AN: Whoo! This one took a while! As always before we begin, Reviewer Replies!
clonetrooper29: Wait no longer, it's time to show why Shiki was considered a rival to Roger!
TheWolves1331: Don't you just hate that we can't include illustrations in stories here? I don't actually have one of that particular moment, but it annoys me that I wouldn't be able to put it here even if I did.
UngabungA: Guessing you mean Bones and Yamato? Yep, that's the general consensus on Kaido. Thank you very much, I'm glad you're enjoying! (^_^)
King0fP0wers: Well, Hatchan won't be joining yet, Bones sent him off for the events of his coverstory because someone's gotta save Keimi. As always, very glad you're enjoying (^_^)
Guest#1: Okeydokey, here ya go!
Curveball: Hold that thought on Shiki. Yep, Ain's power is actually legit busted, I'm fully convinced the only reason she didn't pack everybody up in Film Z is because there wouldn't have been a story if she were allowed to really go all out. No, Yamato actually is still stronger than Bones by quite a bit, Bones just has better tricks up his sleeve. Eh, Luffy still heals quick, three days and he'll be back to normal. As for Sanji, think about how many pretty girls he's seen over the course of a decade working in a high class restaurant, the fact that he's probably flirted with every single one of them, and the fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend at the start of the series. Honestly the number could quite likely be a lot higher. Yeah, I think the anime's extension and drawing it out is what really ruined Long Ring Long Land for a lot of people, I think it's a jolly great idea, but I can see very easily how people wouldn't. Regarding the ship, read on and see! Bones would have to be REALLY desperate to openly ally with Luffy now. Nope, Bones's knowledge stops cold at Chapter 1013, the last one before this story was published. That's not changing. Yes, Yamato stated when she and Shiro were discussing the forging that all the weapons they're making for her and Bones will be made from Takeru's constituent metal because it's never let her down. It is not the Jiki Jiki no mi, it will not be a canon fruit, and Blue Chasm was not Haki. Bones channeled his Armament for the first time to clock the shit out of Luffy.
FanfictionFan2014: Very glad you enjoyed! (^_^)
Xanxouz: Yep, being unlucky in love sucks. A small part of Bones is also sad... but that part is being brutally squashed under the rest of him which is furious. I'm very glad you're enjoying, thank you for the comments! (^_^)
Guest#2: Wait no more, for here it is!
Dr Devil Fruit: I can confirm that Reiju is not getting the Goro goro no mi. As for what fruit Bones might be having, well that's still an open question, but no, it's not a canon fruit. Nobody's even come close to guessing it yet.
Greer123: I'm glad you enjoyed. As for how I'm doing... I've been a lot worse, but I've been a lot better too.
Lazy Servant: Again, thank you for taking the time to comment. It's enough for me to know that you're enjoying.
Laughing Specter: (chuckles) Oh I think you're going to like this chapter. Glad you're still enjoying! (^_^)
Guest#3: (coughs awkwardly) Well uh, perhaps not as soon as any of us had hoped, but here ya go! (^_^)
Lemon Advocate: The more likely happening would be a companion piece compiling all the lemons I glossed over here posted over on AO3 and linked to the cross post over there.
OfficialDavidDough: Regarding Reiju, twenty years of psychological conditioning isn't undone in a week. Regarding Bones, do enjoy the chapter.
GlitchLitch: Wait no more, for here it is!
And now, on with the show!
Chapter 13 - Return of the Golden Lion
...
…A Little While Later, Shore of Shimotsuki…
…
At my suggestion when I heard her fretting about it, Brulee had used her Mirror-Mirror powers and a bit of forced perspective to resize some clothes for Maria so that the massive woman wouldn't have to go naked. Devil Fruits are concept based nonsense made manifest that run on the simple rule of 'whatever the user believes they can do' and I LOVE IT.
The frilly knee length pink and white dress Brulee gave her probably wasn't Maria's preferred style, but I had to agree with Brulee and Ulti, she did look very cute in it. I couldn't help but ponder what a profoundly strange thought that was to have about someone quadruple my size...
Ulti and Page One had also been given fresh clothes to replace the ones that had been torn apart and covered in blood in their one-sided beatdown from Kaido. Unlike Maria though, these did look quite a bit like what I remembered those two wearing. Ulti and Page One had apparently lost their masks back on Onigashima, and while I could see why they would wear them, Ulti especially given her preference to try and appear as elegant as possible, I made a mental note to not mention it. Thinking about what I knew very, very well Sandersonia could do with a tongue like that, I could only imagine the kinds of comments she'd probably heard that made her want to cover it up.
After Brulee, Katakuri and Marco had left, the pawn troopers in tow (and I tried hard not to think about what would happen to those helpful little homunculi to ensure their silence if they couldn't be sworn to secrecy enforced by their nature as homies), Yama-chan and I sat around a fire with Jango, Maria, Ulti and Page One. We hadn't realized this was going to be a crew meeting, but we'd introduce them to Kuina tomorrow.
"Wait, so you've been trying to help these little punks for weeks, even being all hands off because for some godforsaken reason they were freaked out by you actually knowing things and being able to help them, and then this little idiot tries to throw you into the sea while you're unconscious from exhaustion running halfway across the ocean to help him because his little girlfriend teased him about maybe liking you better?!" Ulti demanded, her voice and body both steadily rising until she was on her suddenly scaled feet shouting in her hybrid form with a look that screamed 'murder imminent'.
I took a long slow sip of my sake before calmly meeting her gaze, "…Yep."
"AND YOU DIDN'T KILL THAT LITTLE INGRATE ON THE SPOT?!" Ulti bellowed.
