Descent

by JustAProblem

Scars are a sign of pride and strength. A sign of survival. Naturally, this only applies to the physical scars and not the mental scars. No, mental scars are almost universally agreed to be negative and for good reason. Physical scars merely change how your body looks. Mental scars change how a person thinks. Rosan just wants to enjoy life. He didn't ask for all this. OC! Not-Si!

34. Chapter 34: The Red Devil

Descent

Chapter 34: The Red Devil

Rosan grunted as a wooden stick smashed into his head for the umpteenth time that he failed to see coming.

This one hurt just as bad as every other one too. If not for the Philosopher's Stone, he was sure his skull would be purple.

"Let's stop here?" Sabo said, apologetically glancing at them all. The stick lay at his side as he watched the victims of his bashing with a hint of sympathy.

It never got better until you began dodging them.

Rosan was tempted to say no but he didn't make an ounce of progress today so he just grunted and removed his blindfold, rubbing his head and thanking Mod-chan for getting rid of his headache.

"Of course!"

The others followed suit while Luffy and Maro collapsed atop each other tiredly.

"Foood," they moaned miserably.

Rosan idly removed the blindfold from both Luffy and Maro's face and caught the Robin who unceremoniously dumped her body on his, rubbing her back soothingly before beginning to give her a slight massage.

"This feels less like training and more like torture," she murmured, sighing in relief as Rosan raked a hand through her hair gently and massaged her sore body.

Summoning a set of hands, she proceeded to do the same to him and they relaxed, working out the knots in each other's body with familiarity and sinking into each other further, not caring that they were both sweaty.

"I thought the same thing when I started," Sabo chuckled.

"You said I already used Haki? It doesn't feel like it," Zoro gasped out, sweat drenching his injured body.

"It's not easy and we've just gotten started. This takes time and you were in a life or death situation before," Sabo responded, watching Angel approach her wife and Luffy.

The blacksmith handed the blond a glass of water and he smiled thankfully, getting a beam out of her before she began attending to both Luffy and Maro.

The two sighed in bliss as those soft but firm hands began working out any knots in their body.

"You're the best honey~," Maro sighed. She wasn't used to her left side feeling pain and damn did it not feel great.

But it would be worth it because she'd learn Haki and Haki was awesome and she'd be the strongest in the North Blue!

Sabo, Luffy, Rosan, Robin, Maro, Angel, Demon, Chopper and Zoro, were all inside of Rosan's castle (Chopper's eyes turned into stars at seeing that the scout actually had a castle of his own!) doing various training regimens.

Rosan asked the others if they wanted to join... but Nami and Usopp had fearfully rejected the offer, while Sanji opted to stay behind to protect them as they docked on some random island, waiting for the log to shift.

While a majority of them were training in combat, the two doctors were just here to watch for injuries while Chopper and Demon exchanged what they knew.

The purple haired clone thought he was well versed in his craft but Chopper knew so much! The reindeer must have been taught by a genius in their craft because his knowledge was vast.

It was humbling to see just how much the young reindeer knew and he greedily inhaled all the knowledge that he could, storing it away with his perfect memory (thank you very much Master).

It was a good thing he was Master's clone, he was absorbing the info at an impressive rate, much to Chopper's awe.

They were all training in various things besides Haki (Rosan made sure to leave instructions behind for Sanji, since he was staying behind to guard the two cowards)

Robin or Zoro would be tortured under the guise of training by Rosan, as the Devil Child truly got into the swing of things, while Maro and Luffy both refined their close combat abilities with each other.

Then, they would break off into pairs and begin rounds of sparring with practiced ease.

Sabo had to admit, they were like a chaotic, well oiled machine and he slotted into it quickly and perfectly... It was actually concerning how easily he slotted into this group. If he weren't so loyal to Dragon, he might have had no qualms staying with them for much longer.

Training typically started off with light sparring and the group learned something.

Sabo was strong.

They knew this from seeing his fight with Ace, but watching him match Rosan, the weapons expert, with his own pipe with ease, really put it into perspective that he was well out of their league right now.

The revolutionary had earned his title as Chief of Staff because he didn't lose once to them in their friendly spars.

"You guys haven't been in the Grand Line for long and I've been here for 10 years!" The 20 year old laughed sheepishly. "Once you travel around more, you'll catch up in no time. You guys are monsters in your own right for getting this strong without this crazy sea!"

He meant that. These guys were seriously strong and were oozing in potential. It was only a matter of time before they caught up to him and he found himself very much looking forward to it.

"Maybe I should have gone out to sea when I turned 17… All those years in the Grand Line would have served me well…" Rosan mused.

Perhaps it would have made up for how much he had been slacking over the 10 years. His lack of ambition prevented him from growing as fast as he had done when he was younger...

Ah, the difference in strength between him and his ambition filled counterpart would be massive. If he had trained as fervently as he had over the 10 years with Luffy...

It wouldn't have even been a fight if he fought this current version of himself. Only his undying insanity would keep the fight close.

He needed to make up for the years he slacked off... He could still reach his full potential, he just needed everything to do that.

"No!" Luffy protested, glaring at Rosan. "You couldn't leave because you were apart of my crew! Don't worry you'll get 100 times stronger traveling with me!" He declared.

"I know Luffy. You are my one and only captain," Rosan replied, sighing as Robin reached a particularly nice spot on his rapidly healing body. "I'll give you a proper massage later to work out all the kinks, you earned it for training so hard," he murmured to the Devil Child.

"A massage sounds nice. I can give you one as well. I've been taking lessons from Mod-chan," she sighed in return, practically melting into his body in bliss. Being spoiled nonstop by Rosan was going to do bad things to her. The redhead had been pampering her since they met again and it felt so nice.

"Can I have a massage?" Maro pleaded, glancing up at Angel with puppy dog eyes. She was getting jealous just watching Robin and Rosan tend to each other because it was too fucking cute and it was all pure.

No ulterior motives, just two friends who cared about each other.

Maro's eyes gleamed. The two stood no chance against their entire family and they weren't even aware yet, unaware idiots that they were.

Honestly, the two were the smartest in the room yet they could be so stupid.

"Of course," Angel said, rolling her eyes. She often gave Maro massages because her wife had gotten very… blessed over the years and the redhead didn't want anymore stress to fall on her.

There was nothing to worry about, considering Maro's body was incredible so pain from having large breasts was practically unheard of by the strong Dokkaebi.

Angel still did it though because Maro loved them and she was filled with pride hearing the pleased noises.

Robin was very much blessed as well so it was a good thing Rosan apparently already knew how to give massages. She did mention remembering how Akemi had said he was a natural with his hands but Angel had completely misinterpreted it and had attempted to murder the tiny sweetheart...

She completely forgot that the woman was asexual and was rather embarrassed when she did remember.

Master Mod and Ram were both incredibly blessed too and there was no doubt in her mind that he massaged those two… Angel was glad she opted out of having such burdens on her chest.

Imagine if she tried to stay true to Rosan's female form… Yeah, hell no. She already reluctantly accepted the woman's butt, there was no way she was taking that chest as well.

Seriously, how the hell did female Rosan move so gracefully with all of that? Angel was jealous.

"Same time tomorrow?" Sabo asked, watching them all with a curious gaze.

Everyone nodded in agreement. That sounded fine to them.

"Let's go back to the ship, we need to eat," Rosan hummed, standing up with Robin so that everyone could surround him.

He wasn't showing much progress at all with Haki but then again, neither were the others… It was still rather annoying, considering he was normally so quick on the uptake of things but alas... He supposed he couldn't be talented at everything...

He guessed.

"Food! Food! Food!" Luffy chanted cheerfully, leaping on Rosan's back as his form of contact.

"Sanji's food is so amazing," Maro sighed in bliss, wrapping her arm around Rosan's left bicep.

Honestly, the chef was probably the best cook she'd ever had food from and Maro had a lot of food from different places.

She'd need to ask him to lend her some recipes to give to her own chefs. They could learn a lot from the blonde.

Huh. Luffy's crew so far was actually really fucking impressive… an amazing doctor, amazing chef, amazing navigator… amazing everything really.

The Straw Hats were shaping up to be absolute monsters!

"After food we need to go back to Celadon," Angel reminded her, grabbing Rosan's right bicep. "You still have a few more papers left to review, a building to approve and we need to think of a way to reliably give things to Alabasta."

Maro nodded. She spoke to the other 2 agents that Master dropped off (she was a bit disappointed that she couldn't get someone as useful as Mr. 2 but at least she got the bazooka dog!) and they seemed on board.

Miss Merry Christmas (or Drophy) tried to be a little troublesome but Maro had made sure to show her why that was such a terrible idea.

The Mole stood no chance against her and she was sure the woman gawked in fear, watching the terrifying Dokkaebi swing around Daisy in her right hand… all while the bazooka dog shot the mole in her left.

How Maro already managed to tame him? They would never know but Lassoo adored her.

Zala then further persuaded her by announcing that she was already on Maro's side and that it was far better then being dead or in prison.

Good for her! She understood the ultimatums well because the Queen made sure they understood that she would kill them if they caused her citizens trouble.

(That had caused the spiked woman to nod rapidly, humbled by the overwhelming power displayed by her)

Maro didn't care enough about either of the new arrivals yet to continue persuading them. It was either join her or suffer the price of not doing so.

Safe to say, seeing that all their agents were happy under Maro's rule, they joined her ever growing army without any further prompting.

She was pleased with Zala. The woman was already on her side (she attributed that to her lovely Master) and was proving to be quite the pleasant and strong addition.

With some training, her Devil Fruit would prove to be a nightmare for anyone who chose to fight close quarters with her. She never protested Maro's orders, had a good personality and did her job well...

When she wasn't flirting up a storm with Demon at least. Maro was pretty sure she saw Mikita glaring bloody murder at the woman more than once and that made her realize both the female agents were totally into her older brother.

Goddamnit, if Angel found out Maro was going to have to hear about it...

Drophy was a Zoan user just like her and her fruit in particular made her very adept on the ground. She needed to do more then just burrow underground (Maro would not be having her very beautiful island having random holes thank you very much!) but that ability in itself could cause a lot of disruption.

Maro was already thinking about combinations… Gem and Drophy could be devastating in combat together. What if she summoned a hole and had Gem drop a bomb in it then smoothed it over? Land mines would be devastating... The former Mr. 5 alone was already a valuable asset for warfare so having the mole magnify him would be great!

Kaori and Zala would also be fantastic as her close ranged specialists too... They got along very well as well so it worked out!

Mikita was shaping up nicely as well after taking advice from Master (that was such a shock to her!) and Marianne was becoming great backline support.

It was awesome!

She wondered who her Master was going to give her next. She was becoming morbidly curious at the fact that he was still not planning on consulting with her. Maro knew she should really put her foot down and tell him to start... but she couldn't help it!

Curse her curiosity... And curse Master!

At least they were all pretty cool with neat abilities…

Except for Jango. She really hated Jango.

---

A shadow loomed over Robin and Rosan, who were both lounging on the deck drinking smoothies made from Sanji, as they discussed their next course of actions now that they were free from worrying about Baroque Works.

"Your suit should be finished soon," Rosan commented, taking a sip out of his strawberry smoothie before offering his drink for her to try.

She put the offered straw to her lip and hummed at the taste, offering her mango smoothie up and smiling as he accepted it.

"I wonder what my special ability will be… Hopefully it's as useful as yours," she remarked, thinking about what it could possibly do.

Rosan's could transform into any material/outfit making it incredibly adaptable for everything. It was a suit that matched his paramecia abilities well and allowed him to practically have living gear of any material, all while keeping the durability of the Raid Suit. While not particularly suited for combat, that did not deter the redhead whatsoever and he made it formidable, just as he made the Mod Mod no Mi formidable in combat.

Maro's enhanced her abilities to the point where she became an absolute tank in battle, growing tremendously in strength and durability and becoming nigh unstoppable in the process. It perfectly matched the natural gifts a Zoan gave her and even accommodated the fact that she was a Mythical Zoan by enhancing her illusions and fires.

She imagined Logia's wouldn't benefit very much from a Raid Suit. There wasn't much they could be offered due to their nature and it would likely be less useful in comparison to being a Zoan or Paramecia besides say, enhancing or giving them another power source.

Perhaps someone like Ace would be able to summon even stronger flames... it was a sobering thought considering how powerful his flames already were.

Since she was a Paramecia like Rosan, hers would grant her an ability that was an extension of her Devil Fruit that would relieve her of the drain of using a technique… she wondered what it would be!

An extension of the Hana Hana no mi…

"Ahem."

The two paused and glanced up.

"Oh, Nami," Robin greeted, smiling at her and getting a smile in return.

That smile was quickly wiped off her face as she focused on Rosan, who continued to drink the smoothie Robin gave him.

"Ah, Rosan!" Robin gasped, watching him finish her drink in disbelief. "I didn't tell you to finish it! I just wanted you to try it! You know, almost like how you let me try yours?!"

"You weren't clear enough. You should have removed it from my lips," he shrugged, swapping cups with her and letting her have the rest of his drink.

A hand formed on his ear and began pulling it insistently. "You knew you weren't supposed to drink it all? You're just trying to annoy me!" Robin pointed out, drinking the strawberry smoothie while glaring firmly at him.

"You should put your ego away. The world doesn't revolve around you, Robin. I just drank it all because you didn't remove the straw," Rosan replied, expertly ignoring the hand pulling at his ear.

"I need to put my ego away? Are you a master at saying things you know will irritate a person?" The Devil Child raised a brow at the egomaniac.

"I am but a humble scout, who is very good at pointing out others problems. One of your problems is projecting your core issues onto me—"

"AHEM!"

They paused their argument and focused back on Nami.

"You're still here?" Rosan mused, successfully getting a tick to appear on her face.

She seriously hated this insufferable jackass.

Nami took a deep breath and said, "We need to talk, Rosan."

The redhead raised a brow at that. "I haven't done anything in recent memory to deserve such a grave tone. Are you breaking up with me? Are we getting divorced? Will I at least get to see the kids? I can fly over and have them home by midnight..."

Robin covered her mouth but failed horribly to hide her laughs.

"I think I'd rather date Sanji before having to deal with you for the rest of my life," Nami snarled, glaring at the archaeologist.

Laugh now Robin. You'd be the one who had to deal with this before long! If she wasn't motivated before, she was now just so Robin could fully deal with the jackass!

"...I think I'd rather date an honest person who wouldn't say such bizarre things," Rosan retorted. "That is absolutely a lie."

She opened her mouth, before shutting it as a sheepish expression took over. "Okay, you're right."

The redhead smirked infuriatingly, even despite the fact that there was still a hand yanking at his ear. "Alright what do you need? Did the money I give you somehow end up being fraud money? I refuse to believe you spent it all already."

Deep breaths Nami. Very slow. Very deep breaths.

"Then again, you might just be trying to leech more off of me. Honestly, maybe we should get a divorce. I feel dirty everytime you take money out of the safe... I'm keeping the kids by the way."

"Fufufu!" Robin laughed earnestly, unable to hold it back any longer. "And you say you aren't funny!"

"I DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT MONEY, YOU SMUG ASSHOLE!" Nami roared, pulling out Clima and forcing it in his face. "THIS. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS!"

She didn't know how the redhead managed to look so composed despite the fact his ear was getting yanked and there was a staff being shoved in his face, but all he did was raise a single neat brow.

Damn royal blood of his.

"Clima? What's there to discuss? Do you need me to refill him with fire already? What on earth were you doing to use them all up already?" Rosan asked in quick succession, eyes transforming into slits as he grabbed the weapon out of her hand.

Nami's jaw dropped as he used a finger to precisely refill her weapon up with those utterly destructive flames of his, that looked rather beautiful when it wasn't incinerating everything in its path.

H-He was totally missing the point!

"I was not empty but thank you, Master Rosan!" Clima said, sounding pleased.

"Of course. How is Nami?" Rosan asked calmly, making her jaw drop further.

S-She was the one being judged?! WAS HE SERIOUS?!

"She's a bit naive but a fantastic partner who understands exactly how to make use of me! I cannot wait until I'm changed even more to suit her weather aspirations," the blue weapon preened.

Nami, pleased with her weapon's compliment, chose to jump in the conversation. "You didn't think to tell me that my weapon was sentient and could link with me?" She hissed at her annoying brother figure.

"I wanted to surprise you. He's useful isn't he?" Rosan replied calmly, handing Clima back to her.

She accepted it without hesitation. "He's very useful. He was the reason I was able to win my fight but you should have discussed this with me!" Nami insisted, waving Clima around to prove her point.

"Is he not satisfactory? Does he need changes outside of Usopp's half?" Rosan questioned, finally growing tired of the hand still pulling his ear and grabbing Robin with a calm expression. "Remove the hand or I'm going to tickle you."

The Devil Child opened her mouth before shutting it as she saw his eyes glow, signifying that he was about to make her sensitive.

"You are a cheater. I hope you don't ask for a hug because I will not give you one," she said flatly, dismissing the hand and crossing her arms, turning away from the redhead.

Rosan nearly rolled his eyes and pulled the Devil Child out of her seat, stroking her hair to appease the spoiled brat.

"I just said I wasn't giving you a hug!"

"Sorry. I couldn't hear you over the sound of me not listening."

"You should count your days."

"There's no way they aren't dating. This must be some type of elaborate prank by them and we're all getting duped," Nami sighed.

She was getting completely third wheeled on something that wasn't even a date. She just wanted to discuss her weapon!

"He doesn't need to be changed. I just would have liked the option to choose if he has a voice or not," she explained slowly.

"Is my devilishly enticing voice too much for you?" Clima asked curiously.

"Fuck off before I throw you away," she growled.

"My deepest apologies, Master Nami."

Rosan hummed, still stroking Robin's hair. "It's so that you are reminded of the objective when I'm not around you. I gave your weapon an AI so that he can help you out of tough spots and see avenue for victories that your cowardly nature hides from you."

Nami blinked at that. It sounded like Rosan just wanted her to be kept safe and used Clima for that…

That was so sweet of him! Wasn't he just so adorable?!

"You're so sweet big bro!" Nami beamed, patting his red hair and getting a grunt of annoyance out of him. "You did a good job! Even though Clima pisses me off a lot, he's extremely useful! I wanted to discuss more about potential upgrades in the future since I noticed some things."

Rosan nodded at her request. "I'll help you get better at close quarters combat as well. Anytime I can think of an upgrade, I'll run it by you and we can make that Clima the best staff on the planet… After Ram."

The best staff on the planet eh? At this rate, Nami would become the Queen of weather that she rightfully deserved to be.

Speaking of which…

"You're interested in learning the elements right? Fire is just the beginning?" Nami prodded, taking Robin's vacant seat to discuss more with the redhead.

Rosan's eyes actually sparked in interest and he sat up, making sure Robin was still comfortable.

"That's right. Controlling the elements has always been a wish of mine when I was a kid. I wanted to be a force of nature and fire is a great and relatively easy start that complimented my goal of becoming a dragon. If I manage to learn more I'll be sure to let you know...," he informed her.

"Perfect! I'm really interested in lightning myself and maybe more ways to control the water so I can have a bit of defense…"

"Oh, lightning used to be my most desired element... before things happened and it mentally scarred me. I don't think I will be able to control water at all by the way. I will find another defensive option for you but give me time."

"Don't worry about it, just you managing to make water an option with Clima is perfect for me. Also, do I even want to know about the lightning thing?"

"Do you feel like sleeping well tonight? If not I can tell you that it involves me being tortured."

"Pass."

Robin smiled at the two and simply got comfortable, resting on Rosan as she listened in on their conversation.

She remembered his childish desire to control the elements rather well and attributed it to his wondrous childish mind that saw no limits in his own body.

It was good to know that he had the skills (and Modification) to back it up now.

If she remembered correctly, he wanted to control fire, lightning, wind and ice (he said a computer boy had no business learning to control water even though it was really cool) in that order to become a true force of nature.

A living disaster. Well, Robin could confidently say that Ragnarok was a living disaster but that didn't even satisfy him.

Technically speaking, Modification already gave him rather good control over Earth. He was a master at manipulating the terrain around him but the boy had no interest in actually learning Earth... claiming that it was way too lame and what he could do was good enough.

It was good to know he still wanted to achieve that goal. Watching the two discuss what they could do with the elements, filled her with as much fondness as it did exasperation.

And he called her a nerd.

---

The Straw Hats, leaders of Celadon and Sabo were all currently on the Going Merry next to a certain scout of theirs.

Rosan hummed. "I'm starting to think you guys like my Devil Fruit more then me," he remarked.

"I do," Robin said shamelessly, smiling as the neutral expression of his bored into her with narrowed eyes.

"You're the only one not allowed to… and Luffy. But, everyone else is free to like her more. She loves the attention despite acting so demure and shy all the time," the redhead commented.

"I hate you so much."

"A lie."

"Shut up."

Luffy grinned and shot him a thumbs up, utterly unbothered by Rosan's unreasonable demand and seeing no problem with it.

Robin raised a brow. "Are you literally banning me from liking someone more then you? You sure are a trip, Rosan."

"I am and there's nothing you can do about it," the scout nodded.

The Devil Child faux sighed. Why did she have to get stuck with the most possessive demon on the planet?

"You are honestly unbelievable! If I wasn't so happy that so many people wanted to see me, I'd have to discipline you," Mod tried to scowl but the bright flush gave away how pleased she was.

Rosan nearly snorted. Mod-chan was definitely a mother alright. No matter what she said, she enjoyed this.

Before the two of them could devolve into argument, Rosan closed his eyes and allowed his mother to take control.

Sabo's mouth opened in surprise, as the redhead got significantly shorter.

He was the reason Rosan was transforming into this Mod because he vaguely remembered her.

A small part (that he had no clue would make Koala jealous) was pretty disappointed that he didn't remember this woman.

Sabo had been around the whole world and he could confidently say this was one of the most beautiful women he had met yet.

Average height, really long purple hair, bronze skin that enhanced her unique appearance (much like Rosan) and glowing blood red eyes that had no pupils, staring at them all with a motherly warmth.

She looked like royalty in the same way Rosan did, even despite the fact that she was wearing his, large on her frame, clothing.

Mod's lip curled into a teary smile as she gazed at Sabo in person and scooped the taller man into a hug. "I know you don't remember me, Sabo but I'm so happy to see that you're alive and well! I'm Mod!"

Stepping back a bit, she modified Rosan's outfit into her signature black dress. "This is how I normally look! I know you likely won't recall but anything to help!"

Oh she had a black dress... Scratch that, she was definitely royalty in some way.

Most of the Straw Hats actually didn't know she was utterly faithful to her black and white dress. No matter what Rosan said, she would never replace it!

Perhaps she really was the reason Ram had dozens of the same outfit as well...

She normally just modified Rosan's choice of clothing (that was her way of saying she wore different things) to fit her frame when coming to the real world but this was a special case.

"Nice to meet you, Mod!" Sabo grinned, tipping his hat.

So his oldest brother was effectively two people… that was kinda cool. "Any help is appreciated!" he added, taking in all her features with a curious eye.

Besides general color scheme, she didn't actually look too much like Rosan. They could maybe pass off as siblings but Sabo would think they were at the very most, cousins.

She smiled at him in joy and everyone else took the chance to begin swarming her.

"For you, Mod-chan!" Sanji swooned, handing her a specially made smoothie.

She put the smoothie to her lips and made a noise of delight. "Thank you so much, Sanji! It's absolutely delicious! I'll have to try more of your cooking in the future," the Devil Fruit hummed.

The chef's eyes turned into hearts at her earnest statement and he began twirling in joy. "Anything for someone as beautiful as you, Mod-chan! Even if I lose both my hands, I'll cook for you as long as you ask!"

Her mouth opened a bit at his words, as a red tinge of embarrassment covered her cheeks that had Sanji about to faint. "T-Thank you..." she stammered.

No matter how much time passed, she would never get used to being complimented.

"Modi/Master Mod/Mod-chan!" The other's beamed, hugging the woman as best as they could.

Mod lit up at the affection and grinned at them all, cheeks a rosy red. "You make this woman feel so loved sometimes!"

She offered some of her smoothie to the Luffy hugging her (much to his delight), while trying her best to accommodate the others surrounding her but it was very hard because so many people were happy to see her.

The Devil Fruit was so happy right now!

Sabo sweatdropped. He should have expected even meeting someone to be this chaotic. The leaders of Celadon, Luffy, Nami, and Robin were hugging the poor woman with all their might (Maro in particular seemed very pleased to be doing so).

"AHHHHHHHHH WHAT HAPPENED TO ROSAN?!" Chopper squealed, eyes bugged in disbelief.

Mod's eyes lit up as they finally gave her some breathing room. "That's right! We've never met, Chopper!" She beamed, scooping up the little reindeer and squeezing him tight. "I'm Modification, or Mod for short! I'm Rosan's Devil Fruit!"

"Kami I wish that were me," Sanji and Maro thought at the same time, glaring at the reindeer with jealous eyes.

Chopper's eyes sparked in interest as he allowed her to squeeze him. "Rosan's Devil Fruit is sentient?! Woah! I don't think I've ever heard of that!"

"As far as I know, I'm the only one of my kind," Mod explained kindly. "It was an experiment gone right... or wrong in the World Governments eyes, considering I ended up loyal to Rosan instead of them."

That was so cool!

"How did you two meet?" Zoro asked the woman curiously.

Mod let out a tiny laughter that sounded like bells at that question. "When Rosan was four, he saw a strange looking fruit and thought it looked good then he bit into it," she explained with a fond smile. "Then he started crying at how awful the taste was and I offered to get rid of it for him. He wanted me to be his friend and the rest was history."

Robin smiled at that. "He practically guilt tripped the both of us into being his friends. It makes me glad that Luffy forced him to join the crew because he got a taste of his own medicine."

The crew listened to the tale with various reactions and smiled at the adorable terror known as little Rosan.

"You're a Government experiment?" Sabo asked in surprise, eyes going wide at that. He heard rumors of Devil Fruits being manufactured but he had no clue that those could be true!

The woman nodded as she squeezed Robin with a happy smile. "That's right. I was a personal project of a scientist named Vegapunk. I'm not sure what his intentions were for me but he did teach me much of what I know."

The revolutionaries eyes bugged. "YOU WERE WORKED ON BY VEGAPUNK?!"

They jumped at the volume. "Who's Vegapunk?" Usopp asked in interest.

"The greatest genius to exist in this world," Mod explained. "Much of the World Government's technological advancements, can be attributed to him."

"Woah..." Chopper gasped. "You're saying he's your dad?!"

...

Robin tried to hide her laughter, as Ram began howling in amusement, while Rosan snorted. Mod looked stunned by the question and felt her irritation at her co-inhabitants flare.

"I suppose you... could say he's my father, yes," Mod grit out, promising that she was going to deliver sweet justice onto the three of them. "At the very least, my vast scope of knowledge is due to him... which I taught to Rosan... which means Rosan learned something thanks to the World Government."

That shut both him and Ram right up as she felt their glowering.

She smiled triumphantly. "I haven't seen him in quite a long time. I wonder how he's doing? He was always rather kind to me but I suppose he wouldn't approve me choosing Rosan as my wielder... though, he never did seem to mind the fact that I never did approve of my previous users."

As they learned more about the woman they felt their eyes widen in interest. Mod was so interesting! They had no clue she was so special... that would explain why the World Government wanted her back!

They saw what Rosan was capable of doing. To be completely honest, they couldn't even blame the Government for not wanting the fruit to fall into the wrong hands because it fell into the worst possible hands for them. A perfect user of the fruit who had a vendetta against them.

"I've had many users... and I can safely say I don't think any of them could do what Rosan has done," she smiled. "His creativity does things I'm not even aware of! My previous users have found it rather difficult to apply my Devil Fruit in combat... they think me a resource Devil Fruit so he is as much as the Mod Mod no Mi as I am!"

They listened to her praise with wide eyes.

"But he's only that impressive because you helped him every step of the way," Robin smiled down at the Devil Fruit. "Don't let his ego grow. You are the reason he's so strong."

Mod blushed bright red at that. "I-I-I... oh please stop embarrassing me," she muttered, hiding her body in Robin's frame with a tight hug.

Mod could practically feel Ram and Rosan sneering at her in smugness and she dutifully ignored them lest she return early to deliver justice.

They were such bullies! So what she was happy that so many people liked her! They acted like her being so flushed was a bad thing!

Ugh, she would show them!

"You know, this is actually my first time seeing you out in the real world," Robin mused, running a hand through her surrogate mother's hair as they held each other. "We'll have to spend some girl time one day!"

Mod had a look of horror on her face at that. "I-I will not change out of my dress! You can't make me! Not even you Robin!" She protested.

Robin sweatdropped. She had no idea how both Ram and Mod had no sense of style or desire to change their outfits, considering Rosan was their main body.

"I won't force you to change your dress... maybe. We should just spend time together!"

Maro, Angel and Nami perked up at that in clear interest.

That sounded really fun! Girl time with all of them would be an amazing adventure!

They could even drag Ram into it and force the two inhabitants to wear literally anything besides their default attire! Even if they had to wrestle them!

Ram felt a chill go down her spine for some reason and instinctively hid behind Rosan.

W-What the hell were they planning with her?!

Rosan glanced at her momentarily before shrugging.

Despite how much they teased her for being a mom, Rosan was happy that so many people liked Mod-chan. She had gotten very emotional over the years (perhaps as a counter to how emotionless he became) and was recently filling herself with doubts due to his ever increasing secretive streak.

He wasn't dumb. He knew she was afraid of confrontation because she was afraid of him being disappointed in her.

Mod did not want to feel like she failed him and every confrontation where he was against her felt like that to his mother.

Ever since revealing the virus, she had been especially afraid of confronting him, even with the knowledge that he was hiding some things from her.

How silly, Rosan would have told her if she asked but perhaps she wouldn't like the answer.

He loved Mod-chan. She was his rock and he was hers but Mod-chan wanted to protect the virus that had contributed to his mental health taking a steep decline over the years.

The redhead had looked back at all his memories and he saw their influence everywhere.

The virus had even tried to turn him against Ace. They loved to speak in this tiny poisonous voice of theirs.

As long as the virus existed, Rosan would need to be careful, even if it meant casting doubts on Mod-chan because she was allowing her emotions to cloud her.

It seemed like no one but him understood the threat the virus posed and that was fine. If they wanted to see the good in something, he would allow it. But Rosan would never see the good in someone as monstrous as himself.

When Mod proved she couldn't deal with it, Rosan would and that was whether she liked it or not.

But for now, the wheel was all hers. He would trust her ability to deal with it until proven otherwise.

Besides, what he was doing right now was no different from a rebellious child keeping things from their parents. Mod insisted on being mother and son instead of partners and Rosan was tired of trying to have her see otherwise, so mother and son they would be.

Mod conversed with all of them with a bright smile. She was so happy that the solitary Rosan had so much people to call friends and that they considered her one too.

"You need to come out more, Mod-chan!" Nami complained, hugging the woman once more. "You don't give me headaches like your stupid son!"

"I would love to see you more!" Maro gushed.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Mod was a joy to be around. She was wise, gentle spoke with a caring and nurturing tone, which stemmed from years of raising Rosan and everyone else they imagined.

Maybe that's why Sabo distantly remembered the flash of purple. She was probably the closest thing to a real mother that he had.

"Oh dear," Mod blushed, burning a hole into the floor as she tried to hide against Robin again. "You guys shouldn't embarrass me so much! It's only adding fuel to how much Ram and Rosan are going to bully me!"

"She's way too adorable!" Everyone thought. This was unreasonable!

Robin hugged her reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't. If I catch anything, I'll deal with them."

The purple haired woman beamed at that and readily returned the hug, looking up at Robin with fondness in her eyes. "Did I ever mention how much I love and missed you?"

"At least three times a day. I hear it when I wake up, when I inevitably save you from Rosan and when I'm going to sleep," the Devil Child smiled, releasing the woman so she could transform into her lovable redhead.

"Alright, I'll be going now! When I leave the mindscape for too long I start to feel homesick so I don't like to stay out for too long," the Devil Fruit waved cheerfully, smiling brightly at them all.

Everyone else followed suit and waved at her.

Mod's smile suddenly turned mischievous and she instantly transformed into Rosan.

Robin's confusion at the Devil Fruits mischief only lasted a split second as she beheld the sight of Rosan in Mod's black dress.

She tried desperately to hold back her laughter, knowing Mod's life was in danger if she did.

She failed miserably.

"Sorry Mod-chan."

"Fufufufu! You look great, Rosan! There is nothing to be ashamed of right now," Robin praised as she soaked it all in.

The dress was tight on his muscular form and the height difference between him and Mod just made it all the funnier to witness.

She wasn't lying! He really did look good!

Everyone else on the ship couldn't even hope to contain their laughter at the sight.

"Hahahaha! At least you're still hot and you're showing a blessed amount of skin!" Maro cackled, rolling on the floor in glee.

"Looks like I finally get to see you in a dress too. Honestly, if it fit you perfectly, you'd look even more amazing!" Demon chuckled, failing miserably to hold back his laughter.

"W-Why is he hot in a dress too?" Angel moaned sadly, slamming her head into the deck.

Nami was nearly comatose with how badly she was laughing at him. "Y-You completely deserve this! This is a level of justice I didn't think I needed!"

Sanji was right there with her. The chef let out a barking laugh at seeing his love rival in that dress.

Usopp was rolling right next to Maro as he struggled to speak. The sight of the infallible scout, in such a small dress was just too much.

"If that's what he likes. It's what he likes," Zoro shrugged with a small smirk.

