Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 42 : Reactions and Reunions.
- Shin –
I was a bit worried about Nami who seemed to have been petrified since I brought out the treasures.
The worry grew as minutes passed but then she moved. She pinched Nojiko who was beside her just as stunned.
"Ouch."
"I am not dreaming." Nami murmured.
"Obviously. Why did you pinch me though?" Nojiko replied slightly annoyed.
"I am not dreaming. I am not dreaming. THIS IS ALL REAL!." And with that she jumped into the mountains of treasures like a raving lunatic.
I am sure that I saw the Beri symbol in her eyes too as she was trying to climb the big mountain of gold.
I smirked a little looking at Roger and Crocus. "So what about this, Teacher. Isn't this nice practice for robbing Marineford?"
The words shook Roger awake. "What do you mean practice brat? Have you seen someone practicing running before learning to walk? How did you even get inside the Mariejois city even? And how did you get inside their treasure houses? Were the CP people sleeping? Do they even know who did it?"
It is so worth it. To watch the man who was teasing me all this while being flustered?
"I infiltrated the place by imitating a guard who was stationed to guard the Heavenly Gold. I left a mark on several gold coins when they were being divided and tracked the location of the coins, directly teleporting to them and emptying all the vaults of the World Nobles. I think they might still have other treasures but I am pretty sure that I got a major chunk of it for myself."
"You can teleport?" Rindo shouted excitedly from the side.
I smiled and nodded.
"Anyways, as for knowing who did it? They didn't see my face, I was invisible back then and was disguised as the guard under the invisibility."
"So they don't know you did this right?" Crocus sat down on the ground, tension draining him of strength.
"Oh….they do know I did it. I left a note saying that it was me." My smirk would have made the Joker proud.
….
….
….
….
"WHATTTTTTTTTT!"
"Wahahahahahahahahaha"
The old doctor passed out while Roger fell on the ground laughing like a madman.
"Oh….there is also a Cook Cook Fruit? Does this fruit really exist, Shin?" I heard a voice behind me. Rindo was looking through a book. On looking closer I found that it was the Devil Fruit Catalogue.
"Umm….there is such a fruit. If I remember correctly, it is with a member of the Big Mom Pirates. He is very close to Charlotte Linlin as her chef."
Rindo suddenly had stars in her eyes as she stared at me. Jumping at me, she grabbed my hands, "I want it. I want that Devil Fruit."
That intensity. Even Rias and Seekvaria won't have such intensity for anime and Mecha.
"O-okay."
Nojiko was trying out some jewelry in amazement while Nami was still out.
"What do you say teacher, do you think I can pull a 'You want my treasure, you can have it all' stunt with this?" I smiled at Roger who had recovered while Crocus just looked at me blankly.
"Heh….this is just gold. Why would anyone want that? One Piece is One Piece. How can simple treasure even compare to it."
"But I can still destroy almost anyone with this." On seeing their confused looks, I explained, "I can always say that I have left all my treasure with ….let's say Charlotte Linlin….Can you imagine how many people would attack her left and right? Or if I confront Akainu and say….'Akainu, you dare betray me after I stole all those treasures for you.' I bet half my organs that the World Government will skin Akainu alive with no explanations at all."
Their faces grew pale with each of my ideas.
"Oye….Roger….just what kind of a monster did you take in?"
While Roger just stayed quiet, his eyes were big like saucers.
"What about the person you were going to recruit Captain?" Nojiko asked me suddenly.
"Ah….yes. He wanted to see if I was worthy enough to be followed. Let my bounty arrive. They will know how worthy I am."
The talks about bounty broke Nami from her fervor. "Bounty? Yes….you robbed the whole World Government? They will probably send the entire Marine after you. What do we do Captain?"
"They will come after me if they know it was me."
This confused some people.
"Didn't you say that you left a note for them?" Crocus asked, confused.
"I did. I just used a fake name." Their mouths hung open once again.
After sometime Crocus spoke again, "Do you think they will take the bait? Knowing the Marines, they will probably cover it up."
I smiled, "I made sure they can't. I met with Big News Morgan and gave an interview in my disguise. Tomorrow's newspapers will be interesting."
I grinned in anticipation.
- Whitebeard Pirates –
The sun rose over the gigantic ship as the news bird flew in.
The pirate who took the newspaper was a rookie but even the rookie among the Whitebeard Pirates is easily someone with a hundred million Berries bounty.
He paid the news bird and took the paper and walked towards the deck of the ship while opening the paper.
Suddenly he stopped and then pinched himself and looked back at the newspaper.
The writing didn't change.
He looked around and went and kicked another pirate on the ship, getting a kick in return and then again looked back at the newspaper.
The writing still didn't change.
His face grew pale and sweat formed on his forehead.
The other people noticed the abnormality and a captain of the Whitebeard Pirates snatched the newspaper from his hand and read the news.
Vista would never say it out loud but he felt that he would have had the same reaction as the rookie if he had read this first. Then another idea formed in his mind.
"Are the news birds making jokes now? Is this a tactic to raise the price of the newspaper?"
"What happened Vista?" Marco asked from the side of the deck.
"These Newspapers are making jokes nowadays." And passed on the newspaper to Marco.
Marco being the reasonable one read the newspaper and soon understood the reason. He however turned the page and read further and soon fell from his seat on the side of the deck.
"POPS! THIS IS BIG NEWS. SOMEONE ROBBED THE WORLD NOBLES BLIND. HE EVEN GAVE AN INTERVIEW TO MORGAN. IT'S SAID THAT HE HAS A SPACE TYPE DEVIL FRUIT." Marco rushed to pass on the newspaper.
The whole ship broke out into chaos.
