Jay sat alone in his room reading the newspaper. "All of these pirates, they don't understand the potential of their own fruits. If I had them, I'd be much stronger. I'd make it to pirate king in ten years max." He put the newspaper down, picking up a book as he flipped to a page. "All these fruits, they'd work much better in my hands." The devil fruit encyclopedia, he inherited it from his father, he read through it and couldn't find a single fruit that he wouldn't use. Well, except the jacket jacket fruit, that one was so bad even he couldn't think of a good way to use it. He pitied its current user.
"My garden will provide me with one eventually, as long as I'm patient I'll get my wish. There shouldn't be a pirate king for quite awhile."
Unfortunately, 10 years passed when Jay finally found a devil fruit. He had already entered his early 30s and the world has gone to shit since a new king of pirates was crowned. There was no longer anything for him to work towards, no reason for him to become a pirate with a king like that leaving behind an even bigger legend than Roger. But it was fine.
He'd train his fruit as far as it could go. It took two whole years until he finally had what he needed. His garden provided him with seven other fruits and now it was time for him to return. 12 years ago when his legacy should have begun, with the awakened power of the return fruit, he'd do it. He'd return to the past and claim his rightful place as pirate king. He'd send back his mind and the will of the seven fruits, with the hope that at least one would fall in his hands.
Jay set down his encyclopedia when memories flew into his head. He didn't really know what it all meant yet. He immediately ran outside to his garden, he ran through it, looking over rows and rows of fruits. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything. He assumed he was just daydreaming again, when he was ready to give up, his butler entered the room. "Young Master, I found something that might interest you."
Jay looked up, seeing a plate in the man's hand. "You got me dinner? I guess I could eat, I'm just about done here."
The butler smiled. "No, I found one of those fruits you like so much. The west blue has tons in circulation, after using some of my old connections I was able to find you one. All the others were already sold, but this one just showed up today. They didn't know its abilities so they sold it for the standard price of a hundred million."
Jay smiled, from the rush of memories he received he shouldn't have had a devil fruit for at least another decade. That meant it must have been one of the fruits he sent back, it wasn't a dream after all. He immediately ran over to open up the dinner plate where he saw a pink tangerine. He recognized its appearance, the devil fruit owned by a yonko. 'So my memories really do mean something, according to today's paper, big mom is still alive and well, holding another big tea party. I really did go back in time.'
Jay grabbed the fruit, immediately biting into it as the familiar wretched taste overwhelmed him. "Thank you Goto, we must prepare."
"What preparations should I make?" He asked.
"First I'll need you to take me to my father's armory." Jay told him. "If we're gonna become pirates and go after the one piece, then we should do it right."
Goto nodded. "It'd be fun to step back onto the battlefield with you at my side, but you lack the proper training. Preparations may take awhile." He opened the door as Jay walked out into the hall.
"Good point, teach me the basics. My fruit should allow me to make up for the rest, at least for a while."
"Master!" A voice yelled out as a child turned the corner running into Jay's arms. "The Head maid is bullying me again." She whined.
"Silia." A woman called out sternly. "You can't bother our Master just because you don't want to clean."
"It's fine, Gloria. In fact I have a personal task for her." Jay looked down at the girl. "You turn 11 this year, right? That means your position in this house will be chosen. How about I teach you to be a Garden maid instead. You won't have to clean nearly as much."
"But you said you don't want anyone in your garden except you and the old butler." She said, wiping away her tears.
"I'm heading away for a while to become a pirate. My father managed to collect quite a lot of treasures and money before his death but his legacy as a pirate was limited to the west blue. I need to show the world I'm better and I finally found out how." Jay explained.
"You're leaving? Can't I just go with you?" She asked. "I want to be your personal maid, I promise I'll do a good job. I'm already a really good cook."
Jay ruffled her hair. "Maybe when you're older, right now I really need someone to look after my garden and you're the only one I can trust to do that."
"Alright." She sulked. "But you have to promise."
"Of course." Jay promised.
"Young Master, she's far too inexperienced to look over the garden. Shouldn't we get a more experienced maid?" Gloria asked.
"If it's his will then we have no right to question it. He's not a child anymore." Goto reminded her.
"Even so, it's irresponsible to have a child watch over a garden on her own. He may no longer be a child but he doesn't know what it means to lead yet." She argued.
"Gloria!" Goto glared at her. "Are you questioning the young master?"
"It really isn't that serious, I said she'd look over the garden so she'll do it. If theirs a problem, I could always have you executed in town square." He joked.
Gloria nodded. "As you wish, I'll begin teaching her now."