Rosan glanced down at his outfit with a blank expression, face not conveying anything as it slowly but surely transformed into his previous outfit.

"I wear disguises all the time for my missions so don't worry!" Sabo assured, shuddering at the time where Ivankov needed him to be a girl for a mission.

Mod's mischievous expression was gone, replaced by nervous laughter. "D-Don't you remember when I used to dress you up? Just think of it like that—"

"After I deal with my laughing allies, you're dead, Mod-chan."

Mod squeaked in terror.

The laughter immediately died down as his allies all went pale. They tried to move and realized they were glued to the floor.

"This isn't necessary, Rosan," Robin placated gently. When did he get so good at activating Modification without his hands?!

Rosan smiled.

"Oh it is. You're all about to find out very soon how necessary this was."

Everyone else joined Mod in squeaking.

Ram cheered at being spared.

---

Traveling with the Straw Hats was chaotic and random and Sabo loved it. It was way too fun!

He loved his allies in the Revolutionary but they weren't even remotely as entertaining as this small group of ragtag pirates.

Between Sanji picking fights with Luffy, Zoro and Rosan, Nami picking fights with Rosan and Luffy, Rosan picking a fight with Robin, Luffy and Rosan annoying all of them with their antics… Usopp and Chopper joining Luffy's antics...

Huh, those two really did attract trouble.

It was a blast. Sabo had been all around the Grand Line and he could say with confidence that the Straw Hats attracted the weirdest of things. It must have been because they were being spearheaded by Luffy and Rosan because this was out of whack even by Paradise's standards.

Why did he say that?

Well, the day had started off simple enough. They brought the three from Celadon over, continued their training (with little success), ate breakfast, sent the three back home and continued to sail to their next destination.

Sabo chose to help out with things on the ship, not liking the idea that he wasn't doing anything and offered his assistance when he could.

"You and Ace are just too pleasant compared to the other two," Nami sighed despondently, glaring at a Rosan who was reading a book and not helping with the ship.

At least Robin, who was atop him reading the same book, was using her Devil Fruit to assist with multiple things. The redhead was content to laze about and do nothing!

Ugh!

"You really do just set yourself up to be annoyed by zeroing in on me," Rosan advised, flipping a page of his book, and raising a brow when Robin glared at him... causing him to flip back to the previous page. "Do you secretly enjoy being bullied by me? Is that what you're into?"

"Just let me read it for the both of us," Robin said.

"You read slow..." Rosan grunted.

"I don't have the mind of a computer speeding me up unfortunately! I'm reading. I used to do it when we were kids so I'm doing it again."

"...Fine."

Nami opened her mouth and immediately closed it, realizing that this was going to end up terrible for her if she continued.

"Fuck you," she grunted, stomping away.

"I'd rather we not. I've begun seeing you as a little sister," Rosan advised, sipping his lemonade as he allowed Robin to read for the both of them. The redhead absentmindedly thanked Sanji who was in the distance.

The navigator grumbled, tempted to douse him in water with Clima but refraining because there was no way her weapon would attempt to do so.

She was also pleasantly happy that he saw her as a little sister the same way she saw him as an older brother... but she wouldn't tell him that.

Rosan suddenly shut his book and stood up, glancing up at the sky sharply.

Sabo went alert at that.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked curiously in Rosan's grasp, allowing him to gently put her down.

"Something's falling…" the redhead muttered, transforming Ram into a shield and sprouting his draconic wings. "Stop the ship as best as you can."

They watched in confusion, wondering what his bird saw but that was soon made clear as a massive shadow befell the ship.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Usopp screeched in terror. Was… WAS THAT A SHIP? FROM THE SKY?!

"GAAAHHH!" Chopper screeched, running around in a panic.

What were they gonna do!? Were they gonna die?! HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE!

Sabo tightened his grip on his pipe, preparing to make sure none of the rubble of the ship collided with the Going Merry.

It seems that was not needed though.

A red blur soared into the sky and the Straw Hats heard it mutter, "Increase."

Their jaws dropped as before their very eyes, the floating shield Rosan was wielding expanded to ludicrous sizes and covered their ship as if it were its own personal umbrella.

Pieces of the wrecked galleon collided with the shield while the rest crashed into the ocean, sending out a massive wave that rocked their boat back and forth.

Once everything settled, Rosan transformed Ram back into a ring and stared at the broken ship with a tilted head.

Where did that come from? Did a giant throw it?

He floated over to the wrecked ship, ignoring the thankful cries of his cowardly crewmates and landed gently on the remains.

"The ship is sinking. Grab what you can and head back," Mod instructed with a curious gaze.

Rosan's eyes roved over the entire ship, draconic tail idly roving over the material and his eyes landed on a map.

He snatched it up with his tail and deposited it in his hand, inspecting the old paper.

"Skypiea..." he muttered to himself.

"That sounds like a Sky Island."

A Sky Island… Rosan hadn't dwelled on the interesting idea of an island in the sky too much but Mod-chan did tell him about them a while ago.

He was interested in finding one and he would have done it too but he never did clear up his schedule to do so (he had wanted to try and take Meiko there for a vacation if possible) and then he lost all his emotions and subsequently his interest.

A Sky Island wouldn't have fulfilled Meiko's wish so it was pushed out of his mind. Besides, he wasn't pressed for time. If he ever wanted to visit it, he could always fly up there.

Knowing Luffy, he'd want to visit without using Rosan.

If Maro caught wind… He was almost certain she'd join too... The goblin would never throw up a chance to see something interesting and used his taxi services religiously.

His eyes caught a strange... scooter? And before it could go under, his tail lashed out and scooped it up curiously, eyeing the broken thing with an appraising eye.

"Interesting..." Rosan mused. Did the Sky Island have its own technology? Different from that of what was down here?

"Oh no," Mod moaned sadly as Rosan's greedy mind latched onto the idea of visiting now.

That darn hoarder.

He floated back upwards and made his way over to his crew, map in hand so that he could hand it to Luffy.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nami's screech made him pause for just a moment, before the redhead shrugged.

She was always overreacting over the simplest of things.

---

Nami's reason for overreacting, was due to the Log Pose pointing to the sky. It further supported the idea that Skypiea was a Sky Island and Rosan chose to show them the map and vehicle he found.

"What is this?" Nami wondered in clear interest, eyes sparkling as she gazed at the broken vehicle.

"I'm not sure. It's some type of scooter but I don't recognize it so I grabbed it," Rosan muttered, eyes just as interested in the strange thing.

"If they have these on Sky Island... I'd be really interested in checking it out," the navigator decided.

"LET'S GO TO SKYPIEA!" Luffy declared cheerfully, mind set.

"YEAH!" Usopp and Chopper agreed excitedly.

"I've always wanted to go to a Sky Island," Sabo mused. He was kept busy as a Revolutionary and they didn't operate on the island's in the clouds for obvious reasons.

Nami nodded. "So we're all in agreement to go to Sky Island? Great! Now how do we get there?"

She was met with complete silence.

The navigator's eyes widened in shock. "Really? Not even you Robin and Rosan?"

"I've only ever heard of it," Robin said apologetically.

"Mod-chan has no idea either," Rosan joined. "I could probably fly up there if I pinpoint the location but Luffy won't accept that."

The captain nodded vigorously. "We can't rely on Rosan for everything! We gotta find out how to get up there and if we can't find a way… then we use Rosan!"

They sweatdropped but found themselves nodding. The scout, when push came to shove, did a lot for them and it wouldn't feel right to continuously exploit him.

The crew wanted to help him in any way possible so they needed to not rely on him for everything.

Rosan looked impressed and nodded his head. "Okay, you can use me as a last resort then. I was expecting to immediately fly us there which is why I only grabbed this map and vehicle but maybe I should have went for more stuff on that ship…"

The next series of events really showed that it was just normal for the Straw Hats to encounter the craziest of things.

First, Nami came to the decision that they should just salvage the ship for anything useful and they got Luffy, Sanji and Zoro to do so.

After Usopp created (and Rosan reinforced) a diving suit, the three went on their way down to the sunken ship.

Sometime later, a massive ship with the figurehead of a Monkey showed up and they were introduced to someone named Masira, who conveniently happened to be a salvage pirate (and an idiot.)

Rosan had been about to just deal with them so they didn't get in the way but Nami quickly intervened and convinced the morons that they were interested in seeing how they salvaged.

He idly high fived Robin for stealing their Eternal Pose without them realizing and the crew watched the salvage pirates prepare to retrieve the ship.

Then, Masira went down to see the ship and that's when things got really interesting.

An absolutely gargantuan Sea Turtle showed up out of nowhere and consumed the ship that had three of their crewmates on it.

After gauging the situation, Rosan decided that perhaps he'd need to fully activate Ragnarok because he very much did not feel like using his Save Point to enter the turtle's mouth.

Fortunately for him, his three crewmates were spat out on the ship but that wasn't even the most ridiculous part.

The best part of their day happened, when they all watched as the sky went dark and three figures that were ludicrously large loomed over them, so gigantic, it made that turtle they just saw look tiny.

Rosan was already prepared to fight them all if he had to, wings sprouting from his back as he took to the skies and charged up a massive fire.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Nami and Usopp screeched, watching the flames fly through the air.

While Rosan was doing a suicide lap by belching his waves at them, they were trying their absolute best to run away from the giants and were making fantastic progress too.

Soon, they were completely gone and relied on Rosan's Save Point to catch up to them.

The redhead in question, hummed in confusion as he stared at the giants before shrugging and activating the teleportation technique.

"You're alive!" Usopp cheered. He thought for sure Rosan died by earning the ire of monsters that big.

"Even though I could see them, I couldn't feel them," Sabo informed them, looking even more confused then Rosan, glancing at where they had been with a curious gaze.

The moment they appeared, Sabo had been just as ready to engage in potential combat but when he activated his observation, he didn't feel any of their supposed enemies.

"Huh?" Nami said in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense though… Maybe they can avoid your Haki?"

Rosan shook his head. "My fire went right through them. It was almost like they weren't even actually there. They didn't notice me, move forward, or anything."

How odd… that could mean a number of things—

"GHOSTSSS!" Usopp screeched, eyes bugging in disbelief as he began to panic. "WHAT IF THEY HAUNT US NOW BECAUSE OF ROSAN?! WHAT IF WE'RE STILL IN THEIR TERRITORY?! WHAT TYPE OF GHOSTS GET THAT BIG?!"

Chopper's jaw dropped to the floor and he screeched. "G-G-GHOSTS?! I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE REAL?!"

Watching the two idiots panic, set Luffy off and now the three were running around.

"Luffy isn't even afraid of ghosts… why does he do this?" Rosan sighed internally.

They were all idiots.

---

After some discussion, the group decided to head to the location of the Eternal Pose that Robin had stolen so that they could gather more information on how to get to Sky Island.

Cue Jaya Town.

"They absolutely will get into a fight," Nami frowned, watching Zoro and Luffy walk off without a care in the world.

With no hesitation in her body, she vaulted over the rail and chased after the duo to ensure they did nothing stupid while they gathered information.

Jaya was a spring island that was a lawless zone, making it incredibly popular with pirates. It was why not all the Straw Hats chose to dock. If they left their ship alone, it would be bad news.

Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, Robin, Rosan and Sabo were still on the ship—

"WAHHHH!" Usopp shrieked as he noticed three members missing. Before Sanji could even think about leaving, he and Chopper leapt on the chef and begged him to stay.

"W-We don't know where Robin, Rosan and Sabo went!" Usopp sobbed.

They just disappeared outta nowhere! What was wrong with them?! Couldn't they at least announce that they were departing?

"F-Fine just let me go," Sanji muttered with a sweatdrop.

Where did they go?

---

"You're coming with us?" Robin asked in surprise.

Her and Rosan chose to go explore the town by themselves but they were surprised to see Sabo with them.

The revolutionary shrugged. "I didn't feel like staying on the ship and you guys know how to lay low unlike Luffy so I figured going with you would be a better choice."

"Fine with me," Rosan nodded in agreement. "Robin what did you want to do?"

"I want to go clothes shopping and information gathering," she informed him.

The redhead paused and raised a brow. "You have enough clothes, Robin. You do not need more," he chided, eyes boring into her blue gaze.

She held her hands up in surrender at his chastising gaze. "I wouldn't dream of buying clothes on anyone besides Maro or Aiko's island! Their quality is nice! This is for Sabo!"

Why was he looking at her with such parenting eyes?! She was the mature one between the two and there was no way Rosan would be chastising her!

Sabo blinked. "Me?" He asked, pointing to himself.

"Ah," Rosan hummed at that. "Right, you've been wearing my clothes since you only have your one outfit. Got it, we can buy you a little more then we can go to Maro's island to give you better quality. I can't believe we forgot to do something as simple as that."

"We're too caught up in training," Robin sighed forlornly. "I can't believe I've become as bad as you."

"You will only get worse."

"...Please be a little more encouraging. I like to be the one who says such pessimistic comments but you make it very hard."

Looking at the two stylish adults, Sabo realized that maybe this wasn't a fantastic idea.

He wasn't sure what they were planning... but he had a terrible feeling about this.

---

While buying clothes for Sabo, Robin and Rosan managed to actually learn about a potential lead by the name of Mont Blanc Cricket.

He was apparently on the other side of the island and they even managed to procure a map in the process, thanks to the guy being taken by Robin's good looks.

(Rosan proceeded to break his nose after he tried to continue flirting with her, much to the woman's amusement)

"I thought you guys said you're only gonna buy me a little…" Sabo muttered, gazing at the huge amount of bags with a sweatdrop.

Rosan nodded. "That's right. Wear these for now until we buy you some more on Celadon. Their quality is good... I'm sure we can even get you a more suitable version of your default outfit," he informed him.

"They have incredible quality for both comfort and combat so just put up with these for a little," Robin assured, smiling at the blonde as she assisted Rosan in placing the bags in the Pocket Dimension.

"I think you both completely missed the point..." Sabo thought to himself, sighing at the antics of his family. The fact that they didn't even realize just how much clothes they bought was quite concerning but they were all quirky in their own way.

The trio continued their way towards the ship as they conversed through Rosan's link.

"So I'm guessing there's no chance you ever let Robin join the revolutionaries, huh?" Sabo asked jokingly, watching with a raised brow as some large grappler asked if anyone else wanted to wrestle him, all while holding onto some poor dudes.

"Devil Fruit users will have an easier time trying to swim before I give her up. I appreciate Dragon for what he's done but he's out of his mind if he thinks I'm letting Robin out of my sight. I've already said she's mine," Rosan replied calmly, watching some odd looking sniper aim at a bird incredibly far and shoot, hitting his target with impressive ability.

"I appreciate the possessiveness, Rosan. It's very much needed," Robin said dryly, watching in curiosity as a man bit into an apple offered to him by some sickly man... before promptly dying.

What a strange town.

"Well, what if the both of you came for just a bit?" Sabo asked instead.

That got an amused noise out of the duo.

"As if Luffy would ever let that happen," they both replied.

The Chief of Staff snorted and shrugged helplessly.

Sorry Dragon, he tried.

A loud crashing noise made the three slow down a bit and halt their conversation. They were all passively listening to what the people were saying, checking to see if there was anything of note so all three were able to hear a group of people say—

"Did you hear? Bellamy is teaching some upstart pirate named Straw Hat a lesson in that bar," a random pirate commented to his friend.

"Yeah, I heard he was worth 35 million but he can't do anything! How pathetic!" his friend replied.

Rosan and Sabo's eyes instinctively darkened.

Robin sighed. There went their anonymity.

"What's the situation?" Sabo asked politely to the random pirates.

The two pirates raised a brow at the unassuming and friendly blond. "Who the fuck's asking—HURGK!"

The pirate's voice was cut off as a bronze hand began squeezing his neck with crushing force.

He went white at the heterochromatic slits staring into his soul.

"That wasn't a question," Rosan informed the two, heating his hand up and making the man squirm in fear.

"It almost certainly was a question," Robin jumped in, effortlessly restraining the other one before he could join the interrogation and get killed.

"You're not helping him," her best friend replied, tightening his grip to prove his point and getting the man to let out a strained squeal.

"How am I not helping? I'm just pointing out that he absolutely asked a question."

"You are severely lacking in intimidation tactics. Have you never heard of Good Cop, Bad Cop?"

"Who's supposed to be the Good Cop?"

"...Maybe you're the Stupid Cop."

"I'm stupid? Rosan should we bring up your past again?"

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" The pirate squeaked. He was quickly losing air right now.

The two didn't even acknowledge the unlucky pirate, content to argue with each other.

Sabo held his head at their antics.

He owed the revolutionaries an apology. This must be how they felt when dealing with him.

---

Rosan opened the door to the bar without any hesitation, ignoring the voices behind calling him stupid for interfering with Bellamy's business.

Commotion died down, as the three walked in and even Robin's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.

"You guys!" Nami gasped, watching the three with a shaken gaze. She was flushed from embarrassment due to the events that were currently transpiring and the worry in her eyes was obvious.

"And who the hell are you three?" Sarquiss, a blue haired member of Bellamy's crew asked cockily, greedily eyeing Robin's body, wrapped in Rosan's purple cardigan that she stole, up and down.

Rosan's eyes flickered over to the blue haired man for a moment, noticing where his gaze was at, and decided he wouldn't be making it off this island alive.

Robin shuddered a bit at that simple decision to kill someone for looking at her in an inappropriate manner. She was use to gazes like this on her person all the time but she was not used to someone taking offense on her behalf in such a manner...

The redhead's eyes roamed over the entire bar once more before landing on his injured younger brother and the two made eye contact.

The utterly lax rubber boy, bleeding from the injuries sustained on his body, went tense immediately at the sight of his redheaded brother who despised things like this.

Well...

"Captain. What is this?" Rosan asked softly, not bothering to register any of the other irrelevant people in the bar.

No, the only thing on his mind was the fact that his very capable little brother was allowing a bunch of nobodies to inflict this much damage on him.

"It's nothing," Luffy replied truthfully.

Uh oh, Rosan didn't use his name.

The scout being here was the worst possible scenario. Unlike Luffy, who didn't care about being disrespected, his oldest brother would very much retaliate if someone put their hands on him.

"Nothing?" Bellamy barked, grabbing Luffy's hair tightly. "You call what I did nothing?! You pacifists really piss me off and now you've brought even more of your cowardly crew!"

Luffy ignored him and gazed evenly at his brother. "Rosan, don't fight them. It's not worth it."

"What?" Ram snarled in contempt.

Rosan for once, didn't need to be influenced by Ram's violence to disagree with Luffy.

"I told you not to order me around as you please," the redhead said calmly, eyes narrowed slightly. "You sit here and let trash do this to you? Don't even think of telling me what to do right now."

The Straw Hats paused in shock, as Rosan began actually ridiculing Luffy.

"Trash?" Sarquiss growled, marching up to the redhead that was apart of this pathetic captain's crew. "Who do you think you're talking to—"

Red and purple bore into him and the Bellamy pirate nearly bit his tongue with how abruptly he stopped speaking.

"Wait your turn. Rest assured, I'll get to you eventually."

With that simple statement, he turned back towards Luffy, disregarding the blue haired man standing close to him completely.

Sarquiss went red in anger and embarrassment at being ignored so completely.

"I don't care what the situation is. You shouldn't allow yourself to be disrespected so easily, Luffy. It's unbefitting to sit there and allow people to think they stand a chance," Rosan chided, walking up to the person holding onto Luffy.

Without any hesitation, he ripped his captain out of the man's grasp and pushed him towards Robin and Sabo.

Luffy let it happen without a fuss. As long as they didn't fight these guys, it was fine. They weren't worth the trouble.

"Zoro, Nami. We're leaving," Rosan said, turning away from them all and preparing to walk out.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Luffy paused immediately.

Rosan glanced back at the suicidal idiot, Ram already seeping into his gloves so he could obliterate him and this entire bar.

"I don't remember saying you could leave," Bellamy threatened with a wide grin. He was getting very tired of being ignored since this loser redhead walked into the bar.

He gripped this trash talking redhead's shoulder even harder and his grin widened at seeing the man's eyes flicker boredly to it.

"He's dead," every Straw Hat thought.

Bellamy didn't notice Rosan raising his hand to melt his cocky face off but before he could, Luffy firmly pushed it down.

"Luffy! Just let Rosan clobber him!" Nami said in exasperation. These guys were begging for it and even though she didn't want them to fight, she could make an exception.

She was also incredibly embarrassed at not only being laughed at, but being forced to watch Luffy and Zoro take such a beating.

Rosan almost looked confused as he watched Luffy push his hand down, before his expression darkened into something fierce.

Now he understood why Luffy was acting like this and it did nothing to temper his mood, only worsening it.

"Shanks is not my idol. He's yours," Rosan whispered, rounding on his captain with glowing eyes, effortlessly breaking out of Bellamy's grasp in the process. "Don't think you can enforce his teachings onto me like he did you, Luffy. I live by my own rules and you know that better then anyone else. Rosan is Rosan and nobody else."

Rosan didn't care enough to acknowledge people's words because they were just words. Everyone always had something to say so allowing those words to get into your head would just cause self doubt.

But the moment you put your hands on him or tried to, that's when ignoring went out the window. He had been touched inappropriately for far too long for him to allow just anyone to attempt to touch him. It wasn't worth acknowledging people's words, but it was absolutely worth defending yourself if said people tried to harm you.

Shanks was the type of idiot who'd ignore everything you did to him and that's where their differences lie. He would take all levels of disrespect because "it wasn't a big deal" and just laugh it off.

Rosan would not laugh it off. Rosan would make you regret attempting to attack him.

His fellow redhead was absolutely ridiculous and you were telling him Luffy was trying to turn him into that?

Absolutely not—

"Rosan, don't let these random pirates turn you against Luffy," Robin interjected. She would hate for there to be bad blood between the two brothers just because a small difference in views.

"Yeah, I get it but these guys aren't worth the effort," Sabo agreed, already prepared to leave the establishment. They were a pathetic bunch who didn't deserve the time of day. Just a bunch of bullies who got their kicks off on trying to ridicule people's goals and dreams.

He paused at the sound of Robin and Sabo's voice and allowed the glow in his eyes to vanish.

"Fine. The blue haired one still dies though… He gets to survive for a bit longer I suppose."

Luffy allowed Rosan to hoist him up, satisfied after watching the glow vanish from his eyes, and his redheaded brother marched him out the establishment.

Bellamy felt a litter of veins appear as every single one of them began leaving, paying him no mind. The hyena crouched lowly, prepared to activate his Devil Fruit to really teach them a lesson.

"I SAID YOU CAN'T LEAVE YET!" He roared at the retreating crowd, taking a step forward.

Everyone in the bar could only watch in shock as the man lost his step and fell into a conveniently placed cherry pie, smashing right into his face.

"Honestly, he should be glad we talked you down," Robin sighed, dispelling her hands as the door shut.

Rosan grunted.

"Zehahaha! Why are you so upset, redhead? Your captain won that fight!" A booming voice called out.

The redhead paused and glanced back at the voice.

Despite sitting, the figure dwarfed all of them. He had a massive build with a round body along with relatively thin limbs, black hair covered by a bandana, a prominent lipped mouth with several missing teeth, a pronounced crooked nose and a very large and hairy chest and torso. He wore an open buttoned white shirt with rolled up sleeves, green trousers with black line patterns, a yellow sash around his waist and classic black swashbuckler boots complete with large bronze buckles.

"Is that so?" Rosan asked, eyes glowing slightly as he turned fully towards the man. "Well then, how about you follow in their footsteps and stay completely still, while I use you as stress relief?"

"Zehahaha!" The man threw his head back and laughed at Rosan, utterly unbothered by the violent redhead as he took another bite into his pie. "You should learn a thing or two from your captain! It ain't always necessary to use your fist when aiming for the top!"

Rosan's eyes narrowed as the man continued.

"Let them laugh! It isn't easy to be great and you'll always find people that will doubt your dreams! But people's dreams don't ever end!"

The redhead took in the man's words with a tilted head. "Sure they do. My dreams died a long time ago," he replied softly.

The mysterious man's grin widened. "We're not so different. People like us get beat down but never for long! It's only a matter of time before a dreamer like you starts dreaming again like us, zehahaha!"

The massive man stood up, dwarfing the redhead as he looked down on him. "I like you, redhead. If you ever find yourself disagreeing with that captain of yours again, I'll take you on a journey worth dreaming about!"

Rosan stared up at him and snorted before turning away and walking off. "It won't happen. You have quite the ambitions to try and steal me away right in front of my captain..."

He was strange... but Rosan found himself respecting him. He was unassuming but Rosan could feel it.

Whoever this was, was a dangerous person. He just didn't show it. A man who waited for the opportune moment to strike.

Much like himself... Perhaps they did have some similarities.

"Zehahaha! It doesn't hurt to try!" The man roared in laughter, finishing off his pie and lumbering away. "If fate decides it, maybe we'll meet again and maybe you'll be a dreamer next time! Someone with your ambitions won't be stifled for long!"

"I don't believe in fate. If we meet again, it would simply be because our interests have met at a crossline."

With that, Rosan turned a corner and vanished.

Robin sighed, following after the redhead with a short wave.

Luffy picked himself up and sighed, dusting himself off in the process.

His redhead brother just needed time to cool off. He was very spoiled and hated when things didn't go his way.

Robin would make sure he felt better!

"I hope you all make it to Sky Island!" The man waved, walking off into the distance.

"Don't try and steal my crewmates again!" Luffy barked back.

"We need to get you two to Chopper," Nami sighed, pushing Zoro and Luffy forward.

Robin would deal with Rosan so it was up to her to deal with these two idiots.

Sabo sighed. He would let Robin deal with Rosan. He needed to take a break.

Bellamy glared darkly at the entrance, daring anyone to laugh at him.

Marshall D. Teach stared at the brothers of Portgas D. Ace with a curious grin.

"Zehahaha! They really are interesting, aren't they Ace?"

---

"What convenient timing," Rosan muttered, seeing his Den Den Mushi connected to Aiko ring.

"Are you upset?" Robin asked softly, grabbing his arm and making him pause in the isolated area (Rosan's aura made the few lingering quickly vanish).

The redhead didn't answer her and picked up the Den Den Mushi instead.

Robin sighed.

Definitely upset then.

"Aiko," he greeted.

"You sound upset," the woman said immediately, a tinge of concern in her voice that she failed to hide.

Rosan grunted and Robin smiled.

Seems everyone kept a close eye on her best friend.

"We can talk about it when I come over. I'm guessing the suit it ready?"

"Yep. Bring your hot little friend over and we can give it to her," Aiko instructed.

Robin raised a single neat brow at that. It was good to know she was attractive in so many people's eyes. Rosan and Mod used to tell her all the time she was very pretty and their words seemed to hang true.

"She can hear you, you know?" Rosan informed her.

"Duh, you two are inseparable. Doesn't change what I said. Hey Robin," Aiko greeted.

"Hi Robin!" A voice, further in the distance called.

"Hello, Aiko and Akemi," she smiled in return. "We'll be there in a moment, I'd like to talk to Rosan."

Aiko whistled. "Don't let us hold you up on it then. Make sure he's not in a bad mood by the time he comes here. Do what you gotta do."

"A-Aiko! Don't be such a pervert!" They heard Akemi gasp in the distance.

Rosan shut the line before they could continue, turning towards a slightly confused Robin.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked knowingly.

The Devil Child rolled her eyes. "I understand why you're upset Rosan but you shouldn't let some random crew rile you up."

"…" Rosan said nothing for a moment, slightly glowing gaze just staring directly into her own and she had to bite back the smile that wanted to form on her face at how much progress they were making.

He wouldn't normally let himself get upset over things like this.

Robin placed a hand on his cheek reassuringly. "I know you're only upset because you don't think we should be walked over but trust me, it's nothing. Over the years, I've learned that not everything deserves a reaction. I actually learned it from you since you seemed to go out of your way to annoy me."

Rosan was so mature all the time but it was moments like these that reminded her that he had been emotionally stunted since he was 9 years old and his emotions had been taking hits since he was even younger.

After getting them all back, her best friend would be no better then a child because he'd spent so long without them in some of the most important years of his life... She'd do everything she could to make sure he developed the way he deserved to.

Rosan sighed, before slightly tugging the arm that was on his cheek and bringing Robin closer into a hug.

"What would you have done if that was me instead of Luffy?" The redhead asked calmly, watching her sink into his hold.

"Kill them all," she answered automatically before cursing at her slip up.

"Exactly," he murmured. "Luffy is my youngest brother and this isn't the first time I've seen him injured without him doing a thing. I get where you guys are coming from but there's a reason Luffy and I are different. I do the things he won't."

Luffy had been tortured before by that man Porchemy for hours without being able to do a thing. While before, when they were younger, Rosan hadn't particularly cared about the Straw Hat wearing boy, things had changed now.

He was the youngest in their family and everyone was rather protective of him, Rosan included.

"And that's fine but don't let your duties get in the way of your bond. You two are still brothers first and foremost and nothing should get in the way of that. If Luffy doesn't want you to fight on his behalf, don't get too upset at him," she replied calmly.

"...I guess you're right," Rosan, the infamously stubborn problem, conceded. "Fine, I'll let it go then. The blue haired one still dies though. I don't like the way he looked at you so that's my problem now."

Robin sighed in exasperation but let it be, pleased (she really shouldn't be) at his overprotective streak.

He was impossible sometimes. Rosan never let you fully get the win.

Mod watched in wonder as Robin actually managed to have a calm argument with Rosan, no fear or hesitation in her eyes whatsoever at the thought of the redhead disagreeing with her.

To be honest, everyone of them feared arguing/upsetting Rosan to a certain degree. The only ones who didn't, were Ace and Luffy. Those two didn't have an ounce of fear when it came to their oldest brother but they also didn't argue very much because the three were simple and blunt.

They solved most of their issues (mostly Ace and Rosan… Luffy never had issues) within the hour because that was just their nature.

But everyone else did fear him to an extent… even her.

The less said about the twins, the better. They were packed with issues and insecurities and all of them stemmed from their oldest brother. They already feared him too much to even risk further upsetting him so they didn't even think about it even despite Rosan trying to make amends and showing they had nothing to fear.

Maro wasn't terrified but deep down, she still harbored a fear of failing Rosan because of the first time they had gone out on a mission. It hadn't flared in a very long time due to the redhead saying he was proud of her but the damage had been done and it was one of the few regrets her son had.

Ram never disagreed with anything Rosan had to say. If Rosan said no to her, that was that and she would accept it. Those two were perfectly in sync with each other as weapon and master.

As for Mod herself… she was never a big fan of confrontation (as shown from the first time her and Rosan argued on Daybreak) and over the years, as Rosan got older, she got more and more afraid to argue with him and end up disappointing him in the process.

She was afraid of any sort of dissent between the two because it was her fault in the first place that there would be any. Rosan trusted her with his life and she didn't even think to confide in something as life threatening as the virus with him.

I-It was no wonder he was hiding things from her... she was clearly hiding things from him too...

The Devil Fruit knew that if she asked him, he'd answer her but she didn't want to hear how disappointed he was in her. She didn't want to know how deep that disappointment went… She couldn't bear to listen to him tear into her for her severe mistake.

After all, the Virus was a dangerous element that she had only deigned to tell him about 10 years later... And not only that, she was protecting them too...

She'd be rightfully furious and Mod was shamefully taking advantage of his emotionless disposition to avoid getting into more trouble with him. Because she knew first hand what it was like to deal with Rosan's explosive anger and she was afraid to deal with it again...

But Robin was different. She didn't hold an ounce of fear in her heart at the idea that Rosan could potentially get mad at her and why should she? The two were best friends and they got upset with each other plenty of times before. The amount of fights that broke out between them, was probably more then Robin had ever fought in her life!

To Robin, Rosan wasn't some intimidating figure who had only gotten scarier with age.

No, Rosan was still the sun to her moon. The one who had breathed not just a second but a third life into her by just being there.

Cool, collected Robin was just retaking her mantle as the haughty, chaotic Rosan's partner in crime and was keeping him in check in the way that she had been always doing.

True to her words, Rosan would never scare her and it showed constantly.

She treated him the exact same even after witnessing all of his memories. Even after seeing all the terrible things he had done... none of it phased her enough to change how she felt for Rosan.

Seeing what he had done, did nothing to change the love she had for him.

She was his voice of reason, firmly letting him be aware of things that he just couldn't see that only Meiko was able to help him with.

She even faced his potential wrath after defending Mod herself when Rosan questioned her capabilities against the virus...

Finding Robin was the best thing that could happen to them. Mod meant that sincerely because she was incredible and the Devil Fruit truly loved her with all her heart.

The years away had done nothing for their bond and Mod nearly teared up.

She definitely wanted them together even more then Ram now. Robin was one of the keys to saving Rosan.

"How long are you going to hug me for, Rosan? We should probably get going now," Robin said in amusement as the redhead practically crushed her into his frame.

"In a minute. I like hugging you, it's helping me cool down," Rosan muttered into her hair.

"Keep it up and people will start to get the wrong idea about us. We sleep together, bathe together and you even kissed me while grabbing my butt." Robin rolled her eyes at that but wrapped her arms around him as well, enjoying the sensation.

No wonder so many people thought they were dating. It was a rather natural assumption.

"Let them think whatever they want. It's better this way. Maybe people will get the hint about how uninterested we are in them if they think we're dating... though even when I walked around with Aiko or Maro, that never stopped people from flirting with me..." he grunted.

Did he even hear what he was saying? Let people make the wrong assumptions about if they were dating or not, after they agreed to not date?

Robin almost snorted at the unbelievable redhead.

