This chapter was edited by Gladiusx and Reiter.

New World

A few days after departing Onigashima

Onboard the Super Heavy Warship Tatsumaru

"Damned brat!"

Ulti gasped in pain as Holdem threw her at the wall, the rest of his gang laughing as she struggled to breathe. Page One rushed to her side, dodging a kick from one of their assailants.

"Sis! Are you alright?"

She coughed, her mask fell off, and blood poured from her lips as her lungs burned. Nevertheless, she grinned at her brother. "D-Didn't even feel a thing."

They were in a corner of the mess hall, the one "reserved" for those too young or too weak to be considered real members of the crew and generally ignored even by the oarsmen. Everyone her age was called to eat the nasty gruel they served as food while pretending not to see anything. They were all cabin boys and girls, except for the odd one like Jack, who was too strong for his age and was called for a special assignment.

The older members enjoyed far richer food like meat, fish, and fruits and watched the scuffle with interest. By all rights, the nineteen-year-old Holdem should not have dared to approach them like that, but no one gave a shit. To the pirates, it was all a good show, and no one would care if some runt or a dozen disappeared.

"Quit playing tough, you little runt. I've heard you running off your mouth one time too many." The ornery man approached with a menacing grin, his three friends chuckling behind him. Page One bravely stood in front of her but was smacked aside by her tormentor. Her brother tried to stand, only for one of the goons to press his foot on his back.

Before Ulti could cuss the bastard for daring to hurt her brother, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her to his face. "You think you could insult me and get away with it? The last runt that ran his mouth on me like that choked on his own feces after I jammed it down his throat. Why so silent? Got nothing to say?"

Ulti struggled to breathe, let alone speak, causing Holdem to chuckle as he relaxed his grip for a second.

"Come on, then, beg for your life!"

Ulti gasped for breath before glaring at the bastard and spat in his eye. "Your breath fucking stinks! Your clammy hands are more disgusting than the shit I have to dig through during latrine duty. You force-fed some poor chap to eat his own feces? Was it after you sampled it yourself, you fucking–"

Holdem tightened his grip again before smashing her roughly into the wall. Ulti coughed out more blood and could barely tell that her brother was struggling madly against the boot holding him to the ground, but he was too weak.

She choked back a sob. They were too weak.

"You just can't hold that rotten tongue of yours," Holdem growled before smirking as he held her with one hand and withdrew a knife with the other. "I had planned to teach you some manners and wait until you grow some proper curves before making you my bitch. I changed my mind. What do you think, boys? A new smile on her neck should teach her to respect her betters, right?"

"Hell yeah, Hold-Bro. Since she always hides her face, cut a smile on those cheeks, too!"

"Maybe then the little freaks would learn to respect us."

Several of the goons shouted their support, all the while grinning sadistically at the cowardly chore boys in the mess hall. Ulti did not care about any of them. She was weak, and Holdem was strong. The strong did what they wished, while the weak endured or broke. That was something she had long learned. Only the strong could afford to trash-talk others, and Ulti knew that.

She knew that but did not give a fuck!

No one walked over her and her brother unprovoked like that. Insult, demean, or beat them? Like fuck she would let that stand!

"Gahahaha, I like how defiant you are." Holdem grinned as he brought the knife to her neck, yet Ulti glared murderously at him. "Makes me want to let you go just so I can beat you down again and again until you're nothing but a broken mess. But nah, I'd rather have the other runts see the consequences of defying me. Now die!"

Just as the bastard pressed the knife hard enough for her neck to sting, Ulti's eyes widened before a husky, distorted voice interrupted, and an armored hand suddenly grabbed the knife by the blade.

"Such an unseemly display. I say you have had enough fun, no? Why don't you and your friends leave?"

It was him, the mysterious armored warrior!

"You…" Holdem struggled but could not remove the warrior's grip from his blade even though he was shorter and thinner than her tormentor – in fact, the warrior easily moved Holdem's hand away from her neck before breaking the blade like a twig. "Why are you interfering with an apprentice spat? It's unseemly for an officer to barge in and bully the youngsters."

A vein bulged in Ulti as something inside her roared indignantly at the sheer shamelessness of what the bastard said. She barely heard the armored warrior's reply. Ulti thought he said something in a similar vein to her thoughts, but she did not care.

