POV Tanya Von Degurechaff
Location: Saboady archipelago, Marine base.
The journey to the Saboady archipelago had gone smoothly. Traveling at night made navigation more complicated for sailors, but it helped avoid unpleasant encounters, as most ships preferred to anchor at night to let their crews rest.
Instead of taking a full day to connect MarineFord with the archipelago, the small ship was able to dock at the port of the locally established Marine base on the island in the late afternoon.
Tanya had quickly left the ship to reach the base, taking care to duly thank the crew that had brought her to port. While she may not have meant any of the words she uttered in front of these men, it was important to her to maintain a good image of her colleagues. Relationship with minor personnel may be considered by senior officers as an important element in their selection for a higher position in the Marine hierarchy pyramid.
Tanya's eyes widened when she noticed that the architecture of this base was very similar to that of Marineford. The corridors resembled the corridor of HQ. "At least I can acknowledge that the architect who led the work on the Marine's infrastructure was very efficient."
Because the Marine's buildings were essentially similar, it was easy for any soldier to find his way through this maze of offices and corridors. Ammunition depots and food supplies were located primarily on the second floors of the buildings, allowing soldiers to gear up for missions as they exited the building. The mezzanine floors, in turn, provided accommodation for the various officers' offices and command and administrative offices. Finally, the staff quarters were located on the upper floors of the building. Tanya had no trouble going to the base personnel office for temporary access to base records, as required by Marine military protocol.
When she arrived in front of the personnel officer, Tanya saw that he was slumped under various paperwork and did not seem to have noticed the presence of the young officer, who, thanks to her small size, did not tower over the stack of documents in front of her. She looked enviously at her superior, because if he took care of the staff, this man probably did not need to return to a battlefield or even to be constantly on alert for fear of being attacked.
"Captain? What can I do for you?". An old, grim voice snapped Tanya out of her thoughts. Slightly startled, Tanya quickly stood at attention to respectfully greet her superior officer. "Colonel, I have come to inform you that I wish to take up residence at your base to take advantage of my days off, as per regulations."
"Have a rest, Captain, forget about formalities, especially since you are on leave," the old man replied nonchalantly as he retrieved a form from the cabinet behind him. All his movements were slow and limp, so Tanya thought he was doing it on purpose. "I do not think he ended up here for his gun skills," Tanya joked inwardly.
After a few seconds of searching, the old man handed over the attendance form along with a small black briefcase with the Navy logo, no bigger than a large notebook. Amused by the young girl's questioning look, the old colonel smiled broadly before continuing.
"I have already been informed by HQ that you are coming. The crew of the ship that brought you here must have made their report the moment you entered their ship..." After a brief moment of looking at the young girl, the colonel gave a long sigh before continuing his remarks. "To confirm your arrival at this base, you must fill out this document and affix your seal to it. Once you have signed, you can move into room 203, which is located in the right wing of the building."
The colonel continued his presentation of the location while Tanya looked at the form. She made sure to read each line of the document. Having worked in Human Resources in the past, Tanya was well aware that these types of documents, which may seem innocuous and anecdotal at first glance, could contain undesirable clauses that could prove to be very detrimental.
Not noticing anything particularly detrimental, Tanya reached for the fountain pen on the desk and began filling out the official document, finally signing it. When he was finished, the old man handed him the small briefcase as well.
"A small gift from HQ as a reward for your shards on the battlefield". Tanya opened the briefcase and discovered a small notebook with many pages bearing the seal of the Marine and that of Admiral Sengoku.
"This is a notebook that directly obligates the Marine and the world government to pay anyone who shows up at a naval base the amount you indicate on it," Tanya picks up the small notebook and sees that the number 500,000,000 berries is written on the cover. "That's like a checkbook," Tanya thought to herself.
"I understand how the notebook works, sir," Tanya began, "On the other hand, I do not understand why the HQ would reward me with such a sum..." Although it could be rewarding to see one's work rewarded, it was necessary to be vigilant even with the gifts that could be given by the company, for the young girl knew from experience that some could be poisoned.
