Bold is for attacks
Italics indicate thinking
Rose's POV
"I warned you to be careful didn't I?!" I scolded Zoro "Orochi has eyes everywhere but you just had to go picking fights and getting arrested, did you see the kind of scene you made with that escape, we're exposed now thanks to you."
"Quit with the yelling would ya."
"No I won't." I pointed a metal finger at him "What is with you, ever since we reunited after two years you've gotten crazy reckless! You may be strong but you're not that strong alright. If you keep acting this way you're going to underestimate and opponent and get yourself or someone else killed."
"What's it to you anyway, I can handle myself." He said.
"I'm just worried about you, isn't that allowed?" I asked with a sigh "I know things between us are weird and complicated since we used to date but I still care about you, I just don't want you to get yourself killed ok."
He grumbled a bit "You had it easy blending in, you're good at this."
"I am a trained ninja; we tend to make a point of blending in with the shadows and staying out of sight. Now then, I don't think we're being pursued anymore so we can catch our breath for a bit." I nodded looking around
While everyone else had to go undercover in the cities and outskirts I was able to use my ninja skills to stick to spying, though I did pick up a deep green cloth body suit to better help me hide among the foliage.
"Come on let's find someplace to hide out for a bit."
Steve's POV
"Focus!" Koga slapped my head with a stick "If you don't concentrate you can't control your spirit power and the demon will take over again!"
"You know it makes it pretty hard to concentrate when you keep smacking me like that!" I glared.
"Well, you wouldn't feel it if you were concentrating kid!" he said "And stop getting so angry you'll feed the demon emotions acting like that."
"Training with you is worse than the training with Hancock." I grumbled.
"Hahaha." Lil laughed sitting next to me "It's just meditating Papa, it's not that hard."
"You got more patience for this than I do kiddo." I sighed.
"Don't worry I know you can do it." She smiled.
If I don't master control over this spirit power stuff I won't be able to protect the others, I'll just be putting Robin and Lil in danger.
I took a breath and closed my eyes, focusing.
"That's it, feel the spirit energy flowing through you and everyone else around you, the gentle pulses, the soft ripples all of nature and life is connected with one essence."
It's kinda like using observation Haki, but at a more precise level. Something's coming!
"HMPH!" I moved my head and slipped around the old man's staff, grabbing the rod, and nearly melting it as my arms heated up.
"Better, but not good enough, you're already heating up." He said "It's more than just Haki, focus try again. Come on even the little girl can do it."
Lil snickered a bit "It's kinda like how I used to feel when I made flying fish pods, or when I control my warriors. It's like we're on the same wavelength and connected and stuff."
"How is it a twelve-year-old is a natural at this and not me?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You're sounding jealous Papa." She smiled wide "You can do it, just focus on me don't worry about Mr. Koga."
I closed my eyes again, focusing my mind and senses, like before I could feel my Observation detecting Lil but there had to be more to it, something deeper.
I took another breath.
"This is the most calk I've seen him since he got here." I heard the old woman mumbled.
I felt a dark light, as contradictory as that sounded, deeper in the shadows there was whispering from it but it was so faint so unintelligible it was like it might as well not even have been there.
"HMPH!" I felt the old man about to swing again.
Briefly the dark light got brighter but a calming golden yellow light pushed it away, the voices stopping.
"Black Iron Body."
There was a clang and the old man's metal staff snapped and broke as it hit my head.
"Hmph, now you're getting it kid." He smirked.
They put me through a few more meditative exercises and for once I felt relaxed and like I wasn't full of bottled-up frustrations. Spirit energy, it's like Haki once you get a grip on it you can control it, maybe it's not as offensive as Haki but it's like an extra sense, an ability to just…feel another person or creature's state of mind, it's like another layer of insight.
"You could use more training but I don't think we have to worry about that demon breaking free any time soon, plus you don't need any fancy exorcism techniques." The old man laughed "Remember keep yourself calm and you're the one in charge of your body not something else."