That indignant feeling inside her grew into defiance as Holdem dragged her close to his face, the stench of his breath angering her further. Without any thought, Ulti reared her head backward, feeling a tingling sensation over her forehead…

Before smacking it right into Holdem's nose.

"AGGHHHHHHH! MY FUCKING NOSE YOU–"

Ulti was dropped to the ground after breaking the bastard's nose, her head spinning, yet she quickly jumped to her feet. Feeling her forehead tingling once more, she headbutted the closest thing she could reach with all her might.

Holdem's groin.

The tall bastard doubled over in pain as several loud winces came from those watching. Ulti, however, could only groan in agony as her head somehow shattered the metal belt the fucker wore. The world spun, and Ulti lost her balance before leaning heavily into the wall.

"Hot Damn! She nailed that loser good." One of the pirates guffawed from the tables as the rest of the mess hall followed suit. Ulti could see Holdem's ugly mug turning red with rage.

"Y-You fucking runt!" Her tormentor growled as he stood up, and Ulti backed away in worry, only to fall on her bum as her legs couldn't stand straight. She glanced around her; Page One still had a pirate holding him to the ground while the mysterious warrior gazed at her with his arms folded. She could not tell any features from how heavily armored the warrior was, yet she stared imploringly at the helmet's eyeholes, where a pair of burning orange eyes gazed back.

The armored warrior stared at her for what felt like an eternity before suddenly, an insurmountable pressure fell upon them all, bringing the pirates to their knees and silencing the entire mess hall; a couple of them even lost consciousness. Ulti was also floored, yet she could only glare at the source of the pressure. She had no idea how she knew or why she suddenly felt ire and rage, but she was positive it was the armored warrior's doing.

"Y-You, w-what the hell are you?!" Holdem was still awake, yet he stared in terror at the warrior. "Such Haki…how are you a mere Headliner?!"

"That is none of your concern. I will be taking this girl under my wing. You shall no longer bother her." The warrior commanded, the husky voice cool enough that Ulti could have sworn the temperature dropped several degrees. "Let's go girl."

The warrior turned around, expecting her to follow like some pup. Ulti gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she glared at the figure. "Wait!"

The warrior paused and gazed at her; bemusement mixed with ire flashed behind those orange eyes. "You are refusing my offer?"

Ulti might be bold, but she realized how foolish it would be for her and her brother to snub such a powerful backer. She swallowed any foolish thoughts of cheap pride and bowed her head. "Please take my brother as well, master warrior."

The warrior slowly turned to where Page One was ripping his mask away and breathing harshly, having freed himself from the pirate's grasp. "He withstood my pressure. Impressive. Very well, follow me."

Ulti nodded and moved quickly to help her brother. "Let's go."

"Can we trust him, sis?" Page One whispered. "What if he's some sort of pervert?!"

"I am not!" The armored warrior exclaimed before coughing awkwardly and folded his arms again. "I require new aides. You are welcome to reject me, but good luck protecting yourself from these idiots."

Ulti glanced at the still-seething Holdem, who perked up and gave them a bloodthirsty grin. That was more than enough to have her shake her head vehemently and quickly drag her brother to the warrior's side.

"We're at your service."

"Good, let us go to my room then."

Page One yelped before Ulti could shush him, "Your room?! Could you really be a–"

The warrior swiftly turned and flicked him in the forehead. "Get your mind off the gutter, pipsqueak! Or would you rather sleep in some ratty old hammock with dozens of fellow snot-nosed brats snoring around you?"

A glance at the dozens of said brats who stared at them enviously was enough for Page One to clam up and shake his head. "After you, boss!"

The warrior sighed before leading them out of the mess hall and down the wide and high corridors specifically designed for the many large-bodied crew members. As they made their way to the officer quarters, Ulti noticed several crew members following, yet she could instantly tell they were not friendly.

"Ignore my minders. They are under orders to ensure I don't do something my Father would not approve of."

Ulti and her brother nodded as they followed their new master, burying her curiosity about the warrior's identity. Their little procession gained several raised eyebrows from the many officers of the ship, especially as they passed by two massive double doors that signified the Captain's quarters.