"It must be the bounty received for the execution of Fire Fists, because the sum corresponds to the bounty received by this pirate during his lifetime." summed up the colonel, while showing the wanted poster of the young pirate. The sum of 500,000,000 berries was indeed written on the poster with the words "dead or alive." "But Captain, I advise you to be careful with your spending and not spend more than your allotted budget. Surely you do not want to end up in the disfavor of our superiors..."
The little blonde nodded to show her superior that she had fully understood his warning. With the small notebook in her pocket, she stood at attention to greet her supervisor and left the office after he gave her permission to leave.
Before doing anything, it was important for the young girl to stow the few belongings she had with her in her quarters and get a good night's sleep, for the last night on the ship had been terrible, and the fatigue was felt throughout her body. "I still haven't gotten used to sleeping at sea," Tanya grumbled, letting out a hearty yawn before placing all her gear, notebook and checkbook on the small desk. Under the window and hiding her flintlock under her pillow in case someone broke into her quarters.
As she organized the next day in her mind, Tanya stared into the moonlight that was beginning to cover the room as time passed, allowing the girl's eyes to slowly close.
POV ?
Location?
Darkness dominated the room, it was impossible to make out anything except for the small glow of light that slipped under what appeared to be a door. The room seemed to be so large that most sounds could be echoed in it. It was easy to guess the presence of other people, the jerky breathing of some people testified to a pitiful state of health. Sometimes you could even hear screams echoing through the room.
Although it was impossible to determine the number of people present, it was almost certain that there were at least a good twenty. Surprisingly, no one seemed to be struggling or trying to escape from this room. If anyone tried to move even a little, a chaining noise could be heard that suggested they must all be chained.
"What am I doing here? Where am I?" are questions that run through the mind of the young girl held captive with the others. Since regaining consciousness, she had tried a few times to get up and walk towards the only source of light in the room, but a chain attached to what looked like a collar prevented her from moving.
Despite all her efforts to remember anything, she could not think of anything, not even her first name.
After several hours of moping in the darkness and feeling sorry for himself, the door that gave access to the outside suddenly opened with a loud crash. It swung open as if someone had pushed it open with force and determination, and two men appeared. They were apparently wearing some kind of uniform, because both were dressed in pink shirts covered by some kind of black three-point overall. The strangest thing was the white and black ruffle they both wore on the collar of their shirts.
The two men looked like two drops of water, even the black hat on their heads was identical and they had taken the same pose. They entered, took a step and stopped, leaving the door open behind them. They had their bags slung over their shoulders, their clubs in their hands, ready to strike down anyone who dared oppose them, with a rough, bold, tired and violent look in their eyes. The fire in the fireplace of the adjoining room lit them up. One of them seemed to be equipped with a notepad. While his henchman made sure that none of the prisoners did anything against them, the second seemed to be writing information about the prisoners in his notebook.
He approached a young man dressed only in purple pants and a headscarf, looking puny and completely debilitated, but doing his best to remain dignified. When one of the two men in the shirt approached him, he grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look him in the eye. "I do not know you," the guard said to the young man, grinning. "What's your name? So we can sell you better ..." With a suspicious look in response, the man in the shirt took his cane and struck the young man three times. Each blow made him spit blood.
"Is he dead? "Wondered the young girl who, unlike the other prisoners, did not seem shocked by the scene that was unfolding before her eyes. It was as if she was used to such things.
When the guard again grabbed the young man by the hair to ask him his name again, he still did not answer him. Being on the same level with his captor, he took the opportunity to spit in his face, which immediately angered the guard, who again punched the young man, taking care to aim exclusively at his head.
After a few seconds of extreme barbarity, the guard's blows stopped when he saw that the young man was no longer responding and was probably already dead. " I know this one was not very valuable, but do not kill the goods or the boss will cut our wages even more," his colleague scolded
"This vermin must be made an example of," his colleague replied with a shrug, before turning to the survivors. "Are there any other volunteers who will answer me now?" Since the prisoners, startled by the scene of terror, did not answer, he continued what he had begun.
