ă€ŠJourney to One Pieceă€‹


 1. Abandoned

    Year 1504, Dadan''s home, Mt. Colubo, Dawn Island, East Blue.

    A baby who was born just a few weeks ago was silently put down near the main door of the band of bandits which was led by the famous Curly Dadan of Mt. Colubo. The young baby in the basket made of straws looked cute, had big pearly eyes with natural black hair. The baby was surprisingly quiet and didn''t utter a single word as a person whose face was hidden in the darkness of the night.

    The man had put the baby near the door and left quietly, the same way as he came. It was late at night so none of the bandits heard him. It could be said that the bandits weren''t very good, even the person who was responsible for the security at night was also sleeping while snoring.

    Now if one looked closely at the baby, they would notice that the baby had a face which expressed confusion and curiosity as his eyes were trying to look around . The baby wasn''t crying at all and was just looking around with his eyes. He wasn''t strong enough to move his limbs the way he wanted to so all he could do was move his eyes.

    Of course the baby was special. The baby who had just been born 2 days ago was confused because he didn''t understand where he was. Now the question was how come a baby could have such thoughts.

    It was simple. It''s because the baby had gone through the famous process of transmigration. From the moment he became conscious he knew that he had come to this new world.

    "What happened? Wasn''t I just sleeping on my bed? How did I just get born in a new place? There was no truck-kun, no scooter-chan... Nothing... And now I don''t even know where the fuck am I. Ah... My parents would surely be heartbroken seeing that their son was dead...."

    These were the random thoughts that filled his mind when he was just being born. In his previous life, he wasn''t much of an achiever but it couldn''t be said that he had led a bad life.

    He completed his studies with good grades. Even had a girlfriend at one point, though it ended very badly. But all in all he lived a contented life. He had his close group of friends on whom he could trust, loving parents and a respectable job.

    Though he was introverted and didn''t like to go out of his room, he never saw this as a bad thing or that he needed to change his habits. He was happy and content with his life. Anime, movies, manga, novels.... he had everything to fill his life with.

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    And now here he was. Suddenly, he was pushed to a new life which he had no idea about. Forget about accepting his new life, he broke down in tears thinking of his previous life. And soon the baby who had just been born cried.

    But the cry was special. It wasn''t a loud one as baby normally cries, but a soft one with almost no sound as tears fell from the baby''s eyes. The person who had just delivered the baby was in shock as he had never seen a baby crying silently.

    "%^&&%$%^#"

    "&^%^&%&$"

    The baby who had been crying softly for a few minutes finally stopped and looked at the surroundings. After calming himself down he looked at the surroundings. The doctor and a man who was looking at him with concern.

    "Fuck I can''t even understand the language. But why does the language seem so familiar?"

    The thought of transmigration still hadn''t settled well with him and he was still taking time to absorb the sudden change. His panic mode made him think of random things right now and all the cries from his eyes made him feel sleepy and the baby just closed his eyes.

    "(&^&**&$%&*"

    (&*^*%&%&"

    When the baby awakened again, he saw that the surroundings had changed and he was in a small room. He could hear the whispers of a man and woman talking beside.

    "I am hungry. I need to eat something. No, I need to have milk. Fuck no teeth. This is annoying as fuck. I can''t have solid food for such a long time..."

    As the baby thought of this, he tried to attract the attention of the couple by making random sounds that his voice box allowed. And soon the woman came forward and looked at the child. She soon brought a glass of milk and stuck the bottle to the mouth of the baby.

    "Thank god, I didn''t get shoved on to the teats of the woman. That would have been very embarrassing."

    The baby thought as he sucked off the milk from the bottle. The milk tasted a little different from the ordinary. The couple had again started talking among them in whispers. The baby finally understood why he felt like he had heard the language before. He had heard the language countless times before, though he couldn''t understand it, he sure as hell was accustomed to it.

    It was Japanese.

    "Fuck, Japanese!! I need to learn kanji and hiragana. My JLPT was only the lowest level and I don''t even remember what I learnt. Fuck!! By the way, was I reborn in Japan in a different time period? The house seems to have a totally different vibe from the time I was in my home. Sigh!! I will have to learn the language it seems and get a hold of the things around as fast as possible."

    But little did the bay know that fate had a totally different plan about him. And after 2 days of living at the couple''s home, one fine night under the cries of the woman he was was taken away by the man and left on the door steps of a home in the middle of a forest which was on a mountain.

    The baby was awake the whole journey. He was confused at first but after the man had left on the door of the house he finally understood what had happened.

    He was being abandoned!!!

 2. Harry Potter

    The last 2 days had been very stormy for Ken. Ken was the name of the baby in his previous life. Most of the time he was forced to sleep and when he used to wake up he had to drink his milk. It was still very difficult for him to understand and even process the fact that he had been transmigrated to a different world.

    A major part of life he spent reading isekai novels and even watching some of the isekai animes. The Slime OP anime was his favourite among that genre, but never in his life did he expect that he would be one of them.

    "Those novels were real? Does that mean the person who first introduced that genre was an isekai''d person himself and that was where he got his idea of writing a novel that had isekai?"

    Ken was having those random thoughts whenever he woke up. Slowly it was settling on him that he had been transmigrated. He missed his parents, his friends and even his boss who had been good to him as opposed to asshole bosses most people tend to get.

    "What kind of world is this? From what I can see, the technology isn''t much advanced and the people here don''t seem to know magic or something of that sort. I hope there is some hope for me. If there is magic, I could go and see if I can ever leave this planet and look for my Earth. I hope there will be power and technology to help me achieve that."

    Ken was daydreaming of many things and hoped that the circumstances would be suitable enough for him to leave the planet and search for his Earth. Only that thought gave him hope and aspiration.

    But everything changed after 2 days when he was left on the door of a house in a jungle. Ken was devastated at first when he saw the person who was supposed to be his father leaving him. But then he remembered

    "It''s not like I treat him as my father. Though I feel bad for the mother here. She is probably very upset, but since they took that decision, they will have to live with it. I guess I am Harry Potter now. I wonder if I will have to live under the stairs like the boy in the glasses did."

    With those thoughts he again fell asleep. He didn''t have much attachment to his new parents anyways and though he felt bad that he was abandoned now, he didn''t give much thought to it. But he was feeling a little uncomfortable, because he had no idea of who lived in this new house and how they would treat him. If he was treated like Harry Potter that would be called the best circumstances.

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    Anything worse wouldn''t allow his tiny body to survive!!

    Next day.

    Ken woke up when the sun was almost overhead outside. He had woken up for two reasons. One, he was terribly hungry and second there was too much noise around.

    "Who the hell makes so much noise in the early morning?" Ken almost burst out when he opened his eyes. He was annoyed that someone disturbed his sleep, totally forgetting the fact that even without the noise around he would have woken up anyways.

    He tried to speak these words out loud but all the people heard around was "gu gu...ga gaga.."

    "*&^^&*%&$("

    "*&^*%*%*&"

    Ken after the first outburst of anger looked at the people who had been making so much noise.

    "What is this place? So many men? Am I in a gigolo house? Eh, why do these people seem familiar?"

    Ken was looking closely at the faces of these men who were wearing outfits that looked like a uniform but the ''uniform'' wasn''t standard like a pair of pants and suit but rather white colored dress with puffy pants and even a turban on their heads like the ones Arabs used to wear. Though there were striking differences, the men around looked like ancient Arabs who used to live in tribes.

    Ken was sure that he hadn''t gone back in time as he saw what his parents used to wear and they weren''t living in the desert, so he didn''t understand why these people had weird outfits and the feeling that he had seen them somewhere before.

    As he was thinking of all this, from the corner of his eye he saw a huge woman who seemed obviously overweight came inside from the door of the room. The woman had long hair but her hair was orange in color and it was curly. She had a wide mouth and he could see her white teeth and lips that were colored in dark maroon. And there was a small white cigarette between her teeth.

    At first Ken thought he was imagining things looking at the weird woman in front of him, he had to wipe his eyes with his tiny eyes to make sure what he was seeing was absolutely true. After a proper wipe on his eyes, he opened his eyes wide and looked at the figure. Ken''s mouth would have fallen on the floor if that was possible.

    Not because he was disgusted by the overweight woman or by the weird lipstick she was using. Ken never judged a person by weight or makeup, but by the fact that Ken knew her. Ken had seen her countless times in his previous life.

    He had seen her in the anime that he loved and adored.

    Curly Dadan!!

    One Piece.

    Ken was dumbfounded and shaken. Now he understood why the people around were so familiar to him. These were bandits of Mt. Colubo of the Dawn Island. This was the place where Luffy and Ace grew up. Even Sabo was here for quite a lot of time.

    For a major part of his life he had followed One Piece and now he was here... Was it really the world of One Piece or was he just dreaming?

 3. Baby

    Maybe he was dreaming!! Maybe this wasn''t a dream and maybe this was just a figment of his imagination. The huge woman came towards the small basket on which he was still lying and picked Ken in her arms.

    Surprisingly her huge muscular arms seemed soft the moment she brought him up. She even flicked away the cigarette that was on her teeth to the other side of the room with her mouth. At first Ken got scared her strength might just crush him but surprisingly he was fine.

    ˇ°Woman!! That cigarette better not cause a fire hazard to the house or else we would have to live among the mosquitos.ˇ±

    "(&*&^*%)*%^&%&"

    Ken heard her saying something which he didn''t understand but among the words that came out of her mouth was ''Ace''. At that point he was sure!! This was really the One Piece world and her mentioning Ace with good emotions meant that he was still alive. He just wasn''t sure on which year he was shoved into the hands of these bandits.

    Has Luffy started his journey?

    Or was there still time?

    Will I get to see Sabo or is it still a daydream?

    All those thoughts made him excited but then the hunger hit his train of thoughts like the sea train of Water 7. This made Ken cry. But apparently, his first cry was enough for a call as a big bottle of milk was shoved down his mouth soon from which he started sucking.

    The milk brought him calmness again as he could again go through his thoughts that he had been thinking. Of course, at first he needed to finish the milk. The milk tasted different to him than the typical milk he used to have in his previous life. More tasty and definitely more fulfilling.

    "This world is just built differently. The food here is definitely more nutritious than my world ever was. There must be a reason why the people are just stronger than typical humans."

    Ken was having all these thoughts as he was put back into the basket again. Dadan ordered in her own language and spoke of something to her subordinates. Soon, the bandits left and it was Ken all alone in the room made of wooden walls and floors. Ken was still finding it hard to believe that he was in One Piece world but 2 days ago he accepted the fact that he was in a different world. Now he had to accept that this world was from One Piece.

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    At least, he will have a good grasp of the normal happenings of this world and would have a better time navigating. All he needed to do now was to find out which period of time this was. Accordingly he needed to make plans and act.

    And the answer to his burning question came fast and in a very weird way.

    As he had finished drinking the milk, from the corner of his eyes he saw a young baby who looked 1 or 2 years old walking towards him with a small pace. His eyes had curiosity as he stepped slowly on the wooden floor very carefully as if making sure that nobody would ever know that he had stepped inside the room.

    Ken''s eyes went wide the moment he saw the baby up close. If he couldn''t recognize the baby then everyone would call him a fool. The baby that just walked up to him was Ace.

    The baby version of Ace. He could recognize him because he had seen his face in the movie Strong World as Garp had visited the baby Ace when Shiki fled Impel Down. Even if one didn''t watch that movie he or she would still recognize the iconic face of Portgas D. Ace.

    Ken almost had tears in his eyes seeing him in real life. He remembered how he had tears in his eyes when he saw him die. Such emotions were rare for Ken. Only a few scenes from anime could invoke such emotions in his heart and mind.

    All those memories came rushing towards him in an instant. Seeing Ken was almost on the verge of tears, Ace suddenly picked up his pace and put his own finger on his lips indicating the baby to keep silent.

    "Shhh!! Shhh!!"

    This made Ken surprised and then he let out a giggle. He was surprised by the sudden movement of Ace and his fear of Dadan who apparently had stopped him from visiting him. But it didn''t matter to Ken. He was laughing heartily seeing the works of Ace.

    After laughing for a few seconds he calmed down. The answer to the year of his birth was here. He was 1 or 2 years younger to Ace which meant that was still a long time for the wheels of time to turn into the era which would change the world forever.

    And in this small island he could easily gather power and strength in order to survive the upcoming era. But first, he needed to learn the language of this world.

    "What is up with this world? They use English letters in Wanted Posters but use Japanese language to speak, or are the Wanted Posters different for the Japanese version of the anime. Ahh whatever! I hope my baby brain will be smart enough to learn the language. My inclusion in this world soon throws tremors into the distant future. I need to make sure that the butterfly effect I am causing is not strong enough. May Luffy really arrive here soon after his encounter with Shanks or else it would be a disaster in many parts and I don''t want to see Luffy forced to be a marine."

    Ken became self aware as he had to make sure that his butterfly effect wouldn''t cause huge changes and he would have to make sure that the initial development of the characters of the three brothers.

    Sabo was an important member of the group and Ace needed to meet Sabo no matter what. The young baby Ken who couldn''t even walk had already started planning his future and he was looking forward to the adventures he would have to go through soon.

 4. Grandson

    Ken was hardly awake for more than 1 hour while he played with the curious Ace for a bit. He was intrigued by the new specimen that had just arrived and he seemed happy that he had a new friend who would soon be his friend.

    But little did he know that this young baby would be totally different from what the young Ace was wishing for. Ken then continued spending his days with the bandits. Contrary to the times Luffy lived with Dadan, the bandits provided all the food and nutrition a baby would require to live through for both Ace and Ken.

    This surprised Ken as he remembered that Luffy and his brothers were the ones who used to bring food on a daily basis and the bandits used to eat from that. Dadan had even said she will only provide one meal once a day to Luffy.

    "Dadan was really a kind hearted woman who treated Ace badly. Thank god!!"

    Ken thought. He was passing his days as beautifully as ever and never cried, not that Dadan gave any reasons to cry. Only thing that irritated Ken was the fight for food every night and partying whenever they got a chance. Ken was never a party guy and that too a party where everybody was shouting, yelling and singing kind of cringed him out.

    Though it was kind of unique to his character and it hampered his sleep too. But complaining about this would only fall into deaf ears, so after crying for the first few times, he accepted it forcefully later.

    "Can''t wait to grow up and build a separate home for myself. I should learn survival skills and how to make a home."

    Though it was boring for Ken without his mobile and his typical life, it was good that he was sleeping day in and day out. Meanwhile an interesting thing happened when he was passing his life with the bandits.

    One day, Garp showed up to have a look at his grandson. And when he saw a new baby in the house he was taken aback.

    "&*^*&% Whose baby is this?)&&&**"

    Ken had been trying to understand the Japanese language everyday and finally he had some grasp on it, thanks to his baby brain. Though he was still far away from the real deal, at least he could understand the general trend of the conversation.

    "&^^&^&*&() on the door."

    Garp then looked at Ken for a few seconds again and then asked Dadan.

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    "What is the name have you given to this kid?&(&&*^^(."

    "No, there were no &*^*^%^&(."

    "Alright from today onwards you will be named Mack." Garp said. Surprisingly Ken understood the whole sentence and the new name made him instantly angry. His full name was Kenny in his previous life but everyone called him Ken. He loved his short name and in no way he was going to change his name to a typical name like Mack. It was not even a Japanese name for God''s sake.

    Ken instantly showed an angered face and made such an expression that it was apparent that he didn''t like that name. This sudden change of behaviour surprised Garp and others. Ken was just a baby and he shouldn''t understand what they were speaking, forget about expressing discontent with a name.

    "You don''t like the name?"

    Ken moved his head sideways to express his thoughts.

    "*^^*&*)*& Sebastian?"

    "Iyaaaa"

    "Anthony?"

    "Iyaaaa."

    "Kenny?"

    "Hai."

    The weird exchange between Ken and Garp was noticed by everyone with wide eyes. They just saw an old man and a baby that was just born a few months ago interact like they had known each other since ages. Was this even possible? What was up with this duo?

    "Yosh.. From today you are Kenny." Garp said. Ken looked happy with the proclamation as Ken finally had a name as Dadan had just been calling him by random Japanese words.

    "Hhahaha such a lovely kid... (&(&^*&&*.. my grandson."

    "EH!!!!"

    "Nani?"

    Ken was taken aback by the reaction of the bandits as he didn''t understand what Garp meant and he had a confused face. Garp lifted Ken up and took him in his arms. And after Garp made it clear did he understand what had happened.

    He just got adopted by Garp as his grandson just like Ace!!!

    Dadan was still not over the fact that Ken and Garp could even interact and now this fell on their shoulders. Ken didn''t know what he would do with this new designation that just got attached to his resume. Ken. Grandson of Marine hero, Garp. He was ecstatic inside thinking he finally had a family. Though the bandits were still his new family he could still feel some indifference from the bandits as everyone was not like Dadan. But Garp was different.

    He would finally have someone that he could call his own. He felt a little lonely while being a baby, thinking there was nobody to call his own yet. Now at least, he had a grandpa.

    Garp and Ken looked happy as they looked at each other. Ken gave a wide face while Garp showed his teeth to Ken. Both seemed like they understood each other. It was still a miracle of how Garp was okay with Ken able to understand him and show the expressions that were not possible for a young baby.

    Dadan didn''t want to spend much time on this and invited Garp to spend some time with them, which Garp happily obliged. Ken and Ace spent a week with Garp as he showed the island around and even took them to the kingdom to have a sightseeing.

    Ken was taking everything in as he could and looked around. Being with Garp made him understand how much Garp loved both Ace and himself. Though Ken was just randomly added to the group suddenly, there were no differences between his love for the two younglings.

    The vacations soon ended for Garp and he left for his work soon. Ken and Ace bade their goodbye to Garp while Dadan sighed in relief. She always felt she was living in danger whenever Garp used to come by.

 5. Advent of the system

    "This new grandson of mine is anything but normal." Garp thought as he stepped on the deck of the naval ship that had arrived to pick him up from his vacation. He was very much happy to gain another grandson but he was also intrigued about him. Though he acted normal when the baby ''talked'' with him, he was shocked inside. In all the years in the sea he had never seen such an intelligent baby.

    The baby never cried. Whenever the baby needed food or other help, he would intelligently point it out. He could also see that the baby was trying to understand their speech as fast as possible. Everything about this baby was screaming ''adult'' rather than a baby.

    "Whatever!! He looks so cute, just like Ace. Sengoku will be jealous." With those thoughts in his mind, he sat on his reclining chair on the deck and went to sleep while the naval ship sailed on its way to the headquarters.

    Ken and Ace were left to the care of Dadan, and thus their life entered the monotonous phase. Well, it was monotonous for Ken, Ace who could walk was already having a blast roaming the house and going out for small adventures nearby. Ken struggled with his boredom but there was nothing he could do.

    In this way 10 more months passed away and one fine day, Ken became the happiest person in the family. Why do you ask? Well, he finally learnt to walk again. But that was not the only reason he was happy. He was in the 9th cloud just because of the fact that he heard something which he thought was impossible.

    The sound of a system ringing in his head!!!!!

    The standard system that every transmigrator should get once they cross over. Well at least, that was the belief Ken had when he came here. After the first few months he had given up hope that he would even get any kind of help. He was devastated inside, because he felt he wouldn''t amount to much if he didn''t have a plug in.

    Ken had a good idea of how cruel and broken this world was and how badly he needed power. And now finally he had the help he had dreamt of. The others who saw him having a huge smile on his face as he took his first steps were also happy. Especially Dadan!! She had a huge smile and in order to celebrate he put 6 cigarettes on her mouth together to smoke. Ace too was happy to see the young brother of his taking his first steps. He could now talk for a bit and understand what others were saying.

    While all this was happening, Ken took some more steps and reached the chair to sit on it. He needed to check the system. The others after a small celebration went on to their work as they usually did. After Ace saw that Ken was not ready to take another step with him, left too, to look around the house and search for interesting things. Ken was relieved to see that everyone was gone and he could finally check his system in peace. He was willing to open the system in his mind and soon he heard the prompt that he had heard when he took his first step.

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    [

    Welcome to the Life Simulator System

    ]

    "Simulator system? Sounds generic. I think I read some novels using this system before. What is the main function of the system?" Ken asked in his mind.

    [

    The Life Simulator System gives the host and his friends a chance to live another life from another world. It could be any random world in the multiverse. The person would gain powers or knowledge depending on the life he had lived. After completing 100% of the power accumulation and knowledge in the real world, the host or his friends would get another chance to live another life in the system and this process would continue.

    ]

    "What? Live another life? Are you serious? I thought the simulator would allow me to live in the future. But it''s another life. This is good. If I could live the life of Saitama then it would be game over for the people of this world."

    Ken was already daydreaming after hearing the first explanation of the system. He knew that any kind of Simulator would be powerful but he didn''t expect that he would get to live the life of another life.

    "Wait if I live another life, wouldn''t I be affected psychologically as I have lived a long time in the body of another person?"

    [

    Rest assured host. The side effects would be taken care of by the system and would even make sure that the core memories aren''t being tampered with and there is no effect psychologically. Of course, if the host or his friends would like to take inspiration from the lives he or she had lived then it is up to the person. There is nothing the system could do.

    ]

    "That is of course!! Wait!! If I live the life of another person with the help of the system, wouldn''t time be a problem with living in the real world?" Ken asked as he could already imagine him living a life in a different place while being absent in the real world.

    [

    When the host or his friends live a life in the system, the real world would only experience a passage of 1 sec completion so rest assured the host about living the life.

    ]

    "So only 1 sec will pass in the real world. That''s good! That''s good!! System, can I have my first life now?"

    [

    Of course host! You have taken the first step so you are already eligible to live the first life. But the system will remind the host that the percentage of completion and gaining powers in real life would solely depend on the host. And only after 100% completion can a person live another life.

    ]

    "Yes!! Yes!! Whatever, just let me live another life."

 6. Lightning

    [

    Simulating....

    Life chosen. Good luck to you host

    ]

    There were many questions that Ken would have liked to ask before entering the simulation but he was so excited that he had forgotten about them and thus he just entered to enjoy the first life. When Ken opened his eyes he saw that he was on a bed lying down and after a few seconds of pause he realized that he was a baby again.

    "Fuck a baby again. What is up with this baby shit?" Ken thought. He didn''t like the fact that he was a baby again but that was not the highlight of the whole problem he was facing at the moment. The main thing was that he wasn''t in control of his body.

    "System, what is going on? Why can''t I control my body, even though I am small I should be able to control my hands and legs." Ken was confused so he asked.

    [

    Host, the system will allow to live a second life, not control the second life. Any person who enters the simulation will lead life by living as the third perspective. You will have no control over your body and thoughts and thus you can see the world only from the eyes of the person you are living and nothing else.

    ]

    "What? What the fuck? I can''t control the body? This is fucked up. I don''t want to live the life of another person." Ken was on the verge of tears internally. He wanted to cry but his body wouldn''t even allow him to cry. He would have to endure it deep inside and live life.

    [

    Host some sacrifices have to be made in order to gain power

    ]

    "Shut up!! I don''t want to hear life lessons right now from a heartless system." As Ken and the system were arguing, the baby who was sleeping was brought to the arms of a man. The man wore a golden armor and a helmet which had golden horns. Ken was looking at him from the baby''s perspective.

    "I have seen that helmet somewhere and why does the face look so familiar." Ken thought as he looked at his prospective father. He was feeling this for sometime and he soon realized why it was the case when the man opened his mouth.

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    "My second born son. You will be called Thor, son of Odin!!!" the main with the beard said as he put his hands high in the air holding the baby and showed it to others who were at the chamber. Listening to the words of the man, Ken instantly came to the realization of what kind of world it was.

    Marvel!!

    Now the question was which universe Marvel. MCU or some other universe. Since he had known that he would live the life of another person from the start he had already expected a life which was known to him from before. It was just that he didn''t expect himself to live the life of a prince.

    Thor Odinson. One of the most powerful beings of Marvel. Both in comics and in the movies. Though, later they showed him dumb, but it never changed the fact that he was powerful, especially with his Stormbreaker. He could travel worlds with Stormbreaker. That in itself was broken.

    But right now Ken was thinking something else and that was the most crucial question for Ken. He would have to live this godamn life for  thousands of years. This would be a huge torture for Ken as a human being. His previous life was only 21 years of age and in the One Piece world he had only lived for a few months.

    But here he was. As Thor he would have to endure for thousands of years and there was nothing he could do. And thus from that point on, the boring life of Ken started. It was excruciating for Ken in the beginning but soon he got used to it, thanks to the system as it allowed him not to be affected psychologically as it had promised before.

    Ken started seeing the world from the eyes of Thor. He was a bully from the beginning and he saw he bullied his brother Loki. He could see the resentment in the eyes of Loki as he grew up but he also saw the love Thor had for his brother and his parents. As he grew up, Ken understood that the world was MCU and Ken was ecstatic knowing this. Ken was knowledgeable in the stories of comics but he wasn''t as thorough as the movies.

    "System, can I get the things which belong to me from the simulation?"

    [

    Yes host, you can bring the things that once belonged to you in the past or things which you have made before to real life. For example, if you have lived the life of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye, you would be able to bring the bows and arrows from the system after you completed the simulation, irrespective of the completion you have achieved in real life

    ]

    "Cool. That means both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir would be mine once I go out. Mjolnir would be effective on anyone, even Kaido once I bring it out in real life." Ken was daydreaming already as he thought of the things that he could do with the help of Mjolnir and Stormbreaker.

    Days went by. Months went by. Years went by. Everything went by fast as continued living his life as Thor and after a long time when Thor adopted the daughter of Gorr did the simulation come to an end. He had seen himself fighting so many things in his life. Loki, the Dark elves, his own sister and even Thanos. In this life he had tried learning everything that he could.

    The art of fighting, Thor''s unique control of lightning, it wasn''t anything like Enel but at least it was something and after a long time Ken was thrown out of the simulation. When he opened his eyes, Ken found himself sitting in the same chair that he had once sat when he entered the system for the first time.

 7. Words

    Ken after coming back to the world he checked his system. And there it was, his completion rate.

    [

    Thor character completion - 45%

    ]

    "45%, that''s not bad. System, give me both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker." Ken ordered.

    [

    Of course, host. But it is advisable not to use the Stormbreaker now as you have only completed 45% of the character. Your body might be able to lift Stormbreaker but in course of time, your mind might lead to insanity as it is a King''s weapon and you are not eligible to wield that power yet.

    ]

    "What the hell? That weapon was made for Thor anyways and I am Thor in another sense as I will be progressing towards completion, why can''t I use it?" Ken was confused and angry. He was looking forward to using Stormbreaker and Mjolnir as both his personal weapons but he already encountered a roadblock.

    [

    Host, you are not Thor. You are just possessing the power of Thor and that too which hasn''t been completed to the full.

    ]

    Ken could easily discern the sarcasm of the system in those words but he also understood that some things would take time to gain. But it was fine, he had Mjolnir and that was enough. Ken opened his eyes to search for Mjolnir, not realizing that the hammer was already in his hand. It was big for his size but miraculously Ken didn''t feel the weight at all. He felt like he was holding a small toy that he could easily play around with.

    "Whosoever be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." Ken thought of those words in his mind. He was ecstatic as he could feel the lightning coursing through his veins. He could already feel his baby hands and feet were more powerful than they were. Ken tried using lightning without the hammer and he could see small sparks flying in the fingertips.

    "System, will I be able to use Haki now that I have the bloodline of Odin?" Ken asked the question as that was one of his main concern.

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    [

    Rest assured host, your base physique still belongs to the One Piece world and the basic things will follow the laws of this world.

    ]

    "Good. Now all I have to do is make some progress in the character and get my Stormbreaker and also keep a low profile until Luffy arrives."

    Ken thought but it was easier said than done. Though he could walk now, he couldn''t do much. In order to hide the hammer, Ken used rudimentary magic that he had learnt from Asgard to change the hammer to an umbrella just like Thor did during his meeting with Doctor Strange and kept the hammer on the side of the house. Nobody paid attention to it.

    Ken and Ace were living a normal life. The only abnormal thing in the whole house was the detachment Ken showed to the surroundings. He didn''t use to go out like Ace, nor used to cause mayhem in the house. In fact Ken was happy to help the bandits in keeping the house clean.

    Meanwhile Ace was not at all indulgent in these kinds of petty things and had his own life. He started going out more. In the beginning he had tried convincing Ken to follow him and have some fun around but Ken always declined. Even Dadan, hinted that Ken should go out and play but he always denied.

    "Why should I go out? I am more powerful than most of the people here and if I really want I can fight you all and still beat the shit out of you. Ace needs to meet Sabo and I need to stay the fuck away until Luffy arrives. And after that, heheheˇ­..!!" Those were the thoughts of Ken as he lived his own small life.

    But as days went by, Ken started to see the resentment in Ace''s eyes. The resentment for his father. Ace could feel that he was treated a little differently by the bandits. Even Dadan had a little different eye when it came to Ace and Ken could also feel it. All the bandits here knew that Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger and thus Ace could understand from the very beginning that he was different.

    Few years went by as Ace and Ken had grown up. Though Ken never used to follow Ace for adventures there was always deep friendship Ace had for Ken. Among everyone it was only Ken who treated him as an equal even after knowing that he was the son of Roger. And for that Ace was very thankful and grateful to Ken though it irritated him that Ken never used to follow him for adventures in the jungle.

    One fine night, there was a huge party in the house with bottles of sake and wine being brought. Apparently, the bandits raided some pirates from the shore and made a splash. Everyone was drunk and having a good time. One thing led to another and Dadan started complaining.

    "... He is the son of the devil. You know what will happen once people comes to know that he is the son of Roger...."

    Ken and Ace were both present nearby. Ken was helping the people drink and was serving drinks while also sneaking sips from the wine which he was distributing. It was the only way he could enjoy some wine as Dadan had said that Ace and Ken would never be allowed to drink until they were grown up.

    Ace was hiding in another room as he heard what Dadan was saying. Ken too stopped on the tracks when he heard those words of Dadan. Dadan had never spoken of Ace in that way and this was the first. Maybe it was the frustration that Ace brought with his menace and the fact that she was drunk but those words were hurtful. Especially Ken, he knew that those words were not something she meant and it was just the wine speaking but it was still bad.

 8. Lecture

    Ken didn''t waste a second more and directly went to Dadan and snatched the wine bottle from her hands. If it was any other person Ken would have beaten the shit out of the person, but Dadan was different. She literally brought him up in this world and he wasn''t cruel enough to retaliate in a bad way.

    "Oye kid, do you know what you are doing?" Dadan flared up seeing that a kid had snatched her wine bottle but didn''t charge at Ken.

    "You should look at yourself and then speak." Ken said using perfect Japanese. His baby brain had helped him a lot to learn the language and now he could speak in perfect accent and fluency.

    "What? Did I say something wrong? He is the son of Roger. It was because of him that the great era of pirates had started. And for Roger people suffer all around the world." Dadan argued even in that drunk state. She was hardly able to open her eyes and the two bandit subordinates Dogra and Magra were trying to calm her down. Both of them were surprisingly sober.

    "Have you travelled the world? Have you travelled to all the seas to know if it was the work of the Pirate King that started the great era of pirates? Don''t judge just because you stay in a rather secured Island of Dawn ruled by a kingdom that is under the World Government. This world was much more rotten to the core long before Roger started it. You just didn''t notice." Ken replied in a calm but chilling tone.

    "Kid, what do you know? You don''t even step out of the house and you speak like you have travelled the world."

    "I might not have travelled but I sure as hell know that a son or a daughter must not be accused of the sins his father or mother did in the past. The children know no such things and they are innocent. My parents left me here. It is their loss and fault. But that doesn''t make me a person who will one day repeat the things that my father did. So shut up your mouth if you don''t know what you are speaking. Alcohol and wine doesn''t give you the licence to speak ill words against others." Ken said and then proceeded to throw away the win bottle out of the window with a simple swing. The other bandits also became silent and hung their heads in shame.

    Today a kid who was less than half their age taught them a lesson with just a few words. The kid didn''t even shy away from his own history and spoke those words with much clarity. Ken had been the model person of the house at such a young age and today he showed why he was considered as the best person of the house.

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    Dadan too shut her mouth and somehow was a little sober after Ken spoke those words. She too hung her head. Dogra and Magra lifted her up and took her to the room where she could sleep. Ken proceeded to clean the place alone with the broom. Ace had tears in his eyes looking at it. He always saw Ken as his brother and his ''brother'' helped him in such a way that he would remember his entire life.

    After the bandits left and Ken was alone, he said

    "You can wipe the tears in your eyes and come out. Nobody is here." After a few seconds of pause Ace came out with a proper face and said

    "Who the hell was crying? I just wanted to see how these people think of me and they proved that they have no love for me. And I tell you again I wasn''t crying." He had a straight face and was trying his best to show his tough face.

    "Dadan doesn''t really think that from her heart. She was just frustrated for a bit. She still believes in you and loves you. It''s just sometimes people make mistakes and say things that they shouldn''t say." Ken switched on to the lecture mode here. He needed to make sure that Ace wasisn''t drowned in hatred for his legendary father all his life.

    "Tch... She and feelings for me. I don''t need them." Ace said but Ken could understand that Ace too had good feelings for her. Ken just smiled and didn''t say anything. He would let nature take its course and he had already achieved what he wanted and that was being close to Ace.

    Ace later joined in cleaning the room for the first time seeing Ken doing this single handedly.

    "Ken, you should come with me. I have made a new friend in Gray Terminal named Sabo. He was brought up in Gray Terminal. He wears a weird hat but he is a nice person. I am sure you will like him."

    Ken''s eyes shined when Ace spoke of Sabo. It meant the tale of three brothers had already started and he needed to wait a little more time.

    "It''s fine Ace. Maybe I will join you someday but as you can see that the house needs a person to look after and these bandits aren''t fit for that. I don''t want to live in a dirty environment."

    "Fine. But you should come with me someday or else you will be weak and people will take advantage of you."

    Ken gave a smirk to that and nodded his head. All the time he had been here, Ken had been hiding himself. All these years he never showed his prowess. When Garp came to visit after Ken got his Thor powers he could tell tat something was wrong with Ken but didn''t point it out to him. He just looked at Ken deeply for a few seconds before turning back to the funny and laughing Garp as always.

    Ken actually got scared when Garp gave him the look at that time.

    "Grandpa really has a high level of Haki. Just by looking at me he could tell that something was wrong."

 9. Luffy

    The next day nobody spoke of the things that had happened the night before and the very less time that Ace was in the house, everyone treated him a little differently. There were no bad eyes among the bandits as they looked or interacted with him. From this day on, Ace was officially accepted by everyone and not just Dadan, Dogra and Magra.

    Ken was happy to see this and just continued with his life. He had been growing impatient for sometime now. He didn''t have his mobile, nor any forms of music to soothe his ears and no daily necessities that he was used to in his previous life. All he could do was sneak away sometimes with his umbrella and have some fun around.

    Ken even tried flying with his umbrella and was so happy that he could feel the air rushing by his face when he went high up in the air. Flying came naturally to him. He had even tried his power with the legendary tiger of the island. With just one swing of his hammer he knocked the tiger a few metres back. He was ecstatic. Though he knew that his 100% power of Thor wouldn''t be enough to rule this world, dealing with things in the East Blue would be a walk in the park.

    It is the Grand line that he needed to look out for. That is where Ken hoped to get a character that would allow him to be powerful. And of course learn Haki before New World. His advanced physique still didn''t allow him to use Haki in any form.

    At the beginning Ken thought that he would be able to learn at least Observation or Kenbunshoku Haki like Koby did during the war. But he wasn''t lucky enough.

    "I need to find Naguri and ask him to teach me. At least the initial form would be enough and work on this overtime." This was his plan for the time being.

    The days went by as usual and finally the day that he had been looking forward to had arrived. Garp had returned and this time he had brought a small kid with himself. Garp was holding the kid by his collar and this small kid was hanging from the hands of Grandpa like someone who was made of rubber.

    It looked weird but only Ken who just came out of the house had a smile on his face. Dadan and others also came out hearing all the commotions. Dadan as usual had started complaining about the problems Ace had brought in her life but Luffy who had just escaped the clutches of Garp had started running around. Seeing the kid annoyed Dadan more and screamed

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    "Who is this annoying kid?"

    "This is Luffy. Take care of him too. Oye Luffy say hi."

    Luffy raised his hand and said "Yo!!" Ken, who had silently stood near Dadan and saw the iconic scene, had a smile on his face. From the looks of it Luffy had eaten the Gomu Gomu no mi or as the legends call it Hito Hito no mi Model : Nika. This meant that the story was on the right track and he just needed to wait a little more before the adventure started.

    "Welcome home, Joyboy!!!" Ken murmured under his breath.

    Ken was waiting for a perfect time to enter into the ranks of three brothers and he already had a perfect scene in his mind. All these years he had been thinking of ways to enter the brotherhood and his memories had already helped him in carving out a way.

    After that Luffy was spat upon by Ace and thus the famous ''running after Ace'' started. Ken was beaming with joy looking at this. He was right not to intervene in this regard. Garp stayed with them for a few days before leaving while Luffy noticed Ken.

    "Yo, I am Luffy. It''s nice to meet you. Let''s be friends."

    "I am Ken. Nice to meet you too and sure we can be friends." Ken said. He knew that Luffy was interested in him but Luffy''s inherent hatred for bandits didn''t allow him to be with Ken for a long time. Luffy recently had a huge interaction with bandits and so seeing Ken being with bandits didn''t go down well with him. Luffy didn''t hate Ken but seeing that Ken was almost of his age he approached him.

    Here he didn''t have any friends and only Ken could be his friend as Ace just leaves the first time in the morning. Garp, seeing all of this just smiled and didn''t stop these small shenanigans of his three grandsons.

    After Garp left, Luffy tried interacting with Ace but he was silent and just left early in the morning. And Luffy too followed him like an idiot. Ken sighed. It was time to step his foot into the world and control destiny in his own hands.

    After Luffy went away after Ace the first day, he said to Dadan in a hushed tone.

    "I will be going out like Ace and Luffy. It is time that I too go out and see the world with my own eyes."

    "Eh!! Why? Who will clean the home if you leave. You are the only good kid in the house. Don''t make things more difficult." Dadan said in a straight face trying to establish dominance though she was happy from inside. Ken had been a homeboy for far too long and he needed to see the world like Ace had but it was true she would have a headache cleaning and cooking. Ken had been helping her for such a long time that she had forgotten a life without Ken.

    "You can take care of that yourself." Ken didn''t care about the thoughts of Dadan.

    "Sigh!!! Go go. Live your life." Dadan said. Ken just smiled at it. After seeing Luffy and Ace vanishing, Ken took his umbrella and stepped out of the house. He would follow Luffy and Ace but from far and would make sure that nothing extreme happens to Luffy.

 10. Kidnapped

    The progression in the last few years hasn''t been great for Ken. He had only been able to complete 50% of the Thor character and as he reached 50% he could feel that he had greater control over thunder than he had before but the progression was still very slow.

    Ken had a theory that only fights and working on the behaviour of Thor could make his character progress fast but here in this island there was almost nobody with whom he could fight against. All would just die with one shot of him. Even the tiger almost died when he swung his hammer at him. At that moment he had forgotten how the hammer treated others who weren''t worthy.

    As all these thoughts were revolving around his head, there was a totally different scenario for Luffy. He was battling for his life every single day running after Ace. One time he almost died and Ken even thought of helping him at that point but Luffy''s sheer will kept him alive.

    "This guy is truly troublesome!!!"

    Like this way a week had passed and finally Luffy was able to find the secret hideout where Ace and Sabo used to stack up money. And thus in this way the first interaction happened. The famous trio finally met each other for the first time and Ken as usual was hiding in one of the branches high up in these huge trees.

    "The trees here are really big. Makes my hiding easy. This idiot Thor never learnt how to do stealth operations. It is fortunate that Thor during his training at least noticed Loki or else I would fail terribly in stealth missions." Ken got goosebumps thinking of the thousands of years he had passed inside the system. He got terribly bored and was almost crying. It was no wonder Thor and Loki played the game of cat and mouse with each other.

    Living for such a long time would definitely lead to evil thoughts and prejudices.

    As expected Luffy was caught by Ace and Sabo and since he saw the secret treasure place of Ace and Sabo, they both decided to do one thing.

    "Let''s kill him."

    "Yes, we will have to do it."

    But both didn''t realize how stupid Luffy was. The moment he realized that he might be killed, he started crying loudly. The cry was so loud that even Ken, who was far from the trio could hear the screams and almost had to close his ears. And those cries of Luffy finally attracted Prchemy, one of the members of the infamous Bluejam Pirates.

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    This Pirate group was an authentic one and they didn''t have any bottom line. They would plunder, loot and kill anything that came in their paths. And they have been particularly annoyed recently because of the frequent raids of Ace and Sabo on their ''wallets''.

    And as the story should have progressed Porchemy hearing the cries of Luffy came straight from Gray Terminal to find Ace and Sabo. Ken was looking at the whole drama from high above and couldn''t help but twitch his face a bit.

    "Luffy''s cries even attracted people from Gray Terminal. His cries are really legendary." Ken thought as he remembered how Luffy cried after the death of Ace. And as idiocy goes, Luffy was caught by Porchemy at the end and taken away.

    Ken who was looking at all this now had his hand on his forehead. He could clearly see that the trio was hiding from Porchemy but then Luffy went and got caught. Almost deliberately!!

    "It''s as if Luffy wanted to prove his loyalty to Ace and Sabo by not giving up the secrets!!"

    Ken didn''t stop Porchemy as his plans were in motion and he just needed to wait for a bit more. Thus Luffy was kidnapped and taken away in front of the eyes of Ace and Sabo. Seeing Luffy was taken away the first thing Ace and Sabo did was move the treasures to a new place and hide them while Ken just followed Porchemy from behind.

    He needed to make sure that Luffy was alive until Ace and Sabo came to free him.

    "Sorry Luffy, for my own selfish reasons, you will have to suffer for a bit. I promise that I will make it up to you." Ken prayed silently in his heart as he saw Luffy was being tied in ropes around his waist and abdomen and hanged.

    And thus the cruel assault of Luffy began. But the more Ken saw all of this from far the more he tightened his grip on his umbrella. The skies above Gray Terminal and half of the Goa Kingdom was slowly being filled with black clouds and thundering sounds.

    The skies looked like there would be doom approaching soon but none of this mattered to Ken as he saw Porchemy beating the hell out of Luffy with his special gloves. Honestly, if Luffy''s body wasn''t made of rubber, he would have died long ago by the constant punches of Porchemy.

    "Why don''t you tell me where the money is hidden?"

    "I won''t tell!"

    "I won''t..."

    "I won''t.."

    His indomitable will, his devil fruit and him being accustomed to pain and suffering allowed Luffy to survive until the sun was going down far in the sea. The sky was gloomy all over but it was clear on the far side.

    There was a strange orange hue over the Gray Terminal. And finally Porchemy got tired of punching Luffy and picked up his huge dadao shaped sword and dragged it by the ground. He got fed up and was suffering from fear of Bluejam at this point. He knew that if he couldn''t bring the answers to Bluejam then he would die so it was better that this kid died and he could at least buy some time to find Ace and Sabo.

    As he dragged the sword, Ace and Sabo had already started running from the forest towards the hideout of Porchemy and his pirate group. Ken smiled looking at this as it was finally time to come out from hiding and take the first step on the Pirate World.

 11. Heroic entrance

    "Let go of him!!!" With those huge war cries Ace and Sabo grandly entered the hideout of Porchemy and his crew. Ace being the hot head was the first to charge at Porchemy but he was easily caught by Porchemy. And seeing that Sabo had to sneak attack Porchemy to rescue Ace who was caught in his hands.

    Luffy was particularly happy that Ace had come to rescue him but he feared for the life of Ace and Sabo.

    "Sabo, free Luffy, I will deal with this big guy." Ace commanded and Sabo, getting the green light, had already started running towards Luffy. Of course he was stopped by other crew members but Sabo''s was flexible, small and dexterous, this helped him manoeuvre through the crew members and even steal a small knife.

    With one swing he was able to cut the ropes and hold Luffy on his shoulders who was almost unconscious now with all the beating and loss of blood.

    "Ace, let''s go. We don''t need to fight them and let''s escape."

    Sabo was almost out of the hideout when he noticed that Ace wasn''t running with him. When he turned around he saw that Ace was in a standstill moment against Porchemy. He was thinking of fighting him head on!!!

    "Oi kid do you think we are some goons out of the wild. We are pirates. So you think you can beat us? You should be running." Porcehmy''s veins on his head was visible at this point. He couldn''t stand the fact that a 10 year old kid was standing in front of him ready to fight!!

    By this time thunder heavily roared outside as the sun had already set. There were flashes of lightning among the clouds which brightened the Gray Terminal from time to time. Ace was ready to confront Porchemy while Sabo was horrified seeing that Ace stopped, suddenly there was a loud sound on the broken roof of the hideout.

    Before they could even turn their head high up to see what caused the sound, a boy who looked like 8 or 9 years of age jumped down from above. He looked heroic as his body was covered by the suit which seemed like ancient Romans or Greeks might have worn on Earth in ancient times.

    There were flashes of electricity running around his entire body and he had a hammer at his hand. The blue electricity was more visible and apparent on the hammer. The hammer looked fine and exquisite.

    Porrchemy, his crew, Ace, Sabo and even Luffy who had now opened his eyes, had jaws dropped seeing who had just jumped out of nowhere. Among all of them present only Ace and Luffy recognized the boy who had arrived.

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    "Ken!!! You....."

    "Ken!!!"

    "Ace!!!" Ken said and he slowly walked towards Ace. Ken''s eyes had anger. He was really angry. Though he knew that Ace would never back down no matter what, in all honesty Ken hated this behaviour of Ace. This was what caused many suffering.

    Luffy, Whitebeard, Jimbei, Tama.... Everyone had to go through heartbreak seeing Ace die in the war. This was selfish. He wasn''t alone in this world. He has friends, he has family. He never thought of them when he confronted so many people.

    "How are you here? What is this lightning?" Ace could see that the electric sparks were still running over the ''weird'' costume of Ken and Ken answered this question of Ace with a punch on his head. The punch was heavy enough to make the skin swell in red.

    "What the hell!! Why did you hit me?" Ace had tears in his eyes seeing this sudden violent behavior of Ken. He was already confused of what was happening and now this punch. He had never seen Ken being violent. He was always the calm guy who looked after everybody but this was the first time he had punched someone.

    "I hit you because you are just a selfish asshole!!!"

    "What did you say? Say that again?"

    "A selfish guy who only thinks of himself. There I said it. What can you do?" Ken had anger on his face as he was ready to hit Ace again. Sabo and others were looking at the duo dumbfounded. Where did this kid come from? What is up with electric sparks around his body? There were many questions that they had no answer to. But Porchemy was having none of that. He could already feel that this new kid who had just arrived was not simple and he needed to take him out first before finishing the job with Ace and Sabo.

    Wasting no time he swung his sword at the neck of Ken who was now arguing with Ace. Ace and Luffy''s eyes widened as they saw this.

    "Ken, dodge it!!!"

    "Uh....!!"

    Before Ken could do anything the sword was already an inch away from and the huge sword struck its aim with full accuracy. But what happened next was not what others imagined. Some of them who had closed their eyes thinking that this new electric kid would die under the blade of Porchemy had almost another heart attack seeing the next scene.

    The dadao blade of Porchemy was not even able to penetrate the skin of Ken. Not even blood poured out at the skin where the blade touched. Porchemy had his jaws drop seeing this and so did the others. They didn''t expect that such a huge sword would not even be able to penetrate the body of this small kid. This subverted their world view!!!

    "What the hell!!"

    "Nani the fuck!!!"

    Ken slowly turned his head slowly as Porchemy removed the sword from the neck of Ken. he couldn''t believe that he could even scratch the skin of this kid and in order to make sure he did it right, he was ready to take another swing.

    "Who the hell are you?" Porchemy roared as he held his hand high to generate speed to swing at Ken. Ken didn''t reply as the hammer in his left hand was slowly lifted up and before Porchemy could even finish his full swing Ken had already thrown the hammer at the wrist of his enemy.

 12. Magic

    Mjolnir acted exactly as expected. The hammer struck the wrist at high speed and momentum and this brought enough pain for Porchemy to let go of his sword. He screamed in pain. But the icing on the cake was yet to come. The hammer which was thrown by Ken had already crossed quite a bit of distance after hitting the wrist and then magically the hammer that was supposed to have a parabolic arc and fall on the ground made a U-turn.

    The hammer travelled back to the right hand of Ken!!!

    In a span of a minute or two the people present had seen so many things that they could easily declare that such scenes would never be seen again by their eyes in their lifetime. A kid of 8 years old who had electric sparks all over his body stopped the attack of a cruel pirate without even moving and used a magical hammer to disarm the enemy. A hammer that travelled back to its owner after doing its job. Many had heard of Devil fruits.

    Some of them even know about the classes of Devil Fruits but what the hell is this ''devil fruit'' of Ken. Indestructible body? Hammer tamer? What the hell is he?

    "Ken!! What the hell are you?" Ace was in horror himself. He had seen Luffy with his devil fruit but this was totally different. Ken didn''t bother to answer Ace but looked at Porchemy who was screaming in pain. The hit of the hammer was enough to break his wrist joint. He was in immense pain.

    "Porchemy!! How does it feel to be on the other end of the knife eh? You looted so many innocents. Killed children and women. They even say that you carve out the faces of your enemies. Now you will die soon and I won''t even have to do anything." Ken smiled like a devil as he walked towards Porchemy.

    Ken was revolving his hammer at high speed now as he was ready to hit Porchemy again. He was burning in anger when he saw how he was torturing Luffy. Now it was his turn. Without wasting another moment, Ken used the high speed revolving hammer and hit right at the lower jaw of Porchemy who was on his knees.

    This hit alone lifted Porchemy off the ground and was thrown a few feet away. The lower jaw broke in multiple pieces and he lost his teeth as Ken made this single move. The other crew members were horrified seeing this and already made a run. The spectators also backed away due to fear. All it required was two hits to bring Porchemy to near death.

    And they were just average as compared to Porchemy. Ken didnˇŻt care about the spectators and threw the hammer at the running crew members. The hammer flew away again and it hit one of the crew members and then just like before it returned to Ken. Ken repeated the same thing with the other 2 members.

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    This single hit was enough to break the spine of one, leg of one and the collar bone of the last person. Ken had aimed it perfectly to make sure that these three minions tell Bluejam what had happened. He wanted this Bluejam to fear after all he had other business with this evil pirate!!!

    Finally the enemies were done with!! Though Porchemy wasn''t exactly dead he would be dead in a day or two if Bluejam doesn''t kill him. It didn''t matter to Ken anyways as he returned to the trio who gulped their throats seeing the magical feat of Ken.

    "Yo!! You must be Sabo. Ace has said many things about you." Ken said as he forwarded his hands to shake his. Sabo involuntarily shook Ken''s hands.

    "You must be Ken. It''s nice to meet you." Sabo was surprisingly very polite here but his voice was shaking as he spoke those words.

    "Let''s go back! Shall we?" Ken said as he started walking out of the dilapidated hideout. The other three were silent as they followed Ken. The spectators hid or escaped seeing Ken coming out. This kid was something else so it was best they don''t mess with him. They even photographed the faces of Ace, Sabo and Luffy so as not to mess with them in the future.

    Ace and Sabo were already famous in Gray Terminal. But today they would be famous even in the center of the Goa Kingdom after this. Today''s deed will be legendary which will be recounted for days to come by.

    After walking quite a bit of time the 4 reached the new hideout which Ace and Sabo had built so quickly. And seeing that Luffy was safe he broke into tears. Ken had already brought some bandages and he helped Luffy stop the bleeding. It was fortunate that Luffy won''t be needing any stitches on his body like the one under his right eye.

    Luffy was crying nonstop as Ken helped Luffy in bandaging. Other than Luffy, Sabo and Ace were silent and they didn''t know what to say. They never expected the day to end in this way. And after the bandages Luffy finally stopped himself and looked at Ken and said

    "Thank you." He bent his head as he really meant it. Ken shook his head and said

    "You would have been saved anyway by Ace and Sabo. They had already reached there to save you. I just made the process easier." Ace and Sabo''s faces were red after hearing that. What Ken did there was legendary and by now means they would be able to do this. Ken just beat the shit out of everyone with a hammer!!!

    After Luffy calmed down Ken asked

    "You have questions I presume. Ask!!" After a moment of silence Ace took the courage and asked

    "What the hell are you? When I tried to convince you before to join us you never did but why now. All these years we suffered. If you had said that you have so much power we would have led a good life." Ace was angry. He had always considered Ken as one of his best friends. But now he realised that he was deceived. This guy was hiding all this time.

 13. Powers

    "Oi oi Ace calm down!! He just saved us otherwise we would have died at the hands of Porchemy." Sabo said as he was a little scared of Ken. He was ruthless against Porchemy and he didn''t even allow Porchemy to speak. He didn''t want his bones to be broken. It would be painful!!

    Luffy too wanted to know why Ken was away with bandits always and finally he was here and even saved them.

    "If you want an answer to that I can say if I had intervened early in your life you two would never have gotten so strong. Luffy is a devil fruit user. A rubber fruit user but you two can easily toy with him like it''s nothing. If I had intervened in your life then it would have just made you weak. But now you both know that only the power that belongs to you is the real power." Ken said. And this was the truth. If they had realised that Ken had awesome powers, they would have definitely slacked. But here Ace and Sabo struggled and got stronger.

    Ace and Sabo understood what Ken meant. It was true!! They probably would have just enjoyed life under the shade of Ken.

    "Then why come to our life now?" Ace asked.

    "Because like Luffy, I too feel lonely. I have been with Dadan for such a long time that I miss being genuine friends with someone. Now I am free. And so I came." Ken gave a half truth answer. He couldn''t say that he was waiting for this moment. But it was true. He was feeling lonely there.

    Ace and Sabo understood that what Ken said was right. He had been alone all this time and it was good that Ken was out now. Ken was super powerful and they could easily reap the benefits now. That ferocious tiger, the mad bear, those big animals.... They could all be taken down soon. Ace and Sabo were already daydreaming and drooling.

    Later Ace proceeded to have an argument with Luffy about why he refused to give away the location as he could have saved himself. Then like Ken, he also said that he was lonely and he hated that feeling. Twice Ace felt being needed and someone telling him that his life was worth it.

    It was already night by that time and Sabo decided to live with Ken and others in the family of Dadan as they feared Bluejam might sneak attack them late at night. Ace readily accepted but before returning Ken said

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    "Bring home some meat." This world has vegetables and other things but in this forest only meat is readily accessible and in huge quantities. Luffy''s eyes were shining when Ken suggested that he just loved meat. Sabo and Ace too were hungry as they had a tough day.

    It was already night so Ken didn''t spend much time and went to the nearby river to kill two crocodiles. Ace and Luffy are those people who tend to eat more than normal so it was better to take extra. And just like before Ken was able to one hit kill two crocodiles. It was difficult to find them but Ace and Sabo held fire torches to find crocodiles.

    They returned home a little late but when they did it was jaw dropping for Dadan and the bandits. Two crocodiles. What the hell did these 4 kids do?

    "Dadan, This is Sabo. He will stay with us here. So in order to compensate we will be bringing more food." Ken said with a smile. Dadan was ready to scold Ken and Ace but seeing the shining face of Ken she finally accepted it. They won''t have to think about food now anyways till they are here.

    And in this way Sabo stayed over the night. The next day, early in the morning the 4 kids went out to have fun. And since there was leftovers from yesterday night, they had a good breakfast in the morning.

    Luffy talked about his Devil Fruit and spoke of the things he could do with his body which was a very new thing for Sabo though Ace and Ken had already known and seen it so it wasn''t any new thing to them. But Ace finally looked at Ken and then looked at the umbrella.

    In the morning and the night before they saw another magical thing. The hammer had turned into an umbrella!! Ace and others were definitely more interested in Ken who had used powers.

    "Ken, what kind of Devil fruit did you eat? Your body is indestructible and even an amazing hammer." Ken thought about for a good amount of time and then said

    "I don''t know what kind of fruit I ate..." He lied right through his teeth and he wasn''t ashamed at all and neither did the three realize that they were being lied to

    ".... but I do know this. The Devil fruit I ate gives me the power to live the life of another person in another world and allows me to gain the powers I have lived. Yesterday what you saw was me using the powers of Thor. Thor is a prince of Asgard. For humans we can consider them as Gods and thus it gives me super strength, tough body, long life, control over lightning and of course this hammer. This hammer is a magical hammer and only those who are worthy can lift it." Ken said as he changed the umbrella to hammer and kept it on the ground for others to try.

    "Other world? What is that? Is it tasty?"

    "What is another world? I don''t understand."

    Then Ken remembered that these kids don''t understand what the other world meant. The knowledge spoken by Ken, destroyed their world view one more time. In two days they got to see and know such new things that Luffy complained at the end that this was too much information for him.

    "Hahaha.. So do you want to know the story of Thor?" Ken asked with a light. They are free anyways so it was better to share stories and spend time.

 14. Share

    "Sugoi (amazing.. A/N : I might be using some Japanese terms once in a while as I tend to imagine the characters speaking in Japanese even though I don''t understand Japanese at all, but it''s just that the imagination tends to go towards that direction. Don''t worry for the dubbed people I will always translate the words in brackets). You got powers from another world. What is a God?" Luffy''s questions were really out of the world here!!! Ace and others had hands on their forehead seeing the stupidity of Luffy.

    Sabo then explained what God was and Luffy was really moved by it. Let alone him, even Ace and Sabo were moved by it.

    "Don''t look at me in that way. Though I said this is God but it is very relative. I only have higher strength and a long life with the power of lightning. I am still far from being an actual God."

    "But with this power alone you can rule this world." Sabo said as of right now he was still too naive.

    "You are too naive, Sabo. There are still people here who would beat the shit out of me." Ken said as he shook his head.

    "Who?"

    "Our grandfather!!!" Ken''s answer gave shivers to both Ace and Luffy. Only these two know the horror of Garp and how ruthless he was.

    "Really? Your grandpa is that powerful?" Sabo was terrified too. He had just heard of how Thor was and what he could do. Even Ken hinted that on this island there was almost no one who could even scratch him. Forget about killing him!!!

    But this confidence broke the moment the name of Garp came up. Just how powerful was this gramps of these three?

    "I agree!! Grandpa is very powerful. When he punches me I can feel pain even though I am made of rubber." Luffy attested to that. Ken just smiled at it and didn''t explain. Explaining haki to them would be meaningless. They were far too naive and too young to even understand what Haki was. Maybe this situation could be changed later.

    "Whatever. At least here we can play as long as we want and nobody can touch us." Ace said as he was happy that they now had someone who could always protect them and he could finally sleep with no worry.

    Luffy, Ace and Sabo discussed the life of Thor but they finally came to the conclusion that it was boring for the most part. Though power was good but so much time and he even lost his brother, his parents and even his ''world''. It was sad!!

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    "By the way, do you three want to experience another life and gain powers?" Ken suddenly asked.

    "Huh???"

    "What??"

    "Nani??"

    All the three stood up when Ken casually said these words.

    "Yeah I can bring you three to different worlds and the devil fruit will choose what world and what character to give you. It can even be a character with no powers. So don''t jump upon this. I can only give you powers but you won''t be able to use them immediately. In fact even I haven''t got the full power of Thor as you might have understood. I don''t have Stormbreaker. So whatever power and character you get will depend upon your luck." Ken gave the first explanation to them but he could already see the shining eyes of the three.

    This temptation was too much!!! New power!! New world!!! New food (exclusive to Luffy)!!!

    "You will really do that? Don''t you fear that we will leak your secret to others?" Ace asked. Unlike Luffy, Ace was more level headed and he had seen enough to know at least what the world was.

    "I trust three of you. Only thing I fear is about Luffy but once you live a life you won''t be naive anymore. You will see a new world. Live a full life. Do you think you will still be a kid after you come out?" Ken said.

    "Oi.. We are mature enough to be adults. Humph!!!"

    "Hai Hai (yes yes) but remember only ignorant people think that they know the world." Ken threw words of previous generations to them.

    "So we will really be living a new life? Will there be new food?" Luffy only cared about the food and power came second for him while Ace and Sabo were different. They wanted to be strong like Ken and this was their chance. They were also very grateful that Ken was even ready to share his powers with others.

    Even for their age they could understand what kind of terrifying thing this ''Devil fruit'' was and they had already decided never to speak about this power of Ken ever to anyone. It was upto people of how they interpreted Ken''s powers.

    "So you three have decided to go for the journey?" Ken asked again.

    "Of course!!"

    "Hell ya!!"

    "I want meat from a different world!!"

    "Alright. Before going I will say this, after entering the world you will not be able to control the body and can only see the world from the view of others, All you can do is see and learn from the world. There maybe many things that you might not be able do in that life but here it might be helpful...." Ken explained the general things to take care of in the journey and even spoke of his experience so that they could learn more.

    "Alright. You three stand in line and let me use my powers." The trio stood straight but the excitement was apparent from the body language.

    "System, take these three and send them." Ken communicated from his mind

    [

    Host has selected Sabo, Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy to send to different worlds.

    Selecting...

    Selecting...

    Selected.

    Does the host want to see the worlds the three have been sent to?

    ]

    "Oh!! I can do that too? I guess I can peep into the world and see if it is a known world. I won''t be living in their worlds anyways. Can I control the time  passage of time in their worlds?"

 15. One world

    [

    Yes Host. You can just take a glimpse over their life and come out whenever you want.

    ]

    "Better!!"

    Ken proceeded to enter the world and see what world and what character Sabo was sent to. And he was surprised or rather it would suffice to say that he was a little horrified seeing the character that Sabo had possessed. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect the system to give Sabo such a character.

    Sabo had the character of Shimura Danzo. One of the old leaders of Konoha from the Naruto world. Danzo was probably a universally hated character for anyone who had watched Naruto. Manipulating Konoha, taking the eye away from Shishui and even forcing Itachi to make such a tragic decision to annihilate his own family and even his own parents.

    Ken really loved the fight between Danzo and Sasuke. It was a well deserved fight though Sasuke''s behavior and character that time was debatable but suffering such trauma and living for revenge would drive any person crazy.

    And now Sabo has the character of Danzo. This was unprecedented. He prayed for Sabo silently. His family was already a little fucked up and now he would see the dark side of the society. 2 wars, a failed Hokage and at the end killed by his own machinations. This probably would hit Sabo in his heart and mind. Though the system would make sure that there was no psychological trauma, it would surely turn Sabo into a little different person.

    But hey, there were upsides too. He was powerful and had multiple Sharingans in his hands but then again the right hand of Danzo was really gross!!!

    "System, what about his hand when he completes 100% of the character in the future?"

    [

    Host, the subject Sabo can phase his body in and out of the character of Danzo allowing him to change his hand and his left eyes when the time demands. He won''t have to cover his hand like Danzo.

    ]

    "OK!! That is convenient."

    Ken saw the life trajectory of Sabo for a bit. His obsession with being the Hokage. And then his secret Anbu of which he was the ultimate boss. Ken had seen these scenes in the past too so after a few seconds he came out of it.

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    "Show me Ace."

    And next moment Ken was thrown to a third person perspective of the character of Ace that he had possessed and when he saw the character he almost choked on his own saliva. What the hell was wrong with this system?

    Ace got the same world as Sabo but a different character.

    Neji Hyuga!

    The only shinobi from the class of Naruto that died in the war!! Was this some kind of joke? Was the system foreshadowing his death in the Marineford War?

    "System that was not a good joke!!"

    [

    The system doesn''t understand what the host means. The appointment of character is always random.

    ]

    "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Half of the life of Neji, he considered himself being chained by fate. And when he did come out of that, he was killed in the war. The red flags of both the characters are more clear than your denial." Ken accused the system to which the system didn''t reply. Maybe Ken was right. The character appointment wasn''t as random as it looked like. Sabo was supposed to join the dark and more hidden side of the world.

    So Danzo was more suitable for this. Neji and Ace were more compatible.

    "Whatever!! It''s not like their power level is low. Both Danzo and Neji are amazing."

    Ken didn''t complain any more and after looking at the scenes of Neji he moved on. And now it was time to see what character Luffy got. He was pretty sure that the system would definitely give another world to Luffy as 2 people from the same world were a coincidence.

    But reality slapped him on his face. Like the other 2 Luffy too got the same world and a character which literally had monkey on his name just like Luffy!!!

    The character of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage!!!

    "The fuck. Even after all of this you still think their character appointment doesn''t depend on the name?"

    There was silence from the system. It was probably due to guilt that the system was silent. Ken didn''t understand why the system lied about the fact that the characters never depended upon random things but rather the compatibility.

    Ken was really taken aback by the fact that all the 3 future brothers got the same world!!! This was not what he expected. Seeing three Naruto world characters he got bored and decided to come out of the simulation. He only needed to wait for 1 minute before the trio would be back to the real world.

    He was looking forward to their arrival.

    "Sabo with Sharingan and Hashirama cells would go forward and would be a force to reckon with. Especially with Izanagi. That in itself is buggy though it''s a pity he wouldn''t get Susano as he isn''t Kakashi. Ace with his Byakugan would be more powerful and if he learns the moves of Eight Trigrams it would make Ace one of the top levels. Eight Trigrams with Haki!!! That would be one sight to behold!!!"

    "Luffy with all the jutsus would be just a broken character. Pretty sure Luffy would be able to suppress his weakness for sea water with this and be more powerful. Damn!! This world is going to see a force that they have never seen."

    Ken was already daydreaming about all of this when there was notification from the system. The trio were done with their ''other'' life and were back to the real world. The first thing Ken saw were the tearful and shining eyes of Ace, Sabo and Luffy.

    It seemed like the three people were really happy with what life they got and they were crying tears of happiness and excitement. After all, the life of a ninja was something very enviable to the three. And now they themselves would become ninjas as time goes by.

 16. Practice

    "This was so beautiful. I am dying. It was so good...." Luffy''s eyes were shining like a car''s headlights when he said that. And this was the same for both Sabo and Ace. They had just lived their lives as ninjas and now they could even feel the flow and presence of chakras in their own bodies. The only thing that changed were the eyes of Ace which had turned white now but as the system said. The white eyes could be easily retracted when required.

    [

    Character completion of subject Ace - 20%

    Character completion of subject Sabo - 19%

    Character completion of subject - 11%

    ]

    "Such low numbers. I guess being the owner of the system has its good sides too." Ken thought.

    Ace, Sabo and Luffy were now looking as if Ken was a God. They lived an entire new life. They saw the world, learnt so much and now they were back. Though there was no psychological impact, all the three had a little change of temperament.

    Ken already noticed that but didn''t call it out as being mature at such a young age would only make them stronger and face the world.

    "So you all three have lived a ninja life. How do you feel?"

    "Eh!!"

    "Huh!!"

    "You two have also been in the ninja world?"

    The three were taken aback by the fact that all 3 got the same world. Ken had said that it would be different worlds but it seemed like they got the same world in this case. Then Luffy said

    "I got Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage. Hahahah.. What did you get Ace?"

    "I got Neji. I know you. You died by your own disciple. Hahaha.... Such an idiot." Ace laughed. While these two chatted Sabo clenched his teeth. He lived the life of a villain. He was infuriated. He saw the dark things Danzo did in his life. Kidnapping children for experiments, killing anyone that he thought would be an obstacle or future threat.

    He hated the character of Danzo but he was grateful too to get his powers. He vowed to himself that he would never go down the path of Danzo!!

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    "Oi Sabo, what character did you get?" Luffy asked as he was curious.

    "I got Danzo." Sabo said timidly to Luffy. Luffy lived the life of Hiruzen. His rival in the ninja world. Luffy stiffened when he heard that Sabo got the powers of Danzo. Both had a good idea of how twisted Danzo was. Luffy himself wasn''t exactly a huge fan of Hiruzen. Some of his policies were questionable for sure. There was a little gloomy atmosphere now knowing that Danzo and Hiruzen came to 2 of them.

    "It''s fine. It''s their world. Let me tell you what happened later. After Neji died..." Ken then proceeded to tell the complete story of Naruto. He could see the little sad mood of the three though they got new powers, so now Ken needed to tell about the happy ending in order to make them feel good.

    "... Now you three have chakras. A unique thing exclusive to only 3 of you in this world. But your character power is only about 15% on average. And this power isn''t enough. You will have to work hard and get accustomed to your new powers. Luffy now you have all the ninjutsus. You can practice each and every one of them with high proficiency so I hope you will be able to complete it. Especially water, which is a very tough thing for you."

    "Ace and Sabo. I wouldn''t advise you but I hope you two will get accustomed to your new powers via practice."

    "But Ken, water is my weakness. I can''t do anything in the water." Luffy protested.

    "You can''t swim and sea water makes you feel weak. This can be easily overcome by practice and hard work. Though you will still not be able to swim but you can at least walk or run in water. That is enough. I want you to practise both ninjutsus and your own special moves related to rubber. I will personally help you. You are still so young and there is much to learn and gain." Ken said

    "Humph!! We also have lived a life. We aren''t the same anymore." Ace said.

    "That''s good. Then act like one!!"

    "Yosh, from today onwards we will start the practice." Ace declared as he used his leg to jump on a branch of the tree. The first move he was going to try was sticking himself to a solid object. Using his feet to hang upside down. This was the first move that Ace needed to make sure that he knew.

    Seeing Ace already starting to practice, Luffy and Sabo too joined. Sabo fell the first time he tried but he was able to complete the second time. But Luffy was the one who suffered the most. It seemed like Luffy''s synchronisation with Hiruzen would take quite a lot of time as it took a whole day to complete his practice and hang himself upside down.

    By the evening Ace and Sabo were both able to complete the technique of walking on water. None of the three needed any kind of help in this regard because in their mind they had already completed this training long ago.

    But it was totally different when it came to reality. Knowing something and applying it in reality was a totally different ball game and that was the reason that even simple techniques were taking a lot of time for the three. Seeing the hard work also thought of helping.

    Helping the only way possible for these three!!! Food. Ken went and killed 2 big boars from the forest. Ken even went to Porchemy''s hideout to see if he had died just like the original work. Under the gun of Bluejam and seeing more bloodstains than yesterday Ken was sure that Porchemy was already in the underworld.

    After the practice Ken killed one average sized bear to take home in order to eat as he ''promised'' Dadan. Luffy and the trio were still excited as all the three were jumping around on tree branches in order to reach Dadan''s home. It was much faster and more amazing than just walking.

 17. Dreams

    "Haah... This was amazing. I never knew that jumping on trees would be so refreshing." Ace gave a wide grin. The first day with his new found powers made him gleeful. After reaching home and delivering food for Dadan to cook, they went to their rooms to discuss their future plans.

    Dadan who had seen these small kids grow up was happy that these kids were so powerful but she noticed that Ace had a little change in his behavior. It was very subtle but she did notice it. Ace''s way of walking, talking and other small habits had changed as he sat with them to eat. Though she did notice it she didn''t point it out.

    After eating all the 4 were again at the room where Ken spoke more of his powers. About how he could peep into their lives when they were in simulation and that was why he knew the story of their world. They were fascinated by the character of Naruto, Jiraya and others. Especially Luffy, who cried when he learnt Jiraya died later.

    Luffy was really a crybaby at that point. Ace had no other option but to hit him on the head to make him shut up.

    "Luffy, from tomorrow your training in water will start. Your current sandals will prove of no value tomorrow so I will provide actual shoes of the ninjas and even the dress to the three of you." Ken said.

    "The ninja dress. Your Devil Fruit allows you to bring things from that world?" Sabo was more fascinated by the power. He had never heard nor could even imagine what weird powers this Devil Fruit of Ken was.

    "Of course. Or else how do you think I got my hammer?"

    They were silenced by this as they didn''t think of the fact that Ken''s hammer had just appeared from thin air. Later Luffy and the three even tried lifting the hammer but they couldn''t. No matter what!! After a few more small talks, they went to sleep.

    Next day after having breakfast, the 4 people left early in the morning. All this time, Ace and Sabo had to struggle for food and money but from this day everything changed for them. They would only have to practice and make sure that they become strong. Collecting money would be a walk in the park after they become powerful. Money was no longer the first priority at this point.

    "I will help you get money. You just train." That''s what Ken said and the three were happy about it. Luffy was the person who had the hardest time though.

    The next portion of training was walking on water. And Luffy being a rock in water had to fight a lot. Sabo and Ace had to leave their practice and help Luffy. Even Ken had to help him. The moment Luffy touched the water of the river he automatically became weak.

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    And in order to overcome this weakness, Luffy had to practice there for a week. Yes! A week it took Luffy to walk on water and make sure that the water was no longer the weakness. Ken gave a wild grin when he saw that. A small part of Wano is taken care of. No longer will Luffy suffer just because it''s water.

    Luffy was jumping joy seeing he could walk, run and even use his own hands to treat water like a solid object. The character progression of Luffy had already touched 13% at this point. It was slow but Luffy was only 7 years old. There are 10 more years left for Luffy to go to the sea.

    On this week, Sabo and Ace were not idle. They practiced. Ace practiced his Byakugan and the first move of Eight Trigrams. It was hard but he was able to complete it. And Sabo too was practicing.

    He was practicing with shuriken!!

    Danzo had wind style jutsus and used vacuum as his main selling point. In order to be good at that he needed to be proficient in shuriken and kunai and thus Sabo was practicing with the ones which Ken had provided.

    The week went by fast and after Luffy learnt the way of walking on water, they decided to celebrate. And the celebration came in the process of sharing sake and becoming brothers. Ken smiled when Sabo had brought sake and 4 cups. The famous scene was finally taking place.

    At night, under the stars, at their makeshift home, the 4 brothers clinked their cups and became 4 brothers. The story which should have been 3 brothers changed at this point when Ken joined. He changed the dynamic of the trio and the changes that he would bring to the world would be unprecedented.

    It was at this point that everyone declared their dreams. Ken was surprised that there were changes to the dreams of Sabo here. He said

    "I want to erase the darkness of this world. Living Danzo''s life I understood that there is necessary darkness in order for the world to move but I want to be as less as possible. I don''t want innocents to suffer for a thing they didn''t do or a future generation to carry the burden of the past."

    Ken smiled at this. This was a change. But a welcome one. Ace on the other hand didn''t change his dreams. He still wanted to be free in the sea and explore. And then the actual situation came. The dream of Luffy.

    The actual dream of Luffy was always a mystery in the One Piece world. He had always clamoured about being a PIrate King but only very few people know that Luffy had an extra dream. And Ken was looking forward to that.

    But fate played a joke at that point. As Luffy spoke of his dream there was a loud roar nearby by a lion which had sneaked up to their hiding place and was less than 50 metres away. Ken, who was too much focused on Luffy, stiffened when he heard that roar.

    This roar just straightly killed the sound from Luffy''s mouth. Not only Ken didn''t get to hear the dream of Luffy. Neither did Ace and Sabo. Ken was so angry at this point that he proceeded to use lightning to kill this lion which roared at the foot of the tree.

    The lightning fell from heaven directly at the lion and burnt it to the crisp. Luffy and others were terrified seeing this.

 18. Naguri

    "Oi Ken... Are you alright?" Ace said with a little fear in his voice. He had heard about the power of Ken but seeing it in reality was a different matter. He just burnt a lion with lightning. He didn''t even need fire.

    They didn''t understand why Ken suddenly became infuriated with a weak lion. Ken didn''t reply to them but said to Luffy

    "Luffy, tell us again what your dream was?"

    "Hahahah.. I already told you. I will not repeat again... Shesheshehe.." He said with his iconic ear to ear smile and laugh. Ken didn''t hold for a second and just lifted him up by his collar.

    "Say it again!!" Ken demanded. Ace and Sabo didn''t understand why Ken was a little agitated with just the notion of dreams. They went to separate Luffy and Ken. But in the end they were not able to.

    Ken held Luffy by his collar in the air but Luffy gave his answer in the form of a grin to Ken. After a few seconds of looking each other in the eyes Ken gave up with a sigh.

    "Do I have to wait till the end of Kaido to know what his dream was again? Why did fate just pull a wool on me?"

    After this small incident everything was back to normal. They went home with food that night and like always went out early in the morning to practice secretly. Until this point, none of the three had opened their mouths about them being ninjas. Even Luffy who had a loud mouth was silent about this at Dadan''s home and acted normally. Ken really didn''t care about this.

    Them having special powers would come out one day or the other. And if it did, not many would point it out as the world of One Piece was itself filled with mysteries and nobody could say that he or she knew everything. But he was happy that Luffy and others were considerate about the secrecy and acted as normal as possible.

    Though Luffy was having a hard time not opening his mouth and spilling. Sabo had to go and shut his mouth. In this manner a few more days went by and the three other brothers had now become more proficient in ninjutsus. Ace had learnt the first move of the Eight Trigrams. Sabo now could use vacuum style on shurikens and throw it though it didn''t have that much power like the actual ones and could only travel a few metres but there was progress.

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    Luffy was the one who suffered the most because he needed to use both ninjutsu and his rubber power. Ken was not ready to compromise on the rubber power. Only using his rubber power would he reach the Nika mode so it needed special attention.

    "Why do I need the rubber fruit? I can use my ninjutsu to beat my enemies in future." Luffy didn''t understand and complained. Ken as usual gave him a punch on the head and said

    "Ninjutsu is powerful but at times when you will run out of chakra what will you do? Your physical body is more important here. And this goes for both Sabo and Ace. Ninjutsu is fine but body is where the true power lies here." Ken lectured. This woke both Sabo and Ace too. They thought ninjutsu, shuriken and kunai would be enough but it seemed like they had been daydreaming too much.

    So in addition to Luffy, Sabo and Ace too returned back to physical fights too afternoon everyday. After days of training it was time to have some fun and they 4 returned to Gray Terminal. And this time they didn''t hide. They just walked in like they owned the place and the people who lived there gave them space and respect.

    A bunch of kids were now feared in Gray Terminal. The beating of Ken with his magical hammer was still vivid in the minds of the spectators. The 4 sneaked into a restaurant using the royal privilege of Sabo. The 4 brothers had their stomach full to the brim.

    It was only Ken who was a little unhappy as there was no wine, no alcohol, no beer. Thor''s character was rubbing off on him in a little wrong way but it was good that he preferred meat like Luffy. While returning from the restaurant, it was Sabo''s father who noticed Sabo and had a grim face. Ken had already seen him from the corner of his eye but didn''t react.

    He hoped that Sabo''s father would come after them!!

    After having some fun, they continued their practice. After a month of practice, the three other brothers finally decided to go for one of the rulers of the forest. The huge bear!

    The bear was slow but it had quite thick fur. If they could take it down it would be tantamount to a seal in the progress and they could go for the other kings of the forest. And so after finding the bear the three made their own strategy while Ken just looked at them from a cliff. He was there to save them if anything went wrong.

    "Ace I will use shuriken to hurt its eyes, legs and hands in order to incapacitate him and make him slow. You can use your Eight Trigrams. Luffy you can use your wind style bullets on him to make him hurt. This bastard has a very thick skin so we need to be close when we carry out the plan." Sabo laid the plan of confronting the bear and they ran towards it.

    But it was then they saw an old man coming right at the middle of this. The old man looked like a normal old man but Ken was happy to see the old man. He had been waiting to see him and learn from him.

    "Oi ossan make way for us! This bear is huge. You will die." Ace screamed in horror seeing that the old man was quite near to the charging bear who had already thought of these runts as his targets.

 19. Conquerors Haki

    Sabo even looked at Ken who was sitting leisurely at the nearby cliff and almost hinting at Ken to come and save the old man Naguri but Ken just gave a cheeky smile. Sabo, seeing no end way out, took out two shuriken from his bag and inserted the vacuum style enhancements at the sides of the shuriken in order to throw at the charging bear.

    But doing this took time!!

    While Ace was running towards the old man and Luffy doing hand signs to do the only ninjutsu he had practiced. But it was already late. The bear had already taken a swipe at the old man and before any of the three could even land a punch or hurt the bear, the old man did something that was unimaginable by their standards.

    The old man just spoke to the bear in a very low tone and asked the bear to go away. The bear was shaking in fear after this and then after a few seconds it walked away slowly. Seeing this the jaws dropped. They couldn''t even understand how this old man convinced an enraging bear to stop and even walk away.

    "What the hell! Did you feel the power?" Sabo whispered to Luffy.

    "Yes. When he talked there was a power emitting from this ossan." The only reason the three could feel the power unlike the original story was because they now had experience of a lifetime with them. Living a ninja life they had to pay attention to the minute details. And the fact that they could feel the power was just one of the observations.

    The bear later walked away from the clearing towards the forest. The way it came from. Naguri looked back at the three with gentle eyes. Naguri looked really old. Almost as old as Yamamoto Genryusai. With overextending eyebrows and wrinkled face.

    "Kids you shouldn''t be here. The bear might have killed you."

    "It was you that we were worried about." The three raised their hands and shouted in unison at the old man. The three were really scared about the old man. Especially Sabo, who had seen him on the Gray Terminal quite a few times.

    "Eh!! Me? Why? I can handle myself. You kids can''t....." And before Naguri could finish he looked up because he could feel someone was approaching from the air. And then he saw a small kid, covered in lightning sparks flying through the air and landing straight between the three and Naguri.

    Naguri was amazed by how a young kid just flew.

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    "A devil fruit?" Naguri thought.

    "Naguri-ossan, it''s nice to meet you. My name is Ken. And I am with them." Ken, who had just arrived, forwarded his hands to greet Naguri. The only person who could make Ken interested other than the trio in the Goa Kingdom was this old man.

    The old man with the Conqueror''s Haki!!!

    "I am Naguri. Nice to meet you too! I live in Gray Terminal." Naguri was still a little amazed by this kid''s flying and the hammer in his hand. The hammer was still emitting sparks of lightning.

    "Oi Ken!! Why didn''t you save this ossan? You could have easily come fast and resolved this bear." Sabo complained.

    "Ossan here never needed my help. This small incident made you realize your shortcomings. Didn''t it? You three are too slow to react and by the time you use your attack, someone could easily sneak on and do the damage. Thus you three need to practice and make it fast." Ken lectured. Naguri was taken aback. From the words of these kids it seemed like this encounter with the bear was just a practice.

    And this bear was the victim.

    He basically had stepped in the middle of the training and ruined it instead of being a hero!! He was a little embarrassed now. From the looks of it, Ken could really take down the bear.

    The three too hung their heads in shame. They have been daydreaming too much and what Ken said made sense. Even Luffy who used ninjutsu was late doing hand signs. This was shameful!! Seeing their disappointment Ken laughed and said.

    "Don''t be too harsh on yourself! Your journey has just started. We will reach the top as time goes by. Ossan, thanks for helping us we will treat you. Want to join?" Ken asked.

    "Uhh... Sure." Naguri agreed. He was curious about these 4 kids which had popped out of nowhere.

    They went to the nearby beach while following the stream. It was there Naguri was surprised about the things that these kids did. Ace walked on water and caught two giant fishes. He walked on water!! What the hell is this new technique?

    But being an old man he was just surprised for a bit and didn''t ask. The three brothers were happy that another person had joined and even nobody who had even ''rescued'' them. Though it was a waste of a training day, they didn''t mind.

    By evening, the 5 people sat near a bonfire and roasted the fishes that they caught in the river and had a great time. It was here that Naguri talked about his past and his fight against Roger. Hearing the name Roger, Ace stiffened and slowly got up.

    He didn''t want anything to hear about Roger and as he started walking away Ken got up and stopped him.

    "Sit down. It''s rude to leave a gathering without saying goodbye."

    "I don''t want to hear anything about him." Ace hinted. Ace always had hatred towards Roger for making his life miserable. But Ken was having none of it.

    "Listen to the words of the old man. Maybe you will be surprised."

    Naguri didn''t listen to the small conversation between Ace and Ken and continued talking about his past and his fights. Sabo and Luffy were fascinated by this. Luffy as usual spoke of his heroics with Shanks and the thought that he would be the Pirate King just like Roger.

    Ace, after much reluctance, listened to the words of Ken and continued listening to Naguri. Ken could see that after initial resentment, later he too was engrossed by the words of Naguri and heard his stories.

 20. Haki

    When Luffy asked if he hated Roger, Naguri said that Roger was responsible for the destruction of their pirate group but then he said it was his own decision to disband the group. If at all, Naguri had admiration for Roger and what he had done.

    This surprised Ace because he was expecting Naguri to be angry with Roger. But it was nothing like that. Then Ken said

    "Ace is the son of Roger!!"

    "Nani...."

    "Huh!!!" Naguri and Luffy were taken aback by this revelation. This came out of the blue. At first Naguri thought Ken was joking but looking at his serious face it didn''t seem like it. Ace got angry for revealing his secret and punched Ken, only to see Ken dodging it like a pro.

    "Really!! Sugoi.... You are the son of Ace. This is great!!" Luffy showed an excited expression listening to Ken. Naguri after a moment of astonishment returned to his nonchalant look. Nothing in this world had anything to do with him. He only needed to complete his boat and set sail.

    After a good talk, the 4 brothers left for Dadan''s home with more food that they had caught before. Their dinner was already done so Ken just wanted to give away the rest. Unlike the original story, Ace and Sabo hadn''t started living in the tree house yet.

    The next day as usual Luffy and others went to practice while Ken went to find Naguri. He needed to learn the basics of all the three kinds of Haki.

    "Naguri - Ossan please tell me how to use Armament Haki."

    "You know about Armament Haki? Most of the people in East Blue haven''t even heard of it." Naguri was again surprised by this lightning kid.

    "Most of the people here haven''t even seen a flying person." Ken replied sarcastically. It was true. East Blue was the weakest sea as compared to other seas. It was as if all the powers were taken away by Roger, Ace, Garp and other high levels.

    "Hahahah.... Correct kid. Alright since you want to learn about Busoshoku (Armament) Haki, I will teach all I know." Naguri accepted. He was a little curious about this flying kid so he accepted.

    And thus along with Luffy and others, Ken too had started his training for the first time he came to this world. Naguri taught him the basics of Busoshoku and Ken practised on this. His body was powerful to begin with and it should have been a walk in the park.

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    Ken thought like all other novels he had read before, he too would be able to master it easily. Oh how dead wrong he was!! Even after a week of training, Ken made no progress on this Haki. This was disappointing.

    ˇ°Online novels. You make it seem like Busoshoku is like drinking water.ˇ± Ken roared out loud.

    Luffy and others were surprised that Ken too had been practicing. Ken used to punch a solid object and try to make a dent on it. The solid object would crumble easily but the more Ken destroyed the more agitated Ken became. He could feel that this body power would be able to crush anything and thus Busoshoku Haki never played its part.

    It never showed up!!

    Meanwhile, Sabo''s father had contacted Bluejam and talked about capturing Sabo for him before the Gray Terminal was burnt down. Bluejam hesitated a bit hearing this. He had heard a lot of rumours from the Gray Terminal and even seen how Porchemy was beaten down but the lure of money was too much.

    After a long thought he accepted the task. Now he needed to ambush the 4 kids and take away Sabo. It should be easy as Sabo was the son of this man. Children would always miss their parents.

    Ken was in a little bad mood. Even after 3 weeks of practice there was nothing. So he gave up. He needed to see if it was only Busoshoku or was it the same with Kenbunshoku (Observation).

    This was where Ken was surprised. He could already predict the next moves of the opponents by just one week of practice. For this, Ken asked the help of his brothers by tying a cloth over his eyes and asked the others to hit him.

    They wouldn''t be able to hurt him anyway!

    First 5 days were of no result, but on the 6th day he finally started to get the hang of it. Soon in one more week he was able to predict the moves of the opponents.

    "So Busoshoku is the problem! Sigh!!" Ken thought.

    This was a bad result that Ken didn''t accept. Naguri, who had been watching over his practice, suggested maybe Ken was too powerful from the start and his body potential hadn''t been able to bloom. Maybe after he could exert more power, he would be able to use Busoshoku. Ken thought about it and it was right.

    ˇ°Thor was a warrior so he needed to make sure that he was aware of things around but he was never made aware of the fact that he was weak. He was always strong from the start. And this is bringing me down.ˇ±

    From the start he had a very strong body but Busoshoku wasn''t only about the strong body. It was much more than that. So from that day onwards Ken had decided to use his body power to the maximum he could in training and also train his Kenbunshoku. He wanted to be like Enel for starters.

    Be able to hear people around with the help of his fruit and Kenbunshoku. Then he could try to be like Katatkuri!! This was a long process and this would take time. The other brothers had no idea of what Ken was practicing but they didn''t question him and continued with their ninjutsu practice. They wanted to be fast and agile. Able to take down enemies in the blink of an eye.

    This was the first ambition and then they would try other things. At times when they used to feel bored they would sneak inside the Kingdom to have a good time. Ace and Sabo continued their practice of stealing money, but this time they would try to go after the rich people.

    And here they realized. Ninjas are very good at stealing things!! None of them weren''t even able to see who had stolen their goods, forget about running after the culprits.

 21. Bluejam

    And one fine day as the 4 brothers were returning from their mini heist after hitting a small auction store that was owned by a noble they were stopped by the Bluejam Pirates and its crew.

    No.. No... No.. The correct answer here should be ''ambushed'' but according to the 4 brothers this ambush was a little funny. As they were passing by the Gray Terminal, the crew members emerged from all sides with weapons in their hands. Most particularly everyone had guns in their hands. The people of the pirate world normally use swords or other cold weapons but this time everyone had guns in their hands.

    Ken was particularly surprised by this. He remembered that only Bluejam had a gun, but this time it seemed like the story had changed. Luffy, Ace and Sabo seeing this situation instantly went into action. They had already thrown kunai and shuriken at the people who had been holding guns.

    This time, they were fast and efficient!! Unlike the time against the bear.

    The kunais and shurikens thrown either hit the crew members at their hands that were used to hold the guns or the guns themselves. The 3 kids were so fast that the other crew members panicked and shot at Ken who was just standing and looking at them in a mocking expression.

    Bluejam too got scared a bit seeing this and shot at Ken and aimed it right at his head!!!

    Sabo and others didn''t even care about it and continued taking down all the members. The shurikens and kunai hurt them but not mortally so they had to use hand-to-hand combat to take them down. The chakra content in their bodies were at their peaks so they didn''t care about the expense and in addition they had strong bodies.

    Bluejam then noticed that after he used the gun on Ken, the bullet had stopped after hitting the forehead. If at first he was scared by the other 3 kids, then this time he was horrified. The bullet couldn''t even penetrate the skin of this kid. The other crew members who had shot had also the same expressions

    "No... No,.. This is not happening." Bluejam panicked more and started shooting the remaining bullets at Ken. Just like the other time, the bullets couldn''t penetrate his skin at all. Ken had already started walking towards Bluejam who had a dignified face and had started stumbling backwards.

    He had heard about the horror of this kid and at that time he thought it was exaggerated but this kid was more horrifying than he thought. The black clouds had already started gathering over the sky of Gray Terminal just like before.

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    "So you are the Bluejam that has been terrorizing this place. Tell me Bluejam. Don''t you brush your teeth? Why are so many of your teeth missing?" Ken gave a devil''s smile. Bluejam couldn''t take it any more as he had already started to run in the opposite direction but before he could take a few steps he was hit by a hammer at his leg which broke his lower leg bone instantly and he fell right on that spot. He cried out in pain.

    The 3 brothers were already done with their opponents. Each and everyone of the crew members were either hit by a wave of cuts on their bodies. The cuts were made by wind ninjutsus. Others were hit physically at many places of their bodies and Sabo was a little more ruthless as he had shuriken enhanced by the vacuum style.

    "So this is Bluejam? Doesn''t look like much... Shesheshe..."

    "We were once afraid of this guy.. Tchh..."

    Ken didn''t even look at Bluejam who was screaming like a baby but looked in a certain direction before shouting.

    "You should come out. You have seen how I treated Bluejam. Do you want the same treatment?"

    "Huh!!"

    "Who?" The three brothers were surprised that someone else was hiding nearby. And after a moment of silence. A tall man came out wearing elegant blue clothes. He had a hat on his head which looked like a bigger version of Sabo''s hat.

    But somehow even with all the clothes, he looked disgusting in Ken''s eyes. And behind this man were men wearing gas masked gears. They all had rifles and they were pointed at Sabo and others.

    "You are quite a kid. Able to defeat Bluejam so easily. Why don''t you come and work for our family? I will pay you to be my personal bodyguard. And for sending Sabo on my way I will also pay you extra." This person was Sabo''s father as he came to take away Sabo but what he just saw was not what he expected. He saw a bunch of kids bringing down one of the most feared pirate groups and it seemed like it was nothing.

    The crew members couldn''t even keep up with the movement of the three kids and the one they could shoot turned out to be an invincible person in front of guns.  And he even found out that he was hiding!! What the hell was wrong with this kid.

    "Father!!" Sabo clenched his fist seeing his father here. He could already understand what had happened. His father had hired pirates to bring him. And from the gun power he had seen, if they weren''t powerful, Ace and Luffy might have died.

    His anger against his own father had almost reached his peak!! Luffy and Ace also came to the realization that this person was the father of Sabo who had once told them that his father was a noble. Though they never cared.

    "Oh!! Good proposal. I have a better one here. How about I take away all the kids that you adopt from now and in the future too. You pay me so that I won''t do it and thus the safety of Stelly will be intact." Ken smiled as he said that. The father of Sabo had his eyes wide open when he heard of Stelly. Stelly had been recently adopted and this was kind of a secret that nobody knew but this kid actually knew about his adopted child Stelly.

    "KID!!!..... Shoot him... Shoot him down....Kill him..." Sabo''s father ordered.

    The guns were already pointed at Ken but before they could pull the trigger, Ken took his hammer high up and just brought it down like he was beating someone in thin air.

 22. Gray Terminal

    And then a scene happened that even the three brothers would remember for the rest of their lives. Lightning came down from the black clouds and it hit each and every one of the small army that Sabo''s father had just brought.

    The lightning was enough to fry each and every one of the people who were wearing gas masks. After a few seconds the people around could smell the burnt leather in the air. Sabo and others were horrified by this scene. The father of Sabo almost peed himself seeing this as he fell down on his ass.

    His legs were shaking. He thought that this kid was just a little more powerful. He was a noble, even though he didn''t care about the marine he had heard about their powers. But what the kid had shown was pure horror.

    "So is that incentive high enough? Are you ready to pay?" Ken asked.

    "You.. You.. Do you know who you are talking to? I am a noble. If you touch me or even hurt me, armies will come to take you down. The marines will be dispatched to kill you. Do you even know what you are doing?" The courage he had lost, was gained again for a bit as he remembered his heritage.

    "You are right. You are a noble. Though you don''t live in that pathetic place of Mariejois but you still are. But you have forgotten about the fact that you have come here on your own accord and you hid this information along with the fact that you are going to burn this place down. What if I just leave you here tied down. You will die in the fire and nothing will happen to us. The actual nobles who are coming won''t care about you as you are just another one of the nobles and from the looks of it, your adopted child Stelly won''t be able to rule the Goa Kingdom." Ken spoke of his plan openly.

    "What? Burn this place? What are you talking about, Ken?"

    "What does he mean?"

    "Is he serious?"

    "How... How... How... How do you know this?" Sabo''s father was stumbling in his words the more he spoke. This had never happened before. He finally felt fear. Fear of death. All the money, all the status would mean nothing if he died here.

    "It doesn''t matter how I know. You tell me how you will pay? Gold or money?"

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    "Please spare me. Pleaseˇ­ I will payˇ­I will come back and pay." This disgusting person finally saw a ray of hope and it seemed like this kid only cared about money.

    "Good. Also there is the ship of Bluejam. Sell that ship and bring back the money too. Take Bluejam away and I am sure there is a bounty on his head. Bring the bounty too. Remember. Bring the money. Or I will find you and I will show you what despair really looks like. Death is an easy ending for people like you so I will let you live but I will make sure that you will beg for death everyday. I will take away your status, your heir, your home, your money ... Everything. None of the marines of East Blue would be able to help you. You just saw my power so think twice before you take any action against us."

    Sabo''s father seeing a ray of hope bent his head to make sure he understood. By the power he had just seen, he knew that whatever Ken said was right. There was really no power match against this guy here. He literally brought lightning from the skies and fried his own personal army like it was nothing.

    "Go and don''t show your face. Be at the gate of the Gray Terminal tomorrow morning. Bring 100 million bellies and also the ship''s treasure and everything But before you go, there needs to be a reminder for trying to hurt my brothers." Ken said as he jumped high up and hit him at the shoulder with a strong force. The father couldn''t even react to what just happened and then he was assaulted by huge pain from his right shoulder. He was sure that the collar bone was broken and there might be more damage.

    After a cry of pain he shut up and gritted his teeth. This kid was a devil. He hurt him in front of his own son!! It was tantamount to declaring that this kid was not scrupulous about doing things. He left slowly from the way he had come. He looked at the bodies that were laying down.

    Some of them were twitching in pain while others were just unconscious. Ken hadn''t exactly killed them though he could. Ken had his bottomline. This army wasn''t exactly at fault as they were just employees.

    Plus he was pretty sure if he killed anyone, Ace and others wouldn''t be able to look at him the same way. They were just kids and even Luffy who had set sail in the future never killed anyone. Though it was idealistic, he never regretted taking this decision. Ken didn''t exactly agree with Luffy with these ideals at all times, he had proper respect for him.

    Ace and others got to see a side of Ken which they have never seen before. Ruthless, cunning and even he managed to bring himself money. This was a new way of earning money.

    "Sabo, I am sorry. I hurt your father." Ken apologized.

    "It''s okay, he deserved it. Even I wanted to hit this person. But tell me about the burning down of the place. What does it mean?" Sabo was curious just like others. He never really considered his parents as his family when he escaped. Now more so seeing the army and the pirates he had hired.

    He was disappointed to say the least.

    "Sure. Some nobles will arrive from Mariejois and the Goa Kingdom thinks that Gray Terminal is a blot on their reputation so they will burn it down and kill everyone with it here."

 23. A grade mission

    "What?"

    "This is outrageous!!!"

    "I will kill them all!!"

    Ace and others looked dignified and they were almost ready to run and take action but it was stopped by Ken who punched all the three on their heads.

    "Where will you go? Who will you fight? The nobles? Sure you will be able to fight them with your current power. Then what? Thousands of troops will come to fight against you and will either capture you or kill you. Even our grandfather won''t be able to save us. Think before you do something. Your hotheadedness will just bring more pain and suffering."

    "Then what do you want us to do? Let these people die?" Sabo roared.

    "No, it will be the mission of you three to save as many as you can. You can''t do it openly and you can only do this when the fire starts. There were always ninja missions in the other world, weren''t there? Take this an A-grade mission. You can''t alert the people here now as the Goa Kingdom will soon understand that something is wrong. This place will burn in one way or the other. All you can do is save people who live here. I won''t interfere as normal fire shouldn''t be able to hurt you."

    "Yosh!! I will do it." Luffy''s mood wasn''t affected like the others. Sabo and Ace knew that mission would be tough but they knew that they could do this. But whatever happened today really changed their views. They had seen the ugliness of the ninja world.

    And here too it was the same!! Different world. But suffering continues!!

    And that day the three brothers started working on the mission. They had started looking for people who needed to be saved first. Not all people in the Gray Terminal were good. Some were evil too so they needed to wipe their hands away from these kinds of people. Next they would have to see where the explosives were kept or will be kept.

    Ken had nothing to do with all of this as he just sat on one of the branches of the trees nearby. He just overlooked the whole of Gray Terminal with his blank face. For this world he needed to be ruthless. Fearless. And on top have the courage to move forward.

    "Thor, the warrior gene of yours is rubbing off on me too much." Ken thought as he could feel that the things he did today didn''t have any psychological trauma nor he felt any guilt. The Earth Ken would definitely not react the same way after what he did.

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    The next day, Ken appeared at the gate of the Gray Terminal openly and just sat in a nearby place waiting for his money. The things he did yesterday should have given a nightmare to him. Ken wanted to be that. If he didn''t kill people, he would be a nightmare to others.

    He wanted these people to beg for death. Death is cheaper. Life is where the real struggle is. Probably it was little demented for his own taste but this was the only thing he could do to make sure his enemies never dare to cross his path.

    After half an hour of waiting, he saw the man who had a bandaged arm sling from his shoulder walking towards the door with a big bag. His eyes looked hollow and it seemed like he was living in fear. Ken smiled as he saw this. His money had arrived.

    "Good job!! Seems like you do respect life!" Ken laughed after seeing the huge bag. He could already see that this bag contained money. Without saying anything more he took the bag.

    "You can continue with your mission of burning this place down.. I don''t care but..."

    ".... you want Stelly to become the ruler of this kingdom. Don''t you? Do whatever you like but remember nothing lasts for eternity. Someday everything will be brought down and I hope not to see your face on the other side when that day comes." Ken gave one more psychological shadow before he flew away. Yes, Ken decided to fly away with his hammer. Doing all this was to make sure this guy didn''t think of playing tricks with him later.

    Sabo''s father almost fell down seeing this. The last hope he had about this kid was blown to ashes. This kid was too powerful. Hard skin, lightning, flight. What else was this kid hiding? Who is he?

    The next few days went by as usual as the three brothers carried out their mission secretly marking who to save first when the fireworks started. And one night it finally started!!

    The day of reckoning for the Gray Terminal!!!

    There were simultaneous blasts in many places and this started a fire. Luffy and others went to work instantly as they used their body flicker jutsus to move from one place to another. Ace and Sabo were given the task of rescuing people while Luffy was given the task of using his water and earth jutsu to make a safe haven in a secluded place in the Gray Terminal.

    Yes!! After some wind jutsus, Luffy went for water and earth style jutsus. This was the only way and he hurried the last few days to practice it. Luffy made hand signs as he blew water from his mouth and drenched a relatively big place with water, dousing the fire around. And then he used earth style to make a barrier around.

    The barrier didn''t look strong but it was enough to keep away the fire. Ken who had seen this smiled. Though these few days they have been secretly working on finding good people, Luffy and others actually decided to save everyone in their minds.

    Luffy practiced like a madman. Ken could see what pressure Luffy faced but he was proud of how far he had come in these few days. Though his styles weren''t really good, this will do.

    Ace and Sabo had already started bringing people in. Many were on the gate trying to escape but the door was closed so it was easier for Sabo and Ace as they led them to the safe place that they had marked before.

    Of course there were some troublemakers in this situation too so Ace and Sabo had to send them to dreamland before they could cause more panic and trouble to the people here.

 24. Revolutionary Army

    "The people are safe!! Hurray, we did it. We have completed the A grade mission!!" Luffy jumped in joy as he was excited. All the past days of handwork paid off. Ace and Sabo too smiled along with others who were present. They didn''t understand what this mission was but they were grateful that they were saved.

    "You guys, after the fire burns out, break the wall and then go out. I don''t think we will have to help you in this too, right?" Ace asked as he put his iconic ''young master'' arrogant expression.

    "Hai Hai... Don''t worry Mr. Ace. We will be able to go out." One person said with fear as he was one of those who was punched by Ace before. Now he wanted to make it up to him by flattery.

    "Tch.. Let''s leave." Sabo said as he jumped on the wall. Luffy looked dejected a bit.

    "I thought there would be a banquet. I am hungry." Luffy said.

    "Bastard you just ate a few hours ago and you want a banquet?" Ace was angry.

    "What do you know? There are so many people there. We could have fun while eating meat."

    Ace and Luffy had started fighting as they hopped away from The Gray Terminal. Ken was still overlooking everything. Before he had met Naguri before and gave away some of the money for him to complete his ship. After all, Naguri helped him a bit with his Haki training. He deserved that.

    Sabo was particularly sad seeing the Gray Terminal like this. He wanted to change the world but didn''t know how. He desperately needed to do something. They returned back to Dadan''s place.

    At night Sabo sneaked away. Ken, who was sleeping, opened his eyes. His Kenbunshoku had warned him that Sabo was leaving. Ken followed him only to see that Sabo was standing at the cliff looking at the distant sea.

    Ken came from behind and said

    "Thinking to committing suicide? You won''t die with your current body."

    "Hahaha.. Of course not. I was just thinking how to change the world?" Sabo didn''t seem to be surprised that Ken followed him. His ninja sense was high enough now to know and Ken didn''t hide himself anyway.

    "Do I really have to push him in that direction?" Ken thought. After much deliberation, Ken said

    "There is a special group of people named the revolutionary army. They want to subvert the world and bring a new era to this world. If you want to change the world, then maybe you can join them?"

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    "Revolutionary? I heard about them. Aren''t they the most cruel terrorists in the world?"

    "Don''t believe everything you read in your home. Go to the sea and then decide for yourself."

    "You want me to join them? Why?" Sabo said as he easily chose to believe the words of Ken.

    "I have very little knowledge about them. But I feel like this group might be able to save you from yourself. The pain which you are feeling may be able to help you."

    "You know my pain?" Sabo asked. He really was in pain after seeing what his own family had done just in the name of power. They were the kinds of people who could sell their soul just for more power. He wanted to change that.

    "It was apparent in your face.They will be here soon as they have some work here. You can take this chance and go with them." Sabo was surprised that Ken knew of this too. The marines were searching for them for such a long time and this guy just easily exposed them

    Ken was more mysterious than he looked.

    "Maybe his devil fruit isn''t as simple as he explained." Sabo thought.

    There was silence for quite a few minutes as Sabo looked at the dark sea ahead and stars above.

    "Will we be brothers if I leave now for them?"

    "We will be brothers forever. Haven''t we promised that?" Ken laughed.

    "Then how shall I find them?" Sabo asked.

    "They will be here to take away the people who are supposed to be dead in the fire. Your ninja practice is high enough. Go to them and say you want to join their army." Ken said.

    "Okay." After waiting a few more minutes they returned.

    The next day they were back at the Gray Terminal to see if their mission was fine. And when they saw a huge hole in a makeshift round wall, they rejoiced. The people who were supposed to be in the Gray Terminal just vanished.

    Sabo then took the courage and spoke of his decision to join the revolutionary army. Ace and Luffy were dumbfounded and then Luffy started crying as he felt Sabo didn''t consider them as brothers.

    Sabo had to calm him down and explain to him why he took that decision. After much reluctance Luffy accepted the words of Sabo.

    "I will go and see how good this Revolutionary Army is?" Ace declared only to be punched by Ken.

    "Your meagre skills will bring you death if you confront them."

    "They are that powerful?"

    "Even Ace can''t beat them? They must be very good." Luffy really considered Ace as powerful as he could never beat him. Even with his ninjutsu. His special eyes were a real menace for Luffy. The 4 brothers went to the pirate cove and looked over from the cliff. There they could see a huge ship docked and from far Ace used his eyes to see if the people from the Gray Terminal were there.

    He heaved in relief to see everyone was fine. He could also see some people moving in the ship. Though there were no chakra in this world, Ace could tell from his eyes that some of the people here were really powerful.

    "Yosh!! Brothers I am leaving early to change the world. I hope to see you soon." Sabo said as he hugged Luffy as he started crying. Ace too had tears in his eyes when he hugged Sabo. They were doing this for their dreams.

    Ken hugged Sabo and whispered in his ears.

    "The man who controls the Revolutionary Army is the father of Luffy. You can talk about it with him when the time is right. Don''t tell Luffy this. He still isn''t ready to hear this." Sabo had his eyes wide open when he got this new information. After the event at Gray Terminal it seemed like Ken seemed to know everything.

    If it was any other person, they would have termed Ken as idiot and delusional but only they know that whatever Ken said was the truth. Ken was their brother so this guy would never betray them.

 25. Monkey D. Dragon

    After the hug Sabo just looked at Ken with big eyes and then he calmed down slowly. The head of the revolutionary army was the father of Luffy. And Ace thought he had a bad father !!!

    But it didn''t matter.

    This was his calling. He had read about them before in the newspapers. He had been warned too about it by his father about this group. At that time it didn''t matter to him. But now when Ken had talked about it, it seemed to Sabo that he wanted to do this for a long time.

    Plus from the looks of it, this army was hiding in the dark and was proficient in espionage and spy work in addition to having a huge amount of power in their hands. He had Danzo''s character so he was perfect in this role.

    After saying goodbye he jumped down the cliff on the sea surface and made a run for it.He was running straight to the ship which was taking in the people who had survived the ''burnt incident'' of the Gray Terminal.

    Ken just looked at Sabo and had a little tears in his eyes. All these days they had been living and having fun together. In his past life he was a great fan of many One Piece characters. But seeing them up close and interacting with them made him feel that these people were really a part of the family.

    A family that was not bound by blood.

    Luffy had tears flowing from his eyes. Ace had a sombre look on his face and he was a little angry with Ken. They had just sent Sabo away. They could have easily grown up here and become strong but no!!

    "Did he really need to go?" Ace asked.

    "If he doesn''t go now, it might be late in the future. Their headquarters are very secretive and nobody can find them. This is one of the few places that I know that they might show up and we all know Sabo had been thinking about this for sometime now. He wanted to change the world. It was better that he makes his own force and the Revolutionary Army is the best chance." Ken said.

    "How do you know about this army? I have never heard of them."

    "Someday I will tell you. It''s not the time now." Ken promised while eyeing Luffy who was crying his balls out now. Ace got angry seeing him cry and punched him to stop being a cry-baby.

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    ----

    Sabo ran on water and in a minute or so he reached the harbor where the people and goods were being loaded. He found a rag cloth and covered his face and body with it and joined the people who were going inside the ship.

    Nobody stopped him as he was just a kid and with no restrictions he easily snuck inside the ship. He hid behind one of the barrels and waited for the ship to set sail. Nobody would care about a young kid who had just vanished inside the ship.

    The ship set sail and Sabo sighed.

    "Luffy,...Ken... Ace. I have started my journey. The next time we see each other I will make sure to be strong." Sabo thought as he was going through his memories of Danzo and the styles which he had learnt in his lifetime. He needed to practice them slowly and touch the threshold of using his sharingan.

    Shishui''s sharingan needed to be awakened first and the sharingans in his hand could be ignored for now. Those were for emergency purposes. As he was hiding he heard sounds of people coming down. The place where he hid was the place where all the food and water was stored, so he didn''t care much as he was hiding in the most hidden place possible in the cabin.

    But he was wrong the whole time. The man who had just arrived went straight to his hiding place. It seemed like this man who had just arrived knew about where Sabo was hiding. Sabo instinctively touched his small bag to bring out shuriken but he remembered that he came here to join not to fight.

    "Ora... Kid, you have been hiding here for such a long time? What is your purpose?" the man said who was holding a lamp. The whole body of the man was covered in a single blanket sized cloth. Sabo finally got to see the ''man''. Well, this person couldn''t be termed as a man. At best a transgender. This person had huge makeup on his face which was almost half the size of his small body.

    Long eyelashes. Thick red lips. This person was definitely a transgender. Sabo slowly removed the barrels from his side and stood up.

    "I am here to join the army. I lived in Gray terminal too."

    "What a lie!! But the good thing is he seems to be interested in you. Come with me." The man was of course Emporio Ivankov who had come with Dragon to take away the people who were ''rejected'' by the Goa Kingdom. Sabo didn''t reject and just followed ''him''.

    Ivankov took Sabo to the person who Ken had hinted.

    Monkey D. Dragon.

    Sabo finally got to see the person. The most vicious criminal known to the world. He had seen the name once in wanted posters. He looked as menacing as he seemed in the posters. His face was as serious as Sabo had imagined.

    "Do I need to be serious like him to lead the people to light?" Sabo thought.

    Dragon just looked at the far kingdom as the ship sailed and he didn''t seem to be affected that Sabo and Ivankov had come by his side. After a few seconds he asked

    "Where are you truly from kid?"

    "I am a born noble but I hated my life living as one. So I escaped from home and lived in Gray Terminal. And now since you took people from here, I joined you. Fearing you will not take me, I hid" Sabo lied. He didn''t know how to speak the truth so he needed to make up a false story, though it wasn''t exactly false.

    "I see some degree of truth in your words. But you weren''t exactly affected by the fire. Were you? I saw you running on water."

 26. Time skip

    Sabo was taken aback that his main secret got exposed so easily but then he remembered what Ken spoke of the powers that were unique to their own world. He had given a rough explanation at that time but today he got to see the power for the first time.

    Kenbunshou Haki.

    Sabo sighed and then said

    "I can''t tell you how I can walk on water nor many things that I do that might be unique to you but I can tell you that I came here to truly change the world for the better. I am willing to lend you my power. But if I see any kind of foul play I will leave. I have seen my own father being responsible for the fire in the Gray Terminal, I want to make sure that such incidents never happen again." Sabo was trying to be the man here. He wanted to negotiate. Sabo was still in the bubble that his powers could rival that of the people present.

    Ignorance was bliss!!

    Dragon looked at Sabo for sometime while Ivankov was just giggling by the side after seeing the courage of the kid.

    "OH!! So you want to change the world? Hahaha.. What an interesting kid. Fine I won''t ask you why you could walk on water and you can join. But if I find your words don''t make up to your actions, I will throw you to the sea and then I will see how many days you could walk on water." Dragon said.

    Ivankov got the signal from Dragon and proceeded to take Sabo away. Before Sabo left, he looked at Dragon and said

    "I am the brother of Luffy and I hope you will not play tricks on me. And I am not a KID..."

    Dragon instantly shuddered when he heard that. He turned his head and looked at Sabo with glint in his eyes. Ivankov had never seen such reactions ever from Dragon before. ''He'' could see that Dragon''s face had all kinds of emotions written on it, but this was only for a second before he turned back to normal.

    "Tch.." Dragon didn''t speak more and just looked at the night sea like always. Ivankov didn''t delay more and just took Sabo away but ''he'' was thinking of what Sabo said so ''he'' asked

    "Who is Luffy?"

    "Ask him on your own. You will know." Sabo said while giving a mischievous smile. The process was much easier than Sabo expected, probably because they thought him as a kid which was true in one sense. But he had lived a life of blood and death so only he knew how mature he was. Though he had his own secrets, it was good that these people didn''t inquire more on this.

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    Actually, Dragon and Ivankov were not particularly interested in the technique of walking on water. Though it was unique, the sea was big and there were countless unique things in this world. If Sabo could speak of this on his own, then it would be better.

    They were more surprised by the fact that Sabo came from a noble family. That was unique and this could give them a lot of leverage in the future. And in this way, the life of Sabo in the revolutionary army started.

    Meanwhile, Ken, Ace and Luffy were back at Dadan''s place. Ken knew that the upcoming days would be boring and uneventful. It would be a long stretch of years for him. And from the start itself he had decided that he had decided that he would join the Straw Hats so even if he could go to the sea at the age of 17 he needed for Luffy to reach his age.

    Ace would join Whitebeard and he didn''t want to join a crew which was big from the start itself and he wasn''t sure he could stop himself from confronting Teach when he saw him. So it was better to stay away from the life of Ace.

    He could make his own crew but Ken in his past life was a person who had less social skills. It was too boring and too much hard work to search for a good crew. It was better to join Luffy''s who had the best crew.

    He could also steal Luffy''s crew but that would be a violation of the fact that Luffy was his brother. No matter what, that would be a betrayal of some kind and he wasn''t ruthless enough to back stab his own brother. The guilt would eat Ken up so it was better that he followed Luffy and made some better decisions and changed the course as much as possible.

    Months went by like this. The three practiced like crazy. In order for Ken to practice, he had ''hired'' the rulers of the forest to be his gym partner. Ace and Luffy were angry about this because they wanted to kill the tiger and the bear to eat their meat but Ken basically bullied these two animals into being the ''dumbells'' and other equipment for Ken.

    They were envious too seeing such power of Ken but they also had their own merits. Makino and the Chief of the Village had once visited them and gave away some delicious food and some clothes for the three brothers. Ken just looked at Makino with apprehensive eyes.

    After time skip Makino had a baby and it was a mystery who the father was. Many thought it to be Shanks but that too was questionable.

    "Oda, you have hidden so many things!!"

    Luffy, Ken and Ace had a good time with Makino and even Garp came to look into his grandsons. Of course Luffy was being dumb and he straight out got punched by Garp. Luffy for the first time tried dodging the fist of Garp but in no way he could avoid it. It was as if the fist of Garp could follow him everywhere.

    Garp was actually surprised that Luffy had the speed to even dodge but he was happy in his heart that Luffy and Ace were becoming powerful. They would join the marines with Ken. Oh boy! He was there for one rude ''awakening''.

    Thus years pass by and *cough*. There was a time skip!!!

 27. Ace leaving

    6 years had gone by just like this. There hadn''t been much change except for the fact that Ken''s character progression had finally reached 85% and then he was finally able to access the Stormbreaker. Though he could use the Stormbreaker he still wasn''t able to use the full power of it.

    Full power here being opening the Bifrost!!

    That would only open when he could complete 100%.

    This was a little headache for Ken but he accepted it as he could use the Stormbreaker for other normal uses. And thus it didn''t really matter to him for the moment.

    Today was the day Ace would leave for his journey and everyone had arrived at the Foosha Village (Windmill village) to see off Ace. Ace was actually looking forward to Ken joining his crew but he denied giving the excuse that he wasn''t old enough.

    "You are more than thousands of years old and you think you are a kid?"

    Ace complained. He knew that Ken seemed to have already decided to join Luffy which was a little weird for Ace as Ken was super powerful and he had his Devil fruit that could make an army and easily subvert the world.

    But it seemed like Ken was happy with Luffy and him being the future captain. Though he was confused he didn''t ask. In these years, the three brothers had stolen a lot of money and before Ace left, Ken made sure that Ace had at least a beginner''s knowledge of sailing as he was going to provide Ace with a bigger ship than the original.

    They spent almost 50 million bellies on the ship of Ace. With this at least reaching Logue Town would be easy. Would be better if he could find a better ship but Windmill village wasn''t exactly known for its shipbuilding. Ace had even taken extra 100 million to buy a better ship later.

    This time Luffy didn''t cry as Ace left, rather he was excited. His time was coming soon and both Ace and Luffy had progressed tremendously. Ace was at 80% and Luffy was at 70%. Ace could match the power of Neji post time skip when they went to save Gaara. Only a little was left for Ace to reach the level of Neji which was during the 4th great ninja war.

    Ace was proud of his physical prowess and eye power. He could see longer distance now and could use more jutsus than before. In fact he had made great progress in his Eight Trigrams jutsus too. He couldn''t wait to explore the world.

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    "Ace, see you soon in the seas and next time I will definitely defeat you." Luffy raised his hand and said. Ken on the other hand hugged Ace and said.

    "Don''t make promises that you can''t keep to others. You have a bad habit of doing this."

    "I always keep my promises!!" Ace rebutted.

    Really bruh!! Really?

    Yamato, Luffy, Tama, Whitebeard.... Do I need to continue more? Your refusal to stand down has been a headache for many and suffering for others.

    "You don''t and I hope you don''t get into trouble. Think before you take action. We are not at the top of the food chain here and the Grand Line isn''t easy." Ken warned Ace again. He had changed too much of the story so he needed Ace to be extra cautious about the world.

    And thus with the last farewell Ace left. Now it was only Luffy and Ken. After Ace left, Ken had finally revealed the fact that he would join Luffy''s crew.

    "Yohoooo!! Sugoi... Hahahaha... We two brothers will go on adventures and have fun and eat meat." Luffy was jumping in joy as they returned to Dadan''s home. He didn''t expect his own brother would decide to join him and that too he would be the captain.

    "But future captain, I will tell you this. If you lose yourself on the way, I will beat the shit out of you." Ken warned. Luffy tended to be stupid in everything else other than meat and fights. All his IQs would go to fights where he would use his maximum brain and defeat the enemy.

    Luffy didn''t care about the insult and was just happy and laughing. Ken just shook his head as they went to search for food. He was pretty sure Dadan was a little sad seeing Ace leaving so he needed to fill the belly up of these guys.

    He took his Stormbreaker and flew away to get some meat. The meat of the forest didn''t satisfy him anymore and he would go to the sea to hunt for sea kings. In the past few years, it had been little torturous for Ken. He made tremendous progress in his Observation Haki but there was still no progress in his Armament.

    This was like a moat he could never seem to be able to cross. And for this he went to the seas to hunt for sea kings. Those provided larger meat and even could let him practice both of the Haki. Having a high level of Observation had allowed him to search for sea kings easily and he was able to practice his body power too, which was of no avail.

    But in the end it was still food which was more nutritious than the meat from the forest. The surroundings of the Windmill village now was more peaceful and in fact this helped in better trade at the village as the sea kings around were already dead or they hid themselves in fear.

    Dadan was terrified when she first saw the huge sea king that Ken had just brought. And from that moment on the bandits had even forgotten to go out and work. They lived on the food that Ken, Ace and Luffy brought.

    Finally after 4 more years, it was finally time for Ken and Luffy to leave for their grand adventure. But little did they know that there was a surprise waiting for him.

 28. First obstacle

    When Luffy and Ken reached the harbour to set sail they were horrified to see that Garp was standing and there was a navy ship nearby. Garp didn''t look like he was on official duty as he was wearing a beach shirt. It seemed like he came for a vacation.

    But now he was standing on the road between the harbour and their ship. Ken had spent quite a lot of money on their new ship. It was nothing as big as Going Merry but it had three rooms with proper beds, one small and one very big refrigerator which Ken had specifically built for fighting Luffy''s stomach. The previous night Ken had already filled it to the brim with meat.

    In the last few months Ken had dedicated himself to learn about sailing and navigation. It would be useless in the Grand Line for sure but until they get Nami they would have to wait. And Ken didn''t want to be like Zoro in the sea. He wanted to have a proper direction mapped out and even brought a detailed map of East Blue.

    Ken even made the pirate flag for their ship and right now it was flying high in the single masted ship that they had custom made and was ready to set sail. Actually it should have been an exciting day, but here came Garp to be the party pooper.

    Luffy was visibly shaking when he saw Garp standing. All their lives they had heard about how Garp would make them marines. Ace had already left so that was down the drain. And now here came Garp to make sure it didn''t happen again.

    "Dammit!! Why is grandpa here?" Ken also had an ugly face seeing this. Even Makino, who came out to bid goodbye didn''t have a good face.

    "Grandpa, why are you here?"

    "I am supposed to be here for a vacation. But it seems like I am lucky enough to be on the day when you idiots would set sail. Now I can take you both to be marines. Ken, among the three grandsons of mine you are the most intelligent and logical one, how did you end up making this guy as your captain? I never heard you say that you wanted to be a pirate."

    It seemed like he had heard from the local people that the two brothers would leave and that Ken would join Luffy''s crew.

    "Grandpa, we both know that a logical and fair person wouldn''t join the marines and I never spoke of being a pirate because I am not baka (idiot) Luffy to allow you to hit me." Ken said as he knew that there was no going back now. He would have to fight it out and that thought itself was terrifying as there was almost no chance of them winning. Ken''s power wouldn''t be enough to hurt Garp.

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    And if Garp became serious then it would be game over. The original Armament Haki would be easier to defend as Ken''s body was inherently powerful but if it was internal destruction then Ken had no idea if his body would be able to withstand the force or not.

    And that''s not taking the fact that Garp would definitely have Conqueror''s Haki. A marine who could fight toe to toe against Roger would definitely have Conqueror''s Haki. Though grandpa had visibly become a little old and he might not be in his heyday, but a person who asked Sengoku to stop him from killing Akainu during the Marineford War would definitely not be joking at those cruel times.

    "I am disappointed in both of you. But it doesn''t matter as I am here and I will take you to join the marines.. Hehehe.." Garp looked happy as if it was already taken that he would easily take these two kids to the headquarters for practice.

    "Captain, what do you say we should do?" Ken finally whispered to Luffy and it was the first time Ken had asked the opinion of Luffy, accepting him as his Captain. This had never happened before and mostly it was Ken who was the de facto leader of the group. It was Ken who had half trained them. It was Ken who took care of the group. Luffy was a little emotional when he heard those words from Ken.

    Mind you, this Luffy wasn''t the same Luffy that was all naive and new to the world. He had already lived a life and even though he never showed it outwardly, he was mature enough to see how the world was. He  was happy and grateful that his own brother had decided to support him in his endeavour to become the Pirate King and he knew that he would have to take a stand.

    "We will fight and when we get the chance we will escape with our ship. Ken, can I use all my training now?" Luffy asked. Ken smiled at it as he was happy that Luffy didn''t back down seeing his grandfather.

    "The sea is vast and from now on we can use all our strength." Ken said relieving Luffy as the brothers have been very secretive about their ninjutsus. From this moment on they wouldn''t hide their powers. Meanwhile, black clouds had started forming above the Windmill Village. Ken slowly took out his Stormbreaker which was hanging magically at his back. And also Mjolnir that was hanging in his waist.

    Right hand Stormbreaker and left hand Mjolnir.

    And Luffy?? Well Luffy did a more weird thing that surprised Garp and even the locals around. The locals had long known of the brothers and all supported Luffy and his brothers. So when Garp came and the secret was released they hung their heads in shame. But what Luffy did gave a huge surprise to them.

    Luffy bit his thumb with his teeth which prompted blood to ooze out a bit and then Luffy did the hand signs of

    Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram

    And then placed his hand at the ground and shouted loudly

    "Summoning Jutsu!!!"

 29. A serious fight

    "Monkey King Enma!!!"

    There was a small burst of smoke from the place Luffy touched the ground and when the white smoke cleared, the people around and Garp got to see what had happened. In that place a humanoid monkey had appeared. The monkey was twice the size of a normal human being. Even Garp who was big in size looked small in front of the monkey that had appeared.

    This was Enma. The summoning beast of Sarutobi Hiruzen and now the beast of Luffy. Since he had the character of Hiruzen so of course Luffy would receive all the inheritance of him. Luffy had tried using this the moment the synchronisation had reached 90% and he was elated by the fact that it was really Enma. Even Ken himself was surprised by this as he never expected that Luffy would be able to do such things and the system would even allow this to happen.

    In all of their previous fights Luffy had used either hands or the iron pipe that they had got from the Gray Terminal but after the emergence of Enma, Luffy had dedicated much of his time in fighting with Enma''s transformed state, which was a stick that could change its size and width in command.

    Luffy struggled at the beginning but later he got the hang of it. Enma looked menacing and cruel with battle scars in its body. It had white spiky hair and wore the standard ninja outfit. In fact, Enma had the head band of Konoha till. He knew that he wasn''t in the same world anymore as Hiruzen had already died but he was also happy that he got a new friend now which he liked.

    In the past year, Enma had personally trained Luffy and Ken also talked with him about this world. This surprised him more as he got to know the power levels of this new world but then again he was looking forward to seeing the new world.

    And today for this battle, Luffy didn''t hesitate to bring him. This would be a tough battle and they needed to be serious.

    "What is this? A mink? How did he appear? I didn''t feel anyone nearby with this much strength." Garp was a little confused seeing such a huge monkey appearing. Enma looked like a mink but he had never seen a mink of this calibre before.

    "Kid, why did you summon me? I thought you were going on a journey... Eh!!!" Enma looked at Luffy but then he felt the eyes of a strong man at him. Enma turned and looked at Garp. He could feel that this person wasn''t easy and there probably would be a fight.

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    "Grandpa Enma, he is my grandpa and we need to stop him while we escape." Luffy said.

    "Escape? Are you sure that we can''t beat this Ken kid?" Enma was surprised. Luffy had never backed down from any battle until now. And even when he trained with him he showed extraordinary prowess when it came to battle but here Luffy was thinking of escape. Luffy just shook his head.

    "Hahahah... I didn''t expect that my own grandson had a relationship with someone from a Mink Tribe.. As expected from my grandson. Now who are you?" Garp asked.

    "I am his summoning beast Monkey King Enma and I don''t think you even know what it means but I guess we will have to fight it out in order for this kid to achieve his dreams." Enma said and with a puff of smoke Enma disappeared and changed himself to Adamantine Nyoi. The huge black stick with bands of yellow on both sides.

    The black stick fell on the hands of Luffy as he rotated it at high speed. Somehow the stick felt alive in the hands of Luffy. Meanwhile, Ken''s body was covered with lightning. Garp didn''t understand what just happened. A mink tribe Monkey? A black stick? Ken having the power of lightning? And two weapons?

    Did he neglect his grandsons so much that he didn''t even notice such big changes. He felt a little guilty but then again it didn''t matter what was going on. They would have come with him anyway. He looked up and saw the black clouds and could easily tell that there was some kind of reaction from the power of Ken. Garp was thinking Ken might have eaten the logia fruit of lightning.

    This would be a little troublesome but Ken was still a kid so it was controllable.

    "Kids, do you really want to fight me? Luffy have you forgotten how I disciplined you? Ken, do you underestimate me so much?" Garp said as he unbuttoned the top button of his beach shirt. He was getting serious!!

    "I remember Grandpa but I have always said that I will become the Pirate King and be a great pirate like Shanks." Luffy said as he pointed Enma towards Garp. Ken was revolving his hammer at fast speed.

    "Luffy, do you remember the trick that I used to do before?" Ken whispered.

    "Yes! Do you want to use that?"

    "There is no other way!!"

    "Will it work?" Luffy was a little skeptical of the trick Ken mentioned. Though he had heard a lot about it, he still had more fear of his own grandpa.

    "Trust me. You just need to slow him down and I will perform that trick. And also make sure the surrounding marines are taken care of."

    "Alright!!" Luffy said as he ran sideways in order to take down the marines who were just standing. Though these marines wouldn''t be any concern for Luffy and Ken, having them might be problematic later. The marines stiffened when they saw Luffy approaching them. They saw him as a kid but when Luffy knocked down the first marine with just a wave of his ''stick'' which grew by itself, they almost peed their pants.

    One hit! One Knockdown!

    Meanwhile, Ken took his Stormbreaker and jumped high up to charge himself with lightning and proceeded to use the momentum and struck Garp with both lightning and physical power. The surroundings went from sunny side to a gloomy one as Ken made the first move.

    Garp had a smile on his face!!

 30. The same old trick

    As Ken hit his grandpa with the blunt side of the Stormbreaker he could see that the hand of Grandpa had turned black. The hit of the hammer wasn''t able to go forward no matter how much strength Ken gave.

    "Damn! The lightning did nothing. Even his clothes are fine."

    "What a fine grandson. It seems you have hidden quite a lot. Tell me what kind of fruit you ate?" Garp asked.

    "Do I look like someone who is from the Grand Line that shouts out their own Devil fruit from the start itself?" Ken took a few steps back as he combined both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker to send a lightning attack to Garp.

    Luffy on the other side was having fun beating down the marines. After the first marine went down, the others took Luffy seriously as they took out their weapons to take down Luffy, but he was too fast. Luffy was only using his stick, his taijutsu and didn''t even bother to use his rubber fruit against these people.

    Using the rubber fruit would be an overkill!!

    After the huge lightning attack, there was dust and wind around Garp. Ken knew that this lightning would do nothing and he was ready to make his next move. Luffy was almost done with his fights and had knocked down a handful of marines. These marines too were in a semi-vacation mode as Garp himself just came for a vacation and these guys too didn''t come with all their equipment.

    After being hit by the lightning, Garp emerged out of nowhere near Ken who was waiting for reaction. Garp had appeared at the blindside of Ken so he wasn''t able to see Garp who had used his hand to land a punch at Ken.

    But the premeditated punch didn''t land on Ken as he dodged and took a leap backwards. It was Garp''s turn to be surprised. Garp had used one of the six styles of Marines. The shave. It was like teleportation. And Garp was pretty sure that he was fast enough. But he still missed. After a moment of surprise, there was again a smile on his face.

    "Hahahaha.. Didn''t expect you to learn Haki by yourself. You have surprised me more Ken."

    "Who is here to surprise you? Luffy, are you done?" Ken shouted. The answer he got was Luffy appearing near Ken with his body flicker jutsu.

    "Ready?" Luffy shouted.

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    "Let''s go." Ken jumped at Garp as they both now used their respective weapons to hit Garp from both sides. Ken used the frontal assault as he was basically a tank while Luffy being the ninja used the knowledge of the past to hit Garp from the blindside.

    And thus the epic battle started of 1v3.

    Luffy was trying to attack Garp and even landed a few punches and Enma at the body of Garp while Ken used his Mjolnir and Stormbreaker. Garp seemed like he was having fun. And this irritated Luffy a lot.

    Seeing that Garp was entangled a bit with Ken, Luffy did his first ninjutsu in the battle.

    "Earth style : Great Mud River."

    And this single made the jaws drop of the people who were hiding far away and even Garp too because this single move made the land on which Garp was standing transform into a huge mud river and drowned Garp till his knees. This sudden attack was not what Garp expected. He did feel from his Haki that something unprecedented was going to happen but since he didn''t look into the future he couldn''t say what it was and his entanglement with the lightning infused attacks of Ken didn''t allow him to get a respite.

    After the mud river drowned Garp, Luffy didn''t stop as he made hand signs and used another jutsu to make sure Garp would fall down on the land and only then Ken could do the trick.

    "Earth style : Dragon mud bomb."

    This move threw mud bombs at Garp at high speed. The bombs were hitting Garp like small canons and this attack made sure that Garp would fall on the mud river that Luffy had just created. In fact, after doing this Luffy even used Enma to hit Garp at his chest by lengthening the stick.

    This was the chance Ken had been waiting for. He took his Mjolnir and went straight to Garp and without giving him time or the space to escape he put the Mjolnir right on his chest. The mud river instantly vanished like it had never appeared before and Garp was lying on the ground with a hammer on top of his chest.

    Garp seeing this started laughing. He was really surprised by the move that Luffy did. He had seen many people doing many moves in his life but this was the first time he had seen someone create a mud river out of nothing and even make it vanish. This was a new thing for Garp and that made him excited.