The said Captain was out in the halls and talking to the familiar form of Jack before noticing them. He was a fishman, and, like Jack, could have passed for a human if not for his sharp, fanged teeth with two long bottom canines acting almost like tusks. Though he was only half of Jack's size, the younger fishman listened politely as the captain spoke, at least until Captain Sasaki noticed them.

"Well, well, what is this? The young master has decided to come out of his hidey-hole. And who are these two?"

"Captain Sasaki." The warrior nodded, but Ulti could feel the coldness in his words. "My new aids."

Sasaki, formerly a pirate captain with his own crew pretentiously named after him, barely glanced at Ulti and Page One before scoffing.

"Feh, at least they're young enough not to catch King's eyes. Maria easily abandoned you once she caught his eyes, didn't she?" The warrior's fists clenched, and a suffocating aura emanated from him. Captain Sasaki huffed, "Don't get so worked up. She's a Black-hearted whore, what did you expect? It was your fault for trusting her in the first place."

"…I suppose I've learned my lesson, which is why I will be taking two of your cabin boys. I'm sure you wouldn't mind, right?"

The tension in the hallway was so thick it could be cut with a knife as Sasaki and their new master glared at each other. Finally, surprisingly, the Fishman was the one to turn away first.

"Whatever, the brats are yours to do as you will. Just don't make a habit of poaching my underlings. Let's go, Jack."

Page One gripped her hand worriedly while Ulti glanced at Jack, who was utterly nonchalant about the whole matter. He did look curiously at her, but Ulti merely shrugged; Jack was known for being brutal and aggressive to the point of pigheadedness, yet he was also a voice of reason and cared in his own way about the young members of the crew.

Noticing how close he seemed with the Fishman Captain Sasaki as they entered the Captain's quarters, Ulti wagered they had interrupted some internal politics of the Beasts Pirates. Sasaki only joined the crew a year ago, at the same time as Ulti and Page One; in fact, the same group that brought them to Wano escorted Sasaki and his crew. He was also a Headliner, the group right below the All Stars in authority, though Ulti heard a rumor the big boss planned to introduce a new position between both.

Having the honor of captaining the Tatsumaru, one of the new super-heavy warship class vessels, showed how much the higher-ups valued his abilities.

And yet, this great captain called their new boss 'young master.'

"Come." The warrior continued down the hallway, and Ulti hurried with her brother following suit. Eventually, they arrived at a door, and the warrior opened it and waited for them to enter.

Ulti tried not to gawk at how large and spacious the room was, yet also how sparse and lacking in furniture. Its massive bed could easily accommodate the nearly two-and-a-half-meter-tall warrior twice over. A large copper tub, clearly made specifically for their new master, was placed near the porthole, along with a vanity, a wardroom, several sea chests, racks of weapons and armor, and finally, a naked mannequin was placed between two others with a full set of armor similar to the one their master wore.

The door shut behind them as the warrior grabbed a bucket of water with a wet towel and walked towards the armor rack, deposited them, and then folded his arms as he turned to them expectantly. "Your first task as my aid is to help me out of this armor."

Ulti and her brother hurried to his side as he sat on a stool and spread out his arms. The siblings silently worked on untying the many knots, unbuckling the many belts, and loosening the bolts holding the bracers and other pieces of armor.

The warrior continued as the siblings worked. "Then, I expect you to keep this room clean, heat the bathing tub, bring me my food from the kitchens, and do any other chores I give you. In return, you shall be allowed to sleep here and eat the same food that I eat. There should be a couple of futons in the wardroom that you can use."

After taking off the armor around the warrior's arms, Ulti couldn't help but notice the pale unblemished skin underneath. It was muscled, no doubt about that, yet it had a softness to it that had her confused. Removing the padded armored gloves, she found calloused palms yet soft and dainty fingers.

She shook her head, instantly regretting it as she felt a headache, whatever she had used to beat Holdem was giving her a migraine. Nevertheless, she looked at the warrior, who turned around on the stool and stretched out his legs. Ulti and Page One did the same for the warrior's heavily armored legs, but something had been on her mind since the mess hall.

"So, why us?"

"Hmm?"

