Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 46 : Butterflies and Storms.
- Shin –
It has been two weeks since I recruited Robin and brought her to our ship.
Many things have happened in this time.
I searched for the Island she told me about and found that the Poneglyph was removed by the Big Mom Pirates. I was thinking that it could help me complete the set of five Poneglyphs without raiding the Yonko territories but that was not the case.
I did gain another one though. This was from Fishman Island. I visited the place for various reasons. The Poneglyph being the first one of them.
The one thing that I got more insights on is the Devil Fruits.
I realized quite a lot of things that could make things much more complicated.
It was because of the spirit aspect of the Devil Fruit.
Zoan Type Devil Fruits are probably the easiest to figure out. The reason they were easy to figure out was because it was quite similar to an Animagus Transformation. Much more complex than that but it still had some obvious similarities.
Anyways the thing about them is that they are made to adapt the soul of the user to the changes in the Spirit of the Devil Fruit. The changes might not be perfect if they are just on the DNA level without the soul aspect but still as everyone can have a Spirit Animal, the soul can adapt to the change in the DNA much easier.
On the other hand, it might be much more appropriate to call the effect to be similar to the Werewolf Curse….well except it being much more controllable and not infectious.
Another unique feature about the Zoan Devil Fruits was that their spirits were….sentient. It might also be for this reason that objects can be fed Zoan Type Devil Fruits. Till now there hasn't been any other type of Devil Fruits that could be fed to an inanimate object. In a way they were much similar to the Sacred Gears like the Cannis Lykaon and Regulus Nemea, the autonomous type Sacred Gear. The only thing missing is their bodies which they can get when attached to an inanimate object much similar to how I have kept Roger alive currently.
It was the other Devil Fruits that were a massive pain in the neck. Both Paramecia and Logia(thanks Crocodile for being such a cooperative test subject after a few stunners) were much more complicated.
To be simple I realized that even if they have their DNA changed, as long as the spirit of the Devil Fruit is removed from them, they cannot use their powers. This had escaped me when I had tried it on dummies before for a very simple reason – magic.
Yes.
Somehow the spirits of the Devil Fruits enable the user to convert their physical energy into magical power.
I didn't realize it because I use magic innately in almost all of my experiments.
Why is it that Devil Fruits can use such amazing powers?The answer was so obvious that it wasn't even funny. It's Magic.
The Curse of the Devil Fruits is also artificial and similar to how Werewolves get hurt from Silver, Devil Fruit users become powerless from Sea Stones and still Water above knee height.
Each type of Devil Fruit is a special type of curse that gives a certain power to the user by changing their DNA. The spirit of the Devil Fruit attaches itself to the user and converts their Physical Energy into Magical Power and allows the Magic woven into their own DNAs to be used.
When I extracted the Devil Fruit Spirit from Mr. 5 first, he completely lost the ability to use the Explosion Explosion Devil Fruit's abilities.
I tried using some other methods to check it and the results were still the same. It was when I took his cells and injected Magic into them that the change took place. The cells exploded.
I had to use Reparo on the entire lab.
On a side note, I could have cast Unbreakable Charms at the start to make them a bit more durable and taken some precautions against blasts knowing which cells I was testing.
That also brought another round of experiments that involved 'feeding' the spirit of a Paramecia Devil Fruit to an object.
It didn't work because unlike the Zoan type Devil Fruits, Paramecia type Devil Fruits didn't have sentience and the objects didn't have physical energy and thus could produce Magical Energy. Moreover, normal objects couldn't hold such objects. It had to be something that could hold magic or the spirit would simply escape from the object because they are not bound to the object simply by 'feeding' the Devil Fruit to the object.
I bound the soul to the object with a spell and then tried to inject some magical energy into it and viola- I had myself a Magic artifact with the power of a Paramecia Type Devil Fruit.
These things are basically made up for being used with my artifacts. It's just that I don't know how to create such spirits. Artificial Spirits? Maybe Soul Soul Fruit can help.
Logia was much more different yet extremely similar to the Paramecia Type Devil Fruits. In those cases, the DNA change is needed for the body to change into the respective elements. In a way, the spirit combines with the soul making it act as a core for the body so that the body doesn't just….well ...dissipate.
If someone's Devil Fruit spirit is removed while they are elementized, they cannot use magic to revert and will be dissipated. Literally atomized.
It's kinda scary to think about it.
It also gave me a lot of ideas of what the Ancient Kingdom could have been.
In Fact I am quite sure that they were a race of Magicians or Wizards much like the Wizards of my own world.
The Voice of All Things and Poseidon's Ability can be an inherent Magical Bloodline Ability.
It also explains why the Poneglyphs are 'indestructible'. Those fucking things are charmed to the top with runes that I haven't seen that makes them practically immune to magic and another which act like a buffed up version of the Unbreakable charm.
Since the Devil Fruits change the Physical Energy to Magical Energy, they have the ability to damage my Unbreakable Charms.
I mean the Ancient Kingdom being a Kingdom of Wizards also has many clues for me.
Conqueror's Haki is also based on mana, the same thing that wizards use for magic. It is just much more primitive.
In Fact the only ability that can harm my spells apart from the Devil Fruit powers is Conqueror's Haki. This alone shows that it is a magic based attack.
This is also coincidental with the fact that Conqueror's Haki can only be innate and cannot be trained much like the Wizard's magic. They randomly appear in people all around the world and without a set pattern just like how magical children were born just anywhere without any way to know in advance.
The members of the D. Family who were also supposedly from the ancient Kingdom almost always have Conqueror's Haki. It was because they have a higher chance to awaken the Magic gene just like the children of wizards in the wizarding world.
Conqueror's Haki awakens in times of great emotional stress just like accidental magic.
Conqueror's Haki can be trained and mess with the rules of nature just like magic of the wizards.
Some wizards are stronger than others. Some people have incredibly strong Conqueror's Haki.
There are still a few races like the Lunarian Race which lived during that time and could use flames naturally just like the Veela or other magic humanoid races. There was also that Dragon in Punk Hazard which was made from genetic cloning. Where did they even find the DNA to clone? This is not to mention the DNA and spirits of the Devil Fruits themselves being Mythical Beings. There must have been a source somewhere in the past for this.
Something must have happened in the Void Century that changed the world.
Joy Boy or someone might have been involved. I have no idea.
But there is a reason why 'The Statue of Secrecy' was a thing in the wizarding world. People are normally jealous of what they cannot obtain. Just like the twenty kingdoms who joined forces and attacked the Ancient Kingdom with whatever 'National Treasure' they had. I do have an idea of what happened to the world to mess with it like that and would explain some of the unnatural phenomena of this entire One Piece world.
Those bastards probably messed with the Ley Lines of the whole planet causing the Magic Power in the World to go haywire. It must have caused the whole wizarding kingdom to collapse as I can imagine such a place being entirely reliant on magic. Imagine taking the magic away from the wizarding world and throwing an army at them? Even if they are innately stronger than normal people, they will still be crushed by an army. Not to mention the insane physique of the people in this world.
Then again who is to say that no one of the wizard kind was involved in this?
Im.
The Immortal Surgery.
What exactly is that?
A dangerous thought struck my mind and it suddenly made me shiver at the insanity as well as ingenuity of the person.
The Ope Ope No Mi.
It was shown to be able to change the personality of the bodies, essentially changing the soul of two people. That already shows that it can manipulate the soul. It also has the power to cut things and still keep them alive. In a way, it can keep a certain part of the soul in the body parts to ensure that they don't die.