"Yeee-ep," I replied dryly.
All the fire in Ulti just seemed to freeze in stunned confusion that I was being so completely blasé about it. After a moment she asked, "…why?"
"Checkers," Jango replied.
Then when Ulti, Page One and Maria looked at him in confusion, he elaborated, "He's playing checkers with their lives."
They all three looked back to me in shock as I took another drink, although I also noticed that Yamato was looking at me in equal shock as I took my time draining the bottle.
Undeterred, Jango continued, "The last captain I worked for, Kuro, and his rival Blue Jam, they were two of the smartest and most successful pirates in the East Blue, and they both had that same way about them. That sort of way that makes you believe they've got an answer for anything, not just an answer, THE answer. I was curious about it one time so I asked Kuro how he did it, he said the simplest way to put it to a simpleton like me was that it was like a game of checkers. He loses a single piece now, but it puts his enemy in position for him to wipe the whole board in one swoop!"
"Bones wouldn't do that," Yamato protested, "He actually does like Luffy's crew."
I finally finished draining the bottle and set it down, "Both are correct, except for one thing." I grinned, "I won't be losing a single piece. I'm taking it all."
I glanced around at the ever so slightly floored expressions, "Where I'm from we have a thing called Xanatos Speed Chess, it's what you call it when someone rolls with every punch thrown and turns it into an opening to strike, even on a metaphorical level. Those who can do it well enough make it seem as though no matter what the outcome of any given situation is, it was entirely according to their plan. I wasn't kidding when I told Reiju that my extensive training was in how to be a magnificent bastard rather than a merely manipulative one."
"Our dear rubber boy has made a very grave error in making an enemy of me so early in his bid for the One Piece," I explained, "I'm not sure any of his crew realize yet just how bad. There is a test coming up which I will be using to determine his value in this little game of life. If he survives, then I know that fate still favors him, so I will be able to rely on his participation for the next stage. If he doesn't for whatever reason, we absorb his crew immediately and I play a bit of Xanatos Speed Chess."
"So, what? You've already got every step of the road to take the One Piece planned out?" Page One asked with a skeptical curiously.
"Not every step," I admitted, "But a couple of key points we'll benefit from and enough flexibility to ensure our goals are advanced barring the most absolutely unrecoverable scenarios. First and foremost among our immediate goals is the downfall and disgrace of the Warlord Crocodile. Death," I added with a finger gun to my head, "If I can arrange it. If not, no biggy. The reason this is important is because currently in his employ is the woman who is in no uncertain terms the key to the One Piece. Currently using the alias of Miss All Sunday, you may have heard of Nico Robin."
My grin grew as I heard Page One, Ulti and Maria suck in a sharp unified breath. Good, they knew exactly who I was talking about. I looked at Yama-chan and more so Jango since there was a chance Yama-chan knew what I was about to say already, "For perspective, the roadmap to Laugh Tale is written on ancient stones called the Poneglyphs in a language that has been purposely suppressed by the World Government to the point of near extinction. Nico Robin is quite possibly the only person alive who can read that language, and therefore the directions to Laugh Tale."
I looked fully at Yama-chan then, "Even if Oden-sama recorded the details in his journal, I don't think we should use that, for a couple of reasons. First of all, he did not leave that journal behind as a treasure map and it should not be used as such. Anyone attempting to make off with the journal, if you don't kill them, I will."
"Secondly," I glanced back to Page One, Ulti and Maria as I raised a second finger, "We have to consider that even if Oden-sama did write instructions to reach Laugh Tale in his journal, he may have accidentally or even intentionally left out details to prevent anyone who stole it using it to reach Laugh Tale. He was a close friend of Roger's, and Roger wouldn't have wanted someone who couldn't earn his respect getting their hands on his treasure. When he found out one of his crew had made an Eternal Pose to Laugh Tale, he hurled it into the sea. He offered the One Piece to Whitebeard, and Whitebeard turned it down. I don't care if any of you like Roger or give even half a shit about his legacy beyond the One Piece. We're doing this the right way or we risk running into whatever tom fool, sneak ass, complete and utter devilry the Pirate King could've come up with to deal with cheaters after his demise. Do I make myself clear?"
A round of affirmatives later I nodded, "Good. Third, as I said, Nico Robin is quite possibly the only person in the world who can read the Poneglyphs, and it is her life's ambition to discover the truth of the Void Century, which is inscribed on nine of the thirty that I know of. Can any of you think of better incentive for her to join us than the locations of multiple Poneglyphs? If she joins us, then that's the best option available in our pocket and blocked to everyone else. Also, before anyone even thinks of trying to force her to join us, this is a woman who could regrow any limb you cared to cut off with a thought if you could even land a hit on her at all, kill the whole lot of us in our sleep and disappear over the side before anyone realized she'd slipped her cuffs. It is imperative that she join us willingly and be made to feel at home and more importantly safe. That is a commodity she hasn't enjoyed since she was a child, and she hasn't felt sincerely cared about in the same period. She'll return whatever treatment we give her. If we keep her at arm's length and treat her as a tool or a resource, she'll do the same. If we treat her as family we'd kill or even die to protect, she'll do the same."
"Everyone following so far?" I asked cheerfully, "Any questions?"
"Y-you haven't been looking at us this way, have you?" Yama-chan asked shakily, and I'd lie if I didn't have to blink back the start of tears at hearing that fear and doubt in her voice.
"Not you," I replied quietly, "Never you."
"B-but, you're talking about Robin, and you told me how much you like her and…" Yamato trailed off as I gently squeezed her hand.