"Someone robbed the World Nobles?"
"How much gold would they have?"
"Does he even have Devil Fruits and other treasures?"
"The World Government has been hoarding things for hundreds of years so it is quite obvious that they would have deep pockets."
"Who did it?"
"Yeah….imagine catching and taking all that gold. We would be the richest pirate group in the world."
The man in question took the newspaper and read while the whole ship had slowly quieted down.
The man kept the newspaper to the side and burst out in laughter. "Gararara so there are still people like Fisher Tiger who have the guts to rob the World Government."
"Pops, don't you think that the Marines will go haywire after this?" Marco asked in worry.
"So what? What does that have to do with us?"
He was completely unbothered by the implications of the words. So what if the World Government was robbed.
Would they trouble him?
He was the strongest man in the world.
"Even if they are troubled, they will keep quiet. No one will trouble my sons. I AM WHITEBEARD!"
The words were like the assurance of the creator himself to the rest of the crew. They burst out in a loud cheer.
"Still this person is worth noticing….Dio Brando. Marco, see what you can find out about him."
"Yes Pops."
- Onigashima Island –
On an island with a skull shaped mountain with two horns, one of which was slightly broken, there was an unusual atmosphere.
The usual gloomy atmosphere was interrupted when a pirate ran into the room with a newspaper clasped in his hand.
"Boss boss….big news…." The man however was punched to the side and into a bloody splatter on the wall before he could complete the sentence.
The hand that did it, however, took the newspaper and took a look at it.
"Dio? He dares to seek death more than me?" the hand smashed the saucer of sake. "Okay….then I will kill you. There must be some Mythical Zoan Type Devil Fruits in Marie Geoise after all. Quinn find our men and ….find this Dio Brando."
- A Certain Tea Party –
A man ran in sweating heavily inside a room filled with food. The party stopped for a moment when the sound of the door was heard.
"Mama….the newsbird….the news." He waved the newspaper wildly in front of a ginormous thing that had a shadow of resemblance to a woman.
The paper was taken from his hand by a white haired girl who stood beside the monstrosity. As she read it her eyes widened.
"What is it Smoothie? What is the news? If it is nothing big, kill him for disturbing my tea party."
The man in question seems to have gone white at this sentence.
"Mama….it seems that someone has robbed all the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois…." Although the white haired girl said so, even she wasn't sure of her own words.
A deathly silence prevailed over the room.
The monstrosity snatched the newspaper and looked at the news herself. A wide smile spread over her face. "Mamamama Dio Brando….children bring this man to me. Also make sure that he has all the stolen treasures. Someone dares to steal from the stuck up bastards. But it is not enough if he doesn't have the strength to keep it. He will either pay everything or….die."
- Redhaired Pirates –
Ben Beckman sat on the side of the ship while smoking, a newspaper in hand. "What do you think of this, Shanks? This will probably cause too much trouble. Do you think the old guys will cause too much ruckus because of this?"
Shanks himself was lost in thought.
Someone stealing the treasures of all the World Nobles was just outlandish but this was indeed the case. He verified this matter himself personally.
Even when Fisher Tiger had attacked Mariejois, he had only freed the slaves but none of the wealth was touched. The World Government had extremely solid foundations. Even if the World Nobles were robbed, they would still have wealth hidden away. They won't be brought to their knees just by this….but this is without a doubt a very big wound on their egos. Not to mention the Celestial Dragons will surely make a fuss.
The countries have recently paid the Heavenly Gold and they might try to collect the next Heavenly Gold even sooner. This will put a lot of burden on the participating countries.
The revolts will be shut down by the Marines but it will cause a lot of unrest which will undoubtedly be used by many pirate groups.
Overall this was a royal mess.
"I don't think they will go on a rampage for the sake of this. There will most definitely be a bounty. They normally would have suppressed the news and painted Dio Brando as the cause of a mass killing or something to save their face but now that he went to Morgan and spoiled this plan, then I don't think that method will be applicable. They will probably play this as a hoax. As someone trying to sully the name of the World Government and give him a lower bounty. We just need to make sure that the collateral is not too big."
"We can only hope this ends there."
Shanks looked at his partner in confusion.
"I mean do you think someone who even gave an interview to Morgan about stealing from the World Nobles would actually keep quiet if they tried to play it off?"
Shanks' face turned slightly gloomy. It was obvious that whoever this Dio Brando was, he wanted his name to be known. If the Marines and the World Government downplayed it, there would be many such incidents.
*Sigh*
"This is turning out to be such a mess." Shanks said as he downed another mug of beer down his throat.
Why can't there be some peace in this sea?
"Just what kind of storm will be set off this time."
- Marineford –
"Yes Sir, I will investigate this. Yes Sir." Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi and looked haggard as the entire day weighed down upon him.
"You should take some rest, Sengoku." Vice Admiral Crane said from the side.
Sengoku slumped down onto the chair as he looked at Crane.
"Why is it our fault? Isn't the CP responsible for the shit of the World Nobles. Those bastards have the gall to shout at us?" Sengoku slammed his fist on the table.
"Are they grinding on the fact that we thought it was a prank call?" Tsuru asked, sitting down as well.
"Yes. They were saying that we were planning to rebel and the thief might have some connection to the Marines if we didn't back them up sooner. After all, one of the major reasons we support their every order is because of the funding. REBEL?….WE WILL REBEL? "
"Calm down Sengoku. The situation is odd as it is. Is there any news about this person?" Crane asked, trying to calm her comrade. It would have been easier if Garp had been here….On a second thought, it would have been even worse. Garp would have probably laughed at the faces of the World Nobles and made an even bigger mess of this situation.
