The weather was beautiful and foggy. Perfect for him to observe from a very tall lighthouse. Rion Dax sat cross-legged on the railing of its observation deck, one hundred feet above the sea, eating an apple.
Below, in the tavern at the lighthouse's base, his target was getting drunk.
"Captain 'Hammerhead' Voss," Dax murmured, taking another bite. "Twelve million berry bounty. Wanted for pillaging merchant vessels across three different routes in Paradise." He watched as Voss stumbled out of the tavern, followed by his crew of equally drunk pirates. "Survived two years in the Grand Line and apparently spent all that time developing terrible taste in bandanas."
Dax's smile never wavered. That gentle, almost dreamy expression had gotten him underestimated more times than he could count. Made it easier to apprehend his targets.
He finished his apple and flicked the core over his shoulder into the sea.
Voss was halfway down the path when the world around him... shifted.
The evening sky had become a warm, golden sunset. The path turned into white sand. The salty smell of the sea was replaced by the fragrance of flowers.
"What the-" Voss spun around.
His crew was gone.
In their place stood seven of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, each one smiling at him with love and affection. One of them, a tall woman with golden hair, reached out to him.
"Captain Voss," she said, purring. "We've been waiting for you."
Voss's jaw went slack. His hand moved instinctively to his cutlass, but the weapon felt suddenly heavy, unimportant. "I... who..."
"You won't need that," she whispered, pressing close. "We're not here to fight."
"I... uh..." Voss's brain had officially short-circuited. "Who are you?"
"Does it matter?" A third woman, this one with fiery red hair, began unbuttoning his coat. "We heard about the infamous Hammerhead Voss. They say you conquered the Grand Line's storms. They say you're very impressive."
The women surrounded him, hands everywhere. Voss felt his knees go weak. This had to be a dream. But if it was a dream, he wasn't about to wake up.
"I am pretty impressive," he managed, his voice cracking slightly. "Did you hear about the merchant ship near-"
"Shhhh," the golden-haired woman pressed a finger to his lips. "Less talking. More... other things."
Voss needed no further encouragement. His hands reached out, and the woman guided him toward the bed. His coat hit the floor. His boots followed. Someone was unlacing his shirt, and honestly, Voss had stopped questioning his tremendous luck.
"This is the best day of my life," he breathed.
"Oh, it's about to get better," they chorused.
The women climbed over him, and he groped their breasts roughly. "Ah~"
Click.
Cold metal locked around his wrists.
The bedroom, the silk, the beautiful women. All of it shattered like glass.
Voss found himself lying flat on his back on the path, half-naked, his pants around his ankles, his hands cuffed above his head. He was enthusiastically thrusting his hips at absolutely nothing while making sounds that no grown man should ever make in public.
His crew lay unconscious nearby, though one was starting to move.
Standing over him, Den Den Mushi in hand with its recording light blinking, was Rion Dax.
The bounty hunter took one look at Voss's compromising position and lost it.
"BAHAHAHA!" Dax doubled over, tears streaming down his face. "Oh-oh man! You were really going for it! I mean, I've seen people fall for the dream before, but you-" He had to stop, wheezing with laughter. "You were about to do the thing with thin air! BAHAHA!"
"YO-WH-I WASN'T-"
"You absolutely were!" Dax wiped his eyes, still giggling. "'This is the best day of my life,'" he mimicked in a squeaky voice. "Buddy, I don't even know what to tell the Marines. Twelve million berry bounty, terror of the Grand Line, brought down by his own... enthusiasm."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Voss thrashed against the cuffs, trying desperately to pull up his pants with his bound hands. "THOSE WOMEN WERE REAL!"
"They absolutely were not." Dax held up the Den Den Mushi. "See, you were humping rocks and moaning."
One of Voss's crew members groaned and sat up, blinking in confusion. He took one look at his half-naked captain writhing on the ground and immediately passed back out.
"That's probably for the best," Dax commented. "Some things you can't unsee. Especially out here. The Grand Line's traumatizing enough without that image burned into your brain."
"What kind of sick Devil Fruit-"
"Yume Yume no Mi," Dax explained, finally getting his laughter under control. "The Dream-Dream Fruit. I can create illusions, pull people into waking dreams, make them see whatever their heart desires most." He grinned. "Apparently, after two years of surviving the Grand Line's hell, your heart desires getting very friendly with women who are way out of your league. Who knew?"
Voss stuttered incoherently.
"Look, I'm not judging," Dax said, hauling the pirate to his feet and helping him awkwardly pull his pants up.