Those things are horrifyingly similar to something I have just dealt with before coming to this world.
A Horcrux.
A tool to attain Immortality.
The Immortality Surgery….is it a method of making a Horcrux. Even the last requirement of a death or rather a murder is fulfilled….after all using that Surgery means that it is essentially suicide and in a way suicide is also a murder….the murder of one's self.
This was as if a floodgate was opened in my head. One after another, different thoughts came to my head.
Horcruxes are almost indestructible. So what was the Horcrux of Im? I thought of different possibilities. Even the Tree of Eve was an option and carrying on this line of thoughts, another horrifying thought came to my head.
What if….what if the Ope Ope no Mi was used to make a Horcurx out of….The Redline.
Normally enchanting such things would be impossible but in an era where the energy of the Ley Lines of the world was completely thrown awry, it could have been used for such a thing.
I mean there must be a reason why even after years after ramming Laboon's head on the Redline. It was scratch-less. We have to remind ourselves that Laboon is an ISLAND sized whale. Even a rope can put a mark on concrete after a year or two but the Redline had no marks at all
I left a mark on it because Dyna Stones do contain a trace of magic or are rather magical material and I used Runes too to contain the effect of the spell so it must have removed the effect of the horcrux from a certain part of the Redline.
I almost rushed and tried to experiment and the result was that….none of the ordinary methods could harm the Redline at all. I wouldn't be surprised if even Whitebeard's full powered attack couldn't put a dent on it.
Then again it could be a magic spell to reinforce its durability but still….the mere thought of the Redline being a Horcrux is mind-numbing. Imagine the Redline having some sort of sentience. Like a planet sized Nagini.
I can see why three Ancient Weapons similar to the Poseidon would be needed to fight something like that.
It would also explain why Joy Boy promised the Princess of the Fishman Island to show her the Sun….because if the Eve Tree or the Redline is destroyed, it would directly fall on Fishman Island or cut the source of light for the island and that would make it uninhabitable. Joy Boy might have known that the Redline needs to be destroyed, for maybe joining the world together….or maybe killing Im but at the very end of it all, the Redline would be destroyed.
How do I even go about doing something like that though?
….
Yeah….not gonna think about that. I will leave it to when I regain my powers back. Worst case, I will throw Jibril and Shion at it.
The World Government desperately erased all the evidence of the Ancient Kingdom and even prohibited any research into it so as to prevent people from knowing the existence of Magic maybe.
As for the weird climate and geography of the Grandline, it might have been because of the destroyed Ley Lines causing magic to go haywire all over.
Magic causes normal tools to malfunction at places which can be the reason for the weird electromagnetic fields all over the place.
The only question in my mind now is….just how strong is Im?
What abilities does he have?
Is it even a he?
If so then what is the last Island of Laugh Tale?
Why did they even attack the Ancient Kingdom all of a sudden?
I do have a few theories.
Maybe they were jealous. That's probably the first and the most probable one.
The second one is – The Devil Fruits.
Were the Devil Fruits spread or was the Ancient Kingdom keeping it for themselves?
If so then why did they even make the Devil Fruits?
We have to know that they didn't have to make a way for ordinary people to use Magic if they were so intent on keeping their secrets.
Knowing what I know about Joy Boy, someone who wanted friendship with all the races, such a thing didn't even come to mind in the first place.
So could it be the entire opposite and he wanted to make everyone want to be able to use magic?
Is that why the Ancient Kingdom made the Devil Fruits?
After all, why would normal people be jealous of wizards if they themselves could use magic? A naïve thought but still an angle that they could use to approach this situation.
I will have to find out more about the situation from the Poneglyphs.
I did get the new runes of these Poneglyphs and the Unbreakable enchantments in these are a piece of art.
I need more Poneglyphs to study and understand this. The Voice of all things? And what it actually is.
Is it some kind of telepathy?
If so then why can the Poneglyphs speak to the user too?
Is it something like an enchantment that only acts for the users of 'The Voice of All Things', something like the enchantment on Slytherin's Locket that only opened with the words in Parseltongue?
If so then Roger could have learned everything in the Poneglyphs, why would he need to find Oden?
Too many questions, too few Poneglyphs. I need to collect them all now even if only to satiate my curiosity.
And I am right now on the path to obtain my fourth Poneglyph – on the Sky Island, Skypiea.
I searched for the Jaya Island and arrived at the place in time and decided to look around a bit.
This place was filled with Pirates left and right. Small timers of 30-60 million bounties.
"Hey, do you see him? It's that Bounty Hunter Shin."
"The new Shichibukai?"
"I heard that he defeated Crocodile."
"He looks very young."
"Do you think he is here to hunt someone?"
The entire crowd started talking among themselves.
With my current stats, it wasn't a problem for me to take out this entire crowd alone if I wanted to.
Shin Kageyami
Title : Miracle Maker(All crafts related skills require 20% less MP cost)
Level -530(397) (1/4th bound)
Class – Pirate Hunter – LVL 90/100 [88%]
Race – Human(One Piece)
Rank- Mortal
Alignment- Chaotic Neutral
HP- 250 000 (187 500)[50 000(37 500) per minute]
MP –272 000(204 000) [51 275(38 450) per minute]
SP- 250 000(187 500)[50 000(37 500) per minute]
STR – 2 500 (1 875)
END – 2 500 (1 875)
DEX – 1 828 (1 271)
INT – 2 720 (2 040)
WIS – 2 051 (1 538)
CHA – 250 (187)
LUK – 540 (405)
The potions and my continuous grinding in the IDs have shown a lot of promise.
[Weapon's Proficiency (Master)] (Passive)
+40% increase in weapon's damage.
(Active)
+80% increase in weapon's damage.
[Navigation Proficiency (Master)](Passive)
You have the skills of a Master Sailor.
The biggest gain was the Weapon's Proficiency Skill from this class.
It overlaps with the other skills in an additive way. So with this, even if I have a lower proficiency in swordsmanship, I can make up for the damage.
Although the Damage from a single weapon skill is double the increase from this one so as to have an initiative to level up that skill as well.
My physical skills have finally caught up to my Magical skills, somewhat. If anything, it has surpassed my WIS Stat now except for the DEX Stat.
I was thinking about raising my CHA and DEX stat after this and then the LCK Stat.
For this I should complete the Thief Class first.
In a fight the buff from Touki increases my speed and that should put me at a fighting level equal to an Admiral even if I only use my physical skills.
And if I went all out using my Active Touki, Magic Skills and Haki, although it would be short term considering the expenditure of the skills, I can still fight someone like Garp easily.
I am getting to an all-round Satan Class in terms of normal strength now rather than the Magic build I had earlier before coming to this world.
I was here to collect some random information. Leglimecy was an amazing skill for this purpose.
I sat in a restaurant and ordered some drinks. The food from Rindo has basically spoiled ordinary food for me.
It was at that time that I heard a commotion.
"Shichibukai….a Shichibukai is here."
At first I thought it was because of me but the commotion was coming from the other side.
I spread my haki range and detected some larger than average, colonel level auras, two Rear Admiral level auras following someone a lot stronger than the level of normal pirates.
A Shichibukai.
This aura is actually stronger than Crocodile.
Suddenly the door to the restaurant was opened and a few women barged in. The pirates around the area looked in lust at first but then their faces changed to horror.
I used observe for the sake of identification.
Three members of the Kuja Pirates.
"Hand over the protection fees. Don't make a fuss. Hebi-hime is in a bad mood." The three ordered the people in a loud voice and started walking around.
