Edit: Still no text formatting on FFN lol.
Super late chapter! It's been a crazy eventful month for me; I'm starting a new job, so I'll be doing my best to learn what my schedule looks like now. In the meantime, I'll push hard to make sure HHEX gets out before the month ends.
On the matter of the chapter itself, no one asked for this lmfao. I know. I rly wanted to try to take this one places, though, and I fully believe that it can be a fun time. I have so, so, so much planned for this and a lot of stuff I'd love to explore. Despite everything, One Piece manages to own my heart and soul, still.
That doesn't mean that the story should exist in the first place, however. Doll, for instance, doesn't even have a canon NAME yet and I'm counting the days until she inevitably gets her epithet re-localised as Dhole. The little we DO know about her now, of course, is directly related to the exact setting of this fanfic (I don't know why this keeps happening) but I think I did a good job of keeping everything cohesive and canon compliant (within reason).
Thank you to a certain nartbro for beta reading, and of course, a big thank you to all o' y'all!
X
Revenge.
Nothing occupied Gecko Moria's mind more than revenge. Not since the day Kaido took everything from him. His men. His pride.
How long had it been since then? How long had he been biding his time in the West Blue with his tail tucked?
No longer.
Moria stood up from his chair, rising to a height four times that of a normal man. His muscles, forged in the throes of combat, rippled with every step toward the window overlooking his greatest creation.
Thriller Bark was almost complete.
The man, devilish in ability and appearance, knew he was powerful. At his mightiest, he was confident enough to pit his strength against an emperor of the sea.
Even still, he had lost.
It was because of his men. They, too, were powerful; all could hold their own against Kaido's crew. But they were mortal. They died and they were lost to him forever. He needed them to pull their weight, and as their numbers dwindled, so did his chances.
Thriller Bark was the solution.
His devil fruit, the kage kage no mi, was formidable. It had allowed him to climb the top of the New World. But had he been using it to its full potential? His shadow possession techniques turned the tides of battle, but they were finite. As the number of corpses grew, the available shadows naturally diminished. Sunlight was his enemy, rendering the great majority of such techniques null as it shone.
But what if he brought it all with him? A perfect battleground where shadows and corpses were neverending. A land the sun would never reach. That was Thriller Bark. He would stack the playing field in his favour by forcing his enemies upon his very playing field.
He needed to re-enter the Grand Line.
Fodder and Corpses were in no short supply in this region, but they were just that at the end of the day. He needed to find stronger bodies. Stronger shadows. He would scour every nook and cranny of the strongest seas to assemble the ultimate undead army.
And then Kaido would pay.
"Absalom!" he called, and his loyal servant came running.
The well-dressed blond-haired man took a knee out of respect.
"Moria-sama."
The devil grinned.
"We have our target's position?"
"Of course."
Absalom did not rise from kneeling as his captain walked past him, purpose in his step.
"Then we leave now. Soon, all will fall into place!"
X
Shirou held Kanshou and Bakuya firmly in each hand; the townspeople standing nearby gave him a wide berth as the twin swords seemed to spawn from thin air.
"Shirou?" Olvia asked him expectantly. "Is that… a devil fruit?"
Right. She wouldn't have seen him project anything since he fought Aokiji. He figured his abilities would be easy enough to pass off as a devil fruit.
Ignoring all else, the red-haired boy kept his glare trained on the sight before him.
The violent man was still holding the Doll up by the neck. She clawed at his vice-like grip and her legs swung about beneath her in an attempt to kick him.
This asshole had his full attention on the girl he was tormenting, oblivious to the crowd that had formed around them.
Before Shirou could rush ahead, a hand was pressed to his chest, yanking him back and keeping him in place. He whipped his head over his shoulder, wide-eyed.
"Shakky-san?" he muttered, surprised by the woman's strength. She must have left the pub to see what the commotion was about.
"The locals call that man 'Demon Sheriff' Laffitte: he's little more than a corrupt cop, but he's not one to underestimate," she whispered to him. " If you interfere now, the sheriff will kick the marines out, and the failure of their mission will rest squarely on that girl's shoulders. The World Government has no authority in towns like these so the situation is tenuous enough for them as-is. She'll never forgive you."
Olvia listened to the explanation silently, doing her best to keep her composure.
It was sound advice, she thought. There was much more at stake here than Shirou realised.
Even so, as she observed the abuse the younger girl was being put through, her traitorous mind superimposed the image of another black-haired girl, a few years younger than Doll herself.
She gnashed her teeth.
"How can you be so uncaring?" Shirou questioned Shakky, neither of them privy to the white-haired woman's dilemma. His fists were balled tightly. "She respects you. She looks up to you. Why—"
"You want to save her? You better be confident in your ability to finish the job, then," Shakky countered flatly.
As if on cue, the sheriff grew tired of the girl's struggles and tossed her to the ground with enough might to crack the hardened dirt road. She coughed painfully; it was a small miracle that the impact didn't outright kill her. She was sturdier than she looked.
Still…
As things worsened for the marine, discomfort became more and more apparent amongst the onlookers. There were looks of hope that Shirou only noticed once they started to vanish; slowly, they trickled away, retreating into houses and nearby establishments to watch from a safe distance.