"No news. This Dio Brando appeared out of nowhere. There have been no trails at all. We don't even know if the person is who he says he is. There was just a note. Like we will believe what an unknown thief says. It can be anything. A method of framing someone with the same name or even a fake name to merely toy with us. We only have a note written by the criminal himself….or herself to go on with." Sengoku slumped further into the chair and sighed yet again at the situation.
"Are they going to put on a bounty?"
"No. Like the World Government would ever point out that someone robbed Mariejois yet again. As if Fisher Tiger was not enough. Worse yet, they don't even know who it was. They are just deploying people left and right to search for anyone named Dio Brando to get a clue as well as checking the underworld for the sales of any treasures and Devil Fruits to track down the thief. We are to deploy everyone for search too. As if the Marines have nothing better to do than to wipe their shit for them."
"The world would go crazy if they knew something like this happened. Not once but twice now. There will probably be more people attempting to attack Mariejois and the Heavenly Gold from now on. This matter is better suppressed." The Chief of Staff, Crane, agreed with the decision as well.
It was at that moment that the door to the office burst open and a very pale Vice Admiral Strawberry ran in.
"What is the matter with you, Strawberry? Why are you so tense?"
The Vice Admiral opened his mouth a few times but didn't say anything and just handed him the newspaper.
Sengoku took a look and read the first page and soon enough a shout echoed through the whole Navy Headquarters.
"DIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!."
- Shin –
I looked at the three girls being put through the ringer by Roger and somewhere in the quiet, deep corner of my heart, I felt good.
Yeah, someone other than me is suffering. Schadenfreude is a thing after all.
As I was waiting for it, Crocus ran in with the newspaper.
"Oh, lemme see what's in there." Roger walked up with an enormous grin on his face.
Rindo, Nami and Nojiko also peaked in quickly.
Rindo suddenly burst out in laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA DIO….KONO DIO DA. Did you really pull that on the World Government….hahahahaha. That was absolutely hilarious."
The others looked at the girl in confusion.
So she has Jojo in her world too?
I wonder how many worlds have which anime?'
I merely smiled at her in response.
"So this name is supposed to mean something?" Nojiko asked in confusion.
"Umm….I have the full set of Jojo too. We can always watch during the dinner."
"Oh….is that another one of those anime things? I was just watching Bleach. That old guy Yamamoto is really something. That willpower was something I could feel through the TV box." Roger jumped up excitedly.
Yeah….apparently I got Roger addicted to anime.
Ophis and Games and Rogers with anime, I don't know which ones is better.
"It is. I will bring out the DvDs later. So….did I get a bounty?"
They read the newspaper but there was no news about the Bounty.
Ah….maybe there will be one soon.
Anyways, I have more than enough work for now. I need to sort these treasures.
Mainly the weapons and Devil Fruits.
Apparently Rindo is talented in swordsmanship. She was used to Knives of different types for her cooking. I wouldn't be surprised if she was talented in Swordsmanship. I would later on take them to be blooded in the IDs. Maybe give them an artifact or a Devil Fruit.
I also have enough samples in front of me to conduct experiments for making a Devil Fruit locator.
Then again I have to make a weapon for Nojiko and Nami as well.
Both have shown that they have very low aptitude for the sword. Nojiko is more of a sharpshooter. A gun would be much better for her. As for Nami, a weapon that can use different elements. Maybe the magic gun prototypes can work. They can even combine two elements at a time.
I am waiting for the second Binding to be opened. As soon as I get a bounty of 1B or above. It would make my work much easier.
As for opening all the bindings.
That would make sure I have enough power at the top of the world. Especially if I can use the supernatural races again.
As I was thinking about these, the transponder snail rang.
I picked up the call.
"Shin Kageyami?" a familiar gruff voice addressed me from the other end.
Smoker was calling. I had an idea about the content too.
"Yes." I replied identifying the voice too.
"Vice Admiral Garp will be arriving from the Headquarters in two hours and will be staying in Loguetown for the next two weeks. You are asked to visit during this time for the meeting."
"Oh, Vice Admiral Garp himself is coming? Sure. I will be there. We are a bit away from Loguetown but we will reach there in time."
"Sure." I cut off the call.
Roger walked up to me listening to the name. "Garp is coming here?"
I nodded, "Do you think he would identify you?"
"I don't know how I would feel to others after my resurrection and being tied to this body so I'm not sure. Anyways, differentiating between people is almost top level Observation Haki and not many people have it."
I nodded making a mental note about making a shielding method for Observation Haki.
Roger's Haki are all at the top level without a doubt. I still need to pick up the speed. From the news I have, Ace has started chasing Blackbeard already.
A few months at best.
There is also the quest about the Poneglyphs. I don't know the location of many. Two are in Alabasta, one in Shandora, one in Fishman Island, one in Zou and others with the Yonko crews.
In that one of the Poneglyphs in Alabasta is hidden somewhere within the sand of the vast desert and I don't know if I can find it with just luck. Though if I recall correctly that one may not exist here due to being anime filler.
Then again there was one more in the Tree of Knowledge in Ohara but I have no idea if it is still there. That seems highly unlikely though.
I remember there being one which was seen by Robin somewhere.
Anyways, I have to enter a Yonko's territory to get twelve Poneglyphs for sure.
I'm gonna wait for the second binding to open before trying that.
"Oye brat." Roger broke my train of thought and I turned towards him. "Come up. Lemme see how much you have improved."
A small smile appeared on my face as I walked up with my sword.
The girls moved to the side to train in other places.
With a short gaze, Roger dashed towards me, his sword slashing at my location. I pulled my sword and Armament Haki ran through it as I tilted the blade making Roger's sword slide slightly and in the same slash, the sword was swiped towards Roger. This time however there was a difference.
