Alright, time to get back to this little experiment of mine. I thank all of those that reviewed the first chapters and especially to those that gave their suggestions. Lets go ahead and see how our MC ended up after I threw in my own splash into the mix.
Story Start, Shipwright's POV
The boy, since the old shipwrite refused to call a green behind the ears, fresh-faced kid who probably hadn't reached his second decade a man, looked average enough, if a little fruity. And he meant that literally, the kid had some weirdly colored hair close to the shade of a dragon fruit. Almost to the point where old Tony would have accused him of being part-red fin fishman if he hadn't heard of weirder things happening in other parts of the world, especially the grand line.
'Still, hair looks like a damn cherry. The rest of him looks like your regular lily-livered brat though, if a bit pale, could use some muscle too. Probably one of those bookish kids that never had to work a day of hard labor in his life. Shame too, he seemed to have good genes for it. Muscles got natural volume to them.' Tony thought, eyeing up his customer.
He wasn't too tall, only a bit taller than Genzo and about as wide, though again, with less muscle definition than the pinwheel man. He was pale too, though slightly flushed, likely from stepping out of the sun after a long while in it. 'If I play my cards right I can get a bit of a payday today.' He thought, internally chuckling before addressing the boy.
"So what do you want sonny, you don't look like you're from around here. That hair ain't exactly common in this part of the world." He started, trying to knock the kid off balance, though he seemed more confused than anything.
Back to 1st person POV
'Weird? Last I checked, brown hair isn't weird by any measure. Guess I'll need to check a mirror later, but for now.' I thought before shaking my head and getting down to business. "I need to charter a ship, the fastest one available for Logue town. And I need it quickly, preferably today or tomorrow." Sweet and simple, it took the old shipwright aback a bit.
"A tough task nowadays, getting a ship ready is doable, and lucky for you I have one of my speedier vessels available. But finding someone to navigate on short notice, along with preparing enough food to last the trip is a different story. There's also the matter of price…" The tradesman gave his usual spiel as to why the price would be high, luckily I didn't have to worry about that too much.
"Five hundred thousand Belly." I say, getting a choked gasp from the shipwrite and Genzo. "Half of it now, and half when I arrive at Loguetown, get it done as quickly as possible. Oh, and mark it down for Arthur Nagaro, I'll be back tomorrow to check on your progress." I finished the terms before handing them the two hundred and fifty thousand in cash and walking out while they were still stunned.
It was best to be quick and decisive to make sure that things went smoothly. I know I just made them suspicious, but they weren't about to turn down that kind of money, a whole 5 months of life for someone in this town. Others may have tried to haggle for a better price, but frankly, money meant next to nothing to me in this world.
"I should definitely not say that out loud. I'm half convinced that if I do, Nami will show up out of nowhere and make me regret it." I joked to myself. Luckily she should be long gone from the island since this was the start of-
"I'll show up out of nowhere and make you regret what?" A familiar voice said from behind me, making me jump enough that I was afraid I'd have a legit heart attack. "What's wrong stranger, and how exactly do you know my name, or what I'd do if I found something out for that matter?" I turn to see the orangette I was internally joking about just seconds ago.
'What the actual hell?! She's supposed to be…Oh shit, this is manga continuity isn't it?' Heart nearly breaking my ribcage I tried my best to calm myself down and try to respond to the young navigator's question. I clear my throat. "You, uh, have quite the reputation around town. I got the gist of it in my short time here." I kept it vague at first, not wanting to be caught in a blatant lie too early.
I had to be careful, talking to a main character this early on could have disastrous results.
"Is that right? Whatever. I don't have time to deal with some rando deciding to show up to this cursed place out of nowhere. Just get off this island as soon as possible, it's full of enough idiots as it is." Wow, I forgot how hard she pushed the uncaring cold bitch persona early on. Knowing that it was an act though, I didn't let it bother me.
"Sure sure, I'll be out of everyone's hair soon enough. Good luck with whatever you have going on I guess, and be careful. Even a peaceful Blue like this one has plenty of unexpected dangers and wonders. It's the birthplace of the old pirate king after all." I said before walking off. Alright, seeds set and hints given. Hopefully those will be enough to sell the bs I'll be peddling down the line.