"Thanks for the help old man." I looked at my arms "You've already done more than I could have asked for, and you kept an eye on Lil, I appreciate that."
"She was plenty of help." Kusu smiled "We couldn't have asked for more help. Besides any friend of Kin'emon is a friend of ours. I just hope he doesn't go and get himself killed being reckless."
"I guess we should head out then Lil." I looked at her "I came here with the others so I should track them down, and I'd really like to find Robin too do you know where she is?"
"Uhh…" Lil suddenly got a little defensive "Mama said if you showed up I wasn't supposed to tell you where she was, it's a secret?"
"That's weird, Robin doesn't usually say something like that." I gave her a look "Is she in danger."
"No nothing like that, or at least I think not, she just said you shouldn't know about it for some reason."
"Lil?" I gave her the disapproving stare.
"Jeez Papa you don't need to act like that." She sighed "S-She uhh…she's undercover with the Geishas. You know she dances and…looks pretty for customers and stuff."
"Oh…I see…" I hummed.
"Phew." Lil sighed "Mama was worried for nothing."
"I'LL BURN THAT PLACE DOWN!"
"Sorry Mama."
"What part of stay calm don't you understand boy!"
Rose's POV
While Zoro and I were going around we happened to come across Luffy of all people.
"You're here." I hugged him "It's about time! Say where is everyone else?"
"We got separated when we crash landed." He laughed "I don't know where they are. But a bunch of stuff happened and I gotta get this girl to a doctor."
"Hmm, she does look rough." I saw the girl that was riding on the flaming dog with Luffy "If you gotta find a doctor we outta hurry."
"Strawhat, so it is you." A group of soldiers marched up on beasts from the forest.
"Crap it's Hawkins." I looked back.
Basil Hawkins, one of the Supernovas, had been tailing Zoro and I for days now and I thought he would just give up already.
"Oh yeah it's that guy." Luffy pointed.
"He's already working for Kaido." Zoro warned.
"In Wano you join the strong or you spend your life running from them." Hawkins said.
"Luffy we're not supposed to start trouble, it's already a problem if we make more of a mess then…" I warned.
"It's fine, we can apologize later." Luffy smiled.
"Haa…" I held my arm out and the blade emerged "I had a feeling you'd say that."
"Where's Kaido I'm here to beat him up!" Luffy yelled.
"You probably shouldn't say things like that." Zoro laughed taking out his swords.
"Uhh Luffy why do you have a sword, you don't know how to use that do you?" I asked.
"It's fine." He laughed "See? Gum-Gum Pistol!"
He threw a punch and knocked one of the bad guys out.
"That's not a sword attack!" Zoro yelled.
"The chances you all live till the end of the month." Hawkins hummed "19%."
"So what." I dashed passed the lizard that attacked with them "I say the chances of you living another minute are zero!" I jumped up and swiped my arm "Sunset Shower!"
I landed behind him and flicked my arm to put my blade away "You picked a fight with a trained killer, that's your fault."
I looked back and Hawkins was just sitting there like nothing happened, but one of the men with him suddenly keeled over, cut exactly like I had slashed Hawkins.
I know I hit the right guy…
"I am a Straw Man." He said "Life resides within me and therefore I receive no damage."
He then drew a card "The Hierophant in Reverse, it's a card of retribution."
Suddenly the strawman behind him grew in size and pulled out a painful looking weapon, a board filled with giant nails.
"Time to go." I hurried back over to the beast Luffy rode in on "We can't fight with that kid here Luffy."
"Her fever's crazy high." He explained.
"You two get out of here." I told them "Luffy I'll track down the others, go to the nearby town I'll bring them to you there."
"Right." He nodded.
"And stay outta trouble!"
A While Later
I was actually able to track down the crew pretty quickly all things considered, they were still at the beach just a ways down from Luffy, seems like they thought he and Steve had sunk to the bottom cause of their powers. Still I recovered Nami, Sanji, Carrot, Brook, Chopper, Wyper and Monet and brought them back to town.