"These people are all too scared to do anything," Shakky continued. "You think anyone wants to be governed by such a violent man? They'd been calling on the Marines for ages to do something, but there's nothing they can do. The navy doesn't have the manpower or resources to deal with every monster outside of the Grand Line. The town and authorities can only do their best to work around him."
It could just as well have gone through one ear and out the other as far as Shirou was concerned. Not once did he take his eyes off the barbarity before him.
Weakened, the marine girl pushed herself back up and glared defiantly at her aggressor. Not talking back, yet refusing to be cowed. This frustrated the sheriff, clearly; with a sneer, he backhanded her so hard that her body spun like a top and crumpled over itself.
"Know your place," Laffitte murmured. "I'm tired of you marines marching around my town acting like you own it. You don't. Admit that where you lay beneath my feet is where you belong and I'll let you live.
She didn't. Once more, she forced her trembling feet back under her in complete silence.
Olvia's eyes crinkled; she turned her head to the side to hide pursed lips.
"This is awful," she denounced softly. "Shakky-san. To watch this happen to such a young girl… I can't do it."
"Olvia-san—"
Laffitte yanked off the police baton strapped to his hip, brandishing it with a sneer at the marine as if she were nothing more than dirt stuck to his boot refusing to come off.
It was clear what was coming next.
The white-haired woman sprinted forward before Shakky could get her to see reason. She positioned herself in front of the battered marine and pulled the girl into a protective embrace.
Shirou, distracted by the inner turmoil from his forced inaction, didn't notice until Oliva had already reached the marine. Neither did the marine in question, judging by her confused whimper as the older woman's touch reached her. By then, however, it was too late: the sheriff swung his weapon down on her shoulder, pulling an anguished cry right out of her body.
This visibly bothered Shakky; her hold on Shirou's shirt weakened. With a tightly clenched jaw, the redhead shrugged past her outstretched hand and marched forward, Kanshou and Bakuya glimmering as they caught the light of the high noon sun.
Shakky frowned at him, schooling her rattled expression.
"Shirou-chan—"
"That girl can hate me to her heart's content. I'm stopping this now."
"Be careful of the battles you pick," she told him seriously. "We should grab Olvia and leave; you won't be the one paying the price if you make a mistake here. Remember that."
He didn't answer her. Nothing more needed to be said.
His magic circuits hummed louder with every step he took. Years spent training his Reinforcement magecraft paid off as the spell enveloped every nook and cranny of his body, raising it to a level far beyond its natural limit.
Only once he placed himself firmly between the sheriff and his victims did the larger man deign to acknowledge his presence.
"And who are you?" Laffitte asked him flatly. Uncaringly, even.
"Shirou! I didn't mean for you to…" Olvia trailed off, wincing in pain.
The marine girl, still in the woman's arms, could only lift her head high enough to keep her tired eyes on the shining sword before her.
"It's… you," she muttered in a daze, still confused from her strangulation.
He left her hanging for now.
Laffitte's eyes shot wide open as his expression instantly switched from irritated to shocked. He had little to no interest in the smaller man before him until Shirou's twin swords came swinging down on his shoulder with a ferocity and swiftness that he could barely keep up with. At the last moment, he managed to raise his baton to absorb the blow, but even then, his legs weren't ready to take on such force.
The sheriff's knees smacked against the ground, nearly cratering the points of impact. Now rendered immobile, it was all he could do to once again present the baton before him as Kanshou came for his head. His massive frame was lifted into the air and sent flying back several paces until he inevitably crashed into the dirt again.
"Know your place," Shirou coldly threw the man's earlier words back at him.
Shakky palmed her face and took a deep breath.
"They're all too hotheaded," she muttered. She looked like she was toying with the idea of running over, but stayed put for now.
Shirou looked over his shoulder to check on the two behind him.
"Are you badly hurt?" he asked.
"She'll be okay," Olvia told him assuredly, running her fingers through the marine's hair to check her head; the younger girl was too tired to fight it.
Shirou wanted to remark that he was asking both of them, but thought better of it; it was answer enough for now.
He offered them a grateful smile before facing the problem in front of him with a scowl. Laffitte wouldn't stay down for long.
Shaken but relatively uninjured, the sheriff stood squarely with a wooden stare at the younger man. It was far from an expressive look but still conveyed immense fury.
"Another brat who steps on my toes," the sheriff grumbled. "Are you with the Marines? I bet you are. A shame how little respect your kind has for my authority."
"I'm not. I just don't like you," Shirou answered unflinchingly.
Clutching his baton, Laffitte ran at him and swung his weapon wildly. While Shirou was nimble enough to dodge most of the onslaught, his opponent's reach was so disproportionately long that errant strikes carved up the ground, sending massive chunks of earth and rock flying every which way.
Laffitte was a more manageable opponent than Aokiji—Shirou could hit this guy, notably—but by no means was he weak. Speaking from experience, most magi wouldn't hold a candle to someone like this; they just weren't accustomed to such a superhuman pace of combat.