    "Not bad kids... Not bad. But this isn''t enough. I am proud of how powerful you both have become. Now it''s time to come with .... Eh!!" After the initial laughter and happiness Garp''s smile slowly vanished away as he realized that he couldn''t get up from the ground. No he couldn''t even move from the ground.

    Ken and Luffy who were standing before Garp smiled as they saw this. This was the trick that Ken had been itching to try from the start itself. He knew that Garp would underestimate him and not use his full Haki. Being the grandpa of these two he would hold himself back and this was the gamble that they both wanted to play.

    And it paid off. Ken was able to put the hammer on the chest of Garp and now no matter what, he would never be able to escape this. No matter how powerful a person was! No matter who he was. Only the worthy are able to lift the hammer and Garp was definitely not one of them.

    "Grandpa, we are sorry but we will have to do this." Ken said.

    "What is this hammer kid, why can''t I lift it up?"

 31. Shells Town

    "Grandpa, you can never lift it up. Hehehehe..." Luffy was laughing and for the first time in his life was having a sense of accomplishment. Enma in his hand turned himself back to the monkey.

    "What is this?" Garp looked at Ken because he had only seen Ken using it. even in Dadan''s home sometimes he would see the hammer in the hands of Ken but he never cared. Until today.

    "It''s useless Grandpa. But don''t worry I will take away the hammer when I am very far after that you can go on your way and we go our own way. I know you don''t want us to be pirates but we both know that once Luffy had decided there was nothing that could change his mind." Ken said.

    Garp didn''t know what to say. After the incident with Shanks, Luffy changed a lot and even before meeting Shanks, he was already clamouring to be a pirate. Shanks just added more fuel.

    "What about you? Why don''t you join the marines? I thought you wanted to lead a good life." Garp asked, almost giving up lifting the hammer. He tried with his hand but he still couldn''t lift it up.

    "I don''t want my hands dyed red with the blood of the innocents." Ken said with a very serious expression and in a whispering sound. Garp was confused by this.

    "What are you talking about? Marines protect the innocents. It has always protected the normal people in the seas."

    "Grandpa, we both know that isn''t true." Ken said as he started walking off. He didn''t want to argue more with Garp about ideologies and the past. It was meaningless.

    Luffy too didn''t bother anymore with Garp and started walking off. Garp could only move his head and eyes and see his two grandsons go away in the sea. For some reason he didn''t feel resentment. Luffy had some weird moves while Ken even knew Haki. They were already very powerful and could easily play in the first half of Grand Line.

    Until then there was still a lot of time.

    The locals who had been hiding cheered as they came out. This small fight had destroyed a lot of things so Ken gave away 10 million bellies to the village chief.

    "You don''t have to do this. We are self sufficient. You have even killed the sea kings nearby, so we are happy." the village chief said as he held his cane. But Ken insisted. The sea kings were their food anyways so it didn''t matter.

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    Makino too came forward and provided some barrels of ale as she knew that Ken loved wine and ale. Ken was more than happy to see this. After getting on the deck of the ship both Ken and Luffy bid their goodbyes.

    "Everyone.. Goodbye.. Grandpa, I will lift the hammer when I go far. Don''t come after us." Ken shouted. Luffy had a wide smile as he too said their byes and set sail.

    "Oi kid come back .. Take away the hammer. If you go away, who will lift it up? Oi marines come here." Garp was furious that Ken didn''t pull away the hammer and just left shamelessly. He didn''t know what Ken meant by the thing that he would lift the hammer later. Some marines came who had gained consciousness and tried lifting the hammer.

    But none of them could. No matter what!!

    The more Garp saw this the more he became angry.

    "How dare this kid leave me here. I will beat him once I reach the Grand line."

    Ken and Luffy sailed away slowly with the help of knowledge Ken learnt in the past few months. He marked the Shell''s Town and all other places where Luffy was destined to pick up his comrades. So after marking it the ship turned in that direction.

    "Luffy, we will need a crew. Who will you go for first?"

    "We need a navigator, a chef... umm.. Oh yes, a musician..." Ken could understand the dream of Luffy of going after a musician. He himself wanted to listen to the songs of his previous life but he couldn''t. Now the sailing had started and they would pass most of the time on the sea.

    It would be boring. And music might just help elevate that mood.

    But sadly the musician is very far away..

    "There is a person in Shells Town named Roronoa Zoro. It is said that he is a very powerful bounty hunter and is the most powerful in the East Blue. Do you want to go for him?" Ken suggested. Ken was banking on the fact that the lives of these people were still on the original trajectory and thus they would be able to ''catch'' them as they were supposed to.

    "Bounty hunter? Won''t he hunt for us?" Luffy was puzzled.

    "I heard this Zoro guy wants to be the greatest swordsman in the world so it doesn''t matter if he is a bounty hunter or a pirate. As long as we can take in our group and set sail it will be fine." Ken said.

    "Yosh!! Then we will go for this Zoro guy." Luffy decided as he went to the fridge to consume some meat. Enma too was accompanying them and he didn''t go back. He wanted to see the sea too. Rarely he gets to see a new world. But soon he got bored after seeing the same ocean so he decided to go away.

    Luffy didn''t care as he was busy eating meat.

    "I wonder if we will meet with Alvida and Koby." Ken thought as they encountered a whirlpool. Seeing the whirlpool, Ken''s face twitched. Luffy was thrown to the whirlpool and had to hide in a barrel which was later recovered by Koby.

    Now it seemed like fate still played that trick and pushed them to the whirlpool. Both Luffy and Ken had to run and make adjustments to the mast and steer away from the huge whirlpool. They just got the ship. In no way, it would be destroyed by this shit.

 32. Pirate King

    It was one hell of a struggle to get away from that damned whirlpool. And Ken not being very proficient in it was having a tough time. This single whirlpool alone made Ken feel that Going Merry was a masterpiece because after so much it lasted a very long time. And this ship on which he splashed such an amount of money was already showing signs of tear.

    A single whirlpool was all it took!!

    "This ship isn''t going to last long." Luffy said as he looked at the ship.

    "And neither can we last. We will need a navigator and a better ship." Ken replied. Luffy wasn''t as naive and stupid when it came to serious things any more. He now had a better understanding and awareness of the things around him. This was a huge change and it had started the day he went to the simulation. The death in the hands of his own student, the bad decisions and indecisiveness led to it. Though Luffy still was not ready to kill anyone, he had a measure of what to do and what not to.

    This was the biggest change that Ken noticed after they started the journey. Only the sea would bring out the true characters. And Ken hoped that he would grow too in this journey.

    "Oi Ken, are you forgetting something?" Luffy asked.

    "Forgetting something? What?" Ken was confused.

    "Your hammer!!!!"

    "Uhhhh... Fuck..." Ken stiffened right on that spot. He was already imagining the rage Garp must have been at that point. It had been more than a couple of hours. Ken spent no more time and lifted his hand high to call Mjolnir.

    ----

    Foosha Village

    The hammer that everyone had tied their ropes to finally lifted up on its own in a vertical line and then flew away, almost taking away the people who had been trying to lift it up. Garp who had been lying on the ground got up and looked at the fast flying hammer that had put himself down for such a long time with unbelievable anger. He breathed a mouthful of air in his lungs and shouted.

    "KEENNNNYYYYY!!!" (A/N - IYKYK)

    -------

    Mjolnr returned to his hand with not even a scratch. Luffy prayed for Ken as he was pretty sure the next time they met their grandpa it would be Ken who would get the fist first instead of him being the first in the queue like always.

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    After getting out of the whirlpool, the ship sailed again like usual and after a few hours on the sea they encountered another ship. A ship for the civilians. And right now the beautiful ship which seemed like a luxurious ship was being assaulted by another ship which looked pink in color and had a pirate flag.

    "Is that a pirate ship assaulting a civilian ship?" Luffy had a question mark on the top of his head. Ken immediately had a hand on his forehead. He praised Luffy too much, it seemed like Luffy was still naive of this world!!

    "Baka!! Pirates are normally bad people. From where did you get the notion that we are the good ones?" Ken said

    "Ahh!! But we don''t go after innocents. We just eat meat and have huge banquets." Luffy said.

    "That doesn''t mean others won''t."

    "Do you want to help them?" Luffy asked.

    "Sure!!"

    Their pirate ship was still a little far away and thus in order to make it fast, Luffy landed on water and made a run towards the civilian ship while keeping his hands behind. The typical shinobi run. Ken was really living his dream here. A pirate doing a shinobi run. The world has really changed a lot.

    Ken didn''t have to go through such slow skills. He just flew away and landed straight at the roof of the civilian ship. There he got to see Alvida and his crew members. In fact, among them he got to see Koby too. Ken smiled seeing this. In fact his Observation Haki had also caught Nami who was busy stealing the treasures and money from the ship of Alvida.

    "Ahh the Romance Dawn!! It has started." As Ken was a little lost in his own thoughts.

    "Oi Ken, you are an asshole. You bring a horse in a cat''s race!!" Luffy shouted right when he landed on the deck of the civilian ship. He didn''t even care for all the havoc that was happening around.

    "Not my fault!!"

    This small shout was heard by all around and the crew members turned around who was this idiot that just made himself the target.

    "Who is this kid?"

    "Who cares. Since he is an idiot, let''s take care of him. And bring the other kid who is standing on the roof. How dare he escape at the top!!"

    A crew member took his sword and swung at Luffy who was busy looking at the other side. People around who had stopped by hearing the shout of Luffy were horrified and some even closed their eyes thinking that the kid will die. Koby too had a sad face seeing this.

    But the Luffy who looked helpless caught the sword with his two fingers. Just two fingers!! And then with a small pressure the sword broke into pieces. Luffy used chakra to catch the sword and then used it to break the sword. The other crew members had their eyes wide open.

    Alvida who was on the other side of the deck just came and saw the horrifying scene of someone breaking a sword with just two fingers. Even herself who had immense strength couldn''t do that.

    What the hell is this kid and where did he come from? Luffy then punched the crew member right on his face and sent him flying away from the ship to the sea.

    "Who are you?" Alvida shouted as she could tell that this kid was definitely not normal.

    "Monkey D. Luffy. The man who is going to be the Pirate King!!!" Luffy answered and gave his ionic huge smile after he said that.

 33. Devil Fruits

    That answer scared all the people around. Pirate King was kind of a taboo for many people here and even for pirates. And for many that was just a foolish dream. And this guy who just smiled while answering it didn''t seem to be serious at all. With such a casual tone he declared such a big thing.

    "Kill this guy!"

    "Who does he think he is? Pirate King? Hahahah.... He is a single person and we are a whole bunch of people. Take him down along with the guy who is up there." The crew members shouted loudly as they ran towards Luffy together to put him down and as Luffy was going to punch them, these people suddenly struck by lightning from high up. Alvida, who was ready to take this person down stopped right on her tracks seeing the crew members struck by random lightning.

    Alvida got the scare of her life and moved her huge head to look at the source. Ken jumped down and said to Luffy.

    "You are slow."

    "I could have done the same with one kick." Luffy countered.

    "Who are you now?" Alvida asked as she took a step back. These two people were scary to say the least.

    "I am Kenny, but people call me Ken. Nice to meet you." Ken said.

    "You ate a Devil Fruit?"

    "Yes. I ate Hito Hito no mi Model: Thor (Human human fruit Model: Thor) and the Captain here ate Gomu Gomu no mi (Rubber Fruit) ." Ken lied on both the names of the devil fruits. What Thor? What Gomu? What a bunch of lies!! Luffy was a little taken aback by the answer but didn''t expose him. He knew what not to say.

    "So what do you want now? We both are pirates and so we are enemies. Want to have a fight?" Alvida said as she was still shaking in fear. Luffy had enough of this small talk and directly punched Alvida right on her belly and sent her flying away. Koby, who was hiding behind, was shocked to see someone so powerful. A person who could use lightning and a strong person who had such physical prowess.

    "Why did you do that?" Ken asked as Alvida didn''t really hurt them.

    "This old lady tried raiding this innocent ship and I just didn''t like her face." Luffy replied as if it was the most natural answer.

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    "Ahh. Well... Whatever!!" Ken whispered as now he turned his head and looked at Koby who was hiding.

    "Hey chibi (small), come out I can see you." Ken shouted. Luffy too turned his head and looked at Koby who was hiding. Koby out of fear slowly got out. Koby was really small in height at that point and it was astonishing how fast he had grown under the wings of their grandpa in the future.

    "I am Ko..Ko.. Koby.. I am not... I am not with them... I have nothing to do with them." Koby was stumbling as he said that. He was terrified by the powers of these two. Alvida was nothing in front of them.

    "Oh!! But I saw you hiding behind the pirates." Luffy replied.

    "I ... I ... I was kidnapped by them 2 years ago and I was forced as a chore boy on the ship." Koby said as he was still sweating in fear.

    "Oh.. So you are a wimp! Gotcha!!" Luffy said.

    "Uh... Uh..." Koby didn''t know how to answer that. He really was a wimp and a coward. He didn''t have the courage.

    "Koby right? What do you want to do as the pirates have been blown away by us?" Ken said.

    "I don''t know... I don''t know..." Koby couldn''t reply that he wanted to join the marines as these two were also pirates. It would be suicide if he spoke his dream. Before Ken could answer that he looked in a certain direction. His Observation Haki warned him that the navy was nearby. They would have to escape. There was no point in confronting the navy here.

    At least the navy came to take down Alvida so it was better to leave.

    "Koby, join us and take us to Shells Town. After that you are free to go." Ken said.

    "Shells Town... I am free to go?" Koby was surprised that Ken would even offer that but he knew that he couldn''t refuse Ken. Luffy didn''t care and looked at the surroundings. The others who were present on the ship were still scared seeing these two.

    They declared themselves as pirates and they didn''t know how these two demons would treat them.

    "The Navy is coming. Hand over these pirates to them. They are alive. And maybe you will get merits. Oh yes, get your treasures back before they are stolen by others." Ken said as he flew away to the ship while holding Koby by his shirt. Luffy looked visibly annoyed seeing this and he jumped on sea and ran over the ocean towards their ship.

    The people on the ship were now more shocked. Running over water? Flying without any external help? What the hell are these two? They didn''t even get to say their thanks. The Captain of the ship finally got his bearings straight and ordered his crew to tie up the people who were burnt by the lightning.

    By miracle they were saved and he could also see three navy ships coming. He asked his crew to signal the navy to come and take away the prisoners. Of course they would have to tell the truth to the navy about what had happened and that would be a headache but that would be a story for another day.

    Meanwhile Koby had almost passed out after what happened. He was forcibly taken...no rather flown away from his place to a new ship and after landing on the ship he saw Luffy running on water and boarding the deck.

    "Oi Ken, you need to stop doing this."

    Ken just shrugged his shoulders and asked Koby to help him take to the Shells Town.

 34. Three swords

    And thus they set sail. As opposed to the thing in the anime which seemed like the journey was completed in a matter of hours, it took Luffy and his makeshift crew more than 24 hours. Why was that? Because they got fucking lost in the sea.

    It was tragic as they encountered a storm and they deviated from their direction so it took more time to reach the Shells Town. On the journey Koby and Luffy bonded quite well. It was there that Koby spoke of his dream of becoming a navy and even an admiral.

    Of course Luffy encouraged him to be one and also said that he shouldn''t fear death in his journey towards his ambition. Koby finally got the courage and promised that he would be one. It was at that point that Ken said

    "You can search for our grandpa. He is a great marine. I am sure he will train you well if you give your heart and soul."

    "Your grandpa? A marine?"

    "Yes. Grandpa Garp. You must have heard of him."

    "Garp... Garp... You mean Marine Hero Garp? He is your Grandpa?" Koby was shocked to hear that.

    "Yes. We are brothers and he is our grandpa." Luffy added.

    "But you both are pirates and even have a pirate flag. How come you are the grandsons of Marine Hero Garp?" Koby couldn''t understand how these two who had immense power and even such a great marine could be pirates. This was unbelievable. Koby didn''t doubt them as he had first handedly seen how powerful these two were. Their grandpa must have helped them but it seemed like these two had gotten away.

    "It doesn''t matter. Koby, I have expectations from you." Luffy said. At night, Luffy finished the meat so Ken had to fly away to search for more meat. Having Observation Haki made his work easier. Koby got the shock of his life when he saw a dead sea king in the arms of Ken.

    At the beginning he feared that these two brothers might get beaten by Roronoa Zoro as they were going after him, but now it seemed like Zoro might not be a match for these two. These two were just demons in human form.

    Soon they reached Shells Town, but they dropped the anchor away from the harbor in order not to scare people. They walked through the town but soon realized that names of Colonel Morgan and Zoro were kind of taboo here.

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    Luffy and Ken didn''t care and soon reached the place where Zoro was supposedly held. Luffy went ahead and spoke with Zoro.

    "I heard you are a bounty hunter. How did you get captured by the navy?" Luffy asked.

    "What does it matter to you? Get the hell out of here."

    Koby and Ken just looked from the wall and saw how Luffy would convince Zoro, but then a small girl used ladders and rope to jump over the Wall and provide Zoro with rice she herself made.

    Of course, Helmeppo, the son of Captain Morgan showed up and spoke arrogantly of how there were 10 more days and he would probably die due to hunger. Ken watched all of this with interest. When Helmeppo came, Luffy had already vanished from his place so Helmeppo didn''t get to see him.

    Later when the small girl was rescued she spoke of how Zoro was being held because he was protecting her and her mother from the wolf-like dog of Helmeppo who was destroying everything around and almost killed the girl. Luffy was touched by this and he almost made up his mind to make Zoro his crew member there.

    Though Ken spoke highly of him, it was up to Luffy to decide who would join the crew.

    At the same time Helmeppo came to the restaurant and arrogantly declared that he would execute Zoro tomorrow. This triggered Luffy to the extreme and hit him right on his face.

    "I will go to my father and complain about you. He will execute you."

    "If you want something. Do it yourself." Luffy was angry and was ready to hit another punch but Koby came and somehow stopped Luffy from being impulsive again. It was there Luffy declared that Zoro would definitely join their crew.

    Meanwhile, Ken had already seen Nami sitting and drinking wine but didn''t approach her as it was not the time yet. He then looked at Helmeppo who was running with his tails behind his legs running to his father to complain but was stopped by Ken.

    "Who ... Who are you?"

    "I am the brother of the guy from whom you got punched from and if you don''t want to be punched more take me to the place where you kept the swords of Zoro."

    "Who do you think you are? Marines take care of this guy." Helmeppo ordered his two ''bodyguard'' marines. The marines didn''t like this any bit but they feared Morgan more so they went to take down Ken.

    But the story repeated here too. Both of the guards were punched and slammed on the ground with one move. One lost his teeth and the other had his hand twisted. They both screamed in pain in the back of an alley and Ken just caught Helmeppo and dragged him to the place where the swords were kept.

    Of course, there were guards that saw this and rushed to stop Ken but he didn''t even bother and electrocuted them with a small amount of electricity. After a run for 5 minutes they finally reached the room of Helmeppo and Ken found the three swords.

    He left Helmeppo and went straight to the huge ground where Zoro was being held. When Ken reached there Luffy was already talking with Zoro again and it was then when Luffy declared that Zoro would join his crew even if he didn''t like it.

    "So if I get the three swords you will join the crew... Oi Ken, where were you? Zoro said that if we get his swords then he will join the crew." Luffy as from the corner of his eye he saw Ken approaching.

 35. Zoro joins

    "I was searching for the swords of Zoro and I got them." Ken said as he handed the swords to Luffy.

    "Yosh. Now I have the swords and you will die if you don''t join us. So what will you choose? Death or life of a pirate? You are already a criminal in the eyes of the navy. Join us." Luffy''s eyes shined with dangerous light as he showed the swords to Zoro.

    "You!! Are you the son of the Devil or something?" Zoro said but he too had a smile. He was not surprised when he heard that he would be executed soon. People like Helmeppo tended to be too arrogant and would do anything to show their superiority. Zoro had a hope in his heart that he might survive but Luffy came and dashed those dreams.

    He really didn''t have any other choice.

    "Well.. It doesn''t matter. I agree to join your crew but on the promise that you won''t stop me from achieving my dream."

    "What is your dream?" Luffy asked.

    "To be the strongest swordsman in the world!!"

    "Ohhhh.... I don''t expect any less than the crew member of the Pirate King. You don''t have to worry, we will be more than happy to see you become one." Luffy said as he brought out a kunai from his bag. He used it to tear the ropes that tied Zoro down. Ken was just standing by and looking at this epic scene. Though there were changes in the plot and Ken had fast forwarded it, the basic plot didn''t change.

    Zoro had joined the crew!!!

    But this good moment was interrupted by one asshole named Colonel Morgan. When Ken raided the base of Morgan with Helmeppo. After hearing the ruckus and understanding the ins and outs of the matter he came to the ground to catch the criminals.

    It was there he saw Luffy using his kunai tearing away the ropes.

    "You have trespassed a marine base, harmed many marines, besmirched the name of the navy and even brought shame to the name of the Great Colonel Morgan. And for this you three are sentenced to death. Marines... Shoot them to death!!"

    Koby, who was looking from the wall and Zoro who saw this were shaken and were scared. Especially Koby. Zoro was thinking that if wasn''t able to escape he would never be able to achieve his dream. Luffy didn''t seem to care as he tore away the ropes of his left hand.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    It was Ken who made his move. It irritated him that a guy like Morgan had so much power that he could execute anyone he liked without a proper trial. Made him remember Enies Lobby. Black clouds gathered overheard at a fast speed with louds sounds of thunder

    The clear sky became gloomy as Stormbreaker was sizzling in lightning as he took it out. Koby was excited seeing this. He had only heard Luffy speaking about the magical weapons of Ken before and now he would get to see this in action.

    Ken jumped high and landed right near Morgan with the Stormbreaker in his hand. The marines couldn''t even understand what just happened. A person just jumped and crossed a few feet in the blink of an eye.

    "I wonder what will happen if I break your metal jaw and your metal arm." Ken said.

    "Devil fruit? You ate a devil fruit?" Morgan could see the lightning and could tell that this person wasn''t simple. But he was Colonel Morgan so he didn''t back down and looked at the eyes of Ken who had just threatened him. Ken didn''t answer the question of Morgan as he was free to interpret any way he liked. Morgan felt insulted.

    "A dangerous person like you should be killed." Morgan said as he used his axe-hand and swung at Ken. Ken too retaliated with his Stormbreaker. And if the audience hasn''t guessed the next result then let me say what happened next.

    Of course the axe broke into pieces after it touched the Stormbreaker. Morgan stumbled back as he saw his highlighted axe breaking into pieces and blood pouring out from the skin that was attached to it.

    "You... You.. How? I made this axe with one of the best metals available." Morgan was horrified.

    "Oh!! And my Stormbreaker was made for the metal of a dying star. No metal here could even rival that. Now say goodbye to this base of yours." Ken said as he took his Stormbreaker to swing at the head of Morgan and send him flying away.

    But he stopped.

    Because he saw that all the marines were pointing their guns at him. They looked dejected and ashamed doing so but they still did it. The marines were under the brutal rule of Colonel Morgan for such a long time so much so that they feared Morgan more than anything else now and for this reason they turned and pointed their guns at Ken.

    "You all have quite the courage doing this." Ken smiled.

    But this small change didn''t affect Ken as Luffy used his rubber fruit and stretched his legs and swiped away everyone with one move just like the original story. Only this time he hit them on their backs.

    Morgan was mentally breaking apart now. Two people. Two devil fruits. He was done for!!

    "So where was I? Ah yes..." Ken didn''t even finish what he was going to say and used the blunt side of the Stormbreaker and hit it right at the metal jaw breaking it apart just like his hand. He coughed up blood from his mouth and was thrown a few meters back.

    Helmeppo who had just arrived with a gun with the intention of taking Koby hostage couldn''t even reach Koby and his father was lying half dead at the side. He too broke down in tears seeing his father.

    When the rest of the marines came and saw that Morgan was defeated they jumped in joy. They were finally free from Morgan. Even those who were hit by Luffy celebrated.

 36. Frog at the bottom of the well

    After this small fight Luffy left with Zoro who had fallen asleep as he hadn''t eaten for such a long time and his body needed energy. Luffy held him on his shoulders and took him to the restaurant that was run by the mother of the girl he had once saved.

    And as the food habits of Luffy went, he and Zoro emptied the whole stock of the restaurant in one breath. Ken seeing this was really embarrassing. At home, he never used to care about the quantity of food Luffy consumed. But here in public, seeing the same habit made him feel like he should stay away from Luffy when they go to restaurants from here on out.

    Of course, Ken paid for the whole meal which was quite a sum of money!!

    The mother and the girl at the beginning refused but Ken said that they would need it and it was better to take it. They had just emptied their stock. If Ken didn''t pay here, he would be more red faced.

    As all of this was going on Nami was able to sneak into the base in order to find the map to the Grand Line and of course she was disappointed to find only a poster of Buggy. It was all a ruse and making mockery out of Captain Morgan and Nami indirectly.

    Nami was furious about this. She had been collecting money and she needed the chart to the Grand Line to collect more money and finish the obligation of 100 million so that she could liberate her island. After seeing the poster of Buggy she also sailed out to get the chart or should I say steal the chart from Buggy.

    Luffy, Ken and Zoro after having a good meal were now ready to set sail again. Of course Ken wanted to have some rest but then came the marines saying that since they were pirates they needed to leave. The One Piece world was really harsh to the saviors!!

    Luffy didn''t mind and he went to the place where they had anchored the ship. Of course, before leaving Luffy made sure that Koby joined the navy after having quite a bit of drama with Koby. The marines saw right through the lie but since this Koby kid was so adamant on joining the navy they allowed him.

    Ken hoisted the sails and once again they went on their way. And this time their destination was also Buggy''s place. Ken convinced Luffy to go there as they needed the chart to the Grand Line.

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "So Zoro, how did you become a pirate hunter?" Luffy asked.

    "I went out to the sea in order to search for a man. But later I got lost and since I didn''t have money I had to hunt pirates in order to pay for my food."

    "Oh so you are the person who got lost.... Hahahahah." Luffy was laughing hearing this. Ken just shook his head. Zoro was known for getting lost and it was a well known fact that if he was given enough time he would reach another world. Maybe the world of Naruto or even Bleach since he loved swords.

    Zoro was quite angry when Luffy accused him of getting lost but didn''t know how to counter it. Ken then said.

    "You are far away from that person!!" Ken said.

    "What do you mean? You know who I am talking about?"

    "Yes. You want to look for Dracule Mihawk, Hawkeye. Isn''t it?" Ken asked.

    "Yes!!! Do you know him? I want to have a duel against him and only after defeating him can I declare myself as the best swordsman in the world."  Zoro said. Zoro still hadn''t seen the world and he still didn''t know how terrifying the world was when it came to powers.

    "I don''t know where he is but I can say that you are far away from him. It will take at least a few years before you could reach his level if you work hard enough." Ken said. Luffy was amused by their conversation and listened to them as he was eating meat.

    Zoro was having none of it as he slowly unsheathed his sword. Someone just said that he was weak in a roundabout way and he was having none of it!!! Ken smiled seeing the behavior of Zoro.

    "You better take back what you said."

    "Oh!! Zoro wants to fight. Captain, should I show him how far he is?" Ken asked. Luffy was clapping his hands as he thought it would be amusing to fight. Zoro too looked at Luffy for permission. No matter what Luffy was the captain of the ship and Ken was his brother so he needed to show respect. Of course Luffy cheered for them.

    "You should take out your axe. You won''t survive if I land a slash on you."

    "Tell you what. If you can even touch my clothes I will accept that you might be able to reach the level of Mihawk much faster."

    "You..." Zoro was fuming in anger as he took a horizontal swing at Ken right at the deck and Ken, who was just standing by, dodged the sword''s sharp edge by moving his body sideways. Zoro was surprised that Ken could dodge his fast attack so easily.

    But he didn''t get discouraged as he took his other sword out and slashed at Ken from both ends only to realize that Ken had ducked and avoided both the swords. Of course Ken was using Observation Haki and was able to counter Zoro so easily. He didn''t need weapons for this and could knock out Zoro with just one hit in his head but he didn''t do so.

    He needed Zoro to understand how far he was.

    And after half an hour of slashing, using three sword styles and even using his iconic moves, he still wasn''t able to touch the clothes of Ken. Zoro was sweating when he did the last move. He really was defeated without the enemy even touching him.

 37. Luck

    "How is this possible? You don''t look fast but you could easily dodge them?" Zoro asked but only could easily feel the shame when he asked that.

    "Even if you would have landed your sword, you still wouldn''t have been able to hurt Ken." Luffy as he finished his meat.

    "Huh!! He is made of skin and bones. He will die if I land a sword at him." Zoro argued.

    "Why don''t you try." Ken challenged.

    "Are you nuts? Do you even know what you are saying? Did I join an idiot ship?" Zoro was questioning his choice of joining this group. He accepted that Ken was powerful as he had seen him with his axe but then declaring that even his sword wouldn''t be able to hurt him was just plain bullshit.

    "C''mon, you will know if you try." Ken encouraged Zoro. Zoro looked at Luffy who was nonchalant about it. Zoro had lost the ''touch clothes'' duel so now in order to get some payback he agreed and finally swung his sword at Ken at the direction of his left hand.

    He didn''t use too much power as he was a little scared that something would happen to Ken and would bleed a lot later. But the real scare came for Zoro as the moment his sword touched the hand of Ken, he couldn''t move forward.

    It was as if he couldn''t move his sword a single inch more. There was no blood, no cuts... nothing!! His sword seemed like it had struck a stone.

    "What the hell are you two? Can devil fruits be that powerful?" Zoro was heartbroken.

    "Some devil fruits would allow your sword to pass through their body and it wouldn''t even hurt them." Ken said. Zoro got silent but after a moment of thought he was energetic again. He was aiming for being a swordsman not to kill people who had weird devil fruits so it didn''t matter.

    If Ken had heard his thoughts, he would have used his hammer on the head of Zoro. It was idiotic to think like that.

    "By the way Ken, would you allow Zoro to pass through?" Luffy asked.

    "Of course, if he decides to do so." Ken replied.

    "Pass through? What does that mean?" Zoro was confused.

    "Luffy, show him." Ken said. Luffy then used a ninjutsu. The most famous ninjutsu known to most people.

    Shadow Clone Jutsu.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Another Luffy appeared in front of him. Zoro was visibly shaken seeing this. Like most men he too was fascinated by the ninjas and he just saw Luffy performing that. He was pretty sure that Luffy was a rubber man and had nothing to do with ninjas.

    "You are a ninja?" Zoro asked as he was a bit excited. Ken didn''t know from where these people had consumed the knowledge of ninjas. It seemed like everyone knew of ninjas. When the crew were in anticipation of meeting Raizo who was a ninja everyone had the same reaction. Even Law was a little excited to meet a ninja.

    "Yes. It''s amazing isn''t it? I became a ninja because Ken had helped me with his Devil fruit." Luffy replied. Ken then explained what his ''devil fruit'' was and how a person could lead a life in another world.

    "You mean I can live the life of a swordsman in another world? Are there other worlds?" Zoro asked.

    "Of course there are other worlds. And I am not sure if you will live the life of a swordsman. Luffy got to be a ninja and was lucky enough to get the character of a powerful character. You might get a very weak person. It''s all on luck." Ken said.

    "But then I will be able to complete the character fast and again go to simulation." Zoro said as he understood the main point of the ''Devil Fruit'' of Ken.

    "Theoretically yes."

    "Good. Then I will continue doing this until I get a swordsman. Of course if you allow me to go through." Zoro said as he still had a sense of measure. He was new to the ship and he couldn''t demand much. They weren''t childhood brothers like Ken and Luffy.

    "Of course I would allow it. Didn''t you say that you want to defeat him? So doing that would need a lot of experience. You have seen how I dodged you. He can do it at a much faster rate." Ken said. Zoro clenched his teeth. There was no way he would accept himself being weak and thus was motivated to go through the simulation.

    "Good. Take me." Zoro said. Ken then looked at Luffy and said

    "Do you want to see how Zoro will spend his new life?" Ken asked.

    "I can see it too?" Luffy was surprised about it but was elated that he could see another world.

    "Why not. Only a minute will pass by here." Ken said.

    "Take me too."

    "Alright."

    "System, take Zoro for a simulation."

    [

    The subject Roronoa Zoro is being selected. Due to special circumstances with the subject, the subject will go through 3 consecutive simulations and only after finishing three will he be able to get out.

    ]

    "Three? Why?"

    [

    The subject could be labelled as incarnate of Asura and thus having two extra forms which could be called when he fights and for this reason the subject considers Zoro as three people.

    ]

    "What luck!!!" Ken cursed. In the future at times Zoro did use the Asura form to fight but it was only momentary. The system seemed to take that small thing into account that would happen in the future. What a way to overpower some people!!

    [

    Does the host wish to continue?

    ]

    "Yeah yeah! Do it."

    [

    Command accepted. Selecting a world and character for the subject. Character selected. Simulating the subject. Have a safe journey.

    ]

    Zoro, who had been standing beside them, vanished. Luffy and Ken were eager to see what kind of character Zoro got and which world he was sent to. The first scene was a set of twins being born in a period which looked like old Japan.

    The child which Zoro was selected as the character had a red mark on the right side of the  forehead.

 38. Swordsmen

    Luffy and Ken finally got to see the life which Zoro lived. One of the twins that Zoro was chosen was the younger of the two. He had immense intellect right from the start. But sadly the child wasn''t liked by his father.

    Later it was seen that he had an unusual talent for swordsmen and he soon joined the samurais. Over the course of time he realized that the world wasn''t simple and there were demons in this world. And thus his journey started of being a demon slayer. He was the first demon slayer to invent a breathing style. He was the one who derived breathing techniques for others since others couldn''t perform the breathing style that he himself invented.

    The sun breathing style.

    Later he invented the breathing style for his twin brother too. The moon breathing style. But later his brother defected to the demons and went under the ruler of demons. Kibutsuji Muzan.

    On his journey he once came across Muzan and almost killed him. His swordsmanship was so good that it took years for Muzan to recover and even then the wounds didn''t heal perfectly and the psychological trauma remained with him forever.

    Later he died fighting his brother who had challenged him one last time in his old age. But even at a very old age he almost decapitated his brother. It showed the horror of this person.

    This person was Yoriichi Tsugikuni. The first Demon Slayer to have exercises specialized for killing Demons. Coming from the world of Demon Slayer.

    Luffy was almost in tears seeing this. Yoriichi had such a tragic life. He lost his wife, his unborn child. His brother went to the enemy''s side but even then he didn''t have any hate for the other person. He was emotional for sure but his selfless state allowed him to be in a limbo which was otherworldly and be away from emotions when required.

    "What a weird world. If it was here, I would have kicked their asses." Luffy said.

    "They would only die when they were decapitated, idiot. By the way, Zoro has two more simulations." Ken said.

    "Two more? Why?"

    "I don''t know. The system.. I mean the devil fruit chose it."

    Zoro, who was looking forward to seeing the outside world again, was thrown into another simulation. He was confused but he didn''t complain. The first life was fulfilling and he could already feel the knowledge and feedback he received from Yoriichi. He finally felt that he was the frog in the well. There was so much to learn.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The next simulation was known to many people and was famous. Yoriichi''s life story only came to manga in his previous life but the next life was seen by many.

    The character of Zenitsu Agatsuma. The person who knew only one style of Lightning Breathing and he practiced that style to the extreme achieving a ''godlike'' speed. Ken was expecting a demon slayer among the characters but didn''t expect it to be Zenitsu.

    Luffy was happy at the end when he got to see Muzan dying. He was infuriated by what Muzan did before with Yoriichi.

    And thus with Zenitsu, the second simulation ended.

    And the last simulation was Inosuke Hashibira. The beast breathing style. The style which he himself invented when he lived with the wild animals in the forest. And with this last simulation, Zoro''s journey ended with that.

    When Zoro stepped outside only 3 minutes had passed but he had experienced 3 lives already. He looked more mature the moment he stepped out. He looked strong

    [

    Character progression of subject Zoro in Yoriichi - 30%, Zenitsu - 40% and Inosuke - 60%

    ]

    Ken was amazed that Zoro had high progression for Inosuke, maybe it was because he lived like a beast and trained like one. And it seems like he had at least rudimentary grasp on all the three breathing styles.

    Zoro was really born for swordsmanship.

    "How do you feel?" Luffy was excited about his nakama getting more powerful and so was Ken. Having the breathing styles and the swordsmanship of so many people would really help Zoro.

    "It was a crazy world but I learnt a lot. Yorrichi was terrifying. Even when I was seeing this from another perspective I could feel the power and now more so as I have his memories. I need to practice more."

    "It''s fine. This calls for a banquet. Let''s have some fun." Luffy was eager to have a banquet and Zoro too wanted to have some wine and just enjoy it for sometime. Living three lives wasn''t easy and even Ken lied to him saying he didn''t know why he had three simulations. Nonetheless he was happy.

    And this was time to rest and have a good time. The day went by and soon the next day they were able to see an island far away.

    The island where the famous or rather the infamous Buggy had made its temporary base.

    "You sure this Buggy guy has the Grand Line chart?" Zoro asked.

    "What will you do with this? It''s not like you can read a navigation chart." Ken said.

    "How do you know that I can''t read it? Maybe I will be able to navigate if I get the chart."

    "If you are able to navigate the sea, then I am the God of this world. Don''t fool yourself."

    "What did you say? Do you want another duel?"

    "C''mon let me see how far you have grown."

    "Hahahah.. We will soon reach the island. Cheer up!!" Luffy said seeing the argument of these two. After an hour of sailing they finally reached the deserted island. There was nobody in the harbor nor they could see anyone in the houses. It was fully deserted.

    But soon there was a noise. And when they looked forward they saw a bunch of rough looking guys running after an orange haired woman. The guys were angrily roaring as they ran after her.

    Of course the girl was Nami.

 39. Styles

    Grand Line

    After a long journey to Marineford. He went straight to Sengoku, who was busy with his work. Garp didn''t even acknowledge him and just went for the snacks that were beside the table. Garp missed his snacks.

    He started eating one after another while having a good time himself.

    "You will have to go back to East Blue again." Sengokus said while reading some of the reports.

    "Why? I just came. Give me a break."

    "There has been a problem in Shells Town. Some Captain named Morgan had been terrorizing the town for some time now and had to be taken down. Some pirates came and did the job for us." Sengoku said.

    "Oh!! Pirates against a Captain. They must be good." Garp praised while drinking some tea that he had poured on the cup himself.

    "You are the one to talk!!! From the reports I can say that the pirates are related to you."

    "Me?"

    "Yes you idiot. Didn''t you go to East Blue because you wanted to bring your grandsons back. Look now. They have escaped and already started making waves." Sengoku roared.

    "Hahahaha... As expected of my grandsons." Garp laughed.

    "Shut up!!! Why didn''t you force them here?" There was complete silence and Garp replied after finishing his tea.

    "I tried but couldn''t."

    "You have let your emotions get the better of you, Garp."

    "No, you don''t understand. I tried. But I couldn''t. This idiot grandson Ken of mine has a weird hammer that he put on my chest and then I couldn''t get up." Garp said. Sengoku finally looked at Garp with his big eyes and said.

    "You should work on your lies, Garp so that I can report better."

    "You are not getting it. This hammer was really placed on my chest and I couldn''t move at all.I couldn''t lift it up. I could shake my body. Nothing. And I am pretty sure that Luffy has been trained to be a ninja. You know how cool he was!!!" Garp ended the sentence with a hint of excitement in his eyes. After all, ninja are the romance of men. Garp explained the fight to Sengoku. The more he heard the more he thought that Garp was making up a story. But seeing the sincerity of Garp he chose to believe his great friend''s words.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    "Are you serious? You meant that the two made you fall down and placed a hammer on your chest that you couldn''t lift up. And your other grandson is a ninja?" Sengoku said.

    "Yup!!!"

    "Didn''t you use Haki?"

    "I did. But Ken had Observation Haki too."

    "The fuck!!! I need to put a bounty on them. You should lead the conversation with that next time." Garp just shrugged his shoulders without caring. Garp started filing a report and making the bounties of these.

    These two young pirates who took down Garp. Though he was pretty sure that Garp was very lenient on them, it still didn''t take away the fact that these two grandsons have already started their journey and would soon bring changes.

    A ninja!!!

    A young pirate from East Blue who knows Observation Haki!!!

    ------

    Nami was carrying a huge parchment of paper in her hand while being chased by what seemed like pirates who wore weird clothing. Their clothing style looked like they belonged to a circus.

    "Are these Buggy Pirates?" Zoro asked.

    "Seems like that."

    Meanwhile Nami, seeing three strongmen walking towards her, saw this as an opportunity and shouted.

    "Captain!!! Captain. I have stolen the chart. Now help me take care of these chasing bastards."

    "Did she just call me Captain?" Ken asked.

    "Seems like it." Zoro said

    "Oye I am the Captain." Luffy reverberated.

    "Captain? These three must be with this girl . Catch them and throw them to Buggy-sama." one of the running clowns said with excitement. Ken and others knew that there was no point in explaining and he was ready to take shots too. But Zoro stopped Ken and Luffy.

    "I want to try my new move."

    Saying that Zoro slowly brought out two swords from his sword. The blade of one Sword was red in color with beautiful burning patterns on it. It was probably the most beautiful sword Ken and Luffy had seen as of yet.

    And the other sword was very weird. The sword had sharp uneven edges on one side and the color of it was light blue. These were the two swords that Ken had provided. Except for Wado Ichimonji, the other two swords were nothing to be proud of. So it was better for a swordsman who practiced breathing styles to have his own sword.

    And since he had three characters, he could get all three types of swords. One sword was from Yoriichi and the other from Inosuke. Zoro was particularly happy about it.

    "Fifth Fang: Palisade Bite"

    Zoro used his two swords to release simultaneous slices in both directions. The slices travelled through air and hurt all of the men who had been running towards them. Nami was able to come to their side before she could get hurt. The beast breathing style was one of the most crazy styles out there and this move proved that exactly.

    Though Zoro made sure that his move didn''t actually kill the clowns, it couldn''t be denied that these people were badly hurt. If they were normal men, they might even die due to excessive bleeding later.

    Nami had hand in her mouth seeing that. She actually didn''t want to hurt these three but just wanted to use them for distraction. But this swordsman was unbelievable.

    "You are strong? Why don''t you come with me? I can pay you and we can travel the sea and loot." Nami came forward to shake her hand with this guy. She didn''t even care about the other two who stood beside him, thinking these two were just this guy''s subordinates.

    Zoro just looked at her with scary eyes and sheathed his swords. He was particularly happy seeing his own sword style. Before he didn''t have many moves, and now he has so many moves and styles that he could take down any kind of opponent in future.

 40. Red nosed

    Nami felt suffocated when Zoro gave her the scary eyes. She felt aggrieved as she always got her way around with men. She was able to bank on that fact and use her pretty face and take advantage. But here came a man who didn''t have any such consideration. Luffy and Ken looked at it and laughed. Especially Ken, he knew the story of Nami firsthand.

    He remembered when Nami first asked Luffy to ''collaborate'' he refused right on her face. This time it was Zoro who was on the other side.

    "Luffy that looks like the chart we were searching for." Ken didn''t forget the main purpose of coming to this island.

    "Eh!! You have the chart. Can you give it to us. We need it to go to the Grand Line." Luffy asked with a huge smile expecting the other person to be generous like he always does.

    "Who is giving you the chart. I stole it after much hard work. But if this swordsman here can come with me I might think of it." Nami said as she clearly felt that these people might be fooled and thus she could score easily.

    Once she could go out with Zoro, she was pretty sure her navigation skills would be enough to leave these idiots behind. Zoro meanwhile laughed.

    "You are fooling yourself. I have already joined this crew and this guy is the Captain."

    Nami was taken aback. This guy who had a strawhat, wore a loose red shirt and pants with weird boots on his legs. His figure was so thin that he seemed like he would be blown away by air. And this powerful swordsman was saying that he was the Captain.

    Is the world wrong? Or was she hallucinating?

    She thought for a second and finally said while gritting her teeth

    "We can collaborate. I am a great navigator and I can read the maps very well."

    "Really? A navigator? Yohooo...."

    Luffy looked very happy as he had been searching for a navigator and one finally was ready to join.

    "I am Monkey D. Luffy. I am the person who will be the Pirate King."

    "I am Ken..."

    "I am Zoro.."

    "Pirate King? Pirates? You are pirates?" Nami was horrified. She thought that these men were just normal people but never expected that these 3 men were Pirates. Fear took over her hatred as she had seen the power of Zoro.

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    "You are Roronoa Zoro. Aren''t you a Pirate Hunter? How come you joined the Pirates?" Nami finally remembered a piece of news. Zoro wasn''t affected by this question and said

    "I never declared myself a pirate hunter. It''s the people who decided. All in all, I have joined this crew and I will stick by it."

    "No.. This is ridiculous. I will not join you. I will not join the pirates. You are evil and just hurt people." Nami clenched her fist and hissed those words. She would never join pirates. Ken smiled at this, different settings, same old hatred. Luffy looked sad as the navigator who just accepted to join denied the next moment.

    There was nothing to do about it.

    "So can you give me the chart?" Luffy said as he had his sunny smile after a moment of disappointment.

    "Nooo." Nami held the chart tightly and was almost ready to run if these three came after her. She was running before anyways. Ken didn''t care and said to Luffy

    "Luffy, Buggy might have other charts and he might be generous. We can ask from him." Ken said.

    "Hmm that can be done. Let''s go." Luffy said. The three started walking away without paying heed to Nami at all. She felt like she was ignored. She was sure that they needed the chart but why did they just ignore her? They seemed like that needed a navigator too but they still didn''t care?

    Are there pirates like this too?

    Subconsciously she didn''t leave as these three picked her curiosity. She had seen what they had done to Buggy Pirates and they still seemed like they would talk with Buggy? Are they crazy?

    Soon with the help of Observation Haki the three were able to reach the Buggy Pirates temporary stay which was on a roof of a bug house. He had a circus like tent built over the roof where Buggy stayed.

    And right now, Buggy was angry to the extreme. A bleeding pirate had just come and said that a swordsman had come and defeated all of them in a single move. He was one of the ''lucky'' ones who was able to walk and come straight to Buggy.

    He said about the girl who had stolen his chart and also that his crew had arrived. As the pirate was explaining, Luffy and others had already arrived.

    "Captain.. Captain... These were the pirates who had defeat us. That swordsman... That swordsman...."

    The pirate was shaking in his place pointing at Zoro. Buggy looked at Zoro closely and finally remembered where he had seen before.

    "Roronoa Zoro. Have you come for my head? Is that why you defeated my crew?" Buggy gave a evil smile and asked.

    "I am not in that business anymore. Our Captain here wants the chart to Grand Line. I had to take measure against your crew because they were going to attack us for a misunderstanding." Zoro replied.

    "Captain? That strawhat reminds me of that guy. That hateful guy." Buggy red nose flared as he saw the strawhat and remembered about Shanks. One of the reasons of his predicament.

    "Red-nosed guy. I just need a chart and we will be on our way." Luffy as usual quick at naming.

    "Who did you call red-nose. I will kill you." Buggy was more angry hearing Luffy call him red nosed. Even his crew members looked horrified seeing someone having the audacity of calling Buggy as red nosed.

    "If a red nosed isn''t call as red nosed, than what shall we call? White nosed? You know Buggy, your Captain would have been really disappointed in you if he had seen you how you are terrorizing the village." It was Ken who had opened his mouth this time.

 41. Dead

    "Captain? Captain? Who are you calling Captain here? I am the only Captain here." Buggy said as he brought out sharp knives and placed them on his knuckles to kick the butts of these three who had angered him to the extreme.

    "I am talking about your previous Captain. Do you think his soul would be in peace seeing how you are now?" Ken said as he reminded Buggy of Roger who was his previous Captain. And after saying this to Buggy, for the first time he shuddered.

    He understood what Ken meant by his previous Captain. Like other guys he wasn''t powerful enough to roam the sea and be brave, so he came to the weakest sea and tried to make a living. But of course, he was having ''fun''.

    "You...You... How do you know him? Did you come here to arrest me? Are you from the navy?" Buggy was a little scared as he thought his main secret was exposed and the navy had come to catch him. He had been hiding all these years. It would all go down the drain if he was caught.

    "Relax Buggy. We came here for two purposes. One is for the Grand Line Chart and the other is to give you a piece of news. Plus we are pirates not navy. Don''t confuse us with those pigs." Ken said. From the words of Ken, it seemed like he really didn''t like the navy.

    But of course Buggy didn''t believe him a bit and attacked without even thinking of surprising the other party about his devil fruit. His hands got separated from his body. This surprised Luffy and Zoro as they didn''t expect that a person could do that.

    "Devil Fruit?"

    But it was too late as the small knives were already near the face of Ken. Ken just punched the incoming hand with a bolt of lightning. Buggy felt the pain instantly, Though the lightning didn''t travel to his body, he definitely felt the pain.

    The other crew members who were smiling and thinking that this would end soon were dumbfounded. What the hell? Lightning punch? After a moment of surprise, they all got angry and charged at the trio. Luffy was ready to make moves but it was Zoro this time who was faster.

    He brought out the two swords and this time he did a different style.

    "Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting."

    Zoro jumped in the air and waved his two swords in all directions except towards Luffy and Ken. The slices were generated rapidly and it traveled in all directions. Even the two right hand and left hand crew members of the pirates were in the aim of Zoro''s move.

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    This move justified the name Crazy Cutting. None of them were able to escape. Nami, who was hidden far away, was scared shitless as she saw that. Zoro''s name was infamous all over East Blue.

    But this Ken? Lightning in his hands? How? Was it Devil Fruit?

    Buggy who was in pain finally got up. He could see that his crew members were bleeding in many places. And even the powerful Lion that was under his crew member was wincing in pain. Zoro had taken them down with just a single move.

    When did East Blue become so powerful? Buggy had been in the Grand Line so he could understand that even if he was able to escape the hands of Zoro, the lightning kid was more dangerous. Probably lightning Logia. If it was, then he would be done for so it was better he could negotiate.

    It didn''t matter how he knew his past! Life comes first.

    " I will give you a chart of the Grand Line. Just leave me alone." Buggy said.

    "See that is not so hard. Told you Luffy." Ken said.

    "Hahaha.. Seems like you do understand our words.... Hahaha." Luffy smiled like an idiot. Nami and Zoro''s face twitched after hearing the words of Luffy. ''You just forced them to compensate.''

    Buggy went back to his room and brought out another chart that he had in his treasure trove. He had been to the Grand Line so of course he had a better chart. Stealing Morgan''s chart was just for fun.

    Buggy was holding his right hand which had been charred black by now as he gave the chart to Ken as he expected Ken to be the Captain. If Luffy would have heard his thoughts, he would have got hit by lightning again. And this time it would have been from the mouth of Luffy himself.

    "There you have it. Go away. I don''t want to see your face again." Buggy gritted his teeth. Coming from the Grand Line this was the first time he had experienced such humiliation. A lightning kid and a swordsman was enough to lay waste to the whole party of his.

    Ken, Luffy and Zoro also started walking away. but Ken stopped as Buggy was spacing out and looking at his crew members.

    "Your crew is fine. They aren''t hurt exactly. And with little medical assistance they would be fine. But I wonder who will help you in this town as you have laid waste to it." Ken mocked Buggy.

    "That''s none of your business, just go away."

    "Yeah. That''s none of my business... Oh yeah the thing that I wanted to tell you as you might not have heard." Ken continued.

    "Heard what?" Buggy now was more irritated.

    "Kozuki Oden is dead!!!"

    Those words struck like lightning at Buggy. He was sad that he got humiliated and was beaten down so soon. But from another point of view he wasn''t exactly hurt. He only backed off because he could tell that the other person might have a logia fruit so he didn''t want to entangle but the words of Ken hit Buggy like a bull.

    Oden was one his seniors and even sailed for a long time with him when they sailed in the Grand Line.

    And now this guy was saying that his ex team member had died!!

 42. Nami joins

    "What? What did you say? Say that again.." Buggy was shivering. Ken couldn''t tell if it was for anger or sadness.

    "You heard me right. Kozuki Oden is dead."

    "How is this possible? This is not possible. He was one of the greatest swordsmen in our era. How do you know this?"

    "It doesn''t matter how I know this. Oden is dead. Kaido and the current shogun of Wano deceived him. He died in boiling oil." Ken said with a hint of sadness in his tone too. He had seen how Oden died and it was truly a great feat of what he had done.

    He sacrificed so much but in the end he himself couldn''t escape his death. But it didn''t matter now. Everything will have changed since Ken had stepped in.

    "Kaido.....!!!" Buggy dug his fingers in his palm so tightly that blood had started dripping out from his right hand. He was furious. He knew about Kaido and it was painful that he couldn''t go against him.

    "Why are you telling me this? To make me suffer more?" Buggy asked.

    "No. I just told you this so that you change your operations. Staying in East Blue won''t be safe for you anymore. The Navy would soon find you. It is better you get yourself a larger crew and influence others. You are good at management. So it''s better you start working and make an empire. An empire so big that even the Navy would hesitate to touch you."

    "Haah... You overestimate me too much." Buggy said and for the first time he accepted his shortcomings. He knew that he wasn''t good but this guy was actually telling him to do something great.

    "I don''t underestimate you. You use that brain of yours." Ken said and he didn''t bother to talk anymore. He just wanted to see how Buggy would react if he heard about Oden. He remembered that he cried when Roger was executed so he wanted to test if he still had the same feelings for his crew mates. He wasn''t disappointed.

    Buggy was supposed to play a huge role in the future, and Ken hoped that he could do that. Having a huge army and also having Hawkeye and Crocodile as one of the members of his Cross Guild Organisation would be a huge win for them. Of course he probably wouldn''t be the boss. He didn''t have the strength to back it up.

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    But having a large number of men would be a plus.

    With that Ken and others went away.

    "Who is that Oden?" Zoro was interested the moment Buggy said that he was a great swordsman.

    "A great swordsman. From the kingdom of Wano which is in the grandline. A kingdom that is closed off and is typically a land of samurai."

    "Samurai huh!! Want to see it soon. By the way, how do you know of the Grand Line?" Both Luffy and Zoro were interested in how Ken knew of the Grand Line. As of now Grand Line was a mystery to them.

    "I have my ways to acquire information." Ken smiled and didn''t elaborate more. Luffy and Zoro both attributed this to the fact that Ken had a weird Devil Fruit and didn''t ask more.

    Nami got to see a new world for the first time. She had been with the Arlong crew for such a long time that she didn''t think there would be any humans who could take down a bunch of humans with a move or two. And these three seemed like they could do what the fishmen could do.

    Nami, after much thought, ran after the three and shouted.

    "Hey... Hey... Is it so good to leave a lady unattended? At least have the decency to ask if she is alright or not after being chased by those scums."

    "I thought you had left." Zoro said.

    "I have no ship. Can I board your ship and take me to the next island?" Nami said a little coquettishly.

    "You can go and loot their treasure. We will be here to eat something." Ken said. Luffy and Nami were both excited hearing this. Luffy was for food and Nami for treasure. She had forgotten that there was treasure in Buggy''s ship and she could loot it as all the crew members were taken down by Zoro.

    After a little walk Ken found the mayor of the town and spoke about the fact that Buggy would soon leave. After being beaten down so badly there was no way Buggy would be here. Ken didn''t want any problems in Logue Town so he wanted to take care of it from before.

    And he was pretty sure that the fear he had given Alvida would be enough for her not to show her face even if she ate that Devil fruit. Smoker would already be a problem at that point. He didn''t want to bet the whole ending on Dragon alone.

    The plot was changing fast so he needed to take precautions.

    The town mayor was surprised to know that Buggy had been defeated and he would leave soon. They even got to meet the dog which had been guarding his dead owner''s shop for such a long time. In the actual story, the shop was destroyed by the tiger.

    This time Zoro defeated the tiger and thus the shop was safe. Ken had a weakness for both cats and dogs in his previous life thus he spent quite a lot of time with the dog while Luffy was busy eating.

    After an hour or so Nami was back with the treasures that were on the ship of Buggy. She didn''t dare to go to the place where Buggy was. Ken had defeated Buggy easily but she wasn''t Ken. So she only came back with the treasures she could get her hands on.

    After eating the four people left for the next adventure.

    "I am just collaborating with you for the benefit of both of us. I am not actually a pirate like you guys."

 43. All forms

    Those were the arrogant words spoken by Nami as she joined the group. Honestly, at this point due to the actions of Zoro and Ken she had become kind of a tsundere. She didn''t know how to react in front of Ken and Zoro. According to her Ken was more of a terrible human being than Zoro.

    Zoro''s sword slices were explainable but not the thunder. Only with the Devil Fruit she could explain the power and if it was then the devil fruit this person ate was terrifying. These were all the thoughts that were going on in her head.

    The 4 set sailed and it was time to go for their main ship, Going Merry and also picking up Ussop, the God. The person whose lies became truth later. The lie about him having thousands of fleet later came to be true. There were many such instances where his lies weren''t lies in the future.

    If this was not God than who was? Ussop was a coward for sure but at times his bravery and quick thinking saved many. Enies Lobby arc, Thriller Bark arc, Dressrosa arc. The tiny things which proved impossible for others turned out to be too easy for this person.

    He really was an enigma. Ken, in his previous life at the beginning he never liked his character of Ussop and didn''t understand why he was in the group. Maybe purely for comedic relief but later as the series went by this character grew on him. Oda had really done an excellent job in character progression.

    But also along the way to Syrup village where Ussop lived they came across the Island of rare animals. They came across Gaimon who lived in a box and said that he was guarding the treasure uphill that he could never get tto.

    Of course Luffy being Luffy offered his help and went high up the cliff to get the treasure for Gaimon. It was there Nami saw Luffy''s weirdness and understood that their captain too was a demon.

    This guy walked vertically!!

    Who the fuck is this? And why is the crew so weird? And his body acted like rubber too. ''Fuck it... I should stop thinking about them."

    Nami was particularly looking forward to the so-called treasure only to find out that it was nothing. Luffy actually wanted Gaimon to join his crew later but he refused as he wanted to take care of the animals that lived on the island. The animals were really very weird looking. The animals looked like they came straight out of the spy kids movie in his past life.

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    After this small incident, they set sail again. As time went by Nami finally got used to the group. According to her, this small group of three has total different personalities.

    ''Zoro works very hard. He either sleeps, or drinks, or practice his ass off or gets lost. There was no in between but surprisingly he can be trusted. His new styles of practice is what surprised me. The red sword which could emit fire as he dances with it is the main point of his practice. But apparently doing this takes a toll on his lungs and he needs to recover.''

    ''Ken is the most logical and serious guy in the group. He is probably more powerful than the idiot captain but he has chosen to follow his brother which makes no sense. There is always a kind of mystery around him as he seems not to be fazed by anything. Only the sea, the islands, the adventure gives him a sense of joy but not the people. He interacts very less with everyone but he could always be trusted.''

    ''The captain of the ship is an idiot. He has no idea of what he is doing. He screams that he is a ninja and he takes that label with pride. And from the legends that I know of a ninja he probably is a ninja. Walking on water, using kunai to kill fishes and eat them. And even using thunder once to kill a big sea king. It was there I was sure that the captain and Ken are almost at the same level of power. His power is not the thing that fascinates me, but his smiling face and a weird charm that allows people to trust him and to bring people together.''

    These were the stickers that Nami had put on the forehead of three crew members. She didn''t mind them, in fact she was more free than ever as she joined the group. With those happy thoughts in her mind the ship had set sail to the Syrup Village where they could get a new and better ship to go to the Grand Line because this ship wasn''t going to last long.

    Zoro was progressing fast with his new breathing styles. After he came out from the simulation he was able to do the beast breathing even in sleep. Right now he was trying the thunder breathing even when he was sleeping.

    This was annoying to Zoro as he loved his sleep very much. But since he had already learnt beast breathing, he was trying to concentrate on the thunder part now. And it was a little painful for Zoro too who already had a tough physique.

    "Zoro don''t push yourself." Ken said as he saw Zoro sweating while he was trying the thunder breathing. Unlike Zenitsu, he was trying all forms of thunder. Zenitsu only learnt one style and did PhD on it.

    But Zoro, who already had the memories of the times when the master of Zenitsu had taught him, he was determined to complete everything. Even with the styles that Zenitsu had performed. And of course he was trying the sun breathing, but the progress was slower.

    But according to Luffy and Ken, he was fast. Ken and Luffy had to struggle for years to complete their training and only now they were on the verge of completion.

 44. Kuro

    "If I can''t even be like Yoriichi, then what confidence should I have in order to face that person." Zoro said as he continued his training. Soon they reached the Syrup Village. And the first thing they saw was a man standing on a cliff that was just beside the sea.

    The village had only one entrance and that was from the road that was carved out in the middle of the two high cliffs. This natural blockage allowed the village to be safe and not suffer from pirate attacks in this age of great pirates.

    The man who was standing on the right cliff was wearing khaki colored clothes with an unusually long nose. He had curly hair and had a bandana to cover his hair.

    Who else was it, if it wasn''t Ussop. Seeing that the pirates were coming to the village he arranged a number of flags around with the help of his three young friends. Of course, he lied about having 80 million men of his own.

    Nami saw right through his lie while Zoro and Ken just watched while laughing on their own. Luffy as usual believed his lie before. It was there Luffy spoke of Yassop and recognized that Ussop was the son of Yassop.

    Seeing that Luffy knew of Shanks, he invited them for a meal in a restaurant while Luffy was excited. Food always excites this guy!! After having quite a huge amount of food Luffy said.

    "Shanks is a great pirate and your father is a great marksman."

    "Yes, I don''t remember my father too much but he went to live his dream. I am proud of my father." Ken was a little flabbergasted by this guy''s brain. His mother died because she couldn''t get enough medical help. Maybe if Yassop was there, he would have been of some help but this guy never blamed his father.

    The medical level of these small villages weren''t high level anyways so probably his mother would have died nonetheless but Ussop never blamed his father for leaving which was commendable. When a person goes out for his dream, there are many things that get sacrificed along the way.

    Yassop was probably the best example.

    Zoro and Nami were curious about this great pirate Shanks which Luffy was spouting about for a long time but they didn''t ask more as Luffy himself didn''t have much knowledge about Shanks and the Red-haired Pirates.

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    "Ussop!! We need a good ship. Can you take us to that mansion. They seemed wealthy and might be able to help us building a ship. We have money and are ready to pay." Ken came to the main point as he pointed at the mansion from the window.

    The huge mansion where Kaya lived. Ussop of course denied having people that could make ships and just bailed out on them saying he had something to do. Later the small children who ''betrayed'' Ussop and ran away came back and took the 4 people to the mansion where Ussop was.

    It was there the children spoke about the lies that Ussop normally told to Kaya to make her laugh as she was sick all the year round. Luffy went straight in when he heard that not bothering Zoro and others.

    "Luffy wait..." Nami couldn''t even speak before Luffy had vanished.

    "Let''s follow him." Ken smiled and he too went in with Zoro. Nami seeing no other option but to go in with them. It was there they saw the scene where Kuro was reprimanding Ussop who was sitting on the branch of the tree that was near the window of Kaya''s room.

    "... You are nothing but the son of a filthy pirate. Nothing you do will surprise me. Stay away from the young lady. If you want money, tell me how much. I will give you and then get lost from here."

    "Stop it Kurohadole. It''s too much.." Kaya screamed from top of her lungs. This was Kuro, who disguised himself as the butler of the house and had been hiding in the mansion to take away all the money from the mansion later.

    He was the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates.

    Kuro had already seen that Ussop was here with his new friends and he didn''t want anything bad to happen right as he was very close to his finish line. After the death of Kaya it will be over and everything will be fine after he gets all the money.

    "Filthy you say..." Ussop was visibly shaking as Kuro continued insulting his father and him being the filthy son of a pirate. Even Luffy and others who had arrived had a serious face as they felt the insult was directed towards them too.

    Ussop jumped down from the tree and was ready to punch Kuro but was stopped in the last second by Ken.

    "Leave me Ken. He insulted my father. I want to beat his ass."

    "I know..." Ken said and he slowly brought out his Stormbreaker from his back. The black clouds soon gathered overhead. Nami was again amazed by this phenomenon which she had seen in Orange Town. Whenever Ken used that battle axe, there would be black clouds above with sounds of thunder.

    Lightning was flowing through the axe as Ken brought it out. Ken looked at the eyes of Kuro and with no words he just used his axe to swing at the head of Kuro.

    Kuro wasn''t expecting that as he thought only Ussop would be angry and would resort to violence, and this would help him justify his words. But this guy who had just appeared didn''t give him any chance and just swung his weapon at himself.

    He was already little taken aback seeing this weird weapon but the fast action by Ken didn''t even allow Kuro to dodge and took the shot head on. Kuro flew away sideways and slammed into the wall.

    He coughed blood as he was slammed. Kuro felt like he had been hammered by a thousand ton weight. Ussop and Kaya had their hands in their mouths as they didn''t expect Ken to be so violent.

 45. Real face

    Luffy and Zoro were a little taken aback seeing how violent Ken was. Everyone was angry with what Kuro said but maybe he didn''t deserve such harsh reaction. Though they thought this in their minds they didn''t speak out. This was their own crew member. And they would always support their nakama.

    Kaya made a blood curdling scream as she ran towards the garden in order to see if Kuro was alive or not. According to her, a hit like that would easily kill people. Ken, meanwhile, walked towards Kuro slowly, bent his back to look at Kuro closely and whispered

    "Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, you better wake up or I will really kill you and your precious pirate group."

    Kuro was really hurt by the hit of Ken, but he wasn''t unconscious as he pretended to be. His head was still ringing from the slam and he felt a little disoriented because of the lightning but he was still able to sense the things around.

    And when Ken spoke of his real identity he shuddered inwardly. He knew that this guy was serious and he might really die if he didn''t get up now. And thus with a little fear in his heart, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ken who was still holding the axe in his right hand.

    Kaya had come running in to see Kuro had finally got up. She ran to him with concern and asked.

    "Kurohadol, are you alright? Let me take you to a doctor..."

    "It''s alright Miss, I am fine." Kuro didn''t dare to speak ill of the people anymore. He knew that another bad word would result in his secret being exposed.

    "You... You... Usopp-san I expected better from you. I have always known that you told lies to me but I didn''t expect that your friends are such bad people. Please leave the mansion and never come again." Kaya was furious with what had happened. Surely, what Kuro said was over the line but he didn''t deserve such punishment.

    Kaya was very angry and looked like she would slap Ken but she didn''t dare to. Ken still didn''t look at Kaya and was just looking at Kuro who was hanging his head in shame.

    "Kuro, you should leave the island and never come back. She won''t be able to handle the pain that you have caused to this family. You have been hiding here for such a long time. If you don''t want to be handed over to the navy, you better piss off from here."

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    Kuro clenched his fist as he didn''t expect this new person didn''t even give him a chance. Others were confused by the words of Ken and didn''t know what he meant. Kuro gritted his teeth and seeing no other way, took out a knife from his pocket and placed it at the neck of Kaya.

    This sudden change of roles made everyone''s jaws drop. This was not what everyone expected. Ken was being unreasonably violent but what Kuro just did was also out of character. Especially for Kaya.

    "Kurohadol, what are you doing? This knife can kill me and you are hurting my hand."

    "I don''t have any other way. My secret is exposed and I don''t have time to arm myself to fight this guy. So only you can be my sacrifice and my safe passage. Worry not, when I come back with my crew, I will give you a clean death so that you can die in peace."

    Kaya''s eyes were wide open, when she heard Kuro speaking of killing her in an emotionless tone. Ussop was already pointing his pachinko at Kuro, ready to hit him, Zoro had his hand in his sword and even Luffy was ready to hit this guy with a punch.

    "Kuro, also the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, was once a notorious Pirate group but they suddenly vanished. It was said that Captain Morgan had caught the captain and due to that he was able to get promotion to the Captain. But the actual Captain Kuro hid in the Syrup Village, biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to make himself rich. isn''t it right Kuro?"

    "You know too much kid. I didn''t expect my secrets to be revealed by a random person I just met. But it''s alright. After I take care of her, and get my equipment, you will be next in line." Kuro threatened and finally he spoke in his own cold manner which used to once. It had been a long time since he had been so angry and today this random person really pissed him off by pouring water on his plans.

    Kaya and others didn''t expect that a rat had been living here for such a long time. They chose to believe the words of Ken seeing how Kaya was being threatened by this 4 eyed person. Nami went through her bag that she had been carrying and finally brought out the wanted poster of Kuro.

    When she looked at the poster and the person standing nearby she understood that this person was really Kuro. A notorious pirate. She was in full anger mode because the story almost seemed like the story of her own home.

    "Oh so you are a pirate!!" Luffy finally understood what was going on and took steps forward. He had been looking at the drama for sometime now and finally understood the gist of it.

    "What of it? I am leaving with this girl, if anyone follows me, I will kill her. I will remember the humiliation, axe guy and I will get my revenge." Kuro said as he was backing away. The other guards of the mansion were already here and they were in horror seeing the butler of their mansion was holding the Young Miss as hostage.

    They didn''t understand what was going on but they could tell that it was serious. And that they needed to save her but just didn''t know how to.

 46. King of Pirates

    "Let go of Young Miss, you bastard."

    "Why are you doing this Kurohadol, if you want money the mansion can provide you, just leave her alone."

    "..."

    Those words were thrown at Kuro as he had walked away while holding Kaya. Luffy and others just looked at him as he had stepped out of the gate. Nobody stopped him. Ken looked at Luffy and said

    "Captain, what do you want to do?"

    "Since he is a bad guy, I will punch him." Luffy said

    "Then he is yours. Zoro there will be a pirate group approaching soon. You can try your sword skills on them."

    "Oh really? What will you do?" Zoro said.

    "I will just eat and hum songs to myself." Ken smiled. he did what he needed to do. Luffy was very strong now and he didn''t think Kuro would be a problem. And Zoro was already too OP for east Blue so it was better for them to have fun. He would just wait for the end and sleep.

    Kuro had already vanished in the nearby forest. Seeing that nobody had come after him, Kuro took Kaya on his shoulder and made a run. Little did he know that Luffy was already following him like a hungry wolf.

    Zoro, bent his right leg and crouched on the ground and put his hand sideways and said as he breathed air from his mouth.

    "Seventh Form: Spatial awareness."

    After a few seconds he got the general position of the people on the island. This form allowed Zoro to pinpoint his enemies and allies. This was like Observation haki but he could only use it on beast breathing style. But as a style it was very powerful as the whole island was covered by his spatial awareness.

    After finding out where this new pirate group was he ran, it was Ken who shouted to stop him.

    "Zoro, please don''t get lost. You have spatial awareness. If you feel you are not able to find your enemies, use your seventh form as much as possible. We can''t go in search of you every-time."

    "Oye, I can find my enemies. You don''t have to care."

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    "If you get lost I will throw you to the sea." Ken warned. After seventh form, if he still gets lost then it would be shameful in the name of beast breathing style. Zoro had already started running one one direction. Ken used his Haki to feel if Zoro was going in the right direction and surprisingly he was. Maybe Zoro could be saved after all!!!

    Ussop was having a crisis of his life meanwhile. He saw his good friend taken away and he could do nothing. She was kidnapped while he was just pointing his pachinko balls with his slingshot and getting scared. He didn''t have the balls to go and help Kaya. He was ashamed. He just laid down in the grass not knowing what to do.

    "You don''t have to worry. Kaya will be safe. Luffy has gone after him."

    "How do you know? He is a real pirate. The bounty on him is so high. Is Luffy strong enough?" Ussop was really scared. He wanted to go after Kuro but didn''t know how.

    "Ussop, have faith in Luffy. He might be stupid at times but when it comes to serious matter he is dependable. Only thing you need to do for you is that you need to overcome your fear. You fear the pain, the death, the suffering. Any human being will go through that. Only thing you can do is try to live above it." Ken said as he too had started walking away followed by Nami who was following Ken.

    She didn''t have much tension like Ussop or the guards in the mansion. She had seen how powerful Luffy and Zoro were and she was pretty sure that Kaya would be saved so she didn''t care. Ussop just looked blankly at Ken, then he remembered how Ken had hit Kuro with his axe.

    Maybe the Captain was as powerful as Ken. Seeing a ray of hope he ran towards Ken. He had seen how fast Luffy and Zoro had gone away so he could only pin his hopes on Ken. These guards would be helpless in front of real pirates anyway. He would rather trust someone who had connections with his father rather than some guards.

    "Ken, why don''t we go and help Luffy. Maybe he needs our help." Ussop was anxious as he said that.

    "As I said trust in Luffy. He is more amazing than you think." Ken assured Usopp as he returned to the restaurant with Nami. She was curious about the change of weather whenever Ken used his weapon so she wanted to ask.

    ----

    Luffy had been following Kuro for sometime now and Kuro had no idea. As he went deep in the forest, Luffy took out a kunai and suddenly threw towards Kuro right at his shoulder. Luffy needed to make sure that Kaya was fine and that was only possible if he could separate them.

    The kunai hit right behind the clavicle of the Kuro and he screamed in pain as the kunai lodged inside his flesh. This prompted him to let go of Kaya. Luffy saw Kaya slowly falling on the ground and he ran with fast speed and caught her.

    After a few jumps Luffy was again standing at the branch of a tree and this time he had Kaya on his shoulder. All this time Kaya was unconscious so she had no idea what was going on.

    "You are?" Kuro gritted his teeth as he pulled out the kunai from his back. Blood flowed as he did that. He didn''t expect that someone would track him down. He had been keeping an eye behind to see if the axe guy was after him but now it seemed like the straw hat guy who was in the background was the one who had arrived.

    "I am Monkey D. Luffy. I am the man who is going to be the King of Pirates. Hehehe..."

 47. No words

    "King of Pirates?.... Ha?... Hahahaha..." Kuro laughed out loud when he heard Luffy declare such a vast ambition. He was laughing at the naive kid that had appeared. He had been in the sea for such a long time. Even in East Blue he had seen some monsters that could take him down.

    And then there was the navy!!

    And the Grand Line was more terrifying. This kid was delusional. Seeing Kuro laughing, Luffy did a hand seal and used water bullets from his mouth to shoot at the face of Kuro. Luffy made sure not to shoot powerful bullets otherwise this person might die.

    Kuro was shot at the face and he had to use his hand to stop the remaining bullets but it still stung his face and hands.

    "Even a kid like you dare spit on me ..." Kuro was really angry now as he put his gloves in his hand. He used his gloves that were special and held long sharp blades at each finger. He was ready to teach this guy a lesson with his blades and kill him. He was just being spit upon!! Though he didn''t understand how a person could have such strength in his spit, he didn''t care.

    After bringing out the blades he made a run towards Luffy who was just looking at Kuro with a smile. As Kuro took a few steps he felt something was holding him back in his legs and before he could stop himself from charging forward he felt a tug from both of his feet and then he fell right on his face.

    The tug which he felt was a steel thread woven by Luffy long before he came here. Luffy deliberately allowed him to be on the run as he was making a trap for him. The trap was making almost threads of steel in the surrounding with the help of kunai and connecting them.

    And Kuro fell right on this trap. Not only his feet got entangled, his neck too was now on the strings that were attached to various kunai that was lodged on the trees. If a person needed a visual reference it was something like Itachi did to catch an Anbu with just small tricks of kunai and threads.

    Luffy''s technique wasn''t as capable as Itachi was; who was almost the master in that at such a young age, but he could easily hold someone like Kuro. Luffy didn''t want anything to happen to Kaya and thus he used his brain to make a full proof plan. Luffy was always very meticulous when it came to fighting, and now more so as he had already lived a life.

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    Kuro looked in horror at how his feet and his neck were tied in threads. He tried using his hands to free himself but he couldn''t. The more he struggled and pulled the threads the more he felt painful, mind you, these threads were made of steel and were extremely sharp.

    "What is this?" Kuro asked slowly as he was trying to use his blades to cut the threads but couldn''t.

    "A gift from my brother. Now stay here while I bring Miss Kaya to her home." With that Luffy vanished as he was returning to the mansion while Kuro was just left on the ground unable to move due to pain. This was the greatest humiliation Kuro had ever faced in his life. Even the navy who had been searching for him couldn''t do what this kid did.

    While Luffy was on his way to the mansion to bring Kaya to safety, Zoro had finally been able to reach Jango and Zoro had used the spatial awareness multiple times and corrected his course and finally was able to reach Jango who was on his way to the mansion.

    Jango was the first person to come out of the ship that flew the flag of the Black Cat Pirates.

    "I have been searching for you for such a long time." Zoro said as he was sweating. He had been running around for quite a long time and finally was able to catch his breath.

    "Who are you?"

    "Your doom!!!" Zoro was having none of it and was ready to bring him down. Zoro bent his legs as he slowly held the hilt of the red sword in his hand and took in a mouthful of air.

    ''Thunder Breathing second form : Rice Spirit''

    Jango was in a confused state when Zoro attacked him. He released five arched slashes at Jango which was accompanied by thunder, before Jango could take out his chakrams to defend himself he was blown away or rather electrocuted away by the 5 slashes that landed on his body. He flew back like a dead rock with a burnt smell coming out his body and slammed at a nearby tree.

    This single move of Zoro made Jango unconscious and almost reached the door of death. Zoro was finally starting to use the Thunder Breathing. The ones Zenitsu never did, and it was much harder for Zoro. Zenitsu never learnt it and it was Zoro alone who was trying to unravel all the forms of thunder breathing as he had seen his master did in the simulation and not having the character was seriously a huge block for Zoro.

    But Zoro was not ready to give up. He finally was able to perform the second form. It was tough but he did it. He was breathing heavily as he did that. Zoro looked at Jango for a few seconds before walking away. Now it was time to bring down the pirates that had made their new home on the beach.

    As usual he again got lost in his way and had to use beast breathing to correct his course, but after one hour of running around he finally reached the place where the pirate ship was anchored. Zoro approached the ship openly. The crew members from the ship saw an unknown man approaching and asked the two brothers to take care of this new guy.

 48. Easy

    There were two ship guards which were under the rank of Jango. They were notorious in the sea and were known as Nyaban brothers. Those two were Sham and Buchi. Combined they had a bounty of 7 million bellies and they both fought with clawed gloves. The claws weren''t as long as the blades of Kuro but they were sharp nonetheless.

    As Zoro was approaching the ship slowly, the Nyaban Brothers came forward and smiled at Zoro.

    "Are you lost, my friend? Don''t you see that there is a pirate flag fluttering over the mast of the ship?" The two brothers after being notified came forward to confront this nobody who had just appeared out of nowhere.

    "Your Captain Kuro has already been taken down by our captain so I should just advise you to leave and never come back." Zoro said as he had already seen how Kuro was lying on the ground like a dead dog with his spatial awareness. Hearing this, the two brothers had a change of face.

    Only the close crew members knew that Captain Kuro was hiding on this island and they came here to raid this place. This new person saying that their captain was taken down meant their identity had been exposed. But after thinking about it, they laughed.

    "What a good joke!! Our Captain is so powerful and a random guy like you is saying that he has been taken down. What a lie!!" saying that Sham jumped at Zoro and used his claws to place a punch on Zoro.

    Seeing that, Zoro had used his sword to stop the attack. Buchi too didn''t fall back and came to the side of Zoro to place an elbow punch at Zoro. Zoro, seeing no other choice, had to use his other hand and take out another sword to stop Buchi. Two swords, two strikes evaded.

    "Oh!! It seems you both have quite the strength." Zoro said as he jumped high in the air and breathed a mouthful of air

    ''Second Fang : Slice''

    This move of Zoro unleashed a double slash that flew out and hit the two brothers in an X-shaped form. The two brothers seeing the sudden move had to use their touch hands which were covered with gloves to defend themselves, but even then they were struck by the slices and their clothes were torn apart.

    The two brothers had quite a bit of strength so this simple slice of Zoro wasn''t enough to bring them down and Zoro himself didn''t use full power. These moves were made to kill demons and these people didn''t have the strong body of the demons.

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    Seeing the torn clothes and specks of blood flowing out of their bodies, they became gloomy. This man who had appeared out of nowhere claiming that their captain was taken down wasn''t simple at all.

    "Who are you?"

    "Roronoa Zoro!!"

    "Zoro... Zoro... You are the Pirate Hunter Zoro... You... You took down our Captain?" The brothers were now trembling in fear. They have heard about this pirate hunter for a long time in the sea and now they understand why this person so easily handled them in one move.

    "Stop with that label. I am no more a Pirate Hunter. I have joined a pirate crew and our Captain had just taken care of your Captain who had been hiding in that mansion." Zoro said as he placed the two swords back at his sheath. By this time all the crew members were already standing behind the brothers.

    "This is impossible. The Captain is the strongest. Nobody can defeat him." One of the crew members shouted.

    "Tell that to the 4 eyed man who is lying face down in the forest."

    "Guys. He is just one guy. We take him down and go for the Captain. There is no way the Captain would go down easily. He is obviously lying."

    "Yes!!

    "Let''s go!! Kill the Pirate Hunter.. We will be famous in the sea. Hahah."

    Zoro who looked at this sighed. He was trying to help these guys leave and escape the pain. He had almost killed Jango with one move and now he would have to resort to violence. Zoro touched the hilt of the red sword and said

    "Are you sure you want to do this?"

    "You dare look down on us brothers?"

    "We will kill you."

    Sigh.. Zoro breathed out a puff of air from his lungs as lightning coursed through his body.

    ''Third Form : Thunder Swarm''

    And then he unleashed a number of slices in the air that looked like lightning arches and surrounded everyone from all directions. This horrified the people as they didn''t expect the Pirate Hunter to control lightning.

    "Escape.. Run... He is a demon..."

    "Mummy..."

    But they couldn''t run far as the lightning arches had surrounded them from all directions and soon they were electrocuted. None of the crew members nor the famous brothers were able to escape. Every single one was hit by the lightning.

    "I can''t use the slashes continuously. This form was made to fight a single person. Using this on multiple people really puts a stress on my body. I have to improve more and make my body stronger." Zoro looked over his drawbacks and shook his head. Seeing the half dead people lying on the beach he sighed and left for the mansion.

    Ken, who was in the restaurant, smiled as he felt that many members'' breath stopped.By now with his lightning control he could almost hear the people talk from far with the help of Observation Haki. Zoro had taken down the enemies and so did Luffy who had sent Kaya back to her home. Usopp hearing that Kaya had returned was jumping in joy.

    He was grateful that Luffy and his friends helped him. He couldn''t imagine the horror Kuro might have brought to Kaya and people present in the village. Luffy had saved all of them and nobody knew of it. He wanted to go and shout about it but since he was a liar nobody would trust him.

 49. Merry

    After Kaya was brought back, Luffy was welcomed as a hero by Merry, the head butler of the mansion. Of course Luffy was angry when he was termed as a hero and said he would only accept the title if he was brought back meat to eat.

    Merry was a little confused by the fact that Luffy got angry when he termed Luffy as hero but it didn''t matter to him. He brought loads of meat for Luffy to eat. It was Ken who went to the place where Kuro was tied down. Luffy seeing meat had already forgotten the fact that he had left Kuro out in the open and if he was given enough time Kuro would definitely be able to escape.

    When Ken reached the place in the forest where Kuro was tied down he saw Kuro had already taken apart a few of the strings that were tying his hands.

    "Getting too comfortable.. Are we?"

    Kuro slowly looked up and saw Ken standing in front of him. Ken was particularly tall at 6.5 feet in height so it was tough for Kuro to look up and see his face as Ken stood right near his head.

    "What are you here for? To mock me?" Kuro said through his gritted teeth. He hated this man who had debunked all his work with just a few words and a single hit from his axe. He would never forget the face of the person who had destroyed his long thought out plan like it was nothing.

    "Mock you? Are you even worthy of that? You left the way of pirates and became a cheap civilian. Do you even have the dignity of pirates? Don''t overestimate yourself. You are nothing but a thief who thinks he is the shark of the ocean."

    Kuro''s eyes became red with anger seeing how Ken was humiliating him. The veins on his head were easily visible. Ken didn''t waste any more time and punched him right on his face with his hand while being charged by lightning. This punch was enough to make Kuro unconscious and also make sure he wouldn''t die. Ken had to be careful not killing him as his head was costly. A dead head would be of no use for Ken.

    Ken then cut the wires with his axe''s sharp side and took Kuro on his shoulder and flew away with his hammer. Ken landed straight at the courtyard of the mansion where he saw Luffy eating and even Usopp who had just arrived since Ken had left mysteriously. He was really happy to see Kaya again and had started talking with her.

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    Merry, Kaya and the other guards were horrified at first seeing Kuro again but sighed in relief at the fact that he was unconscious.

    "Mr. Ken, you can fly?" Merry asked in a trembling voice.

    "No. This hammer allows me to fly." Ken said while showing the hammer.

    "Must be one magical hammer." Merry mumbled but didn''t ask more. They were the saviors of Miss Kaya so he was happy that they were alright and even brought the evil Kuro unconscious.

    "You can take him to a naval base and exchange his head for bounty. Use the bounty and make us a good boat. Will that be fine?"

    "A boat. Oh yes, Miss Kaya had spoken about a ship that you need. All these years I have been trying to build a ship in my own design that I have made long ago. With the money of the mansion and the bounty money I will be able to make the ship easily."

    "That is upto you. We just need a good ship to set sail to the Grand Line." It was Nami who came forward. The smell of money had already awakened the hidden tigress and now that that bounty money would be used to make money she was looking forward to it.

    A ship which was costly would always be sold in a good price in the market. Nami had the idea of stealing the ship from the idiotic three and make more money. Of course, Ken and Luffy didn''t know her thoughts and even if they knew they wouldn''t care.

    Thus, Kuro was taken away by a bunch of guards and Merry overlooking the journey of the criminal to the nearby naval base. The naval base was well known to Merry. Apparently, the Captain of the naval base was in a good relationship with him. With his help he got the bounty.

    After coming back he started working on his dream ship that he had been thinking of making for a long time now. Meanwhile, Zoro had also handed over the two brothers, while Jango had vanished from where he was.

    Jango''s name was never in the bounty list so going after him made no sense for Zoro, as long as he didn''t annoy him. It didn''t matter to Zoro if he was alive or dead. A few days went by with Ken and his crew staying at the mansion free of cost while the ship was being built.

    Usopp was showing up more than often and seeing the same number of brain cells like Luffy, they both bonded pretty well. Luffy and Usopp became the best of friends and more so as they had fun and had the same sense of humor.

    After a week the ship was ready and they came to the beach to see the future ship that would help them set sail in the Grand Line.

    "Welcome everyone, this ship has my blood and tears. This is a caravel type ship with a single mast and I made the wood with the best quality that I could find around and make it strong. This ship has a kitchen with all the facilities, a small bathroom and even a big room under the mast where the crew members could sleep. The head is made on the design of a sheep and I have named the ship as Merry Go."

 50. Bounty

    While Merry was introducing his ship, Ken walked straight to the side of the ship and touched it with his hand. If one sees the hand of Ken minutely, they would notice that his hand was trembling a bit. Ken, in his previous life was a huge One Piece fan and the only moment in the whole series where he was close to tears was during the death of ''Merry''

    Even Ace''s death didn''t hit him hard as the death of ''Merry'' did. So when he saw the old ship again, he promised himself in his heart that he would make sure that the ship wouldn''t die like the original. He knew that this ship wouldn''t be enough to cross the whole Grand Line.

    But at least he wouldn''t let it die!! Merry was an integral part of their journey and as Luffy had mentioned once, the Straw Hat crew never leaves their nakamas behind. Zoro, Luffy and Nami were confused why Ken had went forward and touched the ship but it didn''t matter as they were happy that finally they had got themselves a good ship.

    As they were admiring the ship, from the corner of an eye they saw Usopp rolling downhill with his huge bag that had bulged and become a huge ball. And now Usopp was rolling down with this heavy burden of a bag. The rolling didn''t stop and at the end Luffy and Zoro had to stop him with their feet planted right at the face of Usopp.

    Here, the story didn''t go like the original. Luffy invited Usopp from the start and Usopp after much thought accepted the invite. In the original story, Usopp had his own contribution but here there was nothing so Luffy was the one who invited him in this regard.

    Ken didn''t understand why he invited Usopp but seeing that there were no deviations from the crew members, it was fine. Ken only cared for the people who would later join them, the other stories could go to hell.

    He already had huge plans for the future and he needed the help of his friends to execute them. After the crew was ready and Usopp drew the flag of their pirate ship, everyone said their goodbye.

    It was time to leave the Syrup Village.

    Nami had planted a number of oranges in the garden. while Zoro was happy to bring some heavy dumbbells and exercising machines with himself. Luffy found his place at the head of the sheep and loved it. Ken was just in the kitchen trying to make some food while Usopp was trying to make better equipment for himself and increase his accuracy with his sling shot.

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    Actually, Ken wanted to take Usopp and show him the power of the system but he was holding back and the reason was Nami. Nami hadn''t joined their crew permanently and if her greed takes over her goodness then it might prove harmful for her.

    Until Arlong was taken down or Nami joined the crew by heart and soul, Ken didn''t want to expose his system. So all they could do was wait. Of course Zoro and Luffy didn''t ask why Ken hadn''t shown his ''Devil Fruit'' to the crew members but they didn''t ask.

    A day went by in their journey and the next day there was a big seagull flying in the air. The seagull was wearing a small hat on it''s head and had a bag that had a strap that ran across the body of the seagull.

    It might have looked weird but it was the famous Morgan''s newspaper distributor. Morgan was a huge name in the Pirate World. Both for his underworld influence and the power to handle the opinions of the people with the help of his newspapers.

    He was an entity that even the CP organisation had to send their spies so that Morgan wouldn''t do something that would go against the wishes of the World Government.

    Nami bought a newspaper after paying some bellies and started reading. But from the newspaper fell two bounty posters that flew away and got struck at the face of Usopp who was trying the new canon that had been installed in the ship by Merry.

    Usopp struggled for a bit and finally saw the bounty poster that had distracted him. His jaws dropped seeing the bounty poster.

    "Oi LUFFY.. Come here.. Come here.. This is your bounty poster.. Hahahaha.. We are famous.."

    Luffy came running towards Usopp and so did Zoro as he heard there was a bounty poster of Luffy and hoped that he had one too.

    "Show me.., Show me... Oh!! only 12 million. This is so less." Luffy said as he saw the bounty poster. Zoro too was disappointed seeing such a low bounty on Luffy . He expected a better bounty because he was sure that Luffy was much more powerful than he showed.

    Nami came and took the bounty in her hand and her eyes turned into horror as she saw the bounty. She thought it was really 12 million but as she read the numbers carefully she understood that what Luffy read was wrong.

    The bounty was 120 million bellies!!

    "What happened Nami?" Usopp came and asked Nami as he didn''t see the number in the posters. He was just excited that the captain of the ship had bounties. When Usopp read the numbers from the poster of Luffy, he finally got to understand why Nami was horrified.

    After he realized how huge the bounty was, Usopp was more scared than ever. A bounty of 120 million was the highest in the East Blue as far as he knew. And now their captain had one.

    Meanwhile, Ken was seeing the other poster that had dropped from the newspaper. And like Luffy he was not in a good mood. Not because of the number that Luffy had apparently misread but by the name on the poster.

    It was his poster for sure but he didn''t understand why his name was different in the poster.

 51. The D family

    "How is this possible? That idiot Captain and this guy has a bounty of 120 million. Even Arlong doesn''t have such a bounty." Nami was stupefied and didn''t know what to make of it. Arlong''s bounty was a measly 20 million bellies and this was a difference of 100 million bellies.

    Zoro and Luffy finally understood that Luffy had read wrong before and now he was jumping in joy.

    "Yoho...120 million.... Hahahaha... The Navy does treat people well."

    "Luffy... Shut up.. Now more navy will come after us... I am scared... Maybe I shouldn''t have boarded this ship.... Luffy I think I have got the ''I can''t stay in the ship for long'' disease.. Please drop me off on an island." Usopp said.

    Zoro just smiled at it and went back to his workout. It was Ken who didn''t have a good face.

    "Ken, don''t you have a bounty? Let me see." Luffy came and took the bounty poster from Ken only to see that Ken had the same bounty as Luffy. Nami and others also ran to see if Luffy''s words were true.

    Nami had expected this. If Luffy''s bounty was so high then this guy who could summon lightning by manipulating weather was definitely in the same league as the Captain. It was just that she had never heard of a pirate crew which had two bounties of the same amount and one of them was the Captain.

    Their pirate crew was really unique.

    "Yo.. It''s the same as me.. hahahah... we brothers are just perfect.... hahahah." Luffy laughed. Usopp''s legs were trembling. He couldn''t understand why these two members had such a high bounty. They didn''t do anything that would warrant such high attention.

    "You don''t seem to be happy?" Zoro asked as he saw Ken still spacing out seeing the bounty.

    "The bounty doesn''t really matter. It''s just I didn''t expect this name." Ken said as his name was shown on the poster.

    "The Punisher - Monkey D. Kenny - 120,000,000 bellies"

    "You didn''t like the name? Why?"

    "I was adopted by grandpa when I was small. I didn''t have a name at that time. But it seemed like Grandpa had given me his family name and considered me as his family from the get go." Ken said as he felt a little emotional. He didn''t expect Garp  to give him his own family name and made him a member of the mysterious D family.

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    He wasn''t sure if he would fit in the D family as they were known to do absurd things and always proved quite a handful for the government. But it didn''t matter now, since he had been considered as D by the government he needed to act like one and be a ''Dick'' to the government.

    "Of course Ken.. We have always been family since we were kids. Didn''t we share the sake." Luffy didn''t care about the name.

    "He didn''t mean that you were an idiot." Nami said as he punched Luffy on the head. She knew that Ken was being a little sensitive here as she didn''t know that Ken was adopted. It was no wonder that he looked totally different from Luffy.

    "But why such a high bounty? I don''t think taking down Captain Morgan would give you such a high bounty." Usopp was still confused.

    "Probably because we did our Grandpa dirty when we escaped. Hehehehe..." Luffy was smiling from ear to ear. He was still very much proud and happy of how they took down their grandpa. He had been bossing upon the brothers for such a long time. And now they had finally got their first revenge.

    "Who is your grandpa? Sounds like an amazing person."

    "Garp." Ken replied.

    Nami and others started thinking of who Garp was and then it finally struck them. The Marine Hero Garp!!! They had heard so much of this person of how powerful this person was. Garp was famous all over the world and almost everyone had heard of him. Of course, the government had made sure that everyone knew about as he was the pride of the navy.

    "You.. You both are the grandsons of Garp... How? You both are pirates.. He is such a great marine hero. How could you become a pirate?" Nami was bamboozled by how their grandsons became pirates.

    "It doesn''t matter. I never wanted to join the Navy and I wanted to be free." Luffy didn''t answer more and walked away. He didn''t want to speak about his grandpa nor was Ken ready to speak more.

    All the crew got to know that they had escaped from the hands of Garp while leaving their village and for this reason, their bounties were high as Garp might have felt that the duo were too powerful.

    "Punisher? Same universe.. Wrong name." Ken thought as he saw the nickname in the bounty. Luffy had the title of Straw Hat as it was expected. Ken didn''t understand on what basis his nickname was given as Punisher, but hey he didn''t protest.

    Punisher suits well on him. Somewhere in the multiverse, Frank Castle sneezed!!

    With this small incident the ship sailed for two more days but one day they finally came across the pirate hunter duo. Yosaku and Johnny.

    The friends of Zoro. Ken had already spoken of the food problem after leaving the Syrup village and they were going to the Baratie Restaurant anyways. It;s just Ken didn''t expect that even after course correction, they would come across this duo.

    Yosaku was ill and had to be given oranges and other citrus fruits to make him well. Luffy and Nami were more convinced that they needed a cook among the crew. After another day at the sea, they finally got to the huge Restaurant that was floating in the ocean. The restaurant had the design of a fish and it was unique in it''s own way.

    But before they could reach the Baratie Restaurant, a party pooper had arrived.

    The Marine Lieutenant Iron- Fist Fullbody.

 52. Transparent World

    The navy ship that had appeared out of nowhere was between the Restaurant and Merry Go.

    "This looks bad." Usopp was already panicking thinking that the navy had appeared after searching for their ship and now the ship had finally caught up to them.

    "Luffy do something." Usopp shook the neck of Luffy as he could only ask their captain to be their savior. Luffy was just looking at the navy ship in an emotionless manner. Luffy was a little angry at this moment actually.

    They were about to reach the restaurant and he was dreaming about food. And this ship out of nowhere destroyed his dream of food by coming in the middle.

    "Who the hell are you?" Luffy shouted at the man who had just appeared. He had a cut on his face, brass knuckles on his fist and weird sakura colored hair. It seemed like he was trying to be masculine but his body was screaming of femininity.

    "I am a navy Lieutenant Fullbody.. Who are you? Seems like a new group of pirates. Wait.. Why does that face seem familiar?" Fullbody was trying hard to remember where he had seen that face before.

    The other marines who were on the ship also got to see Luffy and others as they pointed their guns at the pirate ship. But one particular soldier was trembling in his knees, because he remembered seeing the person before on the bounty posters.

    He had even seen the other guy which was on another bounty poster. It was rumored that a new pirate group had emerged in the East Blue and it was said to be the most powerful pirate group to come out from East Blue since the era of Roger.

    In East Blue itself they had a combined bounty of 240 million. Even Roger didn''t have that notoriety when he started. And now their ship had come across that legendary group. It was suffice to say he was praying.

    As the realization dawned on the marine, the same thing happened to Fullbody too as he finally remembered where he had seen the guy. Like the soldier he too felt shiver in his spines. He didn''t know how to react to these supposed vicious group of pirate.

    "I am Monkey D. Luffy. And the Captain of the Straw Hats pirates. Did you come to catch us?" Luffy shouted. Fullbody was now sure that this person was the one he had seen in the poster. The other marines also now realized who they were facing.

    "No.. No.. We are just passing by.. Please!! you can go ahead." Fullbody somehow spoke those words as he was still shivering in fright.

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    "Yosh... Great.. Now we can eat." Luffy said as Merry Go went for the Baratie restaurant. The navy ship gave away space to let the Merry Go pass.

    But there would always be idiots who thought too much of themselves sometimes. Fullbody had a girl partner in his ship and in order to show his manliness he had already decided to backstab this pirate group which honestly seemed like an idiot.

    He had seen the poster but after seeing the people in reality he thought that these pirates were harmless. Any other pirate group would have attacked the single navy ship, especially someone who had such a high bounty. It made no sense that this Straw Hat Luffy didn''t even bother to take down the navy ship and earn more bounty. His clean face made him look like an idiot.

    He had been leading a very good life until this point and he wanted more. And this ''idiot'' pirate group might just prove to be a heaven sent ladder to climb upon.

    Fullbody saw it as a chance. If he could take down this pirate group, he would be famous. Even in Marineford. Thus when Merry Go left, he asked his subordinates to bring all the canons and shoot at Merry and sink it.

    The other marines could only gulp and carry out the orders.

    Zoro, who had been sleeping, opened his eyes slowly and looked at the navy ship which was pointing their cannons at them. Nobody had bothered to look at the navy ship. Even Ken.

    Seeing that everyone was busy he got up from his sleep and looked at the naval ship. Fullbody released three cannonballs at Merry Go. Zoro breathed slowly from his lungs as lightning coursed through his body. He held the sword from the other side of the hilt and mumbled

    ''Sixth Form : Rumble and Flash''

    Zoro released a series of powerful long ranged lightning slices that traveled through the air and intercepted the canons. This attack was enough to blow the canons mid air. A huge flash and sound covered the area. Nami, who was busy drawing maps, had to come out and see what the commotion was about.

    Ken, who had been ignoring Fullbody''s small antics, smiled when he saw Zoro taking the lead and dealing with the enemies. Zoro was progressing fast. He could already smell emotions and people by now just like Tanjiro. Ken didn''t remember if Yoriichi could do that but Yoriichi had a strong sense of people''s emotions. The ability of the transparent world which was mastered by Yoriichi allowed him to see the inner workings of the people around, find their weakness and defeat the enemy. This ability was the one which made Yoriichi sure that he was destined to be the one to kill Muzan.

    And Zoro was finally starting to get a hold of this Transparent World. This made him wake up from his sleep and take action. This ability would easily propel Zoro towards Observation Haki and it could be said that he would master it in a very fast manner.

    As Zoro sliced at the cannonballs one of the slices travelled and hit right at the place where Fullbody was standing. He was blasted away. He could have died if the lightning attack landed on his body.

    This small attack was enough to make Fullbody unconscious. The marines around were lucky to evade the blast. Seeing the leader had become unconscious, they immediately changed the rudder of the ship.

    They needed to get out of this place as soon as possible.

 53. Baratie Restaurant

    "Yoho... Brother you have become so powerful? Why didn''t you tell us?" Johnny was pumped seeing how Zoro just took care of an entire navy ship.

    "Did you eat a Devil fruit?" Yosaku asked as he could easily see lightning in Zoro''s attacks.

    Zoro denied and just said that he had learnt this unique style of sword play in his journey. Ken had given him this favor and he would never betray the trust, even if these two were close buddies with him.

    Soon the navy ship was nowhere to be seen. Merry Go anchored near the Restaurant and Luffy was particularly pumped to eat some meat. Ken and others followed the impatient Luffy inside and took their seats at a table. The other customers in the restaurant didn''t seem to care that a pirate ship had anchored.

    Luffy and Ken''s bounty posters had just been released and only the navy knew about them. Luffy and Ken were still unknown to the world. The presence of Nami finally attracted the person who Ken was looking forward to adding to their next journey.

    Vinsmoke Sanji.

    Sanji brought out the tastiest dishes and gave it to Nami. Sanji looked already smitten with his eyes turning into a love heart the moment Nami pulled her cute aspects.

    "The food here is free for you Miss Nami."

    Zoro seeing the cook being a simp was already disgusted. For some reason Zoro was irritated seeing Sanji. Ken didn''t care about it and just ordered good food and loads of meat for Luffy who was being unusually loud for the food. Only meat could calm him down.

    The food was ready in no time as the money had already been paid by Ken and they were having a sumptuous food. Ken had to admit that Sanji''s cooking was really amazing. His previous cooking looked like dirt in front of him.

    But this good atmosphere was broken as soon as Gin, one of the subordinates of Don Krieg, had appeared. He looked like he was having a very tough time. In the beginning he tried to threaten the cooks around with his gun and he was taught quite a lesson by the cook named Patissier.

    Gin was thrown out of the door. Luffy who had finished his food was now outside looking at Gin who had been thrown out. It was Sanji who came later and gave him food.

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    Fried rice and even a drink.

    "I don''t want your charity.." Gin said even after everyone could hear his stomach rumbling.

    "Just eat. Dreams would die if you die. Eat and live for another day." Sanji said as he smoked his white cigarette. Owner Zeff, the owner of the Baratie restaurant just looked at this from high above and didn''t say anything.

    He and Sanji knew what hunger meant as both of them had suffered extreme starvation. Food was like a God to them and no one would be allowed to spill or waste them in front of Sanji.

    Gin was thankful to Sanji after eating. He left with the small boat as he needed to go back to his Captain and bring him. Like him, everyone on the ship was suffering due to hunger.

    "Sanji, join us. Be a pirate like us and be the cook."

    "Who are you?"

    "I am Monkey D. Luffy. The man who is going to find One Piece and be the Pirate King."

    "Are you an idiot? That is just a dream." Sanji said but his tone was shaking when he said that. Like Luffy he too had a dream. The dream of finding All-Blue. But now he was tied here in order to repay Zeff. Zeff had saved his life by sacrificing his own leg.

    This was something he could never forget!!

    "What dream? The Pirate King had already spoken of the great treasure One Piece and I am going to find it." Luffy didn''t care about the small insult.

    "Haah... Baka... Another idiot... Anyways, I refuse to join your crew."

    "Then I refuse your refusal." Luffy said.

    "What kind of logic is that?"

    Soon Luffy and Sanji were arguing while the other crew just looked at the foolishness of these two. Even Zeff came out to see what the commotion was. He just smiled and didn''t say anything.

    Nami was particularly distracted as she was flinching when they went back to their ship. Luffy had decided to give Sanji a try and convince him to join their cause. Ken and Zoro didn''t protest and allowed the Captain to do as she wished.

    "Nami you look distracted. Thinking about your home?" Ken came out at night to see Nami was just spacing out on the deck, looking at the bright stars in the sky.

    "Home? No.. No.. I was just thinking how beautiful the world is." Nami laughed in a nervous manner for being caught red handed.

    "It''s alright to miss your home. I know your problem. We can deal with the enemies that you are facing." Ken said as now it was time for Nami to understand that once a person joined their crew Luffy would think of that person as his nakama and would go to any lengths to save that person.

    Nami, Sanji, Robin!! All these people needed saving and Luffy never backed down. And Nami needed to understand that.

    "What do you know of my home? You know nothing. Don''t speak more than you should." Nami as she angrily started walking away. Ken sighed and finally said

    "We can take care of Arlong!!"

    "What? What did you say? Say that again." Nami was shaking when Ken spoke of Arlong.

    "We can take care of the third rate fishmen pirates that have occupied your home. I have always known of your mission to accumulate 100 million bellies. Honestly Nami, you have traveled far and wide in the sea by now. Do you think Arlong will let you go even if you get 100 million bellies? You disappoint me." Ken said in one breath.

    Nami was shivering when he said that.

 54. Don Krieg

    "How do you know this? How much do you know about me?" Nami asked nervously as she didn''t know how Ken knew of everything.

    "Do you think I would allow anyone to join our crew and do no background research on that person? Luffy might not care but I do."

    When Ken pointed out about the brand she used her other hand to hide the tattoo. All this time she was hiding this tattoo in the fear that others might be able to recognize it and capture her. But it seemed that all of this failed in front of Ken.

    "If you know so much then why are you here? On this crew? All I see is an idiot Captain? You are so powerful. You can even change the weather. Why did you choose this route?" Nami asked angrily. She didn''t expect all her secrets would be unveiled in front of Ken. She still had fear for Arlong as what he had done was a traumatic experience from childhood itself.

    A scar that might not heal in a long time.

    "You really think our Captain is an idiot? He has more knowledge and experience than he shows. He might be goofy but he is my brother. There are other reasons to join his crew but that can be discussed later."

    Nami was silent. All the time that she had been with this crew all she felt was happiness and the feeling of freedom. She could sleep peacefully for the first time in a long time in the sea. She didn''t have to look over her shoulders for backstabbers.

    And Ken was right. Though she proclaimed Luffy as an idiot, in her mind she could tell that Luffy wasn''t one. He was serious when the situation demanded. It was just her emotions that burst out at that point when she felt vulnerable.

    "Arlong is a pirate who came from the Grand Line and he is close friends with one of the Shichibukai, one of the 7 Warlords of the sea." Nami said still in her fear.

    "Arlong was just one of the crew members of Jinbei. They have battled together once but when Jinbei joined the system he had to let go of Arlong. He is not all cuddly with Jinbei. The pirate group is already dismantled." Ken replied.

    "You know of the Warlords too?"

    "As I said long before I do my research. Now tell me, you have seen part of our power. Do you think Arlong can stand against us?" Ken asked.

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    "I am very close to 100 million bellies. I don''t want my village to suffer." Nami said, still adamant.

    "He already is in relation with a naval base captain. He will use him to take your money and this will never end." Ken said.

    Nami was silent. After a minute she said

    "Let me think for tonight. I will give you an answer tomorrow."

    The next day everyone woke up as usual and Luffy went to the restaurant to convince Sanji, but today wasn''t going to be a normal day for the Baratie Restaurant. When Gin left, many of the chefs were already in fear thinking that Kreig would come later. That speculation proved to be true.

    When Ken and others were enjoying the great food at the restaurant, The Krieg Pirates had arrived with their broken ship. The ship looked like it would break at any given moment. The broken ship was anchored near the restaurant and Gin came with Captain Krieg on his shoulder.

    "Please help me. Please. he hasn''t eaten anything in the past few days. Please.. We have money. We can pay you." Gin was on his knees begging.

    Krieg himself was half dead and begging. Of course the chefs were mocking him as the Krieg Pirates were notorious for their deception and having a huge crew. Now they looked pathetic so of course, the chefs and the other customers were enjoying themselves after seeing such a huge pirate group was on their knees.

    But Sanji being Sanji came and provided food for Krieg. All the chefs almost went to war against Sanji but he still provided food for Krieg. The customers were horrified by this act and everyone left in the shortest moment.

    Everyone. Except the Straw Hat Pirates and the two bounty hunters.

    Owner Zeff was seeing all of this from the upper floor and just shook his head. He and Sanji had  lived through hunger and they knew perfectly how torturous it was. He didn''t stop Sanji but he also felt that Sanji shouldn''t be so kind hearted in this ruthless sea.

    After his meal, Krieg was back in good condition and he proved exactly like the rumors were being told. He backstabbed and proclaimed that he would take over this restaurant and make himself a new crew.

    "I am here for the logbook of Red Foot Zeff. It is said that he is the only person who came back unhurt from the Grand Line. I need that Logbook and with that I can travel to the Grand Line... Hahaha.." Don Krieg laughed.

    Luffy and others were surprised that Owner Zeff was a legendary pirate who had gone to the Grand Line. Krieg gave an ultimatum of an hour to make food for the rest of the crew who were starving.

    Of course the chefs were having none of it and they were ready with their knives, pitchforks, swords and every weapon that they could get their hands on. Only the Strawhat members were enjoying the show. Usopp was shivering looking at this but when he saw that his friends weren''t exactly affected he tried hard not to show his fear.

    Ken, who was enjoying the show, turned his head and looked in a certain direction. He could feel it.

    That person was here.

    Dracule Mihawk, the Hawkeye, one of the Seven Warlords.

    "Zoro do you feel it?" Ken asked.

    "Feel? What.... Eh!!!" Zoro''s eyes went wide open when he tried to use his nose to understand what Ken meant. He felt it. The person he had been waiting for was here.

    His destiny was here.

 55. Hawkeye

    Don Krieg''s crew and the chefs who were ready to have a go against each other stopped in their tracks. A sharp slice passed through the air and it went right across Krieg''s huge ship. The slice cut the ship into two parts in a very clean manner.

    Zoro and others who had just come out were able to see this magnificent scene. Zoro could smell it. The greatest swordsman. There was no doubt about it. Seeing this move by Mihawk was enough to prove that Mihawk''s swordsmanship was still high above his. But he didn''t want to give up after coming so far.

    Krieg''s crew were very angry how Mihawk had chased them from the Grand Line and they even shot at him, only to see the bullets getting deviated with just a touch from his sword. The more Zoro saw this, the more excited he was.

    "I came out to the sea to meet you." Zoro said.

    "Meet me? Why?"

    "To become the strongestˇ­. You have time to fight. Right?"

    "Strongest? How foolish!! You belong to the weakest sea of all the seas. You have seen how I cut the ship. Are you sure even after that?"

    "We will see to that at the end of the duel. Now battle me."

    "As you wish." Mihawk said as he brought out the small knife that was hanging in his neck.

    "You really look down on people." Zoro said as he brought out the three swords. This was where Mihawk''s eyes squinted a bit as he saw the three swords. He could feel that the three swords weren''t as simple as he thought. Especially the two colorful swords.

    It was common knowledge that only black swords were the kings and even his sword was a black one. But from the looks of the swords in Zoro''s hands these weren''t normal. They looked dazzling in the sun rays.

    "Kid, where did you find these two swords?"

    Zoro, who was ready to make his first move, stopped and looked at Mihawk.

    "A friend gave it to me." Zoro said as he looked at Ken who was just standing at the deck of the restaurant. Mihawk turned his head and looked at the smiling Ken.

    "Your friend isn''t simple." Mihawk said as he could easily feel that this person had a strong body.

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    "Of course, he is the Vice Captain of our ship. Now shall we start?" Zoro asked.

    "Heh..." Mihawk had a small arc on his mouth as he looked at Zoro.

    Zoro used his three swords and ran at Hawkeye.

    ''Oni.... Giri''

    The three swords were stopped by Mihawk with just his small knife. Zoro was trembling. He had expected that there was a gap between them, Ken had hinted to him long ago. But he didn''t expect it to be this big.

    "The gap can''t be this big."

    Zoro shouted as he used all his swords to battle Mihawk. He used all the moves that he had known and learnt until this point. All the moves that he himself created after years of training. But no matter what move he made, how he used his techniques Mihawk seemed to know how his next move would land and he avoided each and everyone of them.

    The more Zoro fought, the more his past memories, his childhood flashed in his eyes. He remembered Kuina and the promise. As those memories flashed, at one moment he let go of the defense which allowed Mihawk to stab him.

    "Zoro..."

    "Big Brother ..."

    "Oh my god..."

    Such exclamations came from everyone. Even Krieg''s crew. Zoro was famous in East Blue and he was known to be a demon. And Mihawk just laid waste to it with just a small knife. This was ridiculous.

    "Why didn''t you defend and get back?" Mihawk asked as he slowly pulled away the knife that he had stabbed Zoro. The knife point was very close to touching his heart. Blood gushed out as he did so and his white shirt soon turned red.

    "I don''t know... I have made promises and I want to keep them. I can be killed but not be defeated..." Zoro as he felt that he was losing too much blood. Sleep was taking over him and soon he fell right on the spot.

    Zoro had fallen asleep!!!!

    "Tell me this is a joke."

    Mihawk, Luffy, Yosaku, Nami and everyone''s eyes fell on the floor seeing this. Zoro had fallen asleep during a fight. Mihawk looked disappointed at the fallen enemy as he felt this guy wasn''t serious. How could a person just sleep after being stabbed once. He was expecting one of a kind swordsman only to be disappointed.

    "Big Brother.. Wake up.. You can''t be serious. Wake up..."

    "Please be serious..."

    Even Ken was puzzled about what had happened. He already felt something was wrong from the start. He didn''t even use his breathing styles. What was Zoro thinking? Did he think that his old techniques would be enough to take down Mihawk? Why did he fall asleep?

    Mihawk turned around and he was ready to get to his boat but he stopped because Zoro had again got up. His back was bent with his two legs wide apart vertically as he touched his sword''s hilt that had been sheathed.

    If one looked closely, he would see that Zoro''s eyes were still closed and if one paid more attention one could see that Zoro was still sleeping. Ken and Luffy both looked at each other and smiled.

    They could finally understand what Zoro was doing!!

    "So you were just pretending to be asleep. That''s a little cheap of you." Mihawk said as he turned around to look at Zoro. Zoro didn''t reply as he breathed a mouthful of air. One could hear small thunder sounds that were expelled from the body of Zoro.

    "Kaminari no Kokyu ichi no Kata : Hekireki Issen"

    (Thunder breathing first form : thunderclap and flash)

    Mihawk''s eyes opened wide and the next moment he saw Zoro vanishing from his spot. No he didn''t vanish!! He moved so fast that it felt like he had vanished.

 56. A beautiful duel

    Mihawk didn''t even have the time to use his black sword and only his small knife could save him. Zoro, who was on sleep mode, appeared the next moment a few feet behind Hawkeye after disappearing from his original spot.

    One could also hear a sharp metal sound too when Zoro had vanished and if one looked closely at the knife of Mihawk one could see that the small black knife had turned into a complete black one.

    Mihawk had used his Armament Haki and also Observation Haki to stop the attack of Zoro. This was necessary for Mihawk because if he didn''t do it, he was sure his neck would have been on the line. Though he probably could have just used Armament Haki in his neck area and stop the attack, this would be quite a humiliation for himself.

    "Kid, you have surprised me. Come!!!" Hawkeye said as he turned back to look at Zoro. By now he was sure that Zoro was asleep and he didn''t have proper control of everything. The only wish that remained in his body was his desire to fight him and so even in his sleep Zoro was fighting with this weird technique.

    Hawkeye had never seen this sword technique before. He was also sure that it wasn''t some Devil Fruit. Meanwhile Zoro bent his knees again and placed them wide apart to start another move which looked just like the previous one. He was holding the hilt of Inosuke''s knife as he breathed a mouthful of air again.

    This time the thunder sounds on the body of Zoro were more loud and one could easily see the sparks flowing in his body. The spectators were horrified seeing this. Especially Don Krieg. He was proclaiming that he would take over the restaurant but what Zoro did a few seconds ago was not something he could defend against if it was done without any warning.

    "First Form: Thunderclap and Flash Sixfold"

    Zoro vanished again but one could see the flashing rays of light as Zoro stepped on 6 nearby random places before reaching Mihawk. This speed was faster and more random than the previous move. Mihawk didn''t underestimate him and had already taken out his black sword to confront Zoro''s weird moves.

    Zoro appeared again behind Mihawk but one could see that the weird sword which had sharp blades on one side was broken completely. Mihawk''s sword still proved to be overwhelming for Inosuke''s sword at the end and it broke in just one confrontation against the black sword of Mihawk.

    The broken sword was the signal that broke Zoro from his sleep state as he opened his eyes. He looked at the broken sword and sighed. When sleep hit him during the fight he already knew what was going to happen. He had progressed a lot in Zenistu''s character and he was pretty sure that his sleep state would infuse the sixfold.

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    But even then it wasn''t enough. Such speed!! Such strength still wasn''t enough!!

    "I thought I might be able to get the upper hand with my speed, but it seems I am still far away." Zoro said as he kept the broken sword inside his hilt. One sword was broken and now he only had two swords left.

    He slowly brought out a single sword.

    "You have surprised me, Roronoa Zoro. When I came here, it was just because I was bored but now it seems like the visit was worth it."

    "I am glad that I could be the clown, but this doesn''t end here." Zoro said as he ran to Mihawk while breathing a mouthful of air. Unlike last time, his body didn''t show any signs of lightning or thunder. What the people felt was more like a warm temperature around Zoro.

    "Sun breathing first form : Dance"

    Zoro delivered a very high powered vertical slash while his sword seemed like it was burning in a very high temperature. It looked particularly dazzling when Zoro did that move. Mihawk had a serious face as he countered that move. Like the previous moves, this move too was going for the neck park and if he didn''t counter he would have to die.

    "Kid, what is this style you are using? I am curious." Mihawk was really curious about this unique style that Zoro was showing.

    "Sun breathing second form : Clear Blue Sky"

    Zoro didn''t even care for the words of Mihawk as he continued on the second move as he jumped in the air and his body spun horizontally as he delivered a 360 degree strike at Mihawk and he had to defend against it too. Mihawk was more curious about this technique Zoro was using.

    He was sure that if Zoro one day could use Haki and use the same technique he would be able to stand at the top. He could already see that these techniques were really powerful!! Mihawk wanted to see if Zoro could defend against his attack while maintaining this form. And so he used his sword to attack Zoro.

    "Sun breathing third form : Raging Sun"

    This form allowed Zoro to deliver two horizontal slashes consecutively to defend against the attack of Mihawk. The fire was still visible on the red sword of Zoro. The spectators were really watching a sword duel that they never thought would be able to see in their lifetime.

    Yosaku and Johnny, who had been with Zoro for the longest time, were more surprised than the others. He had never seen their Big Brother doing such kind of moves in all the time they had been together.

    "His sword play is so amazing. Even in the Grand Line I have never seen it." Red Foot Zeff commented.

    Sanji was also surprised seeing the strength of this Zoro which he looked down upon. Ken and Luffy had a smile. Though he wasn''t at the level of Yoriichi yet, he was reaching that point slowly.

    "Sun breathing fourth form.....*cough*... *cough*"

    Zoro who was ready to deliver the fourth form at Mihawk coughed out and stopped in his tracks. Sun breathing style was still not easy for him and he still had a long way to go perform all the 13 forms of sun breathing.

 57. A beautiful duel (2)

    Mihawk, seeing the cough could easily tell that these techniques tended to take a toll on the user''s body or in this case the body of Zoro.

    "Seems like you wanted to reach for things that you yourself haven''t grasped yet." Mihawk commented. Zoro just shook his head as he leaped back.

    He wasn''t going to give up just because he couldn''t complete the sun breathing forms. Zoro took out the other sword that he hadn''t been using, with two swords in hand and he started running towards Mihawk.

    "Eighth Fang : Explosive Rush"

    "What a fool!!" Mihawak commented as he saw the fast run of Zoro. Hawkeye lifted his sword high in the air and made a vertical slash towards Zoro in order to stop Zoro in his tracks, but Zoro got enough time to dodge to the right side.

    The forward fast momentum propelled Zoro towards the Mihawk left''s side when he dodged and he got close to his body. Mihawk had already expected this to happen and he moved his sword to defend against the attack of Zoro which was going to come.

    What Hawkeye didn''t expect was that Zoro would perform a technique that could be labelled as self harm.

    "Ninth Fang : Extending Bendy Slash"

    This move made Zoro dislocate the joints of his arm to increase the range of his attack, and then unleashed a fast swinging forward strike. Mihawk was accounting for the normal distance between them but Zoro went a step ahead to dislocate his arm to cover up the distance.

    And for the first time Zoro''s move landed on the side arm of Mihawk. This trick looked both beautiful and horrifying at the same time. The spectators could hear the dislocated arm that Zoro forced himself just to get an extra edge over his opponent.

    "What the?"

    "Did he just dislocate his arms? Are there such horrifying sword techniques?"

    "He landed a move on Mihawk''s body for the first time!!"

    After performing this move Zoro landed sideways on the ground as the pain was too much even for him to land on his feet. He held his side arm with his other hand and looked at Mihawk with a sense of victory.

    From the start itself he had a feeling that he might not be able to win, but he didn''t want to give up. He had sacrificed so much just to reach at this point and no matter the result he would strive for his dream.

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    Since he couldn''t win, it was better to do something more courageous and thus he took that step. But when he saw the arm of Mihawk he was dumbfounded to see no blood. Not even a scratch was there in his arm.

    Zoro just sighed and laughed.

    "You have surprised me once more, kid."

    "I am glad that I could provide you with some entertainment." Zoro said as he walked towards Mihawk and lifted one of his arms wide.

    "What are you doing?" Mihwak was confused by Zoro lifting his arms wide and standing in front of him.

    "I have already lost the duel and a scar on the back of a swordsman is a shame. Go on!!"

    Mihawk now was more impressed by Zoro and his deeds. He admired his strength, his courage, his ambition and even the fact that he was ready to throw everything away just so that he could get an edge and hope of winning over his opponent.

    Mihawk shook his head!!

    "What? You don''t think I deserve a scar from the greatest swordsman of the world?" Zoro''s eyebrows creased a bit when he saw the refusal of Mihawk.

    "No it''s the opposite. You have my respect. What you did just now was not something which I had expected. You forced me to use Haki twice and this is from a person who doesn''t even know Haki. This in itself is commendable. If you want a scar from me then fight me again when you think you are worthy and if that time you lose, it won''t be just a scar. It might just lead to your death!!"

    Zoro, hearing this, was stunned. He didn''t expect such high evaluations from the person he considered as the ultimate rival. After understanding the ins and out, Zoro smiled as he backed away.

    Luffy, Ken and others were more surprised which conspired in the last few minutes. Zoro proved himself in the duel though he still lost at the end. Ken was the one more shocked as he already expected a huge scar across the chest of Zoro which was iconic in its own way.

    His insertion in the story had already started taking effect. Of course, Zoro''s arm still needed medical attention but it wasn''t as severe as the one which he was supposed to be attended to.

    Mihawk looked at Don Krieg with boredom in his eyes as he returned to his usual self. All this time he had been chasing these people just for fun and now he had filled his quota of excitement and it was time to go back to the Grand Line.

    He took a leap and landed the coffin sized boat which started sailing by itself towards the direction he came from. It was all very enigmatic for the people present and even for the people present.

    Zoro was back while holding his arm and giving a wry smile to his friends. He had failed and he was ashamed.

    "King of Pirates, is there any problem if I become the strongest swordsman of the sea? I promise that I will never lose again.."

    "Hehehehe.. Of course. I will help you reach that goal too." Luffy smiled as he was happy that his friend was fine. Don Krieg and others were just spectators at this point.

    They had seen one duel that was so beautiful and grand that when they grow old, they would speak of this legendary battle to their grandchildren. Luffy turned his head and looked at Zeff.

    "Hey, if we defeat the Krieg Pirates will you let us take Sanji?"

    "Of course!! You can take him away if you can''t defeat Krieg!!" Zeff announced. He had already seen the potential of this new pirate group and he was more than happy to let Sanji chase after his dream with these pirates.

 58. Don Krieg vs Lightning

    "Don''t make decisions for myself, you old bag." Sanji shouted from behind but none paid attention to it. The whole conversation was heard by Don Krieg and others too. He clenched his fists as felt humiliated and disrespected by these guys who belonged to the same group as Zoro.

    Krieg pulled off the robe and opened his shoulder plates which unveiled two small machine guns on both of his shoulders. With no warning he opened fire at Luffy and others. Nami and Usopp were horrified to see such a sudden outburst.

    "Suiton: Suijinheki" (Water style : Water Barrier)

    Luffy did a quick hand sign and the sea water that was between Krieg and Luffy suddenly rose up at ultra fast speed and made a thick water barrier between them and Krieg. The water barrier was thick enough to stop the bullets. The others who were spectating this were flabbergasted seeing another weird power from another member of the same group.

    No, this wasn''t a weird power. This was ninja!!

    So cool!!!

    "Big Brother, you are a ninja? Why didn''t you say so before.. Big Brother after this battle I would want an autograph from you."

    "Yes Big Brother, I also want one."

    "Me too!!

    "Everybody step aside!! the Straw Hat boy would give me an autograph because I will pay him 1000 bellies."

    "Hahaha I will pay him 2000 bellies and I will be the first to get the autograph of a ninja."

    Such shouts and proclamations were ringing all around. Some of the people who wanted autographs belonged to the crew of Don Krieg. He was trembling in his place to see no one was paying attention to the fact that his bullets and his move proved nothing in front of his opponent. And on top of this his own crew was mesmerised by the opponent''s tricks. How shameful!!

    "Hahaha... I will give anyone who asks for it... Hahahaha." Luffy looked particularly very happy that everyone considered him a superstar. He himself would get excited from time to time by his own power.

    "Who the hell are you?" Krieg shouted.

    "Me? I am Monkey D. Luffy. I am the person who is going to be the Pirate King. Hehehe.." Luffy said.

    But this time nobody burst out laughing because the autograph of a ninja was more important than the funny thing that they just heard. Who knows maybe the ninja had what it takes to be a Pirate King.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Are you bullshitting me?"

    Don Krieg took out his small shield and pointed it at Luffy. He had poison balls and heavy bullets stored in the armor which he could shoot. He shot all of them at Luffy and his crew who were still having fun.

    The water barrier had already evaporated so there was nothing to stop the bullets from doing harm to Luffy. Ken had already sensed the attack so he dodged the bullets while making sure Nami and Usopp were fine.

    Meanwhile the bullets struck the body of Luffy.

    "Ninja-san.."

    "My autograph..."

    Everyone cried out loud seeing Luffy being struck by bullets, but next astonishing thing happened. The body of Luffy turned into a log of wood with just a puff of smoke.

    "Nani?"

    "What the hell?"

    "Is this the legendary Substitution Jutsu?"

    The next moment Luffy appeared on a high floor near the place Red Foot Zeff was standing. He didn''t even see when Luffy had appeared near him.

    "That was close." Luffy sighed as he seemed like he did a tough job.

    "Kid.. Are you really a ninja?" Zeff asked with curiosity. He could label the water technique to some kind of Devil Fruit, but not this replacement of his body with a log of wood.

    "Of course, I can walk on water, hang on walls and carry out various kinds of jutsus."

    Don Krieg was more astonished than any one. He didn''t expect this skinny guy to really be a ninja. Others could be gullible and stupid but what Luffy did was not something that could be explained by simple Devi Fruit.

    "What kind of person are you?"

    "I am a ninja and a person who ate the Rubber Fruit." Luffy said as he stretched his mouth to show how his body was made of rubber.

    "Fuck!!!"

    "Oye Luffy, please solve this guy quickly. We have other places to go." Ken shouted.

    "Yes Yes, we need to eat the good food that our cook is going to make."

    "Don''t make a decision for me!!" Sanji protested again.

    Luffy jumped out from the upper floor and landed straight near Don Krieg who was looking at him with an angry glare. Twice he attacked and twice he made a fool of himself. This was unforgivable.

    He took two of his round shields and joined them with its open side facing each other. And then from the middle of the two shields a spear came out.

    This was the signature weapon of Don Krieg. This spear blasts whenever the tip of the spear touches something, so in other words the spear was like a blasting tool.

    In response Luffy brought out 8 kunai from his small bag and hooked each of them into his fingers. The spectators eyes were more shining when they saw Luffy bring out the famous kunai which was exclusive for the ninja.

    "What are you going to do with those small kunai? This armor is unbreakable."

    "We will see to that.. Hehehe.." Luffy commented. The tip of the kunai was glowing with sharp light as Krieg was running towards him to use his spear on Luffy. After a second of wait Luffy threw the kunai at the charging Krieg. All the 8 kunai hit right at the golden armor of Krieg.

    "Junsei Raikou Kunai no Jutsu" (Pure Lightning Kunai Technique)

    This was a special technique of Luffy that he had developed over the years. Lightning and fire had always been his favorite as he seemed to be naturally attracted to them, probably due to his Devil Fruit. Due to the lightning chakra, the tip of the kunai had pure concentrated lightning and it would go through most of the forms of metal and even do damage after crossing that threshold.

 59. Sanji joins

    The 8 kunais travelled twice as fast towards Krieg. Krieg, seeing the kunai was traveling straight towards his armor, didn''t even bother to dodge. The kunais hit right at the golden chest armor plate and he had a smile on his face when they hit.

    But the smile turned into horror as he felt the armor plate cracking by the hit of all the 8 kunais and before he could realize what was happening, the 8 kunais went straight through the armor, though now the speed had slowed down quite a bit after hitting the golden plate.

    But the speed was fast enough to insert themselves into the flesh of Krieg. If he didn''t have the armor plate the kunais would surely have passed through his raw flesh.

    The pieces of armor plates fell bit by bit and along with it fell drops of blood. Krieg''s eyes went white. The kunais didn''t just lodge itself into the flesh but also sent jolts of lightning in his body.

    The penetrating power of the kunai was hard enough and on top of that he was wearing armor that was made of metal. The physics of this world was almost the same as Ken''s previous world so of course Krieg was electrocuted.

    And the blood loss was just a cherry on the piece of a cake.

    Standing with no iris and total white eyes, Krieg fell on his back, losing consciousness. The others who were expecting a long fight just had their eyes wide open. Though Luffy declared himself as a ninja they just thought he was good at sneak attacks and being an assassin.

    But this guy just soloed Krieg with one move and that too having a frontal confrontation.

    Gin and Pearl were the main officers on the ship and they too who were ready to help Krieg in his attack had their legs trembling at this moment. If their captain was taken down this easily, what would become of them?

    And the answer came in the next few seconds.

    "You should take your captain and provide him medical attention if he wants to continue living." Ken said as he somehow appeared near them.

    "Who do you think you are?" Pearl shouted as he took his huge shiny armor in his hand to hit Ken, but he was answered with a hit of Mjolnir. Just like Luffy, lightning crackled on the hammer as he hit Pearl and that sent him flying away on to the distant sea.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "Gin, do you want to join him?"

    "No... No.. Please spare us. We will leave and never come back."

    "Yes and leave behind all the treasures and riches that you have acquired. Including the golden armor plates and of course the guns too."

    Gin gritted his teeth in anger seeing that this guy would take over everything that they had looted until now but there was nothing that he could do. He nodded his head and went on to do what he was asked for.

    "Yosh!! It''s done!!"

    "Big Brother you are so cool."

    "Luffy, you are more amazing than I thought."

    "Hahaha... Of course... because I am a ninja!!!"

    "Which is more exciting? Being a ninja or being the Pirate King..."

    "Ummm... Unnn... I don''t know.. I can''t decide." Luffy as it seemed like he was in a dilemma of which was more interesting. Ken just shook his head seeing the stupidity of his brother.

    "Zeff-san I hope you will keep your end of the promise." Ken said as he knew the whole premise of this was based on the fact that they would get Sanji.

    "Of course, you can take Sanji away."

    "I have already said that I won''t leave and stop making decisions for me."

    "Nobody cares about your decision Sanji. Just join us..." Luffy laughed as he had already accepted Sanji as his new friend. Nami also got to see a part of Luffy''s power for the first time. Though she had seen his power before he didn''t believe that this person would be able to defeat Arlong.

    But after seeing the huge bounty and the first hand experience, she was half convinced that Luffy and his crew might be able to take on Arlong and his pirate group. It''s just that she didn''t know how the others would react if they came to know that she had joined the crew with ulterior motives.

    She joined their ship to loot them in the end. And now she would be begging for help from the crew mates of the same ship. Gin needed some time to gather all the treasures so Luffy and others had to wait. Nami finally took the courage and asked Luffy for his help.

    She was almost in tears asking for the help of Luffy. Luffy was silent for a second and he slowly took his straw hat and put it on her head. That silent action proved more than what Luffy could speak. She cried more when she saw that, because the straw hat of Luffy was a very important thing for him.

    "Thank you... Thank you..."

    This was all Nami could say at the end. Meanwhile Ken was trying to heal Zoro with the little magic that he had learnt and remembered over the years learning from Frigga. Frigga had always taught both Loki and Thor about magic and it included some healing magic too.

    Of course Thor wasn''t interested in those classes. But Ken did. Only after being close to 100% of Thor''s character did he understand that it was not because Thor didn''t want to learn magic, it was because he really had a very low aptitude for magic.

    Over the years he tried to do magic, but even basic illusions were a long shot for him. But he still learnt some healing magic and he was now performing that on Zoro.