This is my first time experiencing it.
Is this called Legal Plunder?
I looked around in utter intrigue as the pirates started grumbling but still took out the money. The restaurant owner too brought out a bag of money and handed it to the three girls.
They came around and looked at everyone and suddenly spotted me.
Like hell I was going to pay 'protection money' for anything.
"You….the one with green eyes and the glasses….you haven't paid yet."
I looked at the girls and gave them my now trademark sunny smile. "I'm broke ladies. Sorry bout it."
"You don't have money?"
"Nope….not a single beri."
"Then how are you eating here?" asked one of the girl with genuine curiosity.
I picked up the piece of apple pie and took a bite, "Like this. The owner here is very good and offered me some food. Aye, how rare it is to find such people nowadays." I looked at the owner who was confused as fuck.
Suddenly the door opened and many other Kuja pirate members came in.
"What's the matter? What's taking so long?"
"Big sis, this guy has no money. What should we do?"
The so-called 'Big Sis' came forward and looked at my face and stepped back in shock. "Y-y-you are the Shichibukai, Pirate Hunter Shin."
"Oh yes I am. Do you know me Miss?"
The others present froze and took defensive stances too while one of them ran outside….maybe to call others.
I just focused on my food.
"What are you doing here?" she asked defensively?
The fuck? I didn't know I was seen as a scary person? Was there a need to be this defensive?
"I am just eating my food. The owner was kind enough to give me this, it would be a shame to let it go to waste after all."
They however maintained their stance.
I really am simply eating my food. What the fuck is wrong with these people?
I sensed the strongest aura walking to this place. Well, let's see what the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock looks like.
The door opened and people started to drool.
Mental Attack blocked by the Gamer's Mind.
Mental attack?
My thoughts were interrupted by the figure in front of me.
"Are you the Pirate Hunter Shin?" she pointed towards me with her head held high.
"Yo." I looked up from the apple pie and gave her a wave of my hand.
The Kuja Pirates stilled. The pirates in the restaurant stilled.
Boa Hancock herself stilled at the wave of my hand.
"This is the Kuja Pirate Territory. What are you doing here?"
This is? I didn't know that.
"I had no idea. I don't remember it being your territory."
She puffed her chest…. A very impressive one I might add, "The territory I want will be mine...because….I am…. beautiful."
Her aura flared.
It was quite familiar to me.
This was similar to Fleur's Allure, just a dozen times stronger.
So is the Mero Mero no Mi something similar to the Allure of the Veela and then using the other power to petrify them?
It seems more like the ability of a Mythical Zoan than a Paramecia to be honest though.
But even without it, there was no doubt that Boa Hancock was beautiful. That said….I am used to beautiful girls, so a few words escaped my mouth.
"Cute but my Rias is more beautiful."
….
….
….
….
I got back to my apple pie leaving the now entirely frozen audience in a stunned silence.
Boa Hancock looked like she was carved out of ice or as if I had turned her Devil Fruit back on herself and she was made of stone. The crew on her side though….they snapped out of it by the time I had finished half of my apple pie and then they snapped. Snapped harder than the Church fanatics back in the DxD world...on a second thought no, the church fanatics are worse.
- 40 Affection with Boa Hancock(-40/100)
Holy crap. That's probably the worst affection I have with anyone. Ah, probably the ones from the Wizarding world might be an exception. Alex had -100.
The other pirates were still frozen in shock. The Kuja Pirates however didn't care about the other pirates and even my identity as a Shichibukai might have passed over their heads.
"You dare to insult Hebi-hime-sama?"
"Attack!"
Oh boy.
The girls rushed to me but froze as I locked them up in my shadow stitching. All the Kuja members know basic Haki but they are not that strong in it.
Hancock saw this and her eyes widened and she rushed at me.
I blocked her kick with my sheathed sword, Haki coating it. Her Haki is obviously stronger than mine, probably at the Master Rank but my stats are higher than hers and can easily handle her kicks.
"Now now Miss Hancock. They are merely frozen because I don't want to cause any unnecessary harm. That might change however if we fight. The collateral damage would be significant."
The words had no effect on her and she continued her attack. I dodged some of her attacks but this was getting out of control. Man….I just wanted to grab a bite, read some minds and get going to grab a Poneglyph and probably a Logia Devil Fruit. Why did this have to happen?
Hancock's attacks increased in speed and the pirates around us started to run.
Her slave arrows are more or less ineffective on me due to my Mental Defenses however her kicks might still petrify a part of my body so I had to end this quickly.
I used another Shadow Stitching on her as I created a Shadow Clone and sent it to my shadow in the shadow dimension. When I dodged the next kick, the Shadow Clone grabbed her leg from her Shadow. This was enough to stop her for a while, while I unsheath my sword and put the blade to her neck. "Trust me when I say this Miss Hancock, I do not want to cause any trouble. Please don't force me to."
I took back my sword and jumped a few steps back. The shadow stitching on her was removed. She straightened up with a complex look on her face, her posture defensive but her previous arrogant behavior now just replaced by a far more cautious one.
"I just want to have food in peace, why do you have to disturb me? Just do whatever you want to do." I looked at the store owner who was looking blankly at her destroyed store, "Just leave her out of all this. She offered me this delicious apple pie. Let her go and we are even."
"Is this your territory?" she asked, her tone still arrogant but I could sense the hint of concern in it. Understandably so. I was known for driving a Shichibukai away and was rewarded the position of a Shichibukai which shows that the Marines and the World Government actually support me despite the action. Her attacking me might cause trouble for the Kuja Pirates especially if they invade my territory. This was their first time coming here after all. Say what you will about Hancock but she….despite her usual arrogance which she uses to hide her fragile inner self….is a decent leader. She wouldn't ever have accepted the position of a Shichibukai, especially after the treatment in Mariejois at the hands of the World Government and the World Nobles and yet she did it….only for the sake of Amazon Lily. So she might act insufferably arrogant, even to her own people but….she deeply cares about them. This fact cannot be passed over.
This is one of the reasons why she is on my list of people to recruit.
"I have no territory. If you want to take this place as your territory, I will not say anything." Looking at her disbelieving look I let out a breath of frustration, "Is it so hard to believe that I am just here for some food?"
I got up and quietly used the medium Heart Crystal, my last one to recover some Affection Points.
25 is the maximum amount of affection or reputation that I can get from a single person and this medium Heart Crystal helped me get 15.
+15 Affection with Boa Hancock(-25/100)
I left the place because it was almost time for the current of water that goes to the Sky Islands.
I didn't say any more words and left.
+10 Affection with Boa Hancock(-15/100) for not being as much of a scum as other men.
So I am still scum.
….
I pushed those thoughts aside.
I Shadow Walked to a place away from the crowd.
I had no intention of riding the current to the Sky Island so the only way I had was to fly.
Fortunately I have just the tool for that.
I used Gaea Foundation and turned into a Dragon….more specifically, Tannin and flew up. A Dragon King like Tannin can easily fly even in the Dimensional Gap, let alone at that height.
The only reason I didn't apparrate to that place is because….I can't.
I apparated to other islands because I knew how they looked from the memories of others I gained through Legilimency. I simply didn't find anyone who had the memory of Skypiea except someone like Roger and Rayleigh who I don't want to see the heads of. They would have noticed and that would have led to many unpleasant questions.
I looked at the Knock Up stream and flew beside it. The Gaea Foundation cannot make me have the powers of Tannin but I can use my stats with a body like Tannin which was….a lot.