"He asks for our first names and seems to be filling out a form after observing us... And earlier, his colleague spoke of "merchandise." Am I dealing with a slave trader?" wondered the girl, who, to her surprise, managed to keep her composure until the man in the pink shirt stood before her.
"Hey, look what I found," the man called in the direction of the second, who was still standing guard, "an exotic little trinket," the man pointed in his direction with a nod of his head. The second joined him and looked at the young girl as if she were a piece of meat. "I have never seen those features before, what a waste, she will surely end up in the hands of the Tenryubitos..."
"What's your name?" the man asked, devouring him with a perverse look. Without panicking, the girl took a deep breath, but nothing came out of her mouth, it was as if the name was on her tongue, but she could not get it out. A vein appeared on the forehead of the violent man, and he immediately raised the stick to hit her on the head, as he had done to the young man a moment before.
Reflexively, the young girl put both arms between her head and the stick to avoid serious injury, and closed her eyes to prepare for the blow. But nothing happened, only many screams reminiscent of cheers and amusement of a crowd were heard.
"The meeting is about to start, hurry up," shouted the first guard, walking towards the door, which remained open. With a click of his tongue, the second one also turned around and, after passing the young man's body, took out a small remote control from his pocket and pointed it at the corpse. Immediately, a timer sounded throughout the room, then, after a few seconds, the collar exploded and ripped off the corpse's head, causing a scream of terror among the prisoners.
The young girl was still in shock, not because of the violence of the scene that took place in front of her eyes, but because she could not remember her own name...
Despite all her efforts to remember her life before her imprisonment, nothing came to her mind, and those efforts were doomed to failure...
For the first time since her arrival in this place she did not know, the young girl began to feel fear. Not remembering her own name, or even her former life, was so frightening that his breathing became irregular and hissing as the various fear-inducing thoughts gradually invaded her mind...
"If I start creating new memories and forming new relationships, and my old memories return to me, will I fade away to make way for the old me, or will the old me disappear from this world forever? What should I do when I meet my relatives? ... "Her heart sank more and more, so much so that it became painful. "What will happen to me?".
POV Tanya Von Degurechaff
Location: Grove 66, in front of the local naval base.
Not wanting to waste time with her research, Tanya got up at dawn to make the most of her vacation time. During her breakfast in the base dining room, Tanya listened attentively to the soldiers of the evening watch, who were surely taking their break before going to bed. Their topics of conversation were varied and not very interesting. Sometimes they recalled the Great War in Marineford and also the various rumors that were circulating. "By the way," said one of the soldiers, "did you know that the auction room is open again?". The puzzled look on his buddy's face had encouraged him to continue, "Apparently, the Tenryubitos would have been very insistent that the auction house as well as the mall..."
"Already? Since the incident with the Straw Hat crew and their allies, we have not been able to recover even a third of our forces. You are crazy to think we could cover those events again, especially since Grove 1 is at the other end of the archipelago..." grumbled another soldier who had not said anything yet.
"Yes, I know, but what can I do about it, it's like this, Tenryubitos love these kinds of events, and I understand them, you can get anything there, even people with rare skills in demand."
"You mean it's more about buying new mistresses?" The whole group laughed as they listened to the soldier's explanation before turning to another topic. Tanya's wait had been worth it, she now knew where she was going to continue her research.
As one of the soldiers had mentioned earlier in the mess hall, Tanya made her way to Grove 1, where the auction room was located. "I don't know what I'll find there, but I'm very interested in finding people with rare and sought-after skills, maybe I'll find someone who can make me the parts I need to make my operation orb."
Satisfied with her program, Tanya quietly walked toward Grove 1 and its auction room. She didn't hesitate to look at the windows of the few stores, hoping to find some useful gadgets for her survival, while letting her eyes wander around her. She knew that a few hours before her arrival in this world, great riots had taken place in these neighborhoods. The scars of the fighting were still visible on some of the buildings and on the cobbled streets.
It took most of the morning for the girl to reach the other side of the island. "Flying… I could have reached this place in a few minutes," Tanya sighed, trying to remember the feeling she had when flying. She didn't like her second life much, but the ability to fly and that feeling of freedom made the teen persevere.