    His shoulder had already been placed back in its place and all Ken was doing was healing the tissues inside that were broken due to that self mutilation. Luffy and Sanji had a long talk but at the end Sanji had decided to board the ship after Zeff himself came forward and spoke about the dream of Sanji.

 60. Precautions

    Gin came forward with all the treasures and their pirate group was officially disbanded. But Gin was loyal to Krieg so he took a small boat and left with Krieg. The treasures that had been accumulated by the Krieg Pirates were really huge and half of the small room of merry was filled with it. Nami''s eyes had already turned into bellies when she saw that.

    But Ken did something which nobody expected. He took quite a bit of treasure and gave it to Red Foot Zeff.

    "Why are you giving me this?"

    "Luffy, Sanji... Can you leave? I need to talk with Zeff-san for a bit in privacy."

    "What? I am also interested. I want to hear it too."

    "What do you have to say with this old bag? I am curious."

    "It''s nothing serious. It''s related to some other things." Ken said as he refused to speak of the secret thing that he needed to talk with Zeff. Luffy didn''t mind and just left. Sanji too followed him but he was curious about what this Vice-Captain of theirs had to say so secretly that he needed to talk with Zeff alone.

    "Hahaha... You are an interesting kid, giving me money. I can make a better ship with this, you know." Zeff said.

    "I know and that is the point. Zeff-san I want you to go somewhere else and open a restaurant. This restaurant isn''t safe for you anymore. I want you to fire the cooks who you don''t trust and only keep those people near you who you absolutely trust."

    Zeff''s face became serious hearing the words of Ken. Ken''s words meant there was an invisible threat hanging on his head.

    "Who wants to kill me? I don''t think I have provoked anyone to even come after me. Even in the Grand Line I was cautious."

    "It''s not your fault Zeff-san. It''s because of Sanji. His background is a little complicated. And in order to get to him, the people might just threaten you."

    "Sanji? You mean the Vinsmoke family?"

    Now it was time for Ken to be surprised. He didn''t expect Zeff to know of the Vinsmoke family. Germa 66 was kind of famous in North Blue but in East Blue they had no presence, especially now when they were rumoured to be on decline.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "You know of Sanji''s background?" Ken asked with a little shock and squinted eyes.

    "I have done my own research over the years and had expected him to belong to that family. Many clues led me to think he probably was from that family."

    Ken didn''t want anything bad to happen to Zeff. In the original story though everything turned out to be fine and Sanji was able to reconcile with his family for a small bit but it could never be forgotten that Zeff was targeted by both Big Mom Pirates and Germa 66.

    Ken didn''t want any mishap to happen when they reached the New World.

    "Will they come to this old man to hold back Sanji?" Zeff asked as he had a general idea of the infamous Vinsmoke family. Over the years he had done his research and whatever little he came to know of Germa 66 actually sounded like ghost stories to him.

    "Yes, he is the son of Vinsmoke Judge."

    "Oh!! So in a way he is a Prince.... hahaha.. I thought he was joking when he proclaimed that he was a Prince when he was young. Seems like there is a relationship."

    "So I hope you can take necessary precautions and leave. On our end we will take down Germa 66 when they appear. But until then I hope you can lay low. Change your name and crew if you don''t trust them."

    "Hahaha.. Kid, you have given such a big wealth. How can I refuse? But I will only lay low for 5 years and after that I will open the restaurant at this same place. You will have tol take care of them by that time."

    "Of course Zeff-san. If we can''t even take care of these small problems in the meantime, how can our Captain be the Pirate King."

    "Hahaha... I like your confidence, kid."

    "Thank you for your understanding Zeff-san." Ken thanked Zeff and left. Sanji packed his bags and utensils required to make food for the crew. And with that Sanji left with Merry Go.

    Of course, before he left there was the teary scene of Sanji kneeling down and thanking Zeff for all the help he had provided all these years. And with those last words, they went for their next destination.

    Cocoyashi Village. A village in the Conomi Islands.

    Luffy and Usopp were jumping in joy for getting themselves a new friend and wanted a banquet. Of course, Sanji being the cook went to make good food for the crew. As everyone sat for the banquet, it was Ken who spoke up.

    "Nami, Usopp and Sanji. You have seen how we fight. Do you want to get yourselves a boost?"

    "Boost?"

    "What does that mean?"

    "Zoro, you have lived three lives. Explain them."

    "Why do I have to explain them? Let me drink in peace."

    "Hahaha... No worries... I will explain to them." Luffy was enthusiastic as Ken had finally decided to share his Devil fruit power with others. While biting off a huge chunk of meat, Luffy started explaining the powers of Ken.

    It was at that moment, they understood the powers of Ken.

    "Ken, you are an immortal!! Holy cow!!"

    "It''s no wonder he can fly and Luffy knows ninja techniques. Even Zoro''s power came from him. This must be one hell of a Devil fruit."

    "I have never seen such illustrations of Devil Fruit in the books that I have read." Sanji said as he had once read about devil fruits in the book before.

    "Never trust the books. Many of the things were written by the World Government and they can never be trusted."

    "Alright, so you want three of us to lead new lives?"

    "In the fight against all three of you definitely need help." Ken said.

 61. New boost

    "You didn''t speak of this before because you didn''t trust me?" Nami asked as she had her head down. She had been on the ship for sometime now but Zoro had got the help while she didn''t. It meant that Ken had known about her from the beginning.

    "In a sense, yes. But it doesn''t matter now. You have chosen to trust us and put your faith in this crew." Ken smiled as he didn''t want Nami to be struck in the cycle of guilt. They have all done things that they might not be proud of.

    Even Ken himself let the child Luffy get tortured for sometime in order to insert himself to the story, and that was one of the decision he wasn''t exactly proud of. But on the journey one shouldn''t have too many regrets or else one would forever be burdened by its weight.

    In response Nami gave a smile.

    "Please stand here while I use my Devil Fruit power."

    Sanji, Nami and Usopp all stood in front of Ken. Usopp and Nami were particularly excited. They always had a sense of inferiority complex about their power and their usefulness to the crew. Though none of the crew cared about their input in the group they still hoped that they could help.

    Especially Usopp, who had been trying hard to make new gadgets and make his slingshot more effective.

    "System, take the three of them to simulations and let me, Luffy and Zoro see their world."

    [

    New subjects accepted.

    Simulating characters and worlds...

    ]

    Like the last time, Ken invited Luffy and Zoro to watch their friends'' simulations. And they readily accepted. First was Usopp''s character and among all the characters that they had lived or known, Usopp was the character who died the fastest.

    Usopp''s character chosen by the system was Asguiaro Ebern.

    The Arrancar that turned into Quincy when Yhwach granted him powers. Yes, the character that had appeared very shortly and died almost after 2 or 3 manga chapters. His powers were basically tuned towards Quincy as he never showed having an Arrancar''s Resurrecci¨®n.

    Ebern appeared in the manga (and the recent episodes) in front of Ichigo Kurosaki in order to seal the Bankai of Ichigo which he failed and then returned to Yhwach. It was there Yhwach killed Ebern saying that he had done a great service.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    And this small journey of the Arrancer turned Quincy ended. Though he was shown very briefly he did have powers to boast about. Arrancar''s high speed movement known as Sonido was known by Ebern.

    He had his own Quincy cross and even the Spirit Weapon that he could use to blast spirit energy with. His Spirit Weapon was huge which had multiple cannon like openings which he used as a bow. All in all, this was an archer and could fit the character of Usopp.

    Of course Ebern wasn''t a very powerful character if taken into account of all the characters in One Piece but having a foothold in the first half of Grand Line was easily achievable if Usopp could finish the character growth.

    Luffy and Zoro were surprised by the character of Usopp and they wanted to know more.

    "Who is this Kurosaki Ichigo? He seemed to have a special sword." Zoro was particularly intrigued by this.

    "Complete your character and maybe you will know and live one of their lives. Their lives revolve around their swords, so you might just hit the jackpot."

    Zoro was surprised when he heard the words of Ken. He was right. He just needed to finish the Yoriichi''s character and then he would get another chance and maybe he would live the life of this ''Kurosaki Ichigo''.

    The black blade that he termed as Bankai seemed really powerful. At least he couldn''t defend against it.

    Next was Nami''s character. Nami got a character which even Ken didn''t expect. All this time everyone had anime based powers, but Nami got a movie based powers.

    Hermione Granger, a witch who studied in the Hogwarts School with the boy who lived and red haired Weasley. In other words Nami went the magical route.

    "There is magic too in different worlds?"

    "Of course there is magic. This world could be at best an average world for magic wielders. real magic is much more powerful." Ken replied.

    "You really know of many different worlds. You should speak more about them. I would love to hear." Luffy said as he wanted to know more about different worlds.

    "Someday..."

    Nami''s character didn''t need any introduction as her character was famous for her knowledge in magic and she was also quite powerful in her own way in her world. Ken was happy to see Nami getting someone who was obsessed with books.

    This will help her in her future endeavours.

    The last one was Sanji. Sanji got a character which Ken had no idea about. In his previous life he tried watching as many anime as possible but it didn''t mean that he had watched all of them. And Sanji''s character fell in the anime which he didn''t watch before.

    Sanji got the character of Shinra Kusakabe.

    A third generation Pyrokinetic in the service of Special Fire Force Company 8. After his mother''s death, and supposedly his younger brother''s as well, Shinra joined the Special Fire Force to achieve his goal of becoming a hero, saving people from Spontaneous Human Combustion, and uncovering the truth behind his family''s death twelve years ago.

    He came from the anime named Fire Force.

    At first Ken was a little disappointed with the character of Shinra. Though his powers and Sanji''s powers definitely coincided, he didn''t think much of it. But the more Ken saw, the more his eyes went wide.

    The story went on and showed how Shinra evolved and gained more powers. When Shinra gained the Hysterical Strength it was unbelievable. Shinra normally used fire from his legs and used it as a mode of attack, movement and even defense. Basically Sanji in future version. But when Hysterical Strength turned on, the fire in his feet turned blue.

    Apparently he had only been using 30% of his flame powers and using 100% turned the flame blue.

 62. New boost (2)

    And that was not even the strongest point of his power. He sometimes would go to a mode which they called the Adolla Burst mode. This mode allowed Shinra to go into light speed. Under Adolla Grace, Shinra could enter a state of light speed, causing his body to split into subatomic particles in the process. The particles then surpass the speed of light, allowing them to go a few seconds back in time to the point before Shinra''s body broke apart. As a result, Shinra''s body was re-materialized.

    When Ken and others first saw this, they had their eyes on top of their heads. This was the most broken thing they had encountered until now. This was a whole new level. None of them had this kind of weird power.

    And Sanji was the first person to get such a character.

    "The shitty cook really has good luck."

    "I want to be like light!!" Luffy commented.

    With that Sanji''s character ended. Like other stories Ken had no idea of the story of Fire Force so he couldn''t speak about it. After the simulation ended everyone was out of it.

    [

    Character completion of subject Nami- 60%

    Character completion of subject Usopp- 20%

    Character completion of subject Sanji - 30%

    ]

    After coming out Ken had already got the notification of the characters. Ken didn''t expect such high character completion for Nami. Nami had always been a little special. She could accurately predict weather no matter where she was. This was something which was almost never seen before.

    Maybe Lafitte was able to do that but that was still to be seen. And once Shirahoshi said that she felt a weird connection with Nami on Fishman Island. If an Ancient Weapon said such words for one person then there was definitely something wrong with Nami.

    Also given the fact that her birth was still a mystery and she was washed up and adopted by Belle-mere. Ken really wanted to know more about Nami but there was nothing to start his research on. Maybe his journey would uncover many truths. This gave him a sense of adventure already.

    Usopp and Sanji completed the character exactly like he expected. Usopp wasn''t exactly high and he would need a whole lot of time to complete his character before he could proceed to the next one. Sanji too might take a lot of time to finish his character.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Hysterical Strength was fine but Adolla Burst wasn''t a kid''s joke. The more terrifying the power was, the more time it would take. He had understood this on his own case over the years.

    "How was the journey?"

    "I love magic. Ken, can you give me my wand?" Nami was so happy that it could be seen on her face. Her eyes were all lit up. She could already remember most of her spells and even the Patronus Charm. Ken extracted the wand of Hermione and gave it to her.

    Hermione taking the wand shouted

    "Expecto Patronum"

    When she uttered the spell, a white light burst out of the wand and soon it transformed into an otter which was playing in the air. It looked really cool as the otter juggled some rocks while moving around. Hermione''s Patronus was an otter and so was the Patronus of Nami.

    "So beautiful..."

    "Nami-swan is more beautiful than magic.... " Sanji was on his usual self while appreciating Nami.

    Ken then gave the cross of Quincy to Usopp so that he could manage the spirit energy in the hope that at least he could be like Ishida, making bows and archers with the help of spirit energy.

    Everyone was still in excitement mode as they discussed among themselves about the boost that they have received. Sanji was already able to fly with his feet blowing off fire. Sanji never thought one day he would be able to fly and move at such a fast speed.

    He was already very accustomed with feet techniques and this was just perfect for him.

    Usopp tried to actualise a bow but was failing. He looked a little dejected but Luffy spoke of his time when he struggled with standing on water. With the motivation, he continued to try hard.

    The most fun a person was having was Nami. She was running around waving her wand and chanting spells all around. Using her wand to clean the room automatically, clean the dishes. She brought her purse and used the extension charm on it, allowing the purse to have more space than it was supposed to have.

    She was really laughing in joy. Sanji, seeing Nami so happy, almost fell down from his flying exercise while his eyes turned heart shaped. Luffy enjoyed seeing his crew with happy smiles and so did Ken. With all the excitement a day went by.

    The next day they could see the outline of an island. The island which was their destination. But before they could reach the island, they were stopped by a sea cow.

    Momoo. The sea cow which was under Hachi and later under that dirty slimy and muddy pirate. Thinking of that face already made Ken angry. Ken didn''t know why but Caribou''s character was just one of those who he hated.

    And apparently he was some kind of a spy. Thus the next time he would see him, Ken would make sure to drown this piece of shit since Caribou loved drowning people so much in his swamp.

    Momoo looked at the Straw Hat pirates in a menacing way, thinking that it would crush this ship with its tail. Of course none of this happened as Sanji went forward and kicked the cow with his fiery foot.

    Sanji''s feet were already very strong. Now with the added fire, the underbelly became half cooked with just one hit. Momoo screamed in pain as it dove down in water in extreme fear. It was good that Sanji''s fire didn''t kill him or else Ken didn''t know how he would respond to Hachi later.

    Among the Arlong Pirates only Hachi was the decent one. Others didn''t deserve an ounce of respect or dignity from him.

 63. Cocoyashi village

    Arlong Park

    Arlong right now was having a meeting with Captain Nezumi of the 16th branch of East Blue. He was the one responsible for covering up for most of the ill works of Arlong from the bribe money he received from Arlong.

    "Here is the payment for this month!!" Arlong said as he handed a stack of notes to Nezumi.

    "Hahaha...I really like your straightforwardness. You are really different from ordinary pirates."

    "Hahaha.. Normally I hate humans, but you are an exception."

    "Ah well.. I should better leave. I can''t stay here for a long time or others will get the wrong idea."

    "You can always tell me about your enemies and I will happily get rid of them for you."

    "That''s not required at the moment. By the way, there is a new pirate group in the sea headed by a vicious Captain known as Straw Hat Luffy and Punisher Ken. Their bounties are 120 million bellies each. You should keep an eye."

    Arlong almost spat the drink he had on his mouth hearing the bounty. His bounty was only 20 million. Though his bounty didn''t exactly represent his strength, he sure as hell knew that he didn''t have the strength of 120 million bellies.

    "How is this possible? It''s only East Blue. Nobody can have such high bounties here." Arlong refused to accept.

    "I don''t know. We are being advised to report to the headquarters if we come across them and not engage plus report back to the headquarters on first sight." Nezumi said as he showed the posters of Luffy and Ken.

    It really was 120 million bellies!!

    "I will inform you if I see them." Arlong was smart. He knew when he should hide. He wouldn''t be here if it wasn''t that. He was in East Blue because the Grand Line was where the big boys played and he didn''t have much freedom there.

    In addition, his relations with Jinbei weren''t really good and he would never support him. Thus it was better for him to lay low. Since the navy had decided to give this Luffy such a high bounty, it was better to stay away.

    But little did he know as he was having this conversation with Arlong, the Straw Hat pirates had already arrived at the village and they had already met the first fishman pirate from their group.

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    When the ship anchored at the harbor, Hatchi was busy fishing.

    "Ooo Nami you are back.. Who are these people? Your friends?" Hachi said as he saw Nami with a few friends landing. Hachi was a little gullible and he tended to believe what others said, like Luffy.

    Nami clenched his fist as she slowly brought out the wand. Over the course of time she had learnt the three forbidden curses and right now she was thinking of using one of those curses on this Fishman.

    It was Ken who had stopped by holding her hand. Ken''s Haki warned him that Nami was going to do something very bad.

    "Calm down. I will talk to him."

    "I want to kill him. Kill him..." Nami was murmuring under her breath. She could still remember the face of Belle-mere and the way she died.

    "I know but we will need to reach Arlong Park. There you are free to do anything but never use the forbidden curses. It will just make you crazy." Ken reminded her. Nami''s body stiffened as he remembered the reason behind why the curses were forbidden.

    "Oh so this is a Fishman. First time meeting one."

    "He looks like an octopus. Suddenly I have a strong desire to make takoyaki." Sanji said.

    "Takoyaki? I am the best person in the world to make takoyaki. Do you want me to make some for you?" Hachi said. All his life, he wanted to open a takoyaki shop but destiny just pulled him here. He was different from Arlong pirates.

    He didn''t really hate humans and even saved Rayleigh once and had great relations with Shakki. Seeing that Sanji was interested in takoyaki, he wanted to make some for these people.

    "Really? You make the best takoyaki?" Luffy''s eyes had already changed to takoyaki balls and was already dreaming of them. He had already forgotten the reason for coming to the village once food was dangled in front of him.

    "Yes. Come with me. I will take you to my place." Hachi said and Luffy followed him like a willing follower.

    "This idiot!!"

    "Did he just forget about his reason for coming to the village?"

    "He definitely did."

    "Let''s follow this idiot so that he doesn''t do anything wrong."

    Thus Ken and others followed behind Hachi who was eagerly talking with Luffy. For a moment everyone except for Nami and Ken were a little confused. They expected the Fishman to be a vicious pirate group but now it seemed like this wasn''t true for all.

    "Not all Fishman are as bad as you think. They have been oppressed for a really long time. Arlong is just the product of our hatred towards them. Arlong belonged to the Sun Pirates which was led by Captain Fisher Tiger. He once climbed the Red Line and freed many slaves which included both human and fishmen. Both Jinbei and Arlong belonged to that group. Later Fisher Tiger died and the pirate group was disbanded. That is the only connection Arlong has with Jinbei."

    Ken narrated the whole story of Arlong in just one breath. They didn''t expect such a grave history behind Arlong.

    "Then why is he here? Just for the sake of enjoyment?"

    "After Jinbei joined the Warlords, he was the one who asked the government to leave his crew as he became the Captain of the Sun Pirates after the death of Fisher Tiger. In a sense he let go of Arlong and didn''t care anymore."

    "Then Jinbei is responsible for all of this?"

    "If you have a dog in your home who is a little rude to others. Will you punish him just because he took a bite at others? Some might, but can you be heartless to do the same to that dog?"

    Nami finally understood what Ken meant. Jinbei probably had no idea how cruel and atrocious acts Arlong was committing after he left.

 64. Hachi

    "How do you know all these?" Nami wondered why this person always tended to know so much.

    "I do my research, go through newspapers. All the years in my place there was nothing to do. Luffy and others trained while I couldn''t because I was too strong." Ken just flexed his power in front of them but only he knew that this wasn''t correct for Ken. He wanted to learn Armament Haki but he was hugely unsuccessful.

    This was a form of agony for Ken. But others didn''t think that way. They just labeled him as a show off. While Ken narrated all of it, Luffy and Hachi almost became the best of friends as they spoke of different food. Hachi loved feeding people and Luffy loved eating.

    Nami was a little uncomfortable seeing this but didn''t stop them. They soon reached the gate of Arlong park. The Arlong park looked exactly like in the anime.

    It was a multistoried building built in Japanese castle style and had a shark head on top of the building. Over the shark head was the Arlong pirate flag fluttering in the wind. With no hesitation, Hachi opened the huge gate and slowly walked in along with Luffy and others.

    Sanji and others were already in a highly vigilant state as they walked in. They were here to fight not to eat food like Luffy, who was still in his own dream. Inside the park there was a small inland pool which connected to the sea and beside the pool were a bunch of chairs and tables. Arlong was sitting in one of the chairs peacefully while Nezumi, the Navy Captain, had already stood up with his subordinates, ready to leave the filthy place crawling with Fishmen.

    But all of them stopped when Hachi came in.

    "Yo guys, look I brought some friends of Nami. This guy said that he loves takoyaki. We can have a banquet... Ahhh.. Arlong..Ummm.. These humans..." Hachi spoke those words nonchalantly at first but then he realized he had committed a grave mistake. Arlong hated humans. Nami was an exception because she was useful to Arlong. But the others wouldn''t have a good time.

    His face soon turned ugly as he realized his own stupidity of bringing humans to Arlong. But Hachi didn''t notice that Arlong, his crew and the navy had more of an ugly face than Hachi. No one bothered with Hachi at this point.

    Few minutes ago, Nexumi spoke of the Straw Pirates. ''Speak of the devil, and the devil arrives''. This was the saying that was ringing in their heads.

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    "You... You... You.. You are the Straw Hat Pirates?" Nezumi was visibly shaking when he uttered those words.

    "Oi... See.. I am famous.. Hahaha... My poster is already famous.. Hahaha... " Luffy was laughing out loud.

    "You are Kenny? The Punisher?" Arlong spoke next as he looked at the people behind. He had already noticed Nami and he could already tell what might have happened. She might have asked for the help of these Straw Hat pirates and probably provided them with her ''services'' of excellent navigation. Arlong had a good idea of how powerful the navigation skills of Nami were.

    "I don''t know why they put such a nickname in front of my name, but I definitely will love punishing the navy here." Ken gave an evil smile as he looked at Nezumi. He wasn''t going to touch Arlong and his crew. It would be left up to the crew to handle.

    But the navy couldn''t be left alone. Nezumi didn''t suffer any injustice when he was thrown off the island in the original work. But this was not going to happen in this case. He was going to teach him such a lesson that he would never forget!!

    "What do you want to do? I am in the navy... If you do something to me, the navy will never leave you alone."

    "The navy had already decided to put a bounty on us. Do I look like I care?" Ken said.

    "Why are you here?" Arlong asked.

    "To take revenge for what you have done to our nakama all these years." It was Luffy who had answered. He was in a happy mood all this time with Hachi but when it came to Arlong he became a lot more serious.

    He didn''t forget the main reason he was here!!

    "Nakama? Nami? hahaha.. I can''t remember how many times she had cheated people for money and riches. She will do the same thing to you once she gets a better crew." Arlong said as he was trying to have a psychological warfare.

    "She will leave once you are in danger and get a better crew. Now she is leaving me and the next time it will be you on the other side ....." Arlong continued spewing venom and was going to say more but suddenly Arlong saw a leg coming right at his face at an incredible speed. The feet left behind a streak of flames.

    Arlong didn''t even realize when a person had appeared near him but it was too late to dodge. Plus he was proud of his Fishman body and thought he would be able to stop the kick with his hand. But he was gravely mistaken. As the foot connected with his hand, the muscles weren''t able to cushion the impact and Arlong felt his bones crack a bit in that single kick.

    The kick was delivered by Sanji as he got irritated that someone was speaking such evil words of his beloved Nami-san.

    "Sorry Luffy, I couldn''t control myself!!"

    "It;s alright. Sanji you just got a good place to exercise your own powers. You can do so here in front of these pirates." Luffy said with a big smile. He could already see that Sanji himself was enough for these people.

    Hachi, who was standing by, finally realized that the people who had happily come with him were the ''bad guys''.

    "Straw Hat, how dare you deceive me? You insulted my takoyaki!! Ah.. I will never forgive you." Hachi took out all the 8 swords he had and pointed at Luffy.

 65. Magic filling the gaps

    Without stopping himself Hachi plunged all his swords at Luffy in order to slash at him. There was no warning, nothing. It was because Hachi felt that Luffy had broken his trust and insulted his food.  As the 8 swords were inches away from Luffy''s body, Hachi heard a sound in his ears.

    "Enbu"

    A single sword blade which looked like it was burning in fire was so hot that before the sword could even touch hachi''s swords, he felt the brunt of it from a distance. Hachi, who was proficient in 8 swords, wanted to counter the sword strike that was going to land but it was already too late.

    It was Zoro who used the first form of Sun breathing and stopped the attack of Hachi. Two attacks from two different people and the fishmen around along with the few marines saw for the first time the pure brilliance of two people that they had never seen before.

    Sanji''s kick broke a bone of Arlong and Zoro''s sword broke all the 8 swords of Hachi. There was a complete silence after this. Only the waves crashing on the pool were all the sounds that the people around were able to hear.

    "It''s not your place to tell us who is my friend and who is not. Nami is our nakama and that is all I care. I might not be able to fly, I might not know how to be a good swordsman or I might not know how to navigate and cook. But I know that my friends will be there to help me on my journey." Luffy said as he put his fingers in triangle shape and placed it near his mouth.

    "Katon: G¨­ka Mekkyaku" (Fire Style : Great Annihilation)

    *fushhhhh*

    Luffy blew the air from his mouth and the air passed through the fingers it released a very majestic spray of flames towards Arlong and all his crew. The move was so fast that they didn''t even understand what just happened.

    Arlong, who was already in pain, had to run and dive into the pool in order to escape the barrage of fire that this Straw Hat guy just emitted. But others were not so lucky with it. The other crew of the Arlong pirates and even Captain Nezumi were in the way of the fire.

    A majestic fire release like this was enough to burn away the people around. This jutsu was kind of exclusive to the Uchiha clan but apparently Luffy had already learnt it. It showed how good his inclination towards fire was. The devil fruit of Luffy was really playing its part here.

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    This move surprised even Ken. Luffy was really good when it came to learning new techniques and surprising them. When Luffy learnt second gear, it came as a surprise to everyone. Now it seemed like Ken was in the other side of the trick too.

    Luffy was really made for battle. After the fire slowly diminished, Sanji slowly came forward and delivered a nice kick at the head of Luffy. Luffy was blown away by that as he didn''t expect Sanji to do that.

    "Baka.... If I didn''t have fire resistance I would have died there."

    Sanji wasn''t really angry but was just irritated that he too was the victim of Luffy''s attack. It was good that his new body gave him fire resistance along with using fire through his feet. Finally everyone got to see the destruction. There was nothing that remained. The chairs and the tables were completely burnt away.

    Smoke was coming out from the bodies of the people as their whole bodies were charred. Thankfully this was One Piece world and people have a tough life, otherwise they would have been dead in Ken''s previous life.

    Luffy didn''t mind that Sanji had hit him. He put his straw hat back on his head and smiled like a foolish person as Sanji.

    "Sorry Sanji, I couldn''t stop myself."

    Meanwhile Hachi was in tears seeing his friends lying around, half dead. He was both angry and sad. Angry because he couldn''t save them and sad because his friends were at the brink of death. He fell down on his knees as he took one crew member in his arms and started crying.

    "What are you crying here for? It''s not like they are dead." Ken was irritated by the cries of Hachi, Hearing that, his cries stopped immediately. In order to see if what Ken said was right, put his ears on the chest of his fellow fishmen, only to hear the heartbeat.

    Hachi looked ecstatic seeing his friend was fine. Seeing the foolishness of Hachi, everyone had their hands on their forehead. This guy really was hopeless. even Nami didn''t feel like doing anything to Hachi seeing how easily he was manipulated.

    It was Luffy that had almost killed his friends but a few words from Ken made him feel like Luffy and others were not even responsible. Short term memory loss patient.

    Meanwhile Sanji came forward and looked at the pool. He knew pretty well that Arlong was fine and was hiding in water. Since water wasn''t exactly his dominion, he needed to wait, but he highly doubted that Arlong would ever show up.

    "Oi sniper. Can you find him?"

    Sanji looked at Usopp who was trying to use his glasses to see where Arlong. He was excited seeing how powerful his crew mates were and wanted to help but how could he find someone in this way.

    "Do I look like a fishmen to you?"

    "With your nose, I actually think that you are a fishman."

    "What did you say?"

    "You heard me right!! Nose - kun."

    "Stop you two, I will find Arlong." Nami said as she took out her wand and muttered

    "Revelio"

    An invisible force emitted from the wand and slowly entered the ocean water. Soon a very vague image of a person swimming in the water was seen a few metres away from the edge of the pool.

    It was Arlong.

 66. half spiritual weapon

    Arlong could also see that his hiding technique could not get him anywhere but there was nothing he could do. All his friends were down and he wanted nothing but revenge.

    His teeth were clattering against each other in sheer anger. But he also knew that this was his best hope. Water was his only strength and this new pirate group that had just shown up was in a league of their own. He was almost sure that these people had eaten Devil Fruits. Otherwise under no circumstances could this curly eyebrowed person and that famous Zoro could emit fire in their attacks.

    And that Straw Hat guy was more outrageous. A person spitting fire from his mouth!! He had never seen such a thing before but there were always weird Devil Fruits out there and who knows what Devil Fruit this person had eaten.

    Though he could inherently feel that his location had been detected by something, he didn''t care. But Arlong made a mistake.

    Ken didn''t care about the magic of Nami as he was ready to fly in and bring this piece of shit out. But it was Usopp who stopped Ken.

    "I can bring him out."

    "What?"

    "With your slingshot? Are you sure?"

    "Hey c''mon I have another power now, did you forget?"

    "You have control over your power?" Luffy and others were surprised by this. They didn''t have much hope for him anyways.

    "Oi... Have some faith in me alright."

    "Fine fine... You will get one chance." Ken said. It was not because he looked down on Usopp or something. He just didn''t want Arlong to run away and then come back with more ferocity. He would rather bring this stupid guy down and be done with it.

    And Usopp didn''t disappoint.

    He had been wearing the small cross on his hand like some person from Christ and extended his hand straight. Slowly a white straight light started emerging from his hand that soon took the form of a bow.

    Ken was a little surprised. Quincies normally needed a weapon to control the spiritual particles and use that in any form they liked, depending upon their powers. At least Ishida used to do so during his fight against Mayuri.

    But here Usopp made a bow out of thin air. No, he used the cross as the weapon and made it into a bow. Though it wasn''t his full spiritual weapon as of yet, this was a great progress. Unlocking the full spirit weapon would take some time.

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    Others who were watching this, were surprised that Usopp could do such a thing. They had seen how that Ebern guy fought and it looked nothing like that. Only Ken knew what Usopp was doing and he had a smile on his face seeing that.

    Usopp too was progressing fast.

    As the bow took shape, an arrow made of the same light particles was formed. The arrow didn''t look exactly like a typical one. The arrow could be labeled as a huge log which had sharp splinters pointing out of it.

    Only in this case the ''log'' was made of white spiritual particles. Usopp stretched the arrow on the ''string'' and pointed it at Arlong who didn''t seem to have moved from his position and took a deep breath.

    This was his first time using it on a real person. Secretly, he had been trying to do this for sometime and he had been finally successful. Though he had only got one day to practice, he hoped that this move of his was good enough.

    Ken could feel what Usopp was doing. His control over the power wasn''t good enough. Maybe 60% at best, but the lethality of the arrow couldn''t be denied. Even he himself might choose to dodge this ugly arrow.

    After aiming it correctly, Usopp released that arrow. The speed of the arrow was mind blowing. It did even care of the viscosity of the water or air as it tore through everything and at extreme high speed it went right at Arlong.

    Arlong hadn''t expected a white light to appear in front of him. He was stunned on the spot. At that time all he could remember was the face of Kizaru. Kizaru who had once played with him and almost killed him.

    Those memories of the past came back to him at that instant. He was rooted at the spot. He couldn''t move. That small bit of hesitation proved fatal for Arlong.

    The spiritual particle arrow went right through his shoulder just inches away from his heart. Unlike kicks and punches, Arlong had a massive hole when the arrow passed by. He vomited out blood almost instantly and got unconscious a second

    Few moments later, the water was filled with red color and the body of Arlong floated above. Hachi, who was seeing this from the side, almost jumped on his feet.

    He had never seen such weird attacks ever before. Who the hell are these people? Where did they come from?

    "Oi Usopp. This fight was supposed to be mine. You took my spot."

    "Uh... Sorry sorry. I didn''t expect this baka to take the hit. I thought he would dodge."

    This was true, though the arrow was fast, the distance was considerable and the water would definitely lower the speed. Arlong should have been able to dodge but a moment of hesitation and his past memories haunted him.

    This was his downfall and thus with that attack, Arlong, who was considered as one of the most vicious pirates was taken down.

    By this time, many people from the village had arrived. Some people had seen a huge fire blast coming out of the Arlong Park and many were secretly rejoiced thinking the fire might just kill some Fishmen of the Arlong Pirates. That was all they hoped for.

    Nojiko, who was in the village, came to see what had happened. But when they saw the whole platoon of fishmen burnt out they thought that this was a dream. Nami finally turned around and looked at her beloved friends.

    "Everyone, Arlong Pirates are no more. We are free!!"

    There was complete silence as many found it hard to believe that the most vicious pirate that had haunted their village was no more.

 67. Party for 3 days

    The silence was followed by a huge cheer. Cheers from everyone who were present. Many of the villagers had actually arrived with spears and household weapons when they watched the fire from far. Some of them wanted to be the fish in the water in this scenario.

    But it seemed like this was not required! everything had been taken care of.

    "Oi Nami what is going on? Who are these people?" Genzo, the person who had been a father figure in Nami''s life came forward and wanted an explanation of what had happened. He was the first to come here and try attacking Arlong''s crew because he knew first hand how cruel and powerful these pirates were and how Nami had been running around trying to save everyone.

    And now out of nowhere Arlong and his crew were done for. From the gate itself they could see that the pirate crew were charred black and lying on the ground and even some of the marines were among them.

    They had already speculated that the marines had some kind of arrangement between Arlong and the marines and today it was proved. But all of these didn''t matter when they got to see the body of Arlong being dragged out by Hachi with great difficulty. There was a huge hole in his shoulder and it was followed by constant bleeding.

    "Why is this fishman still alive? Kill him!"

    "Yes, yes. Kill him. Kill all of these fishmen pirates."

    "Don''t let anyone get away."

    Hachi, who was busy dragging away the half-dead body of Arlong, shuddered. He could understand the anger of the people around. They had committed unspeakable atrocities in the village and they did deserve whatever was coming after them.

    The people ran towards Hachi to kill him but it was Ken who suddenly flew and came between the people and Hachi. Nami and others were surprised that Ken even came in the middle.

    "Mister, he is a fishman. Like others, he too is responsible for whatever had happened in the village. I think Nami had spoken about that."

    "Nami had spoken of everything. But I hope you can leave Hachi out of this. We need a fishman to take away these filthy people and get the hell out of here." Ken said.

    "Yes. Yes. And before going he can cook for us." Luffy suddenly remembered the main purpose of following Hachi and his eyes turned into takoyaki again. Zoro came forward and hit him right at the head.

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    "Make your priorities straight, idiot."

    "Does he think Hachi will cook for us after what we had done?" Usopp too didn''t understand how Luffy forgot everything when the matter of food was raised.

    The people were more confused by this. These friends that Nami had brought seemed to be quite powerful and took down the fishmen pirates and alongside that they were protecting the people that they had just beaten down.

    What is wrong with these people?

    "Hachi, you better run. I can''t save you from these people." Ken said. Hachi had great connections and even helped the Straw Hat pirates later, also accounting for the fact that he knew Rayleigh and even Shakki, it was better to just leave him.

    And of course, like Luffy, he also wanted to try the takoyaki of Hachi but he didn''t shout it out loud. Hachi, who just got the warning from Ken, looked at him with grateful eyes. He was already expecting death but his own enemy came forward and helped him.

    He had never faced such a weird situation in his life. After taking some of the half dead crew members in his small boat, he swam away while pulling it. The villagers were still not happy with how easily they were let go but they could also see that Arlong might not even live for a long time with such a huge injury.

    After Hachi and the crew vanished from the eyes of the villagers, they all rejoiced and had happy smiles on their faces. They were finally free from Arlong and his cruel rule. Nami became weak to her knees as she sat on the ground. She never expected that she would see such a day where Arlong and his crew were so brutally treated.

    She broke into tears.

    Arlong didn''t even have a chance to retaliate and was bullied by three different people. The trauma that she had suffered from her childhood just got washed away. It was unbelievable for her. What followed next was a grand party.

    A party which went on for 3 days!

    Ken had heard of this previously but he always thought that this was a little exaggerated. But what the village had shown him was completely out of his expectations. A party which went on for 3 days was really mind blowing. People didn''t sleep nor did they go to work.

    It was just eating, dancing, singing and doing the dumbest things possible. Luffy was busy consuming meat Sanji was making, Zoro was busy with wine and ale, Usopp had made a platform for himself and shouted after getting up on it.

    "Let me tell you the grand tales of Captain Usopp. How he killed Arlong with just one hit... That Captain Usopp is me!!" And surprisingly, the villagers kind of worshipped him there. Many had seen of how Usopp had made a bow of light particles and shot at Arlong, who was underwater.

    Ken just shook his head at this. Not many people approached him as many had seen how he defended Hachi so not many were enthusiastic about this friend that Nami had brought.

    "Your name is Ken right?" Genzo came forward and sat next to Ken, who right now was just sitting on a roof of a house and watching the people down having fun. He was busy eating an apple.

    "Yes. I am sorry for letting them get away." Ken said. Genzo shook his head as he didn''t care. They had got more than what they had asked for. Arlong was beaten down badly and that was enough

 68. Another island down

    "You don''t have to be sorry. You and your friends have saved our village. It''s us who should say sorry to you and thank you." Genzo said.

    "You have thanked us enough with all the party and the food." Ken said.

    "Hahaha... Got to tell you, even I am a little surprised by seeing the energy of the people here."

    "That makes two of us."

    Genzo didn''t speak more and left to find Luffy since Luffy was the captain, he needed to give him the ''father talk''. Seeing that there was nothing else to do he left the roof as he needed to finish one work.

    He flew away and entered the nearby forest. On one huge tree there were several people tied around by a very big and long rope. They looked very horrible, dehydrated and seemed like they would die at any second. All over their body were tomatoes, yolk of eggs and all kinds of filthy things attached.

    It was very apparent that these people had just received a public denunciation. Of course, these people were Captain Nezumi and his subordinates. Unlike the fishmen who had fled, the marines weren''t left easily.

    And nor did Ken want them to escape so easily. The anger of fishmen was understandable till some point. They had been on the other side of hatred for a far long time. But not Nezumi. He was a scum in human skin and in no way Ken would let them leave easily.

    In the past two days he had arrived here multiple times and had given them punches, kicks and even lightning attacks on these people. Since the Navy had decided to name him Punisher, then he would be one.

    He would punish people, after all he needed to live up to his name. This time he came not for punching the ugly rat face of Nezumi but to give him some photos of Zoro and his crew members. Nezumi couldn''t die here, if he did, then the village would be under scrutiny and the villagers might receive the flak.

    There was another way to go around it and that was labelling the pirate crew of Straw Hats as more dangerous and put on a bounty. A bounty which would be on Zoro and Sanji. He was pretty sure that by now the East Blue had received the information of Don Krieg being taken down, and after Nezumi was released, the downfall of Arlong would also come into light.

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    So in order to borrow this limelight, it was better to give more popularity to his crew members instead of himself. After all it was only Luffy and others that had made moves.

    "Wake up!! It''s your release day." Ken shouted. Those words woke up the swollen eyes and cheeks of Nezumi and his subordinates. The last 2 days he had been on the receiving end of people''s ire and wrath.

    Hell, even a 10 year old kid came and kicked him in the nuts and he could only scream in pain. At times, he didn''t even want to live after seeing the humiliation and pain. But somehow this devil of a man named Ken kept him alive.

    Alive to torture him more.

    When Ken shouted those words they thought that this was another kind of trauma but when the ropes fell off, he was half sure that there might be light at the end of the tunnel. After the ropes fell, several photos fell on the feet of Nezumi. He heard the devil say.

    "Take these pictures, I am sure the first thing you would do after reaching the Branch would be putting bounties on us but we already have one. So you can only explain this to your superiors saying you escaped after being beaten by us. This will allow you to put bounties on my friends. Use these pictures. I don''t want any other photos on the new bounties posters apart from these photos. Is that understood?"

    Nezumi was dumbfounded seeing such an explanation of letting them go. But whatever the reason was, the main point was that he was being released. That was all he cared about now.

    "Hai.. Hai.." Nezumi spoke through his broken teeth. He didn''t have enough energy nor the face to speak at this point. He hurriedly picked up the pictures, thanked Ken for a bit and ran. Ran with all the remaining energy he had on his body and feet.

    He needed to get the fuck out of here!! He was looking back to make sure that whatever was happening was not a dream and it really wasn''t. He was free, but then he heard the shout of the Devil.

    "You better not step foot here or give problems to this island, or else I will find you myself and throw you to the Calm Belt."

    Nezumi almost tripped when he heard the threat of Ken. Honestly, he was thinking of taking revenge. He knew that he wouldn''t be any help against the Straw Hats, but the people here also humiliated him. He wanted to soothe his anger but hearing the threat of Ken, all those hopes were dashed.

    He promised himself never to set his foot ever near the waters of the island. Ken just looked at the running figure for one last time and flew away. His work here was done. Everyone got what they deserve, and soon it would be time to leave.

    Meanwhile, there was a different situation happening in the New World. The world''s strongest swordsman had arrived at the territory of Red Haired Pirates. No, he had arrived right at the island where the red haired pirates were holding their temporary camp.

    The crew members of the pirate group were running around in fear and one person came and gave the news that the Hawkeye was here, but after he finished the words, Hawkeye was already standing behind him.

    "Yo, Hawkeye, if you have come here for a duel, can we fight the next day? I am a little drunk."

    "Tch!! Who cares fighting with a one-armed swordsman, it''s an insult to my dignity."

 69. Stars are still off limits

    "I came here because you talked of an interesting pirate when you visited East Blue. Is he this one?" Mihawk showed a poster.

    "Eh!!!"

    "Luffy! So you have come."

    "Hahaha... Luffy has finally arrived at the sea. Wow, such a high bounty." Shanks had a wide smile in the beginning but when he saw the bounty he had a ''surprise Pikachu'' face. It had exceeded his expectations for this small kid he had once seen in that small village.

    But it didn''t matter. Since he had arrived it was time for some celebration. Of course, Shanks dragged Mihawk in as they drank ale and had a banquet. The tradition that came from Roger''s crew of having banquets never changed.

    Mihawk didn''t refuse it and joined the celebration.

    ----

    Cocoyashi village

    The celebrations had finally ended and the Straw Hats crew were now ready to leave and this time they would go to the Grand Line. Nami already had the chart from Buggy and they just needed to follow it.

    Nami had decided to leave with the crew and of course she did in dramatic fashion. Leaving the 100 million bellies but stealing the wallets of the villagers who had arrived to see the Straw Hats off.

    "Hahaha... So funny... Hahaha."

    "One day she will rob us all."

    "Nami-swan is cute when she steals money from people."

    Ken just shook his head at this. The people in the crew really had some weird hobbies. With that they set sail and reached the vast sea. The sea in East Blue was normal and there were no frequent huge waves and changes in weather so it was rather pleasant.

    Meanwhile he also realized one thing. He was almost close to finishing his character progression. It was 98% and right now he could open the Bifrost.

    "Luffy, I will try something. Nami, I want you to stop the ship here for sometime."

    "Huh!! What do you want to do?"

    "Did something happen?"

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    "No, I just want to try a new power." Ken said as he took out his Stormbreaker and flew away without speaking more. Zoro and others were already alerted and wanted to see what Ken was going to do.

    In mid air, Ken raised his hand and soon a bright light fell upon him. The bright light that just fell on him looked like it was made of some kind of rainbow colored beam and soon it covered the body of Ken/. And after it covered the body of Ken for a few seconds it vanished and along with it Ken.

    "Ahh.. Ken got eaten by a monster."

    "Help.. Somebody help..."

    "Idiot, didn''t he say that he was trying a new power? Maybe this was his power." Nami said as she used her wand to see if there was any kind of invisibility magic here. But she couldn''t find any. Ken had of course teleported away.

    He teleported away to one of the old places he knew. The place where the 4 brothers used to practice and eat. A bright light suddenly appeared at the place and Ken emerged from that. The land under was burnt by the Bifrost like it normally does when one used it.

    "Can I go to other planets? But I don''t know the coordinates. Let''s try my old home."

    Ken raised his stormbreaker to open the Bifrsot again but it didn''t come. His eyebrows creased as he didn''t expect to open the Bifrost when he tried going back to his old home. There must be something stopping him from doing that.

    He lacked basic information of the planet they were in and this answer could only be given by Vegapunk and Egg Island. For Ken, that island was more important than Wano. The information that Egg Island could have would unfold many of the mysteries of the world.

    This time Ken did a sensible thing and opened the Bifrost to the place their ship had stopped. Ken was basically using the Bifrost as a form of teleportation. Ken appeared again near Going Merry and flew to the deck. Opening Bifrost at the deck would just burn a good part of the deck.

    "Ken... Where did you go? That gave us a scare." Usopp was still a little scared because for him Ken was the one who had changed his life. It was him who had given him a power that he could only dream of.

    Like Usopp, everyone was worried. Especially Luffy who was thinking some kind of monster ate him. Nami came forward and hit Ken right at the head.

    "Don''t pull stunts like that next time."

    "Sorry, I just got a new power so wanted to check it out."

    "What power did you get? Did you complete all the powers of Thor?" Everyone was excited hearing Ken. Ken was the oldest with his Devil Fruit so he might have completed one.

    "No, but I am very close to that. Maybe on the next island I would be able to complete it. This is one of the powers of my Stormbreaker. It''s a King''s weapon so it can weapon Bifrost. Basically it allows me to travel the stars and teleport."

    "Huh? Stars you mean outside this planet? You can travel the world with this axe? Damn!!"

    "How is this possible? How can an axe be this powerful?" Nami and others looked at the axe with fear. They had known of the power of Mjolnir and nobody until now had been able to pick it up no matter how they tried and now this axe allowed Ken to travel in stars. This was a whole new level.

    "Why is it impossible? You can also teleport and you can do that without your wand." Ken said to Nami as her magic allowed her to apparate which was a form of teleportation.

    "That magic doesn''t allow me to go to the stars."

    "The dwarves used their best technology in this. There is nothing I can do." Ken said. Of course, Luffy didn''t care about it and was just happy to see his brother back.

 70. Two people to look out for

    "So we can go home whenever we like and escape?" Usopp was the brightest in the group when they understood how powerful this so-called power of Bifrost was.

    "Yes, if we have an animal of some kind which could even pull the ship then we can even fly over."

    "Wait what? What do you mean by that?"

    "I mean like if we can catch some kind of strong animal and make that animal pull the ship over the Bifrost while attaching wheels on the ship, we can travel. In this way we can fly too." Ken replied.

    The others didn''t understand and they asked for more explanation. Ken then showed how his Bifrost can be treated as a road and this road could take them anywhere. ( For reference watch Thor : Love and Thunder)

    "This is cool."

    "We can fly."

    "We need to catch an animal that could do this first." Zoro said as he understood the restrictions.

    "Hope we can find some." Luffy said as he was already dreaming of flying with the ship. He had seen how Sanji and Ken flew and he wanted to join this trend too.

    "Nami, how far is the next island?" Zoro asked.

    "Two days more and we will reach the Logue Town. The place where Gold Roger was executed."

    "It''s Gol D. Roger. Not Gold Roger." Ken corrected as he went under the deck to have some rest.

    "D?"

    "Both Ken and Luffy have D. What does that mean? Are they related?" Nami thought but she didn''t care much and waved her wand to adjust the sails. Going Merry which had stopped for the experiment of Ken was on it''s again.

    Normally in a ship everyone had their work. Some would have to care for the ship, some would have to clean the ship while others would have to be on the lookout for potential dangers. It was not the case here.

    Magic played its part. The brooms and the brushes were working by themselves as these things were busy cleaning the whole ship. Nami even used magic to wash the dishes for Sanji and help him in this regard.

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    The more she used magic, the more proficient she would be and more her character progression would be. Due to these reasons everyone had got time to be themselves and none had to be looking after the ship.

    Zoro was given the responsibility of looking out, while Luffy and Usopp fooled around. Usopp was trying to make a wall clock for Nami as she had asked to make one that could detect the location of the crew members. It would be like the wall clock that the Weasley''s had at their home.

    In this way 2 days had gone by. Ken used most of his time to either practice his Observation Haki and see if he could learn Armament, or else slept like Zoro. There was nothing to do anyway. Soon Zoro shouted that there was an island.

    "We will need to restock our supplies. I will give everyone a magic bag that has more space and you can buy whatever you want." Nami said as she was considerate enough to give everyone a bag free of cost which was a little odd for Nami.

    It was her own way of trying to balance the favor the crew had done for her in her village. Of course, the later things that come out of her hand would be paid for. Zoro, this time didn''t ask for money to buy a new sword as he already had his own sword and the new Inosuke''s sword that Ken had provided.

    She would just roam around.

    "Zoro, you better not get lost." Nami shouted. Hearing this Zoro had an ugly face and shouted back.

    "I can find my way back."

    "You can''t. Even after you have Beast breathing style, you have lost countless times."

    Zoro''s face became more ugly as Sanji exposed his weakness.

    "You are the one to say Sanji. Once a woman appears, you become worse than Zoro." Ken accused.

    "That is of course." Sanji took pride in it.

    "He is not praising you shitty-cook."

    "I am better than you moss head."

    "Let''s have a round and see who is better than the other."

    "Let''s go."

    "Stop it you two." Nami came and scolded both of them. These two had started this trend of bickering and fighting against each other over small things, this had forced Nami to take actions against them as the others never cared. Not even Ken.

    In fact he was like Luffy here, glad to watch both of them fight.

    Everyone had their own agenda when they landed at the harbor. Usopp needed some materials which he thought might be helpful in his practice. Like some goggles and materials to make a bow that would be half made of spiritual particles powered by the cross and half of his own hand made materials. Like Ishida had used in the start. It was Ken who gave him the idea. Usopp wasn''t a genius when it came to fights but the preparations were always top notch.

    And before going to the Grand Line, Usopp needed some assurance for himself.

    Sanji needed to buy food so he went on his way to the market to buy all the stocks necessary for proper food and nutrition. Luffy was clamouring about going to the execution place where Roger was last alive. He was particularly pumped about it.

    It was Ken who was rather free and wanted to just roam around. If the story was right then Dragon and Smoker should be here. Even if there was no Dragon, Smoker should definitely be here. The only navy which Ken felt pity for.

    Wherever he went, he would get his ass handed over to him. Be it here, Alabasta, Punk Hazard and even in the Marineford War he was kicked by Hancock in the face. Ken wasn''t particularly concerned about Smoker even though he didn''t know Haki.

    Both Ken and Luffy weren''t the same as before.

 71. Bartolomeo

    ?Oh, angel sent from up above

    You know you make my world light up

    When I was down, when I was hurt

    You came to lift me up?

    Ken was humming the famous song from Coldplay as he walked the streets of Logue Town. The town was lively to say the least. The shops, the people and the jovial nature all around didn''t even have any ounce of indication that one of the greatest pirates of their era had been executed here.

    There were so many things still in mystery about Roger and Ken was determined to bring the truth out. Uncover all the mysteries that were there in this world and if possible uproot the tyranny that was prevalent here.

    He was having all these thoughts when he heard someone talking loudly

    "Give us the protection money or else you would know what will happen to you."

    "I have already paid the money for the month. I don''t have any more money to pay."

    "That was just for the boss, you need to pay the money for us, who protects the people here."

    "Please.. I have a family to support. Please understand that we really don''t have much."

    From the conversation it was very clear that these ''gangsters'' were trying to take the hard earned money from the shops around. Normally, Ken wouldn''t care seeing the ''gangsters'' but one face among them made Ken feel like he had seen before somewhere. He just couldn''t remember where.

    The gangster had long blonde wavy long hair which he tied by a blue band which ran across his forehead. He had tattoos all over his hands and looked like a typical delinquent.

    "Mister, can you give me some apples." Ken didn''t want to barge in right in the middle but he wanted to see how these people would react if he interacted with the shopkeeper without minding them. The gangsters and the shopkeeper were taken aback seeing this random tall dude coming up and asking to buy fruits the shopkeeper was selling.

    Didn''t he see the people around? Didn''t he see who these gangsters were? Even the surrounding people who had almost turned a blind eye to the situation were surprised by the boldness of this young man.

    "Uh.. Sure.. One apple is 10 bellies." The shopkeeper didn''t know what to do and could only speak like a good shopkeeper who had opened the shop.

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    "10 bellies per apple. Too costly.. " Before Ken could bargain, a hand was placed on his shoulder. It was the delinquent who had been harassing the shopkeeper.

    "Dude, didn''t you see we were having a heart to heart talk with the person here. Why don''t you come later?"

    Ken slowly lifted his head and looked at the person.

    "Who is Bartolomeo to you?"

    "Bartolomeo, how dare you take our boss''s name by your filthy mouth." The person was incensed that someone so casually took his boss''s name and proceeded to punch this person in the face.

    Ken didn''t even bother to stop this guy and just let the knuckles hit his face. The others around had almost closed their eyes as they thought another person would be taught a lesson. The shopkeeper gave a low scream thinking that Ken was done for.

    But the next moment, it was the guy who punched and gave out a scream. The scream came with a sound of bones breaking. The delinquent had broken some of bones when he hit Ken. He fell down on his knees and held his hand while gasping for breath. He couldn''t understand what just happened. A simple punch to this person''s face had broken his hand''s bones.

    Who the hell was this guy?

    "I asked you about Bartolomeo and you punched me. Gotta say, you are the stupidest person I have seen in my life."

    "Shut up. Guys get him." the delinquent shouted and the other gangsters who had their eyes wide open about what just happened came to earth after the blue band guy shouted. These gangsters didn''t back down just because one of them was injured. They wanted to take revenge.

    And so all of them jumped at Ken together. Ken was impressed by this. These people were definitely Bartolomeo''s future crew members and they were loyal. They didn''t back down even if Ken seemed to be more powerful.

    Ken was impressed so he held himself when he brought these gangsters down. He punched, kicked, elbowed the gangsters and took them down with only one move on each one of them. The spectators had their mouths fall on the floor seeing.

    These gangsters had never been treated like this before. And this came from a single person who looked so young. He was a hero!

    "What is your name?"

    "Gambia." His voice was shaking when he replied. He thought this was a random guy but didn''t expect him to be a hidden master. This guy brought his friends down like it was nothing.

    "Pick them up and go. Tell Bartolomeo to come here." Ken said. Gambia gritted his teeth. This person definitely knew his boss otherwise he wouldn''t have targeted them but he didn''t know who he was.

    He could only take his friends and leave to find his boss. His boss was powerful and only he could take revenge for them.

    Ken didn''t care about the thoughts and just looked at the people around who in fear almost vacated the place. Bartolomeo was notorious here and they didn''t want anything to do with him or the gang members known as Barto''s Club.

    "Naa Mister.. Please lower the price."

    The shopkeeper didn''t do what this person wanted but he didn''t dare to be rude.

    "I can sell this for only 5 bellies less. I really need money to help my daughter." the shopkeeper said. He was in fear but he couldn''t go on lowering the price. His family needed him and his daughter was sick. Ken could feel the sadness in his voice and he was sure that the shopkeeper wasn''t lying.

    Without thinking much he took out some stacks of money and gave it to the shopkeeper.

    "Here, take the money and tend to your family. Close the shop. It might get messy around here now."

 72. Worship

    The nearby shops closed very quickly. They were afraid that a fight would break out and it would lead them to be in harm''s way. Soon the street was deserted with almost nobody on it. Those who remained were now hiding behind half closed doors and windows.

    They didn''t want anything to do with this weird axe wielding guy but on the other hand they were curious. They were hopeful that this new person would change things here. And there were very few who had already recognized him from the posters and had run as fast as they could.

    Ken waited for at least 20 minutes before he saw some movement on the far end of the street. There was a group of people approaching and a person who had punk styled green hair was leading them.

    Bartolomeo was here with his full gang.

    But from the way he walked, it didn''t seem like he was here to fight. His way of walking seemed like someone who was in fear and even the ones who had run to Bartolomeo to complain about Ken, had their knees shaking in fear as they were forced to walk and follow Bartolomeo.

    Bartolomeo came and stood face to face against Ken. He looked scared and after gulping down his saliva, he went down on his knees and bowed his head.

    "I am sorry Punisher Kenny. They had been disrespectful to you. They didn''t recognize you. I hope you can forgive them."

    Ken was a little surprised that Bartolomeo recognized him and even asked for forgiveness.

    "How do you recognize me?"

    "There is a poster of you on our place and these idiot friends of mine didn''t recognize you before. I am sorry for that, the heroes of East Blue would be insulted by my friends."

    "I am not a hero. Stop idolising people."

    Bartolomeo looked embarrassed when Ken said this. Ken and Luffy were now celebrities of East Blue. There had never been anyone with such bounty in their seas. It was even rumoured that even in other seas there hasn''t been any pirate that had such high bounties before going to the Grand Line.

    And many already had a sense of worship for these two. And Bartolomeo was one of those who had joined the ''cult''. Ken had a little headache seeing this. Bartolomeo had already been transformed into half of a fan even before Buggy could swing his sword on the neck of Luffy.

    Buggy and Alvida weren''t here as Ken could already sense from his Haki but some things remained the same. Ken sighed seeing the everyone was still bowing down and said

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    "You all get up. I didn''t call you here to teach you a lesson." Ken shouted.

    "Thank you Ken-dono."

    "Long Live Ken-senpai.."

    "Long live Ken-senpai."

    "Stop with shouting already." Ken screamed on top of his lungs again. This finally put a stop on the cheers.

    "How is your grandmother?"

    Ken asked. Bartolomeo looked at Ken for a second and the broke down in tears. Forget about Bartolomeo, even his friends and subordinates broke down in tears. Seeing this Ken got a little scared. He thought his grandmother had died.

    "I am sorry.." Ken said.

    "Why are you sorry Ken-senpai? We are so happy that you care for us so much and even asked about my grandmother. I am sure that my grandmother would be so happy when she hears this."

    Ken understood that Bartolomeo had broken down in tears of happiness. He really felt like beating this guy now. He really was a pain in the ass. Much bigger than Luffy.

    "Stop crying." Ken said. With this command everyone had stopped but Ken could see the happy smiles on the faces of these people.

    "Since I am here you should stop terrorizing the people here." Ken recalled the main problem that Bartolomeo had been called for. He needed to calm these people down by diverting the topic.

    "Ken-senpai. Uhh.. I can stop it.. But we don''t know how to feed ourselves." Bartolomeo said. Ken understood what Bartomeo meant. He didn''t have any qualities other than hooliganism that could help him survive and this came with a baggage of his subordinates who were like him. Ken thought for a second. He came from modern society. Surely there was something with which he could help these people.

    "Start a parcel service and transportation."

    "What is that?"

    "Start the service which would allow people to send any kinds of things across the seas. It will be like a letter service. But instead of sending letters, you would be sending things. This will be a tough job but I believe you have the strength."

    "Parcel service.. I will ask my grandmother for advice."

    "Good. She will support you I think."

    Ken remembered that Buggy had started that service after he became a Warlord and made it a huge empire. He had made such an influential empire that even Crocodile and Hawkeye had allowed him to join their cross guild. Influence was also important when there were too many people.

    One of the main reasons Ken had decided to join Luffy was because of his connections, his future potential and his journey. Buggy did the same thing with the Cross Guild Organization. He joined for his influence and connections.

    The people who had been hiding around were disappointed a bit, but they got to know a crucial piece of information. This person was the infamous Punisher Kenny, one of the new and the most notorious pirates of East Blue. People realizing this had more fear now as the ''cruel'' pirate was here. Many had already made a ''run for their life'' realizing this while some had gone to the Navy branch to alert the Captain there.

    Ken had ''seen'' this but he didn''t mind. He was looking forward to meeting Smoker anyways. Bartolomeo asked if Luffy was here and Ken nodded.

    "Yosh!! We are going to meet the Captain of Straw-Hats pirates too." Bartolomeo said as he ran along with his friends after knowing where Luffy could be. Ken just shook his head. Bartolomeo might not be as fanatic as his future version in Dressrosa was but it seemed like it was already on the way.

 73. Smoker

    Meanwhile Luffy had gone to the execution platform to see what Roger had seen in the last moments of his life. Zoro had been roaming around and came across a shop which sold swords so he got interested.

    There he had a meeting with Tashigi. Zoro didn''t have to buy any sword here and he was just curious about the swords. Of course his curiosity led him to the cursed sword. Zoro actually had money this time as it was distributed before, so Zoro didn''t owe Nami or anything of that sort.

    At the end he did get the two named swords like in the original story. He would keep them as spare for now.

    Usopp took another route and went to a shop that sold all kinds of weird things. He came across the sharpshooter that had challenged him to shoot at a weather cock that was very far away. Usopp accepted it and after buying the things he needed he went to this old sharpshooter who had once challenged his father.

    It was safe to say that Usopp had won the challenge. But the end was a little different than the original story. In the original storyline he had just shot at the eye of the weather cock. But here Usopp just ended up burning the whole damn thing.

    "What the hell is this? You ate a devil fruit?"

    "Ossan.. Don''t accuse me of those things. What I used is called Reishi. I collected Reishi in the air and made a bow. If I can upgrade my bow I can do more wonderful things."

    "What exactly is Reishi?" The old man was confused and curious.

    "Umm.. Ossan, even if I explain to you, you won''t understand. But I can say that I am the only person in the world who could use it." Usopp said with pride not caring for the fact that such secrets, which fell into the wrong ears, would invoke greed. It was good that the sharpshooter didn''t have any such thoughts nor his daughter.

    Her father was grateful that Usopp''s father had once let him go and then his son seemed to be more dangerous than his father. It was better to be away from this family.

    Nami was having the time of her life. Her stealing life was in full swing here. She had been busy using magic to steal from rich people and use her ''power'' to buy things she thought she needed. If Ken knew what Nami was doing with magic after getting the template of Hermione, he would be furious but then again it was to be expected from Nami.

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    She was going to shops after shops and buying clothes and things that would be required. Of course, Ken had asked Nami to buy dresses for all kinds of weather. The Grand Line was a place where the weather changed in the drop of a hat. Others didn''t have his physique so it was better everyone had proper clothes to handle.

    Sanji''s story in the Logue Town didn''t change much as he was confronted by a lady chef who accused him of taking away her fame. Of course Sanji accepted as he had been challenged in a cooking competition. And at the end he won and also got himself a big fish. A fish that was supposed to come from the Grand Line.

    A fish that was not available in the East Blue. An indication that the All Blue might be real. Sanji was already pumped after getting himself that fish. His dreams might just come true in this journey.

    While this was happening, Smoker had already got the information that pirates ship of Going Merry was anchored in the harbor and Straw Hat Luffy along with his crew was in Logue Town. Of course, Smoker didn''t waste a second and went on to the execution platform where the Straw Hat was last seen.

    According to protocol, he must alert the headquarters before confronting this pirate and he actually did, though he didn''t think much of this pirate. None of the pirates in East Blue could be of that calibre and he thought the headquarters were just exaggerating by giving two members of a pirate group such a high bounty.

    He was a logia type user and until he faced someone who knew Haki, it would be easy to take him down. He had already inquired, Luffy and Ken weren''t logia type so he didn''t really care. He would just catch Straw Hat and hand him over to the Headquarters.

    Smoker soon reached the place where Roger was once executed with a full platoon of marines. He might be confident in his power but he wasn''t a fool to go alone. This was a single guy and the bounty meant that Straw Hat Luffy might have his own merits. It was better to make sure that Straw Hat Luffy didn''t escape.

    After catching Luffy, he would go after Punisher Kenny. The nickname was already a bad one and Smoker wanted nothing but to catch these two. After reaching the square, he saw Luffy standing on top of the platform looking at everything with curiosity and vigor.

    It seemed like Luffy was really happy to stand there.

    "Straw Hat Luffy, come down gently. You are under arrest." Smoker.

    "Aleh.. Navy... I am not even in the sea. Why are you here?" Luffy was confused about how the navy had come after him. He didn''t do anything wrong here.

    "I am here to catch you. Now come down gently. I promise not to hurt you."

    "Ahh.. Seems like I will have to run." Luffy said as he jumped on the other side of the tall platform and made a run. Nami had deliberately warned everyone not to cause trouble so he had to keep his word.

    "Catch him. Don''t let him run away." Smoker said as many marines were standing between his escape route. Luffy had to fight at this point to escape.

    "Get out of my way." Luffy said as he stretched his feet and shouted

    "Gomu Gomu No : Muchi "

    This attack of Luffy worked as a wiper on a windshield as it took care of the marines that were standing against him and it threw the people to the side with a single attack.

 74. Monkey D. Kenny

    After sidelining all the marines he started running. Smoker got angry seeing this and took his iconic bike. The bike that used the power of his logia to drive. It was a bike made exclusively for him. He could use the smoke as the energy source that could rotate the wheels.

    After getting on the bike Smoker sped off. He needed to catch this heinous pirate and he drove fast after the pirate. Meanwhile Luffy being a ninja had both of his hands behind his back and ran while bending his back a little forward. It looked like a weird way of running but living as a ninja for such a long time, he had incorporated that style in his day to day lives.

    "Straw Hat.. Stop running.. You can''t hide."

    "Eh... Sugoi.. A bike... I want to ride one... I will have to ask Usopp to make one for me... " Luffy had sparkles in his eyes seeing Smoker in his bike but he also knew that at this point there was no time to admire the bike. He needed to get to his friends and his ship.

    Luffy knew that running on streets wasn''t possible any more as the bike was pretty fast so he just jumped over the roof of a nearby shop and started jumping and running over the top of the buildings.

    "Nani.."

    Smoker was a little surprised how easily Luffy got on the top but this didn''t change anything as he flew to the top and chased Luffy. Since Smoker elementalized the lower portion of his body with smoke and used it as a propeller, he was just as fast as Luffy.

    No he was faster.

    Luffy, seeing that he couldn''t run faster than this guy, used the Body Flicker jutsu and moved to another house down the street. Smoker who was following him was taken aback. Luffy just vanished with no warning. The more he was running after Luffy, the more he was surprised. But that was only momentary as from the corner of his eye he saw Luffy on the other side and he chased after Luffy.

    "You have surprised me, Straw Hat. But your journey ends here." Smoker as he elementalized his hand and extended it. On the hand he was holding the Nanashaku Jitte, a weird cylindrical weapon which had Seastone on its tip to take down pirates with Devil Fruits.

    The weapon was very close to hitting Luffy when he turned back and took out his kunai to stop the attack.

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    "A kunai? That''s a very odd weapon for a pirate." Smoker said as he saw the weapon that had stopped his attack.

    "Why the hell are you after me? I was just enjoying my day here before going to the Grand Line."

    "You are a pirate and I am a marine. So of course I will stop you." Smoker said as Luffy took a few steps back. There was nothing he could do now but fight. He needed to take down Smoker until he was able to be far away from him.

    "So I will have to fight. Sheesh.. Nami is going to kill me." Luffy said.

    "Gomu Gomu No : Pistol"

    Luffy stretched his arm and made a shot at Smoker. Of course, Smoker saw the attack from very far and had elementalized. The attack went right through his body. Smoker had a stoic face after the attack. He wasn''t happy because he knew that this punch on a normal person might prove fatal.

    "Nani." Luffy was surprised that his attack proved useless. Ken had never told him extensively about logia fruits since Ken felt battling was the only way for Luffy to gain knowledge and experience.

    "I ate Moku Moku no Mi (Smoke Smoke fruit). Your attacks are useless." Smoker shouted and he again used his weapon to attack Luffy. Luffy who saw that his attacks were useless again used kunai to stop the attack of Smoker.

    He could feel the disgusting breath of sea from the weapon. He had been practicing on sea for such a long time and by now he could already differentiate that there was something wrong with the weapon.

    Luffy didn''t understand what kind of fruit that this Smoker guy ate so he could only turn his head to the old and trusty ninjutsus and so he started doing hand signs.

    "What are you doing?" Smoker was confused about what Luffy was doing, however he also lost his patience and he again attacked Luffy with his weapon. It was at this point that lightning struck between the two of them that threw both Luffy and Smoker to the side.

    The lightning was sudden and came out of nowhere. Both Smoker and Luffy were in mid attack when the lightning struck. And that was not the end. After the lightning dissipated and the dust settled, the person who had caused that lightning appeared.

    Monkey D. Kenny.

    "Ken, why are you here?" Luffy had a smile on his face seeing his brother.

    "It''s because you have been an idiot and couldn''t take care of this guy." Ken said as he pointed his axe at Smoker.

    "He is a tricky guy. Turns himself into smoke. I was going to use ninjutsu."

    "Ninjutsu might not be too helpful against this guy. We can only stop him with ninjutsu but might fail to hurt him."

    Smoker wasn''t hurt by the lightning as he had already turned into smoke. And when he laid his eyes on Ken, he recognized him instantly.

    The Punisher.

    "Punisher Kenny.." Smoker as he clenched his weapon. He could already guess that the lightning was brought down by this guy and from the body build he could say that Ken was powerful.

    "Ahh.. Smoker.. First time meeting you." Ken said as he turned his head and looked at Smoker. Anybody seeing the smile of Ken would think he was talking with an old friend.

    "You know me?"

    "A person who possesses logia shouldn''t be here in Logue Town. What are you doing here?" Ken asked another question instead. Though he could vaguely guess why Smoker was here but he still wanted to know.

 75. What a bitch!

    "That''s none of your business." Smoker got agitated when he was asked that. It was as if Ken had poked a small wound that should not be touched. He again took his weapon and tried hitting Ken only to be deflected by his hammer.

    Ken had controlled his power but Smoker felt a huge force being transferred to his body from his seastone weapon. He had taken a few steps back and held his hand with the other to even realize that the massive force that just got passed to him.

    "What kind of monster are you?" Smoker asked as he didn''t expect a teenager to have that kind of strength.

    "Luffy, go to the ship. I will come soon." Ken said.

    "But how will you defeat this smokey?"

    "I will take care of it. I have my own means." Ken assured Luffy.

    "Okay. Be there. On time." Luffy said and then he vanished using the Body Flicker Jutsu. Smoker elementalized himself and threw a punch at Luffy who had gone quite the distance, but this was again stopped by Ken.

    Ken threw Mjolnir which disrupted Smoker''s attack and he had to bring his ''hand'' back. Magically, the hammer returned back to Ken. Smoker was more surprised by this. He could already say that Ken had something to do with lightning.

    But this phenomenon of hammer returning back to the owner. This was the first one.

    "You are going to stop me, Punisher?"

    "Speak some sensible words. Will you? He is my captain. Will an able minded person just let some random marine touch his captain?"

    "Pirates betray each other all the time. Especially people like you. Both of you have the same bounty. One person is bound to be jealous of the other. In fact I can see that you are more powerful than him. Why are you even with the Straw Hat?"

    "Smoker. Are you seriously this dumb or just acting like dumb? This action of growing seeds of jealousy is very low level. Try this with someone else. And do more research when you go after pirates. You seem like you know nothing of us." Ken said as he slowly brought out Stormbreaker.

    He was going to use both of the weapons in this fight. Smoker wasn''t like Garp. From this attack he had established that Mjolnir wasn''t effective against Logia. So Logia still needed Haki. His dream of beating logia without Armament just went down the drain.

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    Smoker had always been the aim of Ken from the start. His logia wasn''t really powerful, not that it mattered since he had the body of Thor but nobody was insane enough to suffer the freezing cold of Aokiji or the magma of Akainu just to see if Mjolnir would work on them. Smoker was the safe option after that "Hishashiburidana Mugiwara" Warlord.

    Smoker got irritated after being berated by a pirate. He transformed more than 80% of the body of smoke and surrounded the entire body of Ken from all sides, giving him no option to escape. Ken just smiled at it and raised both his weapons high in the air. And with one swipe lightning ran down from above. The black clouds that had been gathering above for quite some time finally showed their might.

    The smoke that was all around the place dissipated. Dust and debris were blown up and they were everywhere. Smoker had come back to his original body. He didn''t expect that this Punisher Kenny could come with such an attack.

    Lightning from heaven itself. The term monster would undermine this guy. If he wasn''t a logia he might have actually died in that attack. Smoker was waiting for the dust to settle but Ken wasn''t having any of it. Since he had Observation Haki he already knew where Smoker was and attacked with his Stormbreaker.

    But Smoker seems to have been on alert and had already elementalized. The attack went through his head without hurting him. But this wasn''t over, Ken twisted his body midair and while in the air he caught the hand of Smoker. The hand that was holding the weapon. Smoker who had elementalized had already sensed a powerful hand had caught him.

    And without much thought he delivered an electric shock. Smoker by instinct again made his hand turn into smoke so he didn''t get electrocuted. And that was the mistake.

    Smoker''s hand let go of the seastone weapon. This was the aim for Ken. His weapon. Their crew didn''t have a seastone weapon to boot. Now he had one. He always believed in his strength but there should always be a backup plan or else he would be like Luffy, hanging on thread and just away his cheap life.

    Since he didn''t know about Armament Haki it was better to get one of the best things to handle it.

    Smoker didn''t expect that. He was so engrossed in the monstrosity and how easily he was being manhandled that he had forgotten that his own weakness was his own weapon and now he just lost it due to momentary carelessness. The dust had already settled and Smoker got to see Ken again. This time instead of the hammer he was holding his very own weapon.

    A weapon that was his nemesis.

    "Punisher Kenny, you are more cunning than you let people."

    "No, my dear Smokey, it''s just that you are weak and think every pirate here is beneath you. You got complacent. You are so old and you still don''t know haki. Don''t you feel ashamed that people from your age are at Vice -Admiral Rank. You have logia. People in the headquarters would scream to have your logia fruit. It''s a waste of a devil fruit on you."

    "You little bitch.." Smoker got incensed and punched at Ken with his fist while turning half of it into smoke. Ken had already expected and dodged and just used the tip of his new weapon and stabbed at Smoker''s hand.

    It was lucky that the weapon wasn''t sharp or else he would have lost his hand in that.

 76. First completion

    Smoker almost cried out in pain but maybe he was too manly to do so. He just held his arm as he took a few steps back. Ken had used quite a bit of force in this attack and Smoker had definitely felt it.

    "Want this back?" Ken teased.

    Smoker clenched his fist. He felt humiliated. Never had a pirate trampled his pride and power like this. He was sure that if he wasn''t logia he would have been dragged through the streets by now. And now even with Logia he was sure that he would be on the path to a very tragic end.

    "This weapon will only take you so far, Punisher."

    "I am not here to kill you, Smoker. If I had wanted that I would have done that in many ways. Wouldn''t have just fought with you here. I am taking this as a trophy and you are free to go."

    "You look down on me, pirate?"

    "Down on you? No Smoker, I look down on almost everyone who joins the marines. There are exceptions but you are not one of them. It has nothing to do with power. I look at you the same way I would look at Kizaru or Akainu. Pure and absolute disgust."

    Ken said and he didn''t bother to talk with this helpless guy anymore. He rotated his Mjolnir for a few seconds and then he flew off. Before flying away he looked at a distant building from the corner of his eye. He saw Dragon standing with his body covered in long single cloth hiding most of his features.

    Ken was sure that he was Dragon because his Observation Haki wasn''t able to find anything about this person. He seemed like a blank slate for Ken, which justified the fact that Dragon had a higher level of Haki than Ken.

    "What an interesting kid. No wonder Sabo speaks so highly of his brother. Go Luffy, live your dreams. The sea accepts all."

    Ken didn''t hear what Dragon spoke so loudly and neither did he care as he had already flown away. It would be foolish to approach this person. Dragon had been hiding from the World Government for such a long time and Ken was sure that he would definitely slip something up if he spoke too much.

    Though Sabo might have spoken about them, it was still not the time to meet him. Soon, Ken reached the ship only to see several marines lying around unconscious. They had been taken down by his friends. And right now the crew was taking care of the various navy ships that had surrounded Going Merry.

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    "Ken, you are back. Where the hell have you been?" Nami was furious as she used her wand to send a destructive spell on the cannons of one of the ships. This blew the cannon from the inside which was getting ready to shoot them.

    "I got held up." Ken said with a calm tone.

    "Nami-swan I think we should leave." Sanji said with a very meek tone.

    "Of course we should. What do you say, Captain?" Nami asked.

    Luffy was currently busy throwing huge ass shurikens to the ships and also using the rubber fruit for more accuracy and power.

    "Of course."

    With that command, the ship''s anchor was taken off and they set sail. Of course, the navy wanted to stop them but they only made their process of sinking in the ocean faster. Hell, even Usopp blew up some cannons and ships. It seemed like everyone was having fun doing all this and that included Nami who just used magic to steal things from the navy.

    After this small confrontation, Going Merry sailed away. Ken was constantly checking the ship. Merry looked ''healthy'' and there haven''t been any repairs as the ship hadn''t suffered major damage. Ken had asked Nami to always use magic and make sure that Merry was as safe as possible.

    The Red Line was still far and they would have to sail for a few days before they could reach. Ken was thinking if they would come across those half dragons. One Piece world once had dragons but they were exterminated. There was no Uta from the ship of Shanks so there was a high possibility that there would be no Apis too.

    Only time would tell.

    But before any of this happened there was a happy moment for Ken. He had finally completed the character of Thor after so many years. All these years he had been struggling to complete the character but now he was done with. Honestly Ken was a little ashamed of himself by the time he took for completion.

    Luffy was almost close to completion and he was sure that Ace and Sabo were already done with their characters as his system had alerted him to it. Zoro was progressing way too fast and he would soon be done with it in the first half of Grand Line. Nami was born as a genius and she would complete  her character soon.

    Sanji might take some time as it was a character that was meant to take a lot of time as it was a broken one. Usopp could be expelled from the count as he was a lucky bastard and he wouldn''t be surprised if Ken saw that one day he had taken a massive jump in the completion.

    Anyways, it was time for a new character for Ken and he was looking forward to it. Since he would be going in there was no way he could bring others in the simulation.

    "I will be going in."

    "Sugoi Ken.. Thor is complete.. I want to go with you."

    "Not possible as I wouldn''t be able to control my fruit once I am in the simulation."

    Luffy made a long face knowing that he couldn''t be in the simulation. Even Zoro and others were a little downtrodden hearing this.

    "I will speak of the world once I get out. Don''t worry."

 77. Surprise

    [

    Simulating a character for the host ... Please wait..

    ...

    Character chosen. Enjoy the journey host

    ]

    "Here we go again. I Hope I don''t get another person who has lived for thousands of years."

    Ken thought as he opened his eyes only to see himself running like a mad dog in the street. It was a boy that Ken had possessed the body of. After quite a bit of running he had finally reached the school to which he was late.

    "Why are you late?"

    "I was busy helping a grandma cross the road."

    "Your excuses are getting old Obito."

    Ken had already known who he had taken the character of when he saw the huge goggles in his eyes.

    Obito Uchiha.

    One of the greatest SIMPS to ever live. Well, many people would argue against it as he had once said that he was doing what he did in the future to make the world better. But one also forgets that after he had taken over ten tails he had mentioned Rin more than once.

    So in the end his end game was still Rin. Being brainwashed by Madara really did cost him. What a wuss! Of course not many would accept his views but he didn''t care.

    "System? Can I get the Ten Tails after I complete the character?"

    [

    Host seems like daydreaming too much.

    The Ten Tails never belonged to Obito Uchiha and thus even if you complete the character it wouldn''t be possible for you to get the Ten Tails. The only additions the host will receive after a certain character completion is eternal mangekyo sharingan which has been changed from typical mangekyo and both of the eyes as it belonged to Obito in the first place.

    So the host can use Susanoo after a certain time and also one eye of the host can be changed to Rinnegan as he had one during the 4th great ninja war. Since Rinnegan is a non-living thing it could be exchanged for character completion.

    ]

    "If it was really eye powers I would have preferred Gojo but well the space time jutsu of Obito is top notch. I guess I will have to live a short life now. Since I have Thor''s body will it be of any help to Obito''s character?"

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    [

    The host might receive a much greater reserve of Chakra since the host has a very strong body.

    ]

    "Cool."

    Thus the story continued and he lived the life of Obito until he died during the 4th great ninja war. He did so much and only to die at the end in a very tragic way. Ken was happy that life was short and all he cared about was returning back to the ship.

    [

    Simulation complete.

    Transferring host to real world

    ]

    Ken opened his eyes to see that he was back at the same place he had left all those years ago. He had learnt many things while in the simulation and he hoped that he would complete to a good percentage and he was not disappointed. When he checked the completion he saw that he had completed 40% of Obito.

    This allowed him to have the three tomoe sharingan already and all the ninjutsus. It was already quite a big haul and he was happy.

    "Ken... Tell me .. Tell me.. What world did you get?"

    "The world which you were in."

    "My world? Ninja? You became a ninja? Really? That''s so awesome. Who did you become? My sensei? Finally we brothers have the same world."

    "No.. Obito Uchiha.."

    "Obito? Obito? .. I don''t remember."

    "Of course you don''t. You didn''t live the life after you were resurrected during the 4th great ninja war."

    Luffy was never good with names and he had even forgotten his friends. Ken was sure that if he mentioned Danzo, Luffy would just tilt his head and a question mark would pop up. All the crew members here had already known of the world Luffy was in so they were curious what kind of eye power Ken had since he was an Uchiha.

    Suffice to say everyone was jealous knowing the full extent of the powers. Of course Ken displayed his powers to everyone including the Sharingan but then they were not happy listening to the story of Obito. Brainwashed to the extreme.

    "What an idiot." Nami said.

    "It''s sad though."

    "Of course you will find it a sad shitty cook. You and him are the same."

    "What did you say marimo? I am a gentleman. Not like him."

    "For me both of you are the same."

    Sanji and Zoro were busy arguing while the ship had again started sailing. The Red Line was still not visible while the ship sailed. Ken as usual was practicing if he could train his Armament Haki. Everyday in the last few years he had tried learning this trick but there was no progress.

    Today was the day of surprise for Ken.

    He finally saw hints of Armament Haki for the first time! This almost made him jump in joy. Today was a day for double joy. At first he was ecstatic about getting Obito. It was already a huge thing for him because having a space time jutsu meant he would be immune to physical attacks once he got his mangekyou sharingan.

    And the Rinnegan was a cherry on top.

    And now the first sign of Armament Haki.

    "System, is it because I completed the character of Thor that I have not been given the power of Haki?"

    [

    Host, while you had used the body of Thor but due to low character completion you were never able to channel the will to get the power of Armament Haki. It was different for Observation Haki as the body wasn''t exactly required in this. Only your mind power and even then your progression would have stopped in Observation Haki after sometime.

    ]

    "You should have told me this sooner without giving me anxiety every single day."

    [

    Host some things are better to stumble than laying down the path from the start

    ]

    "Yeah Yeah whatever." Ken replied and he went back to using Armament Haki. This was his first time so he wasn''t really proficient. His hand would turn black from time to time and Ken had a very hard time maintaining it in a stable manner.

    --

 78. Laboon

    The next few days it went as normal as possible for a ship that was going to set sail to the Grand Line. Sanji had finally cooked the sea fish that he won in the competition and Ken had to admit that the sea fish was more delicious than the typical dishes of Sanji.

    The Straw Hats were really lucky in finding a cook like Sanji. Ken could already see the Grand Line and there was no sign of Apis. It was either she didn''t exist and the whole plot was for the fillers or she failed to save her dear friend.

    Ken hoped that it was the outcome which was good. He didn''t mind helping the island and also get rid of the villainous navy and that weird Devil fruit user. Ken was busy practising his Haki when Namu shouted saying that the Red Line was visible. Everyone ran to the deck to see how it looked.

    "This is huge. I can''t even see the end."

    "The clouds have covered everything."

    "And crossing the Red Line we will reach the Grand Line." Luffy said as his voice quivered with excitement. Ken too was visibly shaken seeing the straight mountain like structure. The more he looked at the Red Line the more a singular thought was screaming in his head.

    This Red Line was a fake one. Fake not in the sense that it didn''t exist but more so in the thought that the Red Line was built artificially. The Red Line was a straight one and so was the Calm Belt. One thing that he knew from his previous world was that Gods hated straight lines. Any mountains, terrains, ocean, rivers, lakes... never followed a straight line.

    A straight line was more in the line of human obsession and this Red Line was screaming of human intervention from far. It may also be because of slightly different laws of physics that this world held but then again there was an existence of lightsabers in the Ancient Kingdom. So who could deny the fact that there might be technology which could terraform a planet.

    The weather had become increasingly bad as they got closer to the Grand Line. The clouds had turned dark with strong currents and incessant rains.

    "I have seen the map and I still can''t believe it. How is it possible to go up the mountain?"

    "This is called Reverse Mountain where all the sea flows upwards and the change course to enter the Grand Line." Ken said as he saw the map which denoted the Reverse Mountain and the Red Line that they had taken away from Buggy.

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    "So we just need to find the entrance?"

    "Ask Zoro to find the entrance." Ken said.

    "Nope. No way. I will rather rely on my navigational skills than to trust Zoro with the ship. He will just kill us."

    "True." Everyone nodded their heads in acceptance.

    "Oye!!" Zoro shouted.

    Going Merry had started sailing quite fast while the sails were taken down. The current was strong and it was better just to follow it and just adjust the directions. After much struggle they were finally able to see the small crack in the Red Line.

    "Found it. Follow the current guys."

    The ship soon entered the crack but it was not without any hiccups. Ken had to fly and make sure that the ship was in the correct direction by pushing the ship from outside. If he didn''t do so then the rudder of the ship would just break and Ken didn''t want that in his conscience.

    He wanted Merry to be fully fit till they reached Water 7. Or at least good enough to sail the whole Grand Line. With that the ship started to sail upwards. It was there when everyone came together for a small banquet in order to welcome their new journey and adventure.

    "I want to draw the map of the world." Nami said as she put up her foot over the barrel.

    "I want to find All-Blue."

    "I want to be the greatest swordsman ever."

    "I want to be a ... I want to be a brave warrior of the sea."

    "I want to find the truth of the world and hopefully change it."

    "I want to be the Pirate King."

    With those legendary proclamations the Straw hats which were going to cause havoc in the Grand Line were on their way towards the entry to the sea. But as expected nothing went right for the Straw Hats. From afar they could see a huge blue mountain right at the entrance of the Grand Line.

    "What is this? Why is there a mountain in the sea? It shouldn''t be there."

    "Oye Nami, are we really in the Grand Line? Why is there a mountain?"

    "Idiot, control the rudder or else we will be pulverized."

    The current was too strong and in no way the ship was changing its direction. Ken had a headache seeing this. He thought his intervention would change some things but it seemed like he was too optimistic. Laboon was still here guarding this line like an idiot.

    "I will change the course." Ken said as he again flew to the side to push the ship away and go towards the side.

    "Thank.. Thank you Ken.. If you weren''t here we would have been dead. I ... I don''t know why there is a mountain here. Maybe I was wrong to judge that my navigational skills were enough to reach the Grand Line." Nami was in self reproaching behaviour.

    Ken just shook his head and said

    "You are not wrong and this isn''t a mountain. It''s a whale. More correctly an Island whale."

    "Huh?"

    "What?

    Ken just didn''t reply more and just started pushing away from the strong current. Laboon had still not noticed them and was just putting its head high up and floated. The currents were too strong and Ken had to use quite a bit of strength to make sure that the head of Merry was fine. He didn''t want to be in the stomach of such a big whale.

 79. Miss Wednesday

    Ken thought that avoiding the whale would be good for their part and be safe but there was one thing he had forgotten. Out of nowhere Laboon decided that it would talk and thus its ''talk'' came out in the form of a loud call. The call was so loud then even Ken had to use his hands to keep his ears shut.

    Everyone seemed to be in pain as they put their hands over their ears. It was too loud and too close and everybody felt their ears ringing. Luffy was visibly angry and was ready to punch at Laboon. Ken shuddered seeing that and he came and stopped Luffy.

    "What the hell are you doing?"

    "This guy attacked us. So I am attacking it."

    "Don''t even think about it." Sanji and Usopp came and kicked at Luffy.

    Laboon didn''t seem to have noticed their presence and slowly dove down in the ocean. Everyone sighed in relief seeing that. They had seen how massive the body of Laboon was and for the first time they were in awe of the Grand Line. Their first entry to the Grand Line was welcomed by such a huge whale.

    This was such a wake up call for them and made them realize that the Grand Line was more dangerous than they could have imagined. Luffy still looked pissed but he didn''t go down to confront Laboon as he still couldn''t swim.

    While Luffy and others were busy talking about the huge whale, Ken turned his head and looked at the lighthouse. He could already feel that there was someone near the lighthouse. This person was probably Crocus, the ship doctor of the Roger Pirates.

    "Luffy, let''s anchor near the lighthouse."

    "Here? Why? I don''t want to stay near this whale. Oye Luffy.. I have a disease called I-will-die-if-I-stop-here."

    "I don''t want to stop here. What if the whale comes and eats us?" Nami too protested.

    "We just entered the Grand Line and there is a lighthouse keeper here. We can talk to him and gather more information."

    "There is someone here?" Sanji was confused about why a person was here when there was a gigantic whale nearby.

    "Yes. There is a person in that direction." Zoro said as he pointed his finger near the lighthouse.

    "Yosh! Let''s ask this person about the Grand Line."

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    With that said, Merry was anchored quite a bit far from the place where Laboon was and approached the keeper of the Lighthouse. When they came forward they finally got to see Crocus. He looked old and had a weird head cap on over his hair. Right now he was resting on the bench and soaking in the sun. His eyes were closed as it seemed like he was sleeping.

    "Yo ossan.. Wake up.. ossan.." Luffy was the first to shout and be disrespectful. Sometimes Ken wondered how could Luffy be so disrespectful and still garner the love of everyone. If he was in his own previous world he would have surely been beaten up quite a few times.

    "Who is calling me in my sleep?"

    "Yo.. I am Luffy.. We are here to ask information about the Grand.." before he could finish his words Luffy was kicked by Nami and apologised for the ride behaviour of Luffy and asked for advice on the Grand Line. Crocus looked surprised by their weird behavior but he welcomed them.

    Sanji, in order to butter up Crocus, came and cooked food. It was there Nami came to know about the new compass they needed to set sail in the Grand Line. Ken had already known about this and didn''t bother to join this conversation. He was rather keeping an eye for Miss Wednesday and her partner.

    Miss Wednesday a.k.a. Nefertari Vivi, the princess of Alabasta. The one who had infiltrated the Baroque works in order to know the truth behind the evil organisation. They should be here according to the timeline in order to kill Laboon.

    While they were talking, there was a sudden earthquake.

    "What the hell?"

    "What happened?"

    Crocus looked scared and he instantly jumped into the sea.

    "Ossan.. Where are you going? Ossan wait."

    One moment before he talked about the whale which had come from West Blue and the next moment he jumped into the sea after the earthquake.

    "The whale is trying to smash the Red Line." Ken said as he could already ''see'' what Laboon was doing and Crocus had gone to stop this huge guy.

    "Then why did Crocus jump in the sea?"

    "Probably to stop the whale from hurting itself." Ken was particularly concerned about Crocus. Laboon was a friend of his and he wouldn''t hurt Crocus. As expected the small shocks of the earthquake stopped after a few minutes and Laboon resurfaced above the water.

    From a small door on top of Laboon, Crocus came out. Drenched in water.

    "Ossan!! Sugoi. There is a door on the whale. Why is there a door on the whale?" Luffy was confused like others and they wanted to know. It was there Crocus spoke of the history of Laboon and how it had ended up here. The more they heard, the more they were surprised.

    As Crocus was busy narrating the life of Laboon, they heard two cannons being shot. The sound came from a little far and two huge cannon balls were cruising towards the big whale. Ken had been expecting this as he had already sensed that two people had entered his Observation Haki range.

    Ken took two kunai and threw it with immense speed towards the cannon balls, making them burst in mid air.

    "They are here again?" Crocus looked visibly annoyed by what just happened but he was more surprised by Ken''s move.

    "What happened? Why did someone shoot at Laboon?" Nami and others too were a little perplexed about why someone would try to kill Laboon.

    Ken didn''t care much and just flew away to the small boat. Vivi and her partner didn''t expect that a person would fly towards them and weren''t ready. And before both of them could even respond, Ken punched both of them on their head making them unconscious.

 80. Crocus

    He then proceeded to pull the small boat from the sea to the shore of the Twin Capes. Crocus was more confused by looking at Ken. This guy could fly and throw weird looking weapons at the cannon balls to make them explode.

    In all his years of experience he had never seen such a specimen. He at first thought it was Moonwalking like the ones of the marines but he didn''t see the burst of air on his foot so it was definitely a Devil fruit. Maybe it was a close relative of Shiki''s devil fruit which could make things fly and also make himself fly.

    "Ken, who are these people?"

    "I don''t know. Since they wanted to hurt Laboon, I took care of them." Ken said. The identity of Vivi would come out in due time so it was better to leave the explanation at her. Crocus had stopped thinking of Ken and looked at the duo who had been trying to kill Laboon for sometime now.

    Crocus then explained that these two were someone who had come from a nearby island and had been trying to kill Laboon. The Straw Hats of course got angry and were glad that Ken had taken care of them and tied both of them. Luffy meanwhile had a grand idea of trying to cure the ''disease'' of Laboon and went straight to the deck.

    "Luffy, if you hurt Merry, I will personally kill you."

    "Uh... I just want to take the mast and stop Laboon. Take Enma but lay on the hand on the ship I will hunt you down to the ends of the planet."

    Ken said with a very strict tone. In the original story, Luffy uprooted the mast and hurt Laboon to make a deal with Laboon that he would come back and have a rematch. Due to this the mast of the ship was destroyed and they had to repair it multiple times in the future. No way Ken was going to allow that. He was very protective of Merry and would never hurt it.

    "Good idea."

    "Summoning Jutsu."

    The crew members had heard of Enma but have never seen him before, so when the old guy appeared he was an instant celebrity. Enma had been with Luffy for quite a long time so the others were dying to know more about Luffy. Enma didn''t expect that in these few days he had already made new friends in the sea.

    "Oye kid. How did you bring a person from the Mink Tribe here?"

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    "What is a Mink tribe?" Luffy asked as he was confused.

    "You don''t know that this person is a member of the Mink Tribe?"

    "He is not from the Mink tribe." It was Ken who answered.

    "Not the Mink tribe? Then where are you from?" Crocus was confused and then Ken gave a small run down of how summoning beasts worked and since Luffy was a ninja he could call them when he needed help in fights. Crocus was wide eyed listening to this. He never heard of this before.

    "So you and him are a ninja?"

    "In a sense, yes." Ken explained. Crocus was curious of the ninjas that these two brothers were but didn''t ask.

    "Ossan, what is a mink tribe?" Nami was curious about the Mink tribe and asked.

    "Go to the Grand Line and find it out yourself." Crocus said as he didn''t want to spoil and Ken also didn''t speak of the Mink Tribe. If he revealed everything he was sure Luffy would hate him. He lived for adventure and explorations. So it was better to just wait.

    Nami didn''t ask anymore while Luffy went to have a match with Laboon with the help of Enma. And at the end of the fight Luffy spoke those legendary words of getting back and battling him again.

    Ken felt a little bad for both Laboon and Brook. Both were separated by not such a long distance but still couldn''t see each other. Though Ken knew about Brook he didn''t speak about it. Brook was going to meet Luffy anyways and they wouldn''t have to wait much.

    After getting to understand how a Log Pose worked they were ready to set sail. While everyone was boarding the ship Ken went to talk with Crocus in private.

    "Crocus-san do you have medicines that could help us battle diseases we might catch if we are on an ancient island?"

    "Ancient island? What does that mean?"

    "You know an island that has dinosaurs and everything that is ancient."

    "Oh! I do have the medicines but how do you know that I would have one?"

    "You were a member of the Roger Pirates and the ship doctor. You might have hidden it quite well from others but something will always slip by."

    Crocus was stunned when he heard that. He knew that Luffy was the one who had the straw hat of Roger and Shanks had passed on the Straw Hat. But his name was always anonymous to the general public and most of the people knew him as the lighthouse keeper.

    "Hahaha.. Kid you are more interesting than the Straw Hat boy. Does he know that you recognized me?"

    "Telling him is useless anyways. Though I would have loved it if you had joined our ship but I guess you will refuse that as you have already lived it."

    "You are right. I will give you some medicines for the diseases that would commonly occur in ancient islands and give a general way to combat it. But if anyone does contract any disease it''s better to find a doctor for the ship."

    "If there is a huge problem I will come back personally with the patient." Ken said.

    "Patient? What if you get sick?"

    "I never get sick." Ken said and he walked away. It was the truth. He could never get sick as his body was too strong and no virus could affect him. Crocus found it weird when he said that but didn''t think much. He wrote down the general symptoms one could face on an ancient island and ways to combat it.

    This was done for only one person. Nami.

 81. Whiskey Peak

    Going Merry was ready to sail again after Ken gave a quick check on everything. Entering the Grand Line was still a little harsh for Merry and there were scratches around the hull of the ship. Ken always paid attention of the hull. He needed it to be intact no matter what untill Water 7. Only then hey could remodel the ship.

    By now the crew mates had understood that Ken was obsessed with Merry and thus everyone paid attention to Merry. Of course, Luffy was excluded from the group. With the unconscious duo, the Straw-Hats set their sail to the next island which was probably Whiskey Peak.

    "The Grand Line is very dangerous and the weather will change very fast. So don''t treat it like East Blue." Ken reminded everyone and as if the Gods in order to prove what Ken said was correct changed the weather very fast.

    The sky was clear in one moment and in the next moment hail started to fall desperately. Nami had to conjure a defense magic so that Merry wasn''t in any way damaged.

    "Oi Kenny.. change the weather." Nami shouted.

    "I am not a weather machine. I will just make thunderstorms and make the situation worse."

    "Than you are useless."

    Ken just shrugged his shoulders. While the crew was running around making sure the ship was sailing in the right direction, Vivi and his partner woke up. Seeing that they were being tied made them fear.

    "Who.. Who are you guys?"

    "We?.. We are the Straw Hats. Who are you?"

    "Miss Wednesday..."

    "Mr. 9.."

    "What a weird name."

    "Baka.. This is a code name.. What is your real name?"

    "This is our real name."

    "Tell the truth already."

    The duo started arguing with Zoro, Luffy and Ussop while Sanji had a heart eye as he was already falling for Vivi. Ken and Nami just shook their heads looking at the whole drama. Ken didn''t bother to care about this and went into training mode again.

    Mastering Armament Haki was really tough and it was apparent when Ken had started, There was almost no progress in his Armament Haki and his hands could hardly remain in Haki form for a stable amount of time.

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    But he also knew that he wasn''t as capable and talented as Luffy and his crew. he could only take one step at a time and progress. The weather got increasingly bad and the duo were then forced to help the Straw Hats in order to stablise the ship.

    Vivi was impressed how easily Nami was able to predict the weather and was more surprised to see how things worked in the ship. There were utensils and things that seemed to have their own mind and worked. Hell, when the snow poured heavily on the ship, several brooms came down to clean everything.

    She had never heard of any Devil fruit that could allow someone to do that but she didn''t ask as she felt the crew had a good heart and it was better to just stay away.

    The ship sailed for few more days before reaching, the island of Whiskey Peak. The island of Bounty Hunters. Before they could reach the shores of Whiskey Peak, both Vivi and Mr. 9 escaped. Luffy was going to bring them back when Ken stopped him.

    "They want to kill Laboon. I will not let them go."

    "They can''t go anywhere and will be in this island. You can again catch them. The people on board are a little tired and they would need rest."

    Luffy thought for a second and then just let it be. He and Ken could walk on water so it was easier for them to catch but Vivi needed to meet Igaram, the Royal guard of the Nefertari family, code named Mr. 8 and the person who generally handled the affairs of Whiskey Peak.

    After a few minutes the ship docked on the harbor of Whiskey Peak and they were given a grand welcome by the people. Igaram himself came forward and gave them a warm welcome with food and drinks. Everyone was surprised by this except for Ken.

    Nami was apprehensive from the start but still joined the party. Ken had a very high tolerance to alcohol anyways, thanks to the body of Thor so he wouldn''t get stoned easily. In fact his tolerance level surpassed Nami who could drink multiple jars of alcohol.

    "These people are so good."

    "Yess.... I am so happy Luffy.. Can we stay here?" Sanji said as he was surrounded by many beauties.

    "Please stay here. We will be more than happy to leave you here." Zoro commented while he gulped down a jar.

    "What did you say?"

    "You heard me right."

    "Ma-ma please don''t fight and enjoy our specialties." Igaram came and helped them with more food and drink. Luffy was having the time of his life as he was basically consuming the food faster than the cooks could make.

    Ken just looked at them and smiled. The party was extravagant and he was happy seeing the crew smile and were happy. They partied the whole evening and by the night many was finally asleep. They had been on the ship for quite sometime so the Straw Hat crew was definitely tired.

    Of course not everyone was asleep. Ken, Zoro and Nami just pretended to be asleep. It was late at night when Igaram and other high members came to see their new fishes.

    "How could these people have such high bounties. It doesn''t make sense."

    "Yes. They have higher bounties than some of the Sichibukai."

    "Black foot Sanji - 50 million bellies,

    Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro - 55 million bellies,

    Sniper Usopp - 60 million bellies

    Punisher Kenny - 120 million bellies

    Straw -Hat Luffy - 120 million bellies."

    After what had happened at Arlong base there had been new bounties for Sanji, Usopp and Zoro. Usopp had a higher bounty because he was the one who took Arlong down and that too in the water itself. And so the Navy thought him to be more powerful. This gave him a bounty as Nezumi took the words of Ken as gospels and told the Navy headquarters.

 82. Zoro vs. Baroque works

    "We have hit the jackpot with Mr. 8. We won''t have to pay any more for the food and items for a long time." All of the bounty hunters in the Whiskey Peak were ecstatic taking down such a crew which had such a high bounty. This bounty could rival great pirates and Mr. 8 who actually knew that the head of Baroque Works, Mr. 0 a.k.a. Crocodile, the Shichibukai didn''t even have that much bounty and here he was looking at the two pirates who had more bounty than him.

    He had personally seen Crocodile and he knew how menacing and cruel he was and then there were these pirates who were carefree. This didn''t make sense. But it didn''t matter. Princess Vivi was back with these pirates and thus she might have more say in the organization and maybe launch a coup against the Crocodile with the help of the Navy later.

    "So do we kill them or capture them alive?"

    "Killing them will make us lose the bounty by 30%. Send them to the Navy alive. By God, they can eat."

    While Miss Monday, Igaram and others were busy discussing things about their future and how to dispose of the recent pirates. Nami, Kenny and Zoro had already woken up. Zoro went out to deal with the Baroque Works, Nami went for stealing while Ken just went out for a walk.

    Of course the Baroque works members had already Ken waking up and getting out. They pointed their pistols and swords at him.

    "You can''t go out."

    "Ah.. You see, I need to pee. I drank too much."

    "Doesn''t matter. You are pirates and we will hand you over to the navy and they will pay us for handing over scums like you."

    "Sigh!"

    Ken''s eyes, which were black in color, started changing in color and soon three dots appeared in his eyes. The bounty hunters who had looked into his eyes instantly fell in Genjutsu (illusion) and in the very next moment they fell down on the ground with a loud thud. And this wasn''t the case of only one person. Each and everyone who had laid their eyes on Ken fell down. (yes, I know that Genjutsu can only work when there is chakra involved or at least that is what I read once but we will look over the fact for this series)

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    Zoro, who had just come behind Ken, was a little envious seeing Ken taking care of others without even lifting a finger.

    "Must feel good to have a Sharingan."

    "It sure does. I leave the rest to you, Zoro."

    "I haven''t moved a muscle for sometime now. Will be glad." Zoro said as he moved out. He already knew what kind of island this was and was a trap for pirates.

    And thus the famous fight where Zoro vs the Baroque Works happened. And this fight was over long before it could even start properly.

    "Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro."

    "Oh you seem to know me, Baroque Works."

    "You.. You know about us?"

    "Of course I know. There was a time when I was in your profession and someone from this organisation had approached me to join them. I agreed on the condition that I would be the leader. Of course, they refused and later I had to teach them a lesson."

    "Do you think you alone can handle so many of us? Everyone, kill him."

    The Baroque Works pointed their swords and guns at them but only to realize that he had vanished.

    "Fourth Fang : Slice n Dice"

    Zoro delivered multiple diagonal slices with both his swords in all the directions possible. The bounty hunters didn''t even realize what hit them when blood gushed out of their bodies and made the ground red. With one move he had taken many down. The bounty hunters were terrified and those with guns had started shooting at him.

    "Tenth fang : Whirling Fangs."

    Zoro had started spinning the swords in fast motion and this allowed him to parry the bullets easily. Ken was watching all of this from afar and smiled. Zoro didn''t realize it yet but he had already taken his first step in Observation Haki. This was a new level for his friend and it would definitely take him much further away and it would be faster.

    "How is he doing this?"

    "Is this the power of someone who has a bounty above 50 million?"

    The bounty hunters were devastated as Zoro was moving around fast while bringing down the bounty hunters. It seemed like it was a walk in the park for him. While this was happening Zoro noticed another update in his system

    [

    Subject Roronoa Zoro has completed the character of Inosuke Hashibara.

    ]

    "He has been pretty fast with this character. Can he enter the simulation?"

    [

    No, only completing the three character will allow him to enter the next simulation.

    ]

    "Got it."

    Zoro, while fighting too, felt that he had completed the progress of Inosuke, but he wasn''t just happy with it. Kokushibo had made his own moves over so many years when he was a demon. He wasn''t as ambitious as Kokushibo but he definitely wanted to make his own moves just like he did before.

    He had already made up his mind that he would make his own moves with the three breathing systems and make himself stronger. Zoro was actively trying to make a new move for himself while he fought the bounty hunters.

    While this was happening, Nami was on a different route and met with Igaram. He was trying to survive the assault of Zoro, but it was there he met Miss Valentine and Mr. 5. The ones with Devil Fruits that belonged to the Baroque Works.

    Mr 5. - Bomu Bomu no Mi

    Miss Valentine - Kiro Kiro no Mi

    The two people who had probably one of the best fruits but ended up being extremely dumb. Especially Mr. 5 who used his buggers as bombs. Out of all the things he used such disgusting things as bombs. This was unacceptable.

 83. 1 billion bellies

    "So you are saying if I take your Princess Vivi to Alabasta and I will get... I mean we will get 1 billion bellies?"

    Igaram had sweat all over his face listening to this delusional woman who only had money in return. But then again he couldn''t blame them. It was very fortunate that a crew member was ready to even help them in lieu of money.

    "Hai.. If you can bring Princess Vivi to Alabasta, the King will definitely pay you handsomely."

    Igaram lied through his teeth. He didn''t exactly promise her 1 billion but a promise of payment. That was fine. Of course, Nami was too far gone to hear that. All she heard was a payment of 1 billion and she was dreaming herself in the swimming pool of cash.

    Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine had already started assaulting them when they found out Igaram was running away with Nami.

    "Mr. 0 has sent his regards." Mr. 5 said as he brought out a disgusting booger from his nose and pointed at Igaram. Nami had already seen the power of this Mr. 5 and was ready with her wand.

    "Confringo!"

    The booger, which was ready to be used as a projectile, burst on its own in the finger of Mr. 5 himself. Confingo was an offensive spell that let things burst into an explosion and in this case the bugger of Mr. 5. And since the booger was already laden with his Devil Fruit powers, the explosion was of higher intensity.

    The explosion was strong enough to throw away Mr. 5 backward. Miss Valentine, who had a smile on her face, was dumbstruck seeing that.

    "What? A Devil Fruit user? How dare you.."

    Miss Valentine rushed out, Nami wasn''t ready for that. She was not actually a fighter as of yet and was still learning how to confront her enemies. She wasn''t alert and fast enough to confront another person.

    As she was inches away from hitting the face of Nami with her high heeled shoes, she herself was hit on her side by a strong hammer. This attack came out fast and out of nowhere. Miss Valentine shrieked out in pain and was flown away several metres on the ground.

    "Oh Ken.. You are here... Thank god... You saved me... Thought I would die."

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    "You should practice your spells more in reality instead of just using them in everyday work."

    Nami got embarrassed and just laughed in a hollow manner. She also felt that she would need to practice her combat spells and get herself accustomed to fighting. Igaram''s eyes were wide seeing how Nami just confronted a Devil fruit user who worked in Baroque works. And if that was not enough, he was stupefied seeing how Punisher Kenny appeared out of nowhere and took care of Miss Valentine.

    Meanwhile Luffy had woken up and was quite angry seeing many bounty lying in their own pool of blood and they accused Zoro for it. Of course he confronted Zoro and both of them had started an epic fight.

    It was there that Miss Monday, Mr. Prince and Vivi understood that Zoro had been quite lenient when he was taking down Baroque Works and why their bounties were so high. On the physical level, both Luffy and Zoro were almost on the same level. It was the techniques that made a huge difference.

    Zoro and Luffy both restrained themselves in using their signature moves and just fought against each other in raw strength. Zoro was powered by his breathing styles which made his muscles more tough and tensile while Luffy with the help of chakra was able to take his body to a higher degree of strength over the years.

    While they fought, the buildings around them were destroyed. Vivi and her friends had to hide in order to be safe. They didn''t have any idea of why they were fighting but they didn''t want to know either. As long as they were away from Zoro, they were safe but the way these two were fighting didn;t even let them take shelter in a house.

    Meanwhile Mr. 5 had finally got up after being hit by his own booger''s explosion. He got to see Ken who was standing in front of him looking down. He had never seen Ken before in posters so he didn''t recognize him and neither did he care. All he cared about was the woman who had humiliated her and saw her standing behind Ken.

    He slowly got up and started walking towards Nami with ill intent only to see Miss Valentine lying on the side clutching her stomach and shivering in pain. His eyebrows creased as he saw that.

    "You did this?" Mr. 5 looked at Nami and asked.

    "I did this. Is there a problem?"

    Mr. 5, at first was surprised and then got angry. He started picking his nose again and it already gave chills in Ken''s spine. With no warning, Ken took his Mjolnir and struck the face of Mr. 5. This time he had let go some of his own limitations that he had put in his power. He remembered how Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine assaulted Usopp and Vivi on that ancient island along with Mr. 3, the candle man.

    Ken didn''t want any of that and just wanted to take care of this bullshit right here. Mr. 5 didn''t expect that this random man would hit him and neither did he think highly of him. It was a fast attack without any scope of dodging.

    The only thing he could do at that moment was stop the hammer while transferring the power of explosion to the hammer itself and stop it midway. But that didn''t help at all.

    Mjolnir didn''t explode like he expected and it was right at the nose of Mr. 5. The first thing that happened was that a surge of lightning coursed through his body and then his nose broke into countless pieces and conclusive effect was him coughing out blood and just got thumped on the floor with such a force that the ground itself got cracks in it.

 84. Next island

    Nami was a little horrified seeing this. He had never seen Ken using that much power to hurt anyone till date. He had been happy being the back line managing everything and making sure that everything was in order.

    He was the typical Vice-Captian of the idiot filled ship. But for the first time she had seen him delivering such a strong takedown on someone. And Igaram had blood drained from his face. He had already fallen on his knees before. By default he was a very brave person serving as the Royal Guard.

    But he had never seen such a brutal attack from anyone. Not even the two head guards of the Royal Palace who had Devil Fruits. This strength was inhumane. And with that there was also lightning. What the hell was this guy Punisher made of?

    Miss Valentine, who had been lying on the ground cheering for Mr. 5 in her mind fell unconscious after seeing how Mr. 5 was treated. She felt like Mr. 5 had definitely died with that attack. Ken didn''t bother to care about her and looked far into the destruction that was happening in the town. Zoro and Luffy were still fighting and they needed to be stopped.

    "Nami, Luffy and Zoro are fighting like crazy. I think you should go and stop them."

    "What. Those idiots? Why are they fighting?"

    "How would I know? Go and stop them."

    Nami was fuming in anger as she made a run to stop those two idiots and make a mess of everything. Her fear was that she might have done something to Vivi. If they had done anything to her 1 billion bellies baby she wouldn''t let them go.

    Ken meanwhile just looked at the two bounty hunters and picked them up. With one move he threw them to the open sea. Since they were Devil Fruit eaters it was better for them to just drown. Maybe Robin would come to rescue them.

    But sure as hell, these two were not coming back to be a fly on their journey to Alabasta. Kenny had been living a savage life for some years now and he had already changed from a meek and shy guy to someone who could take care of himself and get the job done.

    The Straw-Hats always had the problem of leaving their enemy alive only to bite them back in their ass. Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, Buggy and hell even that hateful Lucci. Ken would make sure in this journey that these people would never come back again and stay down forever.

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    Be it fear or death. He didn''t care.

    Meanwhile Nami had gone and hit both Zoro and Luffy and screamed at them to stop. Luffy finally understood why Zoro had taken down everyone and had a laugh about it. Nami also found Vivi and told her about the arrangement she had with Igaram.

    Of course Vivi was very honest about it and talked about the conspiracy of Baroque Works and how they wanted to create an ideal nation. This whole thing was a fraud and Crocodile just wanted to be the King.

    While Vivi narrated her story, Ken appeared with Igaram who seemed a little distraught with what had happened. He still feared Ken a bit and was relieved that he didn''t mean any harm to him.

    "... He is Crocodile..."

    Vivi spilled the identity of Mr. 0 and Nami was furious as she felt her life in Grand Line was over and they would be hunted because the Unluckies appeared. Mr. 13 and his pet vulture. After knowing the two flew away.

    Zoro, who had been attentively listening to the story, didn''t let these Unluckies get away and sliced at them from afar with thunder breathing style.

    "Mr. Bushido... You." Vivi was amazed seeing how easily he took down officer agents. Vivi and Igaram again got to see the power of this crew and the more they looked, the more amazed they were.

    Ken, who was ready to fly off to take them down, saw the move of Zoro and smiled. He had been using his Observation Haki in quite fluidity.

    "So story mode is done. Can we set off?" Ken asked while yawning a bit. A good night''s sleep was destroyed because of these bounty hunters. He had taken enough rest and it was time to set off for their next island. The Log Pose for the next island had already been set and it was time to just sail off.

    "Do we have to go now? We have already taken care of these messengers." Zoro said yawningly. He didn''t get to sleep as he had to clean the people up.

    "No, the Log Pose has set. Now it''s the Unluckies, next time some other guy will show up. It''s better we leave and you can sleep on the ship. You sleep all the same in that place too. Plus there is a war going on in Alabasta. We need to send the Princess to her home." Nami refused. She had seen how these officer agents came and flexed their Devil Fruits and was a little traumatized.

    She wanted to get off the island asap.

    Luffy didn''t mind and neither did Ken. Vivi and Igaram were very grateful for listening to that and got ready. Luffy went and woke up Sanji and Usopp who had been sleeping peacefully. Sanji at first refused as he was surrounded by the girls before and didn''t want to leave but once Nami told her of Vivi''s problems he readily accepted as he was a gentleman.

    With that Luffy and his crew set sail again in the late of the night for the next island. Vivi and Igaram came onboard. Since the Unluckies were taken care of, Igaram had joined their crew instead of going a separate route and getting falsely blown by Robin.

    Thus there were extra three members now. Igaram, Vivi and her pet Caroo.

    After taking in the rations and all the items required for the next journey.

 85. Nico Robin

    They went for quite a distance before they were boarded by an uninvited guest. Unlike the original story where she had boarded their ship without anyone knowing, it was quite different in this case. Igaram didn''t have to be blown up by her so she had to follow Going Merry and climb up the ship with her Devil fruit.

    But she did get a grand welcome by the Straw-hats. Zoro had already sensed her and pointed his sword at her. Luffy and others were also alert as Zoro spoke of someone trying to sneak in their ship.

    "Oh! It seems I am getting quite a welcoming party."

    "You.. You... Miss. All Sunday. Why are you here?"

    "All Sunday? You mean she is an officer agent with a partner. Who is her partner?" Nami, the intelligent person of the group, already could make out from the name that this woman was an agent of Baroque Works.

    Of course, the woman was Nico Robin, claimed as the Demon Girl by the government at a very young age, essentially when she was a child. She had been running around and escaping from the Government for such a long time. It was kind of miraculous that she was still alive after so many years after getting herself mixed with the people of the sea.

    "Don''t point those weapons on me." Robin said as she used her Devil Fruit Hana Hana no Mi to disarm Zoro, Igaram and Usopp. But this was where she got the shock. Zoro was easily able to evade her Devil Fruit power which was using a hand that bloomed on the body of Zoro. And Usopp''s body strength was too high to make him move. The body of Usopp was slowly getting transformed into an Arrancar and such bodies were one of the toughest with natural strength.

    It''s the same as Ken. His body got stronger day by day though he didn''t progress very well in the character completion that time. Now, it was the same as Usopp, making his body stronger.

    Of course, Igaram was disarmed easily but he was the only one who was on the losing side.

    "Devil Fruit? What is it?" Zoro''s eyebrows creased as she saw her making a move. He could vaguely feel that something came out of his body and tried to disarm him but he wasn''t sure what. Usopp didn''t even realize what it was before the hand of Robin dissolved away into flower petals.

    "Your crew is quite the surprise Monkey D. Luffy and Monkey D. Kenny." Robin said as she again used her powers to take away the Straw-Hat. This was where Luffy got angry as he showed his sharp teeth to Robin and demanded to return his Straw-Hat.

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    The Straw-Hats got agitated and were ready to take action, just when Ken spoke out to calm the two parties.

    "Robin, please don''t scare the children here. They are still new to the sea."

    "Eh!"

    "Huh!"

    "Nani?"

    Now it was time for Robin to be a little scared. She didn''t expect her identity to be revealed so fast among the crew which she had an exclusive interest in. Luffy''s crew had two inheritors of D and she was particularly curious about these new and powerful pirates with bounties surpassing the 100 million mark. Like others she also underestimated the crew members of Straw-Hats, thinking their bounty was so high because there were two pirates among them which carried the will of D and it was threatening to the world government.

    Well, the first one got debunked by how Zoro and Usopp reacted to her Devil fruit and now the vice-captain of the ship actually knew of her. This was bad for her and she would need to escape as fast as possible from here. She had been alive in the sea due to her cunning skills and quick thinking.

    It was really very dumb of her to board a ship that had bounties higher than hers.

    "Robin! so that is her name."

    "I seem to have heard that name somewhere. But whatever it is, we need to catch her. She is the partner of Crocodile. We can''t let her go away." Igaram said it was the most logical decision right now. He had seen how powerful the crew members were and maybe they would be able to take her down and bring her as hostage.

    "You.. Do you know me? How? My poster picture hasn''t been updated since I was a child." Robin instead asked Ken, she needed a distraction and talking right now was the best distraction.

    "You don''t need to be so defensive, Robin. We are not here to restrain you."

    "Oye Ken, what are you saying she took away my Straw-Hat, I say I kick her." Luffy shouted.

    "Punisher Kenny please catch her. She is the partner of Crocodile and catching her will be quite helpful." Vivi said.

    "Hai.. Hai.. She is a bad person." Igaram too said.

    "What are you asking me for? Luffy is the captain. Ask him." Ken just washed his hands away from the mess of Robin. Meanwhile Robin, who was trying to sneak away was pointed at by Usopp''s arrows right at her face.

    It didn''t need an expert of spiritual pressure to feel that she would die if Usopp released the glowing arrow in his bow. She didn''t know what kind of Devil Fruit it was, but it was definitely deadly.

    ''What the hell is this crew? Why are they so powerful?''

    Of course Sanji, from behind, had already fallen in love with Robin with his heart eyes and already started arguing against Usopp to put down his bow. Seeing that there was no momentary escape she gave away the Straw-Hat to Luffy.

    "I have very important information with me. I can give it to you if you let me leave." Robin said as distraction didn''t work and so the next best thing would be trying to negotiate. She wanted to help the Straw-Hats to begin with but now she needed to say this in negotiation.

 86. Banchi

    Everyone turned serious when Robin spoke those words.

    "What information? Speak! Only then we will let you leave." Nami said with authority while pointing her wand at Robin. Robin didn''t understand what that small stick could do but she wasn''t going to take any risks with more people here. Then again she could feel that the crew members were quite warm-hearted by the way they treated their friends.

    "The next island your Log Pose is pointing towards is quite notorious for being the graveyard for pirates. This island is an ancient island with species and animals from the ancient times. And the pirates need to stay on the island for 1 year for their Log Pose to point to the next island." Robin said.

    "Huh.."

    "Shit..."

    "We are dead."

    "If it''s so bad then why are you telling us this?"

    "I have something called the Eternal Pose. It''s like a permanent compass that will allow you to be pointed at a particular island forever. If you let me leave, you can take the Eternal Pose."

    "What?"

    "Is this true? How can we trust you?"

    Nami, Vivi and Igaram were flustered hearing this. They didn''t know anything of that sort. When they came to Whiskey Peak, it was on the ship of Baroque Works and they didn''t know the route as the ship had its own navigator. But now this woman was speaking of a terrible thing.

    In order to prove herself she took out the Eternal Pose that had the label Alabasta witten on it.

    "Give us that." Nami ordered only to be stopped by Luffy.

    "I am the captain of the ship. I decide how we will go. No other person in the ship has the right to decide. Especially not an outsider." Luffy spoke those words clearly and loudly with a face of seriousness. Luffy hardly ever turned serious but when he did, it was to make sure that everybody understands that he was the captain of the ship.

    Nami got the fact that she wouldn''t be able to change the mind of Luffy and there was nothing she could do. Not even Ken would be able to change his mind. Vivi and Igaram were scared hearing this and felt despair. They had boarded the ship that might take a year to reach their home,and there was no way around it. But they also had hope. This crew was super powerful and maybe a miracle would make this ship reach faster.

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    A person would always look for hope in desperate times, it was one of those times.

    "So it seems like Miss Nico Robin will be our prisoner on this journey." Ken laughed. Robin''s face stiffened a bit knowing there was no way out. Now she would have to fight her way out.

    ''Seis Fleur : Twist."

    She used her power over Luffy and tried twisting the head. And that was the most hilarious thing. Luffy''s head twisted in a very weird angle. The others finally got to see the power of Nico Robin. She could bloom hands over the body of others.

    It was hilarious because Luffy''s body was kind of made of rubber and such tactics had no effect on him. Igaram and Vivi were a little horrified at the beginning but then they realized that Luffy didn''t suffer any consequences. and neither did the others react.

    "So this is her Devil fruit. Hands hands no mi?"

    "Seems cool."

    "Hands on the bodies of others. Eww."

    "So kawai this one-san is!"

    Robin was dripping in sweat seeing the weird reaction from the crew members. She already guessed that she had made a fool of herself with her first attack.

    "Robin, I told you. It''s useless." Ken sighed. Robin should have left their ship and later would join according to the original story but it seemed like the crew members were not ready to let them go, not after what she did to Luffy.

    "You can''t complain about a beautiful woman trying her tricks." Robin said as she let go of her Devil fruit power. Luffy was laughing and having fun while being twisted.

    "Looks like I am your prisoner now." Robin said as she gave up resisting since the sword''s blade now rested at her shoulder ready to chop her head off. Of course Sanji was shouting at Zoro but he didn''t pay any heed. Usopp, too, hadn''t let go of his bow and arrow. It was really time to give up resistance.

    "''Prisoner'' is a broad term. When we took this dumb Princess in, we let her have all the privileges as the crew members. You can do the same here." Ken said.

    "But me and Princess Vivi are enemies. Do you think she will let me go?"

    "Of course not."

    "Miss. All Sunday, if it was in some other place I would have shot you right now."

    "No offense Ossan, you would have died before you could have pointed your gun at me."

    "Ossan? Ossan? How dare you call me Ossan? I am still young. I will kill you right now." Igaram, Vivi and Robin were already engaged in a verbal fight. Nami and others had a headache seeing this. Both were already at each other''s throats but there was no other way to go by.

    If she was let go, she would probably tell Crocodile about it and jeopardize the plan. It was better to let her in the ship.

    "Can you all stop? Now you three are the guests of our ship. Please have the decency of guests and not fight." Ken shouted. The three shut up with that and didn''t speak anymore. Silence prevailed as the ship sailed and her ride on the turtle also followed them. Ken was particularly interested in this turtle.

    Nothing was known of it after the Alabasta Saga and it was never seen again. This turtle could swim across the Grand Line so of course this turtle wasn''t simple. And Luffy wanted to keep this turtle with them for the remaining journey as it might prove useful.

    Banchi was the name of the turtle and he wanted to keep it for the crew.

 87. Little Garden

    With three new ''crew'' members the ship sailed further. Of course, the ship sailed according to the Log Pose of Nami towards the new island, also known as Little Garden. In order to make sure that Robin didn''t do anything that would harm the ship, Nami used magic to tie the hands of Robin, but Ken asked her not to do so as it was useless because of her fruit. But when Nami did use magic, It blew away the mind of Robin. She had never seen magic and was particularly intrigued about this and asked her.

    It was there Robin came to know that Nami learnt magic from books. Nami was of course very much careful with her words as she didn''t want to release the secret of Ken. Ken''s devil fruit was outrageous and even Luffy who was never good with lies, learnt how to lie.

    The character of Hiruzen had played his part on him and thus Luffy wasn''t a simpleton as he once was. Of course, his general characteristics didn''t change but when it came to many important things he knew what he could do and what he couldn''t.

    "Can I see the books?"

    "No." Nami denied as she thought showing her the books would be an invasion of privacy.

    "She can look at the books." Ken inserted his comments in the middle.

    "Eh! Why? She is an enemy."

    "She just wants to read books. It''s not like she knows magic."

    "Are you sure?" Nami was confused why Ken was so casual with Robin. It happened during Vivi''s capture too. He was too casual when it came to prisoners. Before he could answer he got distracted by Luffy.

    "Oye Ken. See.. This turtle is so awesome." Luffy shouted from the sea where was playing with Banchi. Usopp too had joined him in this fun by standing on air itself. He had been learning some small moves and thus standing on air too came quite easily for him. Robin and others were again amazed by this. Usopp''s power was still a mystery and she had never seen anyone in her life with Devil Fruit that could stand on water.

    Even the marines who were known to have Rokushiki didn''t know anything about it. This crew was more mysterious than she thought. Meanwhile, Ken just brought out books of magic and gave it to Robin to study. Since Ken was okay with sharing the books, Nami didn''t mind.

    All the books related to magic and nothing that could speak about history or culture. Robin was not a member of Straw-Hats yet. When she would be ready, then she would let her have more knowledge that she so craved for everyday.

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    Vivi still had a stinky face but didn''t speak more with Robin and just helped Nami with her navigation and painting work. Igaram too helped where the Straw-Hats were required. The ship sailed for quite some days before they could see the outline of the island that they were going to set their feet on.

    As they sailed near to the island Ken announced to the whole crew.

    "Before you start on your adventure and find out about the island. Some things I want to mention, you can hunt the local animals of this place but under no circumstances will you go for the plants and water of this place. This place is an ancient island which belonged to the times when dinosaurs roamed free so the ecosystem is different. There may be bacteria and viruses here that could prove fatal for you. We don''t have a doctor on this ship so if anyone is bitten by a random parasite, we will not be able to save you."

    "Eh?"

    "Huh!"

    "So many words. I didn''t understand one bit."

    "Sanji, you understood what I said. Yes?"

    "Hai. Kill the animals but not the plants."

    "Close enough."

    "Everyone will be fully clothed when they get to the island so that no parasites or bugs can bite you. Treat this island like a winter island. Is that clear?"

    "Hai.."

    Ken was ready with his pitch forks to combat the diseases of this island. Kestia was just one of the diseases that Nami contracted. He didn''t want another random disease that could kill his crew mates in a matter of seconds. Their bodies weren''t like his, which could purge the diseases by itself.

    Robin also nodded her head with the words of the Vice-Captain. It seemed like there was someone in the ship who was learned and not exactly an idiot like the Captain acted.

    The ship anchored on the shore of the island and almost everyone embarked on their journey. Well, almost everyone as Igaram had decided to stay to look over Robin so that she didn''t run away. Of course, Robin didn''t mind that as she was too engrossed in knowing the world of magic. What Ken gave were some books on various plants and some books on how magic worked.

    Even that was interesting to Robin so he was just sitting on the deck and reading them. Meanwhile, Ken had already used his Haki to find out the location of his target. But with Mr. 3 and Miss Golden week was another person.

    The one person who Robin didn''t expect. Mr. 2, Bon-clay. The guy that helped save the life of Luffy multiple times and even helped them escape in the end. Ken had immense respect for this guy and since his character completion he could now hear the words of Bon clay and Mr. 3 from far just like Enel.

    "Why are you here Mr. 2? I am enough for these two giants."

    "Who cares about your giants. 2 of the officer agents are missing and even Miss All-Sunday had just vanished. I am here to see if she is here." Mr. 2, Bon-clay spoke in his unique voice.

    "Why will she be here?"

    "According to the billions of Baroque Works that were stationed in Whiskey Peak, a pirate crew that went by the name of Straw-Hats had arrived there a few days ago and wreaked havoc."

    "Oh, some third rate pirate crew did that. That''s a surprise."

    "No, I have seen the posters of the men who belonged to that crew. The Captain known as Straw-Hat Monkey D. Luffy and the vice-captain known as Monkey D. Kenny have a bounty of 120 million each."

 88. I just came here to talk

    "What?" Mr. 3 who had been casual all this time and was having tea with Miss Golden week stood up.

    "Not only that. Some crew members also have very high bounties, closer to Mr. 0."

    "Our Mr. 0 is far more powerful. His bounty was 80 million before he became a Shichibukai. Don''t judge a person by the bounty."

    "I know but that doesn''t change the fact that these people have more bounties than us and even Mr 0."

    Ken listened to the whole conversation and smiled. He didn''t expect that their news had already reached his ears even after they had been very careful. Not killing those bounty hunters in Whiskey Peak had its cost.

    "Your friends are here."

    "I don''t have friends." Robin retorted when Ken spoke to her.

    "You can''t live alone in the sea, Robin."

    The others had already left so they didn''t hear the conversation between him and Robin. Of course, Igaram could get what Ken was pointing at but again he was surprised how Ken knew that some officer agents were here.

    "How do you know that some officer agents are here?" Igaram couldn''t help but ask.

    "There is something called Observation Haki. I think you have heard of that." Both Robin and Igaram had their eyes wide open when Ken said those words. They did hear of Haki before but they only heard stories of it and nothing else. This is the first time they heard someone speak of using it.

    "You can use Haki?"

    "Well, there are three types of Haki. I am proficient in only one. Nothing major. Now let me take care of these agents." Ken took his Stormbreaker and flew off.

    Igaram and Robin were a little speechless about how easily he just flew off and of how casually he spoke of Haki. It was said that only the top marines and the pirates of the New World knew about it and this pirate who had come from the weakest sea knew about this.

    Meanwhile, Ken dropped directly near the small candle house that Mr. 3 had made and regarded as their temporary home.

    "This isn''t vacation time."

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    Ken did some hand signs and blew fire from his mouth at the end that ignited the flammable candle home easily.

    "Hot... Hot... Hot.. "

    "Ahhh.. Who is the asshole that ignited my home.."

    "Ahhh."

    All the 3 officer agents came running out while shouting and cursing. But they stopped on their tracks when they saw Ken standing a small distance away with his Stormbreaker.

    "You.. You are the Punisher?"

    "You spoke so much of us a few seconds ago. Why are you so surprised?"

    "Ummm. You were spying on us? We just spoke some good words for you. To what do we owe the pleasure of meeting such a high esteemed pirate? We are nobodies and just on a vacation here." Mr.3 was still holding on to the hope that Ken didn''t know anything and was just here by coincidence and didn''t hear the whole conversation.

    "Do you think I am a fool that I won''t recognize that you three are officer agents after abducting your Miss All Sunday?"

    "What?"

    "You kidnapped the partner of Mr. 0?"

    "Stop calling him Mr. 0. It''s useless to hide his identity. You just boost his ego by calling him such code names. It serves no purpose."

    Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek were silent and they didn''t know how to refute Ken''s words. They could easily take his name when they talk of him in private conversation but they refrained from doing so out of fear.

    "You kidnapped Miss All Sunday? I will take you down." Mr. 2 wasn''t paying attention to the words of Ken and attacked with his pointed foot at the face of Ken. Ken had already expected this and just casually swatted his attack.

    The next moment Mr. 2 cried out in pain! He didn''t expect that the moves he was most proud of were so easily handled by Ken and he didn''t even use Haki. If it was Haki then it would have been more painful for Mr. 2. Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek didn''t expect that Mr. 2 had such a high sense of loyalty and would attack the Punisher after he got to know about the kidnapping of Miss. All Sunday.

    Mr. 3, didn''t want to just see his partner get beaten up so he used his Devil Fruit. He raised his arm and threw a huge wave of molten candle at Ken. Ken just shook his head and just blew fire from his mouth at the molten candle.

    Just like the previous time, the candle caught fire and Mr. 3 started screaming. But in that moment, the candle lit fire was poured in the body of Mr. 2 who was still reeling in pain. Ken didn''t want Mr. 2 to get hurt in this small interaction and just wanted to talk.