"Why choose us as aids? I mean, don't get me wrong, we're grateful, but…we're just kids! We might serve you now, but in battle, it's expected we will join you and cover your back."

"And I shall train you to do that, to be something worth more than fodder. You have potential, that's for certain."

Ulti froze at the confident words but hurried back to work as their master tapped the ground with his boots. Ulti and Page One struggled mightily as they lifted the heavy armor off the legs and strapped them to the mannequin.

Turning back, they found the warrior slipping out of the skirt armor, revealing long legs that Ulti instinctively knew should not belong to a man. Their new master waved them over to help with the rest of the armor, removing the chest armor. Page One worked on the knots and bolts in the back, while Ulti worked the front.

It was then that she realized this was not a young master.

It was a young mistress.

Especially with boobs so massive they were twice as big as her own head, what with how tall the woman was. She gawked as a sigh of relief came from the helmet. Their new mistress removed it, revealing a beautiful yet sweaty face framed by a mane of short white hair that turned blue halfway to the tips. Oh, and the two large red horns looked all too real, unlike the props that many crew members wore as homage to Kaido.

"Good job. I was worried you would pinch your fingers or find the knots tied too tight. I've been wearing this set for the past three days, and you would not believe how difficult it is to find good help here. God, I need to take a dump." Their naked mistress stood up, grabbed the wet towel from earlier, and wiped the sweat off her face. She continued giving them commands as her face was hidden behind the towel, "One of you, start heating the water. I haven't taken a hot bath since Onigashima. There's a furnace next door with pipes installed in my room, but you will need to work the bellows constantly. The other, I will need you to…"

Their new mistress continued giving out orders, but UIti was just too busy gawking at the naked woman. A crashing sound came from behind their mistress, causing her to freeze and lower the towel. She turned around, and Ulti couldn't help but look behind her only to grimace. Page One was staring at their mistress' big butt with a look she recognized.

"What are you staring at?"

"PERVERT!"

Ulti groaned and rubbed her pounding head at her brother's scream. She was not looking forward to giving him that damned talk!

.

.

.

"You will have to forgive the misunderstanding. I never intentionally hid my sex. My Father detested the fact I was born female and has treated me like a boy all of my life – naturally, I did not like it one bit and made sure to be as girly as possible just to spite him. At least, until Arber suddenly showed interest in me a few years ago, much to Father's delight and my horror. I decided to play the boy he always wanted after all – ah, this feels nice, but scrub a little harder."

The young woman, Yamato, explained after they introduced themselves; Ulti scrubbed the woman's long back and wide shoulders even harder while Page One excused himself to work the bellows in the adjoining room.

"His underlings decided to follow along with the farce, fearing his drunken rage or suffering my annoyance." Yamato continued as she scrubbed her ankles. "Ever since I blossomed, I've always been armored and never appeared without my armor. Soon, people forgot about the weird little girl who would knock people out for looking at her funny, aside from the All Stars and some of the older Headliners, yet my father refused to allow me out of Onigashima all that time. I've scarcely been to Wano proper and firmly believed I would eternally remain on that damned island until I finally spread my legs to someone my father approves of to pop out a few kids to continue his bloodline. Until this expedition."

Ulti nodded as she dodged a careless elbow from Yamato; the young woman was surprisingly more animated than she thought and loved using her hands a lot when speaking. Her mistress was sitting on the edge of the tub, scrubbing her front, while Ulti stood on a stepladder to scrub her back.

Ulti had many questions on her mind, and since their mistress had finally relieved herself, she was suddenly a lot more easygoing than she portrayed. It was a shitty business, but constipation was no joke, especially after Yamato's aide, who was supposed to join her on this expedition, betrayed her and left her to her own devices. Ulti never realized how annoying putting and removing armor was, and while Yamato casually mentioned how she could have shattered it to free herself (something that utterly terrified Ulti), she preferred not to ruin her own creations.

Apparently, she was a bit of a smith…Ulti called bullshit–she had never seen armor so fine before. A fucking 'bit' her foot!

"So, who's Arber?"

"Ah, that's King's real name." Ulti nearly slipped into the boiling hot water. Another weird thing about the woman was how hot she liked her bath – the blue-haired girl was already drowsy from all the steam. "Father and him go way back, but I'm just happy to be free from them."