"I second this! You guys should just "pretend" at this point because I don't wanna share Mother and Father with anyone else and you two are super possessive anyways," Ram beamed.

Mod held back a sigh at the unsubtle ring. "And where have you been, Ram?"

"Basking in awe at Mother while stewing at the fact that Father didn't kill everyone in there."

"Right…" The Devil Fruit did sigh this time.

"Pretending wouldn't be a bad idea actually. I wouldn't be opposed if you aren't," Rosan mused.

"We can do whatever you want, I'm fine with anything," Robin shrugged. It's not like she had any interest in dating and she did have multiple people attempting their hands at all times.

Perhaps if Rosan's (or hers) reputation got scary enough, they'd get the hint and leave them alone.

(If only they knew what the World Government was spreading about them. Well, they'd find out soon enough)

---

"You guys sure did take your… time," Aiko mocked suggestively, raising a brow at the two.

"That's right, we were busy with adult business so we showed up a bit late. I'm sure you'd understand, Aiko," Rosan replied calmly, making sure to adjust his perfectly kept shirt as well.

"Rosan is rather demanding, he refused to let me go," Robin added with a small smile.

Aiko, Akemi and Mod began spluttering at their brazen statements.

"H-How indecent!" Akemi squeaked, looking back and forth at the cool faced couple with a bright blush.

T-They were so bold! How did they get so clean so quickly?!

"Keep that type of shit to yourself! A-And don't say I'd understand like I just enjoy getting around! What type of image do you have of me?" Aiko complained, a dust of red marking her cheeks.

"A party girl who likes to use her status to woo girls and drag them into your bedroom before ditching them," Rosan replied easily, not even blinking as the leader of Fregate punched him in the gut to no effect.

"WHAT TYPE OF PERSON DO YOU SEE ME AS?! THEY COME ONTO ME!" Aiko roared with a blush of mortification.

"That wasn't how it looked that one time you got drunk and asked me to transform into my female form so that we could have a—" the redhead smoothly moved to the left as Aiko dove for his eyes.

"You said you wouldn't mention that. You know how I get when I'm drunk," she hissed quietly.

Akemi looked at her sister with a dropped jaw. "Y-You pervert!" She accused.

Robin also raised a brow. "My oh my Aiko, aren't you rather bold."

"I. Was. Drunk." Aiko snarled. Everyone would be a goddamn liar if they said they weren't attracted to Rosan in some capacity... when she was drunk she just went after people she thought were cute!

Rosan snorted slightly, pulling the two into a hug. "I'm just kidding... Mostly. We ran into some annoying pirates and they annoyed me because I couldn't kill them but Robin spoke to me and now I'm better."

Robin smiled at that and waved at the two. "I've done my job and calmed him down so you two don't need to worry about him being annoyed anymore."

They looked at the Devil Child, clearly impressed that she managed to do so and dragged the surprised woman into the hug.

"You can actually tell him what to do and he'll listen?! That's amazing!" Akemi gushed.

"Hell, you being able to slightly control this dumbass means you're super deserving of a suit," Aiko grinned.

Robin couldn't help but smile at how accepting everyone was of her. She thought she got used to it but she really didn't.

Rosan must have been important to all of them if they were treating her with open arms this much. The unconditional respect they harbored for her, just because they knew of their relationship was heartwarming.

Her idiot best friend had so much people who loved him.

The redhead in question broke off the hug and hummed. "I want to see what Robin can do with the suit. How will it assimilate with her Devil Fruit? What will you be able to do?" he mused.

"Nerd," Robin couldn't help but quip, not forgetting his insult when they were at Alabasta.

She yelped as the floor suddenly shifted beneath her and the woman lost her balance, falling into a smug Rosan's arms.

"Can't stay up? Is my presence too much for you?" The redhead asked in faux concern, as he hugged her soothingly. "Don't worry, that's why I'm here. To help clumsy and nervous people like you."

Robin's response was to summon a dozen arms to wrestle him to the ground. A pair began to squeeze his neck and restrain his arms, while another pair wrapped around his mouth, so that she didn't have to listen to his insufferable words, and a final began yanking his red spikes.

"You are incredibly annoying, Rosa— Did you just lick me?!" Robin gasped at the sensation of being licked repeatedly and she hastily dispelled her hands covering his mouth to see his smug smirk.

Despite all the actions happening at once to his body, Rosan looked the picture perfect of calm. The redhead didn't even look like he licked her!

"I told you stop trying to find out what I'm into, Robin. Now when I break out of this don't surrender immediately," he warned.

"I will break every bone in your body," she retorted, increasing the amount of arms on his body.

"Let's see how long that false bravado holds up."

Aiko and Akemi watched the two's spat with twin expressions of disbelief.

"Robin didn't strike me as the violent type," Akemi awed, watching Rosan break out of her grasp and tackle her to the floor before they began rolling around.

"I guarantee you that she isn't. This is just a side effect of being around that guy right there," Aiko sighed, pointing at the redhead trying to pin every limb of the Devil Child to the floor with a look of concentration as he revealed his sharp fangs to attempt to bite into a hand restraining him, only for it to instantly vanish and appear atop his head instead, yanking him back enough for the glaring Robin to turn the tables.

"C'mon you damn kids let's go get your suit!" The leader of Fregate barked at the two.

Robin had foregone summoning arms and was choking Rosan with her actual limbs now while the redhead began pulling at her hair, modifying it into different colors in the process.

"In a minut— Rosan, don't you dare start tickling me!"

"Summon some hands into a giant flag of surrender and I'll consider it."

"I can think of a dozen more things I'd rather do."

"I tried to help you."

The sister's sweatdropped.

"You're repairing my office after this," Aiko interjected.

"That's easy to do— Robin... where did you just summon your hand?"

"Surrender."

"...No. If you do this, I'm going to make your hair an array of colors."

"I'll put up with it."

Aiko and Akemi had a look of confusion.

Where exactly did she summon a hand...? They couldn't see anything anywher—

"H-How bold!" Akemi stammered, face as red as Rosan's hair as the redhead actually winced.

"I don't think we have to do anything so we may as well just enjoy the show," Aiko muttered, face also a bit red at the realization.

---

"I can't believe you actually did that," Rosan muttered with an unamused gaze, sunglasses on his face and hair an obsidian black.

"You were asking for it! Since we aren't kids anymore, I felt no remorse doing it!" Robin retorted, staring at her green, brown and yellow hair with a look of displeasure.

The redhead glared at her slightly and she glared back before turning towards the leaders.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. Rosan brings out a side of me I'm not proud of," the multicolor haired Robin apologized, face flushed red from exertion. Her tussle with Rosan left both their clothes rather rustled and when she requested he changed her hair back, he actually glared at her!

"Whatever you say," the redhead scoffed, leading the group.

"It's okay! You have a very pretty laugh and the hair doesn't look... that bad," Akemi beamed. After seeing how they interacted with each other, she was dead set on getting them to date.

Besides, they were so bold already!

"I've never seen Rosan readily brawl with someone. He's normally reacting to Ace, Luffy or Maro attacking him first and then he neutralizes them," Aiko snorted.

With her face flushed like that, the leader of Fregate noted that Nico Robin was exceptionally beautiful. But then again, Aiko had been checking her out since the moment they met.

Seriously, the girl was hot.

Lucky redhead brat… he always found the cuties that were attached to him. Must have been his unfair genes at play because based on Ram, Aiko would have probably been checking out Meiko too and Rosan would have killed her...

Absurd.

"Did you hear that Robin? You're so adorable," Rosan mocked, using his tall and intimidating stature to carve a path through the crowded streets, waving at anyone that recognized him. Though, Aiko was with him and the leader of Fregate was actually rather terrifying when she wanted to be.

Just not to him. To him, Aiko was just a big ball of fluff.

"How did you get more annoying with age? Did you not mature at all?" Robin sighed in exasperation.

"I can assure you that I've certainly matured. You must have noticed when you—"

"A-AHEM!" Mod interrupted, face bright red because of what he had been planning on saying.

"You have no shame. Shouldn't you still be wincing in pain?" Robin rolled her eyes.

"Shouldn't you be blushing in awe?"

"I genuinely don't understand how your ego is so massive."

"You should be saying that about—"

"AHEM/AHEM!" Mod and Akemi coughed strongly, looks of mortification in their eyes.

What was wrong with him? Why didn't he have an ounce of shame in his body?!

Aiko couldn't believe they were still raring to go. She should nip this before they brawled in the middle of her street and cause more problems then necessary, such as someone spreading a rumor that she was working with a notorious pirate.

"Maro told me you guys were in Alabasta recently?" She intervened.

The two paused before regarding her with twin nods. "Yeah, it was quite eventful. We'll tell you about it afterwards."

She nodded, curious about what happened over there. Alabasta was a pretty important country to the World Government... which was exactly why they covered up what happened there and claimed that some Marines had handled it.

Aiko snorted. Maro made sure to explain in detail what Rosan had done to said Marines.

It didn't take them long to appear at Hiroshi's gigantic lab and they saw the man already waiting for them, conversing with one of his employees in the process.

His eyes lit up as he saw the four and he dismissed the bespectacled woman he was talking to with a short wave, snapping in her face at watching her gaze linger on Rosan for far too long.

She jumped and flushed, before scurrying away with a small "eep!"

Robin's gaze lingered on the retreating girl while Rosan paid her no mind.

"Hiroshi," he greeted, grasping the man's hand with a short nod.

"Ah! How have you been Rosan-sama, Robin-sama?" The scientist asked, bowing respectfully to them all.

"Well. We discovered the potential existence of a Sky Island. If I find anything interesting you can work on, I'll let you know," Rosan remarked. There might be technology there that Angel or Hiroshi would love to get their hands on…

Hell, he'd probably like to modify a few things as well.

Aiko, Akemi and Hiroshi's eyes went wide.

A Sky Island?! What the hell was he talking about?! Did he actually mean an island located in the sky...?

They'd definitely be pestering him about that later but for now…

"Come, follow me! I have to admit, I'd love to see what the new Raid Suit can do!" Hiroshi practically gushed.

"I find myself excited as well," Robin smiled. She was eager to see what ability was granted to her and had been dwelling on it for quite a while.

Without wasting any time, they quickly followed after the man and were soon directly in his lab where a black canister lay on the table.

"Same deal as last time. I expect it won't stay in its canister form for long so I just kept the design simple," Hiroshi explained, handing the can off to her.

Robin nodded. Rosan's was also a black canister before he transformed it into his hidden armband while Maro's was a white canister that was now her sapphire earrings that she never removed.

What would she have Rosan do for her? Hmm...

Remembering what to do well (bless her fantastic memory), Robin held the canister to her blue jeans and watched in curiosity as it began glowing, wrapping around her frame.

Aiko whistled. This girl had all the curves and she could very much appreciate that.

Okay maybe she should calm down a tad instead of shamelessly ogling Robin every chance she got... they were trying to get the two together after all...

Once the glow settled, they beheld Robin in her Raid Suit and the woman looked down curiously at her getup.

She had on a long violet cloak that looked very similar to the white one she used to wear in Alabasta, that was riddled with black flowers that looked exactly like her Devil Fruit.

While it could be buttoned up, it was currently left open to reveal a short, tight, black, short sleeved (that couldn't be seen because of the cloak) dress with another image of her Devil Fruit, this time purple, directly on the breast.

To finish off, she had on a nice violet cowboy hat and black thigh-high-heeled boots.

"I like," she thought to herself, inspecting herself in the mirror before turning towards the group. "How do I look?"

That was for all of them but her eyes were on mostly Rosan.

She couldn't keep the smile off her face as his dual eyes roamed over her entire body, taking in every minute detail with an appraising eye (stylish little monster he was) before he nodded in satisfaction.

"You look incredible. You might increase my kill count by an unhealthy amount if you walk around like that," he answered calmly, walking forward and buttoning up her cloak to protect her modesty.

"I quite liked the cloak being open," Robin mock scowled at him, not unbuttoning the cloak due to her happiness at his comment. His response was straight and to the point and it lacked any type of perversion which was one of the things she loved about him.

"Aww killing people because they're gawking at your sexy girlfriend? How fucking adorable, you little psychopath," Aiko mocked.

She was going to just vomit at the cuteness of their interactions. No really, it was so damn cute.

"A-Aiko! She looks good but don't be so crude!" Akemi gaped. She wasn't even being a little subtle! What was wrong with her?!

"What?! Am I wrong? In the first place, killing someone for staring is beyond psychotic so why don't we focus on that?!" Her older sister protested.

Rosan sighed and flicked the leader of Fregate on her head, getting a cry of pain out of her. "Before I decide to anger Aiko even further, let's see what your ability is?"

The leader of Fregate felt a vein form at his response but Akemi hastily put a hand over her mouth and hissed something in her ear that successfully cowed her.

Robin honestly felt really good. The Raid Suit was so light and comfortable while providing her protection and power practically everywhere! While they checked her out, she had been figuring out what her ability was and she could safely say she found out how to do it.

Closing her eyes, the woman focused for a moment on that new feeling the suit gave her and tapped into it.

"Oh," Rosan said, sounding genuinely impressed at the sight before him.

From what the redhead knew, Zoan Raid Suits enhanced the user far more then what he got as a Paramecia but they lacked the benefit of acquiring one of the abilities your Devil Fruit gave you.

Maro didn't gain an ability but she gained incredible enhancements to what she already had. It was almost purely combat oriented with some versatility due to enhancing her crop growth as well.

If he had to guess, a Logia Raid Suit would act as a battery, allowing the person in question to use even more of their power. This was in theory considering they didn't have a Logia to try it out but it was probably the case.

Rosan (and most Paramecias) did gain an ability, directly derived from his fruit which was the ability to transform into any material and outfit he so desire. It saved him the extra steps needed to activate Modification so that he could transform the appearance and material, all while keeping the immense durability of the Raid Suit.

It wasn't as combat oriented as Maro's but the Mod Mod no mi was not inherently combat oriented itself. Rosan had just made it so because he was combat oriented.

Robin was also a Paramecia so her suit should be more in line with his…

So why did it feel like he lost against both the Queen and his best friend when it came to combat scenarios? Hell, in terms of potential versatility, Robin's own ability surpassed his Raid Suit as well.

Don't get him wrong, his Raid Suit was still a force in battle as a defensive and utility option but Robin's derived ability seemed infinitely more useful as an offensive option.

Though, he supposed his being a defensive option wasn't that bad... but he did like his offense.

Robin actually smiled brightly as she realized what her ability was.

"Well Rosan…" Robin began, smiling slightly.

"I think my ability might just be a bit better then yours…" Robin #2 continued with a small grin.

"J-Just a bit..." Robin #3 bowed apologetically.

"Don't you think?" Robin #4 finished, flashing a smug smirk.

The onlookers awed as Rosan nodded without hesitation, gauging each Robin's different personalities with a curious glint.

"Cloning. You can clone yourself," he said eventually.

Scratch beating him. She definitely beat Maro too. The sheer potential this had, was already making his brain storm with ideas. Infiltration would be easier, evasive maneuvers would be faster, they would have more angles to watch...

"I'm loving these ideas so far. Keep going," Robin sounded delighted.

The Robin's even seemed to have different personalities. How many could she make?

His eyes began glowing slightly in clear interest and the nervous looking Robin squeaked at the attention, face going red as his eyes landed on her.

Rosan snorted. Robin? Squeak? Utterly ridiculous... and also adorable.

"This is not what I was expecting," Robin admitted glancing at her creations. The three clones were inspecting each other with curious eyes.

"Are we all gonna be named Robin?" The cheerful one asked curiously.

Another scowled... seems this one was based on anger. "No, that's stupid. Angel and Demon have names so we should too... But if we have to keep it, I'll be Robin #1," they declared.

"We're just clones... should we really be deciding this?" The nervous one asked, eyes flickering between both Rosan and the original Robin.

"I'll think of names for you all later," Robin said absentmindedly, unbothered by the conversation taking place between the people who shared her face.

The amount she could summon seemed to be limited to three and that was already more then she could do with her Devil Fruit! Not only that, it didn't require nearly as much thought or effort to make them.

That was groundbreaking. There was so much she could do with this! This was the best ability (perhaps it was the only one that the Hana Hana no Mi could have gotten) derived from her fruit she could have asked for!

She hadn't even accounted the benefits just the Raid Suit gave her either! Robin felt like she had entered a whole new realm of strength with this one suit.

Grabbing the redhead, she pulled him into a deep hug, looked up into his eyes and warmly whispered, "Thank you for getting this made. It's even better then I expected."

Rosan looked a bit surprised and paused at that statement, just staring back at Robin with slightly wide eyes.

His best friend wasn't normally the one to initiate contact. Rosan almost always started any physical contact between the two so for her to do so on her own volition, must have meant she really did appreciate it.

He rebounded quickly though and easily returned the hug, tucking her easily into his frame like he had done so a thousand times.

"Anything for you, Robin. You already know you just have to say a word and I'll do my best to help you," he murmured back, enjoying her presence with a small smile.

Robin sighed fondly. Of course he would. This was just how Rosan was. Even as a kid he attempted to go above and beyond just for her and nothing seemed to be able to change that.

But Mod and Rosan made it very clear that she deserved whatever they got her and… and it took her a long time to see that but… but she did deserve it. It was high time she began enjoying the life those two wanted her to have so she'd allow herself to be spoiled rotten by the resourceful redhead who only wanted what was best for her.

That was why she loved him and allowed him to get away with so many things. It was his privilege as her most important person.

Aiko resisted the urge to smile and instead made exaggerated gagging noises (she had a reputation to upkeep here!).

These two were both riddled with their own issues and it looked like just being around each other was fixing some of them. If that were the case, she felt even more obligated to get the two together because she owed that much to her little brother.

Akemi's eyes were glittering and she was rapidly looking between the two, smile growing brighter and brighter with a pleased flush covering her cheeks.

Her sister was a hopeless romantic (which was funny because she hadn't dated in years) when it came to others and Rosan, her surrogate little brother, was someone who she desperately wanted to find love.

It might have been a consequence of not having been interested in a soul in years, but Akemi wanted everyone she cared about to find love and happiness.

Aiko would know this well, considering her little sister continuously tried to hook her up with people and then ask when they were getting married the moment she brought them over.

Even if Maro never informed them, Akemi would have done everything in her power to get the two together because she was a real life cupid and loved to see sparks fly.

"What do you want me to transform the canister into?" Rosan asked, watching her remove the outfit and go back into her default jean and red blouse (one of his selections) combo.

Robin pondered the question.

She wanted to transform it into a bracelet at first but now the Devil Child wanted it to be a bit more symbolic with the redhead before her.

Earrings would have been fine but that was his and Maro's thing and she didn't want to interfere with that so maybe…

"A ring," she decided. "I want it to be a black ring with an amethyst stone."

She wanted to have a memento for Meiko as well. Robin was sad that she'd never be able to meet the sweetheart, so she'd follow in Rosan's footsteps and honor her in some way.

They could make her proud together.

Rosan stared at her for a long moment, no doubt realizing her intent due to their incredible synergy and eventually nodded, eyes uncharacteristically soft.

Grabbing the canister, he activated his ability and did exactly what Robin asked for, transforming it into a ring that looked strikingly similar to his own, with a different color swap.

With a questioning look and a nod of approval, the redhead gently held her right hand (she was losing her tan due to no longer living in a desert) and slid the beautiful piece of jewelry on her ring finger and let it rest there.

He held her hand for a long moment after that, just staring at the accessory with those same soft eyes, before locking said eyes onto Robin.

"You look good. I love it," he complimented, releasing her soft hand and letting it fall limply to her side before pulling her into a gentle embrace. "Thank you," he murmured into her ear.

Robin was a bit dazed by that tender look and she could only nod, stunned silent by his simple and heartfelt statement.

"...Of course, Rosan," she eventually replied with a tiny smile.

Mod stealthily cut the connection so that they couldn't hear the incredibly loud cheers of Ram.

"Do we even have to do anything?" Aiko whispered to Akemi.

Rosan was good. Hell, if he was talking to her like that, the leader of Fregate would have probably caved instantly. It was no wonder that he and Makino kept hooking up after the first time, the redhead was very charismatic and charming without meaning to be... Even with his disposition.

"I knew Rosan could be smooth... but isn't he too smooth?!" Akemi replied with an open mouth. Even she was blushing at his words. He wasn't even trying! How many people would fall under the spell of a Rosan who was flirtatious she wondered…

Huh, Demon must be a busy person. The doctor was a massive flirt when he wanted to be... even Akemi hadn't been spared!

Robin eventually smiled at his words and inspected the ring, nodding in satisfaction at the beautiful accessory that was now her Raid Suit.

"Thank you, Hiroshi. You've exceeded my expectations," the Devil Child thanked the impressed doctor.

"Oh think nothing of it! I always find it very fascinating to see what a full fledged Raid Suit can do," the scientist replied with an eager gleam.

Cloning! Nico Robin could clone herself! That was incredible!

"This calls for drinks!" Akemi cheered. "Hiroshi I know you keep some stored somewhere! Bring it out!"

The Doctor thought about protesting that decision, considering he was still working but Akemi was the most demanding person on the island when she wanted to be so he went to his stash.

"I'll explain what happened in Alabasta while we drink then," Rosan nodded, shooting a glance at Robin.

Was she fine with drinking?

"Yes. I enjoy some wine once in a while. I have quite the tolerance as well so no need to worry about me getting drunk."

Good. He didn't feel like carrying a drunken Robin around. She was already embarrassing enough sober. She would probably end up like

"You never stop do you?"

"If you want me to... I still won't."

"I actually think I might hate you."

"A lie. You love me more then anyone else."

"..."

Aiko plopped herself down in one of the open seats, knowing she'd need to get comfortable to hear about this and idly unzipped her bomber jacket with a relieved sigh.

"You know, all things considered, I expected you to be a lot more upset. Robin sure is a miracle worker," the leader of Fregate snorted.

Rosan paused at that in confusion.

Surely Aiko didn't think a group of pirates would make him that upset? He wasn't even upset with the idiots, he was upset that Luffy allowed it to happen.

"I have a strange feeling that you're not talking about the pirates I just told you about. Care to explain to me why I have this feeling?" The redhead asked the leader calmly.

Aiko blinked. "That's because I'm not talking about the pirates. I figured they just added on to your annoyance."

"Add on? Why would I be annoyed in the first place?" Rosan asked slowly, brows furrowed.

Robin perked a brow at that, suddenly very interested in the conversation.

It was dawning on the leader of Fregate's face that maybe Rosan wasn't aware of the news making rounds across the world right now at amazing speeds.

Aiko began digging around in the pockets of her bomber jacket. "Waves are going around about a pirate group taking the world by storm and two in particular have been under quite a bit of scrutiny. I was so proud that I even had them posted up in my bedroom," she began with an amused smile.

It was why she had Rosan dress up in a disguise after all. Couldn't have anyone making instant connections.

Rosan stilled at that. She couldn't possibly mean…

The woman laid out four bounty posters and Robin's eyes went a little wide in shock.

"Oh dear," was all she said.

"I should have just thrown caution to the wind and hunted those Marines down," Rosan grunted, closing his eyes and taking a small breath.

The first two were of Luffy and Zoro. His brother's bounty had increased tremendously by a whopping 105 million, going from 35,000,000 to 140,000,000.

His family (including Rosan) would be proud to see such a massive jump and would have celebrated accordingly. Hell, he was sure Maro was already gearing up to go party.

Zoro's own was just as impressive, considering he didn't even have a bounty and was now sitting at 70,000,000.

The last two though… well, that's probably where Aiko thought they'd be upset.

Wanted: "Ohara's Devil" Nico Robin – 90,000,000 Beris

Wanted: "Red Devil" Rosan – 100,000,000 Beris

"I've just reunited with you and you've already caused my bounty to increase for the first time in 20 years. Not only that, you made them change my moniker as well. Ohara's Devil? Isn't that rather rude of them?" Robin sighed forlornly, gazing at her own adult face that had a price of 90,000,000 under it with faux sullen eyes.

No one could ever convince her that Rosan wasn't a magnet for chaos. At least Ohara's Devil sounded better, considering they were calling Rosan the Red Devil. It would be awkward if she was still the Devil Child and he was that.

Though... she had her moniker for so long, she didn't think she'd ever get used to the change.

She gazed at the final bounty poster and that sigh turned into a teasing smile. "Someone must be a fan of you, Rosan."

Rosan said nothing, staring at his own bounty poster with a rare confused gaze.

Did they know he had Modification? Unlikely, his bounty would be closer to Reaper's then Luffy if they knew. No, it'd be even higher if they knew what he was capable of. After all, to make his Devil Fruit appear as if he had a Mythical was incredibly formidable.

Did they have an inkling that he was Reaper? Impossible. It was very unlikely that anyone would ever make the connection between him and Reaper unless he revealed it himself. They had similar personalities but that wasn't nearly enough to even make a connection. He had avoided using a scythe for years but perhaps Mihawk had made an observation?

No, not even the World's Strongest Swordsman should be able to make that connection. Besides, Mihawk would have kept such information to himself.

Perhaps they assumed Robin was Grim? No. Grim's skillset was the complete opposites of Robin. To the world, Grim used a staff and orange fire and Robin used neither.

Yes, the Government finding out he was Reaper was about a 20% chance and it wasn't the reason for this...

With all those questions out of the way and not really having anything, Rosan began to wonder why the hell his first bounty was 100,000,000.

What did he do? Surely his display against the weak little Marines didn't warrant something so high. They weren't strong enough to boost him up by this much for his first bounty.

Did it have something to do with the fact that they had taken credit for defeating Crocodile?

It could also have been because of the time he got struck by lightning and completely healed from it...

"This is your fault," Rosan decided, turning towards Robin with an accusing stare.

The Devil Child actually gaped at his sheer audacity.

"My fault? What are you talking about?!"

"It has to be. Your bounty is only 10 million lower then mine and they're even calling me the Red Devil. That's a terrible title by the way. Can I have that changed?"

Red Devil? Seriously? Why? Was it because of his red hair? Now him and Shanks had something in common... Absolutely not, he'd need to have this title changed at the earliest of conveniences.

"You're focusing on the wrong things."

"Reveal your identity as Reaper! Angel of Death is way cooler!"

Robin couldn't believe this redheaded brat because Rosan was a brat.

"You would seriously pin the blame on me? You're the one who made the call to kill those Marines!" The 90 million woman pointed out.

"And you're supposed to be the voice of reason. It's up to you to moderate my tendencies," the 100 million man countered.

Robin's mouth actually opened at the sheer absurdity of her best friend.

T-This brat!

Aiko coughed a bit at that, catching their attention before they could break out into a brawl.

What was with that suspicious cough?

"Well about that… He's not all wrong?" She said slowly.

The two blinked.

Huh?

"Well, due to my connections, I can tell you guys that the World Government is convinced the two of you are lovers and that played a pretty big part in your bounty," Aiko explained, shrugging at the memory. "Why? Not a fucking clue but you guys must have done something to make them think that. They even made the connection that you two traveled together as kids."

Much to her surprise, it didn't even take them a second to come to the realization.

"So it's your fault that both our bounties increased like this!" Robin rounded on Rosan with a firm glare, crossing her arms.

The redhead opened his mouth and closed it as he realized it was looking quite bad for him. "No one told you to make it so convincing."

"You practically shoved your tongue down my throat the moment I tried to resist! And you squeezed my butt with quite a bit of force too!" Robin exclaimed, genuinely wondering if he believed his own words or was just arguing to win.

"I can't believe you're still so hung up on that."

"You. Grabbed. My. Butt! It wasn't a soft grab Rosan! You squeezed it! Of course anyone would think we're lovers after that!"

Aiko and Akemi both perked up at that, glancing wildly between the two.

He did what?! They kissed?! He grabbed her butt? HE SQUEEZED IT?!

Rosan, little ass that he was, still tried to shift the blame onto her. "This is what happens when you attempt to ruin my plans. I wouldn't have had to kiss you if you just went along with it but you didn't and now look. We both have ludicrous bounties... seriously, is there a way I can petition to change my title? "Red Devil" is so boring and typical. I was thinking "Force of Nature" instead."

"Portgas D. Rosan."

He stopped at the tone of her voice and sighed. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't have listened to Ram," he conceded, voice a little sheepish.

"THANK YOU! I'VE BEEN WAITING YEARS FOR YOU TO COME TO THIS REALIZATION!" Mod shouted in victory.

Ram spluttered at that. "B-But it was a good plan?! What did I do wrong?! Now Father is worth 100 million and that's awesome!"

"Well, looks like we don't have to even bother starting that pretend plan anymore," Robin shrugged. It wasn't the end of the world and it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"I expected to have a bounty slapped on me the moment the Marine's survived, I just didn't expect it to be that high for my first," Rosan grunted.

If what Aiko was saying was true, that they figured out the two traveled as kids, it would explain why he was suddenly a higher priority in their eyes.

To them, it probably looked as if Robin answered to him and that was terribly ominous, considering his best friend could read the Poneglyphs.

If only they knew he already knew the location of Pluton. They were lucky he had no interest in it.

Ah well. It was no big deal. He was a pirate anyways.

"Ahem."

The two, finished with their argument, glanced at the sisters and scientist.

"You two kissed? You squeezed her butt? I didn't know you were such a pervert, Rosan!" Akemi exclaimed, eyes practically glowing.

"Tell us all about it," Aiko demanded, pouring herself some sake as she gazed at the two with clearly interested eyes.

A drink sounded good right about now.

Rosan nodded, sighing in the process as he stole Aiko's bottle out of her hand and began downing it effortlessly. He was very deeply contemplating lowering his resistances at the moment so he could at least get a little tipsy because he might need it.

"I really do hate you, you little annoying shit," Aiko snarled.

Evidently, Robin must have agreed with his sentiment because she snatched the bottle out of his hand and took quite the sip from it too.

"See? Look at you. My lips were just on that and you're drinking it without a care in the world," Rosan accused.

"Us sharing a drink is the least of my concerns when you squeezed my butt," Robin emphasized.

"...Didn't you just get payback 30 minutes ago? You squeezed something too and it hurt."

"Don't make me do it again. You deserve it."

"..." Rosan wisely said nothing, snatching the bottle back and beginning to drink again.

"H-How bold," Akemi whispered, watching the two repeatedly go back and forth on drinking the bottle, all while arguing about the situation.

"That's my fucking bottle," Aiko moaned, holding her head.

She really did hate them. They better make this story a good one.

---

"MARO! MARO! COME LOOK!"

The Queen glanced up in confusion from her paperwork, as Angel burst into the room with an excited grin on her face, waving around some papers and jumping up and down, sufficiently distracting the queen who let out a pleased sigh.

Demon followed quietly behind her but his grin was large as well.

Snatching the paper out of his outraged sister's hands, he placed them in front of Maro.

Maro's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"H-HOLY SHIT?!" The Dokkaebi shouted, probably alerting her entire castle. "WHY THE HELL IS IT SO HIGH? IS HE A MAGNET FOR HIGH BOUNTIES?!"

140 MILLION? 100 MILLION? 90 MILLION? 70 MILLION?!

SHE WAS SO PROUD OF THEM! THEY WERE WORTH 400 MILLION BERIS!

Yeah maybe Robin and Rosan wouldn't be so pleased with their incredible bounties but everyone else would be in their stead!

Her soldiers and Kanna peeked their heads into the room to see the three leader's laughing joyfully at the bounty posters.

Getting a closer look, they couldn't help but gap at the ludicrous prices on the Straw Hats heads.

S-Seriously?!

"I still feel like this is still too low for Rosan. They're underestimating how much of a monster he is," Kaori sighed. The World Government was beginning to understand how dangerously strong the Straw Hat Pirates were but they were still to slow on the uptake.

"Those shithead Marines probably wanted to give him a 5 billion bounty because of that ass whooping he gave them but the higher ups denied it!" Angel boasted, preening as she high fived a proud Gem.

"5 billion would be too low for him regardless," The bomber man said, getting an eager nod out of the redhead.

"That's exactly what I think!"

Demon, Mikita and Zala sweatdropped. "I think you're both idiots," the doctor said.

The two female agents nodded sagely.

"I wonder if you and I have to be wary, Angel," Demon hummed. "We look exactly like Master after all and are quite popular in the North Blue. You especially, are married to the most popular Queen in the sea."

Angel thought about it. "That's true... we'll have to think up some lies in case we ever get interrogated. I refuse to change my appearance and since we're so hot, they probably already memorize how we look anyways."

Her little brother snorted but nodded.

"Don't worry," Maro puffed up her chest. "They value my island far too much anyways because of what we contribute! Besides, if they send anyone after you two, I'll deal with them. The Marines are already hardpressed with the Grand Line so they can't expend too much effort but if they do, I'll be right there."

"And we will too," Gem agreed with a fierce glare.

All the soldiers nodded. "They won't want to go to war with Celadon anytime soon. We have far too many formidable soldiers, not to mention our unstoppable queen. They'd need to send at the minimum a Vice Admiral along with a plethora of Marines to deal with us all," Marianne added.

That was far too many resources to expend. It was simply not worth it... not to mention Maro could call Rosan at any time and the redhead specialized at eliminating large groups of people.

"Y-You guys are so fucking sweet," Angel gushed, dragging Marianne, Gem and Kaori into a hug. "Our soldiers are so adorable!"

"You're embarrassing me, Queen Angel," Kaori mumbled, returning the hug.

Marianne grinned happily and easily hugged the woman back.

Demon smiled as he hugged Mikita and Zala (much to their pleasure). "They're the sweetest. We appreciate you guys for protecting us."

"Of course!" They chorused.