It was a strange comparison to be forced to make.
Fiction and reality were supposed to be entirely separate: thoughts of whether different seas and regions in One Piece contributed to relative ability or if it was simply a matter of narrative progression got thrown out the window when one became the other.
Luckily, Shirou was quickly discovering that his skills might be "manga-worthy" after all.
Laffitte surpassed any regular human opponent, but Shirou had always been better at dealing with monstrous warriors than the clever loopholes and caveats of a magus.
A tremendous strength may be overcome by an unstoppable force. It was usually as simple as that.
"Spirit and technique," he whispered to himself. "Flawless and firm."
To the immense surprise of all who were watching, he threw Kanshou and Bakuya at his opponent. Laffitte was wide-eyed but didn't have much difficulty moving himself out of the way of the spinning blades.
Magical energy flared as his legs propelled him toward the man. One moment he was standing in front of Olvia, the next he was in the air above his enemy, an exact copy of his recently discarded weapons raised and readied for his next attack.
Our strength rips the mountains.
Our swords split the water.
Our names reach the imperial villa.
To Laffitte's credit, he didn't waste too much time thinking about the duplicated swords. He did an admirable job using his one baton to stave off the two-sided offence. Still, Shirou's swordsmanship was masterful: every strike was carefully calculated to control where his opponent repositioned himself.
X
Shakky had to admit this kid knew a thing or two, but his control over the situation was beyond impressive. Thinking back, it made sense: he dragged Nico Olvia out of a Buster Call, of all things. He would have had to keep them both alive through a raid of Marine battleships and Vice Admirals. Even running away in that situation wasn't an easy task.
He could handle it from here, she decided. Without wasting any more time, she ran over to Olvia-san and Doll-chan, quickly helping them onto their feet.
"What were you thinking?" Olvia gently chided the younger girl with a worried frown, doing her best to mask the pain in her voice. She straightened Doll-chan's marine cap with her good hand, brushing the dirt off the brim with the tips of her fingers. "Sometimes it's best to bow your head, even though it might hurt your pride."
Doll-chan's eyes couldn't be seen under the shadow cast by her hat, but her pursed lips showed enough to know exactly how she was feeling. Frustrated, if nothing else.
"It's a Marine's job to look after civilians, damn it," the girl muttered. "Not the other way around."
Shakky said nothing, looking down at her sadly. Was it her fault that this happened to the girl, in the end? Doll-chan wasn't fooling anyone: the only reason she stopped by the bar so frequently was to visit Shakky, who needed to stick around longer than anticipated due to her correspondence with Nico Olvia. Without the unnecessary back and forth, Laffitte would have likely never run into her in the first place.
Shakky wanted to punch that sheriff's nose in just as much as anyone else but she knew it would be a bad idea. She knew the role she needed to play, and everything would go up in flames if the spotlight shined too brightly on her. Her relationship with the Marines was amicable but tenuous: she could only act as she did as long as no one knew her relation to Silvers Rayleigh. She was nothing more than a barhopper.
Doll-chan thought so. There was nothing she could have done, as far as the girl was concerned, but knowing differently meant that there was still a pang of guilt in Shakky's chest nonetheless.
The incessant ringing of metal hitting metal intensified; the three looked to where Shirou-chan was fending off the sheriff. He was manhandling a man many times his size without losing his composure.
It was unusual for someone his age: he had a sturdy frame but he was still a teenager beyond any shadow of a doubt. He carried himself as someone much more experienced than he had any right to be.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Doll-chan grumbled bitterly, but it was a valid question despite her unreasonably poor opinion of her benefactor.
Olvia-san didn't know any better, it would seem. The white-haired woman watched the movements of the boy barely older than the girl next to her with a look of palpable incomprehension.
Shakky's scrutiny intensified. As she tried to analyse his actions however she could, she caught something in the corner of her eye: the first pair of swords—the ones that he had seemingly discarded a second ago—were moving as if they had a mind of their own. Instead of harmlessly landing somewhere in the distance, their travel path warped until they came right back around like a boomerang. Toward Shirou-chan and toward—
Her eyes shot wide open.
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together," the boy intoned, finishing his strange mantra as four blades converged on the sheriff's body in unison.
There was nothing Laffitte could do to save himself. It wasn't a particularly flashy attack, nor was it overwhelmingly powerful. It was, however, insurmountable.
A simple thing, delivered with such a precise hand… For a moment, Shakky wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of it. It would be another story entirely if haki were brought into the equation, but it was a non-factor here, clearly. It wasn't a common technique outside of the Grand Line, and even then, few knew of its existence.
One way or another, however, haki always found itself along the path of men like him. Of that much, she was certain.
Laffitte did his best. It was a credit to his reflexes that he saw the other swords coming at his back at all, but there was only so much that he could do. He ducked and twisted his body to the side, catching one of Shirou-chan's swords with his baton, but cried out in pain as the other slashed into his side. The airborne copies once again changed trajectory and flew straight into his back.
The sheriff coughed up a splatter of blood and fell to his knees. All four swords vanished into thin air as Shirou-chan about-faced and walked away, not bothering to spare him a second glance.