    He came and helped Mr.2 to get rid of the molten candle. Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek who had run quite a distance away to be away from the fire saw this and were astonished. He had to run away because he was the candle man and he would be attracted to fire more and the little officer agent girl was more scared of fire as she was just a small girl at this point.

    "You ok?" Ken asked.

    "Yes.. yes... I am alright.. Eh! Why did you help me?"

    "I am here to talk. I never said that I came to fight. It was you who had thought that I came to fight."

    "But you kidnapped Miss All Sunday. Why will you just come to talk?"

    "She is different. She will join our crew. It has nothing to do with her involvement with Crocodile and Baroque Works."

    "Miss All Sunday will never betray us."

    Ken just smiled at it and didn''t bother arguing with Bon-clay. He was a loyal person and someone who took friendship seriously and in a way was kind of an idiot like Luffy. But then again, these idiots were the ones who were responsible for one of the greatest feats.

 89. Bet

    "Think whatever you want to think. But I don''t want to fight with you and this also includes you two cowards." Ken said.

    "Who are you calling cowards?" Mr. 3 shouted.

    "You just ran away thinking of your life."

    "That is not cowardice. That is called tactical retreat." Mr. 3 argued back.

    "For me that is called being a coward." Ken said and didn''t bother arguing with him.

    "I am not a coward."

    "What do you want?" Meanwhile Mr. 2 asked as he was sure that Ken here was being nice to them for a reason.

    "Friendship and loyalty."

    "Huh?" - Mr. 2.

    "What?" - Miss Goldenweek.

    "Are you crazy?" - Mr. 3.

    "I am not crazy. I just want friendship and loyalty from you three. Your Crocodile wouldn''t last much in front of us. That Wanted Poster should give a general idea of what crew we are. We have multiple wanted posters with huge amount and this isn''t even our full power."

    "You are lying. You come from East Blue and that is the weakest sea."

    "Gol D. Roger came from East Blue. How did that turn out?"

    "Hahahah.. You think this Straw Hat captain of yours is someone like Gol D. Roger?"

    "No. Of course not... "

    "...He is better than that."

    "You are delusional." Mr. 2, Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek shouted in unison.

    "You will see someday.... How about this? Let''s make a bet. If we handle this Crocodile boss of yours, you will come under our banner and if we lose we will be under your banner." Ken laid out his ultimate plan in front of them.

    Yes, that''s what he wanted. He wanted to make a fleet just like the one Luffy had under him after the Dressrosa arc. He wanted to make a fleet right here and make it grand from the beginning. Bon-clay had all the reasons to join Luffy''s fleet.

    Of course, if it was upto Luffy, he would have asked him to join his crew instead. But Bon-clay''s Devil Fruit was great for espionage.

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    "You are joking aren''t you?" Mr. 2 asked.

    "Nope, let''s make the bet? Brave enough? Since you said that you are not a coward."

    "I am not a coward but I am not an idiot who thinks that your Captain will be someone better than the Pirate King."

    "The Pirate King didn''t even have that bounty when he first stepped his foot in the Grand Line, we are already much ahead of him and we will surpass him."

    "How are you so confident?" Mr. 2, who had been silent until this point asked. He was already moved by the fact that Ken had saved him from fire and now he had out such an absurd bet. He could also easily understand that Ken could take them out pretty fast but he wasn''t making any moves.

    Bon-clay respected such people who had ethics and morale.

    "Why am I so confident? Hmm.. Let''s just say that it''s his destiny. Is that explanation enough?"

    "Oye.. Mr. 2.. You are not seriously thinking of his bet are you?"

    "We can take him out if we work together." Mr. 3 still felt that Ken was speaking nonsense and was already thinking of running away.

    "I will take the bet." Mr 2 said after being silent. There was no way out. If they wanted to go back, they would have to be alive at least. If they didn''t take the bet, he was pretty sure that their choices would end at this island.

    "An intelligent decision."

    "But that doesn''t mean our loyalty right now will change and I will go and tell him about this bet."

    "Do whatever you want. I don''t care." Ken said as he was happy about the fact that Bon-clay had accepted the proposal. He then looked at Mr. 2.

    "Are you on board?"

    "Do I have a choice?"

    "Mr. 2 had a choice. You don''t." Ken said

    "Why does he have the choice and I don''t?"

    "Because he is loyal, you aren''t." Ken said.

    "You don''t know me yet."

    "Then prove it to me by taking the bet."

    "Ahhh.. Fine... I will take the bet. But defeat me first..."

    The moment he spoke those words Ken vanished from his sight and what followed next was an enormous pain in his stomach. Ken had just punched him in the stomach after using the simple Body Flicker Jutsu. Mr. 3 didn''t even see what had hit him and just felt it.

    Mr. 3 almost vomited after being hit with the punch as he was down on his knees. When he said that he wanted a rematch, he didn''t expect that Ken would take action instantly.

    "Don''t delude yourself thinking that you can beat me with just a measly power. Learn Haki, maybe then you can think of challenging me or anyone from the crew. Anyone from my crew is enough to take you down."

    Miss Goldenweek had been silent all this time and was almost having a breakdown. She wanted to help her partner but Ken didn''t even give them a chance.

    "What is Haki?" Bon-clay had never heard of Haki before so he was curious.

    "Research on it. Or better yet, ask Crocodile. He will explain to you the horrors of it."

    "Now, Mr 3, ready to accept the bet?"

    "Haii... Haii.. I will... take.. the bet."

    Mr. 2 wasn''t able to talk and was only able to exhale those words of acceptance. He was in immense pain and felt like his inner organs might have shifted. It was a miracle that he didn''t vomit blood.

    "Miss Goldenweek, or should I say Marianne?"

    "You know my name?" Miss Goldenweek was surprised that Ken actually knew her name. She was both flattered and terrified. A person like Ken knowing her name was both a boon and a curse.

    "I have a penchant for information." Ken said.

    "I will accept the bet."

    "Good. Now, Mr. 2 go and eliminate the poison.."

    Before he could complete the sentence, there was a small earthquake with cries of birds and animals. A huge volcano burst out from the top most mountain of the island. This was the alarm bell.

    A bell for the next duel between Dorry and Brogy. This duel had been going on for ages and they had been fighting which was inconclusive till now. These two beings were giants from Elbaf and in a very small disagreement they had been in eternal duel.

 90. Crocodile

    "Did you poison their ale?"

    "Poison? What poison?" Mr. 3 was confused by Ken''s words. In the original story, Mr. 3 had gone on to mix some explosive materials that Luffy and his crew brought for the giants. But from the reaction of Mr. 2 it didn''t seem like that.

    "You didn''t add any explosives anywhere to catch these two giants who have such a high bounty?"

    "Uhh.. I am trying to bring them down but since I have another officer agent here, we have decided to bring them down on our own." Ken looked at Bon-clay after Mr. 3 said that. He wanted to make sure that he was speaking the truth. Bon-clay nodded his head at the words of the officer agent.

    "You will use only your devil fruits to bring the old giants down?"

    "Yes." All three nodded their heads.

    "No need to do that. Return to Alabasta and tell Crocodile that you failed as you three encountered us and we proved to be too powerful."

    "We can''t say that to him. We will be killed."

    "Tell him I have Haki. He will understand."

    "No this is not possible... We will be murdered in cold blood by Crocodile..."

    "Do you want me to give you more punches so that he understands?" Ken had his eye brows creased listening to the refusal of Mr. 3. He was being annoying. In fact his voice had always been a little annoying for Ken but he was being an open minded person here. If his actions were also annoying then he wouldn''t mind reminding more of the punch he had delivered.

    Mr. 3 shuddered after being threatened by Ken. He wanted to protest but he didn''t know who was more ruthless. Punisher Kenny or Crocodile? He could only pray and hope that Crocodile would be a little merciful and let him go after mentioning about Haki.

    Mr. 3 wanted to speak more but it was already too late. They could see two giants in ancient Viking style dress having a go at each other with their rusted and old swords. Each strike with their swords was heard for quite a distance and it reverberated in this island.

    "Hope they have met the two." Ken mumbled.

    The two giants were having the epic fight while the earth quaked a bit. Though the officer agents had heard about them, they hadn''t actually met them so they were a little surprised by watching the size of these giants. Miss Goldenweek couldn''t help but ask.

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    "Where do these giants come from?"

    "From the island of Elbaf in the New World."

    "New World? You mean on the other half of the Grand Line."

    "Yes. Now go. Tell to..." Before Ken could finish his words there was a sudden ring.

    *purru.. purru.. purru...*

    *purru.. purru.. purru...*

    Both Mr. 2 and Mr. 3 had a horrified look on their faces as they heard the ring. It came from the pocket of Mr. 3 and there could be only one person who might have called them. Mr. 3 was shaking when he brought out the den-den mushi, the One Piece version of mobile phones.

    His hands were shuddering when Mr. 3 brought it out.

    "Who is it?"

    "Mr. 0... I mean Shichibukai Cro... Crocodile." Mr. 3 was visibly shaken seeing the call. He didn''t know what to do. Ken just didn''t care and picked up the call.

    "Yo!"

    "..."

    "You can speak Crocodile. There is no point in being so silent."

    "...."

    "..."

    "Who are you?"

    Finally, a deep and manly voice was heard from the mouth of the snail. The voice itself was enough to prove that it was Crocodile.

    "You sent your officer agents to come after me. Who do you think you are?"

    ".. Straw Hat Luffy with a bounty of 120 million?"

    "That will be our Captain. I am Ken. Nice to meet you.. I mean nice to hear from you."

    "What do you want? What happened to Mr. 2 and Mr. 3?"

    "Well, they are lying in their own pool of blood. Do you want me to send you their bodies?" Ken said while looking at Mr. 3. His face lit up like Christmas lights while Mr. 2 didn''t have a good look in his face. He felt insulted but he didn''t intervene. Ken had saved his life so he couldn''t exactly go against him.

    ".. You have quite the guts!"

    "No, the gutsy thing is you trying to take over a country which is under the World Government and that too you didn''t face any obstacles along the way considering the countries that belong under that ugly white blue banner. That is kind of a bold move I have to say." Ken said.

    When you think about it, it was kind of true. When the country of Flevance of North Blue was at its end, the higher nobles fled. Same thing happened to the Lulusia Kingdom, the nobles fled. But this was never the case with Alabasta. Cobra was an upright King and he would never leave his kingdom and flee but it had never been mentioned in the manga that he was approached by the World Government when things looked dire for them with the revolution.

    Better still, when the World Government was established, Cobra''s ancestor refused to live on the Grand Line and he had never been on good terms with the World Government. And if that wasn''t enough, their family had a freaking Poneglyph under their castle. This was even after the fact that having or reading the texts in this world was a crime.

    So from the get go, Cobra wasn''t ever loved by the World Government. The other countries might have had benevolent leaders once and thus they refused to stay in Marijoa but over the years many things had changed for most countries.

    But Cobra''s lineage maintained their upright and kind behavior and this could be seen in Vivi too. Crocodile was finally stopped at the end because Luffy had defeated him and there was no way to hide this from the general public since he had fallen in front of everyone and Smoker was an upright marine.

 91. Crocodile (2)

    "What I do is none of your business."

    "It became my business when you forced a friend of mine to cry and run in fear. She had to travel and live among the most vile people just so that she could save her country. We are pirates, we don''t do that. You broke the code."

    "Hahahaha.... Codes? Hahahaha.....You talk about code? There is no code in pirate book. They plunder, they loot, they kill.. they do whatever they want... You don''t even know what it is to be a pirate."

    "Oh! At least I am not a running slave of the government." That counter attack from Ken was enough to let him hear that Crocodile had clenched his teeth his anger. He could hear the teeth grinding on itself.

    "Some people have forgotten who I am."

    "Don''t worry we will remind you of your place. We will come for you."

    "Then come. Let me see what you are made of."

    "By the way what you are looking for doesn''t exist in Alabasta." With those words he disconnected the call. His last words were a hint for him. And it was done to make him doubt about the real reason he was trying to take over Alabasta, to read the Poneglyph. Now he just lost Nico Robin. He must be fuming.

    Rainbase, the small casino that Crocodile had built for himself.

    Crocodile wanted to call the number back. But his pride was high enough to not do so. He didn''t know what Ken meant with those last words but he wanted to find out.

    "Punisher Kenny.. Haa.. Let me see what worthless piece of shit are you."

    The three officer agents had finally had relief after the call ended. Talking so boldly with a Shichibukai meant that this guy was really serious with the bet and didn''t seem to care about the ferocity nor the power of the Shichibukai. This was the first time. But then again his Wanted Posters spoke more volumes.

    "Go back and hide for a few days until you can show up." Ken said and the three nodded their heads. They packed the remaining things up that hadn''t caught fire and left. The two giants had already stopped duelling and calm was retained on the island.

    After a few minutes, the three officer agents vanished in the forest and almost ran towards the shore where they had anchored their ship. Ken just stood as their silhouettes disappeared and just looked up and sighed.

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    "You can come out. There is no need to hide.."

    "..."

    "Vivi. I know you are here with Caroo."

    After a moment of silence, there was movement on the east side of the forest which was filled with bushes. A woman with long blue hair emerged while sitting on the yellow duck. From far Ken could tell that she had small tears on her eyes.

    "You.. You knew that I was here?"

    "Of course I knew. You could have come long before too. Why are you roaming alone?"

    "Uhhh... The giants were fighting so Nami-san said that we should move further and also try to gather some food for the ship. Everyone is now actively hunting some beasts to feed the people of the ship."

    "Oh. Did you kill anything?"

    Vivi got embarrassed a bit and looked at the porch on the side of Caroo. From the size of it, she probably had caught two hares. This wouldn''t even fill the teeth of Luffy.

    "You don''t have to work so much. You are a guest of the ship. Just sit back and enjoy."

    Vivi just shook her head and said she wanted to contribute to the crew.

    "Let''s head back to the giants. I want to meet them." Ken said and walked towards the giants, while Vivi followed. After a few minutes walking, Vivi finally got the courage and asked.

    "Ken-san, do you really consider me as a friend?"

    "Of course I do. I think the other crew members do the same."

    "I.. I... Thank you."

    "We are friends, you don''t need to say that."

    "Then Miss All Sunday is your friend too?"

    Ken stopped in his tracks and looked at her. Vivi got scared a bit and didn''t know what she should do. She had seen how easily Ken had let the officer agents go but she also saw how he threatened Crocodile, so she wasn''t sure why Ken acted in a very contradictory way.

    "Robin had a very miserable life. Much more miserable than most of us. She had lost everything. Her mother, her friends.. Everyone who had come close to her had died. What she was doing with Crocodile has nothing to do with taking over your country. You can think of her as someone who was trying to stop Crocodile while being under him. For that reason she had allowed you to follow him so that you could uncover his plans and maybe miraculously get some help."

    Vivi was petrified when she heard that. She thought that Miss All Sunday was just like another officer agent and wanted to help Crocodile take over her country but now Ken was saying that she was a spy. But why?

    "She is a spy?"

    "You can say so. Spying and assassination is her forte."

    "Then she must be working for someone. Why are we keeping her then if she is a spy?"

    Ken just smiled at it and said "You will understand what organization she works for, once I show you."

    Vivi nodded her head and chose to believe Ken. She didn''t know what life Miss All Sunday had but from the words of Ken it must be very tragic. Ken had a sadness in his eyes when she spoke of Robin. She didn''t see that before on Ken.

    Ken then proceeded to kill some dinosaurs and animals that came along the way and kept their bodies in the magical pouch. Having the pouch was a boon for the crew as they could take more food with them unlike before.

 92. Dory and Broggy

    After a little more steps they had reached the place where the giants were seated along with the crew. These giants were really big when one came close to them. Their sizes were really out of the world which was still a mystery to Ken. Both Dory and Broggy seemed to get together and were having fun drinking the ale that Sanji and Zoro had brought back from the ship. Surprisingly even Robin had come with them to enjoy this festive mood.

    It was probably the words of Zoro of the giants being very old that sparked her ''history'' bug in her brain.

    "Ah, Ken, you are here. See we made new friends. Giants ossan this is my brother. Ken, these are the two giants that had been fighting her for more than a century. It''s amazing isn''t it?"

    "Hai, it is amazing."

    Usopp seemed to be very much inspired by the story of the giants and talked with them more than the rest. They talked about the problem about leaving the island and the problem they had been facing. The giants of course decided to help them since they had consumed their food and ale.

    But the problem was that their weapons were on the verge of breaking and they didn''t know how to get rid of the giant goldfish.

    "Nami, you can restore their weapons." Ken said as she reminded her that her magic could restore the weapons that it once was.

    "Ah yes.. Dory-san.. Broggy -san.. Can you show me your weapons? I will restore them for you." Nami said. The giants were a little confused but they still brought it out. Nami waved her wand and soon miraculously the broken parts that was scattered all over the island, the small bits came flying over and attached themselves to the their weapons and even amending the cracks

    The giants were dumbfounded by this and asked.

    "What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat?"

    "It''s not a Devil Fruit. It''s magic." Nami replied with pride. The giants got interested and asked Nami more about it and she explained. The giants then gave them a Log Pose which was already set for the next island.

    They were happy about this and soon returned to the ship with the rations that they had collected on the island. Their route would go through almost the middle of the island which had a river and the giants had pledged to help them get rid of the island eater.

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    The ship had already started sailing and the two giants were standing at the edge of the shores with their weapons unsheathed.

    "I want to see the island eater. Can we eat it?" Luffy asked as he was interested in this huge animal that supposedly ate ships and could even eat islands.

    "We don''t have space to keep the parts." Ken replied.

    "We can keep them in the magical pouch."

    "It''s already full of food. We don''t have that much space." Nami shouted.

    The ship soon crossed the island and then they were welcomed by a huge wave, succeeding with huge fish emerging from the depths of the ocean. The fish rose up high and its size was bigger than the giants by at least 2 times.

    The fish was of the goldfish species. Ken couldn''t understand how a goldfish type fish became so big. But it didn''t matter. He had already brought out his Mjolnir and was ready to have a go with this, though he probably wouldn''t require it since the giants had decided to help them.

    Usopp was trembling a bit but he trusted his giant friends. Everyone had a little surprised face seeing the massive size. They had expected it to be big but they just didn''t know how ''big'' this could be.

    After the island eater emerged, it opened its big mouth to take a bite at their ship, but it couldn''t even come close to the ship before the giants used their strongest moves to deliver a hit at the huge body.

    This single move of both the giants which was in perfect synchronization hit the mouth of the island eater. It created a hole that was almost double the size of the ship on the mouth of the island eater.

    "Hahahah.. These giants are really powerful." Usopp said as he felt relief.

    "Of course they are. They had huge bounties on their heads once upon a time."

    Luffy was excited a bit and almost wanted to get a piece of the island eater meat but was punched down by Nami. After shouting their goodbye to the two giants the ship again had started sailing. And this time to the next island.

    "You see Robin, we didn''t need your help after all." Ken said.

    "I never doubted that. I just hoped that you could reach Alabasta faster."

    "We will. But it is the Captain who decides." Ken just shrugged his shoulders. The ship had sailed for one more day before a small tragedy had struck their crew mate Nami.

    She got sick.

    "I told you to cover your body, didn''t I?" Ken was a bit angry seeing this happen. It was true that the next island would be Chopper''s island but that didn''t mean that she could get sick.

    "Umm.. Nami-san had covered her whole body." Vivi said as she tended to the body of Nami. Ken took a close look on her face and found that she had a small red mark on her cheek.

    Murphy''s law was in full swing. He brought out the page that he had taken from Crocus and compared the symptoms of Nami to the diseases written on the page. After much comparison, Ken was sure that it was Kestia and started providing her medicines that Crocus had lent him.

    Kestia was a disease that would take time for her to recover. And they would have to do without her. Even after giving her medicine she had high fever so he asked the help of Vivi and Robin to see that the ship was navigated properly.

 93. Wapol

    The crew mates were very much worried about Nami.

    "Will anything happen to Nami-swan. My heart is breaking looking at her like that."

    Zoro, who would always make fun of Sanji, was silent. He too wasn''t in a good mood with what was happening to Nami. Luffy and Usopp had tears in their eyes looking at Nami who had such a high fever.

    "Is fever very painful?" Luffy asked as he was a little confused.

    "I don''t know. Never had a fever.."

    "I don''t know. Never had a fever.."

    "I don''t know. Never had a fever.."

    Luffy, Usopp and Sanji slanted their heads as all their life they had never suffered from fever. Even Ken had never suffered from any disease in this new life and only felt it in his previous life.

    "What kind of people are you?" Vivi had sharp teeth when she asked that. Even Robin was dumbfounded listening to these people. They were monsters in human skin. Ken just shook his head and headed out to make sure that the ship was following the Log Pose. It should take one or two days to reach the next island so they would have to sail fast. Though without Nami it would be a little slower but there was nothing that they could do.

    "Igaram, keep an eye on the Log Pose."

    Igaram nodded his head and took the helm. Over the years he had picked up many skills and piloting a ship was one of them. The ship sailed for a full day and Nami''s situation had stabilized quite a lot but she still had a fever.

    Ken could do nothing but just practice his Haki. He still was far off in making the Armament Haki stable. As he was practicing under the deck he heard some ruckus from above. Without much thought he saw an old face that he had almost forgotten. A face that he didn''t like at all.

    Wapol, the former monarch of Drum Kingdom.

    Wapol had arrived at the ship and was almost on the verge of eating when Ken appeared in front of him and caught him by his neck from behind. His face was too big to hold him from the neck from front and thus he did so from the back.

    Wapol cried out in pain as Ken held his neck tightly.

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    "Wapol-sama!! Let go of Wapol-sama or... or I will kill your crew."

    "You bastard. Let go of our esteemed king."

    Wapol''s most trusted men, Chess and Kuromarimo shouted who had arrived at the ship uninvited. They had pistols in their hands and pointed them at Usopp and Luffy. Zoro, Robin and Sanji who had just come out seeing the ruckus were a little annoyed but they could see that something must have happened to make Ken move.

    Even Robin, who had been silent in the group, was ready to fight for the crew. For the first time in a long time, she was having fun with this crew. Though she knew that it was temporary, she enjoyed the solace, tranquility and safety that came with this crew.

    "Wapol of the Drum Kingdom. You have quite the nerve to come here." Ken was holding his neck tight and lifted him up from his feet and in fact he had used a little bit of Haki too. Wapol was screaming in pain and wanted to take a bite after turning around but the force which Ken had caught him didn''t allow him.

    "Who the hell are you?"

    "Let go of him, or I will shoot your crew mate." Chess shouted. But little did he know that the person, Usopp who he had held hostage had vanished from his spot with a weird sound and appeared behind Chess and before he knew anything, he was hit on the neck by his hand.

    Usopp just used sonido for the first time and just used his physical advantage he had to hit at Chess. This hit alone made him unconscious before his face could hit the floor. Kuromarimo and Wapol had their eyes wide open. And if that wasn''t enough Luffy smiled and did a Body-flicker jutsu after snatching the pistol from the hands of a distracted and surprised moss-head.

    And now the pistol was pointed at Kuromarimo by a huge smiling Luffy.  Wapol couldn''t understand where these people came from and not be afraid of pistols. In addition these pirates could easily overpower them.

    "How dare your peasants touch us. Let us go you worthless shit.. Let us go." Wapol was shouting with all his might. It looked kind of funny for his small stature and big mouth.

    "Peasants? No, Mr. King, you are the peasant here. Under my arm you can only beg for mercy." Ken said as he applied more force on his neck. Wapol cried out in pain. The pain was more for Wapol because Ken was trying to use Haki when he could.

    After few seconds, Wapol started grovelling in pain.

    "Please stop whoever you are... Please.. we have gold.. We can give you that. You are pirates right? You love gold. Take whatever you want. Please leave me alone."

    By this time, Vivi and Igaram too had come out. Kuromarimo wanted to help his king but seeing how Wapol was being treated he shut up. His Devil fruit wouldn''t allow him to dodge bullets and from the looks of it, this was a vicious pirate group.

    "Stop?.. Hahaha .. You had quite some fun in killing people from your own kingdom. How does it feel to be on the other side? Oye Vivi, do you remember this guy?"

    "Eh! Me? Why should I remember this guy?"

    Everyone was a little confused by Ken''s words. What kingdom? What killing? What was he talking about?

    "Look closely Vivi.. Igaram I am sure you remember this guy from last time."

    "He.. he.. He is the notorious king Wapol? How? How is he here?" Igaram recognized him after a few seconds. Both Igaram and Vivi once came across this King in the last meeting of Reverie where Wapol had slapped Vivi.

 94. Isshi 20

    "Yes, that''s right. He is Wapol. From the Drum Kingdom. Now living the life of a pirate." Ken said, holding on to his neck.

    "Pirate? Why did he become a pirate? He is a monarch." Igaram was confused and they finally got to know why Ken had caught this guy.

    "Did he kill anyone?" Usopp asked as he had never seen Ken catching someone with his hand before and spoke before that this King had killed someone before.

    "He hails from a kingdom which is known for having some of the best doctors of the Grand Line. That country has more reverence for the doctors than the King. So this guy got jealous, and then proceeded to kill the doctors except for 20 of the finest doctors. He named that group as Isshi 20. With Isshi 20 under his beck and call, the citizens of his kingdom were forced to pray to him, provide him more money for any of the health problems they faced. You can already guess what he might have done with that power."

    "What?"

    "Nani?"

    "Such cruelty!"

    Igaram and Vivi were especially enraged hearing this. Vivi had finally remembered that fateful night in the Reverie where she was slapped by this guy. She had to endure the pain as she didn''t want any war to take place just because of a slap.

    Vivi might have forgotten a lot since she was very young at that time, but Igaram had not forgotten what happened at the Reverie. Now they heard more and found out that Wapol was more outrageous and cruel than they expected.

    Vivi was gritting her teeth and Igaram didn''t hold back. He came towards the dangling Wapol who was literally gurgling in pain and punched him right at his face with full force.

    Wapol had come with his own ship which actually had the Isshi 20 along with a few soldiers and Kuromarimo. None spoke a word when Igaram had hit him.

    "See Wapol. Your monarchy, your title means nothing when you come to the sea. The sea is free and wild. Here only strength rules."

    Wapol now had a bulge near his right eye after being punched by Igaram. He was mumbling incoherently in pain.

    "What do you want to do with him?" Zoro asked. They were disgusted by this King and wanted nothing to do with this scum.

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    "He will be given back to the Drum Kingdom where he will be in prison forever. And that includes these scum of soldiers too." Ken said. Hearing this, the soldiers on Wapol''s ship got scared, but after fear they got angered. They had been controlling themselves from taking any action in fear that their King would be killed but he had threatened them with imprisonment.

    Unforgivable.

    There were only a few soldiers and they all pointed their guns at Ken. But before the soldiers could take action, several hands grew from the shoulders of these soldiers. And then the hands snapped the heads of them.

    Everyone turned their heads to look at Robin. They didn''t expect that Robin would do such a thing. After the Little Garden, she had been given all the freedom on the promise that she would behave and on the trust of Ken himself. Ken was the most sane of the group so everyone trusted him.

    Even Vivi seemed to have changed her mind about Robin and let her be. Now, it seemed like she was not really a bad person.  The snap of the soldiers heads was enough to send shudders through the spine of Kuromarimo.

    ''Why does this ship have multiple strong people with Devil Fruit? Who did they meet? The hell lord?''

    Ken didn''t care what others were thinking and looked at Isshi 20.

    "You all are doctors. Aren''t you?" Ken asked as he saw various men and women standing in row with their white doctor attire with gloves and masks.

    "Hai..." a few of the doctors replied very meekly at Ken.

    "If I break the jaw of this person will you be able to provide him food?"

    "Huh?"

    "We don''t understand?"

    "What I mean is that I am going to break apart the jaw of this person. Will you be able to keep him alive?"

    "Yes.. Yes.. We can." replied the doctors in a meek voice after a moment of silence. With no warning, Ken caught the lower jaw of Wapol and with one jerk he tore apart the lower jaw of Wapol. Ken did it so fast that nobody didn''t even register what he had meant when he asked the doctors.

    "Wapol sama!!"

    "My King."

    Chess and Kuromarimo shouted in anger when they saw Ken doing such a cruel act. Blood splashed everywhere on the deck as Ken did that. None of his crew mates expected Ken to do that. All this time he had been the most sane and silent guy. It was at this point they realized that Ken had another violent side of him.

    Ken didn''t hold the bloodied Wapol who had gone unconscious one more second and threw his half lifeless body at the ship of Wapol. Wapol''s devil fruit made him eat things and then modify them according to the requirements.

    But he wouldn''t be able to do so if there was no jaw. His non-existent jaw wouldn''t allow him to engulf anything and he would only be forced to drink through a fluid based diet for the rest of his life. Of course, Wapol could install a metal jaw to eat with the help of the doctors, but he wouldn''t let Wapol have that luxury.

    Ken looked at Kuromarimo and ordered.

    "Follow us and get off at the next island. If I am not wrong, the next island is your home country. We will hand you over to them. You dare not run away. Or else there will be more pain than what Wapol is facing now."

    "Yes.. yes.." Kuromarimo and Chess nodded their heads in quick succession. These pirates were more cruel than they thought and they needed to watch their step.

    Later after a rope was tied between Merry Go and their weird sized ship, they sailed again.

 95. Unwelcome guests

    The Isshi 20 got to work immediately. No matter what, he was once their King and until their lives were threatened, they would always help someone whose health had been affected in any way. Ken didn''t bother to ask their help for Nami because he was sure that Nami wasn''t in extreme danger. She just had a little fever and in fact she was able to do the normal work just fine.

    After the initial high fever, his medicines had helped her lessen the temperature by a lot and was much better. Of course It was best to take her to Chopper and let him take care of Nami to make her completely fine.

    After another day of sailing and constant snow, they finally saw the outline of Winter Island. The world of One Piece has a very weird relationship. Any island that was bone freezing cold, they tend to be more technologically advanced. Be it Drum Island which was medically advanced, Karakuri island which was supposed to be the birth place of Dr. Vegapunk or Egghead Island which was the current home of Dr. Vegapunk. All of these islands were winter islands which was a very odd thing to have for a technologically advanced island.

    "There is an island up ahead." Zoro shouted.

    Ken came to the deck where he saw Luffy and Usopp still playing with snow. But after Zoro''s shout shout and Luffy sat at the head of Merry to have a close look at the new island.

    But as they came forward to the island, they were a little puzzled to see so many people standing on the shores. All of the people had one thing in common and that was everyone had various kinds of weapons in their hands.

    Ken knew why it was like this. Drum Island was raided by the Blackbeard Pirates recently and thus they had a very negative emotions and hatred for any kinds of pirates.

    "Go back to where you came from."

    "You are not welcome here."

    "Go back to the sea, your scummy pirates."

    "Bastards don''t come here."

    All kinds of shouts and insults were thrown at them as they approached the shore. Luffy and others were a little surprised but this was the actual response any person could have once they saw the jolly roger of a ship.

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    "Why are they so angry with us?" Luffy was still a little confused.

    Vivi couldn''t take it anymore and shouted back.

    "Please! We are sorry. We are not here to hurt you, But we have a patient who needs immediate medical attention. We just need to show our crew mate to a doctor."

    Everyone was a little surprised by this but they still didn''t budge. They kept on clamoring about the pirates to go back. Ken was getting annoyed and shouted.

    "We have a half dead Wapol with us. If you let us see a doctor, we will hand him over to you along with his subordinates."

    "What?"

    "What did you say? Say that again!"

    A man with huge stature wearing a green vest came forward. He was very tall in respect to others and seemed like he had quite the muscle.

    "You heard me right. You do recognize the ship behind. Right?"

    This man was Dalton, one of the loyal guards of King Wapol once but he had conscience. He served the King for a long time, until Hiriluk, the deceased doctor friend of Chopper, gave him the courage to stand against the King.

    Now he was doing his best to keep the Kingdom safe and help it to stand once again on its feet. Dalton looked at the huge dome shaped ship behind Merry Go and recognized it instantly.

    "You are in collusion with him?" Dalton shouted as his body slowly turned into a huge body which had black hair all over his body, two horns coming out of his head. Dalton had eaten the Ox-Ox fruit and this new form was the hybrid between a man and ox which made him seem like a Minotaur.

    Dalton was ready to fight this group with his power if he was threatened again by Wapol. The men around too pointed their guns at Luffy and his crew.

    "Did you hear what I said, Ox head? I said we will trade things. You can take the half dead Wapol and in return allow us to take a patient to the doctor." Ken said again and this time with a louder voice and clarity.

    "Oye, show him the body." Sanji shouted. The Isshi 20 ran to the deck of their ship and brought out the sleeping body of Wapol. He had bandages in his lower jaw which seemed to be missing altogether. Everybody''s jaw was on the floor looking at it. They had never seen a person with such a weird face but they were sure that this was Wapol. That unique body structure could only belong to Wapol.

    And top it all, he could see the faces of old comrades who had been hiding behind. They were trying to shy away from the eyes of Dalton. They had been having nightmares of what happened with Wapol and they were living in fear at every given second. Though they would be imprisoned here at Drum Island but it was better than living under the fear of the Straw Hat Pirates.

    "Who did this to him?" One of the men asked in curiosity. Everyone had a bright face seeing their old king suffering but they were curious about the reason he had lost his lower jaw and now looked so awkward. The Straw Hat moved their heads and looked at Ken.

    "You did that?" Dalton getting the cue asked.

    "He was being an asshole in the ship and took a bite of my food, so of course my brother here beat him up." Luffy said with a loud mouth. He definitely wasn''t the person who could be silent for a long time and spoke his mind.

    Sometimes Ken wondered if his brother had an inner monologue or not.

 96. Chopper and Dr. Kureha

    "I will treat the patient in exchange for Wapol." A voice came from behind. It was a woman''s voice and from the sound of it the woman probably belonged to someone from an elderly age. The woman walked forward and stood in front.

    Ken recognized her immediately. It was for her that he had come to this Winter Island. Dr. Kureha, the famous Doctorine and of course Chopper, the racoo... I mean the reindeer.

    "Who is this old woman?" Luffy asked while picking his nose. As if in response, the woman who had been wearing clothes that didn''t fit her age at all threw swords and axes at Luffy. Luffy had to dodge in order to escape her attack.

    "Who are you calling old?"

    "Yaaaa... Who is this violent woman?" Luffy looked quite shocked and almost showed fear. Ken was tired seeing his antics and just ignored him. He took Nami on his shoulders and said,

    "Doctor, I think she has a rare disease called Kestia. Can you please check?" Ken came forward and asked.

    "I will be the judge of what disease she had contracted. Give me Wapol first."

    "Hai.. Oye.. Send him the body along with yourself. You have terrorized this country for a long time. It is time you pay for your mistakes." Ken shouted while looking at the other ship. Everyone shuddered listening to Ken but no one dared to argue. They had seen how he treated Wapol. They didn''t want the same treatment.

    Of course, among them there were some who thought themselves too clever. Chess and Kuromarimo had sneakily tried to slip away with a boat of their own.

    "They are running away."

    "Aren''t those the ministers of Wapol? Catch them, don''t let them escape."

    They had gone quite a distance but none of the crew of the Straw Hat moved. Vivi, Robin and Igaram were a little puzzled by the nonchalance of Straw Hats, until they saw Usopp who had just come out with a bow and arrow.

    The arrow and bow looked so beautiful even the citizens of Drum Kingdom had forgotten about the escapees and just watched Usopp pulling the thin blue colored string from the bow.

    And then he released the string. The arrow shot fast in almost breaking the sound barrier and hit right on the small deck of the boat. This shot was enough to break the whole boat into pieces and splash water everywhere. Usopp had used quite a lot of force and this prompted the two ex-ministers to almost fly away in the blast.

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    "Ohh.. Usopp you have been progressing quite fast." Luffy said.

    "Hahaha.. Of course.. I am the famous Usopp Sama."

    Dr. Kureha seeing this had her eyebrows creased. In her long life she had never seen such a move or heard of any devil fruit power to use such a move. It surely looked dazzling but she had no idea what kind of power this was.

    Someone took a small boat nearby to take these ministers out of the ocean. It was freezing cold and they would die if they were in the water for a long time. Dying in this water would be too easy of a death for these men. They deserved proper punishment.

    Wapol was brought to Dr. Kureha by the Isshi 20. Everyone was eyeing the Isshi 20 and looked at them with bad eyes. For the citizens it was because of them that the country suffered though at their hearts they knew that the doctors of Isshi 20 were forced but people wouldn''t just forgive them so easily.

    Dr. Kureha looked closely at the unconscious body but Chopper came from behind and nudged at Dr. Kureha. He was sure it was Wapol because he had already got the smell.

    "Bring the patient with me to that mountain. You come by foot and I will take the sledge." Dr. Kureha ordered as she pointed at one of three peaks of a steep circular mountain.

    "Huh. Why can''t we come in your sledge?" Ken complained.

    "Because I said so."

    "Eh! We don''t have that much time." Ken said as he landed with one jump near Dr. Kureha. Chopper, who was in reindeer form, became a little defensive and came forward to protect Doctorine while Dr. Kureha was just curious what this man was going to do.

    Then seeing the action of Ken, Chopper jumped at him as he saw Ken taking out his Stormbreaker, but before Chopper''s head butt could land on Ken, the Bifrost opened and the 5 people were sucked away.

    "Yaaa... Ken... This bastard left us again. Come back!" Luffy shouted.

    "I wanted to go too." Usopp cried.

    Even Zoro and Sanji were a little reluctant to see Ken just vanishing away. Robin, Vivi and Igaram just gulped seeing this. Even Dalton and the citizens were dumbfounded seeing this. They didn''t understand what had happened.

    "Where.. Where is Dr. Kureha? Where did they vanish?" Dalton''s voice was quivering.

    "Don''t worry. Ken had taken them to that mountain. They are fine." Sanji said as he lit up another cigarette on his lips.

    "Taken them? How?"

    "Ken can teleport with that axe of his. " Zoro replied.

    "Teleport with a weapon? Has technology reached such heights? Who the hell are you people?" Dalton surprisingly believed them. The power of Usopp was enough to make him feel that if these people had any ulterior motives, then they wouldn''t have been talking until now and just used force.

    "We? We are the Straw Hat Pirates and I am Monkey D. Luffy. The one who is going to be a Pirate King.. Shishishi..."

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, the Bifrost dropped near the previous home of Wapol. The castle which Dr. Kureha and Chopper had occupied. Chopper who had jumped at Ken was thrown away by the force of Bifrost. Dr. Kureha looked a little disoriented while Chopper had swirling eyes. The force of Bifrost was too huge and people tended to throw up a bit after their first ride, if their body wasn''t strong.

 97. The will of D

    "You took it quite well." Ken said as he looked at Dr. Kureha and Chopper. Only Chopper was a little dizzy but he soon got back on his feet and was looking at Ken with angry eyes. Dr. Kureha was rather calm as she stood up. She seemed to always know that this person wasn''t going to fight her and Chopper.

    "You kid have a weird Devil Fruit. Now bring me the woman." Dr. Kureha said as she walked away and didn''t bother to ask about the Devil Fruit. Chopper was eyeing Ken but didn''t speak. He just held the collar of Wapol and carried him over the heavy snow. Snow was pouring more heavily on the mountain top along with wind that hit Ken.

    "No wonder nobody wants to live here. This weather is not fit for human civilization. Only the rich could afford staying here."

    Ken said as he followed them. Chopper didn''t mind that Ken was following him but he did keep a distance away from the human who seemed to have weird powers. Meanwhile, Ken placed Nami on a bed after entering a room which had a fireplace. Dr. Kureha was checking on her and said

    "Chopper go and bring..."

    Ken just sat on the nearby chair and looked at Chopper. Though he was listening to Doctorine he kept an eye on him.

    "What are you looking at him for? Change yourself to human form and help me."

    "Huh!!"

    Chopper was flabbergasted by the words of Dr. Kureha. He normally never showed his human form to others as they seemed to perceive him as a monster. The reindeer spoke for the first time in his cute voice.

    "But Doctrine, someone is sitting in the room."

    "Forget about him and work." Dr. Kureha shouted and he almost kicked Chopper. Out of fear he changed back to a cute small human form. After changing to human form he looked at Ken hoping to receive an expression of fear and disgust.

    But in return all he got from Ken was a smile.

    "You should listen to the Doctor. She is too violent."

    Of course in response, Ken received a flying glass which he promptly dodged. Chopper was surprised. Such a reaction was only received by him from Hililuk and Dr. Kureha before. But he didn''t get to gawk at Ken''s reaction anymore as he had to run to help Dr. Kureha.

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    Dr. Kureha just sat at the chair and drank a bottle of wine.

    "Who are you?"

    "Monkey D. Kenny, Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat pirates."

    "D?"

    "My grandfather gave me that name when he adopted me. I am not an actual D."

    "You know about the will of D?" Dr. Kureha asked as she got curious.

    "They just speak about the will of D. Don''t know anything more."

    "You are the Vice Captain? Who is the Captain? That guy who shouts too much?"

    "Yes. He is my brother. Monkey D. Luffy. The one who is going to become the Pirate King."

    "Pirate King? Quite an ambition."

    "It is but I believe he will become one."

    Chopper had returned with various medicines and started administering medicines to Nami who had gone to sleep for sometime now. The cold was too much for her and she needed better care.

    Dr. Kureha and Ken didn''t speak another word as if to make sure nothing goes to the ears of Chopper. Seeing that she was treated well, he went out to see the freezing castle. This castle was way too big and he wanted to see if there was anything interesting.

    He came across the owls that had just given birth and the reason why the castle was kept open. Chopper had a huge liking for these pride of owls and took care of them.

    On the other side, Dr. Kureha was checking on the body of Wapol.

    "What a brutal way to punish someone." Dr. Kureha said after she was done checking on Nami. The Isshi 20 had done whatever they could to keep Wapol alive.

    "Doctorine, who did this to him?" Chopper didn''t have any feeling of joy or sorrow looking at his old enemy. The reason why his mentor died.

    "If I am not wrong, that guy himself did it."

    "Why do you say this Doctorine? Is he bad?"

    "No. I don''t think he is bad. He is rather calm and only does things when someone has crossed a line for him. He is fiercely protective of the things he loves and hates when someone harms his friends. I have seen such people before."

    Chopper was silent and thought of himself from the time his mentor died. He was angry. He wanted revenge at that time but sadly he didn''t have the power at that time. But here is the guy who has the power to change things. Chopper still didn''t understand how he reached the castle in a matter of seconds but his mentor had once said that the pirates were capable of extraordinary things and wondered if Ken was one of them.

    Chopper helped Dr. Kureha to set up Wapol after he was tied to the bed and also looked after Nami. Ken roamed around the castle and also went out. The winter had no effect on him and he was having fun in the snow alone. It used to snow in the village but not at this amount.

    Here the snow was waist deep and he had to jump from one place to another place to move. After an hour having fun in the snow he heard loud shouts from afar. There could be only one meaning to loud shouts. Luffy has arrived.

    Ken flew to meet him and thus landed right next to him, which was near the rope way.

    "Oi Ken, how dare you leave without me? I am the Captain."

    "Sorry Captain, it was already very cold outside and Nami wasn''t feeling well."

    "For Nami-swan this had to be done. But I could have done the same." Sanji replied.

    "It would have taken much more time with you." Ken said as he knew that Sanji could fly but Nami would have suffered from strong winds.

 98. A man with white eyes and a hat

    Luffy and others had already started having fun in the heavy snow. Chopper was done attending the patients and he came out to see who had been shouting and yelling in front of the castle. He peeped out of the side of the door in his iconic ''hiding'' way.

    Everyone turned their head to look at when they heard the snow crunching sound.

    "Who is he?"

    "A raccoon?"

    "Why is a raccoon so high up in the mountain?"

    "Whatever! It looks tasty doesn''t it?"

    "Yeah! I can marinate well and have a feast on it. It will be great so high up in the mountain."

    "I am not a racoon.... I am a reindeer!" Chopper was first scared but then felt insulted when they called him a racoon.

    "Did he just talk?"

    "Yeah he talked."

    "Nani!!"

    "A talking animal."

    "A monster." Usopp shouted. It was this phrase that triggered Ken and he hit Usopp on the head.

    "He is not a monster. Just a being that is special. Have some respect. He is a doctor and he was the one who attended to Nami."

    "Nani?"

    "What?"

    "You are a doctor?"

    "Unbelievable!"

    "Oye.. Oye.. I have thought of a great idea?" Luffy shouted. Everyone looked at the Captain with curiosity about what kind of evil thought he had just brought up.

    "What?"

    "I want him as my nakama." Luffy declared.

    "Huh!"

    "This baka."

    Ken just smiled listening to this. Chopper was going to join their gang of ruffians and it seemed like Luffy had already thought of it. Chopper was taken aback by the words of this Straw Hat boy but didn''t think much about it. But  he didn''t know Luffy. He was a guy who had already made the decision that he was going to kidnap Chopper and so he had already started running after Chopper to catch him and bring him back as the nakama and a crew member. Seeing Luffy running, Usopp too joined.

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    Luffy and Usopp had both used their average power in trying to catch Chopper. Both of them were incredibly fast. Especially Usopp with his sonido. Though he hadn''t perfected it yet, he could use it to traverse at super fast speed. They might be stupid but in some cases they were quite cunning.

    They had the idea of playing with him to catch. Luffy was fascinated by this blue nosed reindeer and he wanted to make him his friend. And so the chase began. Sanji and Zoro just shook their heads looking at it. Robin adored the cute reindeer and in her mind she hoped that the reindeer could join their group. Vivi and Igaram felt a little weird about this new guy but didn''t try stopping the crew.

    Though Vivi had connected well with the crew, Igaram felt a little skeptical. He had never seen such a weird pirate crew. These people were carefree and super strong. The powers of these people were something out of a fantasy. If Ken knew his thoughts, he would have punched him on the head. The whole world of One Piece was close to high-fantasy.

    This whole chase went on for the whole afternoon. Chopper was touched by the sheer determination to make him his friend and at the end Chopper finally accepted just like he did in the original story. Only difference was that Chopper didn''t have to fight Wapol like in the original story.

    Actually, Wapol being handed over to them played a major role in convincing Chopper and also the fact that none of the crew mates gave him any kind of weird eyes. He was welcomed well. Meanwhile, Dr. Kureha had been eyeing this bunch of pirates from the balcony and she could already tell that Chopper was going to be convinced at the end. So she already placed the necessary things required for Chopper on the sledge.

    By the time the chase ended Nami was fully fit and was ready to leave. Luffy and the others came forward and thanked her. But in return all they received was spears, axes and swords thrown at them.

    She blamed them for taking away Chopper while accusing Chopper of being a kid who didn''t know anything. Everyone had to run. Chopper went to the sledge and shouted.

    "Ken, can you use that thing again which you did before?"

    "Of course." Ken said as he could hear her shouts.

    After taking the sledge out, everyone got into it and Ken took out his Stormbreaker.

    "This will be the first time in the Bifrost. Buckle up everyone."

    "Yosh!"

    The thrown spears were almost near their faces when the Bifrost opened and got sucked into it. Luffy and others had the time of their life riding the Bifrost but it only lasted a few seconds.

    "Hahaha.. Let''s do it again!" Luffy shouted as he loved riding the Bifrost.

    But not everyone had a good time. Robin, Vivi and Igaram vomited out whatever Sanji made a few minutes ago. Such speed was not meant for everyone. Chopper had already been subjected to that and thus he was fine.

    "We don''t have time. Next time."

    They were back again at the village near the shores. Sanji and others went out to buy rations for the ship on their journey again. Meanwhile Dr. Kureha had ready with her sakura rockets to give a proper send off to Chopper. It was the dream of his mentor so she wanted to honor that before Chopper left the island.

    Meanwhile, Ken was in a bar to buy some booze when the shopkeeper came forward and asked.

    "Excuse me? But are you by any chance Mister Kenny?"

    "Yes. What''s up?" Ken didn''t care if he was (in)famous or not but he was curious as to why this guy approached.

    "I have heard a lot about you. You are a legend in the seas."

    "Legend? That is debatable. What do you need though?"

    "Uh... A guy came a few days ago and said that he will be waiting for you and Mister Luffy."

    "Who came?"

    "I don''t recognize him but he has white eyes and a hat on his head. After eating he made a run."

    "A hat and white eyes? That idiot. How much does he owe for the food?"

 99. What are your intentions?

    "No.. No.. It''s ok... I don''t need money. He said that he will wait for you in Alabasta."

    "Alabasta? Was he searching for Blackbeard here?"

    Ken asked. If the story still followed the original story, Blackbeard must have stolen the fruit after killing his commander and Ace being the hot head that he was came after Blackbeard. During their time at the island he had tried his best to get Ace control his anger and over sensitivity but he still couldn''t. Seemed like he would have to do something about it.

    Ken knew that Blackbeard had once come here and ransacked the island. There were two theories for that. One was  he came here just to get some money and fun. And the other was deeper than it looked. Blackbeard had been actively hunting for good Devil Fruits. It was already understood when the Devil Fruits of his crew members were revealed later.

    If he came here for the Devil Fruits then there were only two options. One was Wapol''s Devil Fruit and the other was Chopper''s Devil Fruit. Wapol''s fruit was an OP fruit if anyone thinks about it carefully as he could modify things as he wished for. But it also might be for Chopper''s fruit. Chopper''s fruit was rather funny one.

    Hito Hito no Mi : Model Human.

    At first glance this fruit was of no significance just like other Zoan fruit. But then again none of the Devil Fruits which had the term Hito Hito no Mi was normal. One was Luffy himself with the Model Nika and the other was Sengoku with Model Daibutsu (Buddha). Both of these fruits were mythical Zoan. What if Blackbeard came to the island for this fruit and not for Wapol? If it was true than Chopper''s fruit was definitely a huge thing.

    Only time would tell if Chopper''s fruit was a normal Zoan or a mythical one. Though people had proclaimed that the awakening of the Chopper''s fruit was the huge monster he transforms into, he wasn''t so sure.

    Ken then inserted his hands on the bag where everything was kept and took out a bundle of notes and gave it to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was stunned by this as he didn''t know why Punisher Kenny was giving him money.

    "This is for the food which he ate."

    The shopkeeper was surprised. A pirate which had such a high bounty actually had ethics and was paying for some other person. This was very astonishing as the last pirate which came here ransacked them so badly that the King had to flee.

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    There was nothing but destruction left in his wake. And here there was a more notorious pirate with a much higher bounty who insisted on giving back the money who another person owed to him.

    "Thank .. Thank you."

    "Mention not. That idiot has a habit of not paying after eating. Sorry for the inconvenience."

    "It''s .. It''s okay."

    Ken spent a little more time in the shop than required and left for the ship when Nami came calling by. Everything was in place and the rations had been taken care of. Everyone left with a warm smile on their face. They got a doctor from this island and was supposedly one of the top most doctors they could get their hands on.

    Luffy and other core members looked at Ken in anticipation after they set sail, to which Ken just shook his head. He knew what they wanted. Since Chopper had joined the crew and they wanted to see what character Chopper would get but Ken was not ready to share this.

    Not because he didn''t want to, but because Igaram was there. And another reason being Vivi didn''t belong to the crew. He had already decided long ago that only crew members of his would get a share of his powers.

    Luffy seemed like he was heartbroken after realizing that there was no world hopping now but he didn''t complain. He knew by now when to keep his mouth shut. The ship had taken up its full speed and soon they crossed the winter weather. It was Chopper''s first time away from the winter weather.

    At first he felt a little uncomfortable but he soon got used to it. It was there he saw what this new pirate crew was capable of. He thought that only Ken was super powerful but after getting to know the people around did he understand that this crew was more than they seemed.

    Usopp, who at first thought he was a coward like him, realized that he could be super fast when required. He had already seen him using arrows but now he was more than he had shown to others. Nami was a witch and she used magic in everyday purposes.

    Luffy and Ken were ninjas and this was where he went full ballistic with excitement. He wanted to see all the ninjutsus and Luffy was proud to show him. It was there that Robin realized that this guy could actually take down Crocodile.

    In her life she always thought Logia was everything. She had seen how powerful Akainu and Aokiji were. Crocodile had sand logia. But Luffy could neutralize him with ninjutsu alone. She had hope but she didn''t express it outright.

    "This is amazing. Teach me.. Teach me ninjustu."

    Luffy got silent when Chopper asked that. He wanted to speak the truth but stopped himself. He was very bad at lies. Over the years this was one thing he couldn''t get rid of. When Grandpa Garp used to come to meet him, he never used to show his ninjutsu because he didn''t know how he would explain. And same went for Ace and Ken.

    Though Ken always mentioned that Garp might know that something was wrong with them, he never pried on their private life. Now the same thing was happening between him and Chopper was the same as his childhood times. It was Ken who came forward and lied on behalf of the crew.

    "We were taught by a secret master once and he asked us not to tell the ways of a ninja to others. I am sorry Chopper."

    "... Ah! Okay."

    Chopper was a little disappointed but he could also understand. He was happy nonetheless.

 100. Nanohana

    They had to travel for more than a couple of days before they could see the first land again. By this time Vivi and Igaram were sure that this was Alabasta because the weather had been hot and Robin had already checked again with the permanent pointer.

    While crossing they had also passed over the underwater volcanoes and this was a whole new experience for everyone. Even for Ken. In his previous life he had only heard of those and watched them a couple of times in videos. But here the water wasn''t deep so everyone had to smell in sulfur for quite a few  seconds before coming out.

    In the original story, it was here that they would have come across Bon-clay and would make a bond that would transcend enmity. But of course, there was no such case here. Bon-clay had been taken care of from the beginning itself and they would just have to reach Alabasta.

    After an hour more on the sea, they anchored near the port of Nanohana. In order to make sure that the Baroque Works didn''t come after their ship, they had to anchor the ship quite far away from the port.

    "Oye Luffy.. What should we do with her?" Zoro asked while pointing at Robin. The inclusion of Vivi and Igaram was fine because Luffy was already on a roll to beat the shit out of Crocodile. So their aims coincided with Vivi and Igaram. But Robin was different. She was from the enemy''s side. Though she had been helpful until this time, it couldn''t be denied that she belonged to the enemy camp. And now that they were in enemy territory they would have to keep an eye on everything.

    She was someone whose Devil Fruit was unique and could easily be used to pass on information. Luffy looked at Robin for a minute and said.

    "I don''t care. She can leave or stay." Luffy didn''t really care. Somehow he could tell that Robin didn''t actually have any ill intentions for them.

    Robin''s jaw dropped. When she got on the ship she had already thought of running away after coming to Alabasta. Sure, a part of her liked being with the crew, she could tell that this crew was unique and had quite a bit of power.

    But she couldn''t give anyone her full trust. Years of struggle and betrayal had made her realize that. Maybe only her dead mother, Clover and her colleagues from Ohara and Jaguar D. Saul deserved her full trust. She wasn''t sure if anyone could ever win her trust again.

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    Then when she heard the words of Luffy, it really came as a surprise. Even after being the enemy of theirs, she had been treated fair and now she was let go for free without asking anything in return.

    Igaram felt uncomfortable when Luffy said that but didn''t call him out. Vivi could vaguely understand why Luffy didn''t care. It was because they had already taken her down so easily and he had utmost trust that he would be able to take down Crocodile. So if the main head would be taken down, why would he care for someone in lower ranks.

    Robin thought for a second and just shook her head.

    "I will join you. Crocodile is at the Rainbase right now. We would have to travel quite a lot. But after getting to the Rainbase I will leave. I wouldn''t join you in the fight and nor will I come after you."

    Ken just smiled listening to Robin. The first step to joining the crew had been taken. She would soon officially join the crew. None of the crew members said anything more as their Captain had already decided. There was no point in arguing.

    Everyone got out of the ship and looked straight for the town. Of course, Luffy wanted to run but Ken came and stopped him.

    "Baka, if you run away I will never be able to find you. We have someone to meet here."

    "Someone? Who?"

    Ken hadn''t given the information that Ace was supposed to wait for them here so it was still a mystery for him. But since they would have to go for rations and proper clothes, the group got separated. Zoro, Chopper and Robin were one group with special instructions to not let Zoro out of sight or he might just get lost and end up in Dragon Ball.

    Sanji and the two women would form another group responsible for clothes and food. Zoro''s group was responsible for the miscellaneous things required for the crew like medicine, some nails and other required items to repair the ship. Going Merry had been suffering for a bit and so they would need to repair.

    Usopp, Ken and Luffy would form the other group. Igaram had decided to go to Alubarna, the capital of Alabasta,  to meet the King himself and give him an update. Vivi felt a little sad knowing that Igaram was going to leave but she didn''t stop him. It was better that way instead of sending Caroo on a long and lonely journey alone.

    Luffy and Usopp were hungry and both of them were already following their sense of smell to reach a restaurant . Ken just followed them for a bit. His Observation Haki had already made him know that there were not one but two acquaintances in the restaurant that they were approaching. One was Ace himself. Ace had Haki so he was able to easily deflect Ken''s Observation Haki. But he was sure that it was Ace because along with Ace there was another person who was known to Ken and Luffy too.

    Smoker.

    Destiny had brought him here again. The trio soon reached the restaurant and when they entered inside they noticed a complete silence among the customers. It was because the customers were a little scared of what was going to happen. Two people were in a confrontation right now. One was the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and the other was a Marine Captain.

 101. Ace

    Luffy and Usopp were both loud and noisy when they walked in. Their noise broke the silent tension among the two when the trio walked. Luffy first noticed Smoker. At first he didn''t recognize Smoker but after a few seconds of looking at his face, everything came back to him. The guy who was after him in LogueTown and on whom his punches didn''t have any effect.

    "Yaaa. You are that Smokey..."

    "Luffy!!!!! Ken!!!!"

    Another loud voice came from the side. It was then Luffy saw Ace. His eyes sparkled into stars when he saw Ace. Ken had already noticed Ace and just smiled at him. Ace looked quite different from when he last saw. He now had complete white eyes and his hair had grown quite a lot just like Neji.

    "Ace!! You are here...." Luffy shouted and ran to Ace to give him a hug. Smoker was left standing with none of the brothers paying any attention to him. Ken too followed Luffy and came up to Ace to give him a hug. But after the hug a strange situation occurred. Without any warning, Ken clenched his fist and punched Ace right at his face.

    The restaurant which had sturdy walls couldn''t stop Ace from stopping as he flew away destroying consecutive walls. It was just like when Luffy flew in and had hit both Smoker and Ace, sending them flying. Only in this case, Ken had sent Ace flying.

    The eyes of the people had gone wide seeing this. At first they thought that there would be a fight. Then two random people came in and gave the Captain of the Second Division a hug and then he proceeded to punch him in the most brutal way possible.

    What the hell was going on? Even Usopp was confused by what Ken did just now and Luffy too had a puzzled look. Ken didn''t bother answering him and looked at Smoker.

    "You have quite the guts for coming after us with what we did to you." Ken said as he brought out the weapon of Smoker himself. This weapon was taken from him and it was a humiliation for him. Smoker looked at Ken with sharp eyes and said

    "Punisher Kenny, only you have the power to stop me but what about your crew members? I knew that you and Straw Hat Luffy would come here and I have already sent marines in disguise all over the town. You have nowhere to run."

    Smoker seemed a little proud of himself with that. He had known that he might not be a match against Ken or maybe even Luffy who seemed to have many tricks up his sleeve. But this didn''t mean that everyone in the crew would know how to fight.

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    "Oye Ken..I thought you took care of this smokey?"

    "I thought too. Seems like I underestimated him." Ken replied not bothering with the threat to his crew. They were powerful on their own and they would be just fine. Smoker couldn''t take this nonchalance of these pirates anymore and flew to deliver a punch to Luffy. But as he was inches away from Luffy, Ken slammed him with his own weapon in the ground.

    He hit Smoker right on his neck with the edge of the weapon and pinned him with a huge force. Smoker almost cried out in pain and spat at the spot. It was good that he was alone and Tashigi was somewhere else, or else they would have seen their ferocious Captain lying down like a dead fish.

    Smoker got beaten! Again!

    Meanwhile, Ace, who had just been blasted away by Ken, came after getting up. He wasn''t badly hurt or something. Ken didn''t use Haki in this attack and Ace wasn''t using his Observation Haki either. Unlike the original story he was much more proficient in his Haki but he didn''t expect to get hit by Ken.

    After coming back to the restaurant, he looked at Ken with some anger in his eyes. Like others, he too didn''t care how easily Smoker was pinned on the ground. The people around had already left in fear. They had heard Smoker call him Punisher Kenny and Straw Hat Luffy, so they could already guess who these people were.

    One was the 2nd division Commander and now two ''supernovas'' had arrived. It was better to run for their lives. Only the restaurant manager was hiding behind the counter. He couldn''t just leave his restaurant. This was his life.

    "What is the big deal Ken? Why did you hit me?"

    "It''s because Whitebeard wasn''t man enough to beat the shit out of you when he had the chance."

    "What?"

    "Who is Whitebeard?" - Luffy

    "Better question who the fuck is he?" Usopp said while pointing at Ace.

    "Ah.. This is Ace. Our brother. We were brought up together."

    "Nani? Another monster!" Usopp was taken aback. Smoker who was listening was also surprised. There had never been a specific mention of the brothers before and this was the first time he had seen another brother pop up.

    "Ask him who is Whitebeard." Ken said as he answered Luffy. Ace had really followed his original story and joined Whitebeard. And now he was searching for Marshall D. Teach. Before Ace could use more expletives on Ken, there was a huge noise outside. Some of the people who ran had gone to the marines and narrated the whole scene to them and thus many marines had come running by to save the old Captain.

    Listening to the noise of the marines, Ken let go of his hold on Smoker. Ken might mock Smoker but he wasn''t cruel enough to let Smoker be seen by his own subordinates in such an embarrassing situation. He was one of the few navy that was good in the whole of marine and he didn''t want to change that.

    Smoker was surprised by this. Meanwhile, Ken caught Ace and Luffy by their collar and took off. Usopp was spacing for a second and shouted when he saw everyone had left him. He also made a run a second later cursing at Ken

 102. Ace (2)

    "Kenny.. You better not run.." Smoker who just got released from the hands of Ken stormed after the Straw-Hats. He felt humiliated. Not because he couldn''t catch him but he felt that Kenny was purposefully making fun of him by letting him go. This hurt his ego.

    Ken didn''t even bother to look back at Smoker who was running after him. He had already had his two brothers on his shoulders and was running at super fast speed possible for him with the help of Body Flicker jutsu and also jumping in distant strides. Usopp was also running but he was using Sonido from time to time to get away.

    In almost a couple of minutes, the infamous group vanished from the sights of Smoker.

    "Punisher, White-eye Ace and Straw-hat Luffy are brothers. Send this information to the headquarters." Smoker said as he returned to the marines who had been running after Smoker.

    "What?"

    "One previous supernova and the current supernovas are brothers?"

    "This is bad. Are the Straw Hats going to join the Whitebeard Pirates?"

    "If they do, the whole demography of the New World might change."

    This discussion was rampant among the marines as they got to know such a terrifying secret. They were praying that these monsters wouldn''t join the Whitebeard. They were already so dangerous, especially White-eye Ace.

    It was said that White-eye Ace could see your weak points with his white eyes and knew perfect ways to go after those points. Attacking those weak points would make the body immovable. And along with that weird power, came his power of Devil Fruit.

    The Mera Mera no Mi.

    A Devil fruit that was at the same level as the Admirals. Though having a powerful logia fruit wasn''t necessary to become an admiral, it couldn''t be denied that this gave the current admirals an edge over their enemies.

    Meanwhile, Ken and others had finally reached a secluded position away from the eyes of everyone.

    "Ken, how dare you hit me and then run from those cowardly marines."

    "We are not here to cause a ruckus. We have already attracted too much attention."

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "You are the one who caused an uproar on arrival. Why did you hit me?" Ace was still angry and wanted to know why he received such kind of greetings.

    "Don''t you know why you received such greetings? You went against the command of your own Captain. Haven''t you?" Ken asked.

    "Would someone tell me what is going on?" Luffy got frustrated and shouted. He felt left out from the conversation while Usopp was trying to figure out what kind of monster this person was.

    "Luffy... I joined the Whitebeard Pirates."

    "What are Whitebeard Pirates?"

    "Whitebeard is a great man and I consider him as my father. He asked me to join his group so I joined. Do you want to come in?"

    "Eh... You joined another pirate. That''s unique of you Ace. But no thank you. I will be the Pirate King of course, I wouldn''t join another pirate."

    "Hahaha.. I expected that from you."

    "Ken.. You knew about this?" Luffy asked as he didn''t know that Ace had joined The Whitebeard Pirates.

    "I didn''t. But that tattoo on his back was enough for me to know. I didn''t hit you because you joined the Whitebeard Pirates. I hit you because you are after Teach."

    Ace got silent when Ken spoke. Whitebeard did say not to go after Teach as he felt that it wasn''t worth it, but Ace was quite close to Thatch and he just couldn''t let this go. And for that reason he had been after Teach for some time to take revenge in the name of Whitebeard.

    He went against the orders of his Captain and now he was in the open sea.

    "How do you know about Teach?"

    "You went to Drum. You think I am dumb as to not understand why you were in Drum island or do you think I am as ignorant as this idiot."

    "Don''t praise me so much.. I am blushing!!" - Luffy

    "He isn''t praising you.. Ahoo!" - Usopp

    "He killed a friend of mine. I just can''t let him get away."

    "Of course. But do you even know why he killed Commander just for a Devil Fruit?"

    "Do you think I care?" Ace was incensed now as the memories of his friend were coming back to him. Ace still had that anger in him which could never be doused until he had done what he had set out to do.

    "Of course you don''t because you are an idiot."

    Ace''s anger came out in the form of flames burning over his back. He was angry because Ken had attacked his sore spot. Ken would always go after him when he seemed to be angry. This was the only thing Ace didn''t like about Ken.

    "Wow! Ace, you ate a Devil Fruit?" Luffy could easily tell that Ace had eaten some kind of Devil Fruit.

    "Hai.. Mera Mera no Mi. Logia type." Usopp and Luffy were surprised, only Ken gave him a deadpan look. Ken wasn''t surprised by his Devil fruit but he was still angry at Ace for leaving the crew. After coming to this world he was trying to avoid the marineford war but this idiot was still after him.

    "What do you know about Teach?" Ace asked as he was curious of what his brother knew. His brother had always been an all knowing guy so he wanted to see what Ken had known.

    "The Devil fruit which he ate is Yami Yami no mi. A logia type fruit which is unique."

    "How do you know this?"

    "Didn''t you ask the villagers in Drum Kingdom about how he attacked..."

    "......For god''s sake Ace, you are a ninja and you went after an enemy without knowing anything at all?"

    "Uh.. Nani, he is a ninja too?" -Usopp

    "Yeah. We brothers became ninjas long ago. Those eyes of his are called Byakugan which can see through the chakra points of one person." - Luffy.

 103. Ace (3)

    Usopp understood that by ninja he meant that he was taken for a tour in Ken''s Devil fruit and thus gained the character of a ninja. How many ninjas are there exactly and how come he didn''t get one? Though he loved the fact that his own character was really powerful, he envied Luffy and Ken sometimes.

    And now there was another one with the character of a ninja. Usopp had made up his mind that he would try to complete his character as fast as possible so he might get the chance to get ninja from the Devil fruit of Ken.

    "He is just a nobody with some logia devil fruit powers. Why should I care?" Ace argued.

    "You have met Shanks haven''t you?" Ken asked.

    "Shanks? You met Shanks? Really? How is he? Is he good? Where is he?" Luffy got excited at the mention of Shanks.

    "Yes. I wanted to meet him because he had saved your life so I wanted to pay regards. What of it?"

    "Really? Ace... You are such a good person." Luffy had sparkles in his eyes while Ace felt a little embarrassed for showing his caring side to Luffy. He always used to call Luffy by crybaby and thus he felt if he showed Luffy his vulnerable side, Luffy might lose respect.

    But then again, Luffy never cared for his feelings and was just happy to see one of his brothers take care of him.

    "Do you remember those scars on his right eye? Those scars which seemed like a claw mark?" Ken asked. Ace stiffened at this question. He didn''t spend much time with Shanks that time because he was an upcoming supernova at that time and many people in the crew felt uncomfortable having him around Shanks. Though Shanks and his immediate crew were very close to him, others who worked for Shanks didn''t feel the same way.

    But he did remember that claw marks on his eye.

    "That claw mark?... Huh.." At that time, he remembered the signature weapon of Teach. Teach always carried a metal claw that he put on his knuckles to fight. If what Ken was pointing out was true, then Teach had once clashed with Shanks and had managed to wound Shanks.

    "You are saying Teach had once clashed against Yonko?"

    "Yes."

    "But how is that possible? He is a nobody while Shanks is a Yonko."

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    "I don''t know. But I just know that they had clashed. A person who could injure a Yonko should always be respected while here you dive head first into something that you don''t have the picture of."

    "How do you know this? Nobody spoke of this to me."

    "Does it matter?"

    Ace was silent as he didn''t know what he should say here. It was his fault that he didn''t gather more information about his own crew mate. Teach had been living with them for such a long time and now it seemed that there were many aspects that he didn''t have any idea about.

    "But I am not going to stop just because he clashed with a Yonko. I will bring him to my father."

    Luffy for the first time heard about the scars of Shanks. He had seen them before but never asked him, thinking it was some kind of confrontation he had in the sea. Now it seemed like there was a story behind it. Ken just sighed seeing that. He already knew that his words would just fall in deaf ears.

    Ken had been living with him for quite a long time and even after years of telling him to change his hotblooded ways, this stupid guy didn''t. Now it was too late. He was an adult and there was no way he was going to listen to Ken.

    "I knew you would say this. Idiot brother of mine."

    "Who are you calling an idiot?"

    "I am."

    "You are an idiot."

    "No, you are..."

    "No, you..."

    Seeing the banter both Usopp and Luffy laughed and later Luffy joined in the argument saying both of them are idiots.

    "No wonder they are brothers." Usopp thought seeing the brothers lose some brain cells while being together.

    "Ace, do you want to go for another character?" Ken asked after some time. Since he couldn''t stop Ace it was better to give him some help while he can. Ace had already finished the character of Neji long back in the sea and he needed a second boost.

    "Another one? Am I allowed?"

    "Of course. Didn''t you see I have already become a ninja."

    "Who did you become?"

    "Obito."

    Hearing the answer Ace got silent. Obito was the reason he had died in the war and now his brother has taken the character of his murderer? What a twist.

    "With the Ten Tails?"

    "Of course no. It''s a devil fruit. Not a God."

    "So can I go for another character?"

    "Of course."

    "Oye Ken, when will you be sharing the powers with the other crew members?"

    "I hope soon enough after we see who has genuinely joined the group officially. They haven''t joined as of yet. By the way, do you want to come with us?" Ken asked.

    "Do you even need to ask?" - Luffy and Usopp

    ''System, simulate a character for Ace.''

    With that monologue in his mind, all the 4 people vanished in their places and were thrown into a different dimension.

    [

    Simulating character for Portgas D. Ace.

    ...

    Simulating.

    ...

    Choosing character..

    ]

    Ace had already disappeared from their place while Luffy, Usopp and Ken were looking at the character which Ace had taken over as a new character. Ken''s eyes got wide open when he saw the character that Ace was given.

    Ace was born in a normal family with both father, mother and even an elder brother. The family was happy and his brother really loved him to death. But everything when the fire nation...

    *cough*

    *cough*

    I mean everything changed when a dragon attacked their village and in this attack, Ace''s family including Ace himself died.

 104. One wasnt enough

    "What.. Those stupid dragons killed Ace.. I am going to kill them."

    "Who are these dragon bastards... Come and I will face them alone. Great Captain Usopp will kill them all."

    Both Usopp and Luffy were agitated seeing Ace die. They were looking forward for a great adventure for Ace and they were sure that these dragons were never shown before when they had visited their own worlds. Hermione''s world had dragons but it was very rare in her world and they were in heavy control.

    "Calm down. The story hasn''t ended." Ken said as he already could recognize what the story was about. And it was true, the story didn''t end there. Luffy and Usopp were sad because the death of Ace meant that he wouldn''t get any new cool powers but it was nothing like that.

    The brother of Ace was obsessed with bringing his brother back to life and he did everything possible to do so. And at the end his elder brother was successful. The boy came back to life. but now he was different.

    He had less emotions and almost became like a robot. Seeing no way out, his elder brother did a very different thing. He took his brother and left it under the care of a dragon.

    And the name of the dragon was Igneel. Yup, that small child was none other than Natsu Dragneel, One of the Dragon Slayer. The story went on just like the original story. Natsu was taught all of the fire dragon magic and was raised to be a Dragon Slayer. And he wasn''t the only one, he became friends with Wendy, Sting, etc.

    But life wasn''t as pleasant. Aconologia, another dragon slayer had been killing dragons all over the continents and in order to defeat him, Natsu was thrown to the future where Igneel and the otehr dragons hoped that their children would be able to defeat Acnologia.

    This was a long story but there was one thing very consistent of the story, the power of friendship. This meant that even in the most hopeless situations Natsu would get a power up and defeat his enemy. Usopp and Luffy were so happy seeing this that they even shed a bit of tears.

    "What are you crying for?" Ken was annoyed by this.

    "Baka this is tears of happiness. It means we can defeat our enemies too if we have a purpose."

    ''Power of friendship isn''t going to save you when Kizaru arrives.'' Ken had this thought but didn''t speak it out loud. The story of Natsu went on and finally it was revealed that he himself was the END and the curse of Zeref.

    Later everybody''s mind was blown when it was revealed that Dragon Slayer magic could actually make someone a dragon by the process of dragonification. Of course, later Igneel who was sealed inside the body of Natsu came forward and said that it will never happen as he had stopped the process when he was sealed inside.

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    This is was great story from the point of view of Luffy and Usopp as this story portrayed so much adventure as these two often craved for and they got to see such huge powers of Natsu, Zeref and even Acnologia who was menace for hundreds of years.

    Later with much help from other Dragon slayers he was able to defeat Acnologia and everyone cheered when they saw that. With that Ace was done with the character and was brought back to the real world

    [

    Second character of Portgas D. Ace - 60% complete. All the negative effects of dragonification and illness to travel in carriages or ships had been removed

    ]

    When Ken heard the notification of the system he was jealous. The two min problems of Dargon Slayers were their notion sickness and losing themselves when they were fully dragonified. But apparently the system had removed it, which meant that he could easily become a dragon like Acnologia and keep the sanity. This was a huge cheat for Ace.

    "Welcome back Ace."

    Ace looked different when he was back to the real world. Under his eyes there were already signs of dragonification and even his hands had signs of scales on that. Though Ace wasn''t emitting any fire, his body felt extremely hot.

    Magic was really powerful!

    "Thank you Ken."

    "You don''t have to care about the problem of dragonification and the bad affects of the curse. You can change yourself into a dragon when you complete the character or meet certain percentage. And if you really want to thank me then go back to the place you came from."

    "You know I can''t do that."

    Ken was ready to reprimand Ace with more insults, when he heard a sound from the system.

    [

    Monkey D. Luffy had completed his character.

    ]

    Ken stiffened when he heard that. He didn''t expect that another brother too had completed the character and that too on the same time when Ace got a new character.

    "Luffy did you finish your character?"

    "Hai.. All these excitement made me feel that now I have full control of Hiruzen''s power... Shishishishi.."

    "What you completed too? When will be my time?"

    "Don''t worry Usopp.. I completed it after years. I am sure you will faster than me."

    Though Usopp could understand what Luffy meant but he still felt a bit down.

    "Seems like my brother has grown up.. hahahah." Ace was happy seeing his brother complete the character at the same time as him. This was a great news.

    "Luffy do you want to go for your own adventure?"

    "Of course!"

    ''System give the second character to Luffy''

    [

    Simulating a new character for subject Monkey D. Luffy

    ..

    Simulating..

    ..

    Character chosen.

    ]

    They were back at the system space and Luffy vanished from his spot. He was really happy to see himself again going for an adventure. It had been a long time since he had last gone for himself and now it was that time again.

    The story opened with a young child in the rain crying. The child had overgrown spiky hair, wore a white shirt and a half pants. The child also had a dark green sleeping eye mask on his head. He looked really sad in the rain until an old man came and said

    "Don''t be sad. In times like these you gotta stand tall and smile big. You will be able to go to school soon..."

 105. Back to Going Merry

    "Fuck!!"

    Ken spat out when seeing the small kid. That was all he could come up with when he saw the kid. He knew who this character was and knew how outrageous he was.

    "What? What happened? Is the child no good? I feel like he doesn''t have any powers and a crybaby like Luffy." Ace said as he felt apprehensive as he felt it might be a waste for Luffy.

    "No, he will do fine. Actually, he will do more than fine."

    "Really?" Usopp and Ace were curious about this new character and just waited to see how it would turn out in the end. At that moment, Ken felt envious of Luffy, the character which Luffy got this time was probably the most OP character one could get. More OP than Sanji.

    Sanji at the end was able to change the world and had near godly powers, but Luffy got the character of a God, a literal God. No scratch that, this character was the King of Gods. He wondered if he could ever get such kind of character later.

    But Ken also knew that it had its drawbacks. He was pretty sure that Luffy might not ever be able to complete the character. The story went on where that small boy grew up and was busy with his life. But they could vaguely understand that this guy was taught by his grandfather and knew various kind of martial arts.

    It could not be denied that even Ace who had been fighting for a long time was impressed by the moves.

    "He is still weak." Ace commented. Usopp too nodded his head. At this point even Usopp could tell that he could beat the shit out of this guy at this moment with body strength alone. But this was where both were wrong.

    Soon a tournament started when he grew up. The tournament that went by the name ''God of High School'' and this was where everything changed. This was where they came to know that this guy was something else.

    This was where he started getting flashbacks of his past and he got a small hold of his old powers and this was where it blew the minds of others.

    "Who the fuck is he?" Usopp couldn''t help but ask as they got a glance of his old memories.

    "Jin-mori, you can say he is the reincarnation of Sun Wukong. A god. A  god who went to war against the heavens itself."

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    "Heavens? You mean like heaven, heaven?" Usopp had his eyes open wide.

    "Yup."

    "Fuck!!" - Both Usopp and Ace spat out just like Ken before. This was really outrageous. As the story went on, the more ridiculous it became as more of his powers showed up. Of course, in the middle he was betrayed but at the end the prophecy of Gaia came to fruition and he became the all powerful God.

    With that the simulation ended and Luffy was thrown out. He looked a little exhausted after coming out but there were already changes in his physical body. His rubbery body had more muscles. More defined muscles in his hands, abs on his abdomen, his thighs and legs looked like they had been inserted quite a bit of muscles with high density.

    And the greatest change Luffy had was his eyes. His pupils now had a cross sign in the middle of it. It was said that those eyes could discern lies, could see through both organic and inorganic materials.

    [

    Simulation complete

    Subject Monkey D. Luffy character completion of Jin- Mori (Dan-mori/ Sun Wukong) 10%

    ]

    The first notification came and that was expected. Higher the power, lower will be the completion rate. Only Usopp seemed to be growing fast against all odds. Otherwise, even Sanji was slow as only progressing 2 percent.

    "Luffy..Luffy.. Are you alright?" Ace went and held his brother. He was little scared thinking the transformation might have done damage to his body. Ken used his sharingan to see if there was an kind of damage. Though he couldn''t see things like Ace could with his byakugan, he could at least see through the overall problem of Luffy.

    He could tell that Luffy was fine and just needed rest. And finally they were back again at the real world.

    "He is fine. He is just exhausted." Ken said as Ace took him on his shoulder. Luffy had already gone to sleep.

    "We will need loads of meat after he wakes up." Ken reminded.

    "There is still meat left after the last hunt in the ship." - Usopp said

    "The crew is going to be pissed when they will know that we have traveled without their involvement."

    "There was no other way. Vivi and Robin are new and they haven''t joined the crew. If they join then we can led them in."

    "We need to go back to the boat."

    Ken nodded as he brought out his Stormbreaker. Without waiting for Ace to talk who was confused, he opened the Bifrost and vanished from hi spot. The next moment they appeared near the Going Merry Ship.

    The ship was anchored quite far from the port so the navy hadn''t been able to find the ship. Plus, Banchi, the turtle was looking out for the ship as Ken asked it to do so after he used his sharingan powers on him using genjustu.

    "What the fuck was that?" Ace was scared for a second. he didn''t expect to just be sucked into a weird rainbow bridge before ending in a totally different place.

    "I can teleport people now with the Stormbreaker."

    "Huh?"

    "You are lucky that I don''t know the location of Sphinx island or Moby Dick''s location, or else I would have taken you forcefully."

    "Can you stop with that?"

    ".. Ah Usopp.. Ken.. You guys are here? Eh! Who is he? What happened to Luffy?" came a voice from the deck of the ship. It was Zoro who had returned. Chopper to poked his head from the deck.

    "This is Ace. My brother."

    "Your brother? Ace? Isn''t he white eye Ace?"

 106. To Rainbase

    "Yes. Ace, this is Zoro and Chopper. That is Robin."

    Everyone greeted each other. Chopper being the doctor of the ship checked Luffy and said that he was fine and just needed some rest and food. Meanwhile, Sanji and others came running by.

    "Oye hoist the sails we are leaving." Nami shouted from afar. From far, others could see that a bunch of marines were running after them. Everyone didn''t waste a second and took out the anchor and hoisted the sails. Ace had made a run to get his small ship and promised to meet up on the sea.

    "What happened to Luffy?" Sanji was confused just like others but Usopp and Ken were silent about it. They couldn''t explain what had happened.

    The marines came after them, but they weren''t able to catch them as the Going Merry proved to be too fast for them.

    Ace finally met up in the sea and tied his boat to their ship.

    "I am Ace. Nice to meet you."

    "He is so polite. More polite than Ken."

    "Yeah. He knows all the manners."

    "How were these brothers even brought up?"

    "The sea is such an amazing place." This was another embarrassment for Ken as he had his hand on his forehead.

    Of course, they weren''t able to escape from Nanohana so easily as they had many ships barricading their way to the next destination.

    "Ace, we have friends."

    "Hmm.. They must be hungry for some snacks."

    "Who is going to take care of them?" Nami asked as she wasn''t as scared as before. She didn''t want any problem in Nanohana because this was in Alabasta and they didn''t want a bad name for themselves and later Vivi''s father might be accused of being someone who colluded with pirates so they had been extra careful.

    But here it was the open sea and these were just bounty hunters.

    "I will. I want to try some new moves." Ace said as he jumped from the ship to his boat.

    "Let''s see how capable the 2nd Commander of the famous Whitebeard Pirates is." Zoro commented as he knew of Ace since he had been a bounty hunter once.

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    And Ace didn''t disappoint. Ace took the small boat which was powered by his own Logia and sailed in extreme fast speed to the barricade.

    "Everyone, get ready.. This is White-eyed Ace. We will get a great price if we catch him."

    "He is just a single guy. What can he do.. hahaha.."

    "What 2nd Division Commander, more like a second rate pirate.. Hahaha.."

    Those chants were ringing among the bounty hunters and Ken could easily hear them. He had been trying to get himself a new power. The power that Enel had.

    Enel knew Observation Haki to a great degree but he could use it in the most efficient way possible. Due to his Logia he could use his Observation Haki to hear the statics created by electricity. So using that he could hear people from kilometers away without even trying.

    This was a whole new level of using Observation Haki and now Ken had finally got a hold of the exclusive power. His Observation Haki not only gave him the power to understand the moves of his opponents but also allowed him to listen to people from far away.

    Ken smiled as he had taken another leap. Years of training were coming to fruition.

    Meanwhile Ace had sailed very close to his enemies. The Baroque Works bounty hunters seemed ready with their weapons and cannons. Ace took both his hands near his mouth and made it like he was going to use his hands as a pipe.

    "What is he doing? Is he performing the same move like you and Luffy do? Blow fire?"

    "Is he a ninja Ken?"

    "Yes. His eyes are white because he is a ninja too. Those eyes allow him to look into the chakra points or the blood flow of a person and they have special attacks that could affect those points. But I don''t think this is a ninjutsu."

    "Then what is it?"

    ''Kary¨± no H¨­k¨­'' (Fire Dragon''s breath)

    A large circular magical circle in front of the mouth of Ace as he blew into it after taking a huge breath. His mouth then proceeded to spit fire. Many here had seen Luffy and even Ken using the same technique but this was different. This single attack from Ace which was just fire assaulted the first ship and blew but it didn''t stop there. The fire attack continued and the barricades that were built in line were all blown away with the same fire.

    The fire seemed alive as it devastated anything that came in its way. Usopp, who had already seen Natsu''s power when they were inside, couldn''t help but nod his head. But the others had their jaws dropped. Sanji clenched his fist. He could also control fire and even use it with his legs but it was still difficult for him to do so much long distance damage.

    Until he could get access to Hysterical Strength, it would be tough. Zoro too could destroy them but it was noy possible with one single attack. Seeing this both of them again had a reality check and understood that they need to progress more on their characters.

    After getting rid of the bounty hunters Ace was back at the ship.

    "Ace is so awesome."

    "Can you join us?"

    "Yes.. yes.. Ace, please join us." Chopper and Nami had already become fans of Ace after seeing this. Especially Nami, she was a witch and she could easily tell that this was magic. Nami could already guess that Ace had been given access to another character by Ken but she didn''t call it out.

    But she was definitely interested in magic as she asked Ace about the magic that he used. Of course, Ace was happy to help Nami and with cheers the ship sailed. Luffy was still sleeping soundly and his snores were loud for everyone to hear. Chopper came forward and asked

    "What happened to Luffy?"

    "Something happened. You will soon know Chopper. Your time will come soon."

 107. Haki

    "Are you hiding something from me?" Chopper asked in a very meek tone. After joining the crew and seeing the power levels of his crew mates he felt a little left out and was suffering from a low self esteem at the moment. And he could also feel that there was something that the Captain and his crew were hiding, but he was too shy to ask them.

    Chopper was feeling a little left out in all of this.

    "Sorry, Chopper. There is something but there are guests here on the ship as you have seen and one even was our enemy before. We can''t trust them with secrets as of yet. As soon as the crew is safe from outsiders I promise you that I will tell you the strongly guarded secret of the Straw Hat Pirates. "

    Chopper eyes shone as he heard that. All this time he was thinking it might be because he wasn''t strong enough that this so-called secret wasn''t being told to him. But now he realized that the reason was because of the guests.

    "No.. No.. I am sorry for doubting you. I understand." Chopper again had a smile on his face. Ken smiled and just petted his head. No matter what Chopper was a cute reindeer and he couldn''t help but have a liking for such cute animals.

    The ship had started sailing again at full speed in order to anchor near Eramalu. And from there they would go towards Rainbase to take down Crocodile. After taking down, he would be brought to trial and hopefully this would stop the rebellion caused by Koza.

    At least that was the plan. After hours of sailing, Luffy who had fallen asleep finally woke up. Ken already knew that this guy would be hungry after eating so he had flown away to bring in more meat. And as expected, when Luffy woke up the first thing he shouted was

    "MEEEEEAAAAAAATTTT."  (Nikuuuuuuuu...)

    Sanji was already alerted for this and he had started cooking from long ago so there was already a pile waiting for him when Luffy woke up. It was there when the crew mates saw the most significant change of Luffy.

    His eyes had changed. Though his eyes didn''t execute any power, the sight alone was able to captivate everyone present.

    "Luffy-san, where did you get those eyes?" Vivi couldn''t help but ask. Like Vivi, Robin too was curious about what happened to their Captain.

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    "Huh? Eyes? Did something happen?" Luffy was confused as he had not seen himself in the mirror. Chopper ran and brought back a mirror for him to see himself. When Luffy saw himself he was a little taken aback but he could realize why this was the case.

    The new character had changed his eyes, and in fact even though he wasn''t able to tap into the actual powers of the eyes he could now feel that with his eyes he could see through many things. The ship, the people around, the sea, the wind. He could see through each of them and even could vaguely feel the things around.

    Luffy had finally awakened his Observation haki!

    "Ahh I don''t know what happened. I got exhausted and I just slept." Luffy spoke the half truth and laughed out loud. His laughter seemed fake and anyone hearing that laugh could tell that there was something Luffy was hiding and so were Ace, Ken and Usopp for Vivi and Robin.

    But they didn''t mind. They could understand why it was like that. Meanwhile, Luffy was trying to understand his new powers. He could tell that he had changed after he got access to Observation Haki.

    "Luffy, did you get access to Observation haki?" Ace came forward and asked.

    "Haki? You mean the same thing which Ken used to speak of? I feel like it can predict nature."

    Ken, who was listening to the conversation, threw a stone picked up from the garden at Luffy which he easily avoided. .

    "Yes, he has awakened Observation Haki." Ken said with a smile. Finally, the last brother was able to awaken this.

    "What is Observation Haki?" Sanji asked.

    "Haki is the fundamental thing. If you want to stand at the top, you must have it and especially in the New World. Without it in the New World, you will die. There are three types of Haki.

    Observation Haki - This allows a user to predict an opponent''s moves. This also allows a person to gauge the number of people in a certain area. The more proficient you are, the better you will be able to predict. Some people are so efficient in this that they can see the future. Example, Usopp''s father can easily see the future since he is the sniper of the Red haired Pirates." Ace said Ken had already given a rundown of their crew mates.

    "Huh! My father? My father is so awesome?" Usopp was ecstatic hearing praise from Ken. Even with his current powers to the max wouldn''t allow him to look into the future. If his father could do it, it meant he was in a league of his own.

    "Shanks is a Yonko along with the likes of Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom. They are the rulers of the other half of the Grand Line. So of course they are powerful." Now Ken started explaining the next Haki.

    "The next is Armament Haki.." With those words. Ken showed his hands which had turned black. This surprised everyone.

    "Ken, you finally learnt this?" Ace asked as he remembered his brother once complained about it when they were children. At that time he didn''t understand but later he did when he came to the New World.

    "Yeah. This Haki allows the user to hurt Logia users. Yes, you heard it right. One can hurt a logia or any kind of Devil fruit user with this Haki. But this is just the start. With this Haki you can not only hurt your opponents but with high proficiency you can destroy the enemy''s inside with this Haki alone."

 108. The secrets spilled

    Luffy and others were amazed by this. They didn''t expect that such a thing even existed. This was a whole new territory for this.

    "So you mean to say that I can only defeat Smokey when I learn this Armament Haki?" Luffy always had a better IQ when it came to fights. All the brain capacity would turn on when there was a fight situations involved.

    "Not only Smoker, but also Crocodile. He has Logia Sand-Sand fruit. You will need Haki to defeat him but there is a weakness for him. He can stop his body to elementalise if you attack him with moisture. In other words, if you use punches while your hands are wet, you can beat the shit out of him."

    "Really? This is great. Wait for me Crocodile. I will beat the shit out of you."

    "So Crocodile has such weakness. Didn''t know that." Robin commented.

    "I will just beat the shit out of Crocodile.."

    "This is totally a new information for me. Haki, huh! Times are getting serious." Sanji lit up a cigarette. He thought with his character alone it would be enough but the world wasn''t as simple as he thought.

    "I just need to stop Crocodile."

    "Alright we know ... Now stop." Zoro gave a smack at the head of Luffy with his hilt. About Observation Haki, he had already known of this as his breathing technique had allowed to learn this quite early.

    "There is another type of Haki. This Haki can''t be trained and only the few chosen ones have that, only the lucky ones are born with it. It is called Conqueror''s Haki. As the name implies, only a conqueror can have that Haki."

    "Born with it?"

    "Eh? One can''t learn it?"

    "So weird."

    There were discussions and murmurs among the crew. They thought Haki was fundamental but now they came to know that some people are just born lucky.

    "Some people are born lucky. Ace here has that." Ken said.

    "What? Ace? You are one of the lucky ones? Hahah.." Luffy didn''t even think for a second that he might not have the Conqueror''s haki and was just happy that his brother had one. Ace seemed a little shy as he heard the praise of his brothers.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "Luffy you too have it." Ken said as he needed these people to know about their own powers in the journey forward.

    "Huh? Me?"

    "Luffy you too have it. This is awesome."

    "Wow, Luffy you are so lucky."

    The crew mates and Ace believed Ken and already accepted that Luffy has Conqueror''s Haki as Ken had never been wrong. Everyone congratulated him.

    "Luffy isn''t the only one who has this. Zoro has it too."

    This statement stiffened everyone. They thought having this Haki was incredibly rare but now two of their own crew mates had this. Even Ace was surprised. This Haki was incredibly rare and this was even in his father''s crew

    "I? How do you know that I have this Conqueror''s Haki?"

    "A person without that Haki can never defeat Mihawk. You want to be the best in the world. Right?"

    "What does this Haki do by the way?"

    "Generally, a single move of this Haki would make the people who has lower willpower to faint and that is the basic use of it. But if one needs to stand at the top, he needs to use this Haki just like Armament Haki."

    Everyone gulped their throats when they heard the explanation. They didn''t expect that someone would faint with just one use of this Haki and only because one didn''t have will power. Luffy and Zoro just smiled at this new knowledge.

    "What about me? What about me? If this marimo has this, I also must have it." Sanji was agitated when Zoro was named but he wasn''t.

    "I am sorry Sanji, I don''t know about you. You are supposed to have one but you reject your own blood in your own fear and get distracted by women too often."

    "Bloodline? What is he talking about?"

    "What do you mean Ken?"

    Sanji stiffened when he heard that. He looked at Ken with wide eyes as he didn''t expect Ken to know of the bloodline secret. He had never spoken of this secret to anyone since he came to East Blue but it seemed like Ken knew of it.

    "You.. You.. You know of my father?" Sanji was shaking as he asked that. His voice croaked and he gritted his teeth in anger.

    "Personally? No. But I have heard of him. Luffy can be dumb enough to invite people but someone needs to make sure that the person who enters the ship are legitimate enough."

    "Oye, Ken what are you talking about? Is there something wrong with Sanji?" Luffy was confused and so were the others.

    "Then if you knew, why did you let me in?" Sanji clenched his fists. He was ready to leave the crew if he was asked to. He knew his past and he was ready to face the axe for it.

    "Your birth doesn''t define you. Your actions do. You refuse your own powers just because you hate your father and brothers, just like my brother Ace."

    "Why am I being brought here?" Ace shouted. Everyone turned their heads at Ace as they were curious what Ken meant. Ken had been unloading one bombs after another and it was blowing the minds of the people.

    First Haki, second was the mysterious family of Sanji and now there was a third one related to Ace.

    "You know who your actual father is, but you refuse to acknowledge that and go after his rival."

    "Ace''s father? Isn''t Luffy''s father also Ace''s father?" Nami asked.

    "No. Ace''s father was Roger, the Pirate King." Luffy spilled the secrets instantly, Ace got angry at this and started pulling the cheek of Luffy in anger and in retaliation Luffy too pulled Ace''s cheek which soon turned into a brawl.

    While the brawl continued, everyone in the crew were sweating. Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger. What the hell was up with these brothers?

 109. Kungfu Dugongs

    "I don''t acknowledge him as my father. My father is Whitebeard. He is the only one." Ace declared as he felt irritated. He never wanted that label but somehow it stuck with him. Of course, nobody hated him for this. They were pirates to begin with and the father of Ace had conquered everything. Everyone had starry eyes when they looked at Ace. Especially Usopp and Chopper. They wanted to be pirates from the start and now Ace was the son of the great Pirate King.

    This was a privilege in the eyes of the two.

    "This crew has too many high profile people." Robin murmured.

    "Yeah. A bunch of monsters." Vivi said and for the first time they were in agreement with each other.

    "What about the bloodline of Sanji? I still didn''t understand." Usopp was still curious about Sanji as there seemed to be a secret. Sanji hung his head in shame. He felt like everyone was judging him with his eyes as he felt guilty. Luffy could see it and said.

    "It doesn''t matter where Sanji comes from and what he did in the past. I don''t care."

    Sanji shuddered at those words. He looked at Luffy and almost had tears in his eyes. He couldn''t believe what Luffy said. His Captain didn''t even care about his past and just accepted him.

    "What are you brooding about? I accepted you after knowing and even your mentor Zeff knew about it. He still accepted you. Stop living in the past and accept what you were born with."

    "What? Owner Zeff knew?"

    "He had a vague idea about it and he still didn''t care. Same goes for us. Everyone here has past. So it doesn''t matter. But Sanji, if you really want to achieve great heights don''t reject yourself."

    Sanji just nodded his head but Ken knew that Sanji wasn''t ready. Nobody asked Sanji anything more about his past since Luffy declared that he didn''t care and they respected the Captain. Even Ken, who was the master of spilling secrets, shut his mouth.

    There were some things that only Luffy had powers over and everyone was fine with it.

    The ship continued sailing but there was a subtle change among the crew members. Luffy and Zoro were both discussing the Haki with Ace while Sanji just buried himself in cooking. He was a little depressed and so he wanted to get rid of it with his work.

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    Nami and Usopp got serious about completing their characters. Especially Nami who was very close to completion. She had already started practicing more vigorously as she tried remembering all the spells and knowledge she knew.

    She was already using magic to draw the charts of the ocean and thus she didn''t spend much time on drawing and was rather practicing magic when she could. After a sail for 2 days, they had finally reached the shores of Eramalu. A small town built just near the divide of Alabasta.

    The ship anchored at a place near the abandoned harbor. But as Zoro lowered the anchor his eyes met with a unique sea creature that came in a group.

    The Kungfu Dugongs.

    "What are these?"

    "The Kung Fu Dugongs. They are the local sea turtles who reside in this part of the sea. They are known for strong body and they go around challenging everyone."

    "How are these called Dugongs when they are not even Dugongs. At best they should be called Kungfu Turtles, not Kungfu Dugongs."

    "Hahhaha.. Ken-san I don''t know about that." Vivi seemed a little embarrassed. It was true, these sea creatures didn''t look like Dugongs at all. Of course, when Ken was talking with Vivi, someone went forward and challenged the Dugongs and that idiot would be Luffy.

    He won with no cap.

    And then, these small sea animals were ready to follow Luffy.

    "Luffy, we are not going to take them." Nami shouted.

    But then the Dugongs showed the iconic ''Puss in the boots'' cat''s eyes to Nami and Vivi. This made the two women guilty and they didn''t know how to reject. Chopper was the one who came forward and solved the problem after offering them food. It was good that everyone in the crew, the magical bag or else Luffy would have been subjected to an earful.

    Ace joined them because he wanted to know the location of Blackbeard and Ken didn''t bother to tell him his location. They were going to meet Blackbeard anyway in that awful town so they were going to meet Teach long before Ace would. Ken already had a plan in his mind to deal with that scum.

    The group moved swiftly through the abandoned town and they saw the horrors that this place had gone through. There was no vegetation and they even came across a dried up skeleton. The more they saw, the more the crew got incensed. Vivi was shaking as tears rolled through her eyes.

    Luffy and others too got angry as they vowed to take very ''good care'' of Crocodile. Ken just looked at their reactions and thought.

    ''This is nothing. What Crocodile did is nothing as compared to the atrocities done by the World Nobles, Kaido, Doflamingo. Crocodile at least had a goal in mind and ethics. He even saved Ace once in the war. The others don''t even have a conscience.''

    Of course, Ken wasn''t stupid enough to spill everything. The crew needed to learn it by themselves. The group soon was in an open desert and it became extremely hot. But there was relief in all of this. Banchi had come to help.

    Banchi was a creature that could move fast in the desert too. So Robin with the help of Nami attached a carriage behind Banchi. And thus instead of treading on hot and scorching sun, everyone was inside a luxurious carriage.

    "Nami, you are so awesome." Chopper appreciated this the most as he was a winter animal and hot weather wasn''t for him. Nami looked proud as she had made the carriage out of magic and even installed a fan inside to help with the heat outside.

 110. Ancient Palace

    Ken was sitting inside the carriage sipping some water. The desert of Alabasta was really scary with frequent desert storms. One such desert storm was actually going over them and Nami had to use magic to make a protective guard over themselves.

    Vivi wasn''t in a good mood because according to her such storms weren''t common before but after Crocodile was messing up the weather with his Dance powder which could bring rain, it changed the weather of the country and was now suffering.

    Nami went over and told to calm down and that everything would be alright. Luffy and others were busy looking at the storm which was passing above them. It was both a dangerous and beautiful sight to behold from inside the cover.

    The storm at last blew over and the sky was again visible from the naked eye.

    "The desert is scary." Chopper was a little scared seeing such harsh and hot weather even though they were in a carriage.

    "Your winter island is more scary." Usopp retorted. This invoked an argument between Chopper and Usopp and everyone had fun looking at both of them. They started moving again and crossed over massive sand dunes. Ken in his previous life had never visited a desert. And actual desert with no vegetation and just sand dunes.

    So this was new for him too. After hours of travel they finally saw a huge black mountain from afar. As they came close to the small mountain, they got to see that it was eroded by wind for ages and on the bottom of the mountain was hollowed in one part. Probably because the winds on the lower level carried heavier sand and thus eroded the lower part of a rock or a mountain more heavily than the upper part.

    "Let''s take a break under the mountain. Banchi had been walking in this hot weather for hours." Robin suggested as her pet had been in the scorching heat for some time. Though the turtle was made for a desert environment, Robin always felt a pity for her pet that had been out in this weather while they were just sitting in a carriage enjoying the sights.

    Everyone accepted the proposal and just and just went under the half hollowed mountain. After stopping everyone got out and everyone was welcomed by a strong burst of hot wind in their face.

    "This is hot!!" Chopper almost fainted sensing the heat and others too wrapped their bodies in clothes so as not to be burnt from the hot winds. Luffy wanted to have fun, but was stopped by Nami.

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    As they sat under the shade, out of nowhere a huge quicksand appeared underneath them. The radius of the quicksand was almost the size of the mountain and before they knew it many were sucked in. Ken and others didn''t expect that and shouted at each other.

    Sanji, who could fly, immediately lit up his feet and went scurrying over to Vivi and Robin to save them but it was already too late. The quick sand had already eaten them up. Sanji was enraged and had tears in his eyes. Vivi and Robin weren''t the only ones who got sucked in quicksand. This included Chopper and Nami too.

    Ken, Ace, Luffy and Zoro looked at each other. At first they thought that this was some kind of trap but it wasn''t. The quick sand was a natural phenomenon and the earth was hollow inside. Their Haki told them that the people who got sucked in were alive and well.

    "Cook, stop crying they are alive." Zoro spoke out to stop the incessant cries. Sanji, who was ready to go inside the quick sand to be the savior, stopped and looked at others. He was happy to know that they were alive but he needed to save them and thus he dove into the quicksand.

    "I guess we should go and see what the big deal is." Ken said.

    "Yosh. I wonder if there is a treasure inside." Usopp said. Luffy already had stars in his eyes and just dove into the quicksand. Followed by Ken and others. They had been stopping themselves from falling because they were making sure that there was no enemy and thankfully there was none.

    The quick sand just proved to be a hole underground that had been covered by sand over years. They didn''t have to pass much time in the sand and landed on solid ground after falling for about 10 feet.

    Ken and others saw that the women were on their butts and Sanji was trying to take care of them. Chopper, being the doctor, came forward and checked if there were any injuries. Everyone was relieved to see that nobody got hurt and were alive and well.

    "That hurt. What was that all of a sudden?" Nami shouted.

    "It was a quicksand, Nami-san."

    It was then, Ken saw the surroundings. The quick sand had thrown them into a huge space that was definitely man made. There were pillars in this open space that held the ceiling but some of these pillars seemed ancient and were already on the verge of destruction.

    "Where is this place?" Ace asked as he looked around.

    Luffy and Usopp had already started running around exploring the space while Ken''s eyes were on the far end of this huge hall.

    "What is this place?"

    "This place looks like it was built in ancient times. These pillars look so old. Vivi, do you know this place?"

    "No, I have never read about this place in the books before. But they say that the old palace of the kingdom was somewhere here." Vivi replied as she joined others in looking over the place. None of them panicked as they knew that they could get out of this place easily.

    Meanwhile, Ken and Robin went to the other side of the huge hall and laid their eyes on something that was shining from afar. Robin stiffened at the spot when she realized what the eyecacthing thing was.

    It was a Poneglyph.

 111. The history

    Robin was dumbfounded seeing this. She had been searching for Poneglyph for such a long time and she had been with Crocodile just so because she could read one and now here they were accidently landing into just so because they fell down a quick sand.

    Destiny! It''s tricky!

    Robin had shaky legs as she touched the Poneglyph while Ken was a little surprised. In the anime there was an episode where Zoro and Luffy came across a slab of Poneglyph but this was not canon and people have forgotten about that. And Ken too had forgotten about that episode as it didn''t matter.

    But in this case, the truth was different. Despite the fact that it was not supposed to be at the canon, they had unintentionally discovered this ancient site. According to a rumor, Oda always gave the go-ahead for the creation of One Piece''s fillers, which implied that he had no objections to including this element in the plot.

    Luffy and others who were busy exploring the huge hall around came and looked at the huge square slab that Robin was reading very attentively.

    "What is this?" Vivi asked.

    "This looks so cool."

    "What language is that? Never ever read about this."

    While everyone was busy speculating what kind of thing it was, Luffy said

    "This thing speaks about an ancient kingdom and the kinds of people that lived in that kingdom..." It was Luffy who spoke those words. Everyone was taken aback by this because Luffy was never able to read nor did he say that he had that talent. He did have the Voice of All Things, but it never allowed him to read it. This was the first time.

    Robin, too, was surprised and looked at Luffy. She had questions just like Ken.

    "How are you able to read this?" Ken asked.

    "I don''t know. I just can read them." Luffy also didn''t know. Both Ken and Luffy had forgotten that the eyes of Jin Mori had allowed him to read and understand any text in the world in addition to allowing him to see through organic and inorganic matters.

    Robin couldn''t believe it and asked Luffy.

    "What does this word say?"

    "Uh... This speaks about three ancient weapons. Pluton, Poseidon and Uranus."

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    Luffy answered. Robin didn''t believe him at first, but after hearing him, she was sure that Luffy could read the letters. But she didn''t understand how this guy could read. Ohara was destroyed much earlier than his birth, so that meant there were other places where people could read the letters.

    "Vice-Captain, can you read it?"

    "Do I look like someone who can read?" Ken answered.

    "But you did have a surprised look on your face when you saw this." Robin replied. Though she was taken aback by the Ponelglyph, it didn''t mean that she wasn''t paying attention to others. Only Ken had a surprise reaction, just like her.

    "That doesn''t mean that I can read. Ace was brought up with us as well, but he can''t read it." Ken pointed at Ace to which he nodded. Robin could see that Ken was speaking was truth.

    "I am sorry. There are too many memories associated with it." Robin apologized.

    "I know." Ken said as it seemed she was in a little bit of tears. Everyone was perplexed as to why Robin had suddenly become agitated and had mood swings straight out of an ancient text. Ken went forward and hugged her. Chopper, who was a little bit close to her, came forward and also gave her a hug.

    "Vivi, you wanted to know which organisation Robin belonged to. Didn''t you?" Ken asked after he let go of Robin.

    "Uh.. Yes..." Vivi had once asked Ken what Robin worked for since Ken trusted her, and at that time Ken had replied that she worked for something different.

    "Robin works for this." Ken answered, pointing at the Poneglyph.

    "Huh?"

    "What?"

    "Nani?"

    "How do you know this?"

    Everyone was confused except for Robin. She had a vague feeling Ken had always known about her, as he had always shielded her. even against Vivi, to whom all the crewmates were very close.

    Ken always treated her as equal to Vivi which was very weird, assuming the fact that she belonged to the enemy camp. Ken didn''t answer Robin but just took out a bottle of water and sat down.

    "Sit down. This is going to be a good story."

    Everyone was curious about what the had to say and thus sat down eagerly.

    "There was once an ancient kingdom. But 800 years ago, it fell. We don''t know what happened to that kingdom. All the history related to that kingdom was deleted from all the books, and whatever we have has been recorded in these square shaped slabs known as Poneglyphs and the century that we don''t have knowledge about is known as the Void Century."

    "Void Century?"

    "What a weird name."

    Robin was surprised that Ken here knew of the Void Century, because knowing about it was itself taboo, and a person would be arrested if they spoke about it.

    "It was called so because we don''t have any knowledge of that kingdom. These Poneglyphs are all we have right now. After the Void Century ended, 20 kingdoms came together to form the current World Government. The people belonging to those 20 kingdoms settled at Marijoa. And until now, their descendants enjoy the privilege of establishing the World Government and hold absolute power over the world. Over the course of time, 170 kingdoms joined the World Government and holding absolute power they did whatever they wanted and exploited people around the globe."

    "I have heard of this somewhere. I don''t remember where." Vivi replied.

    "You have probably heard about this from your father. Because your father''s ancestors too belonged to those 20 royal families who had established the world government, and for that reason your kingdom had special privileges in Marijoa."

    "What?"

 112. World Government

    "So much knowledge and information. My head is spinning." Luffy said as he had swirly eyes hearing all of what Ken just spoke. He didn''t expect that just because they slid down a quicksand they would get to uncover such a thing.

    Ace became irritated and hit his brother in the head, causing Luffy to fall face first into the sand and become unconscious. The crew weren''t really surprised by this. It didn''t matter what the story was, he only cared for his own decisions. Of course, when the situation demanded they would advise Luffy and he almost always agreed with his crewmates.

    Even Ken didn''t mind that Luffy had fallen asleep, but Ace''s head butt was enough to put him to sleep.

    "Ace, didn''t Whitebeard speak of Poneglyphs?"

    "I heard Marco speak of it once but nobody paid any attention to it."

    Ken nodded his head. It was probably because Whitebeard knew the secret of D and didn''t bother to poke his nose on Poneglyphs. Plus, taking down Kaido and Big Mom was another matter altogether.

    "The Government has banned any kind of studies and research on these texts and now only a selected few can read this and those who can read are either hidden or on the run. Like Miss Nico Robin here. In the bounty she has been termed as Demon Child from a very young age. It wasn''t because she did anything heinous, but because she was able to read the texts."

    When everyone had heard the real reason why Nico Robin was hiding from the Government and had such a high bounty, they only felt pity for her. Just because someone could read something had caused that person to flee.

    "Robin-chan... Is that true?" Sanji asked in a serious tone. Robin gave a slight nod of her head. But she was confused of why Ken knew of this.

    "How do you even know of my past?"

    "My Devil fruit is a little special. It allows me to look into both the past and future sometimes."

    "What? You have a Devil Fruit related to time?"

    "No, that I don''t but my devil fruit has other uses. You will know soon."

    "Isn''t your devil fruit related to lightning?"

    "If only it was that simple." Zoro murmured from the side while leaning against a pillar. Robin was confused but allowed Ken to continue since this guy knew some interesting facts.

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    "Now, the reason why Miss Robin and Crocodile are after your country is not to control your country. It is because in the deepest vaults, there is a Poneglyph."

    "What?"

    "Are you serious?"

    "A kingdom keeping something illegal in their vault. What a cliche plot!!"

    Everyone was taken aback by this. When they came across the current Poneglyph, they already understood that this thing was rare but now another had popped up and that too in the personal vault of Vivi''s father. Vivi was flabbergasted by this and looked at Robin to see if Ken was speaking was truth.

    Robin''s eyes revealed that Ken was telling the truth. She wasn''t sure where the Poneglyph was but now she knew.

    "Just for Poneglyph he want to take down the whole country? Why?"

    "No, taking down the country is just a distraction. The government must not be aware of Crocodile''s ideas, and thus the whole charade of taking over the country is being carried out in the name of Crocodile establishing an utopia."

    Vivi almost broke down when she heard that. All this time, she thought everything was being done to hurt the citizens but now all of this meant for cheap distraction. Was there no cost for a human life? Was human life so cheap?

    Robin was getting convinced by the power of Ken. It seemed like he really knew many things.

    "Even if Crocodile did not attack your kingdom, your country is doomed."

    "Oye, what does that mean?"

    "How is Vivi-chan in danger? After Crocodile, this should end. Nobody knows of the Poneglyphs." Sanji said.

    "You are na?ve if you think the Government doesn''t know what the kingdom is hiding. They''d known for a long time. Do you think it is that easy to take over a kingdom by a pirate? The Government did nothing to stop the incursion and just let Crocodile do his deeds."

    "Ken-san.. You mean... you mean... our kingdom is already doomed?"

    "Yes. Your father is already a target of the government."

    Vivi collapsed on her knees and began sobbing. She had no idea that her family had been in danger for a long time simply because they had some texts that they couldn''t read.

    "Can.. Can we give it back to the Government and ask for forgiveness?" Vivi was shaking in fear not only for her family but also for the citizens who would suffer the wrath of the Government. She had gone to Reverie once and she remembered seeing the power of the World Government. So she had a good idea of the power of the World Government.

    "You have grown up Vivi and have seen the world too. What do you think will happen if you confess?"

    Vivi just hung her head. Tears fell down on the ground wetting the sand under. She felt lost, not knowing what to do. After a few moments she looked at her friends who were looking intently. The crewmates were waiting for her to say. Say the words that everyone has been waiting to hear.

    "Please.. Please.. Please help me." Those words made Vivi bawl out her eyes. She didn''t want anyone to get involved in this but with these friends she felt courage and strength. She felt like if anyone could help her, it was these friends which she had made.

    "There. You should have spoken that much earlier, Vivi-chan."

    "We are always with you Vivi."

    "I will kill your enemies with the arrows."

    "I will punch them."

    Luffy, who had been sleeping, woke up and shouted.

    "Crocodile. I will beat the shit out of you."

 113. Revelation

    Everyone gave Luffy annoying look but at least this guy had one thing in mind his whole time and didn''t bother with the subtleties. Nami gave Vivi a hug while Sanji tried sneaking in only to be punched by Nami. Seeing this Vivi burst out laughing and hugged Sanji too which melted Sanji.

    Even Robin had a smile on her face. She had seen with her own eyes how Ohara was destroyed and was left alone. She was glad that at least another person who might face the wrath of the Government had the support of her friends.

    Someone who carried the will of D.

    "What do we need to do?" Vivi asked while looking at Ken.

    "Why are you all looking at me? I am not the Captain. He is." Ken replied while pointing at Luffy who was busy pulling the mouth of Ace for hitting him before.

    "Ken, you know very well how Luffy is. You are the strategist of our group so please help her." Nami said with pleading eyes.

    "Sigh! What a drag!" Ken replied imitating Shikamaru.

    "Vivi, you need to join our group and we will have to take help from another person. Only then this country could be saved and escape the wrath of the Government."

    "Help from another person? Who?" Sanji asked.

    Ken looked at the fighting duo and said

    "Ace, Luffy.. I think it''s time to contact our old lost friend and brother."

    "Huh!"

    "Really? Sugeeee!!"

    Ace and Luffy both had bright face when Ken mentioned about their another brother.

    "Brother? You have another brother? How many brothers are you all?"

    "I bet he is also a monster and a ninja."

    "I will raise money for the bet. Who thinks that the other brother is also a monster?" Nami even wanted to start a gambling session here. All of them were surprised that Ken and others had another brother but they accepted it fast.

    "Sabo, he is also one of us who had shared the sake with when we were young. He is in the revolutionary army."

    "Sabo.. I have heard of him." Robin said. She had been in the sea and she had heard of the rising prominence of the Revolutionary Army.

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    "Yes. They say he is one the most notorious criminal."

    "It''s just the depiction of the Government since they are opposing the Government." Ace said.

    "One is a Commander in the Whitebeard Pirates and another is in the Revolutionary Army who is managed by the most notorious criminal of all time. This family is fucked up in so many ways."

    "You want us to contact the Revolutionary Army?" Vivi asked.

    "No, not right now. In a few years the Reverie will start. Your father just needs to be ''kidnapped'' by Sabo and you need to join our crew. This will help your kingdom to coast off the wrath of the Government."

    Vivi was downtrodden hearing the words of Ken. She knew that saving the kingdom wasn''t going to be easy but she didn''t expect that she would have leave her father''s side in order to save her family and the kingdom.

    "I get it. I will join the crew." Vivi said as she accepted the offer.

    "Yosha!!"

    "Hurray!!"

    "Yohooo!"

    Everyone cheered as now Vivi officially joined their crew. She had been with them as a guest and a friend but she was officially the member of the crew with Luffy approving of course.

    "Robin, you understand why we are asking you to come with us?" Ken asked.

    "But you don''t need me. You Captain can read the Ponegyph too it seems."

    "He is an idiot and whatever he reads, he will end up forgetting. We need you to be the actual translator but that is not the main point. We want you to be our friend. The Poneglyphs can come later."

    Robin fought the tears in her eyes. She had never been asked this question in her life in the sea. She had been struggling, fighting and running hard to survive from the Government.

    "If I join the crew, you will be targeted by the Government."

    "We will be targeted by the Government no matter what we do. And at the end in order to reach the end island we will have to go against the Government in one way or the other. Besides don''t you want to see them suffer and fight for what they have done to your home?"

    "Home!"

    This was the breaking point of Robin as she broke down in tears. She missed her home, her mother, Clover and her colleagues, Saul..everyone flashed before her eyes and it was true that a part of her does want to get back at the Government but she had considered that as a distant dream.

    "I... I... I want to join your crew." Robin replied with tears in her eyes. She didn''t know what she was going to face but for the first time in a very long time someone had approached her with genuine care and trust. She had almost forgotten what that feeling was.

    Ken smiled while others were little confused about the past of Robin so everyone looked at Ken with question marks. It was then Ken replied.

    "Whatever Vivi is fearing that will happen to her kingdom, everything and more had happened in her home long ago."

    "What?"

    "Shit!"

    "Can''t believe it."

    "Those bastards!"

    Vivi was the first to approach her and giver her a hug as she could already imagine her worst nightmares had come to life for someone. She couldn''t imagine someone who had seen the horror.

    "Luffy, are you okay with it?"

    "Of course."

    "Another nakama! Hurray!"

    ".."

    "Now, it''s time for the revelation." Ken said as he saw the jolly mood of everyone.

    "Yes!"

    "Oh god! I was being suffocated by the secret. I almost thought I would burst." Usopp said.

    "Yes. It''s so hard pretending! I would rather rob people than go on acting."

    Vivi, Robin and Chopper were confused by what Usopp and Nami meant.

    "Guys, my Devil Fruit is a little different and we have been hiding something from you for a long time. It is time we come clean."

 114. Robot

    "You mean to say that Ken''s Devil fruit can allow someone to live another life? Are there other lives outside this world" Chopper asked in full excitement. Nami explained to them how Ken''s Devil Fruit worked and that they have already lived another life. It was for this reason that these people have an extra power even though they have never taken a Devil Fruit.

    "Did Luffy go through another life?" Vivi asked as he remembered that Luffy was fine but after returning with Ace, his eyes had changed.

    "Oh yes. You assholes lived another life without even telling us." Sanji had forgotten that Luffy had lived another life and they were not invited.

    "What kind of life did Luffy get?" Zoro asked as they never revealed the life of Luffy after returning.

    "The life of a God." It was Ace who had replied.

    "God? What kind of God? Like me?" Sanji asked as his power was pretty broken and he could be called as a God.

    "Much more powerful than you. If he can complete half of his life, he will be able to solo our whole world."

    "What?"

    "My god!"

    "Unbelievable."

    "No wonder he can read the texts. He is supposed to be all knowing and all powerful." Robin mumbled as she guessed that the eyes of Luffy had allowed him to see the truth of some matters. Usopp then narrated the story of Luffy''s life and the more they heard the more they were surprised.

    "So who is up for living another life?"

    Chopper was the first person to lift his hand as he wanted to badly power himself up.

    "Alright, everyone is welcome to see the life of Chopper." Ken said as he called the system to simulate a life for Chopper.

    [

    Choosing life for subject Tony Tony Chopper.

    Life selected.

    ]

    Everyone was in the system and were eager to see what kind of life Chopper was going to get. Vivi and Robin were particularly very curious and wanted to see how the Devil Fruit of Ken worked.

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    Chopper opened his eyes only to see himself turning into a human baby to a family of two. Mother and father. The life of the family was normal but Chopper''s father had an unique qualification. He was a gene scientist and was particularly interested in the genes of animals and its relation to the genes of humans.

    He wanted to see if it was possible for a human to change the genes to an animal. While researching, he neglected his family and one day Chopper''s body became extremely sick and soon his father found out that his child was going to die.

    Out of desperation, Chopper''s father injected a green serum into the child''s body in order to save his life. And this made the body of the child green but it did save him from death. And after that the whole life of Chopper turned upside down as he realized that the serum had allowed him to change into any animal that he had once seen.

    Yes, the character given to Chopper was Garfield Logan, a.k.a., Beast Boy from the world of DC.

    Ken could guess why the system had given Chopper this character instead of giving him a character of doctor. Beast Boy''s funny antics and his relationship with animals were more close to the character than any doctors that Ken had known from both anime and comics.

    Soon, the young boy grew up in the jungles after he lost his parents to a flood and one day was brought back to the headquarters of Teen Titans by Batman himself. There they got to see the story of Beast Boy and got to see the advanced world of DC.

    They even got to see spaceships and travel to other worlds where they had to fight. But sadly they lost in their fight against Darksied. Darksied really gave them a lot of fear with his huge body and savagery in the fight gave everyone chills.

    "Who is this guy?" Vivi asked as the mere eyes of Darksied scared her.

    "He is one of the new gods of that world. He was born for destruction." Ken replied as he remembered the life story of Darksied.

    "Did they win?" Robin asked as she hoped that the heroes could win.

    "They did win at the end but they also lost too much in that process."

    Chopper came out of the simulation with sadness. He wanted to help his comrades but he was unable to do so. Chopper had tears in his eyes.

    "Chopper, it''s fine. You don''t have to cry. Everything is fine." Ken came forward and hugged Chopper. He was an emotional guy and felt very sad seeing everyone die including himself.

    "But.. But they died."

    "I know but your story didn''t end there. Flash went back in time to redo everything."

    "Flash.. Flash.. That red guy?"

    "Yes, he traveled back in time to reset the timeline." Ken replied and this answer gave him relief and it also gave relief to others knowing that everything was fine at the end.

    "I gotta say that their world seems so advanced. The general people lived in much more harmony than here."

    "The technology of our world too is quite advanced and maybe more advanced than theirs." Ken said.

    "What? You mean to say our world has technology as the world of humans there?" Vivi and Nami almost yelled the same question to Ken.

    "Some 200 years ago a mecha robot climbed the Red Line and attacked Marijoa. The Government and the marines couldn''t do anything to stop that robot and the destruction only stopped because the robot''s power source got depleted. Now tell me, if the technology of the humans of the world of Chopper is at the same level of our current world."

    "What?"

    "A robot!" Usopp, Chopper and Luffy had shiny eyes hearing the presence of robots. But others had a grave face hearing this. They couldn''t believe that their world had such high level technology. If there was, then where the hell was the technology?

 115. No more fats

    "Then why don''t we have the technology now? What happened to those things?"

    Ken just shrugged his shoulders in reply, meaning even he didn''t know. There were so much mystery behind the world of One Piece and only time would answer those questions and it was for this reason he joined Luffy''s crew apart from brotherhood.

    "Chopper can you transform?" Luffy stopped thinking about it and asked Chopper. Chopper was a animal to begin with so humans would be different species for him. Chopper paused for a second before turning himself into a human with dark green skin color.

    Chopper always had a human form thanks to his Devil Fruit but it''s form was huge and not very proportionate to a normal human being but this new form was like of an average 5 feet human being with the only downside being the color green.

    "So cool!"

    "He is not an emergency food anymore."

    Even Ken was impressed by the new transformation and Chopper had finished 50% progress to his character. Since the character was close to the Devil fruit transformation of Chopper it was easy for him.

    "Who would go next?"

    Vivi lifted her hand. She was already in awe with what happened to Chopper and she definitely wanted to be a part. Actually Robin too wanted to go but she was happy to be the last. Ken nodded and sent her to the system.

    [

    Choosing character for subject Nefertari Vivi..

    Character chosen

    ]

    The story of Vivi started as probably the most privileged among all the characters that anyone had gotten till date. There were no dead parents, not being born out of nowhere, no sad back story. She was born in a rich family with loving parents. The only odd thing about the life of the young girl was her power or as they called it..

    Quirk.

    Yup, she just landed herself into the world of My Hero Academia. And her character was of Momo Yaoyorozu. Probably one of the most broke support quirk anybody could wish for. Her quirk was transforming her fat cells into any kind of inorganic things she had previous knowledge of.

    For example if she knew how a radio worked than her fat cells would able to transform into a radio which would come out from her skin. The story of Momo was kind of an ideal one as she was brought up in a good and loving environment.

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    She was easily selected in UA along with many others and she soon proved herself as a calm and level headed leader. Everyone was surprised that so many people in this world had so many weird quirks.

    It was as if more than half of the population had eaten Devil fruits. And on top of that the technology of the world was quite good. Almost at the level of Chopper''s world.

    "I like that guy Midoriya." Zoro commented as he felt that the guy was quite hardworking. Since it was the story of Momo, they didn''t know the arc of Midoriya but they could see how hard working and morally right he was.

    "He is good but he is too morally straight for his own good. At the end, his own extreme character will probably be harmful for him." Ken gave his own views.

    Of course, Sanji was having the time of his life as his eyes had become heart shaped looking at the girls around especially the character of Momo. Due to her quirk, her apparel consisted of showing more skin. This made Sanji very happy as it meant Vivi would need to wear less clothes.

    Nami had to punch him in the head to stop him from hyperventilating but even while half unconscious, he was smiling. The story of Momo went on as they faced many challenges and enemies on the way but Momo''s decision making and her leadership proved quite helpful.

    Everyone got to see a new world and were more than happy to look at the story. But the sad thing was that her story didn''t end before she was kicked out.

    "What happened? Why was there no end?" Usopp asked.

    "Probably because the story of her hasn''t ended in the current time." Ken suggested as the manga of MHA didn''t end in his timeline.

    [

    Character completion 40%

    ]

    Ken was very happy with the quirk of Vivi. Having her onboard meant there would be extra help for the crew. The one thing that the current crew lacked was the communication. The communications system of the current One Piece was very backward and having Vivi''s quirk meant that they would be able to communicate in long distances if Vivi was able to produce walkie talkie.

    And that was not all, Ken missed the music players and mobiles from his previous world. He could already dream of the devices that he was going to ask Vivi to take out which prompted him to give a creepy smile.

    Vivi came out with a wide smile of her face while everyone cheered with Sanji being the most noisy one in this. In order to show her new gained quirk, she produced a long metallic rod from her body.

    "Vivi, you will have to eat more than usual."

    The quirk of Vivi was a good one but she needed to stuff herself always with food so that she could have a good amount of fat in her body. Vivi got embarrassed but also happy. Food would not definitely be her problem.

    "Vivi I am sojealous of you. You can eat all you want and not get fat. Oye Ken, give me such a character." Nami demanded.

    "Nami, I don''t chose the character. If I would have, I would have chosen a God."

    "You are already a God."

    "A God that dies of old age." Ken argued back.

    "I wonder what Robin will get." Vivi said.

    "Let''s see."

    Robin came forward as she was the last and was thrown into the system.

    [

    Choosing character for subject Nico Robin.

    Character selected

    ]

    Ken and others were a little taken aback when they saw the first gender bender. Instead of choosing a female character for Robin as it usually does, it was a male character for Robin.

 116. Lab rats

    "What the hell? A male. She will have to lead a male life?" Nami was disgusted and couldn''t even imagine that this could happen. Ken got reminded of the time in the future when Law messed with them in Punk Hazard.

    Only this time it was not half real.

    The story starts with a young boy who had a normal life. Until one day when the child was targeted by a serial killer. But luckily the boy was saved by his babysitter. But the babysitter''s death led to the trauma and his brain chose to suppress the memories of her murder. This was very tragic for the youngling.

    "Who the hell is this guy?"

    "Someone who is demented." Ken replied.

    This was the only important incident that happened to the boy and soon he grew up. The boy found his calling in the form of writing manga. Yup, you heard it write. The boy grew up to be a mangaka and not just any mangaka.

    A mangaka who was obsessed with it. He didn''t care about anything and did his research for his manga. The others who didn''t know what manga was had to listen to Ken''s explanation.

    "So these people write comics? So cool. But does it help her?" Vivi and others didn''t see any use of this ''obsession''.

    "You will see." Ken replied.

    And Ken wasn''t wrong. He already knew that the power Robin was going to gain was a broken one because he knew who the person was.

    It was Rohan Kishibe from Jojo''s Bizarre adventures.

    The character which probably had one of the broken stands. But then again, almost all of the stands in Jojo''s story were broken! The story continued and others finally got to see the power that Rohan gains.

    A stand that went by the name Heaven''s door. (Please refer to wiki for the explanation of the stand from Jojo''s Bizarre Adventures). This stand was special as it let Rohan play with his enemies. This stand didn''t have any direct impact but its implications were terrifying.

    Heaven''s door could change any part of the body of a person into a book. A book that had multiple pages where the history of a person was written. Once Heaven''s door had access to this book, Rohan could use this book to change, delete or write anything into it. Doing that would force the person to either forget or have a changed perception of his past depending on what Rohan had written.

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    And this also allowed Rohan to even command others and make a person do things against his or her own will. Everyone was horrified seeing the power of Rohan. Even Robin herself who was inside this Rohan character was intimidated. She couldn''t believe that she had gotten such power. Didn''t it mean that she just became one of the most terrifying assassins in the group that could use her ''subordinates'' to infiltrate anywhere.

    Rohan at the beginning could only use his stand when someone read his manga, but soon Rohan was able to draw in the air and this was enough for someone to fall  a victim. As time went on, his stand became more precise and with just touching someone could turn a person''s part into a detailed book.

    Rohan''s story went on and he soon came across the Joestar''s and met with another stand user. In fact he also came across the serial killer who had traumatized him as a child. After some more time in the simulation, Robin came out of it.

    [

    Character progression 40%

    ]

    Everyone came forward and congratulated her. They could already imagine how powerful this so-called stand was and Robin herself felt like she was living a dream. She just wanted to live happily and now finally she had some ways to defend herself.

    Ken took everyone out of the system as this was the longest time that they had been in there. The three felt really novel thinking about the lives that they had just led. Though their character had more or less influence from their own lives they still felt it very weird living the life of someone else from an entirely different place.

    "Thank you Ken for this wonderful experience." The three thanked Ken profusely. Ken just smiled and didn''t think much.

    "It''s alright. Now that we have finished with accumulating new members. I think it''s time to continue on our journey."

    "Yosh. We have rested enough."

    Everyone got ready after seeing that there was nothing valuable in the ruins. Nami was particularly angry seeing no gold or diamond lying around in the ruin and cursed the ancestors of Vivi. Vivi got embarrassed hearing the words of Nami and just laughed.

    After checking one last time Ken asked everyone to get around in a closed circle. It was time they went out of this hole and returned to the surface. He brought out his Stormbreak and with one move he opened the Bifrost. This was the first time for some people here and thus they were excited.

    But the excitement didn''t last long as they felt their head dizzy after coming out on the surface and Vivi almost puked. Robin was still alright. Without further wasting of time they got into the carriage of Banchi and set off for the Rainbase. While in the carriage the three of them started practising their powers.

    Vivi started creating new things but she did so while she was stuffing herself with meat. Chopper was turning into different animals to see to what extent he could use his powers. Robin was the awkward one here as she didn''t know how to use her new stand as she didn''t want her comrades to be the scapegoat. But of course some people would always have a death wish.

    Luffy and Usopp came forward as ''lab rats'' and Robin used her stand on them. Robin drew a manga and urged both of them to read. Ussop and Luffy both read it which led to Ussop''s face and Luffy''s finger to change into a book with multiple pages which contained their history.

 117. Robins concerns

    Luffy''s face instantly turned into a book which had pages in it that could be turned and read. And Usopp suffered after his hand turned into a book. It was both funny and horrible to look at. Robin got curious and peeked on the books of both of his crew mates. She could read the details of their life and everything that had happened to them in the past.

    Even those things that they themselves had forgotten or might not know. Robin gave a casual read and did a double take when she read one part of Luffy but didn''t open her mouth on what she read. But this small movement was seen by Ken.

    Meanwhile, the carriage had again started going towards the Rainbase. It was still a long way and would take at least 2 days to reach. After a long journey and having fun with their new found powers they decided to camp for the night at an open place.

    "Ace, where is your bounty hunter?" Ken asked as he remembered that Ace was searching for a bounty hunter who had supposedly met with Blackbeard.

    "He is supposed to be around this place.." Ace said, quite unsure now if this was the right place. Teach was a cunning guy and so he was quite skeptical if he would come to such an open space where there was no one.

    The next day everybody was on their way to Rainbase when Ace finally came across the bounty hunter who proclaimed that he defeated Blackbeard. Of course, this was all a lie to attract Ace and make a move to catch him.

    It was all because he wanted to prove to his sons that he was as powerful as his sons imagined him to be. His sons came running in to stop his father from doing a blunder.

    Of course, the precious bomb that the bounty hunter made had no effect on Ace. Ace was a logia to start with and fire was his home. And now he was ultra buff with magic and fire became his food too.

    So in a sense, this bounty hunter just delivered food at his table. The bounty hunter was shaking on his knees when Ace just ate up the fire. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper had sparkles in their eyes seeing the cool move of Ace.

    Chopper got into Ken''s face and started saying.

    "Ken.. Ken.. Give me power like this .. Please... Make me cool like him."

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    "Did you finish your character?" Ken asked back.

    This brought tears in the eyes of chopper and turned into a bird and flew away. Ken just shook his head looking at the childish behavior of Chopper.

    "Do you have to be so cruel?" Nami came and punched hard on the skull of Ken. Ken in response just shook his shoulders. Meanwhile, Ace had gone to talk with the bounty hunter. The sons came forward bravely saying that their father only wanted to be a hero for them.