My physical stats were double.
The difference between 400, 800 or 900 stats is not merely double but rather the increase is exponential.
With the Armament Haki, the stats can be pushed into the 1200s easily. That is easily a Vice Admiral level physical stats. Not to mention that I can stack Touki on top making it into the 2,000s although the consumption of stamina will be insane though. I have no way of using it with the Human race at such a level.
In this world there are people who fight for tens of days to decide a fight at Admiral ranks. Someone like Shanks might be stronger.
Losing stamina in front of them would be like suicide.
My sword picked up speed suddenly and rushed towards Roger's face but was stopped at the last instant.
Ah fuck. Future Sight.
Gol D. Roger is a monster of Observation Haki.
Monkey D. Garp of Armament Haki.
Future Sight is not the end of Observation Haki either.
The block however managed simply to reduce the moment of my sword and he was still thrown back a few steps.
"What the hell brat? How did you become so strong suddenly?" He adjusted himself instantly and simply parried my second following blow.
"Who said I became strong? I was always strong. It's just that I am regaining my strength." I smiled and dashed once more and slashed.
The fight was much better than before. Although only half of Hawkeye's physical stats, I can safely say that I am at a Shichibukai level safely.
The others on the ship watched from the side because in this fight we were fighting at this level with only our Haki and Swordsmanship.
There were visible shockwaves all around and Crocus stood in front of the girls. The old man is surprisingly strong. His stats showed it too. But then again, he sailed with the Roger Pirates and even reached Laugh Tale and at the end of it all….lived. I refuse to believe that the Marines didn't know that he lived here just like the location of Rayleigh. So the only conclusion is that the Roger Pirates' deterrence is still there and Crocus must be strong. The fact about Ace being Roger' son was announced right before the execution and thus the Roger Pirates didn't have time to react otherwise there would have been a different result of that war.
The clashes went on for around half an hour after which Roger grew bored. This time the surprise was over and Roger adjusted his power accordingly and then it was time for me to get beaten up again. Yeah….I need that bounty.
As we sat down, me panting my lungs out and him picking up a glass of juice, he asked, "So….what is this about regaining your strength?"
"Ah….when I came here, a major part of my power was sealed. It is released a bit at a time."
"Oh….so you were not always as weak as a chicken?" the bastard poked.
I rolled my eyes, "Although I was not too strong physically, at most a new Vice Admiral level, I could blow up an entire country, albeit a small one with my magic."
He spit out his juice and I snapped my fingers to stop it in the air and vanish it.
He looked at me a bit surprised and then asked, "Really? That much? How long would it take for you to regain it?"
"Hmm….don't know. It could be done in a day but then again it could take a while."
"Wahahahaha then let's fight seriously when you regain your whole strength. I want to see what it would be like compared to Whitebeard and Rocks."
I smiled. Whitebeard? Rocks? Those monsters would have normal physical stats above 2500 without any physical skills and Haki. With that, it would easily be 4k+. Yeah….I am not that level yet.
- Scene Change –
I looked at the bunch of Shadow Clones doing the inventory of the stolen treasures while I noted down the list of Devil Fruits and other special goods.
Four of the twelve Supreme Swords are here. There are also seven of the twenty one great swords and the other nine of the fifty named swords.
The best harvest however is the Devil Fruits. Although not all of them were top grades, normal devil fruits are used by the World Nobles as entertainment for slaves. The ones left in their treasuries are without a doubt the better ones. There are however some fruits which are just better and caught my attention.
Paramecia: Crash Crash Fruit. This fruit is….well it is a fruit version of Gildarts's Crash Magic. It is said that the last user four hundred years ago diced an entire island and even tried to break the Red Line. Since then it was locked away in fear of its power.
Paramecia: Twist Twist Fruit. This fruit is like Whitebeard's Tremor Tremor Fruit. At the maximum development, even twisting space is possible.
Paramecia: Pull Pull Fruit. This one is one of the best fruits I could hope for. This is basically the opposite of Kuma's Paw Paw Fruit which repels things, this one simply attracts. In a way, it can act like Ban's Snatch if developed properly though.
Paramecia: Stone Stone Fruit. This is basically a treasure chest. I don't know if they missed it or just didn't care. This one can make minerals. Yes. Basically a Fruit that can make minerals at will. Obviously the better minerals need more power but who cares.
Paramecia: Less Less Fruit. This one is the opposite of the More More Fruit which can increase the speed, strength, and size of the things the user touches, up to 100 times the original. This one on the other hand does the opposite. It can reduce the speed, strength, and size of the things the user touches, up to 100 times the original. An extremely dangerous power.
Paramecia: Rot Rot Fruit. This fruit decays anything it touches.
Paramecia: Fast Fast Fruit. This fruit increases the speed of anything it touches. It is quite similar to More More Fruit but it can only increase speed. While this might seem a little weaker, it is in fact not. This increase in speed….is simply not bound without any limit. An extremely dangerous power.
Logia: Cloud Cloud Fruit, a fruit that is like the weapon used by Nami. It can produce different types of clouds and even lets the user become clouds. Even the ones on which the Sky Islands stand. I can make my own Sky Island in any world if I used this fruit.
Logia: Oil Oil Fruit. Liquid Gold Mine. This could have solved the oil crisis in the world.
Logia: Blood Blood Fruit. The name explains itself.
Logia: Earth Earth Fruit.
And finally the Zoan,. This group was the biggest surprise.
Ancient Zoan, Dog Dog Fruit Model: Dire Wolf.
Mythical Zoan, Bird Bird Fruit Model: Griffin.