The townspeople started to re-emerge from their hiding places with bated breath. They observed the weakened body of their oppressor unflinchingly, as if scared to even hope.
Shirou-chan smiled in their direction, not noticing the crowd forming.
"Sorry, I—"
"RAAAAAAAAAH!"
He cut himself off, shoulders jolting upward as the townspeople erupted into raucous cheers. Laffitte had fallen forward, unconscious.
Shakky tried to hide her amused smile. Whether intentional or not, it would appear he saved this town from Demon Sheriff Laffitte's reign of tyranny.
X
The pub was overflowing with positive energy: joyous laughs and loud chatter filled the air. As many bodies as could fit in such a small space were here to celebrate their newfound freedom and their saviours, though that second part was slowly forgotten the more they drank.
As for the saviours in question…
"How are you feeling, Doll-chan?" Olvia asked, gently sifting through a first aid kit for some tensor clips while the bartender wrapped a bandage around her cleaned forehead. The marine was propped up on the bartop to give the man better access for tending to her wounds; most of the townspeople were considerate enough to give them some space while they tended to their injuries.
"Don't call me Doll," the girl grumbled, but such complaints had long since lost their bite. She stared at the older woman's arm, or rather, the very noticeable sling it was being held in.
The girl's mood visibly worsened.
Shirou scoffed with his back turned to them as he took the time to hang Olvia's jacket on a nearby coat rack.
"We wouldn't have to if you'd just give us your name," he told her flatly. As much as it should have been common sense, she turned her head away instead and gave him the silent treatment. Or at least, she tried to; The barkeep tilted the girl's chin back toward him and clipped the bandage in place.
Shakky was at the other end of the bar, a simper pressed against the lip of a glass of whiskey.
"How's the shoulder, Olvia-san?" she asked. The woman in question spared her a gentle smile.
"I'm fine, I promise. My coat's pretty thick; I got away with just a dislocation, in the end."
"Mm. If you say so!"
Shirou frowned at her.
He was convinced she was downplaying it. He kept silent for now though; she was an adult and could decide for herself if her injuries were a problem. He just wished that he had intervened sooner. Maybe then it wouldn't have happened in the first place.
"Shirou-chan," Shakky called out to the boy. She beckoned him, patting the stool next to hers. "Can I steal you for a moment? It'll be quick."
Not expecting the sudden call though not thinking much of it, he did as he was asked, but not before shooting the ungrateful Marine girl a dry look, however.
Shakky caught it; she laughed.
"Don't think too poorly of Doll-chan," she said in a low voice. The girl was having another back-and-forth with Olvia and the barkeeper; they were too engrossed in their own matters to catch what the two of them were discussing over the ambient noise of the rowdy pub. "She isn't just being difficult; the girl's in a tough spot."
"Is that a reason to act like such a kid?" he grumbled tiredly.
The woman's smirk didn't leave her. She took a sip of her drink.
"Hm! Maybe not. Still… her situation isn't enviable. She's being transferred soon. Hell, this isn't even her division. Her former commanding officer dropped her off on this branch's doorstep not too long ago. There was a mission he wanted to leave her out of, or maybe he didn't want her to get caught up in his less-than-scrupulous affairs. At least, that's what I'm thinking. In the meantime, she can't even so much as mention her name to anyone lest she risk being heckled by her colleagues."
His eyes widened perceptibly. He wasn't expecting her story to take that kind of turn.
"What's up with her commanding officer? Former one, rather."
Shakky's smile dropped. She sighed and stared into her drink sadly.
"Mhm. He was… a well-regarded officer. Within the Marines, certainly, but Doll-chan thought the world of him. Just the other day, it was announced that he was branded a traitor and executed. Little to no information has been released to the public beyond that. I'm sure everyone was confused, but it hit Doll-chan the hardest: she has to deal with her mentor's death and the death of his honour while putting up with the scrutiny that comes with being his apprentice. She's dealing with a lot right now."
That did a good job of shutting him up. His eyes landed on the girl who had yet to stop arguing about some inane topic with a pair of exasperated adults who were just trying to help her. His frustrations were replaced in part by pity.
He was at a loss for words.
Shakky's smile returned to her, albeit a weak one.
"She's angry at the world," she mused. "She feels directionless. Powerless. All of it. I'm sure, she latched onto the first person with an iota of self-assuredness who was kind to her, which just happened to be a random lady who sticks around the pub too long."
Ah. That explained it, then. Kind of.
"...Why do you call her Doll, anyway?" was all he could think to say.
Shakky hummed, seemingly giving it some thought.
"Why?" she asked. "Doesn't it suit her?"
Shirou snorted in amusement. It really didn't.
Any further dialogue was interrupted by the den den mushi ringing behind the bar. The barkeep left the bandaged girl's side for a moment and picked up the line.
"Hello—"
"This is Marine Captain Juno; we heard about the situation in town and have collected the criminal," the snail-like creature recited without missing a beat. "Is our Warrant Officer there with you?"
Doll perked up. They must've been talking about her. She quickly paled.
"S-Sir," she responded weakly.
"...We'll be there to pick you up in a moment. Good work, Warrant Officer."