The air was getting thinner as I got higher till I saw a blanket of clouds and burst through it coming out in a while sea or clouds.
I flew higher till I crossed another sea of clouds above the one just now.
This place was what I imagined heaven would look like in my previous life. Well the clouds part at least. I can see why this is called the White White Sea. Everything around this place is white. I had a bit of trouble breathing due to my huge body. Despite the body being Tannin's lookalike, I was still technically a human of this world. This wouldn't have been a problem with my Devil Race. I changed my form to my normal one and Shadow Walked towards the nearby town. I think I remember Enel being able to sense others and even hear anything they said if he used Mantra. It was called the Heart Net, Observation Haki and the Rumble Rumble Fruit.
I don't know if my Invisibility Cloak would help because it senses the electrical pulses in my body. I still took the precaution of entering the Shadow Dimension to hide while creating a Shadow Clone to take my place.
I didn't want to give them any chances either and raced towards the only place I could see the traces of land. This is the part of Shandora that was thrown into the sky by the Knock Up Stream and in this part lies 'The City of Gold' with the Golden Belfry. My current range of Shadow Walk was around 2 kilometers per blink and I could effectively dodge attacks if I sensed any with my Observation Haki.
I actually don't get the point of showing off by smashing a pillar of lightning which can destroy a small island even if it would be easy for me. It's not like I had anything to save here.
As soon as I came near the island where the supposed God lived, my Observation Haki flared. My clone jumped to the side, appearing a few hundred meters away as the place it was standing on was struck by Lightning in broad daylight. The Lightning Pillar was impressive but not a surprise as I had seen Akeno do similar things in the IDs. That was before she had taken a shine to Railgun shots. Why waste energy when I can do better damage for less magic is what she told me. I agreed too.
I used twenty Shadow Clones and each divided in all the directions and raced towards Enel quickly while my own body was using the Shadow Dimension to run through the forest.
I reached the center of the island where Enel was floating in the air with his trident in his hand and was spamming Lightning Beams all around.
"LOWLY BUGS, DARE TO CHALLENGE GOD? SUFFER FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"
I waited for the right opportunity and hid in the shadow of his throne.
The bombardment lasted for two hours until he had exhausted quite a bit of his energy. My shadow clones fought him but this bastard was cowardly and only kited from a distance. His close quarter combat abilities are close to zero. That said, flight is annoying when I am in my human form.
I could fight him head on but if he tried to run, which he will, I don't think I can catch up to that speed especially in flight while still avoiding lighting strokes. It will be too troublesome so all this was needed. I want him captured, not dead and that also raises the difficulty level of the job.
Finally all the Shadow Clones were destroyed as they stalled him enough for him to huff like a dog.
He floated down and fell down on the throne still wheezing from exhaustion.
It was at that instant that I snapped my finger.
Shadow Stitching and transfiguration. The throne was changed into a seat with handcuffs that held him down and restrained his power because I change them into Sea Stones.
A solid punch knocked him out before he could speak anything. Two hours was more than enough for this.
I transfigured him into a candy next and heaved a sigh of relief. During the chase right now my clones had taken care of the four priests that he kept around.
I spread my Observation Haki and sensed a presence in the sky a little distance away from me.
I Shadow Walked to the place to see an old man riding on a very….I mean VERY weird looking horse.
Gran Fal, the previous God of Skypiea.
"Who are you boy?" he asked looking at me from the back of….whatever that was.
"I am the apprentice of Gol D. Roger. I came here to see the Poneglyph."
"Roger! I haven't heard that name in years. Tell me how is he? Why hasn't he come here himself?"
He asked as he came down from his horse's? back.
"Teacher is….well it's a bit complicated. I will bring him here sometime later. I hope you don't mind."
"No no. Although were you the one fighting Enel? I don't see him here? Did you defeat him?"
"Yes. He won't trouble you ever. Don't worry about it."
He didn't doubt my statement because he knew the strength of Roger and his crew.
We talked for a while and I got him to agree to talk with the Shandian warriors and get them for a meeting with me.
The population of the Shandians is about six hundred and fifty among which two hundred are Warriors. There is a similar case for the Skypiea's own side where although the population is much more but the number of soldiers is much less. The best thing of use though was the place itself. If I could manage a gate of sorts from here to the islands below on the Blue Sea, this base would be near invincible.
I finally headed up the stalk of the plant and up to the Golden Belfry and most importantly the Poneglyph under there.
The fourth Poneglyph was within my reach.
I just had to bring Robin here and let her read this first.
With that thought in mind, I popped out of this place directly to my ship.
- Scene Change –
"So Gan Fall is still alive. It's been over twenty years since I saw him." Roger said as he rested his back on his chair.
"I need to bring Robin there because she wanted to read the Poneglyph. I can bring you there if you want. I was thinking about using that place as a base for us."
He looked at me and replied, "You can use Wano as your base after two weeks."
That sounds reasonable too but one more place as a backup never hurts.
"Fair point."
"On that thought, Rayleigh and Shanks have arrived at Whitebeard's territory. We will be called when they finish talking with Whitebeard."
"Hmm, I just need the location and I can bring you there."
"BOSS, there's big news." I heard Law's voice from the cabin and turned towards the man.
"What news?"
"A Buster Call. There might be a Buster Call on Amazon Lily."
"….WHAT?"
The hell did that come from.
"I heard from some of my sources that the Shichibukai Boa Hancock was attacked by Marshall D. Teach on Jaya Island. They wanted to take the Shichibukai position by showing their strength. Many of the Kuja Pirates were injured and in the fight Boa Hancock also took some injuries but the biggest news was that….she is an escaped Celestial Dragon's Slave. Many people who were on the island saw the mark on her back when her dress was torn in the fight. She would have been captured but…." He looked at Roger and continued, "but Fire Fist Ace came and supported her. They both defeated the Blackbeard Pirates but couldn't stop them from escaping. Someone however informed the World Government about the news. There is an urgent notice that if the Kuja don't hand over Boa Hancock and her sisters along with fifty other members of their island as compensation, the World Government will launch a Buster Call on Amazon Lily."
….
Fuck.
"Do you know her?" Roger saw my face and asked me.
"I do. She is one of my recruit targets….I met her on Jaya Island. When did this happen?"
"Yesterday." Law replied solemnly.
Robin had an unnatural face at the news. She must have remembered her own past.
"You knew about her….situation?" Roger asked, looking at me closely.
"I do."
"So what will you be doing?" Roger asked.
Well I will have to do something?
"How is Ace? Any information about him? When is the Buster Call scheduled?"
"Two days. They are making a show of it to wipe out the disgrace of the World Government. It might also have to do something with Dio Brando's provocation and their inability to do anything. They are probably trying to take over the Amazon Lily to make a statement after all this mess." Law replied. "As for Ace, it was said that he was taken by the Kuja Pirates but his exact whereabouts are unknown."
This….what gave Blackbeard the idea that attacking Hancock could get him the Shichibukai position? What an utter mess. At least Ace is still safe or is he?
"I am going to Amazon Lily." I got up from my seat.
I will have to make some preparations before that.
I went into the training room. It's time to summon someone I had been holding off on until now.
The new base was located on Whisky Peak after I cast a Fidelus around the area. I used Shadow Clones and my Shadow Servants to ward off the area and make enchantments of all kinds around it.
Now we can go all out with Conqueror's Haki and this place can more or less survive a decent battle.
I closed the doors of the training room and brought out the Summoning Crystal and crushed it easily.