"This is the one that managed to recruit you all?" Drophy (Miss Merry Christmas) pondered, gazing at the bounty poster of the redhead who Crocodile had dibs on with a contemplative expression.

Fat lotta luck that did him. The man lost without doing a damn thing and this redhead stole just about all his agents.

The former agents nodded in unison.

"He's the type of person who likes to appear unassuming but do not antagonize him. He's very dangerous," Kaori warned with a look of seriousness on her face.

Even she had underestimated the unassuming redhead and paid dearly for it... but at least it led her to Celadon.

"You're lucky he didn't speak to you and I did," Maro laughed, rubbing her shoulder length blue and white hair that was growing longer by the day. "He has much less tolerance then I do. Pretty sure he would have either tortured, killed, or shattered your self worth if you continued to resist."

By the way Mikita instinctively shuddered, that was a very true statement.

The blonde former agent was to never tell anyone what Rosan had done to Gem so only her majesty (and Demon and Angel) knew.

Honestly though… this version of him was a lot better… He didn't dig in his nose anymore and that was a huge plus for her... and he also didn't leer at her body whenever given the chance.

He was also very very strong now and even Zala couldn't help but balk at how easily he could have killed her on multiple occasions when they sparred with each other.

The agent really had been using his Devil Fruit wrong and combined with Queen Maro's harsh training regiment, they were all getting noticeably stronger.

Even Mikita was feeling useful. She had hesitantly asked Rosan how he would have used her Devil Fruit after the redhead thanked her for helping heal Robin.

Surprisingly, he had done so without hesitation!

"You should learn guerrilla tactics and some aerial combat," he had said intelligently, having clearly inspected her strengths and weaknesses. "In and out, using the speed of transforming into one kilo and the power of transforming to 10,000 to increase your close combat. The umbrella is cute but it would be more effective if you weren't holding it with one hand."

With that, he (and Angel) gave her a new parasol that she could attach to her person and activate with a button.

It was even equipped with a propulsion mechanic that shot her up faster! She was the ambush fighter that Maro very much needed and combined with Drophy, the two could finish battles without the enemy even landing a clean hit!

"T-Thank you!" Mikita told the apathetic redhead.

"There is no need to thank me. You helped Robin so this is nothing," he replied calmly, much to her shock.

With his help she even decked herself out with a rather powerful sniper she could use while floating just in case engaging in close combat was a bad idea.

She was quickly proving her worth thanks to the one who had called her worthless… It was strange but he was undeniably helpful and Maro was proud of her.

Now she just needed to gain Demon's affections… Which was harder said then done considering everyone seemed to want a piece of him, including her traitorous fellow agent Zala.

The blue haired woman never ceased in her attempts to flirt with the doctor, unlike Mikita and even now, she was greedily enjoying his hug (she was too).

She sighed.

The struggles of a woman in love.

"You guys are off today!" Maro beamed, paperwork forgotten. "Let's throw a party to celebrate the occasion! Marianne have you ever tried sake? There's this one flavor that tastes just like juice! The normal taste is too much for me so I like that one very much!"

Marianne opened her mouth to reply, but squeaked instead as Angel effortlessly hoisted the tiny girl up and turned her away from the goblin.

"She's 16, Maro!" The redhead scowled.

"So what?! I drank for the first time at 17!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU COERCED ME INTO GIVING YOU SOME!"

"COERCED? WHY ARE YOU LYING? YOU PRACTICALLY SHOVED THE DRINK DOWN MY THROAT AFTER SAYING "I'M 18 I CAN MANAGE US BOTH!" YOU LIAR!"

"Let's just go get started without them. I'd like that drink myself," an unbothered Demon advised, idly pulling the resigned Marianne out of Angel's grasp and patting her head.

Poor girl was always in between the twos arguments now. They very clearly adopted her and the artist was beginning to understand that this was the norm.

The soldiers sweatdropped and nodded.

It was a good thing they had Demon. Angel and Maro were too much sometimes.

---

"Captain Buggy… Do you really think we should still go after them?" Mohji asked fearfully, staring at the bounty poster of the redhead who beat him within an inch of his life before choosing to spare him so he could relay a message.

The rising stars… The Straw Hats growth was downright explosive right about now considering they hadn't even met too long ago in the East Blue.

"Not now but eventually," Buggy decided. He still needed to get his revenge on both Straw Hat and the Red Devil but maybe they were a bit too dangerous right now.

"Eventually? They went from one bounty of 35 million, to 4 bounties that add up to 400 million," Alvida stressed cautiously, being the only intelligent one here. "We should cut our losses and just try to become allies if we ever have the misfortune of running into them again."

She didn't want to make an enemy of Rosan. His very first bounty was 100 million and they now had the Devil Child in their crew to boot!

"Ignorance is bliss, isn't it? The more you learn about a certain person, the less you wish you knew. Try not to poke a sleeping dragon too much," memories of that handsome redhead whispered into her ear as a feeling of death loomed over her.

They were out of their league. It was genuinely a miracle that they were even still alive because really, that Rosan could have killed them all whenever he wanted.

Buggy glanced at her and snorted. "I never took you for a coward, Alvida. Did the damn annoying redhead spook you that badly?"

Alvida contemplated just leaving these idiots. They just didn't know how dangerous Rosan was in comparison to the cheerful Luffy.

Red Devil was a completely adequate title for him.

"Red Devil? What a stupid title! Fire Fist is way better!"

Buggy barked in laughter at that. "Isn't it? I'll admit, Fire Fist is much flashier but Buggy the Clown is the flashiest of them all!"

"My older sister hates clowns. I dunno why, I think they're pretty funny!"

The clown scowled at that. "Your sister has awful taste. She just hasn't met me!"

"I think she'd hate you honestly. Your outfit is flashy but not in a good way to her. She's very stylish."

"Her loss…" Buggy said with a shrug.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" The clown roared in disbelief.

Ace grinned at the crew and idly helped himself to a piece of of meat as he inspected the bounties with a proud look.

"You guys interested in allying with the Straw Hats? I don't think you should do that honestly. Rosan and Luffy are asses who'll make you feel bad about yourselves and no offense, I don't think any of you are interesting to them so it'll hurt even more," he advised kindly.

He was honestly trying to do them a favor. Luffy and Rosan could be totally insufferable and sometimes they didn't even realize it. These guys wouldn't stand a chance of allying with his brothers because neither would accept.

And if Rosan did accept, well... they'd find themselves quickly regretting that decision.

Ace sighed. His brothers were too much sometimes.

But hey! Look at their bounties! He was seriously proud of them for already garnering such high prices after just entering the Grand Line.

Rosan would be annoyed though. He probably didn't want a starting bounty this high. His poor redheaded brother, attracting attention wherever he went and not realizing it was his own fault for being so interesting.

Bah, his brother would be fine. This called for celebration!

"You guys were in the middle of a party right? Let's continue!" Ace grinned in a friendly manner, helping himself to 3 more sticks of meat.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Everyone roared.

Cabaji paused as he noticed the tattoo on the man's back and he finally began to make connections.

"Fire Fist is way better!"

The acrobat went white.

"Don't touch him," The second mate hissed warningly to the increasingly aggressive pirates. "That's Fire Fist Ace, the second commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Huh? You called?" Ace muttered, turning towards Cabaji and flashing the Whitebeard symbol on his back to the entire ship.

…

Buggy's eyes bugged in disbelief at that. "FIRE FIST?! WHITEBEARD?!"

WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING ON THEIR SHIP?!

Alvida went white for a different reason. This man had freckles on his face like how she used to and while that wasn't really anything special, a conversation suddenly came roaring to the forefront.

A memory of a certain redhead staring her down and hesitantly asking if she was someone named "Ace."

Oh dear Kami don't tell her—

"If I may ask, what's your relationship with the Red Devil and Straw Hat?" Alvida spoke up hesitantly, seeing that he wasn't hostile.

Ace polished off his drum of meat before grabbing another one and biting into it. "Rosan and Luffy? We're brothers," he replied without hesitation.

…

…

"WHAT?! THOSE TWO?!"

Buggy's jaw dropped to the floor. Those two were the brothers of fucking Fire Fist Ace?

"B-Brothers?" The clown stammered. Was that why they were all such monsters?! What type of flashy guy made these three?!

"Yeah, Rosan's my oldest sibling, Luffy's my youngest," Ace replied easily. This food was pretty damn good!

They had even more siblings?! What the hell was this bloodline...

More and more, Alvida was figuring out that the random group of pirates that she had written off were not so random.

Straw Hat Luffy and Red Devil Rosan were not just two upstart pirates. They were genuine monsters who cruised through the East Blue without issue for good reason.

They weren't just lucky. The Straw Hats were actually incredibly dangerous.

"Next time I see them I gotta congratulate them on getting such impressive bounties… And I gotta make fun of Rosan for being called the Red Devil," Ace mused.

There was no way his freakishly stylish brother would appreciate that title. Especially when Angel of Death was his old one. Didn't he mention something about wanting to be called a Force of Nature?

The freckled man looked at the crew in confusion. "What's wrong with you guys? If you don't hurry, I'm gonna eat all the —"

He fell to the floor, unconscious and began snoring.

"HE FELL ASLEEP?!"

Buggy sighed in misery. He was doomed to be tormented by Straw Hat no matter what it looked like.

At least this one wasn't completely insufferable and trying to kill a Whitebeard pirate was the stupidest thing you could do.

That meant there was only one thing left to do...

Party it was!

---

"Dadan! Are you there?!" Makino called out, knocking on the door to the bandits house.

Much to Dadan's begrudging appreciation (she ended up bawling like a complete sap), Rosan had refined their little hut into something much more livable and turned it from a crappy shack into a nice and comfy home.

"Makino?" Dadan called, opening the door to regard the bartender and ignoring the excited chatter of her bandits. "What's the matter? Need to borrow some of my boys to handle rowdy customers?"

The green haired woman smiled but shook her head. "Look!"

She held up two bounty posters for the Bandit Leader to see.

Dadan's eyes bugged. "WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHY DID IT INCREASE SO MUCH?! WHY IS ROSAN'S FIRST SO HIGH?"

"I'm not sure! I thought we may have missed the last reveal of bounties but I talked to Maro and she told me this is definitely Luffy's second and Rosan's first," Makino replied.

She was rather shell-shocked herself to see just how high their bounties suddenly got and demanded Maro tell her what happened over the Den Den Mushi (Rosan had been kind enough to give her one connected to Aiko and Maro before he left... but not himself).

The Dokkaebi and her wife (it sounded like they were partying… why did they have to be located in the North Blue?!) told her all about what happened in Alabasta after she closed the bar early and to say she was shocked would be an understatement.

Her little Luffy fought and defeated a Warlord?! That was incredible! It looks like all the training Maro and Rosan subjected him to was paying off in dividends.

Rosan…

To see him with a bounty of all people left Makino shocked. Over the 10 years she knew him, the bartender realized that there were still so many things she didn't know about the redhead and would probably never know.

What she did know though, was that he was very much a person who preferred to work in the backgrounds.

She honestly expected him to not have a bounty this high for a very long time but not only was that not the case, it was his first bounty too.

She wondered what he did. He was an ass for not connecting his own Den Den Mushi to the one he gave her so she made sure to tell Maro to call her next time he visited.

"They beat a Warlord?!" Dadan gaped, practically glowing in pride. "HELL YEAH! THAT'S MY BOYS! MEN LET'S CELEBRATE THE OCCASION!"

"YEAH!" They roared, bustling into action.

The surrogate mother of her three troublemakers was a little concerned to see their prices so high but that paled in comparison to the joy she was feeling at watching them succeed in the perilous oceans.

Ace, Luffy and Rosan… Her boys were doing just fine.

"Makino, you come join too!" Dadan demanded.

The bartender smiled at their glee and nodded, just as happy for the pirates.

"I'll cook!" she announced.

The cheering got louder.

---

A figure fell on one knee, panting in exertion at the hell they were putting their body through.

They had long gone past their limit that their body could handle, but how could they possibly stop?

After all, the lifeless expression staring at them had lit a fire that demanded they keep going.

Ever after someone told them to slow down, they refused to do so. Only until they couldn't move anymore, would they stop for the day.

They always ignored everyone because they weren't him. How could they ever stop training, when their target was a true monster? When their target would eat them alive if they faltered for even a second.

No, they would need to put their all into getting stronger or they would be consumed by the depths of apathy.

The Red Devil… Is that what they were calling him now?

100 million… That would do him no justice at all. He was worth so much more then that measly price but he probably didn't show the world what he was capable of just yet.

No, this 100 million was just a taste.

They were honored... after all, Rosan had done far more then just give them a taste!

Ah, Rosan~ The years had done him so well. He was so handsome now! From that cute little face to this right here...

Alas, he was too handsome.

Dead eyes roamed over to the three unimportant bounties. The two males were completely ignored, leaving just the female to be scrutinized.

Nico Robin. Ohara's Devil. The Sole Survivor of Ohara.

The lover of the Red Devil based on reports.

Unacceptable.

That just wouldn't do. Nico Robin couldn't just go stealing Rosan from them!

Luckily, they had a solution!

Ignoring their screaming limbs, they picked up their designated Den Den Mushi and waited patiently for it to ring.

"Hello?" The voice on the line said.

"It's me," they said immediately.

"? I don't think I've ever seen you call anyone. Actually, do you do anything besides train? What's the occasion, Puppet?"

"Water 7," they said shortly, tone lifeless.

The voice on the other line was clearly surprised by that abrupt statement.

"You want to go there? No offense, but you're really not suited for the mission we designated the other agents which is why we didn't send you in the first place."

This was weird. They never asked for anything, never displayed any emotion and only trained or did assassination missions. Their strength was not in question at all after all the hell they put their body through but something as delicate as this, years into the mission was just not something they could afford to handle.

Puppet wasn't just a friendly nickname. That's what they were.

A puppet. And a puppet was not good enough to do what the others were doing.

"…I will go," they insisted robotically.

"Is this one of your instinct things? You always did portray good skills in that… It's gotten you out of quite a bit of situations." The voice on the line paused in contemplation. "Fine, you can go. I doubt you will, but make no indication who your allies are until it's time."

"Right."

With that, they hung up the phone and put away their Mushi to throw themselves back into training.

If they were just in Alabasta as led to believe, then eventually their log would set them on course to Water 7.

A hazy fog surrounded them until it formed into the Red Devil himself and they placed a hand on his tan cheek, unmindful of the fact that they weren't actually there.

No one could steal him. He was theirs and no one else. The Devil Child had no idea who she was with…

After all, Nico Robin thought Rosan was a devil but that just wasn't true.

Red Devil? What a stupid title…

The figure grinned psychotically and used their sharp nails to grip the cheek of the redhead in front of them even tighter with enough force to carve deeply into them.

Without hesitation, they crushed the head of the Rosan in front of them, watching as it dispersed into nothing and turned to face the hole filled dummy once more.

...He was an Angel not a Devil~

---

Her son was a pirate.

"My Queen? Are you alright? You've been staring at something for quite a—"

"Get out."

The voice came out measured, deep and commanding.

Jen, her secretary, jumped at the woman's tone and hastily departed with a shaky salute.

Once the door was shut, leaving the Queen to herself, Iris D. Raisa allowed her neutral expression to form into a deep scowl of anger.

Her son was a pirate.

The beautiful woman's immaculate teeth sharpened drastically and her desk began melting from the corrosion of her sharpened claws. Her well kept and tight purple battle dress began swaying before she forcefully smoothed it back down.

That idiot. What was he thinking?!

"Iris D. Rosan, how dare you become a pirate?" she snarled, feeling a familiar rage that she worked many years to get under control.

The face of her only child stared back at her and she felt her scowl somehow get deeper.

Despite her anger, she greedily drank in all the features of the son she had not seen since birth.

He looked just like her. For all intents and purposes, Rosan was a male version of Raisa and he was breathtakingly beautiful as a result, with a head of red hair framing a handsome bronze face and gorgeous eyes that could pierce the soul even through a picture.

There were some differences though.

His hair was spiky and shoulder length, opposite to her smooth and butt length hair. It was a shame that it wasn't smooth but she supposed he had to have inherited something physically from that piece of —

The next difference was the fact that true to Dragon's words, he actually did have heterochromia. His right eye was the purple he had been born with. The same royal purple as her own eyes. But his left… his left was a blood red that was the same color as their red hair.

...How was that possible? Did he eat a Devil Fruit? That had to be it because her son had two shining purple eyes that had stolen her breath away...

Which led Raisa to the biggest issue.

His expression, or lack thereof.

That expressionless face lacking the emotion he should have. Raisa knew that he had to have gone through something drastic based on the fact that Dragon informed her of him 10 years ago.

He had been missing from the island she had abandoned him at for who knows how long? 14 was just the age Dragon saw him at... it could have been far longer.

But even after 10 years, he still seemed to lack emotions? That just wasn't possible for their lineage. Even Raisa, the prodigy of her bloodline, didn't have complete control of her emotions, shown by how angry/worried she currently was despite the amount of painstaking training to get them under control.

Their emotions were an overwhelming torrent of waves. They didn't simply stop like it did with Rosan. They continued and continued like a hurricane.

How? How did he do that? Why did he do that? 14 was the earliest she was aware he lacked emotions but it could have been even earlier then that…

Did it have to do with the island she left him at?

She stared at his face once more.

100,000,000 beri… His first bounty was 100 million beri.

Not only was he beautiful but… but he was strong too. He had to be if he survived traveling between the seas at such a young age. He had to be if 100 million was his very first bounty.

Beautiful just like her…

Strong just like her (them)…

In all likelihood, he was a prodigy just like her too...

But he was a pirate just like him.

It felt like a slap to the face and Raisa's expression (which had unknowingly turned worried at the thought of what her son had to have gone through) morphed back into a terrible scowl.

If anyone saw her right now, they'd be terrified because Queen Raisa didn't get angry. No, the monarch of Wisteria was the picture perfect of composed at all times, ruling with a measured expression and not allowing anything to bother her.

Did that man... did he get everything he sought for? She remembered his words clearly before she was defeated in battle.

"Kahahahaha! My ambitions and your emotions would give birth to quite a strong haki user, don't you think Raisa-chan? Not to mention your natural talent... Hopefully they end up getting alot of things from you too, I want our kid to have as easy of a life as possible."

The mere thought was turning the temperature of the room blistering and she had to restrain herself lest all her paperwork get blown or burned everywhere.

Thinking of that bastard never did her any good. It only broke her composure and as queen, she couldn't let that happen.

The ringing of a Den Den Mushi interrupted her musing and the irate queen stared at it before schooling her expression.

Perfectly manicured fingers, with purple nail polish, picked up the phone and Raisa said, "State your business. I have other matters to attend to."

"Explain yourself, Raisa."

The woman raised an impeccable brow and took a seat (when did she get up?). "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, Sengoku. You should be glad we're even still talking, considering your severe lack of manners," she replied coolly, forcing herself to calm down lest someone catch her change in mood.

Sengoku let out a sigh of annoyance. "Forgive me for my attitude but I'm sure you can understand why I sound so urgent. After all, you and the Red Devil share a striking resemblance with each other."

Red Devil… such a stupid title.

Raisa didn't let anything that would suggest turmoil show on her face or in her voice. "I do have two other siblings so why exactly are you speaking to me as if I should be aware of this?" was all she said.

Two siblings who she hadn't talked to in years. Oren and Dalia were her older and younger siblings (both by 2 years) and Rosan's uncle and auntie respectively.

Raisa had tried her best to protect them from the judging gazes of their parents but that had not stopped the two of them from resenting the absolute prodigy that was their middle sister.

Years of being compared to her, did their relationship no favors and when Dalia had turned 16, she had went with Oren, who had long since gone, to have their own adventure together.

Where they were? The Queen didn't know. She had also went on her own journey at 16 but when she returned at 18 to claim the throne, they were long gone.

She had been rather hurt that they had left without a word but there was nothing she could do about it because she was the ruler of Wisteria now and had taken the title from her father and mother (who had both been killed soon after she had claimed the throne by that...).

If they had stayed then she would have been able to defeat…

Raisa clenched her fist.

She wanted nothing to do with them.

"Raisa, there is no need to be difficult. I would just like an explanation based on the information I gathered," Sengoku stressed.

Based on what he found out...

The Queen raised a brow. "I don't think I'm being difficult. Perhaps I'll be more forthcoming if you don't plan on baselessly accusing me, Fleet Admiral. I don't remember saying you could call me for idle chatter and this is something far more egregious."

The Fleet Admiral sighed. Raisa had no fear in her heart whatsoever no matter who spoke to her.

"I won't say you abandoned him... but someone did and as a result the Red Devil was taken in and raised by the soon to be lover of Gol D. Roger. Were you aware of that?" He asked bluntly.

According to extensive reports that dated back to years ago, this Rosan was actually raised on Baterilla. The only reason they had been able to find such information, was because he was documented on the island when they began their purge of all unborn children there.

The redhead was a toddler at the time so he hadn't been suspected all that much but to think he was being raised by such a person…

The world froze as she took in that information.

Raisa's eyes widened to epic proportions, sharp eyes glowing bright in confusion, as she heard that tidbit of information.

He… He was raised by who? Her son was raised by what?! The island of Baterilla was holding someone like that?!

Sengoku stroked his beard at that. Judging by the shocked silence, she really didn't know that.

"Not only that, at only 4 years old he completely vanished from that island and if we're to be believed, became the mysterious partner of Nico Robin, his current lover."

The monarch went white.

"What? But how?" She asked in shocked confusion, completely overwhelmed by the information she was currently learning.

Four?! He left that island when he was four?! How was that even possible? He had only been a newborn so she had not given him a Devil Fruit, so there should have been no way a four year old could escape that island by his lonesome.

And not only that, he was lovers with the goddamn Devil Child?!

W-WHAT WAS HE DOING?! WHAT ON EARTH WAS IRIS D. ROSAN DOING?!

Sengoku mercifully didn't comment on the noise of the melted desk getting smashed into pieces by her scaly tail.

The Queen huffed, purple slits positively glowing in fury, worry and annoyance at the information she was learning. Her cool facade was gone and that meant her infamous temper as a child reared its ugly head like an old friend.

"Why did you abandon him?" The Fleet Admiral asked curiously because that was very unlike the spunky little girl from who knows how long ago. "You haven't been married since you became Queen so I assume it pertains to that."

"What do you think?" Raisa hissed venomously into the phone.

Did he really think she was just going to talk about that? About why she went out of her way to abandon her only child?

Her heir?!

Ever since she was a child, Raisa had disproved of the way her parents raised her along with her siblings. As a result, she wanted a child of her to nurture and raise correctly.

In any other circumstance, Rosan would have been the perfect child. He was gorgeous, his eyes glowed brighter then even hers, he had an incredibly healthy body... He would have been a heir worthy of the throne but she would have never forced it upon him if he didn't want it.

But that was the problem. He was perfect.

How could she raise a child who filled her with just as much disgust as he did love?

His potential, his talents, his beauty. Everything about Rosan, it was just proving him right and she hated that. The redhead quite possibly shaped up to be the perfect combination of his parents and that was her worst nightmare.

A small part had hoped that he wasn't a prodigy... that he didn't have ambition. She would have preferred him a failure because then, she could have raised that failure eventually but no. He was none of those.

He was exactly like her wasn't he... a once in a generation prodigy... with ambitions that surpassed his talents.

What a terrifying child she had given birth to. Perhaps it was a good thing his emotions had been stripped from him somehow. If he was able to achieve this level with such a crippler on him...

Raisa clenched her fist, smoke unwittingly pouring out of her mouth.

Perhaps she should hunt him and his crew down (but could she really kill her own son?). She would be doing herself a favor ridding the stain on her legacy (but he was so beautiful and his eyes had been so pure). By him becoming a pirate, he had chosen to follow in that man's footsteps (but if she had just raised him like a proper mother... couldn't she have avoided this outcome).

Sengoku sensed the resentment in her tone and it confirmed his thoughts but that was yet another concern.

Who exactly was strong enough to not only defeat her... but rape Raisa in the South Blue? The Queen had traveled through the New World of all places and it was due to her own prowess that she survived.

No one would be willing to so brazenly attack her... she did not only have her Devil Fruit to defend herself... The woman was a fighter before she was a Queen.

"...Who is his Father? I must at least know this Raisa," Sengoku asked gently, hoping to not set off the Queen.

The woman's eyes narrowed in rage. "You must know? How dare you demand anything out of me? How about I fucking tell you what you should really know—"

The Queen caught herself and took a deep breath.

Raisa was very tempted to tell the Fleet Admiral what he must actually know and it was littered in vulgar language a queen shouldn't be saying but she held herself from lashing out any further.

Fine, he wanted to know? He could know. Whatever he did with the information, she didn't care.

"Cutter."

Her answer was short and to the point and it showed that she absolutely refused to delve deeper into it.

Not that she needed to.

Sengoku went completely still at that.

Surely she didn't mean…

No, she had to. It lined up far too well. He had been spotted and captured in the South Blue after all. The man had quite a bit of damage on his person already too. Burn marks, clawed skin, bite marks, clear signs of poison and a litter of other cuts...

All fitting injuries for someone who would have gotten into a fight with Raisa.

That would also explain his sudden Devil Fruit… he must have stolen it from Wisteria before being captured...

It was very likely Cutter didn't even know of his son's existence…

"For what it's worth Raisa, we have captured him," Sengoku told her.

"...The damage has been done. If that's all, I'll be going now," Raisa said rudely, shutting the phone without hesitation.

The woman frowned deeply and glared at her wrecked desk.

Of all the rotten luck… To be found by the wife of the Pirate King. How the hell was she supposed to know Roger was going to land on that island and end up bedding the woman who happened to be raising her son? He wasn't even the Pirate King yet when Rosan was born.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. Rosan began traveling the seas at four? How? She didn't give him one of the many rare Devil Fruits her family hoarded (it was a coming of age thing) so he shouldn't be able to survive at such a young age.

Was he really that much of a prodigy? Was he even better then she expected him to be? Did his natural talents surpass that of his mothers?

It's not like Cutter was talented... his sheer ambition and drive is what drove him to be so strong... Did Rosan have both the ambition and the talent?

Did he really inherent the best qualities from both his parents?

Whatever the case may be, Rosan left that island at too young of an age and he even met up with Nico Robin too.

She glanced at the Devil Child's bounty poster and scowled at the, admittedly, beautiful woman.

Did Nico Robin also manipulate him? Was she the reason he lost his emotions? Did Nico Robin groom her son into a puppet and eventually transform him into her lover?

Wench.

There were too many questions that she just didn't know the answer to and there was no way she'd be able to find them unless she somehow spoke to Rosan and if there ever came a time where they did meet...

Maybe she should have just kept him… Despite being utterly disgusted by his existence, she had still loved him.

The Queen sighed, anger tapering out of her and features transforming back to normal as she called in her secretary.

She needed a new desk.

---

"DALIA! YOU'VE GOT A FUCKING KID?!" A male screamed, inspecting the bounty poster with bugged eyes.

He was tall, broad and handsome, standing at 6'4 with shoulder length, smooth black hair and glowing purple eyes. His bronze skin was bulky and muscular, accentuated by the fact that he wore some shorts and no shirt, showing his figure off.

"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID, OREN?! IF I HAD A KID, I THINK MY OLDER BROTHER WOULD KNOW!" A voice screamed back, poking their head out to glare at the idiot.

She was short unlike most of her family, and gorgeous, standing at 5'4 with curly red hair that stopped at her shoulder and glowing blue eyes. Her figure was modest and petite, contrasting her older sister greatly.

"Why the hell are you asking if I suddenly have a kid? I told you I don't want kids," Iris D. Dalia asked, stepping into view and getting a stray pillow thrown at her.

"Put on a shirt, dumbass!" Iris D. Oren grunted with a scowl.

"Ah shut up, you pussy! We've already seen everything from each other. We kinda grew up with each other y'know?" she waved him off, marching forward to inspect the bounty poster he was holding. "Oh? A bounty you want to hunt? Are we running low on funds?"

Before her older brother could answer, the woman grabbed the poster out of his hand and inspected it.

"Who's this hottie?" She crooned, staring at the redhead (go team red!) with a searching gaze.

"I was thinking the same thing… until I realized he was probably your kid," Oren said dryly.

Dalia blinked. "I don't have a kid. I've never been far from you for more then a month. How the hell do I have the time to have a kid under your nose? If anything, this could be yours! You're the dude here. Why are you spreading your seed around and not owning up to it?!"

"I like men, hence the "I was thinking the same thing" dumbass," her gigantic brother said blandly, staring unimpressed at her.

Oh right, he did.

"So he's not related to us? That means he's free game! What do you think I should wear when we meet?" Dalia beamed.

Oren held his head. "I don't know if you're talking about collecting his bounty or something else… but I think you're forgetting about our middle sister."

His youngest sister blinked before her expression morphed into horror and she dropped the poster like it were made of fire.

"T-That's Raisa's kid?! RAISA HAS A KID?!" Dalia gaped in disbelief. How the hell did she not see it? They looked exactly the same! DAMN IT SHE WAS SO DEPRAVED FOR LEERING AT HER NEPHEW!

"I find it a bit hard to believe, considering Raisa would die before letting any kid of hers leave her sight to become a pirate of all things but this is probably our nephew," Oren finished, grabbing the bounty again to inspect it.

He didn't think Raisa would ever let one of her kids become a pirate but she was also the type to spoil them rotten.

"But how?" Dalia said in confusion. "His face isn't showing an ounce of emotion on it. It's just a picture but... I just have this feeling something's wrong..."

Her muscular brother shrugged, purple eyes narrowing a bit. "Maybe he's an outlier. Raisa was a once in a generation talent so maybe her kid is an even bigger monster and doesn't have a problem with his emotions like we all do."

Him being an outlier could explain why he opted into becoming a pirate instead of claiming the throne. Their supposed nephew looked a little older then 16 right now.

"I'm so curious! Rosan's his name and they're calling him a Devil too… I wonder what he's like? Is he nice? Mean? Would he like if I gave him presents for his birthday? Maybe not if they're calling him a Devil... But maybe he would totally accept them from his awesome auntie!" Dalia mused.

She wanted to meet him!

"We could just look for him. We all look pretty similar so I'm sure he'd not attack us on the spot," Oren shrugged.

"You think he could beat the both of us?" The redheaded woman raised a brow and raked a hand through her curly hair.

"It's not about just him. Look at his crew. They have a combined bounty of 400 million and this probably isn't even all of them. Besides, his first bounty is 100 million and he's probably the son of Raisa, who kicked our ass at the same time all the time," he groused.

He had a point… They wondered what Devil Fruit was granted to him?

"One issue though… He's in the Grand Line and you know how hard it is to track someone in the Grand Line," Dalia pointed out.

She had a point… trying to track someone in that ocean was a task if they moved around a lot and well, he was a pirate. They could fly around but that would still take too long.

Oren hummed. It was a deep and powerful rumble. "Well, we can just visit Raisa in that case and question her."

Wide blue eyes focused on him and Dalia's jaw dropped.

"Are you nuts?! It's been years since we've last seen her and you think we can just drop in and say "Hey sis what's up! Heard you got a son now!" without her melting our skulls off?!"

"And it's our fault if she does," Oren replied calmly, despite his own nervousness. "We let our jealousy get in the way and left her alone with our awesome parents."

"And?! They loved her! All they did to us was punish our inadequacy," Dalia scowled.

"Which she protected us from to the best of her ability!" The older brother frowned, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "Raisa wasn't a bad sister to us, Dalia. She tried her best but we still got jealous and left without a word for 24 years. If anything, we're the terrible siblings for keeping no contact with her."

Raisa was being groomed to be the next Queen, yet she still made sure they weren't mistreated by their strict parents. She would distract them and chide them if they went too hard on Oren or Dalia. Hell, Raisa even once defeated their Father to show him that he wasn't as talented as she was either, all because he kept telling her siblings to be more like her.

"Not even you are like me. No one is like me," Raisa stated over their dad, glancing at him neutrally. "Stop trying to ask them to be me. Let them be themselves."

It was touching... but it just showed how out of their league she was.

To Dalia, the reason they were so strict was because of Raisa. She was a prodigy and they weren't so they had to do even more to catch up to her.

But it was never enough and once Raisa departed Wisteria to begin her journey (Oren had left 2 years earlier), she suffered for it.

None of that was Raisa's fault though.

They were just afraid to face the woman who they had wrongly left behind and were finding excuses.

Dalia sighed in misery. "I-I know it's just, we did her so wrong. She really loved us you know? Even despite the fact we were so bitter. She tried everything to mend our relationship, all while balancing the duties of inheriting the throne..."

"We aren't kids anymore, sis. Let's go back to Wisteria and speak to her about this. I can't believe she had a kid and we didn't even know about it…" Oren frowned, looking disappointed in himself.

"I don't want kids but I've always wanted to dote on a nephew," Dalia gushed, thinking about little Rosan.

Ah, just imagining him as a little baby had the short former princess squealing. Running around and tripping just like his Auntie Dalia!

"He's so cute!" She crooned, holding her cheeks and grinning.

She really wanted to meet Rosan now!

"You don't even know how he really looks. What are you gushing about?" Her older brother asked with a sweatdrop.

She completely ignored him.

"I wonder who his dad is… He's the spitting image of Raisa so it's hard to tell," Oren mused.

"Someone strong who she loves. She would never do a political marriage," the woman laughed, it was light and smooth.

Oren couldn't help the short laugh. Past the nervousness, he was excited to see his little sister again.

Little did they know, their sister wanted nothing to do with them.