Silia silently cheered as she followed after the older maid. "See you later, Master." She waved.
"Thanks for the help Goto, now let's hurry to the armory."
He dipped his head. "Right away."
You'd think I would've been in here at least once." Jay said as Goto unlocked the doors.
"I was instructed to only open it if you were ready to become a pirate, everything your father has collected over his career is in here. He didn't want you to have it unless you continued his legacy." The butler explained.
Jay grinned as he pushed through the doors, in front of him, the space opened up into a huge cave filled with water. The waterfall that he always saw when he looked out over the sea hiding the cave from view while on the water was a massive blue and black ship with the black Jolly Roger of the pirate crew his father led.
He immediately followed the pathway down. He saw weapons of all kinds lining the walls along with pictures of the crew. "He stopped sailing two years after the death of Gol D. Roger, he wanted to raise his son in a free environment so he dismissed the crew." Goto told him.
"You were on his ship?" Jay asked as he saw a much younger Goto in one of the photos with his father.
"Not exactly." Goto sighed. "I was the man hired to kill him back when he became a threat to the five families. I hunted him for many years, even as the best assassin in the west blue, I could never catch him. Later, once I learned he had a kid, I ended my chase. Eventually we became decent friends, when he quit being a pirate, he sought me out to take care of you. Since I was getting old, I decided to retire and accepted his offer."
"An assassin huh?" Jay smirked. "Like I thought, you'd make an excellent first mate, you've probably got another 20 years before you croak."
Goto nodded. "Of course, young master."
Jay finally looked over at the weapons, finding a gun he liked. Goto grabbed his own twin daggers with a purple blade. Eventually Jay toured the rest of the ship, checking the captain's quarters as well as the kitchen. "The ship is perfect, finally gives me a reason to use my new abilities, one problem though…"
"What is it?" Goto asked.
"All of these swords, none of them suit me. I need one I can truly call my own." Jay complained. "I can't set sail until everything here has been prepared properly."
"Perfectionist, just like your father." Goto gestured back towards the path leading up to the mansion. "There's a blacksmith in town we can talk to, he's crazy but his skills are unmatched in the west blue."
"Sounds good, after that we must head to the docks. We're gonna need a soul from a helmsman that knows their way around the waters." Jay jumped from the ship and began walking up the path. 'My souls must be perfect, I can't just choose them, I need them to match their new vessel.' He thought with a smile. 'Perfectionist? No, I just hate being unprepared.'
Jay waited as one of his butlers opened the door. "Are you sure you wouldn't like a guard to go with us?" Goto asked as he stepped out into the fields that led down to the massive city.
"No one on this island is dumb enough to attack us, we'll be fine. Let's just hurry up and get a sword." Jay replied impatiently.
"Right away." The former assassin dipped his head as he led the way to the city.
Jay knew plenty of the citizens, they had all watched him grow up, some of them were once even friends. But few of them had the same aspirations as him and those that did set sail years ago. "I'm going to need to hurry up if I want to catch up to the others." He spoke as he walked past a wanted poster for 20 million.
The city itself was made of stone, the school that taught all the children about the world and even the statue of his mother in the square that watched over everyone like an angel, all carefully crafted when his father stumbled upon a barren island 20 years ago.
He wondered what happened to them, his mother died giving birth to him but his father suddenly disappeared some time around his tenth birthday. He didn't mind at first, he assumed he was off to the graveyard to mourn the anniversary of his mother's death. However when his father didn't return, rumors of his death spread but no one knows if that was what really happened.
"Young master, we've made it." Goto spoke as he stopped at a small rundown building.
"This is where he lives?" Jay asked, surprised, even before he came back in time he never left the mansion. He spent all his time gaining as much information as he could from the paper and waiting for a devil fruit to appear in his garden. "I thought I informed the guards to make sure everyone on my island has a nice place to stay. I don't need any starving people plotting a revolt."
"He has refused the help of the guards, he doesn't want any handouts from the son of the man that abandoned him." Goto opened the door, slashing through a bullet and revealing the gun wielding blacksmith. "This is Khan, the shipwright and vice captain of the Skull Pirates. The crew that was once led by your father."
"I told you, I won't accept any handouts. If you people won't leave me alone, I'll be forced to act." The man scowled.
Jay walked through the door, holding out his hand. "My name is Jay, the son of Jason, I'd like to request your help with a sword. I need you to put your all into a blade that will suit me."
"Huh?!" Khan roared. "You think you have the right to ask me for a blade, you couldn't even kill a cat. You don't deserve a thing from me."