Mythical Zoan, Bird Bird Fruit Model: Vermilion Bird.
Mythical Zoan, Cat Cat Fruit Model: White Tiger.
Mythical Zoan, Cat Cat Fruit Model: Bakeneko.
Mythical Zoan, Cat Cat Fruit Model: Golden Lion.
Mythical Zoan, Human Human Fruit Model: Snow Fairy.
But then again thinking about it, they fed two similar fruits to Hancock's sisters.
It wouldn't be a surprise if they had more of these.
There were others but they were relatively normal ones.
These fruits can easily become raw material for new artifacts. The thing about this method is that the user will still be able to utilize the power of the Devil Fruits without facing any weakness of the fruit as the one carrying the weakness will be the artifact. For example if a ring is made, the one carrying the seastone weakness will not be the user but the ring instead. And does the ring really mind it?
Don't know, haven't talked to a ring yet.
The Zoan can become Autonomous Type Sacred Gears or even something like the Canis Lykaon.
The Paramecia and Logia fruits can simply be made into artifacts.
There is also another advantage.
While it is unknown if Devil Fruits can progress beyond Awakening, if matched with the wish system of the Sacred Gears, there might be a further evolution. I really look forward to it as an inventor.
"That is a massive collection. I don't even recognize most of it. I think you will need the Devil Fruit list from the Marines. They make a list of every Devil Fruit they encounter." Roger said from beside me while lazily sipping on his wine. I turned towards him and replied.
"It's fine. I know which one is what. There is already a list made. If you want, you can take any sword for yourself and then let Rindo choose one. I will make these into something for the girls to use."
"Hmm….the blue haired one seems to have a talent as a sniper. Nami is a born navigator. I would envy you if I was still sailing for having a navigator like that. Even Rayleigh is no match for that girl's keen senses. I think she might have a gift in this regard though."
"She does. I am going to bring the doctor as well. He is a swordsman too."
"Oh….what's his name?"
"Trafalgar D. Water Law."
His eyes opened slightly and a complex look came over his face and then a slight hit of a smile quietly spread on his lips.
"Okay….I will train him too."
I became a little surprised and looked at the man. His eyes were closed and he lay simply in his recliner, sipping his wine without any worry at all.
"Okay. I will bring him after meeting Garp. I think they might want to meet you too." I said again working on a design for Nami's artifact.
"I don't want to meet him now. Maybe visit Rayleigh first."
"Very well, I will take you to meet Rayleigh tonight."
He grunted but didn't say anything more.
I kept working on the artifact.
The design will be similar to Night Reflection. It could turn the user into an intangible shadow that can't be hit except for energy attacks in the Balance Breaker form.
The Awakening could be its Balance Breaker and maybe something more.
I am studying the normal Devil Fruits to explore first.
And this might take a while but I honestly have nothing to do except training and this before my second binding is unlocked.
- Scene Change –
I appeared in an alleyway of Sabaody Archipelago with a pop. Two other figures with me.
Roger and Crocus.
It was around midnight and while Sabaody is a busy area, it is still a lot more silent at night.
"Sabaody?" Roger looked around.
"Yes. We are heading towards Grove No 13, Shakky's Rip-off Bar."
Suddenly an idea struck me and a wide grin came on my face. "Say teacher, how do you like pranks?"
"Pranks?" Crocus was surprised but the man to whom the question was asked looked at me and then a knowing grin spread on his face too.
So after deciding on a plan, we soon found the place.
I however didn't knock on the door. Instead, I cast a charm on the area to repel people with weaker wills. Rayleigh, while in retirement, is likely still monitored by the World Government. No need to tick people off. A small barrier can take care of it simply.
Roger got a nod from me and with a snap of my finger, his dress changed to his normal one he usually wore before and the puppet changed back to his real face.
I hope Rayleigh doesn't have a heart attack.
Roger walked up to the bar and knocked on the door.
Ten minutes later a voice came from the other side.
"The bar is closed. Come back tomorrow."
Roger knocked the door again, not replying to the voice.
The knock however was monotonous.
After a minute, the door opened with a snap and a woman came out.
"Don't you understand…." Her words got stuck in her throat as she looked at the face of the guest, eyes wide. I had a camera on hand so i can snap shots Crocus hid behind the tree nearby and looked.
This is going to be glorious.
And soon enough a shriek left her mouth as Roger raised his face.
With a loud burst and an extremely strong burst of killing intent a figure appeared at the door. Roger was quick enough to raise his sword and stop the incoming blow. A loud crash resounded in the area.
The figure who attacked was a white haired man with round rimmed glasses and a scar on his left eye. He held a sabre. The barrier took on most of the blow and the sound was also isolated.
He prepared for the second blow and lifted his sabre but was stuck in place as he finally got a glimpse of his opponent.
Roger had a silly grin on his face, "Hey, would you like to turn the world upside down with me?"
The man however was frozen in place. It took a few seconds before he gained consciousness and a massive burst of Conqueror's Haki burst out.
"How dare you pretend to imitate that man?" he growled.
Shit.
The sabre in his hand turned black and red lightning.
"Crap Rayleigh lost it." Crocus said from beside me.
Roger however didn't show any fear. "Wahahaha then come my friend."
A black coating formed on his sabre too as Conqueror's Haki burst out and red lightning appeared in the place.
I am starting to doubt if the barrier will be able to contain it.
I pushed my mana to strengthen the barrier even further and brought out a bottle of mana potion and chugged it down.
The two people clashed and a horrifying wave of energy burst out. I pushed my Haki and even Touki to stand in place while Crocus was hiding behind me but looked quite unaffected by the Conqueror' burst.