The line dropped.
"Eh?" Doll uttered absently.
"Well, that's that!" Shakky chirped, clasping her hands together. "They got my message. I'm glad."
"What message?" Doll asked with trepidation.
"That you defeated the Demon Sheriff of course."
"What!?" Doll jumped to her feet. Olvia tried to keep her still, but the agitated girl shrugged her off. "Whaddaya mean, Shakky-san? I didn't—it was—"
Her words died in her throat as she saw Olvia recoil in pain. The woman clutched at her injury.
Doll regretted her hasty movements immediately. She appeared to reach out to the woman but thought better of it, pretending instead that it didn't happen. Still, her indignance did a poor job of masking her guilt.
Shirou stepped in.
"Olvia—"
"I'm okay," she insisted. "Don't worry."
He relented, albeit unwillingly. He caught her surreptitious nod in Doll's direction. Shakky had helped them out here; they'd be able to avoid unnecessary attention, this way.
"Don't worry about it too much," Shakky assured the marine.
"I didn't do anything," Doll muttered, visibly upset.
Shakky's teasing look mellowed out a little.
"Think of it like this: nothing would have changed for these people if you didn't stand up for yourself. Laffitte would have kept doing what he was doing until he stepped on toes bigger than his, and that day just so happened to be today. Don't be too quick to discredit yourself when your tenacity was the difference maker."
The younger girl didn't look quite satisfied with the woman's words, but most of her anger dissipated.
Shakky had quite the silver tongue, Shirou was starting to learn.
"It's best that we head out," Olvia decided after a moment's thought. She placed her hand on Shirou's shoulder and nodded gratefully at the woman who had lent them her aid.
Right. Even if they didn't have a bounty on them, there wasn't any reason to stick around when the Marines came. Shakky had already gone the extra mile to omit their involvement and it was a bad idea to tempt fate.
"Oi."
Shirou and Olvia looked over to the Marine girl. She had called out to them yet was having a tough time looking them in the eye.
"Thanks for helping me," she expressed, voice small. It took a lot out of her to admit even that much.
Even still, Shirou was happy to hear it. He grinned brightly at her.
"Of course," he answered warmly.
Immediately, she dropped down onto a stool and spun around, turning her back to them. Olvia shot him a sly look, though he couldn't decipher it before Shakky left her seat and put her face between theirs.
"The Grand Line is where you'll meet Rayleigh," she whispered. "Olvia-san: I managed to get your crew a pass on a World Government liner last time, but crossing the Calm Belt isn't so easy without paperwork. Your paperwork shouldn't exist now that you're legally dead, and forging a passable fake ID would take… a while."
Shirou frowned. He didn't even think of that. It was supposedly quite a challenge to get to the Grand Line. For a pirate, at least.
"What about Reverse Mountain?" he suggested.
The two women stared at him like he had grown a second head. The colour drained from Olvia's face at the idea alone.
"Times will never be so desperate, Shirou-chan," Shakky reassured him. "I promise."
He avoided her gaze awkwardly. Was it such a crazy idea? It worked in the manga, he thought.
"R-right."
"Anyway," Shakky reeled them back in. "The point is, I want you two to stick around until the Marines show up."
Olvia wasn't a fan of the idea.
"Shakky-san…"
"Trust me, I have an idea." Shakky glanced over at Doll's back confidently. "I was given a lead on their next destination, and if I'm right, they'll be working as a security detail for a World Government convoy heading back to Headquarters."
"You want us to board the Marine ship," Olvia concluded flatly. "I'm not a fan of playing with fire."
"How would we even pull that off?" Shirou asked. His companion visibly deflated the moment he humoured the thought.
Shakky smirked. Without answering, she walked off and wrapped Doll in a friendly side hug.
"Doll-chan, could you do me a favour?"
No way this was gonna work.
"The younger girl looked up at her curiously.
"Shakky-san?"
"Would you mind giving our friends a lift? They helped us out a lot, and—"
"Absolutely not. Marines don't run cruise ships and I'm not gonna break the rules just because you're the one who asked."
Shakky looked like she swallowed a lemon. She did, in fact, fully expect the Marine to break the rules just because she was the one who asked.
"Ah. No worries."
With a friendly pat on the shoulder, she left Doll to her own devices and returned to Shirou and Olvia with an unperturbed smile.
"Well, I tried! Haha."
Olvia could only pinch the bridge of her nose.
"Look. It's fine. We'll figure out…"
She trailed off, noticing a uniformed group entering the pub. The patrons made space for the Marines as they approached the bar.
Doll looked over her shoulder to see what the commotion was about then did a double-take. She spun in her stool and jumped to her feet, saluting with a consternated expression strapped to her face.
A man in an officer's coat stepped out in front.
"Warrant Officer," he greeted her, stone-faced. He met her fidgety salute with silence until a tiny smile crept onto his face. "I'm glad to see you in one piece."
"Sir."
He snorted.
"Let's go," he told her, then nodded at the crowd around her in polite greeting. "We'll drop off Laffitte in Ilisia; you'll finally be able to transfer to headquarters like you wanted."