Goto narrowed his eyes, purple liquid dripping from his blade as he grabbed it. "I may respect Jason, but I have no problem sending you to meet him."
The blacksmith grabbed some gauntlets, slipping them on and standing up. "Don't think it'll be easy."
Jay held up his arm, blocking the butler. "Now, now, let's not get worked up. Give me a job, whatever it may be, once I complete it you have to agree to make me a sword. You were a pirate once, put your pride on the line."
Khan sat back down. "Fine, get me the materials I'll need and I'll make you a blade. Only rule is that the assassin can't help you."
Jay smiled. "That seems fair, what do you need?"
"I've been thinking of making a sword for a while, the only problem is that you'd have to be crazy to use it. The citizens all call me deranged because I only make cursed weapons, where's the fun in making something normal?" Khan grinned. "Enter the Nekoshi's den and bring back their claws and some black iron, with that I can make you a sword. I'll even give you a sheathe made from island whale bones."
The aspiring pirate agreed as he immediately left the house. "After heading to the port and finding a suitable soul for the ship we can start training immediately. I'll need to be at least at the level of a guard if I want to take on that cave."
Later on that day, Jay took the soul of the traveler he met and placed it into the ship, eyes and a mouth appearing on the skull shaped figure head. "You will keep quiet and hide your face, your only job is to steer our ship to where we want to go. I'll take good care of you and make sure you don't become damaged but If anyone ever discovers that you have a soul, I'll rip it out. Is that understood?"
The Skull's eyes looked over at Jay seeing a weird pink glow around his body, compelling him to do as asked. It nodded, afraid of what would happen if it didn't listen.
"Good then from now on, your name is Maui. Don't disappoint me, use the knowledge embedded in your soul to guide me." Jay commanded.
Memories flooded its head, adventures across the sea and a lifetime of experience; it had no idea how it ended up here but if this was its life now, it'd roll with it.
"Why do you want it to hide its face?" Goto asked.
"Well I guess there's no reason to hide it from you. In my previous life I never accomplished my dream and someone else took the title of pirate king, with nothing left to do I just sat and waited until eventually I found a fruit. I then stayed in my room, exclusively training my fruit day in and day out until eventually I awakened my fruit and used it to send myself and the will of seven fruits back in time in hopes that at least one would land in my hands." Jay explained.
"So this fruit is one of them? The Soul Soul fruit as you called it."
"Yep and the biggest problem with this fruit is that it belongs to an emperor of the sea, one famous for her unavoidable tea parties. If big mom realizes she and I share the same abilities, she won't hesitate to invite me. I can't let her catch on until I'm strong enough to defeat her." He told him.
Goto went silent as he processed what he just heard. "No wonder you've been acting all weird these days, I thought it was finally getting a fruit, but it turned out to be this? Normally I wouldn't believe something like this but you're not the type to lie, I'll be sure to follow your lead to make sure I don't mess up any of your plans."
"Thanks Goto, understanding as always."
"Then we'll start training right away, I need to know where you're at with those extra years of training." Goto called for a guard as Jay grabbed a sword off the wall and got into position..
"Don't expect much." The young man warned as he grabbed a sword from the wall. "All my training was for a fruit I no longer have, and it's not like it can be applied here. They're entirely different."
The guard stood across from him, no weapons in hand. "Feel free to go all out sir." The guard told him. "I'll try my best to teach you."
Jay nodded as he leapt forward swinging wildly, the guard quickly reacted, brushing the sword to the side and slamming his fist into the younger man's stomach. "As guards were taught that a good defense is the best offensive, nothing your opponent does will matter if they can't injure you. Keep your guard up and wait for an attack, if you're going to engage, keep your body light and ready to dodge at a moment's notice. Never fully commit to any attack unless you're sure it'll hit."
Jay recovered, not moving as he waited for his opponent to attack. "That isn't going to work." Goto but in as the guard rushed forward with a barrage of punches that quickly overwhelmed him and knocked him down to the ground. "You need to take the offensive, never allow yourself to be dragged into your opponent's pace. In battle as long as you have the speed, you can create a passive aggressive attack style. It's more of a hit and run deal but it works."
The guard pressed on as Jay jumped back throwing one of the many daggers from the wall, forcing the guard to dodge, as he did Jay dashed forward going for a slash but as the guard put up his arms to defend, Jay dropped to the floor in attempt to sweep his legs out from under him.
The guard smiled as he jumped into the air and struck the young man across the face with a kick, sending him flying into the water. His smile dropped once he realized what he did.
"Shit." He panicked as he ran to the edge of the ship, diving in after him.