Ulti shook her head as she had a feeling who Father was, "I am guessing your father is…"

"Kaido, yes. I'm sure the resemblance is uncanny." Yamato scoffed as she stood and moved deeper into the tub, causing Ulti to almost lose her balance before recovering. Her mistress laid down in the tub with a sigh – submerging her body for a moment before raising her head above the water and resting it on the rim. The boiling water and the steam being released by a valve above them mostly hid Yamato – not like the tall woman cared much for modesty, despite how vehemently she denied being a pervert. "I inherited the horns from him, though I never knew why they're red compared to his bone white."

"I…see." Ulti was really way out of her depth here, but she had the feeling that Yamato was simply too glad to have someone to talk to. From what she understood from all the rambling of the older girl, and she was only a seventeen-year-old girl (barely five years older than her), despite how stoic or calm she acted, Yamato was very lonely. "I'm surprised your father allowed you to come on this expedition. From what you say, he was overly protective of you to an unhealthy degree."

"Heh, let's just say he started a long drinking binge after he ordered Queen to plan this expedition. I might have used that chance to convince him to go out and prove myself."

Ulti stared blankly as the woman splashed water into her face before rubbing her horns with a towel. "You sneaked onto the boat, didn't you?"

"Hey now, I wouldn't say sneak. More like convinced Queen and Sasaki that Father would approve." Yamato grinned at her, patting her head and ruffling her hair with a long arm that ended with a hand larger than her face. "Precocious little girl, aren't you? Now, enough chatter about me; tell me more about yourself and your brother. I am keen to know more about my minions before I begin their training."

Ulti's eyes shone at the prospect of training and launched into a brief explanation of her and Page One's history. Yamato chortled when she learned she and her brother were named after card games, and she blamed her dead father's gambling addiction for having such stupid names. At some point, Yamato vacated the tub and dressed in a loose kimono before calling for Page One to join them. Both siblings sat on the ground respectfully before their mistress as she began their training. No matter how harsh the training would be, they would diligently follow it, for this was their chance to finally become strong!

Over the following weeks, Ulti cursed how naive she was and how brutal their new mistress' methods were.

P*O*D

Present day

A few miles from G-14

"Remember, ladies and gentlemen, stick to the plan, let me do the talking, and please remember who you represent." Leo reminded them for the umpteenth time as the marine cruiser approached.

Rachel's prediction came true, and after cruising for a few more days from the Lightning Island, which Percy named Zeus' Tantrum, much to Calypso's amusement, they found themselves almost at their destination. The sudden change in weather was warning enough as everyone changed to their winter clothes for possibly the eighth time ever since they entered the New World.

The crazy weather patterns were starting to annoy Percy, and he was beginning to miss the normal weather he was used to. As Leo had warned, they only ever had two or three days of clear skies and sunny weather in the New World. Not to mention having to constantly be wary of the sea monsters roaming the waters; Percy could usually sense them before they sensed their ship, but he was still forced to fight off a weird monster that had the upper body of a chicken, feathers, and all, yet a fishtail for a lower body.

This world is fucked up! Tasted pretty good, though. Especially the section where the chicken met the fish; it was unlike anything he ever ate before.

But at last, their patience and perseverance paid off, and now they were on approach and could see the island, hidden by the early morning fog. A patrol cruiser has sailed out to greet them, though Reyna had already scouted with Blackjack and reported the marine base strangely only had two patrol boats, including the one approaching them, in addition to a large and odd ship that she could not describe – when she had risked a closer look, Reyna felt an uncontrollable urge to fly away, as if someone had noticed her and was looking for her.

"Aye, aye, Prince." Percy mock saluted, causing the man to sigh, while Hylla, dressed in a crisp and sharp dress that would not look out of place on a businesswoman or a lawyer, smirked. "You're the man. Just remember, you're the one who told us Marines tend to jump the gun. Fair warning that if they so much as scratch my ship…"

Percy left the warning open to interpretation, yet the prince merely shrugged helplessly. Suddenly, a clanging sound came from the marine cruiser, while Reyna's voice came from the intercom. "They are waving signal flags from the bow. They demand we strike our sails and stop the vessel."

