Benezia says, "Let me try to put our current situation into simple words. You all studied the lore and know most things about this world, right? This world is split into four parts: the East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue, and there is the Grandline, which runs across the entire world. We only have access to the first part of the Grandline, Paradise, and the East Blue, which is a little restrictive, but still offers us valuable opportunities."
Everyone nods in agreement.
"Our biggest advantage is our knowledge about future events. There are so many opportunities in this world, but we need time to take advantage of them. At this point in the timeline, the main characters of this world are still in the East Blue. It's not clear where exactly, but it's safe to assume that once our timer of around thirty days is over, they'll reach the Grand Line, and the story will head to its intended conclusion. At least without any interference from players or the system."
"We all know the canon conclusion. The Straw Hats, supporting the Kingdom of Arabasta, defeat Baroque Works, a criminal organisation led by one of the Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile. We are familiar with how Baroque Works operates. They are ranked like this: Millions, Billions, Frontier Agents, Officer Agents, and finally Nico Robin, under the alias Miss All Sunday, and Crocodile, under the alias of Mister 0, as the leadership."
"For now, we are stuck with Baroque Works. The Goal of Baroque Works is to take over Arabasta, to achieve that goal, they are trying to gather as many resources as possible and finally incite a civil war. We have seen actual signs of it here in Whiskey Peak. They are sending over supplies, weapons, and money."
"However, we do not need to focus on this plot at all. We need opportunities to move on our own! There are valuable items to obtain in the East Blue and, more importantly, in the latter half of Paradise. You, Alex, seemed to be quite interested in Thriller-Bark and Water 7. Menchi, you mentioned Little Garden."
"Get me some Dinosaur meat!" Menchi says, her eyes sparkling. "Maybe even Dinosaur eggs?!"
"Forget the damn meat and food. Potentially a legendary sword in Thriller Bark if we manage to take down a mediocre zombie and a bunch of weak Devil Fruit users, that may end up dropping their fruit! We just need to make sure Moria's not interfering. As well as... you know, those agents in Water 7," Alex recounts. "We are strong enough to take them all down, I just know it! Especially if we work together! We just need a damn opportunity and most importantly... time! It takes a while to reach those places, especially if we're stuck at the very start of Paradise. Also, we need to be lucky enough to get a mission that can be cleared in a short amount of time, so we can use our time for our true goals. I say, we aim for the jackpot, damn the consequences! If we're able to move freely, the possibilities are endless! Devil Fruits, Skillbooks, and a bunch of other valuable pieces of equipment are within our grasp! We need to take down all these characters and take them for all they've got!"
Princess Jewel wants to visit Skypiea and plunder all the gold for her Royal Treasury! She also wants to become a Lightning Spider!
"..."
"..."
"..."
Tereza's face shifts into one of worry. "Hey... that sounds quite scary. I agree with Alex's goals—they seem more reasonable. Taking down Enel would be something else entirely. You know, I like being confident, but that sounds suicidal to me."
"Jewel's suggestions are an absolute no-go... at least for now," Alex says, looking a little uneasy himself. "The Goro Goro no Mi is one of the most powerful Logia Devil Fruits and frankly, one of the most powerful fruits in general. The ability to turn into lightning is just insane. It would, without a doubt, be a Black Quality fruit, even with the system's nerfs, should it magically appear in a chest. Anyway, I have a small problem with our situation. I fear the system won't allow us to easily interfere with the canon events, especially in the East Blue. What stops us from just flying there and taking care of the Straw Hats? I'm more than sure the system will have fail-safe measures to prevent that."
"Yes, I am sure it has," Benezia replies calmly. "Important recurring characters, especially protagonists, usually have such strong artificial protection by the system that it becomes nearly impossible to kill them—particularly outside of main missions. That's why we should focus on places that aren't directly tied to the setting the system has locked in. I've confirmed this with at least a dozen players. If you try to interfere with the basic flow of the story, powerful characters will randomly show up. Usually, you get away with a warning, but if you overdo it, you'll get taken out instantly. On other occasions natural catastrophes struck players and made their plans go up in smoke."
She continues, "The only way to take out main characters is during the proper events and timings, and even then it won't be easy. Defeating and killing them are two different things in such a case. This means that any island past Sandy Island, where Arabasta is located, should be a safe and viable target for us. Likewise, any location the Straw Hats—the protagonists of this world—have already visited is also fair game. The other locations are also valid targets, but we should avoid any confrontation, at least for now."
"Shouldn't we just try, regardless?" Tereza asks hesitantly.
Princess Jewel agrees!
Menchi only shrugs, leaving the decision to the others.
"What do you think, Alex?" Benezia asks.
"I'm against it," Alex replies without hesitation. "First of all, I wouldn't take any pleasure in killing the objectively good guys in this world. More importantly, it's senselessly dangerous. Benezia obviously did her research. Also, what would we gain from killing them that we couldn't gain from other places? Worst of all, even if we somehow survive our attempt to take down the protagonists, we'd waste a lot of valuable time.
Benezia smiles, seemingly satisfied with Alex's answer. "There you have it," she says.
Alex adds, "Let's deal with this mission and then see how it goes. We can make detailed plans afterwards, maybe even split up. I remember that Supporters can stay away from me, at least for a certain distance. We need to test it out.
Benezia chimes in again, "I've also researched that topic. The distance Combat Supporters can stay away from their respective players is limited. I'd take a guess and say as long as we stay on the same island, there is no problem."
Alex, now looking confused, asks, "What happens if we ignore those limitations? Say I fly away with Tereza and leave you behind?"
Benezia shrugs, "I would merely despawn and, after a certain duration, appear next to you again. So while not dangerous, we should make sure to avoid such an outcome."
"I see," Alex says. "Should we just continue fishing, or should we take a more active role in dealing with those pirates? If they're of note, I'd rather take active steps than play cleanup for the bounty hunters here. If we take them out, we'll not only get credit from Crocodile, but maybe some loot as well."
"Fishing!" Menchi yells.
Fishing!
"Better check out the pirates first—the mission comes before anything else," Tereza comments.
"It's only viable to spend our time fishing if there's nothing else to do," Benezia states firmly.
"... Nice. Why did I even ask? A clean split," Alex mutters. "Let's check out the situation. If these are small fries, we can still go fishing until evening. But if we do take action, we can't openly clash with them, or the Whiskey Peak bounty hunters and Mr. 8, as well as the other agents, would get angry. We're only supposed to assist them. If we cause an open fight and casualties, we'll be the ones in trouble. I also haven't seen Mr. 9 and her partner, Miss Wednesday, whose real identity is Vivi, the princess of Alabasta. "
"A sensible compromise and definitely a person we should watch out for. I am guessing they are on a mission. However, it's possible they'll return to Whiskey Peak in the near future," Benezia says with a nod.
The group heads downstairs, but before they can leave the building, Mr. 8 intercepts them.
"Mr. 6, one moment please!" he says, holding a small Den Den Mushi in his hands.
"Miss All Sunday told me to hand this over to you and Miss Judgement Day. Since you're especially mobile agents, we can't always have you returning to base. You need to be able to receive orders at any time. She also stressed... if you're not picking up your calls, that will be seen as treason."
Shit!
Alex glares at Mr. 8 but reluctantly accepts the Den Den Mushi, along with a small card listing the numbers for Miss All Sunday and the Whiskey Peak office.
Turning back, he sees the others looking equally displeased.
Exactly what we feared—and wanted to avoid.
Should Princess Jewel visit this peasant in his sleep? She can make it look like an accident.
Not now... maybe later.
"Let's see what we got!" Alex says, while he and the group finally exit and walk towards the port.
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