    Ace, of course, understood this and just asked about the address and didn''t care about the fact that this guy was trying to kill him. After knowing where Blackbeard was he got up and declared that he would go on his way.

    "Brothers, I will be going back."

    "Sure. Go and do whatever you need to do."

    "It was nice meeting you Ace. You made us realize that brothers can be diametrically different."

    "Hope you will catch this scum called Blackbeard."

    At the end it was Ken''s part to say something. He looked straight into the eyes of Ace and said.

    "Remember all your promises you made to us and all the promises you did to the people in the sea. I don''t want to be the guy to say ''I told you so'' every time."

    "Why do you always speak ill of me?" Ace got irritated.

    "Because you, my brother, give me a headache more than Luffy. Sabo is a sensible guy. Luffy is an idiot but he knows what needs to be done and what not to. You do just the opposite."

    "How dare you say that to me?"

    "What about it? Just because you became a dragon slayer doesn''t mean you are one."

    "..."

    Looking at the two brothers fighting, Luffy joined in and started throwing punches at each other. The other crew members were a little amused seeing such brotherhood. They could definitely see the love and care that these three had been brought up with.

    After bidding goodbye Ace finally went back in the same direction that they have been travelling through. Nami made a small carriage for him where he could use his fire power to cruise through the sand. She also gave him a magical bag where he could keep his belongings and food. He was super grateful and wished that he would have gotten such useful teammates like her in his crew.

    The crew started travelling towards Rainbase again. It was still a long way to go so everyone got a little busy with their own selves. Especially Vivi, she was able to make a music player for Ken. This was the only requirement that Ken asked from Vivi. He really missed having something to play on his ears since he had come to this world.

    When Vivi got that specific, he was happy the most because it meant he could finally get to hear some songs that he had missed. Of course, there were no recorded songs in the player and they needed to add in it. But at least it took the step in the right direction.

    Among all the crew members, Ken could see that something was bothering Robin. She would read her book on the way and occasionally look at Luffy in a little confusion. Others too noticed it and even Luffy who had finally got his hand on Observation haki seemed to feel that Robin had something to say.

    "Oye Robin, is there something bothering you? Are you hungry? I can give 1/50th of my piece."

 118. Awakening of the Devil fruit

    Robin gave an awkward laugh to that.

    "Not everything is about meat." Usopp shouted and so did Zoro and Sanji.

    "Robin, can you tell us your problems? Is it the government? Did something happen?" Nami asked as she was concerned that marines or the government would come after them. Though she was ready to face the government with her friends, at the end she was still a little fearful so she was looking around.

    Robin shook her denial and just looked at Luffy, who was eating meat happily, said.

    "Luffy, where did you eat the Gum Gum Fruit?"

    "Huh!! I ate it accidently when Shanks came to our home island. I was hungry and saw the fruit. I tell you, this tasted horrible." Luffy replied reminiscing his past when he was thrown into the sea and later got rescued by Shanks.

    Good old days!!

    Ken now could guess what Robin was being bothered about. In the details of Luffy, she had probably seen the name of the fruit and it didn''t match the name that Luffy had provided before. This confused her but she didn''t know how to approach Luffy about it since he kind of idolized Shanks a bit.

    "When I peeked through the details of your fruit it didn''t say that your fruit was Gum Gum no Mi." Robin said. Everyone had a question mark over their head. Except for Ken, nobody could understand what Robin meant by that.

    Luffy''s power had always been about rubber. Though he was a ninja, his body had always been rubbery in its core so they didn''t understand what Robin was going with it.

    "What did you read?" Chopper asked as he was curious and so were the others.

    "I read.. I read..."

    "She read the fruit that was eaten by Luffy as Hito Hito no Mi- Model Nika. Am I right?" Ken answered what Robin wanted to say. He had always known of the Devil Fruit of Luffy but never bothered to reveal it because in order for Luffy to use it he would have to awaken it and it also came with its own problems. Exhaustion being the primary reason why Ken didn''t care.

    Of course, now it was a different situation. Luffy had got his hands on a God and the Devil fruit would probably be able to work wonders in conjunction with his new found powers. Robin and others were surprised when Ken spoke of the Devil fruit.

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    Robin was sure that Ken didn''t get to read what she had read so it only meant that Ken knew of it from the start.

    "Hito Hito no Mi? Like mine?" Chopper asked as his devil fruit too was of the same origin.

    "There is no Gum Gum no Mi. The government had lied about this fruit as a long time ago and they wanted to cover up a more dangerous Devil fruit that could threaten them once awakened. Luffy''s Devil fruit was the one they had been searching for a long time. For once they did get a hold of it until Shanks came and botched the whole thing...."

    ".... When the Devil fruit was on its way to the government headquarters, Shanks raided the ship that was carrying it and stole the Devil fruit."

    "Shanks stole this Devil Fruit from the government?"

    "There is such a story behind this. But why don''t I see anything special about this devil fruit."

    "What does Model Nika mean?"

    "Nika... Nika could be referred to as someone who existed in lore. Someone who loved freedom and was free. It is said that there is always a smile on his face and he is fantasized among the prisoners as someone who would come and free them. This is a very popular lore and even in Impel Down, the place where the worst criminals live, they have passed on that lore since a long time ago. Nika is also referred to as the Sun God."

    Everyone''s eyes were wide open when Ken spoke of Nika. They couldn''t even believe what Ken just said. Even Luffy himself was a little shocked. Robin had heard of Nika too but never so much in detail.

    "Is it some kind of legendary person?"

    "No, probably mythical!"

    "Ken, you mean to say that Luffy has the powers of so called Nika? But he is just a rubber man." Nami asked.

    "That fruit is a mythical zoan fruit. And it would need awakening for Luffy in order to maximise the actual power of the fruit. Awakening is something that could be associated with Devil fruits that had been mastered to the maximum. For example if someone awakened a Devil fruit of paramecia, he or she would be able to change the surroundings according to the devil fruit. It is a very difficult thing and very few could achieve it."

    "So you mean to say that after Luffy awakens his devil fruit he could change the surroundings into rubber?"

    "Technically, it should be like that but sadly Luffy''s fruit is not based on rubber. The reason why the governments fear this fruit is because once a person awakens this fruit, he could just make things out of imagination. If Luffy thinks he is wearing a sunglass, then a sunglass would appear before his eyes. If Luffy thinks that his enemy was made of rubber, then his enemy''s body structure would be that like rubber." (Yes, both of the examples has happened in the manga)

    Everyone now was looking at Luffy and had only one thought in their mind. This guy was becoming more and more like a monster. Imagining things and making them into reality? What the hell? Was the God character not enough? Nami and Usopp were having happy tears thinking that their captain was so powerful and they would always be saved. Chopper joined that group too.

    "Ken, you always knew about this?" Luffy asked after finishing the meat.

    "Yes, I have always known but never bothered because you are still far away from awakening and it didn''t matter anyways. "

 119. Crocodile

    "Hahaha... I didn''t know I was this sugeee... Hahaha... I am awesome."

    Nami and Usopp gave a threatening glare to Luffy. Though he was overpowered by this point, they also believed that the government would come after them since Luffy had eaten a devil fruit so precious for the government.

    "If his Devil fruit was so precious, then why isn''t yours too in that blacklist?" Robin asked. Ken didn''t expect that question but answered.

    "Maybe because my Devil fruit was never found nor eaten by them over the years."

    Of course this was a lie but he had to say something.

    "I thought Ken would have an answer to this too." Vivi laughed.

    "I don''t know everything, contrary to what you expect." Ken argued back with humor.

    Though Luffy was showing his little narcissistic behavior to others after getting to know that his Devil fruit was also so powerful, he himself understood the fact that he had a long way to go. He could already feel that progressing on his character was slow and now there was something more added. He would have to work really hard in order to go further.

    The carriage still continued on its path for a few more hours until the group was finally able to see the huge town of Rainbase. The town of Rainbase was completely different from other places. As they entered the town, they could already see that the people here had everything and there seemed to be abundant water around.

    Unlike the other cities and towns of Alabasta, here the people had everything sorted out. In fact, Ken couldn''t understand why the people of Alabasta were so dumb. For some reason, Ken found the people of Alabasta a little dumb. Everything was fine in Rainbase and all the other cities and towns suffered. Wasn''t this kind of a red flag to the people?

    But then again Ken forgot that the people living in One Piece world were less connected and less informed. The only news source they had was the newspapers being to them via birds. This was really ridiculous.

    Vivi was visibly shaking looking from the carriage. She was happy after seeing the prosperity but was in anger thinking that every other city suffered due to the machinations of just one person. She wanted nothing but revenge.

    Soon they reached the casino where Crocodile was supposed to be. The casino was really huge and Ken could easily compare the casino here to the one in Las Vegas. The similarity between his previous world and the current world was really uncanny.

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    "He isn''t here." Zoro said as they got down from the carriage. Zoro could sense no strong breath from the casino. There were many people around but he knew that he wasn''t around.

    "But there is someone else." Ken said. Unlike others his Observation haki was very powerful and he could tell that though Crocodile was absent, there was someone else here.

    "Let''s go in. I want to beat the shit out of Crocodile." Luffy had already started shouting. Usopp and Nami came forward to stop him but he had already run inside with no regards to the words of Ken or Zoro.

    "This idiot." Sanji exclaimed.

    "The Captain seems to be as energetic as always." Robin gave a smile.

    "We can wait inside. He might have gone for some reason." Ken said. Though his Haki didn''t catch a whiff of Crocodile, he was sure that Crocodile would show up after sometime. Nobody would let go of their cash cow just out of nowhere.

    Nami went to the gambling tables to ''steal'' money while others just came to the main room of the casino where the boss was supposed to be and waited. The manager of the casino was very accommodating because Robin had always been beside Crocodile for a long time so the manager of the casino thought Crocodile just got himself some old friends.

    Luffy was really angry when he couldn''t find Crocodile all over the casino but he did find an interesting guy in the underground.

    It was Smoker.

    Smoker had been caught by Crocodile using the Sea stone cuffs which he managed to put him in. Smoker had tried to investigate Crocodile and this led to the current situation.

    "Oye minna.. I found an interesting person underground." Luffy came running in.

    "Who?" Sanji asked as he puffed the cigarette.

    "Ken, Smoker is in the underground and behind a prison." Luffy was animated as he seemed to be having fun seeing a marine behind the bars. Everyone was surprised except for Ken, Zoro and Sanji. They could already guess that some guy was in the underground but didn''t know who. Of course, Ken had already guessed it with his Haki before.

    "Then we need to give him a welcome." Ken said.

    With Luffy leading everyone went underground to see Smoker who had been caught. Smoker looked nonchalant and with no emotions when he saw Luffy and his crew.

    "Yo. We meet again." Ken said while Luffy gave a foolish smile. For the first time Smoker looked at the Straw crew together. It was always either Luffy and Ken before but this time everyone was together.

    "I would prefer never meeting you again." Smoker said.

    "C''mon Smoker, we have been friends for quite some time now. Don''t be so rude." Ken put up his most innocent smile when he said that. Zoro and others almost laughed out loud hearing the words of Ken.

    "Are you here to mock me, Punisher?" Smoker asked in a somber tone while smoking away his cigar.

    "No, we are here to laugh at you and beat Crocodile." Luffy said as he was still waiting for his enemy to come back.

    "Why do you want to beat Crocodile. He is a pirate, just like you. You should be friends."

    "Not all pirates are friends just like all marines aren''t." Ken said.

    While Ken and others talked with Smoker and having a laugh at him, Crocodile had returned and he went straight to the underground.

 120. New helpers

    Crocodile actually didn''t expect that Straw Hats would come to his place. He did hear the news that the Straw-hats had appeared on Nanohana with Ace but that was it. After that they disappeared. He expected the Straw-Hats to deliver the princess to the Capital and be done with it. Of course he wouldn''t let that opportunity get away from his hands and catch Nico Robin who had been abducted.

    He had sent all of the Baroque Works to the capital where the civil war would take place, and among all the chaos he would go and swoop away Robin. Robin was essential in deciphering the Poneglyph as he was obsessed with it. Only an ancient weapon would give him the power to go to the top and be the most powerful.

    The reason he was outside was because he just had a meeting with an external help that showed up at his doorstep. He had gone outside the town to greet his new helpers that had appeared out of nowhere. After confirming the deal he was back with a happy mood.

    It was decided that he would soon leave for the Capital as the rebel army was approaching the capital fast. But when he had returned he was welcomed by loud noise and laughs from the underground he turned sour. He went straight to the place where he had captured Smoker only to see the Straw Hats.

    And of course among them was Nico Robin too, for whom he had been searching for some time now.

    "Nico Robin, you are a tough woman to find."

    "Boss!...  It''s been some time since I have seen you." Robin said with her usual calm and serene tone.

    "You have done quite a good deed of bringing the enemies right at my place. Now we can go back to Alubarna and complete our mission." Crocodile said but in the next moment he heard a loud shout coming from the side.

    It was Luffy.

    Since he had been shouting all this time about beating Crocodile and now that he had laid eyes on him, he punched Crocodile right at the face. Crocodile didn''t react at all and the punch just passed through his face as it turned into sand.

    The attack had no meaning as his punch didn''t even register for Crocodile. Crocodile turned around and said,

    "Straw-Hat Luffy. The new supernova that had originated from East Blue. You have raised quite the buzz among the pirates." While Luffy looked at his hand and said out loud.

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    "Ken, you were right. The Logia devil fruits are really disgusting."

    Crocodile got irritated that Luffy ignored him and sent a flying sand blade towards Luffy. Luffy, who had just awakened the Observation Haki dodged the blade by jumping up in the air. After jumping in the air, his feet touched the upper ceiling and that allowed him to hang upside down with the help of his chakra.

    "Ken, release Smoker and get away. The surrounding water will soon get inside and destroy this place." Luffy said. The underground hall constructed in the casino wasn''t just a normal place. The surrounding walls were made with glass and on the other side of the glass was a huge pond which had the famous Bananawani a.k.a., the Banana Crocodile.

    These crocodiles were huge and could tear a human flesh apart easily. Crocodile, being true to his name, kept them as pets in the pond and used his enemies to feed the crocodiles. Luffy, of course, had seen the surroundings and knew that fighting here would cause the structures around to be destroyed and thus he needed his friends to be away.

    Ken nodded at Luffy and brought his Mjolnir. Crocodile who had been neglected in all of this felt more anger and released a sand storm towards Luffy.

    Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall)

    A huge wall suddenly rose from the ceiling and stopped the small sandstorm that Crocodile had just raised. The most interesting thing about the wall was that it was made out of water so when the sandstorm struck the body of the huge liquid it just got negated within seconds. Crocodile was dumbfounded.

    "What... What are you?"

    He couldn''t believe what he saw. He was sure that the water that just rose didn''t come from the surrounding pond and must be something that the Straw Hat just did. He was sure that Luffy was someone with a Devil fruit so he couldn''t understand how someone could control water. This went against the laws known to him about Devil fruits.

    "I am Monkey D. Luffy, the person who is going to become the pirate king." Luffy shouted as he ran straight through the diminishing wall of water. It had already stopped the sandstorm so there was not much water left. His body got drenched in water.

    With water all over his body, he extended his hand and punched Crocodile right at his face. Crocodile was still confused about what just happened and before he knew it, the punch had landed on his face and unlike last time the punch was effective.

    Since his hand was doused in water, it made contact with his body and Crocodile was thrown away. Luffy might not have mastered the Armament Haki but he already knew the weakness of Crocodile so he didn''t hesitate to use his tactics against him.

    Vivi wanted to help Luffy but was stopped by Nami, she was fueled by hatred and that might prove fatal to Vivi. She might have powers now but Crocodile was still quite powerful. Meanwhile Ken had taken his Mjolnir and hit at the lock of the prison that held Smoker.

    Smoker who saw all of this got more incensed when Luffy directed Ken to release Smoker. He felt insulted. Just like last time when they met. Ken and Luffy were turning to be his greatest humiliation and regret. If it was not for the sea stones he would have attacked right now.

    "Why are you releasing me, Punisher?"

    "Because it was the decision of the Captain and you are some of the few good marines left."

 121. Lightning + Sand = Glass

    Smoker wanted to hit Ken but seeing that Luffy had already started fighting Crocodile, he started running away along with the Straw hat crew because he saw nobody was paying attention to his words after Ken broke he prison.

    Crocodile wanted to stop them but in return he was stopped by Luffy who had used his stretchy arms to hit Crocodile from the side. This time he didn''t let Luffy do the same manoeuvre and caught Luffy''s arm with his own hands.

    And in the next seconds he sucked away water content from the arm of Luffy. Luffy had to pull away his arm in order to save his body from losing all the water from the body/

    "Yaaa.... That was scary." Luffy shouted seeing his deflated arm where only the skin covering the bare bones could be seen. Luffy was of course warned about this too by Ken. He pulled out the pouch hanging from his waist and took out a jar of water.

    He then proceeded to drink water from the jar and his deflated arm was back in the original shape. Crocodile seeing this small thing creased his brows. It seemed like this guy knew all of his weaknesses.

    "Straw-Hat Luffy, you have surprised me." Crocodile said as half of his body elementalized and flew towards Luffy with his golden hook.

    "I am not here to surprise you, baka banana." Luffy said.

    Since sand wasn''t helpful for him it was better to use physical force. His golden hook was laden with poison and thus he could use it on Luffy easily. And thus epic battle started. Crocodile started using the golden hook to hit at Luffy and make sure that his attacks could put a scratch on his body so that the poison could affect his body.

    But somehow Luffy knew this too and always avoided the golden hook. And that wasn''t all, Luffy was making water around and made sure that his body was doused with water. Crocodile was still very confused about how Luffy was able to do that but the attacks continued.

    Then one of the surrounding glass broke and water soon started pouring in. Crocodile looked a little crestfallen seeing the glass break, though the place was made to flood it when required but it was made for the purpose of holding down his enemies. And from the looks of it, his whole investment turned out to be useless.

    Crocodile knew that now he too would have to run or else he would be a deadweight in the water soon. Luffy seeing that shouted

    "Where are you running you coward?"

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    Crocodile pad no heed and almost flew upstairs towards the open casino. Since this guy was so good in the water it was better to go to his ''home''.

    The desert.

    The desert would help him a lot and also neutralise the water power of this guy. Luffy also came running after Crocodile. While Crocodile was gliding towards the direction of the desert and Luffy was running after him, it was Ken who stopped in between Crocodile and his home.

    "Punisher Kenny? Are you going to stop me?" Crocodile asked as he stopped near Ken. Ken had his Stormbreaker in his hand while he looked at Crocodile like someone looking at an ant. Those eyes infuriated him, because those were the same eyes Whitebeard once looked at him when he challenged him.

    He would never forget the feelings that those eyes gave him.

    "You know what happens when lightning strikes sand?" Ken asked in return with a smile. Crocodile was perplexed and asked in return.

    "What?"

    "Glass!!" Ken shouted as he summoned lightning in Stormbreaker and struck Crocodile. He couldn''t react because Ken attacked at insane speed. Crocodile was thrown away quite a distance before stopping on the wall of a building. Crocodile felt like he was hit by some kind of train as he got pushed away and felt immense pain in parts of the body.

    He was hurt. And that too very badly. On the side of his abdomen there was a small black hole which had outgrowths of crystallized stone that shone in light. This was glass in a very raw state.

    And this happened due to his elementalization in the last second. The sand in his body got converted into glass and his abdomen wasn''t the only location where it converted. His arms and legs too had holes and outgrowths out of it.

    Luffy who had just arrived was taken aback seeing Crocodile in a pathetic state on the other side of the road. But he didn''t let his opportunity go away and proceeded to beat the shit out of Crocodile. The people in One Piece had a very tough body so Crocodile was still conscious and crying out in pain when Ken had hit him.

    "This is for the people that have died due to your selfish reasons...."

    "This is for the tears you gave to Vivi..."

    "This is for forcing Igaram-ossan leave the capital.."

    Luffy was delivering the punches and kicks while explaining the reason. Luffy had really changed over the time as he had never beaten the shit out of anyone while explaining the reason. This was new for him. Luffy had changed a lot over the years and now it was visible.

    Crocodile wanted to defend himself but he couldn''t elementalize and glide away. But he still had fuel in his tank. He dodged a few attacks and was able to conjure a small distance between himself and Luffy and then in extreme anger, he made three huge blades with the sand manipulation and threw them at Luffy.

    Luffy, who had already guessed the attack, shouted.

    "Gum Gum No. Gatling."

    He started throwing continuous punches at the incoming blades. At first the hits bounced back, but then Luffy with a louder shout applied more pressure on his attacks and after a millisecond, the punches tore through the blade and struck at the body of Crocodile.

    A flurry of punches landed on his body which made a huge crater on the ground due to the strength Luffy had applied. Finally, after so many hits Crocodile was bloody all over his body and coughed up blood.

    And in the next moment he lost consciousness. By the time Luffy finished the fight, Ken and others had come to see what had transpired. Even Smoker came with the crew to witness what Straw Hat Luffy had done.

 122. The men in masks

    Crocodile was lying in a small pool of blood where he had lost total unconsciousness. He lied down in the same way he was beaten down in Alubarna in the actual story. Only this time, Luffy didn''t have to suffer twice and defeat him while using the flowing blood to act as the source of liquid. Luffy used the ninja techniques to make sure he was supported by water always. Of course, the water surrounding the underground also helped when he came running out.

    And on top of that Luffy also made sure that Crocodile didn''t get to touch his body or make the use of his hook to deliver poison to his bloodstream. Of course, Robin had given him the antidote too but he also was quite careful in his attacks.

    He had already lived two lives. One was filled with accomplishments but had many regrets over the course of time and in the other life he had fallen from high grace and was forced to live a mortal life. So in a way he was quite experienced both in life and fighting tricks.

    In comparison Crocodile''s tricks seemed like a baby trying to hit a truck.

    "Finally he will stop yapping about kicking Crocodile''s ass. It was becoming annoying." Sanji said while looking at Crocodile. Smoker was the only one among the group that was conflicted. He came here to enquire about Crocodile since he had his doubts after coming to Alabasta.

    And now that Crocodile was lying down he felt both ashamed and angry. Ashamed because the marine had let this piece of shit grow and angry because he was forced to get ''help'' from pirates. It was such a huge humiliation.

    "Luffy, what do we do now?" Zoro asked.

    "We go to the capital and deliver this asshole to Vivi''s father." Luffy replied.

    Everyone nodded their heads while Vivi had small tears in her eyes. She couldn''t believe that an enemy which for her seemed like someone impossible to take down was so easily beaten.

    "I don''t think I can allow Crocodile to be taken to the Capital." Smoker said. Those words were enough to ire everyone present. They looked like they would devour Smoker at this time.

    "We saved you and this is how you pay us?" Nami shouted.

    "You bad marine.." Ussop said.

    "Hai.. Bad marines." Chopper shouted.

    Smoker was visibly angry as veins popped up in his forehead but he didn''t shout back. He looked at Luffy and Ken who seemed to be wanting an explanation from him.

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    "He is not alone in this whole mission." Smoker said.

    "We know. He has Baroque Works under him and some officer agents. I have dealt with some of them." Ken replied.

    "You dealt with officer agents? When did that happen?" Zoro and others were a little surprised.

    "In Little Garden." Ken replied.

    "And didn''t bother to inform us?" Nami asked.

    "It was nothing major. Now you see Smoker, you don''t have to care about the Baroque Works. We can handle that small army of bounty hunters." Ken really didn''t care about the Baroque Works nor the army who was charging at Alubarna. They could take care of them easily.

    But Smoker shook his head.

    "I am not talking about the small number of bounty hunters nor the officer agents that I have heard of. When I came to Rainbase in order to talk with Crocodile, I was caught because I overheard something that I shouldn''t have."

    "Overheard? What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

    "When I came to Rainbase, I got to know that Crocodile wasn''t at his office and thus I came out to get some air. But soon I saw Crocodile and stalked him silently. After sometime I got to see him having a conversation with two men. If it was some bounty hunters I wouldn''t have cared but the thing is that the people he talked with didn''t seem like bounty hunters. These men wore white dress and wore masks that covered everything of their body making it obscure for anyone to guess what kind of person they are. I don''t think those brash bounty hunters had that much discipline to act near Crocodile in that way."

    Luffy and others had creased eyebrows when Smoker said that. They couldn''t understand why Crocodile went out of his casino to even talk with officer agents or some random bounty hunters. It only meant that these people were someone else!

    "On top of that, Crocodile spoke to them as equals, so they must be important. It was because of those two men that I was discovered and caught." Smoker replied while clenching his fists. He was incensed that he was caught so easily and forcefully brought back.

    "How did they catch you?" Ken asked. Ken thought Smoker had walked into the trap of Crocodile just like in the original story but it was nothing like that.

    "These men had weapons just like the one you took from me." Smoker replied. Ken looked embarrassed and in the next moment he took out the Smoker''s weapon. He didn''t need it anymore. With a throw he returned the weapon back. Smoker was surprised but accepted his old weapon back.

    "What more can you tell about these two men?" Ken asked. He was curious about how masked men suddenly appeared in Alabasta.

    "Nothing more. Only thing unique about one guy was that he spoke too much and was almost spilling out the secrets until the other guy stopped him." Smoker recalled what he had seen and said.

    Ken was in deep thought now. In Alabasta, the only person of significance was Crocodile. Nobody else interfered. But now this wasn''t the case. Not only the officer agents know of the identity of Crocodile much earlier than the story but also a new player had just entered the game.

    "Does it matter? Whoever comes and hurts the friends of Vivi-san, we will beat the shit out of them." Sanji said while his body was waving in front of Vivi. Vivi gave a distinct laugh seeing this.

    "Smoker, can you draw me what they look like?" Ken asked. Somehow he felt that the situation wasn''t as simple as everyone thought it to be.

 123. Old friends

    "Ken , why do you care? We can beat whoever comes." Luffy wasn''t really worried about the masked men. Like him other''s didn''t care too much. Though they might not be powerful like Luffy, the enemies they had faced until now couldn''t even stand in front of them.

    It was false to say that they were overconfident but they definitely felt like they could take the world. Ken looked at them with squinted eyes and asked.

    "Did you forget how badly Zoro was defeated by Mihawk? Or did you forget the pain our grandfather delivered us? Do you really think you can defeat everyone?"

    Luffy and Zoro shuddered hearing Ken''s words. Since Zoro was beaten down by Mihawk he had been aiming to become the strongest swordsman. And he was progressing fast but now when Ken reminded them both realized how far they actually were. All these characters had given them a false sense of belief that they could take down the world. Everyone of them had gone through a new world so in a way they thought that they could do the same with the current world.

    Ken then turned again to Smoker who was in a little trance. He had gone through the reports of Luffy and his crew and knew that Zoro was defeated by Mihawk according to multiple reports. But what was that about the grandfather of Luffy and Ken?

    He must really be a monster to raise someone like Luffy and Ken. Smoker nodded his head and Nami handed him a piece of paper. And surprisingly and fortunately, Smoker wasn''t bad at drawing. Within a few minutes he finished his drawing while Ken and others were finally able to see the men.

    Smoker also put on some shades in order to demonstrate that their clothes were really in white and masks were so weird that Ussop and Chopper ended up laughing. One mask was of a sunflower and the other was of a shark. These masks were over the top but it really did the job very well. It hid each and every feature of the two men.

    What Ken was thinking about really happened. He already had a guess when Smoker spoke of masked men and the drawings made him sure what kind of people these men were. Man! These guys were really bad at hiding. Why all the drama when they could easily show their faces around. These masks just gave their identity away.

    It was the CP organization. Only thing left to know was which number these people belonged to. CP9, CP0 or some other number that he didn''t know of. If it was Lucci they might really be in a little problem.

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    "Ken, who are they?" Nami asked as he could see the silence of Ken and was making her uncomfortable. The others felt the same. Ken didn''t reply and instead slapped Crocodile. And it was not just one slap, but multiple.

    Ken was trying to wake him up and needed to talk.

    "Ken stop, he will die." Chopper came running in to stop Ken but he continued slapping until his scarred cheeks became red and plump. With a small sound, Crocodile regained little consciousness.

    Chopper then proceeded to patch Crocodile up. They understood that Ken needed to talk with Crocodile about the people he had talked to before.

    "Ken, do you recognize the men in masks? They look funny." Luffy asked. He was still somehow holding his laugh after seeing their masks.

    "I have an an idea and I want to conform something." Ken replied. Patching Crocodile up would take some time so they all had to wait. The marines didn''t come with Smoker so there was nobody to see Smoker sitting with some pirates. Though it irritated him, at the end of the day they did save him.

    He was convincing himself that this was just payback for saving him. After this he would go back to his previous identity. After an hour of patching up in bandages, Crocodile was finally able to talk again. He had hatred in his eyes when he looked at Luffy and was silently gritting his teeth, but didn''t speak a word.

    Luffy just wiped the floor with him!

    Ken came forward and asked.

    "Who did you talk to?"

    Crocodile looked at him and then Smoker, he could already guess what had happened.

    "What a bad joke! Haha..  A marine joining up with a pirate to take down another pirate. Hahaha." Smoker laughed as he said that and then coughed. He still hadn''t recovered and was heavily injured.

    "Let me kick you one time to make your head right." Sanji said as his foot started burning but Chopper stopped him.

    "This isn''t the first time a marine and a pirate joined together and took down another pirate and probably won''t be the last. So get off your high horse and tell me what did you speak of with those masked men?" Ken asked as he angled towards him. Crocodile just looked at Ken and his eyes slowly went towards Robin. Those changes in the direction in his eyes was enough of an answer for Ken.

    This shitty guy just ratted on Nico Robin and told the organisation of her. This shouldn''t have been the case. All this time Robin was hidden well from the world government. But now it seemed like many things had changed. There were probably some spies in Baroque Works who must have seen her and told the World Government.

    Or maybe Emu had sent an order down to take out Alabasta and Robin was just an extra. Many things might have changed and this Emu guy might have just started working again much earlier than he expected. Whatever it was, Alabasta was still in danger.

    There were multiple reasons for why the CP organization was here and no matter what they would have to take these two men down. Ken slowly got up, looked at Robin and said.

    "Your old friends are here."

    "Old friends?" Robin was confused but then she thought of something and said.

    "The CP organization is here."

    Ken nodded his head. Robin shuddered and her knees went weak. Vivi who was beside her, embraced her immediately as she felt her fear.

 124. Cute maid

    But after fear, she felt confident. Vivi holding her made her remember that she wasn''t alone in the sea. The warmth of her friendship gave her the courage that she had lost a long time ago.

    "They are really powerful." Robin said in a meek tone.

    "And we will take them down." Ken replied. Luffy and others instantly came forward and hugged her. She really did come a long way from not trusting anyone to having friends who could even accompany her to death.

    Everyone had a smile on their face while Smoker''s face was an ugly frown. He had heard of CP organization but never saw them in real life, and now that he had seen them in real life, an organization that belonged to his side decided to join with the enemy!

    This was betrayal of the highest order. He wanted to take this knowledge and throw it to the face of Sengoku right now.

    "Smokey, you don''t look so good. Are you hungry?" Luffy asked, confused. Smoker''s face became red and proceeded to swing his weapon on Luffy, who had to dodge.

    "Calm down Smokey. We have meat. You can eat them too." Luffy said, still thinking that Smoker was hungry.

    "Smoker, do you feel betrayed?" Ken asked as he could imagine what Smoker was thinking. He was sent to prison and handed over to the pirates by the people of his own side. This must have hurt his ideology quite a lot. Luffy was always known for breaking ideologies and making people suffer.

    But Ken, who knew the truth, always wanted to break people from the inside. He always liked Smoker so he was glad that a situation came up which showed Smoker the mirror and let him understand how the world worked.

    "Shut up. You know nothing." Smoker roared, not sure if he was roaring to himself or Ken.

    "Hah! All this time you have been clamouring about marines helping the people and yet again I proved you wrong. Didn''t you see how Cocoshiya village suffered? Now you are in Alabasta, and you can already see how the people here are suffering, but what did the marines and the World Government do? Nothing. If you want more examples, there are multiple islands in East Blue which are controlled by the World Government and where people are used as slaves."

    "I said shut up!!" Smoker said and punched Ken only to be stopped by Ken very easily. Smoker didn''t even use his full force because he couldn''t argue against the truth that Ken stated. Ken didn''t push more as there was no need to.

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    He would come to realize soon anyways of the real world, but then he looked at Crocodile who had a gloomy face.

    "You remember the last thing I said over the phone?" Ken asked. Crocodile tried to remember what Ken had said but he seemed to have forgotten it because Ken had made him extremely angry at that time. Those small-time pirates really proved to be his bane.

    "No.." Crocodile answered because he knew that if didn''t answer he would be eaten down by Zoro, Luffy, Ken and Sanji.

    "I told you that whatever you are looking for you will never get." Ken said.

    "How does a kid know what I want?" Crocodile spat on the side while chiding Ken.

    "It doesn''t matter what I know or not. A person like you who didn''t even have the courage to live in the New World and came back with tails curling behind their legs wants to rule the world? What a laughable tale! Even Kaido doesn''t dare to say such words and small-time pirates like you want to dream such foolish dreams without having the power." Ken humiliated him.

    "What do you know about my ambitions, kid? You know nothing. I will get my hands on what I want and then I want to see how you dance around me." Crocodile yelled.

    "You didn''t understand my words. Did you?" Ken replied. "The Government had always known of your foolish ambitions and they just let you do whatever you wanted. The people you met today are the CP organization, this small personal army belongs to Marijoa. They just made a fool out of you and asked about Nico Robin while giving you false promises. You are just being played and toyed with."

    "This is impossible. Nobody knows what I want." Crocodile denied whatever Ken said.

    "Che.. It''s useless to speak with deranged criminals. Smoker, take him away." Ken said.

    "I am not your maid." Smoker replied.

    "That''s sad. You will make a very cute maid." Ken replied remembering him when he exchanged bodies with Tashigi in Punk Hazard. Crocodile wanted to scream more but Nami proceeded to use her magic and make him shut up.

    It was time for them to go to Alubarna. Smoker didn''t bother to speak more and just took Crocodile on his shoulders and went back to his ship.

    "Smoker, don''t reveal the wrongs of Crocodile until the King declares, otherwise you will be betrayed again. Hide him until there is an official declaration." Ken shouted at the back.

    "You don''t have to guide me, Punisher." Smoker replied.

    "Good things often go unnoticed." Ken shook his head. While Luffy was busy looking for food around. They had already finished most of the food supplies in these days and thus needed some stock from Rainbase.

    After an hour of staying at Rainbase and making sure that their supplies were full again, they started their journey again to Alubarna. This time with more speed than the previous time. The CP organisation was involved this time and thus this needed special care.

    Crocodile was a baby in front of this organisation. Crocodile at least had his own ideologies that he defended but these mad men had nothing. They just followed orders and didn''t even feel a thing even if a country gets wiped away just to settle their mission. Ken really hated the CP organisation and he couldn''t wait to show them hell.

 125. Time for the animals

    The group began their trip to Alubarna, this time with a heightened sense of purpose and determination to reach their destination. Ken wasn''t sure who had been assigned to this mission, but that only made him more excited to take part in it himself. The carriage that they had arrived in once more began to half sail across the arid desert after it had dropped them off.

    "There are moments when I find myself wishing we had the thestrals." While Nami was peering out the window, she said. Thestrals were fictional creatures from the Harry Potter series that had the ability to both fly and draw carriages.

    "Yeah, I wish that was something we had." There were other people who nodded their heads. ''Sailing'' over the desert would take too much and the crew didn''t have much time to go through that.

    "We can use the Bifrost to get to the capital.". As Ken thought back on it and said, he recalled that his Bifrost could also be used to travel slowly if it was positioned in the sky in the form of a platform and some animal was employed to draw a carriage behind it.

    Even though Banchi was a very good turtle, in the end he was going to be quite slow in the plain land.

    "Will that work for us?" Vivi inquired about this since she, like many others, was confused about how the power of Ken operated. As soon as Ken mentioned that they could fly, everyone''s eyes lit up with excitement. Of course, many people in this place were already able to fly, such as Sanji, whose power had already granted him the ability to do so, Chopper, who could easily transform into a number of birds and fly around, and even Nami, if she got her hands on the flying broom; however, flying while seated in a carriage was an entirely different experience.

    Ken couldn''t help but wonder what these people would think and feel if they had ever lived in the world Ken had created before, one in which flying was simple and commonplace. He then said while shaking his head.

    "You have completely missed the idea here. If I open the Bifrost, we will be able to use the carriage and "fly" towards the capital city, but in order to do so, we will need an animal that is capable of pulling the carriage at a very high rate of speed. Banchi excels in environments with sand and water, while it is less effective in plain ground. Because of this, he will move very slowly, which is essentially equivalent to walking on earth." Ken reminded.

    When Ken placed the cards on the table, everyone''s faces took on a defeated expression. Everything that made us excited was for naught in the end. On the other hand, Luffy suddenly stood up out of nowhere. The expression on his face suggested that he had just had a brilliant idea. Ken felt uneasy in response to this.

    "What exactly are you pondering?" Ken was compelled to inquire about it.

    "Do you agree that we need an animal to pull with? And there''s no way that''s Bacnhi. Why don''t we inquire with Caroo?" Luffy remarked as he looked at the yellow duck bird, who appeared to be having a good time hanging out with them. When Luffy stated that, Caroo immediately felt terrified, and all of its feathers began to stand on up.

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    "Unfortunately, Luffy, this is not possible since Caroo was not old enough or strong enough to pull the carriage when she was young." Vivi said as she clung to her cherished animal companion.

    "But we can use Ken''s powers on Caroo. Can''t we?" Luffy said. The others, including Ken, jumped at the sound of such remarks. Ken had never considered his method in this particular way before. During this entire period, he had been considering applying his method to conscious human beings. However, what about the animals?

    "System, is it possible for animals to be accepted?" Ken questioned the topic in his head.

    [

    Any being that is even partially sentient is welcome. Since the animals in this world can mostly understand human language, they could be called as more than half sentient beings.

    ]

    As Ken turned his attention to Caroo and Banchi, a broad grin spread across his face. Both of the animals started trembling and ran behind Vivi and Robin out of fear. However, it was only natural for Ussop, Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro to have devil eyes. Even Chopper couldn''t hide his excitement about it.

    "Ken, can it be done?" Vivi inquired about this because, in her mind, it was impossible to bestow characters from a separate universe upon the animals. Ken gave a slight nod in agreement.

    "Wohoo!!"

    "Yipee!"

    Ussop, Luffy, and Chopper started dancing and cheering as they found out that they, too, would be obtaining super dogs.

    "You are starting the celebration far too soon. What if the character they choose isn''t a good one?" However, as expected, the three were not paying attention to Ken''s statements and instead were imagining various outcomes in their heads. Vivi and Robin gave Ken the okay to use his "Devil fruit" on Banchi and Caroo by nodding their heads in agreement.

    Both of the animals were terrified that their owners were going to leave them, so they assumed a puppy-like expression. However, neither of the women was fooled by this appearance. It would be of great assistance to the crew if the Devil fruit of Ken could provide these creatures with the boost they need to perform at their best.

    Everyone gathered around once Banchi and Caroo had been presented to them. Nobody would regret not having the chance to experience the world that these animals would be coerced into. Within a very short amount of time, they had entered the system space. The first one to go was Caroo.

    Even though he was grieving, he embraced whatever was to come with an open heart and a willing spirit.

    [

    Creating a simulated version of the world for the subject Caroo.

    Simulating..

    World selected...

    ]

    Soon everyone was forced upon a new world. A world that appeared to be completely dark in every direction.

    "Why is it such a gloomy night? Does this earth not have any sunshine? I really hope Caroo doesn''t perish because of the freezing temperatures." Robin said while maintaining her typical negative outlook on life on the world.

    "Robin, please refrain from using language that is so insulting against my Caroo." Vivi screamed, but she was terrified for her beloved animal companion.

    "No ... There is light.. Take a look at those insects that are sparkling." Luffy yelled, and then some insects that appeared to be emitting lights from their tails appeared. The same as when Ken was a glow worm in his prior existence.

    "This is such a lovely thing. I have to know, is it possible for me to transform into these bugs?" Chopper said as he attempted to imitate the insects that he was observing but was unsuccessful. While this was going on, Ken got a better look at the insect. Because of the contrast between the light and the darkness, at first it was unclear whether or not the creature in question was actually a glow worm.

    But eventually he was able to glimpse the insect, and when he did, his eyes grew quite big. The insect''s body was covered in a white shell, and it was significantly larger than the ordinary glow worm. The tail was far too large, and during the night it flashed brightly, illuminating the surrounding area.

    And there were several of such to be found. And this location wasn''t even a world; it was just a cave!

 126. The new buff guy

    "How big is this cave?" Robin asked as she could see the massive size of the cave from the flashing firefly like creatures that produced constant lights. Though the light seemed quite bright it still failed to illuminate the whole cave.

    "This looks like a whole new world." Vivi said as she was more curious about the world her Caroo was pushed in and wanted to know how Caroo could end up in a cave and what kind of being Caroo was in this new world. While everyone was looking around, Ken and Chopper was busy looking at the insects. Chopper wanted to change himself to this new insect while Ken was making sure what he saw was real.

    It was because he knew these insects. These fireflies in this world had a different name. They were not categorized in the species of insects at all. In fact, the animals, fishes and all kind of species that were not humans here had a totally different name. They were called Pokemon.

    And these little firefly type insects were known as Illumise and at this moment they were sleeping with their tails illuminating the surroundings.

    "What are these bugs? Why can''t I change into them?" Chopper was frustrated. According to his knowledge, the beast genes in him could allow him to change once he was pushed into a new world and could change his physical body into an animal or any kind of species of that world so why wasn''t it working in this new place.

    "Chopper, we aren''t actually in a new world and there is a very few chance that you could ever copy these species. Or maybe your character progression is very slow." Ken wasn''t sure why Chopper wasn''t able to copy these bugs and could only speculate.

    "These are known as Illumise and are categorized as Pokemon which people catch and fight battles." Ken said. Everyone''s eyebrows creased when Ken mentioned battles. Especially Chopper who looked disgusted. Ken could understand that feeling but then he started to explain what kind of world this was and the more they listened the more they understood that this world was totally different from other world.

    Other worlds had big villains, right and wrong was distinct in other worlds but here, here it was just peace and world tournaments. Though Ken said that even in these world, there were villains hellbent on changing the world but from the words of Ken everyone could see that these villains amounted to nothing.

    "I want to live in this world." Chopper declared. How could he not. This was a dream world for him. He would be revered as a God here if he lived here. A person who could turn himself into any world or in this case any Pokemon if he could copy them.

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    "Good luck with that." Ken said. While everyone discussed of this new world with fervor, there was a sudden tremor in the gave followed by a very loud noise. That noise came in intervals. The noise was so loud that it almost shook the cave.

    "What is that noise?"  Vivi asked while putting her hand on her ears.

    "This is so loud." Nami said

    "Sounds like a snore." Zoro said as he felt that the noise which came in intervals was probably some heavy snoring as he himself was a heavy sleeper.

    "What are you talking about? How can this be a snore marimo?" Sanji said as he refused to believe that any animal could give such a loud snore. Menanwhile Luffy had come across a huge dark figure and shouted.

    "I think I found the source." Luffy said. everyone came forward and looked at what Luffy was pointing at. Nami illuminated the surroundings and everyone got to see the huge figure. Zoro was right, this was a snore as the animal was sleeping.

    The Pokemon was Tornadus. One of the legendary Pokeomon and Ken could already tell that Caroo''s character was this huge guy.

    "Who is this guy?" Luffy asked. Nami had used her magic to make the snore noise being loud in their ears.

    "Tornadus, this is the guy Caroo was chosen for. It is one of the legendary Pokemon." Ken said. By this time they had fairly understand the world from the mouth of Ken. Everyone was instantly happy knowing that this big guy was the one Caroo was chosen for.

    "How powerful is it?" Luffy had already climbed on the body of Tornadus. It was possible because the system had allowed them to strut around but not affect the world in any way. They were more like invisible visitors of this world.

    "Well, he is supposed to bring tornados and storm,, hated by farmers and has a eternal enmity against his brother Thundurous. He has two forms. The current form or as I call it, the genie form and the other is Therian form which is a like a duck but with wide wings and huge body. They are known to be very fast in air and could travel very long distances." Ken explained. The more he did, the more everyone''e eyes shone.

    Weren''t they here because they needed someone to pull the carriage? Weren''t they here because they needed a large animal? Caroo fulfilled all of their wishes with a single swipe.

    Luffy, Usopp and Sanji were looking more closely at Tornadus with sparkles. They wanted to cook him. Caroo, who had been just sleeping after getting into the character woke up with a start as it felt a chill.

    Without much thought, the time sped up and once Tornadus went out to see the world and fight Thundurous. It was there they came to know the power of legendary pokemon and they were more than happy for Caroo.

    [

    Character progression for subject Caroo -30%

    ]

    Caroo was back in the arms of Vivi but there were no changes. They expected Caroo to look like Tornadus now but there was nothing like that.

    "Caroo can you change yourself to Tornadus?" Vivi asked as she hugged Caroo.

    "Yaaa.." Caroo said while spreading it''s feathers.

 127. Alubarna

    Caroo was excited and started to change into something else. A dazzling light reflected off of Caroo''s body, and the yellow duck quickly transformed into a massive green body that stretched 10 feet. Tornadus'' Theran incarnation, which had a green body, was a very different form than its''s genie form.

    After the transformation, Caroo no longer resembled its former self at all. In appearance, he was more imposing and godlike. The Caroo was so overjoyed that it cried and took flight after spreading its feathers. The resulting wind was so strong that people had to cling to their surroundings in order to avoid being swept away.

    When Luffy stared at Caroo with his meat eyes, a broad grin spread across everyone''s features. The thought of eating Caroo had already crossed his mind. Ussop inevitably intervened to smack some sense into him. As soon as Caroo had finished his aerial explorations, he landed and resumed his human normal duck shape.

    "Sugee Caroo. You are amazing." Vivi stated while cuddling up to him. As a group, they all came to congratulate Caroo.

    "Banchi time has come." Ken said. In unison, they nodded, and then returned to the system space. Upon seeing Caroo, Banchi''s eyes glowed with excitement. Its entire existence had been spent in the shadows, but now it had a chance to alter its course. Indeed, it beamed with enthusiasm.

    [

    Banchi is trying to act like a character.

    Simulating..

    Choosen character..

    ]

    Banchi thus began a new life assisted by the system. Banchi didn''t get a new world, and the Pokemon world was still there. When Ken realised he was in the Pokemon universe, he naturally assumed that Banchi, like Caroo, would be given a legendary Pok¨¦mon but  Banchi got Blastoise. Gary''s first starter Blastoise from the Pokemon series.

    Gary''s mobility and the fact that it had been trained meant that the crew could finally get their first look at the Pokemon world, and it was mind-blowing. The experience exposed them to a wide variety of Pokemon, and it stoked everyone''s desire to become a Pok¨¦mon trainer.

    It was impossible, but wishing for it wouldn''t hurt.

    Banchi was back in the real world after living the known life, and he brought something extra with him. A pokeball. With the help of the pokeball, Robin managed to capture a Banchi. Like Caroo, Banchi could transform into a Blastoise, albeit it lacked the latter''s raw strength at the time. Banchi would need a lot of time to adjust to his newfound authority.

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    "With that out of the way, I believe it is time to head back to Alubarna. Caroo, can you fly while pulling the carriage?" This was a question that Ken had.

    "Yaaa..."

    "Perfect." With that, Nami began enchanting the carriage in which they had arrived at Rainbase, ensuring that it would follow Caroo through the skies without a hitch.

    Sanji signed on as coachman and the crew took off after tying a rope around Theran Caroo''s neck. This flight was the first time the entire crew had ever been in the air at the same time.

    "I need to figure out how to fly." Luffy muttered, looking downcast over not being able to fly just yet. Even though he was a celestial, he had a ways to go before he could take to the skies. Sanji prepared some refreshments in advance, and as they looked out across the barren desert, everyone jumped in for a bite. At top speed, Caroo''s Theran shape carried it through the air. Caroo may not have finished Tornadus''s character, but what was there was enough for it to keep its Theran shape and travel great distances.

    In contrast to Ken''s simple hamburgers, Luffy dug into a meat sandwich. Everyone enjoyed the burgers that he had trained Sanji to make. While staring out the window, Ken took a bite out of his burger. It was as though he were back in an aeroplane, though this time it was flying much lower to the ground than in his reality.

    "What''s on your mind?" As Ken appeared to be lost in contemplation for a moment, Nami couldn''t resist asking.

    "It would have been nice if the people were connected to each other and moved around more often instead of living their whole lives on an island."

    "Hmm.. They use ships to get anywhere." In addition to Robin, many people didn''t understand what Ken was talking about.

    "No.. They just aren''t linked properly. Days of sailing are required to reach the next island, assuming they are successful. They have to resort to the archaic practise of calling in den den mushi. You have witnessed Vivi''s world, and you know how far ahead of its time it is. This planet needs advanced gadgets and widespread communication just as much as any other." Ken said.

    After witnessing Vivi''s home, everyone fell silent. There was only one big problem in that world, and it was that some bad people were in charge of the quirks. Other than that, though, the people were happy and the government worked well. In spite of its flaws, it was an improvement over their current situation.

    Though she had forgotten much of it and was too young to to understand, Vivi knew that these wealthy kings never cared to care about their peasants because she had gone to Reverie for the conference herself. There were not many kings as good as his dad, and he tried his best.

    "What are our options?" Zoro asked, his eyes closed and his scarlet blade clutched tightly in his hands.

    "Not right now, but maybe we can do something about it in the future." Ken said. After nearly an hour in the air, the massive city built high above the land appeared on the horizon below them. Indeed, Alubarna was a fascinating city in its own right. It was extremely difficult to conquer the city since it was elevated a few feet off the ground and the only way in was via the meandering staircases that connected its many stories.

    Vivi was thrilled to be returning to his hometown, but she soon realised that this trip to the capital city might be her last for a very long time.

 128. Chaka and Pell

    The carriage didn''t stop outside the city, and it flew straight towards the castle. Since the carriage was flying close to the city in the air, many people got a glimpse and were astounded. They had seen huge birds flying in the air, but a bird that was drawing a flying carriage? This was the first time because such things were never possible because they would go against the laws of physics, which were normally known to men.

    As the carriage approached the castle, a huge bird also flew off from the castle. The bird was half the size of a Threan Caroo, but it had a white dress on its body. He was Pell, one of the two head guards of the Alabaster royal family. He''d consumed the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon.Since it was a bird-type zoan, he could fly. After a few seconds of flying, he approached Caroo and yelled.

    "Who are you people?" "Why are you here?"

    Sanji was about to answer when Vivi peeked her head out of the carriage and shouted in reply.

    "Is that you, Pell?"

    "Princess Vivi, why are you here?"

    "It really is you, Pell. I haven''t seen you in a long time. Did Igaram give you the information?" Vivi asked.

    "He returned a few days ago. You mentioned making some powerful friends. It looks like you really did." Pell said, still eyeing the carriage and the huge bird, that though he couldn''t understand how the carriage was flying so easily in the air, he associated this phenomenon with some kind of devil fruit. He had once heard of the Devil Fruit of Lion Shiki, which had the power to float things in the air.

    Perhaps one of the people she had become friends with had eaten the devil fruit.

    "Princess, your father is eagerly waiting for you." "Please follow me." As he turned around and flew towards the castle, Pell said.Caroo cried out again and followed Pell. Pell wasn''t able to recognise him as Caroo, but it didn''t matter. He would soon

    The carriage landed in the main courtyard of the castle while the King, Igaram, Chaka, and Pell waited on the side. Cobra had heard a lot about this pirate group and how helpful they had been in making sure that her daughter was safe and sound. Though Igaram did speak about Robin, he didn''t seem to mind. Crocodile was manipulating everything, and he was certain that Robin, too, had no way out of his clutches.

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    Vivi was the first to come out of the carriage and ran towards her father to give him a hug. She hadn''t seen him in such a long time, and she missed him. Cobra had tears in his eyes, seeing his daughter safe in his arms. Following Vivian, Luffy, and others, Of course, Luffy came out in the hope of fighting the bad guys.

    "Where are the CP8? I will beat them." Luffy shouted

    "Did he just say the wrong number?" -Nami

    "It looks like it." -Zoro

    "How can someone forget a single number and mess it up?" - Chopper

    "Imagine him being a scientist." Ken said, and his words brought goosebumps to everyone. After the initial emotions between Cobra and Vivi, he looked at the friends that her daughter had made in the sea. Vivi proceeded to introduce her new friends to Cobra, and even Igaram came forward and spoke of the things they did together.

    "Papa, can we get inside? We need to talk."

    "Sure. Sure.. You have come after going through a long, long journey." Cobra heartily welcomed them. They were brought to the main hall, where the King normally sits and talks with the subjects and his advisors. Since they were the guests, there was nobody in the huge hall.

    Food was served, and of course Luffy dove into it without caring for any manners. Even Ussop and Chopper got busy eating along with Caroo. Caroo''s transformation gave Pell and others a scare. Vivi didn''t say much and just said that Caroo had eaten some kind of devil fruit that made him this way.

    She trusted everyone here, but the crew had also trusted her with a top-level secret, and she wasn''t ready to just speak about this tightly held secret to even her own family. She sat near her father and proceeded to tell him everything about everything that had happened until now.

    The Crocodile, the World Government''s conspiracy, the CP secret agents... everything. Cobra had sweat covering his forehead as he continued to hear about the real reason their kingdom was targeted. He really didn''t think that their greatest secret would almost bring down their entire kingdom.

    "You want to go with them?" Cobra asked Vivi, as he understood that the next phase of their plan would require outside help, and this could only be done if she and him were out of the picture.

    "Papa, I am sorry... I have not been a great daughter, but I will have to do this for the safety of our citizens. I promise you, after all this is over, I will be back." With tears in her eyes, Vivi said.Seeing her tears, Chaka, Pell, Cobra, Igaram, etc., everyone that belonged to her family, cried. But they only did so in a few seconds.

    Not only Vivi would have to go through fire to safeguard the country; Cobra himself would have to vanish if he wanted to save himself. But if he did vanish, he would have to find a successful heir to the throne while he was temporarily gone. Someone who would act as a double agent, working for the government but actually working for him and making sure that the country was safe.

    Of course, there was this other headache, the Revolutionary Army, that he would have to meet and ally himself with. What a mess! A single secret had almost made their family fall apart.

    "Has Crocodile really been taken down?" Cobra asked as he couldn''t yet believe that their greatest threat was taken down behind the scenes. She nodded her head in smile. Her friends were really powerful.

 129. Pluton

    Vivi nodded her head with a wide grin. Taking down Crocodile wasn''t really hard for their Captain and he was sure that Zoro, Sanji, Ken and even Ussop might be able to take down Crocodile. He was never a threat once she got to know how powerful her friends were.

    "What do you want to do with the secret agents. They aren''t here from the looks of it." Cobra said as the moment he got to know about the secret agents, he had sent people to check if anyone had infiltrated their castle or anything odd that might have happened recently. Thankfully there was none.

    "If the CP agents aren''t here than it only means that they have contacted the rebels and would try to boost them in order to take down the royal family." Ken commented as Cobra was thinking hard.

    Ken''s words suddenly made his mind clear. It was true. The rebels had garnered a huge number of people under themselves and even if the Baroque Works were no more a threat, the rebels were still there.

    "Koza.." Vivi mumbled under her breath. Koza was one of her childhood friends and they had spent a lot of time together. In fact, any normal person would say that both of them were childhood sweet hearts but now everything had gone to the opposite direction. She wasn''t sure if she could consider him as her friend.

    "Then I guess we will have to wait until the rebels storms the city." Ken said.

    "But people will get hurt until then." Vivi said as her heart was breaking seeing all the injustice that her country was facing.

    "Relax Vivi, Crocodile has been taken care of and Smoker had been advised to catch people who were using Dance Powder to make artificial rain. Soon there will be rain in all the parts of the country and these rebels would stop fighting. Their strength would dwindle as soon as Koza announces. It would be then that we would strike." Ken said and as if words were like God''s letters, there was a thunder sound.

    Black clouds were slowly forming over the city. Smoker after catching Crocodile had ordered the marines to catch all the people using Dance Powder. Of course, catching them wasn''t easy, more so now that the CP agents were actively trying to derail his plan. But the marines that were directly under Smoker had caught some people using Dance Powder and were been taken down. The little change had already brought the black clouds over the city.

    And in fact it was the same in Nanohana and 2 other cities in the country. It was a small start but at least it had started. Cobra had a smile on his face when he heard the thundering sounds. Dance Powder could only produce rain, but never thundering sounds. This meant that the ecosystem was finally turning back to normal.

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    "Can I see the Poneglyph?" Robin out of nowhere came forward and asked Cobra. He was taken aback and looked at Vivi for suggestion.

    "Papa, she can read Poneglyphs. You can allow her to read the texts." Vivi said.

    "You.. You can read them?" Cobra was surprised. He had known of the massacre that happened that supposedly wiped out everyone who could read those texts. Since she was able to read them, it meant she was one of the survivor of Ohara.

    Robin nodded her head.

    "You are a survivor of Ohara?" Cobra asked again to which Robin had a change of face but at the end she nodded again.

    "I am sorry." Cobra asked for forgiveness. He knew how painful it could be for anyone who lost everyone. "Come with me."

    Robin was the only person who followed Cobra as nobody seemed to be interested. Only other person that could read those texts was Luffy, and he was busy stuffing himself with meat. Robin went to the secret vault that the royal family maintained and came back after reading them.

    "Robin-san what did you get to know?" Sanji asked with his heart eyes. By that time only Cobra and the crew were left in the Hall and everyone had gone away for their own work. The rebels were coming for the city so they needed to do preparations.

    "The Poneglyphs tells us about the location of an ancient weapon. Pluton." Robin said. "In Wano."

    "Wano.."

    "Why do I feel like I have heard that name before." Zoro said.

    "Ken had mentioned that island multiple times. Wait, I remember. That person name Kozuki Oden belonged to Wano. Didn''t he?" Nami asked as she was preset when Ken said that Oden had died in front of Buggy.

    Everyone looked at Ken who was busy eating peanuts.

    "What are you looking at me for?"

    "This ancient weapon is in Wano." Nami asked.

    "Yes.. So?" Ken was confused why did it matter if he knew Wano or not.

    "Then we can use the take the weapon for ourselves once we get to Wano." Ussop said as he had stars in his eyes and already imagining having a huge gun in his hand and shooting down everyone, or maybe something like his bow which he would be able to use soon.

    "Good idea but it''s not possible." Ken poured water on their dreams. Though Luffy never really cared about the Ancient Weapons he was interested to hear about them.

    "Why?"

    "The country of Wano is a closed country and bringing that weapon out means the country will open its borders. That is not possible for the current Wano."

    "Open its borders? What does that mean?" Nami asked.

    "You will understand when we will get there. For now forget about the weapon and concentrate how we should handle the rebel army and find those hiding rats because I am sure they will be blended among the rebels and cause havoc." Ken said

    In the original story Baroque Works caused havoc even though Koza himself wanted to stop the attack long ago and Ken was sure that the CP agents would use the same tactic.

 130. Exclusive training

    "We can stop the rebel army outside the city and then confront them." Vivi voiced her view while maintaining her typical hero complex. She left the country just to save her country and her family and now since it was time to step up, she was the first person to stand out and help.

    "That''s a nice idea but there will be thousands of them." said Zoro.

    "Then we will fight those thousand men." declared Luffy.

    "Well that''s not a bad idea, I can take 500 men alone.." Sanji expressed his certainty.

    Zoro grinned at Sanji and declared, "I can handle 600 men by myself."

    "Oh, I can handle 800 guys."

    "I can handle a thousand men."

    "I can take 2000 men.."

    "What? You want to fight marimo-head..?"

    "Let''s take it out curly eyebrows..."

    When Nami witnessed their loud claims, she came over and struck both of them in the head. While it is true that each of these two men has the strength to defeat a thousand opponents, Luffy and Ken also possessed enormous promise and power. However, they weren''t there to cause them anguish or suffering. They would be there to identify the two CP operatives and eliminate them with less suffering.

    "So what do you want to do?" Nami enquired. Vivi didn''t intend for them to fight, even though she did advise going up to them and confronting them. She intended for them to go and make every effort to halt these charging insurgents.

    "Vivi is right. We can take fight them out in the desert." Vivi''s words were clear to Luffy in her own manner.

    "Luffy, I didn''t mean it that way." Vivi trembled in dread that Luffy would inflict too much harm on the rebels.

    "But that is the only way." Ken replied as he remembered the time when Vivi went out and shouted to stop the rebel army, but nobody listened. He could wager that the incident would repeat itself. Therefore, shouting at the rebel troops was useless. For this reason, the palace was preparing for a fight and didn''t believe they would back down in the face of some hollering.

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    "Yosh. We will fight them until those agents show themselves." Luffy had made up his mind.

    "Luffy.." Vivi wished to stop, but Ken stopped her for doing so.

    "Vivi, it''s pointless to try to halt him, and do you really believe that so many people will hear your calls?" Ken queried.

    "I can build enormous amplifiers that will enable them to hear me more clearly and loudly." said Vivi.

    "You can but do the CP agents wouldn''t allow Koza and his rebels to hear your words." Ken emphasised. Hearing that made Vivi dejected.

    "Luffy and Zoro It''s time for you both to begin a different kind of exercise." Ken uttered.

    "Another instruction? Like going to a new world again?" Luffy inquired out of excitement. Ken said while shaking his head.

    No, you and Zoro should both learn how to use Conqueror''s Haki since you both possess it.

    Zoro and Luffy were perplexed. Though Ken had once explained them and in fact both of them had started to learn Haki including Sanji but none of them had an idea of how to use it or never knew if they had it.

    "Do I really possess Conqueror''s Haki?" Zoro inquired, still a little taken aback.

    "Of course, or else how would you even think of defeating Mihawk." Ken uttered.

    "Ken, do I not have it? Do I not have Conqueror''s Haki, please, tell me?" Sanji inquired after becoming agitated.

    "I''m not sure. Perhaps you do. Perhaps you don''t." Ken gave a hazy response because he was unsure if Sanji possessed the Conqueror''s Haki. Zoro had already demonstrated this ability in Wano, but Sanji never did. In addition, it was thanks to Zoro''s Conqueror''s Haki that he was able to survive the assault by Kaido and Big Mom.

    Otherwise, he would have perished in just that assault. Zoro grinned when he realised Sanji might not possess the Conqueror''s Haki. Sanji''s visage fell when he heard it because he had no intention of being defeated by marimo. He promised that he would try to learn Conqueror''s Haki even if this wasn''t possible if he wasn''t born with it.

    Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy were led by Ken to a vacant area close to the castle. Ken wanted to see if these two men could attempt to activate this skill even though he had no idea how it was done. Even the most basic version would be very beneficial.

    Ken continued by defining Conqueror''s Haki and outlining its significance to their journey. This was the thing that would separate them from the rest of the people in this world and they would have to master it no matter what. Of course, both of them continued to be perplexed even after explanation. They knew the principle, but they weren''t sure how to put it into practise. Ken made an effort to simplify things for them as much as he could. In reality, Ken was attempting to determine whether he possessed the Conqueror''s Haki himself. He would adore getting one.

    This strange instruction then began. For both of them to exercise with, some animals were brought to the field. In actuality, Sanji also enrolled in the skill training and began focusing on Ken''s remarks.

    "Won''t you practise the Conqueror''s haki?" Zoro questioned as he observed Ken guiding them before departing.

    "I''m unsure if I possess it. Since I learned about it, I''ve been attempting, but so far without success." Ken answered in a slightly dejected manner.

    "No need to fear, brother. You undoubtedly possess it. We brothers are the best in the world." Ken received some reassurance from Luffy, who rarely used flattering language.

 131. Monks

    So in the next few days Luffy, Sanji and Zoro got into training. After getting to know that even using the elementary form would allow them to make more than a thousand men lose consciousness, all three of them were pretty excited to awaken this power. Though all three of them were slowly learning two haki as they were sailing, using Conqueror''s Haki would be a cherry on the top.

    In fact, those three weren''t the only ones who were in training mode. Vivi, Nami, Usopp and even Robin were practicing their powers. Robin, after getting her first legitimate friends she wanted to help the crew in any way she could and thus she too started using her stand and making herself more accustomed to her power.

    Vivi did her part by producing walkie talkies for the guards of the palace, giving each of them. It was better than using den den mushi. It was faster and more handy than the living snail. Cobra had his eyes on top of his head when he saw his daughter eating more than the guards and producing weird items from her body.

    In fact she even conjured some weapons for the guards too. She had seen some modern weapons in her world and had a vast knowledge of weapons. Weapons that would not kill the enemies but neutralise them in the most non lethal way possible like tear gas guns. The guards were surprised to see such weapons in the hands of the princess but didn''t ask where she got those weapons from. In a way, they are thankful to her, because they too were citizens of the country and didn''t want to hurt the people who got swayed by some propaganda from a pirate.

    Vivi just said that she had eaten a Devil Fruit to her father. Her father was a little skeptical of this new power that his daughter had gotten her hands on but didn''t ask her much about it. He had already accepted that his daughter would leave for her voyage soon. He had always known that she always loved to go on an adventure and had a small fetish of being a pirate.

    It was one of the reasons she was so eager to go out on a secret mission. Now that she had gotten herself a crew, he was more than happy to let herself go. This also added to the fact that his own life was in danger and he had become a thorn in the throat of the World Government.

    Though Ken had spoken about his brother in the Revolutionary Army, he at the end only heard bad things from the news about them. So in a way he was skeptical about the Revolutionary Army. And in his own mind he was making a plan to escape from the clutches of the World Government during Reverie.

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    Along with Vivi, Chopper, Nami and Usopp too were practicing on their own. Usopp wanted to go to his next character as fast as possible. He had seen Ace, Ken and Luffy go to their second character and even Zoto too was approaching his other character. Only he was left behind. Though his character was very powerful, nonetheless he wanted to see if he could get himself a strong power.

    Interestingly, in the days of training there was one person who had completed the character completion in the days of training and that was Nami. When Nami came out after her first life, she had already more than half of her character completed and being in such a brutal world her completion had only gotten faster.

    Of course Nami came running towards Ken who was busy training Haki.

    "Ken.. I have done it. I want to experience another life."

    "I know. Call everyone." Ken said as he already got the notification that she had completed. She proceeded to make some bird origami with her magic and let them call everyone who had been scattered and trained by themselves. Everyone had their own life and lived mostly independently when they were on an island. This time too it was the same case.

    After half an hour everyone had returned to the palace. It took half an hour because Zoro got lost even after following the origami and was the last to return.

    "Zoro, get lost again and I will send you to hell." Nami almost hit him. She was dying of anxiety and this dude decided to get late. Zoro looked unapologetic as usual.

    "I hope Nami doesn''t get killed instantly after being born in a new world." Robin spoke in a very calm tone. She was as usual as pessimistic as ever.

    "Robin.. Don''t say such things." Vivi almost got scared listening to her.

    "Yosh, a new world! I wonder what kind of world it will be." Luffy was quite excited. Though they had gotten to see new worlds a few days ago, those kinds of things one could never get enough of. Maybe for Ken, sometimes it was a world he had seen before in his other life, but it wasn''t the same for others here.

    ''System, simulate a second character for Nami'' Ken took everyone inside the exclusive space of the system and ordered.

    [

    Choosing a character for subject Nami

    Choosing...

    Character selected.

    ]

    Nami vanished away and a new world emerged in front of the eyes of everyone. This time too it was a gender bender for Nami like Robin. Robin was okay with it but everyone was pretty sure that Nami was going to throw a fit about it when she would come back.

    A boy had just been born and quite early he was left on the doorsteps of a temple. The temple was a little weird and it was made along the crevices of the canyon. Actually many temples were built in such a way. It was beautiful and also very calm. These temples were inhabited by monks who lived away from the society.

    Just like other monks, the boy was brought up and was provided and taught in the ways of the monks, until one day everything changed for the boy.

 132. Everything changed when..

    Everything changed when the fire nation.... cough cough... I mean everything changed when the bald monk boy was subjected to a special test. A test to see if the boy was special. To see if the boy was the Avatar. Yes, the character which Nami got chosen into was Aang, the 82nd Avatar.

    When Ken first saw the child he couldn''t recognize him. He was too young to be recognized but when he saw the monks performing air bending, he knew which world Nami was sent into. Seeing this world again after such a long time had made him happy. He missed this series and he would be able to half live the whole life.

    After Aang came out as an Avatar, he went missing. Meanwhile, the Fire Nation attacked and the world around changed due to one ambitious asshole. The crew then followed the journey of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Appa and Momo. Later in their journey they were joined by Toph and even Zuko at the end with whom he learnt fire bending. It was one of a roller coaster ride for the crew where they got to see the adventures.

    "Appa looks so cute." Vivi said. Robin too thought the same.

    "I wonder how much meat we can get if we eat Appa." Luffy with his usual meat brain commented only to be berated by Vivi and Chopper.

    Nami under the guise of Aang continued living his life, how he learnt so much bending over the course of time and at the end was able to defeat Fire Lord. It was there everyone got to see Aang in his prime Avatar state and understood the horror of experiences of past lifetime. Aang, just a young teen, was able to make a fool out of Fire Lord even though he was being boosted by the comet that gave his fire bending a new edge.

    But at the end, Aang chose the peaceful route and took away the bending away from the Fire Lord. With that almost a century old war ended. But the story didn''t end there. Aang went on to become a father and was single handedly responsible for giving birth to the first legitimate air bender. He also got to see the boom of technology and the advancements made in the bending.

    In fact he got to see blood bending too in his later life and had to take away the bending from the guy who was committing crime using blood bending. With such events being experienced, Nami was back in the system space with everyone being happy. They went on to hug her. She too felt really accomplished after living that life. Though her previous life was quite interesting and had many wonders, this life was more adventurous.

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    At first she wanted to grumble about her gender change but the more she lived his life the more she got to know his feelings and his struggles. He was brought up in a specific way and the war challenged all of his beliefs that he had held since childhood. In fact, when he went on to talk with the last Avatar who was an air bender monk and advised him to kill the Fire Lord, he still foolishly refused to do so.

    That in itself was a huge gamble and thankfully it got paid off at the end.

    "War is cruel." Vivi said as she remembered her own kingdom was on the verge of going into war.

    "It always is." Robin commented.

    [

    Character completion for subject Nami -  30%

    ]

    "Nami what can you do right?" Ken asked as he was curious if she was able to do any kind of bending. She didn''t have a high character completions so she shouldn''t know too much.

    "I can do air bending." Nami said as she proceeded to show her expertise in air bending. Though it was not as smooth as Aang, it was still quite good. This would be a great help for her. Air bending and magic. That would be quite the combination.

    With that everyone was back in the real world. Everyone felt melancholic. Living and watching another life from some other life always gave them new experiences and new perspectives towards life. By this time, they had seen almost everything. Betrayal, love, hate, war, anger and everything known to mankind. This definitely made them much wiser.

    Of course even after that there was Luffy who didn''t bother with those kinds of things and even Zoro seemed to be taking a nap when Aang was on her journey. He would peep occasionally to see what was going on with the life of the young Avatar. Only swordsmanship could excite him and he was easily able to tell that these people could never have any good forms of sword fighting so he didn''t bother.

    Of course among all this, it was Sanji who was the most angry. Angry not on Nami but on Sokka. This guy who didn''t know any bending went on to be a major figure and even date women. Though one of them died in the journey, that didn''t stop him. He was really lucky even after being a normal young boy.

    This made Sanji envious. He somehow wanted to beat Sokka up, but it was not possible and he could only grumble on the floor drawing circles. Of course, nobody cared about him.

    As everyone was busy talking about the new world and Nami proceeded to practice her air bending, one of the guards came running in.

    "Princess, the rebels have appeared. Pel had sent the information that the rebels are 10 kms away from the capital coming towards us at a pretty fast pace."

    Everyone''s happy mood got destroyed in seconds.

    "I understand. We will make the arrangements." Vivi replied. She got up and suddenly went down on her knees and bowed to everyone present.

    "My friends. I know this is much to ask from you. But I hope you will help me stop the rebels." Vivi said in all sincerity. The crew got silent until Luffy went and knocked on the head of Vivi.

    "You don''t need to bow to ask for help. You can ask us directly."

 133. Not all are meant to be leaders

    A small force was stationed in the open desert a few kilometres from the city. Chaka and Pel were in charge of the small platoon that was sent from the capital with this force. Igaram, the main guard of the royal palace, was left in charge of watching over the King and making sure he wasn''t the target of any sly attacks.

    When Igaram chose to stay, Vivi actually objected because she thought Koza would never do such shady things, but Ken stopped her. It was the CP organisations they were talking about. For the sake of completing the task, they would do anything. killing infants in a genocide. There was no bottom line for them. Ken therefore delegated the King''s protection to Igaram and requested Usopp to serve as his personal guard and ensure that he was always in view.

    Igaram trusted the views of Ken as he had seen how efficient he was before and even brought the enemy''s right hand person under their wings. This needed some high level of trickery. Or at least Igaram believed that to be the case. Though Luffy was the Captain, Ken had always been the brain of the group because the Captain was an idiot most of the time.

    Ussop was more than content to remain behind because he still harboured some fear. Though Nami and Chopper was a little sad that they didn''t get chosen but this was the best. Ussop wouldn''t suffer any harm even if he was secretly assaulted because his body was already very strong to begin with.

    With that in mind the main crew had gone to front to confront the upcoming army. In fact, the Straw Hat were much ahead of the small platoon of Chaka and Pel, waiting for the rebel army to come.

    They were currently perched on chairs in the middle of an uninhabited desert, gazing out into the distance. They could clearly see the dust being thrown off in the distance from where they were standing. The rebel force was advancing on the Capital at this time. There were large speakers positioned next to their seats. These speakers were constructed from Vivi''s own flesh. She needed a louder voice if she wished to be heard. Ken gave her the freedom to do whatever she desired, despite not believing that it would be helpful.

    "So many people.." Chopper remarked as he observed the dust storm that had started as a result of the approaching rebel force. He felt both excitement and fear,  Excited because he would be finally able to showcase his power and abilities to his friends. This would be Robin first time too fighting alongside too with Straw hats and they too were a little expectant in the upcoming battle.

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    As the rebel troops drew near, Vivi started screaming into the microphone.

    "Everyone! Kindly halt!"

    Those words readily reached the ears of the Rebel army after reverberating across the sand dunes.

    "I am Vivi.. A citizen of the Alubarna... I am here to tell you that the main culprit who had caused the use of Dance Powder and making our country miserable had been caught... I want you to please wait for sometime because the rains that you all had been waiting would soon start.. Please..."

    Before she could continue, Koza, who was slightly further back in the army and had made his way out of the crowd of Rebel army members, yelled.

    "Vivi.. What are you doing here?"

    "Koza... I.." And again Vivi got stopped in her words but this it was more dangerous. Before anyone could even hear the sound of the gunshot in their hearing, a metallic noise was heard.

    Near Vivi''s face, Zoro had laid his blade horizontally. The gunshot was heard because someone from the rebel army shot at Vivi and Zoro came forward to stop the bullet from hurting her.

    Now that Zoro and Ken had made significant advancements in Observation Haki, Zoro moved forward to deflect the projectile this time. When Koza recognised what had happened, he nearly lost it.

    "Who fired a gun at her? Who? Come out now!" At the peak of his lungs, Koza yelled. As she spoke, Vivi again grabbed the microphone and said.

    "Everyone, please try to relax. I''ve said before that the criminal had been apprehended. The primary driving force behind all of this had been Crocodile." Vivi continued to give everyone a brief report while appearing unconcerned that someone had attempted to kill her. However, another gunfire was fired this time, but it came from a different angle. Once more, Zoro had to use his blade to save her.

    Now, Luffy and the others were furious. After the first shot, the rebel troops appeared to be in some way at ease, but after the second, they appeared to be losing patience. They had already come a long way, and there was no way they were stopping because of some loudmouthed teenager.

    They came to overthrow the Monarch and improve this nation. The rebel force marched once more while keeping those ideas in mind. Koza, who was terrified that his friend was shot twice had an ugly face when his orders were not heard at all and everyone just blindly marched.

    "Vivi, did you understand what I said earlier?" Ken enquired as he observed the crowd approaching them in a march. He didn''t really care about the army because they could take care of them. As she nodded, Vivi had tears in her eyes. She thought Koza would be able to help her but nothing of that sort happened.

    As the troops approached, Luffy was moving slowly in their direction while wearing his hat over his eyes. He was enraged by what had just occurred. And he desired to knock up a few individuals.

    "Luffy?"

    "Captain!"

    Everyone was baffled as to why Luffy was ambling slowly in the direction of the troops. But the next instant, they received their response. As soon as Luffy opened his eyes wide, an unseen aura wave began to spread out from him. The entire army was soon covered by the invisible wave.

 134. Jabra

    And then followed a load of men falling down on the sandy desert with a thud. Luffy had just used the Conqueror''s haki. This actually surprised everyone, including Ken himself. In the story, the first time Luffy used Conqueror''s Haki was in his fight with the fighting bull Motobaro, before he reached the Sabody which was at least 6 months away from now. Though the One Piece anime or manga wasn''t exactly clear of the time taken by Luffy to cross the first half of the Grand Line, he could already speculate how much time it would take for them to reach Sabody.

    Now seeing Luffy performing a controlled Conqueror''s Haki gave him a scare. Luffy had learnt this trick at least one and a half yearly. But that was good. it meant that their time in the New World would be less treacherous.

    While Ken was having those thoughts, the other crew members also were shocked. Though Ken had explained them the theory long ago, it was still hard for them to decipher that their Captain was such a badass.

    While the crew were shocked, the rebel army got scared out of their wits. They realized that this was something done by the Straw Hat thin kid but they couldn''t explain what just happened. This invoked more fear after seeing the unconscious men around. Instead of backing down, the men started running towards Straw hat with more ferocity. They refused to believe that this kid who looked half their age was more powerful and dangerous than them.

    "Gomu Gomu no - Storm."

    "Flanchet Shoot"

    "Roku no kata: Deng¨­ Raig¨­"

    "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"

    In response to the incoming rebel army, all the 4 men in the group proceeded to use some of their signature moves. Luffy used a barrage of punches in quick succession while jumping in the air. It felt like some kind of hellish storm was directed towards the rebel army, only the storm consisted of punches which stretched from high up in the air.

    Sanji made a sweeping kick in their direction which made his feet spew out flames that instantly lit a section of the army in fire. The immediate people had to run away in order to get rid of the fire and thus making the small army catch more fire in their clothes, thanks to dry weather and windy desert.

    Zoro used a series of lightning strikes at them. He wanted to use Sun breathing but he knew that if he used that, these people would die, so he chose the less lethal one. And Ken used the signature Uchiha move.

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    Both Ken and Sanji''s fire burnt almost 1/3rd of the coming men. Luffy had already taken down half of the men with his Conqueror''s Haki, and now with Sanji, Zoro and Ken attacks only a few hundreds were left and that too they survived because they were in the back. Only a few lucky ones in the front were safe. Koza was one of them.

    He gulped hard when he saw this. At first he was super scared when he saw that his own men were not listening to his orders and someone even shot at Vivi. He already knew that something was wrong when that happened. He was in fear that something might happen to Vivi.

    Now looking at the half men around, he was grateful that he was even alive. The men from behind watched with horror. They couldn''t believe what they saw. So many men were half dead in just a minute or so. They hadn''t even reached the Capital yet. Koza then proceeded to shout.

    "Everyone.. Stop.. This is a misunderstanding.. Stop now." Koza had to take advantage and hope that his men would stop. But instead of listening to his orders one of his men shouted instead.

    "Did you see? Did you see how the royal family is treating us? They have sent hired thugs to silence us. Our own countrymen are now lying in the desert. We need to get our own country back. Who is with me?"

    The other men got easily riled up by the words of this one man and started shouting.

    "We want our country back."

    "We want our rain back."

    "Give us the rain that you stole from us."

    "Nothing can stop us."

    Ken opened his sharingan and looked at the man who just gave a shout to rally his countrymen to the jaws of death. And when he looked closely at the man, Ken had a smile on his face. He has finally found his man. The one he had been actively searching for.

    Actually he had struck the jackpot here. At first he thought that the CP organisation might have been CP8, CP6 or some other CP numbers but no. They actually sent a member of CP9. One of the members who were actually revealed later at the Enies Lobby. And got beaten by Sanji at the end. It was with this guy that Sanji had first shown his fiery leg.

    Jabra.

    The one with a Fu Manchu moustache and had a long face. The one who ate the Inu Inu no Mi Model : Wolf. Sadly this was just a normal Zoan fruit and not like the Yamato''s Model : Okuchi no Makami, the one who was supposed to be the Guardian Deity of Wano.

    Ken didn''t waste a second and pulled out his Stormbreaker. The moment he did so thick clouds started forming above in the sky and his hands buzzed with lightning. He made a jump and reached near Jabra within a second.

    Jabra, who was busy rallying his ''fellow countrymen'' , had to step back. He actually wanted to hit back at Ken but stopped himself at the end. He needed the help of these men and he could only do so if he acted weak.

    "Jabra.. I am surprised that they sent you. Who came with you? Nero? Fukurou? Kumadori?" Ken asked with a wide smile on his face. But the words of Ken struck Jabra like a train. He couldn''t believe what he just heard.

    Those were the names of his fellow agents. And their names had always been secret, and not revealed to anyone.

 135. Diable Jambe

    While Ken was busy interviewing Jabra, Chopper, Nami, Robin and Vivi congratulated Luffy for his awakening of the Conqueror''s Haki. This made the crew feel that their Captain was more reliable than he looked. Even though they had always had faith in him, this only served to confirm that their Captain could be taken seriously when it counted.

    Luffy actually knew by that point that he would have to battle his way out and get stronger in order to defend his friends, his meat, and everything else he loved after having lived the life of Hiruzen and witnessed the wars. Since Ken insisted so often that they weren''t actually strong on a larger scale, the character development that ought to have taken place after his encounter with Aokiji had already occurred for a considerable amount of time.

    He had therefore always taken his training seriously. Although Luffy''s urgency wasn''t as strong as it had been following his near-death experience with Aokiji or Ace''s death in the original story, he was still making headway towards greater strength much more quickly than Ken had anticipated.

    Meanwhile, Jabra had his jaw on the floor hearing the words of Ken.

    "You.. You.. Who are you?" Jabra asked, his voice faltering.

    "Didn''t you see the bounty posters or are you just playing dumb like you always love to do with your opponents?" Ken queried. Jabra was known for toying with his "prey" constantly. Ussop had once endured in Enies Lobby as a result of his antics.

    Jabra had never experienced fear before in his entire existence. But he could certainly feel it here. He saw no other option but to fight this guy in the open. All this time he had manipulated the soldiers to do his bidding. When Vivi came forward to talk with the Rebel army, it was him who shot at Vivi couple of time after using Soru (very fast body movement, one of the styles of Rokushiki, also known as Navy 6 styles).

    He had seen the Straw Hat crew in the bounty hunters, so he was aware that even for him, battling all of these men might be challenging. These people were not to be trifled with, as evidenced by the large bounty, which was placed on their heads by knowledgeable individuals.

    Their bounty implied that they were worth exactly as many zeros as there were in the bounty. They might even be stronger than their bounties but there hadn''t been a case where the bounty proved to be wrong. Though Jabra didn''t think that these newbies would be more powerful than him but he didn''t underestimate by many degrees like the other pirates and bounty hunters tended to do so.

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    "Shigan"

    Jabra yelled and attempted to strike Ken with his finger acting as a gun. Just in time to avoid Jabra''s strike, Ken dodged. Even though he was taken aback, Jabra wasn''t demoralised by this evasion. He carried on with his next round of assaults.

    "Shigan"

    "Shigan"

    "Shigan"

    "Rankyaku."

    Jabra became enraged and launched a longer-ranged assault after using several Shigan and failing to even tear Ken''s cloth. The Rankyaku air slice attack could be launched with the feet, and it moved through the air at a fairly fast speed.

    Ken decided not to dodge this Rankyaku and took the hit o his Stormbreaker. Ken could only respond to the assault head-on because he was still not skilled enough to cover the Stormbreaker with his Haki. The axe-hammer withstood the blow admirably, and Ken was only slightly shoved back.

    The other soldiers of the Rebel army had faces like they have seen some of ghost. Truly, this appeared ghostly to them. Jabra moved far too quickly for them, and Ken''s evasive manoeuvres appeared phantom to their eyes. They were unable to precisely track Ken''s motions, and to them, he appeared to be completely immobile.

    The other troops were forced to disperse after witnessing such an intense battle. Whatever level of brains these people had, they eventually realised that this soldier didn''t precisely belong to their group and that perhaps this was done to trick them.

    After witnessing Jabra engage in such combat manoeuvres, Koza was certain they had been duped. In fact, it was Jabra who had approached him a few days ago with proofs that the King was a scum and was exploiting his citizens. Koza was already enraged, and after viewing the purported proofs, he set out on a mission with the Rebel army to retake the nation he cherished.

    But everything ended up being a massive hoax!

    "Everyone get away from the two or else you will be hurt. As far as you can, leave." Koza yelled. There was no need to tell the men twice. They had already started to disperse. Jabra had a bad feeling when he noticed the folks avoiding him. He used Geppo to fly in the air and then give a kick on the side to catch one of the men that was flying by. These Straw hats might be just pirates but the way, Vivi had fiercely tried to stop them meant that the crew would care for the men here. In actuality, none of the blows aimed at the Rebel army were lethal, and the fire that lit their clothing was quickly put out by sand on the ground.

    And in cases like these where there were many men and he was singled out, it was better to take hostage. As he was inches away from catching the neck of a feeling Rebel soldier, he was kicked right at the face with a fiery foot. He didn''t even have time to sidestep because the foot was moving so quickly. The foot fire reached such a high degree that Jabra''s side of the face was burned.

    And that force was strong enough to blast a few metres away.

    Of course, it was Sanji and the history almost repeated itself with Jabra.

 136. Pigs are treated better

    "The Vice-Captain was having a one on one fight against you. Why are you bringing your ''friends'' in this mess?" Sanji said as he puffed out a smoke. His feet were still in fire and was ready to deliver another ''Diable Jambe'' shot at Jabra.

    Jabra who was rolled a few rounds before slowly got up. His face and body was filled with sand particles attached, but the highlight was the face. A side of his face had been blackened and now sand had totally covered his burnt side. Jabra cried out in pain as he tried touching his face but touching the burnt part made him scream more.

    Jabra didn''t bother about the pain but now looked at Straw Hats crew with a more menacing expression. He was infuriated now. An attack on his ''handsome'' face made him lose his shit totally.

    Seeing no other way, he finally decided to use his trump card. His Devil fruit. He slowly turned into the hybrid model of wolf. In this form he was the best in combat. Everyone was surprised by the sudden change. This was the first time they had seen someone using their Zoan fruit. Though Luffy and Chopper could be called out as eating a Zoan fruit they actually haven''t seen anyone with hybrid model from a human.

    "You have done it and now you will face the consequences." Jabra shouted and disappeared from his place. Since he couldn''t get to the men, he would get to the women. He had already identified Robin and even if he was surrounded by the Straw Hats, at least he was fast enough to kidnap Robin. The problem of King could be handled by the other CP9 member who had already gone ahead.

    When he appeared near Robin and took his wolf claws to swipe at her, he was welcomed with a huge gust of wind. The gust of wind wasn''t strong enough to blow him away but he had to stop in his tracks.

    It was Nami. She was holding a staff at her hand that had a medium sized fan on the edge. Ken didn''t bother to give her the Avatar staff and instead she went through the other route. She used her wand to change it to the staff of Avatar. It was done on the same principle when Bellatrix had changed her wand into a whip when she was coercing Hermione in the dungeons.

    Now she just used her air bending and also her a blow of magic into the air bending to stop Jabra. She wasn''t strong enough like Luffy or others to punch strongly at the CP9 members as of yet but definitely had enough power to hold her own feet.

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    Jabra was flabbergasted when he was stopped. A puny little girl like her actually stopped her. He got more enraged and used her claws at Nami to tear her body apart only to hear a voice from behind.

    "Shakkotsu En''y¨­" (Burning Bones, Summer Sun)

    It was Zoro with his Sun breathing.

    He delivered a frontal slash towards Jabra after spiraling his body in the air. And this attack went straight for his neck. Jabra got scared hearing the sound and somehow his wolf instinct was screaming at him to dodge.

    "Soru"

    Jabra disappeared from his place but couldn''t do properly and blood got splattered at the place where he stood before. He was injured.

    The attack which was going to land on his neck spine ended up on his right shoulders on his back. A wide gash was easily seen that went through his cloth. A patch of redness could be seen from his behind. This time Jabra didn''t cry in pain but looked at Ken, Zoro and Sanji with fear. Apart from the first time when Ken just avoided his attacks, these ''nobodies'' were able to wipe the floor with him with only just one of their tricks.

    The bounties on these people were way off. These men should have the bounties on at least 200 millions. But of course, Ken didn''t give enough time to think and appeared near him using Body Flicker jutsu.

    Before he could say anything, Ken punched Jabra on guts and that too using Armamaent Haki. Jabra immediately spat out blood. He clenched his stomach and groaned.

    "We could have talked like civil men but no. You had to use your muscles to settle everything. Didn''t you learn anything from your boss? That guy can''t even pack a punch and still could order you around like a slave dog. What a disappointment you are." Ken said while he held the face of Jabra with tight grip.

    He also used Armament Haki in hands and thus Jabra could''t get away from his grip. Jabra seeing not other option used his sharp claws to attack the hand of Ken, only to hear a metallic sound. Like his fingers, his hands were covered with Armament Haki.

    "You.. You couf use Haafi..." (You can use Haki) Jabra spoke through the gaps of his fingers. Jabra was confused about how this small pirate group were able to accurately predict his move and stop him, and now he got the answer. These people weren''t normal.

    They had the knowledge about Haki but knowing one thing and practicing it was a total different matter. None of the CP9 had learnt Haki as of yet. And now getting hit by Armament Haki while even on the start of Grand Line blew away both his mind and his body.

    Ken didn''t reply and just lifted him and struck him at the ground at incredible speed. He was doing this while using Armament Haki in his fingers and his face bones were cracking a bit under such intense pressure. Ken, didn''t stop with one hit. He tossed him on the ground multiple times.

    The army which was a little far way saw the horror that Ken was unleashing. A Zoan user which had such speed speed and strength was treated like a pig into slaughter. No even a pig wasn''t treated as bad as Jabra was right now.

 137. A new subordinate

    But this wasn''t enough for Jabra. Even though he being bullied very badly by Ken, Jabra had used Tekkai on his body to make his body as strong as possible. Only his face was suffering very brutally by hands of Ken.

    Ken could also notice that Jabra was using Tekkai to limit the damage caused. He let go of the face of huge body of Jabra after throwing him like a rag doll. Jabra spiraled a few times in the air and lands on his hind legs like feet.

    "You have mastered Rokushiki quite well." Ken said. In fact, seeing Jabra fine even after getting brutally beat surprised everyone. Even Luffy. They had a good idea how power the strength of Ken was. Especially Luffy, he had got hit from his brother in the initial days of training and he was only able to escape his clutch when he mastered the Body Flicker jutsu.

    But here Jabra was able to survive the attacks of Ken, even after not having the body made of rubber. Meanwhile, Jabra was exasperated. Though he had used Tekkai it still didn''t feel good for him to eat dirt multiple times.

    "How do you know of us in such a detail?" Jabra asked. He was confused. The team of CP9 was a closed organization and none knew of it. Even they themselves didn''t know of the other CP organizations but how was this guy able to name him out and call out other names too.

    Now, he even knew of Rokushiki. Who the fuck was he?

    He needed to know and get the fuck out of here. He couldn''t stay here any longer. This was a failed mission but the information was important.

    "Oh you are so surprised by just few words of mine? You really are more sinister than that Lucci." Ken said.

    "Eh... Me?" -Luffy

    "He said Lucci.. Not Luffy.. Don''t space out during fights." -Chopper.

    "But I am sure this Lucci guy is like Luffy. Both are idiots." -Nami

    "This guy knows that idiot Lucci too." Jabra murmured.

    Jabra stiffened for a second and he got more ferocious and jumped towards Ken. He made his claws as long as possible and swiped at Ken. Ken didn''t bother to dodge but took out his Mjolnir which was now seemed to be charged with lightning.

    Both of the attack met mid air and it thus produced a small shockwave, making the sand fly away in all directions. Koza and his army were terrified seeing this and even the Straw Hats looked a little serious. They didn''t expect this guy to be so strong. Even Robin, who had a better idea of them looked grave.

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    Jabra held on for few seconds before he backed down. He was visibly suffering from the lightning attribute from Mjolnir but he was still holding up. Ken looked as casual as he was before. Though he hadn''t actually used his full strength and even didn''t use Sharingan, he was impressed by Jabra.

    Rokushiki was really buggy when it came to the first half of the Grand Line.

    Jabra and Ken exchanged few more moves but it was Jabra who always came on the losing side. He was getting mad and was looking at ways to escape, but he could easily see that Zoro, Sanji and Luffy were standing on different directions making sure he wouldn''t escape. He wanted to go after the girls, especially Nami and Robin, but after getting hit by Nami he didn''t bother to try.

    He was running out of options.

    "Jabra it was nice knowing you, but I think it''s time for you to sleep."

    "Haah.. Haaah... You are looking down on CP9 a little ... Haah.. to easily.. I am the greatest of the CP9."

    "Keep telling yourself that." Ken said and slowly his eyes turned red. And three tomoe Sharingan slowly replaced his once black eyes. Jabra was confused why his eyes did that but before he knew what was going the surroundings changed and he was pulled into the Genjutsu world.

    While keeping Jabra in the Genjutsu, he said to Robin.

    "Robin, its your chance to extract justice. He is under Spandam, who is the son of Spandine, who launched the attack on Ohara. Like his father, Spandam is delusional and is after you since he came to know of you."

    Robin didn''t expect such a long connection she had with this guy. She couldn''t help but grit her teeth. She was pretty emotionless girl but sometimes the emotions become too hard to handle. She then proceeded to stand near Jabra who had open but hollow eyes. He was still under genjustu.

    Actually, Jabra knew that he was under some kind of illusion and was actively trying to break out. Ken wasn''t very proficient in genjutsu as of yet and he needed practice and for this reason he wouldn''t be able to hold Jabra for a long time, but holding for few minutes would do the job.

    Robin started drawing a picture in the air and soon the air itself became like painting in front of the eyes of Jabra. Since he had placed his eyes hollow eyes of the work of Robin, Robin''s stand came into full action.

    Robin proceeded to open a book from the head of Jabra and started reading them. The more she read, the more anger started to form in her mind. This guy was responsible for multiple genocides, even wiping out towns by himself just because they witnessed his works showed up on the papers.

    Along with her, the others too took a peek and they were disgusted. Even Luffy had a serious face reading a bit of the book.

    "Can I kill him?" Nami said as the wind around started to get strong. The wind kicking out showed how angry Nami was. Robin was in fact ready to snap the neck of Jabra using her Devil fruit.

    "No. We can''t kill him. Not right now. Delete all the memories of ours and let him be a spy for ours. Make a good story about how he gained conscience after fighting us and became our subordinate."

 138. One down, another one to go

    "But he is a piece of shit." Vivi said as she was incensed of how this man instigated thousands of men to charge against the royal army, fully knowing that they were innocent. So many people died because of conspiracy of some other men who had ulterior motives. If they really wanted something that could have come up to them and asked for it.

    The lives of the citizens were more important than some relic which almost nobody could read. It was useless to them. But no, citizens had to suffer just for one small thing. Though she did understand why the Poneglyph was so important to the World Government, but they could have at least asked them.

    "He is a piece of shit. And in fact in the tall order of things his contribution is minimal to our cause, but we need a spy inside CP9 now. And from there we can spy on other CP organizations." Ken argued back.

    The reason why he was saying that because the CP organizations was important for the Egghead island arc. All the CP organizations converged on that island when Straw Hats stumbled onto that legendary island. And they needed someone from the inside to find out what the hell went loose on that island.

    "Luffy.. You really want to keep him relevant?" Sanji asked as he too was not so happy about him being left alone. Luffy closed his eyes for a minute and then looked at Ken and said.

    "I will trust my brother on this. Anyways he is weak. We beat him once, we can beat him again."

    Ken nodded his head and said to Robin

    "Robin make this guy hard working, make him to tire his way out to reach the top and make his goal to enter CP0. I want him to try his best to awaken his Devil fruit. And make him forget about everything. Insert a memory that he got defeated by many people and got surrounded."

    "But the World Government will definitely suspect us after Smoker releases the news of Crocodile." Robin said.

    "Doesn''t matter. They won''t send admirals anyways and the people who can actually fight us are in the New World and they won''t leave the New world for small pirates like us." Ken justified his words.

    "We aren''t small pirates. We have such a high bounty." Sanji said.

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    "If a single admiral comes, he can wipe the floor away with us and the only thing we can do is escape. And that is not possible if we include Kizaru. He can travel in the speed of light." Ken poured water into their small pride they had accumulate just because he gave them some buffs.

    Luffy and Ken might be able to handle Kizaru for sometime but he had a feeling that Kizaru would still be able to hold them down. Of course if he and Luffy was able to make good progress in their character and learn Haki more deeply than it would be a totally different matter.

    Everyone stiffened when Ken spoke the truth. Until this time they have been having fun and making a fool out of everyone but Ken was the one who would always tell them about the reality making sure that success didn''t go on their heads. They had a long way to go to even fight against the admirals, forget about the Yonkos.

    Robin herself had seen how powerful the admirals could be so she agreed with Ken the most. Then she proceeded to wipe his memories away by deleting many words from his book and then proceeded to write the story that Ken told her to.

    Atfter two minutes of writing she was done. Nami came forward and gave Jabra a huge knock on his head with her staff which made him unconscious. She had been itching to do this for sometime. She had seen how the Navy had treated her village so she had special grudge against the people who wore uniforms.

    More so after learning what had happened to Robin. Being an Avatar herself who had went after balance all ''his'' life she now held anger against the people in authority. Jabra of course who was on the verge of waking after getting beat by Ken, lost his conscious again.

    Meanwhile, Koza along with the remaining men slowly inched towards the Straw Hats. They had fear in their eyes as they came forward. They had just witnessed an epic fight, a fight that even they themselves couldn''t imagine in their wildest dreams. They had naturally heard of men capable of amazing things with devil fruits but it was definitely the first time for them to watch a fight in such a massive scale

    But the important thing was that they had been conned before. They needed to understand what exactly was going on. It was Vivi who went forward and spoke with Koza and gave a detailed information of what actually was going on. Of course, one of the men questioned if whatever Vivi spoke was the truth. Sure Jabra instigated the men to come out and fight, but the main problem still remained.

    And that was water.

    "In a few days, the navy will announce that Crocodile had been conspiring against the citizens of Alabasta and will get an official explanation. If you are not happy, you can come at us. We will happily welcome you with our fists." Ken said as his eyes flickered in lightning. His imposing manner scared the shit away of the men who were still not happy with whatever happened.

    For a second they had forgotten how powerful these men were.

    While the men felt weak in their knees, there was a different story happening in the royal palace. Ussop was waiting alone with Cobra and was getting bored. Chaka and Pell were at the main gates looking an eye out for everything.

    Chaka was with some guards on one gate while Pell was at the other gate.

 139. God Sogeking

    Chaka didn''t hear anything on the radio as the Straw hats were much further up ahead and the walkie talkie didn''t have that much range. So Chaka was ignorant of what went down in the desert and the standing army which stood to stop the rebel army also didn''t know of what was going on up ahead.

    "Pell, is everything alright there?"

    "It is as silent as the night''s sky." Pell replied on the radio.

    "Keep on guard. It is at times like this, we get attack....." Chaka said but suddenly was cut off.

    "Yeah.. Why did you stop talking?" Pell said as he saw sudden static from the radio of Chaka.

    "Chaka..."

    "Chaka!!!"

    Now Pell got agitated when he heard no sound from the radio.

    "Usopp... Chaka isn''t replying." Pell spent no extra time and radioed Ussop where he was personally guarding the King. Ussop who had been quite a coward from the beginning was actually serious about safeguarding the King.

    His crewmates had given him a job to fulfil and he was hellbent on keeping the father of his crewmate safe.

    "Got it. You can go and look for Chaka. I will be here keeping the King safe." Ussop replied in a sombre tone. Cobra also heard what was being spoken over the radio and he got stiffened. He didn''t expect that the World Government would come for his head. Ussop didn''t speak for a moment and then vanished from sight.

    He was a sniper so he needed a vantage point. He used sonido and flew up high in the hall and hid himself among the huge cylindrical pillars. Due to security reasons, Cobra was in the throne room where there was more space and thus giving almost no space to hide.

    If one wanted to hide, it could only be done high in the air because of the high ceiling and that was what he did. Cobra couldn''t find him but he knew that Ussop was there nearby. He trusted the friends of Vivi and just sat by to see who was going to attack.

    Though he tried to keep his cool, he was a little scared. But the wait was very small. And Ken was right to keep Ussop behind. One CP agent actually sneaked in. Truth to be told, the agent who had sneaked in wasn''t a full fledged CP9 agent. He was more of a waiting-in-queue agent for the CP9 organisation.

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    The agent was Nero. This guy fought against Franky on the train to Enies Lobby and made a fool out of him. He wasn''t very accomplished in Rokushiki but he was sent on this mission because it was supposedly very easy and everything went well, he would be promoted.

    Since he wanted to go for the big head and take more credit, he convinced Jabra to let him got after the King. And so he was here. After easily taking down Chaka, with his Soru and Shigan, he entered the throne room using Geppo.

    When he entered the room he was expecting a small army but there was none. When he took down Chaka, he did it in the fastest way possible. He hit Chaka from behind. Chaka was a big guy with a Devil fruit so he needed to take care of it.

    Though physically, Chaka might be able to handle Nero, but Nero played dirty and used Shigan from behind. Of course, the other soldiers tried to take him down but he used Soru and made a fool out of them. But here in the throne room, there were no guards, nothing!

    ''Was this a trap? Whatever! He just needs to force the King and even if it was a trap, they wouldn''t be able to do anything to him.''

    "Yo King Cobra! Did your guards abandon you under the fear of the rebel army?" Nero said as he slowly walked in. He was keeping an eye on the things around. He was confident but that didn''t mean he was a fool. It was a King under the World Government so he was still alert for some underhanded means.

    "Who? Who are you? How did you get past the guards? Guards!!.. Where are my guards? Guards! Come and arrest this guy." Cobra seemed very scared and at the end of the sentence he called out loudly. He definitely played the classic ''scared King'' trope. If Ken was here he would have given Cobra 10/10 for acting.

    "Hahaha... Oh my dear Cobra.. It seems the guards have already abandoned you. They said that you are one of the great kings but it seems like they exaggerated a bit." Nero laughed as he slowly inched towards. Cobra made another act and ran towards the door behind to escape but only to ''see'' that the door was locked.

    "No.. Don''t come near me.. No.. " Cobra said as he was ''trying'' to unlock the door.

    "I can leave you if you give me the key to the vaults. Vaults that contain both your riches and the secret Poneglyph."

    "Poneglyph? I don''t know what you are talking about. Who are you?" Cobra asked in a trembling voice.

    "It doesn''t matter who I am but I am here for the huge square thing that you are keeping hidden in the vault. Show me the way and I will let you go." Nero said with a smirk. Of course he wasn''t going to let it go. He loved to watch people suffer. The Rokushiki users were treated the most inhumane way possible and he had grown fond of the o torture over the years. Cobra looked dejected and said.

    "If I give you the keys, will you really spare me?" Cobra begged with tears in his eyes.

    "I can give you my word."

    Cobra then stood up and then looked at Nero with a huge smile on his face. Nero was taken aback by the seemingly devilish smile and then at the following moment he felt as if his instinct was screaming at him and out of reflex he performed Soru.

    Nero felt a huge burn in right ankle when he materialised on the side. The place where he was suddenly burst out like a small bomb.

 140. God Sogeking (2)

    Nero was lucky to have dodged or else his leg would have possibly gone by now. He was thanking his stars for believing his instinct and making that move.

    "Who is it? Come out. You rat, come the fuck out?" Nero shouted while tearing away a piece of cloth and bandaging his ankle. He was bleeding quite profusely so he needed to put an end to it while looking around, ready to dodge on any given moment.

    "Who are you calling a rat?" Came a voice from high up. It was Ussop, he was standing in the air while holding a silver bow in his hand. Over the course of time he had advanced quite fast and made a bow out of his materials he had gathered. Right now he was stretching the bow and pointing at Nero ready to take a shot.

    Nero was taken aback seeing someone in the air without any external help. There were very Devil fruits which could do that and those which could allow that were the top ones.

    "So you have an extraordinary Devil fruit? So what?" Nero said as he used Geppo, only to fall down on the ground. He had forgotten that he had been hurt on the leg and couldn''t use pressure on his leg to fly in the air.

    "Shit!" Nero cursed under his breath.

    Meanwhile Ussop was looking at the fool and just smiled. He was having the time of his life and he slowly came down. He had let go of his bow and kept it on his back. Ussop didn''t know that Jabra had already been taken care of so he was still a little vigilant when she came down.

    "Where is your friend?" Ussop asked.

    "Friend?"

    "Yes, your other colleague. What was the name again? CO organization? Or the OP organization? Or was it KP?" Ussop asked.

    "It is CP." Nero got angry and replied.

    "Aah yes.. The CP. Isn''t there another friend? Bring him out. I will take both of you?" Ussop said. His arrow was quite effective and he was already thinking that he alone would take the two down and proclaim himself the Captain of the Straw Hat group. Of course, this was all just a dream, but then again Lord Ussop-sama could dream too.

    "You.. Who are you? How do you know about us?" Nero was flabbergasted and couldn''t understand how this guy knew of the CP organization and even knew that there was another person.

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    "Me? Haven''t you heard of me? I am the bravest and the most courageous soul of the sea.. The strongest.. The most powerful.. Lord Ussop-Sama.." Ussop replied.

    "Ussop-sama? Never heard of him.." Nero had a question mark on his head. He genuinely hadn''t heard. Only the ones who had bounties beyond 150 million caught his attention and even though Ussop had a very high bounty, he didn''t go through their bounties. Ussop almost fell hearing that Nero hadn''t heard of him before.

    "Humph! Since you hadn''t heard then I will make you remember my name." Ussop got a little angry hearing that the CP organization hadn''t heard of him. With those words, he vanished from his post with a very dull sound. Nero, who was waiting for Ussop to make his move, had his eyes wide open when that happened.

    This was Soru!

    But before he could even process that he was punched right on his face. The punch was strong enough to throw him off the ground and then fall a few meters away after getting dragged on the floor. The punch on his face was strong enough to distort his face a bit and knock out some teeth.

    And before Nero could even stand again he was kicked on the side. This time Nero was ready and used Tekkai on his hand to stop the attack of Ussop. But Nero definitely underestimated the body structure of Ussop which had been changing slowly to a Hollow-like body.

    Nero definitely had a hairline fracture on his arm even after reinforcing it with tekkai. Ussop didn''t stop himself and proceeded to use his knee attack on his abdomen, only this time to miss. Nero used Soru and avoided the attack.

    But this didn''t end. Nero and Ussop both started exchanging moves, vanishing from one place to another and using kicks and punches. Cobra who was on the side slowly went behind a pillar to escape from the aftermath. Both were fighting like mad and moves were exchanged at high speed.

    In fact Ussop could fight in much faster mode but he wanted to gain some experience. It was very rare to find someone who could fight against him hand to hand at such speed. Only Ken and Luffy could do that but they were his friends so there was always a caution.

    But it was a rare occasion and he didn''t want to lose it, but the more he fought against Nero, the more he understood that Nero would lose because his body strength wasn''t as equal as Ussop and every move would cause damage to his body.

    Nero, finding no way out, decided to go for the cheap trick. Kidnap Cobra and threaten him. Since Ussop had been safeguarding Cobra, it meant Cobra was the main goal anyways.

    Nero gave a kick with all his power, and then without even looking back he performed Soru and almost appeared near Cobra. But before he could catch the shoulder of Cobra who was hiding behind a pillar, a shining white arrow tore through the air, and without even stopping it went through the pillar.

    Before Nero knew it, the arrow sliced through his hand, cutting his hand off within a heartbeat. Nero jumped away in fear but it was already too late. He had lost his left hand just because he was trying to be cunning.

    "You thought I was serious with you?" Ussop said as he pointed another arrow at Nero, and this time he was ready to take his life away.

 141. I am still a coward

    Nero watched in horror at his missing hand and felt the pain. He cried out instantly. Cobra who was nearby was also taken aback a bit seeing the cruelty of the man who he thought to be the cowardly and the funny guy in the group. This was a change in character altogether.

    "You.... asshole... Do...You know who I am?.... Aahhhh...." Nero screamed as he was holding his hand. He was scared out of his wits and he knew that needed something to be alive now. He didn''t have any backup and Jabra would take quite some time to arrive. If only he would have stuck with Jabra and be more humble he wouldn''t have been in this position.

    "If you don''t want to lose your other hand, I suggest you listen to the King here." Ussop said as he came down from the air.

    "You can''t get away with this.. The World Government..." Nero was angry and shouted back at Ussop who was just looking at him like a fool, but before he could finish his words, he fell unconscious. Nero had been fighting for quite some time and had multiple fractures on multiple places, he had lost quite a lot of blood from his ankle and losing his hand was the last nail in the coffin. Cobra shouted for guards again and this time the guards barged in unlike the previous time when he had shouted.

    After the guards came, they took the unconscious man away to the prison. Only the most trusted guards were present so it was safe to say that the World Government wouldn''t actually know what hit them. No matter what Cobra was a benevolent and wise leader, and he had chosen guards that were the most trusted ones.

    The guards were in horror seeing Nero and on the way, they actually called the doctor to make sure Nero didn''t die on the way. Of course, the lives of people like Nero were quite hard to lose but not everybody was Whitebeard. So Nero did require medical assistance.

    After the guards left the throne room, Ussop out of nowhere fell of knees. Cobra, who came to congratulate Ussop, was confused. Though he was old he could tell Ussop didn''t actually suffer a lot in the fight.

    "Uh.. Ussop-kun, are you okay? Do I need to call the doctor? Did you get hurt?" Cobra was a little concerned.

    "No.. No.... It''s just I have never acted so bravely in front of anyone.. This.. This.. This is my first time.. I felt like my heart would burst out of fear.." Ussop said as sweat dripped down his face. Cobra felt awkward listening to him. He was right all along and this guy was really a coward.

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    But the things he saw Ussop do were magical.

    "Ussop-kun.. Get yourself together.. You have done a great job. You defended me. I wish I could be as brave and powerful as you." Cobra said while helping him up from his knees. Though he found this guy a little funny, he still didn''t make fun of him. Some people weren''t built the same way as Chaka, Igaram or Pell.

    "I know.. It''s just.. At the end of day I know deep down that I am a coward.. Maybe I would have run if someone much more powerful would have arrived. Thankfully, he was just weak. If it wasn''t for Ken who had helped me to become the man I am right now, it would have been a totally different story now." Ussop said. Ussop wasn''t actually looking down on Nero, it was better to say that he felt less of himself.

    "Ussop-kun, I don''t know how Ken-kun had helped you, but at the end of the day it was you who took the courage and faced this guy. For that it definitely needs courage. Moreover, who cares what would have happened. We only need to act when the situation arises and not live with regrets if we can." Cobra gave his wisdom as usual.

    Ussop looked at Cobra for a few blinks and then nodded his head. He was a little mentally tired but he needed to continue safeguarding Cobra until they were back. So he just hid himself again and waited for the next prey.

    Only this time there was no prey. The Straw-Hats had returned to the palace with new guests. Koza arrived at the palace and surrendered, and with him came many officers of the Rebel army. Koza had asked the normal soldiers to leave and he was ready to take the blame. The straw hats didn''t care about politics and just left the King to handle. They came to know that other agents had actually attacked the palace and Ussop had come forward to make sure that the King was safe.

    When Ken came to know of this, he smiled. Though Ussop was a coward, he hadn''t forgotten that it was in Alabasta that Ussop showed determination and resilience. He and Chopper fought against that mole fruit woman, whose name he had even forgotten.That was quite an ugly fight but it showed for the first time that Ussop wasn''t just for show.

    Though it was quite different here, Ussop wasn''t badly beaten and he took down a CP agent single handedly. Nero really went down quite fast. No wonder even Franky was able to take down this guy and that too on the top of a train.

    Everybody was a little tired after the whole drama. They had been running around the country like a dog and now finally the curtain fell. After a few hours of Koza'' surrender, the Navy came forward and released the news that Crocodile had been the one who was behind the use of Dance Powder and making the country suffer.

    The Navy also announced that Smoker had taken down Crocodile and assured that the country would be safe from now on. Simultaneously, rain started to pour in almost all regions of the country and everyone rejoiced seeing water again.

    It was a sight to behold as the people came out of their homes just to drench themselves in the rain. Even the King himself had come out with Igaram and Pell. Chaka was injured but he still came out in wheelchair to smell the rain after a long time.

 142. Send more agents

    Marineford Headquarters

    "This idiot of a Shichibukai. Garp this is all your fault." Sengoku while eating his senbei shouted at Garp who apparently was just sleeping, woke up with a start.

    "What the hell are you shouting about in the morning? Can''t you see that I am sleeping?" Garp shouted back. In response, Sengoku threw the half eaten senbei at Garp who he promptly caught it with his hand and started munching the half eaten one.

    "It''s your grandsons again. Luffy and Ken." Sengoku said after picking out another senbei and bit on it.

    "What did they do?"

    "They defeated Crocodile."

    "Hahahah.. As expected of my grandsons.. Hahahaha.. I already told you that Ken has Haki. A run away pirate can never defeat my grandsons. He is an embarrassment." Garp said.

    "He fought against Whitebeard and came back alive." Sengoku shot back.

    "We both know that Edward probably took pity on him and he is too old to even care." Garp said as he finished the half senbei and put his hand forward to gulp another senbei only to be stopped by Sengoku.

    "Crocodile isn''t the main thing here." Sengoku said.

    "Oh! Then?" Garp asked.

    "We have two missing CP9 agents." Sengoku said with all sincerity.

    "Ooh!" This statement did make Garp raise his eyebrows but after a second he ended up laughing.

    "Don''t laugh. It''s highly likely that your grandsons took care of them." Sengoku shouted.

    "Then I will be more than happy. Never liked those little ones from Enies Lobby."

    "It''s not a joke. CP agents are important for the Navy and the Government." Sengoku said. In response Garp got up from his seat and started walking out.

    "It''s your headache Sengoku. Not mine. They should never have sent CP agents to such a good country. By the way, I will be recommending two new recruits for SWORD." Garp said. This piqued the interest of Sengoku. SWORD was a secret force and very few people could ever be recommended in it.

    And Garp mentioning two recruits meant they must be good.

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    Of course it was Coby and Helmeppo. They had been following the original story and got caught by Garp and were trained by him. Both of them had history with Ken and Luffy so he wanted to see how good they were. And he was not disappointed. Though Helmeppo was a little lazy, Coby in turn motivated Helmeppo. These two were excellent recruits.

    "Send over the files. I will forward them." Sengoku said.

    <hr>

    Pangaea Castle, Marijoa

    "Every D in each generation is a headache."

    "This little guy Kenny isn''t actually a D."

    "Does it matter? He already is following another D."

    "I heard that both of the brothers know ninja techniques."

    "Probably it''s their Devil fruits."

    "A Devil that can manipulate surroundings? And even summon a Mink tribe being."

    "That is a good question. I have never heard of Devil fruit that can summon a being from another place."

    "Batholomew Kuma can send people away and even the Devil fruit Wapu Wapu no Mi can warp people. But I have never heard of a unique one such as these brothers. We need to pay more attention to it."

    "We can send more people to Water Seven since there is a chance for them to cross through that island. We can catch and send them to Vegapunk."

    "Aren''t there already CP9 agents? We need to send in more agents there."

    "Send CP8 and CP7 agents."

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, after Nero was sent to prison and made sure that he got enough medical assistance, Nami went forward to ask a question from him. Of course, there was almost nothing to know but Nami wanted to try some spells and she never got the chance before. So of course she was ready to ''torture'' this new CP agent.

    Jabra had been ordered by Ken to contact Enies Lobby after a few days and also say that it was the Straw Hats that ganged up on him. Ken still didn''t want to raise too many eyebrows by proclaiming that a single person took him down. Water Seven was still far and they needed to wait before they punched a hole in their plans.

    Of course Jabra nodded his head to it. He was now a loyal follower of Straw Hats and would work as their secret agent. In fact, he asked Bon Clay and Mr. 3 to contact Jabra and help him hide away from the Government for a few days. Both of the pirates came running in when Ken summoned them. They expected Crocodile to come down but from the looks of it, their earlier boss came down too easily.

    They were really grateful that they had made the correct decision. Of course, when Mr. 2 showed up, Ussop, Chopper and Luffy all became buddies with him. Vivi wanted to go and throw him into the ocean for what he had done to the country but it was Cobra who came and asked her to be more open minded and let bygones be bygones.

    And thus the Straw Hats spent a few more days in the country before setting their sails again. This time they had new members in the crew. Vivi, Robin and Caroo. Unlike last time, the three of them had officially joined the crew.

    The Kungfu Dugongs protected their ship so everything was fine. Caroo flew them to their ship and in a moment''s notice, they were in the ocean. In the last few days, Vivi has been very busy. She gave a speech to the people of the country and assured them that their country would try to do better.

    The Log Pose had already been set and thus with new adventures on their mind they started their journey. Surprisingly, the Navy wasn''t actually searching for them. For the Navy, the CP agents were more important and they needed to get before he fell on some people''s hands. So they were searching for him more inland rather than on the ocean and Smoker also helped in this regard. It was his way of paying back for saving his life and seeing the dark side of the Navy.

 143. Saruyama Alliance

    The ship sailed for a few more days. Ken was watching to see if there was any kind of deviation from the original story with the inclusion of Rainbow Mist. It was not canon, so Ken was keeping an eye out for it. He had seen that extra Poneglyph, so he wanted to see if there could be other filler arcs included in their journey, but after a few days and seeing no chance of going to that ''prison," he gave up and just concentrated on his practice just like everyone else.

    Sanji was progressing slowly, and Ken could tell there was still a long way to go even if he reached hysterical strengthˇŞforget about traveling at light speed. Sanji was pretty annoyed by that, but he was diligent in his practice. Another reason he was progressing slowly is that he was actively rejecting his own power out of fear that he might turn out like his brothers.

    Luffy was more slow in Jin Mori''s progression. But that was acceptable. He was God to begin with. If getting godhood was so easy, then everyone would have been a god.

    Nami was progressing quite well in her Avatar character, but somehow Ken felt like it would take quite a bit of time to finish her Avatar character since getting into the Avatar state was a whole different matter.

    Chopper and the rest were progressing quite decently in their characters. Caroo and Banchi, being animals too, were doing fine. Banchi had tagged along, but he was swimming along with them. The inclusion of Banchi helped the ship not get hit by rocks or any kind of damage, and everyone was more than happy to get the two animals. Having those animals on board meant that there would always be guards for the ship.

    "The log pose... The log pose is broken." Suddenly, out of nowhere, Nami started screaming and shouting. Her voice was almost breaking in fear while saying those words.

    "What happened?"  Zoro asked.

    "The log pose is broken. It is pointing towards the sky." Nami said. Everyone had gathered around by then after hearing her shout.

    "Shit now, what will we do?" Vivi, Chopper, and others were scared.

    "Are you sure it is broken or it is just pointing upwards?" Luffy asked. He was using his godly eyes to see if there was any break in the log pose, but he could see none.

    "Nami there is a saying among the sailors. Never doubt the log pose. If it is pointing towards there, there probably is an island in the sky." Robin said.

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    "What?"

    "Seriously?"

    "Really?"

    Luffy, Chopper, Caroo, and Ussop had already started dancing upon hearing Robin. This meant that there was an island in the sky, and they could go. Nami got angry seeing the enthusiasm of their baka captain, but before she could deliver some punches on their heads, they were overshadowed by something huge.

    When everyone looked up in the sky, they saw a huge ship falling in fast speed. The ship was at least twice the size of the Merry Go Round and was falling inverted. Ken shouted at Nami.

    "Nami, use magic to stop the ship midair."

    Nami and others were immediately roused from their stupor by the words of Ken, and she chanted while pointing her staff at the ship. Both wind and magic played a part in it.

    "Arresto Momentum."

    The inverted ship stopped mid-air just near Merry Go Round with all its broken parts suspended in the air. The scene was quite magical, and the faces of Luffy and others lit up seeing that. A ship falling from the sky was the best proof that there was an island in the sky.

    "That was quite thoughtful of you, Ken." - Vivi.

    "We will have to see if there is anything interesting on the ship." - Sanji.

    Nami was still stupefied after seeing the ship that fell from the sky. At first, she didn''t believe the words of Robin when she said that there might be an island in the sky, but seeing the fallen ship, she couldn''t help but doubt her own thoughts. Chopper and Ussop got ready to charge in and scavenge if there was anything interesting.

    Luffy and others wanted to go by stepping on the damaged ship, but Ken stopped them, saying it would break the already damaged ship. After minutes of their scavenging, everyone suddenly heard a noise coming out from one side of the sea.

    Everyone turned their heads only to see a massive ship coming towards them while banging many musical instruments. Ken smiled when he saw this; he had been waiting for them. This was their ticket to Jaya Island.

    Soon the ship came near, and it was headed by one of the Saruyama Alliance. The Saruyama Alliance had three major characteristics. Shoujou, Mashira, and Mont Blanc Cricket It was Mashira this time who had shown up.

    "Captain, is the ship really floating?"

    "How is this possible? Is this magic?"

    "This must be magic."

    "What are you all talking about? This is probably just a devil fruit."

    They could hear the words of Mashira and his crew quite easily from the Merry Go Round. Everyone felt a little awkward seeing this new ship, which was in the shape of a banana, and the crew seemed like the human evolution from monkey had stopped for each and every one of them. Especially Mashira, the captain.

    "Who is the captain here?" Come out." Mashira shouted from the ship.

    "I am Luffy, Captain of the Straw Hats. What do you want?" Luffy, like an idiot, came forward and shouted his name.

    "I want to scavenge the ship." Mashira was straight-forward in his choices.

    "Hell..." Luffy, who was going to say no to Mashira and drive him away, was stopped by Ken as he blocked his mouth.

    "We can share the treasures on the promise that you take us to an island nearby. You see our log is pointing towards a sky island, and we need our rations before we set sail on this journey." Ken replied instead of Luffy while still blocking Luffy.

    "Sky island?"

 144. Blackbeard

    "Did you just say Sky Island? You mean an island that is in the sky?" Mashira, out of nowhere, got extremely excited and landed on their ship. The Saruyama Alliance had been on the lookout for weird things such as this and thus got excited because he thought these people went after fantasies.

    Soon Mashira started talking like crazy with Luffy, who had been released by Ken. They both got excited, and soon Ussop was back with random things from the ship. Mashira was surprised to see this. One could just walk on air, and the other turned from a bird to a racoon.

    "What a great racoon." Mashira commented.

    "I am a reindeer. Can''t you see my antlers?" Chopper shouted back.

    "Chopper, now you can turn into any animal you want." Zoro commented back. Everyone nodded their heads in that direction. Ussop and Chopper had come back with a broken skull and a map. An old map that had Skype written on it. This made the crew very happy.

    Surprisingly, this time there were no huge shadows that scared the shite out of everyone in the sea. It seemed like the butterfly effect was so prominent that even the huge shadows of the people living in Skypea didn''t show up. Ken was a little disappointed as he wanted to prank his friends, but it seemed like it wasn''t possible.

    Mashira gave them a permanent log pose and told the straw hats to go to the Jaya island and meet Mont Blanc Cricket. With the permanent pointer, they sailed again, as Mashira wanted to take away the parts of the ship for further research. Luffy didn''t stop them, and they soon set sail. Soon the outline of Jaya was visible. Ken got serious as the island approached. He had been waiting for this island for quite a long time, and his vibe slowly became serious.

    "Nami, did you make what I wanted?" Ken asked Nami out of nowhere.

    "You mean that godawful coat? Yes. Here it is." Nami came up with a black cloak that had red clouds. Yes, this was the Akatsuki cloak, and he had specifically asked Nami to sew him one since Nami knew how to make clothes using her magic.

    With the cloak came the iconic one eye mask, which he too asked from Ussop.

    "Ken, why do you need this?" Everyone was surprised. None of them had any idea what the cloak meant, as Luffy wasn''t there when Akatsuki came out. Only Ace and Sabo knew of the cloak, but they never bothered to discuss such small things with Luffy, and neither did Ken.

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    Ken didn''t answer as he slowly donned the cloak and put on the mask. Somehow now Ken has changed from a sunny guy to one of the most serious guys there ever was.

    "I will be away for some time. We will meet near Mont Blanc Cricket''s home." With those words, he took out his Mjolnir and flew away.

    "Ken, come back. Take me with you." Luffy shouted, but by that time he had already flown away.

    "What just happened?" Everyone was surprised by Ken''s sudden behavior. He just wore that depressing dress and proceeded to just fly away. What the hell was wrong with him?

    "He never looked so serious before." Sanji said as everyone saw the face, which had turned grave when he wore that dress and that one-eyed mask.

    "Is there something on the island?" Zoro said, as he had seen where Ken had flown off. As if to prove his point, a huge crane suddenly fell on the deck of the ship. The crane was dead by the time everyone came close to it.

    "What is this? A dead crane?" Chopper asked.

    "Someone shot it." Ussop said as he looked at the crane.

    "But there is no boat nearby," Vivi said.

    "Someone shot it from the island." Luffy said this as his observation Haki did feel like someone shot at him. It was very vague since the shot was not aimed at them.

    "How could someone shoot from so far away? Even in my binoculars, I can hardly see the island."

    "Did Ken go to meet the one who shot? Was he angry that someone killed a crane?" Chopper said.

    "Don''t be ridiculous. We eat these things." Sanji said. Everyone was still surprised by what Ken did. Normally he was the most laid-back guy and always listened to the captain, but today he just flew off. This meant the problem was something that went beyond the orders of the captain.

    Actually, Ken went on his own mission. A mission that he had been thinking of doing for quite some time. Ken flew to Jaya and landed near a forest that had tall trees. And on the thick branch of one of the trees sat a very tall man who wore a weird hat with pointy ends and a monocle on his right eye.

    "Van Augur, Sniper of Blackbeard Pirates." Ken spoke in a very serious and different tone.

    "You are?" Augur suddenly saw a ray of light falling just near the place he was sitting and having a great time.

    "Obito Uchiha." Ken replied. Augur jumped off the tree and landed near him. He had never seen a man with such a weird mask. But the moment he looked into Ken''s eye, he took a step back. He had never seen such an eye before. An eye that was red in color had three toes. He clenched his long rifle and was ready to take action because he could already feel the animosity of this new guy.

    "Do I know you?" Augur asked.

    "No, but I know you." Ken said as he suddenly threw a kunai towards Augur with extreme speed. This was where Augur showed his marksmanship. The way Ken threw the kunai, at that same speed, he shot his long rifle. The bullet crossed paths with the kunai, and it deflected from its path and flew away from his head.

    "Oh, you know Haki." Ken had a smile when he said that.

 145. Eye for an eye

    But Ken wasn''t done with that; he threw multiple kunais at Augur. Augur, expecting this move, used his rifle to shoot at the kunai in mid-air. Normally the guns of One Piece weren''t so advanced, and in fact the gun of Augur looked like it belonged to the old age, but apparently it could shoot multiple shots from this long rifle.

    Just like last time, Augur was able to deflect the kunai that were thrown at him at different parts of the body. Though it might not be instantly fatal, he still had to make sure that he didn''t get hurt. Plus, he needed to return the favor. After deflecting the kunais, Augur shot at the masked man.

    The bullet went straight through the head of Ken, but Augur wasn''t delighted because he knew that this move of his didn''t do any damage to the guy. The body of Ken slowly vanished. He had already moved using his body flicker jutsus, and Augur only saw an afterimage.

    Ken appeared again high on the branch of a tree nearby.

    "You have quite the expertise, Augur. No wonder that fat, ugly dude went ahead and recruited you." Ken said.

    "Ugly fat dude? You mean our captain? Are you from the Whitebeard Pirates?" Augur asked.

    Augur knew about what his captain had done, and since this guy mentioned their captain, there was a chance that he belonged to his previous crew. He became more serious and pointed his gun at Ken, ready to shoot again.

    "Of course I don''t belong to that relic. I am not here for your past. But your future." Ken said as he made a simple hand sign and shouted.

    Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu

    Ken blew through the hole created by the fingers, and soon fireballs started popping out. It wasn''t a single huge fireball but multiple small ones that flew towards Augur at high speed.

    "What the hell?" Augur had, until this time, thought that this masked man didn''t have any devil fruit, but this move proved otherwise. Someone who had a devil fruit and was proficient in Haki was quite dangerous.

    Augur couldn''t just use his bullets to stop this attack and could only dodge. He jumped from one place to another. The fire was real, as it burned the places it touched. He dodged and did so in a fast manner, but he also lengthened the distance between the two. He was a sniper, so he wasn''t very good at close range and could only be effective from a distance.

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    Ken already knew what he was going to do, so even after using his fire jutsu, he threw a kunai at escaping Augur. Augur''s Observation: Haki had already alerted him of the flying kunai, and instead of dodging it, he used his gun to deflect the kunai. Augur had a smile on his face, as he had gone quite a distance and it would soon be his time to counterattack.

    But he was in for a surprise. The moment he stopped and turned back to look at Ken in the distance, who didn''t chase after him, he felt a cold feeling at his neck. With the cold feeling came a trickling sense of hot blood flowing down his neck.

    It was Ken! He had placed a kunai on his neck, and he had inserted the kunai on his skin, prompting the flow of blood. Augur stiffened at the spot because he knew he had been caught and a single move from him could make him lose his life.

    "You are quite the slippery fish."

    The reason Ken was able to get back at him was because when he faced Augur in the beginning, it wasn''t his actual body at all but just a shadow clone. Ken had actually put a few shadow clones around because he felt like Augur might try to run away. Augur was quite unlucky, as he met the original body in his run.

    Augur became silent, and he shuddered a bit. He felt death really close here.

    "What do you want? I don''t have any enmity with you. So why are you coming after me?" Augur asked.

    "Didn''t you hear what I just said? I said, I am not doing this for the present but for the future." Ken replied, and before Augur could even understand what this guy was blabbering about, Ken proceeded to insert the kunai right into his right eye. He was wearing a monocle over one eye.

    The kunai burst open the monocle and went straight to his eyeball. The blood splashed out instantly as he cried out in pain. Ken, after that move, stood a bit away. He wanted to give Augur some time before he proceeded with the next move.

    Blood poured out of Augur''s eye like a stream as he was trying his best to stop the flow. There was only a single cry of pain from Augur, and then he didn''t utter a single word. He immediately cut a piece of cloth from his dress and wrapped it around the head and the eye to stop the blood flow. He knew that this fight had just turned into an extremely dangerous one in which he could lose his life.

    Augur didn''t stop himself and just took out a small gun and shot it at the sky. It was an emergency flare gun given to him by his crewmates, and he proceeded to use it. Ken didn''t expect this from Auur, but he let her do it. This made his job easier.

    Now all the scum would be in one place! Augur was looking like a wounded beast, and he couldn''t wait to take revenge.

    "You will die even if you kill me," Augur said.

    "Hahahah. You think I came here to kill you? Hahahah..." Ken laughed out loud. Augur was taken aback by the words of Ken.

    "If you aren''t here to kill me, then why cut my eye?"

    "Death is quite easy. It''s the living that should scare the crap out of you." Ken replied as he again threw a kunai at Augur.

 146. Real power of Thor

    Augur''s loss of one eye wasn''t exactly a disadvantage at this point. He wasn''t hurt anywhere else except for the neck part. And thus, with that pain too, he was able to fight. People in One Piece really had great durability. Ken was lucky that he had the body of a god, or else he would have been done for if he was fighting for endurance against this guy alone; forget about the battle of endurance with Zoro.

    Even with his single eye, Augur was able to deflect the bullets. Meanwhile, Ken, who could hear everyone speaking and moving on the island with his Observation Haiku, could tell that two people were running towards them. One was Jesus Burgess, and another was Doctor Q. Surprisingly, when Ken tried hearing Blackbeard, he couldn''t.

    It was as if something was blocking him.

    "Is Observation Haki too powerful, or is his fruit stopping me?" Did he even have Observation Haki?" Ken thought to himself. Even though he couldn''t hear the words of Blackbeard, he did know where he was. He was busy eating a pie and drinking an ale in the bar. He knew this because there was nobody in any of the bars that had served a pie, and only Blackbeard could order such an absurd thing in a bar, and that too in one of the most questionable islands of One Piece.

    Blackbeard was so busy in his own world that he had forgotten about his crew.

    Ken didn''t stop attacking Augur as he went to a close range fight with him. Augur seemed to know a bit of armored hak, but even then he was not so good at it. So after a few moves, Augur had bruises all over his body.

    "Augur, you need to learn more."

    Ken said as he gave a flying kick on the left side of his face. Augur wanted to dodge it, but his body was in too much pain to respond in the desired way. Augur was thrown back in the attack.