The crystal turned into dust and the dust collected together to form a figure of a girl in her early teens. The form was filled with colour and a girl with dark blue hair and eyes was standing in front of me.
"Are you my new contractor? I have to say that this method of contract is quite new for me."
"I am. This might be new because you are not in the world that you knew of. This world is a different one and I don't think there are elemental spirits in this world. Anyways welcome….Restia Ashdoll. I am Shin Kageyami. Will you be my partner?"
"Ara, a proposal right off the bat? Aren't you moving too fast?"
"I like to take my chances whenever I see a cute girl in front of me. We never know when I might get another one. So….what do you say?"
"You know my name. Can I assume that you know more about me."
"A bit. It will depend on which time period you are from? Who was your last partner?"
"Who do you think?"
"Was it the Demon King Solomon or did you have any other partners after that?"
"Oh….you seem to know the future of my world."
"I do. So I assume that you haven't chosen any partners since Solomon?"
She shook her head, "No. I haven't found anyone yet."
"Then let me be your partner."
"Hehehehe you say that you know 'a bit' about me and still want to become my partner? Aren't you afraid that you will fall to the Darkness?" she smirked.
I didn't say anything but switched on my Mystic Eyes and left out my Death's Mark letting my magic power burst out. She stilled as she gazed into my eyes and a breath was caught in her throat, "Believe me when I say….that I have seen worse."
I switched off the Mystic eyes and reigned in my power and extended my hand towards her, "So, do you think I am worthy."
+10 Affection with Restia Ashdoll(10/100) for being strong and not afraid of her darkness.
She kept gazing at me and then let out a breath as a smirk appeared on her face, "If you fall into darkness, then don't blame me." She challenged.
"Only on the condition that….if you can't handle my power, don't blame me either." I smiled at her challenge.
"In that case I Restia Ashdoll, accept your proposal and accept you as my lifelong partner. Do not disappoint me, my contractor." She stepped up and kissed me softly on my lips.
+30 Affection with Restia Ashdoll(40/100) for becoming her contractor.
I held her hand and used my magic to connect to hers and a dark purplish magic circle formed around her and when it was done, I had a gorgeous black coloured with red borders magic circle in my hand.
Restia was a spirit and could technically be leveled up. She was contracted to me like a summon so I can use her in Rating Games too.
She was currently an Elite ranked level 30 which….isn't that high. Her powers might increase if she can gain access to her Otherworldly Darkness and the magic of Ren Ashdoll.
I held Restia and my shadows wrapped around her and I apperated to the Kuja Territory.
- Scene Change –
I popped onto the island of Rusukaina. I did search the minds of the Kuja Pirates, just not Hancock. This island is supposed to be in the north west of Amazon lily.
"Restia….I will be changing my looks using a magic tool. In that identity I am called Dio Brando and people here won't know anything about my real identity until I trust them."
"Trust is to be earned. I can understand that." she replied directly into my mind.
I used Gaea Foundation and changed into my Illidan Stormrage form and flew directly towards Amazon Lily.
Amazon Lily is a beautiful place. This place however was in a very depressing mood right now.
On the beach near the corner of the island there was a tent or sorts and there was a man eating near a fire lit from dried branches.
As I neared, he sensed me. I was not using my Invisibility Cloak at this time and it was hard to miss the extremely bulky and eye catching figure of Illidan Stormrage.
Before I could do anything, the guy punched into the air and a massive wave of flames rushed my way.
Reminder to self, cannot use my Shadow powers or I can be revealed as my real self. Handling such a fire was not a problem however. Even in my disguise, I can still use my Fire God Slayer Magic and even take on the Flames of a Phoenix. Ace's flames are not that strong yet.
I opened my mouth and swallowed the entire attack in one fell swoop.
Ace, who I didn't need to identify now was stunned beyond himself quickly regained his mind and threw another punch at me.
Didn't he learn just now or did he think I needed a cooldown? He is too dependent on his Devil Fruit.
This time I however didn't even eat his flames as black flames lit on my hand and I punched forward.
Fire God's Immolating Flames.
He dodged as his flames were crushed by my black flames and the area where it landed was covered in dense black flames leaving a massive crater in the place.
I didn't delay any further and changed my form again and dropped on the island before this got any further.
"Woah there buddy. I am not here to fight. I just came here to offer help." I raised my hand pacifying the now defensive Ace.
"Who are you? Why have you come here?" He said cautiously.
….
"I came here to take back Sabo and Luffy's brother to meet them. It's fine if you don't want to?"
"S-sabo?"
"Yeah. Turns out he survived that day because he was saved by Luffy's dad who was traveling around the place. He lost his memory from the accident though. It was only recently that he met Luffy and regained his memories. Anyways, I heard that you were chasing Teach?"
He clenched his fists tightly. "He sinned against the Whitebeard Pirates. I will take him down to avenge Thatch."
"And how would you do that?"
He looked up at me, "I will bring him in front of Pops after I beat him into the dirt."
"Hahahaha cute. That's why you are so dumb."
"WHAT!"
"Does the Mera Mera no Mi have the effect of making the user hot headed too? Do you know Red Haired Shanks? Have you seen the claw mark on his face?"
He nodded and I continued. "That mark was given to him by Marshall D. Teach….before he was even a Devil Fruit user, a devil fruit which allows him to absorb damage and nullify the powers of other Devil Fruits if I might add. You think you can fight someone like that?."
He quieted down and hung his head and I continued, "Do you know what Teach's plan was?"
He lifted his head and so I continued, "His original plan was to become a Shichibukai and cause a war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines." At his widened eyes I explained, "You see, there is a special function of the Dark Dark Fruit, the true reason due to which Teach waited for twenty years or more on Whitebeard's ship….It can absorb the Devil Fruits of other people."
His jaw opened slightly as a look of horror was pasted on his face. "The condition is however that the person whose Devil Fruit is being absorbed, has to be freshly dead. I can imagine him capturing you and throwing you to the Marines with the identity of your birth father." I raised my hand and stopped him from saying anything. "Despite what misunderstandings you might have about Roger, keep it for a later time. You don't know one thing about Roger except what the idiots say about him. They say similar things about Whitebeard too if not worse. That's your own matter to manage, not mine. Anyways, I cannot imagine Whitebeard giving up on his son. So what will he do? He will go for a war where Teach will be a Shichibukai after handing you over to the Marines. He could have used his identity as a Shichibukai to visit the Impel Down to free criminals and recruit them. Add to that the Devil Fruit of Whitebeard, which I believe would have been easier because Whitebeard would have been extremely restrained with his powers with you being captured so as to not kill you as a collateral, and thus would have died."
I slowly but surely painted the entire scene of the anime into the horrified Ace's head.
"So we have a choice. Come with me to Luffy. If you don't trust me, I can bring him or Sabo here to verify. After all, trusting a complete stranger would be….strange, I guess, or I can simply call them."
While we were having our conversation, a group of people came from the side of the island with their Bows and Arrows stretched and ready to attack me.
Hancock was in the lead along with Marigold and Sandersonia. She however looked a bit unnatural. There was a lot of pain in her eyes but that was not surprising to me.
She hid the mark from everyone on the island. Now that it has brought such trouble to them, I would be surprised if there were no people blaming them.
They might not speak directly in front of Hancock but they will blame her nonetheless.
"Who are you and why are you in Kuja Territory." She turned towards Ace, "Is he one of your friends?"
He looked a little complicated and then turned towards me.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. On my part, it was kinda hard to do when you were throwing large sized fire blasts at me. Anyways, excuses aside let me introduce myself….It is me, Dio." I pointed at myself with both my thumbs. "Dio Brando."