Leo had already taught them all about the communication methods they could expect; Percy was surprised to hear that even cannon fire could be used for communication, yet Leo advised that it was usually only used by Marines, not the other way around. Despite the prevalence of Transponder Snails, it was not recommended that they use the group they recovered from the pirate ship, at least not yet. Besides, since the Marines had a near monopoly on the training methods of the snails, civilian or privateer vessels having them could raise some eyebrows, even if they were perfectly legal to purchase or own.

Considering that Percy and the others had no desire to allow any stranger onboard the Sally Jackson in the first place, they had to be careful not to raise any suspicions.

Naturally, all their gunports were closed, and the deck cannons were covered with tarps, showing the Sally Jackson as harmless as possible. Up on the main mast was the flag of the Kingdom of Illisia, eight yellow trapezoids forming a circle around a red-skinned skull with an elaborate mustache. It was frankly a bit disturbing, and Percy had asked Leo if he was sure it wasn't a pirate flag, only to receive a chuckle and assurance it represented a sun god of sorts.

Percy had dealt enough with Apollo not to want anything to do with any sun gods.

"Signal our affirmative and wait for their reply," Leo replied to Reyna, just as Percy stopped the ship and struck the sails as told. He glanced at Gwen as she joined Leo's side – Calypso, Rachel, Tyson, and Lily stayed hidden in the galley for now.

The intercom blared again, "They're going to approach our port side and talk through a trumpet."

"Alright, good job, Reyna. Make sure Blackjack remains inside his roost at all times. We can't afford any slip-ups here," Percy replied before placing away the intercom as they watched the cruiser approach before finally turning to present their broadsides. Their open broadsides. Every instinct in Percy's mind screamed that he should sink the ship before they harmed his precious home, but before he could even second-guess himself, a loud shout reverberated from the ship. A man stood at attention, his face set into a severe expression, and shouted at them, his booming voice carrying over clearly across nearly a two hundred feet of water, trumpet be damned.

"Unidentified vessel, you are approaching a restricted area. Identify yourself immediately!"

Damn, the man got some lungs on him! Was this another thing about humans being weird in this world? The ship was smaller than the Sally Jackson, yet it had more guns. Percy wagered it was far less comfortable in comparison, yet as he noticed the lines of grim-faced marines with their muskets shouldered and ready for combat, he realized these were proper soldiers.

Leo, however, showed that he was the most ordinary human Percy had met so far. He did not deign to shout back, instead grabbing the offered megaphone and speaking with unquestionable authority, "This is Prince Thalassa Lionel, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Ilisia. With me is Perseus Jackson, Captain of the Salty Jackson." Percy nearly choked on his spit, and only the seriousness of the situation, as well as the dozen cannons aiming right at them, stopped him from throttling the prince, who continued as if he had not just said something so outrageous. "And under the employ of my royal self by the right granted to me and the royal house of Thalassa through a letter of marque, as per the agreement with the World Government and her Navy. May I ask who I am speaking to?"

The silence after the prince finished was foreboding, and Percy couldn't help but growl out, "Salty Jackson? What the fuck, Leo?!"

"It's what you hammered on the bow of the ship," Leo whispered back, but Percy could hear the amused tilt in his voice. "I'm surprised you never noticed."

How could he have missed that?! Percy wracked his brain over every instance he swam near the bow of the ship…but he came blank. He almost always swam behind the ship when fishing or occasionally the broadsides. He facepalmed so hard that he nearly missed the reply from the marine captain.

"This is Marine Captain Sicily of G-14, commander of the brig Interceptor. It is an honor and a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Thalassa Lionel…provided you prove who you really are. You are a long way from West Blue. You will have to forgive my skepticism, Your Highness, for I find it unlikely that the heir to the throne of such a distant kingdom would suddenly show up here in the New World, unannounced and on a lone ship."

"That is perfectly understandable, yet any evidence I provide you would not matter as I doubt anyone on your ship would recognize me, nor do I believe you have a handy picture book of the nobility of the world."

"That is true, but such a book does exist back in base, and we received the latest edition a few months ago. If I could ask you to allow us to board and temporarily take you into custody until we ascertain your identity with the Commodore in charge, Prince Lionel, I'm sure it would help us along."