Goto facepalmed. "Idiot."
Jay coughed up the water in his lungs as he glared at the guard. "Maybe hold back a little!"
The guard flinched. "Sorry, sir, I got a bit excited."
"You probably took an entire year off my life with that scare." Jay saw a spectral pink glow as he grabbed hold of the man's soul and took a year. "Luckily for you, I'm a nice person. Now leave, we'll start again tomorrow."
The guard rapidly left the room, happy that he wasn't being fired. "I'll be more careful from now on." He vowed.
"So how much did you take?" Goto asked.
"Just a year, I've been thinking of making a new weapon, he's free spirited like a leaf on the wind." Jay said as he began gathering the wind drifting from the sea behind the waterfall. "I'll need a cover for my fruit, I was thinking maybe Telekinesis." The wind spirit smiled as he laid eyes on his master. "Don't speak, and keep your face hidden." Jay ordered. "Condense yourself, from now on you'll take the form of a necklace. Elements have no specific shape, so that should be something you can do."
The spirit obeyed as it wrapped itself around the man. "If anyone finds out what you are, I'll reclaim your soul. From now on, your name is Paka'a."
Weeks passed as Jay continued his training, he had gotten some control over Paka'a but the best he could do was a small ball of wind that could push someone back. "Alright come at me."
The guard obeyed, aiming a fist at his master's chest. Jay blocked it with his hand and countered with a slash, the guard let it slide off his gauntlets as he dealt a blow to Jay's head, rattling his senses. Unable to think of anything else Jay summoned his power and took wind from the necklace. "Paka'a: Wind cannon!" He commanded as he blasted the area in front of him.
As his vision returned, he saw a smiling guard. "You've managed to land a good hit, now let's keep going. You're almost there."
The two continued to fight for the rest of the day, resting briefly in between each spar when eventually Jay knocked him down to the floor with a sword at his throat. "I won." He breathed out in disbelief.
The guard laughed. "Good work, sir. I'm happy to have helped you."
"Thank you, I'll be sure to inform Gloria about getting you a raise." Jay placed the sword back on the wall, cleaning the ship of the extra trash before heading back to the mansion.
As he walked inside, he was greeted by Goto who was directing the other butlers so they could take over when he left. "How did it go?"
"I won." Jay told him. "I'm gonna go visit Silia, make sure she's learning everything properly, I also need a bright soul for a new spirit that I plan to make."
"Alright, I'll finish up here." Goto responded as Jay turned to leave. "Oh and good job." He praised him.
The young man just kept walking until he eventually came to a stop in the garden that he spent his entire life in, seeing Silia tend to some apples that were finally ripe enough to eat. "You're pretty good, nice to see Gloria trained you well."
The young girl lit up as she saw him. "Master!" She called out happily as she rushed to hug him.
"Have you learned everything yet?" He asked.
"Most of it." She answered. "But the Conache is still really confusing."
"That's because it only grows on islands in the sky, you need the perfect environment to grow them down here."
Her eyes sparkled. "Are there really islands in the sky?"
"I don't know." Jay shrugged. "I heard they can only be found in the grand line but there's no proof that they exist. This fruit may have come from another island in the other four blues."
A spark of determination lit up Silia's eyes. "I'll find it when I'm older."
"That's a good goal, but you can aim higher. Instead of just finding it, why don't you rule it." Jay asked. "Become their leader if you can."
Silia laughed. "Then I can give it over to you, then you can be a real king."
"Are you saying I'm not a real king now?" Jay growled.
"No, you're twisting my words." She pouted.
"Alright, I'm sorry." The man apologized.
"I'll forgive you, but only if you give me some sweets." She beamed.
He nodded. "Fine but only if you'll offer me your soul, ten years worth."
"10 years? I already swore to serve you forever when I was younger." She said, confused.
Jay saw the familiar pink glow with her acceptance even though she didn't really know what it meant. "That's good enough." The Soul user said as he secretly took a decade off her lifespan. "For that, I'll allow you to pick any sweet in the whole mansion after dinner tonight."
"Yay!" She cheered. "If you said it, that means not even the head maid can stop me."
'Sorry.' Jay thought. 'You're young, a decade is nothing for you.'
"Don't eat too much." Jay stood up. "I'll be back by dinner."
"Alright, see you later." She called as Jay exited the room.
Jay immediately made his way towards the other side of the mansion, stopping by a dark room with one small beam of light piercing the darkness from the window. He used the maids' soul, bringing the light to life. "Rules are simple, whenever you're around someone you don't know, hide your face. If you're found out I'll be forced to take your soul."