The clash uprooted the trees and I pushed more mana into the barrier. Finally after almost a minute a crack appeared in the barrier but the clash was contained.
Holy fuck.
Those monsters.
Crocus ran ahead quickly, "Ray-san. It's really him. Stop your attacks. It is not good for my old heart."
Rayleigh already had a stunned look after the clash. Such powerful Conqueror's Haki is rare to appear and all the mannerisms and swordsmanship all pointed out to only one simple person. Rayleigh who had stayed the longest with Roger couldn't not recognize who he was after all this.
His sabre dropped from his hand and he took a few steps forward. Roger still had the silly grin on his face.
"Wahahahaha Rayleigh, scared you didn't I?"
BAAAAM
Rayleigh punched Roger straight into a tree hundred meters away.
"BASTARD! YOU STILL HAVE THE BALLS TO PLAY STUPUID PRANKS?" Rayleigh shouted, his eyes having small drops of tears at the side.
"All according to Keikyaku." I grinned slyly.
Crocus heard this and turned towards me.
"You planned all this?"
My grin widened, "Obviously. Did you see how much that shitty teacher beat me up? If you can't beat Roger on your own, just get him beaten by someone else. It was an easy solution."
He stared blankly at me for a moment and then recalled something. "But he is a metal puppet, right? Would he even feel pain?"
My grin could simply make the Joker proud. "I changed that. He could taste food so why can't he feel pain."
Crocus took in a sharp breath. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, kid. What are you a devil?"
"At times, yeah. Well looks like things have been taken care of. Let's go." I walked up slowly towards the place.
Crocus followed me quietly.
The two in the front had already calmed down and were walking towards us as well.
"Crocus, you are here as well." Rayleigh smiled, now much better in control.
"Ahahaha Roger said he was coming here and I decided to tag along to clarify. I wanted to avoid….well what happened here." He said looking at the destroyed surroundings.
"Wahahahaha don't worry about such small things Crocus."
I smiled at the gall of the man. The area would have been destroyed completely if I hadn't set up the barrier and he says this as small things.
"It's alright Mr. Crocus. You all go inside. I will take care of this." I looked at the old doctor and nodded.
He nodded back and went inside.
Rayleigh however looked at me for a while, "You are?"
I bowed slightly, "My name is Shin Kageyami. Nice to meet you Mr. Rayleigh. Teacher has told me a lot about you."
He indeed did. In a way, Rayleigh was to Roger's crew what Nami was to Luffy's. Keeping him in check.
He looked surprised and then looked back at Roger, "You took an apprentice? I remember you haven't taught anyone. Even Shanks was mostly taught by me and you passed him your hat."
"Wahahaha….it's not me who took him as a student, rather it was him who took me as a teacher. It is quite complicated. Let's go inside, I will explain everything." Roger scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
Rayleigh looked back at me for a while and then back at Roger and Crocus and nodded walking together with them inside the bar.
"Will you be coming in brat?" Roger asked me while walking inside.
"I still have to bring my doctor over. I will come back soon." I snapped my finger and his face changed to his usual disguise. "Just in case you cause some trouble, this will at least hide your identity."
He stumbled at the words, "What do you think I can cause in a few hours brat?"
"Knowing you….you could walk into Sengoku's office and ask him for tea. I simply don't put that beyond you."
I actually didn't.
"Wahahahaha….that's an amazing idea. Say Rayleigh….wanna say hello to old friends."
"Do that and I will ban all the alcohol on the ship." I warned and apparrated.
- Rayleigh –
Rayleigh watched as the boy vanished with a pop sound. He spread his Observation Haki all around the area, spreading it over the entire Sabaody but couldn't find the aura of the boy.
"Don't bother Rayleigh, the brat is not something understood by common sense. If you want to understand him, it's better to throw every bit of common sense out the window. He is even weirder than the weather of the New World. He is probably across the Redline by now." Roger said while taking a seat inside the bar.
"Yeah….Shin-kun is really mysterious." Crocus nodded on the side.
Shakky, who had been shocked, had recovered a little and lit a cigarette and walked behind the counter.
Crocus upon seeing this, put a finger on the table and close an eye and suddenly a bottle appeared on the table.
Rayleigh's eye snapped in Crocus' direction, "You ate a Devil Fruit?"
"Eh….no. This is because of the ring on my finger. It was a gift from Shin-kun. The boy might be a prankster and a bit vindictive at times but takes really good care of the people close to him. He made this ring for me to carry things around. Inside it is a space of ten cubic meters to store things." Crocus pointed at the ring on his fingers.
"Ah, my ring was taken by Nami." Roger pouted.
"It was because you had thrown a giant piece of Sea King meat right on top of her when you tried to use it." Crocus deadpanned. That girl Nami might be nothing in terms of strength but in temper, even Roger didn't want to face her wrath. Oh….and also when money was involved.
"So who is this boy? How did you come back to life and what happened to your face?" Rayleigh finally couldn't control himself and asked. Crocus took this opportunity to pour out wine for all of them.
"He already said his name. He was not lying. I was summoned by him from the Underworld as a soul and he made a deal with me to teach him about Haki." Roger said quite casually.
"A deal? And you accepted a deal with someone who can bring back the souls of the dead? Is it something like the Shadow Shadow Fruit?" Rayleigh asked incredulously, a hint of anger towards the boy who almost defiled his dead friend's body.
"No no. It was nothing like that. He only called back my soul. My body is….well wherever it is. He even made a deal with me that I couldn't reject. In this matter, that brat is definitely cunning."
"What deal?"
"He offered to save my son who will be caught and executed soon." Roger said and downed his glass of wine.
….
"YOU HAVE A SON?" Rayleigh burst out in anger, the glass in his hand shattering into pieces.