"I'm afraid I refuse to disembark without my royal guard as well as my hired guard. I'm sure you mean well and are only doing your job, Captain Sicily, yet I hope you also understand where I'm coming from. As Prince, I cannot afford to put myself in any danger that could harm my Father, the King, or my kingdom."

"Then I'm afraid we are at an impasse, Prince Lionel. I will ask you to turn around and continue on your way." The marines on the ship suddenly shifted; their muskets, which were leaned on their shoulders, were now held with both hands. A clear warning, yet not provocative, as they did not aim at them.

Percy nudged Leo's elbow, causing the man to stop whatever retort he had, "Dude, just tell them about your grandfather. Isn't that why we're here in the first place?"

Leo rubbed his chin. "It's a risk, as I'm not exactly invited, but I suppose we have no other option." He turned back to the marine, "What if I am here to see my grandfather, Vice Admiral Zephyr?"

Silence for a whole minute as the Captain seemed to be talking to a Transponder Snail, no doubt with the Commodore back at base, before he turned back and replied, "Not many know about the Admiral's family, especially outside G-14." Percy could detect the respect in the man's voice as he spoke of Leo's grandfather. "Very well, let's say I believe who you are. What purpose do you have in coming here?"

"Can't a filial grandson visit the grandfather he has not seen in many years?" Leo chuckled, and even the Captain grinned at the slight joke before the prince coughed. "I'm telling the truth, but I am also here to deliver justice. I have some pirate bounties my captain would like to cash in as well as a prisoner."

"Always a pleasure to administer Justice! Begging your pardon, Prince, but you could have started with that," The Marine Captain rebuked, though it quickly turned into a barking laughter. "It's a shame Vice Admiral Zephyr is away on an assignment by the World Government, but bounties are always welcomed. You may follow us along, and we shall escort you to base. Commodore Doll would surely be interested in your tale at least."

"That worked better than expected." Leo huffed as he said farewell to the Captain and stored the megaphone. "Well, Captain, it's a shame my grandfather is not home, but as we discussed, we go in, cash your bounties with Hylla and Gwen, while I meet with the commander of the base, this Commodore Doll. Then we shall see."

"Yeah, yeah," Even the prospect of earning a paycheck did not solve Percy's foul mood as he recalled his mess-up. As they sailed after the Interceptor, Percy jumped overboard and quickly checked the bow, facepalming with both hands so hard he nearly caused a tsunami.

Salty Jackson? Seriously?! A feminine giggle sounded in his mind, causing him to look around warily and wonder what that was about before shrugging and jumping back on the ship. He supposed it wasn't the end of the world; he could always fix the name, especially as the transom had the correct name. Besides, he doubted anyone else would have noticed the silly name. Right?

P*O*D

Meanwhile, on a certain volcanic island.

"The Salty Jackson? They must be brave to name their ship any way similar to the Pirate King's Oro Jackson." Captain Sasaki grunted, "Or perhaps foolish?

"Yes, those…monsters! They sailed a seemingly innocent-looking brig with less than ten cannons a broadside, but the crew! Oh man, the crew…"

"What about them?"

Ulti stood respectfully behind the armored form of Yamato as Captain Sasaki and several members of his crew listened to the pirates retelling of their battle a few days ago. They had received a distress call on the open Transponder Snail frequencies that led them to Karyuga Island, a barren volcanic island with the advantage of only needing a few hours for a log pose to set. Many pirates used it to navigate and hide from storms or nosy Marines, according to Mistress Yamato.

Normally, their vast armada would not have bothered with helping out some stranded pirates, considering their mission. Still, since it was pretty close to their destination, and it was part of the unwritten pirate code to help a fellow pirate out in such instances, Captain Sasaki decided to detour and see what the fuss was about. Most importantly, it used to house a bustling mining town that now lay abandoned; their ship was always in need of coal, so stopping by and sending some of the crew for a quick mining operation worked well.

Judging from what they heard from the pirates as they shook in fear while some of their wounded were being tended to or drinking broth, it was a good thing they stopped by, for the information alone was worth a lot.