    *thud*

    He struck a nearby tree with a very dull sound. His face quickly grew larger as all of his muscles were damaged.But even after getting hit on his face, he still didn''t lose consciousness. Ken didn''t give Augur any chance and threw a kunai at him. This time the kunai was pointing straight at his other functional eye.

    Ken wanted to make Augur go blind forever. Since he needed eyes to shoot, it was better to let Ken take away his sole expertise. The kunai flew at an extremely fast speed, and just as it was inches away from the eye of Augur...

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    *tink*

    It sounded like the kunai struck something metallic in nature. It was Burgess. He had come to save his crewmate. The sound came from the kunai striking the metallic knuckles.

    "Yooh... My friend is getting beat up. How can I be so far away?" Burgess announced his arrival with a very loud noise.

    "Burgess.. We need to run... He isn''t normal.." Augur coughed as he said those words. Augur somehow knew that this masked man who had appeared was kind of toying with him. They needed to find their captain and run.

    But of course, Burgess didn''t even hear Augur and jumped at Ken.

    "Another blockhead." Ken mumbled, and just as Burgess almost landed a punch at Ken, he was stopped with one hand.

    Ken just caught the punch from Burgess with a single hand. Augur, who was going to shout at Burgess to step back, was taken aback. He expected Ken to be powerful, but this was a whole new thing.

    "Jesus Burgess. They say you have been roaming around proclaiming that you are the strongest man alive. Let me see if you are that good." Ken replied and used his other hand to punch Burgess.

    Burgess always had a smile on his face, even after getting stopped by Ken. But before he could smile wider listening to the words of Ken, he was hit on his lower abdomen with immense force. Ken used his full Thor power to strike back at Burgess.

    Until this time, Ken had always used lightning to take care of his opponents. He had never used his full bodily power. Ken was practicing Armament Haki, and he always believed using his full body power would just hold him back in his learning curve. People tend to forget that Thor actually took the full force of a dying star into his whole body and came out just fine.

    Thus, for the first time, he used the power of his bodily strength. And suffice it to say he wasn''t disappointed. Ken''s punch was so strong that even a shockwave traveled that started from Burgess''s back and traveled far, which destroyed the nearby trees.

    Burgess immediately coughed up blood. Ken had destroyed the internal organs for sure. Burgess''s eyes almost became white from losing consciousness. Ken didn''t stop himself and, using the same force, he gave a side kick at Burgess.

    Augur, who had gotten up, also took a shot at Ken in order to stop him, but it was too late. Burgess received the kick on his right abdomen and his right hand. The kick alone broke all of the bones in his hand and his rib cage. Burgess wasn''t even able to scream in pain. This attack alone was sufficient to knock him out.

    Meanwhile, the bullet struck Ken''s body and fell off like nothing. Even modern bullets couldn''t do anything to the body of Thor. Forget about these old-fashioned round bullets. Augur got scared. When Ken dodged his bullet before, he thought Ken was being afraid of his bullets, but it was just a trap.

    Burgess had already fallen, and he was sure that he would die if Ken delivered one more attack. The masked man came and just made a joke out of two people from the newly formed crew.

    "How much did the Whitebeard Pirates pay you to deal with us?" Augur said as he reached between Burgess and Ken. He was ready to fight to the death with this unknown guy.

 147. Mythical Zoan

    "I don''t need to lie to a person who can''t even stand up to me." Ken replied. Augur was taken aback. All this time, he had been thinking that this masked man in coat was some kind of agent sent by Whitebeard, because this guy knew of their Captain and their crew.

    "Then what do you mean by the future?" Augur finally remembered that Ken spoke about the future.

    "It means we aren''t enemies now as you haven''t hurt us yet. But that doesn''t mean we will not be enemies in the future."

    "And only for this reason. You want to exterminate us because we might be threat to you in the future?" Augur asked trying to buy sometime till the Captain arrives. Ken let him ask because even if Blackbeard did end up coming it wouldn''t change anything. Ken believed that he was significantly stronger than Blackbeard and even if he proved to be more powerful than him, he would just run away.

    One of the reasons he was wearing the Akatsuki dress because this dress would keep his identity secret. Of course for those people who knew him well would be able to recognize him, but for these men, he was just a masked man who appeared out of nowhere.

    "Threat? Don''t overestimate yourself. Your Captain is just someone who is hunting Devil fruits. You think that with just Devil fruits you will be super powerful? If it was that easy, than the three Yonkos would have gone after Shanks and beat him easily." Ken said. Augur was terrified by the words of Ken. This guy knew even about the Yonkos. Who as he?

    "Are you a bounty hunter?" Augur asked because only famous bounty hunters tended to keep knowledge about everything.

    "I have spoken too much." Ken said as he threw a kunai again at Augur. Augur was ready again and he took a shot at the kunai to again deflect it, he was cursing under his breath and wished he had a machine gun, but before he could fire at the kunai there was a sudden burst in front of him.

    And this wasn''t a single burst. A consecutive bursts happened around Ken. It was as if someone had laid carpet bombs in front of Ken. There were multiple burst which uprooted trees. After the first blast Augur seemed to understand something and jumped back a few meters.

    *neigh* *neigh*

    After the blasts ended the neigh of a horse was audible, but the sound didn''t come from the ground but high up in the air. It was Stronger. The horse of Doctor Q. The horse was in the air because this useless sick horse happened to eat a mythical zoan fruit.

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    Uma Uma no Mi, Model : Pegasus.

    Imagine a sick horse that could hardly even carry a single person on it back had eaten a Pegasus mythical devil fruit! The bombs were loud enough to be heard from a long distance.

    "Augur.. Hick... What happened.. Hick... Jesus... Hick.."

    Stronger flew down and landed near Augur and Jesus. Augur had taken Jesus''s body on his shoulder but he was seriously struggling with the weight, along with his own pain.

    "Q.. Look into Jesus. He might die."

    "Hick.. What!!... Hick."

    Doctor Q being the doctor of the group stepped down and wobbly reached the unconscious body of Jesus. He was checking on him. Meanwhile, the dust was slowly settling. Augur was on high alert because he felt like hand made bombs of Doctor Q might not actually work. He was looking at the dust with full concentration and using his Observation Haki.

    But before the dust could settle a flying kunai came at a very fast speed. This kunai was special, because this kunai was laden with lightning chakra, just like the ones Hidden Cloud village used to do, only this time Ken had imbued the lightning chakra in the flying kunai itself.

    This made the kunai faster and more powerful, thus making it deadlier. Augur who had been expecting that shot at the kunai but this time the kunai didn''t get deflected. The kunai went straight for his eye and this time he couldn''t dodge. The kunai struck his other functional eye with full force, destroying his remaining last eyeball.

    This time he cried out. Not because of pain, but out of anger and frustration. He just lost two eyes in one single fight. His eyes were his main weapons. Ken had destroyed things that he and Jesus was proud of.

    He decimated Jesus in strength and destroyed the prized eyes of Augur. Ken was breaking their pride little by little. Doctor Q didn''t expect such thing to happen while he was looking at Jesus. He ran to Augur to look at him and his sick soon turned ugly looking at the eyes of Augur. The dust had already settled by then and Ken emerged from it.

    He was patting his coat to remove the dust and even coughed a bit. He did so very casually as if torturing the likes of Augur and Jesus was nothing in front of him. He looked at Stronger and said.

    "I didn''t expect Stronger to already receive the mythical Zoan fruit. It''s really a waste of a devil fruit. Maybe I should kill him and let the Devil fruit be consumed by someone who deserves this fruit." Ken said.

    Doc Q''s knees was shaking in fear when he heard Ken speaking those words so casually. Even Stronger who also had a sick face stepped a few steps back. The famous apple bombs created by Doc Q did nothing to harm him and he just wiped the floor with the rest.

    Stronger might really die here along with others.

    Doc Q didn''t want to give up and just threw more apples at Ken to which he just shoved them away. the blasts happened behind Ken so it didn''t actually affect him. Augur looked like someone who had lost everything and he too lost consciousness due to blood loss.

 148. Bellamy

    When Ken came to confront everyone from the Blackbeard Pirates, he already had a feeling that the crew that had just been formed didn''t have the power that they were supposed to have when Blackbeard became a Yonko. So he wasn''t expecting any of them to have devil fruits, but here was one.

    A mythical Zoan. Ken took out kunais, but these kunais were special. These kunais were laden with bombs that would burst into flames when they reached the desired location. But before he could throw the kunai, he stopped and turned his head to look in a certain direction.

    The direction he was looking was toward the mock town. The place where Luffy, Zoro, and others had just visited When Ken was fighting, Luffy and others had already reached the mock town and crossed paths with Blackbeard. They had the famous argument about the pie and the ale. Blackbeard, just like in the original story, didn''t exactly recognize Luffy. Mostly because he had different eyes from the poster and also had more of a spiky hair.

    If someone paid close attention to him, only then would they see that the poster had a strong resemblance to Luffy. After the argument, Teach came out of the bar and heard the blasts that happened in the forest. He remembered that Augur was in the forest, so he sped up his steps to see if anything had happened.

    Ken had sensed this with Observation Haki and the sound of his huge boots. He might not be able to sense him entirely, but he could already make him out.

    "Today is your lucky day." Ken said as he jumped onto one of the undamaged trees and then proceeded to get away from the party. He had done what he came to do. To inflict so much damage on the Blackbeard pirates that they would never forget. Though Ken regretted not hurting Stronger and Doc Q, seeing their condition in reality, he wondered if these two guys would be able to handle one attack from him.

    They might just die with only one hit from Ken. Jesus was at least alive after taking two full-powered hits from Ken. After a few seconds of Ken getting there, Blackbeard had finally arrived. But when he saw his comrades lying on the ground, his smile and half of his missing teeth vanished, and they were replaced by a serious face.

    "What happened here?" Blackbeard seriously asked Q. Only he was conscious and was trying to tend to the two unconscious guys.

    "Somebody attacked us... He knew everything about us. He knew that Stronger had the mythical Zoan fruit, and he hit our weak points." Q said in a sickly tone.

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    "Who was he?"

    "Hick.. I don''t know, Captain. He used kunai. And had a red eye. He ran away towards that direction."

    "Kunai? Was he Ace? Wait. You said red eye. Are you sure? Did he have white eyes?" Blackbeard asked.

    "No Captain.. Hick. Red eye with a mask. Only one eye was visible through the mask. Hick.. I heard him say that we will be enemies of him in the future, so he came to take care of us.." Q said. Blackbeard immediately didn''t run to get to the man who had caused such destruction. He wasn''t very fast, and he knew that it was useless to go after the one that caused damage.

    "Future enemies." Blackbeard was in deep contemplation. Q didn''t talk more and was trying to bandage up the unconscious guys. Blackbeard could see that Augur had lost his eyes and that Jesus''s body was badly mangled. Without doing anything or bursting out in anger, he chose to sit on a rock nearby and look at the two comrades who were close to death. He needed to rethink his strategy now.

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, Ken got rid of this Akatsuki coat and kept it in his bag. He might need it again someday. He loved putting on that suit and somehow felt like he was at home.

    "I guess some of the habits of Obito did rub off on me."

    He soon reached Mock Town and the place where Luffy, Zoro, and Nami were. But as he was about to enter the bar, two people were thrown out. The two people landed right near Ken''s feet.

    These two people were Zoro and Luffy. Both were battered up very badly and were bleeding from various places. There were cuts and bruises everywhere. After a second, Nami came running out.

    "Ken, you are here. See what these two idiots have done. Please punch some sense into them." Nami said.

    "Why? Did he tell you not to fight?" Ken could already guess what happened. Unlike the original story, Nami was powerful. Ken could already see that both of them had been thrown out of the bar because when he talked about Sky Island, he got laughed at and bullied by Bellamy and his crew.

    Then both of them were thrown out like rag dolls. Nami might not be able to keep up with Bellamy, but she sure could cause some damage to him. She didn''t want to go against the words of her captain, but that didn''t mean that she wasn''t angry. She wanted to beat the crap out of them.

    So when she saw Ken arrive, she saw hope.

    "I want you to beat the snot out of them."

    Luffy and Zoro got up slowly and brushed off the dust on them.

    "Ken, don''t fight them," Luffy said.

    "Alright Captain. But do you remember when you were young how I saved you?" Ken asked, suddenly remembering the time when he went to save Luffy from Porphyry and his crew. Luffy didn''t understand what he meant and just looked at Ken.

    "What about it?" Luffy asked.

    "At that time, I looked at you as someone who needed protection. I saw you as a brother. Now that we have both grown up, I respect you as the captain of the ship. But you forget the main relationship that is prevalent between us. We are both brothers. And brothers have each other''s backs." Ken said and slowly walked toward the bar.

 149. Dreams

    "Ken.. No.." Luffy called out, but Ken paid no attention and just walked in to the bar. The people in the bar were still laughing and cheering.

    "I didn''t know that there were still some fools out there. Hahaha."

    "Hahaha.. Sky Island.. These bunch of idiots even believe that.."

    "Hahaha.. I heard that one guy on the other side of the island had been searching for the lost kingdom...."

    The talks were rampant when Ken went and sat in a chair. The waiter took note of his arrival and brought him a beer. Bellamy was busy drinking his alcohol when Ken suddenly turned to him and said,

    "How is Doflamingo treating you?"

    Ken''s words were distinct enough to be heard by most of the people, even though there were loud cheers all around. It was as if he had used some kind of magic in his speech that compelled everyone to listen. Bellamy, who was about to chug the alcohol, stopped in his tracks and looked at him with dangerous eyes.

    "What did you say? Say that again.." Doflamingo asked.

    "I was asking how your favorite young master is treating you." Ken asked again as he took a sip of the sake that was brought to him. Though Ken had been quite respectful in asking about Doflamingo, Bellamy could see the mockery in his eyes.

    He could see that Ken was looking down on him because he considered him to be Doflamingo''s subordinate and felt like he didn''t have much respect for Doflamingo either. He wanted to punch this guy at that moment itself but stopped. The only reason being that this guy, who knew that he was a subordinate of Doflamingo, might be pretty well connected.

    If he was a friend of Doflamingo, then this guy was someone important. But still, Bellamy was furious.

    "What does Young Master''s treatment have to do with you?" Bellamy asked, accepting the fact that he belonged to Doflamingo.

    "Nothing. I just came to see someone who is worth nothing in the eyes of your young master." Ken said it in a calm and casual tone. This brought complete silence to the bar. Many of them even forgot to gag down the alcohol that was poured into their mouths. Most of the people here knew of Doflamingo.

    He was a Shichibukai who even lived in the New World, and most of the people here belonged to the crew, and they knew that they worked for Doflamingo. This broke the dam for Bellamy, as his cup of alcohol broke while he was clenching it very hard.

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    Bellamy looked at the calm eyes of Ken, and slowly an arc formed in his mouth. He had never felt so insulted before.

    "You know who I am, and yet you came here to confront me." Bellamy asked.

    "You are just a nobody in this vast ocean. You don''t even have the guts to live for your own dreams and slave away for someone else who doesn''t even care for you." Ken laid out harsh words for him just out in the open.

    This was it for Bellamy.

    With no concern about the surroundings, he punched Ken sideways. Ken, who was busy drinking, dove to avoid the side punch. He did so even while drinking and even made sure that the alcohol wasn''t spilled anywhere.

    This sudden attack didn''t surprise the crewmates or the people present. But Ken''s clean way of avoiding the attack surprised everyone. But this didn''t matter to Bellamy. His arms slowly changed into springs, and without any care, he punched Ken.

    This time too, the same things happened. He avoided the second and all the consecutive punches from his hands, which Ken just received while still holding on to his mug. Though Ken was avoiding them very cleanly, it didn''t mean the bar was able to avoid the punches. The chairs, the tables, the alcohol bottlesˇŞeverything was getting damaged with each unsuccessful move of his.

    Within a few seconds, the whole bar was in shambles, and everyone had to run out. Ken, too, after putting the mug down, got out, followed by Bellamy.

    "If you have the guts, face me like a man instead of running away like a chicken." Bellamry roared. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami just stood by the side as they saw their brother come out. Luffy and Zoro didn''t have any emotions, while Nami had a wide grin. She was having her revenge.

    "As I said. You are a nobody. I don''t even need my hands to teach you a lesson." Ken said. This angered Bellamy, and immediately a rash formed on his calves. Then he proceeded to charge his speed by jumping all around, just like he did with Luffy before getting beaten up.

    Ken just stood there, waiting for him to make his move. Since this guy didn''t understand the gap between them, it was time he did.

    "How dare you look down upon Doflamingo? He is a great man. He is the strongest. He is a Shichibukai. How come a nobody like you could ever understand him.."

    "You think you are better than him. I will show you that you can''t even reach his shoes. It''s best you die here before you embarrass yourself in front of him."

    Bellamy went on a rant while he was charging himself by jumping on the various places around. Ken was just silent, and he stood there blankly.

    "How dare you say such things about our captain?" Bellamy, teach him a lesson, and then throw him into the sea."

    "Beat him up."

    "Yes. Yes."

    Such loud cheers were heard around, but reality slapped them right in the face.

    Bellamy found his legs fully charged and went forward to deliver his deadliest strike. But just before his knuckles could even reach the face of Ken, Ken ducked and proceeded to use his back foot to deliver a deadly strike down on Bellamy''s back. This move was done while he was using Armament Haki.

    Everyone around instantly heard the crunching sound of the bones. Ken had just broken his spine in multiple places with this move of his.

 150. Knockup Stream

    The people who were shouting around shut their mouths in an instant. Bellamy, while falling, coughed up blood and instantly lost consciousness. It was quite early in the afternoon, so there was silence all around. Only the occasional chirping of birds could be heard under the hot sun.

    "Bellamy.. Get up.. This idiot just insulted you. Get up." The flashy-looking guy who had chicks around him and was the Vice Captain of the Bellamy Pirates called out.

    "Get up, Bellamy," some random crew member screamed. Ken just looked at Bellamy for one second and then turned around to look at the vice captain. Then someone from the crowd shouted.

    "You. You are the new Supernova.. Punisher Kenny."

    "Supernova?"

    "Punisher Kenny?"

    "Isn''t he someone with over 100 million bellies?"

    Actually, against the original story, Marineford didn''t update the bounty of Luffy and his crew with new bounties. There was a reason for that. Firstly, Smoker didn''t speak about the way Crocodile was taken down, and secondly, Jabra, returning back to the Enies Lobby, said that he was defeated and stopped because the straw hats had ganged up on him.

    No matter what, the crew members in the Straw Hat Pirates had a high bounty to begin with, and Jabra wasn''t as strong as Lucci, so the Enies Lobby didn''t bother to ask Marineford to give new bounties. And of course, Zoro and others didn''t fight in the city against Baroque Works. Ken was actually hunting for them later so that his crew mates could get some practice, but apparently they never showed up.

    Though it wouldn''t have much mattered as the current straw hats were way more powerful. They vanished probably because Mr. 2 and Mr. 3 convinced them to leave when Crocodile vanished.

    So, their bounties were still remained the same  and didn''t go up, but the fact that they were already worth more than 100 million bellies showed how powerful they were. Ken didn''t reply to that shout and spoke to the vice captain.

    "Tell Doflamingo to take care of his lackies. I can''t clean up his house every time."

    With those words he walked away, while Vice Captain, in extreme fear, fell on his butt.

    "He is someone who has more than 100 million bellies."

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    "Isn''t he said to be the Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates?"

    "Now that you say it, doesn''t this kid look like Straw Hat Luffy with his hat? Why does his eyes look so different from the poster?"

    "No doubt. That is Pirate Hunter Zoro. He also has a very high bounty. Shit.. We laughed at them. Do you think they will take revenge on us?"

    "Baka. Of course they will. If we run now, we might have a chance to survive."

    The words echoed, and in a moment''s notice, every body cleared out the whole place. Only Luffy, Ken, Zoro, and Nami were left. Even the Vice-Captain of the Bellamy''s ship had chosen to run once he came to know that Punisher Kenny and Straw Hat Luffy were present. He had clearly heard the spine''s break, and probably Bellamy wouldn''t be able to walk again.

    The trauma would certainly prove too much for him.

    "Was that much force required for him?" Luffy couldn''t help but ask. Ken could have pulled his punch, but he didn''t. He went on to inflict permanent damage on this guy.

    "My dear brother Luffy... Sometimes I do things looking toward the future. He belongs to Doflamingo. Someone will have to face us someday."

    "Doflamingo? Isn''t he a Shichibukai? Why should we confront another one?" Nami got scared a little and asked. Though they handled Crocodile quite well, Nami very well knew that this one was the weakest. She still held fear against Shichibukai, since she had seen how powerful Mihawk was.

    "He belongs to Doflamingo? Is he a bad guy?" Luffy gave his idiotic smile and asked.

    "Someone who will make you feel Crocodile was an angel." Ken said. Zoro and others were taken aback by his answers. Someone who made Crocodile look goodˇŞwhat kind of evil monster was he?

    Ken didn''t say more and walked towards their ship. Robin and others had already returned from their trip around, and it was time to go and meet Mont Blanc Cricket. That old man had suffered a lot. It was time for some redemption.

    Soon they arrived at the ship, and Ken asked to go to a certain place on the island. As expected, the fake castle made them laugh. Cricket was under the ocean looking for gold. When he came out of the ocean and saw dozens of people around, he attacked, only to lose consciousness the next moment due to excessive diving deep in the ocean and making his blood fill with nitrogen gas.

    Soon, the two monkey brothers of the Saruyama Alliance arrived, and Luffy revealed that he wanted to go to Skypea. They talked of many things, including Cricket''s ancestors.

    "He was a great liar." Cricket himself admitted

    "Oh! Why do you say that? Didn''t you get the gold from under the sea?" Ken asked.

    "Yes, but we haven''t found the city yet."

    "Maybe you are looking in the wrong place," Ken said.

    "No, I have checked the island. It was this particular island that Norland spoke of. If there was a golden city, it must be either under the sea or it was never there." Cricket said.

    "Cricket-san, how about the sky? Did you look at the sky?" Ken asked.

    "Huh!"

    "What?"

    "Nani?"

    "Didn''t you guys just talk about Knock Up stream? What if that massive Knock Up stream blasted the island of Jaya and sent it to the Sky Island? Wouldn''t that mean you have been searching in the wrong place the entire time?"

    Those words rang among the three leaders of the Saruyama Alliance. None of them had ever thought of it because the notion of the presence of Skypia was a myth to begin with, and they decided to help the Straw Hats just out of their love for romance.

 151. Temporary mates

    "Are you being serious?"

    "Is it really?"

    Mashira and Shoujo were very gullible and immediately got excited hearing the words of Ken, but Cricket was the smarty pants here and started thinking of the implications of the words of Ken. The Log Pose of Nami had already established that there was something up there. And he had seen Knock Up Stream multiple times from far away, and it was massive.

    There was really a high chance that what Ken just spoke of was the actual truth. He had been searching for the lost kingdom for such a long time and still couldn''t find anything except for a few gold items, which halfheartedly proved that there might have been a kingdom here, but all of this wasn''t enough.

    He needed to see the real kingdom.

    "Are you sure about that?" Cricket asked.

    "Why don''t you, Mashira and Shoujo, come with us to Skypea to see it with your own eyes?" There might be more surprises waiting for you."

    Luffy and others didn''t expect that Ken would even offer them a ride to Sky Island. Though Luffy was the captain here, Ken could definitely allow a temporary ride for someone.

    "Ken, are you so sure that the lost kingdom is up there? Nami asked.

    "Not exactly, but I have a feeling of that." Ken said. Nami''s eyes instantly lit up like a thousand-watt headlight. It was so bright that everyone had to put their hands up to stop her shining eyes from blinding everyone.

    She had already heard of the gold, and now she couldn''t stop herself from getting there and taking the gold.

    "We can''t go up with you. I can''t put my friends lives in danger just because I want to prove something from the past." Cricket said. According to him, there was only one way to go up, and that was the knock-up stream, which had an almost 100% death rate.

    "No, we will go."

    "How can you say that? We want to prove that Mont Blanc Norland was right." Mashira and Shoujo immediately protested against Cricket''s words.

    "Who said we will go to Skype using the knock-up stream? That will be stupid if we do that. I don''t want Merry to suffer. It had suffered enough." Ken said.

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    "Then how will you go up?" Cricket asked. Knocking upstream was the only way that they could get up. There was no other known option.

    "We will take care of that, and I can guarantee you that going up will be a very safe journey. The only thing I can''t guarantee is about the island up there." Ken said. Even though he did invite them on the journey on a whim, he did remember the main problem that was up there.

    Enel and his goons.

    Enel was probably one of those cases where so much potential was wasted due to a lack of knowledge. He didn''t know the presence of Armament Haki, or else it would have been much tougher for him to get defeated by Luffy.

    Plus, Luffy was his natural enemy. Cricket was in deep contemplation about this. He was very tempted about visiting with them, and Mashira and Shoujo were actively persuading Cricket.

    "I want some time for this." Cricket said. Ken just shrugged his shoulders.

    "Ken, how will we go up?" Vivi couldn''t help but ask. Caroo could fly a long distance, but she felt like going up high in the air might not be his forte.

    "I will use my Stormbreaker," Ken said.

    "Are you crazy? It will break the ship instantly." Ussop shouted out loud. Everyone else had the same thought.

    "Relax. The bifrost has other ways to be used too. All you need to do is add wheels on the underside, and Caroo can do the rest." Ken said.

    "We will trust you on this." Sanji said. With those words, everything was settled, and they got to work. Nami and Ussop were actively retrofitting the ship. They punched some holes in the underside of the ship and attached huge wheels on them, which also had rubber on them, so that the journey was a smooth one.

    This new version of Merry took time, while Ken and others just helped them when they could. Cricket was confused by this but didn''t ask, as he wanted to see how these people would go up.

    Ken had a little sadness in his face. This was probably the last arc for this ship. After this, their ship would change. Ken wanted to preserve this ship as much as possible because he wanted their new ship to have Merry as its backbone.

    After a few hours, everything was ready.

    "Yosh! Of we go to the Sky Island." Luffy got up and was all hyped. Everyone too was ready for their new exciting journey. Ken took out his Stormbreaker, got up over the head of the Merry, and placed the weapon on top of it.

    Stormbreaker immediately opened up the Bifrost, only this time it didn''t suck him away but placed a colorful road ahead of them. Everyone had shining eyes looking at it. Some of them had experienced the Bifrost''s violent pulling but never this ''good side'' of it.

    Cricket and others had never seen anything like this before, and they were in awe. Caroo came forward and was tied to the ship so that it could pull it while it changed to therian form. In fact, Chopper wanted to turn itself into an elephant and pull, but was stopped by Ken.

    If Chopper pulled Merry, it would take ages to reach the top. With Caroo, it would take less time.

    "We want to go with you." Cricket pulled up her courage and asked. Seeing everything around, he was too tempted right now. Ken then looked at Luffy, who nodded his head while chewing on a huge piece of meat.

    "Hop in. I am sorry that your crew can''t come." Ken said. Mashira and Shoujo had huge crews, but Ken couldn''t bring them. There would be a massacre up there, and these unnamed people would just die.

 152. New awakening

    Mashira and Shoujo didn''t mind that. They had already seen that only one ship could go up and that a ship could only hold so much. The three of them instantly went to gather their belongings. That took a few minutes, and soon everyone was ready to leave. The other crew members, Shoujo and Mashira, were asked to leave since there was nothing here and they could carry out their salvage businesses around and look for interesting things in the sea.

    With that, everyone went on their way. The Bifrost started to extend up while the Theran form Caroo started pulling the ship. Nami had also used her magic to make the ship lighter for the journey. Caroo started pulling higher and higher, and everyone was excited as they were going up.

    "The air will be lighter up there, so please preserve your energy." Ken reminded everyone. Though Luffy didn''t understand what Ken meant by that, the others did, as oxygen would be scarce up there.

    But their flight to Sky Island wouldn''t be uneventful. The Bifrost didn''t go up vertically, the road was loaded in a spiraled way so that the people in the ship didn''t have to hold on to things to go up. For this reason, the ship didn''t actually go very high in a short amount of time.

    It was at this time that everyone heard from the ship.

    "Je..Hahahaha...."

    Everyone turned to look at the man who had laughed quite an ugly laugh.

    "Zoro, look, it is the broken teeth-Ossan." Luffy shouted.

    "Broken teeth-ossan? Ah, him.. Why is he here?" Zoro asked. Nami, who had seen the man, was also confused.

    "Jehahaha! Muguwara no Luffy! Punisher Kenny... Sorry that I didn''t recognize you before. I see that you have quite the devil''s fruit to be going in such a grand way... Jehahahaha.."

    It was Blackbeard. He had come alone, almost as same as in the original story, he had shown up. Ken had creases in his eyebrows. One of the main reasons he had gone to so much trouble to deal with this man''s crew was that he didn''t want any problems while leaving the Jaya Island, but this guy and his half-dead mates still showed up.

    "Ossan, why are you here?" Luffy shouted back at him.

    "Mugiwara Luffy.. I didn''t recognize you before because of your eyes and new hair, but now I do. You are someone who has more than a 100 million-dollar bounty. If I can catch you and your vice captain, I will be a Shichibukai." Blackbeard shouted back. Those words instantly brought the faces of all the people around down.

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    "Did he say he wants to capture us?"

    "Yes, I heard that too."

    Blackbeard laughed once more, and before any warning, he shouted while pointing his hand at Merry from the ground.

    "Kurozu: Dark Whirlpool"

    Instantly, Caroo, who had been flying away on the Bifrost, felt a serious tug on the ropes. At first, it was nothing, but within seconds, the ship became much heavier, and it had already started to go down, or rather, pull away from Caroo.

    Everyone felt the pull at that moment. This was gravity. Even the ship was getting pulled with a high force. Ken didn''t act confused and took out his Mjolnir. He couldn''t bring the Stormbreaker because it was working on itself.

    The clouds formed high above, and it turned dark. Blackbeard, who was concentrating on pulling Merry, looked up, and he had a serious face for the first time. He had a very bad feeling about it. And Blackbeard was right. Loud thunder was heard around

    Ken lifted his hammer and brought it down in the air. Lightning came down without much of a hint, and it struck on the body of Blackbeard with pinpoint accuracy. Ken used his godly powers with full force on this guy and didn''t hold back.

    The lightning made the debris and dust burst up from the place and destroy quite a bit of the surroundings. The pull from Blackbeard stopped, and Merry got stable on the bifrost.

    "I wonder if he was fried to crisp with only bones remaining." Robin commented.

    "Robin doesn''t say such spooky things." Ussop said.

    "Ken, you used quite a bit of power. He is probably dead." Luffy said.

    "If he had died so easily, I would have been the King of the World already." Ken said as he was looking at the place.

    "Huh?"

    Before anybody could realize it, the dust had already settled, and Blackbeard was shown lying on the ground. He was twitching in pain, but slowly that stopped too. There were two burn marks on his hairy body, but that didn''t stop him from getting up on his feet.

    "How is he still alive?" Cricket, who was also watching the drama, was more surprised. When Ken brought down the lightning with a move of his hand, he couldn''t believe his eyes, but seeing that this guy was fine and even go up on his feet gave him more surprise.

    Who are these people? Monsters in human skin?

    "Punisher Kenny, jeez, you have surprised me today." Blackbeard said. Though he could hardly talk and almost coughed, he had excitement in his eyes. Now the Straw Hats crew became serious. A man who could stand up after taking the lightning to his body was not a simple man.

    "You used the Devil Fruit powers to negate the lightning at the very last second. Didn''t you?" Ken shouted. There was still a distance between him and Merry.

    "Oh! You seem to know of my Devil Fruit?" Blackbeard asked.

    "Teach. You should go on your way and let us go on ours. It won''t end well for you." Ken warned.

    "Teach? So you do know me. All the more reason to take care of you." Blackbeard said.

    "Teach? He is Blackbeard.." Nami came to this realization just like the others. The one Ace had been searching for

    "You asked for it, Teach." Ken said, and then his normally black eyes started changing. Not to a red tomoe sharingan one but to a gray colored limbal rings type eye.

 153. Almighty powers

    Ken''s eyes changed from normal eyes to Rinnegan''s eyes. This was very weird because Ken didn''t even have a Mangekyo Sharingan to begin with. According to the norm, only after Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan could one get to the Rinnegan, but it was different for Ken because he was special.

    Ken didn''t get to be the Junchuriki of Ten Tails, and thus, in order to compensate him, the system decided to give him powers in the most weird way possible. According to the system, Ken would get all the powers of Rinnegan, i.e., the ones that Nagato used with all the paths. But that also meant there were different levels of power for the system.

    And according to the system, some of the powers of Rinnegan were lower as compared to the Mangekyo Sharingan of Obito. The space-time jutsu of the kamui dimension were much more powerful than the Rinnegan''s, and thus, for the system, Ken got access to some of the Rinnegan''s powers.

    So for the first time, Ken could get access to Rinnegan''s powers, and he wanted to use them. Luffy came up and was about to strike when Ken stopped him.

    "Don''t. I want to try my new powers."

    "Are you sure?" Luffy asked.

    "Yes," Ken replied while showing him his eyes. Luffy hadn''t seen such eyes before, so he let his brother take the reins. Ken put his hand up and showed his palm toward Blackbeard. He was ready to show the same old move to the Straw Hats but was confused with what Ken was going to do.

    "Bansho Tenin" (Almighty Pull)

    As Ken said these words, Blackbeard watched himself in horror. He was slowly being lifted off the ground! Gravity had just changed his course for him. Horrified Blackbeard, in order to stop the course, used his dark fruit power to cancel the pull with which he was lifted up, but nothing happened.

    The dark fruit could only pull things towards itself; it couldn''t repel things. Repel was only possible if he had sucked something. But this wasn''t the case here. But Blackbeard didn''t get much time to think before he pulled with extreme force. Using his dark fruit only made his pull much faster.

    In no time, he was inches from Ken when Luffy came up between Blackbeard and Ken. His hands were laden with armored haki. Before he knew it, Luffy delivered a full Haki-laden punch to Teach, and that too right at the abdomen of Teach.

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    He coughed out blood instantly and was then thrown back to the same place where he came from with incredible speed. Ken smiled when he saw that. After all these years, both of them had a proper understanding of each other and could fight together with perfect synchronization.

    Luffy''s attack was so powerful that Blackbeard was on the verge of losing consciousness. Luffy didn''t use his devil fruit power, so he couldn''t negate the powers like he always does. Ken didn''t stop there. He pointed his palm again at Blackbeard and said,

    "Shinra Tensei."  (almighty push)

    And just like Ken''s previous move, Blackbeard felt a force. But this force wasn''t a pulling force but a pushing one. He was pushed onto the ground so fast and so heavily that his face and the shape of his body seemed distorted. The ground itself started pushing out of its place in order to accommodate the huge gravity push.

    Blackbeard was questioning his life as he was being treated in the worst possible way by almost nobody. When he was sent hurling to the ground from a punch, he didn''t expect that someone in the starting Grand Line would have Armament Haki.

    With his observation, he was able to sense that a powerful punch was coming, but there was no way he was able to stop himself when he was flying at such a fast speed. He knew Haki, but not to such a high level that he would be able to make his body like Vergo''s. He just knew a bit of it and was convinced that his Devil''s Fruit was going to save him.

    But the punch just proved him otherwise. The punch was already hard on his body, and the Shinra Tensei very much made his bones crack. Ken''s attack was vicious and full of malice, and he actually had a slight intention to kill him right here.

    After a few seconds, Ken stopped putting more chakra into the attack.

    "Damn Ken, what the hell was that?" Ussop asked, as he felt fear from how he toyed with this ugly guy.

    "My Rinegan has awakened, and I can only do the pushing and pulling as of now." Ken replied.

    "Only? There are more moves?" Chopper asked.

    "Yes. The Rinnegan eyes were attributed as godly, so in a way, the power is a little off the charts."

    Everyone''s eyes were on Ken, as they could not imagine how powerful their eyes were. Luffy had already spoken about the Sharingan, as he knew about it during his time as Hiruzen. Hiruzen had learned a lot thanks to Itachi. So he gave everyone a general idea that once Ken awakens his Sharingan, it will be a different ballgame.

    "You have awakened your Sharingan?" Luffy asked.

    "No, Rinegan is the higher power than Sharingan. My awakened Sharingan is a little bit broken. Once I awaken it, nobody will be able to touch me." Ken replied.

    "What is it? Tell us.. Please tell us." Chopper, Ussop, and Luffy had stars in their eyes as they wanted to know what power the Mangekyo Sharingan had. But Ken refused to tell. Cricket and his friends had question marks over their heads, but they didn''t ask because they could feel that whatever Ken was talking about might be a crew secret.

    Meanwhile, Blackbeard slowly got up on his feet. He had a broken hand, a broken ankle, and a few cracked ribs. He got up slowly but coughed up blood. He wasn''t in a very good position.

 154. Not my problem

    "Oh! He is still standing." Ussop and others looked back at him. He was heavily injured, but he was still there. No wonder in the original fight he was fine even after getting hit by the ''flame emperor'' move from Ace and delivering him to the Navy.

    Ken jumped from the boat and landed right near him. Luffy wanted to go, but Sanji came forward and said

    "This is between him and Ken. He must be left to Ace." Sanji reminded. Though they would love to capture him, Sanji knew that if they did so, it would be quite disrespectful to Ace, and he was sure that Ken knew it too. Luffy wanted to say something but stopped. It was related to a man''s dignity.

    "Punisher Kenny.... Jehahahah... You have been hiding your true powers from the government. Jehahahaha... *cough*." Blackbeard said. He was hardly able to talk but laughed at Ken.

    "Marshall D. Teach The government also doesn''t know of your plans, or else you would have been the first to be executed." Ken replied with the same sarcasm.

    "Oh, you know about me? I am honored." Teach said.

    "You are someone my brother is hunting for. So in a way, I can''t touch you, and in fact, a part of me wants to see both of you fight. I want to see how your plans get heavily crushed by my brother." Ken said.

    "Brother... *cough*..    Who?"    Blackbeard asked.

    "Ace," Ken replied.

    "White eye? Jehahahaha.... No wonder your eyes are different. I am not wrong; another brother of yours assaulted my team a few hours ago. Right? I remember Commander Ace spoke of multiple brothers." Blackbeard asked as he looked dead in Ken''s eyes.

    Ken''s eyes didn''t even blink, but in his mind, he was a little surprised. He didn''t expect that this ugly guy would be able to predict that it was one of his brothers who assaulted his crew so badly. He just was little off in his prediction. The guy who assaulted them was Ken hismelf.

    "Your silence means yes... I wonder if it''s your captain... Your Captain, really have very weird eyes.." Blackbeard said as he slowly started walking towards him. Ken didn''t bother to reply and wanted to see what this guy''s plan was.

    He slowly came inches near Ken. Luffy and others slowly got serious. Luffy was ready to jump forward if he saw anything amiss. Ussop had slowly charged his arrow. Sanji, who had stopped Luffy before, had his feet warm at the moment and was ready to spit fire. Zoro touched his sword.

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    "When I met Ace, he was quite confident. He thought he could kill our father," Blackbeard said.

    "He thought he was all powerful because of his Devil Fruit... And just like him, you think you are all powerful because of your devil fruit." The moment he said that, the half-dead Blackbeard seemed to get a new lease on life and caught the hand of Ken, who had been looking at him stoically.

    Well, at least that''s what Blackbeard felt. The hand he touched wasn''t Ken''s at all, but the small gravity push he was experiencing.

    "Jehahaha... Eh?!"

    "We both have observation haki. Did you think it would be that easy?" Ken replied and then said:

    "Shinra Tensei."

    This time Blackbeard wasn''t put to the ground but was thrown away horizontally at extreme speed. So fast and so heavily that the trees got destroyed in its path as he was thrown back. It was just like the time when seven-tails fought against Pain. This time the subject is Blackbeard himself.

    Blackbeard was thrown into the forest, where everything was in rubble after the trees fell due to the push. Ken just looked at the small, destroyed forest for one last moment and flew to the ship.

    "Ken, you need to teach me this move." Luffy shouted.  Luffy''s eyes were shining, seeing how cool his move was.

    "You can do it yourself." Ken replied. Caroo was given a hint, and he started pulling the ship onto Bifrost once more.

    "Ken, is it okay to leave this guy like that?" Robin asked, as she was a bit concerned. She could tell that this guy was very cunning, and he might pull up some things later.

    "He is fine. Though I would love to play with him some more, he is up for Ace to catch. I have faith in him." Ken replied. No matter what, Ace was even more powerful now with his magic. Even if he lost his Devil Fruit powers, his magical powers would make sure that he survived.

    That guy needs to be taught a lesson. He had been running around too much, and having gained Neji''s powers over the years, he felt like he could see through every person''s weak points. Let him suffer for a bit.

    Robin didn''t say anything and just looked around like the others. The crew members didn''t really care about Blackbeard that much. This guy was Ace''s problem, and Ken went for him because this guy came after their heads.

    "What was he talking about when he talked about another brother assaulting him? Was it you?" Nami asked as he remembered how Ken had worn a weird dress before and flown away. Ken nodded his head.

    "You seem like you have some kind of feud with him." Vivi asked confusedly why he was a little angry towards this guy. Though this guy murdered his own commander in cold blood, that had nothing to do with them.

    "He is just hateful. I don''t like his teeth." Ken replied. Nami rolled her eyes at that. Ken never differentiated by face or race, or else the fishmen on her island would have been annihilated.

    There must be some other reason for which he is not telling. Cricket was a little curious of the crew, so he asked around, and thus random talks were rampant in the ship while it was flying high with booze and food. Blackbeard in Jaya was in very bad shape, but he didn''t lose consciousness as of yet. He walked back with broken bones to Doc Q, where others were being treated.

    Laffite had returned when Blackbeard was back, and he had returned with more exciting news.

 155. Gan Fall

    They spent a lot of time on Merry  before they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. They saw huge white clouds. The ship went through a few white clouds before they finally saw something that could only be explained as some kind of heaven. It was beautiful, to say the least. The clouds here were pure white and didn''t even have a stain of black in them.

    There was a huge gate that had multiple white roads converging on it. The gate had some kind of toll booth. The ship slowly sailed towards the gate.

    "What is this?"

    "It''s written Skypiea in the gate. Is this really the island we have been searching for?"

    "But the pointer is pointing much higher up."

    "So this might be the middle section." Robin said that, as everyone could see, there was a road leading behind the gate too.

    "This is amazing. I have never thought I would see something so interesting in my life." Vivi said. Ken, seeing that they had reached the huge ocean of clouds, took away the Stormbreaker, and Caroo was called back.

    Everyone was again surprised that the clouds acted as a sea here.

    "Let''s go to that gate." Luffy was excited and wanted to just reach the destination. But before they could go any further in that direction, a man who seemed like he was riding on the cloud with weird skate-like shoes in his feet came swerving by, heading towards them. He had a huge square-shaped mask on his face, a square-shaped shield in one hand, and another bazooka-like gun on the other shoulder.

    Ken, who belonged to his previous world, could easily tell that this man looked like a modern copy of the Red Indians who lived in America long ago.

    "Who is this guy?" Sanji asked.

    "Does he want our food? I am not sharing." Luffy said.

    "Oye.. What do you want?" Zoro shouted back.

    The man in the mask shouted back.

    "To eliminate you."

    "Oh! So you are approaching us." Ken couldn''t help but say those famous words. The man landed on the railing of the ship and kicked towards Sanji in an extra-fast motion with his ''skates, but as he was close to hitting Sanji''s face, he was stopped by Sanji, who was using his foot too.

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    And replacing his skates was fire under his foot. The masked man was surprised. He had just annihilated a bunch of ships with his raw strength and his bazooka alone, and none of them were able to hold a candle against him. But this guy just stopped his foot attack so easily.

    "Ken was right. The air is really thin here. It''s a little difficult to do normal moves."

    The masked man was furious at seeing the nonchalance of these men, who didn''t seem to care that they were being attacked, and thus pointed his bazooka at them only to hear the words.

    "Accio!"

    The bazooka, which was held on his shoulder, suddenly flew out of his hand and fell into the hands of Nami, who was holding her staff in one hand and looking at the bazooka with curiosity. She had seen such things in some worlds that Vivi and others had gone to, but never in reality, so she was curious.

    "Vivi, can you make this?"

    "I will have to study it." Vivi replied.

    The masked man was more enraged and jumped to take back his own thing, only to hear

    "Ichi no kata: Hekireki Issen" (First Form: Thunderclap and Flash)

    Zoro flashed from his place and struck at the masked man. This sudden move was somehow stopped by the man, but it came with a price. The shield with which he had stopped the attack got ripped in half, and one of his skates too got broken by this. The man was thrown back by the force and struck at the wall of the ship.

    "My.. my.. You guys are really violent." A very old voice came from the side. There stood a very old man with a long beard, wearing the attire of the old European knights, and holding a pointy spear in his hand. He stood on a very huge bird, which was very weird in color. Strawberry color with black patches all around the body of the bird.

    Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were ready to take him down. They had been nonchalant with the previous guy, but that doesn''t mean that they didn''t take anyone seriously. In fact, Ken had inherently imposed this rule on everyone, which was followed by Shanks himself.

    ''Never take any fight jokingly, and don''t underestimate anyone.''

    But still Ken wasn''t actually happy because he could easily see that they were quite lax in their fights.

    The reason behind the fall of many of the enemies of Straw Hats was that they believed they were better than Straw Hats. Starting from Crocodile, Enel, CP9, Moria, Doflamingo, Big Mom, and even Kaido to some extent.

    Shanks was the role model, though at least in this case for Ken. He didn''t look down on anyone. When Ace visited him to meet him, he was ready to fight, using his full force to confront the new Supernova. So he had always warned them not to look down on even a small ant.

    "Matte.. Matte.. I am not the enemy here." The old man said and later he introduced himself as Gan Fall, a mercenary in the sky who helped people if they gave him money. He had actually come to stop the masked man, but it seemed like they didn''t need any help.

    "Can you let him go?" Gan Fall pointed at the man, who was being held down by Nami with her staff. The man was trying to get up, only to be silenced when Vivi pointed his own bazooka at him. The man shuddered and just looked like a half-dead man who was gritting his teeth in anger.

    "For what? He attacked us with the thought of destroying Merry. He is lucky that we have only destroyed his shield." Ussop called out He always felt for Merry, and anything that hurt her could not be tolerated by him.

 156. Angel Beach

    "I am really sorry for his behavior. But I really hope you can let him go." Gan Fall said as he bowed his head.

    "We can let him go, but on one promise. Pay us." Nami shouted as her eyes turned into bellies.

    "Huh!"

    "Does this woman only think about money?"

    "As expected of Nami-swan."

    Gan Fall was surprised by the upright behavior of these pirates that had shown up. He thought that he might have to negotiate more with them. The man they caught belonged to the opposite camp, so there was no overwhelming need to save him, but all his life Gan Fall had been trying to make peace between the people of Shandia and the Sky Angels.

    Plus, this guy was important for the people of Shandia because he was their leader. Wyper. He hoped that Wyper could gain a favor.

    "Old man.. I don''t need your help. You can fuck off." Wyper called out when he saw Gan Fall begging for his life. He didn''t want to owe any favors to anyone. Gan Fall didn''t pay him any attention and looked at Nami, who spoke of money.

    "How much money do you want?" Gan Fall asked. Nami was more excited by this and started negotiating. Meanwhile, Cricket and others came forward and took away this man''s mask. He tried to resist, only to be hurt by the end of the bazooka in the hands of Vivi.

    "So many tattoos. I like it." Mashira said.

    "I want to get myself this tattoo." Shoujo said. Cricket was just looking at him blankly and didn''t say anything. Kalgara and Norland were great friends once. So in a way, Wyper and Cricket should be friends since they belong to the same lineage. He was hoping he could develop such a friendship later. Ken didn''t want to keep Wyper anyway.

    Though logically Wyper was at fault, he could also understand why Wyper reacted the way he did. A pirate named Jolly Roger would always be met with hostility, no matter where. And for people like them who were obsessive about their own land, it was understandable why he reacted the way he did.

    Nami and Gan Fall came to a deal, and thus Wyper was allowed to go. He had intense disgust written on his face when he was let go. It was a humiliation for him, and he vowed to get back at these people and Gan Fall too. Ken could see that and said:

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    "Let go of your hatred or we will show you more despair than you have ever known in your life."

    Wyper stiffened a bit but didn''t reply, and with just one skate on his foot, he ''sailed'' away in the white cloud. Gan Fall sat on his bird, who turned into a false Pegasus. Ken laughed upon seeing it. At least it looked better than stronger. He still regretted letting Stronger go a bit.

    Should have killed him there itself.

    With those random thoughts in mind and taking in the beautiful scenery around me while reaching the main gate, The sea of clouds was really a place where one person should be in their lifetime. Out of excitement, Ussop jumped into the sea to feel the clouds, and he was not disappointed. He came out from the bottom side of the cloud sea. But of course, unlike the original story where he almost died, he was able to come back because he could stand on air now.

    After coming to the gate, they met the gatekeeper, who asked for payment. Nami asked for the amount required, and listening to the toll that needed to be paid made her despair, and she was even ready to wipe out the woman''s memories.

    But of course it was just her thought, and the gatekeeper, named Amazon, said that they could go in even if they didn''t pay, which made everyone feel relief.

    "But we will be fugitives. Wouldn''t we? Hunted by the divine soldiers." Ken commented when everyone was ready to sail in. This made the Amazon shudder. In her life, she had scammed a lot of people in this way. Since she didn''t have the power to get toll payments, she would just label the people who entered as criminals who were hunted until they were dead.

    Amazon''s silence proved that whatever Ken said was right. Ken hated people like her. She was the kind of person who would not hesitate to manipulate people just for her own fun and taste. She could have easily spoken about the fugitive status, but she refrained from doing so.

    And this was not only for them but for everyone else who used to come to the island.

    "What? What? What are you saying? I don''t understand." Amazon said in a broken and shivering tone. She was older and more scared.

    "Call Gan Fall," Ken said.

    "But the whistle he gave was only for emergencies." Nami protested.

    "The emergencies we might have here might be something he wouldn''t be able to handle." Ken commented. Nami looked dejected, but she called Gan Fall, who arrived in five minutes. Gan Fall was confused about his call, which he gave along with a sum of money to Nami.

    Vivi proceeded to explain how this old woman was scamming them. Amazon was shuddering. She didn''t think that the previous ruler of Skypea would be called for such a small thing. Gan Fall looked with disappointment at Amazon but said at the end that he couldn''t do anything.

    Ken actually wanted to almost kill this woman, who was responsible for the deaths of innocents who came to the islands too, but at the end he refrained. The fight with Enel was going to happen anyway. He would take care of her then.

    Merry started sailing again and went even higher, and finally, after the vertical uplift, they reached their destination.

    The Angel Beach.

    Luffy, can you feel it?" Ken asked suddenly.

    "Yes. It''s like you. It''s everywhere." Luffy replied.

    "What are you talking about? Huh! What is this feeling?" Ussop said.

 157. God shrimp

    "What are you all talking about?" Vivi was confused by the looks of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Ussop.

    "Someone is watching. No! listening to us." Zoro said.

    "What?"

    "Nani?"

    Those words brought fear to the others, and they started looking around to see who was eavesdropping on them but found no one. This made them feel more uneasy. Even Cricket and others believed what they were saying and actively searched around nearby.

    "You can''t find him. He is very far away." Ken said.

    "Can you hear him?" Luffy asked. Ken nodded head.

    "What is he? He is able to do just like you?" Sanji asked. By this time everyone knew that Ken with his Haki was able to listen very far and was even able to pinpoint the position of everyone he was listening to. His control over lightning gave him that power. But now they found out there was another man able to do that, so they were confused.

    "Probably someone who has eaten a Logia Lightning fruit."

    "Logia? That too, lightning? Shit, we are doomed." -Nami

    "Luffy, save us!" -Chopper. Even Ussop, who had been all highs, felt fear. Crocodiles were not a problem for him, as that guy was only made of sand. But lightning meant that he would be someone like Ken, and that was a nightmare for him.

    "I wonder if Marimo will not be a Marimo any more after being struck by lightning, and his hair will turn yellow." Sanji said.

    "What? Shitty cook? Do you want me to change your hair color to green?" Zoro shouted back.

    "Who likes the color green? It''s disgusting."

    Zoro and Sanji started quarrelling, while Luffy just laughed at them. They really didn''t seem to care if someone was listening to them. Cricket and others were really surprised by the nonchalance of these people but didn''t comment.

    Soon they reached the shore of the beach that they had seen from far after coming up.

    Everyone couldn''t wait to get onto the beach and jumped off the ship. Mashira, Shoujo, and others were excited too. Cricket himself had wet eyes. Though they didn''t find the golden kingdom, seeing such beauty with his own eyes was enough for him. He was glad that he took the ride with these foolish pirates. But being fools was what made them more daring.

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    Nami and Chopper were still a little shaken up by what they had heard and staying close to the powerful crew mates. After getting to the beach, everyone started moving around and soon came across Conis, a woman who lived in Skypiea. She was quite beautiful, and the white wings on her back made her look like an angel.

    Even Ken, who didn''t seem to be affected by beauty, normally looked at Conis with admiration. And her sky fox, Su, made Ken almost melt out of cuteness. He couldn''t help but pet it. Su seemed to like that Ken was petting it.

    Chopper, looking at the sky fox, decided to see if he could change himself, and he was able to do so after some tries. Though the color was green, the shape and size were exactly the same. Su was confused and started sniffing at Chopper, then they both started playing with each other. Conis was surprised by this and asked how Chopper could do it.

    All of this was, of course, attributed to the devil fruit that Chopper ate, thus lying through his teeth. Conis was really impressed and invited them to her home. It was then that a huge shrimp came out of nowhere from under Merry. The shrimp was twice the size of Merry, and GOD was written on its head.

    It took Merry on its head and sped off. But it was in for an unfortunate demise. Before it could go any further, a bunch of arrows were shot in super-fast speed at the ship, and before the shrimp could turn its head and see what the shrill noise was about, the shining arrows struck the body of the shrimp.

    Some arrows went through the body of the shrimp, while others struck at its thick exoskeleton. The huge shrimp cried out in pain. Of course it was Ussop. Someone or something wanted to take Merry away, and Ussop was having none of it.

    This was his love, and nobody was allowed to touch it. Conis, Cricket, and others had their jaws fall to the ground. All this time, the crew had been having fun with them and acting all foolish, but when the moment came, they turned out to be monsters!

    "Ussop, kill this thing. I want to eat it." Luffy shouted while drooling from his mouth.

    "Shrimp? They can be cooked with coconut milk and sauteed with vegetables. It will be quite tasty." Sanji said while lighting a cigarette. But not all of them had a good look on their faces, and Ken was one of them.

    He had been paying close attention to the things around him. Conis hadn''t asked for the God shrimp to come and take away the ship as in the original story, which meant that Enel must have ordered it since Amazon didn''t snitch on them.

    Enel must have been hearing their conversation and wanted to play with them. For Luffy and Ken, Enel was just someone they could take care of, but for Zoro and others, he wasn''t that easy. Sure, they had mastered Armament Haki, but for landing, they needed to get close to him, which was difficult due to his lightning speed and Observation Haki.

    It was for others that he cared. This would be a tough fight for his crew. Ken had been trying to get access to the Kamui dimension so that he could travel almost as fast as Enel, but he was unable to do so.

    Meanwhile, after launching more arrows, the shrimp had died, and the people around came out to see what the ruckus was about. When they saw the shrimp being pulled to the beach by Luffy and his crew, they ran to their homes, fearing the wrath of God.

 158. Upper Yard

    Conis was shaking in fear seeing this. The coming of the shrimp meant that God didn''t like their presence here, so in a way, these pirates who had just arrived were criminals. But they were able to kill the ''messenger'' of God in a few seconds. Who were these people?

    Luffy and others didn''t see the horror on the faces of the people around them, but rather the food that they were going to get. Only Ken, Robin and Nami noticed the fear of others, but they didn''t mind. They were pirates to begin with. Why would they care about others? And thus, after taking the shrimp to the beach, Sanji went on to make a huge bonfire.

    He invited everyone, even Conis. By this time her father, Pagaya, had returned with the waver. Nami was of course pumped up seeing this and wanted to ride. But Nami was stopped, and it was none other than Vivi. In her character''s world, she had come across many modern things, even speed boats. But those things tended to be huge.

    But the waver machine seemed to be smaller and faster, so she wanted to research it a bit. Nami was upset by what Vivi said, but she let her look at the waver.Conis and Pagaya were confused by this but didn''t ask what they wanted to do by looking at the waver.

    They were more concerned about the shrimp that they had caught. Ken could already see the struggle. Conis didn''t want to be rude by declining the invitation, but she also didn''t want to go against their God. Some of the berets had already been sneaking around, but were too afraid to come close to them after what they had seen.

    "Conis, if you want to decline the invitation, you can." Ken said.

    "I..I.. I can.."

    "Ken, what are you talking about? If Conis-chan wants to spend time with us, she can. Don''t you think so Conis-chwan." Sanji was agitated as he thought Ken was trying to shoo her away.

    "It is dangerous for her to be near us. She will be targeted by God." Ken reminded them. Though they were pretty nonchalant and carefree, they could still feel the Observation Haki lingering around them. They were reminded again that someone was looking at them at all times.

    "Ken, can''t we block it?" Zoro couldn''t help but ask. He didn''t like the fact that somebody was looking at them at all times; it made him feel uncomfortable.

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    "Sure, if you are as powerful as Shanks, then you can stop it." Ken said.

    "Shanks.. Shanks is that powerful?" Luffy asked.

    "There is another name for Shanks in the New World. The Killer of Observation Haki. He can neutralize your observation haki even if you have it and win against you." Ken said.

    "How? How does he do that?" Sanji and Ussop were intrigued, as were others.

    "I am not sure. It''s said that he can combine Conqueror''s Haki and Observation Haki to achieve that." Ken said as he was reminded of the movie with Uta and, of course, the beating Kid received from him.

    "Damn." Luffy and the others mumbled, but what they heard made them understand how big the gap was. Zoro had yet to get to the Conqueror''s Haki, and this made him a bit anxious. He needed to make himself more powerful. While they talked, Nami, Vivi, and Robin came forward and told Conis that it was fine and that she could go back.

    She really didn''t need to be with them, as it would be dangerous. Conis didn''t know what to say and only said that if they needed to get to the upper yard, they needed to get a general sense of direction here. It had to be mentioned that Nami''s log pose still pointed somewhere else, and they hadn''t yet reached the island.

    According to the direction, they needed to go to the upper yard, and then their log pose would be settled, but going there meant they would arrive at the land of the gods, where they would be targeted. Nami thanked her profusely for helping them and wished them a safe life.

    Though Conis and Pagaya left, they felt guilty. They thought that they had pushed these innocent pirates to the Upper Yard, which was known as the graveyard for the pirates or anyone other than followers of God who stepped in there.

    Meanwhile, Nami said that they needed to go to Upper Yard, and they could hire some boats to go there. Conis had let them use two small boats with which they could go to the upper yard, riding the cloud road there.

    The people who were busy eating realized that after the food they needed to get to work. Luffy was gorging on the shrimp like a hungry bear and loved every bit of it. Even after being of such massive size, Sanji was able to cook it perfectly. Even Ken was impressed by it.

    After an hour of filling their bellies and their bags with food and water, everyone was ready to go to the Upper Yard. The small boats were quite funny, and Luffy actually wanted to go to a bigger boat only to be beaten by Ussop and Sanji for being ungrateful. Conis had lent them the boats, and he should be happy.

    When everyone got on the ship, only Ken was left standing on the beach.

    "Ken, come on. We need to go." Luffy said.

    "No, you go on. I have someone to meet here." Ken said.

    "Someone? Who?" Others were confused.

    "There are other people here on the island that need my help. You guys go. I will meet you all in the upper yard." Ken said.

    "Ken, don''t leave us. You are as powerful as Luffy. I don''t want to die." Chopper cried out. From the moment he knew that there was someone with the lightning bolt, he was scared out of his wits. So, of course, he didn''t want to let go of Ken.

    "It will be fine. You all are powerful. I trust in you." Ken said.

 159. Hello, God!

    Luffy and others didn''t ask much and started on their way. Ken could always use the Observation Haki to find them, so this was not a big deal. In fact, they could ride the Bifrost and get to the Upper Yard, which was quite close by, but they didn''t. Luffy was a sucker for adventure, and he wouldn''t let anything come in the way.

    Soon, both of the small boats took off and vanished into the cloud road that led to the upper yard. Ken just watched them from the shore. The berets who worked as police under the orders of Enel were confused about why this guy didn''t go with them.

    Was he scared? But he looked like someone who had quite a bit of respect in the crew, so why didn''t he go? Some of the berets wanted to test their luck and see if they could catch him and bring him to the god, but before they could do so, Ken brought out his Stormbreaker, and before the berets could arm themselves well, he opened the Bifrost and vanished.

    The berets were dumbfounded with what had happened and just looked at the weird burnt circle on the ground in amazement. What the hell was this?

    When Ken appeared again, he was in a new place. The place looked like an old temple with its wall structures but had modern amenities. In the courtyard of the old temple, there was a man laying on his side, eating fruits while looking around.

    His eyes looked like they were half asleep and seemed to belong to someone who didn''t care about the world. But as Ken appeared above his head, he slowly looked up. His eyes still held the narcissism and God complex that he had always maintained.

    This was Enel. And Ken had just appeared near him.

    Ken slowly floated down. He didn''t need Mjolnir or Stormbreaker to fly anymore. His Rinnegan eyes allowed him to do that without any help now. Enel''s eyes followed his descent and he didn''t say anything. He was a bit curious too about the new pirates that had arrived.

    They were easily able to take down the shrimp he had sent, and now there was another guy. Ken didn''t say anything and proceeded to take an apple that was lying on the table and sit just opposite Enel.

    His followers were not around at the moment, and thus he was alone with Ken.

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    "Emine.. I mean, Enel. Am I right?"

    Enel just looked at him without responding at all, and only his munching sounds were heard.

    "It must be good to sit around and enjoy yourself just because you got lucky in your life once." Ken said.

    "Who gave you the right to sit here like that and talk to me?" Enel replied in a very calm and orderly tone, making sure all his pronunciation was heard. With those words, Enel lifted his hand and said,

    "10,000 volts."

    A huge spark of lightning covered the hand of Enel in just a second, and the same huge spark of lightning hit Ken with all its intensity. The intensity was so huge that everything in its path was obliterated. Burning everything to a crisp.

    Ken took the full hit of the lightning attack without even moving. Neither of them bothered to move. He was Thor to begin with. Any elemental attacks from anyone in this world were almost a joke to him. Even Akainu wouldn''t be able to do shite to him; forget about Enel, who didn''t have Armament Haki and only relied on his devil fruit.

    Enel went back to eating, as he expected the man who had come flying down to be already half dead after being hit by his 10,000 volts. But when the dust settled and he saw Ken sitting in the same position as when he was still looking at him, he was a little taken aback.

    "You did good by dodging my attack."

    Ken was amazed by the narcissism of this guy and how he thought that Ken had dodged his attack.

    "10,000,000 volts."

    This time, from the hand of Enel, there was no spark but rather a cylindrical white beam of light that traveled from his hand towards him. Ken, just like last time, decided not to do anything about it and let Enel see with his own eyes. The lightning attack passed through Ken''s body like nothing happened.

    After a few seconds, the calm and collected Enel had his eyes wide open, his jaw falling to his chin, and tears coming out of his eyes. He was dumbfounded, to say the least. He probably gave a better surprise Pikachu'' face. He couldn''t believe his own eyes after what he saw.

    "What... what are you?" Enel was shaking when he asked that. He always believed himself to be God because he had lightning power and nobody could stand in front of him due to his power. But today, for the first time, he saw someone not being affected in the least, and even his clothes didn''t seem to burn or get torn.

    Ken lifted his hand while it sparked with lightning, and his eyes became blue.

    "You think you are the only one who has control of lightning." Ken said, and then he vanished from his place. He used the body flicker jutsu and appeared near Enel, but he was too out of shape to use his ''mantra, or rather, he didn''t care to use his mantra.

    But that was his greatest mistake. Ken''s hand had turned black, and he struck at Enel''s face with his knuckles. Enel was expecting his hand to go through his head, but he was wrong.

    He had never been so wrong in his life.

    Enel was punched so hard that he flew away on the side and destroyed a pillar on the temple before stopping. His mouth spat out a tooth, and his face instantly bulged.

    Enel was hit physically for the first time in years.

 160. God vs. God

    Enel slowly got up on his feet and looked at Ken in horror. He couldn''t believe his own feelings.

    "How?..  How are you able to hit me?"

    Ken didn''t reply and used the Body Flicker Jutsu and appeared near Enel, again. This time he wasn''t as clueless as the last time. He used his mantra. But there was a problem here. Ken also knew observation haki, and actually his observation haki was much better now than him thanks to his physique and his new set of eyes. After Ken got Rinnegan and Sharingan, his observation haki somehow tended to grow much faster than before.

    So his mantra wasn''t exactly effective in front of him, and Enel was again hit on the other side of the face even though he made a dodging move. He flew away again and destroyed a bunch of things along the way. Now the good pale face of Enel had swollen like a pumpkin.

    Ken this time didn''t let Enel stand up, caught him by the neck, and flew up. After lifting him up, he let himself use the move that Ken was loving the most now.

    "Shinra Tensei."

    Enel, who was confused, was hit by gravity''s push, and before he knew it, he was hit on the ground with intense force. But of course, this move wasn''t as effective against Enel as it was against Blackbeard. He etherealized himself and got out of the danger zone. Though he did that, he was still able to feel the aftershock. If he wasn''t a logia, it would have been a different story for him.

    He appeared a few meters away from the almighty push crater and looked at Ken. Ken actually wanted to see if his almighty push had any effect on logia fruits, but was sad that it was not the case. Enel got way pretty fast.

    Ken slowly came down and saw Enel, who was also looking at him with anger and fear mixed within.

    "Who are you?"

    "You have heard so much from your mantra. Why bother asking?" Ken asked.

    Enel got his tongue tied. He did hear what Ken and others were saying, but that was just his pass time. He wasn''t particularly interested before and only recently became so. He had seen tons of pirates coming here and taken care of them, but this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

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    "What do you want?" Enel said as he put his hands behind his back. He was going to call down lightning from the sky on Ken and see if it worked.

    "What do I want? Well, I want many things, but beating you right now is the top priority." Ken replied with a sunny smile. This incensed Enel more, and without stopping, he called down a huge bolt of lightning from the sky. Ken just looked up and shook his head.

    He let the lightning hit again. And as expected, he came out of it without a scratch. Normal lightning couldn''t affect him; only lightning that could pass through his nerves had the ability to hurt him, which Loki did in Ragnarok, but sadly, none of these people know.

    If Enel could deliver the lightning to his nerves, only then would he have the chance to win, which in this case was almost impossible as he had Armament Haki.

    Enel was sweating from his head as he watched Ken come out so easily. He was sure that Ken didn''t dodge and took it all. So why had lightning no effect on him? Well, that was too much thought, and Ken had enough of it. He flew straight at him and was ready to deliver a punch. But this time, Enel was cunning about it.

    He teleported to a different location. But Ken didn''t stop and gave chase to Enel. This was one of the drawbacks of his haki. He couldn''t see the future, and he wasn''t as fast as Enel. It was fine if it was just a melee fight, but once Enel thought of running, it was a different game.

    Enel wasn''t ready to fight with this dangerous kid, and he was very close to completing his ark. He couldn''t just give it up. And thus the chase of cat and mouse began. But Ken wasn''t exactly infuriated by it. He was training his Haki too while going after Enel.

    Though it was impossible for him to see the future in the short term, that didn''t mean that he couldn''t train for it. He went on a flying spree, and Enel was teleporting to random places in the Upper Yard.

    This went on for a few minutes before Enel stopped and looked at Ken angrily.

    "You want to come after me no matter what." Enel asked. Ken just looked as if he were some kind of fool. Two hits were all it took to send this coward on an escape spree.

    "Then I will kill your friends." Enel declared. Ken just looked at him smilingly.

    "You can try," Ken replied.

    "You don''t care about your friends. I am sure that your friends don''t have the same lightning power as you. The women on the ship seemed good. I wonder if I could have some fun torturing them." Enel said.

    "As I said, you can try. But remember, for every woman you put your hand on, one section of your golden flying ark will be destroyed by me." Ken said, reminding Enell that he too had something to lose. Enel had been trying to get to the moon for such a long time, and finally his plans were coming to fruition after years. The golden ark was almost ready.

    "How do you know this?" Enel was horrified. He thought he had hidden everything, but his secret plans got exposed so easily.

    "You use lightning the same way I do. Is it that surprising?" Ken aske.

    "But people from the Blue Islands don''t know mantra." Enel refuted.

    "Then you haven''t met the ones who can. Honestly, the mantra you call is called Haki in the Blue Islands, and there are ones who could take you down with one punch, just like I did. I am not actually very good at it."

 161. Training partner

    "That is impossible. Only I know the best mantra." Enel wasn''t really able to believe that someone was better than him. All his life, he was known to be the best at mantra and could predict the moves of others. But now he saw that Ken was better at his mantra, and there was something higher than that. How was this possible?

    Enel was incensed and proceeded to throw lightning at him. Ken just watched this narcissistic bitch cry as he did so. His whole worldview just got destroyed, which led to his mental collapse. Ken just let him vent his feelings around for a while, and finally Enel calmed down.

    Enel didn''t want to believe him, but the way Ken made a joke out of him was what made him understand that Ken had probably spoken the truth. Ken beat him with his hands, which had never been possible before, and he continued to claim that he wasn''t very good at it.

    There was no point in degrading oneself after beating the other guy. Calming down after a few minutes, Enel looked at him with emotionless eyes again, but this time there was hatred in him. He knew that if he really went after the friends of this guy, he really might lose everything.

    They didn''t have to be enemies.

    "What do you want?" Enel asked.

    "Now we are talking." Ken smiled. He hated Enel for sure for what he was going to do to Skypiea, but it was still a future thing, and it hasn''t happened yet. So he wanted to see if this guy could be salvaged from his cruel and god-complex self.

    Enel didn''t speak more and wanted to see what this guy from Blue Islands wanted.

    "I want you to beat the sh*t out of my friends." Ken said.

    "What?" His words completely astounded Enel. What did he mean?

    "Well, you have heard of my friends and how fearless they are. You priests won''t be able to hold a candle to them, as they know Haki just like me. But you are different; you have speed and lightning with you. You can inflict serious damage." Ken said. Enel was confused now. This guy had threatened to destroy his work if he went after his friends, and now he was suggesting the same thing.

    "Of course, I don''t want you to go after the girls or the cute animal. Go after the boys and beat them but not kill them. But be aware that our Captain too is immune to your lightning, and the only thing you can do is inflict damage upon him using heat from the lightning." Ken said.

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    Enel had a question mark on his face as he didn''t get it.

    "Don''t think too much. Just go after the boys." Ken said it in simplified words.

    "But why?"  Enel really wanted to know.

    "It''s because they don''t have someone who could genuinely hurt them. They need a good partner in training and to understand how big the world is. You can be their wake-up call."

    "Can''t you teach them yourself?" Enel was more confused. He was sure that Ken was better than him; then why was he asking him?

    "I can. But I am their partner, and they will never feel a sense of dread from me. I want them to fear somebody, and you are the perfect asshole for that. Just don''t touch Mashira, Cricket, and Shoujo. They will die if you use your lightning on them." Ken said. Enel''s eye twitched a bit when Ken called him an asshole, but he didn''t protest. He didn''t have the right to protest.

    "I can do the favor if you teach me the other mantra." Enel was ready to be the training partner, but he didn''t want to do it for free.

    "Sure, do your work. Lead them to your temple. Also bring the Shandians and the Sky Island people to the main temple. It''s time they bury the hatred that has been going on for so many years." Ken ordered. Enel wanted to say that he was a god and didn''t take orders from others, but he stopped himself.

    He would only get beaten in return. He wanted to learn the other mantra and then take his revenge. He was ready to do his bidding only because of that reason. After Ken gave him directions on what to do, Enel became ligntning and vanished.

    Ken himself went on his way around. He had been running around a lot since he came to this world. Training with Luffy and Ace, hunting for food alwaysˇŞtake care of everything. It was only recently that, after getting on board the ship, he didn''t have to care about the food, but then again, he would have to care about all the other things and keep everyone in line.

    He didn''t have any complaints about it, and he was happy to be with the crew and was more excited to see the end of their journey. The only thing he complained inwardly about was the characters he got and what others got. He himself had the system, while Luffy got one of the most broken characters.

    He wished he had something like that. And it was for this reason that he was racing against time to realize the full potential of his character, Obito. He had already unlocked the Rinnegan abilities, and all he needed was to get the Mangekyo. After that, it would be easier for him. Now that he had free time, he would try to see what new abilities he would be able to unlock.

    The island was big, and he would be able to do anything he wanted. Thus he roamed around, practicing whenever he wanted. Meanwhile, Luffy and the others got separated, and the two teams went through two different ordeals.

    Enel didn''t bother to alarm the priests that they were no match for the new guys. Thus, they suffered. In fact, the main force laid back and let the secondary team deal with the priests and the divine soldiers.

 162. The sheep is being fattened

    Nami, Vivi, Chopper, and even Robin took up fighting and used their abilities the best they could. Vivi was well-known for her analytical abilities, and thus with her assistance Cricket, Shoujo, and Mashira actually wanted to be the men and help the woman, only to be beaten by the priests and the divine soldiers.

    It was the women who came forward and helped them, while the men just watched and cheered. Even Chopper was proud of himself as he changed to a whale in the last second and body slammed on a bunch of divine soldiers.

    The Shandias who were lurking around to take advantage of them were shuddering in fear when they saw Chopper turning into a gorilla, a bee, an elephant, a cheetah, and at the end even a whale to take down the enemies.

    They silently moved away from them in order to inform Wyper, who asked them to take down the Blue Island guys. Even with their technology and numbers, they wouldn''t be able to take these guys down. It would be death if they did so.

    Meanwhile, Nami and Vici showed their prowess. Nami had now almost mastered her full mastery of her air bending, and she was using it like crazy with her moves. Air bending and magic played together, and each move was devastating for the opponents. She didn''t have Haki, but that didn''t mean that she wasn''t able to defend herself. Her air bending made it difficult for anyone to attack her, and anyone who came close would be blown away.

    Vivi was on another level. She took out freaking guns. This terrified everyone.

    Oye, Vi! Do you want to kill us too?" Ussop was scared when he saw Vivi take assault rifles from her body.

    "Don''t worry.. I will be careful, and I will only hit them in a non-lethal way. I have been practicing my aim recently." Vivi assured everyone, but not everyone was very convinced by her words.

    "I hope others didn''t get shredded to pieces by the bullets." Robin said.

    "Robin, don''t say those scary words." Chopper shouted.

    But all in all, she did have fun with two assault guns in her hands. She shot everyone who came close. One could be fast, but that didn''t mean that these priests had some kind of bulletproof speed, so even if they tried to dodge, the bullets tended to be faster.

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    And it was a barrage of continuous bullets. This made the soldiers lose all heart and almost made them run. But what truly scared the living hell out of them was Robin. At first, she would use her Devil Fruit to hold her opponents down, but their bodies tended to be harder than the others, so she was finding it hard to just take people down using her Devil Fruit.

    And this is where she started using her power, writing different allegiances on some of the divine soldiers and making them their allies. This was like a living nightmare for others. This was the first day on the island as they moved around. Ken returned to one of the teams by evening.

    The two teams were still on separate missions and hadn''t met up. Only one team came across one of the priests, and he was badly beaten by Zoro, who used his full power on the priest. The priests didn''t stand a chance.

    Yoriichi''s character was in full bloom against the priest, and it was almost a massacre. Enel still hadn''t appeared as he waited for the other priest to go down. But he also noticed the other mantra that Ken had been using against him. This proved that the other guy wasn''t lying.

    Actually, part of him wanted to run away after he was beaten down by Ken, but curiosity stopped him, and seeing the green-headed guy fight made him glad that he stayed and didn''t run.

    It was sad that not everyone was around. But it was remedied soon, as Ken opened the bifrost and reached the other team. The priest was already taken care of, so one ordeal had already finished. They started a huge campfire, which the wolves joined later. Luffy and others danced along with the wolves, and they sang. Vivi had brought out a music player, so the vibe was perfect.

    Only Ken and Robin just sat and looked at the peaceful pirates.

    "You don''t celebrate?" Robin asked.

    "No. I don''t like drinking and all the indulgence." Ken replied that he had a habit of wearing hats even in his earlier life and maintained it in this life too. He might eat a lot due to his bodily needs, but drinking and dancing were never his forte. Once in a while was fine, and that was all.

    "Where did you go, by the way?" Just like others, Robin too was curious about where Ken had been the whole day.

    "I had some people to meet. Did you meet the Shandias?" Ken didn''t want to speak about what he did, and Robin didn''t ask any more questions.

    "Yes. Cricket spoke of a meeting between Calgara and Norland. This surprised them a bit, and they said they would come back." Robin said as she was still fascinated by history.

    "That''s good. By the way, there is a panteglyph here." Ken suddenly said to Robin

    "What?"

    "Yes. I suppose the Poneglyph is at a much higher altitude. You will eventually reach there." Ken said as he remembered Robin finding the petroglyph after the golden bell was brought down.

    "Did you see it?" Robin was excited, knowing that there was another one here. This crew was really his lucky star. Ken nodded. Hearing this, she couldn''t wait to go and find the penneglyph the next day.

    After the huge celebration, they slept away due to exhaustion. Ken, too, didn''t bother and went to sleep. He had a fun day, and these people would be in for a ride tomorrow. So they needed proper rest.

 163. Suspicions

    The next day everyone woke up, and Ken again chose to be away from the group. The crew couldn''t understand why Ken was so far away from the group, but they didn''t stop him. And after an hour of his departure, Enel finally showed up.

    Ussop, in order to prove his bravery, was the first one to go and face Enel, as he thought that this was some other priest. A few minutes ago, a round ball priest had appeared, and he was being played on by Sanji as he was kicked around like a huge football.

    Thus, Ussop got jealous and wanted to show his bravery to his friends. That was the first and greatest mistake Ussop had done since he had climbed the staircase that led to Merry. He stepped into the air and stood on the opposite side of Enel.

    And then he took out his bow and shot at Enel. It was there that they came to know that Enel was the one Ken had spoken about earlier and the one they felt kept an eye on them. The arrows went through his body as he elementalized himself.

    "Ussop!!" Luffy had a very bad feeling about this, and he was right. Enel proceeded to pump in 500,000 volts on Ussop, and though he tried to dodge it, it was already too late. The huge electric discharge went through his body, and from there he proceeded to fall on the ground.

    Sanji flew up and caught the unconscious Ussop and brought him down. Chopper ran to see if he was alive and was grateful that his heartbeat was fine. He was unconscious because his skin was burned to a crisp and the pain was too much for him.

    Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy got really angry at this. ''Never hurt their friends,'' had been their crew''s motto.And Enel did that in front of his crew.

    Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro all went into fighting mode. Zoro used his sun breathing while also coating his sword with Armament Haki; the fire patterns on the sword lit up like the bright sun, Sanji had huge fire burning under his feet, and Luffy did hand signs and summoned 10 clones.

    Normally Luffy never liked summoning clones, as he felt it was an insult to his power, but here he couldn''t just let go of what happened. Though Enel showed a straight face, his heart skipped a beat seeing these men with such a huge aura looking at him with death-glare eyes.

    But he needed to keep his promise no matter what. And thus the epic brawl of 1 v. 3 started. Enel was pretty cunning in this fight. He didn''t let his ego get the better of him. Ken had spoken about his lightning having no effect on Luffy, so he took the other route.

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    And that was heat. Though Luffy could use fire and would be highly immune to it in the future, that didn''t mean he was absolutely safe from heat. And Enel used that. He took out his golden spear and made it change its shape using electricity. Electricity actually worked as heat here and made the golden spear super hot.

    Enel was high up in the air floating, and only Sanji was able to fly. Sanji''s style of flying wasn''t the typical one, and he could only use his feet as thrusters. Thus, he could only use his feet for a few seconds before he could stop himself from tasting the grass.

    Thus, Zoro wasn''t able to be that impressive in the fight and could only make his move when Luffy and Zoro gave him a boost. Luffy gave him a boost by making a huge pillar on which Zoro ran and delivered a strike at Enel while Luffy did the same and jumped in the air to punch at Enel.

    He knew that using any kind of elemental ninjutsu on this guy was useless, as he was almost like a bolt of lightning, and only Haki could reign supreme. But here was the thing: Enel too had observation haki, and it was not like Ken''s, who had been training it for quite some time.

    And thus, even though these guys had armor, they would have to land the attack. And on top of that, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji needed to avoid the lightning discharge and the huge spear of gold.

    Chopper and others were ready to help the three since they thought they were capable enough, but Robin stopped them.

    "Robin, what are you doing? We can use our own powers against this long earlobe guy." Nami was a bit irritated.

    "Yes, we can use my technology too to divert all the electricity being produced by this guy and drain him to the ground." Vivi said that was the way lightning was discharged in homes.

    Yes, we must help Luffy-kun." Cricket also beat his chest, just like Shojo and Mashira.

    "No.. Don''t you think it''s weird?" Robin asked.

    "What is weird?" Chopper asked.

    "The whole situation," Robin said.

    "What do you mean?" Vivi asked.

    "Such a huge fight is going on, and Ken hasn''t shown up. He is the best at manipulating lightning and would be the best to handle this god that had shown up." Robin reminded Ken that one of his primary powers was lightning, and he was known for keeping an eye on everything around him.

    But he hadn''t shown up. This guy was probably the most powerful on the whole island, and Ken didn''t bother to come to help his crew. This was very fishy.

    "He must be held back for some other thing," Chopper didn''t much of the absence of Ken.

    "No, he has been away since yesterday. There must be a reason." Robin argued back.

    "So what are you saying? He isn''t helping us deliberately?" Nami asked, as she could see what Robin was getting at.

    "Yes. Maybe he was the one who sent this guy to us." Robin as she spoke of her suspicions.

 164. No more marimo

    "Robin do you know what you are saying? You are accusing Ken that he had sent someone to kill us. How can you say that robin after what he had done for us?" Nami was infuriated and shouted while the three were busy battling Enel.

    Sanji in mid air was almost burnt out by Enel and at the last moment Sanji somehow escaped the attack. He didn''t realize but the fire in his feet got blue for a split second and that allowed him greater speed.

    Neither Sanji nor the people around felt it, but Ken who was actively having fun time roasting a bird which he had caught to eat noticed the sudden change in the percentage of Sanji''s character completion.

    He could already hear the fight quite clearly in his ears and could tell what exactly was going on.

    "I know this sounds absurd and I know what he had done for us. I am not saying that he had sent this God guy to kill us. I am saying he had sent this God guy to make a fool of ourselves." Robin was adamant on her suspicions  and spoke her mind.

    "You mean he sent us to defeat us? But why will he do that?" Vivi asked.

    "Maybe because we have gotten too much arrogant. We have three godly characters among us and just see how a single guy is making us an easy work of the three most powerful people of the ship." Robin said. Those words rang all the bells of everyone''s mind.

    What Robin said was right. Being all powerful had really made them feel invincible but it took a single guy with Logia and Observation Haki to show how far they were. Robin had witnessed the powers of the current Admirals once and she knew that they were the best of the best.

    At first the others thought that Robin might have been jealous or had some kind of enmity with Ken, but it had been sometime and Ken still hadn''t showed up. This made them realize that Robin''s words might be true.

    Ken had always been the humble and grounded guy who always said that they were far from challenging the top, but these guys didn''t take him that seriously after the lives they have lived. Well except for Robin. The trauma of her childhood had made her fear many things out there and take every step after thinking twice.

    Meanwhile, there was finally a casualty of the fight. And that was Zoro. Zoro who was stepped on Sanji''s back and attacked Enel, had made an unsuccessful move but Enel''s counterattack was pretty successful.

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    "Zoro!!!"

    "You bastard! I will kill you.. How dare you touch Marimo. Only I get to hit the green head!"

    Zoro steadily fell to the ground and Chopper became a Panda to cushion his fall. When Chopper changed back to see how Zoro was he fell back in fear. Not because something bad had happened to Zoro but the changed hair color of his.

    Zoro''s green head had changed to yellow color!

    "What.. What is this?" Chopper screamed. His scream stopped Luffy and Sanji too who were in super angry mode and were going to attack Enel with all they had. They turned their heads and looked at Zoro and they too like Chopper almost fell on the ground seeing his head.

    From the green moss head, Zoro just became a yellow mushroom head. Zenistu''s affect had really got imprinted in him.

    "What the hell is going on?" Chopper after getting scared of Zoro, he ran to him again and checked his vitals. His vitals, just like Ussop was fine but the pain was too much for him to handle. It was good that the Armament Haki had helped him lot and wasn''t as hurt as Ussop was.

    "How did this guy change his hair color? Did his brain get burnt?" Robin asked.

    "Robin stop with your negativity."

    "Chopper, how is he?" Luffy asked as he came running in and asked.

    "He is fine, just the hair color got changed." Chopper replied.

    "I remember Zentisu''s black hair color changed after he was hit by lightning. Did the same thing happen to him?" Luffy asked.

    "You mean one of the characters of Zoro? Did that really happen?" Chopper asked. He had heard stories of the previous characters of his crew members and none of them had any huge physical changes due to it.

    The only permanent physical changes he noticed were Luffy and Ace''s eyes. Ken''s eyes too changes but it''s temporary. This time the victim was Zoro and his whole identity just got changed with one attack.

    Forget about the Straw Hats, even Enel didn''t expect that this green head guy to change into yellow head guy. Though he was pretty impressed by the speed of the came which gave off lightning as he ran, it wasn''t enough for him to keep up with the real lightning.

    After seeing everything was fine, both Luffy and Sanji assaulted Enel with more power and vigor. Luffy now had let go of his smiling face and face Enel with utter seriousness. He wanted nothing more but to bring down this guy.

    He had various bruises and charred places on his body and especially a black charred place on his left hand. Luffy almost never had a scar since the time he had self inflicted the scar under his eye. But seeing the charred mark on his hand, one could easily say that this was going to leave a mark.

    Sanji was the only one who was able to evade attacks, but his attack too didn''t have any affect on Enel. Sanji was almost heat resistant now, in much degrees than Luffy. Thanks to his bloodline and character.

    "Summoning Jutsu."

    Out of nowhere Luffy did summoning of Enma.

    "Kid, it had been some time you called me.. Whats.. What the.. What is going on?" Enma was happy to be called back but seeing the destructions around made him realize that it was not a time to joke.

    "Enma. Transform yourself. I want to beat this guy."

 165. The God

    Enma didn''t argue with Luffy and turned himself into a long pole which he caught in one hand. Luffy then proceeded to spin the pole in rapid speed while juggling in both of his hands. Over the years, Luffy had been learning to use his body as a weapon since he had the advantage of rubber but since he had Enma, Ken had always forced him to use his pipe which the 4 brothers always used as weapon when they lived in their island.

    Even Ken used a broken pipe and used to run around the streets in the city. The people in that garbage and even on the town used to fear the four brothers and avoided them at all costs. Later after Sabo left, the three brothers terrorized the town even more so and did so without any qualms. The wealthy people were so fed up with the three brothers that they appointed more people like Porchemy to get rid of them and each of them would be beaten back by the three brothers with their pipe weapon.

    After Enma came to join them, Luffy started using him when he had to deal with people from far away. Much further that his hands could reach. And thus he was equally good with the pole.

    Luffy proceeded to swing the pole at Enel. Enel didn''t bother to dodge it but this was where he committed another mistake. Enma didn''t go through the body of Enel, but instead it hit him in his right abdomen. Luffy had hit him in a strong downward motion and Enel was thrown to the ground. A crater formed on the place where he landed and lightning dispersed around. Sanji too was furious with what this lightning guy did and proceeded to stomp at Enel while flying down from the air while accelerating.

    Luffy was able to coat Enma with haki for a few seconds. He was still not so good as to maintain the Armament Haki coating for longer time. But that was enough to hit Enel. Even Ken who was just listening to the fight did a double take. The character progression of Luffy had just gone up by 0.5% and this was enough to give him sufficient boost and more strength.

    Enel who was surprised by the first attack didn''t expect the consequent attack from Sanji. His mantra failed at that point. But Enel wasn''t done with this. He went into his most potent and threatening mode.

    200,000,000 Volt Amaru (Two Hundred Million Volts Thunder God)

    His body grew to become a huge, potbellied, Raijin-like lightning figure morphing his body into pure, 200,000,000 volts of electricity. Luffy and Sanji had a change of expression but didn''t back down at all. The proceeded to run towards Enel blindly. And Enel too was angry as he was just beaten down from a weapon.

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    He felt the same power as that guy who showed him fear. And he wanted to take revenge now. Enel knew that this guy wasn''t as powerful in the other haki as the other guy and thus he wanted to take all his anger out on these two guys.

    Enel and the duo clashed multiple times after this, Luffy was swinging Enma and Sanji was flying around and trying to hit Enel while he was being occupied with Luffy. Enel''s lightning had no affect on Luffy and thus Enel could only use his golden trident to match against him. Thus Enel was more occupied with him rather Sanji who he could defend against just be discharging.

    The clash went on for few more minutes until Luffy was able to hit at Enel again with his Armament haki laden punch while Enel was being distracted by Enma. This time Enel was hit hard on his face and was thrown a few more meters back.

    His face had swollen by a great degree and he cough up blood. The previous hit on his abdomen by Luffy when he was in super rage had broken some his bones in the ribcage and finally his body was catching up with him.

    Sanji and Luffy didn''t bother to give him a chance and proceeded to maul him together. But they miscalculated. Enel might be hurt but he still had his lightning powers in full swing. He proceeded to call upon God''s Judgement upon the duo. Luffy of course was not hurt but Sanji wasn''t able to dodge in time and was struck by lightning. He saw white light in front of his eyes and knew that he would be hit and was just ready to let go and have faith in his Captain.

    But before the lightning could hit his body, Sanji was forcefully shoved away by something. he was pushed by Ken himself who had just appeared out of nowhere.

    "Ken.. You are here. Help me take down this guy." Luffy was super happy seeing his brother was back. He had been waiting for him sometime now. He was sure that with his brother Ken it would be a easy match. Ken''s main power was also based on lightning so it would easier.

    Ken didn''t respond to Luffy but went to see if Sanji and Zoro were any good. Zoro was able to regain consciousness but his hair was still yellow but not as yellow as Zenitsu. There was a tinge of green color in his hair.

    Robin and others looked at Ken with a little bit of dread as Robin''s words rang on the heads of others. Though Robin predicted that it might be because he was trying to help the crew but the main topic of him insinuating this guy remained.

    "I am sorry Zoro. I didn''t expect your hair to turn yellow like Zenitsu." Ken said.

    "Cough.. It''s fine.. It was this guy who did it.. Not you." Zoro replied under his cough. He was still under bandage.

    "No.. Robin is right. It was me who had sent Enel to hunt you three." Ken replied while he looked at Robin.

 166. The fear and the truth

    Luffy didn''t immediately ask for an explanation or started screaming like he usually does but looked deep into the eyes of Ken. Luffy''s big cross eyes seemed to be trying to look deep into Ken. Ken had forgotten how creepy sometimes the eyes of Jin Mori could be.

    Ken changed his eyes of Sharingan to get away from this creepiness but he knew that Luffy wanted answers. He had already stopped fighting and Enel too backed away, almost like escaping the eyes of Ken, which seemed to be filled with fear.

    "I had to do this because I didn''t see any other way out of the current predicament." Ken said. Sanji seemed to be lost in his anger and kicked Ken at his face. Ken deliberately didn''t avoid the attack and took it in his face like a champ. He was thrown a few meters back but didn''t fall in the ground. His body was too tough to be affected by Sanji''s half hearted kick.

    "You have some guts to come to us after hurting our friends." Sanji said as he puffed up his smoke in anger. Sanji was ready to kick Ken again but was stopped by Luffy himself who had been silent. He was still looking for answers of why his own brother would send someone so powerful after them and had almost killed one of their own friends.

    "I am sorry Captain. I had to do this because we have grown way too faster and didn''t receive any set back. All our fight until now had been easy and we have become slack. If we continue like this we will be decimated before we can reach the New World. I sent him to show you the difference between us and them. This guy doesn''t even have Armament Haki and was almost able to wipe the floor with you three." Ken said. His words rang like an alarm in front of the three.

    Zoro had slowly gotten up on his feet after Chopper bandaged him up. The three hung their head in shame. Ken was right. Enel was able to take on three with only his logia fruit and Observation Haki. Though he had taken some hit from Luffy and Sanji but this wasn''t enough.

    His raw power overwhelmed everyone and they didn''t have the proper answer to his power. Since Mihawk, this was the first time Zoro was taken down. Ken had been trying warn them but except for Zoro it fell into deaf ears for everyone.

    Sanji and Luffy were only good because their character had been progressing, not that they had been practicing on their powers.

    "But you could have said this in a much friendlier way. We don''t hurt out friends." It was Ussop who came and defended Luffy and Sanji who got silent when Ken spoke his mind.

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    "Talk in a friendlier way? Lives won''t care for emotions. Once we die, no act of kindness will bring us back. Do you think all of this is a game? People die in this journey. Since Captain Roger, there hasn''t been anyone who had reached the Laugh Tale. Just think of the chances we have." Ken said. Again reminding that this journey was all fun but it wouldn''t be so in the long run.

    Luffy slowly walked forward and Ken half heartedly was ready to be reprimanded or get beaten by his Captain, but surprisingly he came and hugged Ken. Ken''s stiff shoulders loosened up a bit as he saw his own brother in this way. All these years, he was the outlier of the 4. He always felt himself a secondary character in the story.

    He never felt himself as the protagonist of the story, because he always believed that being the main character would lead to his death, even after having an awesome cheat. And thus from the beginning when he was placed under the care of Dadan, he had thought out of the plan of attaching himself to the leg of Luffy.

    He wanted to be as obscure as possible until he was powerful enough. Now that he was, he still felt a little awkward in front of others. It was always Luffy who had made him feel welcome. Even now, after the small betrayal he was hugged by Luffy.

    It was the same with Nami and even Sanji in the future where he betrayed them after the Dressrosa arc. He accepted everything because deep down he knew that his friends were for his life and eevn trusted Jimbei with all the baggage he came along in the beginning.

    Ken proceeded to hug Luffy tighter and he almost had tears in his eyes thinking of his past. He was grateful for this new life and his own brother who never saw him like an outsider.

    "I am sorry for making you worried about us. We promise that we will work hard and be more powerful." Luffy said softly in his ears. But his words were heard by everyone. This brought a smile in the face of everyone.

    Everybody came together to give a group hug. Even Robin who always refrained from human touch wrapped her arms around. Meanwhile Enel had flown away and almost vanished from their sight. He didn''t want to get beaten by Ken again.

    Of course Ken noticed the escaping Enel and shouted

    "Come back right here."

    Enel''s face got black and slowly came back with dropped shoulders.

    "What do you want now? I have done everything you have asked me." Enel said with anger.

    "You want to see land or in your words Vearth. Right?" Ken asked. Enel stiffened and nodded. He wanted to go to the Fairy Vearth or in simple words the Moon.

    "There is almost nothing in your dream place. But you will come across some robots and some ancient texts. And come across some space pirates. You will able to rule the land easily."

    Enel was greatly surprised by this. He didn''t expect that this enigmatic guy would know his end goal too. He wanted to ask more but his ego stopped him. Ken didn''t bother with him and just proceeded to have fun with his crew as they would make a banquet.

 167. Self reflection

    To the surprise of Ken, Enel didn''t ask for more information and released the people who had been toiling on making his legendary golden ship that could fly, the Maxim. Maybe Enel''s ego was too high, and he didn''t want to acknowledge Ken''s words and thus left.

    Of course, Enel wanted to destroy the whole Angel Island before leaving, but seeing the eyes of Ken, he knew that the ship had sailed and hurting any resident of any part of the Skypea would only result in him getting beaten.

    He was still very salty about the fact that his lightning had no effect on the two brothers. Both Luffy and Ken were immune to it, and Enel wondered if the brothers were born as his nemesis. It was good that he didn''t know of Ace, or else he would be more surprised to know that Ace was a level higher and could even eat the lightning and charge it for his own attack later. (the lightning fire mode that Natsu used once after he ate Laxus''s lightning attack)

    After Enel left, Nami called the previous god Ganfall and asked him to mediate between the two tribes that had been fighting for a long time. When Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were fighting, people from both tribes witnessed the long-standing fight and how Enel had stepped down.

    By that time, both of the higher levels of the tribes got to know the power of the outsiders, so in fear, both of the tribes came forward.

    "You both will accept a truce and not fight anymore." Ken didn''t bother providing any sugar-coated words and gave his final verdict. Of course, the tribe of the actual Jaya island was very uncomfortable. It was there when Cricket came forward and spoke of his ancestry with Norland. The Jaya tribe was surprised when they learned this. They had read about the history of Calgara and Norland and even seen some images.

    The Jaya tribe, at the end, accepted the truce, and Ganfall had happy tears in his eyes. His lifelong goal had been achieved. Meanwhile, as Ken settled things on Skypea, others were more interested in the surroundings.

    Especially Robin, who chose to explore more.

    "Zoro, you have the character of Yoriichi; it''s time you act like him. He was someone who could unleash 1500 moves in the shortest amount of time and you still can''t achieve half of that. Sometimes it''s not about a single attack, you need to be more flexible. You are too emotional when you fight. You need to let go." Ken started giving advice after the fight. Zoro had made great progress on Inosuke and Zenitsu, but somehow he was lacking when it came to Yoriichi''s character. It was probably because Yoriichi, when fighting, could let go of all his emotions and just deal with the enemy.

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    This gave him a huge edge over his enemy, or, in his case, Muzan. Ken wanted to see if Zoro could progress in his character if he let go of his emotions while fighting. Zoro, of course, was intelligent enough to understand the words of Ken and thus accepted the advice and promised to be more serious when it came to the completion of Yoriichi.

    "Sanji, it''s time you embrace your lineage and use the hysterical strength instead of avoiding it."

    "What? What does it have to do with my lineage?" Sanji was confused.

    "You believe that you are a failed experiment. You are not. You are better than your brothers. It''s time you use the power that has been hidden inside you." Ken said.

    "I will never be like my brothers." Sanji was incensed and roared out.

    "You believe that you will lose emotions like your brothers. But have you seen any change in your emotions after using fire?" Ken asked. Ken was right. All this time, Sanji was holding back because he felt using more power would make him like his brothers. But now that he thought about it, nothing of the sort happened.

    "But what if I turn into them in the future?" Sanji was still scared of that.

    "You won''t. We will keep an eye on it. Release your potential. Apart from Luffy, you are the only one among us who has the greatest potential. Don''t waste it. Have faith in yourself and us. go all out." Ken said. Sanji puffed his smoke and just dazed himself while standing. Ken turned to Luffy, who had ended up sleeping while eating. Chopper was tending to him. Though he wasn''t as injured as Zoro, he had lost a lot of stamina and had bruises in many places. Especially when he was seared by hot gold on his arms.

    The scar seemed to have struck his hand permanently as Chopper bandaged him. Ken went and slapped Luffy to wake him up.

    "Ah Ken... I was having such a great dream about food. You broke it." Luffy seemed frustrated that he had been woken from his meat dream. Ken didn''t care, and just out of nowhere, he brought out a long gray stick and placed it on Luffy''s hands.

    Luffy, who had been dozing off, instantly became alert when he saw the long gray pole in his hand. He knew what it was.

    Ruyi Jingu (a.k.a. Yeoui or Nyoi-bo)

    One of the three sacred weapons of Jin Mori, or the Monkey King. This staff could clone itself and have massive alteration powers, which could be done in both size and weight; its actual weight was 80,000,000 tons, and it was said that only the Monkey King would be able to pick it up.

    Luffy was ecstatic to hold the staff. He had been using Enma with more speed and efficiency, and now he had the ultimate weapon to use it with.

    "Keep this. Practice with Enma." Ken only said those words and not a word more. Luffy didn''t really need any improvement; he was doing fine by himself. Ken just hoped that with the Ruyi Jingu, he could be more powerful than he was now.

    Ken had a feeling that from now on their voyage wouldn''t be as smooth as it had been.

 168. The man who sleeps at his work

    Ken decided to spend another day at the Skypea before leaving. In the original story, they had to run away for fear that the people of Skypea would be angry at them for looting the gold. But here, the people of Skypea were happy that Luffy and his crew were able to bring peace.

    The Jaya tribe''s people genuinely advocated peace after talking with Cricket. He managed to calm them down and said it would be better for both tribes. Of course, the previous hatred couldn''t just be wiped away, and it would take generations to achieve proper peace, but at least this was the start.

    Meanwhile, Robin had returned after she got to see the other poneglyph under the golden bell. She got to know about the Poseidon and how she would find it on Fishman Island. Of course, she also saw the writing beside it. Roger left the trail, saying that they would complete the history.

    This time, Robin wasn''t as naive as she was in the original story. She had heard a lot about Roger from Ken and knew that someone named Oden helped Roger write those words. Seeing the written version made her more zealous about knowing the history.

    After having a grand banquet and taking gold items out of the stomach of the huge snake, they were ready to return to the sea. Well, not everybody was ready to go. Cricket and his two friends decided that they would be here for some time to settle the two tribes in peace.

    Nami had bright eyes when she saw all the gold. Though technically speaking, Vivi could make gold with her body, but that would take too much time, and the gold content here was enough to make their crew rich. Merry needed a huge repair, and they had decided to repair their ship on the next island.

    Ken pitched the idea that they needed a shipwright for their journey, and Luffy was quick to approve a new nakama if they could find a decent one. After packing everything up, Ken proceeded to open the bifrost again.

    This Merry was yet another makeover. This time, they didn''t need someone to pull. They needed a brake on their wheels, and thus it was modeled by Ussop accordingly. He put a lever on the handle that could help the brake system.

    Ken had to admit that Ussop really had a very creative mind!

    They bid their goodbyes to Conis and some of the friends they had made in Skypea and set off on their way. Conis had been really helpful to them, so Vivi gifted her a portable solar charger and a music player that also had a mic. She could record her own music and even music made by others and listen to it.

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    The sun would charge the player. She thought it was some kind of expensive thing, so she denied it at first, but Vivi said

    "A little bit of food in my stomach is enough to make these. Plus, making this gives me a lot of practice."

    Conis didn''t know what to say and just thanked her. Nami also gave Conis a magical pouch where she could keep her things. She was overwhelmed, to say the least.

    The Log Pose had already been settled, and now they were on their way to the next island. Ken wondered if they would meet the Foxy Pirates. The problem of landing on a military base in the anime was out of the question, as he would never let that happen with the Bifrost under his control.

    The only problem were the Foxy Pirates. This was a classic example of someone who had great devil fruit but was just a useless nobody. Merry landed right on the blue sea without any hitch while coming down. Merry didn''t suffer at all.

    After landing on the sea, the ship went on its way, following the Log Pose, but after going a few distances, the crew finally encountered the thing that Ken feared. The foxy pirates Ken was almost on his way to decimate the ship and get along, but it was Luffy who got curious and wanted to see what the deal was with the ship.

    "Luffy, you deal with them. Don''t drag me in." Ken said.

    "Ken, these are just pirates; why are you running away from them?" Luffy asked.

    "You will know soon." Ken mumbled and decided to shut himself in under the deck and start practicing his haki.

    Meanwhile, the foxy and the straw hats communicated for the first time, and other crew members instantly understood why Ken wanted to get rid of them in the beginning. Due to Luffy''s foolishness, they were dragged in to play a useless game with the Foxy pirates.

    The whole game sequence went on for a whole day, and the Foxy Pirates only won once. These pirates weren''t ready to handle the huge boost that Ken had provided them with different characters, and none of them stood a chance.

    Ken kept an eye on them even though he was practicing diligently on his own. He also noticed the change in Zoro and Sanji in the competition. Zoro was more stoic while competing, and Sanji had actually started progressing in his character. Though it was just by a single percent, it was better than the 0.1% he used to do before.

    A single percent jump showed that Sanji was ready to let his past fears go. After winning the game, they again set sail. While leaving, Ken didn''t bother to be merciful to them and blasted their big ship to pieces using the Almighty''s push.

    After 3 days of voyage, they finally saw an island from afar. The crew was overjoyed to see the land again. Being on a ship for a long time was a boring job, especially for the women, so they were thankful to see land once again. But as they got closer, Ken had a very serious look on his face.

    His Observation Haki had made him hear the sound of snores from a person on the island, and he knew who his guy was.

 169. Aokiji Kuzan

    "Oh, there are many people here, but why is there no harbor on this island?" Ussop said. They didn''t need to see with their own eyes to know the number of people on the approaching island. Sensing the people on the island, they were a little confused about why there was neither a harbor nor any houses.

    But it didn''t really matter. After anchoring Merry, everybody got to the shore and started to gather necessities'' from the forest for their next journey. The crew noticed that a few people were peeking at them from afar while they collected some spices and some medicine from the forest with the help of Chopper.

    Though they found it odd, they didn''t go and stop their behavior. After collecting the things, Luffy declared that he was hungry, and thus a banquet was needed to satisfy himself. Since the captain had said it, there was no refusing the order.

    Soon they set up the huge barbeque stall and started roasting the meat. While they were eating, out of nowhere, a small child from the forest ran after them, followed by the scream of a woman.

    "Jenny, no. Don''t."

    The small child didn''t seem to mind the scream and ran up to the straw hats. Her eyes seemed like she was hungry, and Nami didn''t hesitate to forward her two skewers. The child''s eyes brightened, and she immediately put the meat in her mouth.

    "Don''t. It''s too hot." Nami wanted to stop the child, but she was too hungry to even bother with the heat of the food. The woman who had screamed before came running for her child. She caught her and put her behind herself.

    Following that, many others came out of bushes and forests; some held forks and sticks in their hands, while others just showed their fists. Ussop and others could sense that this was almost the whole population of the island.

    "Oye oye.. Isn''t this too many people? Are the pirates so bad that the whole island has come for us?"

    "But they look too malnourished." Chopper said. As a doctor, he could easily tell that the people here hadn''t eaten for many days or that whatever they had eaten wasn''t enough to satisfy their bodily needs.

    "People. We didn''t come here to raid or kill anyone." Nami shouted while trying to be the peacemaker. Meanwhile, the child who was put aside gave a burp, signifying that she had loved what she had eaten.

    "You are pirates. There are never good pirates." The mother of the child declared.

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    "So you''re ready to pay taxes to the government that doesn''t even care for you, but when it comes to the people who just gave your child some food, we become the bad ones?" Ken spoke in a very calm tone.

    "This..." The woman didn''t know how to refute that. They were traveling on a ship when they were hit by a huge frog, which led to the sinking of the ship. Somehow the people of the ship swam to the island and waited for help, but it never came.

    And now a pirate group showed up and even provided food to one of their children. They didn''t know what to make of it. Nami didn''t want any more misunderstandings and said that they would provide food for everyone and even give them medicine.

    The people around were too hungry to even bother if they were being deceived or not, and thus they accepted the help. That woman, who was wary of the pirates and said they were only bad pirates, let go of her prejudice and ate what was served by Sanji and others.

    "There is another guy on the island? Why isn''t he with you?" Luffy suddenly said this through a mouth filled with meat.

    "You just ate. Why are you again eating with them?" Ussop gave him a hit on the head.

    "Hey, why didn''t you bring the other man with you? We can feed him." Zoro asked, as he could see the other man was far away.

    "The other man? Oh, you mean the mysterious man? You have seen him? You see, he didn''t come with us. He just used a bicycle to come to the island." One of the estranged survivors said this while eating.

    "What?"

    "Hahaha.. riding a bicycle in the sea?"

    "That is hilarious."

    "No one can ride a bicycle in the sea."

    "I am sorry, but that was what everyone saw." Another man came in support.

    "That is weird. Let us go and meet him. I want to know how one could ride a bicycle in the sea." Ussop said. Following his words, everyone went to meet this mysterious man. All this time, Ken has been exceptionally silent. He knew who this man was, and he was clearly able to hear his snore from afar.

    Soon the straw hat crew came to the place where the man was, and what they saw was a little inexplicable. They saw a tall 9-feet man (yes, he is that tall) standing in the open sun while wearing an eye pad over his eyes, like Luffy, and snoring quite loudly.

    Out of all the people in the straw hats, Robin, seeing the face, shuddered in her place and fell down.

    "Robin. What happened?"

    "Robin?"

    The tall man suddenly stopped snoring, removed his eye pad, and opened his eyes with great difficulty to see what the ruckus was about.

    "Ararara... Look who is here... So many people... " The man said fumbling in his words.

    "Who are you? What did you do to Robin?" Luffy was instantly furious and squeezed his fist to battle this tall guy.

    "Robin, what happened? Tell us?" Vivi asked as she held Robin.

    "He is one of the best men in the Navy. One of the three admirals. Aokiji Kuzan." Robin said this while still shuddering in fear.

    "Admiral? such a high post?" Nami and others were surprised that this sleepy man was one of the finest in the navy.

    "No.. No.. I didn''t come with any official business. I was just passing by." Aokiji said this while slowly sitting down. He seemed to be tired after standing for a long time.

    "Admiral? So he is an enemy. We need to beat him up." Luffy declared.

 170. Who is the real threat?

    "Can you please stop with that? I am you see... I.." Aokiji stumbled upon his own words and stopped. "Eh! It''s too much for me to stand out here in the open sun. Let me lie down." Aokiji went from standing mode to sitting mode and was almost ready to sleep.

    Zoro and Sanji were incredibly irritated and were ready to beat him up until Chopper and Ussop came to stop them.

    "Oh! So you are in the Navy? Why didn''t you say so earlier?" The stranded people who had been fed by the straw hats followed them inside and got to hear their conversation. They were relieved to know that this weird, tall man was from the Navy.

    "Guys... Don''t listen to him. He is the navy." Luffy, who already seemed to be suffering from high blood pressure, said

    "Yes. Is that wrong?" said one of the men.

    "Ah.. yes.. yess.. He is the navy.. We are the pirates.. We are the bad guys.. He is the good one... hahaha.. " The others were speechless, seeing the stupidity of their captain. Aokiji suddenly got up and said

    "You guys should pack up. Since you have eaten your fill, it''s time I send you home." Aokiji said. Everyone was confused about what was going to happen. Was he going to pull the people to the next island? Aokiji just laughed at their speculation and reached the shore.

    He inserted his hand into the sea and murmured.

    "Ice Age."

    What happened next blew the minds of the people. The sea, out of nowhere, froze. It took almost a blink of an eye to freeze the whole sea. Everywhere that the people around them could look was frozen. Even Ken, who knew what was going to happen, was a little dumbstruck.

    "This is unbelievable."

    "Amazing."

    The crew was again reminded how powerful some people were. A few days ago, they faced Enel. It was only because of cheats that they survived, and there was Ken. But somehow the crew felt that even with Ken, they would have a very hard time fighting this guy.

    But it was a happy moment for the stranded men and women.

    "The ice will be frozen for two weeks, and it is connected to the next island. If you go north, you will reach there in one week." Aokiji said.

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    "Thank you."

    "Thank you so much."

    In no time, they were ready. The straw hats helped them pack the bags and food. Since it would be frozen, the food would remain in perfect condition. They were also thankful to the straw hats and slowly started their journey. Meanwhile, Chopper started having fun on the ice. Luffy, seeing this, also joined, and so did Ussop.

    But due to the cold, they had to return to the shore, where they saw Aokiji looking at Luffy and Ken with keen eyes.

    "What?" Luffy, getting the glare, asked

    "What should I say? You remind me of your grandpa. He was quite a menace to me when I was in training." Aokiji said.

    "Grandpa? He means Hero Garp?" Vivi whispered and asked. Nami nodded.

    "What do you want?"

    "I actually came to know that Nico Robin had disappeared from Alabasta. I suspected that she had come with you. What I didn''t expect was that even the Princess of Alabasta had run with you. You guys are more dangerous than you seem to be."

    "So what? Vivi and Robin joined us of their own accord. They are happy with us." Luffy slapped back with his statement.

    "Though the government isn''t really concerned about you, it can be seen that you guys are more dangerous than you seem to be." Aokiji said.

    "So what are you going to do about it?" Ken asked, finally opening his mouth. He had been silent all this time, but now he seemed to be back to his normal self.

    "It was fine if there were only you and others. But Nico Robin She is a danger to the Navy and the World Government." Aokiji said. The surrounding area started dropping as ice started slowly forming around his body. Robin felt her knees weak. Everyone in the crew started getting serious. Ken looked at him and said,

    "I refuse. I say you are more dangerous to the Navy than we are." Ken, out of nowhere, dropped a very absurd statement. The statement was so weird that even the crew looked at Ken as if he had become an idiot like his brother.

    "Ken.. Are you okay?" Nami asked.

    "I am fine... Why? You don''t believe me?" Ken asked as he looked at Aokiji. He just looked at Ken as if he were some kind of idiot.

    "Then let me break it down for you and ask you a question. How much longer do you think Fleet Admiral Sengoku will remain in his position?"

    "Eh?" Now Aokiji was confused, as he couldn''t understand why Ken had brought his superior up in the conversation.

    "Why? Can''t answer? If everything goes well, at best, 1 or 2 years. He is getting old. So a new Fleet Admiral will be required to step up. Kizaru won''t step up because he can only bully the weak and fear the strong, or maybe he is just a lackey of the World Government. That leaves you and Akainu. So tell me, ''Aokiji Kuzan'', are you okay with Akainu sitting at the top?" Ken spoke in one stretch. Aokiji was first a bit furious about how Ken degraded Kizaru, one of his comrades. But the words spoken at the end made Aokiji do a double take.

    He hadn''t thought so far into the future, but this guy out of nowhere laid the secrets bare for the Navy in just a few words. He had always known that Sengoku wanted him to be the next fleet admiral, but his other colleague would definitely not let him be that easily.

    But he didn''t understand how Ken pointed him out as a threat to the navy.

 171. You talk too much

    "Ararara.. You speak too much Punisher Ken. Even your grandfather doesn''t speak so much." Aokiji said.

    "My grandpa doesn''t care about talks. He answers by his fists. If he wanted he would have been the Fleet Admiral and you all would have under his feet. It''s because of Sengoku that you both are running wild." Ken said without mincing his words a bit. And that was the truth. Even after all these years, training under him, learning everything that he could, it still wasn''t enough to be on par with him, forget about defeating Garp.

    "So as I was saying. Are you okay with Akainu sitting as the Fleet Admiral?" Ken asked again. This question stumped Aokiji totally. He didn''t know what to answer. He wanted to say no, but that would be revealing all his secret desire. He didn''t want to be the Fleet Admiral.

    He wanted to be lazy and sleep, but if Akainu ever became the Fleet Admiral, it would be nightmare for the Marine. Innocents would die left and right. He had seen how he killed the people in Ohara. Over the years he had only grown more brutal. And in no way could he allow that.

    "What do you want to say, Punisher Ken?" Aokiji asked.

    "I presume you will be very unhappy with the appointment and would definitely like to fight it out with him. Am I right?" Ken asked. Aokiji wanted to say yes again, but he stopped. His lazy behavior had slowly left him, and now he was keenly looking at Ken.

    "Now what will happen if you both fight against each other? One would lose, and one would win. If you win, that is fine. I will come personally to congratulate you. But if you lose, Hehehe.." Ken said while pausing with a small laugh.

    "If you lose, you will have to leave. And once you leave, it wouldn''t take much time for you to slide into the other side." Ken didn''t even finish the sentence when, out of nowhere, in the blink of an eye, ice covered his whole body.

    The ice buildup didn''t even need a second, actually. It was a blink and you will miss thing. The others, who had been actively hearing the conversation, were horrified. Luffy didn''t waste a second and hit Aokiji with his staff. The staff hit Aokiji''s ice body, which broke and fell into pieces.

    "Shit.."

    "He really is a Logia."

    "Ken.. Ken.. Are you hearing me?" Zoro shouted as he came forward to protect his body. Aokiji, who had been broken down, saw the ice blocks come together again and slowly form his body again. Sanji had fire ignited in his feet, Ussop was ready with his bow, and Luffy pointed his staff at Aokiji.

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    Even Nami and others came forward. Chopper was looking distressedly at Iced Ken, trying to search for life signs.

    "Ken, please tell me you are okay. Ken.. Guys we will have to take the body away.." Chopper said.

    "I can apparate to the ship," Nami said.

    "No, the stretch of the apparation will destroy the body." Chopper refused.

    Everybody had an ugly face, as they didn''t know what would happen. The ones who had Haki knew that Ken was alive, as they could sense his life. In fact, as if to prove his life was fine, the ice on his body cracked.

    The crack made the girls panic. But in the next second, the cracks expanded, and Ken was out of the ice. He didn''t look flustered or affected by the cold after coming out. Aokiji was also surprised when he saw Ken come out of the crack with no harm.

    He was sure that Ken didn''t use any kind of haki before he was frozen. So how come he was fine? Of course, it was because he had the body of Thor. It was probably the most powerful body in the world. Even Kaido''s body would fail in front of him.

    A body that could take the heat of a star couldn''t be affected by a simple ice formation made by a human. Aokiji hasn''t reached that point of power and probably never will.

    "Ototototo... I hurt you where it hurts the most." Ken sarcastically said.

    "Punisher Ken, Straw Hat Luffy... You both are really more dangerous than I thought. I can''t just leave you. You both need to come with me." Aokiji said.

    "Shinra Tensei."

    Without any warning, Ken used the Almighty Push, and the power he used in this move was too much. Nobody in the world was immune to this move. Aokiji got lifted off his feet and was blasted away. And the distance was not just a few meters. He was directly pushed 10 kilometers away with incredible force.

    Aokiji had seen the move with his haki, but knowing the move was coming and retaliating against it was a different case altogether. He couldn''t stop the force and land in the sea. It was good that he had an ice logia, or else he might have fallen into the sea.

    Of course, he had the Navy''s six styles, but how long could he stay in the air?

    "Ken. That was awesome."

    "Sugoi Ken, he defeated an admiral. Hahaha."

    But Zoro and others with Haki were serious. They knew that this wasn''t over. They had felt that the water had frozen, and he was traveling through the ice towards them at incredible speed. Ussop flew high in the air and started launching arrows. The arrows traveled and formed an arc through the air before falling on the frozen ice.

    The arrows made a hole in the ice, but this wasn''t enough. The arrows were supposed to hit Aokiji, but his observation of Haki was too strong for him to get hit.

    "What happened? Didn''t you just defeat him?" Nami asked.

    Chopper and Vivi were also confused, but neither of them got a reply.

    "Luffy, we can''t fight. We can only send him away." Ken said. Luffy clenched his teeth in anger. This was probably the first time he felt that there was no way out. He had seen the ice formation, and if it had been him in his place, he would have been in grave danger.

 172. I am not escaping, you are

    Aokiji materialized near the shore and slowly walked up to them. He didn''t look like he got hurt by any means with that push alone. This was a problem with Almighty Push. If a person didn''t have a logia or a relevant paramecia, Almighty Push was one of the best attacks. It was because one could use this move to force him to the ground and deal huge damage. But since this move didn''t have Haki infused in it, a Logia person could easily circumvent that advantage and come out unhurt.

    "Arararaa. That is one nasty devil''s fruit. But your grandpa said that you have something to do with lightning." Aokiji said, as he didn''t look fazed at all after being pushed such a huge distance away. Rather he looked genuinely confused.

    Luffy and Sanji''s feet had been activated by Haki, as was Zoro''s sword. After the character of Jin Mori, it made use of his feet more while fighting than his hands. Though as he would grow more powerful, he would be able to use both his hands and feet with equal power.

    Aokiji, seeing the Haki being activated, got a little more serious. Haki was always the king, and he couldn''t just elementalize like he did just before.

    "Gum Gum no: Muchi."

    "Hirin Kager¨­."  (Solar Heat Haze)

    The feet of Luffy got extended and went straight to hit Aokiji, while Zoro used Sun breathing. This move made his whole body covered by a heat haze, masking his sword position, and he ran at Aokiji at incredible speed. It was like mist breathing, where Muchiro could hide his speed and was very unpredictable. What Zoro did was much more concealed and dangerous.

    Zoro was also trying to get rid of his emotions while fighting. If he could do that, he would really be a huge problem for people who use Observation Haki. Meanwhile, Ken brought his two weapons.

    The clouds started gathering over their heads, and thunderous sounds could be heard. Aokiji knew that he couldn''t defend against both attacks with Ice alone and thus enveloped his frozen hands with Haki. Using both ice and haki as his defense against the two attacks

    He was able to stop Luffy''s feet and even Zoro''s attack with both of his hands. But it was Zoro''s attack that made him feel a terrible burning sensation that somehow seeped through his haki. Moreover, for some reason, he did feel a tinge of absence from his observation haki; it was as if Zoro was able to mask his attack from his own observation haki.

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    But that was not the end; out of nowhere, lightning fell straight at his head. It was seconds before he was able to sense the attack and had to move a bit away and elementalize.

    "Arararara.. This is annoying."

    "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique."

    "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique."

    Both Luffy and Ken used a fire-type jutsu once Aokiji was hit by lightning. Once lightning hit him, he would have to elementalize, and this was the correct time to show him what fire was. A huge dragon formed due to the release of both of them and attacked the place where Aokiji was.

    This was a full-blown attack. After the attack ended, it was time for Ussop, who perfectly synchronized with the others, formed a huge arrow in his bow, and released it. The bow traveled at incredible speed and blasted at the place where Aokiji was.

    There was dust and damage everywhere. The ground was charred black, and even the surrounding trees caught fire or were blown away. Nami came forward and formed an air shield so that she and others weren''t blown away.

    But even after that, none of them had a good face. With Haki, they could feel that Aokiji was somehow able to avoid the arrow at the last moment. But they did hit the lightning and fire at him.

    Aokiji slowly materialized after the dust settled a bit; the wind was blowing at high speed and took the dust away.

    "My.. My.. I need to get serious." Aokiji said.

    "Aisu Burokku Paruchizan" (Ice Block: Partisan)

    Four massive ice spears formed in the air, each pointing at the four of them on the ground. (Marineford War, against Whitebeard, and in Ohara, against Saul). Aokiji was ready to shoot those spears when suddenly he heard

    "Diable Jambe: Frites Assorties."

    Sanji came flying in from the air and used two moves from his leg to destroy two of the ice spears. Sanji was too fast for him to move the spears, and two of them got destroyed, but the other two got released and flew at incredible speed at Luffy and Ken.

    Luffy, whose hand still had the staff, made it almost the same size as the spear and hit at it, while Ken used the Stormbreaker to hit at his incoming spear. Both of the spears got destroyed, but the cold sensation accompanying the spear hit Ken and Luffy. Ken was fine, but Luffy was definitely suffering. His eyelids got frozen, and Ken could distinctly hear his teeth clattering.

    "Luffy, we need to end this." Ken mumbled. Luffy heard him and jumped at Aokiji. He hit Aokiji with his staff.

    "Ice time."

    Luffy did Aokiji with his staff, and he didn''t elemtalize, he stopped by haki, but Aokiji used his own attack against him. In the blink of an eye, ice formed over Luffy''s whole body and froze him completely. But then Aokiji felt a very weird sensation fall upon him. His surroundings changed into full rainbow colors, and before he could understand what was going on, he got sucked up.

    Ken just opened the bifrost on Aokiji directly. He had to time the bifrost perfectly, or else Luffy would be sucked up and it would be over. Aokiji didn''t exactly sense it since Ken didn''t mean it with the purpose of attacking. He did so with the purpose of sending Aokiji away.

    He sent him straight to Logue Town.

 173. Festive season

    Aokiji wanted to freeze the surroundings, but it didn''t work at all, and he got forcefully sucked in and vanished. Chopper and others came running in to see Luffy. He was fully focused, even with his staff. His one leg was still in the air, and among the ice, everyone could see that Luffy had a smirk on his face.

    Luffy went for that attack because he genuinely knew what Ken was going to do, and thus he took the hit for the team.

    "Luffyyyyy... Is he alright..?" Nami got scared and asked. Robin still had fear in her eyes, but now she was more concerned about the captain. They did all this to protect her.

    "Chopper.. As a doctor, what should we do to save our captain?" Zoro said he let go of the bandana on his head.

    "Yes.. Yes.. He is still alive. We need to bathe him in normal water at first. We can''t just use hot water ..." Before Chopper could finish his sentence, the ice on the Luffy''s face cracked. This made everyone fearful, as they knew that Luffy''s body didn''t have that much endurance like Ken''s.

    But the cracks had already appeared, and everyone, including Ken, was panicking a bit. They weren''t sure if the cracks would break more once he was taken to the ship. Nami hurriedly moved her hands a bit. A small amount of water was taken from the shore and put on the frozen body.

    Nami had now had initial access to water bending and was thus able to do such low work. But the initial small crack didn''t stop, and soon it expanded. Within seconds, the whole body of ice had cracked.

    "No. No. This can''t be happening."

    "Luffy..."

    "Damn it. Why are we so useless?"

    "That bastard ice guy."

    In a minute, more cracks formed, and suddenly it totally broke off from the body. What they feared the most was that even the insides of Luffy were frozen. But after Luffy was out of the ice formation, his flailing body slowly dropped towards the ground.

    Ken came forward and caught his body. He could distinctly hear Luffy''s breath. He had just felt unconscious.

    "Luffyy.. Is he alright?"

    "Is he okay?"

    "Chopper, check him." Zoro said. Chopper came forward with a stethoscope and checked his heartbeat. He checked for a full 5 minutes, while others looked at him with anxiety in their eyes. Haki might be able to sense life, but that was it. It couldn''t see the body status of a being.

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    They waited patiently until Chopper let go of the stethoscope and looked at the crew with a smile on his face. This brought everyone joy. Vivi brought out a stretcher from her body and slowly placed Luffy on it.

    "This guy really gave us a nightmare."

    "Hahah.. I knew Luffy would be alright. After all, he is under Captain Ussop. Hahaha."

    "This idiot.."

    Ken had a small smile on his face. When he started this journey, he knew that one day he would have to face the Admirals. He hoped that it would not be before Water 7, but it still fell the same way. Aokiji being here meant that they were very close to getting Franky. In no way was he going to allow Franky to be taken away.

    He would deal with those CP9s on Water 7 itself and get rid of them. But he also felt a sense of fear from Aokiji. Even after all this, they still couldn''t stop Aokiji. His ice was really a problem, and without Conqueror''s Haki, it would be tough for him to gain an advantage over others with the two characters he possessed.

    He had been wishing for the Conqueror''s Haki for a very long time and didn''t know if he had one. If there was no Conqueror''s Haki, he needed to get access to the Kamui dimension. That would be his trump card.

    Ken was having all these thoughts in mind while everybody got into work. Sanji and Ussop flew away to get some meat for Luffy while others got busy. They just got the scare of their lives and needed to cool off.

    The ship didn''t sail and was there on the shore for some time. Luffy surprisingly didn''t wake up for two days, and when he did, he started shouting about meat as usual.

    "Meatttttt..."

    Sanji ran to fill him up. The last two days had been stressful as they woke up. They thought there was some kind of damage to Luffy, but thankfully there wasn''t. After Luffy woke up, everyone got ready for a huge banquet.

    Nobody talked about Aokiji or how he had left a scar on their crew, but rather went on with their work when he was unconscious. But something changed. Zoro got more serious with training, and Sanji would fly away for an hour or two into the sky along with Ussop. Nami and Vivi started to have close-range fights. Nami had experience with Avatar, and Vivi had technical experience, so both helped each other while Robin started to use her stand more often.

    She wanted to use her stand, but Ken didn''t allow her because before she could even finish her move, Aokiji would freeze her, and this time it might be death. She needed to be more practical with her stand and use her devil fruit too.

    Ken had given her an aim. She used her devil fruit to make a clone of herself that could be controlled from far away. Theoretically, it was possible, so she started working hard towards it. Meanwhile, Chopper and the other two beasts went into deep-dive mode. Chopper is turning himself into a fish.

    He still couldn''t swim even after being a fish and could only flop around, but he was determined to be a great swimmer. After Luffy woke up, everyone felt relief. The banquet was a large one, and people were back to their old selves. Even Ken, who very rarely indulged himself in parties, did so.

    "Hahaha.. Oye Sanji more meat.."

    "Some takoyaki for me .."

    "Yes.. yes coming.. hold on.. Let me finish making desserts from Nami-swan, Vivi-chwan and Robin-chwan."

    It was like a festive season.

 174. Where is water friction?

    "Ararara... Where am I?" Aokiji said as he saw himself in a destroyed harbor. There were destroyed ships and structures. He got up on a little burned ground. His Haki told him he was in a total different place. This was some where else.

    After walking around, he got to know that this was Logue Town. This gave him a little scare. Punisher Ken somehow was able to send him so far with one move. What kind of Devil fruit did he eat. He needed to send the info to Sengoku.

    This was important.

    After proper rest and fun, the ship set sail again to the next island. Everyone was busy with their own work now. Nami had made bigger rooms everywhere, and thus, with the help of this, everyone had more space, which meant more space for training.

    Nami not only made the rooms bigger but also accomplished a wonderful thing with her training. She had finally stepped foot in the avatar state. Though it was only in the avatar state of air bending, it was the start.

    Everyone was again happy and congratulated Nami. Vivi too had progressed a bit; she ate her belly full and then proceeded to make weapons for her crew mates. Especially Nami and herself. Even Ussop asked for some materials to make his bow much stronger.

    After days of sailing, they came across a sea station. Or rather, it could be termed a sea rail station with the name Shift Station. This is where they met Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe. This was where they came to know of the Yokozuna, the frog that always fought against the sea train.

    Though Kokoro didn''t reveal anything, they understood that there was some kind of story behind Yokozuna. Ken knew of the story. The story of how Franky tried to block the train and the frog almost inherited that trait Though it was only a one-time thing for Franky so that Tom, the legendary shipwright, wasn''t taken away, it did leave a huge impression on the frog.

    And now the frog named Yokozuna continued to do that and make himself powerful in that way. Luffy wanted to see what a train was, so the ship anchored for the train to arrive. Kokoro seemed easygoing and invited them to watch a train pass by.

    She also spoke of Iceburg, who was an excellent shipwright and could help them repair the ship. So in effect, she wrote a note as a word of recommendation, and Nami was very happy to get one. She also drew a poorly sketched route to Iceburg''s place.

    Since the train was still a few hours away, Sanji offered a small banquet, which everyone accepted. Kokoro was more than happy to eat something while she drank her wine. She seemed perpetually to be in a drunken state.

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    Chimney, the granddaughter of Kokoro, was way too amazed after seeing Caroo and Banchi and started playing with them. Chimney, Luffy, and Gonbe rode on the shell of Banchi and had fun while others got busy with cooking and helping Sanji with the food.

    Ken didn''t have anything to do, so he went and sat beside Kokoro. Kokoro, in addition to being a stationmaster, had another identity. She was a mermaid. But since she was old, her tail fin could split apart and be used as legs to walk on land. Ken noticed her legs for a few seconds before she was questioned.

    "What are you looking at?" Kokoro asked while still delivering a smiling face.

    "As a mermaid, it must be a little hard being in the land and mixing with the humans." Ken said. Kokoro didn''t expect her main identity to be seen at a glance. She looked at Ken for a good two seconds before laughing out loud.

    "You pirates are really observant. Hahaha.. What do you want to do? Sell me to a human auction shop? I am quite old, so I won''t be sold for a very good amount." Kokoro asked casually, as if she hadn''t asked about one of the most brutal practices in this world.

    "Kokoro ba-san, you think too much. If we want to sell something in the auction shop, it should be the Celestial Dragons themselves." Ken answered with a very sincere and straight face. Kokoro was now even more surprised. She had always been easygoing and was never beautiful enough as far as mermaid standards went, so she was always safe.

    So when Ken recognized her identity, she didn''t care. In addition, there was Iceburg, who always worked as a safety blanket. But Ken''s words really gave her a surprise. A surprise enough to stop her drinking and look at Ken in a more serious manner.

    "Do you know what you are saying? If they hear your words, you would be put to death." Kokoro said.

    "They will try." Ken answered with his own confidence.

    "Hahahaha.. I like you kid." Kokoro laughed.

    While they were talking and having fun, with Luffy showing his tricks, the sea train had arrived. Ussop, Luffy, and even others were curious about the train and saw how a fast-moving train traveled on the sea. Ken was puzzled. This thing went against all forms of saving energy. Traveling on water meant losing energy against the water''s friction and losing more energy.

    Tom must have been a genius to compensate for the energy and material damage of the trains and make them profitable for the general public to use. After having their curiosity filled, it was time to set sail again, and this time it was Water 7. They had brought enough gold with them to make their ship the best. Ken had already checked. The hull of the ship was fine, but in return, there was still no incident for the soul of the ship to materialize.

    Ken wanted to see if he could make use of the system and take the Klabautermann on a system ride. He had been talking with Merry constantly, but there was no response. This wasn''t good. But there was nothing Ken could do, and thus he could only wait for the future.

    In a few hours, they saw the outline of Water 7, and Ken, knowing the size of Water 7, was still amazed looking at the huge city. Iceberg had really done a wonderful job. Now all he needed to do was get rid of some pests and take Franky.

 175. Venice

    The ship soon arrived at an harbor that was exclusive to the ships that were not affiliated to any organizations, which in other words meant Pirates. Everyone was excited as along the shores they could see many people being building or remodeling the ships. It meant that the people here were specialized in ship building.

    This was great news for everyone.

    "Merry, we will soon make you better, and then we can set sail again." Ussop was very happy, thinking that at this place they would get some much-needed rest and recuperate.