"Right."
Doll bowed her head gratefully, then stepped forward to leave with the group. She paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder.
"...I'll be going now. Maybe one day we'll meet again, Shakky-san. Olvia-san. Shirou."
"I don't doubt it!" Shakky answered for them.
With a final wave goodbye, Doll and the Marines exited the pub. As he was about to ask Olvia what they would do next, Shirou felt Shakky's arm wrap around his shoulder; she did the same to Olvia, pulling them close. He looked up at her questioningly and was met with a scheming grin.
"Well, I guess we know what has to happen now, right?"
He and Olvia shared a look. Neither one of them liked the sound of that.
X
"Good job, Kid!"
"Mm."
"Keep at 'er!"
"Thanks."
The marine girl continued to respond to her comrades' words of praise with half-hearted acknowledgements as she did her best to get away from all of… this. It hadn't even been a quarter of an hour since they'd set sail and she already couldn't stand it.
She couldn't stand herself.
They congratulated her for capturing Demon Sheriff Laffitte because none of them knew the truth. If she told them now, they would call her way worse things than they would if they found out who she was.
She had done nothing but get her ass handed to her. She was pathetic.
As she left the main deck and closed the door behind her, a loud sigh escaped her lips, leaving her visibly deflated.
She had stolen credit that belonged to someone else. That Shirou guy… was ridiculously strong. He managed to do what she couldn't without even breaking a sweat.
Or was it that she was just weak?
He seemed about her age, yet there was such a large gap between their abilities.
Vice Admiral Saul would be ashamed of her. And she called herself his student? Hah. Right. He would have handled things just fine without help from some random, annoying guy. She was sure of it.
She spat out a curse under her breath and marched toward the cabins. She would get changed and head down to the upper decks right away to look for a sparring partner.
She had to get stronger. Much, much stronger.
That singular thought burned itself into her mind as she opened the door to the living quarters. Her focused glare melted into a look of confusion once she noticed that she wasn't the only one here, despite the off time of day.
Two marines in full uniform stood at the end of the room: a shorter boy with red hair and a taller woman with white hair. Both snapped their heads toward her as she entered. Though their eyes were masked by dark aviator sunglasses, she could infer that they widened in surprise.
Her expression flattened as they saluted her.
"Hello there, Warrant Officer."
"Good evening, Warrant Officer!"
"I know it's you!" she hissed at the two of them.
Shirou and Olvia-san removed their glasses sheepishly. Were they serious?
"I'm ratting you out," she told them right away. She spun around to leave—
"Wait!" Shirou called out to her, grabbing her arm. She looked over at him in annoyance.
"What? You didn't think this would work for real, did you? You're gonna get caught right away because the captain saw the two of you at the bar. Not gonna happen."
Shirou pushed his way in front of her and blocked her exit as she tried to shake him off, much to her annoyance.
"Look," he tried again. "It's not like you can turn around and bring us back, right?"
"No, but we can throw you in a cell for infiltrating a government ship and impersonating a Marine," she reposted swiftly. He recoiled.
Olvia-san sighed loudly.
"Please," she asked them. "Let's not start a fight."
The Marine whipped her head around and sneered at her confrontationally.
"Maybe I will!"
"That won't end well for anyone," Olvia-san told her calmly.
A chill ran down the girl's spine.
It wasn't said in a threatening way—the opposite, even—but the confidence in her tone planted a seed of unease in the pit of the girl's stomach.
Olvia-san was a kind woman. That much was obvious, she went out of her way to protect someone who was too headstrong for her own good, but she was viciously cunning. Shirou observed their shared silence with a clear lack of understanding of his own ability or circumstance: that there likely wasn't anything that anyone on this Marine ship could do to stop him if he wanted to resist arrest. He, too, was a kind person, but this was what set him apart from Olvia-san, who immediately realised the strength of their position.
The girl scoffed dismissively, doing her best to mask her discomfort.
"Fine," she acquiesced. "I have places to be, so if you'd excuse me…"
She trailed off, then stared at Shirou, who stared right back confusedly. There was a question at the front of her mind, but for the sake of her pride, she decided against asking it.
"Stay out of trouble," she settled with, in the end. "If you get caught, don't expect me to stick my neck out for you."
Despite her frosty remarks, Olvia-san offered a smile and Shirou a friendly wave. Not knowing how to deal with that, she gave them an awkward wave in return and quickly snuck out before she could embarrass herself further.
She would push herself extra hard in sparring so that she wouldn't think of this interaction, she decided.
X
"I can't believe we're doing this," Olvia announced. The novel she was reading, borrowed from a bag left by one of the Marines, was allowed to fall onto her lap as her head dropped contemplatively.
Shirou perked up, lowering the travel brochure he was sifting through to get a better look at her. She was visibly favouring one arm over the other; she had to leave her sling behind to make the disguises work, which wasn't a good idea for multiple reasons.
His lips thinned.
"Doing what?" he asked, not speaking his mind for now. They had been sitting on the benches in the corner of the cabin in relative silence for a while now; Shirou had thought Olvia was nose-deep into that book and didn't want to bother her. Did she have something on her mind?