---

When Robin and Rosan decided to go back to their crew, it was at what seemed to be the home of the one named Mont Blanc Cricket, the monkey man they ran into earlier… and his orangutan brother?

They were currently having a party so they guessed all went well.

The three in question, jumped in surprise at the sudden appearances and gained defensive postures, only to be calmed down by Nami.

"Don't worry, they're with us!" She assured, turning towards the two with a smile. "You're back!" Their navigator beamed.

"You guys were gone longer then expected… Did it take that long to calm you down?" Sabo asked with a raised brow. He didn't expect Rosan to stay angry for so long but then again, his oldest brother was probably the type to hold a grudge.

The redhead shook his head. "Robin managed to calm me down immediately but something came up and we went to check it out."

Right as he finished, Robin held up the ring to show them her Raid Suit. "Rosan had this made for me and it just finished so we went to get it," she explained.

…

…

…

"YOU GUYS GOT MARRIED?!" Sanji roared, eyes bugging in disbelief as he looked at the ring. It looked just like Rosan's and even had the amethyst stone, but the ring itself was black instead of silver.

"WHAT?!" Usopp screeched. "MARRIED?! WHEN?"

"WHY WEREN'T WE INVITED?!" Luffy roared in anger, marching up to his brother to shake him back and forth repeatedly.

HOW COULD HIS BROTHER MAKE HIM MISS THEIR WEDDING?! MARO'S WEDDING HAD SUCH GOOD FOOD!

Nami held her head. They probably didn't mean it like that but seriously, how did the two not come to such an obvious conclusion?

Sabo began laughing merrily at the sight of Luffy throttling their oldest brother. "You should have invited us, Rosan. Ace will be pissed to know you got married and he didn't get to see it."

Robin could see why they jumped to that conclusion and she blamed Rosan and his unique mind for her not jumping to such an obvious conclusion herself. She held back a long suffering sigh at the damage the redhead had done to her.

Case in point, Rosan calmly stopped Luffy from delivering his justice and said, "Are you all stupid? I'd mention getting married if it were happening. How did you even jump to such a conclusion as your first conclusion?"

"HOW DID YOU NOT?!" They roared back. Was this guy serious? Wasn't he supposed to be some type of genius?! How did he act so stupid sometimes?!

"Because my mind is not in the gutter," he replied calmly.

"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!"

"Could you guys explain the situation to us?" Robin jumped in. She knew that Rosan was way too stubborn to ever concede something and he had already conceded once today. There was no way he was going to break a world record and give up twice.

Nami nodded, taking reign of the conversation.

After Robin and Rosan disappeared, Sabo informed the group that they managed to find information on a person named Mont Blanc Cricket who lived on the other side of Jaya.

Not wasting anytime, the group went over to where the man was located and were attacked by Shoujou (the orangutan man), damaging their ship even further.

"That ship won't survive much longer," Rosan said blandly, referring to the Going Merry. "The Grand Line is tearing her apart."

Their two former enemies flinched in guilt due to the damage they inflicted, looking towards the floor.

"She'll be fine! We just need you to repair her up!" Usopp insisted, smiling confidently. With Modification and the sniper, she'd be perfect in no time.

The redhead simply nodded. Modification was not a miracle worker. In fact, a fatal mistake he had learned far too late, was that wood as a material was not able to be modified very much. The reason the White Rose had suffered fatal damage, was because of how often he modified it.

While it was reinforced, if something managed to pierce it... the wood would suffer greater damage. He could in theory keep "repairing" the Merry but the more he repaired her, the less effective it would be.

That's why he didn't bother repairing a ship like Merry. She was just like the White Rose in that they were just a caravel but the White Rose didn't have to deal with the Grand Line and it rarely ever got attacked so it lasted him much longer.

With that issue solved, Nami continued where she left off.

They escaped from Shoujou to continue on their way to where Mont Blanc was located and eventually encountered the man while inspecting his odd home.

After a misunderstanding in which Cricket attacked the crew, he promptly collapsed due to the condition his body was in from diving repeatedly without rest.

The kind crew quickly treated the man and cleared up the misunderstanding with all three of the leaders of the Saruyama Alliance.

Rosan didn't really care about the tale of Noland the Liar but he did read it once to Maro when she was dealing with puberty and being especially bratty.

She didn't even like the book… At least Angel enjoyed it (she laughed a lot at Noland).

Noland claimed to have claimed an item called a Waver, who's full potential could only be realized after traveling to a Sky Island.

"Didn't Rosan get one of those?" Sanji pointed out, remembering the strange scooter that he managed to pick up from the ship.

"Oh right I did... if that's what they can do, then I want a few of those," Rosan commented idly, watching the way Nami's eyes glittered at his interest.

"I do too! I wanted one but with you we could take way more!" She said, getting a nod of approval out of the redhead.

"Think about all the different tech they have," Rosan mused. "Let's take all that we can."

"You and I are on the same page, Big Bro! Let's get it all!" Nami beamed, holding out her hand for the redhead to high five.

"So greedy!" Everyone thought with a sweatdrop, watching the thief and hoarder discuss their goals.

They were always like this, discussing anything of value that they could take but it never ceased to amaze them how greedy the unholy duo was.

Robin sighed fondly. Rosan and Nami were quickly shaping up to actually be a troublesome brother and sister duo. They both had common interests and were insanely greedy to boot.

At least with them, the crew would quickly accumulate many resources.

"Right, so we're going to be using something called a Knock Up Stream?" Rosan muttered.

The Knock Up Stream was a powerful water stream that shot upwards into the sky. If the Straw Hats used it, they should be able to make it into Sky Island…

But that sounded insanely suicidal. Looks like Rosan would be taking a look at the ship after the three worked on it.

"You guys don't need to worry," the redhead assured calmly, grabbing the panicking Usopp and stilling him. "Even if our ship comes crashing down into the sea, at the very least I'll make sure you all survive."

Right… he could transform into a dragon.

WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST RELY ON ROSAN?!

"Riding a current into the sky sounds kinda fun," Sabo grinned.

"Right?! It'll be awesome!" Luffy cheered.

"You guys are only so unbothered because you have me standing behind you. Just like when we were kids," Rosan snorted.

"Isn't that exactly how you acted with me?" Robin raised a brow.

Usopp and Nami collapsed. Those three were definitely brothers and Robin was absolutely Rosan's best friend. The poor girl had signs of his influence coursing through her clear as day and maybe at one point she had been far more rational... but when you were stuck managing a psycho like Rosan, it was only a matter of time before you got infected too.

They were all completely insane and thought nothing of the ordeal coming up.

Cricket was confused at his confidence but liked it all the same. "You'll need a South Bird first and you'll need to get it quick."

He didn't realize it was night time with all the partying they did and the Knock Up Stream was showing up tomorrow… they were quickly running out of time right now.

"Of course I leave for a few hours and you guys lose track of time," Rosan sighed, watching his crew fearfully inch away from him. "Good luck catching the bird, I will be watching with great amusement."

The Straw Hats groaned.

"You won't help?" Nami asked.

"Consider this punishment. If it takes too long I'll help, maybe," Rosan assured.

"You are the worst," they all said at the same time.

The redhead raised a brow. "You guys have taken to saying that very often. Aiko says it a lot too but she very clearly loves me... Do you guys also love me that much?"

They groaned.

---

The South Bird was a species of bird that were native to Jaya. They had a unique body disposition in which their head was always inclined south.

Due to the bizarre nature of the Grand Line, the Straw Hats would need help to find the Knock Up Stream and the Log Pose would not be able to help so they needed to capture a South Bird to guide them towards the pressurized water stream...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Shouldn't we help them?" Sabo asked with a sweatdrop.

"I'm beginning to feel a little bad," Robin agreed, struggling to hold her amusement in.

"Robin can capture the bird instantly if she wants to. The fact that she hasn't, just shows she's as sadistic as me," Rosan shrugged.

The woman held her hands up in surrender. "It is rather amusing," was all she said.

Sabo's sweatdrop deepened. "You two are so twisted."

"I tried my best with them but some people are just innately problematic," Mod sighed forlornly.

The three were sitting on a rather comfy tree branch (courtesy of Rosan) as they watched the chaos unfold (also courtesy of Rosan).

Zoro was faring fairly well… but he got lost in the process. The green haired swordsman didn't seem to realize that he was walking in circles and they wrote him off as a lost cause. He eventually ran into some gigantic grasshoppers and was currently in the process of fighting them all.

Nami and Sanji were both afraid of bugs and unfortunately, this forest was full of them.

It was very clear their Navigator was seconds away from becoming a terrorist because Rosan was sure she was about to set fire to the entire area the moment a group of giant ladybugs showed up.

Usopp was with them as well and surprisingly, he was handling this the best… up until the giant bugs came out and began fighting them.

Chopper and Luffy (Zoro was supposed to be with them but he got lost in the process) were being chased by some fairly large bees and gigantic praying mantises.

Most impressive was that all the chaos was being orchestrated by the South Bird. It was commanding every bug in the forest to attack their crew.

"Sabo, do you have a girlfriend?" Rosan asked calmly.

The revolutionary let out a suffering sigh. "You know, Angel asked me that same question… No, I don't have a girlfriend."

"...Have someone you like?" He asked instead. After a moment's pause, the redhead added, "Mod-chan doesn't count, everyone likes her. You should have heard what Aiko said the first time she saw her."

"R-ROSAN!" The Devil Fruit shouted in embarrassment. Why did he always do this to her?! Couldn't he just leave her be?!

"Wait... what did Aiko say the first time she saw me?" Mod said in confusion.

Rosan raised a brow. "Do you want me to tell you exactly what she said?"

"...Yes?" Mod sounded unsure. Aiko was very nice to her and the woman was very mature to boot.

Rosan shrugged. "Rosan, how the hell is someone that hot trapped inside of you 24/7? Let that beautiful woman out to breathe and if she ever wants to enter the dating scene... recommend me. Oh and then under her breath she mentioned something along the lines of "the things I'd do to that woman... for once, I can see what Maro was talking about" but I could still hear her."

...

Mod's brain fried, as her face turned an atomic shade of red. "T-The things she'd do to me?! Just how many people are attracted to me?!"

"Just about everyone that lays their eyes on you. Don't worry, I made sure to hit Aiko for saying that right in front of me," Rosan replied easily.

"It's actually quite bizarre. You'd be very popular," Robin added.

"I had no idea I was so desired... but I'm not interested in dating! I already have my hands full with you three..."

"I agree. I will keep you as busy as possible so that you can never date a single soul," Rosan nodded like what he said was normal.

"Y-You did not just say that," Mod gaped. "Shouldn't you keep such unhinged thinking to yourself?! You just admitted to something completely insane!"

"Why would I keep it to myself? I can't have you thinking that someone else can take you away from me. You're my mother and no one can have you," Rosan said neutrally.

"...I thought your possessive behavior would have gotten better with age... but I can't believe I'm saying this, it got worse."

Robin and Ram laughed at her plight.

"…" Sabo took on a thinking expression. "No I don't really like anyone. I don't go on much missions with others. I'm either usually solo, or going on a mission with either Koala or Hack so I don't really have time for that."

"Koala/Koala?" Robin, Rosan and Mod asked at the same time. Hack didn't sound like a woman but Koala certainly did.

Sabo nodded, not sensing the danger. "Yeah, she's a year older then me and my best friend. She badgers me too much though... says I leave my post too often. She's the person I go on missions with the most."

"Badgers? She's overly worried about you?" Rosan questioned.

Poor Sabo didn't know what answering that question would do.

"Yep," he nodded. "It's pretty annoying but you get used to it."

Mod held her head. All her children were oblivious idiots.

Rosan nodded. "You should introduce us to her one day. She sounds like she's been taking good care of you."

Robin smiled in amusement. "Be careful when introducing her to Angel. She can be a bit much."

Sabo sighed in misery. "Tell me about it. One of the maids tripped and I caught her and Angel must have not liked the look on her face because she dragged me away and began talking about the birds and the bees to me. Who even does that?!"

"Our idiot redheaded sister," Rosan replied calmly. "I always find it funny how she's the only one in a relationship and she hounds us about our own."

"It's apart of her charm… she's unique," Mod admitted.

All of them were stupid in their own ways... Angel was a complete idiot when it came to relationships and being overprotective of her siblings, Maro was a perverted idiot, Demon was quite an idiot about how the way delivering words could affect someone, Luffy was Luffy, Ace was an unaware and stubborn idiot and Robin and Rosan were emotional idiots.

"Auntie Angel is awesome! Let her do her thing or I'm gonna snitch to her!" Ram beamed.

"Awesome is one way to put it," Sabo muttered fondly.

"I like to use demented," Rosan supplied helpfully.

"Angel wouldn't appreciate that. I think she's rather charming in her own... idiotic way," Robin giggled.

"HELPPPPPPPPPPP!" Usopp screeched, running from a hoard of pigs.

The three paused in their conversation and looked over at their suffering crewmates.

"I think they've suffered enough," Mod said.

"I've gotten my laugh out of it," Robin agreed.

Rosan hummed before his draconic wings sprouted from his back. "Okay, I'll put you in vision of one and you capture it."

Robin's response was to grab his hand and allow him to carry her.

Once he got her settled in the bridal carry, he set off.

Sabo snorted and dusted himself off, leaping off of the tree to go and meet up with the suffering crew.

He should apologize to them for Rosan. His older brother was a dick.

---

Capturing the bird took Robin and Rosan less then a minute, much to the sheer outrage of the wronged crew and the redhead offered them no solace whatsoever as they walked back to Cricket's home.

"I'm sorry, he barred me from helping," Robin smiled apologetically.

"Same here," Sabo grinned sheepishly.

"They literally caught it in like 30 fucking seconds!" Nami hissed, piecing Clima together to deliver justice on the two oldest there.

"Oh that reminds me," Rosan said, catching Clima and snatching it out of Nami's hand. "I forgot to tell you guys, but we've got new bounties."

…

…

…

"WHAT?!" They roared in disbelief and completely stopped.

New bounties? Since when?! What the hell did they say that reminded him?!

The redhead rummaged in his shirt and pulled out four bounty posters before presenting it to the crew.

It didn't take them very long to react.

"W-W-Wha," Nami's eyes were bugged, looking at each poster and turning progressively white as she looked at the sheer prices on their head.

400 million. They were collectively worth 400 million now.

What the fuck.

"WOO, LOOK SABO! LOOK ROSAN!" Luffy cheered, holding his bounty poster up proudly and beaming.

Sabo whistled, impressed by the massive jump and patted Luffy's Straw Hat proudly.

"Shishishi!" The rubber boy laughed, shoving it in a pale Usopp's face next.

"70 million eh?" Zoro grinned, eyes gleaming. "Not bad at all. What do you think, Lovesick Cook?"

Sanji's jaw dropped at the fact that there were only four posters and rapidly looked for the fifth. "W-Where the hell is my bounty?! There's no way the shitty Marimo and the shitty redhead got one first!" He balked.

That brought the conversation to a whole new topic.

"ROSAN HAS A BOUNTY?!" Everyone screeched.

The redhead was practically their assassin! He did everything in the shadows and out of sight to the point that they themselves hardly knew what he was up to until he deigned to explain it.

They honestly expected him to be the last of the crew to get a bounty but not only was that not true, he had the second highest behind Luffy.

The redhead in question, sighed. "Crocodile attacked us before I could kill those Marines so some managed to escape. They obviously reported me but besides the fact I blew most of them up... my display was not enough to warrant a higher bounty then Robin... mostly," he stressed.

"Blowing someone up totally deserves a bounty like that?!" Nami and Usopp thought in horror.

"That means they know something about you," Sabo correctly concluded. Even if Rosan blew up some Marines, they wouldn't just lightly slap 100 million on him.

It was clear that by placing this bounty on him, they were acknowledging him as the 2nd most dangerous Straw Hat and in a crew with the Devil Child herself and a renowned Pirate Hunter... that wasn't a decision they made lightly. There needed to be more reasons for why they'd think that then him taking out some random and, quite frankly, expendable Marines.

Rosan nodded. "Besides the fact that the World Government thinks Robin and I are lovers, they may also know that I traveled with her when we were younger and if I'm right… they know about the island where I was raised too…"

While they were vastly incompetent. The Marine's that were good at their job were good and Baterilla was absolutely an island that they would have documents on due to the large focus they placed on it.

Rosan had no doubt in his mind that they knew he was from that island, which meant they knew Rouge was his mother and if they knew that… They probably knew who Ace's father was.

That was troubling.

"Island you were raised?" Sanji asked curiously, wanting to know more. "You were born in the South Blue right? And you only recognize Portgas D. Rouge as your mother?"

They perked up at that. Rosan had been very forthcoming with information lately so they hoped he kept it up.

The redhead nodded, idly pushing a branch out of the way as they continued their trek back. "I was raised on Baterilla after my mother found me abandoned in the forest as a newborn."

...

What the hell did he just say? They remembered him saying he had gotten abandoned... but the moment he was born?!

"Abandoned in a forest as a newborn?!" Chopper balked in horror. "That's inhumane! You can't just leave an infant alone to fend for themself!"

Rosan's birth mother was horrible! How could she do something like that?! W-Wasn't she a Queen?

The others who didn't know were faring no better. That was just downright depressing!

"What's so special about Baterilla?" Usopp asked curiously.

Rosan grunted, eyes turning uncharacteristically dark and making them step away in surprise.

"For around two years, the Marines were deployed on that island and they began mercilessly killing newborns to prevent the birth of the Pirate Kings child," Robin explained.

Everyone froze at that.

They… They what? The Marines would stoop that low…? What was wrong with them?

"I wasn't killed because I was two at the same and was too old as a result," Rosan continued. "Unfortunately, my mother was pregnant with Ace."

Something went terribly wrong and more and more, as Rosan told them information about themself, it was like an intricate web was unfolding.

Why he was sailing the seas at 4… Why he harbored such resentment for the Marines… Why he and Robin knew each other...

"My mother held Ace in her belly for 20 months so as to avoid suspicion from the Marines," Rosan sighed. "But a person can't hold a child for that long without consequences and she died as a result… I saw it happen and made the decision to flee Baterilla at 4 years old. That's how I met Robin."

They felt their heart drop at the reveal and everyone stepped back in horror, gazing at the redhead in disbelief.

Robin put a hand on his shoulder and he flashed her a small smile, pulling her a little closer.

The story didn't hurt anymore. It had been 20 years.

"You… You watched her die?" Nami asked quietly, heart resonating once more with the redhead's story.

They really did have a lot of similarities in their past. To watch his own mother die… Nothing would ever begin to describe that pain but Nami understood it well.

"I was spying on her," Rosan said softly. "She didn't tell me the baby was coming because she knew how I was going to react. Deep down, Mom knew she wasn't making it and she tried to spare me the pain but it didn't work."

"I don't like Marines. I will never like Marines. I would never save a Marine and I'd never let a Marine touch me."

Now they understood why Rosan despised the World Government so much. They literally ruined his life from such a young age.

The shocked silence was broken up by the sound of a gigantic tree being snapped off its roots and they were surprised to see it was Sabo himself with such a look of rage on his face, it was uncharacteristic on the carefree blond.

The man's hand was formed into a fist and it was clear that he was the one that knocked it clean off its hinges.

There was a deep scowl on the revolutionaries face as he said, "It's not up to them to decide who lives and dies on a hunch! Why does the World Government get to flex such a gross abuse of power? This needs to stop."

Just because of one person, they ruined not only Rosan's life, but Ace's too? They would take all those expecting mothers and ruin their chance at having children, potentially scarring them for life?

That was unacceptable. This wasn't the first time the World Government ruined innocent lives and it wouldn't be the last.

This was why the Revolutionary Army existed. Because they could all see the deep seated corruption inside of the World Government.

"I couldn't agree more," Rosan nodded. "The world cannot be run by such a corrupt organization and that is why we live in this current era. My hate for the World Government will never die until they are dead. That is something that will not change, whether I have emotions or not."

"You and I are in agreement. They've wronged too many of us," Robin frowned, idly shivering as she thought about the Buster Call.

Such a terrible punishment, all to conceal history. The fact that they were willing to go to such extents... to summon such a...

The redhead scooped her up immediately and she instantly calmed down, sinking into his comforting grasp and banishing the memory from her mind.

Ever since she told him about the Buster Call, Rosan made sure she constantly sought him out whenever it was affecting her and she took that invitation with gusto, allowing him to be the mature one in those moments as she shuddered into both his and Mod's frames.

Deep down, she'd always be terrified of the Buster Call and would do anything to avoid having to see it again... Maybe that's why Rosan wanted something as destructive as Ragnarok… so if that time ever came again, he'd be able to protect her from another island destroying threat.

Rosan hummed as he offered her his presence.

There was a reason he learned so much abilities that could deal widespread damage and it was because of the looming knowledge of a Buster Call. If they ever encountered such a disastrous thing... He'd be ready for it. It didn't matter how many Vice Admirals they sent, he'd burn everyone of their ships down.

Their allies watched the two with soft eyes and realized that both of them had probably been wronged by the World Government in terrible ways.

They realized they didn't know much about Robin either...

"Wait," Nami said. "Why exactly does the World Government think you're lovers? I mean, I can totally see why we would think that but why would they?"

Robin, still relaxing in Rosan's frame, said, "Because my dear best friend right here hates getting his plans ruined so much, that he not only french kissed me to shut me up in front of Alabasta, he made sure to squeeze my butt too."

"You are literally never going to let that butt thing go are you?" Rosan muttered.

"I'm just recounting events and that's what you happened to do," she retorted.

…

"YOU DID WHAT?! YOU SQUEEZED WHERE?! TO WHO?!" Sanji roared in disbelief, watching Rosan not even flinch at her accusing stare with a look of shock.

"Oh yeah!" Sabo gaped at the memory. "I thought it was perfectly normal until Angel told me you guys aren't dating!"

Rosan shrugged, hoisting Robin up and placing her on his back due to the lingering memory of seeing her hurt. "I forgot you guys were watching the stream... I wanted to protect her. We were fighting Crocodile in the desert and she was hellbent on being the focus of his attention. I needed to convince him that she was hypnotized and Ram told me to kiss her so I did and became the brunt of his aggression."

"R-Ram did?" Sanji wheezed.

Damn it! His reasoning was sound but why was that the conclusion he jumped to to convince the Warlord?!

"You kissed her for so long! You didn't let up even once too," Sabo pointed out incredulously.

The redhead nodded, not seeing the problem. "It made it look more convincing. I could give you tips for Koala. I'm sure if you do it, she'll stop being so angry at you all the time."

Sabo had a thoughtful expression on his face at that, not realizing how terribly his brother was setting him up. "I'll keep that in mind. Some tips could be useful."

Robin looked at the back of his head with an unimpressed gaze. "You sure are confident in your abilities."

Rosan shifted his head to glance back at her. "Did you forget your weak knees already? You would have collapsed if I wasn't holding you. I'll be happy to show you again."

"You caught me off guard! It's just like when we were kids. You have no idea what asking is!" Robin protested.

"...But you and Mod-chan told me it was okay because you guys accept everything I do?" Rosan tilted his head in confusion.

"...Why do you think I'm not more upset with you?" The archaeologist retorted.

"Because you enjoy the physical affection but won't admit it," the scout responded. "Why do you think I hug you so much? You're too shy to initiate contact so it's up to me to do so."

"...It's quite literally because you are overly affectionate. Don't try and make up some insane reason to justify what you like to do. I admit that I do enjoy your hugs but you hug me for yourself, you selfish child."

"THIS ISN'T YOUR FIRST TIME KISSING?!"

Robin shook her head with a suffering sigh. "Rosan was my first kiss... Mod-chan told him he should do it to someone he loves and he didn't wait for her to fully explain it before planting a kiss on both our lips. He then proceeded to randomly tackle and pepper me and Mod-chan for a year straight because he's a spoiled brat and we can't say no to him."

"That was fun," Rosan admitted. "It was very funny seeing how embarrassed you two would get. When I was feeling particularly mischievous, I would kiss one of you for as long as possible just to see how embarrassed you could really get."

"I KNEW IT, YOU EVIL BRAT!" Mod roared in disbelief. She had been far too whipped and embarrassed to say anything back but she just knew he was smooching them for way too long!

"Ah, I knew I should have called you out!" Robin protested, glaring at the back of his head. Her childish crush on Rosan had deemed her incapable of telling him to stop.

"Don't be mad at me Robin... Mod-chan used to sick me on you so that I didn't do it to her."

Robin blinked in shock. "Mod-chan you did what?!"

The Devil Fruit went pale. "I-I thought you would have appreciated it more then I did!"

"That's your excuse? It seems like we need to have a talk tonight."

"T-That's not very necessary! It's been years!"

"Oh I know, we will still be talking though."

Rosan smirked as he successfully directed her ire.

Thud.

Nami held her head as Sanji fainted in despair.

Yeah, Robin and Rosan were never going to beat the lover allegations.

---

"What happened here?" Chopper asked in horror.

The Straw Hats gaped at the area where Cricket lived.

The entire clearing was a complete mess, their ship was heavily broken and the leaders of the Saruyama Alliance were bruised and bleeding heavily.

Cricket was breathing heavily as he crawled over to Masira and Shoujou.

"Don't move old man!" Luffy exclaimed, dashing over to him and steadying the man. "Chopper, come quick! They need help!"

The reindeer was already on the move, rushing over to the injured men with worry on his face.

Rosan's eyes were inspecting the broken ship instead of the men, eyes roving over the deep carvings.

That didn't look good to his eyes. He could repair it but the ship was as good as done.

A tap on his shoulder made him turn his eyes to regard his blonde brother and the Chief of Staff pointed at the insignia painted on the tree.

"That symbol belongs to Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Robin explained, surveying the damage with a neutral expression.

Rosan knew little about him but he did know that the Bellamy Pirates had been using this symbol instead of their own.

Someone with influence in the seas then? Other pirates didn't typically use other's symbols unless it was an Emperor's so this Doflamingo must have a lot of pull…

He'd ask Crocodile about him later. The man was bound to know something about his fellow Warlord.

The injured Cricket was trying to downplay the issue to the pirates, claiming that they needed to hurry up and finish the ship before the Knock Up Stream came but none of them were having it.

"They took your gold you spent 10 years diving for!" Usopp protested.

"You can't just give it up!" Nami agreed.

"Not enough time… Need to get you guys ready for Sky Island," Cricket insisted.

"We have time. I'll repair it later but look, Luffy," Rosan called, pointing to the tree and catching his brother's attention.

The look in his captain's eyes pleased him.

"I'll be right back," Luffy said, expression dark.

Rosan hummed. "I'll come with you."

That was not a request so his brother just nodded.

"Wait!" Cricket called out. "Don't worry about it! It's nothing!"

They weren't listening to him anymore though. Without any hesitation, two gigantic wings burst from Rosan's back and he grabbed Luffy's arm.

"I'll make sure they're back on time," Robin assured, grabbing his other arm.

Nami was about to protest but seeing Robin go with them put her more at ease. "Three hours. Be back before then!"

"It won't even take one," Rosan promised, taking off in the direction of Mock Town.

"He can fly…?" Cricket asked in shock, watching those massive reptilian wings flap until they vanished.

"Don't move!" Chopper barked, tending to his wounds with a serious expression.

He grunted and placed his head back on the floor, allowing the reindeer to continue working on him.

At least he knew why they were so confident they wouldn't die.

---

"YOU NEED TO RUN, BELLAMY! THOSE PIRATES YOU MESSED WITH ARE BAD NEWS!"

Bellamy had been in a pretty shit mood ever since tripping into a pie but working his anger off on those idiot dreamers put him in a great one.

It was a shame that dumbass Straw Hat or his shit redhead crewmate wasn't there. He'd have liked to really show them the difference in their strength.

But now he was being told those same weaklings were bad news?

Looking at the posters the terrified drunk placed in front of him, Bellamy let loose a barking laughter.

Those four? Seriously? They expected him to believe that four of the people he had trashed earlier today had a higher bounty then him?

Fucking ridiculous.

His laughter seemed to put the panicking bar at ease and they remembered just the performance those pirates put up against Bellamy.

Yeah, these guys were clowns—

"BELLAMY! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

The whole bar did a spit take at the idiot bold enough to call out the Hyena and the man in question, grinned in amusement at that.

"Well it looks like I get to work off even more steam," Bellamy cackled, pushing himself out to march out of the bar and deliver a beating to whoever just called him out.

If possible, his grin got wider at the three sets of eyes looking down at him.

"Well look what we have here!" The blonde pirate exclaimed, leaping onto the roof fearlessly to regard the weaklings. "We were just talking about you!"

Rosan didn't even spare him a glance. He was instead looking at some shaking grunt... who was holding multiple bounty posters in his hand that were no doubt of the Straw Hat crew.

Ah, so they knew each of their bounties and still acted this fearless? They must have thought they were fake...

How foolish of them.

"Luffy, make it quick. I need to get to repairing the ship," Rosan said boredly.

"Right. You get the gold ingots then," his captain nodded.

Robin couldn't resist the coy smile at the mounting annoyance on Bellamy's face, due to the fact that he was still constantly being ignored by the two brothers.

Despite that, the Hyena still appeared cocky. "Gold ingots? You mean from Old Man Cricket? No way am I giving those back!"

"Yes you are and I'm going to force you to," Luffy said calmly. He may have let himself get beaten up in the bar earlier but this was different.

They brought his friends into this.

Bellamy grit his teeth. The way these three were looking at him… Why was he the one being looked down on when this was just a group of third rate pirates?

The man's legs turned into springs and he crouched low.

He'd show them.

"CAN YOU EVEN THROW A PUNCH?!" Bellamy roared.

Rosan grabbed Robin and leapt off the tall building they were on, watching Bellamy use his Bane Bane no mi to rocket across the entire area.

Luffy would deal with him, he had other business to attend to.

"That's his Devil Fruit?" The redhead said calmly, raising a brow. "This is why he's so confident in himself?"

Robin had a small smile. "Not everyone can have exceptional Devil Fruits. Some are bound to have gotten the short end of the stick."

"I suppose so," Rosan grunted.

The crowd listened to the two ridicule the strongest person on Jaya's Devil Fruit with shocked gazes, wondering how they could think that Bellamy of all people had a weak fruit.

J-Just look at what he was doing right now! Straw Hat couldn't even react to him! How was that weak?!

The duo in question, landed directly in front of the pirate named Sarquiss and regarded the shocked man with a cool gaze.

Sarquiss went stiff at the speed of the man before straightening back up when he realized these guys were just frauds exactly like Bellamy said they were.

"I almost forgot that I told you to wait your turn. I'll have to make it up to you," Rosan greeted calmly, gazing at the taller man with a neutral expression.

"How will you kill him?" Robin asked curiously. It was a rather morbid question but they were both pretty messed up in the head so it was fine.

Mod snorted rather loudly. Robin thinking that was fine just proved how messed up she really was.

"I'll just stab him quickly and be done with it," Rosan replied easily.

The blue haired man quickly gained his bravado and smirked at Rosan.

"I'll have to admit, you almost pulled a fast one on us by spreading those fake bounties but Bellamy called you out on your fluke so now you look even dumber!" Sarquiss laughed, leering at Robin all the while.

"I was gonna let it go but we are pirates so after I take your life, I think I'll help myself to your little girlfriend. I'll show her what a real man is capable of."

Robin let out a deep sigh as the temperature shifted to something sweat inducing.

So much for a speedy death.

"Change of plans," Rosan said coldly, stealthily summoning one of his mechanical flies.

"I really wish you all would stop using me to set Rosan off. He really is quite protective of me," the Devil Child sighed.

The fly flew off.

The first mate of the Bellamy Pirates raised a brow in confusion. "If a weakling like him is walking around with someone like you, naturally they'll try and take blurgh—"

Sarquiss stopped mid sentence, hunched over and threw up… fire?

W-What was that? What did he just do...? Had he just thrown up... flames?

B-But how... he couldn't breathe fir—

The pain hit.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sarquiss screeched, throwing up even more fire and the onlookers realized there was blood in the mix as well.

His insides… HIS INSIDES WERE BURNING! W-What was HAPPENING TO HIM?! W-WHO DID THIS?!

"ARGH S-SOMEONE H-HELP BLURGH," whatever Sarquiss tried to say, was cut off as he began heaving an unnatural amount of flames.

Everyone could only watch in horror and confusion as Sarquiss promptly collapsed and began retching fire and blood. The man was screaming as he clutched his chest harshly and began writhing in his steadily growing puddle.

He didn't hear the footsteps of the redhead but he certainly heard that quiet voice.

"Still think that bounty is a joke? Still think you're gonna show her what a real man is capable of? You can't because now I'm showing you what a real demon is capable of," Rosan whispered quietly, crouching on one knee in front of the tortured man. "You should have been content with the current woman in your crew but instead, you make comments about Robin like she's a piece of meat..."

"...Now, you can die slowly and painfully for making such idiotic comments. Then, you'll end up as the real piece of meat."

For the umpteenth time, Robin felt goosebumps on her skin at the sheer protectiveness Rosan displayed when it came to her.

"Rosan isn't joking around when it comes to you and honestly, I'm not either," Mod said softly, excluding both Ram and Rosan from hearing this. "He's going to do whatever it takes to make sure nothing gets in the way of you both again and I'll support every decision of his. He'll be the one to get offended on your behalf. He's going to be proactive where your passive. If it's your wish, it'll be his command. If you want someone dead, he will kill them and I won't stop him, Robin. That is Rosan's current conviction and I'm sure you know what that entails."

"That's… That's a scary amount of power to have," Robin admitted, knowing exactly what it entailed. Rosan was borderline insane when it came to his loved ones... and considering all the time he felt like he needed to make up to her...