"Everyone was there but my brother." I explained "Knowing him he probably realized where he was and went looking for you or Robin."
Apparently Luffy made some friends while he was in town and stirred up some trouble, it wasn't unexpected but still it sure as hell was annoying that he was here a few hours and already complicating things.
"These are the ruins of our old base of operations." Kin'emon explained "Sorry for the mess but I'm glad you all made it. Still there is something I must explain, a secret I've been keeping from all of you."
"You guys have a lotta secrets, just tell us already would ya." Luffy grumbled.
"Luffy be nice." I laughed.
"Sorry it's just that this story is hard to believe." He admitted "The three of us here, myself, Momonosuke and Kiku, as well as Raizo and Kanjuro, we hail from the past. We were sent here through time twenty years ago."
"What…seriously?"
"This place used to be Castle Oden." Kiku explained "Though it's true name was Kuri Castle."
"Oden, that's Momo's dad yeah?" Luffy asked.
"Indeed." Momo nodded.
"Lord Oden was a one-of-a-kind man." Kin'emon explained "Strong, wild and more, it was he who helped bring order to Wano when it grew disorderly and filled with factions of samurai and criminals fighting over towns."
Kin'emon's story of this guy, it was less like he was talking up a man and more like he was talking up his personal hero, a god among mortals with how he supposedly carved rivers into the land, befriended Gold Rodger, and Whitebeard it was like this guy was some kind of living legend to them.
"It's been twenty years since he died…no I suppose for them it's only been a short few months."
"Twenty years is a very long time." Monet said "going forward in time that much would be like coming to a new country, not to mention the way Kaido has dismantled the landscape to build his factories."
"We left Wano to find allies to aid our fight." Kin'emon said "But we ran across Doflamingo and then Caesar Clown, I had begun to lose all hope when our paths finally met. Thankfully Orochi things we are dead, nothing but ghosts and we can use that advantage to prepare and build or strength to fight back, it's imperative that he not learn of our return."
"Got it."
"He's serious Luffy." Wyper sighed "This isn't a useless secret like how you ate all the meat or something, this is a life and death secret got it."
"I got it I got it." He huffed.
"With our forces, the Strawhats, the Heart Pirates and the Minks we might have 5000 men, but we cannot wage an open war like that, and I'd rather avoid such a major conflict if possible."
"So then what did you have in mind?" Nami asked.
"We strike quickly and precisely to take out their leader." He said "Two weeks from now on the night of the Fire Festival we attack the island where Kaido lives, Onigashima. In the mean time you will need to remain undercover like the others, with my powers I can create a disguise for you all."
He had little stories already prepared for them, he could make Nami a Ninja due to her weather abilities, Carrot could help Kiku at the teahouse, Chopper also wanted to play Ninja while Sanji would be a salesmen in the food district since he had a way with talking to people, for Money he made a large white and black robe so she could disguise herself as a calligrapher and for Wyper he had an outfit that resembled a courier.
"All these ninjas, I feel like my position in the team is being threatened." I pouted.
"I still think you're a great ninja Rose!" Sanji smiled.
"Yeah of course you do." I sighed.
"I have a trainer prepared for you." Kin'emon told Nami.
"Ah that must be me." I smiled.
"This is Shinobu." He introduced a rather old and rotund ninja woman.
"OH COME ON!" I snapped "I didn't spend two years training with Ikaruga to be treated like an afterthought!"
Before I could complain more there was a loud rumble of thunder in the sky.
"What was that." I looked at "GYAAAAA!"
"Rose?!"
"G-G-GIANT DRAGON!"
"That is Kaido." Law said.
"That's Kaido?!"
"He's gigantic and…and…UGH!" I felt my vision blur.
"ROSE!"
"She's out cold!
"She must have panicked from the sight of that giant dragon."
"If Kaido is that big…we're screwed."
AN
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Pick up- Chapter 925
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