Ulti might be new to the pirate business, yet the past few weeks of training and shadowing Mistress Yamato had forced her to think before she acted. Information was the most important commodity to a pirate, knowing your enemy's strength, where they were going, their goals, what loot they were carrying, and so on. In this situation, learning about a new enemy was well worth the detour, and promising the pirates a place on their ship was merely a bonus.

Recruits were always in demand, especially to work the oars or shovel coal in the furnaces.

Still, a few powerful warriors on the ship led by some prince and his knight playing as adventurers were not the most important thing they learned. Rather, it was the fact that the pirates were formerly members of Shiki's Heavenly Kingdom, the identity of their dead captain, and the newcomer called Doflamingo, whom they were supposed to join in some sort of operation.

Strangely, neither Captain Sasaki nor Mistress Yamato blinked an eye about Doflamingo and his supposed operation. Ulti was confused, as she thought they would definitely be interested in a potential troublemaker. Yet, they were far more concerned with the user of Conqueror's Haki, who killed that giant Sea King that still floated near the island, even after it was clear it had been dead for over a week.

Haki…Ulti never thought there was such a power and that she had an aptitude for it, particularly the Armament kind. Page One was younger, so he struggled with the training, yet Ulti was diligent in her training. Just yesterday, she almost managed to replicate whatever she did to break Holdem's nose. Naturally, Mistress Yamato had easily burst her bubble as she told her she was a long way away from consciously learning the power, let alone mastering it.

That was also when she learned about the third, far more rare and more powerful kind of Haki.

"And you have no clue at all who this Conqueror User was?" Mistress Yamato, back in her armored form, asked the pirate as he drank from a bottle of rum, his eyes wide and full of fear as he shook his head. "What do you think, Captain?"

"A beast like that…it would be annoying, but with my personal crew of Fishmen, I think we could have killed it, but not without losses. Still, its corpse is intact enough to make this detour worth it. The scales could definitely be added to the Tatsumaru's belly while its meat is still fresh enough to feast on." Sasaki rubbed his chin, his eyes gleaming in greed. He turned to another pirate, this one a skinny man who was fidgeting with a spyglass. "What about you? If you have any important knowledge, share it now, and you will be rewarded."

"I-I think I know who killed the monster, b-but…I just don't believe it myself." They looked at the man in shock before the Captain urged him to continue. "It was a lone woman, more beautiful than any I've ever seen in my life, and she was riding a winged horse, black as sin. I swear, I saw them! I was on the lookout here on the island and could see them as they landed on our ship and talked to the rest of that monstrous crew. They even have a giant on their side, too!"

Sasaki glanced at Yamato, "What do you think, Young Master? It's never wise to provoke a user of Conqueror's Haki. Boss Kaido especially hates them with a passion."

Despite their differences, her mistress had learned to endure any insults or slights from the crew. She did not care about them; all she cared about was proving and testing herself against strong foes as she sought a place for herself in the world. Ulti liked to think she also cared about them, especially after all the effort she went through to train and arm them, but judging by the way she clenched her fists and the slight pressure forming around them, Yamato had her priorities all straightened out.

"Good thing I'm a user myself." The sheer bloodlust in the words caused even Captain Sasaki to flinch, yet Ulti could only sigh.

Her mistress really was a pervert.

And the biggest change so far! Yamato never found Oden's logbook. That, combined with a few other details, had her grow quite differently from canon.

It's not a secret I detested canon Yamato, especially as she had no foreshadowing, no prep time, and was pretty much a last-minute addition that wasted countless chapters as Oda tried to squeeze some semblance of a backstory to her existence.

Almost as if she was an afterthought to bloat the cast even more.

And yes, SHE is a woman. Another side effect of the lack of this mental burden is that she had the chance to pick up a hobby or two, such as smithing.

I wrote this chapter half a year ago. Considering where Ulti's plot is going in the manga, I find it ironic what I have planned for her.

I'm trying to give more reasoning and life behind Kaido's and King's characters. They always seemed so…shallow. I mean, comparing Katakuri with King, I see that both of them are pretty much the second most powerful members of their respective crews. Yet, Katakuri is vastly better in every way as a character, while King… is simply lacking.

Finally, the crew arrives in G-14…only to realize their quarry is missing!

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