"Master?" The spirit spoke. "How did I get here? Am I dead?"
"It's his devil fruit." Paka'a told her as he revealed his face. "We're still alive and you'll see yourself from time to time but now we are also accompanying him on his journey. We act as power for him, he apparently puts our souls into something and we come to life. We still have all our memories which can be confusing but you get used to it."
"So I get to go with you and become a pirate?" The spirit asked as it covered one of its eyes.
"No, you don't. Kāne does. That's your name from now on." Jay told her as he held up his right hand. "Manipulate your form and become my first ring."
"Okay." Kāne answered cheerfully, forming into a yellow ring and claiming my thumb as her place.
"And keep quiet, both of you." Jay reminded them as he left the room.
Jay came to a stop in front of the cave. He finally had everything he needed to accomplish his task. All things considered he was looking forward to it. He hadn't fought much and the idea of battle and possibly dying excited him, he thought for a moment that he might have been crazy but what good pirate isn't a little crazy? "Wait out here, I'll call for you if I run into something I can't handle."
"Of course, young master." Goto responded as he stepped back.
He stepped into the cave and began walking, slowly it got darker and darker but he still didn't see any Nekoshi. "Kāne: Guiding light." He called as his ring began to glow and a bright light filled the room.
He looked around, still unable to spot the creatures. Suddenly a claw flashed from the corner of his eye, he leaned back narrowly dodging the attack as his attacker took refuge back in the edge of the shadows. "Okay, so these cats are cowards." Jay decided as he waited for the next attack. He heard soft paw steps behind him as he whipped around and slashed off the leg of one of the cats. At the sound of the cat's shriek the battle had officially started as the rest of them jumped in, attacking from all sides.
Jay smiled as he dodged each one in succession, he could see their attacks, unlike the blinding speed of Goto, the movements he saw now were more like waves on the ocean, slow and predictable.
He continued slashing, picking up speed as each one hit the floor. He realized that despite their growing fear, he couldn't see their souls. 'So my fruit only works on those with human souls, or is it determined by intelligence?' He thought as he finished off the last of the horde.
"That was simple, it seems my training paid off. Maybe I overestimated their abilities." He spoke aloud as he picked up the claws off the cats. "Now I just gotta get some black iron, then my journey to become a pirate can officially start."
"How do you plan on mining it? You didn't bring a pickaxe." Paka'a spoke.
Jay shrugged. "I'll figure it out."
"I could do it for you." Kāne offered.
"How? You're not strong enough to break through rock yet."
"Well not that, I meant I could go grab a pickaxe." The light spirit explained. "It shouldn't be that hard."
"Except then I'd be left in the dark. Paka'a, go out and grab one." Jay ordered. "Kāne and I will do what we can while you're gone."
"Right away." The spirit unwrapped itself from his neck, disappearing through the cave.
"Keep out of sight!" Jay yelled after it.
The aspiring pirate continued his walk through the cave, with each step more and more iron covered the walls. It had a darker sheen but it wasn't quite black, he understood where it got its name though. Whenever Kāne's light would touch it, it would give off a black glow in response.
Eventually the cave opened up as he heard a faint snarl from the edge of the room. Jay looked over, seeing a tiny kitten, the right side of its face scarred, and sight-less eyes. The kitten showed its fangs, seemingly looking in his direction.
"What is a little thing like you doing here? You can't see, can you? How do you know where I am? Is it smell or sound?" Jay paced around the area, the cat keeping track with every step as it squared its haunches preparing to pounce. "Kāne, dim your light and float towards it."
She obeyed, the ring on my finger forming into a star as it floated over. But as she got close the cat flung out its paw, raking her across the face. "Ow!" Kāne screamed out as her form trembled, nearly falling apart.
Jay stabilized the spirit as he pulled her away from the cat, ordering her to go back to her position. "That rules out everything, you clearly can't see. Light doesn't have a sound, a taste, or a smell, and she didn't touch you. How did you know she was there? Is it a devil fruit?"
He smirked. "Well there's always a way to find out, maybe I should throw you in the ocean and see if you swim. Or maybe I'll buy some sea stone using Goto's connections, either way, you're interesting. You'd make a good pet."
The cat unsheathed its claws, crouching to the earth with its belly hovering over the ground as it silently slid closer, as if stalking a rabbit. Jay responded with his blade, urging the kitten forward. He admired the fearlessness, he'd need the proper soul to bring out its full potential.
Jay grinned as it pounced.
I read as much as I could on Big Moms fruit but it may not be perfect. The seven fruits that I chose were random and some of them don't have much information.