She couldn't lie, it was a bit intoxicating to know that at any moment, someone who could be considered as a candidate for most versatile person on the planet, would answer to any request she had.

But Robin would never take advantage of Rosan's willingness to do anything for her because they were partners and as partners, they should rely on each other in equal measure.

It still felt very nice though. Perhaps she should use that a tad bit more. With just a hint of interest, Rosan got her the incredibly useful Raid Suit and was pushing her in training with a firm resolve, all the while protecting her from any and all threats.

Yes... she should abuse that privilege just a little more. Clearly Mod-chan didn't have a problem with it and Modification was far more resourceful then the Hana Hana no Mi.

"Bring me the gold," Rosan ordered the terrified pirates. He was no longer looking at the shuddering Sarquiss. After saying what he said, the man had stopped regarding his victim without a care in the world.

He hadn't even put a hand on him...

That scared them even more.

W-Was he actually a Devil like the posters? One second, Sarquiss was talking down on him and the next, he was throwing up actual fire.

What the redhead had actually done was rather simple.

Rosan summoned one of his mechanical flies and filled it with the destructive flames of Ragnarok before having it dive into the idiot pirates body. It then subsequently exploded and began soaking his insides with fire.

This was the result right here. This was what the fly would do to Crocodile if he grew tired of the man.

But to the onlookers, it didn't look like Rosan had done anything at all. To them, Sarquiss just began burning on the inside on his own accord.

To them, it looked like Rosan did all this with just a glance.

"He really is a Red Devil," They all thought in unison, terror seeping into their body as they realized that his bounty poster was very real.

"I gave you an order."

They jumped in terror and scrambled to get his gold, while everyone began scattering.

At the same time, Bellamy was bouncing around an unfazed Luffy.

"YOU AND THOSE THREE IDIOTS ARE THE SAME!" Bellamy cackled, rocketing off building after building and gaining momentum.

"WHAT CITY OF GOLD?!"

"WHAT SKY ISLAND?!"

"THE AGE OF DREAMING IS OVER! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO ALL PIRATES."

Luffy didn't even bother tracking him.

"You wanna see me land a punch?" He asked quietly.

Bellamy careened towards him to land the finishing blow, laughing all the while.

As his momentous flight sent him straight into Luffy's path, certain to be a dangerous blow with all the speed he built, the rubber boy simply held out a fist and clenched it.

"SO LONG STRAW HAT!" He howled.

Luffy swung.

Everyone's eyes bugged out their skull, as Luffy smashed a fist into Bellamy's cheek with 100% accuracy, flattening the pirate into the newly created crater and embedding his knuckles on the man's cheek.

The spring man didn't even let out a scream as he was instantly knocked unconscious, blood leaking and teeth missing scattering across different parts of the floor.

"W-W-What?" Someone gaped, looking between Luffy, Robin and Rosan and whitening further and further as he realized the three of them were legit.

A man worth 140 million, a Devil worth 100 and Nico fucking Robin were currently at odds with them.

Chaos ensued instantly and everyone began running, lest they get caught by the three demons.

Rosan easily balanced the bag of gold in his palm as he watched the town empty out. "Come on, Luffy. Maybe the Sky Island will be more interesting then this place."

Luffy adjusted his Straw Hat and nodded. "Right, let's get outta here! How long was that?"

"20 minutes," Robin informed them with an amused smile. "You guys sure work quick. The flight here was longer then the action."

"Shishishi! This was nothing!" The rubber boy laughed cheerfully, allowing Rosan to strap the bag of gold to his back before grabbing onto his brother's hand.

Robin followed suit with his other and the redhead quickly took off.

"I only said an hour to be generous but I guess I should have shot for 30 minutes," the redhead muttered, disappearing into the sky quickly.

None of the three paid any attention at all to the suffering Sarquiss, still throwing up blood as his life force was slowly but surely drained by the fires slowly roasting him from the inside out.

His voice was gone so he could not even scream, only letting out raspy gasps as his insides burned and burned. His crew desperately sought out a way to save him while screaming his name but there was nothing they could do.

Finally, with one terrified whimper, the man fell over.

---

Sengoku frowned slightly. He hated inviting Pirates over but this needed to be discussed quickly and surely, lest the power struggle go out of sorts.

There were so many things to go over right about now that it was turning him gray.

Learning about Portgas D. Rosan and the Straw Hats only made his life more stressful.

Finding out a person's Devil Fruit was not all that difficult but they still had no clue what Rosan's fruit was.

The general consensus was that it was a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit which was worrying enough considering he hadn't even transformed into his hybrid or full form even once and had still displayed a dangerous amount of skill.

Him wielding a Mythical Zoan, was supported by just who his mother was but Raisa herself didn't give him one of the many Devil Fruits Wisteria kept... yet somehow, he managed to still get his hands on a rare fruit…

It seems like some Devil Fruits really did choose their wielders. Perhaps the Iris line was one that just had a particular affinity to Zoan's.

Perhaps he had an undocumented Zoan type. It's not like the World Government had a log of every single Devil Fruit…

He would reveal more in time especially now that he was under such scrutiny. An undocumented Mythical Zoan was very, very dangerous.

Not only that... the Red Devil's father...

Nothing good would come out of dwelling on that. Raisa may have made a rash and immature decision, but Sengoku could not fault her for wanting nothing to do with Cutter.

Pushing the issue of Rosan out of his mind, he focused on the next one.

(If only he knew this one was also dealing with Rosan)

Crocodile was either free or dead but his bet was on free and that was no good.

The man had not made any noise yet but it was only a matter of time and if the words of the, believed to be, deceased Commodore Emma were to be believed, there was a traitor in their midst.

He thanked the woman for upholding her duties to the end and vowed to find the traitor who ended her life so that justice could be delivered upon them.

In the meantime, they'd approach Crocodile cautiously. Not just anyone could capture him and it was likely Daz Bones was free with him as well.

They would hold off on increasing his bounty but it was only a matter of time before the man made a name for himself again and now that he was no longer a Warlord, there would be trouble from the Logia.

Speaking of which, they needed to decide on a new Warlord of the Sea now that Crocodile's seat was vacant.

To his surprise, other Warlords besides Bartholomew Kuma showed up and the two who did were some of the most surprising, being Donquixote Doflamingo and Dracule Mihawk.

"Oh?" Doflamingo grinned curiously. "You actually showed up, Hawk-eye?" The blonde asked.

The World's Greatest Swordsman didn't even spare him a glance. "I'm just here as an interested bystander. I'm interested in the pirates you plan on talking about."

Namely, the Straw Hats. Not only was he slightly surprised that Straw Hat's bounty increased by so much, Roronoa Zoro was also on the Marine's radar now.

Not only that, but Ambitionless actually managed to get himself quite the hefty sum on his head despite shying away from attention and they managed to even recruit the Devil Child...

How interesting. It was wise for him to keep an eye on them all, they would accomplish many things and keep him entertained.

Doflamingo's grin widened. Seems like Mihawk was also interested in that blazing hot rookie crew and to be acknowledged by the swordsman, was one of the highest honors one could have.

Hawkeye didn't just show anyone interest after all.

In Doffy's case, he was more curious about not only the Devil Child, but the supposed nameless redhead who managed to gain a bounty higher then two of his crewmates who should be far more notorious then him.

After all, Roronoa Zoro was a renowned bounty hunter and Nico Robin was the Devil Child (Or perhaps Ohara's Devil was more apt now?), yet this blank faced redhead did something to warrant a higher bounty then the both of them? And not only that, it was his first bounty too.

Starting off with a bounty in the triple digits was a very clear warning. Off the top of his head, Doflamingo could only list Fisher Tiger and his good friend Reaper as the only ones with a higher beginning bounty because you needed to be exceptionally dangerous for them to be so willing to want your head.

Even that monster of a woman Hancock had not gotten such a high bounty despite how much waves she had made on her first voyage that had netted her the Warlord position immediately. Not anyone could just get a triple digit first bounty.

The Red Devil eh…? He wonder what secrets the man had that got the World Government so riled up.

Now look at Doffy... he had never considered himself very religious but yet here he was, finding himself interested in not only the Red Devil but the Angel of Death as well.

"If I may," a voice interrupted their conversation. "I'd like to join as an interested bystander as well."

Everyone went alert at that.

Who the hell was this?!

"You're Laffitte," Vice Admiral Tsuru said immediately, eyes narrowed in contemplation.

Laffitte was a former policeman of the West Blue and he was exiled due to his intense brutality when dealing with civilians.

Laffitte smiled at being recognized. "I'm glad you remember such an old story but that's neither here nor there. I've come to recommend a new Warlord of the Sea."

Everyone raised a brow at that.

"And who would that be?" Sengoku asked calmly, not really interested in any choice of his but biting because someone was stupid enough to actually come here on their own accord.

Laffitte wasted no time. "He goes by Teach."

"Teach?" Sengoku repeated, shooting his subordinate a glance.

"Never heard of him. The other pirates won't like if we appoint a nobody," Tsuru replied in slight confusion.

"Not to worry. We'll amend that soon so please give us a little more time," Laffitte guaranteed with a confident grin.

"Soon, you'll all remember the Blackbeard Pirates and you won't forget it."

Doflamingo laughed at the confidence displayed. "This sounds interesting! I say we give it to him, Sengoku!"

Sengoku only felt his headache growing at that ominous warning.

First the Straw Hat Pirates and now this supposed Blackbeard Pirate crew?

The world was fast approaching a different age and he wasn't sure that was a good thing.

---

"Men, it's time for a hunt!" Blackbeard grinned eagerly.

Teach looked down at the corpse of the pirate who died at the hands of the Red Devil and his smile widened.

He had no idea that both of Ace's brothers had been worth so much but it seems like there was a reason he bragged so much about them!

Not only was the Straw Hat boy worth 140 million, the redhead with buried dreams was worth 100! Even without any ambition he was still formidable enough to net that bounty?

He felt like he hit the jackpot! A crew worth 400 million? He was guaranteed to make a name for himself like this and becoming a Warlord would be guaranteed!

Then, he could begin his real plans in earnest and head straight to Impel Down... Hopefully he could find some interesting guys to recruit there.

Though… he didn't know anything about the supposed Red Devil because Ace didn't talk too much about what he was capable of... he just bragged about his brothers but never went into detail...

Apparently, Rosan made this man throw up fire without even touching him...

Blackbeard's eyes gleamed. It was such a shame the man rejected his offer to join his crew. He was the man who was going to become Pirate King after all and Rosan would have been the perfect right hand to watch him ascend to the throne.

It sounded like he had quite the Devil Fruit on his hand too. He wouldn't mind claiming it for himself if Rosan was really set on not joining his crew...

But perhaps that was also fate and Blackbeard was not one to ever question fate. He'd head out to go capture that crew and whatever happened, happened.

"Let's head out! I got a couple dreamers to meet!"

---

"I forgot how quick Rosan works," Nami muttered, watching the group of three come back nearly 30 minutes after leaving with an exasperated expression.

"We need all the time needed to repair this ship into workable condition," Rosan grunted as he landed gently.

Without any hesitation, they watched their redhead scout rudely push aside the salvage crew working on their ship so he could properly inspect it.

"Move," was all he said.

"Why does he have to be so rude?!" They all cried comically, watching him toss them to the side without a care in the world.

Rosan inspected the ship with a neutral gaze and grabbed the broken off front half.

"This ship is done for. No ship would survive being torn in half... this almost certainly has done severe damage to it and I've probably used up just about all of its repair points as well..." he thought to himself, gluing it back in place with Repair and doing the same with every other part of the ship.

"There. Now you can spend the whole time getting it ready," he commanded, assessing the ship and nodding.

He didn't have high hopes but Merry should at least be able to get them to Sky Island. Afterwards, they'd need to look into getting a new ship... This one would need to be Grand Line ready so he'd probably be giving the crew a hefty sum to spend.

The crew was rather poor without his money so he'd give them enough to get a fantastic ship.

All the pirates of the Saruyama Alliance, gaped in confusion at the sight of Rosan effortlessly repairing the ship to seemingly perfect condition but quickly got back to working on it.

The redhead calmly watched them as Robin sidled next to him.

"Satisfied?" She asked quietly, watching the Straw Hats and the leaders of the Saruyama Alliance happily chat about getting their gold back.

"There's nothing for me to be satisfied about. I simply did what you won't do," Rosan said softly as he turned away from critically gazing at the working men, to instead focus his attention onto her.

Robin liked that. He didn't waste any time acknowledging her.

"You know, every time someone has something to say about me, you violently teach them a lesson. Will this streak of over protectiveness ever stop?" She asked playfully, not minding it at all.

Rosan had always been overprotective of her, even as kids. Once he had learned of her past... of how everyone only saw her as the Devil Child, her best friend had become dangerously protective of her. If anyone even mentioned her title, he'd go feral in her honor.

She admonished him all the time about it but truthfully, she very much enjoyed it because it was one of the many foreign feelings she derived from him.

The redhead hummed. "If you really want me to, I'll stop. Just say the word," he answered truthfully.

Robin's playful smile was replaced by a confused frown at his words. "Why would I want you to stop?"

Was he being self critical again? He should know that she didn't have a problem with this.

She followed after the redhead and watched him reinforce the part of the ship the salvage pirates just finished on before taking another step back.

"I'm overbearing," Rosan admitted bluntly. "Thoughts of rationality, fly out of my head when you are involved and that's not always a good thing. Because of me, the whole world thinks we're lovers now."

Robin felt a slight stab at that but didn't notice. "Why is it so bad that the world thinks we're lovers?"

She didn't have a problem with it and they were just talking about pretending before but suddenly it was an issue?

Was being her lover that terrible of a thing?

"He just wants to protect you," Mod quickly intervened in hopes Robin didn't get the wrong idea.

Rosan wasn't the greatest with words and even though his intentions were good, that might not be too obvious so she'd guide this conversation into one that helped Robin understand his thought process. "You already have such a big target on your back and now he does too. Imagine the target if they figure out he's Reaper or has Modification? You, being his lover, would become an even higher priority threat. Especially if they found out, the one who killed a Celestial Dragon has the person reading the Poneglyphs for him. We already know the location of Pluton after all."

The Devil Child's eyes turned into one of understanding.

That's right. Rosan was steps away from having his bounty explode to levels that would look more fitting on a New World Pirate. It was all a giant snowball and if the World Government figured out everything... it would begin accumulating into something truly astronomical.

Reaper, the Angel who had killed a Celestial Dragon. Rosan, the wielder of the World Government's guarded Devil Fruit. Robin, the one who could read the Poneglyphs... and everyone thought they were lovers.

His bounty might not be the only one they should be wary of. Robin's target would increase to unprecedented levels too.

The redhead nodded. "I should have thought of something else instead of forcing you to kiss me... I'm sorry about that. How will you ever find a lover now?"

"WHAT?!" Ram roared immediately, outrage on her features as disgust filled her tone. "LOVER?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, FATHER?!"

Robin, while not as crude, was very much thinking the same thing. "What are you talking about right now?"

A lover? What was he thinking?

Rosan sighed, frown settling on his features. "I might have ruined your chances of ever finding someone to settle down with because of my actions. Despite my possessiveness, I didn't want to ever stop you from potentially finding someone to love."

His best friend blinked at him and it filled him with a slight amount of doubt.

Why was she looking at him like he was stupid? He was looking out for her...

"Rosan… I don't know if you realize, but I'm the Devil Child... or Ohara's Devil now, and that ship sailed a long time ago for me, not that I wanted anyone in the first place. I'm 28 you know? If I wanted someone by now, I think I'd already have them," she told him, voice tinged with slight amusement and fondness.

That's why he was apologizing to her? That's why he was upset that he had kissed her unprovoked? Because he wanted her to find happiness with someone?

Honestly, what a Rosan thing to do. Only he would be more concerned about her love life more than she herself was.

Her little tiny menace was still there and that made her swell with delight.

"When the time comes where I do want to settle down… Well, I'll just settle down with my "lover". I'm sure he won't have a problem with that," Robin finished, smiling slightly.

Ram and Mod's jaw dropped at her bluntness.

"With… me? Why?" Rosan asked, voice slightly confused.

"Because unlike all the other people interested in me, you don't view me like a piece of meat, a tool to be discarded, or a demon in human flesh that can bring about the end of the world," Robin said simply, leaning a head onto his shoulder with a content smile.

"To you, I'm not any of those am I? To Portgas D. Rosan, I'm just Nico Robin, his best friend and sometimes, that's all a person needs."

Mod felt tears brim at her eyes at that heartfelt speech and the sap pulled a soft eyed Ram into a hug.

Rosan stared at Robin for a long while, before he grabbed her into a one armed hug that eventually evolved into a full embrace because he really did like his physical contact too much.

"Of course. To me you're just Nico Robin, my nerdy best friend who loves to read rocks and study a time she wasn't even born in," he sighed fondly, enjoying her pleasant smell.

He missed her. He really did regret taking so long to find her because she deserved to spend all those years of loneliness with him.

He'd make it up to her in anyway possible.

"Don't make fun of my interests," Robin admonished with a glare. "This is why I don't have a problem with you being overprotective because it gives me a versatile minion that I can boss around."

Rosan snorted at that. "But of course My Lady. I'm simply a humble scout following the orders of my superiors. Your wish is my command."

"Kahahaha!" Mod laughed. "At the end of the day, Rosan is just here to spoil everyone. He calls me mother but honestly, he's right there with me!"

"Fufufu," Robin joined with a teasing smile. "Being spoiled by the Red Devil is such an honor. I hope to continue using your services."

"Feel free, Mother! If he says no, we'll make him say yes!" Ram crooned.

Rosan sighed in annoyance. It was incredible just how much special treatment Robin got from both Mod and Ram but they must have got that from him because he was just as bad.

"So you'll really just settle down with me? What if you find someone you love?" Rosan asked curiously.

Robin rolled her eyes. "I won't. I have 16 years of lost time to make up with you and I very much doubt my supposed lover would appreciate how close we are because nothing would change in our routine. Right now, you're mine until I'm satisfied so I hope you don't find a lover either because that won't stop me and I'd rather not get into a fight about it," she said bluntly.

The redhead's eyes widened at Robin's statement. His best friend sounded just like him right now with how insane her statement was.

He approved tremendously.

"16 years... we'll be quite a bit older by then, you know? We should start thinking of places to stay," Rosan joked with a small smirk.

Robin was pleased he didn't have a problem with her unreasonable request. "I've been on the run for 20 years so I've thought about a place I'd like to settle down quite often. I'm thinking a place with a nice forest, a really big tree and a castle in the middle of it all."

The redhead nodded along with her, idly optimizing a part the salvage crew fixed with his Devil Fruit. "We have to make sure the trees aren't too dense either, I'd like to gaze into the sky while relaxing in a rocking chair while I reminisce with you."

Mod squealed happily (Ram had long since been cut off from being heard, considering she was celebrating rather loudly). "Oh that just sounds so adorable! I'd love that!"

"Oh right, by then I should have a body for Mod-chan too so it'll probably be the four of us," Rosan mused.

The brunette smiled at that and nodded. "A garden would be nice. We can get a bunch of crops from Maro and start growing them too. I hope you can ask Sanji for tips on how to make your already good cooking better."

Mod flushed happily at the fact Rosan was so set on giving her her own body. "Oh I can work on the garden ! Can I suggest a nice little waterfall too? It wouldn't be terribly difficult to create an artificial one in the middle of the forest with Modification. I'd love to just set up a reclining seat and listen to the water crashing."

"Not a bad idea at all," Rosan hummed with a look of contemplation.

"I WANT MY OWN ROOM WITH MIHAWK"S SWORD IN IT... EVEN THOUGH I'LL BE SLEEPING WITH YOU TWO A LOT... BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU'D WANT SOME ALONE TIME!" Ram shouted happily, face flushed from exertion after all the jumping and screaming she had done.

Rosan and Robin both blinked at her odd request.

"Mihawk's... sword?" Rosan repeated in confusion. "And how do you expect me to get Mihawk's sword to put in your room?"

Robin had another concern. "Do you have a crush on Hawkeye Mihawk's blade, Ram?" She asked, puzzled.

Mod's jaw dropped, as a dust of red covered Ram's cheek and she began shaking her head rapidly.

"N-No! I just think Yoru is really cool and I want it as a memento for when we crush him in our rematch!" She exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yoru?" Robin mouthed to Rosan who looked rather unamused.

"I didn't know she had a crush on the sword. I didn't know she could even feel attraction," Rosan mouthed back.

Ram was too young for Yoru. Absolutely not. This crush had better die down.

Robin, being privy to his thoughts, snorted loudly at his disapproval.

He was definitely Ram's father alright.

The Devil Child sighed fondly. "Modification makes our life so much easier... I'll also have to ensure no giant lizards live on that island because with your power now, you'd destroy the island instead of a clearing."

"Pft... Kahahaha!" Mod burst out laughing at that.

"...Are you trying to get attacked right now?" Rosan said warningly, turning towards her with a challenging gaze.

Robin raised a brow, feigning confusion. "Am I not being a good partner by looking out for the concerns of my best friend? I wouldn't want the Red Devil to get his hands dirty with something as simple as some lizards when he's a regal dragon," she said rather mockingly.

Rosan sighed and shook his head. "Shut up. Wait... are we going to have to find an uninhabited island? Or are we going to be living on an island that has people on it?"

"With our reputation, I don't think the second one is an option. Imagine how afraid people would be of the Red Devil just living with them, tending to a garden..." Robin retorted.

The redhead glared at her.

"Please stop calling me the Red Devil."

"Why? I'm flattered that the world knows that one of your core inspirations is me. You're even taking bits of my moniker now."

"But my bounty is higher than yours and you used to be called the Devil Child… Doesn't that make me superior?"

"I've had my moniker for 20 years, you've had yours for about a week and I'm no longer being called the Devil Child. There really is no comparison. Not to mention, I'm older then you so it's obvious that they see me as your superior."

"All I'm hearing is that you're admitting to being old."

"Portgas D. Rosan."

"...You're only 4 years older then me. You're not old."

Robin smiled serenely.

She changed her mind. Having such such power over her partner was actually really quite fun.

"Well, you're not that old," he muttered under his breath.

Her smile vanished and she lunged, much to the shocked yells of everyone there.

---

"Who decided on this design?" A scuffed Rosan asked, smoothing out a neutral faced Robin's hair with his hand as she did the same to him.

The two then began fixing up the others outfits, trying to make it as presentable as possible while ignoring the amused looks shot their way from the brawl they just had.

"I'm sure that in just the span of a week, you've gotten into more fights with Robin then anyone else has," Mod giggled.

"Mother's logic flies out of the window when it comes to Father," Ram nodded sagely.

Robin hated that they were both entirely correct. She felt like a different person when Rosan chose to be insufferable and it was going to ruin her image.

"We did!" Masira and Shoujou puffed up proudly at his question. "Well, what do you think?"

"Don't ask him that! Please don't ask him that!" The Straw Hats cried comically in their mind.

"Zero points. Stupid animal choice. Stupid design. Chickens don't even fly for long... are you saying that you picked this terrible design because we'll fly for a short amount of time before dying?" Rosan judged critically, expression incredibly unimpressed. "You should have chosen a Dragon. If I could rate something in the negatives... I would... Actually, negative three points."

The two ape like men fell over in depression, rubbing circles into the dirt with their fingers.

"Did you have to be so harsh?" Cricket asked with an amused smile, tugging at his arm sling and stopping when Chopper glared at him.

"I was just speaking my mind," Rosan replied calmly. "Thinking of ways to lessen the blow has never been my thing."

He wasn't lying about that… except for when dealing with Meiko. Rosan absolutely despised seeing the blonde upset so he always watched his words when he felt like they might make her tear up.

(He didn't know that the tears were just to make him feel bad. Meiko had long gotten used to his blunt and rude nature so she utilized it to make him less of a dick)

"I think it looks cool!" Luffy replied honestly. He grinned at the ship and began slapping its side repeatedly. "Look, I bet Merry can fly!"

Shoujou and Masira instantly got back up at that and the three began dancing with each other, idiots that they were.

"Focus guys, it's time to head out!" Nami barked, ensuring that everything was in place.

The crew quickly clambered onto the ship on Nami's orders, as they began to set sail to the Emperor Cloud.

Cricket watched them all go with a neutral expression, glancing back at his retrieved gold and remembering what this random crew did for him.

They had no obligation to help him out. He had attacked them unprovoked, yet they helped him recover and even got his gold back from Bellamy...

"MEN!" He roared. "DON'T MESS UP! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, GIVE IT YOUR ALL FOR THEM!"

"RIGHT!" They cheered.

"Straw Hat, no matter what anyone says, no one has actually proven that Shandora or Sky Island don't exist! People can laugh at dreams or say that they're legends and we'll let them laugh because that's part of the adventure!"

Luffy grinned and began nodding along eagerly, even as their ship began setting sail.

Cricket grinned in return. "Thanks for returning my gold. Don't go falling out of the sky now."

"Right!" The Straw Hat captain beamed, waving eagerly.

"Stay focused. I reinforced the ship while they were working on it but anything can happen," Rosan muttered, keeping his gaze forward.

The Straw Hats nodded at his words, straightening up in preparation.

"I'll be ready to transform at any moment," he informed them, pointing at his slit eyes to stress his point.

It never ceased to amaze them how useful Rosan was when he chose to be. They could understand why he didn't want them to rely on him because honestly it was practically cheating seeing how much he could do.

They were well on pace to make it to the Knock Up Stream thanks to the redhead helping speed up repairs (The Bellamy Pirates really did a number on it) and it was making all the weaker hearted crewmates nervous.

Rosan hummed a gentle tune as Robin sat next to him on the rail, enjoying the gentle waves and how they enhanced the redhead's voice.

"You have a nice voice," Sabo commented, much to the agreement of others.

He hummed often so they were aware of it, but he kept it rather short. This was the first time he hummed for an extended period of time.

The redhead paused to regard everyone listening. "Singing is one of the hobbies I enjoy more then others… Mom used to sing to me and I picked up her habit... I even learned how to play the piano because I like how it sounds with my voice the most. I tend to sing to Mod-chan and Robin so that they can sleep easier."

Ram absolutely adored when he was singing but she tended to knock out instantly, which was funny considering she was the last one among them that needed sleep.

"He's been a good singer since a child," Robin smiled. "I'm glad to know his voice getting so deep didn't change anything. The deepness actually helps me fall asleep faster now. It's soothing."

"Ah, I love when he sings me to sleep! It makes me feel like a princess," Mod smiled happily.

"That's why you should have been my musician!" Luffy complained. "You can play the piano and sing... that's perfect!"

They blinked at that, staring at the redhead for confirmation.

"I didn't want to be the musician, or the cook, or the navigator… so I just told him I'd scout," Rosan told them all.

They sweatdropped. That sounded exactly like Rosan.

"So you're the "humble scout"… because you didn't want to do anything else?" Nami asked, sweating heavily at their insufferable redhead.

"Sounds about right. I just told him the thing I could do easiest that barely required effort on my part. I used to scout my enemies all the time before I killed them so I figured I could do that for Luffy and it wouldn't require me to do too much," he explained.

"He's so scary!" The coward trio thought with a cold sweat.

He mentioned killing them so casually! Couldn't he be just a little normal?

They could understand why he was so… seemingly lazy though. He didn't want information on Modification to leak at all and he acted accordingly, keeping an offhands approach or working in the background so that no one noticed him.

From what they could tell, Rosan was actually amazingly active and it was rather surprising because they didn't see him really do anything when they first met him.

He would just disappear, come back, make a really rude comment when they inquired about it and successfully divert the attention off of himself.

But whenever he vanished, which was very often, it seemed like he was up to something that benefited someone in some way...

"You're very useful," Sabo remarked with an impressed gaze. "Any organization would kill to have someone as resourceful as you on their side. I know the revolutionaries would be salivating at your abilities. You'd help us out a ton just with what you bring to the table."

"That is why I do not show what I'm capable of," Rosan said quietly. "Many people would kill to have me. There is no user of Modification who has been able to do what I can because this fruit was made for me and not them. If the World Government realizes that… who knows what they'll do to me."

"Despite your wording... it's true that I am your Devil Fruit just as you are my wielder. I will never have such synergy with anyone else," Mod admitted.

"That is why I won't let them have me," Rosan assured.

If they ever captured him... Rosan wasn't so sure they'd execute or kill him.

Perhaps they'd use Mod's loyalty to him to keep her tied to the organization by turning him into breeding stock and feeding his children the Devil Fruit after getting their use out of him.

No matter what, Mod would never kill anyone born from him. She was his mother and that meant any children of his, would be her grandchildren. Killing them would tear her apart.

Perhaps the virus wasn't all that useless… In the case that happened, they'd be needed to escape.

"Mod-chan... in the event that outcome does happen... influence my child to your side. If they cannot be swayed from the World Government... you must take over that body and make it yours. You are your own person now and you've seen all we can do. Use that opportunity to live out your life."

Mod sat stunned at what Rosan said. "Don't! Don't you dare even bring up such a grim scenario, Rosan. How dare you even suggest such a future?!" She shouted angrily.

"I will do my best to ensure it doesn't happen... but you have to account for anything. I will not acknowledge a child born from me with the sole intention to subjugate you so please, free yourself. You have my approval."

"..." Mod said nothing before nodding tightly. "I... will honor your last wishes if that is it. But it won't get to that. I'll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't."

Sabo nodded, expression serious as he immediately understood the gravity of Rosan's abilities.

He was planning on telling Dragon about the man's Devil Fruit to see if they could employ his help sometime… but he'd hold off on that for now. The Chief of Staff trusted his leader unconditionally but he wanted to earn Rosan's trust rightfully.

He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if information leaked and Rosan was captured as a result. His brother had been through too much.

"As if I'd ever let them capture you," Robin said, eyes stormy as she idly gripped Rosan with a firm hold. "I'll break them into pieces if they even think about it."

She already lost him once and she'd be damned if she lost him again. That depressing future he just brought up... there was no way she'd ever allow that to pass.

"Yeah! You're stuck with us," Nami agreed, poking her tongue out at the redhead. No way would she let them take away her annoying older brother figure! They still had way too much antics to get into!

"I still owe you that best meal," Sanji scoffed. Rosan may have annoyed him to no end but that didn't change the bond that the two had and the chef would risk his life for him without any hesitation.

"Y-Yeah you can rely on us!" Usopp agreed nervously.

The thought of the redhead getting targeted by such dangerous people scared him to no end but they were friends and Usopp was trying to be a brave warrior of the sea! If he couldn't protect the friend who motivated him, he'd never be able to call himself that.

"It's my job to make sure your safe and you bet I'll take it seriously!" Chopper said determinedly.

Everyday, Rosan was forcing the reindeer out of his shell and making him more comfortable in his skin. Day by day, he was getting more and more comfortable with the term "monster" because his scout was fine with being called that too!

"We're crewmates so of course we'll keep you safe," Zoro nodded like it were obvious.

It's not like it was needed... the scout was plenty strong on his own but if he ever needed a hand, obviously they'd give him one.

"Yup, you're my scout!" Luffy beamed.

"T-That's so adorable!" Mod squealed. Their little crew were some of the cutest kids around and she hoped Rosan realized he was apart of them sooner rather then later!

"They understand Father's importance so I approve," Ram grinned.

Robin gazed at the crew with a bit of wonder in her eyes.

Rosan stared at them all with that customary neutral expression of his. His head was tilted to the side and they could see the faint glow that was not there when they first met him (Chopper excluded).

It honestly looked like he appreciated their words.

Of course, they knew that was never the (obvious) case when it came to Rosan.

"My weakling crew is talking about protecting me," he snorted. "Worry about yourselves first. If I go missing for even a day, you guys threaten to sink to the bottom of the sea."

They all gained tick marks.

"SHOW SOME APPRECIATION, YOU DICK!" Nami, Sanji and Usopp roared.

"Thanks for becoming sacrificial pieces for me," Rosan said completely insincerely. "I won't forget your loss. Robin and I will shed one tear each."

Their tick marks deepened. H-He was so insufferable!

"You won't let me die?" Robin asked, voice tinged with amusement.

"Of course not, if you die, I'll be dead too because I'd have lost control… or Luffy and I died first," Rosan replied easily.

"Oh…" The Devil Child said, clearly surprised by his conviction. Her expression turned a bit worried at that.

"Rosan... please don't sacrifice yourself for me. I wouldn't be able to stand myself if you were to throw your life away for me," she said seriously.

The redhead immediately shook his head. "I won't ever throw my life away for you because that would mean that I can't spend another day with you... but if I do die trying to protect you, that means I tried everything in my power to keep you safe," he said sincerely.

Robin's eyes widened at that.

Rosan continued unimpeded. "I fight every battle with the intention to win and survive because I know people will be devastated if I die. I just got you back and you think I want to risk not seeing you again? I'm selfish you know," he smiled softly.

"Right..." Robin nodded a bit dazed.

Nami, Ram and Mod's eyes gleamed at that.

"Look at you, Rosan," the navigator crooned. "Robin sure is important to you isn't she?" She prodded.

The redhead nodded without hesitation, not bothered by the question. "I'd give her the world if she asked for it. She's done more for me then I can put into words and is the one of the main reasons I didn't lose my mind when I was younger."

"She's the rationality to my insanity so I'll protect that with my life," he finished, tugging his stunned best friend close.

"Oh he's good," Nami gaped a little. It probably wasn't even his intention but the redhead really had a way with words that just forced you to acknowledge them.