"Yeah," I replied quietly with a small little smile that almost ached with the need for her to believe this simple truth, "I like Robin a lot. LIKE. I love you. That's a bit different." I took a breath and then brought my voice back to normal volume as I shot a glance at the ever so small crew, "I suppose for the sake of transparency, I should also mention now that I have quite a significant crush on Robin and would really enjoy having her on our crew. I think everyone else would as well, but it is true, my motives in wanting her on our crew are rather selfish. That said, the point stands. She's the best key to the puzzle box of a road map to Laugh Tale, and she is not an asset that can be acquired by force."
Page One snorted, "Dude, you're a pirate. It's fine to be selfish. You want a certain side piece and Yamato's down for it? No big deal! She's an amazing asset on top of her assets? Even better!"
Maria exhaled a tad shakily, "As… crudely put as that was, even with what… just happened to us, I have to agree. There is nothing wrong with indulging your wants. That's why people become pirates. You're our captain now, that means we help you get what you want. Thank you for the warning about trying to be forceful with Robin though, I… can't say for certain that the thought wouldn't have entered my mind if she'd been…resistant, about joining."
"Yeah, you don't have to give us a whole bunch of reasons," Ulti added, "Just tell us what we need to win and how and we'll do it! That's what captains do! I'm sure you figured it out already but I haven't got a lot of patience, so while I appreciate you trying to be a good leader for us explaining the plan and all, I'm happier if you just tell me who to headbutt and let me go wild! Oh, and I'm sure it goes without saying," her expression darkened drastically, "but if you ever try to do what Kaido did to us, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU."
I grinned and gave her a thumbs up, "Love that energy Ulti! We're family now, and family looks out for each other." Ulti sat back with a pleased huff and a nod, I turned to Maria, "Maria, I hope you understand that you can come to me and Yama-chan with anything, and if anyone touches you in a way you don't like or if you don't feel safe, we will not allow whoever made you feel that way to go unpunished. You're one of us now and we protect our own. Page One," I shot him a tired slightly crooked grin, "thank you, that kind of solidarity was hard to come by where I'm from."
Lastly, I turned to Jango, "Any further questions?"
"What kind of hell is waiting for Strawhat that you'd take him surviving it as a sign of fate?" Jango asked curiously.
"An old rival of Red Haired Shanks is waiting in Loguetown to kill him," I replied with a crooked grin and a shrug, "If he survives that, especially by something as ridiculous as a lightning bolt striking Roger's execution platform just in time to save him, then I'd say that's a fair sign fate isn't done with him yet, wouldn't you? If things go as I've seen, then he'll have three very close brushes with death within the next…" I paused and did some quick figuring, "two to three months, two of which he'll only survive by insane amounts of luck. Loguetown is the first."
I exhaled, "Of course, there's also the very real possibility that he may simply decide to not go anywhere near Loguetown just because I was supposed to meet a member of his crew there, and that's a meeting we've already had, so they may not fight him overly hard about that. If that's the case, then his timing will be off, and there's an extremely high chance we'll need to go to Plan B."
"What's Plan B?" Yama-chan asked curiously.
"We pick up a couple of new recruits beyond the ones I had already intended to and rather than watching Crocodile's entire operation collapse when Strawhat hits it like the sentient wrecking ball he is and then swooping to spring and recruit his heavy hitters after the Navy chucks them into a cell, we just wind up co-opting their strongest assets a little bit sooner and more piecemeal than in Plan A," I replied with a grin before adding, "That said, I don't expect Nami to remember my offhanded comment about Buggy being in Loguetown waiting to ambush them since she was on the verge of a panic attack when I said it, and I didn't leave Reiju any notes about what was waiting in Loguetown because I knew she'd try to avoid it if she knew, which is a severe deviation and would require Plan B, which at that point I had no intention of implementing."
"What's so important in Loguetown?" Jango asked curiously, "I know it's home to the toughest Marine in the East Blue and the site of the Pirate King's birth and death, but I feel like there's something more for you to be angling so hard to get them to go there."
I nodded, "You're right Jango, four very important things are set to happen in Loguetown, and three of the four are the result of a single miraculous instant. You see, in the future I saw, Buggy ambushes Strawhat successfully, pins him atop the Pirate King's execution platform, and goes to publicly execute him. When the blade is mere inches from taking Strawhat's head off, a lightning bolt strikes the blade and the execution platform, sending it crumbling to the ground, freeing Strawhat and dazing Buggy enough for Strawhat to get away. This debacle will spur three people to follow Strawhat into the Grand Line: Buggy the Clown, Captain Smoker, and Bartolomeo of the local mob, each of whom are strong candidates to play utterly critical roles in our future operations."
"Now though," I continued, "We're not in that timeline, and the result of that instant, should it occur as I saw, will tell me exactly how to proceed. If Strawhat dies, then we absorb his crew into our own, and we go to Plan B, following a path I know far better than the other one I'd set. If he goes around, then we just need to speak with the Keeper of the Twin Peaks Lighthouse at the foot of Reverse Mountain to determine whether or not Strawhat did what was needed of him there to start Crocodile's downfall. If he didn't, we go to Plan B. If things play out as I saw, with Strawhat surviving on bazillion to one odds, then I can count on him proceeding as I foresaw, and we move ahead with Plan A." I let that hang in the air for a moment, "Any questions?"
Ulti raised her hand, "So, are you gonna kill him?"
"No," I replied simply, "but I won't be helping him either. Tell me, can you guess why Strawhat would never kill an opponent?"
All four of our newest crewmembers thought for a very long moment before admitting they didn't, although Maria hazarded a guess: "Is it so he can force them to bend the knee and join him, like Kaido does with those who challenge him?"