Despite the size of Grove 1, Tanya had no trouble finding the building she was looking for. Not only was it located at the base of the huge tree, but it was also architecturally striking enough that even strangers to this archipelago could recognize it without much difficulty. The building was surrounded by strange large arrow-shaped towers.
The building looked like a kind of dome. The facade had dozens of pillars surrounding the building, and between the pillars you could see what looked like wooden windows between the gaps created by the pillars. The most curious thing about this building is the shape of the roof. A kind of triangular roof, which seemed to be made of straw, covered the roof. A mysterious plaque with the inscription "HUMAN" fascinated the young girl, who continued to stare at it while walking towards the entrance.
Inside the building, a man in a black suit with a strange logo that formed a kind of smile in the sun greeted the girl very warmly.
"Hello, how can I inform a prominent naval officer?" the man asked with a wide smile that seemed almost forced and that didn't seem surprised by her physique, which surprised the young girl who was used to constantly hearing remarks about her small size.
"I'd like to participate in the auction," Tanya answered in a rather neutral tone, trying to preserve her image as an officer. Her interlocutor nodded, went to a small panel and took out a small blue sign, which he handed to the girl. When Tanya looked at it closely, she noticed that it had the number 203 on it. "Why does this number follow me everywhere, anyway?" Thought Tanya amused, and a slight smile played around the corners of her mouth.
With a sweeping motion of his arm, the receptionist invited Tanya to enter the huge and dark amphitheater. In front of her, a huge crowd of fairly good seats stretched all the way to the stage. The entire environment around her seemed to be of excellent quality, some seats seemed to be merely touched up with simple wooden boards, which was in contrast to the refined atmosphere the master of the place was aiming for.
While the receptionist led Tanya to her seat, he took the opportunity to explain to her how the auction works. According to him, raising her panel increases the bid by 10,000 berries. If there is a need to invest more, there is a small slate under all the armchairs in the room that indicates the amount that can be invested.
"The operation is quite simple, it works a bit like in my old world... Fortunately, I brought the means of payment from the Marine. You never know, I might come across a pretty rare item."
After traversing dozens of hallways, the man pointed to the spot that had been chosen for the girl. When Tanya glanced in the direction the receptionist pointed, she recognized Admiral Kizaru in his usual yellow suit. He seemed to be talking to people in strange outfits, a man and a woman who reminded Tanya of astronauts from her old world, but those who looked closely could see that it was an outfit that must have been extremely expensive...
Before approaching, Tanya focused on the Admiral's tone towards these mysterious people. It would be rude of the young girl not to respect etiquette in the company of her superior.
"[...] Don't worry, Saint Roswald, Saint Sharlia, all our forces are currently searching for the Straw Hat Pirate, and we're doing everything we can to capture the aggressor of Saint Charlos."
Without even looking at him, the man with the bubble around his head replied contemptuously, "That's obviously not enough! All Marine personnel should be mobilized to find this primate". Before the admiral, who was visibly overwhelmed by this conversation, could retort anything, the young woman next to Saint Roswald became furious with the poor admiral. "And by the way, what are you doing here, shouldn't you be hunting down the man who dared to lay a hand on my brother? With officers like you, I'm not surprised that the Marine can't track down a single pirate."
When Tanya finally reached her seat, she saw the eyes of her superior light up, visibly glad that he was no longer the only one to feel the wrath of these people.
Seeing the admiral's gaze averted, the two nobles looked in the same direction. The admiral then hurried to speak again, "Saint Roswald, Saint Sharlia, this is Captain Tanya Degurechaff, the heroine of the war of Marineford, the officer who executed the brother of the Straw Hat Pirate" .
Having already met nobles of the Empire in her second life, Tanya had learned etiquette firsthand and knew how to treat people with a superiority complex larger than the sun itself.
"Saint Roswald, Saint Sharlia, I pay you my respect and admiration," Tanya declared in a solemn tone as she bowed as far as she could to back up her words with action before continuing. "A few hours before the start of the fight against Whitebeard, I learned of the blasphemy to which you fell victim". Every word was spoken theatrically to emphasize the importance of these people. "I want you to know that during this battle, we were all tasked with capturing this mobster to suffer your divine punishment. Granted, we could not take his life that day, but I can assure you that the emotional wound he suffered that day is much worse than death, I can assure you."
