For when the fruit was reborn, he had another claim its power and forfeit their life to give Imu his immortality."
I simply stared ahead at the Snail for a moment before I started chuckling again.
"But unknown to him, when under the guise he'd forcibly given her, Lily sent off this tale, so that Joyboy's Legacy would never die. And so his Laugh Tale came to life while the family he'd chosen, the family of the love that gave him his temporary crown, was stricken from their place atop the new world order, for their truth would've broken it all. Yet, despite that, their legacy would never die- For the Will of D. was alive and well. The Will of Dream would never end until Imu fell his ill-gained throne."
With my Conqueror's Haki currently filling the room, I promptly concentrated it on the Snail itself.
"But what none expected... Neither King, nor Joy, nor Imu himself expected..." I chuckled. "The Ancient King Dream had cursed this world, long before the tyranny started. Long before the Endless War. For he had, in his reckless decisions, in his reckless will, etched onto this world an unconquerable fate. A fate that resulted in eight hundred years of nightmares. Of death and destruction. Of hell."
My arms slowly lowered down to the side, yet my gaze was locked onto the ceiling above, my eyes staring through it into the night sky. Into the stars above.
"I shall take this fate onto myself. I shall take the challenge destined for others, onto myself. I shall do what Joyboy... What Imu... And above all else, what King Dream failed to do, and break it. I shall take the ancient history of carnage onto myself. The pain of millions. The terror of more. The dream of one." I raised my hand up to the sky.
"I shall take it all, and start an era of my own will. A crown of my own doing. A world of my own hands."
I could practically feel the storm building outside the castle.
I could practically feel the shock and awe coming from my crew.
"I shall take the nightmares of all, and make them my own." I clasped my hand into a fist and slowly lowered it down to my chest. My body, surprisingly, already going through the changes as my own conquerors swept deep into my heart, into the core of my devil fruit. "I shall rise as the shinigami of them all."
"I am the Heavenly Demon. I will rise as Judge. I will be Jury... I am Executioner."
I locked eyes with the Snail.
"And the Celestial Dragons. The Elders. The Godknights. Imu. Your reign is over, your lives are mine, and in the end of it all, I will fulfill the Ancient King Dream Om of his twisted Will. This is my decree. My promise. My everything." I idly waved a hand toward the three heads on top of my throne. "For this? My betrayal in Marineford?" I continued to chuckle.
I chuckled again and tilted my head onto my right arm.
"That is all but a taste of what's to come... All across the seas, hear my warning. Whether Emperor, or rookie. Whether King, or peasant. Whether Celestial or slave... Heed my call!" I stood up and spread my arms to the side again as I looked down on the terrified Snail.
"For the Joker's Wild has only started!"
...
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