    "Zoro, you guard the ship, and we will go and exchange the gold for some money." Nami said.

    "Doctor-san, do you want to come with me?" Robin said she wasn''t interested in the part about exchanging gold for money.

    "Calling me a doctor doesn''t make me happy at all, you idiot." Chopper got into his usual routine and started dancing, while being happy.

    "Let me join you. Vivi gave each of us a walkie-talkie that would help us contact each other. When you get to Iceburg-san, do call us." Ken said. There was no way he was going to leave Robin now. There were CP9 agents here, and he was pretty sure that these people would be more serious with them than they were in the actual story.

    Their bounty was already high, and even though CP9 were arrogant, that didn''t mean that they didn''t do their job effectively. Robin was their target from the get-go, along with Franky. So both of them were on Ken''s main agenda.

    Though Robin found it odd that Ken had decided to join them, she didn''t refuse. Vivi soon gave each of them a very long-distance walkie-talkie, and the crew divided into two teams. One was Robin, Chopper, and Ken. And the others were Sanji, Nami, Luffy, and Ussop.

    Zoro and Vivi would safeguard the boat. Vivi wasn''t ready to go because she was a princess, and it might not look good for the kingdom if some people recognized her. Her face had already been posted in different newspapers, and thus she needed to avoid the limelight for the moment.

    "Guys, go and have fun. Bring some beautiful clothes for me." Vivi said.

    "You got it, Vivi." Nami said, as she felt a little bad for not bringing Nami. Both Nami and Vivi were particularly close to each other. But there was nothing that could be done. After getting there, everybody was on their way.

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    Luffy and his gang went straight to the jewelry shop. Nami knew that this was too much gold to be sold in one shop, and in order to not cause huge suspicions and problems, they had decided to go to multiple shops. Though they weren''t afraid of problems, at the end of the day, they were pirates, so any small problem might become a big one with them.

    Especially with the idiot Luffy in the group.

    Meanwhile, Ken and his small gang went around the whole place of Water 7, and apparently there was a small festival that was happening in the main square where many people wore masks. Robin was a little excited to see the local customs and culture.

    Ken was also having a good time. In his previous life, he had always wanted to go to Venice. Since that dream always remained a dream, Water 7 fulfilled that void. In fact, he was pretty sure that Water 7 was much better than Venice.

    He had heard a lot about how Venice wasn''t the same as it once was and blah blah, but here everything seemed to be in perfect place. There were clean streams of water running throughout the whole city. The yagaras were very well trained and took people around the city.

    If this place had been in his previous life, it would have been a huge destination. Robin and Chopper indulged themselves among the people. Chopper even went on to buy a mask for himself. They walked among the people who wore masks and were busy dancing and enjoying their time.

    But a few steps inside the grand plaza, Ken stopped and also held the hand of Robin. She got confused and looked at Ken. She was confused because she was sure that Ken didn''t have any romantic feelings for her, so why suddenly did he catch her hand? But once she looked at his face, she got serious.

    Even Chopper noticed the change and stopped.

    "What is it?"

    "Something that I have been waiting for a long time." Ken spoke in a serious tone. But his voice was also quivering. Shaking in excitement.

    "Ken.. You are making me scared. Is there any danger?" Chopper asked.

    "Danger? No. It''s just danger for somebody else." Ken replied, and as if to put a verification stamp on his words, a tall, 7-foot man wearing a huge mask appeared near them. He looked bulky and had huge muscles.

    Robin stiffened in his position as she wondered how this man had come so close to him while Ken was still holding her hand.

    "Nico Robin, we are from CP9."

    The man whispered in her ears. Ken didn''t stop this small interaction. Chopper was also surprised, as he saw the man but didn''t hear what he had just whispered; only Ken did.

    Ken, seeing the whole body shape, knew who the agent of CP9 was. Blueno. The one with the door-to-door fruit That fruit too was quite broken, and if this guy had some brains and character, then maybe he would have been a great adversary.

    But all went to waste due to being a side character. Blueno, after speaking of his identity, chose to sidestep and leave. He was confident that Nico Robin would take the right step and choose to safeguard the lives of straw hats. Their names would always be accompanied by horror for those who knew of them.

    He didn''t put the straw hats in his eyes even though they had such a high bounty and just thought of a new bunch of upcoming pirates who didn''t know anything about the world.

 176. Are you an idiot?

    There was a reason why the current CP9 was so ignorant. When Jabra was sent back, he wasn''t being truthful; since he was a spy for the Straw Hats themselves, he spoke very little of the Straw Hats and declared that it was the Straw Hats who revealed his secrets to the rebels, and thus all the rebels were suddenly against him.

    It was believable because Vivi had ultimately joined the Straw Hats, and Koza was her best friend. Though Jabra was a CP9 agent and could massacre a bunch of people along with the devil fruit, the rebel army was also very large, and he knew that he would suffer a bit. Plus, there were straw hats again, which had a good amount of bounty.

    Of course, when Jabra came back, he dialed down the importance of straw hats to a very limited extent deliberately. It was for this reason that the Straw Hats, even after taking care of CP9 and Smoker, didn''t get an update in their bounties.

    It remained the same. After reading the report, Sengoku didn''t bother to pay too much attention to it. It was only Aokiji who took note that Vivi and Robin had vanished when the straw hats disappeared. So he went on a search quest, as he already knew what islands the Straw Hats might go through.

    After Aokiji was hurled to almost the other side of the planet, the CP9 didn''t get updated. They were spies to begin with, so they didn''t get regular updates. And now that Blueno was here, Ken smiled.

    Blueno, after whispering and side-eyeing Ken, stepped to the side and walked on, expecting Robin to look for him later, but as he took a few more steps, he was stopped by someone.

    Rather, someone had caught him on the shoulder.

    ''When did someone appear near me?'' Blueno thought, as he had been avoiding people around but didn''t notice that someone had come so close to him. He turned his head around to look at him, but somehow his body didn''t react the way it should.

    His body was stiff in his feet, and he couldn''t turn it to look at the person more closely. The person who had put his hand on his shoulder had applied such a fine amount of pressure that he didn''t feel pain but still couldn''t move his body.

    But Blueno''s head turn was enough to see the face of the culprit. The Punisher Ken.

    "Tekkai."

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    Blueno''s body instantly became like something made out of steel. If it were any other person touching the body of Blueno at the moment, he or she would feel that they were touching some kind of tough metal plate. But all of this didn''t matter to Ken. He had used Haki to hold on to the shoulder of Blueno, and he hadn''t trained until that point as of yet.

    "Buddy, it''s very rude to introduce only yourself to one of my crew members and then just leave. Why didn''t you introduce yourself to us? We can be friends too." Ken said while putting his mouth near his ears, while Blueno was actively trying to get away from his grip and use Tekkai to the maximum possible for him.

    "Punisher Ken!!" Blueno gritted his teeth and said He even tried to use his soru to get away from Ken but was failing miserably.

    "You see, that was easy. Why didn''t you introduce yourself before? Seems like you know me too." Ken said, still putting an innocent smile in his face.

    "Do you know who we are?" Blueno asked, still actively trying ways. He wanted to use his door and leave, but he wasn''t even allowed to step his foot an inch to the side.

    "CP9. Yeah, we know. We have faced you before, too. Didn''t Nero vanish? And you still came after us? You have quite the courage, I must say." Ken replied, and now his smile was slowly fading. Both Blueno and Ken didn''t want to make a scene in the plaza itself, and thus both of them didn''t shout out loud or make scenes in the same capacity.

    Ken''s words made Blueno remember that Nero did vanish altogether from the face of the earth. Even Jabra didn''t know what had happened to him. He was still suffering in the deep dungeons of Alabasta, where he could never see the light of day.

    "If you know what we are, then you shouldn''t come between us and our mission. You don''t have any idea who you are fighting against."

    "Yes, we know. With the World Government, you don''t have to wear their knickers and dance around to let others know of your affiliations. And I will tell you right here. We don''t care. We don''t care if the Celestial Dragons sponsor you; we don''t care if the Admirals are behind you. We will bring you down soon." Ken said as he finally let go of his hand from his shoulder.

    Seeing this, Blueno instantly used Soru and appeared a few yards away from Ken. He was a bit traumatized by the way he was held and thus needed to keep his distance.

    "Punisher Ken, do you know what you are talking about? Do you even understand the meaning of your own words?" Blueno asked while still keeping his volume down.

    "Are you an idiot? I let you go in order for you to escape. Do you want me to hold you down again?" Ken got irritated seeing this guy trying to get the moral and status high ground. No wonder this guy was the first to go down, even in Enies lobby.

    Blueno didn''t expect that he was being looked down upon by Punisher Ken. He wanted to have a one-on-one fight, but here there were too many people, and if his face mask fell off, it would be problematic for their grand plans.

    No, he needed to really escape and talk to his colleagues. Maybe, just maybe, the Straw Hats weren''t as chickens as they thought they were. But having Lucci on their team was a safety net for them.

 177. Let her take the stage

    Blueno didn''t speak any more and vanished into the crowd. Others in the plaza were moving around as usual, not knowing that a small tussle of strength had happened.

    "Ken, why did you let him go?" Chopper asked as he was sure that Ken could overpower him and he was from CP9. They had faced CP9 in Alabasta and they had made a mess there. They needed to be taken down.

    "No. There are others on this island. If we take care of him, the others will be alerted and might escape. I don''t want any escapees this time." Ken said. Scaring Blueno was the only way he could bring all the CP9 agents in the same place and take care of them. Ken had done his job and now he needed to wait.

    "There are others too. We need to alert Luffy and others." Chopper said.

    "No. He is too much of an idiot and will destroy the plan. Let it flow naturally. I am keeping an eye on them using my Haki."

    Meanwhile, Blueno, who had vanished from the crowd had went to his bar that he had opened near the Galley-la company and it acted as the point of exchange of all information related to the secretive outside world which the CP organizations sent information over.

    He went straight to the bar and took out his den den mush and dialed a number.

    "Third paradise."

    "Under Holy Knights. Blueno."

    "..."

    "Go ahead Blueno, the channel is secure."

    "Our cover has been blown. The demon isn''t cooperating. Permission to take matters fast and request support."

    "..."

    "How did the cover get blown?"

    "I don''t know. The other party seems to know of us and challenges the order."

    "Understood. Appropriate actions will be taken. Gather the others and wrap it by evening.  It is predicted that the Aqua Laguna is coming. Third paradise out."

    Ka-cha.

    The call ended with ever secretive exchange of words. The third paradise mentioned in the call was the Enies Lobby. After ending the call, Blueno dialed the number once again and tried to call the other members of the CP9 who were with him here, but surprisingly the call didn''t go through. He got agitated a little and after multiple calls he understood that he needed to talk to them face to face.

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    With that thought in mind he left the bar and went to Galley-la.

    Meanwhile, the other group was busy heckling with the jewellery shops while selling the gold and getting money in exchange. Of course, Nami was the forefront of it and was bargaining with everyone on everything. She wasn''t ready to sell the old gold which even had ornaments on it, cheaply and wanted to be paid the right price.

    In fact, she wanted more money in exchange. So this went on for an hour and a half. It became so tiring that Luffy and Ussop decided to have food while Nami bargained. After selling almost all the gold to the shops, the group became loaded with money.

    "Come in, Ken. Come in." Luffy spoke while taking out his walkie-talkie. He was crying when he spoke the words. He was crying not out of sadness but because he was too excited. Using the walkie-talkie always made Luffy very excited.

    "This is Ken; what do you want idiot Luffy?" came the answer from the walkie-talkie. And in the next moment, Ussop was hit in the head by Sanji.

    "Stop imitating Ken." Nami shouted. Luffy understood what was going on and started fighting with Ussop, not realizing that the voice on the walkie-talkie couldn''t be Ken''s. His brain cells really couldn''t recognize faces or voices.

    After all, the eyes of the Monkey King still failed to give the face recognition. What a tragedy.

    "Ken speaking. Go on." Finally, Ken replied.

    "Ah Ken. We have sold the gold. We are going to meet Iceberg and ask for help. Do you want to come?" -Luffy said

    "Ah of.." Chopper, who was going to reply, was stopped by Ken while putting his hand on his mouth. Chopper wanted to free himself but couldn''t.

    "Chopper needs to buy some medical supplies. We will be there as fast as we can." Ken replied instead.

    "Oh, okay," Nami replied. She didn''t doubt Ken at all. With that, the call ended. Of course, Luffy became angry for not being able to talk to his brother and was shouting at Nami, only to be schooled by Sanji for disrespecting Nami.

    While they had their shenanigans, the three boys did notice that various men had been slowly surrounding them when they passed through a quite lonely lane. It was the Franky boys.

    "So this is Straw Hat Luffy. If we can catch him, we will be rich."

    "This must be Sniper Ussop." Oh, he too has a huge bounty."

    "That''s black leg, Sanji." Oh, we have hit quite the number."

    Luffy and Ussop, who were pulling faces at each other, stopped fooling around and looked at them. Luffy was coming forward to take on these people since they had come here on the scent of money and bounty.

    He was about to make a move when Nami stopped him and said,

    "This time, let me take care of them."

    "Nami!!"  - Luffy.

    "That is awesome, Nami."

    "Nami-swan is the best." -Sanji

    Luffy, respecting her decision, stepped back and let Nami take the stage.

    "You guys didn''t mention me. Don''t I have a bounty?" Nami suddenly had fiery eyes as she looked at the Franky boys.

    "You are.. You are a cat burglar, Nami." One of the boys finally recognized her.

    "Good eyes. Sadly, it''s too late." Nami said as she moved her hands and feet in a martial arts way. The Franky boys were confused at the beginning, but then, out of nowhere, a sudden huge gust of wind hit four of the Franky boys, and before they knew it, they were blown away from their place to a few dozens of meters back. They got dragged on the ground for quite a distance before finally stopping.

    The Franky boys had their eyes wide open and jaws falling to the ground.

    "KILL HER!!" One of the frantic boys said so, and in no time they took their small pistols and shot at her. Nami, in the meantime, had her staff in her hand and blew at them.

 178. Merry is safe

    The staff''s move produced a massive amount of air forced through and hit at the people who shot at her. Their guns were blown and they too followed the guns after that. The thugs screamed as they were blown away in all directions. This was the first time Nami had used her powers against a bunch of people.

    She looked like a badass as she blew away the thugs, But not everyone were blown from her attack. Some of the Franky boys remained and they almost peed their pants watching how easily she dealt with a bunch of guys.

    "I am fine with you not recognizing me, but how dare you come to steal my money." Nami was furious. So furious that her eyes had slowly turned white. Ussop and others ad noticed that and came forward to stop her going more wild. Being in Avatar mode at this moment was not good.

    "Nami calm down.. They didn''t steal our money." Ussop said against the high wind that was blowing around.

    "Nami, snap out of it." Luffy too came and placed his hand on her shoulder. This made her white eyes come back to normal. Somehow Luffy was always the one to have a huge impact on her life. She looked around only to see that wind had blown away all the things around. And even the Franky body were shaking in fear seeing the strong wind just now.

    If she was that kind of monster and had a low bounty, what about the other crew members who had higher bounty. This made them feel more scared as they looked at the crew.

    "Nami. You get way too hyped up about the money." Ussop said.

    "What do you know? We will need money to make Merry better. We will need loads of money." Nami rebuked.

    "Hai.. Hai.. As you say."

    The Franky boys then made a run after they saw that the Starw hats were distracted. Nami didn''t run after them and rather started to ask around about how they would find Iceburg. Almost all of the people knew about him in Water 7 which surprised them.

    Apparently he was the mayor of the Water 7 and he had such good work that they for a moment thought that he was some kind of scam. They had travelled a lot around to know that if a person was hyped by a lot, then most of the times it was false and they had nefarious intentions.

    Of course this thought was only for Nami and Ussop. Luffy and Sanji were least bothered. Soon they found the Galley-la company. They were glad that they saw many people around building ship parts and many other things.

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    They were authentic shipwrights. Ussop was very happy looking at this. It meant their mother would be healed soon. But as they inquired about Iceburg and even said that they got a recommendation letter from Kokoro-san, they were still denied the opportunity to meet him.

    Apparently, he wasn''t present at the time and would only arrive in the evening. But there were other foremen under him who got interested in them and offered to help. The one who did offer was Kaku.

    Luffy, being Luffy, mistook him for Ussop because of his long, square nose.

    "Oye Ussop, your brother."

    "Fuck you. He isn''t my brother. My mother died long ago."

    "But he has the same nose as yours." Even Sanji commented as he smoked.

    "Shut up. He doesn''t look anything like me." The banter continued, but Nami paid Kaku to have a look at their ship. Kaku happily agreed. So when he got the location of the ship, he made a run, and this was where all three men had creased eyebrows.

    Somehow, seeing Kaku run gave them a feeling of deja vu. As if they had seen someone run the same way somewhere before.

    "Oye, Ussop, did you feel it?"

    "Yeah. It''s very weird."

    "Hmm.."

    Nami didn''t understand what they were talking about and didn''t care. Kaku arrived at Merry and looked around. Zoro was sleeping, and he felt that it was Ussop who came, seeing the long nose. Of course, it was Vivi who saw Kaku and screamed at him.

    "I was sent by your navigator to see the condition of the ship." Kaku said.

    "Ah! Nami sent you? Good. So what do you think? Can you repair the ship?" Vivi asked. Like others, she was also concerned about the ship.

    "It''s amazing that you took this ship this far with so little damage. This is astonishing." Kaku said as he took a general look around. Of course, Nami had taken away the magic so that others wouldn''t see their secrets.

    "Thank you."

    "But if you want to go further, you will have to remodel the ship. But I can''t do it. You will need someone better than me. Maybe Iceburg-san can do it, but he is terribly busy. I am not sure if he has the time." Kaku said.

    "It''s okay, we can pay him. We have loads of money." Zoro, who had come running, heard the conversation. Kaku shook his head and didn''t say more. He would have to return and give a proper explanation.

    Kaku, after leaving, was on his way back to Galley-la when he was stopped by Blueno.

    "Blueno, why are you here?" Kaku''s smiling face had been replaced by a strict one.

    "I wouldn''t have come if it were any other moment. This is an emergency. We need to evacuate by evening. Our cover has been blown." Blueno said.

    "What? How? Who knew of us?"

    "Doesn''t matter. Now go. We need to get the people we want and leave by evening. Tell others too." Blueno didn''t explain much. Partly because he was afraid others would see them; only Kenny knew of their identities; he wasn''t sure if others had known and were now suspicious of them; and partly because he felt Ken was after him.

    Somehow his strength has left a temporary trauma on him.

 179. That pigeon guy

    Kaku had a grave face as he started walking back to Galley-la. Blueno had already left. There were many people around, so they just couldn''t talk more. Due to secrecy purposes, Kaku and Blueno couldn''t spend too much time together. It was because Kaku wasn''t the person who would go to Blueno''s bar for an exchange of information.

    It was the work of Lucci, and only he would go to the bar to talk with Blueno and have fun with Paulie (the vice president of Galley-La) and other foremen. Kaku wasn''t the one to drink, so he would always refrain from going to the bar. Plus, right now their secrets had been exposed, so hiding too much didn''t really matter. They needed to get out of this island by today.

    But the main problem was that Iceburg wasn''t really on the island and was out with Califa at an auction on another island. Only Califa had the emergency contact den den mushi with herself, and that was the reason why Blueno couldn''t contact them because Califa was out. All they could do right now was wait until Califa came in the afternoon and make the plans accordingly.

    Slowly he reached the galley-la, where he saw the straw hats and the others indulging themselves at a small banquet made by one of the crew of straw hats. Blueno had made a mistake. When he revealed that their cover had been blown, he didn''t mention that it was the Straw Hats crew who had blown the cover of CP9 because he didn''t believe that the Straw Hats would come to their place to talk.

    It would have been all sorted out if everything had gone to the actual story, but Ken came and messed it up, and the CP9 agents were a little panicked. Another reason was the Aqua Laguna. In the actual story, it came a little later, but because of the influence of Ken, it was coming faster.

    Kaku reached Galley-la and declared about the condition of Merry and spoke of how they would need help from the best shipwright. Only Iceburg could help them, and thus they needed to wait. Luffy and others sighed in relief upon hearing that. At least there was hope for them, and they had the recommendation from Grandma Kokoro, so it should work.

    Meanwhile, Kaku came to Lucci and whispered what Blueno had told him. Lucci''s face didn''t change at all after hearing this. He had too much arrogance to even care about it. Though he was a little angry and wanted to know who or what kind of organization had blown away their cover, There had been zero leaks during their mission.

    Even the Straw Hats, who had apparently encountered Jabra, didn''t know their identity, or at least that''s what Jabra informed them. Lucci understood what they would need to do and needed to take action accordingly by the evening as he was the pseudo-captain of the CP9 ( operating in Water 7).

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    By afternoon, Iceburg was back with Califa. Luffu didn''t bother with manners and went straight up to Iceburg, who had just arrived after enduring a long journey.

    "Ice-no ossan.. I want you to help us repair our ship."

    Luffy''s directness infuriated almost everyone, including Nami, and she taught him a lesson. Nami apologized to Iceburg and spoke of the reasons why they needed help and that they were ready to pay a huge amount. Iceburg looked at the straw hats for a while and then said,

    "No.. I have other work to do. I have another project that I need to finish."

    This surprised the Straw Hats, and Nami immediately came forward and told him about the recommendation that Grandma Kokoro had given them.

    "We met Grandma Kokoro, and it was she who had recommended you. Please don''t reject us. We have been with Merry for a long time, and we don''t want to lose her." Nami said. Ickeburg took the small letter and read it.

    That was followed by a laugh. He said.

    "Grandma Kokoro really has some weird friends. Fine, I will make the ship for you, but it will take time. The latest project needs my attention, and your ship can only come later." Iceburg said. This was enough for the straw hats, and they took the offer.

    Califa was passed on the information about their cover being blown up, and she too wasn''t surprised, just like the others. After thanking Iceburg, the Straw Hats left. After they had gone a little distance, they saw Ken and his group waiting for them.

    "Ken.. Ken.. We got Ice Ossan to help us repair the ship. Isn''t that cool?" Luffy jumped up with happiness and spoke to Ken.

    "No thanks to you. You almost fucked us up." Nami was still a little angry after how Luffy had almost botched the entire thing.

    "Hahahah. It ended well though." Luffy didn''t care and spoke about the fun they had. Ussop and others were just happy that Merry would be fine, but soon they realized that Chopper and Robin had been acting weird. So Sanji asked.

    "What is up? Did something happen?"

    Chopper hesitated for a bit and looked at Ken, who had given him the green light to speak.

    "There is CP9 here."

    This made everyone stiffen. They didn''t expect this. Luffy got into thinking and said

    "That pigeon is a problem, isn''t it?"

    This took the others aback, including Ken. How the hell did Luffy know that the pigeon guy, i.e., Lucci, was a problem?

    "How do you know this?" Ken asked.

    "I don''t know. He looked at me for a bit longer than a person does with me. And his eyes seemed to say that I was beneath him." Luffy answered. Everyone was more surprised now; they didn''t expect such an observation from Luffy. Normally he was all goofy and didn''t bother to look around, but he noticed the hatred in someone''s eyes.

    It seemed like he was slowly accessing some of the powers provided to him by the character of Jin Mori.

 180. Buster Call

    "Is there really a problem with the pigeon guy? What was his name again? Ah.. Lucci.. I thought he was the calm one." Ussop was surprised and said. He, like others didn''t expect that Lucci was actually a CP9 agent.

    One could really not judge someone from the face.

    "How do you know that the CP9 is here?" Nami asked Ken.

    "It''s because they threatened me." It was Robin who replied.

    "What?"

    "How dare someone threaten the beautiful Robin-chwan."

    "Once beating them up didn''t teach them a lesson. We will need to show what we are." - Ussop still had the pride in his face for taking down Nero from Alabasta.

    They were all angry that Robin was put in harm''s way and thanked that Ken was nearby to take care. They wanted to revenge of course.

    "Let''s go and beat him up." Luffy declared.

    "Yes.. Yes.." Followed by Sanji and Ussop but Ken came forward and stopped.

    "If I wanted revenge, wouldn''t I have gone and beaten them?" Ken replied.

    "Then why didn''t you?" Luffy argued back.

    "It''s because if we take one person down, it wouldn''t mean anything and they will just scatter away. We will need to catch all of them in a single net." Ken said. This stopped everyone from acting impulsively and think about the words of Ken.

    From the words of Ken it already meant that there were multiple agents here and they need to catch everyone in one go. With that, everyone calmed down.

    "Wait, why are the CP9 agents here? To catch us? But our bounties hadn''t gone up in such a long time." Ussop said, still salty about the fact that he hadn''t gotten his bounty update after fighting with Nero.

    "No. They have another important matter in addition to taking Robin." Ken denied that the agents were here to catch them.

    "We need to go back to the ship. And talk with Jabra. We need to know what they are planning." Nami said. Everybody agreed. They were back on the ship, where Zoro spoke of Kaku. He also said that he didn''t like him.

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    "Kaku!? That Ussop guy?"

    "I am not him," Ussop shouted.

    "Zoro, you can also tell that someone is right or wrong?" Luffy was surprised that Zoro was able to feel something off about another guy. Zoro''s completion of Yoriichi was very close to 100%, and thus he had already started to see the world a lot differently now.

    He had his emotions in check, could sense all the weak points of a person, and had been developing extraordinary perception like some kind of sixth sense. Now, coupled with observation haki, it had become much more powerful.

    Ussop and Nami were more surprised that a square-nosed guy was a bad one and was an agent of CP9. Then they proceeded to talk about the agents of CP9 and asked Vivi to contact Jabra.

    Vivi nodded and started producing a very long-range emitter in order to catch the signal from Jabra''s phone. They had no satellites here for their normal calls, so they needed to use special equipment to make long-distance calls.

    After establishing a long pole with a dish and finding the correct signal, Vivi dialed Jabra''s phone.

    "Hello.."

    "Jabra, is that you?" Nami took the phone and said

    "Ah, Nami-san, how are you?" Jabra answered with a quite excited tone. Robin was happy that her move was still very applicable.

    "Stop talking nonsense and tell me if you are safe." Nami asked.

    "Nami-san, you don''t have to worry about me. I am perfectly fine here and working out so that I can enter CP0." Those words by Jabra made Sanji very angry, and he almost wanted to travel through the phone and hit Jabra again. This shit was trying to flirt with Nami. How could he accept?

    "Good. Now tell me, what is the plan of the superior? Is there any recent action to be taken in Water 7?"

    "Uh. Oh yes. I forgot to mention. The asshole Spandam had gotten his hands on the Buster Call." Jabra said it with more sincerity now. This made Robin, who had been at peace, shudder. She didn''t expect to hear the word "buster call" again.

    The order that destroyed her home The order that destroyed her family She could never forget that. Ken put his hand on her shoulder to assure her that it was just trauma.

    "What is Buster calling?" Luffy asked while munching on some chips along with Ussop. Ken then proceeded to explain what Buster Call was.

    "So it''s just a bunch of ships destroying everything. It''s like how we did on our island and took care of the people around us. Hahaha.." Luffy said.

    "Here people die," Vivi said.

    "So your superior has a weapon to blow up an island. Any more information?" Nami didn''t want to hold Jabra for too long and asked.

    "I don''t know much. I only know that Spandam might be going to Water 7. Wait, Nami-san, are you in Water 7? You need to get out with the other straw hats. Captain, are you there?" Jabra almost shouted as he seemed tensed. Luffy, hearing him, took the phone.

    "Yo!"

    "Captain. Ah. Thank god. You need to get out. If the Buster Call starts, it might get ugly, captain." Jabra seemed genuinely scared. Buster''s call was a cleansing that everybody feared.

    "Don''t worry about us. You make sure to hide." Luffy said.

    "Hai Captain. You need to take care of yourself too." Jabra said that, and with that, the call ended. Jabra genuinely seemed to care about the straw hats and considered himself a crew member. Robin really inserted all the details.

    "So we can expect a Buster Call." Ken sighed.

    "That shouldn''t be. If we take care of the CP9 agents, then they wouldn''t know." Vivi said.

    "No. They don''t really care about their agents. They are mostly used and thrown. But it''s a matter of pride for their superior, Spandam. So his ego might help us." Ken said.

 181. A boring chapter

    Ken and the rest of the crew decided to attack at night. Ken had always paid as much attention to Blueno and the others as he could. In fact, he could hear all the people on the island, but he chose to single out only the voice of CP9. Listening to all the people on the island was stupid, and he would only be overwhelmed with too much information.

    Since there was nothing else to do, Luffy and others decided to hide the ship in a more hidden position. Merry would soon be renovated and repaired, and they didn''t want it to be destroyed by the Aqua Laguna since it was on its way.

    Just like other ships, Merry was also taken upstream through the artificial streams made in the city. It was good that the size of the stream could fit in big ships. After bringing the ship to a safer place, Sanji decided to make some food for the crew since it might turn ugly by evening.

    Robin was feeling a little emotional again when he heard about Spandam and how he was the father of Spandine.

    "Robin, this is your time to take revenge. For all the bad things that had happened. His father and he himself are also pieces of sh*t." Ken said this as he ate some desserts that Sanji had made for everyone.

    "I don''t want to make him our spy or change his memories. I want him to suffer." Robin said.

    "Of course. Torture him and make your vivid imaginations a reality." Ken said Robin had quite the brutal imagination with her ''colorful'' description. Robin smiled as she understood what Ken was talking about. They filled their bellies to a sufficient amount and were happy, but anybody who had been with the Straw Hats for a long time could easily tell that there was a small amount of tension among the crew members.

    Soon it was evening, and the wind had already started blowing at a rising speed. The coming of Agua Laguna had already been announced to the residents of the lower district, and they had already evacuated in the afternoon itself.

    Ken, who stood at the border of the lower district, looked into the itchiness and listened to people he was supposed to. They were moving, but it would take some time to bring them to the station.

    Since the Aqua Laguna was coming, they had decided to take the Sea Train, the one that led to Enies Lobby, and it was happening just like the original story but with a twist. The CP9 agents had caught Iceburg too.

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    In the actual story, the CP9 agents only went after Cutty Flam, or, in other words, Franky. Ken was surprised when he heard the CP9 agents suddenly raiding the main office and searching for Pluton''s plans.

    There, Lucci asked for the plans, and Iceburg just denied having them. Of course, Iceberg wasn''t the only one in the office. Paulie, Peepley, and Lulu were also there, and they were beaten down very brutally by Kaku and Lucci.

    Until that time, none of the agents had revealed their masks. But after Iceburg denied having the plans, they decided to take their masks off. It was there that Iceburg and other chief foremen saw the well-known faces and were dumbfounded.

    "Lucci.. cough cough.. What is the meaning of this?" Paulie shouted. Others too asked about this betrayal, as these people had no idea what kind of documents they were asking for. Only Iceburg could guess who they were. But it didn''t matter; he didn''t have the plans anyway.

    But of course Lucci came and told his conjecture after silencing the foremen and making them unconscious. He spoke of the two apprentices under the famous shipwright Tom. The one who had made Oro Jackson using Adam''s tree trunk. The one apprentice was Iceburg himself, while the other was Cutty Flam.

    Or, in other words, Franky. This made Iceburg look at them with fear and anxiety. He had done everything possible to cut his ties with Cutty Flam. After Franky came, he publicly denounced him, and Franky was the bad boy of the town, so in a way, the mayor was supposed to hate him.

    After Franky came back, it was only once that they met, and that was in a sewer. The CP9 agents weren''t even there, so how could they find the true identity of Franky? Of course, Lucci spoke of his conjecture about how he had reached that conclusion. His face, his cyborg build, everything pointed out that he was Cutty Flam.

    After revealing this, the CP9 agents decided to kidnap Iceburg and take this place down along with Paulie and other foremen. This could make the people in Galley-la concentrate here while they go and kidnap Franky while raising no alarms.

    Ken had heard all of this and smiled. He called her Nami.

    "Nami, the Galley-la is burning. Can you go and deal with the fire?"

    "Fire? Galley-la? In this speedy wind? Did the CP9 attack?" Nami asked as she got ready to appear. Ken nodded his head. Nami didn''t ask more and just vanished from her spot. She had already been to Galley-La, so it was easy for her to go. Luffy and others heard it too and asked.

    "Ken, isn''t it a little unsafe if she goes alone?" Chopper asked, as he still felt a little fear.

    "No, have faith in her; the others have already left." Ken said. Luffy just listened to Ken and didn''t say anything. It was Ken anyway who normally gave the orders, as Luffy was too occupied with food to care. It was only in dire times that he would speak out his command, which Ken too listens to.

    The CP9 agents, after escaping from Galley-La, went straight to the place where Franky and his boys lived. In a run-down garbage heap. But their house was top-notch from the inside. When the CP9 agents came in with Iceburg, Franky, who had been making plans to attack the Straw Hats for hurting his boys, knew that things had turned serious.

 182. His stomach is upset

    "Baka-burg... Why are you here with your lackeys?" Franky asked.

    "Franky.. They are not.." Iceburg wanted to say something but was immediately hit on the neck by Caliifa. Seeing this Franky finally became serious. He had already expected that  something was wrong when Iceburg showed up in front of everyone, now seeing him being treated like that, he knew that something was wrong.

    "I don''t care who you are. Since you have stepped in the Franky''s house without permission, you need to be taught a lesson. Boys get them." Franky ordered. The Franky boys were already angry from before after being taken down by a woman, and now a bunch of foremen thought it would be okay to just walk in.

    All of the Franky boys jumped on them, including the giants. The CP9 agents just looked at them as if they saw some dead guys walking. They took action, and it only took Califa and Blueno 5 minutes to bring everyone down. Kaku and Lucci didn''t even bother to take action.

    Franky was taken aback by this.

    "You are no normal foreman." Franky said between his gritted teeth.

    "And you are no normal thug, Cutty Flam." Lucci said. Those words were enough to make his worst nightmares come true. He was angry, and Franky didn''t hesitate to attack because there was no way out. He was angry that his boys were hurt, but more angry that his past had been brought on by this bunch of nobodies.

    He removed his hand skin, which revealed a metal arm attached with the help of a chain. He then threw his detached arm to hit Lucci, which he easily neutralized. Lucci then proceeded to personally take action. At first, he was surprised that his normal Shigan didn''t have any effect as his abdomen was laden with metal plates, but that wasn''t enough to provide safety to Franky.

    He, too, was taken down at the end. Franky was bleeding from different parts of the body and bruised all over. It was a bloody scene, and he looked horrible. much more horrible than he looked in the original story.

    Lucci was particularly angry at getting their cover blown. Later, when he came to know that it was the Straw Hats who had blown their cover, he was more angry. He felt humiliated by being completely blindsided by that idiot of a captain.

    At least that was what he felt Luffy was when he first met him. But seeing that he had been duped, he wanted to vent his anger. And Franky was the prime candidate for that. After taking down Franky, Lucci took Franky on his shoulder while the pigeon sat at Franky''s head.

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    "Aqua Laguna will hit us soon. We need to get Nico Robin too." Lucci said. Since he had been fooled, it was imperative that he get back at them. He didn''t care about the scary feeling that Blueno spoke of. He was much more powerful than Blueno anyway.

    While all this was happening, Ken was able to hear everything from afar.

    "Luffy. They will soon reach the train station, and they will be coming for us. Aqua Laguna is still a couple of hours away."

    "Coming for us? Why don''t we go for them instead?" Luffy said as he slowly got up while putting his hat on his head. He was dead serious now. Ken smiled as he was expecting that answer. He had been waiting for a good fight after what had happened on the previous island with Aokiji.

    They felt vulnerable and understood that there was still a long way to go. Since the government had tried to hit them, it was time to hit back at them.

    "Guys, one of our comrades is being hunted. You know what you have to do." Luffy said.

    "Damn right."

    "We will beat them out until they see stars."

    "For Robin-chwan to get scared by these filthy men They need to be taught a lesson."

    By that time, Nami was back too.

    "Nami, is everything alright in Galley-la?" Ken asked after she was back.

    "Yes, they thanked us. Paulie and others are a little hurt, but they are fine." Nami replied. It had already started raining, and the workers had brought water to douse the fire. She used the water to bend and put out the fire much faster. And also helped with rescuing the others.

    "Good. We might get a discount on making the ship now." Ken said.

    "That is the only reason I did. I negotiated with Paulie in secret. "We already get a 20% discount for rescuing them, and now we can get a 70% discount if we can rescue Iceburg." Nami said that was the only reason she had helped them in the beginning.

    Meanwhile, the CP9 agents had already reached the train station. They put Iceburg and Franky on one of the coaches.

    "Thank you for the hard work. Sir Spandam wasn''t able to make the trip. He is expecting you all in the Enies Lobby."

    "As expected of him. He is just a sexual harasser." -Califa

    "Well, his body isn''t even up to human strength standards." - Blueno.

    "I am still waiting for the prize." Kaku said.

    "He is scared of Aqua Laguna and the long journey." Blueno said.

    "But he did send us." A man came down from the side coach and said: It was Kumadori and Fukrou. Spandam had sent support after he learned that the cover had blown. He wasn''t that useless in the end. Kaku and others exchanged cold greetings with each other after seeing the CP9 agents.

    "Where is Jabra?" Kaku asked.

    "He had to go and poop. Chapapapa...  Said his stomach was upset. Chapapapa.." - Fukrou.

    "We need to go and get Nico Robin." Lucci didn''t have other thoughts in mind, nor did he care that they had been sent support; he just wanted to complete his mission 100% instead of half-way.

    "Why bother searching when we are already here?" A voice came from the top of the roof of the train station.

 183. Two mechanical hands

    The agents and the CP9 immediately went on high alert mode and turned their heads to see who was talking. It was The Strawhats. The CP9s didn''t expect that the enemy would reach so close to them without even noticing.

    The agents pulled their guns and pistols and pointed it at the Straw hats. There were a handful of agents in the station and in the coach so everyone ran out and saw the commotion.

    "Straw Hat.." Lucci mumbled.

    "Yo.." Luffy shouted. None of them were scared seeing the guns being pointed at them. They all jumped down on the station while slowly walking towards the CP9 agents. The other agents shouted.

    "Pirates, this isn''t the place for you. Run away or you will be shot at."

    "Scummy pirates.. Run back to the filth you came from."

    "This is official work of the World Government. How dare you come here?!"

    The straw hats didn''t seem to be bothered with it at all and had a discussion among themselves.

    "Ken, we will fight this time." Chopper declared.

    "Yes. I want to progress faster." -Nami

    "So cute this CP9 woman is.. <3" -Sanji.

    "Oye Ussop.. You sure he isn''t your brother?" -Zoro while pointing at Kaku.

    The other agents also heard their discussion and got incense. They were being ignored when they had guns in their hands. Without any fail, the agents shot at the Straw Hats.

    *bang* *bang* *bang*

    *ratatatata*

    Multiple shots were heard as everyone just made it a point to teach the Straw hats a lesson. But in the next moment, even in this windy and rainy time of the night they including the Straw Hats saw countless bullets levitating in the air in front of the Straw Hats.

    The bullets seemed to struck some kind of barrier before reaching the straw hats and not a single one of them was able to penetrate. Seeing this the agents gulped down their throats and even the CP9 agents had a serious face now.

    "Devil fruit?"

    "What kind is it ?"

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    In response all they heard was.

    "Shinra Tensei"

    And in the next moment, all of the bullets returned to the same placed they were launched from. All the bullets were returned back at the same speed. The agents were immediately struck with the bullets and blood flew everywhere. Some of the agents were quick to response and duck on the ground but a majority of them were brought down by the flurry of bullets.

    Some of the stray bullets struck the CP9 agents but that didn''t seem to bother them as they had used Tekkai to stop the bullets from hurting.

    "Oioioiyeee... They have a great devil fruit. Its sad that the scummy pirates have such a powerful devil fruit. Its a sin. I will kill myself as penance." -Kumadori said as he stabbed himself with the staff only t his body to use involuntarily use Tekkai.

    Such hypocrisy!

    Ken didn''t even bother to look at the CP9 agents and looked at his hands. He had been progressing quite weirdly in his character. He had unlocked two more specialties from his eye power and this time too it was from the Rinnegan side.

    "Wasn''t Rinnegan supposed to be better than Sharingan? What the hell is wrong with my progression?" Ken wondered a bit but didn''t think too much on it. He wanted to try the new move that he had recently gained.

    Out of nowhere, Ken''s sides of the shoulders tore apart and two additional hands from each side came out. This happened out of nowhere and everyone was caught off guard, even the Straw Hats.

    "Ken? What the hell!"- Ussop

    "What the hell are these creepy hands?" -Nami.

    "Did another person just take birth inside Ken?" - Robin

    Ken didn''t reply to the queries but if anyone could see closely the news hands that Ken just produced they would notice that these hands seemed to be artificial. Both of the new hands were mechanical and each of them seemed to have some kind of small missiles attached to the hand.

    This was the Asura path of Pain which Ken had just got his hands. Like Nagato, he had access to all the paths of Nagato and that too within his own body. The system had compensated his lack of Ten tails with the knowledge of all the six paths. So now that he had access to Asura path, he wanted to use it.

    The skin of the hands receded mechanically and out of nowhere, the missiles launched. Some of the missiles landed on the agents, some went for the CP9 and some went straight to the engine. Blasts occurred in the next moment and it caused mayhem all around.

    Even in this thunder storm raging by the side, the sounds of the blast were heard quite a distance. And this sound was heard by Paulie and the foremen. After Nami had rescued them, they had sneaked away in order to catch the culprits. They didn''t want to tell about the betrayals to the workers and just took it upon themselves to take care of their own business. The blast attracted Paulie and they picked up their pace to the extreme.

    The Straw Hats were dumbfounded seeing such a move from Ken. He had never showed this weird move before.

    "Ken? This is awesome. You are a mecha robo.."

    "Robo... Robo.. Ken.. Ken ..can you transform?"

    "Ken.. You are a mecha?!"

    Ussop, Luffy and Chopper had huge stars in their eyes looking at Ken. Ken had forgotten how thse guys loved any kind of mecha form and his two hands launching missiles were enough to bring them to ''orgasm''.

    Meanwhile, the dust settled. The agents were scattered around with blood and bruises in their bodies. Some of them were half dead and some just lost consciousness in the impact of the missiles.

    Only the CP9 agents stood like nothing happened.

    "Rankyaku."

    Two huge slices of compressed air traveled at very fast speed towards Ken. As the slices came close to Ken, there was a clink sound. The move was stopped by Zoro with his sword.

 184. How cruel are you?

    "I will be taking down this illegitimate brother of Ussop. He has swords in his hands." Zoro said. The one who attacked was Kaku, using both of his feet, and it was stopped easily by Zoro.

    "Oye..." Ussop interjected.

    The CP9 agents knew at that time that this wouldn''t be an easy fight. These guys seemed more than they showed themselves.

    "Pick your opponents, people. Pick your opponents. A good workout shouldn''t be left behind." Ken suddenly shouted. This made everyone laugh, and the CP9 got more irritated. Suddenly all of the CP9 agents vanished from the spot, and when they appeared again, they were in the air a little above the heads of straw hats.

    "Shigan"

    "Rankyuaku"

    Multiple of them came to attack all of the straw hats that had been having fun. I

    But before their attacks could reach all of the straw hats,

    "Y¨­katotsu"

    "Gum Gum No.: Pistol"

    "Diable Mutton Shot."

    And several unnamed moves from Ussop and Nami were delivered to all the sides from which the CP9 attacked. It was a clash between two teams as a whole, and both of them stopped each other. The CP9 agents, after getting stopped, stepped back again.

    "I will take this pigeon guy."

    "His mouth seems too ugly to me, so I will make his face better." Sanji said as he smoked and looked at Fukrou.

    "This time I will fight too." Chopper," he said as he transformed himself into a gorilla and looked at Kumadori. It seemed like divine intervention that Chopper chose Kumadori again.

    "Woman vs. woman," Nami said as she looked at Califa.

    "This bull of a guy looks good for me." Ussop said as he pointed at Blueno. And that was the total of the current CP9 agents since Jabra had decided not to come. Ken was not taken into consideration because he didn''t ask for it. It didn''t matter anyway.

    Luffy took out his staff, as he felt Lucci was quite strong. Zoro had taken out two of his swords for the fight, and flames were already burning under the feet of Sanji. Ussop had taken out his bow and was ready to fight at both close and long range.

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    Nami and Chopper were the new ones who would actually take part in a big fight, and they were ready to give their all.

    The CP9 agents gave each other space and separated. The station wasn''t big, but it wasn''t that small. It was just enough for the fight.

    Luffy was the first one to use his staff and hit Lucci. Lucci, seeing the fast move, immediately became serious and transformed into his half-human, half-monster form. Lucci used his body to stop the attack, i.e., using Tekkai, but the strength of Luffy was high enough to throw him back. Luffy didn''t use Haki and just used his staff normally.

    Sanji and Fukrou were basically flying through the air. Fukraou was using multiple moonwalks while Sanji was using flames to fly and attack Fukrou. Ussop was using his bow to shoot at Kumadori. Though Ussop had observation Haki, there was also a downside to his bow attacks: his arrows were slow and avoidable, and his observation wasn''t that high that he could predict a lot.

    Nami and Choper were actually the highlights of the fight, according to Ken. Chopper had never had to fight before, so he was new to this, but what absolutely blew Ken''s mind was the new rumble ball that Chopper had come up with.

    A rumble ball that could make his body bigger. At first, it didn''t mean much, but when Chopper changed into the next thing after eating the Rumble Ball, he had transformed into a mantis. A big, human-sized mantis that had blade-like hands and long legs.

    "Eww."

    "What the.."

    "Chopper.. Amazing."

    Even Ken complimented Chopper for this great invention of his. Chopper had always been good with medicine. His rumble ball and even the medicine that he gave to Bepo in the future. The medicine could transform a Mink tribe person into a Sulong form. That itself showed how much potential Chopper had when it came to medicine.

    Changing into a mantis changed the whole game against Kumadori. This guy would always use his hair against his opponents, but when Kumadori used his hair in order to tie up Chopper, it got chopped up immediately.

    Nami was also doing well, as she used her magic and knowledge of air pressure to make mirages of herself. This was also the move that she actually used using her weather tempo, but here she was able to do it herself. And she was doing great. In addition, the strong winds and rain were helping her.

    As the fight was going on, Vivi, Ken, and Robin stepped back and stood on the roof of the station, watching the fight. Robin was fine, but Vivi was a little sad. She wanted to fight, but there was no one to match her wits with.

    "Next time, you will get someone to fight." Ken comforted her. Vivi just nodded and waited beside Ken.

    "What do you think, Paulie? Do you want to join too?" Ken suddenly spoke out loud. Enough to triumph over the damaging moves of the crewmates and reach the ears of eavesdroppers. A few seconds later, the people who were sneaking out came out.

    It was Paulie and the two foremen.

    "You are one of the straw hats?" Paulie said as he smoked a huge cigar. Though he talked with Ken, he was actively watching the various fights going on in the station. Suffice to say, he was dumbfounded.

    He couldn''t believe that the people he once considered friends were so powerful, and even after then, they were getting easily matched by the straw hats. He had seen the bounty of the straw hats, but he was sure that the bounty didn''t have any kind of justification.

    "Yes.. I guess Nami had already negotiated about the price of repairing the new ship for us." Ken said.

    "You.. How can you be so cruel? Your crew mates are fighting and you are just lazing around. Moreover, Iceburg-san is still in the train."

 185. New moves

    "Calm down Paulie. Don''t you see how easily they are being counter attacked." Said one of the foreman that had come with Paulie.

    "Chill man. Just enjoy the fight." Ken said whole sitting on the roof top. This fight couldn''t go on for long. The wind was picking up too much speed and soon the Aqua Laguna would hit them.

    Sanji as able to land some his hits at Fukrou and it was devastating for Fukrou. One shot of his blazing feet was enough to sear upon the skin of Fukrou. Just because he was a CP9 agent and he had been trained in one of the most harshest ways didn''t mean that he was immune to elemental attacks.

    Sanji''s kicks were already very tough and the blazing flame just added more injury.

    Nami and Califa were also a match of wonder. It was more of a fight between wits and strength. Nami was using magic, air bending, and a little bit of water bending to fight against a fast-moving Califa. And it seemed like Nami was winning because Califa was confused all the time. All she could see were the mirages of Nami, and when she would try to take down a mirage, Nami would hit her from another side.

    She used some of the painful curses fueled by air bending to hit Califa. Califa already had bruises all over her body, and her blonde hair was singed in many places. She was using all of her moves, but they never landed on the desired target. She was more frustrated than hurt.

    Ussop was actually having a hard time. Not because he was getting beaten up or anything, but Blueno''s door-door fruit had been a headache. Blueno could escape through the fruit, and Ussop couldn''t do anything. Blueno had only gotten hit once, and that made him scream in pain.

    An arrow made out of reishi was always a killer for anyone. It couldn''t be defended. Maybe if they had Armament Haki, they might be spared to some degree, but Blueno had none of that, and Blueno was pretty hurt, but this made him cower and escape behind the door.

    Ussop knew where this guy was, but he wasn''t able to take him down. This time it was Ussop who was frustrated. But Zoro was the one who was having the time of his life. He was enjoying his battle with Kaku. So much so that he didn''t use armor and observation haki to fight against Kaku.

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    It was just pure sword skills against someone who used two swords with Rokushiki. Zoro was much better in his moves with Sun breathing, and it was really a sight to behold. It was beautiful, so much so that Ken and others were just watching Zoro fight against Kaku and left watching the battle of others.

    "Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance."

    Kaku, who was trying his best to avoid the attack, got scared when he saw Zoro''s sword lit up like fire. He knew that it wasn''t the actual fire, but it sure felt like it. He was gashed once by his sword, and his wounds felt like they had been burning on fire. Zoro''s sword gave him the chills, and he used Soru and Moonwalk to get away from Zoro''s attack.

    Kaku wasn''t realizing that with each encounter with Zoro''s attack, he was getting traumatized just like Michael Jackson, er, Kibutsuji Muzan. Zoro was actually going for the head of Kaku with the move, and Kaku ran for his life. But of course, this move couldn''t be carried on for a very long distance, and he had to stop.

    "You straw hats, do you even know what you are fighting against? This is a huge criminal offense. You will suffer the wrath of the world government." Out of fear, Kaku spoke out loud and berated Zoro. But when he looked into Zoro''s eyes, he was stiffer. There was no hatred, anger, fury, or any kind of negative emotion on his face.

    This caused a gulp in his throat. Those emotionless eyes didn''t even have happiness that he was overpowering Kaku. That face got burned into Kaku''s mind forever.

    "What do you take the freedom of people for? There is always a price to pay and consequences for your actions. You can''t even stand up to me. How can you even fight for the world government if you don''t even fight for your ideals? Get up and fight, or else this will be the last fight you will ever participate in."

    Kaku trembled. He felt like he was against his lifelong rivalry at that point and got up to fight against Zoro. He didn''t notice that now Zoro had taken two swords to fight against him, and the swords of his seemed to be doused with fire and had hints of lightning in

    Zoro was going to do something that even the demon slayers had never thought about. Using two breathing styles at the same time There was a reason why Zoro had three breathing styles with him, and it was finally showing. Ken had noticed the change in Zoro and smiled.

    Zoro never disappoints or amazes. It was on par with Luffy. But Chopper was also someone who had amazed Ken. His new rumble ball was a hit, and after transforming into a mantis, he was fighting at almost the same level of speed as Kumadori. But there was a problem: the mantis wasn''t as powerful. It only had speed and a sharp edge, and this was where Chopper really surprised Ken.

    When Chopper and Kumadori were close to each other and were in a head-on confrontation, Chopper decided to change into a bear. A huge bear that was around 12 feet His new medicine was still effective, and this resulted in an extra-big bear transformation. With that, he clashed against Kumadori, though Kumadori wasn''t thrashed like he had been in the actual story.

 186. New moves (2)

    Kumadori and Chopper clashed a multiple times and his Tekkai was finally giving away as Chopper was too huge and had too much strength in his paw. And the last was fight between Luffy and Lucci.

    At first, Luffy was fighting normally against Lucci. There weren''t any fancy moves, and even though Lucci had transformed into half-beast form, he wasn''t giving his all to the fight. Ken was a little confused about this, as he remembered Lucci being a badass both now and in the future.

    Though Ken really hated him, that didn''t mean he couldn''t acknowledge the strength and determination of the others. Lucci and Luffy fought and exchanged moves, but soon Ken noticed a very odd thing. The more they fought, the more Lucci was coming close to the place where Ken and others were viewing the whole arena fight that was happening.

    Soon after a couple of minutes of fighting, Lucci and Luffy came way too close, so much so that Paulie and others had to move back due to the impact their moves had on the surrounding area. And suddenly, out of nowhere, Lucci turned away from Luffy and jumped at Robin.

    Lucci used both Soru and Moonwalk to eliminate the distance between them in the fastest way possible. His claws were full as he came close to Robin and went straight for her neck. Lucci had a smile on his face as he seemed to finally get a win over his opponents. Lucci was way too busy for Robin to see what was going on.

    But sadly, Lucci didn''t get satisfaction in the end. His hands and his body stopped just before he was inches away from Robin''s body. And he had stopped in midair itself. He was appalled.

    With extreme force, he turned his head only to look at Ken, who was holding his hand high and had the palm pointed in his direction.

    "Rob Lucci... You are more devious than I thought. Just because you knew you couldn''t get her, you wanted to kill her." Ken said. He had used his Rinnegan to stop Lucci at the end. It was quite visible at the end of what he was going to do.

    "Bast..rds." Lucci spewed through his teeth. Meanwhile, Luffy also came forward.

    "Luffy, you got lax a bit."

    "No. I knew he was going for Robin, but you were there, so I didn''t bother." Luffy replied. Ken believed him because both had observation haki, so it was impossible for Lucci to just escape. Ken said after stopping Lucci in mid-air.

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    "Shinra Tensei."

    With that move, the leopard-looking Lucci was thrown away, just like how the bullets were deflected at the end. Lucci flew out and struck one of the pillars of the station. The pillar got destroyed, but the body didn''t stop, and at the end, he struck one of the coaches. The metal train coach was bent to a very weird angle in order to stop Lucci''s body.

    Paulie and the others who looked at what had happened had their jaws drop, and so did the Franky family as they followed the clues when they searched for Franky after he was kidnapped. Seeing Lucci manhandled like it was nothing made them thank their stars for actually not pushing their luck when they went to rob the Straw Hats. I''m glad that it was Nami who took action, or else it would have been a different story.

    But of course, Lucci wasn''t done yet. He was rattled for sure, but he was back on his feet in no time. Luffy and Ken both saw it, and Ken wanted to teach this guy a lesson. But as Ken got up, Luffy stopped him and said,

    "Let me handle this. You have done a lot. I wanted to try new moves." Luffy said as he took a staff and again came on level ground with Lucci.

    "Straw Hat Luffy."

    "Pigeon guy."

    "You are making a grave mistake by going against us," Lucci said.

    "I don''t care if I made a mistake. I don''t care who you represent. The only thing I know is that you tried to hurt my friend and tried to take away the man who could repair our Merry." Luffy said. Luffy then proceeded to bend his knees a bit and touch the ground with his knuckles.

    "Gear Second."

    Ken''s eyes were wide, looking at Luffy. He didn''t really expect Luffy to come full circle with this move of his. Gear Second was learned because Luffy didn''t have enough speed and strength while he was fighting in the actual story, but here he had the speed of a ninja to compensate for that and even Jin Mori''s powers.

    But Ken had forgotten one thing. He might have the powers of Jin Mori and Hiruzen, but that didn''t mean he would give up on his own uniqueness. He was a free guy, so of course he would want to be free from any shackles. Even the character''s power wasn''t enough to shackle his thoughts.

    Everyone around Luffy saw the change and was curious what it was, and Luffy gave them an answer almost immediately.

    He vanished from the place, and before Lucci could figure out what was happening, he was punched in the face from the side, which again threw him. Luffy''s now was way too fast for the actual story. He was faster, better, and more powerful now. Ken was a little uncomfortable, but when he used his Sharingan to see if he was suffering due to over-pumping of his blood, he was surprised that there were no side effects.

    His chakra flow was normal, and only his blood flow was fast, but his body wasn''t suffering like in the actual story. This was a huge relief for Ken. It meant that Luffy didn''t have any side effects.

    Lucci was thrashed a little more times before Luffy stopped as he allowed Lucci to get up.

    "It''s over for you." Luffy said.

 187. Done and dusted

    "You fools," Lucci said while wiping out the flowing blood from his mouth. He was hurt, and no amount of tekkai was able to help him. Luffy was using both Haki and Gear Second. It was devastating for Lucci, and he was hurt and bruised all over. Luffy had beaten him up quite well. And he wasn''t the only one.

    The other CP9 agents were taken down too. Califa was lying in a pool of water and blood. She was hurt by Nami with a small needle like ice, which she used like bullets. Though she wasn''t as efficient as Katara, it was enough to take her down. The Califa right now didn''t have the Devil fruit, so she was in less of a hurry, not that it would have mattered anyway.

    Blueno was trying to be smart at the end and help others instead of fighting Ussop. That was his mistake. He didn''t realize that Ussop always had eyes on him with his haki. Once he got out to help Califa, Ussop left his bow and arrow to fight with his fists alone. By this time, his body had become very strong, and he used it to its full advantage.

    Kaku was more traumatized mentally than physically. Zoro did one of the hardest things: breathe. Using the 13th form The 13th form required him to execute all of his 12 forms one by one and then go on to perform the 13th form. He did that because he was using the first form of thunder breathing. This was where it brokered the deal for Kaku.

    Zoro was already fast with sun breathing, but enhancing himself with thunder breathing was too much for Kaku. Plus, his emotionless state, along with his ability to see through Kaku''s moves, gave Kaku a fear that he wouldn''t be able to forget in his entire lifetime.

    Fukrou didn''t stand a chance after getting a couple of Daible Jambe with Sanji''s blazing feet, and he lost consciousness after getting burned in multiple places. It was a very easy win for Sanji, as Fukrou wasn''t even good with Rokushiki. Sadly, his face didn''t change, though.

    Chopper was the MVP of the straw hats tonight as he took down Kumadori while using his new rumble ball. But there was a downside too. After taking down Kumadori, he looked exhausted. Sanji had to come and hold him from falling down.

    "Chopper, you have surprised us."

    "Heheheeh.." Chopper gave a wide smile that showed his resilience and the happiness of winning against his opponent.

    "Do you know what will happen if we don''t reach Enies Lobby?" Lucci asked as he looked at his companions lying. He didn''t much care about them, but their loss meant he wouldn''t be able to escape either.

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    By now everyone had stood opposite him, almost surrounding him, including Ken, Robin, Vivi, and Lucci, who was panting under his breath. Luffy had let go of his Gear Second because this was useless. Lucci was at his breaking point.

    "Oh. You mean the Buster Call?" Ken replied. Lucci looked at Ken with surprise. He didn''t expect the straw hats to even know of this. They have never talked about Buster Call openly. It could only mean one thing.

    ''There was a traitor among them. Who was the traitor? Wait. That Jabra. He didn''t come and chalked it up to having a bad stomach. He was the only one who had come into close contact with the straw hats.

    But how? With only one meeting, did Jabra decide to betray the world government? Didn''t he know how powerful they were? No. There must be more than meets the eye. He needed to escape. He needed to send information that there was a traitor. Buster Call would arrive anyway, and Jabra wasn''t enough to stop him.''

    All of these thoughts were going through Lucci''s mind. He looked around, and out of nowhere, he used Soru and Moonwalk. He was high in the air and seemed to be escaping into another direction of the city, leaving the station and his companions.

    "Bansho Tenin." (Almighty Pull)

    Lucci, who was quite a distance away, stopped midair and was pulled back at extreme high speed. The next moment, he felt a palm around his neck. It was Ken who was holding him by the neck.

    "You didn''t expect that I would let you go so easily after what you had done to your friends." Ken said. Paulie and all were behind him, looking at Lucci with absolute anger. These guys had betrayed their trust in the most horrific way possible.

    "Vivi, is it ready?" Ken turned around and asked. Vivi nodded, and she came with a pair of shackles. One for the hands and the other for the feet. These were special shackles. They were made of sea stone. Vivi had gone through the structure of the shackles and was able to produce them herself. Within no time, Blueno and Lucci were put under shackles.

    And the rest were also put under shackles. But here came the problem. Who would look after them for a long time? Nobody had time to be a prison warden for these people.

    "Robin later remove all their memories. About them fighting us." Ken whispered to Robin. He didn''t want her special powers to be known to others. Robin understood, but there was one guy he would not let go of.

    Rob Lucci.

    This guy was a menace, and in no way was he ready to let him go. Soon the Straw Hats took them up, and Chopper administered a tranquilizer so that they would not escape. In addition, for the time being, Zoro would look after them since he didn''t like to move much and whenever he moved, he tended to lose his way.

    Zoro was, of course, very angry about it, but it was voted in such a way. Meanwhile, Paulie and others went to the coaches to rescue Iceburg and Franky. There were two in one of the coaches, which was completely fine. It was as if everyone was missing that coach in all the crazy fights happening in the station.

 188. You owe us

    Franky was in his clown gear with injuries all over his body while Iceburg was better but still had a few bruises. Franky family and Paulie were really emotional seeing that their bosses were fine. While Nami and others were fine with Iceburg as he was a good man and more so because he was important for repairing the ship, but Franky didn''t have a use, at least according to Nami and others since the family had even tried to rob them.

    She and Ussop definitely held the grudge and stopped the Franky family from taking away Franky.

    "You need to pay up for taking him away." Nami straight away spoke of the demand. The Franky family was trembling on their knees when Nami and Ussop appeared near them. They thought that they would be able to get away with Franky along with Iceburg but seems like they weren''t as lucky after all.

    "Oye.. I.. Franky doesn''t hold anyone any favor.. I will pay anything that you need for saving my life." Franky said, finally putting away his disguise. Iceburg also saw Franky but tactfully avoided speaking to him. The CP agents knew of them, and he didn''t want any other third person to know of their relations.

    Nami was extremely happy seeing this half naked man saying that. That was what she wanted though she thought that Franky was some kind of pervert but she didn''t mind as long as money was involved.

    "Its easy.. You just need to pay 100 mil..." Before Nami could finish the sentence, Ken came and stopped her mouth. He didn''t want her to speak more as they would lose a very good chance here. Franky didn''t have any kid of friendship with them as of yet like they had in Enies Lobby and though the straw hats had saved him, he didn''t have any emotional connection with them.

    "What the hell are you doing Ken? I... I mean we need money." Nami said as her eyes were still in the form of bellies. She wasn''t able to think anything else other than money at this point.

    "We need to go now. Aqua Laguna is coming." Ken said as he brought out his Stormbreaker. It was there they had realized that a huge wave of water was coming at them in full speed. All of the people around instantly panicked.

    "Wow, this looks awesome. Can we surf on it?" Luffy seemed to be in very good mood after beating Lucci. He was exhausted a bit but that didn''t dampen his excitement seeing the wave.

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    "I think so too. It will be great to swim in it." Ussop too thought. Even Sanji and Zoro came in and commented on how lovely it would be to surf the huge wave. The others seeing their enthusiasm was speechless.

    "Are they not afraid of Aqua Laguna?"

    "What kind of monsters are they?"

    "They are monsters. But we aren''t. We need to run right now."

    "Yes.. Yes.. Let''s run."

    Franky who was ready to negotiate at the moment also knew that he needed to leave while Iceburg had already started walking away. He was still weak and he wasn''t able to run but then Ken announced.

    "Everyone gather around. I will take you out of the this place."

    Those words sounded like a miracle medicine on their ears. They had already seen what kind of monsters they were and they immediately gathered around Ken. They had seen how he was able to punish Lucci and had massive faith in him.

    Of course the Straw Hats knew that what Ken was going to do and even though Luffy and others wanted to have fun, they knew that it was time to go back. Thankfully, Merry was in high ground and away from any damage that the tsunami Aqua Laguna might cause.

    Soon everyone surrounded Ken who had the Stormbreaker in his hand. All of them were tearful and grateful seeing that Ken was ready to save them. The tsunami had already become huge and were only few metres away but somehow all of the people around him trusted him.

    Ken the proceeded to call the Bisfrost and before anyone could even understand what was happening they got sucked in by the force and in the next moment they were in a different position. The Franky family and others had their eyes swirling when they were thrown out of the Bifrost. Some of them even vomited.

    "They are so weak? If I had apparated, they would have died." Nami said. She was still angry about the fact that Ken stopped her from extorting Franky and could have charged them traveling in Bifrost free of cost.

    "You guys can go. We can talk about this later after you heal." Ken said. There was no point discussing this at the moment. Franky looked at Luffy who seemed to not care that he had saved him. He went forward and bowed his head to Luffy and the crew.

    "You have saved me regardless of the deal with Iceburg. For that I am grateful. I will help you with any thing that you need. This is the promise of Cyborg Franky." Franky said. Luffy just smiled his iconic wide smile and said

    "Don''t mention it."

    Franky felt a little emotional seeing Luffy''s smile. He bowed for one last time along with the Franky family and then left. Wind and rain was thrashing at their bodies so it was better to just go to a safe place. This time the Aqua Laguna was more terrifying than the normal ones they faced over the years.

    Seeing this Iceburg had a grave face. If this went on, the Water 7 would be doomed in a few years. He needed to find a solution to it fast. Nami was still angry that Franky was let go so easily but she respected the words of Ken and Luffy. She knew that there must be something for Ken for which he had stopped her.

 189. Two students

    The next day the sun shone with full strength, the sky had only a few clouds. Nobody would be able to tell that the previous night there was a huge tsunami that had taken down the lower portion of this island city.

    All of the houses, the dockyards and the ship building industry were all destroyed and all that Aqua Laguna had left were rubbles. The one things that Ken liked was at least there was no pollution made by plastics among the rubbles and it was just sand, concrete and wooden rubbles in the aftermath.

    The Straw hats reached the the shores of the island early in the morning, not because they were marveled by the damage caused by nature and wanted to help the people rebuild the lower part of the island but because they were anticipating a retaliation.

    "Ken, are you sure that they have been reported of what had happened here?" Nami asked as she was just sitting on the rubble and looking at the distant calm sea with a bored expression. They were here because they were anticipating the Buster Call.

    Since the CP agents and the train never reached Enies Lobby, Spandam might be very agitated and would want to destroy everything in order to get the things that he wanted. Robin and Franky with the plans of Pluton. It was too important for him and the Government.

    Robin was already a headache and the plans of Pluton were too important for them. So the Straw hats were anticipating the attack.

    "They should be here. It''s not like Eneis Lobby is nearby. Wait for it." Ken said as he just closed his eyes. Straw hats weren''t the only one here waiting, the others were also here including Iceburg and Franky.

    They both had a very serious face as they looked at the shore. They had heard about the Buster Call before too and frankly speaking they were terrified. A navy to take down a whole island. Iceburg had heard what happened to Ohara and knew that none of them survived and the one who did was being hunted down like a dog.

    And so the waiting began. Iceburg had already applied emergency in the city and asked the people to go inside their homes and not come out. He had given a false alarm that there would be storm soon after the Aqua Laguna and they needed to safeguard themselves.

    Of course, the people of Water 7 believed him as he had immense respect for Iceburg as he had done a lot for the city and them too. Right now the city was in a kind of lockdown, and people weren''t coming out of their homes.

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    The waiting was a very long one, so long that the initial fears of Iceburg and Franky''s family actually went away and were replaced with boredom. Luffy and Ussop decided to have some fun in the water and were even joined by Nami, who was trying to practice water bending.

    In the afternoon, it was Ken who had heard the sounds of ships coming towards them. Ken had sensed them, and the other men of the Straw Hats also sensed it. They stopped having fun and eating.

    "They are here."

    Franky and Iceburg, who had been quite chill, even exchanged some words.

    "One thing I didn''t understand Why is Franky important in all of this? You are just a thug." Nami said, as she didn''t hold back her words at all. She still wanted money from him, but she was also confused about why the CP agents were interested in him.

    "There was one legendary shipwright named Tom who had once lived on this island. He was known for his great ships. He was so great that he had even made Oro Jackson, the ship of the Pirate King."

    "What?"

    "Such a legendary man actually lived here?"

    "What happened to him? Can''t we get our ship from him?"

    "He is dead, or should I say murdered. He was taken away because of the crimes he once committed by making the ship. Normally, the shipwright isn''t responsible for the crimes of the one who sails, but he was special. He had the plans of one of the ancient weapons, Pluton." Ken spoke in a grave tone. Franky and Iceburg, who were already tensed about the coming ships, stiffened hearing Ken''s words.

    They couldn''t believe their ears. That story about Tom wasn''t known to everyone. All the people knew was Oro Jackson. How come this guy even knew of an ancient weapon, and he had used the words so casually that it made them feel that an ancient weapon was nothing in front of him?

    "Punisher Kenny.. You know more than you have let people on." Iceburg replied. Ken smiled at him, didn''t reply, and instead continued.

    "Tom had two apprentices. One was Cutty Flam. He was quite the innovative guy and was known to make awesome new ships. And the other was Iceburg." Ken said. Everyone immediately turned to look at Iceburg with admiration.

    No wonder he was so good with ships and building things. He had such a good teacher.

    "Now Cutty Flam had a tough life, and I won''t go down to explain what had happened due to privacy reasons. But Cutty Flam is still alive and is among us right now. Isn''t that right, Franky?" Ken said. Franky was visibly shaking when Ken spoke about Cutty Flam. He knew that Ken had already recognized him. He wanted to refute Ken''s words and didn''t acknowledge his previous self. He hated that his ships were used to take Tom away to Enies Lobby.

    He was naive, and he hated himself for that, never forgiving himself. The straw hats, the Franky family, Paulie, and the other foremen now looked at Franky with wide eyes.

    "You have spoken too much, Punisher Kenny," Franky said.

    "Does that mean that I am wrong? Don''t you want revenge for what happened? This is your time to exact revenge. You have a chance now, and hopefully with it, you will be able to forgive yourself."

 190. Come, let me see

    "Didn''t know that our boss is so awesome."

    "You are telling me that the scum boss of ours is a big boss?"

    "Our boss is so good?"

    "Oye.. How dare you look down on me so much?" Franky was irritated that his subordinates thought so lowly of him and were surprised that and gave each one a thorough beating for that. Franky had always been the comedian and the impulsive one so the others didn''t mind that.

    "So you too are interested in plans of Pluton?" Iceburg asked. He wasn''t exactly happy with the situation but they did save him and he would rather trust these pirates than the navy. He had met Roger before when Tom made their ship and somehow the Straw Hat captain reminded him of Roger.

    "Don''t get us wrong. I don''t think any of us are interested in the plans of Pluton if you have it." Vivi came forward and cleared the air of Pluton. They had already talked about the ancient weapons in Alabasta and none of them were interested it seemed, not even Ken, who knew of it.

    Iceburg didn''t expect that. From the words of Punisher Kenny it was apparent that he had idea about the plans and he still wasn''t interested in it. That was indeed commendable. He didn''t speak more and just accepted the words of Ken. Like the Franky family, Paulie and others too were surprised by the revelation and were happy to know some of the background of Iceburg. They also didn''t care about the the ancient weapon they talked about and they didn''t even understand what it was. Meanwhile, while Franky was beating his subordinates, the naval ships were only about a km away from the shore.

    The straw Hats and the others finally got to see the whole fleet of ships that had come for them. Ken was a little surprised after seeing the fleet. Normally, in Buster Call, they would call a fleet of 10 ships and 5 vice admirals. But here, it was different.

    It was a fleet of 20 ships, and Ken, from his haki, was able to tell that there were at least 7 vice admirals. And some of them he could even recognize. Onigumo, Momonga, Bastille, Doberman, T-bone, and some of the others he could recognize from the sounds he was listening to

    Of course, one voice was very apparent in the ship that was leading, and that was Spandam. Ken didn''t forget this annoying bastard. He was annoyed so much that the black clouds had already started gathering overhead. Of course, everyone noticed it and got serious. Nami asked.

    "Are there any admirals?"

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    "No. But there is one annoying guy I would like to take care of who pisses me off."

    Soon the ships were around 500 meters away, and they stopped coming further. There was complete silence all around, except for occasional thunder sounds in the sky. The waves were lashing the shores with ferocity, but it just added to the creepiness of these ships pointing all of their guns and cannons at the island.

    "Listen up.." Someone took a loudspeaker and shouted at it. It was Spandam.

    "Nami. Make sure his voice doesn''t reach the island." Luffy said the people of the island didn''t have any idea what was going on. Nami immediately waved her staff, and with magic, she was able to inhibit the flow of sound to the whole island and instead confine the announcement to a limited range.

    "Listen up, you scums; you beu better give us Cutty Flam and Iceberg." They are the traitors of world government. If you don''t give us then we will blow this whole island up, and nobody will be alive to tell the tale.  I can''t let my reputation slide for this filthy Cutty Flam and Iceberg. They are the traitors of the World Government. If you don''t give us the two men we will blow this whole island up and nobody will live more to tell the tale.. I can''t let my reputation.. I mean the reputation of the world government to go down the drain."

    The words were heard by the straw hats and the others very clearly, and the more they heard, the angrier they were.

    "Is that Spandam?" Franky asked, while his face was very grave.

    "Seems like it. Franky, I am glad that you are fine." Iceburg said. After they were released, they didn''t trust anyone and didn''t exchange greetings due to fear of the secrets being out. But now that everybody knew everything, it was different.

    "Baka-burg.. I am always fine." Franky shouted.

    Of course, Spandam and the vice admirals had already seen the presence of straw hats on the shore. Spandam was very happy to see them, as he thought that these people had come to deliver Iceburg and Franky. Spandam continued

    "It seems you know the gravity of the situation, you straw hats. You have been a pain in the ass, and even I was surprised when I heard that you took down the CP9 agents. But this ends now. I am glad that you surrendered. Now you will be taken away to Impel Down, and for the crimes you committed, you will be imprisoned for life. Of course, if you beg, I can give you a better floor in the Impel Down. I am sure you know how tragic the various floors of Impel Down are." Spandam said.

    "Luffy, can I cut him?" Zoro asked.

    "Baka. I want to kick his face and make it more disfigured." Sanji said.

    "For some reason, I want to use the unforgivable curse on him." Nami said.

    "Nami, can you make my voice be heard by them?" Luffy suddenly asked. Ken, who was ready to make his move, stopped and looked at Luffy. He wanted to see what his brother wanted to do.

    "Yes," Nami said as he used her wand to point at the neck of Luffy, which would allow him to talk loud enough to be heard by everyone.

    "So you are Spando.. Speedo.. Spadi.." Luffy said. Nami had his hand on her forehead and said,

    "Spandam..You idiot."

    "Oh yes, Spandam. I don''t care who you are or what kind of thing you represent. And neither will I ever care. You said you wanted to catch us, right? Here I am. Come.. Let me see if you can accomplish that. You have just tried to hurt and take away a friend of mine. And you will pay a heavy price for that."

 191. Animals running on water

    Ken had his hand on his forehead in embarrassment. He thought Luffy would give a grand speech or something of the sort, but there was none. He had forgotten that Luffy wasn''t good at delivering dialogue but rather showed sincerity through his actions.

    Spandam, of course, just like others, wasn''t at all convinced by the words of Luffy, nor did he care. In fact, seeing the face of Luffy, he could hardly believe that this band of misfits was able to take down CP9.

    In fact, he had noticed that Luffy was also busy picking his nose. This made him feel as if he was not very serious at all. Of course, he wasn''t that interested in the straw hats except for Nico Robin. And his main concern was Franky and Iceburg, whom he could see from the ship itself.

    And they were an important part of the mission. He was here only for them, and the Buster Call was only a force of intimidation.

    "Straw Hats... You have caused quite a problem for the Navy and the world government. It''s better you surrender and let Mister Iceburg, the mayor of Water 7, and the outlaw Franky serve under the World Government. We can promise you that both of you will be treated well. And the straw hats will be given a proper trial."

    Instead of Spandam, it was Momoga, one of the vice admirals of the Navy, who came and tried talking with the straw hats. Of course, none of them cared about the words of some Navy vice admiral.

    "Straw Hat? Will the island really be fine?" Iceburg, seeing the whole fleet, asked

    "I don''t want someone else to die for me again." Franky said, as he still felt guilty about what had happened.

    "Have faith in the people who have just saved you." Vivi replied.

    After a pause of about 2 minutes, there was suddenly an alarm being blared from the main ship that was leading the fleet. It meant that the ships were going to finally assault the island in a full-fledged attack. There was no going back after this. The island will be removed from the annals of history soon.

    But it all depended on one thing, and that was if they were successful. After being saved by the Straw Hats, Iceburg, knowing about the Buster Call, was ready to sacrifice himself, but Ken was able to convince them.

    Thanks to the genjutsu he used on Iceburg and Franky, he showed a glimpse of their powers. It was there that Ken was able to convince them that the Straw Hats had enough firepower to take down Buster Call. Franky, too, was shown the same. It was the question of thousands of lives. Iceburg wasn''t going to play with their lives just so he could get back at the Navy.

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    As the alarm was blasted, Ken and Luffy both proceeded to place their palms on the ground and shout.

    Summoning Jutsu.

    A pattern of seals formed in the ground, and out came three huge animals. The first one was Enma, which was Luffy''s signature summoning animal. But what really surprised the others were Ken''s summoning animals. It was not one, but two animals.

    The first one was a giant crustacean, and the other was a giant multi-headed dog. Both of the animals came from the animal path of pain, and both of the animals had Rinnegan in their eyes. This was another jutsu that he had recently gotten his hands on.

    The Buster Call ships, who were ready to shoot their cannons, were dumbfounded to see huge animals coming out of nowhere. The giant animals of Ken looked menacing. especially the huge three-headed dog. None of them had seen such a weird-eyed, three-headed dog. This made the relaxed Vice Admirals take this job seriously. Normally the vice-admirals in a buster call don''t have much work, but that might not be the case here.

    And Ken wasn''t the only one who was fully geared. Nami and others were tooone who was fully geared. Nami and others were too. Even Robin had brought out her stand, though the others wouldn''t be able to see it.

    "Enma. We can have fun here." Luffy said.

    "It''s been a long time since I have participated in an all-out battle. It will be fun." Enma said. The other two animals didn''t speak because they didn''t have that much intelligence and could only listen to Ken''s commands.

    But they seemed to be visibly excited as they roared at the ships.

    Momonga and the other vice admirals who had seen this shouted.

    "Don''t get intimidated. The dog isn''t coming to the ships, and we can shoot them down from here."

    "But Momonga-san.. That dog.. That dog.. Is running on water!" one of the navy men shouted. This caused a huge shock, as they saw a dog running on water. This had never been seen before.

    Momoga turned his head and looked at it in surprise. And the huge crab had already disappeared in the water, which was another concern for the ships. Some of the ships pointed their cannons at the giant dog, but the rest pointed at the island.

    *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

    This was where the straw hats came in. Luffy and Ken ran straight towards the ship while the rest of the crew protected the island.

    Sanji, Zoro, and Ussop were the main forces, while Nami and Chopper would make sure that there were no aftermaths. This was an all-out war. Sanji flew into the air and kicked at the round black cannons that were traveling at an extreme speed. But Sanji was somewhat faster.

    It seemed like he was using Soru in the air. Almost disappearing from normal eyes. This was the same for Zoro. He was using sixfold speed in his breathing. And though he couldn''t fly, his sun breathing was enough to cut down flying cannons.

    One was kicking the flying cannons, and the other was cutting them. It was a sight to behold.

 192. You didnt see that one coming

    *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

    The chilling sound of their cannons being primed for destruction resonated through the air. Vice Admiral Momonga and others raised their hands, the signal for the commencement of the assault  towards Luffy and Ken who were running on water just like the animals on their sides. This gave a sense of terror in the navy.

    More cannon shots were unleashed towards Water 7. At first it was just the lower part of the island that was being shot at but later the cannons were pointing high and were going towards the high the residential places of Water 7.

    This was where Ussop and Nami came in. Ussop was using his bow to shoot at each while Nami was using both magic and bending to help her stop the cannons at every cannon that were pointing high while Sanji and Zoro took care of the low ends.

    They were being super affective as they didn''t let the barrage of over 10 warships''s cannons land on the island and whatever landed was on the sea itself. But the Straw Hats knew that this couldn''t go on for long. Maybe one or two barrages of cannon shots before they would run out of fuel.

    It was because there were too many cannon balls and their body wouldn''t be able to keep up even if their mind could. Meanwhile, Vivi was using an RPG she had made from her body to shoot down cannons. Vivi''s cannons were more accurate, but she could only shoot one at a time as her body wouldn''t be able to produce a missile launcher, but nonetheless, she was happy to be able to help. Robin used her devil fruit and stand to take care of close-range balls that landed near her. It wasn''t much, but it did the job.

    Meanwhile, Luffy and Ken reached the ships after getting barraged by the ships cannons along with the summoned animals. Luffy and Ken both separated from each other and went to the opposite sites with their summonses. At first, the animals attacked the ship. The giant dog attacked the ship, but it wasn''t smooth. One of the heads was burst open by a cannon ball. But what happened next really made them fearful.

    After one of the heads was cut down, two others grew in its place.

    "What the hell is this animal?"

    "How did he grow two more?" Attack.. Attack more."

    The naval men went crazy and started attacking the giant dog. But the dog wasn''t the only one who was getting attacked. Ken himself was facing a vice admiral. And this vice admiral wasn''t a normal one but someone who knew Haki.

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    Ken took out his Strombreaker and took a hit at the Vice Admiral while coating it with Haki, and he too took the hit with Haki-coated hands. Ken, for the first time in his travels, had actually found someone who could give him a fight. And with that, both of them started exchanging moves.

    Ken used a fire-style jutsu while adding lightning to it.

    "Punisher Kenny.. I didn''t believe him at first when he said that the Straw Hats had learned Haki. But you have surprised me."

    "Oh! Did he reach his destination well?" Ken asked, as he could already guess from where the Vice Admiral had heard of it.

    "Huh!" There was a total blank and confused expression from the vice president.

    "Oh. It seems like Aokiji hasn''t told about the embarrassing situation he has been put in," Ken said. The vice admiral got incensed and started hitting Ken with everything he had using Haki.

    Ken parried the attacks and also fought back. But the fight wasn''t easy for the vice admiral. With each attack, he was thrown back because of Haki and also because of the elemental nature of the attacks. Plus, at times Ken would throw Stormbreaker and Mjolnir, which would return to hurt the admiral. Though he had Haki, it didn''t mean that he could avoid it all the time.

    Plus, both of the fights had already destroyed ships. The giant dog was attacking manically and won while growing two pairs of heads from its body.

    This made the navy fear more, and another vice admiral came to join the fight against Ken. It was happening the same way on the other side. Luffy had taken his staff in his hand and was swinging it while making it long, while Enma was just having fun while destroying things around.

    The only challenge here were the bullets and cannons, which his body was able to shake off easily.

    On both sides, the ships got embroiled in a fight and were getting destroyed. Soon, two ships from both sides were down. But Ken had a very weird feeling that something was wrong. His senses were tingling at that moment. Maybe it was haki, or maybe it was something else, but he could tell that the Admirals seemed to be stalling both of them.

    And his suspicions were right. Out of nowhere, many men from the city jumped down to the lower section of the city of Water 7, where the war was going on. By that time, Ussop, Zoro, Sanji, and others were far apart from each other. These men came at breakneck speed and captured Robin, Iceburg, and Franky, who himself was helping stop the cannons.

    This happened so fast that the people who were closer, like Ussop and Zoro, didn''t get enough time to even react as they were occupied taking apart the annon balls.

    Ken and Luffy, who had been fighting, stopped and turned around to see what was going on. These men, who entered the battlefield from the closed city, seemed to have come prepared. They had put the knives and swords on Robin, Iceburg, and Franky''s

    Ken finally understood why he was thinking something was wrong. They had hidden agents from long ago in the city. A hidden team to take care of things if anything went south. And from the looks of it, this was a joint operation of two or more CP organizations.

 193. Godlike move

    Luffy and Ken both returned to the shore at extreme speed. All this time, they had been fighting and having fun with their opponents, but once their friends got threatened, they went into 100% mode.

    Within seconds, they were back at the shore and stood opposite the agents, who had pointed their guns at Robin, Vivi, Iceburg, and Franky. Since Franky was a cyborg, he was held by a hand that was made of tekkai.

    A tekkai that was at least as powerful as Lucci and Franky had no way of getting out of it. Robin was put on the sea stone chain so that she couldn''t use her devil fruit. She wanted to use her stand and change the settings of the man who was holding her at the moment, but she stopped.

    It was because if she did this, the secret that Jabra was a spy would be speculated about by them, and they couldn''t afford it at the moment. She chose to believe in her friends. She wasn''t alone anymore.

    "Hahahha.. You filthy pirates. You thought the CP9 were the only people being sent here." Spandam spoke over the mic. He had been beaten down from afar by Ken using a little bit of lightning. Ken wanted to keep him for the last act, but it seemed like his lightning wasn''t enough, and he wanted revenge on Ken.

    "You filthy pirates. I allowed you to surrender before, and now you will lose your crew." Spandam shouted over the mic.

    "Robin.. Vivi.. Are you alright?" Nami asked as she was pointing her staff at the people who had caught her friends. Behind each of them were two CP agents, all wearing masks and normal dresses. By that time, Zoro, Sanji, Ussop, and Chopper had also gathered.

    "The rats have come out, it seems."

    "I will shoot all of them down," Ussop said.

    "I haven''t used my feet at full power yet." Sanji said.

    Luffy and Ken, who had just arrived, looked at the CP agents with menacing eyes. Spandam was still spewing bullshit over the microphone, but they didn''t care. The Strawhats just looked at the CP agents like they were dead.

    "Straw Hat Luffy.. I hope you will not take any bad decisions at the moment or you will lose one of your precious friends." One of the men in masks said

    "Leave them, or I will kick your ass." Luffy declared.

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    "It doesn''t work like that here. You took down CP9, and that is commendable, but we are not the same as them. Any movement from you and I will blow their heads off." Another CP agent said

    "What do you want?" Ken asked.

    "Let us go, and the world government wouldn''t come after you. Even the Buster Call will be taken away." The CP agent said

    "Oh!" Ken was surprised that the World Government gave the CP agents that much power.

    "What if we refuse?" Luffy asked.

    "Then we will kill your friends, and then you." Another CP agent said

    "They said the same thing before, and we still took them down." Ussop said as he slowly pointed his bow at the head of the CP agent who declared war on them.

    "So if I understand correctly, you will leave with the ships once we let you go?" Ken asked. The CP agent nodded.

    "Luffy, what should we do?" Ken asked. Since he was the captain, he needed to make the decision.

    "Take them down. Of course." Luffy spoke it loud and clear, with no hidden agenda. He had always been the one with no plans and straight action. If there were no plans from the get-go, the enemies wouldn''t be able to know of the plans at all. At least that was Luffy''s logic.

    "Of course."

    "There was never a doubt."

    "Straight away, think carefully about your decision. You will not only lose your friends but also the city. I am sure the mayor wouldn''t be okay with that." The CP agent who was holding down Iceburg while keeping his mouth shut said

    "Oh, you mean the Buster Call? I am not worried about them at all. I am more worried if you will be able to go back alive if you even put a scratch on Robin or Vivi." Ken said.

    "Gear Second."

    Luffy and others were ready to take the fight to the CP agents and the ships. But Ken came and spoke a few sentences in Luffy''s ears, whose body was giving away steam, turned around and looked at Ken.

    "Are you sure that it is what you want?" Luffy asked. Ken nodded.

    "Then go nuts." Luffy gave him the green signal.

    Ken moved away from the group suddenly and was back at the sea. The CP agents didn''t care about stopping Ken as he wasn''t going after them and concentrated on Luffy and the others. They were contemplating whether they should kill their prisoners at the moment and make an escape. That was the last-ditch effort, but of course they were confident about taking down these new pirates, who seemed to think that they were some kind of new force.

    The CP agents loved to parade over their achievements. Meanwhile, Ken was already on the ocean again. He was going to make a move that he had been thinking about for a long time but never got the chance to make. Here, there was enough motivation and space to do it. All this time, Ken was being bombarded by cannons, but they were getting missed as Ken was able to judge the cannon balls landing.

    This move would definitely instill actual fear in these people, who seemed to think that they were untouchable. He clapped his hands loudly and made the necessary hand seals.

    "Chibaku Tensei." (Planetary Devastation)

    A small sphere whose color was pure black and seemed to be sucking all the light around slowly rose off from between the hands of Ken towards a higher altitude. The vice admirals who were flying towards Ken and the navy men who were firing canons at him stopped and witnessed the weird sphere slowly rising up.

 194. What about the second one?

    Somehow there was a complete silence when the pitch black sphere rose up in the air slowly. There was no talks, no shots from cannon and even the blatant shouts of Spandam had stopped. Every one looked at the sphere in awe and fear mixed together.

    The black sphere stopped after rising up high in the air.

    "What is this?"

    "Some kind of decoration?"

    "Why do I feel fear just looking at it? It is as if it will suck everything away."

    Those small murmurs were going around. At first nobody felt anything, but soon people around started to feel a pull in their body. A pull that was not pointed downwards but towards the small sphere. It was not much at the beginning, but the pull started to rise at a very fast pace.

    At first it was the water but soon everyone realized that it was a gravitational pull.  A massive gravitational force emanated from the sphere, causing the very ground beneath the ships to tremble. The sea itself seemed to recoil as the waves surged and crashed against each other in a desperate attempt to escape the impending catastrophe.

    "Shoot.."

    "Shoot this thing down."

    "Oh god.. What is this?"

    Water, ground segments and parts of ship had already started to break off and rising towards the black sphere with incredible speed and were growing in size every second. The men were holding on to their ships while the Vice  Admirals, who were closer to Ken, were using moonwalking to escape from the pull, but it was slowly getting harder by the second.

    Seeing this, not only the CP agents had their eyes wide looking at Ken, but even the Straw Hats didn''t anticipate such a move, but they were proud and happy.

    It grew in size, swallowing the ships one by one into its all-consuming darkness. The Buster Call fleet''s cannons fired in vain, but their attacks dissipated against the impenetrable shield of the Planetary Devastation.

    "We need to take down Punisher Kenny if we ever want to stop this menace." One of the vice admirals shouted.

    "Right."

    "Let''s go."

    All of the vice admirals put everything on their moonwalk and approached Ken at a fast speed, though it was marred a lot by the pull. It could be seen that even the vice admirals were finding it hard. But with determination, they reached Ken, who was just standing on water and looking at the chaos around him.

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    "It''s over, Punisher Kenny."

    "Now die."

    Every Vice-Admiral performed their strongest attack on Ken, and he just looked with Rinnegan''s eyes towards these people. For some reason, looking at the gray ring-like eyes

    "That''s a whole lot of assumptions you made in a few seconds." Ken said.

    "Shinra Tensei." (Almighty Push)

    All of the Vice Admirals, including their attacks, stopped right before Ken, and in the next second, everyone got pushed away at extreme speed in the same direction they came from. Ken had used the attack on multiple people, and thus the effect wasn''t as good as on Aokiji. It had to be remembered that it was only recently that he had gained access to Rinnegan, and he still didn''t have full control over his powers.

    The vice admirals were thrown several meters before stopping in the air. They were bruised all over and were almost on the verge of drowning. It was good that they had Rokushiki with them, or else it would have been disastrous. These Vice-Admirals were not like Vergo, who could coat their full bodies with Haki.

    Only Tekkai was helpful, and it somehow made them survive the sudden violent push. It had to be remembered that these people were approaching Ken at a super-fast speed, so the momentum was doubled.

    "Shit."

    "What the hell was that?"

    "Admiral Aokiji spoke of this. Even with Haki, it is unavoidable."

    Meanwhile, the ships around them were getting wrecked. As the ships were pulled into the swirling void, screams of terror echoed across the sea. The destruction was swift and merciless, as the vessels were crushed under the overwhelming gravitational forces. Splintering wood, shattering glass, and anguished cries filled the air as the once-mighty fleet was reduced to nothing more than debris.

    The Vice Admirals wanted to go and stop Ken, but it was already too late. They were being sucked in with huge force.

    "Momonga. We need to stop the technique. And fast or else people will die."

    "How do you suggest we stop it, Onigumo?"

    "Why don''t we use our strongest technique with the strongest Haki on the black sphere and see if it is possible to stop it?"

    "Let''s do it. There is nothing to lose anyway." Doberman said.

    With those thoughts in mind, they rode on the broken ships that were getting pulled towards the huge black sphere that seemed to be making a small ball-sized planet over it filled with water, land, and broken ships, including the human beings struck in the crevices.

    They coated their hands with haki, and those who had Devil Fruit power used it too and attacked the ball with all their strength and went straight to the black ball of sphere. Just because it was Haki, the combined attack on the black sphere was successful and destroyed the collected piece of wet land on it.

    But the combined attack of the Vice-Admirals didn''t stop; after making a hole in the land as part of the planetary devastation, the attack reached the black sphere. At first, there was no response, but suddenly they heard a crack.

    Everyone heard it, and after a few seconds, the things that had been pulled into the sphere slowly started falling off into the ocean. The gravitational pull had already disappeared, and the people who were sucking were also falling, albeit bloody, but alive nonetheless. The vice admirals had blood flowing from their hands and other parts of their bodies.

    They were tired, heavily injured, and bloody all over after committing all of their energy to that one attack. The CP agents and the Straw Hats were still standing opposite each other, not moving, and looking at the horror from afar.

    "You did a good job stopping the planetary devastation. But what about the second one?"

 195. You have two options

    Those words rang on the ears of everyone present in the debris on the ocean and it was heard clearly by all. And as if prove to words of Ken, everyone felt another gravitational pull from the same direction that they had just stopped and got away from. They looked up, only to see another black sphere on the air.

    "This is it, isn''t it?" One of the navy who had just survived laughed manically as he started to feel the same gravitation pull again.

    "This is the punishment we get after getting into the Buster Call ship."

    "This is divine retribution."

    The Vice Admirals, who were exhausted to the brim, couldn''t believe that after taking down the first attack, there was already a second attack.

    "This bastard Kenny!"

    "What the hell kind of devil fruit is this to be able to make something so outrageous?"

    "Everyone, we need to take the sphere down or else there is no way out and we will die along with the Buster Call." Momoga gave a small speech as he slowly got up on a washed-away broken piece of wood. He was bleeding from his hands and from the side of his eye. He looked bruised and wet all over.

    He thought it would be an easy job taking down these straw hats, but one Vice Captain of the ship He wanted the CP agents to help them, but he knew that he couldn''t command them at all, as they were under the World Government while the navy was under Sengoku, and his orders were passing down to the admirals. Ken, who was nearby, looked at Momonga with appreciation.

    This guy, even after being beaten down, was ready to stand up and fight.

    "You remind me of the old man, Ohnoki." Ken said as he saw Momonga ready to fight.

    "Punisher Kenny. Haa.. Haa... We didn''t know that you were so dangerous. It was our mistake to underestimate you." Somehow Momonga said this while the other vice admirals slowly got up. They were devastated and heavily injured, almost unable to talk, but they knew that they needed to fight this all alone, and nobody was coming to help them.

    Aokiji was still far away, and Marineford was too far away to give them any support.

    "Underestimate us? Hahaha.. Do you think even if you overestimated us, it would have solved anything? You guys are fearful of the strong, or else the four Yonkos wouldn''t have ruled the New World like they do now. You can only boss on the Four Seas and the Paradise part of the Grand Line. You don''t even have the guts to be in the New World, and we already have the power to be in the New World." Ken laughed and replied. This made the others shake a bit because they didn''t expect to be called out so blatantly.

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    Ken didn''t waste one more second and pointed his palm in one direction.

    "Bansho Tenin." (Almighty Pull)

    Out of nowhere came a scream from the direction that Ken had pointed his palm, and in the next second, one man''s neck was in the hand of Ken. It was Spain.

    "Asshole."

    "Bastard."

    The Vice Admirals were furious, seeing how easily Ken had taken Spandam. He was the one who initiated the Buster Call, and he was quite important to the World Government, as his father was quite a renowned man in the World Government and had connections with the Celestial Dragons.

    "Enjoy your time with the planetary devastation." Ken said as he suddenly rose in the air and fell on the back of the giant dog that he had summoned before and who was doing a rampage all around.

    The Vice Admirals couldn''t stop him or dared to stop him. It was because they had very little energy left, and they knew that if they wanted to stop the planetary devastation, they needed to use all their powers on it instead of fighting Ken, who had already held Spandam by now.

    Plus, they weren''t sure if they would be pushed away again by his devil fruit, just like before. Ken returned to the Giant Dog and landed near the place where the CP agents were holding down his friends.

    The CP agents now looked at him with a little bit of apprehension for the first time. No matter what, even the CP agents wouldn''t be able to take down Buster Call that way. This was outrageous, as he toyed with them, and Ken didn''t seem to be affected at all after he made the move. Even if someone used their Devil Fruit, there would be some kind of exhaustion, but Ken showed none of it. They weren''t sure if he was just pretending or was just not affected at all. If it was the latter, Ken was more powerful than they had imagined.

    "Ken.. That was awesome. You took down the whole fleet." Ussop said this while still pointing his bow at the CP agents. They were just waiting for Luffy to give the signal to start attacking.

    "Expected from the brother of one monster." Sanji smoked while lighting the cigarette with his burning knee. Luffy just gave him a smile of approval. Meanwhile, Ken just looked at the CP agents while holding Spandam.

    "I guess he is important to you, including people in the navy and the world government who know of him. Right?" Ken asked. The CP agents just looked through the masks and gave no response.

    "I will take that as a yes. But I also know that you guys don''t really listen to anyone other than those in Marijoa. So how about this? You leave my friends, and I will leave Spandam here. You have already lost the ships to go back, and the sea train can''t go due to Aqua Laguna''s destruction. That leaves the options of other ships, to which you can''t get access due to the kidnapping of Iceberg."

    "Or there is another option. You can fight us here, and I will send videos of Spandam being tortured and make him admit that he initiated Buster Call to Water 7 with the help of the Revolutionary Army around the world. I am sure that the people will love to know that a peace-loving city was destroyed for no reason."

 196. I will come over and kick your ass

    When Ken said those, there was not a lot of intimidation in his voice. He spoke as if he were stating a fact. Some of the CP agents gulped when Ken laid out all of their plans in open secret. Whatever Ken had said was correct, and they were on the plan that after the Buster Call, they would just leave with the ships, but looking at the floating ships that were getting sucked into the black hole, that option was dead.

    The devastation was still ongoing. The Buster Call fleet, typically a symbol of the World Government''s indomitable power, now found itself dwarfed in the face of this overwhelming force. Broken ships rocked and swayed as the sea surged and churned beneath them, tossed about like fragile toys. Panicked shouts echoed across the fleet as sailors desperately fought to maintain their balance, their expressions showing sheer terror.

    The swirling vortex of rocks descended upon the Buster Call fleet like a malevolent tidal wave. Massive boulders crashed into the battleships, splintering wood and steel and reducing the once-mighty vessels to mere debris.

    Explosions tore through the air as cannons and ammunition detonated, adding to the chaos and devastation. The sea turned into a maelstrom of destruction, swallowing entire ships in its merciless embrace. The once-imposing fleet was reduced to a scattering of disorganized remnants, crippled and in disarray.

    In a flurry of explosions and defiant cries, the Marines battled against the overwhelming gravitational pull of the Chibaku Tensei. As the earth quaked and the sky filled with the remnants of shattered rocks, the outcome of this cataclysmic clash was already written in the edicts of the history of the World Government. It was a thorough defeat for the first time since the Buster Call.

    The CP agents were given time to think of their next strategy while they witnessed the destruction. Franky was beaming from ear to ear while looking at it. He felt a satisfaction that he had not felt in a very long time. He had seen how his teacher was taken away, and he couldn''t do anything to stop it.

    When the Buster Call came, he didn''t put much hope in the Straw Hats and felt that their island was ruined and he would be again responsible. But seeing how these bastards suffered fate worse than deaths, he felt that even if he died now under these bastards, it had all been worth it.

    Iceburg, seeing the destruction, had mixed feelings. The World Government had never helped them, but they never interfered with his way of ruling the island. Another reason their island was self-sufficient was because it made ships. For both the government and the pirates.

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    That brought in quite a bit of revenue. And it kept the island safe. Now that the world government was eyeing them, he didn''t know if the island could survive these upcoming tough times. Vivi and Robin both had normal expressions. For something that was going to destroy a whole island, they didn''t have the least bit of empathy. Especially Robin, who had seen the destruction firsthand.

    "Ken, you better not try that move when we are together." Nami shouted, seeing the destruction all around. Only a few men had survived the whole gravitational pull, and they were lying unconscious in the ocean. Even a few of the vice admirals weren''t seen. They were probably inside the small sphere levitating in the air.

    This was a clean defeat. The CP agents were silent, and one of them slowly brought out a den den mushi from his pocket and placed it on the ground. Ken and others were confused about this CP agent. Why was he bringing a telephone out? Did he want them to talk to someone?

    Then, out of nowhere, the den den mushi started speaking in a voice that only Ken recognized.

    "Straw Hat Pirates... We didn''t expect you to be so problematic."

    "Who the fuck is speaking? State your name. I am Monkey D. Luffy. I am the person who is going to be the King of Pirates." Luffy shouted as usual, announcing his identity from the get-go.

    "You spoke too soon and too much to an unknown person." Ussop gave Luffy a hit.

    "Who are you, and what do you want?" Luffy didn''t care about Ussop and asked again. There was silence on the other side for a few seconds, and the surroundings got eerily quiet suddenly. Then another voice said

    "King of Pirates, huh! You have quite an ambition. Many have tried to be that, but they failed," another voice from the call said.

    "But I will do it.'' Luffy said without a second''s hesitation.

    "Hmm.. You can try to do so, but for now give us Nico Robin, and we promise you that your bounty will be wiped off and you will be free to pursue whatever you desire." The voice from Den Den Mushi said

    "Oh! So you want us to give you our friend?" Luffy asked. And for the first time, he looked serious as his hat slowly tilted down, shadowing his eyes. For some reason, the CP agents felt a little uncomfortable seeing this idiot like this.

    And not only Luffy, but every crew member was suddenly shrouded in darkness. It was like a panther in the dark, ready to jump on them at a moment''s notice.

    "Yes. Give us Nico Robin, and you are free to do whatever you like." The voice didn''t know of the changed environment and just continued. Luffy expanded his palm, and out of nowhere, a staff appeared again in his hands. Meanwhile, Enma had come back from his small expedition in the sea, taking care of the marines, and stood behind Luffy. He knew that a fight would break out any time now.

    "Yo, I take my words back." Luffy replied.

    "Words back? What does it mean?" the voice said.

    "I don''t care who you are or where you come from. But I will soon come to your place and kick your ass to the stars." Luffy said, and his last words were spoken with intense anger.

 198. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me

    With no other indication, Luffy jumped on the CP agents, followed by others. Seeing the response of the Straw Hats, the CP agents proceeded to kill their hostage in the split second that they had gotten themselves. The World Government was desperate to get Nico Robin and the Pluton plans from Franky, but that didn''t mean that they would jeopardize leaving them alive and free. Nico Robin had slipped from their fingers for quite a long time.

    But not anymore. The CP agents pointed their fingers at their brains and proceeded to use the Shigan (finger pistol) to kill them, but this is where they got the surprise of their lives. Suddenly, out of nowhere, they felt pressure being washed upon them. A pressure that was unique to only a few in the world.

    Conqueror''s Haki. And that split-second hesitation was enough for the straw hats to land their moves on the CP agents.

    "Grow: Nyoibo"

    "Y¨­katotsu." (Sunflower Thrust)

    "Diable Jambe: Bian Kyui: Guriru Shotto" (Bien Cuit: Grill Shot)

    Ussop and Nami used their own moves to shoot at the other CP agents. Each of the moves landed on the enemies so fast that the CP agents didn''t have time to recover from their surprise at the Conqueror''s haki. Luffy''s staff grew in length at a speed that couldn''t be explained by science and hit the CP agent that was holding Vivi. Meanwhile, Vivi helped too, as she suddenly grew spikes from multiple angles.

    The CP agent, though enhanced by Tekkai, still had to move from his place, and this was enough. The staff of Luffy hit the CP agent, and Luffy himself used body flicker jutsu to hit the CP agent close to Robin.

    Sanji used a precise shot to hit the agent behind Nico Robin. She too used her stand at the exact same moment to hit the agent. Though the physical power of her stand wasn''t up to par, it was still invisible and distracted the agent enough to help Sanji land a solo hit.

    Zoro went for the person behind Iceburg, and he used a special style of sun breathing that was meant for a single thrust. This move was so deadly that once it entered the flesh of a person, it would destroy the flesh around it. It was something like Internal Destruction of Armament Haki. In addition, this move was accompanied by intense speed and agility.

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    Franky himself had a very tough body, and he was trying to free himself. Nami''s avatar mode powered air bending, and the arrow of Ussop was enough to send away the CP agent behind Franky. The CP agent behind Franky in fact had to dodge the move of Ussop in order to be safe, as he felt an instinctual fear from it.

    And Ken?

    Well, Ken did the most outrageous thing. He brought down lightning from the heavens on all the CP agents at the same time. After being freed from the captive, it was time for the attack. Ken chose two CP agents, went with both of his weapons, and proceeded to use both lightning and haki.

    Luffy used his staff and gear to take down two agents. Sanji and Zoro did the same, taking two agents. Nami and Ussop took one each and started engaging in a fight.

    It had to be mentioned that Zoro was using his three swords for the first time in his fight. Normally it was only one sword due to his breathing, and two swords was a very recent occurrence, but now he was somehow able to use three breaths simultaneously. He put the lightning sword in between his teeth and the other two swords on his hands.

    He was able to stack the breathing forms too. He used it for lightning breathing and sun breathing, and it gave him immense speed, almost reaching the speed of Sanji. And Beast''s breathing was able to make sure that his agility didn''t suffer. It was a nightmare for the CP agents as he used weird moves on them, and the use of haki wasn''t a good sign to them because they weren''t versed in that at all.

    Ken was also a menace, as he beat the agent up after taking him under genjutsu for a second and then proceeded to hit him with haki with a barrage of punches. The agent was a zoan fruit user in rabbit form, but his hooping skills didn''t help at all as he beat up the CP agent. The other CP agent who was going to save his colleague stopped and looked at Ken in horror. He never expected that Ken would be so brutal, breaking the leg bones of the half-rabbit into pulp.

    He now understood why the government had named him the Punisher. It was an apt name for him. The CP agent took a few steps back as he looked at Ken, who slowly got up after beating him and then looked at the agent. Ken didn''t go after the agent immediately.

    It was because it was this guy who had the den den mushi with Marijoa. Meanwhile, the lower dock of the Water 7 was in ruins. More damage than the Aqua Laguna could ever imagine inflicting. The battlefield was in shambles with craters, fire burning in various rubbles, wind blowing at full intensity, and vanishing-teleporting silhouettes in multiple places. Iceburg and Franky looked at the straw hats in awe. Iceberg felt glad that he had trusted the Straw Hats at the last moment and took down Buster Call and now the CP agents too.

    Vivi and Robin were the spectators at the moment, while Chopper had turned into a gorilla and was fiercely standing in front of Robin and Vivi in the fear that another CP agent would come. Though now all the straw hats had their observation haki to the full, especially Ken, Ken still wanted Chopper to be the defense.

    Fool me once, shame on you.

    Fool me twice, shame on me.

 198. Release new bounties

    Using two planetary devastations really took quite a bit of chakra from him, and he used Haki too. Using Haki continuously did make him a bit tired, but he still had enough juice to take down another CP agent while using haki. The CP agents were actually in horror when they realized that they had haki. The government, in order to keep everything a secret, couldn''t deliver the message that the straw hats had haki.

    Their identity was already blown out with CP9, and thus they didn''t want to take any risks. So the communication was done in a very discreet manner. This was the reason why Ken wasn''t able to hear when the CP agents attacked during the Buster Call.

    The CP agent was using his full moonwalk speed to escape, but how could he do so in front of Ken, who had the Stormbreaker? He used the bifrost and confronted the CP agent. He appeared just near him, and they both engaged in a fist and kick fight.

    "Rankyaku."

    "Ussop hammer... Oh, sorry, wrong character."

    Ken used his Mjolnir to take down the CP agent after exchanging some moves, but Haki was always on top, and even the zoan fruit of the crocodile wasn''t enough to stop it. He punched and kicked him quite a lot, breaking many of his bones and inflicting lightning in his attacks. After taking him down, he fished out the den den mushi, and thankfully, the connection hadn''t been terminated.

    The people who had just demanded it a few minutes ago were still on the other side of the connection.

    "Yo.. Are you all still there?" Ken asked. Of course, he knew that these people had been listening because the CP agent was narrating a bit of what was going on, including the Conqueror''s Haki that was used at the start of the fight.

    "Punisher Kenny.. You are the Vice-Captain and the brother of Straw Hat Luffy. I am sure you are not happy with the current circumstances and would love to lead your own crew; why don''t you...." One of the voices from the other end was trying to persuade, as he seemed to know that he was talking with Ken on the other side.

    "Shut it right there, old man. Smoker, too, tried the same old trick with me. It didn''t change me then and won''t change me now. I am here to negotiate." Ken said. The old man, who was continuing his persuasion, listened to Ken.

    "What do you want to talk to us about?" Another old man asked, as he felt that Ken had done all of this to talk to them.

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    "Before you asked us to follow your lead and let our friends be taken away, How about I give you a deal?" Ken asked. "How about you leave Water 7 alone so that everything that has happened here doesn''t get to Morgan, who would love to let the world know that the Grand Line''s greatest shipbuilding city was being taken down by the government?" I am sure the general public would love to know what you have done to this place."

    There was a complete silence on the other side of Den Den Mushi.

    "Moshi Moshi. Daijobou deska?" (Hello.. Hello.. Are you alright?")

    "Punisher Kenny? Do you even know who you are threatening?"

    "The Gorosei. The five men who control this rotten piece of the world The five people who think that your rule will continue since nothing has challenged you in the last 800 years Am I right?"

    "You are more intelligent than your grandpa." One of the men said

    "You are wrong about Grandpa. He knows what is going on in the world and has turned a blind eye to it. But that was a path he chose alone. And we have chosen ours." Ken replied, and this time he had let go of his calm tone and was serious.

    There was another pause in the response from the Gorosei. And then another voice said:

    "Water 7 will not be touched from here on out."

    "Oh, you crumbled fast. I thought you would speak more about your authority. Remember, you have accepted the deal. And if you are thinking of killing us, then you can try. The videos will be sent to the Revolutionary Army for safekeeping, and if anything happens to us, the videos will be released." Ken said this as he was taking safety measures.

    The Gorosei were like rabid dogs. They were used to getting things their way, so if they couldn''t hurt Water 7, they might send an admiral after them. The crew wasn''t ready to handle an admiral as of yet. Aokiji had let them walk over him, and he wasn''t really serious. If he was, it would have been a very tough uphill battle.

    "How shall we trust that the revolutionary army won''t release the video?" Another old man asked.

    "Seriously? Are you ignorant or what? You already know who Luffy''s father is, and you are still playing dumb?" Ken asked, quite irritated by their attitude. So much so that he blasted away the den den mushi to smithereens. There was no point in talking more with them.

    They had heard about his conditions, and that was enough. If they had good heads on their shoulders, they would make the right decisions.

    <hr>

    "It''s more troubling than we anticipated."

    "We have not paid enough attention to the straw hat pirates. They are more deadly than we thought."

    "That move of the black holeˇŞdidn''t that guy named Marshall D. Teach eat the devil fruit? How is this Punisher Kenny able to do a more sophisticated move than that?"

    "Better question, a member of their own crew apart from the captain has Conqueror''s Haki, it means that the captain too has it. The D family really has become a huge problem for us in recent years."

    "We need to increase their bounties. We can''t exclusively go after them at the moment, but we can send people into a frenzy after them. They will soon reach Sabody; tell all the bounty hunters about their arrival."

 199. Join the crew

    Meanwhile, the other Straw Hats crew members had taken care of the enemies. All the CP agents were bruised, battered, and bleeding from multiple places; some even had broken bones and wide gashes on their bodies. It was a mutilating scene, and in a proper civil society, this would have caused quite the horror.

    But here, this was normal, and it gave the Straw Hats a sense of victory. But not everyone had come out unscathed. Zoro and Nami had taken hits too, and they had a couple of bruises. Chopper, who had been guarding these men, was now free and started attending to them.

    Franky and Iceburg, who had seen all of this, were rather impressed. The people had heard about the commotion, so they finally started to come out, and all they saw was more rubble. It was good that the people of Water 7 didn''t know about the Buster Call, but they were definitely surprised to see the mess and two huge balls levitating in the air.

    It was good that the Galley La Company had many workers. They were called to maintain order so that the people wouldn''t come to the lower part of the city out of curiosity. Paulie and the other foremen had come down by now, and they had happy tears in their eyes. They were the only ones who knew of the Buster Call but didn''t dare speak to the people.

    The Straw Hats had convinced them otherwise when they took down the CP9 agents, but they were still skeptical. It was good that everything turned out fine. And thankfully, the whole fight had happened on the blind side of the city, so nobody caught a glimpse. And those who did couldn''t convince the others that a huge buster had come to destroy their place.

    Because at the end of the day, they believed that the government could never take such harsh decisions. But the warships and navy men floating in the sea said otherwise. Thankfully, Galley La took cognizance and drove the people away, saying it was official business. It was definitely a mess.

    "What are these huge round things hanging in the air? Can anyone explain?"

    "These are navy men. I tell you, this was a buster call."

    "Oh! Shut up. At most, these are small warships that the government has sent for some deals. "It''s sad that Aqua Laguna destroyed them all."

    "There was no Aqua Laguna."

    "So you are saying that the mayor lied to us?" Do you even know how many times he saved the city from destruction and revived it into its current glory? Why would he lie to us?"

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    "..."

    The discussions were in full force, but the straw hats and the others were a little tired. Luffy had lost quite a bit of chakra too, like Ken, so he too needed rest. Taking down multiple CP agents together wasn''t that easy, and maintaining a newly learned Haki also took much of their stamina.

    Iceburg and Frabky wanted to thank them, but they just wanted a bit of rest. They were soon taken to the quarters of Galley La. They struck the pillow as soon as they arrived and went to sleep. Even Ken himself.

    <hr>

    The next day

    Everyone woke up late in the afternoon. Well, not everyone. The captain was still sleeping. Sanji, after waking up, got to work and started cooking because he was sure that their captain and the rest of the crew needed nutrition at this point. Ken Ussop went out to find ingredients for a huge banquet, and they came back after an hour in the sea.

    The CP agents, including the CP9 agents, were jailed. Chopper had given all of them a strong sedative until it was decided what to do with them. Knowing that the straw hats had woken up, Iceburg and Franky both showed up on their doorstep.

    "Thank you. Thank you for saving us and the water. I can never be more grateful to you." Iceburg and Franky both bowed down. It showed how grateful and thankful they were after being saved. The Franky family and the Galley La also came with food items for them to eat since they knew that the Straw Hats loved to eat.

    It was already evening when Luffy finally woke up and started asking for food. Iceburg and Franky were still at the quarters and helping the Straw Hats with things around. When Luffy woke up, Franky was the first person to bow down and say

    "Straw hat Luffy.. I have heard what my friends have tried to do to you. I am extremely sorry for their behavior."

    "Bad behavior? What the hell are you talking about?" Luffy was confused.

    "My friends attacked you when you took out money in exchange for gold." Franky said as he reminded Luffy of what had happened.

    "Really? When did that happen?" Luffy was still confused. Ken had to come and hit him on the head. Even after two characters, his original problem of forgetting things remained constant. Franky was surprised that Luffy had already forgotten that and felt bad for his own friends, who weren''t worth remembering.

    "Well, that is okay. We do remember and forgive you. But you will have to do something in return." Ken interjected since this fool was too busy chewing meat.

    "I know. You need to repair your ship and make it strong enough to set sail in the Grand Line and reach the last island." Franky said.

    "No," Ken replied.

    "Punisher Kenny. Are you doubting my shipbuilding skills?" Franky suddenly became serious and looked at Ken.

    "Of course not. I am saying that not only will you have to board our ship but also join us on our voyage. We lack a shipwright, and you will be perfect for the job." Finally, Ken spoke out about the condition in which he had stopped Nami at that time, who was going to ask for the money in return for saving Franky.

    Franky didn''t expect such a thing from Ken.

 200. A new Franky

    By that time, Grandma Kokoro had also arrived with Chimney. They too, along with the straw hats, were surprised by Ken''s words. Ken turned back to ask for the approval of the captain. He put his fingers in his forehead for a bit and said,

    "Ken is right. We do need a shipwright. And you will be the perfect one. Since my brother trusts you, then I will too." Luffy said. Franky had helped them a lot during the whole saga of CP agents and even fought back, knowing full well that the Straw Hats would help him even if he didn''t.

    This showed he had commitment.

    "Don''t make decisions for me. I will never accept any such terms."

    "Franky, you always wanted to roam the sea and make a ship that could do so. You can''t just let this chance slip by." It was Iceburg who came forward and spoke on behalf of Franky.

    "Baka-burg, I don''t remember asking you for advice." Feanky fired back. The Franky family also came forward and talked about how he had taken care of them for such a long time and that it was time he let go of this place and lived his dreams.

    Of course, Franky was still not okay with it. Iceburg finally used his trump card. Their mentor.

    "Franky, you need to let go of the past. Whatever happened, it wasn''t your fault. It happened because some clever people manipulated your creations. You have seen what they were ready to do to get their hands on Pluton''s plans. It''s better for you to leave and keep yourself safe."

    Franky got silent and didn''t know how to respond. After Tom was taken away, he made it his mission to be on the island and serve the people here. He had caused too much pain to the people, and the least he could do was atone for his sins, or so he thought.

    "Franky, whatever happened wasn''t something you did. You made weapons, but that didn''t mean you fired them. Take pride in whatever you make. And leave the island. You have been here for too long." Iceburg continued. Later, other people chipped in too, and Franky finally buckled under the pressure.

    "Fine.. Fine.. You want to get rid of me so fast, then I guess I should just fuck off." Franky replied at the end. Ken was praying in his mind. He didn''t want anything like seeing his dick in the open before he got on the ship. He was glad that everything turned out well, and he accepted their welcome. In the original story, he was too stubborn to get on the ship, so they had to literally force him.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    At least he was persuaded quite easily compared to that.

    "Yosh. Now we have a new friend."

    "It''s damn time we had our shipwright."

    "Thank God, Merry wouldn''t have to suffer at the hands of Luffy and Zoro anymore."

    "Oye, we have done good work on Merry."

    Meanwhile, Nami and Vivi whispered to each other.

    "New character."

    "Yes!"

    The Straw Hats were happy to get a new member in their crew, and this called for a banquet. And since it was evening, Luffy and others went on to have a grand one. And thus, with that, the banquet had started, which went on for two days. It was so huge by the end that the whole city showed up at once.

    It was good that Ken and Sanji went to the sea to bring some huge meat to feed everyone. On the third day, after a long rest, Franky and others were finally ready to work on Merry. But of course, before Franky went on to repair the ship, he needed something else.

    "Franky, come with us."

    "What is it? Leave me alone. I need to repair our ship." Franky replied.

    "Just come with us." Ken said this and then brought out his Stormbreaker. Without any warning, he opened the bifrost and vanished. Iceburg and others who were about to get to repair the ship were dumbfounded to see Ken and the whole Straw Hats vanishing from their place along with Franky under a rainbow.

    "What was that?"

    "No idea, dude. But man, this was cool."

    "Do you think they teleported?"

    "No. I think they became invisible. Oye, Franky, are you still there?" Paulie said as he threw some rocks at the location that was burning in a weird pattern, but there was nothing.

    Meanwhile, the Straw Hats had reached the previous island. The same island where they met Aokiji last time. Unlike last time, there was no ice buildup, and it was as good as new. The environment in One Piece was really strong and could get back to full force at amazing speed.

    Franky fell down on his knees and vomited out whatever he had previously eaten. It took him some time to get a hold of the situation.

    "Luffy.. What the hell is going on?" Franky demanded after getting his bearings. He was suddenly thrown into the air at a very fast speed, and before he knew it, he was in a random, different place that looked nothing like Water 7.

    "We brought you here because we needed privacy and a need to share a secret that has been guarded by us on our journey." Nami said.

    "A secret? Iceburg and others could be trusted. Haven''t they proved it enough?" Franky asked.

    "We know, but they already know about Pluton''s drawings; knowing more would put them in danger if it ever got out." Ken said.

    "What secret is it that needs to be guarded?" Franky became curious.

    "The reason for our power The reason why we were able to take down the bad guys so easily." Vivi said.

    "And?" Franky was still confused and asked while looking at Luffy, who pointed his finger at Ken.

    The system simulates a character for Franky.

    [

    Simulating character for Cutty Flam, a.k.a., Cyborg Franky

    ]

    Just like last time, everyone was taken into the system space, and this was where Ken gave a small rundown of the ''devil fruit'' of Ken.

 201. True to his name

    Franky, after hearing the whole account, had his mind blown. He couldn''t believe that there might be other worlds or that a devil''s fruit could exist that would allow him to live another life.

    "You are joking. Aren''t you?" Franky said.

    "Luffy has two characters, and technically speaking, he has three Devil fruits with him now. One is a ninja, and the other two can be said to be something related to gods." Vivi went on to explain how the Devil Fruit of Ken worked and how they were able to do so much.

    Franky was surprised and speechless. It was no wonder Ken was able to summon such a strange monster to fight the Buster Call or the weird gravity thing that deleted the Navy. His devil fruit was broken to begin with.

    "So you want me to go through the so-called simulation in order to gain a character?" Franky understood the gist of it and asked. Everyone nodded their heads.

    "Will I be able to swim? The shipwright needs to know how to swim." Franky was skeptical a bit and thus asked.

    "Of course you can swim. There are no side effects of this power." Ken assured him.

    "Fine. I will take the simulation." Franky, and in the next moment, he was put inside Ken''s system. Everybody got to see his new life, just like they did in previous times.

    "Zoro, your character completion is coming to an end. You will get your second character soon." Ken commented when Franky had just went in. It would take some time to grow up, and until then, they could gossip. Zoro just nodded his head, not showing any emotion.

    Since Skypea, he has become increasingly silent. Normally he would talk at times, but now Yoriichi''s character has rubbed off on him. He had become too stoic and seemed to see the world in a different light altogether.

    Yoriichi was one hell of a character, so Zoro emulating him did have its effects. Of course, if Zoro was not affected by the news, the others definitely were. Zoro had been the only person who had a rather normal character as compared to others, and even normal humans were supposed to do what he was capable of.

    Of course, excluding the Yoriichi character.

    Meanwhile, Franky had grown up to be an amazing man. He had a somewhat privileged life; his parents were well settled, especially his father, who was a world-renowned scientist. But like every family, his family had its problems too. The problem here is that the father wasn''t able to give much time to the family.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    He was always busy at work and never appreciated what his father had.

    "Look, Luffy, this father of his is like ours. Hahaha." Ken laughed. He had already recognized what kind of character Franky was going to get, and he had to admit that the system had chosen the most accurate character for him. Their journeys would be so good and comfortable after he could assimilate his character.

    "Father? Do I have a father?" Luffy asked, being a little confused. The last character in Jin Mori also didn''t have any father figures in his life, only his grandpa. So in both lives, he had never seen a father figure.

    "Of course you have a father. Everyone has one, you idiot." Sanji said. Though he had a little anger in his eyes, he did say that.

    "I wonder how my father is at the moment." Ussop mumbled. Though he had heard about his father being a great marksman, he had never seen him in action. Nami didn''t have any idea of her parents, as she was washed away and was just adopted by Bellemere.

    Sanji refused to see his father as his father, as he was a monster, according to him. Only Zoro knew about his father and still didn''t care.

    "Hmm.." Luffy didn''t think much and focused on Franky''s new life. In order for Franky to prove his worth, the child grew up very hardworking. He was great in both studies and sports.

    But he also had a very kind and protective heart. He would never take injustice from anyone, and he often got into problems because of that.

    "This world has almost the same technologies as Vivi''s. There are no power people here, though. I wonder what is so special about this character." Nami said. And others also agreed. Soon the turning point of Franly''s life came, and it blew the minds of the people who were watching.

    The character had a famous football (American football) match. It was a very important match, but as usual, his father wasn''t in place to watch his son score the touchdown. And this angered and disappointed him. While returning home, it was here that everything broke loose. He and his mother got involved in a very bad car accident. It immediately killed his mother, and he himself was on life support.

    The doctors gave him a timeline of two weeks of life. The character was alive only because he had his heart and one or two other organs functioning. He had lost more than 50% of his limbs and even a side of his face due to this accident.

    The father was devastated to see this. He regretted it, and after losing his wife, he didn''t want to lose his son too. So he did the most ridiculous thing possible. He used an unconfirmed technology on him.

    Here, the unconfirmed technology is an alien technology. Or, in this case, it had another name.

    The Motherbox.

    Yes, Franky had gotten the character of Cyborg, or Victor Stone, from the DC series. Victor Stone here was Zack Snyder''s version, and thus the others couldn''t recognize him. The straw hats looked at Vic in horror when he was getting transformed, as it looked very painful. Vivi and Nami almost cried hearing his screams, while the men just looked at him with a bit of anticipation and excitement.

    And they were not disappointed. When Franky''s character finally finished his transformation, he looked gorgeous. So good that Luffy, Ussop, and Chopper had drool dripping from their mouths and wide, shiny eyes.

 202. We have our own ancient weapon

    Some of them complained that there was nothing interesting happening before and now couldn''t get out of their seats watching how suddenly a normal world changed into a weird, unrecognizable story.

    There were aliens and battles. There were Superman, Batman, and others.

    "Oye Chopper. Isn''t this your world?" Zoro remembered the

    "Yes, but this is not our story. Why is it so different?" Chopper asked. Ken didn''t want to explain the multiverse theory at the moment, as that would be too much for their brains to handle, and just replied that it might be the story after Flash went on to change the time.

    The parallel universe theory was too complicated at the moment, and maybe Franky would demonstrate it when he came out of the simulation. The story was a long one, and it took some time to finish as it showed the arrival of Darksied. Everyone here saw his arrival and his horrors for the second time.

    "This guy is just made for destruction, or what?"

    "Seems like it. He has eye powers just like Ken and Ace."

    "My powers are different than his." Ken protested.

    "Yours is more ridiculous." Zoro said. Ken didn''t want to argue about this. His eye powers were really of many kinds, but at times, the Omega sanction was more destructive. His Omega sanction had even sent Batman into the past. What more ridiculous could it get?

    And somehow, at the end, they finally won the war against Darkseid. This was a long fight, especially after Superman changed sides. This was a true nightmare for them.

    "At least they won," Zoro said.

    Everyone nodded. Though it was a tough battle and people died, in the end they won. After finishing the simulation, Franky was out. But this time he didn''t look the same as he once did. His body became more lean, and the body mass seemed to be distributed evenly on his whole body, not like his upper body became more buff while the lower part looked thinner than Garp''s.

    Now half of his body, including his hands, had a shiny exterior.

    [

    Character Cutty Flam''s character completion rate is 50%.

    ]

    It was for this 50% completion that he made such a huge change. The physique was a testament to its new mechanical enhancements, boasting a robust and muscular build similar to Franky''s previous cyborg form. A network of intricate, metallic plates covered the body, creating a visually striking and formidable exterior. The plates gleamed with a polished silver finish, reflecting light in mesmerizing patterns.

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    The head was adorned with a metallic skullcap, housing an array of sensors and targeting systems reminiscent of Cyborg''s cybernetic enhancements. The eyes, glowing with a vibrant red hue, projected an intense focus.

    Massive mechanical arms and hands, endowed with an impressive array of gadgets and weaponry, extend from his shoulder sockets. The limbs possessed the raw strength to crush obstacles and protect their allies, much like Franky''s powerful arms.

    As he moved, one could hear the subtle whirring and clicking of gears and motors beneath their metallic exteriors, signifying their mechanical nature. Despite his imposing appearance, he possessed a certain rugged charm.

    Their lower half was equally impressive, featuring powerful mechanical legs that provide enhanced speed and agility. Steel-plated boots stomp the ground with authority, leaving an indelible mark wherever they stride.

    This was enough to make Chopper unconscious, while Ussop and Luffy seemed to hyperventilate seeing this. Even the girls in the crew were impressed by Franky''s new look.

    "Are there any problems, Franky?"

    "No.. This is awesomeeee. Yoooo.." Franky was back to his old ways, and the character didn''t seem to affect his view of the world.

    "So what do you say, Franky? Are you ready to repair the ship?" Sanji asked, seeing a glimpse of modern fighting in the story, if they could get their hands on a much cooler ship assimilated into Merry.

    "Oh. I am going to make a ship that can easily rival the Pluton drawings that I have seen before in Merry." It brought a smile to everyone''s face. They wanted Merry to be much better, and Franky''s assuring them meant a huge thing for them.

    "Franky, here is your help." Ken spoke as he summoned a cuboid from his system. It was the motherbox. Since the Motherbox had been with Cyborg for a long time and he had used it for many purposes, he was able to bring it out.

    This would serve as excellent fuel for the ship and would go along perpetually, almost forever, driving the ship without needing any help from the wind and being at the mercy of the ocean. Franky jumped for joy upon seeing the motherbox. He was a little skeptical before about the fuel source, but he isn''t anymore.

    "Thank you," Franky said.

    "Let''s get back to our place." Ken said as he brought out his Stormbreaker and vanished from the island. They were back at the same place where they had left and saw that Iceberg and others were still present in the same place.

    It might seem like a long time had passed for the straw hats, but only a few minutes had passed in the real world. Iceburg and others had their jaws on the floor looking at the new Franky.

    They actually almost didn''t recognize Franky, and it was only his hair and some distinct features that had made Franky recognizable.

    "Franky. Is that you?" Iceburg asked in hesitation.

    "Yo baka-burg.. Tell me you like my new look. It''s much cooler than the previous one. Isn''t it?" Franky replied. They really couldn''t believe their own eyes.

    "Franky.. What the hell happened? Where did you vanish away, and how did you change so much?" Paulie asked because he wanted an explanation.

    "Hahahah.. You are all jealous. Well, after joining the crew, I got some special privileges and gained new knowledge. They helped me become a new version of myself. Let''s go everyone; we need to repair Merry." Franky deflected the question in the best manner possible for him.

 203. Much improved ship is on the way

    Iceburg and the others were curious, so they didn''t let go of the changed Franky and pestered him about why there was such a huge change in him. Iceburg could tell that it was something of a secret for the Straw Hats after seeing the huge change in Franky, so he didn''t ask anymore.

    So did Paulie and the others. But after understanding that it might be some kind of secret for Franky as he had joined the Straw Hats, they didn''t pester for more than 5 minutes. Franky seemed to feel bad that he couldn''t share his secrets, but he did show them what he could do. Since he was at 50% completion of the character, he didn''t have access to all the things that Cyborg was able to do, but Franky was able to evaluate things and calculate much faster than a human mind and was just like an AI.

    And Franky was also able to shoot lasers from his hand. This made both Paulie and Luffy lose their sh*t. They wanted him to show this once more, and of course Franky indulged them. He himself was happy with his transformation.

    Nami finally saw these men fooling around for such a long time and gave them an earful.

    "Repair Merry. It''s been a long time she has been sitting away in the dock." Nami shouted.

    "Yes. Yes. We will go." Franky and Iceburg both went off to work, seeing Nami angry. The women in One Piece really seemed to have a temper. Both went off to work, with Franky taking the motherbox in his hand. He was going to use this box to transform the ship into something special.

    He was going to make a ship that would surprise everyone. A ship that could both sail in the air and under water with normal capabilities. He was going to make a ship that could also deflect canons and attacks from other ships and have its own arsenal. He already had his own ideas in mind that would be a combination of their world and the previous world.

    Living in that world made him realize that his previous world seemed to have less color. He couldn''t let Merry have fewer colors and wanted to remodel the ship in such a way that it was a combination of both worlds perfectly joined together.

    Iceburg had already brought Adam''s tree trunks in order to make the ship, but Franky also suggested using a new kind of metal alloy that would be more durable and stronger. Iceburg had never heard of such an alloy, so Franky had to assure him that he himself would make that alloy.

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    The straw hats had been left for Franky and others to do their own work. But Ken did say that if they needed help making it, they could always ask him. And thus a long wait started for the straw hats.

    Franky took over a very large port, and that too booked the whole thing in order to remodel the ship. Ken had specifically asked not to destroy the parts of Merry and could only add things to them. Franky understood the job he needed to do and started working towards it.

    Meanwhile, the Straw Hats lived their lives in the Galley La company quarters and went on with their work. They practiced and worked hard on their new powers. Nami was finally able to do water bending after days of practice.

    Chopper was trying to both increase the size of the insects he was transforming into and also diminish the size of the normal animals that he was transforming into, like transforming into a small elephant. This was a novel thing that Chopper was trying to do with his character, and everyone supported it.

    Ken was trying to get his powers on the mangekyo sharingan, but somehow this thing alluded to his calls. Luffy and others were progressing fast with Zoro in the last stages of the completion of Yoriichi''s character. The Slayer mark had already appeared on his forehead.

    But whenever Zoro activated his mark like Tanjiro does, his green seemed to turn yellow like Zenitsu. This was a very weird thing, as everyone thought that after the lightning attack from Enel, he would have yellow permanent hair.