The two nobles continued to stare at the girl without saying anything, which encouraged the girl to continue. "Admiral Kizaru is with us today to accompany you personally, and I am also here at his express request, so that the common people may understand how important you are to the world".
A smile appeared on Saint Roswald's lips, but he did not say a word, instead averting his eyes to direct them to the scene. A glance at her superior gave the young girl to understand that he was grateful for her intervention, and she saw him take his seat, visibly relieved. Tanya took the opportunity to do the same to him and heard a quiet exchange between the two nobles, "I really like this officer, finally someone who recognizes our importance without us having to remind him."
"My eloquence will never cease to amaze me, I have managed to ingratiate myself with nobles who look quite important when I see them addressing an admiral, and my superior seems pleased with my performance and could even take some credit." The young girl knew that her superior's appreciation earned her points and increased her chances of moving up the power pyramid. In reality, most people in high positions earn their place only because of their relationships and not because of their merits, but that is how the world works.
The appearance of a man on stage snapped Tanya out of her thoughts. It was a slim, eccentric-looking man with long silver hair, a yellow hat and star-shaped glasses. He was also wearing a purple coat and a pink scarf.
"Welcome and thank you to everyone who had the courage to come and support us in these difficult times after the recent events... But all that is behind us. I, Disco, your master of ceremonies, will present you, as always, the best goods in the market"...". Every step on the stage, every movement this man made, seemed precisely calculated to emphasize these words.
"Without further ado, we are proud to present our first article" as soon he finished his sentence than a man in a pink shirt and black dungarees appeared on the stage, visibly holding a metal chain in his right hand, and when Tanya saw what it was attached to, a tremendous shiver of disgust came over the young girl. A puny young girl, no more than twenty years old, was being dragged by the henchman.
The little blonde understood that it was a slave auction. She deeply despised people who allowed themselves to curtail other people's freedoms under the pretext of considerable financial gain.
Although she was outraged by the scene that was unfolding before her eyes and Tanya could easily kill any person responsible for this trade, she could do nothing because her reputation and that of the Marine were at stake.
"This is an item that comes to us directly from the northern islands, even if it is not useful as a guard or even a cook, the gentlemen can know that it can accompany you during your nights...!"
Although the host's glasses obscured her eyes, Tanya could sense a fierce wink. After her speech, a bell sounded, and immediately dozens of boards rose, making offers to the young girl, who obviously stared at the floor, frightened, without saying anything.
"50,000 berries!" "60,000!" Offer after offer followed, making the master of ceremonies smiles. "I saw 115,000 berries, are there any other potential buyers who would pass up such an opportunity?" "120,000 berries," shouted a voice from the assembly. I have 120,000 here, Going once. Going twice..." Disco let out a little excitement to give the undecideds one last chance: "Sold to the number 113, awarded to number 113, congratulations!" Thunderous applause and congratulations followed the announcement.
All this excitement, this production made Tanya wince, there was no question of going against her principles, but she decided to stay a little longer anyway, so as not to regret having missed anything. A fascinating item. The auction took its carefree course: dozens of slaves from all over the world paraded before the spectators' eyes, some quickly finding a buyer, others not.
As the last item left the stage, Disco took his place in the center and took the floor again: "We have taken note of some comments about the products offered by our beautiful family and decided to go out of the ordinary today and offer special items." During his explanation, a stooge appeared on the left side of the stage with a cart covered with a thick white cloth.
It was only when the henchman left the scene that Disco grabbed the white sheet and pulled on it vigorously, revealing what was hidden behind it: two devil fruits.
It was the first time Tanya had seen this kind of fruit, but she already knew what they might look like because there were pictures of some of them in some books in the library at HQ.
The fruit on the far right looked like some kind of black pineapple with a furry animal trunk. The second one, on the other hand, looked like a classic melon with an orange color.