Snap.
An arrow was fired towards me.
I apparrated at a distance. I can't use my Shadow Walk to disclose my identity. Hancock might notice Shin and Dio's skills as being the same.
"Oi ladies, calm down. If you want to hit on me, don't use arrows. Your good looks are more than enough to kill me."
I noticed their dropped jaws and smiled internally.
Dio Brando's space ability was propagated by Morgans left and right. It wouldn't be a surprise if they put two and two together.
Even Ace looked at me open-mouthed.
"So ladies, as you might have already heard that I am a bit of a World Government disliking person, so when I heard about what was happening here, I thought of lending a hand. If you would like, I could get you out of this problem."
"I….it's the Devil of the Seas." The girls behind her started murmuring one after another and I rolled my eyes at their comments.
+20 Affection with Boa Hancock(-5/100) for being able to go against the World Government.
Hancock on the other had a plethora of emotions flashing on her face in a quick succession – hope, gratefulness, contemplation, anger, shame and resignation. She shook her head, "Even if you are who you say you are, you alone cannot help us. The Buster Call is not something you can fight." She replied resignedly.
"It will be fine. Pops will help us…." Ace's words were cut off at the reminder of our earlier conversation.
I decided to stop their stray thoughts at this moment. "I never said I was going to fight them. I am not even at my full strength. I can at best solidly fight and defeat an admiral at best. Two will be stretching it too thin for my comfort and if we add the five Admirals, then I am not sure." I could kill them all if I just got to fighting but that will probably reveal all my cards. I would just suicide blast the whole island with my Shadow Clones but….I don't wanna take such measures at least right now.
Marines cannot be destroyed….until an adequate replacement for them is obtained. I cannot allow my hub world to be overrun by pirates looting and killing everyone. That would reduce a lot of workforce as well as leave a bad taste in my mouth.
I continued at her surprised gaze, "What I am offering is ensuring the safety of all the people on this island. I can provide you with a place to live without fearing the attack of the World Government."
"WE WILL NOT LEAVE THIS ISLAND. THIS IS OUR MOTHERLAND, OUR HOME AND WE WILL NOT BETRAY IT." the girls shouted in unison.
Hancock also looked a little stubborn in this matter.
I sighed, "I am not telling you to leave this island. That would be like losing the battle. What's the term for that….ah yes, losing face and all that? I am talking about rescuing both you all and this island at the same time."
"That's impossible." Hancock denied.
I smiled. Maybe for her it's true but for me. I have three methods to stop this. It's just a matter of efficiency and convenience.
"Why don't I give you all a demonstration? If by the end of it all, you all are still unconvinced then you can do whatever you want."
"Why are you doing all this?" Hancock asked. Normally she would be too haughty but the current situation didn't leave her with much of a choice so she is much more subdued right now.
"Yes, why would a man help us?"
"What do you want?"
"We will not bow to anyone."
"If the World Government comes, then we will fight to the last woman living."
"We of the Kuja are not afraid of anyone."
"Yea, we are the proud warriors of the Kuja."
"We will not surrender to anyone."
"We will not hand over our companions."
The shouts of the women here made me smile. A genuine smile, not the sunny smile I use for Meridith. Yup, fighting a Buster Call for….this….is worth it.
"I will not deny that I have a motivation for helping you all. I would have done it anyways but, this doesn't mean that I didn't have any expectations."
"What do you want?" Hancock cut off my chatter in between.
"I want an alliance. I want to make an Alliance with the Kuja. A cooperative alliance between my people and yours. I will provide all the resources you all need, even help protect the island that would make it impossible for the World Government to attack you all….but in return I want your help…. in fighting the World Government."
"Fighting the World Government?" she looked at me in disbelief.
"I could have dropped Dyna Stones inside Mariejois and blown up the entire city instead of just stealing their treasures, you know. I didn't do it for various reasons."
Her disbelief increased until I reached the second half of my sentence and then her face morphed into a mask of rage. "Then why didn't you do that? Why didn't you kill those pigs once and for all?"
I could understand her anger but still…. "It's because there were thousands of slaves….literally thousands of innocent people who were caught there because of a stroke of bad luck. I wouldn't kill them for no reason. I will bring them to freedom….because everyone deserves that." Also I have a quest. "There is also another reason which is that the true backing of the World Government is not that easy to destroy. I could blow the entire city off the map but that would also destroy the Tree of Eve and thus cut off the sunlight of the Fishman Island making life almost impossible there. There is also the fact that no matter how bad they are, without the Marines, pirates will overrun the whole world. How many people would suffer because of that? I want to blow up the entire Mariejois but….I cannot ruin the lives of so many people so easily. This is why I need your help."
I saw her expression turning into less of rage and more in that of helplessness.
My smile turned into a sinister one for a moment, "Also don't you believe that killing them all in a single instant….would be a bit of a waste? Don't you want to see them suffer? Sometimes killing people is mercy. If you truly hate someone, make them lose everything and then leave them out to face the whole world out for their blood."
"Y-you are mad." Ace stuttered.
"I never claimed to be sane. Believe me sanity is overrated." I looked at him a mocking look. Dio Brando is my persona created to be a madness incarnate. Someone who will make the entire World Government and the Marines piss their pants on hearing his name while Shin will be a fisherman who will use all the chaos to make the best of the situation and establish himself in this world. Two sides of the same coin. I continued, "Or what else did you expect me to be? I aim to be the best at what I do. If I become a Pirate Hunter, I will hunt the Emperors, if I become a Pirate, I will be the King of the Pirates and….if I become a revolutionary, I will fuck up the entire World Government upside down." Ace looked more and more stunned. "Or could it be that you set out to sea to be a small-time thug?" I mocked the guy.
Hancock however looked in thought. "Prove it. Prove you are who you say you are and show me the proof that you can help the island. If you can help my people, I will definitely make an alliance with you." She said in a stern tone.
"Heh, now that's like it. Well I have left most of the gold and treasures back in my base but I do have these." I waved my hand and the over fifty Devil Fruits were lined up on the coast along with the famous swords. "This should be more than enough to prove who I am?"
I have been getting too many such looks as of late. "So what do you say?" I waved my hand and the Devil Fruits and famous swords disappeared back into my inventory.
Hancock clenched her hand and looked back at her crew. "I accept."
I smiled and nodded my head. "I have two ways of taking care of the current problem. Three but I would rather not resort to the third way. The first would be….to hide your island in open sight." Upon seeing their confused looks, I explained. "I can make it so that people would forget that a place such as Amazon Lily exists and where it even exists. You can choose who remembers it."
"Is there such a Devil Fruit?" Ace asked, astonished. The others looked at me with doubt as well.
"I am a Devil, haven't you heard my title? The Devil of the Seas." I smirked. "Anyways, I do have such means. I can show you if you want."
Hancock nodded and I pointed towards the island. "Bring me to a house that needs to be hidden."
I did work out a ward system with the Fidelius. It was basically to prevent our ingredient fields from being found out in the Wizarding world. Sure the supernatural world can still find the fields but until I get something like a parallel world or dimension creating artifact, that's the best I could get.
The experiment was simple. I cast a fidelius on a house and made Hancock and obviously myself the secret-keeper.
It almost caused chaos all around the place when Hancock suddenly disappeared right in front of everyone.
Making wards all over the Island will be hard but if I devote all the wizard shadows that I have in my possession, then it won't be something I should worry about.
+20 Affection with Boa Hancock(15/100) for proving your words.