I smiled, "Not a bad guess, and though in the future I saw he made many former foes into allies of circumstance, that sort of forward thinking is entirely beyond his capabilities. No, he does it for a much simpler reason. He does it, because the cruelest thing he can think of is to leave somebody alive with their dreams in ruins at their feet."
Yamato jerked in surprise and looked at me in disbelief. I couldn't blame her. If it wasn't for word of Goda, I probably wouldn't have believed it myself. Jango, Page One, Ulti and Maria on the other hand all accepted it immediately. Page One actually raised an eyebrow in surprised respect, "So you're going to do the exact same thing to him as payback for scorning your help?"
I snapped and pointed to him with a vicious grin, "Exactly. I wanted very badly to be his friend and join him on his way to the top. I'd have gleefully been one of his strongest assets for the chance to enjoy the adventure and madness that he seems drawn to like a magnet, but if he wants me for an enemy, I'll be the worst enemy he's ever been too stupid to imagine!"
"Originally, I had two goals aside from just enjoying everything this world has to offer. First was to remember what falling in love feels like and get it right this time, check and mate on that one," I added with a grinning glance at Yama-chan who gave me a soft little smile and blush that made my heart soar before I continued, "and the other was to topple that utter farce on the name of Justice called the World Government, especially those fat worthless fucks, the Celestial Dragons. Now? I'll become Pirate King and raise the mightiest crew this world's ever seen to do it, and I'll steal Strawhat's dream right out from under him in the process as the icing on top! I'm going to make him into a funny little footnote in the history books, because there won't be a person in this world who doesn't know who we are!"
I sat forward and gave my very best megalomaniacal grin, "So, what say you me hearties? Are. You. IN?"
"AYE CAPTAIN!"
And thus were the World Tour Pirates formally founded. Yes, the World Tour Pirates, Yamato's my beloved co-captain even if I'm the plan guy, and if we went with the epithet I had then, we'd have been the 'Whitebeard Jr. Pirates' which frankly sounds incredibly stupid.
…
…Meanwhile, Marineford…
…
Sengoku snapped awake on the couch in his office that was his bed often as not. The officer who had been assigned to monitor the Transponder Snail, waiting for confirmation of the tip off I'd given them about Shiki had just knocked and now poked his head in, "Fleet Admiral Sir! We've just received contact from Cipher Pol!"
Sengoku sat up as the man hurried to bring the Transponder Snail with the Fu Manchu, sunglasses and a scar over one eye. "This is Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Report."
"Jabra of CP9 reporting sir," the snail replied, "Tip off confirmed. Merville is hanging in the sky, exactly as described. There's no way this is anything but Shiki's doing, and I've been getting chased all over these damn flying islands by monsters for hours. I fully agree with the assessment provided by the tip off, these things are insanely aggressive and absurdly strong. They'd rip through an army of soldiers without checking up, let alone unarmed civilians. I was also able to confirm the tip's information about the village of civilians. One of them confirmed what the tipoff said about Shiki's plans to demolish the East Blue. I don't know who this source of yours was, but they were right about everything."
"Damn," Sengoku swore quietly, "I was hoping it was a ruse."
"No such luck sir," Jabra replied, "Shiki's here and his forces are exactly what we were told, ah, except for the fifty extra pirate crews from the Grand Line. He hasn't brought them in yet, though it seems he's been in the process of that. Currently none of them are here, so there's that at least. His actual soldiers number just over a thousand men, and they're all hopped up on some kind of steroid that his mad scientist Indigo cooked up. They're all at least ten feet tall, and even the puniest one I saw in their training area was casually benching a couple of tons. I've recovered samples of the steroid, located and stolen Indigo's notes, and I've got a sack full of dirt and those plants sitting here next to me. Had to get a bit rough with Indigo, but I've got him too."
"Do you think you can assassinate Shiki?" Sengoku asked solemnly.
"With all due respect sir, I'm the best, but even I'm not that good," Jabra replied, "The crazy old bastard seals his entire quarters with over a foot of solid steel whenever he wants to sleep to keep any of the civilians he's keeping as slaves from getting ideas. Even if I broke through, he'd wake up immediately, and judging by the profile we've got on him, I'm pretty sure he'd kick my ass. My informant told me the crazy old bastard uses these Hell Beasts as punching bags, and trust me, these things live up to the hype that tip gave 'em, so it's pretty safe to say he hasn't lost a step. By my estimate even the weakest of those monsters could handle a hundred normal soldiers easily. Besides, the entire island would drop even if I did manage to kill him, and then any of the hell beasts that survived would be cut loose on the sea below. The only thing keeping them contained is that they're way up here."
Sengoku nodded grimly, "Fair enough, protect the civilians as best you can should the need arise. Ensure that no matter what else happens you do not lose those notes, they're probably the most valuable thing on Merville right now. The fleet will arrive at dawn. Good work agent, we will see you in the morning."
"Yessir," Jabra replied before hanging up.
Sengoku looked up at the man who'd brought him the snail, "Dismissed." The man saluted and hurried out of the room, giving Sengoku the privacy he needed to process the simple fact that I had been right, and all that entailed. He took off his glasses, ran his hands over his face and into his afro and then made use of the sound proofing around his office to bark a single word with such volume that all of Marineford still heard him: "FUCK!"
…
…Sunrise, Merville…
…
The fleet erupted into existence in a massive burst of pink light. Ten massive war ships and over ten thousand Navy soldiers, all armed to the teeth, and led by five of the strongest and most respected marines in the world, Ain had just moved them all instantly.