"Damn he's good," Sanji cursed. His love rival was way too good with his words and the chef should have known that considering they had inspired him for so long when he was younger.

He wasn't even trying right now! The redhead was just speaking his mind about what he honestly thought...

Robin's mouth opened a little at his matter of fact statement and she stared at her best friend for a very long time.

That… was really heart warming.

Rosan caught her gaze and she saw his eyes glow just a hint brighter.

Ram's gleam turned unsavory. Any moment now and they'd definitely throw caution to the wind and make out like in those romance books (she hated them so much) she had been studyin—

"WE SEE THE EMPEROR CLOUD!" The salvage pirates screamed.

"WHAT? WE SHOULDN'T SEE IT FOR ANOTHER HOUR!" Masira barked.

It's a good thing they were so on pace! If they were any later this might have turned disastrous…

The Utan Divers that were submerged under water quickly shot back up to confirm the location of the Knock Up Stream and without wasting any time, the Salvage Pirates began escorting the Straw Hats to it.

"HEAD TO THE WHIRLPOOL!" Masira demanded, as everyone quickly got into a flurry of action.

Rosan gazed down on the railing he was sitting on, as the wave's suddenly picked up in strength and began tossing the Merry.

"It's about time," he said calmly, focused on the task at hand and making sure to steady Robin as well.

She snapped out of her daze and nodded. "Try not to fall into the water. You might still have a hint of that clumsiness inside of you."

"Bite me. I haven't been clumsy since I was 8."

"GODDAMNIT!" Ram roared, punching a hole into the wall… and crumbling the entire section.

"L-Language?" Mod sweatdropped, backing away from the seething ring.

Perhaps she'd fix that after Ram calmed down.

The Straw Hats awe, quickly turned into horror at realizing they were being led directly into a whirlpool.

"WE'LL TOW YOU INTO THE WHIRLPOOL!" Shoujou yelled to them.

"SAIL INTO THE CURRENT! IF YOU MAKE IT TO THE CENTER YOU SHOULD BE FINE!" Masira shouted, over the heavy winds.

T-The current of… OF THE WHIRLPOOL?!

Usopp and Nami began screeching in fear, tears rolling down their eyes as the situation went from bad to terrible.

"NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!" Nami cried.

"STOP! STOP! LET'S GO BACK!" Usopp sobbed.

"Stop crying. Didn't I tell you? As long as you have me watching you, there's nothing to worry about," Rosan said calmly.

The redhead held out a finger and his little bird flew on it, chirping in happiness at having a perch to rest on.

"Good job, you can rest for now. You aren't needed at this moment," he praised quietly.

They all instinctively went calm at the measured voice of their scout and allowed his tranquility to wash over them.

Everyone watched with serene expressions, as a massive sea king burst out of the water, unconscious from the outrageously strong waves of the whirlpool before being brought back under.

…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SAVE US! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Usopp, Nami and Chopper screamed, hugging the redhead for dear life as panic once more washed over them.

Rosan closed his eyes and sighed. "Utterly hopeless."

"This is getting exciting!" Sabo and Luffy grinned. Besides Rosan, they were the only ones truly unbothered by what was going on and were just excited to see what was about to happen next.

"See ya guys later!" Luffy waved to the Salvage Pirates. "Why are you guys screaming so much! If we don't do this, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!"

"I promised Ace that I wouldn't have anymore regrets so we have to go," Rosan agreed.

"Perhaps Rosan has been infecting me a little too much because the entire ordeal does seem fun," Robin smiled.

"We're already in too deep. We can't back out even if we tried," Zoro shrugged.

"You don't get to experience things like this often! Enjoy the moment!" Sabo grinned.

"I'll keep you and Robin-chan safe!" Sanji assured.

"They're all nuts!" The coward trio thought. W-What was wrong with these monsters?!

Before anymore panic could ensue, confusion took its place as the whirlpool vanished.

All of them blinked.

"It disappeared?"

"Where'd it go?!"

Nami went white. "It's already begun!"

Rosan's gaze went sharp at the sight of a ship approaching.

"HOLD IT!" A man yelled.

"Oh, look Zoro," Luffy pointed out.

The swordsman raised a brow. "Him again?"

"That's the guy from Mock Town who tried to recruit Rosan!" Nami gasped.

"You again?" Rosan's gaze narrowed even further. Unseen to all, his eyes began glowing bright.

"ZEHAHAHAHAHA! We finally caught up with you, Straw Hat!" The giant of a man grinned, showing off his missing teeth.

The redhead had thought he was smarter... but showing up like this was far too stupid.

Sabo's eyes narrowed.

"We're here to collect that bounty on you and the Red Devil's head! Prepare yourself!" Teach grinned.

Before anyone on the ship could even say anything, a gigantic wave of flames caught their attention and everyone watched with slack jaws as Rosan aimed and fired at the ship.

Teach's eyes bugged in surprise at seeing the torrent of fire rush towards their ship, courtesy of the Red Devil himself. "W-WAIT A SECOND! GIVE US SOME TIME TO AT LEAST CLOSE THE DISTANCE! THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

"BOSS WHAT DO WE DO?! OUR SHIP WON'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT!" Jesus Burgess asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I thought you were smarter then you looked... but I was wrong," Rosan muttered coldly, slits staring at them without a hint of mercy.

"You are ruthless," Usopp squeaked, watching those giant flames wash over the ship with a white face.

The others nodded in unison. Rosan was not to be trifled with. On the sea, it wasn't very smart to go against the Dragon, especially if you had no way to close the distance.

"?" Rosan tilted his head at the fact that only one of them was screaming.

The flames eventually settled and what he saw, made him go cold.

"HOT! HOT! HOT!" Teach howled, shrouded in dark energy that protected his ship from the brunt of Rosan's attack. Despite protecting the ship, he was not so lucky and was hastily patting down the destructive flames of Ragnarok on his body.

Mod went white. "T-That power… That's…"

"Rosan?" Nami asked in worry, seeing the way the redhead froze.

"...The Yami Yami no mi," he whispered.

This was the man Ace was hunting. This was Marshall D. Teach.

That whole time... he had been talking to Blackbeard?

This was the man with the most threatening Devil Fruit to him.

Robin's eyes went wide. "That's him? That's Teach?"

"Teach? Who's Teach?" Sabo asked, sensing the malicious aura radiating off of Rosan.

The crew was confused as well. Did they know this guy? Rosan tended to know a lot of people so it wasn't that confusing but just who was this?

Rosan didn't answer any of them. The man's eyes began glowing even brighter and they watched as fangs began jutting out his mouth.

Teach watched as the Red Devil took aim at them again and realized he had a severe disadvantage at sea.

He was reduced to defending and if he tried to attack, their ship would break under his strength.

This was bad.

"WAIT! LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS!" Teach screamed over the hissing flames building up. "JOIN MY CREW! WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT RIGHT NOW! I HAVE BIG PLANS AND IT WOULD BE A WASTE IF ONE OF US HAD TO DIE HERE. WE'RE BOTH DREAMERS WHO WILL SET THE WORLD ON OUR COURSE!"

Rosan didn't say a word. The flames just kept building up until even the Yami Yami no mi wouldn't be able to protect the ship from the full effects. He might not be able to kill the man, but he could certainly sink him and make sure his crew couldn't save him by focusing the fire onto them next.

Teach needed to die here.

Rosan stood on the railing, eyes glowing as bright as the sun itself.

He would get rid of him right here and now instead of letting him escape for free. Ace would be upset but he would get over it quickly.

This was far too good of an opportunity.

"Annihilat—"

The Knock Up Stream activated.

Robin swiftly pulled Rosan back onto the ship as the Merry nearly capsized and tossed him over, clutching him tightly as he landed on her body and they both collapsed.

Teach watched with bugged eyes as his life was saved by a gigantic pillar of water knocking the Straw Hats high into the sky.

His ship was destroyed from the impact but at least he'd live to see another day. Fate truly favored him in that moment.

"Next time, we're fighting them on land," Blackbeard decided, holding onto a log.

"Aye Captain," his crew decided, all sweating at their near death experience.

---

"Angle my head at that Sea King."

Robin nodded and did just that, grabbing his head and gently facing it towards the falling monster.

The Straw Hats eyes bugged as Rosan opened his mouth and instantly charred the Sea King with the massive burst of flames meant for those pirates.

"Tch," he scoffed, watching the baked fish fall out of sight. "If we don't focus, our ship will end up like that too."

With that, he rested his head back on Robin's body and allowed her to rake a hand through his hair.

"He's definitely annoyed," they all thought, getting into a flurry of action to keep their ship steady and climbing.

"Are you annoyed?" Robin asked knowingly, using her Devil Fruit to assist with Nami's barking orders.

Rosan said nothing for a moment and Robin gently prodded him.

"I had him," he frowned. "He showed up gift wrapped for me but somehow, he managed to survive. I let the user of the Yami Yami no mi get away when I could have killed him."

"We could have rid the world of him but of all the things to save him… What terrible timing," Mod frowned. The Yami Yami no mi was no good in the hands of someone who was practically confirmed to be their enemy.

"WE'LL CATCH THE WIND AT STARBOARD AND SAIL TO PORT! WE'LL LET THE SHIP FOLLOW THE CURRENT!" Nami barked.

"AYE AYE!" They chorused.

"It's okay you two," Robin assured soothingly. She continued to run a hand through his hair to drain out his tension and smiled as the redhead allowed himself to relax without hesitation.

To think the boy who lost his trust in people at such a young age, could rest so easily in her grasp. It filled her with a warmness long forgotten, to know that Rosan still loved her so much.

"Ace will take care of him. We need to focus on surviving this ordeal and for that, we need you to not be grumpy in case something happens, okay?" She finished.

"Of course, mother," he replied eventually, eyes opening slowly to regard her.

"I prefer Robin-nee," she told him. "Mod-chan can keep the honors of being called Mother. She secretly loves it."

"D-Do not!" She protested, knowing damn well she did.

"You're my partner not my older sister," he said calmly.

Robin rolled her eyes at that. "It's no wonder people get the wrong idea. You aren't helping at all with their perception of us!"

The duo idly watched as the Going Merry began to fly from the efforts of the crew and Rosan snorted.

"Let them think whatever they want. You should only care about what the people who love you think and I should only care about what the people who love me think," he replied quietly, taking in the sight.

Who said ships couldn't fly? Actually… a flying ship didn't sound like a bad idea.

Actually… perhaps he could find a way to make the White Rose aerial. It was food for thought and would give him a way to fly around without summoning either of his wings.

"WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy cheered.

"This is great!" Sabo laughed.

"I can't believe it!" Usopp gaped with bugged eyes.

"W-Wow!" Chopper awed.

"Well whaddya know?" Zoro grinned.

"YOU'RE AMAZING NAMI!" Sanji screamed with heart eyes.

"Of course, your opinion is the only one that matters, Prince Rosan," Robin bowed mockingly.

She yelped as the redhead pinched her cheek and glared at him.

"Don't call me prince. I may as well not have royal blood," he demanded bluntly. "Good job guys. I didn't have to do anything just yet but if there's nothing past those clouds, I'll be ready."

"RIGHT!" They chorused.

Robin made sure to get him later. Trying to quickly change the subject after doing that would not go unpunished.

They all watched in anticipation as the end of the cloud grew nearer and nearer.

"Wait a minute…" Nami suddenly said, horror seeping into her as a realization hit. "We're about to fly straight through a super dense cloud."

That was bad, especially for their Devil Fruit users. That cloud, combined with the Knock Up Stream…

"What's the problem?" Luffy asked.

Judging by the way Rosan went alert, he also realized what flying through that cloud entailed but he was too late to do anything about it.

"O-Oh no…" Mod whispered in horror. If they really did go into such a dense cloud then—

The Straw Hats all gaped as they smashed into the clouds and water enveloped everything.

Rosan had never actually drowned before. When the sky was your domain, you didn't have to worry about falling into the ocean.

He guessed a sea in the sky countered that and it was disastrous as a result.

The redhead stayed calm under the effects of drowning, but that immediately vanished as he felt his connection to Mod and Robin die.

An almost mythical panic, one that he hadn't felt since Meiko died, seeped into his body at not feeling that steady hum of his mother's presence.

Where was Mod-chan? Where was Robin? Ram…? Where did they go? Mod-chan…? MOD-CHAN?! RAM?! ROBIN?!

WHERE WERE THEY?!

Was he… Was he alone again…? Alone to suffer… again?!

Memories of being shocked repeatedly, slammed into his body and Rosan began to struggle even more despite how nauseatingly weak his body felt right now.

The sheer panic he was in, had brought his buried trauma at the hands of Doc right to the forefront once more.

It was just like when he had seastone. He couldn't feel anyone, he felt so weak, he felt so helpless because he was imprisoned. Imprisoned with seastone and an insane doctor and there was shocking and his body was burning and burning and burning and burnin—

The redhead's eyes rolled to the back of his skull, as he was overwhelmed by the lack of air and the trauma of a time where he felt completely useless.

He fell unconscious with one last watery breath.

---

Memory Viewing With Robin and Rosan - 4

Continued (Covers Chapter 17)!

Italics = Memory talking mostly

---

"I'm still shocked you know how to cook so well," Robin smiled, eating the rest of her sandwich with a pleased hum and feeding one to the Ram who chose to sit out with them.

Rosan snorted. "I'm not anywhere near as good as Sanji but I think I could beat the rest of his fellow chefs at the Baratie.

Ram nodded enthusiastically in Robin's lap, munching on the sandwich with a pleased hum. "I don't like to eat but I always make an exception for Father's cooking!"

The redhead smirked at that and leaned over, messing up Ram's hair, much to her joy, with a pleased hum. "Thank you Ram."

"Anytime, Father! Now let's hurry and view your memories again! I miss Auntie," the ring demanded, already transforming into her default form and nestling on Rosan's finger.

"I'm glad you love me so much, Ram," Mod rolled her eyes as the taller woman squeezed her happily.

"Of course! I spend the most time with you so I miss you easily," Ram beamed.

The Devil Fruit flushed at that, a smile on her face as she returned the hug.

Rosan grabbed the dishes and placed them in the sink, quickly washing them as he glanced back at Robin. "Is there anything you'd like to do before we continue watching?"

It was the middle of the night and the duo were of course, resting in the castle so Robin couldn't quite think of anything.

As she was about to say no, a thought struck her.

"Could... you show me Meiko?" She asked unsurely, glancing up at the redhead washing the dishes.

She had wanted to gaze at Meiko with her own two eyes for a while now but the memories still hurt. Robin wasn't kidding when she said she loved Meiko like Rosan did because everything he felt and saw in her, Robin had felt through his memories.

Rosan paused for a second, clearly caught off guard by the question, before he finished washing the plates.

Robin watched him quietly dry his hands off with a towel and it was a testament how off guard the question caught him, because he wasn't using Modification to do it.

Eventually he nodded. "I won't hide anything from you and you already know where she is... so yes, I can show you her."

He knew that Robin had grown to love Meiko as much as he had... it was a natural consequence of viewing his memories. It would be cruel of him, if he said no to her request because she was just as obligated as he was.

Her heart swelled in appreciation at that answer and the two quickly departed from the kitchen, making their way through the beautiful castle and heading upstairs.

Robin had never actually been upstairs in the castle. Rosan seemed to keep everything downstairs instead and didn't seem to have anything up here to warrant visiting normally.

She could see why.

The entirety of the upstairs, seemed to pay homage to Meiko in some way. Whereas the castle had a black and purple theme, upstairs was blue and white, with a dash of yellow. Everything had a heavy feminine touch to it, that was colored one of Meiko's signature colors and it all led to a singular door (he must have removed every other) at the end of the giant hallway.

As they the duo walked down the hall, Robin gave Rosan's hand a short squeeze and he immediately squeezed back, gazing at the door like he had done so a million times.

Robin felt a small sense of trepidation, that clearly only affected her, as Rosan effortlessly pushed the door open.

Lying there, on a massive bed, almost looking like they were sleeping... was Meiko herself.

The girl didn't look any different then the first time Rosan had placed her in here. She was still donned in that beautiful white dress, she still lie in the middle of the bed... she was still smiling that gentle smile of hers... and she was still 14 in appearance.

Robin felt her throat lock up at the sight of her and approached the bed, before tentatively raking a soft hand through that gorgeous blonde hair of hers.

"I'm... so sorry we never met, Meiko," Robin whispered, bowing her head slightly. "We may not have ever actually known each other, but I truly do love you and I will do anything to bring back the Rosan you fell in love with... I know you'd be heartbroken otherwise."

Rosan listened to her declaration with a stony expression.

He would love more then anyone then to return to the man Meiko loved... but how could he? It seemed so impossible at a glance and perhaps he'd never be able to become that person again...

But he'd try to get close. It was the least he could do... he didn't want to let anyone else down.

Robin planted a gentle kiss on the woman's temple and smoothed her hair out, before standing up and approaching the redhead.

He saw her wavering a bit and immediately engulfed her in his warmth.

"It's hard... but I'll be here to make it as easy as I can for you," he muttered, noticing the way she shuddered slightly.

"Even now, I find myself so overwhelmed... I can only imagine what you had to go through... I'm so sorry, Rosan," she whispered in return.

Rosan said nothing, just hugging her close.

This wasn't about him. He would make sure she was at least alright because it would take too long for him to be alright.

After all, he hadn't been alright for a long time.

Eventually, Robin settled down and glanced up at the warm eyes of Rosan.

"Thank you for being here for me," she muttered. "We... can head back to continue the memories. I've done everything."

Rosan gently picked her up and placed her on his back. "Alright, let's head back to our room then."

With that, they quietly left the room and Rosan gently shut the door, before walking off.

---

Robin got situated close to Rosan, still a bit emotional from seeing Meiko and the redhead simply offered her presence as Mod began the memories.

The Devil Child watched curiously, as the memory began with Rosan and Maro heading over to Fregate in their casual clothes for once after hearing news about the Raid Suit being finished.

Maro, hyperactive child she was, kept badgering Rosan to hurry up and get dressed... even despite the fact that he was getting ready at a faster speed then her.

"I hate that Goblin," Ram muttered with a roll of her eyes, watching her best friend shamelessly gaze at the undressed Rosan with greedy eyes.

Robin giggled. "Maro sure knows what she likes. She always watches you change," the woman said, voice filled with amusement as Rosan hardly spared the invasion of privacy a glance.

"Don't you like Angel? Go watch her change," Young Rosan intoned quietly, applying Modification to his hair so that it could quickly dry.

"And die?! No way! You won't kill me for being who I am!" The Young Maro beamed shamelessly.

"Being you?" Young Rosan questioned with a tilted head, before placing his shirt on. "Very well. Do whatever you want."

The 12 year old took the invitation with gusto, getting changed herself.

"OH! THAT REMINDS ME!" Maro shouted. "So Master... y'know how I like Angel right?"

Rosan nodded.

"Well... I also like you too!" She explained.

A pause, before the redhead slowly nodded again.

"Is this going where I think it is?" Robin asked in amusement.

"What do you think's about to happen?" Rosan replied in return.

"You're about to give someone their first kiss... again," The Devil Child replied with a small smile.

"...Good guess," the three inhabitants muttered.

True to Robin's guess. Maro wanted to try and see what her feelings for Rosan actually were, so she asked the redhead to kiss her.

Little Rosan saw no problem with it and delivered one to the flustered Goblin... but to Maro's surprise, she realized she didn't feel too ecstatic about it.

"Just how many first kisses have you taken?" Robin asked in amusement, no longer embarrassed by the memory of how often Rosan used to kiss her.

The redhead thought about it. "Mod-chan, you, Meiko and Maro... that's all I think," he listed.

Mod blushed and ducked her head at that. "I can't believe my first and only kiss was from my little boy..." she sighed.

"And that's how it's going to stay. You aren't allowed to date," Rosan said calmly. "If you ever want a kiss... ask one of us."

Mod gaped. "Y-You utterly insane and insufferable child! Can't you guys hear him?! Stop this madness!" She pleaded, gazing at Robin and Ram.

The Devil Child had the decency to look away. "Would it be bad if I said I don't want you to date either?" Robin said a bit sheepishly.

Ram nodded enthusiastically. "You're ours, Auntie!"

"They're all insane!" Mod thought in disbelief, watching as her 3 favorite people... barred her from dating of all things! "So if I seriously wish to date... you'd all prevent me?"

"Yes."

There was not a hint of hesitation in any of their voices and Mod was beginning to think these little psychopaths were actually serious.

"What would you even want to date? Why would you even want to date? That's gross, Mod-chan," Rosan chided.

"I don't want to date anybody! B-But the fact that if I did, you three wouldn't allow me, is utterly absurd," Mod spluttered, red eyes wide in confusion.

"It's because you're too adorable. I don't want a sweetheart like you to get taken advantage of," Robin replied sagely.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS INSANE!" The Devil Fruit roared, blushing furiously at the compliment.

Ram shook her head. "See! Look?! You can't even handle a compliment! We just want what's best for you!" the ring said sincerely. "Just imagining someone taking advantage of our dear caretakers insane curves... it makes me so angry!"

Mod turned an atomic shade of red. "...I will not let my children tell me what I can or can't do. I-If I wish to date... then darnit I will date!" She protested.

"..."

No one said anything for a moment... before the worst possible choice decided to take initiative.

Ram tackled Mod to the floor.

"R-Ram g-get off of me! You can't decide these things for me!" Mod struggled, trying to push the taller woman off of her.

"Nuh uh, Auntie! I'll dissuade you in anyway I know how!" Ram grinned psychotically.

Mod's eyes widened in shock and her struggles renewed. "R-Ram I swear to all that is—"

"Enjoy my first kiss, Auntie! Everytime you consider dating, I'm gonna do this! Mwah mwah mwah mwah!"

Robin and Rosan watched Mod turn into a red statue, as Ram relentlessly assaulted her with repeated smooches.

"She is absolutely your daughter," Robin said idly.

"I'm beginning to think that more and more... this is a genius idea" Rosan hummed curiously.

The Devil Child sweatdropped.

---

Ram was sitting very far away from a fuming Mod, using both Robin and Rosan as a shield from the terrifying wrath of her super scary Auntie.

Mod was scowling with a bright red blush, as she continued the memory, glaring at all three of them.

"You three are so lucky I don't want to date," she growled.

"..."

"Hey Robin pay attention to this, you will probably do the same thing when you eventually get your Raid Suit," Rosan informed the Devil Child.

"Oh? I should pay attention so that I don't end up embarrassing myself in front of so many people," Robin nodded.

Mod's scowl deepened as they ignored her.

They were in so much trouble.

"So once consumed... our Devil Fruits combine with our lineage factors... which means we basically become the Devil Fruit don't we?" Robin mused, watching the rare interest in Rosan's eyes as he learned about the genetic makeup of human.

Rosan nodded. "It reminded me of a conversation I had with Mod-chan back at Daybreak... when she said we partially fused with each other to compensate for the fact that I was cuffed with seastone. I just chalked it up to her being the only conscious Devil Fruit... but perhaps Mod's consciousness is the "Blank Zoan" and that's what I fused with... it would explain why I can transform so proficiently."

Mod blinked at that and her expression turned thoughtful. That made a lot of sense but Mod herself never quite looked into her supposed "Zoan" side.

"Fascinating..." Robin muttered, both at Rosan's words and the screen.

As Hiroshi handed both Maro and Rosan their Raid Suits, the duo wasted no time placing them on and it was there Robin saw what they were capable of.

Insane durability, the ability to jump incredible heights, hovering in place... Quite frankly, the Raid Suit was absurd.

"It's not as strong as the version's Judge creates but they do the job we need them to do," Rosan muttered, watching as his younger self and Maro activated the suits.

"I find myself rather eager to gain one... my defenses aren't the most impressive so this would help bolster me by quite a bit," Robin admitted.

She already knew how Rosan's Raid Suit looked in its default form, considering she had been wearing it but it did fit the way he dressed well. With the long open black coat (with red stripes), the form fitting red shirt (that looked alot more form fitting on his older form) and the baggy black pants along with the red sneakers... her best friend looked as stylish as ever.

Always one to show off. That was his charm she supposed.

Robin had never see Maro's Raid Suit on the other hand and she smiled fondly at how the Dokkaebi seemed destined to be a princess.

She wore a predominantly white and blue battle dress, with sleeves that stopped at her elbow and a skirt. She wore long, knee length white boots and long white gloves that met where her sleeve ended.

Combat Princess was an apt term. She looked incredible.

Robin had to admit, Maro's changes were truly astonishing. It was why she found it so hard to believe that the tiny little thing the Devil Child had seen before... had been the Goblin Princess herself.

Now, she was incredibly strong with an outfit that was made for her, enhancing her to a level that made the Dokkaebi even more dangerous then she had already been becoming.

"Maro with her Raid Suit... It's annoying because she just doesn't really take much damage," Rosan grunted. "I saw how durable a Dokkaebi naturally was and decided to enhance her endurance... it worked a little too well. That girl is a tank."

"Their spars are like an Unstoppable Force vs an Immovable Object," Mod chimed in. "Maro has incredible strength, but Rosan has her beat in those regards... while Rosan is very durable, but Maro trumps him in that regard."

The fact that Rosan's offense was somehow better then Maro's with the Raid Suit enhancing her to this degree, was a testament to how much of a monster the redhead was... his Raid Suit didn't even come close to Maro's in terms of offensive capabilities!

Incredible... Robin was really interested in seeing her own Raid Suit now.

Inspections done, Young Rosan immediately transformed his canister into a very familiar armband, nestled neatly on his left arm.

"Do you wash that?" Robin asked offhandedly.

"I will dump you in a bathtub full of water," Rosan replied calmly.

She smiled.

The smaller redhead grabbed Maro's canister so he could transform it into whatever she wished for and to Robin's surprise, the future Queen chose earrings because she wanted them to be the memento that reminded her of the life that Rosan gave her.

"Maro is just the cutest," Robin sighed fondly. She had no idea that the Queen's earrings (now that she thought about it... she had never seen her without them) was her own Raid Suit but it made plenty of sense. Rosan's own earrings were his Save Point after all.

"Thank you Master. As long as I'm still breathing, I will always be Grim, the faithful partner of Reaper," Maro declared softly.

The moment Maro said those words, Robin saw something flicker in Young Rosan's eyes and she knew that sentence... was what made him come to the decision to separate from her.

"You have a great eye," Rosan said quietly. "Yes, that's right. That was the very moment I chose to separate from Maro specifically."

Maro specifically?

"When did you choose to separate from the twins?" Robin asked softly.

The redhead closed his eyes. "The time I caught Angel crying in a room by herself," he said truthfully. "After I helped her get better... I saw a resolve in her eyes that didn't sit right with me. She was planning on trying to save me at all costs and I vowed to eventually separate myself from her and Demon so that they could live a life without me."

Robin nodded at the mature redhead. He probably didn't want to do it. Rosan was extremely possessive... so for him to let those three free meant he truly did think that was best for them and he might have been right.

They loved Rosan, that was clear... but those three had a completely separate responsibility now that had nothing to do with the redhead. Celadon was their island and without realizing it... it had become incredibly important to all three of the rulers.

"I'm so proud of you, Rosan... for coming to such a difficult decision," Robin smiled, running a hand through his soft spikes.

"...It was very difficult but it was for the best. I am a terrible leader and it affected them the worst," he whispered.

Robin shook her head immediately. "You aren't a terrible leader at all, Rosan. You were young. It's only natural that you made mistakes... even without any proper guidance, you still managed to do such an amazing job raising three amazing people. A terrible leader would never have let them go but a great leader knows what's best for everyone... and you knew what was best for everyone."

Rosan paused at that and glanced at her, eyes going slightly wide.

"I... never thought about it like that," he muttered.

"That's because you never think positive things about yourself. You're too self critical," Robin admonished. "Come now, you have the presence of a King and the blood of royalty... start acting like it! It's why you're such a good leader."

"...Please refrain from bringing up my royal heritage."

"No. It's fun. My best friend is a Prince."

"Robin... shut up."

"...No I don't think I will."

Mod smiled brightly at their interactions. Rosan always deeply considered Robin's words. It was just the effect she had on him. The Devil Child was never afraid to speak her mind and she was as intelligent as him to boot, so he respected her all the more for it.

Everyone told him he was a great leader but he was too set on his failures, to acknowledge his accomplishments.

Maro was a queen because of him. And she wasn't just an average queen. No, you would think a serious Maro was born with royal blood because of how naturally she fit her role as the ruler of Celadon. The citizens loved her with all their heart and vice versa. The thriving kingdom wouldn't have been thriving, if not for how well Rosan raised the Dokkaebi.

But he only saw how he scarred her when they first met. He was truly the most critical person to himself and it was detrimental now.

Thankfully, Robin knew exactly how he worked. She had spent years dealing with his nature so she knew exactly what to say.

"Let's continue the memories. It's time to officially see how we made Maro a Queen," Rosan said.

"I look forward to seeing how insane you both are... despite being total opposites, Maro inherited a lot of things from you," Robin smiled.

The redhead snorted with a small smirk. "That she did... except for her perverted streak. That's all her."

Everyone laughed at that.

---

"So you just grew this much out of nowhere?"

"That's right. I grew quite randomly."

"You're like a beanstalk... but I was still taller then you at this age you know?" Robin responded, watching Maro lament being so much shorter then Rosan.

Because the redhead was so talented, the Dokkaebi scarcely found things to brag over him... and her height was one of the few things she could use... but now Rosan was very noticeably taller then her and even now, he towered over the Queen.

"You would have been 18... how tall were you?" Rosan asked curiously.

"The same height as I am now," Robin replied. "I didn't change very much over the years."

"Now I'm taller then all the people who made fun of my height," Rosan replied, a superior gleam in his eyes as he pulled the shorter Robin close and began messing up her hair.

The woman squirmed in his grip but didn't even bother trying to escape it because he was far too strong. "You know... when I ended up 6'2... a little part of me thought that there was no way you were going to grow taller then me without Modification helping you... then I saw you again and remembered that you are a genetic monster."

The redhead simply smirked that insufferable smirk of his. "I told you it was only a matter of time before I grew," he said at the exact same time as Young Rosan.

"We thought you were full of shit!" Maro shouted angrily.

"What she said," Robin smiled in amusement.

Young Rosan offered them all the chance to land on an upcoming island and took it as an opportunity to force Maro and Angel to hang around each other.

"Doesn't it seem like Angel also has a crush on Maro?" Robin asked curiously, watching the slight way Angel lit up at hearing she was going with Maro.

Rosan hummed and nodded. "I think they've both been attracted to each other for a while. They spent a lot of time together alone because Angel was teaching her and they even bathed with each other... Angel is just terribly unaware and oblivious."

"She does strike me as oblivious..." Robin muttered.

"There's no way you two of all people are saying that?!" Mod and Ram gawked at the two clueless best friends.

Seriously?!

As Young Rosan and Demon traveled the island, Robin couldn't keep the surprise off her features.

"This... is Celadon?" She asked in stunned confusion.

This was how one of the most prestigious islands in the North Blue looked? It looked downright awful and the fact that this island was changed into how it currently looked... reminded her eerily of Maro herself.

The island truly reflected the leader...

Celadon was dirty. The people were depressed, the buildings were beaten down and crumbling, the plants were dying... it was the complete opposite of the current Celadon, where everyone was bursting with life, advanced buildings stood tall everywhere and it clashed amazingly well with all the greenery.

To see where it had all started from... made Robin appreciate the island even more. It was genuinely incredible how much effort was clearly poured into the island...

And it all started because Maro had stepped up for the people of Celadon...

The Dokkaebi had confronted Rosan, to see what they could do to help the people of this island... but to her surprise Rosan refused.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm no hero. I'm not going to help some people out of the goodness of my heart unless it benefits me in some way. So let me ask you again, what reason do I have for helping these people?"

Robin watched in interest as Rosan secretly encouraged Maro to stand up for what she thought was right and not what he did.

"By doing this... you're undoing all the things you told her on that day you know?" Robin said with a small smile. "Your values are hers, she fights for you... she's your weapon. Are you sure it's wise to be encouraging the complete opposite?"

Rosan glanced at her. "If she was my weapon, of course I would never have encouraged her to contradict my values... but Maro is not my weapon. Maro is my prized student. Someone like her, doesn't deserve to be relegated to my right hand for the rest of their lives."

Everyone smiled a true smile at that, watching as Young Rosan apologized for what he did to her.

For him to realize that Maro relied too heavily on him... to the point where she didn't have a life outside of him. To strive to get rid of that, Robin would never believe anyone if they said Rosan was a bad leader.

"I am sorry for what I did to you Maro. I took advantage of your conditions and raised you into a valuable asset, but at the cost of you yourself."

The Young Rosan ducked his head at that and they watched the tears in Maro's eyes grow as she furiously shook her head.

The girl didn't see anything wrong with what Rosan had done because in her eyes, it had worked. She was strong, with people who cared for her and no one could take advantage of her kindness...

But that therein lie the problem because there was something wrong with what Rosan had done and he was the only one that fully realized.

That was why he was doing this. Because there was no other solution.

"I love you, Master and I don't want you to think that you failed me because you did the exact opposite. Even now, you are trying to help me grow as a person!"

"You love me?" Rosan had asked, caught off guard by the declaration.

"Of course I do, you idiot!"

"Of course, how silly of me," Rosan said softly and Robin saw the exact moment he made the decision to leave them all here.

"Was it hard? To make the decision?" Robin asked the redhead softly.

He tilted his head. "I... I wasn't sure I wanted to do it at first... but then I brought up my concerns with Mod-chan and when even she agreed that this was for the best, I made up my mind."