"You are not dreaming, ladies and gentlemen," the man with the extravagant outfit continued, taking the black fruit in his hand, "it is indeed a real devil fruit"
Everyone seemed to be amazed by the offer of the master of ceremonies, because even before he showed his effect, some already began to make offers. Tanya knew that these fruits were rare and unique, but she never thought they could be so rare.
"My friends, calm down, calm down...let me introduce them to you first...these ones..." Commented Disco as he made sure to expose as much of the fruit as possible, "is a rather rare model of Zohan. Whoever eats it gains the ability to transform into a powerful gorilla." The man continued with his explanation and then began to auction off this fruit.
"I really do not need that kind of power. The ability to swim is far too important to give up, especially in this world. Besides, my skills have also proven to be very effective against devil fruit users. I should focus on finding a craftsman who can properly work the parts I can show him."
The bidding for this fruit lasted about thirty minutes. Every participant was eager to get their hands on it. Eventually, the Tenryubitos acquired this fruit for 450,000,000 berries.
After the gorilla fruit was safely tucked away in a small golden chest, the master of ceremonies took the opportunity to grab the second fruit.
"As for this fruit, I am a little upset, I do not think it can be used in a fight, or even be able to take control of someone, on the other hand it can give you the ability to change the shape of objects the user has touched..."
Tanya was shocked at the announcement of this fruit's abilities. It was exactly what she needed, this fruit could be the solution to work on the parts she needed so much. While waiting for the starting bell, Tanya scanned the crowd to see if the fruit would be of interest to investors, but when she saw that no one was listening to Disco's hints, Tanya smiled slightly.
"It's important that I get my hands on this fruit, even if I have to use my entire bounty to do so," she said. When the signal was given, Tanya waited before she started bidding, because showing too much interest might tempt some to overbid.
"Come on, ladies and gentlemen, with a base price of only 20 million berries, that's a given..."
With still no investors in sight, Tanya grabbed her small panel, held it up and stared defiantly at the investors who were staring at her curiously. Seeing that some of them met her gaze fearfully, Tanya did not try to understand the reasons for their fear, but focused entirely on her goal.
"20,010,000 berries for number 203," the man on the stage shouted, pointing at the girl who was regaining hope. He continued to eye the entire crowd so as not to miss any sign that rose.
"30,000,000 berries," shouted a middle-aged woman with long brown fur over her shoulders.
"30,500,000 berries," Tanya replied almost instantly.
"40,000,000 berries," her opponent replied in an almost provocative tone.
"200,000,000 berries will be paid immediately". This announcement elicited some surprised exclamations from both the contestants and the staff in the rows of seats.
Tanya then looked in the direction of her competitor to observe her reaction and saw that she had sat back down in her seat with an annoyed and resigned expression on her face, a sign that this woman had given up on the idea of obtaining this devil fruit.
"I heard 200,000,000, are there any other suggestions? Going once. Going twice..." Out of the corner of her eye, Tanya saw a man staring at her, his small board in his hand, ready to pull it out, but the sinister, threatening look Tanya gave her made her lower her eyes quickly, and he changed his mind at the last moment.
"Sold to the number 203, congratulations, don't forget to come to us at the end of the session to collect your lot". After acquiring the second fruit in the same way as the first, the parade of slaves continued almost instantly.
"I need to find a solution for this fruit," Tanya thought, "I need to find someone I trust and convince them to eat this fruit so they can give me these coins." Seeing that the parade of slaves would continue for a few more hours, Tanya decided to leave this place and come back at the end, not wanting to watch this pathetic spectacle any longer. She stood up and respectfully greeted first the Tenryubitos, who both nodded, and then her superior.
"Now we come to quite a rarity, you'll not find another young girl with such a physique," Disco began to introduce in her insufferable voice. "Her outfit and face give the impression that she comes from an unknown island."
As Tanya looked in the direction of the scene, she didn't know how to react, it was as if she was in shock at what was happening before her eyes. In front of her on the stage, tied by the neck with a chain, a young girl with long brown hair and eyes with magnificent big blue eyes. Her familiar green uniform, which resembled her old outfit, made the blonde girl speechless, only the word "Visha" came out of her mouth.