Chapter 225: To Meet Whitebeard, and that Black... Fly.
"You want me to hit you?" Teashi shrieked, striking a dramatic pose with Vista's body. "You're caught in the Noro Noro Beam, you can barely lift a finger! Now stand still and wait to be assimilated!" As she spoke, she made a strange, camera-like gesture with her hands, a necessary prerequisite for her power.
"Uh..." the skinny second brother, Gilan, scratched his head. "I don't think that's right, Third Sister. When he was pretending to vomit, he seemed to be moving just fine..."
"Fine?" Teashi froze, a flicker of doubt in her eyes.
"Finally noticed, huh?" Shane grinned, and with a clench of his fist, the air around him exploded with black lightning. The transparent barrier shattered like glass, and the effects of the Noro Noro Beam were instantly nullified.
"How is that possible?!"
"Our powers... were both broken at the same time?!"
Gilan and the fat brother, Numo, stared in horror.
"In this world, Haki can overcome any Devil Fruit power," Shane said, stepping out from the shimmering fragments of the barrier. "And you dare to show off your parlor tricks in front of me?"
"Run! Split up!" Teashi was the first to react. She shrieked and bolted, her two brothers scattering in different directions.
But...
WHOOSH!
Shane vanished and reappeared in front of her, his hand clamped around her neck. "You thought that just because you ambushed Vista, your little parasite trick would work on me?" he sneered, his other fist coated in black Haki. "Go on, try it. Let's see if you can break through my Haki."
"You bastard..." she snarled, but his fist was already buried in Vista's stomach.
"Gah!" A spray of blood, and Teashi's consciousness was nearly blasted from the body.
"Third Sister!" Gilan and Numo turned to help, but with a casual flex of his Conqueror's Haki, Shane sent them both sprawling to the ground, unconscious.
"And now, it's just you," he said. "Get out of Vista's body, or I'll destroy it along with you."
"You... you wouldn't dare!" she gasped. "This man is one of Whitebeard's most valued commanders! If you kill him, that old man will never forgive you!"
"Are you an idiot?" Shane said, looking at her with genuine confusion. "You know who I am, and you still think I'm afraid of Whitebeard?"
The realization of her folly finally dawned on her. What was I thinking? Why did I ever think it was a good idea to mess with this man?!
"Wait! I'll come out! I'll come out!" she cried as Shane's fist, crackling with black-and-red lightning, moved toward Vista's chest.
A translucent, pink, soul-like form floated out of Vista's body. Before it could escape, a Haki-coated hand grabbed it and squeezed.
"Aaargh!!!"
With a final, agonizing scream, Teashi's soul was crushed into nothingness.
Vista's body slumped to the ground. Shane caught him and checked his vitals. "Still alive. Just unconscious." He propped him against the wall, then looked at the two unconscious men on the floor with disgust. He called Smoker on the Transponder Snail. "Get down to the dungeon. I have two rats for you to interrogate."
...
"Whitey Bay!" Vista cried, rushing to the bedside. "You're finally awake! Are you alright?"
"Vista?" she said, her voice weak. "You were with Pops... What are you doing here? How long was I out...?"
"Over a week! That woman had taken over your body!" He quickly explained what had happened, and how they had been saved by the timely arrival of Shane.
"Lord Shane!" Whitey Bay struggled to her feet as Shane and his crew entered the room. She bowed deeply, her voice choked with emotion. "If it weren't for you... both Vista and I would be..."
"It's alright. Don't worry about it," Shane said, waving it off. "I wasn't here just to save you, anyway."
"You may not think much of it, but we will never forget this debt!" Vista said with a hearty laugh, then winced as the movement pulled at his injuries. Damn, that woman... what did she do with my body? And... where's my mustache?! My glorious, handlebar mustache that I've been growing for years?! Did she shave it?! That monster!
"Oh, by the way, Lord Shane," he said, trying to ignore his new, clean-shaven look. "Pops has been wanting to meet you for a long time. Since we're here, why don't you come back with us to the Moby Dick?"
A visit to the Moby Dick... Shane's eyes glinted. The wool there would be legendary. And... he did owe Whitebeard a thank-you for his unspoken support during the Dressrosa incident. Besides... there was a certain little fly he needed to swat.
"Lord Shane, please, do us the honor," Vista said earnestly. "Pops's health has been much better lately, and he's been looking for a drinking partner. He'd be thrilled if you came!"
"Alright, then," Shane smiled. "Once we've taken care of things here, I'll go with you to the Moby Dick."
That night, on the deck of The Curtain Call, the crew held a brief meeting. Fat Henry, after recovering his thirty-plus-billion-Belly fortune (not the twenty he had claimed), had tearfully paid Shane his one billion, plus a five-hundred-million-Belly "savior's bonus," and had departed. The other merchants had also offered their thanks in the form of cash. All in all, they had netted a cool four billion, bringing their total war chest to eighty-two billion. More than enough to build a new nation.
"Alright, everyone, I'm leaving this to you," Shane said, grinning. "I'm going to be a hands-off boss for a while. By the time I get back from Whitebeard's, I want to see the flag of the Curtain Call Adventurers flying over all five of these islands."
"You got it, Captain!"
"Leave it to us!"
With the forces of Dressrosa, the Tontatta tribe, and the Haki-users of the Agatha Archipelago at their disposal, taking control of the five lawless islands would be a piece of cake.
Five days later, on a sunny sea, the Moby Dick was buzzing with excitement.
"Is he really coming today?"
"That's what they said! All the commanders are coming back just to see him!"
"Of course! He's the new Emperor! The first one to make it this far in a generation!"
"Gurarara! My sons are so full of energy today!" Whitebeard sat on his massive throne, chugging from a giant glass of ale.
"Pops!" Marco said, shaking his head. "That's for our guest! He's not even here yet, and you're already drinking his share!"
"Nonsense!" Whitebeard huffed, his face a little red. "This is vintage stuff! I'm just checking to make sure it hasn't gone bad!"
Just then, the lookout's voice cried out, "He's here! Pops! Commander Marco! It's Commander Vista's ship!"
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