"The Grand Line's rough. Everyone needs an escape. It's just unfortunate for you that I can weaponize those needs." He patted Voss's shoulder. "Also, for future reference, if seven gorgeous women randomly appear in the middle of the Grand Line and immediately want to jump your bones, maybe ask yourself if that's suspicious? This place is crazy, but it's not that kind of crazy."
"I hate you so much."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Dax started walking, dragging the humiliated pirate behind him. "But hey, look on the bright side, Impel Down's probably safer than the Grand Line anyway. And you'll have plenty of time to think about the best day of your life that never actually happened. That's worth something, right?"
----------------------
The Marine outpost on Jaya
"I want a lawyer," Voss muttered for the fifteenth time.
"You're a pirate. You don't get a lawyer." Dax nodded cheerfully at the Marine guards flanking the entrance. "Got a delivery for you boys. One Captain Hammerhead Voss, twelve million berry bounty."
The guards straightened immediately. The taller one, a lieutenant by his insignia, looked Voss up and down with a mixture of disgust and amusement. "This is Hammerhead Voss? Looks more like a drowned rat."
"Trust me, he looked worse an hour ago," Dax said with a grin.
Voss's face reddened. "Shut up."
"What happened to his crew?" the other guard asked.
"Tied up back at the lighthouse. Should still be unconscious for another twenty minutes or so. You'll want to send a team."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Voss lunged forward, but the cuffs and two Marine swords at his throat stopped him.
"That's the fourth death threat in the last hour," Dax said conversationally. "Kid's got stamina, I'll give him that."
Twenty minutes later, Dax walked out of the outpost with a significantly heavier pouch at his belt. Twelve million berries. Not bad for an evening's work.
The fog had gotten thicker, which meant he'd need to find an inn for the night.
Dax was still learning what the Yume Yume no Mi could really do. The fruit had its limits- he couldn't affect too many people at once without concentration, and strong-willed individuals could sometimes break through if the illusion wasn't tailored perfectly to their desires. Haki users were a problem too, though thankfully, they were rare enough in Paradise that he hadn't run into many.
The key was understanding what people wanted most. What they'd abandon logic and reason to chase.
For Voss, it had been validation wrapped in feminine form. For others, it was wealth, power, revenge, or family. Everyone had something they'd dream about if given the chance.
Dax made those dreams real enough to touch.
And then he used them to put pirates in chains.
The Devil Fruit was powerful, sure. But his mother had taught him long before he'd ever found that strange swirling fruit washed up on the beach. She'd taught him to read people- their postures, their breathing, the little tells that gave away their intentions. She'd taught him to fight with nothing but his fists when food got scarce and desperate men came calling.
"A smile and a strong right hook, Rion. That's all you need to survive," she said, quite true.
He'd added the Devil Fruit to that arsenal. It made things easier. But he'd survived plenty of fights before eating it, and he'd survive plenty more if someone ever slapped seastone on him.
A shadow moved in the fog ahead.
"Evening," he called out pleasantly.
No response. Just more shadows gathering in the mist. Three, maybe four people, positioning themselves to cut off the street.
Dax sighed. "You know, I really was hoping to get dinner before the next fight."
"Smart kid," a voice rumbled from the fog. "Hand over the bounty money and we'll let you keep your teeth."
The first one lunged at him with a knife.
Dax sidestepped the thrust with minimal movement, caught the man's wrist, and drove his elbow into the attacker's jaw.
The other three charged together. The club swung for his head while two others came in low with cutlasses.
Dax ducked under the club and came up inside the brute's guard. Three quick jabs to the solar plexus and the big man wheezed, doubling over. Dax caught the falling club, spun with it, and smashed it across the nearest cutlass-wielder's jaw.
Two down.
The last pirate, showing more sense than his companions, backed up and drew a flintlock pistol.
"Don't move!"
Dax held up his hands, still smiling. "Now that's just rude. We were having such a nice fistfight."
"Shut up! Money! Now!"
"Alright, alright." Dax reached slowly for his pouch. "Let me just-"
The world shifted.
The pirate blinked.
He wasn't in Mock Town anymore. He was on a Navy warship, hands cuffed, surrounded by Marines with rifles aimed at his chest.
"No-no, wait! I didn't-"
"Fire!"
Dax was already moving. He closed the distance in two steps, knocked the pistol aside with one hand, and delivered a straight punch to the man's nose.
"Now, I'm going to get dinner. If you or your friends are still here when I come back, I'll drag you to the Marines and collect whatever pittance your heads are worth. Understand?"
"Now.. the dinner. I gotta get going, I shouldn't be here too long..." he muttered as he walked towards the nearest tavern.
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[A/N: Hey, if you see any incoherent speech or bad logic, please just let it slide, I'm bad at logic and details. That said, this story as of right now isn't that serious. However, a few chapters in, I'll try to think of a serious storyline.]