Now about that hair thing, good thing there's plenty of glass around…"Well shit, animefication hit me hard. On the hair side anyway, makes me look like a bootleg super saiyan god minus the gravity defying hair." Instead it only grew out a little and looked slightly messy. If I had to compare it to another character, Lelouch Lamperouge's hair came close.
"It could definitely be worse, my eyes are still hazel like usual and I don't have a lanky One Piece body either, if anything I just look a little leaner. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it. At least my body is mostly the same and has no discomfort, hell, I should count my blessings that I'm still human." While being a supremely powerful bone daddy, for example, was a tempting offer, I'd rather keep my flesh and blood thank you.
Hypothetical alternate isekai situations aside, now I need to focus on finding a decent place to rest until tomorrow. There's bound to be an abandoned building or two around here right? And from the looks of the climate I shouldn't need to worry about extreme cold or heat, the humidity is a bit high though. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.
One uncomfortable night later
"Ugh, the first thing I'm doing when I get back home is sleep in a proper bed. Guess I should get used to the fact that it's gonna be makeshift beds and rocking waves for most of the rest of my stay here." I groaned while cracking my back, still sore and stiff after sleeping on a hard floor all night.
It was close to noon now, as I approached Tony's shop again. I wanted to give the old shipwright time to fully prepare the boat and hire the right people…And most likely doing so while keeping things tightly wrapped and away from the fishmen who would surely come down to check on anyone leaving the island. Them taking a big chunk of Tony's payment as tax was a certainty.
"Oi Tony, I'm here to check on my order. And I have a few questions with some belly attached if you can answer them." I said while walking into his shop, only to once again see a dangerous orangette where I really wish she weren't. "Oh, hey Nami, what brings you here?" I address her presence, ignoring her or having it look like that would only make things worse.
"Trying to figure out why you're here. I know every person in Cocoyashi village and you aren't one of them, fortunately Tony here owed me a favor and gave me your story. Seems awfully convenient to me, but I guess Momoo has always had a soft side and there has been some chaotic weather lately so I'll let it slide." Thank goodness for convenient weather I guess.
"Just make sure to get out of here as soon as Tony finishes preparing the ship. I volunteered to take you to Loguetown myself to make sure it gets done, we're leaving at sunrise tomorrow. Don't keep me waiting, or I'll kick you back into the ocean on your own, and this time, Momoo won't be around to save you." She finished her threat and left in the same breath.
"...Holy shit." Was all I could say, earning a sympathetic grunt from Tony. The sympathy was appreciated, but he really had no idea of the degree of dread I was feeling right now. Lucky bastard with his blissful ignorance, while here I am worrying about possibly breaking history and dooming this world.
Still, I had work to do today. I walked out of the shop and searched for the local food market, paying for about a week's worth of food and water for two people. I might have gone a bit overboard, but it was better to keep myself and Nami well fed, and hydrated. I've heard enough horror stories about sailing to be cautious.
All along I was trying to think of ways to keep canon from going completely off the rails, a difficult task considering that I was going to travel with one of the main characters shortly before she was supposed to meet Luffy. If this takes too long, it might be impossible for her to make it to Orange town in time. Meaning that Luffy and Zoro would have to travel alone, that in and of itself might get them killed before they even meet Usopp.
Though now that I thought about it, should I even bother trying not to derail canon? This wasn't my world anyway, and for all I knew, it could disappear or reset the moment that I finished my goals. And even if it didn't, why should I go out of my way, and possibly risk my chances of going home just for the sake of continuity.
On the other hand, if this world didn't reset after I left, then my actions could lead to the indirect deaths of thousands. And possibly the continued subjugation of the world…It was a thought that weighed heavily on me as I walked through town towards my appropriated abandoned building. It didn't help that my small meeting with Nami, and now having her visit Loguetown with me early…Canon might already be irreparably broken. And with that thought came a question.
"Should I even try to preserve canon? Or just do as I want and need without any regard for the official timeline?" There were pros and cons for both approaches, and hundreds of possible scenarios the thought of which kept me restless well into midnight
See that question at the end there, nice in bold? That's for the nice readers who made it this far. Should Arthur here try his best to get canon back in order, or should he look out for himself first and foremost, leaving Luffy to his own devices? This is the first big decision of the story which I will leave in your hands.
Think carefully and leave a review with your decision. I'll also be happy to accept possible plans that could be used to achieve either goal, it will be fun to read them all and incorporate the best along with my own ideas. Until next time, and as always I wish you all well.