"Hmm….his name is Portgas D. Ace. He is under Whitebeard." Roger answered unbothered.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?" Rayleigh asked, his pain at his best friend not trusting him hitting him and changing into anger.
"I disbanded the Roger Pirates but if I had left a child with any of you, the others would not have left him alone. The Marines would have found out and tried to wipe out my bloodline and there would have been another war."
It hurt.
Rayleigh had an idea that this might be the reason but it still hurt.
He didn't doubt for a single moment that any of the crew members would hesitate for a single moment to defend the child even if it meant going to war with the World Government and the Marines.
It was a very Roger choice.
He knew his friend extremely well and he knew about his fear of losing his close ones. The childhood trauma that although was recovered over time, was never completely gone.
"I have heard about him. He is a promising child. Where was he? After what the World Government and the CP did to hunt for your child, even if it was a rumor….we….we searched for him too but we didn't find anything. I didn't even find Rouge. His name reminded me of Rouge but then I discarded the thought." Rayleigh spoke as he slumped down in his chair.
"I asked Garp to take him away. That was probably the only place where he could have grown without anyone interfering with his childhood."
After downing another glass of wine, he asked again, "What do you mean save your son? I don't recall the information that Ace was arrested."
"That's the point. It will happen in the future."
….
"What?"
"It is something that will happen in the future. Ace is chasing someone called Marshall D. Teach because he betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates after killing one of the Commanders. Ace is chasing him to take revenge."
"Marshall D. Teach, I seem to have heard this name. I think it was Shanks who told me about it."
"This Marshall D. Teach has the Dark Dark Fruit."
Rayleigh's eyes widened, "That….it's the."
"Same fruit that Rocks had."
The Dark Dark Fruit was one of the most dangerous powers known. The last user Xebec D. Rocks could match both Roger and Garp together. This alone shows its horror.
"If what Shin told me is correct and I am fully sure that it is, Marshall D. Teach or as he calls himself, Blackbeard will use it and Ace's identity to take the Shichibukai position and then enter Impel Down freeing prisoners to make a crew. The Marines will use Ace's execution to attract Whitebeard and in the fight, he plans to steal Whitebeard's Tremor Tremor Fruit for himself."
"And how does he know this?" Rayleigh asked a little with suspicion. It was too convenient. Although he was sure that with Roger's Observation Haki, it was near impossible to lie to him, there was always a chance.
"He was not lying. I could tell it. Someone who outright rejected the knowledge of Laugh Tale from me couldn't lie about something like this. Moreover compared to his other abilities, knowing this is much more believable."
Crocus nodded on the side. "True. Shin-kun's abilities are just unbelievable."
"Then why is it that I haven't heard about this boy yet? I run an information channel and even if I don't know all the information on the seas, I know most of it. This person is someone I have never heard about." Shakky said from the side for the first time, taking a sip of her drink as well.
"Oh, I think you might have heard about Shin. Well his other name at least. It was….Dio Brando."
Shakky and Rayleigh both spurt their drinks at the name.
"WHAT?"
"The madman who robbed the Celestial Dragons?"
"Ah….he was practicing for his heist at Marineford." Roger grinned while Rayleigh felt he had heard something even more incredulous.
….
And so the people, both dead and alive, talked about the man from another world.
- Shin –
Law was easy to find because I had placed a Tracking Charm on his sword. This time there was no need to search around the area.
The crew looked at me and one of them ran inside the submarine to call Law.
A minute later the Surgeon of Death walked out along with his bear-mink friend, Bepo.
"Come inside."
No more words.
I walked behind him.
The door was closed and I checked around There was no one listening or any device either.
"Was that really you?" he asked after taking a deep breath.
"I can show you the loads of gold if you want. Anyways, what is your decision?"
"Why….why do you want my help? Is it for the Immortal Surgery?" he asked, looking deeply into my eyes.
"Please….I have more ways of gaining immortality than you could think of. I don't care about that. What I want is a Doctor." I have a healer and I can make potions to heal almost everything but I still want a doctor. There are things that potions cannot do and Asia would have a completely different role in the future if her Dragon Taming abilities can be developed. Moreover, she is too soft. Law can pick this slack and become a doctor who can also fight. A perfect fit for my peerage.
"And you promise me that you will take care of Doflamingo for this?" he asked me seriously.
I smirked, "You don't realize how easy it is for me do you? Well let me give you an example. All I need to do is say that I couldn't have robbed Mariejois without my good friend Doflamingo telling me the secrets of that place and publishing the information or even slightly passing on the information to the World Government. Do you have any idea how much gold there was in the treasuries of all the dumb little Celestial Dragons? I have enough to fill an entire fleet of warships and still have enough left over."
His face grew pale at the word and he collected himself for an entire minute.
"Okay. I will join you." he said with a steel-like determination.
+40 Reputation with Trafalgar D. Water Law(15/100) for being his captain.
Reputation gain halved due to Diminished Presence Trait.
+40 Obedience with Trafalgar D. Water Law(40/100) for being his captain.
"Well welcome aboard Doc. I am your Captain Shin Kageyami, aka Dio Brando."
- Scene Change –
I dropped Law inside the ship. His crew will enter the Grandline when he returns.
The first reaction of Law to the travel was to get down on his knees and puke.
It was then that I remembered that there was even such a thing.
Due to my strong Magic Power and Roger's and Crocus' strength, they were able to easily endure this travel method.
Law however was not really used to it.
I snapped a finger and vanished the mess and passed a bottle of water for Law.
"The crew is inside. We are just starting to make a crew so there are very few members."
Rindo seemed to have heard my voice due to the enhanced senses and came out to check.