She closed her eyes and took a calming breath.
"We've had a crazy day. It hasn't been that long since we left… We've somehow picked a fight with local authorities, and now we're sneaking onto World Government ships to enter the Grand Line, of all places."
"I think we're doing okay," Shirou remarked light-heartedly, though it didn't look like Olvia shared his mood.
"I'm scared, frankly."
His smile slowly faded. The woman was blankly staring at the back of the book cover.
"Have you ever been to the Grand Line, Shirou?"
He opened his mouth to speak but took a moment to think through his words. He had read about the Grand Line, but…
"I've heard a lot about it," he answered.
She shook her head.
"It's not the same," the woman muttered. "The things that happen there… what you've heard would never be enough to truly understand. My dream, since I was a little girl, was to uncover the truth about the Void Century. I would have done anything to follow that dream, so when I went to that place the first time, I didn't think twice. I really should have."
He frowned and shuffled closer to her.
"So what do you—"
"We have to go there," she continued, interrupting him. "I'm not strong like you. I'm an archeologist, not a warrior. I was never meant to journey to such an unforgiving place, but everything just beyond my reach is there!"
She was frustrated, her voice raising as her explanation grew beyond that. Shirou remained silent, offering her the courtesy of waiting as she regained her composure.
"If Silvers Rayleigh can't help, then what?" she asked, her voice small. "What would he even know? Robin is all alone in a world that wants her dead. Asking her to persevere, to follow in the footsteps of the mother who was never around is just silly. How conceited must I be to believe that she'd look for the poneglyphs above all else?"
A moment later she chuckled. "I continue to force my struggles onto you. I'm sorry, Shirou."
The redhead smiled reassuringly.
"The one thing I know for certain is that, even at her age, she's already an archeologist, through and through. Her dream isn't one borrowed from someone else; it's hers and hers alone. She's not copying you; the apple just didn't fall far from the tree, is all."
He knew a thing or two about that, he liked to think.
"...You're not from Ohara," Olvia recalled, not looking him in the eye. "You said as much, but the things you know… about my daughter, the poneglyphs—all of it. Please. Explain it to me honestly."
He was stumped.
After pushing it off this long, he probably owed her some explanation, but how was he supposed to tell her the truth? That, as far as he knew, she was just a storybook character? His silence lasted longer than he would have wanted. Olvia placed her book to the side and stood up.
"Forgive me. You've helped me this long without asking for anything in return. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, so I promise I—"
He lightly grabbed her by the hem of her shirt, careful not to aggravate her injury. She looked down at him, brows furrowed.
Shirou was tense, unsure what to say or how to say it.
"If you could see into the future," he started, throat feeling dry. "What would you do?"
Her eyes widened.
"You aren't insinuating—"
"If you could follow the lives of strangers; of people you don't know personally," he continued, not wanting to lose his momentum, "but you see so much that you learn to know them anyway. And then, one day, the people and places you recognise—"
She quickly covered his mouth, stopping him from speaking another word. With a shell-shocked look, she searched him for any sign of deceit, but his unflinching and resolute gaze was all she found.
"Okay," she muttered, her hand still sealing his lips. She didn't want his input quite yet.
Olvia hunched forward.
"For now, this is enough," she decided, finally stepping away. "Maybe I was being selfish, but thank you. For telling me."
He felt a little unsure.
"You'll believe me?" he asked slowly. He hadn't given her much of a reason to believe him, but what reason was there to give? Even if it wasn't the whole truth, it was still a little too much for a normal person to believe.
"I'll trust you," she answered instead, smiling warmly. "The world has taught me that what you've said is far from impossible, but an archeologist isn't so quick to believe what she's told. This much, though, I think I can manage."
Her reasoning was throwing him for a loop. He glowered.
"Why's that?"
Her smile morphed into a teasing smirk.
"You're a hero of justice, aren't you? Heroes of justice don't lie."
…Wha—
He choked on his spit and spun away indignantly to mask his reddening face, earning him a giggle.
X
Moored next to a vessel of similar size, the ramps of the Marine ship dropped down onto the docks of Ilisia Kingdom. In organised groups, Marines trickled out to meet the members of their sister division waiting patiently nearby.
Soon emerged Shirou and Olvia, their sunglasses pressed tightly to their faces. Sweat dripped down their brow as they tried to ignore the chained Laffitte shuffling along between them.
How it was that they had been asked to escort the prisoner, they didn't know. It was safe to say, however, that the way Laffitte was boring holes into Shirou's head with his eyes wasn't conducive to their continued anonymity.
A marine in an officer's uniform stepped forward with an exaggerated frown.
"This the guy?" he drawled, clearly unimpressed. "Yeah, we'll take him. Men!"
Without another word needing to be said, four more marines ran up to relieve the pair of their charge, though despite Laffitte's silence, they were having trouble pulling him along. The former sheriff was putting up more of a fight than he did with Shirou and Olvia, for some reason.
"I blame that damn Red Hair," the Ilisian officer mumbled under his breath. "There weren't nearly as many hoodlums 'round these parts 'till that kid went and made a name for himself."