Ain, on the deck of her own ship at the center of the fleet surrounded by three of her heroes and two of the three Admirals, collapsed to her knees and was promptly violently sick. The instant they'd finished materializing, pain spiked through her brain, a cold sweat breaking out all over her body and her stomach continued to spasm as her muscles ached and her energy fled in an instant like she'd just been through the most unrelentingly brutal work out of her life. She nearly blacked out from the pain and exhaustion, but she narrowly managed to fight through it and hold herself up on her hands and knees.
That said, she very fervently wished she could've afforded to pass out, regardless of the fact that she'd have done so in a pile of her own vomit. She couldn't make out what was said, but all of a sudden as something grabbed the back of her uniform, all the structure in her body vanished and she was confronted with the utterly uncanny sensation of being completely limber although that didn't lessen the pain. She belatedly realized that she'd been given the properties of a piece of fabric and then she was being scrubbed and wrung through a tight space before being unceremoniously popped like a towel or rug being shaken out. In the instant that pop took, all her exhaustion and pain went flying out of her like it had never been there at all.
A second later she was back on her feet and back to normal, feeling all the way back to a hundred percent although very hungry.
"Sorry Sweety, it may've been uncomfortable but it was the fastest way to get you back on your feet," Vice Admiral Tsuru declared in a very not-sorry-sounding voice as she adjusted the rifle slung over her shoulder. She herself had been de-aged to her mid-thirties and looked for all the world like Ain's older, more mature sister rather than her grandmother.
She was actually very much looking forward to getting to show her granddaughter how Granny used to do it. She couldn't decide what she was more excited about, getting to really show off for her granddaughter or the prospect of getting to really truly fight alongside her instead of just being her commanding officer. She was completely and utterly sure that Garp was terribly jealous of her for getting to share their profession with her grandchildren, but being the good friend she was, she'd never once pointed it out. Add on to that the way her granddaughter had just moved an entire Buster Call's worth of men, munitions, weapons and ships in an instant over a week's sailing distance? She was quite possibly prouder and more excited than she'd ever been in her life.
Before Ain could reply, or anyone could congratulate her on such an impressive feat, a horrible feeling overcame every member of the fleet with even a shred of Observation Haki. "GET US OUT OF HERE!" Garp yelled an instant before the sea erupted under them, surging skyward and forming a massive dome over the fleet. It was a simple, and horrifyingly effective means of trapping any devil fruit users inside for whatever the trapper wanted...like drowning them.
Since when could he control water with his powers?! Everyone who'd ever seen the Golden Lion in action thought in mounting terror. Golden Lion Shiki was infamous for capsizing ships in an instant, flinging and strangling people with their own clothes bent to his will, turning his enemies' own weapons against them, and unleashing broadsides faster and more precise than any cannon could shoot with the ability to change their direction midair to chase down his enemies with just a thought. Controlling the sea itself though? That was a new and truly horrifying development.
Even Kizaru wouldn't be able to pass through the dome Shiki had created without blasting a hole through it. The sea water would force him out of his light form and leave him hitting the water dome like a meteor…an impact he'd be incredibly hard pressed to survive even assuming it didn't leave him trapped in the water paralyzed or falling unconscious into the water outside the dome, either way he'd drown. Any Devil Fruit user would be trapped.
Well, any but one. Apparently, I was the only one who hadn't been to Merville who knew Shiki could do that, and to be fair, I DID tell them who to send in large part because of that.
As everyone else looked around in horror, Admiral Aokiji took off invisibly fast to try to freeze the dome so it could be shattered. Before he'd made it halfway to the wall of water though, massive statues of lion heads began to burst through the water at cannonball speeds, raining down through the dome like a meteor storm. Half the ships were irreparably destroyed in an instant, and all were damaged as the earthen statues changed, turning into full lions that sank their claws into the ships' timbers and began to drag them into the sea.
Before Ain could react, the world fell away below them as the water suddenly leapt away from the hull of her ship and all the others as well, letting them plummet towards the watery depths below. As the soldiers that hadn't been crushed by Shiki's bombardment screamed in terror, Ain called on her power as hard as she could in desperation to save her comrades, and everything went black.
…
…A Moment Later, Marineford…
…
Sengoku had barely made it back to his desk from the balcony of his office where he'd stood to see the fleet off when he heard the sound of the fleet returning with a massive splash. He turned and bolted back to the balcony, and his heart froze in horror as he saw ten massive wrecks that had been proud, powerful battle ships not fifteen minutes ago appear in the bay in a blaze of pink light and begin to sink. Sengoku grabbed up the snail mic hooked up to the loud speakers and yelled for all Marineford to hear, "ALL HANDS TO THE BAY AT ONCE! MULTIPLE SHIPS SINKING! I REPEAT, ALL HANDS TO THE BAY! MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!"
Before he himself could leap over the balcony and head for the bay himself, he heard a sound that chilled him to his core: Badipadipadip! Badipadipadip! Someone was calling him…on the snail reserved for CP9.
Sengoku's breath caught in his throat as all the color drained out of his face. He walked over to the snail and answered it, numbly ordering, "Report."
"JIIIIIIHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!" Shiki laughed before crowing, "I bet you t'ought you were gonna get ze drop on me huh Sengoku?! I don't know how you found me, wheah doze ships went, or what Devil Fruit you used to get zem heah so fast, but come and try again any time you like! I'll sink as many as you want to send!"
Sengoku grit his teeth and nearly crushed the transponder in his hand, "I take it you've killed the man who was in possession of this snail?"