"Oh boss. Is this the new member?"
"Yup. He is our doctor, Trafalgar D. Water Law. Can you call Nami and Nojiko and meet. I will prepare a room for Law by then.
She looked a little embarrassed before answering, "I don't think that the entire marine could drag Nami away from the treasures if they wanted to. She has been doing inventory with a scary look on her face and growls like an enraged cat when anyone gets near the treasures. Even Nojiko doesn't know what to say."
….
Well this is something….not quite unexpected.
"Anyways, Law, will you wait here for a while. I still need to bring back some people. We will talk again in the morning. Oh, by the way, this is your initiation gift." I tossed him a box from my inventory.
He nodded and I apparrated with a pop.
Sabaody was still quiet and the place around the bar was still under the repelling charm. Although it will be ineffective against the people with stronger will and Observation Haki, it is still enough.
I took out a mana potion and downed it and then snapped my fingers. An overpowered Reparo to take care of the wreckage from the fight earlier.
I walked into the bar.
The people were still chatting but now in a much more leisurely manner.
"Oh you are back brat. Did you find your doctor?" Roger asked without even taking a look back.
I am pretty sure that with that guy's senses, he could have known as soon as I reached this place.
"Yes. He is getting acquainted with the rest of the crew. Will you be staying here longer? I still have a meeting with Garp."
"Nah, I will return. Rayleigh will come with us as well. Anyways, give me some wine. Bring out a good one."
I looked blankly at the man. Crocus showed me an apologizing look.
"I left you with twenty bottles. You do know that before I can get back home, I cannot restock the collection."
He pouted, "Okay then bring me something from the loot you obtained from Mariejois. Those sissies have good stuff."
I smiled at that too. "Sure. You can have anything you want from that. Everything too. It's just that you have to go and ask Nami to hand them over. I won't interfere."
I saw the King of Pirates pale in the face. Crocus coughed as well.
Nami is more dangerous than an ancient weapon when the matter concerns money.
"Wahahahaha you know what they say, too much alcohol is bad for your health. You shouldn't drink too much brat. Take us back, at least we can get Rindo-chan's cooking."
The shamelessness of this man. I have seen many shameless people but in terms of shamelessness, I Shin call you the strongest.
"Can I order some of the wine from the collection? I have to say that it was a delight to taste it." Shakky said from the side.
I mentally checked my inventory, 400 bottles left.
Shakky has a very efficient intelligence network. A good investment.
I brought out a ring and stored twenty bottles in it and passed it over. "I assume that you already know how to use it." She nodded.
"What? Why is it that I can't get a single bottle while she gets a ring full of it?"
"Because you look like an overgrown gorilla while she is an elegant lady. I have my bias."
Rayleigh burst out in a laugh while Roger mumbled with discontent and Crocus simply smiled.
"My my, a charmer aren't you." Shakky smiled but took the ring.
"Are you guys ready?" with their nods, my shadow stretched towards them and latched onto their shadows and I apparrated with a pop.
The next day will be my meeting with Garp and probably my bounty.
- Law –
Law looked at the three people in front of him. Three girls with almost average to weak strengths except for the red haired one. She was extremely strong. Maybe inborn talent or something still not an experienced fighter.
The blue haired one was a decent markswoman but nothing to write home about.
It was the orange haired girl that Law didn't know how to react about.
His jaw had dropped to the ground and through the other side of the Redline when he saw the amount of gold and treasures that was in the ship.
The part where the size of the room was enough to fit a whole fleet didn't even stroke his head for a long time.
That insane bastard really did it.
He robbed the Holy Land.
Recalling what he said about pinning it on Doflamingo and the casual smile he had on his face at that moment, Law felt a severe chill run down his spine.
Never, he will never mess with this new captain of his.
If Doflamingo was a demon, Shin Kageyami was the King of Demons.
The treasures even had Named Blades better than his own, even Supreme Swords.
There was a catch however.
The guardian of all this treasure was a creature that had a look that could make even the most ferocious of the Pirates piss their pants.
Even then, Law was very happy because the goal of taking down Doflamingo now seemed much closer suddenly.
The box that Shin had given him already made him believe in that.
Inside an open box in front of him lay a Devil Fruit.
The Calm Calm Fruit.
_x_x_
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author's Note :
This chapter, while not much in terms of progress, of quests was still necessary for development.
The lord and savior Dio-sama has caused a massive commotion on the sea and while understandable, the World Government and Marines don't want to offer a bounty on Dio's name based on just a slip of paper left by Dio himself.
This is however something that Shin cannot accept.
So be ready for some insane chaos in the next chapter.
I know that some people will say that there are too many good Devil Fruits but remember that the World Government has been ruling for Eight Hundred years and almost all the good stuff was in the treasuries of the Celestial Dragons. Shin robbed almost all of them so he is bound to have some really good stuff.
After all Marines can also provide Devil Fruits for CP agents easily and throw them as entertainment for normal slaves like the Boa sisters so what their real stock will be like can be anyone's guesses.
I bet there will definitely be more than one place where they keep their wealth but still this should also count as a major place.
I Know Rocks did not have the Dark Dark Fruit in canon(or if he did it is not canonically stated.)Anyways, Rayleigh is now coming along and Law is on board.
Shin will concentrate on completing the quests more directly after two Bindings are opened and he can access three fourths of his power.
Nami on the other hand has completely gone over the edge.
Too much treasure has stopped from working.
If you have any more ideas about Devil Fruits or crew members, do suggest.
The next chapter will delve more into the plot after the meeting with Garp.
There will be butterflies flying around everywhere as well.
What storms these butterflies will cause, we will see soon.
Do enjoy the chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.