+20 Reputation with Portagas D. Ace(10/100) for proving your words.
She came out soon enough and the crowd surrounded her. After pacifying them she turned to me, "Can you really do this to the entire island? Also what are the other ways?"
"The second method would be….to relocate the entire Amazon Lily. I can take this island to the sky and to a Sky Island."
"….sky island? Aren't those fairy tales?"
"Oh they are real. Believe me. I just came back from one a while ago. It's a beautiful place with a sea of white clouds and different types of people with small wings on their backs. You should visit there sometimes. Anyways, back to the topic. I can always relocate your Amazon Lily to that place where the World Government won't bother you because that place is almost isolated and I can offer you a way to travel from there freely."
Whatever option she chooses, they will be completely dependent on me.
"Can you do that? Wasn't the Float Float Fruit with Golden Lion Shiki?" Ace asked me confused. "Didn't you eat whatever that demonic Mythical Zoan Fruit was? What even was that? It can eat fire and throw fire stronger than mine. You can even use space powers? That has got to be the strongest Zoan Type Devil Fruit I know of?"
"It's a little complicated? I will explain later." I shrugged. I'd rather not tell my secret in front of her whole crew. Who knows who is a spy? "I have a way." I did make a reserve artifact for the case of Wano by using the Anti-Gravity Quirk I had obtained a while ago.
She looked in thought for a while and then replied, "I need to talk with my people first. What was the third method?"
"The third method is…. is not something we should consider now. It will cause too much trouble." I shook my head. "Discuss the island relocation plan with your people. I will wait till tonight. Be quick. I don't think the Marines will wait too long. They are probably already preparing to surround the place. I will hide the place in the meanwhile." I nodded towards her and moved towards the corner of the island to set up a ward.
Ace followed me.
It will be a long day today.
- Scene Change –
It was eight hours later that I sat down in exhaustion. This ward around the island had cost me 7 Mana Potions and a butt load of materials. The Wizard shadows worked a lot but they were much weaker than their counterparts so I had to make up for their lack in strength. That said, this formation will last for a month.
A complete Fidelius for the entire island. Actually covering the entire island is impossible so what it does is creates a barrier around the island and casts a Fidelius on the barrier, effectively making everyone forget about what's inside the barrier or its location.
I left a Shadow Clone and returned back for dinner.
I will return after Hancock convinces everyone about the plan. To be honest I still think it will take them a while to agree. There will definitely be people who will try to take over Amazon Lily and bring down Hancock's rule. There always are some. I will return when such problems are taken care of.
With that thought in mind, I popped to my base.
Rindo had already prepared dinner and the rest of the crew were waiting.
My arrival attracted their attention.
"What happened boss? Did you find them?" Law asked getting up.
I slumped down on my chair and breathed out in exhaustion. "I did. Ace was allowed to stay on the beach of Amazon Lily. I brokered a deal with Boa Hancock about allying with us. She just has to take care of the problems on her side."
"Allying? Are we going to stop the Buster Call?" Robin asked, a hint of horror showing in her eyes.
I gave her a calming smile. "Stop, yes. Just not the way you are thinking it to be. I already made precautions. Amazon Lily must have disappeared from the maps already. If they can't find their target, they will have to stop their Buster Call. I just have to rub this fact in the World Government's face. By the way, have Shanks and Rayleigh met Whitebeard already?"
Roger, who had calmed down a little after hearing about Ace replied. "They will be arriving there tomorrow. You will have to bring me there. Do you think you will be free then?"
Will I be free? Well the barrier will stay there for about a month. I can take a day off to prepare for the relocation of the island.
I still lack the magic power to create a Legendary Rank artifact so it will be hard. I will have to find Shiki soon too.
"I will make some time. Right now Hancock needs to take care of the people on her side too."
"In that case, try to complete the things on that as fast as you can. Shanks called and there was information from Beckman's spies. Hiyori-chan is really alive and that bastard Orochi is after her and wants to marry her. She has barely been keeping everything at bay. I want you to sneak her out of Wano if possible. We will launch the attack but the plan needs to be made so that Whitebeard's and Shanks' movements are not noticed by anyone. Their meeting might have already reached the ears of the Marines by now. Rayleigh is under disguise to prevent the matter from getting worse. If we launch an attack on Wano in such a condition, the matters will only get worse and it will be similar to inviting the Marines to invade the New World. It would be better if we got Hiyori-chan out safely before that."
It is indeed a problem. What can be done so that the Marines don't get a chance?
I thought about the matter. What can I do?
Create a distraction.
What distraction can be strong enough to prevent the Marines from taking advantage of this situation?
An idea did come to my mind.
….
Heh, that might just work.
"I don't like the smile on your face Shin-kun." Crocus said, sweating a bit.
"Eh? I was smiling?" I asked genuinely confused.
"You looked like the Joker about to attack the Batman." Rindo commented from my side.
Joker eh. The insanity of the idea that just struck might just be the kind of a thing 'The Joker' would be proud of.
"Yeah, it was worse than when you blew up the Redline. I don't even know what kind of mess that brain of yours is or what goes on inside it." Law replied as well.
Nami and Nojiko kept their mouths wisely shut while Robin looked positively intrigued.
"I just had an idea that could solve all our problems at once. It's just that I would like to talk to Whitebeard first."
"Heh, whatever it is, I will follow your lead this time." Roger smiled.
"Roger, this little devil's ideas are always insane." Crocus shouted.
"Wahahaha it's good to be young, isn't it Crocus? Whatever his ideas may be, he has never hurt ordinary people. It's fine if he wants to plan anything. I also like to see the reactions of the world government when such things happen."
"MAD. Both of you are MAD."
"Hahahahaha"
"Wahahahaha."
"Oh I forgot to tell you about something else. Shanks had sent his people to find the whereabouts of Zou. They have found the location of Zunisha and are currently following it. Zou's people are sworn to loyalty to Oden and would definitely rally behind you if they are aware that Hiyori-chan is alive. You can get a decent force to protect Wano after that." Roger explained. "We will go there after the meeting with Whitebeard."
Well then we will definitely have to go there after meeting Whitebeard. They have a decent army of warriors too. The Minks can be amazing.
If I can summon my peerage, then protecting Wano will be no trouble at all
"Let's speed up our training guys. We only have around two weeks for the big day."
We had a whole night of grinding to do.
- Scene Change –
I panted as I lay on my knees. I had soloed the boss this time. Battlelust is a stupid way to manage my lust. I need to get that last Poneglyph sooner.
"Boss, is everything alright?" Rindo came beside me and asked.
I turned back to see everyone cast a worried glance my way. Even Law, who was a lot stronger in terms of mentality, looked worried.
"It's fine. I will be better soon." I reassured them.
"Are you sick? I am the ship's doctor. It seems as if there is something that has been bothering you as of late. I have observed that you fight too hard when we get inside this place. It was alright at first but it's been increasing constantly. Also despite the increase in your strength, it seems as if you are getting slightly weaker. You don't concentrate much on some things as well. If there is a problem, you need to tell me or I will have to tie you up and check. That's my job after all." Law spoke quietly but seriously.
I smiled. Law's reputation of me had increased a lot since I gave him a way to increase his strength. He's at a decent 65 currently and even gave me a decent perk.
Perk Gained – [Trafalgar D. Water Law – 50]
[Recommended by the Doctor]
Increases Affection, Reputation and Obedience with Doctors.
He was not the only one either. My relationship with the rest of the crew has gotten better as well.