"Jihahaha, yaaah, I woz right behind him when you wuh talkin' to him, boat I haf to hand it to your little pohppy dohg," Shiki replied sounding almost wistful, "He poot up one hell of a fight aftah he stabbed all of de steroid shots he stole frohm me into himself in one go! It was de craziest move I have evah seen, reminded me ov de kind ov stunt Kaido would hav pooled! I guess all Zoan types ah crazy eh? Doh I haf to admit, it was very enlightening to see how well a Zoan type took to them! I actually had to use mah hands for a minute there! He did not quite awaken on de spot, boat any ohdinary mahn would have keeled over from his haht stopping due to de stress of adjusting to the changes to his body. If I had not had to slit his troat so deep I neahly took his head off I'd have offered to make him my second in command. Kept coming aht me even wit his goats hanging out an draggin' across de ground, hell bent on bringin' me down! Dat kind ov spirit is hahd to come by! Don't worry, I made sure to give him a propah burial. A foe like dat deserves at least dat much respect."
"You haven't changed a bit have you Shiki?" Sengoku asked grimly.
"Nah, I'm oldah and wisah," Shiki grinned, "Boht I'm sure you want to be checking on yoah men, so I'll let you go now. Tanks for the mohning entatainment!" Ka-lick!
Sengoku hung the snail mic up with a scowl, turned and took a running start to leap out the window to go help with the rescue efforts now consuming the bay.
…
…Meanwhile, Shore of Shimotsuki…
…
"The Devil went down to Loguetown,
he was lookin' for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind cause he was way behind,
He was willin' to make a deal…"
Completely unaware at the time of the disastrous routing of the Navy task force I'd set in motion to deal with Shiki, I was singing as I casually heaved, tossed and hammered boards into place. Yama-chan had headed back to the forge as the sun was coming up after giving me a very hot good morning kiss with a wink and the promise of more later. Unable to even begin going back to sleep after a wake up call like that, I'd started back in on expanding our ship.
Jango had headed into town to try to see what we'd be able to procure for supplies here and what we'd have to get in Loguetown. It may come as a shock to some, but even the blood thirstier pirates do actually usually just buy the stuff they want unless they work for one of the Four Emperors in their territory and can get away with it because their boss is the law. The plunder and pillage bit of piracy is a lot less useful if you haven't got a fence to sell your loot, and cash and even gold and silver are frankly useless to most people for anything except buying things. You can't buy things if every shop keep knows you roughed up the other shop keep two islands over or dine and dash regularly. Merchants talk, it's their business, and anyone who thinks they can get away with screwing over a shopkeeper and ever be welcome in that port again is in for a VERY rude awakening in the form of poisoned goods, getting shot in the back of the head by a vengeful victim, or even easier just every civilian in that port squealing to the Marines and every bounty hunter in the area where you are.
Page One was fishing a ways down the shore on top of what looked like a rather nice rock to sit on. Every once in a while, he'd pull in a fish and toss it in the basket next to him. He looked absolutely content with life, and honestly I think he could probably have sat there fishing away for the rest of his days and been pleased as punch with that lot in life.
Ulti was… somewhere. I wasn't sure where, but she'd headed off into the forest in the direction of the mountains with a self-professed lack of destination in mind and said she'd be back later. She was stronger than anybody I could think of in the East Blue at that point who wasn't on our crew sans Sabo and maybe Koala, and Dragon if he was around, but her odds of encountering and scrapping with any of those people were super-slim to none, so I wasn't worried about her.
Maria had actually opted to just hang around and help hand me things. It crossed my mind that perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I was not wearing a shirt. Was I being ogled? Was it vain of me to consider that an extremely valid possibility? Probably, but after the utterly amazing night I'd had on Disco Ball Island, I was pretty firmly convinced that this body was at minimum rather easy on the eyes for the ladies. It did nice things for my ego, made me really happy and made me want to really show what I could do, so I wasn't about to question it overly much.
Speaking of what I could do, in the two days I'd worked on it, our ship had gone from perhaps twenty feet long with a cabin barely high enough for Yama-chan to not have to crawl to get into, to the skeleton of a galleon six times the size. It's worth noting that the only reason I had been able to make such insane progress was due to my ridiculous speed and strength letting me cut all the lumber in a single day and hammer every nail in a single swing. Being strong enough to bend steel casually with my bare hands made forcing the lumber into shape for me to nail it a piece of cake, and being able to make jigsaw like cuts so the whole thing fit together like a giant glorious puzzle that would hold its shape even before I nailed it together helped too.
Normally this kind of progress would take a team of a dozens of men, damn well coordinated and skilled ones at that. Alternatively, one properly motivated Franky plus the crew from Galley La could pull it off, but let's face it: like many things in this wide wild wacky wonderful world, those guys run on pure nonsensoleum.
"When he walked up on this young man saw him on a guitar and playin it hot!
Devil jumped up on an old sea chest and said Boy lemme tell ya what!
I bet you didn't even know it but I'm a guitar player too!
Now you're a pretty damn good strummer boy, but let's give the Devil his due,
I'll bet this locker o' gold against your soul I think I'm better'n you!"
"…Thank you again Maria, this is a tremendous help," I smiled as I plucked a handful of nails from the bucket in Maria's fingers as she held it up for me near the top of the hull. The five gallon bucket of nails was barely a thimble for her. Yama-chan had promised to help her figure out how to shrink to a more manageable size with her Zoan powers. Given that she was a spider zoan, we were certain she'd be able to, but for now, there was no need, and it did make things easier for me since being so tall let her save me a LOT of trips up and down to the ground.