Shirou caught the remark but didn't think much of it. He was doing his best to keep an ear out for any information regarding the Marines' plans moving forward, and that involved a lot of jumping between the meandering conversations of bored sailors. The more they knew, the better their odds of making it through till the end of the escort route without getting caught.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed tufts of jet-black hair and purple tattoos. Doll was surrounded by other marines, one in particular standing out the most with the rest showing visible signs of deference with their body language. Was he the head of the Ilisian division?
"So you're the one I was told about," the division head mused. "You were Jaguar D. Saul's protégé, weren't you?"
Shirou tried his best not to blow his cover, masking his surprise the best he could. Even still, he couldn't help glancing at Olvia, who was left in a similar state.
Saul was the commanding officer that Shakky was telling them about?
Doll inclined her head, her expression unreadable.
"Yes, Sir."
The man hummed.
"A shame things happened as they did. He was a formidable ally."
The girl clenched her fists.
"There's nothing formidable about him," she muttered, her voice void of any emotion.
Both Shirou and Olvia had to make a pointed effort to look away. Considering the circumstances, Doll couldn't be blamed for thinking that way, but she was talking about the man who helped them reach safety after the Buster Call on Ohara.
It couldn't be given more thought than that, for now.
"'Tention!" a Marine shouted. Within seconds, the sailors split into two, neat, single-file lines, leaving a path to the ships between them. They were all standing at attention; Shirou and Olvia were quick to imitate them.
Another squad of a dozen soldiers, all of them wearing officer's coats, marched down the path left for them shoulder to shoulder. It looked like they were all standing around someone, but it was impossible to even get a glimpse at them, let alone see what they looked like.
This must've been whoever they were escorting to Headquarters.
X
"That was stressful," Olvia groaned as they walked back to the cabins, somehow managing to slip away once the Marines resupplied and took off. "I can't believe we got away with it."
"We can't mess this up now," Shirou grumbled, feeling a little rattled himself. "The first stop we make past the Grand Line is where we have to get off. If we stay on board all the way to Marine Headquarters…"
"We'll have to hope they make another stop," the white-haired woman pointed out. "Cruiser ships like these can cover some serious ground."
For both their sakes, he hoped she was wrong. He didn't know what to expect from that place, but it couldn't spell anything good for people trying to keep their heads down.
The pair slowed momentarily as they happened to cross paths with Doll. The girl didn't seem to notice them at first, almost passing right by them, but planted her feet and stared them down.
"You're still here, huh?" She sounded more resigned than angry at this point. "This mission's important. I was serious when I said—"
"Saul was your teacher," Shirou shamelessly interrupted her. "Is that right?"
At first, she looked annoyed, only knowing that he cut her off without having understood what he said. A second passed, however, and her eyes shot wide open.
Olvia nudged him. She thought his method to be a little too direct.
The younger girl practically threw herself at Shirou, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him within inches of her furious scowl.
"The hell do you think you know him? About me? Don't mess with me, you—"
She had to let him go as the ship rocked violently. Before she fell over, Shirou held her up by the wrist while Olvia braced herself against the wall and immediately screamed out in pain.
"Olvia!" Shirou shouted in alarm.
"Don't worry about me," she continued to insist.
He clicked his tongue and let it go once more.
Focus.
Did they hit something?
Red-faced, Doll ripped her arm away as if burned by his touch. Before another argument could ensue, alarms started blaring throughout the brig.
"All hands, prepare for combat. All hands, prepare for combat."
The message broadcast over the loudspeaker ended as quickly as it started. It did painfully little to explain what was actually happening, however.
The three of them ran up to the deck without missing a beat. Where there were once calm waters as far as the eye could see, there were now giant, crashing waves. The clear blue sky was swallowed by darkness, thick clouds looming overhead.
The whole squadron was in a panic, sailors rushing through and around them. It was difficult to see anything more from where they stood.
"Calm down! Where's the captain!?" Doll screamed, trying to force some composure back into the lower-ranked sailors as she stomped toward the ship's edge. "You're marines, not Boy Scouts, so act like—"
Her words died in her throat. Shirou and Olvia joined her by the guard rails and their expressions quickly morphed into matching looks of horror.
It looked like an island, if only because of its size. Six gargantuan sails, each the size of a village, revealed it to be something else entirely.
Shirou would hesitate to go as far as to call it a ship.
It was totally and absolutely ridiculous. His mind couldn't even comprehend such a large thing floating at sea. He'd deny its existence outright, if it weren't for the fact that it was very much right in front of him and approaching quickly, Even while reading One Piece, he had never seen something like it. Unfortunately, it didn't take omniscience to know that it wasn't anything good.
X
Moria watched impassively as droves of his men rushed onto their ships to raid the Marine ship. They had tracked down their mark without issue.
Good.
This would be enough, he thought. Marine ships were the most prevalent and accessible source of seastone, given how tight the Government's hold over the material happened to be. Once he took the shadows of everyone on board and stripped it to the bone, Thriller Bark would be able to cross into the Calm Belt without issue.
A determined smirk pulled his lips apart.
"Kaido…" he growled. "Get ready!"