I had an affection score of 75 with Rindo, 70 with Nami, 60 with Nojiko and Robin is at 48. Robin trusts people way too slowly that said I am grinding it in my own time.
The perks from the two sisters was something good as well.
Nami's perk increased my Navigation level by one and Nojiko's gave me a Marksmanship skill.
"Is it something related to your Magic?" Robin asked. She had been over the moon with her excitement at the chance to study about a whole other world. She had talked to me for every minute of free time we could get and was always interested in my studies of magic and Devil Fruits.
I slightly lowered my head and nodded. In a way, yes. It is in a way due to my powers.
"My peoples powers sometimes come with some side effects as well. We get affected with a few flaws. Sins most of the time. The seven deadly sins of man, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Envy and Sloth. Each person is affected in one way or another depending on their personalities. Let's say someone like Nami would have the sin of Greed and a Major one at that." I smiled at the girl who pouted but didn't deny the words. "It does not mean that they become evil….just that they are affected more with that emotion. People can have multiple minor sins too or just one or two Major ones. We are told to engage in the sins at regular intervals or we can lose control of ourselves. Minor Sins are easier to control than Major sins. There are other things too but I haven't read much about it."
"That….does sound troublesome. What is your sin?" Nami asked.
"That's rude. Asking a person's Sin can be very intimate. Although it's very easy to guess."
"Then your Sin must be the Sin of Gluttony seeing how much you eat." Nami commented.
I rolled my eyes.
"It cannot be Greed because then you wouldn't give up all the gold willy nilly." Law guessed.
"No, on the contrary, since he is suffering, it might be because he has been donating things left and right. It might be Greed." Nojiko said, thinking about the clues. She is quite smart.
"It's lust, isn't it?" Robin hit the nail in its head. The other girls reddened while Law scoffed and turned his head in the other direction.
"Lust can be of many types. Sex is just one of the ways. I was trying the battle lust. Fighting till exhaustion can also reduce it to some degree." I explained. No point in hiding.
"I had no idea your power had such a drawback. Then again even Devil Fruits have drawbacks so I can see something as versatile as your power having some." Robin commented without being bothered about it.
"Still, is it worth it?" Law asked. "I mean, we can avoid water but….this…."
"You haven't seen even a fraction of what I can do Law….not even a fraction. I don't even have a fifth of my full power right now." The Devil Race will increase my MP by almost 5.5 times. "At my full power, I could bore a hole through the Redline simply with a single attack. Not to mention, many of my magics are severely restrained due to this."
Their stunned faces didn't make me any happier. The Sin of Lust is a Trait of my Game and is it worth it even with all the problems…..well, damn right it is.
"Are all magicians as strong as you?" Nami asked part intrigued, part scared.
"Are all pirates Whitebeard?" I answered, getting to my feet.
….
No words were spoken after that. I brought us out of the ID and went to get cleaned up.
- Scene Change –
I lay in my bed struggling to sleep. At this time, I heard the door to my room open.
I looked at the one entering the room. Red hair shone in the moonlight coming from outside the door.
"Rindo?"
"Hmm." She hummed her reply.
"What's the matter? Did you need something" I looked at her.
She seemed slightly hesitant which was completely unlike her. I got up from my bed and sat up looking at her. I was honestly a little worried about her. She was the one with the most normal life among all of us. Being in a world like this, fighting and even seeing death so close, must have been extremely hard on her. I was the only connection she had to her previous world so it was not a surprise that she bonded with me so closely. Her cheerful manner sometimes manages to hide the fear that is ever present in her heart. It does not mean she doesn't enjoy this world. She does that quite well. It's just that the memories of her previous life weren't easy to forget for her and so I had been paying all my attention on her whenever I could. "Come here. What's the matter?"
She sat by me.
"I….can I sleep here? I was feeling a bit lonely." She does have the habit of sleeping with Nami and Nojiko most of the time. I raised my eyebrow at her request.
"Sure. Come up." I shifted a little, giving her space by my side. She got up and soon came inside the blanket. We lay down not speaking a single word for a while.
I broke the silence this time. "Rindo."
"Hmm."
"Do you miss your old world?"
She shook slightly and then relaxed. "I'd be lying if I said no."
"Do you blame me for bringing you here?"
She turned towards me and then looked back at the ceiling, "We already decided that it was not your fault that I touched the stone ruins. If anything, you being here was a boon for me or….I'd probably have bitten the dust the first day I came here. Don't bother yourself with that. I am just a bit homesick. Moreover….believe it or not, I am liking this world more than I thought." Here her voice picked up a hint of excitement. "My world was nice….but it wasn't exciting. I even tried to bring down my school's ruling body once, just to feel some excitement. It was fun….but again not something that would make my blood boil. This….this is something I have looked for my entire life. Adventuring and cooking things that people didn't even know of. Making and tasting foods from completely new worlds. Isn't that a dream of every great chef?"
….
It did kinda assuage my worries. I used my Senjutsu to sense her emotions and her words were genuine.
She continued. "I just miss my old friends. I mean everyone here is nice. Nami is cute, Nojiko is very responsible but just as fun to tease, Robin is like a prime example of a Mature Onee-sama that I would like to be. Law is a tsundere, Crocus-san is funny and teacher is extremely fun to be around as well…. but I…. sometimes I want to talk about the things from our world and we don't get topics to talk about. You are the only one who knows about our world and even that is a parallel world. I just feel a little out of place and all."
Ah…. Yes, that is something I had never considered about. My Gamers Mind kinda helps me deal with it a bit so the effects don't hit me that hard.
"I don't know when we can go to your world as that's not something I can control but….I can take you to my world. That world is quite similar to your own. You won't feel left out there."
"Thanks." She turned towards me and snuggled slightly to my side.
It was quite innocent and Rindo has never been someone for physical shows of affection but…. In my current situation, such things are a bit too much for me to take. I went stiff for a second.
She looked at me and then her lips curled up in a smile.
"Eh…. You know, you are not bad looking and all…. if you want, I don't mind helping you out a bit."
I looked at the girl who was showing me a cheeky smile.
"Rindo…. I don't quite like fighting…. And yet, I am doing that desperately right now, just to gain a semblance of control over myself. Please don't tease me. I might attack you in a moment of heat and regret it for the rest of my possibly extremely long life."
She giggled.
+10 Affection with Rindo Kobayashi(85/100) for thinking about her.
"I'll take my chances. I am not doing this just for you. I am doing this because….I want to. I will not do it with just anyone."
"I….know that."
"Good."
….
….
"Then you better take responsibility and make this memorable for me." She whispered.
My blood boiled at her words.
Game.
Yes Host.
Change Class to Eromancer.
_x_x_
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author's Note :
Well a lot happened in this chapter.
I will say this first before people start shouting.
No. The theories I put forward are only Shin's initial thoughts about Devil Fruits and the Void Century. It might be the same. It might be different.
I just tried a different way to make an association between the two worlds.
Anyways I will try writing more on the theory as I explain what Shin does with the Devil Fruits.
I tried to show the effect of butterflies here.
Blackbeard was trying to find a strong enough pirate to capture and become a Shichibukai which is why he followed Luffy at the start.
Shin's interference caused massive butterflies so some changes were inevitable.
I do plan to summon Rias and the peerages in the next chapter hopefully while Shin solves this problem.
We might or might not have the Marineford War but whatever it is, I'll try to make it enjoyable.
I had more written but I couldn't complete the next part so I didn't post it with this chapter.
The next part will be coming soon.
PS. Blueballs hurts, doesn't it?
Enjoy the chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.
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