"My pleasure Captain," Maria smiled, and even knowing what I knew about how she treated men caught in her web, I couldn't help but note how incredibly pretty she was when she smiled sincerely. Did Brulee intentionally put her in a dress that looked exceptionally fetching on her, or was it just a coincidence? She giggled and I suppose that mental note must've shown on my face. I nodded, not wanting to say anything and possibly make her uncomfortable.
Before I could start singing again, Maria asked, "Captain, that song you're singing, is that a true legend?"
I blinked up at her in surprise, "Huh?" Then I smiled, "Oh no, not at all, it's a song back home. I changed a few lyrics to make it fit for these waters, but no, I don't think there's any real substance to the story of the song."
"Well, it's certainly a very catchy song," Maria declared with a smile, "Please do continue, I'm quite enjoying it." Guess I sound nice too, I mused happily as I nodded and went back to singing as I went back to hammering…
"The boy said, 'Well my name's Davy, and it might be a sin…
But I'll take yo bet, you gonna regret
cause I'm the best that's ever been!
Jonesy tighten up yo' strings and play yo guitar hard!
Cause Hell's broke loose in Loguetown and the Devil deals the cards!
And if you win you'll get this locker full o' shiny gold,
But if you lose the Devil gets your sooooul!"
I proceeded to scat out the instrumental bridge as I went, before pausing, "Ah, can you hand me piece number 35T? It's over there in the pile of slightly curved and grooved timbers, closest row to you a bit to the left of your foot." Maria quickly spotted and handed me the piece in question. I'd labeled all the pieces to keep myself from mixing them up, but now that I had a helper, it helped her keep feeding me the pieces steadily so I could work continuously rather than having to stop and start constantly.
"Thank you," I let off with a smile as I slid the piece into place and thumped a nail in to hold it before attaching the brace with another nail and moving over to the next piece to attach the brace there. It was all a rather acrobatic business, but I was doing alright. Not having to worry about falling due to this body's durability helped a LOT.
"The Devil opened up his case and he said 'I'll start this show!'
And fiiire flew from his fingertips as he tuned his strings down low…
Then he pulled his pick across the strings and it made an evil hiss!
Then a band of demons all joined in and it sounded somethin' like this…"
(another scatting of instrumental mimicry to Maria's immense amusement as she handed me the next piece)
"When the Devil finished, Davy said 'Well you're pretty good ol' son!
Now sit ya old ass in that chair right there I'ma show ya how this thing's done!
(my mimicry of an epic guitar solo, and the expressions that went along with it made Maria have to sit down as she laughed so hard she couldn't stand up)
"The Devil bowed his head, because he knew that he'd been beat,
And he set that locker of gold there on the ground at Davy's feet.
Davy said 'Devil come on back if ya ever wanna try again,
But I done told you once you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been!"
I repeated my mimicry of an epic guitar solo and then just hung from the skeleton of the ship, smiling as I watched Maria laugh. If she's over her jealousy thing, and the uh… rest of it… images flashed through my head of manga panels depicting men caught in her web to be her personal chorus sycophants, from one of the last chapters I'd gotten to read, yeah… maybe if she proves she's COMPLETELY past all of that… god she's pretty… maybe? Not likely, I admitted to myself as I clambered up to the top of the piece that I'd just nailed in place to survey what I'd built so far, visualizing the plans in my head again as I did, But it's not like I didn't fully plan to build that bed for a minimum of four anyway.
…
…Later That Morning, Marineford…
…
The sun streamed in through the window, but it brought no warmth to the four old people sitting in the office of the Fleet Admiral. A horrible, heavy silence hung over them. Normally a lot of words would apply to these four, such as 'seasoned', 'powerful', 'respected' and a whole lot of other synonyms that would attempt to speak to their utterly incalculable value to their organization and their shared purpose of upholding the ideals of Justice and Order. Today though, following the disastrous routing of the task force sent to deal with Shiki the Golden Lion, none of those words felt like they fit. That day, all any of them felt was old and distraught.
Ten battleships, enough to demolish even a moderately sized island, had all been in no uncertain terms demolished. Split in half, rent open, flooded and half sunk. The cost in money alone was a staggering amount that would break any organization smaller than a major government. The loss of fire power was equal to the military might of some small countries.
Five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine men had been grievously injured, crushed, impaled, drowned… all in the space of a minute. Five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine men, a very sizable percentage of which would never see home or their families again. Another percentage would live the rest of their lives crippled in some way. By the preliminary estimates of Marineford's utterly swamped medics, only a little over forty two percent would be making a full recovery.
In the space of a minute, Shiki the Golden Lion had sent a Buster Call sized reminder to the world of why he was a legend. The fifty pirate crews I had estimated he'd find willing to join him would be easy to find if word of this got out. Forget fifty, he'd have half the pirates in Paradise clamoring to join him. If news of what happened to an entire Buster Call's worth of battleships got out, Shiki could very quickly find himself commanding a force comparable to any of his old crewmates. The might of a pirate who after this would be considered still equal to any of the Four Emperors, and none of the danger of the New World to join him would draw underlings to him like moths to a roaring flame. He'd be the first pirate of such caliber most encountered now, and he was very well known to believe in strength above all, both personal and in numbers.
None of the four old people in Sengoku's office gave even the faintest fraction of a damn about any of that right that particular second though, horrible as it may seem at a glance.
"I am so sorry Tsuru," Sengoku told his oldest friend quietly.
Five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine men…
…and one beautiful, brilliant young woman whose body they hadn't been able to find.
The nature of Devil Fruits like Ain's Return-Return fruit, or Modo-modo no mi, was that the effects were permanent until either she changed her mind, or suffered a violent enough shock to her system to disrupt her power. Being knocked out or critically injured would be enough to do it, but all too often the complete dispelling of a Devil Fruit's powers was a surefire sign of a fatality.