Mod shook her head. "You would have come to that decision no matter what... our talk just helped you come to terms with it."

Robin looked thoughtful at that. "It's only natural... you've been caring for these 3 for a long time so letting them go must have been difficult. You did good."

Naturally, the twins protested heavily, not understanding why their creator would just leave them behind but if there was anyone Rosan felt he failed as much as Maro, it was the twins.

Maro thought he was abandoning her, no longer finding her useful.

None of them wanted to be away from Rosan... but Rosan didn't want to be any of their #1s.

He made as much clear to them and even though they hated it so much... hearing that even Mod agreed with his decision made them all finally concede.

"I really didn't want to let them go either," Mod confessed quietly. "They are all my children. How could I ever want my children out of my sight... but it's also a parents duty, to make sure that their child receives the best life possible and even though it hurt then... I'm so proud we let them go."

Robin pulled the woman into a tender hug. "You should be proud. Look at how much they've changed! You two knew that they needed to not be with you guys in order to grow... and they've done that and more."

"She's right," Rosan said as he and Maro began the march towards the king's castle. "More then anything, I wanted them to leave each other more then they loved me and I've achieved that. I am no longer #1 in Maro's life. Angel, Demon and all her citizens are #1 and she'd even strike me to keep them safe... and vice versa."

That's all he wanted. Now, if anything happened to him, it would hurt... but they'd have each other to rely on.

"Making her a Queen right off the bat was a bit much though don't you think?" Robin smiled in amusement at the absolute thrashing the duo were delivering onto the king's guards.

"My student deserves nothing less. I would never let her be anyone else's soldier," he replied truthfully.

Whatever Robin was about to say, was cut off by the appearance of a lone man that Rosan didn't even give the luxury of finishing a sentence.

She had been about to comment on how ruthless the child was... before watching in a bit of horror, as the man known as Hibiki reformed from being shot.

"A Logia..." Robin said warily at the exact same time as Young Rosan.

"Fuck," Maro cursed for them all.

What followed next was probably one of the more frustrating matches the duo had to go through that wasn't Judge.

It was probably doubly frustrating because they knew they were stronger then the Earth Logia but they just could not damage him!

The man utilized widespread earth techniques to try and attack the swift duo but it was all for naught. Neither were able to get a hit on the other and it was a complete standstill...

Up until Maro made a mistake and got caught in quicksand of all things.

Young Rosan watched in slow motion, as a dangerously sharp pillar flew towards Maro with intent to kill and the redhead began moving before he could even think.

Robin gasped in horror, as Rosan launched himself in the way of the attack meant from Maro and got skewered by the stone before the bloodied boy modified it.

"Are you alright?" She couldn't help but ask the current Rosan.

He gazed at her worried expression and nodded. "It hurt but I've felt more pain before so I could ignore it... the problem came from when I healed the hole up with the stone. The more severe the injury, the more exhausting it is to heal."

She nodded. It made sense. Robin wasn't sure how the Philosopher's Stone worked exactly, but it was apart of Rosan and probably didn't use thin air to heal his injuries.

No, it probably just enhanced certain functions of his body to absurd levels but not without any costs.

"He's so interesting," Robin couldn't help but think.

Then she saw his next actions.

"You're so stupid!" Robin exclaimed, rounding on the redhead with a glare. "What were you thinking?! Going out there after losing that much energy?! No, nevermind. You weren't thinking at all were you? Do you ever stop to think sometimes?" She chewed into him, watching as he got caught by a stray attack that broke his leg.

Rosan paused as Robin tore into him with a perplexed expression. "I didn't want Maro to fight him alone, We just needed to stall him for abit."

"There are ways to stall without engaging in combat!" Robin stressed. "Your plan involved holding his son hostage! Why would you go out into the open again when you're so exhausted?!"

"...We couldn't risk him getting suspicious," the redhead retorted. "If we retreated, any normal person would assume we went to go tend to our wounds and he may feel obliged to take the king back to his home... by keeping him distracted, this allows Demon to get into the house and put himself in a good position, while Angel sets up the transportation for him too."

The Devil Child frowned at him. "There are better ways to approach this. I would have made Maro utilize her illusions and invisibility, to keep him distracted."

Rosan smiled slightly and pulled her into a hug. "That's why we're good for each other. You show me more passive options that lead to victory and I show our more aggressive ones. We balance each other out very well, whereas Maro and I enhance the others aggression only. We are both berserkers."

Robin sighed as her anger melted away immediately. "I suppose you're right. I do mostly solve things without too much aggression but sometimes, it's needed."

"The best defense is a good offense!" Ram beamed.

Robin and Mod sweatdropped.

She watched as in an uncharacteristic move, Rosan forced the Logia to give up by using his son as a hostage. It made it clear to Robin that if he wanted to, Rosan could be infinitely more evil and dangerous. Modification gave him the freedom to pursue any lifestyle he so choose.

Hibiki was in a truly unwinnable situation. It's not like he could get his revenge on the duo for killing his son. They had already shown they were capable of escaping him and they could both fly. Rosan and Maro could have escaped at any time.

Even if he didn't care for his son, it was only a matter of time before Rosan resorted to assassinating the king. He had become an expert in espionage over the years as Reaper and something as simple as breaking in and killing someone was almost too easy for him.

No matter what he did, Hibiki would lose.

So he chose the option that would cost him the least.

Saving his son.

It was genius and utterly immoral on Rosan's part, but like he told Maro, he had not much better options.

It was just unfortunate that someone useful like Hibiki, had chosen to side with the king. When working under such a terrible person, it was only a matter of time before your actions bit you.

So they escorted Hibiki to his temporary ship and sent the man off, promising that his son would be safe for years to come...

And then Rosan's wings burst out and he immediately pursued the sailing ship, before sinking the Devil Fruit user and causing him to drown.

"He would have been a useful ally but I can see why you had to do it," Robin muttered. Poor Maro really was such a sweetheart. She even felt bad for the Logia.

"If I had a proper way to subjugate him, I'd have done that instead... but my hands were tied and leaving him alive was too costly. I wouldn't want to hold his son hostage for all eternity after all," Rosan replied.

It was necessary and even now, he felt no guilt for what he did. His only regret was not being able to secure that Earth Logia. It would have been quite the boon for anyone in Maro's army...

A shame. He wondered where it was now.

"You're far too greedy," Robin chastised with a shake of her head. Despite that, she was smiling at how much Rosan was encouraging Maro to move on from him.

"I don't want you to go through that feeling with Angel. You love her and I don't want you to go through what I did. Protect her with everything and keep her safe, Maro. Don't become me," Young Rosan said gently, rubbing her hair soothingly as his eyes bored into her own.

Maro realizing that he wanted their lives to be more stable... without traveling endlessly made her give in and she succumbed to his desires.

"Settle down, get married, adopt a child."

Robin couldn't contain the laughter at seeing Maro say she had a few ideas on how Angel would agree to a child.

"What did she mean by that by the way? Auntie laughed so she had to know," Ram mused, with a furrowed brow.

Mod shook her head in amusement. "I'd rather not explain it. Maybe Robin can?"

Robin blinked and shot Mod an annoyed look, as both Rosan and Ram looked over at her.

She sighed.

"I'm very sure Maro was thinking of having you impregnate her. It would make sense considering Angel is a clone... a child between you and Maro would be their child basically," the woman explained patiently.

Ram's jaw dropped. "T-That fucking pervert!" She growled.

"Language," Mod admonished with an amused smile.

"She's far too depraved," Rosan sighed. "I would be willing to donate I suppose... but I'm really not ready to have any type of child at the moment so she'll have to wait a bit," he muttered to himself.

Robin, Mod and Ram all paused in disbelief at that.

"You'd do it?!" They gaped.

Rosan blinked. "I wouldn't have sex with Maro, no. Despite her constant flirting with me, I do think she has no real interest in doing that..."

"I'm not so sure about that," the three sweatdropped.

"...But if her and Angel agreed to it then of course I would... I think they deserve to raise a biological child if they so please and I'm the only one who can really do anything to make it both their children instead of only Maro's..." He finished, watching the Princess stand before all her subjects.

Robin smiled at that. "You're right. They do deserve it... but only if Angel agrees to it. Maro is far too depraved for her own good."

The redhead snorted at that and nodded. "Of course. Maro has no say in the matter."

The Devil Child smiled at that and watched as Maro made a demonstration of the corrupt king in front of all the anticipating citizens.

"It's been far to long since you have all had anything But that was before I showed up. I will make this land the most prosperous in the North Blue and I need you all to support my goal. For you people, who have had nothing, I will give you something. My name is Maro and I am the Goblin Princess!" The Dokkaebi shouted passionately to the crowd.

"MARO, MARO, MARO, MARO, MARO, MARO, MARO!" The crowd roared..

This was why she enjoyed watching Rosan's memories because Robin could confidently say she loved and adored all three leaders of Celadon. Maro especially, had taken an opportunity and ran with it until the world that refused to acknowledge her, finally did.

It was incredible. From being homeless to becoming one of the most important figures in the North Blue. It made her remember the confident grin Maro had shot Rosan's way, as the Dokkaebi assured him that she would become his greatest supporter yet.

Yes, Robin could see why Rosan was proud of her because she was too.

"I'm glad she even learned how to deliver speeches like you," Robin smiled. "Hold your head high, Rosan. Maro's accomplishments are truly impressive and she fought and fought despite her situations... but you have to remember that you are her teacher. She wouldn't have gotten here without you and you must own up to that, in both the negative and positive ways."

"!" Rosan's eyes actually widened a bit at that and he gazed at her with a slightly surprised expression.

"Own up to everything, huh?" He muttered to himself but they all heard him. Finally, he nodded his head. "I think you're right. I need to start claiming both the good and the bad side of things... instead of just the bad."

"That's all we can ask for," Mod grinned brilliantly.

Robin nodded before focusing as the memory shifted once more.

The redhead didn't deign to show her the utterly mundane stuff so that they didn't actually spend years watching his memories (it was expertly being filtered by Mod to show general things) so she was confused to see Rosan all on his lonesome in the White Rose.

It was soon made clear to her that this memory was being shown, to understand what Rosan's next course of action was.

After so long, he finally decided it was time to pay Ace a visit. Robin was slightly disappointed that he took so long, but Rosan really had been preparing to look for him because of Meiko and he had been seriously making efforts to find out his location.

That's how he knew that Ace was in the East Blue, residing in the Goa Kingdom. He had been tracking Garp's random movements in the Blue Seas and came to that conclusion after noticing the consistency.

Unfortunately, Meiko died before they could figure out the actual location and Rosan ended up like this instead.

Robin frowned sadly. Well, at least he still managed to muster up the resolve to find him. Rosan was the type of person to run away from his core issues until he saw no other choic—

Her train of thought halted, as the White Rose was suddenly bombarded with fire.

The Devil Child went still. This was... Was this what she thought it was?

Really? So soon after separating from Maro?

She watched the stony demeanored redhead transform into Reaper before appearing on the deck of the ship.

Her concerns were answered, as she saw the ship that had fired at them.

"A Celestial Dragon... so this is when Rosan got his bounty..." Robin thought. She had thought he was insane when he explained what he did... but their meeting had already started on the wrong foot when Rosan was randomly attacked by the gigantic ship.

What happened next, only solidified that. The World Nobles were the peak of the World Governments corruption and they ticked off, quite literally, every single one of Rosan's red flags.

Even despite that, Robin had to applaud Rosan for at least trying to be civil. It's not like he was the main aggressor here and it was actually rather surprising for her best friend.

But then the World Noble cemented his grave with a statement.

"Get me a slave collar. I want this unique creature. He has an interesting pair of wings that I need. I want to see if the feathers will grow back after being plucked by a razor! We could use them for fashion if they do!"

Robin felt a small scowl form at that. "He tried to have you enslaved?! Who does he think he is?"

Her little Rosan, being subjugated to yet another cruel person... just the thought made her shudder with fury.

Clearly, Reaper didn't take to that very well either.

Robin watched as the emotionless man gauged the rulers of the world with a neutral expression.

But his mind was a completely different thing. Gone his emotions may be, Rosan was still Rosan and his emotions simply amplified the hate he already had.

This man had just casually labeled him a slave? He had been imprisoned for 6 months and this man wanted to do it again for the rest of his life? While torturing him to boot?

Unforgivable.

These were the people that got to rule the world? These people got to do whatever they wanted, while people like Meiko, died? This is what the Government considered Justice? These filthy pieces of garbage got to dictate the livelihoods of anyone they wanted?

Unacceptable.

Robin shuddered at that.

It was only natural that even despite Mod's insistence on how bad of an idea this was, Rosan still carried it out.

"Do you want to know something interesting, Jeremiah-san? At any given point in time, something truly unfortunate can cause a person to meet their untimely end. Whether it's a little infant, who's too sick to remain alive, or a powerful individual who simply got unlucky... Death has no bias."

Reaper's voice was calm and collected. It was almost as if he were giving the man genuine advice, instead of very clearly setting up to kill him.

Even the guards of the Celestial Dragon, weren't fast enough to understand that Rosan was threatening him in broad daylight. After all, who would be insane enough to not only attack a Celestial Dragon... but do so in the middle of the day, with eyes on them, while having a conversation with them too.

But no one understood who Rosan was.

"My name is Reaper, the Angel of Death, and though I don't feel like I'm qualified to do this, I am Death and just this once, I am about to deliver justice onto justice itself."

Robin watched with wide eyes, as Rosan immediately decapitated Jeremiah after that sentence, holding the man's clueless head in his gloved hand.

The man's body had collapsed on its knees as blood sprayed everywhere yet none landed on the Angel of Death.

"I normally ask a person if they have any final wish or words... But you've been born with everything and you speak nothing but garbage."

Then he tossed the head away and began the utter destruction of the ship. The Angel of Death killed every single person and sunk the ship all at the same time.

With startling ease.

"Exoneration."

The ease at which he destroyed that ship... could he do that to any ship? Even ones from the Buster Call?

"I hope you understand... that the rumors about you were even worse then what I just witnessed," Robin said calmly. "That's why I didn't even want to slightly risk encountering you... even after I thought he looked like you in your disguise. There was so little information out about Reaper that I wasn't sure what to believe..."

To be blunt, Reaper was terrifying. A figure covered from their head to their toes, in a black and white cloak (two ominous colors), with magnificent and massive black wings... as well as a unique scythe.

Not only that, they randomly appeared in parts of the Blue Seas and ruthlessly hunted down bounties with dreadful efficiency. No one knew anything about them, but they knew that if you had a bounty and were in the Blue Seas, it was only a matter of time before this terrifying enmity came after you.

No matter where you were, no matter where you ran, they would lock onto you and hunt you down before the day was even over... then appear in another sea and do the same thing to another person.

That was the perception Robin had of him. A figure who would jump at the chance to hunt down the highest bountied person in the Blue Seas.

That was Reaper, The Angel of Death, the Shinigami that was worth 500 million beris.

That was her best friend... the utterly insane Rosan.

"I still can't believe he didn't even hesitate," Mod sighed, shaking her head at his actions.

"That asshole deserved it!" Ram growled. "There's no way you would have let him be enslaved either, Auntie!"

The purple haired woman's face instinctively transformed into an uncharacteristic sneer, before she caught herself. "Of course not! It's just... I've been hearing so much about World Nobles for so long, that I didn't think anyone would be crazy enough to actually attack them!"

Robin let loose a fond sigh. "But that's just Rosan, isn't it Mod-chan? You and I know well how insane he is. I'm surprised he even let the Noble speak."

Mod let out a fond sigh herself. "Yes, we know him very well. It's incredible how logical the two of us are... and we ended up gravitating around an utterly psychotic boy with way too much charisma for his own good."

The Devil Child pulled the shorter woman close and let loose a short laugh. "It is rather funny but would we trade it for anything else?"

"Not even for a split second," Mod mumbled.

Rosan smiled at the two. "You two are boring so it's my job to spice up your lives. It's worked too, I'm sure your personalities have evolved with me making an impact."

"More then I would have liked it too," Robin retorted with a tired glare. Rosan had forced her out of her shell long ago and considering he had been influencing her since she was still a child, her changes had been significant.

She wouldn't admit that she loved this current version of herself because she hated throwing Rosan a victory.

"You give me all this personality then make fun of me for being sappy!" Mod growled. "I've been dealing with these two bullies for years, Robin! Please help me!"

"You love it!" Ram retorted, crossing her arms. "Auntie Mod is the most dishonest person with her feelings ever!"

"WHO LOVES BEING BULLIED?!" Mod roared, tackling Ram to the floor and pinching her cheek.

Ram squealed at that. "O-OW! AUNTIE THIS ISN'T HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT THE PERSON WHO'S FIRST KISS YOU STOLE!"

"I STOLE YOUR FIRST KISS? YOU ASSAULTED ME!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE MY FIRST KISS GOT STOLEN BY SUCH A BRUTE!"

Robin watched them argue with a serene expression. "Poor Mod-chan... even she's succumbed fully to Rosan's insanity."

Rosan shrugged. "People only allow those they admire to influence how they act. Mod chose to become like this because she loves me."

Robin sweatdropped. "I really don't like how you use such insightful quotes, to support your terrible habits."

The redhead snorted. "You only dislike it because that quote specifically resonates with you as well."

"...Let's go to sleep," Robin muttered, standing up...

Only to yelp as Rosan tossed her over his shoulder.

"R-Rosan put me down!" She struggled in his grip. Seriously, why was he so strong?!

"No. It's my job to put you in situations you wouldn't allow yourself to be put in, so enjoy my shoulder," he smirked in an utterly infuriating manner.

"I'm serious, Rosan! Down!" Robin demanded.

The redhead completely ignored her. Instead, he pulled the feral Mod off of the terrified Ram and did the same to her.

"A-Ah! ROSAN PUT ME DOWN!" Mod demanded as she struggled in his one-handed grip.

Why was he so strong?!

"This is just the effect of my insanity, no?" Rosan retorted smugly, modifying both their clothes into sleepwear. "C'mon Ram, we're going to sleep."

Ram rubbed her cheek but nodded. "I'm sleeping away from Auntie! I can't believe she would steal my first kiss and then proceed to assault me! She's so toxic!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Mod shouted, struggling even harder in Rosan's grip. "ROSAN, PUT ME DOWN AND PUT ME IN A ROBE! I DO NOT WANT TO WEAR SHORTS TO SLEEP!"

"No. You already wear a dress nonstop, it's time for change."

Robin just sighed in defeat and accepted being carried away.

There was something wrong with Rosan.

---

Bonus!

---

A knock on the door interrupted the Queen working on setting up her desk. She was doing so with intense concentration and almost looked triumphant at finishing up.

"What do you want? I told you I don't need help fixing this desk. I've practically finished already," Raisa said calmly, not even glancing up at the door as she tidied up her room.

"It's not that my Queen," Jen said patiently, opening the door. She was a pretty and tiny petite thing who Raisa towered over, dressed in a modest blouse with a head of brown hair. She was unassuming and rather bland (to Raisa's eyes) but she was one of the few who could work in her presence efficiently.

Raisa smoothed out her dress and glanced over at the secretary. "You are nervous." She pointed out bluntly.

Jen glanced away from those piercing purple eyes, nervous energy seeming to radiate off of her that her Queen saw through with no effort.

This was why it was so difficult to work for Raisa. The Queen could see through anyone so it made hiding things from her impossible.

Jen heard that the person who worked before her had been plotting against Raisa and had been found out immediately. The woman had wasted absolutely no time in extracting every piece of information out of the person, before executing them.

No one wanted to risk being found out of something (no matter how small), so they all refrained from even applying to the position as her secretary. Jen had been basically the only one willing to and after being interviewed by the Queen herself (it was nerve wracking) she had been immediately offered the chance.

It paid incredibly well and Raisa wasn't that difficult to deal with so she had been in this position for quite a while.

Right now was one of the difficult times working for her...

"You have... visitors," she said as professionally as she could.

Raisa tilted her head to the left and hummed. "And what visitor would make you so nervous greeting me? Is it Sengoku? Has that fossil come to pay me a visit himself?" Her deep voice questioned curiously.

Before Jen could answer her, the secretary saw Raisa freeze.

She didn't know how, but the woman could feel people with some strange technique and there was no doubt in her mind that the Queen of Wisteria had just done so.

Which meant she knew exactly who was waiting for her outside those doors.

Raisa's eyes transformed into slits. "Get them out of my sight. I already broke one table, I do not wish to destroy another along with my entire castle," she ordered, a scowl forming on her features.

How dare they? The absolute audacity for them to walk into her castle with the intentions of speaking to her.

"My Queen... they said you might say that and insisted," Jen said as patiently as possible.

Those slitted purple eyes bored into her and she wisely stopped talking.

"I do not care what they insisted. I insist you tell them to leave before I get upset," Raisa said in a chilly manner, dismissing the secretary by turning her back and tending to her desk again.

"Raisa... is that really necessary?"

"Can't we just... talk?"

The woman froze before taking a deep breath and schooling her features.

"What exactly is it that you want to talk to me about after 24 years..."

Raisa turned around and smashed her presence into the two unforgivable traitors.

"...Oren and Dalia?"

Oren and Dalia flinched back, as their sister's sheer presence loomed over them. She gazed at them with a neutral expression, but there was such an intense rage in her eyes, they nearly lost their train of thought.

Those royal purple eyes glowed brightly as she gazed at them with obvious contempt.

Jen bowed lowly and immediately fled the room, shutting the door behind her and making sure to call up guards incase things went south.

Raisa gazed at her older brother and little sister respectively with a neutral expression but on the inside she was a torrent of rage.

"H-Hey, sis—" Dalia tried to greet only to be interrupted immediately.

"Let me take a wild guess," Raisa started with a hiss. "You saw my son's, yes that is my son, bounty poster and realized that it's been 24 years since you abandoned your own sister without a single word?!"

"It took you 24 years to decide to pay me a visit... and the only reason is because you realized that I GAVE BIRTH!" Raisa shouted, raising her voice at the two.

Oren realized how bad their actions looked in her eyes and shut his eyes.

It was tiny, unnoticeable but there was no doubt that Raisa was hurt by their actions and she covered it all with anger.

Dalia shrank away, tears pricking her dimming blue eyes at the words of her older sister.

"Well I won't tell you a damn thing about what I went through so if that's all, please kindly get the fuck off my island," Rasia hissed, pointing towards the door.

"Raisa we're sorry," Oren bowed lowly, head touching the floor as Dalia followed suit.

"W-We never should have let our jealousy get in the way because you didn't deserve that. Yes, Rosan might be the catalyst but he also helped us realize just how terribly we treated you for something that wasn't even your fault," Dalia whispered in sorrow.

Raisa couldn't believe them. It had been 24 years since she even heard a peep from them and they thought they could just apologize? And everything would be solved?

And it always came back to him. Rosan. Her son. Him. Him. Him. Him. The core result of everything that had gone wrong in her life.

"Mere months after I took the throne, Wisteria was attacked," Raisa said, anger mounting slowly but surely.

Oren and Dalia's eyes both widened at that.

"One man. One man showed up just for me and he began destroying everything in his path to achieve that," the queen whispered.

"Mother died. Father died. So many of my soldiers died before I was able to reach and engage him..."

Oren and Dalia's eyes widened in dread at the news of their parents death.

Raisa was glaring at them now. "I fought him tooth and nail and I could have won but I had to account for the lives of too many people who were getting caught in the crossfire. I had my hands completely full and I lost because of it."

The two flinched back at that.

"You two should have been there to help me at least a little. Just enough support to guard the people but no you were off making sure we had no contact because you were upset with me about something I tried my hardest to salvage."

She really did try... Oren and Dalia felt terrible because of how unaccommodating they were to Raisa's attempts to forge a bond with them.

Raisa's anger melted away and she just shook her head in disappointment. "Mother and Father died, my island was in ruins and I had just been raped and impregnated... It took me years to restore this island from the damage he caused and I didn't hear a single word from my own brother and sister."

I had just been raped and impregnated.

Oren's purple eyes widened in horror. "You were... he did... what?"

Dalia felt herself quickly get overwhelmed with emotion at the news and her tears fell. "You were raped, Raisa?"

Raisa hadn't even realized she was sharing information but perhaps a part of her still saw them as siblings. "Didn't I tell you? He came here for me specifically. He targeted me for my looks, my potential, my everything so that I could give birth to his perfect child..."

"And based on the bounty poster, it's clear I did," she said bitterly.

Clear she did? Raisa didn't know about Rosan...?

Raisa of all people abandoned her own child?

"If you are looking for Rosan, he is not on my island. He has not been on my island for 24 years. If you wish to anything about him, you'll have to find and ask him yourself."

The woman sighed and shook her head once more, face shifting into something far more neutral. "That's all I'm willing to share with you both. As far as I'm concerned, our sibling bond is as good as dead. You may stay on this island for as long as you see fit. After all you are apart of our royal lineage but do not speak to me unless you have something important to say and make sure you schedule a meeting first. I am a busy person."

With that the Queen turned away from her siblings and began inspecting her desk once more, muttering to herself about finishing this quickly and pretending like they weren't there.

Oren and Dalia flinched at her clear dismissal... realizing that they barely got anything out and finding themself wilting at what happened to their sister.

"Did I mess up somewhere? Impossible, I never mess up," Raisa muttered as she nudged the table with a delicate hand and watched it shudder. Her brows furrowed at that and she decided that she'd fix the faulty desk (it was not faulty) that she ordered—

Four arms wrapped around the Queen and she froze at the sensation.

"Nothing we did will ever make up what we did to you," Dalia whispered in sorrow. "We won't make any excuses, we won't run away anymore. We're sorry Raisa. You didn't deserve any of this."

"You never have to forgive us... but we won't turn our backs on you anymore. You were an amazing sister to us and it took us too long to see that... No matter what, we'll be here to make it up to you in anyway," Oren told her.

"..." Raisa said nothing for a moment. Then, the woman shook her head and said, "Do what you want. Like I said, I will not forcefully remove you from our island since you are royalty as well but that's as far as my hospitality will go. Now go."

They didn't comment on how she did not return the hug. Her siblings simply nodded their heads and prepared to leave.

"See ya, Raisa," Oren waved.

"We'll come visit tomorrow!" Dalia promised with a reassuring grin. "I really missed you sis and I'll make you see that no matter how long it takes."

Raisa glared at them. "I told you not to visit me unless—,"

The door shut as they left.

"—It's something important..."

The Queen sighed, neutral expression melting off her face in favor of weariness that no one was allowed to see. That she reserved for when she was truly alone.

When was the last time she was hugged? When was the last time someone actually put their hands on her?

Oh that's right... it was when she had been bringing her newborn son to another island. She had allowed her body one hug because that is what it had been desperately craving as she held the tiny thing in her grasp...

Her siblings were back and they didn't plan on leaving either. Raisa should be pissed and she was but... but she should be even more upset with them.

It seems her traitorous body still held a love for them. Fitting that a traitor would love more traitors.

But they were only here because of Rosan. They weren't here because of her. It always came back to her only child.

Rosan. Rosan. Rosan. Why did it always come back to him? Was that how special he was?

"I hate you..." she whispered, glancing at the only article of paper that was on her newly crafted desk. The only thing she had made an effort to keep in her sights at almost all times.

Wanted: "Red Devil" Rosan – 100,000,000 Beris

"I hate what you represent. I hate what you took from me. I hate that no matter what, you are always brought to my attention..."

Raisa shut her eyes as a single tear escaped her from the overwhelming emotions of today and she slumped over the table with a defeated stance.

"...I hate that no matter what I say or do, a part of me will still always love you, Iris D. Rosan."

---

Character Sheet - Raisa

Name: Iris D. Raisa

Gender: Female

Born Sea: South Blue

Age: 42

Birthday: February 7th

Personality: Cool and collected, incredibly confident, always in control of themselves and has no fear inside her heart but has a very short temper when something does affect her. Despite her impenetrable wall, underneath is a person just as emotional as the rest of their lineage.

Affiliation: Wisteria (Current)

Summary: Iris D. Raisa is the sole monarch of Wisteria island and has held that position from the moment she turned 18. Groomed and raised for the role, everyone could only watch in awe as the prodigy shattered expectation after expectation, usurping the role from her older brother Oren and having all eyes on her, much to her displeasure. Despite some hiccups, Raisa was able to bring her island back to an even more prestigious level then it was at before. No one knows what the stalwart Queen is thinking, but all her citizens rest easy knowing that she is watching over them.

She was attacked mere months after becoming Queen to the unknown father of Portgas D. Rosan, Cutter, and gave birth to her son. Wanting nothing to do with him, but not having the strength to kill him, Raisa abandoned her son the moment he was born on a nearby island in the South Blue.

Devil Fruit: ?

Type: Mythical Zoan

Description: ?

Appearance: Tall with smooth wavy red hair, bronze skin, very curvy, royal purple eyes that glow. Mostly seen wearing a purple battle dress that allows ease of movement, while showcasing her status as Queen. Widely considered to be one of the most beautiful people on the planet.

Height: 6'2

Favorite Food: Honey Baked Ham, Soft candies, various other poultry and meat of the rare kind.

Disliked Food: Pears, Chocolate.

Likes: "None of your business."

Dislikes: "A queen has no business revealing such info."

---

Character Sheet: Oren

Name: Iris D. Oren

Gender: Male

Born Sea: South Blue

Age: 44

Birthday: October 14th

Personality: Carefree and mature after having to watch over his irresponsible little sister. Tends to go with the flow but is willing to take the lead if he needs to. Underneath his relaxed demeanor is a bundle of insecurities due to his upbringing.

Affiliation: Wisteria

Summary: Iris D. Oren is the oldest out of the three siblings. Born 2 years before Raisa, he was slated to become the king before his sisters prowess quickly overtook him. His parents began neglecting both he and his youngest sister and their treatment only got worse, when they realized their oldest son liked men. Though not as much as Dalia, Oren still began harboring slight resentments for his too perfect sister Raisa and he left that island at the earliest chance possible (when he was 16).

Has always regret what he's done to Raisa but was too afraid to do anything about it.

Devil Fruit: ?

Type: ?

Description: ?

Appearance: Tall with smooth black hair that reaches shoulder, bronze skin, broad and muscular, royal purple eyes that glow. Tends to wear shorts and shirts that he leaves open to showcase his torso. Considered very handsome.

Height: 6'4

Favorite Food: Meat, Lasagna, Hard candies,

Disliked Food: Soup, potatoes

Likes: Dalia, Raisa, Relaxing in the sun, Birds, Cooking.

Dislikes: His parents, The dark, Rats, When people stereotype him based on his appearance.

---

Character Sheet: Dalia

Name: Iris D. Dalia

Gender: Female

Born Sea: South Blue

Age: 40

Birthday: September 21st

Personality: Cheerful and carefree, party girl, a bit of a ditz, not an ounce of responsibility in her bone. Does whatever she wants but is warm and caring to those she likes.

Affiliation: Wisteria

Summary: Iris D. Dalia is the youngest sibling of Oren and Raisa. At a very young age, was neglected in favor of Raisa and grew to resent her older, more talented, sister. Years of being compared to her only deepened that resentment and at 16, convinced her older brother to leave Wisteria with her so they could be free of their parents judgemental gazes. She mostly spent the years establishing a stable way to live (Oren did this) and the two have lived comfortably with each other for all those years, going after bounties if they needed money.

Began regretting what she did to Raisa, after realizing the middle sister had nothing to do with their treatment and even tried to help him. Has been avoiding her due to that fear.

Devil Fruit: ?

Type: ?

Description: ?

Appearance: Short with curly red hair, bronze skin, petite, ocean blue eyes that glow. Stylish so wears a variety of clothes, but enjoys showing skin so often wears shorter things. Considered very pretty.

Height: 5'4

Favorite Food: Shrimp, crabs and many types of seafood

Disliked Food: Anything difficult to eat. Things with no flavor.

Likes: Oren, Raisa, Partying, Long baths and shopping.

Dislikes: Her parents, insects (especially roaches), being compared to anyone.

---

This chapter was not supposed to be this long... I added like 20k extra words then I intended haha! But we're finished and we're back!

We're going straight into Skypiea but had to do a little development chapter first! What do you think? Hope you enjoyed it!

Rosan's bounty got revealed and he has no idea why it's so high. He doesn't realize that the Marines know he attacked that one base all the way back in the Arlong Saga so he's drawing other conclusions and none of them look good to his eyes.

We caught a glimpse of Teach too! And in this timeline he recognizes both Luffy and Rosan. Ace has become way more of a family man so he brags about them a lot... and even though he talked about Luffy in canon... it's easy to not recognize him. But a black haired boy with a redhead older brother? Much easier to distinguish so I figured most of Whitebeard's crew probably recognizes them now.

Hopefully I handled the meeting between Rosan and Teach well. Rosan isn't curious enough about Teach to learn his identity and even if he did... he'd probably attack him and get captured as a result so they just had a talk and Blackbeard seems to sense Rosan's sleeping ambition too!

One thing I really like about Blackbeard, is how goal focused he is. He is focused on his objective and nothing else besides securing his own victory. He doesn't think about how his actions really affect people, as shown when he immediately invites Ace to join his crew. Dude just killed Thatch and greets Ace like nothing happened. Hopefully I handle him well in this story, I have rather big plans for him in the future.

Hopefully you liked the tidbits with Raisa and her siblings. I wasn't planning on adding that bonus but I decided to. Just doing a little bit of world building don't mind me.

Oh! I also finally revealed the name of Rosan's father. Cutter is not a randomly chosen name but that's all I'll say!

That's about it for now so I'll see ya next chapter!

Chapter 35: Skypiea