The most dangerous aspect of Ain's ability had always been the de-aging, because she could reverse age someone right out of existence with ease. One of the ideas I'd given her along with mass application of her power's transport ability to move entire armies was to overcharge her power and emit her de-aging bolts as a stacked wave to wipe out enemies en masse and near instantaneously, something we'd excitedly dubbed the "Eraser Modo."
Tsuru, Garp and Zephyr had been returned to their proper age upon return to Marineford, and it made the fact that they couldn't find Ain's body now just that much more stressful, because it pointed to an answer none of them wanted.
To say Tsuru and Zephyr were utterly inconsolable would be an understatement, and out of respect for their grief, I'm not going to recount anything further about what was said as they set about writing my friend's eulogy.
They all blamed me, and I can't fault them for that one damn bit.
I blame me too.
…
…That Night, Outskirts of Cocoyashi…
…
Nami and Nojiko had walked home together from the party in silence, and rather than go into the house in the tangerine grove, on unspoken agreement they kept walking. Before long they were seated at the foot of a grave on a cliff overlooking the sea. It was a funny spot, the wind always blew a certain way here, in from the sea in the morning, bringing the harsh salty scent of the ocean, and dragging the calming scent of the tangerine groves behind them up the hill in the evening and at night. It had always been Bellemere's favorite spot, and Nami and Nojiko couldn't count the number of times they'd played with her here.
They sat there in silence for quite some time. Nojiko noticed when Nami started to cry, but rather than say anything, she just wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders and tugged her into a hug. She shot a glance at the grave, "He's finally gone Bellemere, Nami went and found friends who came and… Nami?"
Nami's fingers had clenched in the fabric of Nojiko's shirt at the mention of her friends and her breath had hitched in a very uncomfortable way. Nojiko held her a little tighter, "Nami? What's wrong?"
"…I'm scared Noji," Nami declared softly, "I can go and live my dream. I can leave knowing home will be here waiting for me when I come back, but… will I get to come back?"
Nojiko stiffened, "Of course you will, you can always come home!"
Nami shook her head softly, "…Luffy. I don't think Luffy will ever let me go if I get on his ship."
"The guy in the straw hat with the busted jaw?" Nojiko asked, mentally noting the harmless, happy-go-lucky air the young man in the straw hat had, "He seemed harmless, what did he do that's got you so scared?"
"When we were walking back, after Bones killed Arlong…" Nami started and Nojiko immediately filed away that the person who'd taken down Arlong hadn't been with the group that brought back his crew's heads in a sack, "…I joked to Luffy that maybe I should join Bones's crew instead of his. I… it was just a joke Noji… but he… even after all the help Bones has given us… even after he called Arlong out for a one on one duel and then ran all the way across the East Blue to fight Arlong himself to keep him from getting at us again when Arlong wasn't at the spot he'd called him to and slaughtered Arlong's whole crew singlehanded… all because he'd said he would for me…"
Nojiko raised both eyebrows, she hadn't known about that.
"Even after all that…" Nami repeated quietly, "…one little joke and Luffy tried to hurl Bones into the sea while he was unconscious. He… he tried to kill someone over me Noji… What… what's he going to do if I don't sail with him? What'll he do if I ever decide I want to leave? He's crazy strong and fast, if… if he decided to hurt me there's absolutely nothing I'd be able to do to him…"
"Uh…" started a voice that was very much not Nojiko or Nami from maybe three feet behind where they'd been sitting.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nojiko and Nami leapt to their feet and spun, screaming in unison as Luffy spoke up.
Luffy scratched his head, his jaw still purple and swollen from where I'd broken it. He blinked, looking very confused and a bit bashful before he started trying to talk without moving his half healed jaw much, "'ou 'on't 'ave to 'ome i' 'ou 'on't 'ant to 'ami. It's 'ust, 'ou're 'y 'riend, and I don't 'ant to 'ose a 'riend. I 'ro'ise I 'on't 'e an'ry. I 'as 'cared, a'ide 'om 'y 'rudders, I 'aven' 'ad any 'riends 'ince I 'as a kid. I 'ust… I don't 'anna 'e 'one'y do 'ore…I 'eally 'orry i' I 'cared 'ou. 'Ou're 'y riend. I 'ant 'ou to 'e 'appy 'ami. Do 'atter 'at 'ou de'ide, I'll 'and 'y it, 'an 'ou'll al'ays 'e 'y 'riend. Uh…" he set his hat back on his head, "Ha' a 'ood 'ight."
He bowed slightly and then turned and walked off back towards town.
It was a very long few minutes before Nojiko noted, "And I don't believe for a second your other friends would let him do anything crazy if you wanted to stay here. How did they react when he did that?"
Nami settled a little into Nojiko's arms, "…You think I should go with them?"
"I think we should go," Nojiko corrected gently, her mind already made up even before she spoke. Nami's dream was out there, she couldn't let her stay here and let that dream die. Nojiko knew with unknowable but absolute certainty, Nami wasn't going to find a better set of friends to set out with, regardless of the quality of their 'captain'. Her talents could've probably gotten her a government sponsorship, but Nojiko was far from the only person who'd lost all faith in the government over the last ten years of no help coming.
Nami's head snapped up, her eyes wide in surprise, "What?! But, but Noji…"
Nojiko smiled with a gentle firmness, "Come on, let's go talk to Genzo and start packing."
.
AN: Be sure to leave a comment on whether or not Luffy should go to Loguetown and whether or not he should survive if he does! I have full plans for all three scenarios but I can only write one, so don't worry about it derailing the story.