    Of course Sanji made fun of this, but whenever he had yellow hair, he used to shut up about it because at that time both had yellow hair. But Zoro was able to control his slayer mark. At this time, Ussop was also able to bring his own weapon. The huge ass bow that could shoot reishi arrows from multiple sides

    It really went against everything a sniper should possess, as the weapon was a big one, and honestly speaking, as a sniper, Ussop didn''t like the bow, but as a coward, he loved it because this bow would mean that he could now shoot multiple targets and be safe.

    Ebern''s bow was really one of a kind.

    Among the straw hats, Vivi was the one who visited the port where the ship was made quite often because, at many times, the ship needed some parts that only she could produce at the fastest speed possible, and her food intake went above Luffy''s for the first time. But this was also a good thing for her, as she was able to control her powers more and progress in her character faster.

    After almost 20 days of tough work and making adjustments to the ship, the Merry was finally ready to set sail again, but fate again played tricks with the Straw Hats. Because one of the days the Straw Hats had decided to leave Water 7 was the day a marine ship showed up.

    There was a special marine ship that was used by only members of the navy, and if someone had some knowledge of the marines, they could recognize that ship as belonging to a hero of the marines.

    In other words,

    Monkey D. Garp

    Just like in the original story, he had shown up!

 204. You have disappointed me

    The Galley-La workers came running in to inform the Straw Hats that the Marine Hero Garp was showing up while the other workers had shown up on the port in order to create chaos and stop the arrival of the hero.

    The Galley-la and the Franly families went berserk as they feared that the marine hero had come to capture the Straw Hats. They had heard a lot about him, and thus they were afraid that the straw hats would be captured by him.

    "Straw hat, you should run. Merry is ready to set sail. With that ship, it would be very easy to escape." Paulie said as he came running in. He was involved in making the ship too, and he couldn''t believe that he had helped create that massive ship.

    It was a miracle that Franky and they were still able to hide the ship from the people and Vivi herself so that they could surprise him.

    "Marine Hero? Oye Luffy.. Your grandpa is here. Do you think he has come to catch us?" Sanji smoked as he lazily asked Luffy and looked at Ken, who seemed to be lying on the side of the bed and acting like he was sleeping. Sanji knew that he was just acting like one and not actually sleeping.

    "Oh yes. He is the grandfather of Luffy and Ken. I had forgotten." Ussop commented. The Straw Hats weren''t really concerned that Marine Hero was here. Franky, Iceburg, and others had jaws on the floor.

    Franky didn''t know the lineage of the Straw Hats as he had just joined and didn''t get much time to spend with the crew, but this new revelation had floored him and the others.

    "Your grandpa, are such a hero of the marines, and you are a pirate who challenged the world government? This is crazy." Iceburg murmured, but everyone could hear it.

    "Wait till you hear who his father is." Ken too murmured as if speaking in his sleep, but everyone heard it.

    "What?"

    "What did you say?"

    Ken woke up with a start and a little groggy face, but everyone could tell easily that he was just acting. He wasn''t really sleeping.

    "What do you mean by your words?" Nami asked

    "Was I saying something? I was sleeping. I don''t remember." Ken said this while giving an innocent smile. Of course, nobody believed his words, but this wasn''t the time for arguments. They could have it later.

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    They could already hear the shouts of men, and the noises were mostly of people being thrown into the air. Ken knew what was going on. Koby and Helmeppo were taking care of the Galley La workers that were trying to stop them. Zoro wasn''t lost at the moment as he was busy training, so everybody was in the quarters, so everybody was here together, including Iceburg.

    Garp wasn''t stopped by anything, and he walked right inside the premises of the Galley La company. Luffy became increasingly nervous as his grandfather came, and so was Ken. He could still remember the way they had escaped last time. Putting Mjolnir over the body of Garp and thus stopping him and later, he forgot that he had done so. Ken knew that he was in for a beating.

    "Is there where the famous Straw Hat pirates are living now?" Garp spoke those words before delivering a punch and destroying the side of the house. The straw hats were anticipating a knock on the door, but there was none.

    "No wonder Luffy has a thing for destroying things. His grandpa is the same." Nami said she saw the broken walls lying around. She had to use magic so that the broken pieces on the wall didn''t fall on her or hurt her.

    "Grandpa."

    "Grandpa."

    Both Ken and Luffy now have a serious face looking at Garp, who had just walked in wearing his iconic dog head cap. He slowly put away the weird hat on his head and said

    "Luffy.. Ken.. Do you have any idea of how much of a problem you both are?" Garp shouted immediately, and without any warning, he vanished from his spot. Luffy and Ken both instinctively tried moving from their spots, but as they shifted a few inches away from where they were standing, both of them were hit by a huge punch.

    Ken and Luffy both cried out in pain. Seeing Luffy and Ken hurt, the other Straw Hats trembled and wondered if they had made the correct decision by staying back and not running away. Garp caught Luffy by his collar and pulled him into the air. Luffy was trying his hardest to get away, while Ken just stood by the side.

    "Let go of me." Luffy shouted. But in the next moment, both of them ended up sleeping. Right there itself. Ken just shook his head. He thought Luffy would avoid the iconic sleep when taken into the hands of Garp since he wasn''t tired. But it seemed he had hoped for too much.

    Of course, Garp woke up after this, and seeing his grandson sleeping too made him more angry, so he hit him a few more times. Luffy, by the end, had huge protrusions and bruises in his body after being abused by Garp. After this, he turned to Ken, who was looking as innocent as possible. He didn''t hit him, but he looked at him with a little sad face.

    "I did everything possible so that the four of you joined the Marines. Now, three of you are pirates, and one is an annoying revolutionary. You have all disappointed me." Garp said. There was a complete silence, and then Garp continued.

    "You were the most sensible of all the brothers. How did you come to follow this idiotic grandson of mine?"

    "Grandpa, we all make choices and carry out our tasks as we think best. Luffy loves freedom, and so do I, even though I might not act in that way. And do you really think I would have been in the Navy after what they were trying to do to Water 7?"

 205. Negotiation

    "You could have just let the Government do their job and not meddle. Why would you do something like stopping them?" Garp asked. But his tone was more like he was convincing himself and not one for reprimanding them now. Calling the Buster Call to Water 7 was really an over the top thing.

    "Do their job? Like the way they did with Tom when he was taken away and Franky had to take the blame? Or the job of destruction of Ohara? Or the way Crocodile was let free in Alabasta for such a long time and nobody paid attention? If Government did their job, there wouldn''t have been such problems in the world but here we are. We are both defending on what we believe in and Grandpa, you also know who you actually support."

    Garp choked on the words. All these years, Ken had always had a penchant for debates and it was one of those things that Garp dreaded for his grandson. He was the most intelligent of the four but that also meant he wasn''t good at listening to orders. He hoped that as he grew older he would be more obedient, but now it seemed like this guy had acquired too much knowledge.

    Garp and Ken looked at each other for a while, but at the end, Garp sighed. He knew that it was a lost cause. He held anger for what they had done to him before, but that was only momentary, and it wasn''t like he didn''t let them go.

    He couldn''t be super aggressive when it came to his grandsons, and he just hoped that his grandsons didn''t do something disastrous, but it seemed like he had hoped too much. They had now become too much of a headache. So much so that Sengoku had to send him to negotiate with the Straw Hats.

    Yes, he was here to negotiate, not actually catch them.

    "Sigh. Oye. Somebody repair the wall." Garp called out He didn''t want to have a debate for a long time, and he was sure he would lose his cool and hit Ken with much harder fists of love just because he was always correct.

    "Then why did you break the wall in the first place? You need to help us repair it." The soldiers got angry, and one of them called.

    "Huh... Alright." Garp admitted that it was his fault and went to work repairing it. Meanwhile. Ken, Luffy, and Zoro came out to talk with Coby. Helmeppo was also there, but he was forgotten by Luffy and Zoro, but Ken remembered him.

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    It was he who went to look for comrades when Koby was kidnapped. Though he was a coward before, he did mend his ways. So it was better to give him recognition. It was Ken who went and talked with him. While the wall was getting repaired, Garp asked Luffy.

    "I heard your father went to Logue Town to meet you."

    "My father?" When Garp asked that question, everyone surprisingly turned to Ken. They were going to talk about this with Ken before since he seemed to know something, but now that Garp had brought the topic up, they got interested.

    His grandfather and him were so outrageous, they wondered who his father was.

    "Yes. You father is Dragon. Your full name a Monkey D. Dragon. He is a revolutionary."

    This made everyone''s eyes and jaws drop on the floor, including Iceburg, the Galley La workers, and the soldiers. This was such a huge reveal that it blew away the minds of everyone.

    "Who is this Dragon?""

    "You mean to say Dragon is the son of Garp-san?"

    "And Luffy-san is the son of Dragon?"

    "And then they have a brother like Ken?"

    "What the hell is wrong with this family?"

    "Oye.. Dragon.. I have heard the name... Oh, yes, I remember. Sabo''s superior was this Dragon, right?" Luffy asked. Not at all fazed by the fact that Dragon was his father. He had never seen him; why should he have feelings for such a man?

    It took a long time for everyone to calm down, and Garp just casually told others not to talk about it. He was really crazy.

    "Straw hat Luffy.. We are here to negotiate the release of prisoners." Garp said at the end, after repairing the wall. At this moment, he was representing the Navy and was trying to be as serious as possible.

    "Prisoners?" Luffy was confused about He had almost forgotten about them.

    "You can have the prisoners, but only three won''t be given back." It was Ken who replied. Actually, the Navy also wanted Garp to ask about their devil fruits. They had seen in Den Den Mushi videos what they had done to the ships, but Garp knew it was useless to ask them. He never found out, even when they were kids.

    He always knew that Ken had some unusual devil fruit, but he never asked about it or spoke about it with Sengoku. He knew what to say and what not to say. Sengoku might be the Fleet Admiral''s best friend, but that doesn''t mean he will share everything.

    "Three people?"

    "Rob Lucci, Kaku, and Spandam won''t be given back." Ken said this with no hesitation.

    "Spandam?" Garp didn''t care about the CP agents that had been caught, but Sengoku asked him to bring back the agents and Spandam too since he was superior to the CP9 agents and he knew many secrets. He was important to the government.

    "Spandam is important to the govern..."

    "I don''t care. It was your ex-favorite student who gave that asshole the power of the Buster Call. If you have problems, take them up with him. He has made his bed, and now he will suffer for it." Ken stopped his grandpa from talking more and just said what needed to be said. Since Garp was acting like someone from the Marines, he needed to act as the Vice Captain of the Straw Hats.

 206. New bounties on the horizon

    "Ex-fav student? Does he mean Aokiji? How does my grandson know of our relations?" Garp mumbled. It was true that Aokiji had learned a lot from him over the years, but as time went by, he was getting more and more disappointed in him. Not because of his lazy attitude or anything. It was because Garp felt that he wasn''t cut out to make it big in the Navy.

    Aokiji seemed to be too undecisive, and that was a problem in this world, especially in the Navy, where his opponent was Akainu. A man hell-bent on bringing absolute justice Though he didn''t fear him as he could easily teach Akainu a lesson, he didn''t want to meddle in power politics.

    "The Navy is willing to compensate for the wrongdoing and will exempt Water 7 from taking any taxes from the island in the next 5 years." Garp turned to Iceburg and bowed down to him. Iceburg, who was only here to watch the drama, didn''t expect such words from Garp.

    When the Navy came again, he had already sent down the orders to stop them. Though the Straw Hats had assured him that the Navy wouldn''t come after him, after getting assaulted and trying to be kidnapped twice, he didn''t believe the Government at all.

    He was ready to fight it out with them since these people didn''t even care for the lives of the people on the island. But now, seeing such relations between the Navy and the Straw Hats, he was confused.

    How the hell were there such complications in this world? A man who fought against Roger was the grandpa of these pirates, who decimated Buster Call like it was nothing. Iceburg didn''t know what to say, but he was still angry. He looked at Garp and said,

    "I don''t hold the prisoners. It was they who had captured them. I don''t have that much power." Iceburg said. This was family drama, so of course he wasn''t going to meddle in it.

    "You see, Luffy, now you even have the mayor of an island backing you. Do you even know how this sounds to the government? You are taking power away from the world government. You would be hunted down if they found out. I thought you, Ken, were the smartest of them all." Garp got frustrated a bit and yelled at Ken and Luffy.

    "They are already hunting us down." Ken replied.

    "Like I care." Luffy said while bugging his nose, not at all caring for the shouts of his grandpa. The veins in the forehead could be seen in Garp''s face. He was on the verge of beating his grandsons again but was stopped by Helmeppo and Coby, who reminded him of the purpose of their visit.

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    "Water 7 will get 10 years of tax exemption." Ken, out of nowhere, spoke as Garp was ''actively'' trying to be free from Coby and Helmeppo.

    "What?"

    "Yes. That is the price the Government should pay in order to take away the CP agents. But the three of them that I mentioned before will still remain with us." Ken said. Garp was furious. This bastard just upped the price.

    "Kenny!!"

    Garp always called him by his full name whenever he was angry at him. But Ken was still adamant and knew that the Navy wouldn''t dare touch him now that he held the tapes that were in the hands of the Revolutionary Army.

    After a minute of total silence, Garp slowly calmed down and then said

    "The Government will exempt 10 years of taxes from Water 7 for the mental trauma that it has inflicted upon the people." It was not Garp who had said that, but his assistant. He had always followed Garp and had been with him for a long time. He delivered the answer of the World Government.

    Though Lucci, Kaku, and Spandam were important, their hold and reputation were more important. They were of far greater significance. And these were just CP9 teams. They were not supposed to know too much. The only thing that Spandam knew a lot about was Ohara, but it had been a long time since that incident, and most of the people had forgotten about it.

    The tapes of the Buster Call were more important at the moment, so the Government had to accept any deals that the Straw Hats were throwing at them.

    "Good. That seals the deal." Sanji said. The decision to not allow the CP agents was taken jointly by everyone present. In fact, Luffy didn''t seem to care and was ready to give Lucci and others away as they weren''t really powerful or mattered to him.

    But Ken was very adamant about these two. In fact, he wanted to keep Califa too but thought otherwise at the end. Ken held a special hatred for Lucci and Spandam that couldn''t be described in words. A person who was ready to kill people just because someone was a pirate shouldn''t be allowed to roam free.

    He felt the same for Akainu too, but that would take time and strength to tackle, which they didn''t have at the moment. Soon they would, and that was where the whole problem would start. Iceburg got the clue, and he asked the galley workers to bring the prisoners. After half an hour, sleeping bodies were piled in the front yard. The navy, seeing the sleeping CP agents, got scared and checked on them, only to realize that it was just normal tranquilizers.

    Garp just looked at everything with dead fish eyes but, at the end, laughed out loud. Though he was angry, he was also proud that his grandsons were able to take down CP agents so early. He knew that the Government had messed this up big time, and he was in for all the drama between the Government and the Straw hats.

    "Ken.. Luffy.. You all have new bounties."

    "Really?"

    "Wohooo."

    "I need a new face."

    "Do you think as a Princess I will have a new bounty?"

    "I need a big bounty.."

 207. Brewing storm

    Garp didn''t speak much and just threw the posters at Luffy and Ken.

    "Straw Hat Luffy: 500 million bellies."

    "Punisher Kenny: 700 million bellies."

    "Demon Slayer Zoro: 400 million bellies."

    "Vulcan feet Sanji, 390 million bellies."

    "Weather bender Nami: 300 million bellies."

    "White Arrow Ussop: 350 million bellies."

    "The Princess Vivi: 100 million bellies."

    "Demon Girl Robin: 150 million bellies."

    "Cyborg Franky: 70 million bellies."

    "The animal and pet Chopper: 200 bellies."

    The Straw Hats were surprised to see such a huge change since the last time they had seen their own posters. The photos had changed a lot. They got crispier and were more handsome than the previous ones. The poster of Nami and Vivi got sexier. The poster of Robin was updated, and it was no longer of a child but an adult one.

    Ussop got a cool poster with his bow and arrow. He looked like Ishida Uryuu here, but his face was different, and he was definitely glowing in white light, just like a God. The only thing that remained constant was Chopper''s bounty.

    In the actual story, it was 50 bellies, but here it was 200 bellies. This made Chopper really upset.

    "What the hell is this? I turned into so many animals and insects, and this is what I get? I protest. I want to talk with the man who made this poster." Chopper turned and looked at Garp for answers, who just shrugged and said,

    "Don''t look at me. I didn''t put up the poster."

    Along with the Straw Hats, Garp too felt pity for Chopper, it seemed. This was a very weird scene. Navy and pirates were enemies, but here they were, having fun together and even giving out bounties while not attempting to capture them at all. All because they had a deal and the Navy couldn''t come after them.

    At least not for the crimes they committed up until now. Of course, if the Straw Hats commit another mistake, the Navy will come running in. And that was what they were waiting for. They had sent Garp, so they had to make this deal clear.

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    After that, even if the Revolutionary Army did spread the videos that they had passed over, they would still go after them. The straw hats were getting increasingly dangerous. From the videos they had seen, they could tell that the Straw hats were definitely not normal.

    "Oye Ken, you have more bounty than me."

    "Probably because I took care of the entire navy."

    "Yeah. Ken did the planetary devastation, which the Navy will remember for a lifetime."

    Everyone was having a good time looking at the bounty and celebrating. The only sad ones were Caroo and Banchi. They didn''t get any bounties, but Chopper was more irritated.

    "Yo.. Grandpa.. I think it''s time to leave." Ken said as he packed the bags just like the others. Garp looked a little sad seeing Ken and Luffy again leave for the adventure. He really thought Ken would join the Navy, but everything turned upside down pretty fast after Ace left.

    "I am leaving." Luffy said. All they got in return was a bump in the head, which Garp delivered with his fist. Their Haki really didn''t work in front of Garp. This made them realize how far away the actual power was.

    Actually, Garp was surprised too. His grandsons had improved since the last time he had seen them, and it had only been a few months. The sea had toughened them up a lot. Though Luffy and Ken were not able to dodge, they had made themselves strong enough. Going to the New World wouldn''t be tough for them.

    The Straw Hats bid their goodbyes and were on their way to see their new ship.

    "Luffy.. Ken.. Stay out of trouble. The Navy is going to make big moves. Thanks to you." Garp suddenly spoke out of nowhere as they approached the gate.

    "Big moves? Against us?" Ken asked while turning his head and looking at his grandpa.

    "No. It''s the New World." Garp said. Luffy didn''t seem to be affected at all since it was the New World and they hadn''t reached that place, but Ken had his eyebrows creased.

    "Sengoku wants to go after Whitebeard. Doesn''t he?" Ken said. This stiffened Garp. He didn''t expect his grandson to be able to actually predict the thoughts of his friend.

    "How do you know?"

    "It''s easy. After what we had done here, it probably crushed the morale of the Navy, and they want to boost themselves. And going after an old man would definitely help their cause." Ken said.

    "Whitebeard? Isn''t he the Captain of Ace?" Luffy said. Others too got interested once the brother of their Captain came into the picture.

    "Sigh. I don''t know what Sengoku is thinking, but they have decided to go after Whitebeard." Garp said.

    "So the Marineford was still happening." Ken thought but didn''t speak his mind. He had been trying to avoid the Marineford War, but it seemed his own actions might have caused a problem here.

    "Don''t worry, Grandpa. I will stay out of trouble." Luffy promised.

    "You are the one to talk." Zoro reprimanded Luffy, to which he laughed. Somehow the Straw hats had a feeling that they might get involved in the mess that was brewing. But they didn''t mind since Ace was the brother of Ken and Luffy. The Straw Hats didn''t spend more time and went to the Port to see their Merry, which had not only been repaired but also added many things.

    Suffice to say, when the Straw Hats laid their eyes on the ship, they almost jumped out of fear. Merry looked nothing like Merry at the moment, and the only thing that represented that this was Merry was the goat head at the front. Other than that, the whole exterior had been changed.

    "Welcome to the new Merry... This ship can go both on air and under water."

 208. New Merry

    New Merry </a>

    The new Merry looked almost nothing like the old Merry. Ken actually thought that the new Merry would be something of the size of Thousand Sunny, but he was gravely mistaken. The only thing that had the resemblance of the Thousand Sunny was the face of Sunny in front of the huge dome at the top.

    From what he could see, the ship had at least 10 floors, and it was so beautiful that he couldn''t describe it in words. It seemed like a steampunk ship with intricate designs. The ship was pink and gold in color, with various circular designs adorning its body, and on top of the ship was the jolly Roger of the Straw Hat Pirates. In addition, there are two domes located at the front and back of the vesselˇŞone blue and gold in color while the other was whiteˇŞboth decorated with ornate patterns.

    The ship also had two masts bit it seemed like it was made only for the aesthetic purposes

    "The back dome of the ship can be used for two purposes. It has three floors inside where everyone can have their good time, but in times of need, the dome will transform into a jet engine, which will help the ship travel at Mach 1 speed. Luffy, I will explain what Mach 1 is later. Thanks to Vivi, we were able to create an alloy that can handle the heat." Franky gave the first introduction.

    Luffy had a question mark on his head, but Ken just said that it is very fast and nothing can catch them if they ever need to go somewhere fast or escape.

    "This ship is something that even I didn''t expect to make in my lifetime. Franky had some radical ideas that I didn''t think were possible." Iceburg said. Paulie and others nodded their heads in agreement.

    They invited the pirates inside the ship to look around, and the more the Pirates had a look inside, the more they were stunned. The ship had its own huge gym, its own aquarium and swimming pool, and a play court where the room could transform into any playground they desired with the touch of a button.

    The ship had a navigation room that was big and adorned with modern navigation equipment instead of just a wheel. Since the ship could go under water and fly, it definitely needed modern equipment.

    "Franky, for how long can the ship be in the air?" Ken wanted to know if there was some kind of timeout.

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    "Oh, it can stay in forever. Thanks to the Motherbox, we have an almost infinite source of energy." Franky replied. This made everyone way too happy. Finally, they could be saved from any tricky situation at sea and just travel by air. Many had seen airplanes before in the character world, and now they had a chance to have their own luxury airplane.

    "The ship can also go underwater, but not to great depths, as that needs heavy alloy. It makes the ship slow over water and can''t fly. But it can still go 400 meters deep under the water." Franky said.

    ''So it would still need the coating to get to Fishman Island. Hmm.. Well, meeting Rayleigh is still on the agenda.'' Ken thought about it but didn''t say it out loud. Others were super excited looking around the ship, and this thing was so big that it almost took an hour to have a complete tour of the ship. This ship was so big that it even had its own garden inside, where they could plant vegetables, fruits, and medicinal plants.

    Everybody had their own room.

    Chopper got his room and also a hospital room that had all modern equipment. Sanji had his kitchen, which was a huge one, and Franky had been very considerate to even make him a housemaid robot, which would be responsible for cleaning the kitchen. Since the ship was so big, it needed maintenance, so Franky made three robots. One for the kitchen and two for cleaning the whole ship.

    Ken, seeing this, felt like Dr. Vegapunk would love to talk with Franky in length in the future. Though the robots weren''t that advanced and were only a rough skeleton type robot, unlike the Pacifistas or the Seraphims, this was enough advanced.

    Of course, Luffy, Chopper, and Ussop were again over the top and couldn''t handle their excitement.

    Luffy also had the captain''s quarters, unlike last time, and it was fitting for the Captain. Of course, Luffy never cared about it, but he was still happy as he appreciated the gesture. Ken, too, loved the new home. He had been living in savage times if it went by his standard, but now that he had his own room with his own toilet and bathroom, he felt like he was back at his own place before he came to this world.

    He almost had tears in his eyes when he sat on the soft mattress. But he was also happy that Merry didn''t need to let go, and there were no cries due to it. He had been trying to get in contact with the spirit of the ship but was still failing. He was wondering if the spirit would have come into being if the ship was in its dying phase, and since the ship had been maintained well, it never bothered to appear.

    While he was having these thoughts, the Straw Hats had finished their tour, and now it was their time to leave. The Franky family and the Galley La workers came to say their goodbyes. There was no fight between Ussop and Luffy, so there was no commotion about the hierarchy.

    It seemed like the crew knew that the Captain was still Luffy, and his orders were never questioned. There were a lot of tears as Franky went aboard the ship. Even Iceburg shed a few tears while he held a huge piece of paper in his hand.

    The paper had plans for rebuilding his city. Iceburg had been thinking of making the city mobile so it could sail in the sea. The Aqua Laguna had been devastating their island every year, and they needed to counter that.

 209. The island killer

    If he and his workers can build the new island, it will not only be able to sail in the ocean but will also have all the amenities that Water 7 was known for plus some extras. The island ship, if built, could also be in the air for some time if it was built correctly.

    Franky had given him the theory of nuclear fusion, but it was too hard to build one. But even without nuclear fusion, it would travel a long distance and be in the air for some time. This would be one hell of an island if it was built properly.

    Iceburg couldn''t believe it at first when Franky came up with the designs, but now, looking at Merry, he totally believed Franky''s words. He knew that something might have happened when the Straw Hats took him away for some time, but since it was a secret of the Pirates, he didn''t ask more and was happy with the results.

    The port was soon opened, and the new Merry didn''t take long to slowly take off. The ship thrust its jet engines, which were lodged on the underside of the ship. It generated a huge gust of wind, so everyone had to get away from the ship. But the people around them still waved at the Straw hats.

    Unlike the departure of Franky, which gathered many people around, this time there were fewer people around and only those who actually knew what went down after the Aqua Laguna. The Galley La had done an excellent job of hiding what went down in the lower part of the city, but it also made the Galley La grateful to him.

    They all shouted at the top of their lungs while the ship slowly flew away. The people in the city also got to see this huge ship with their own eyes as it was flying at a slow speed. Slowly, they crossed over to the ocean, and this was where Garp and his subordinates got to see the flying ship for the first time.

    Suffice to say, they too were surprised to see the flying ship.

    "GRANDPAAA... I hope you have a wonderful journey ahead." Luffy, being Luffy, shouted as he saw Garp in his ship below.

    "How dare my grandson be above me? Let me knock this ship down." Garp shouted. Helmeppo and Coby had to go and stop him again.

    "GRANDPAA... Don''t sweat on it. Our ship can fly for longer than yours. Tell Vegapunk to update his technology or else he will be left in the dust." It was Ken who shouted this. He knew that the ship of Garp could momentarily fly, thanks to the machinations of Vegapunk, but there was still nothing in front of their ship, which could just remain in the air.

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    Garp was more angry, and a stream of vapor came out of his nose as his other grandson made fun of him and his ship, which he loved. He didn''t care about how his grandson came to know of the ship''s flying capabilities.

    But he was also a little taken aback by the grandeur and size of the ship. He could also see the cannons on the sides and even the front cannon. He had a feeling that the front cannon would be devastating if it was ever unleashed.

    "Franky, what do the front two cannons do?" Ken asked. Merry''s figure on both sides had long horizontal stick-like things. But Ken had a feeling that this was just a couple of rails.

    "This is not a cannon. But a railgun. You know what a railgun is. Right?" Franky said that, and his red eyes blinked a little when he said that. It signified how excited he was to talk about this topic. He went on to explain what a railgun was.

    But sadly, not many were interested in this, and only Vivi and Robin listened to him attentively. Ken was just surprised that Franky was even able to mount a railgun on the ship.

    "This can destroy an island as big as Water 7 easily."

    "What?"

    "Nani?"

    "What the fuck?"

    "Are you serious?"

    The people who were dozing off when Franky was explaining woke up with a start, including Luffy himself. They had their eyes wide open.

    "This thing can destroy an island?" Ken asked, as he too was taken aback. Franky gave it a thumbs up.

    "Franky, You have outdone yourself." Sanji said. Everyone praised him when Franky admitted to being an island killer.

    "Onigashima will be a fun ride this time." Ken thought to himself, Meanwhile, the ship had picked up its pace and vanished into the horizon. There was no throwing of cannon towards their ship, so it was all safe and happy goodbyes to Coby, Garp, and Helmeppo.

    The ship started sailing again. With a new member and new bounties. Now their bounties were high enough to rival those from the New World. It might not be on par with the overlords of the New World, but it was enough to inflict fear on any normal navy.

    After going quite a distance, the ship settled on the sea and started sailing just like any other ship. But this wasn''t just any other ship. This was a megaship that was sailing in luxury. Nami had used magic on the ship and had made the rooms much larger using the stretching spell. The ship was now more luxurious.

    Plus, she had also put an invisible charm on the ship. According to Franky, the ship could never be detected on the radar of any other navy ship, and due to the charm, until and unless one ship came closer to their ship, they wouldn''t be able to even see it.

    Of course, if someone had Haki, it was a different question, but in general, it was almost impossible to find their ship.

    "So the next island is Fishman Island?" Nami asked as she saw the pointer slowly pointing under the sea as they traveled.

    "Yes. But we will need to coat. This ship can''t handle so much pressure. I have already talked with Kokoro grandma."

 210. You knew, we didnt know

    The Straw Hats talked while they were on the journey. Since the ship had a huge aquarium, Luffy and Ussop had ended up creating an independent ecosystem here. That would fuel their normal food, at least, if not the food of the huge sea beasts. Sometimes Ken wondered if the rate at which they kill sea beasts for food must be bad for the ocean.

    While they did enjoy their sails, they also practiced. Zoro was very close to finishing his character. The three-character thing did have its downsides for Zoro, and it took too long for him to finish his character.

    After days of travel, they finally came near the Florian Triangle. The place that was called as the grave of pirate ships. As they came near, a small barrel came floating by.

    "See! A floating barrel."

    "Let me pull this in." Ussop said as he threw a rod to catch the barrel and pull it up on the ship. Seeing the barrel, Ken just shook his head. He knew where this was leading, but he didn''t want to stop them. Since the barrel still found its way to the ship, it was better to just roll on with it.

    As expected, even after a warning from Robin, Ussop and Luffy still opened it, and at the end, it sent a flare high in the air.

    "If it was a joke, then it''s fine, but if it''s not, then it might mean we are being targeted by another pirate group." Robin said. Soon the weather started changing, and in a matter of a few minutes it became cloudy and dark. Nami got the cue and asked Franky to pay more attention.

    Though the ship was invisible from a long distance, that didn''t mean that it could remain the same at a very close distance. Her charm needed to cover a very large part of the ship, and it worked something like Hogwarts. Though it was invisible from a long distance, once a muggle came close, he wouldn''t be blind to the castle or anything.

    The flare had already exposed their position, so it was better to act accordingly. They soon entered the gloomy and depressed part of the sea, where everything was covered in darkness. At the end, Franky had to switch on the floodlights.

    It got darker with every passing minute, and of course Luffy got ideas and started pranking about ghosts and ghost ships. But as fate would have it, soon a song started slowly reverberating in the ears of everyone present.

    And following that was a medium-sized ship. The song being sung was the famous Binks sake song.

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    "Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho

    Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho

    Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho

    Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho

    Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo.

    Umikaze kimakase namimakase..."

    Everyone except Ken had their eyes wide open. They couldn''t believe their eyes. Since Merry was taller, they were able to see the man who was singing. It was a skeleton with an afro and proper clothes.

    "GHOST...." Ussop, Chopper, and Nami freaked out and started shouting, while the others were just speechless. None of them ever believed in ghosts, so it was hard for them to explain why a skeleton was alive, walking, and talking.

    Merry stopped because it was too much for the Straw Hats to take, and in the end, they decided to go to the ship and see what was going on. Everyone participated in the lottery, and as expected, Sanji, Luffy, and Nami were chosen in the lottery.

    "Nami, why are you so scared? Didn''t the school have so many ghosts?" Ken asked, as he didn''t understand the fear of Nami and others.

    Chopper and Ussop actually dealt with things in their characters that were borderline ghosts. Chopper had ghost Pokemon, and Ussop actually had Shinigami and was himself a Hollow; then how the hell was he scared of something his own character was loosely based on?

    It was really weird.

    But anyway, as the story should have gone, they went aboard the ship, and Brook, the future crew member, was brought on. Luffy actually introduced him as the new member he had invited. This made everyone just shake their heads.

    "We told you to keep Luffy in check. What the hell did you do?" Zoro shouted.

    "We are sorry," said Nami and Sanji together.

    "Haahaha.. You guys are funny. Let''s have dinner together."

    "Don''t make decisions for us." Franky shouted. But at the end, dinner was still being made and served. As usual, it was a superb dinner made by Sanji, and everyone loved it.

    "You have a very beautiful ship. I have never seen such a good ship in my life." Brook said as he looked around.

    "Right! Franky made us an awesome ship." Luffy said while pointing to Franky. Franky, of course, felt proud and smiled. It was finally revealed that Brook wasn''t a ghost and was just the effect of his Devil Fruit, which allowed him to live another life.

    This made all the Straw hats relieved, but then Ussop pointed out that Brook didn''t have a shadow.

    "That''s a very long story." Before Brrok could utter another word, their ship trembled. Everyone came running out, only to see a huge island had hit their ship. Brook shouted.

    "Did you open a barrel in the sea when coming here?"

    "Uh.. Yes.."

    "Shit. You are in grave danger." Brook said.

    "Danger? Why? Are there ghosts?" Ussop still had trembling legs.

    "This is not an island. This is a moving ship called Thriller Bark. It is the ship of..." Before Brook could finish his words, Ken said

    "Gecko Moria.. We know," Ken said.

    "Huh!"

    "Eh!"

    "What do you mean, we? Only you know. We don''t know." Vivi shouted.

    "Then it''s your fault for not paying attention to the news of the world." Ken replied. This made everyone shut up.

    "Who is he?"

    "One of the Shichibukai," Ken said.

    "Shichibukai? Hmm.. I do feel some people are on this ship." Luffy said as he chewed one huge piece of meat.

 211.The mid Moria

    "Gecko Moria. A person who has eaten the Shadow-Shadow fruit. One of the middle-ranked Shichibukai. He isn''t as powerful as Hawkeye, but he isn''t as useless as Crocodile. Brook''s shadow is missing because Moria has taken his shadow, and he can''t ever come in contact with sunlight. This is the main reason why Brook can''t become our crew member. Isn''t that right?" Ken asked Brook.

    This made everyone turn towards Brook, who laughed.

    "Yohoho.. It seems like this friend has a general idea of the Shichibukai. By the way, Vivi-san, can I see your pants?" Brook said. In response, Vivi and Nami both hit Brook with their staves.

    "This idiot!"

    "The tales of Shichibiukai are easy to get in newspapers if you have enough connections." Ken said with a smile while not caring for Brook''s sexual harassment.

    Oh, so we need to ask this Moria to let him give Brook''s shadow back, and Brook can come with us." Luffy said, and he almost walked away immediately. It was Nami who stopped him from running away by stretching his cheek back.

    "Don''t run away without a proper plan." Nami shouted.

    "I thought no plan was the plan." Ussop said, as they had already gotten accustomed to their Captain''s antics.

    "For some reason, I feel this Moria guy won''t give Brook''s shadow back as fast as Luffy said." Zoro said.

    "You are right. All Shichibukais are assholes." Nami said.

    "Not all." Ken corrected him, but everyone didn''t pay attention to his mumbling words.

    "Yohohohoh.. I am really thankful that you guys are so enthusiastic about my shadow. I am really grateful, and I had a good meal. But I don''t think I can be your crewmate. Moria is too powerful. And I would say, if possible, please leave the island. Your ship looks very sophisticated, and I think you can leave the island without doing any harm."

    "I have already decided that you will be our friend. So I will convince Moria to give back your shadow." Luffy insisted.

    "Don''t make decisions for others." Everyone shouted back. But Luffy didn''t pay attention to it and was ready to run in search of Moria. He had already pinpointed the location of Moria, and it was quite easy for him to reach his place and talk with him.

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    Seeing no other way, all turned to Ken, who seemed to be neither paying attention nor having an ounce of care, like always.

    "Ken.. Convince him. He is your brother." Chopper said.

    "Please Ken. This play is so scary. We need to leave." Ussop, too, suggested it while having tears of fear in his eyes.

    "You have heard the Captain. He said that he would get the shadow of Brook back, and that is what we will do." Ken said.

    "You can''t be serious." Nami was shaking in her high boots as she exclaimed.

    "Plus, it will be a good time for you. Get over your fears. And I think Sanji will be more interested in this place." Ken said.

    "More interested? Are there any beautiful girls here? There are beautiful girls waiting for me, isn''t it? I am coming, my princesses." Sanji had a love sign on his eye as he said that, and his feet were already on fire.

    Brook was looking at his feet with trepidation, as he could easily feel the heat of the fire on Sanji''s feet.

    "No," Ken said.

    "No?? Then who or what?" Sanji asked, as he felt a little uncomfortable seeing Ken''s creepy smile.

    "There is one guy here who has the devil''s fruit of your dreams." Ken said.

    "Devil fruit of my dreams? You mean ''that'' Devil fruit?" Sanji asked as a sudden realization dawned on him.

    "Yes, and he uses this for the same reasons you want to use it." Ken said. This made Sanji shudder, and then everyone felt the heat. Sanji''s whole body suddenly lit on fireˇŞso much so that even Luffy had to step back a few steps to see the excitement.

    "I will never forgive you." Sanji was on fire.

    "What is the devil''s fruit that he wants?" Robin asked.

    "Knowing this guy, it''s probably something very perverted." Nami stated this while looking at Ken.

    "So go and have fun. Don''t let Moria take your shadow, or else we will have to beat him down," Ken announced.

    "Yosh... It''s time to go." Luffy shouted. Sanji was ready to leave immediately, so Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, Robin, and Franky decided to go. Ussop and Chopper, seeing no other way, also decided to leave.

    Seeing the enthusiasm, the Straw Hats finally decided to go altogether. Including Ken. Ken actually didn''t want to go, but then he remembered that, according to the story, someone else was supposed to come and visit.

    So at the end, he too decided. Brook was dumbfounded to see the enthusiasm of these people. He didn''t expect that someone would be so hell-bent on making him their friend, even after just being a skeleton.

    But he was also persuading them to stop since he was powerful, and of course none of the pirates were actually afraid of Moria. It was only the ghostly and creepy feelings that made them very uncomfortable.

    Thus, after a long time, the whole crew came to the adventure together. The last time they came together was in Alabasta, and now they are again at Thriller Bark.

    After landing on Thriller Bark, everyone started moving in Moria''s direction. Merry would be fine, as Franky had put up defense mechanisms on the ship. Even big cannons would do nothing to the ship; forget about infiltrating the ship.

    Soon they started coming across weird things that made everyone''s jaws drop. The zombies came first, followed by the Hollow ghosts. Brook followed them. It was the least he could do since these guys were hell-bent on helping him and trying to save them if required.

    Luffy was having fun as he caught a zombie and asked him to join, only to get scolded by others. Then came the hollow ghosts. This was where it became interesting.

 212. Who should I face? Destiny or ancestor?

    As contrary to the time when Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and others got depressed due to the Hollow ghosts, thanks to Perona''s Devil fruit, this time though when the hollow ghosts came to go through their bodies, Luffy came forward and caught one of them with his bare hands.

    "Aleee.. This looks cool. Oye.. Do you want to join the crew?"

    "Just stop it already." Ussop, Sanji and Zoro shouted together seeing their Captain who was getting ridiculous with every passing minute.

    The Hollow ghost which always had a smiling face was horrified. It never expected that someone would be able to catch it with bare hands. They always had the freedom to pass through someone and this would make the person very depressed, but today not only the Hollow ghost failed to pass through a man, it even got caught.

    Ken seeing the Hollow ghosts knew that Perona must have sent her since their ship was caught. If she knew what was good for her, maybe she would be more smart about it. Their bounties have reached way too high and even in New World, their bounties had it''s respect.

    Seeing Luffy catching the Hollow ghost, Sanji and Zoro too caught them with their hands to see what the fuss was about. But not everybody had Armament Haki, and when one hollow ghost passed through the bodies of Nami and Franky, they understood that these Hollow ghosts were not easy to be trifled with.

    Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy all started to beat up any Hollow ghost that came near them. Perona didn''t show up in her ghost form. Maybe she got too scared seeing her main weapon get badly beaten up. Brook, who had seen the Hollow ghosts before, was dumbfounded. There were many people living here, and he had seen how these Hollow ghosts worked.

    But this was the first time he saw somebody actually able to beat the Hollow ghosts. That made him realize that these people might be idiots like him, but definitely not as weak and cowardly as him.

    "Maybe I should go and confront my destiny." Brook mumbled.

    They went forward, and Sanji, out of nowhere, kicked in the open air with fire in his feet. There was a sudden cry of pain following that.

    "I have been waiting for you. You asshole." Sanji shouted. Apart from those who knew Observation Haki, the others didn''t understand what just happened. But after the cry of pain, the person who got hurt began to materialize.

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    It was Absalom.

    The man with a lion''s head Well, not exactly a lion''s head. His lion mouth was sewed in by Dr. Hogback sometime in the past, and now he looked like that. He was exactly the same kind of pervert as Sanji, and this infuriated Sanji.

    It was because he had eaten the fruit that made him invisible. And this infuriated him.

    "How could you see me?" Absalom was just creeping on his prey like Nami, Vivi, and Robin, only to get a fiery foot''s mark on his chest.

    "A pervert like you can never escape my eyes." Sanji acted cool while lighting up a cis cigarette.

    "Look who is talking." Zoro rolled his eyes, but let Sanji take care of this Absalom. Of course, he too didn''t like that someone had creeped up on them. Absalom didn''t believe him, and even in pain, he made himself invisible and ran towards Nami in order to abduct her.

    But Sanji, seeing the man''s intentions, didn''t have none of it and hit him again after flying in the air and coming down with a strong attack with his foot. Absalom flew back this time.

    "I told you, a pervert like you can''t escape my eyes." Sanji shouted and then proceeded to barrage this man with every move possible. At the end of his anger, Sanji''s fire even turned blue. This was a testament to how much hatred he had for Absalom.

    But Nami, Vivi, and even Robin were thankful that a pervert with such devilish fruit was taken care of in the beginning itself. Ken just shook his head. He didn''t want to spend too much time here, as it was useless and the only good thing that could happen here was meeting with Kuma.

    Absalom was half dead when Sanji and others went forward. Unlike Lucci, Kaku, and Spandam, who were tied and kept on the ship as prisoners, they didn''t even bother to look for Absalom. Ken was deliberating if he should kill him or not, as a devil''s fruit like his shouldn''t land in the hands of Shiryu.

    But then again, he could be taken care of by Impel Down itself. Impel Down was always on Ken''s agenda, and he needed to visit there since he had read the news recently. Buggy had been caught and thus probably sent to Impel Down.

    He might have taken his advice.

    The crew moved forward while Brook gave a general overview of the place. By this time, Moria had come to realize that something was wrong since he had sent shadow bats to spy around. He sent Dr. Hogback and the zombie Ryuma.

    The main castle was finally a little more visible thanks to small street lamps. As they came forward, they had to stop. It was because a huge zombie army was standing in front of them, and leading them were two people.

    Dr. Hogback and Ryuma.

    Oh, such a grand welcome." Franky said.

    "I am very close to finishing my character. Maybe this will help me finish it." Zoro said.

    "Oh, it will be fun." Nami said as she brought out her staff. She hated zombies, and thus she needed to get rid of them. Vivi and others had the same thought.

    "You guys can have fun. I will just sit and watch. If the zombies aren''t dying, put salt in their mouths. That will do the job. That is their weakness." Ken said.

    "Salt? What a weird weakness." Ussop said. Ken had already told them to brig salt before, and now they understood. Salt was their weakness.

 213. Two swords carrying the same move

    Zoro was able to see the sword in the hand of the leading man, who had a bandage over his face, and was instantly excited.

    "That is the man who has my shadow." Brook said as he trembled a bit.

    "So if I defeat this guy, you will get your shadow back?" Zoro asked.

    "Yes. But he is too powerful. You can''t defeat him." Brook said as he looked at Ryuma.

    "That we will see." Zoro said as he slowly brought out his black sword, which had a red outline to it.

    Ken came forward and said

    "Zoro, you will have to defeat him no matter what."

    "Yes. I get it." Zoro replied.

    "No. You don''t get it. He is your ancestor, so you will have to defeat him and make his body free from the manipulation of others."

    "What?"

    "Nani?"

    "No way? He is your ancestor, Zoro?"

    "What are you talking about?" Zoro was more surprised than anyone and asked. Ken, instead of replying, shouted at Ryuma.

    "Shimotsuki Ryuma, the Dragon Slayer Do you remember your past?"

    Ryuma and Dr. Hogback, who were ready to attack the Straw hats, stopped. Ryuma, with his hollow sockets, looked at Ken and said it in a deep and raspy voice.

    "It''s a wonder that someone still remembers me. Are you from Wano?" Ryuma asked.

    "No. But your great-great grandson is here." Ken said this while pointing at Zoro.

    "Oye. I am not from Wano. Stop talking nonsense." Zoro protested.

    "Zoro is from Wano? He never told us." Luffy said.

    "Your father, Roronoa Arashi, is the son of Shimotsuki Furiko and Roronoa Pinzoro. Furiko is from the Shimotsuki clan, which is the direct bloodline of this guy here." Ken said, revealing the lineage of Zoro for the first time to the crew.

    "Wow..."

    "So Zoro is from Wano. That''s new. The more I hear about this island, the more I want to go there." -Luffy

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    "Marimo is from the new world. Hmmm.. All have complex families."

    "So you are from my family. It''s nice meeting someone who belongs to my family. It''s sad that you will have to die under my blade." Ryuma said.

    "It''s sad that your body has been desecrated by this cretin of a man like Moria. We will deliver proper justice to your body and return it to Wano, where it should be resting." Ken declared. Zoro was still unable to believe that he was from Wano. He hardly remembered his father, but he did know his name.

    He knew that Ken was speaking the truth. Ryuma laughed upon hearing Ken, and out of nowhere he jumped and attacked Ken, only to hear a clinging sound. It was Zoro who stopped the sword.

    "You have a nice sword back there. Maybe I should take it after defeating you." Zoro eyed the black sword.

    "You have quite the bold words, my great-great-grandson. Yohohoho.."

    With that, both started a battle of swords right then and there.

    "Ken, you always knew about his parents." Vivi asked, as she didn''t remember talking about Zoro''s past ever. This was the first time the topic had ever risen. Ken nodded his head. He had read the SBS, so of course he knew about the parents of Zoro.

    Though he was disappointed in how the revelation was made, he held nothing against it. Ken nodded at the question of Vivi and said

    "I told you, I don''t let people into the crew if I don''t know enough of their history." Ken said. While they talked, Zoro and Ryuma fought, and Dr. Hogback wanted to meddle in between. This was where Chopper came in. He was disappointed.

    Dr. Hogback was a renowned doctor who was known all over the world, but his obsession made him veer off his path and take shelter under Moria. Now that Chopper saw the ugly version of him, he was furious and immediately turned into a huge bird.

    "Setting Sun Transformation (Shay Tenshin)"

    Zoro''s swords glowed with a brilliant golden light as he swung them towards Ryuma. Zoro was using two swords for this attack. Both of his swords carried the sun''s breath. Zoro was trying sun breathing on his two swords for the first time. But Ryuma wasn''t an easy guy. The force of the strike created a shockwave that echoed through the air, but Ryuma swiftly dodged with agility that defied his zombie form.

    "This attack.. Why do I feel as if I will be obliterated if I get hit by it?" Ryuma mumbled.

    "It''s because this technique was invented to bring down demons, and you are nothing but a demon in human form. It is better you give up."

    "Heh..." Ryuma retaliated with his signature move.

    "Skull Splitter!"

    His blade whistled through the air with deadly precision, aiming to cleave Zoro in two. But Zoro was prepared. He swiftly shifted his stance and said:

    "Burning Bones, Summer Sun"

    He shouted as he spun like a whirlwind, slicing through the air with his blades. Zoro and Ryuma had already crossed swords multiple times by now, but this move was too fast and precise for Ryuma, and he couldn''t dodge it perfectly.

    His face burned, and Ryuma cried out in pain. Yes, he cried out in pain. For the first time ever, Ryuma, even after being a dead zombie, felt pain. The shadow could feel pain like the burning sun on his dead cells.

    Seizing the opportunity, Zoro executed his deadliest move.

    "Sun''s Embrace!"

    With a single stroke, he channeled the scorching power of the sun into his swords, creating a searing wave of energy that surged towards Ryuma. And the attack was not only accompanied by Sun breathing but also Thunder breathing. He had become faster with this new move as he maximized his leg muscles to the extreme.

    The zombie samurai, sensing the impending danger, desperately tried to block the attack, but Zoro''s technique was too overwhelming. Zoro had gone directly for his neck. It was customary to hack down a demon by slicing him from his neck, and that was exactly what he did.

 214. I dont care

    Ryuma was sliced right through his neck and his head got detached from his body instantly. Ryuma didn''t cry out in pain at the moment as he felt satisfaction. The shadow was had been filled his body jumped away and was back at the body of Brook.

    Brook couldn''t believe his eyes when he saw his own shadow back with him.

    "He really defeated him.. I.. I have my shadow back.. This really happened.. Yohoho.." brook was crying from his hollow eye sockets. He was overwhelmed by happiness.

    Meanwhile the zombies were dumbfounded. Luffy, Sanji and others weren''t exactly sitting ducks when Zoro and Ryuma were battling. Ken brought lightning attacks on the zombie family as they tried to surround him and take him down.

    Luffy had taken his staff and was flinging it around while beating the zombies while putting a smile on his face. And Sanji was just burning the zombies with his feet. Ussop was actually the most deadliest one among them as he was standing in air and launching deadly arrows that was eliminating everything on it''s path.

    This was war where the people with bigger numbers were losing way too fast and the shadows they possessed was released by the Straw hats.

    "What is this? I just wanted to talk with Moria. Why are they attacking?"

    "It''s because we have entered their ship. How would you react if someone comes to you ship?" Franky said as he shot some of the zombies down and then put salt in their mouth.

    "What unannounced? It was them who attacked first after using the barrel which had flare." Ken said as it was that barrel that had called them.

    "Right? Since they invited us, we should be good guests." Sanji said as he was happy to have beaten Absalom.

    Chopper with his huge bird form, elephant form, big whale form and gorilla form quashed Dr. Hogback. The fat man actually turned into a skinny man fighting Chopper, who look genuinely angry. He was a doctor, and a doctor shouldn''t ever tarnish the name of the profession.

    Ken who had fighting leisurely suddenly stopped and looked at a distant place. He wasn''t the only one. Sanji, Ussop, Luffy and Zoro did so too. They could feel someone approaching them in super fast speed.

    And after a moment, the zombies receded back and a man who was probably the most ugly man Ken had seen in their entire life landed in front of them. The actual man had arrived finally after his subordinates were beaten very badly.

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    Gecko Moria himself.

    "Straw Hat Luffy.. Why are you here?" Moria was looking very irritated as he looked at Luffy.

    "This man looks so odd. Why does he have stitches in his neck and such a round body?" Luffy said his thoughts out loud. Hearing this everyone burst out laughing, including his own zombies.

    Gecko Moria was incensed and attacked his own zombies. Specifically those who had laughed at him. Sucking away their shadows and eating them himself. Doing so made him look more ugly.

    "I just came here to tell you that we came here to take the shadow of Brook. We will be going out now. Bye." Luffy said with no introduction said and was ready to move out.

    "Straw Hat Luffy.. You think you can run after hurting my people and making a mockery of me. You think I will be afraid of your high bounty. Your crew mate has a higher bounty than you." Luffy who was ready to leave stopped and turned around.

    "Yes. Is there any problem?" Luffy didn''t seem to mind that he insulted him. He didn''t have jealousy or anything of that sort seeing his vice captain had more bounty than him. Moria didn''t expect a vacant face when he insulted him.

    He expected an angry face but his response in turn made Moria angry. The others just watched in silence and didn''t say a word, including Ken. Moria had enough of it and thus he made the first move.

    With a swift motion, he summoned a horde of shadowy creatures known as the Shadow Army. The shadowy figures surrounded Luffy, their razor-sharp claws ready to strike. Luffy stretched his rubbery limbs to unprecedented lengths. He spun in a circle, his limbs becoming a whirlwind of punches, dispersing the shadow creatures with ease.

    Moria retaliated by utilizing his own Devil Fruit ability. With a chilling laughter, he conjured up his shadow, and installing into a monstrous enemy. Oars, the Continent Puller. Ken had almost forgotten about this dude. Thus guy really raided the land of two Yonko and escaped.

    How was he even alive? Ken could understand that Kaido didn''t care about Wano and it''s culture, but Shanks cared about his islands for sure seeing how cruel he was to Kid. So how was this guy even alive? Just because he was a Shichibukai, a system that was going to be demolished soon.

    Meanwhile Luffy invoked the Shadow Clone Jutsu, creating multiple copies of himself that charged at Oars from all sides. Each clone delivered powerful blows to Oars. Luffy didn''t seem to be fazed that a huge enemy was in front of him.

    "What is he? A giant? He is bigger than a giant."

    "He is from the same island as Dory and Broggy." Ken said.

    "We will have to visit that island. This Oars guy is so big."

    Luffy took out his staff and used his stretchy arms to fight even with Moria and this was where Moria was first hit by Luffy. It was there he understood that this guy had Haki. He was taken aback because he was only shown the bounty and never the details of Luffy. He was also warned that Luffy might come in his way and if he could, he should take down Luffy.

    But now, he was seeing no hope. He hated Luffy and all the more hated the Government for deceiving him. Moria in anger used his greatest move he had ever learnt.

    The shadow asgard.

 215. He just obliterated someone

    Then, unexpectedly, Luffy surprised not only Ken, but also others. Luffy used his brain and came up with a new move. He combined his ''rubbery'' powers with an elemental jutsu. He infused chakra over his body and thus covered his whole body with lightning.

    "Lightning Release: The Red Secret Technique"

    This was the first self-made move others had seen Luffy make. His body transformed, crackling with lightning, and especially his hands were covered with red lightning. The lightning also seemed hotter than the normal ones people come across. As Moria was sucking the shadows of the people around her, including the people who were hidden, Luffy hit directly where it would hurt Moria.

    The shadows themselves.

    Moria cried out in pain as his sucking stopped, and it hurt him.

    "Luffy has gotten scary," Sanji said.

    "Right. He has been learning new things." Chopper said.

    But this wasn''t the end for Luffy, as Moria was only hurt but not defeated.

    "Strawww hatttt!!" Moria roared Luffy looked at him, lifted his palm, and did another technique that Ken had to double take. It was Rasengan.

    But lightning released Rasaengan. The same ball of chakra was seen, but the ball was now cackling with lightning. The lightning was clearly visible. And the small ball looked more exquisite than ever.

    "Gum Gum No : Lightning Rasengan."

    His hand stretched and went straight to hit Moria. Moria, meanwhile, was too hurt, but he did try to stop the attack with his shadow bats, but the small bats were of no consequence as they got obliterated with lightning.

    And then it reached Moria''s body.

    "Don''t go around stealing the shadows of others. They deserve their freedom, their life, and their chance to see the sun." Luffy shouted as he hit Moria. Moria this time not only felt the impact of Rasengan but also the effect of the lightning release.

    His huge round body deflated a bit, and he was sent hurtling away, not stopping until it had destroyed a few walls, and even the huge anchor chain that was tied to the ship was bent a little, finally being able to stop Moria.

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    There were no pupils in his eyes, and he had lost consciousness. He was defeated. The Straw Hats were really surprised by Luffy''s attacks. It was new and deadly. Even without Haki, Luffy had become a powerhouse worth a lot.

    While Moria was defeated, all the shadows that had been swallowed by him were released, and they went on their way to their respective masters. The people now came out of the shadows with a huge smile on their lips and cheer in their faces.

    "Thank you.. Thank you so much. I don''t know who you are, but thank you for giving us our freedom back and letting us see the sun again." One man with buckteeth said

    "We are finally free, and we can now run away from this place."

    "This deserves a party. A huge party."

    Everyone came and thanked Luffy and the Straw Hats. Most of them didn''t have any idea who Luffy was or where he came from, but seeing the way he fought made everyone understand that he was out of the league and deserved respect. Of course, Luffy, being Luffy, was just having fun with everyone.

    "Ah yes. I have always been strong." Luffy said when he was being praised. It was the truth, and he didn''t have the concept of modesty in his dictionary. The others could also tell that it wasn''t about humility and didn''t mind his words.

    As everyone congratulated, Ken, who has been silent all this time, looked in a different direction with a little surprise in his eyes. And not only Ken, Ussop, Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro all looked in a particular direction.

    Except for Ken, the other three had grave faces.

    "We have visitors," Ken said.

    The other Straw Hats and the people around them were confused.

    "We took care of everyone."

    "No, someone just got obliterated." Luffy said this in a very somber tone.

    "What?"

    "Yes. A person just vanished," Ken said.

    "What? What does that mean? We''ve already defeated Moria. Who could more be here?" Nami was stuttering as she asked. A person vanishing from the ship meant she was most probably killed. Killing was something that the Straw Hats kind of avoided. Even while Ken used Planetary Devastation, though he intended to kill the navy, the vice admirals came together to take down the planetary devastation and were able to do so.

    While doing that, they almost lost their lives, and in addition to that, Ken was not so accustomed to using Planetary devastation by that time, and he had just reached the required percentage to do so.

    "You guys should leave," Ken said.

    "What? Why should we leave? Is there a problem?" Lola, the woman who was leading these people, asked

    "There is someone who has just entered the island and obliterated someone. It might get dangerous soon." Ken said.

    "What? No! We will not leave. You have given us freedom. We will never leave the people for whom we are grateful. If he is stronger than Moria, then we will all take him down. Together." Lola said.

    "Yes. Together."

    "Together."

    Ken gave all of them a glare and said,

    "Do you think we are weak? We have enough power to face almost anyone in the Grand Line, and if we can''t, we can always run. You need to go. We will not be able to help you if we think of escaping."

    This made everyone happy, including Lola. She thought for a minute, and then she nodded.

    "If you.. If you need any help, then you can go to my mom and ask for help." Lola stuttered and gave Ken a vivre card. Ken knew whose card this was but didn''t say anything. They were going to face her mom anyway. Far off in the future.

    Ken took it, and then everyone left.

 216. Traitor among the midst

    Their ships were far away, so they had time to leave, and the Straw Hats just waited. Except for Ken, everyone was tensed, especially after a person vanished from the ship. After almost 20 minutes, a man emerged from the depths of the dark forest.

    Thriller Bark had always been a dark place thanks to its position and Moria''s love for darkness, so when the man emerged from the Forest, it took some time for them to see the face of the person. At first, they were captivated by his imposing and enigmatic presence.

    This person was an impressive, towering figure with bear-like features, sharp eyes, and neatly trimmed black hair. He wore a formal gray and black suit, complete with polished black leather shoes.

    This was Bartholomew Kuma, with the Bible in his hand.

    "Straw Hats. The ones with the highest bounty among the supernovas." Kuma spoke in a very calm and unhurried tone. One would think that the person was at the beach or on vacation when he talked.

    "Is that a problem?" Zoro asked while he held the handle of his katana.

    "Oye, what happened to the person? What did you do?" Luffy asked, and he seemed quite angry that this person ''killed'' someone. His observation haki was only able to sense the loss of someone''s breath and not the fact that the person might not be ''obliterated''.

    "This is Bartholomew Kuma. One of the Shichibukai." Robin said that she had always paid attention to the news and Marines.

    "You don''t need to care about them." Kuma said it in the same relaxed tone. Meanwhile, Ken just looked at Kuma up and down and said loudly,

    "You can come out. I know you are there."

    There was a rustle behind Kuma, and soon a man came out, almost from the shadows of the huge figure of Kuma.

    "It''s been a long time since we brothers have shared sake. I wonder if Dadan ever came to know that she had lost her bottle and we drank it all." A recognizable voice was heard. The voice instantly made Luffy''s angry face change.

    It slowly turned to joy as he saw the man that had just appeared, and with no warning, he ran towards the man. He jumped into his embrace and hugged him tightly while tears trickled down his face. The Straw Hats were just confused about what just happened.

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    At first, they were apprehensive of the man who first appeared, and the next man who just appeared was all buddy buddy with Luffy. Everyone turned to Ken for an explanation since they knew that only Ken was someone who had stayed the longest with Luffy.

    "This is Sabo."

    "Sabo? The Sabo? Your brother?" Sanji asked. Ken just nodded his head.

    "But how? Isn''t he a revolutionary, and this guy belongs to the Marines? How are they together?" Vivi asked, as she couldn''t understand, just like the others.

    "It''s because Kuma here is a spy for the revolutionaries. Isn''t it right, Kuma?" Ken asked as he looked at Kuma with a warm smile. He had done a lot and gone through a lot for the Revolutionary Army and the Straw Hats.

    The least they could do was give him love.

    "What?"

    "A spy for the revolutionary? A real spy?" Chopper and Ussop were instantly excited, knowing that this guy here was a spy. Since it was the revolutionary army, it meant they were under the father of Luffy, and Sabo was the brother of Ken and Luffy.

    So in a way, they have always had the support of the Revolutionary Army. Kuma was surprised that Ken always seemed to know that he was a spy, and it didn''t even take a second to say that.

    According to Sabo, Ken has always been enigmatic and powerful. Now he could feel why. Luffy finally climbed down from the embrace of Sabo. He also had a white eye bandage on his left eye. probably hiding his sharingan, and his left arm was also bandaged.

    Ken came forward and hugged Sabo. Being with Sabo for some time made him miss this guy too.

    "I wanted to use haki to escape from your senses. It seems you have progressed a lot." Sabo said with a smile.

    "You too, my brother," Ken said. Sabo and Kuma were properly introduced to the crew, and Sabo spoke of Kuma and how he had trained him before. Luffy went on about his crew and his adventures. The Straw Hats finally warmed up to the two, and thus the banquet started.

    Kuma didn''t speak much, but whenever he did, one could easily see that he was a very kind and gentle soul. Ken came forward and sat next to Kuma.

    "How much have you transformed?" Ken asked Kuma directly.

    "I don''t understand." Kuma was a little taken aback.

    "Your body... How much have you transformed with the help of Vegapunk?" Ken asked again.

    "How do you know?" Kuma was surprised.

    "Doesn''t matter. Have you taken the decision to change yourself into a robot?" Ken asked.

    "I did." Kuma still couldn''t understand how Ken knew what was going on since only Dragon knew of the plans. Even Sabo didn''t have any idea of it.

    "Hmm.. Tell Vegapunk that he has a traitor in his midst. His own clone is going to betray him." Ken said.

    "What?"

    "Yeah. Punk -06: The Greed, or as York is called, is the traitor, and she is ready to give up Vegapunk in the future once she could get herself the title of a Celestial Dragon." Ken said. At first, when Kuma heard that there was a traitor among Vegapunk, he didn''t believe it, but when Ken mentioned the actual name of the traitor, including the Punk number, it meant that Ken actually knew what was going on.

    He trembled when he thought of the fact that one of the closest members of Vegapunk and literally a clone of himself was the traitor to Vegapunk.

    "But... But how do you know?" Kuma''s hands trembled a bit when he thought a traitor might be operating on him soon.

 217. Awakening and news

    Ken just shook his head and refused to talk about it, meanwhile, Luffy asked the most important question of them all to Sabo.

    "Why are you guys here?" Luffy asked. This made Sabo stiffen up a bit and made his happy face more serious. Somehow, the surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped quite a bit. Ken, who was going to talk more with Kuma about the Marines and the government, stopped and looked at Sabo.

    "Ace has been caught by Akainu and his former betrayed partner of the Whitebeard Pirates, Blackbeard!"

    "What?"

    "Are you serious?"

    "Impossible."

    "No way."

    But then an unprecedented thing happened. A burst of intense willpower that rippled through the atmosphere. The air itself seemed to quake in response, as if bowing to Ken''s command. Everyone surrounding him felt the shake, but somehow they weren''t bothered by it.

    The news of Ace being captured still triumphed over the fact that Ken had just awakened his Conqueror''s Haki for the first time. Even Ken himself wasn''t affected by this fact. When he met Ace last time and gave him the character of Natsu, he thought that even if the Marineford war had happened, at least it wouldn''t have been at the cost of Ace being caught.

    At least he would be strong enough to take Blackbeard down. But here they were again. Ace was still caught, and it was done by Akainu too.

    "How the fuck did he get caught?" Ken roared. He was visibly shaking in anger as Conqueror''s Haki started to seep out of him.

    "We don''t know, but apparently Akainu showed up in the fight between Ace and Blackbeard, and he was going to win, according to the accounts of the nearby villagers who were nearby. But then the Marines showed up, and Akainu came up and joined hands with Blackbeard to take down Ace." Sabo said what the Revolutionary Army was able to collect

    Ken clenched his fist in anger. Akainu, that asshole He just poured water on all of these plans for the New World. He wanted the Marineford War to happen, but not like this. He had been slowly building up the strength of the straw hats so that they could face the New World on their own terms and not suffer.

    They had been going well, and even Ken was able to rally people behind their banner. Bon Clay and the other Baroque Works had been convinced, and he convinced Bartolomew to come to Grand Line later, essentially bringing him under his fleet.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    And he had given powers to Luffy, Ace, and Sabo just so that they could defend themselves better. But at the end, Ace was still caught.

    "Sabo. We need to go and free Ace." Luffy, who had been silent, got up and demanded Sabo looked at his brother with a small smile. He had already expected that Luffy would say that.

    "We do, but not like this," Sabo said.

    "Not like this? What do you mean?" Luffy was itching to go and save his brother, only to be stopped by Sabo.

    "We have got news. He will be executed in Marineford in front of the whole world." Sabo said.

    "What?"

    "Oh god, one bad news story isn''t enough. Now another."

    "This is bullshit."

    "So we need to go and rescue Ace now." Luffy was shaking a bit when he learned that his brother might be executed.

    "He is in Impel Down. We can''t infiltrate that place." Sabo said.

    "What? We will break through whatever this is and rescue Ace." Luffy shouted.

    "Impel Down can''t be invaded from outside. It''s impossible." Sabo said.

    "We will break the doors, walls, and everything in order to rescue Ace." Luffy shouted.

    "No. We can only free him during the war in Marineford. The Revolutionary has already gotten information that the Whitebeard Pirates will attack Marineford and capture Ace. We will attack with them." Sabo said, and those words made Luffy calm down a bit.

    He thought Sabo wasn''t ready to rescue his brother and was a little angry, but he understood that he wanted to take help from others in the rescue.

    "So we need to attack the Gorillaford. Okay." Luffy said.

    "It''s Marineford." Everybody shouted at Luffy.

    "Guys.. I am sorry. I will have to go and retrieve my brother." Luffy said as he turned to the Straw Hats.

    "Luffy, as a captain, we will follow you anywhere. Ace is our friend too. We will rescue him in Marineford together." Chopper said.

    "Of course. Though my legs are shaking, we will attack Marineford together and free Ace. How dare the marines say that they can execute a friend of great Ussop-sama?"

    "I will get to meet many swordsmen in Marineford. Need I say more?" Zoro said, as he had a devilish smile on his face.

    Luffy was very happy to see that his friends were onboard, and at the end he turned to Ken, who had been silent the entire time.

    "Ken.. You have Conqueror''s Haki." Luffy said. By this time, he had understood what Haki was and its importance, so he knew how major it was when Ken showed Conqueror''s Haki. This was a huge thing for the crew, but sadly, they didn''t have time to celebrate it.

    "It''s fine. It''s not a big deal at the moment." Ken said as he spaced out a bit.

    "We will go and save our brother together." Luffy said, taking it for granted that his brother would come too.

    "We will. But first, we will need to do something. Sabo, Ivankov is in Impel Down, right?" Ken asked.

    "Huh?" Kuma was more shocked by this, and his stoic face twitched a bit. How did this guy know so much about the Revolutionary Army? Did they have a spy other than Sabo? Sabo nodded his head.

    "Tell Dragon that Ivankov will be coming out for the war, as will many criminals that had been incriminated in Impel Down. The revolutionaries can take the good ones in." Ken said.

    "Eh? You want him to break free. That can be done, but Ivankov is there for other purposes." Sabo hesitated a bit. Though he had the same level of authority as Ivankov, he was still older than him, so he just couldn''t dish out orders.

 218. What is up with these revelations

    "Tell Dragon that Vegapunk will be freed by us when we get to the New World in exchange for this favor." Ken said. This made Sabo and Kuma look at Ken with wonder. Sabo had a general idea of how his powers worked, but even then he was surprised by how much Ken knew.

    "Okay. I think he will accept." Sabo said.

    "Good. You, I, and Luffy will infiltrate the Impel Down when Ace is to be taken to Marineford. We will do this."

    At first, everyone thought that he was talking nuts, but the more they listened, the more everyone''s eyes went wide open. This was ridiculous. The plan was out of the blue and even made the quiet Kuma shudder a bit.

    "You want to do this? But what about the war? How will you face it?" Sabo asked.

    "Don''t worry about that." Ken said.

    "Yosh.. This looks like a fun time. We will be able to save Ace and also make sure that they won''t come after us. Hahaha. Luffy laughed.

    "You are not the one who came up with the plan. Thank God Ken is with us, or this idiot would have just charged in." Ussop and Chopper said And thus the grand plan for rescuing Ace started.

    At first, Vivi made some walkie-talkies for Sabo and the Revolutionary Army. They would need communication since they couldn''t always be together, and Vivi also made some for the Revolutionary Army. Ken even spoke of Vivi''s father and how he needed to be ''kidnapped'' before the Reverie.

    Sabo was excited to know that one of the main countries would soon join the Revolutionary Army too. This was great news for them. Kuma now understood why Sabo had once said that if their Revolutionary army could get the help of the Straw hats, it would be a huge boost to the Revolutionary Army.

    "Sabo.. It''s time for the other thing." Ken said.

    "Huh. Oh yeah, I remember." Sabo nodded, and later, both Ken and Sabo disappeared with the help of Bifrost. Luffy and others couldn''t even understand what just happened when Ken and Sabo vanished using the Bifrost.

    It took them some time to realize what had gone down, as Ken had probably taken Sabo away for his new character. Luffy and others were a little disappointed that Ken hadn''t taken them, but they did realize that Ken had taken him so that he could get a new character.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Kuma was confused by what had happened, but seeing Sabo willingly enter the Bifrost meant that he knew what he was doing. Meanwhile, Luffy and others turned to Brook in order for him to join and be the musician of the crew.

    Brook told his sad story of Laboon and, of course, told him of the promise. That made him cry, and finally, at the end, he pledged his allegiance to the Straw Hats.

    Sabo and Ken landed on the island, where they met Aokiji for the first time.

    "How is life in the Revolutionary Army? How is Koala?" Ken asked. Sabo just sighed, thinking how much Ken knew about them and how it was almost impossible to hide them.

    "It''s good. Dragon is a strict commander and makes sure that everything is in place. Tell me, Ken, you knew that Dragon was the father of Luffy. Didn''t you?" Sabo asked as he remembered how Ken had convinced him to escape on that ship. Ken just shrugged his shoulders. He neither said yes nor denied it.

    "The Nefertari Family. Take care of them once they come under the Revolutionary Army, and make sure his father is secured." Ken said it as he remembered. Sabo nodded his head.

    "They belong to the D family." Ken said as he spoke about the truth of the Nefertari family''s lineage.

    "D family? Like Dragon and Luffy? What is up with this family?" Sabo was confused. He has read history and found out that there have been quite a number of Ds who have done some crazy things in the past.

    "I don''t know, but tell Dragon that there is a person who sits on the throne of the World Government, and it''s not empty as they claim." Ken said.

    "What?" Sabo''s eyes went wide as he couldn''t believe what he heard. The main throne of the World Government was forbidden to be sat upon to signify that the World Government couldn''t'' ever have rulers.

    "I am not sure. The only thing I know is that the person who sits on the throne is named Imu. And the name that only ever comes up in history, as I went through the books of several lineages of Celestial Dragons, is Saint Imu of the Nerona family, but it was a long time ago and the person should have died." Sabo was shaking. This was huge news for the Revolutionary Army. All this time, they had been thinking that only the five gorosei had been sitting on top, but now there was a new revelation.

    At that time, he didn''t care how or from where Ken got the news; the only thing that ran through his mind was how to send this information to Dragon in the fastest way possible.

    "Calm down, Sabo. You can''t just run away with the information. You tell him when you meet him, not in some den den mushi. You need to hold your cards. The Lulusia Kingdom will soon go down due to failed administration, and it is better if you evacuate the women and children because once the riots break out, they can''t be stopped."

    Sabo calmed down after Ken spoke of the Lulusia Kingdom, and they had also heard of the growing dissent against the monarchy of Lulusia. They have been keeping an eye on it for some time now.

    "Thank you, Ken, for the new information. We will do our best to control everything." Sabo said. Ken just nodded and then asked the system to take them to its space.

    "So Sabo, are you ready for a new journey?" Ken asked. Sabo was a little excited. He had finished his Danzo character a long time ago, and now he was going to live another life.

 219. Logical Chief of Staffs

    [

    Choosing character for Sabo

    Character chosen.

    ]

    Sabo vanished from his side, and he was thrust again into a different world. As usual, it started with a baby. The baby was born in the modern world. Everything was as normal as it seemed. The baby soon grew up into a boy with a normal household, and the only thing weird about the boy''s life was his genius intellect. He had a near photographic memory, and he could read and almost instantly understand what he was reading.

    And the boy used this ability of his to make himself a great man. He entered the medical industry and soon became a doctor. He became one of the best doctors in his field in the whole country, and that made him both famous and rich. He loved the attention, was a narcissist, and thought himself better than others, which he was.

    But tragedy struck him. He got into a car accident. An accident that ruined his life, or so to say, his hands. His pride, his ego, and even his finances all got massively hurt because the accident made his hands unstable and made him unfit for medical surgery. He was devastated.

    Until he saw a case where a man who was supposed to never walk walked again. This made him curious. And this led to his journey to a new place to learn the knowledge that he never knew existed or believed to be real in the first place.

    Yes, Sabo was given the character of Dr. Stephen Strange from Marvel.

    Ken was delighted to see Sabo get this character. Dr. Stephen Strange from the MCU was not only powerful but also great at logistics. At this point, the Revolutionary Army needed a great logistics specialist rather than a more powerful being.

    Being powerful also had a downside. It meant that it would take more time to assimilate a character. Luffy and Sanji were facing that at the moment, as they had overpowered characters.

    Soon, Sabo was thrust into a world of magic and sorcery. He came to know how big the world was and the dangers it possessed for their home. And thus, one saw a narcissistic man turn into one of the fiercest protectors of the planet and go on to face the threats that came knocking.

    This guy fought Thanos, Dormammu, Baron Mordo, and others in his time as the Sorcerer Supreme.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    [

    Sabo''s character completion: 40%

    ]

    Sabo came out of the simulation after the notification. He had a huge smile in his eyes when he came out.

    "Congratulations on getting a great character," Ken said.

    "Thanks." Sabo gave a grin. Ken nodded before he fished out the Cloak of Levitation and the sling ring. The cloak, after coming out, went straight to the shoulder of Sabo and settled behind him. Sabo smiled, looking at his partner. He had lived the life of Strange, so he knew what kind of relationship he had with his Cloak.

    "Let''s go back." Ken said, and then he summoned the Bifrost to reach back at Thriller Bark. Reaching there, he saw that the Straw Hats had already started packing, and Nami got herself tons of gold from the ship.

    When Ken came back, everyone gathered around and saw the new cloak behind Sabo. They were surprised, but since Kuma was here, they didn''t ask. Kuma was also curious, but his character didn''t allow him to ask what had just happened when he had vanished.

    "Alright guys, we need to leave. Sabo, you know what you will have to do." Ken said. Sabo nodded. Kuma separated from Sabo too, as he needed to be away from him in the eyes of others. Kuma was a spy, and he needed to act like one. Everyone boarded Merry, and this time they had a new person with them.

    The musician of the crew

    Brook.

    Brook has his own room, of course, with all the musical instruments out there. He loved it. The environment of the ship was a little down since they learned that Ace had been captured, but they still functioned properly, albeit a little downtrodden.

    Merry was back at sea when Ken called everyone to the main hall of the ship.

    "Zoro, you have finally finished the character of Yoriichi." Ken said. Zoro now had a weird mark on his right forehead that looked both cool and scary at the same time. This gave Zoro a new, unique look.

    "Thanks," Zoro said with a slight smirk.

    "So now it''s time for your characters." Ken said, and this time to Brook too. Brook was confused, so he had to ask. Chopper came forward and gave him an explanation. The more Brook heard, the more his white jaws stretched.

    "Can there be such a ridiculous Devil fruit?" Brook was really surprised.

    "Your fruit allowed you to live a second life. What more ridiculous can it get?" Nami asked.

    "Point," Ussop said.

    "So Brook wants to live another life apart from your two lives?" Ken asked.

    "Yes."

    "Who will go first?" Ken asked as he brought them all to the system space.

    "Let Zoro-san go in; I want to see what kind of life one leads in this so-called new world." Brook suggested. Ken nodded as he asked the system to send Zoro first. Everyone was curious this time; they had asked what kind of character Sabo got, and Ken had to tell the full story. Nobody blamed Ken this time for not showing them the life of Sabo, as too much was going on at this point and he didn''t have enough time.

    The story of Dr. Strange made them gulp their throats. A man who sacrificed himself just because there was a chance to win the war and come back later was a great story.

    Zoro was soon thrust into the new world. Thankfully, this time Zoro was born and brought up in a privileged time, unlike Yoriichi or Zenitsu, but this guy was quite lazy from the start, even though he had huge potential.

    He loved sleeping and chasing after girls.

 220. They got what they deserved

    Soon, he was in the Academy where he was taught many things, with the main focus being swordsmanship. He learned all the skills and knowledge that came with this training. But one day, being the raging and hormonal young man he was, he silently barged into the home of the de facto principal of the Academy.

    Of course, he was caught, and then he was forced to train with the Principal himself, along with his best friend. He learned a lot over the years, and although he still seemed lazy, he eventually became the Captain and one of the strongest in his group.

    Yes, Zoro got the character of Shunsui Ky¨­raku, the one who loved being lazy and sleeping but eventually became the Commander of the Seireitei after the death of Yamamoto Genryusai. At first, it was boring, but when Aizen and Yhwach showed up, the dynamics of their boring life changed, and it became almost a fight for survival in the end.

    When they first met Ichigo, when Ussop''s character was chosen, Zoro was eager to know more about their swordsmanship and fight, but he never got the chance. But now, he had what he had wished for at that time.

    "So, this is bankai and shikai," Zoro mumbled as he got out of the simulation. He had two swords attached to his waist.

    "Wow... That was sick, Zoro... That was so cool," Chopper exclaimed, jumping onto him. They had seen his bankai, and it was one of the most badass things they had ever witnessed. Although it was scary, it was still impressive.

    "Marimo, don''t use bankai until it''s absolutely required. I won''t be able to save you."

    "Yo, curly eyebrows... Are you worried about me?" Zoro smirked and asked.

    "Who cares about a moss head like you? I just don''t want to lose a crew member."

    Meanwhile, the others were really impressed by the new abilities that Zoro had just acquired and congratulated him.

    [Character completion of Zoro - 40%]

    "Zoro, I guess you can only do shikai right now, right?" Ken asked. Zoro nodded his head.

    "Brook, what do you think?"

    "Ah... It''s a novel feeling... Yohoho... I wonder what kind of character your Devil fruit will choose," Brook said.

    "Let''s see, shall we?" Ken said and inserted Brook into the next simulation.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    [Choosing character for Brook.

    Simulating...]

    Soon, Brook saw himself in a new world, in the body of a young kid with white hair, living with his grandma and his friend. People started to realize that this place was very similar to the place where Kyoroku was born, with the only difference being that Kyoroku was brought up in a sheltered and privileged place, while this white-haired boy lived in poverty.

    The small boy was quite courageous, and due to his high reiatsu, he was accepted into the Academy and went on to become the youngest Captain.

    Yes, Brook just got himself the character of Hitsugaya Toshiro. Ken was a little surprised by it, but he could understand why Zoro and Brook got their respective characters.

    Zoro got the character Shunsui because that guy also liked sleeping, was powerful, and used two swords. Moreover, Shunsui''s bankai was more or less a self-harm technique, and Zoro was accustomed to the pain, while Brook got Hitsugaya because Brook''s attacks were also veered towards cold.

    When Brook reaches his matured bankai form in the future, he would be one hell of a menace, and so would Zoro. Ken was glad that both of his crewmates got fitting characters. After the simulation ended, Brook also came out, and he too had a sword attached to his waist. Since the swords were Zanpakutos, they belonged to them in the first place and not Ken''s to give.

    Both Brook and Zoro were wearing Captain''s attire as they had come out of the simulation with a white haori on their backs. They looked more elegant and charming. Even Brook, with his bones, looked good and handsome in some way. His black afro had already turned white, giving off a weird vibe.

    Ever seen a white afro? Well, Brook had become the first person with a white afro ever.

    "Brook... You look weird and not good at all," Luffy gave his honest thoughts without caring about others'' feelings.

    "What do you know about fashion? He looks great," Nami replied. Zoro and Brook were more interested in their Zanpakuto and started to experiment with them. Everyone was happy about it, and they continued on their journey, heading to their next stop: Sabody Archipelago.

    Ken wondered if they would meet Hachi here selling takoyaki, but sadly, there was none of it. There was no Duval nor Hatchan when they came across a small fishing village built over the water. Ken was able to hear the people in the village, but there was no one he recognized.

    After a day''s journey, they finally saw the legendary archipelago. Luffy and the others were amazed by the tall trees that pierced the sky and the floating bubbles around them. It was otherworldly for the Straw Hat crew, but Ken had a serious look on his face when he saw the island. This was where their real journey would start. All this time, it had been nothing but a trailer. The real enemies would start from here.

    Water 7, at best, could be considered a teaser. Ken actually regretted a bit not taking down Enies Lobby. Maybe after the war, he could visit that place and wreak havoc.

    "This is so beautiful."

    "I came here once when I was young. This place is really one of its kind." Vivi said as she had travelled here long before.

    "Franky, park Merry high up in the air, high enough so that others could never see it." Ken said. Franky nodded and took the ship high up in the air, away from the normal sights of the people. Everyone knew that the times were a little problematic at the moment and it was better to take precaution.

 221. The empress of Amazon Lily

    After docking Merry, Luffy and his crew leaped onto Sabody Archipelago. In Hatchan''s absence, Vivi took on the role of introducing the island to everyone present. She explained the prevalent customs and the taboos that should be avoided.

    "Huh, bowing down to the Celestial Dragons? What''s that?" Usopp asked, casually cleaning his ears, seemingly unfazed by the notion.

    "Well, if you refuse to bow down and instead retaliate against them, an Admiral will be summoned," Vivi stated matter-of-factly.

    "Vivi, have you forgotten our plan?" Ken interjected, reminding her of the important mission they had embarked upon. If executed successfully, it would be the most significant act of defiance against the World Government in history.

    "So, until we reach that location, we have to restrain ourselves," Ken instructed. However, Luffy, of course, paid no heed to the plan and was ready to sprint off, only to be halted by the combined efforts of Zoro and Sanji. This was a critical moment, and they couldn''t afford to deviate from their course.

    Meanwhile, Ken extended his Observation Haki, scanning the entire island to find the person he needed to speak to. After a quick search, he located her.

    "Oh, someone''s being quite sneaky. Since you''re here, why don''t you come and meet me?" a voice beckoned as Ken''s Haki enveloped the individual. He stiffened momentarily but then shook his head in embarrassment. However, he did notice another intriguing person nearby.

    With one person found, Ken proceeded to search for the other individual. Like before, he successfully pinpointed their location and inadvertently alerted them to his presence.

    "Interesting... Hahahah..." the other voice chuckled.

    "Some people are truly intimidating," Ken commented as he gathered the Straw Hat crew, informing them of the meeting he had arranged. They hopped from one mangrove tree to another until they arrived at the designated location. Curiosity filled their minds as they wondered who Ken had in store for them.

    It turned out to be a bar. The exterior of the establishment boasted weathered wooden panels, each bearing the scars of countless encounters and tales. The paint had faded over time, but traces of a once vibrant color palette remained, lending character to the worn structure.

    Above the entrance, a weathered sign swung gently in the ocean breeze. The words "Shakky''s Rip Off Bar" were etched upon it, painted in bold but faded letters that had clearly seen better days.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "Hey, Ken! Why are we in a bar? We need to carry out our plan," Luffy protested loudly.

    "All in good time, my brother," Ken replied calmly as he stepped inside the bar. The establishment was sparsely populated, with only four individuals presentˇŞthree customers and the bartender.

    The bartender, eyeing the entire Straw Hat crew entering, grinned and beckoned, "Come... come. I''ve been waiting for you."

    But as they walked in, Nami and some of the crew members stiffened. They saw someone they hadn''t seen in months, and Nami held a special hatred for this person. Without hesitation, she took out her staff and aimed an air attack at the customer sitting there.

    It was a powerful blow, and if it had hit the person, he would have been blown away. Ken had already noticed this and used his body to shield the customer, ensuring he wouldn''t get hurt unnecessarily.

    The air attack stopped after hitting Ken''s body, but it wasn''t enough to even scratch him.

    "Ken, what the fuck are you doing? Do you know who he is?" Nami screamed. The customer behind looked at Nami and shuddered, keeping his head down.

    "I know who he is. We all fought his kind," Ken said. The customer he had defended was Hachi, and he wasn''t alone. Camie, the mermaid, and Pappagu, the starfish, were also present. Sanji, of course, couldn''t help but drool upon seeing Camie for the first time since she was a mermaid. However, given the tense situation in the room, he restrained himself.

    "Then why are you defending him? He is responsible for the death of my mother," Nami shouted.

    "No, Arlong was responsible for the death of your mother. He was just another man who was confused at that time. And if he truly hated humans, he wouldn''t be sitting in a human bar, talking naturally," Ken said, silencing Nami.

    "I understand your feelings towards the fishmen, but not all of them are the same. I''ve told you before. They have been oppressed for a long time, betrayed, and made into slaves for others'' amusement. We''ve encountered bad humans on our journey here, but do we label all humans as bad? No, we only label the bad ones as bad," Ken explained.

    "But he was with Arlong."

    "He followed Arlong because he was easily manipulated by him. He was taken away after Jimbei became a Shichibukai and freed his former crewmates," Ken said.

    "Whatever the reason, I can''t forgive him."

    "Nobody is asking you to forgive him. He has faced his punishment. Just don''t dwell on it anymore," Ken said, causing Nami to fall silent. Meanwhile, Luffy had already raided the bar''s refrigerator without a word and was busy stuffing himself with meat. He seemed to have forgotten about Hachi. Meanwhile, Hachi kept his head down, unsure of what to say.

    "Hachi... How have you been?" Ken asked.

    "Punisher... I... I''ve been good," Hachi replied. Ken engaged in small talk with Hachi while Sanji and the others were intrigued by Camie and her mermaid form. The bartender, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke to Ken.

    "You have an interesting captain."

    "Yes, he''s like that. I''m sorry. I had to come and meet you, Miss Shakuyaku, before I meet your partner," Ken said.

    "Shakuyaku... Hahahaha... It seems you''ve done your research. Don''t call me that. Just call me Shakki. I can''t let people know my true identity. It would be quite problematic," Shakki said.

    She was the former Queen of Amazon Lily before Hancock and Gloriosa, and she was also the previous captain of the Kuja Pirates, just like Hancock.

 222. Let the bidding war begin

    The Straw Hats conversed, and slowly Nami returned to her normal self. She didn''t mind having Hachi around, as he was polite, and Caime asked for forgiveness on his behalf. Nami acknowledged it and said she would think about it.

    "You guys are pretty hot right now. So many of you have been termed as Supernovas."

    "What is a Supernova?" Zoro asked.

    "Supernovas are new pirates who have emerged from different seas and caused quite a scene in the Grand Line. Any pirate who has a bounty of more than 100 million berries is considered a Supernova, and almost all of you have bounties exceeding that," explained Shakki.

    Upon hearing this, some of them were happy, some were scared, and the only one crying was Chopper. Almost everyone in the crew had bounties over 100 million berries, except for Brook, Franky, and Chopper.

    Brook and Franky felt a little down upon hearing that they didn''t make it to the Supernovas, but they weren''t as depressed as Chopper. To calm him down, Nami gave him a cotton candy, which made him forget about his bounty.

    Shakki proceeded to introduce the other Supernovas and showed them their wanted posters. The list included Law, Hawkins, Kid, X Drake, Capone Bege, Apoo, Killer, and Urouge.

    "No other pirate group has so many Supernovas on one ship. In fact, you are the first in history to have such high bounties in the Grand Line. You must have really pissed off the Government," Shakki remarked, to which everyone simply smiled.

    None of the Straw Hats actually cared about being labeled as Supernovas or being seen as hotshots. They had their own purpose for being there.

    "We will book the ship''s coating when we sail to Fishman Island," Ken said, expressing his intention to book the services of a man whose partner was skilled in coating ships that could reach great depths. Shakki smiled and nodded.

    "What is coating?" Luffy, of course, was curious. Vivi had to explain the process, which only confused Luffy more.

    "Well, Hachi, do you want to come with us and experience some excitement?" Ken asked.

    "Excitement?" Hachi wasn''t sure what he wanted.

    "Yeah. We need to meet your friend, and we''re going to have some fun," Ken said. This excited Caime and Pappagu, who pleaded with Hachi to let them join. Hachi was hesitant, as the island was not safe for Fishmen, but Nami used magic to make it appear as though Caime had legs and even transformed Hachi to look like a normal, albeit ugly, human.

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    It was Nami''s way of expressing her anger toward Hachi, but he didn''t mind.

    After bidding farewell to Shakki, they set off on their way.

    "They are going to cause quite a ruckus on the island. I better close up shop," Shakki thought, as she was certain that the Straw Hats were going to do something outrageous. She could see it in their eyes.

    After passing through various marked trees, they arrived at their next destination.

    The Grove 1.

    The Human Auctioning House, under the control of Doflamingo. As they approached, Ken could easily sense the greedy gazes that were already fixated on them. By the time they reached the Auctioning House, their identities must have been exposed, but it didn''t bother the Straw Hats at all. After paying some fees, they entered the Auctioning House and took their places.

    Ken looked around and was pleased to see other people present as well. Kid, Law, and Killer were already there. It seemed that at least this part of the story was consistent. Not only had Ken noticed them, but the two pirate groups had also taken notice of each other.

    Kid gave Ken a devilish smile when their eyes met, while Law maintained his usual constipated expression, showing almost no emotions other than irritation.

    "Nami, you know what you have to do," Ken said.

    Nami nodded, her smile masking her dissatisfaction with what she was about to do. However, she knew it didn''t matter in the end. The Auction House was filled with noise, but it suddenly fell silent as some important customers made their entrance.

    The Celestial Dragons. They entered slowly, wearing their bubble hats and white coats, looking down upon everyone as if they were beneath them. Their arrogant attitude alone angered the Straw Hats. They carried slave chains in their hands, with humans following them like dogs.

    Caime and Pappagu, who had been enjoying themselves until then, shuddered upon seeing this. They had heard countless stories of the World Government''s cruelty, but seeing it up close was a different experience. Once the Celestial Dragons entered, the auction finally began.

    As it was a human auctioning house, humans were being sold left and right, and people placed bids continuously, creating a chaotic atmosphere.

    "Now, for the highlight of today''s auction, we have an extraordinary offering that will surely capture your imagination and captivate your senses. I present to you an enchanting being of the sea, a creature whose ethereal beauty and mystique have graced tales for generationsˇŞa mermaid."

    "Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to behold the magnificent creature before us. With flowing iridescent hair and captivating eyes, she embodies the epitome of otherworldly allure. Her presence radiates an ethereal energy, whispering tales of the ocean''s depths and untold wonders."

    "Let the bidding begin." The host of the auction house shouted, his words met with complete silence. A mermaid in an auction was an extremely rare occurrence, and somehow, there was a mermaid among them.

    And then the first bid was placed.

    "1 billion berries."

    It was a Celestial Dragon, Saint Charles of the Rosward Family, who made the initial bid.

    "1.5 billion bellies."

    Another bid came out of nowhere. If the first bid made the audience silent because of the sheer number of money that was put to bid and the person who bid was too powerful, then the second bid made everyone gasp in horror.

    Who the hell was courageous enough to bid against a Celestial Dragon.

 223. Send him back to manga

    "2 billion berries," Saint Charles raised his bid in irritation at a commoner challenging him.

    "2.5 billion berries!" Nami shouted once again.

    This time, the Rosward family was extremely vexed by Nami''s bid.

    "You filthy woman! Who gave you the right to bid against us?" Charles exclaimed.

    "You are nothing but a lowly human in society. You''d better lick my boots, or I will kill you right here," Shalria added with disdain.

    "She is a beautiful woman. Maybe she''ll serve me well as my slave. Men, capture her!" Rosward ordered. Guards swiftly moved in from the sides to capture Nami and make her a slave, aiming to teach a lesson that would demonstrate their authority.

    Hachi, Caime, and Pappagu looked on in horror. Was this the excitement the Straw Hats had mentioned? They were grateful that Nami''s magic had allowed Caime to blend in among the people and avoid the attention of the slave traders. But now, they found themselves on opposite sidesˇŞagainst the Celestial Dragons.

    "Nami, what are you doing? We won''t be spared. If you do something, an Admiral will come," Hachi''s voice trembled as he spoke.

    "That''s the plan," Ken replied.

    As the guards approached and surrounded them, the Straw Hats assumed defensive positions and quickly began fighting. However, calling it a fight would be an overstatementˇŞit was more of a one-sided beatdown. In a matter of seconds, the Straw Hats wiped the floor with the guards. The onlookers, who had expected some form of entertainment, were taken aback by the unexpected ferocity displayed by this group of supposed nobodies.

    Initially, the surrounding crowd did not recognize them, but now, with the guards of the Celestial Dragons defeated, their faces were scrutinized more closely. Soon, the realization dawned upon the crowd.

    "They are the Straw HatsˇŞthe most notorious Supernovas!"

    "I heard their entire crew consists of Supernovas."

    "Shit, we need to leave. I heard they mercilessly killed many people on their journey."

    Some of the onlookers had already started to flee, realizing the audacity of the Straw Hats to believe they would get away with what they had done. The Celestial Dragons were furious and shouted,

    "You low-class people! How dare you harm my guards? They are my slaves!"

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    "It seems your parents failed to teach you to worship us. Fear not, we will show you what it''s like to experience hell. Everyone around, take down these men. Anyone who can bring them down will receive a reward of 100 million berries!" Sharlia''s words ignited a deep greed in the eyes of the crowd.

    Moreover, some of those present were not ordinary individuals. Many bounty hunters from around the world had been invited by the World Government to capture the Straw Hats, so this was an opportunity for them. Not only would they claim the bounties, but they would also earn favor from the Celestial Dragons. It seemed like a win-win situation. Thus, driven by greed, many people rushed towards the Straw Hats. However, the Heart Pirates and Kid Pirates were not foolish enough to get involved. They simply observed, curious about the Straw Hats'' next move.

    "100 million is mine... Hahahaha!"

    "Their bounties are high enough... I will be rich!"

    "Keep dreaming... I will be the one to take their heads!"

    Men shouted as they leaped at the Straw Hats. Ken looked around and sighed. The crowd was too large, and there was limited space to fight. So, he did what any sane person would do. His eyes widened, and in the next moment, an invisible wave emanated from him as the center. Everyone felt the wave, but only those intended by Ken experienced its horrifying effects.

    Those who were mid-air or running towards the Straw Hats suddenly had their eyes turn white, and then they collapsed to the ground. None of those who had been clamoring to take down the Straw Hats escaped, as they all lost consciousness. Ken had used his Conqueror''s Haki to neutralize these insignificant individuals. Law and Kid squinted their eyes and looked at Ken, not expecting the Straw Hats'' Vice Captain to possess such power.

    The Celestial Dragons looked around in disbelief, their jaws wide open. They couldn''t comprehend what had just happened and how those around them had lost consciousness.

    "Wake up, you fools! Wake up and obey my orders!"

    "If you don''t wake up, I will beat you all up and make your families as my slaves."

    Ken had specifically targeted the guards with his Haki attack, ensuring that the Celestial Dragons remained conscious. He wanted to witness the moment when Luffy would send Charlos flying back to the manga pages. And Ken wasn''t disappointed. Luffy, fueled by anger from the Celestial Dragons'' actions and Hacchi''s failed attempts to stop him, unleashed his fury.

    As Charlos saw Luffy approaching, he pulled out his gun to shoot, but Luffy evaded the bullet effortlessly. Then, with a punch filled with emotional intensity, Luffy struck Charlos.

    At first, his bubble burst, and then his face contorted in an unnatural manner. In the next moment, he was sent flying, crashing into numerous chairs and causing destruction as his body finally came to a stop after rolling for a few inches.

    "They actually did it," Killer remarked.

    "What a rowdy bunch... Hahaha, I like them," Kid said.

    "Now the Admirals will come... Ahh, I''m sorry," Beppo said in his adorable voice.

    "They had planned this from the beginning. What do they want?" Law keenly observed that the Straw Hats had come to this place with a specific purpose, although they were unsure of what it was. Zoro meanwhile looked at the other two Celestial Dragons straight into their eyes and his normal look was enough to make the Celestial Dragons fall on the ground in the next second.

    He was a Shinigami to begin with. His normal reaitsu was enough to bring almost everyone here to their knees. Including Kid himself. Law and Kid were more amazed looking at how the Straw Hats handled the matter.

    Maybe they really deserved the high bounty that they have at the point.

 224. Useless Mid

    "Nami... You''re up," Ken said. Nami nodded and approached the Celestial Dragons. She dragged two of them together, and in the next second, she vanished from her spot. The other pirates had their jaws dropped and their eyes wide by this point.

    "Does she have some kind of teleporting Devil Fruit? The last I heard, nobody had that Devil Fruit," Kid murmured.

    "Things are getting dangerous," Law said with a cheeky smile. "But I like it."

    Nami came back again, but this time she was alone. Only Charlos remained. She apparated away again after touching him. They had just kidnapped three Celestial Dragons, and word had already started to spread about what was going on in the Auction House. Many people felt it was good to leave after the Straw Hats challenged the Celestial Dragons.

    Meanwhile, Nami was back. She had apparated them away to the Merry, in the prison cells, along with Lucci, Kaku, and Spandam. They had been carrying them around like dead dogs. Ken had asked Vivi to make bombs tied to their necks, wrists, and feet, which would blast the moment they touched the walls and the prison bars in the cell.

    And thus, they behaved like good dogs. This was done to the Celestial Dragons too after they were thrown into the prison cells, of course, without the bombs. With their stupidity, they would probably die the next second after bombs were placed on them.

    They finally had their leverage now: three Celestial Dragons. Now, onto the next part of their plan. Ken and the others weren''t even looking at the other pirates, and the two pirate groups were also a little confused as to why the Straw Hats hadn''t left after what they had done.

    Did they really think they could handle an Admiral?

    But Ken, Brook, Usopp, Sanji, and Luffy were looking in a particular direction, most specifically at the wall backstage. And, as if to prove their farsightedness, a huge hole suddenly appeared on the wall, and a man slowly walked out through the hole.

    The old man had a well-shaven beard and white hair on his head. He wore glasses and a white coat. He looked around for a second and then let out a loud laugh.

    "Hahahah! It seems like you have done all the work before I could even do something. Sigh, no money for me this time," the old man said. As obvious as it was, this person was Dark King Rayleigh, the Vice Captain of the Roger Pirates and also the current coating specialist of Shakki Rip-Off Bar.

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    The Straw Hats might not have recognized him, but Law and Kid definitely did, and this made them stiffen up. Hachi, who had been shaking in fear all this time, had sparkles in his eyes upon seeing him and ran towards him. Nami had already lifted the enchantment on him, and he was now looking like the actual Hachi.

    "Rayleigh... We have been searching for you... Where were you?" Hachi shouted.

    "Hatchan... Are these your friends?" Rayleigh asked back as he saw Hachi.

    "Yes, this is Straw Hat Luffy, Punisher Kenny..." Hatchan introduced.

    "I know. I have been waiting for them, especially after what this little guy spied on me," Rayleigh said. Ken felt a little embarrassed, but he didn''t say anything. The others who understood Ken''s Haki were surprised that this old man could even sense Ken''s Haki. They felt a little apprehensive.

    "You don''t have to be hostile towards me. In fact, I have been waiting for you, especially for you, Straw Hat. And I have got to say, you have surprised me. We have a lot to talk about, but first, we need to get out of here," Rayleigh said.

    They were confused about why this old man wanted to meet Luffy, but he was right. They did need to get out of here and carry out the rest of the plan.

    "Rayleigh-san, you take Hachi and the others away. We will handle the marines outside," Ken said. Hearing this, Rayleigh nodded and beckoned Caime and Pappagu to follow him. Meanwhile, the crew turned and looked at him. They all had question marks over their foreheads.

    "What?" Ken asked.

    "Do you know this old man?" Luffy asked.

    "Yes, and you all know him too if you had seen the posters," Ken replied. "Dark King Rayleigh, Vice Captain of the Roger Pirates."

    This made the Straw Hats'' jaws drop. Some of them were feeling quite accomplished after they had kidnapped the Celestial Dragons, but now they were the ones who got the shock of their lives. The Vice Captain of the Roger Pirates was being traded as a slave since he came through the slave cells and also had chains on his legs.

    How the hell was this guy still alive and walking among them like a boss?

    Kid, Luffy, Ken, Zoro, Sanji, and Law walked out of the Auction, with the rest of the crew following behind them.

    "Straw Hats... You have surprised me the most," Kid was the first one to speak.

    "What was your name again? Cid... Mid..." Luffy, as usual, was misquoting names. Sometimes Ken wondered if he was really bad with names or just plain trolling.

    "Useless Mid is his name," Ken commented. This remark made Kid, who was previously in a jolly mood, turn and look at Ken with anger and ferocity.

    "Hohoho... The person with the highest bounty among us thinks he''s better than me just because of his high bounty?" Kid gritted his teeth and asked.

    "I don''t think I''m better than you. I know I''m better than you," Ken replied with a smile, as if it were a well-known fact.

    "You guys need to calm down. We have many marines here," Zoro commented as he slowly unsheathed his sword. Kid wanted to have a duel with Ken right there to prove that he was better, but seeing the marines...

    "After this is over, I''m coming for your head, Punisher Kenny," Kid declared.

    "You''re welcome to try, Useless Mid," Ken said.

 225. You dont have the patience to be the Pirate King

    "Are you even worthy of carrying those swords?" Zoro spoke in a deep and rumbling voice that made the running and approaching marines carrying swords feel as if they were unworthy of holding their swords and pointing them at someone.

    Zoro''s words instilled fear in them that couldn''t be explained in words. He didn''t even need to brandish his swords at them since these marines weren''t powerful at all.

    Meanwhile, Sanji used his normal feet to attack the marines, and each attack sent the marines hurtling away. Luffy used his usual attacks like kunai and shuriken, as well as his Devil fruit powers. There was nothing fancy, while Ken just sent Mjolnir flying and caused all the damage around.

    The Straw Hats were efficient, taking care of the marines in the fastest way possible. To show that Kid and Law were also skilled, they began attacking the surrounding marines.

    Kid utilized his magnetic Devil fruit power to turn their own metal weapons against them, while Law used his own Devil fruit power, which was one of the most formidable.

    In a few minutes, the surrounding marines were neutralized, and most of them were lying unconscious and injured, but some of them fled in horror. Zoro and Ken were brutal in their attacks and couldn''t simply stand there and be punching bags.

    "Straw hats... I don''t know what you guys want, but you better not drag me into this," Kid declared.

    "Drag you? You have brought most of your problems upon yourself, and you think we dragged you?" Ken retorted.

    "You''re speaking too much, Punisher Kenny," Kid shouted as his hand, which had transformed into a metal arm, stretched out and prepared to attack. For some reason, Ken was deliberately provoking Kid, and Kid, foolishly, was being provoked.

    "I only speak the truth and nothing but the truth," Ken said. In the next moment, Kid came flying in and attempted to hit Ken in the face, only to be stopped inches away from Ken''s face.

    He was suspended mid-air, unable to move at all. Ken looked directly into Kid''s eyes.

    "Shinra Tensei," Ken murmured.

    Kid was blown away several meters and only stopped after being dragged along the ground. Killer, also a Supernova, didn''t expect his captain to be tossed aside so effortlessly. He rushed forward, prepared to confront Ken.

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    But before he could get close, the sharp edge of a sword was already at Killer''s neck. He couldn''t even sense when Zoro had approached him so closely and positioned the sword against his neck. Any further movement, and his head would go flying.

    "You bastard," Killer roared, but he knew he couldn''t defeat Zoro. Zoro was too fast, and he hadn''t even sensed him moving from a considerable distance away.

    Meanwhile, Kid slowly got up, consumed by fury. He desired revenge for the disrespect. All the nearby metal began converging around him. Ken disappeared from his position and reappeared next to Kid. This movement also went unnoticed by Kid.

    "Bansho Tenin."

    This lifted Kid off his feet and sent him flying into Ken''s hand. Ken caught his neck and squeezed tightly. Kid was not going to give up and summoned all the metal parts around him to attack Ken, but Ken discharged lightning at the side, halting the attack and making it fade away.

    Kid finally understood why this guy had the highest bounty among them. The tricks up his sleeve seemed endless. He had lightning, push and pull abilities applicable to humans, and even a seemingly unstoppable magical hammer. Kid had attempted to call upon Ken''s hammer, but it was futile.

    "You''ve been jumping around a little too much, Useless Mid. Do you think you''re some kind of hotshot? You won''t last a second in the New World and will only throw away your life in vain. You want to be the Pirate King, but you lack the patience and mindset required. It''s better for you to die here so your comrades can live their lives in peace," Ken said as he brought out the Stormbreaker in one hand, with the cleaved side pointed toward Kid.

    "Try it, bitch. Try it... You can never kill me!" Kid shouted, though his words were muffled due to Ken holding his neck.

    "Ken, come back," Luffy suddenly shouted from behind. Ken knew this was an order from the captain. He glanced at Kid once more before flinging him away. Kid dropped to the ground like a ragdoll.

    "Was that really necessary?" Sanji said as he lit up his cigarette.

    "This guy is way too confident in himself, and his overconfidence will lead to the downfall of his own pirate crew and himself," Ken said. Killer was nearby and heard Ken''s words clearly. He hadn''t expected that Ken wasn''t really trying to kill Kid, but was instead teaching him a lesson. Zoro had removed the sword from Killer''s neck, and Killer ran toward Kid, who had lost consciousness due to lack of air for some time.

    But he was alright.

    "Take him away and run. When Kizaru comes, things will get ugly. If you want to survive, you need to leave the island," Ken shouted back at Killer, who lifted Kid onto his shoulder. Killer looked back at Ken for a moment before making his way out.

    Now, Ken turned his attention to Law. Law had been observing all the drama from the beginning, curiosity shining in his eyes as he looked at this incredibly powerful man.

    "Trafalgar Law, it''s nice to finally meet you. I have a proposition for you," Ken said, locking eyes with Law.

    "What?" Law asked.

    "Why don''t you join our crew." Ken said direct;y.

    "Oye, I am the Captain here." Luffy shouted.

    "Doesn''t feel like it sometimes." Sanji said.

    "Definitely not." Ussop from behind protested.

    "Of course you are, Captain. But this guy will be very helpful for us." Ken said as he looked at Law with anticipation.

    "Is this some kind of joke?" Law asked.

 226. Here comes the baka banana

    "No. I''m just offering you the one thing you want in your life right now," Ken said.

    "Oh! And what is that?" Law asked, curious if this guy even knew what he wanted.

    "Showing Doflamingo what hell looks like," Ken said, with a very wide smile. It was as if Ken was saying a very normal thing, but that name made Law shudder a bit. So much so that he looked around from the corner of his eye to see if anyone saw Ken talking.

    He wanted revenge for sure, but mentally he hadn''t reached that mindset yet. Law became silent for a few seconds and said, "You don''t know anything about me."

    "I know plenty about you, Trafalgar D.  Water Law," Ken replied. Those words made Law''s sleepy eyes wide open for the first time. He looked at Ken like some kind of monster. Nobody knew his full name, not even his own crew.

    Those who knew were his parents, Corazon, and maybe Baby 5. He was sure that Baby 5 didn''t remember that anymore, and others had already died. So how the hell did this guy know about him? He was tempted to fight him right here at the moment, but the advent of an Admiral made him stop.

    But he definitely needed answers.

    "Who told you this?" Law asked, gritting his teeth.

    "D? Like you?" Sanji asked.

    "Another D... This is interesting," Robin mumbled.

    "You will get your answers if you join us. We can have this talk later. You should leave the island. It''s not safe here anymore," Ken said. Though Ken did invite them, he didn''t mean to invite him at this moment. These were tumultuous times, and they had a lot of work to do. Law also didn''t want to ask more because even if the Straw Hats knew they themselves had D in their crew, and even two of them, so it didn''t matter if they knew he was D or not.

    "Don''t tell me what to do!" Law shouted. Ken just smiled at his response and looked at Bepo, who was kind of hiding behind the other crew members.

    "Bepo, take care of the Captain. He might be harsh, but he is a softie inside." Those words somehow made the Heart Pirates shiver a little, and they tried their best to stifle their laughter.

    Up until this point, no one had called their Captain a softie, and this was the first. All they had known until now was that he was the Surgeon of Death and a menacing pirate. But now another person said that he was a kind-hearted person.

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    This definitely was enough to make them laugh, but out of respect, they stopped themselves. Law was fuming in anger, but he soon left with his crew while the Straw Hats stayed behind to see if more Marines showed up. But there were none.

    "You deliberately picked a fight with them? Why?" Zoro asked.

    "Some will be our friends, some will be our enemies in the New World. It''s better to know them more closely," Ken said.

    "So this Mid guy and Law guy will be our friends. Got it," Luffy said.

    "From what angle will this Kid guy be our friend?" Everyone shouted at Luffy, showing their sharp teeth. But Luffy knew Ken much better than them. If Ken was angry with someone, he would attack more ferociously. Here Ken just ''touched'' Kid, which meant something else was going on.

    "Let''s go," Ken said as he called upon the Bifrost, and in the next second, they vanished, leaving the auction house in shambles and guys lying unconscious. The Bifrost landed just near Shakki''s bar, and they all went inside, where Rayleigh was waiting.

    It was there that he gave them a proper introduction. They were confused about how their crew was fine, and Rayleigh had to tell them that Roger had surrendered since he had very little time to live. Robin also asked if they knew about the history, to which Rayleigh said.

    Even Ken himself was tempted to know the history, but he stopped himself. He would know it someday anyway. Rayleigh also spoke of Shanks and how he also belonged to their crew, though some of them already knew.

    "Luffy, we need to leave," Ken said after everyone had their fill.

    "Rayleigh-san, we might need help from you soon," Ken also said to Rayleigh. He was confused as he didn''t understand what Ken meant.

    "I want you to train some of us in Haki," Ken spoke about his intentions.

    "Hahahah... You guys have already learned Haki, especially you, who has such fine control over Observation Haki. Why would you need my assistance?" Rayleigh asked.

    "Rayleigh-san, we both know that our Haki isn''t enough for us to last in the New World. I hope you can teach us some advanced techniques," Ken said. Rayleigh was impressed by Ken''s knowledge and promised to train them at the right moment.

    Meanwhile, the news had already reached Marineford about how the Straw Hats had kidnapped the Celestial Dragons. This made the Celestial Dragons furious and they wanted the person who did it to be publicly hanged.

    Sengoku wanted to curse at Garp, but he was nowhere to be found as he had left to meet Ace. He was frustrated. Thankfully, Kizaru said that he would take the job of apprehending the Straw Hats and left with a small marine fleet.

    "Nami, you should leave," Ken said. Nami placed her hand on two of her friends and vanished. She came back again to do the same until only Luffy and Ken were left.

    "Yosh. Now they''re gone. We''re brothers again and fight the world," Luffy gave a wide grin.

    "Yes, and hopefully the plan goes well," Ken murmured. With that, Ken and Luffy separated from each other. Of course, this was a temporary separation, and Ken had other things to do at this moment.

    Luffy made a run while Ken just used his new technique that he had learnt over the last few days. He had finally awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan and now he could use it to teleport just like Obito did.

 227. Fear the strong, bully the weak

    Now Luffy and Ken were the only ones in the Archipelago, while the rest of the Straw Hats were on Merry, which was on a different mission altogether. After Ken and Luffy left the ship, Zoro became the essential Captain of the ship, but only the Captain and not the Navigator.

    God knows where he would end up if he had control of the Merry. Nami already had the charts to the place they needed to go, and they were already on their way there, flying silently and invisibly.

    As expected, within a few hours, Kizaru had arrived. And his arrival started with a bang. No, sorry, lots of bangs. Kizaru swiftly landed on the Archipelago after riding a cannonball. But after landing, he started rounding up the pirates and every scum in the Archipelago.

    Chaos and mayhem ensued as the marines started converging at the center of the Archipelago. Kizaru wasn''t alone; he had arrived with one of his friends tooˇŞSentomaru.

    Sentomaru had also arrived at the Archipelago along with the Pacifistas. Kizaru went on his ''slow'' rampage. At first, the pirates ran away from him, fearing him. But seeing that running didn''t actually bother him and they were getting pummeled nonetheless, they started attacking him.

    He beat down Hawkins like a dog before uttering those famous words.

    "Have you ever been kicked by light?"

    Next, Urogue was pummeled as well. It was during the confrontation between X Drake and Kizaru that something changed. X Drake already knew that Kizaru was here, so he made a run for it, transforming into his Allosaurus form. But obviously, this wasn''t enough as he was instantly KO''d.

    It was at this moment that Kizaru heard a clapping sound. The clapping sound was loud and clear. Even amidst the chaos of the pirates'' hollering and running away in fear, Kizaru heard it, and even X Drake, lying in pain, heard it.

    Kizaru turned his head in the direction of the sound, only to see Ken sitting on the edge of the roof, clapping his hands.

    "Ooo... Punisher Kenny... I have been looking for you."

    "And you are an idiot if you are looking for me and still couldn''t find me. I could use my Haki and lightning abilities to hear the people all around the Archipelago, but you with your Logia still couldn''t feel or see the people around with Haki. You are a huge disappointment, Kizaru."

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    Kizaru, who had a long, smiling face, slowly twitched a little upon hearing Ken''s words. He elementalized into light and kicked right at Ken''s head without any warning. But then something amazing happened.

    After Kizaru kicked Ken, his body suddenly turned into a log of wood, which broke down instantly. Ken had used his Body Substitute jutsu. Kizaru''s face didn''t change much when he saw the technique. He turned his head to look at Ken, who had appeared on the roof of the opposite house.

    "Oh my... You get butthurt quite easily, it seems. You are the classic example of ''bully the weak, fear the strong.'' If tomorrow one of the Yonko were to come and take away a Celestial Dragon, they would send you not to kill them, but to negotiate with them because you very well know that you will be killed if you face any of the Yonko," Ken said with apparent sarcasm in his voice.

    "Where are the Celestial Dragons?" Kizaru didn''t seem to be in the mood to reply and attacked Ken once again.

    "Yasakani no Magatama."

    He crossed his hands, and instantly several light beams fired from his hands, full of deadly light particles. But Kizaru was once again surprised. He was able to dodge all of the attacks without even looking stressed.

    By this time, Drake had gotten up and was almost ready to run, but seeing how the famous Punisher Ken was able to dodge the attacks of an admiral like a seasoned warrior made him choke.

    "Punisher Kenny... It seems you have progressed a lot in Haki."

    "It''s because I don''t sit around bullying the weak, Kizaru. And your acting needs to change. Everyone here can tell that Drake belongs to the Navy and he is an undercover agent. You need to think before you act, banana man."

    Both Kizaru and Drake, who had been hiding, trembled. This was a top secret. A very high-level top secret. Drake was sent to infiltrate a Yonko''s crew and act when the time was required, but here somebody just spoke of the secret quite openly.

    Many people were still around and heard what Ken was saying.

    "Punisher Kenny... Where are the Dragons?" Kizaru asked, trying not to be affected by his words, but he side-eyed the people present there. He needed to remember them and get rid of them once he handled Ken.

    "Why don''t you fight me and find the answer," Ken said as he slowly pulled out his Stormbreaker.

    Ken''s eyes crackled with lightning as he called forth the fury of the storm. He swung his Stormbreaker in a sweeping arc, unleashing a whirlwind of howling winds and electrifying bolts hurtling toward Kizaru with an unstoppable force.

    Everyone around started to run because Kizaru''s attacks were more specific, but this guy just called upon the winds and lightning to attack, destroying everything indiscriminately. Drake had to take a few steps to escape.

    Undeterred, Kizaru smirked and invoked his own power. "Photon Nova!" he exclaimed, focusing a concentrated beam of searing light from his fingertips. The beam collided with the storm, creating an explosion of elemental forces that illuminated the entire archipelago.

    But Ken wasn''t done. He summoned the power of the Bifrost, causing the air around him to shimmer with rainbow hues. With a single mighty throw, he launched Mjolnir towards Kizaru, who barely had time to react. Over time, Ken had been experimenting with Bifrost summoning and wanted to see if it could be used as a weapon, like Odin used it to gain a foothold in the Nine Realms.

    And he had succeeded in creating such an attack.

 228. What an irresponsible brother

    Kizaru, employing his incredible speed, managed to phase through the path of Mjolnir, narrowly avoiding its crushing blow. He knew that if he took the attack head on he would definitely be injured if not killed.

    "You have become too powerful Punisher Kenny. You can''t be left alive."

    "Oh! What happened to the kidnapped Celestial Dragons? I thought you are interested in that?" Ken asked.

    "I can ask the same from your Captain and crew."

    "Hahaha. It''s seems you are an idiot. Have you been taking lessons from the goat of Sengoku? How can you be this dumb? The Straw Hats has already escaped the Archipelago. Only I and Luffy are here. If something happens to us, the Celestial Dragons will be given to the Revolutionary Army to play with and broadcast it to the entire world. They will be boiled alive, crucified, burnt and be killed in the most horrific ways possible if something happens to us. Did you expect us to dangle our crew members for you to bully them?"

    And for the first time Kizaru trembled. He didn''t expect that this guy had thought so much ahead. He had been searching and contacting the marines to help him the Straw Hats all this time but there was no response. Its no wonder there was no response, it because they had escaped altogether.

    He had heard about the fact that their ship was an extraordinary one and possibly could fly, but the absence of their ship meant that Ken might be speaking truth in the first place.

    "What do you want?" Kizaru finally asked.

    "What do I want? Hahahaha.. You are going to execute my brother and you thought everything will be fine and dandy? You should fear us more than you fear Whitebeard." Ken said and this time his laughter was tinged with anger and hatred. Ken had lived with Ace for a long time to be close to him and consider him as his actual brother.

    Kizaru seeing no other choice, made his move. Kizaru adjusted his strategy and focused his powers for a devastating technique.

    "Luminous Annihilation!"

    His entire body radiating an intense brilliance. In an instant, he transformed into a streak of pure light, moving with unmatched speed and precision toward Ken.

    Ken aware of the imminent danger, summoned the power of the Bifrost once more. "Bifrost''s Judgment!" he thundered, commanding Mjolnir to return to his hand. As it soared back to him, crackling with lightning, Ken swung Stormbreaker in a sweeping arc. The two legendary weapons collided, merging their formidable might into a cataclysmic storm.

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    The clash of Mjolnir and Stormbreaker with Kizaru''s light beam unleashed an explosion of unimaginable magnitude. The sheer force rent the sky asunder, creating a blinding flash that temporarily consumed the battlefield.

    Kizaru was distraught and pushed back by the powerful attack, which destroyed the huge tree of the Archipelago. Dust and debris filled the air, creating a smoky atmosphere. Drake, still on the island while the others had left, knew that their plan of infiltrating the Yonko was over.

    As the dust settled, Ken was nowhere to be seen. He had come to gauge Kizaru''s power, and if he wanted to continue the fight, he would have revealed more of his trump cards. But he wasn''t ready to open his bag of tricks, not at this moment.

    Kizaru noticed Ken''s absence and immediately called headquarters.

    "Punisher Kenny knows the secrets of SWORD. I say he needs to be eliminated quickly."

    "Then why didn''t you do so?" It was Sengoku on the other side. Since Garp was not nearby, he could speak his mind.

    "He is a slippery fish. He has become more powerful than the last time Garp-san faced him, if the reports are to be believed," Kizaru said. Drake slowly walked towards him and stood behind.

    "Sigh. Tell Drake to come back and work under Garp again. It''s a failed mission," Sengoku said.

    ''Kacha''

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, Luffy was facing another problem at the momentˇŞthe problem of the Pacifistas. Sentomaru had found him and actively deployed the Pacifistas to kill him. But of course, this Luffy wasn''t the original ''Luffy'' and was easily able to beat down the Pacifistas.

    However, he wasn''t able to do the same against Sentomaru. Sentomaru had better Haki than Luffy, and thus Luffy had to use all the tricks in his arsenal to fight against Sentomaru in order to stay safe.

    "I wonder where Ken is... He said he would meet me soon... What an irresponsible brother I have... Sigh!" Luffy mumbled under his breath as he fought against Sentomaru. Sentomaru possessed advanced Haki, which allowed him to use Haki externally. He didn''t need to touch the opponent, and their attacks would be bounced back without even touching him.

    Luffy was fighting Sentomaru while also forcing himself to learn Haki during the fight. In fact, he was having fun. But all the fun came to a stop when someone else showed up on the battlefield.

    It was Kizaru himself.

    And he didn''t have a friendly expression. He was angry. He had been openly mocked by a new Supernova and had caused the Navy to fail one of their crucial missions with just a few words. If he wanted to keep this quiet, he wouldn''t be able to, as their words had been recorded by a journalist who was nearby and had already sent the information to Morgan.

    This was a terrible disasterˇŞthe kidnapping of Celestial Dragons and the failure of a secret mission.

    "Where are the Celestial Dragons?" Kizaru asked, this time in a much more serious tone.

    Luffy didn''t expect someone to appear so fast, and he didn''t even recognize Kizaru. But he could tell that this guy was dangerous. Kizaru and Sentomaru immediately tag-teamed and attacked Luffy from two sides, putting him in a pinch.

    Luffy used almost all of his attacks that he knew at this point. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, his own devil fruit powers and Haki too, but these two knew better haki than him so Luffy was getting beaten down.

 229. Will Hancock fall in love?

    Luffy was being beaten left and right by both Kizaru and Sentomaru. But suddenly, after a bit of fighting, Luffy''s body turned into white smoke and vanished. This surprised both Sentomaru and Kizaru.

    Kizaru knew that these people were supposed to be some kind of ninjas and were pretty fast, but Kizaru was sure that he had better Observation Haki than them. So, how could he vanish just like that?

    And then a laugh was heard from the distance.

    "Hahahahahaha. You guys are funny... Hahahaa..."

    They turned around only to see Luffy sitting on a branch of the huge Mangrove tree. Kizaru and Sentomaru could already tell that they were being played. Seeing no bruises on Luffy''s body meant that he had used some technique to make them fight a look-alike.

    They had been led in circles all this time.

    "Mugiwara... What kind of technique did you use?"

    "Me? Shadow clone jutsu," Luffy replied honestly.

    "What?" Sentomaru was surprised. He really didn''t expect Luffy to know actual ninja techniques. Though he had been cautioned, he didn''t know that Luffy knew those actual techniques he had heard of in legends.

    As they were talking, two men suddenly appeared and stood behind Luffy. They had come out of nowhere. Kizaru and Sentomaru were also surprised to see two men. One of them Kizaru had already met before: Monkey D. Kenny. The other was a man who was quite feared in the seas: Sabo, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army.

    "You banana man. I heard you got trolled by my brother," Ken said.

    "Hahahaha. Luffy, you did a wonderful job," Sabo laughed.

    Kizaru got irritated again and flew towards them to teach them a lesson.

    "Dragon Punch."

    "Gum Gum No: Pistol."

    "Fist of Love."

    All three brothers retaliated against Kizaru with Haki simultaneously. This was a coordinated attack, and Kizaru was heavily punched down and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Sentomaru, who was ready to help Kizaru, was dumbfounded. He really didn''t expect these three men to know Haki and actually be able to beat down an Admiral together.

    "Sabo... You have progressed so much in Haki. I envy you," Ken said, as he could easily tell that Sabo''s Armament Haki was better than his.

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    "Dragon-san taught me a lot over the years," Sabo felt a little embarrassed.

    "Mugiwara... Revolutionary Army... You think you can escape after kidnapping a Celestial. The Marines will hunt you down," Sentomaru shouted.

    "Oh... You think you can escape after kidnapping our brother," Sabo said.

    "Brother? Who?" Sentomaru asked.

    "Ask Kizaru... He knows the answer," Ken said. "You are late, Sabo."

    "Sorry. Had a lot to do with my new abilities so took sometime. Let''s go."

    Sabo opened a portal in front of them, and the three brothers proceeded to walk in, the portal closing behind them. Sentomaru couldn''t even react before the portal closed. He was dumbfounded. Kizaru had finally gotten up from the ground. He cleaned his clothes a bit and said, "It seems we have more enemies now." Kizaru sighed.

    "What was he talking about? Brother?" Sentomaru asked.

    "This is top secret for now. You will know soon," Kizaru said and then proceeded to call the headquarters. Sabo''s arrival in Sabaody meant the Revolutionary Army was there. This posed a problem for the Navy. The execution wouldn''t go peacefully, it seemed.

    Meanwhile, the portal opened on an island in the Calm Belt. The island was surrounded by calm waters infested with huge beasts, making it inaccessible except for special sea stone warships of the Navy. However, on this particular island, there was another type of ship that could sail to and froˇŞthe Snake Princess, Boa Hancock.

    There was a reason they were here. Of course, it was Ken who suggested this, as he had a general idea of what was going to happen. It would be difficult for the brothers to infiltrate Impel Down without causing a huge ruckus. So it was better to get someone on the inside to help them.

    "Luffy, you are on your own," Ken said as the brothers landed through the portal.

    "Ken, do you really think this idiot brother of ours will be able to convince Snake Princess to help us infiltrate Impel Down?" Sabo was very skeptical about this, but Ken seemed to be optimistic.

    "Yes, as long as he speaks the truth and expresses his hatred for the Celestial Dragons. Luffy, you can also say that you are ready to give them the Celestial Dragons as gifts if they want," Ken said.

    "Okay... Got it," Luffy replied and went running into the forest.

    "Wait, Luffy... Listen to the plan," Sabo called out, but Luffy was way too fast to listen to anyone. He was gone.

    "Don''t worry, our plans will never get inside his head anyways," Ken assured him. With that, they hid on the island while Luffy ran wild throughout the entire forest. Of course, he was seen by the women of the island who tried to catch him.

    But they failed, and he asked them where he could find Boa. The women grew angrier and ran after him. In the end, he somehow ended up meeting Boa, who had just returned from a hunt and was being followed by a Vice Admiral trying to get her to Marineford.

    Ken watched all of this from afar. He even recognized the Vice AdmiralˇŞit was Momonga. However, he could also see that Momonga was missing an arm and was now one-handed.

    "I heard you traumatized the Navy in Water 7," Sabo teased.

    "Well, they deserved it. Did you talk with Dragon about what I mentioned before?"

    "Yes, the Revolutionary Army has already started making preparations. The Lulusia Kingdom will be taken care of much earlier."

    "Good, and take care of Cobra. He will be a great asset politically," Ken said.

    While they were discussing, Luffy encountered Hancock in the bath and noticed her slave mark. And thus here the story followed the exact same path, but this time it was Luffy who came forward and asked for help instead of begging for the lives of others.

    He told of Celestial Dragons and he said that he knew that she hated them.

 230. A suspense

    Of course, Hancock was incensed and angry. Not only did he see the slave mark, but this man also had the audacity to come to the bath and look at her. And thus, the whole game of cat and mouse began. In the end, when Hancock finally calmed down and realized that her Devil fruit ability wasn''t effective, she listened to Luffy''s words.

    She was terrified when she heard that this guy had kidnapped someone and refused to believe it.

    "I can show you," Luffy said.

    This intrigued Hancock, and Luffy called the three sisters to a specific place. They had Haki, so they could tell that two more people were waiting for them. They had been extra vigilant, and while the three sisters fought aggressively against Luffy, they were humbled by him. He had better Haki than them to begin with, and that was a huge problem for the sisters.

    Gloriosa also came forward and spoke about who he was and his bounty. His exploits were still not widely known, so the only thing she knew was the bounty they had acquired in Water 7. After walking in the jungles of Amazon, they finally reached the place where Ken and Sabo were waiting, but with Ken, there were two more people.

    The Celestial Dragons.

    They had their hands tied, cloth on their eyes, buds in their ears, and chains around their necks. The sisters trembled on their feet as their previous trauma came back to them once they saw the Celestial Dragons. Gloriosa had her eyes wide open. When she heard that the Straw Hat had kidnapped Celestial Dragons, she thought he was joking, but this was actually real.

    "What the hell do they want to do?" she wondered.

    Meanwhile, Ken and Sabo had to take deep breaths after seeing Hancock. She was more beautiful than they had expected or thought. Ken had seen quite a number of beauties on his voyage at sea, but this was the first time a beauty made their hearts skip a beat.

    "Why did you bring them here? Do you want to implicate the island in your wrongdoings?" Gloriosa thought they wanted to drag Amazon into the mess they had created.

    "Hello, I am Ken, and this is Sabo. I am sure you know who he is. We are not here to create any kind of problem. We just want a little help," Ken said. He was glad that Luffy was kind of thoughtful about it, which was a first since normally everything he did always went against the plan.

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    Though they had decided to tell her after meeting properly, their meeting was anything but conventional. At least it ended up fine.

    "What help do you want?" Hancock asked. She was still furious about what had happened.

    "We just want you to go to Impel Down on the pretext that you want to meet the prisoner who is responsible for the war."

    "Impel Down? And in return, we will be able to do anything that we want with them?" Hancock asked as she looked at the Celestial Dragons with disgust and fury. Though she was angry that Luffy had seen her slave mark, she was more furious at the Celestial Dragons and wanted revenge.

    "Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Gloriosa asked.

    "Ace is our brother, and we want to free him," Ken said. This surprised them, and Ken went on to talk about how they could secretly have the Celestial Dragons and torture them however they liked in return for the favor they wanted.

    Hancock didn''t immediately accept and asked for time. Until now, Ken didn''t see any love for Luffy and wondered if it would ever happen. With those words, she left and warned them not to talk to others nor come inside the island.

    "Will she accept?" Sabo asked.

    "Maybe. Maybe not. But she has a slave mark on her back. I am sure she wants revenge," Ken shrugged his shoulders.

    And so, the long wait began, which was a day. Ken almost thought that she would never accept their deal as it might be risky for them. But thankfully she did. And no, she didn''t fall in love with Luffy.

    Well, it didn''t matter to Ken anyways.

    "What does me visiting your brother help you? I want to know your plan," Hancock said. She and her two sisters had decided to keep these Celestial Dragons as slaves for all the wrongs they had done to her in the past.

    Sabo brought out a small golden ornament from his pocket and handed it to Hancock, saying, "This thing will help us infiltrate Impel Down. All you need to do is go inside wearing this, and that is all."

    Hancock took the ornament in her hand. It was a small round ball that looked like something one would play with.

    "How will you infiltrate with this? Do I need to get this to your brother?" Hancock asked.

    "No, all you need to do is to take this thing inside. We will take over after. You don''t have to do anything."

    "Alright, I will accept the offer," Hancock said. Ken immediately gave her the chains and keys of the Celestial Dragons.

    "Keep them hidden. Never let them show to your women here," Ken reminded, as there was a small possibility of spies on this island.

    "The women of the islands are not the men of the world," Hancock said, quite irritated that Ken doubted their women, but on the inside, she admired them. They had read the news that had arrived a few hours prior about what had gone down in Sabaody.

    These guys fought an Admiral, kidnapped Celestial Dragons after punching one, and came out safe so far away. Each of these required bravery and ability. But of course, she would never admit that she admired the Straw Hats for what they had done.

    "I know, but not all women are the same. If they were, we wouldn''t have had someone like Big Mom in the New World," Ken replied with a smile.

 231. Did they boost Impel Down?

    And thus, the plan for infiltrating Impel Down was hatched. Sabo had never gone to Impel Down before, but he did visit the Amazonian islands long ago as one of the missions to gather information about a Shichibukai.

    Apart from Mihawk, who seemed to roam around all the time, he, with the help of the Revolutionary Army, knew where each of the Shichibukai were located. But Impel Down was different. One couldn''t simply infiltrate it. Of course, one could do so forcefully, but that would trigger the Admirals and open a can of worms.

    The reason why Luffy was able to escape during the war was that the chaos provided an opportunity. At a different time, he would have died. Actually, scratch that, if it were not for Ivankov, he would have died. If the brothers forcefully barged in, it would be even more problematic, as Ken was sure that Marijoa would send the Holy Knights.

    They weren''t ready to take on the Holy Knights just yet. CP0 (post time skip) was powerful, and even Luffy would have a hard time. Ken would have to use everything in his power to actually defeat them.

    In addition, they needed someone on the inside, and Hancock was perfect for the job. So the next day, Hancock wore the ornament on her wrist while Sabo instructed her on how to signal them once she reached inside Impel Down. With the instructions in mind, she left, and the long wait continued.

    "Luffy, how come you''ve been silent all this time?" Ken said, noticing that Luffy had been incredibly quiet since they brought Hancock to them. He didn''t utter a word and let Ken do all the talking, which was definitely weird by his standards.

    "Well, I was thinking if there are no men, how come there were so many women on the island?"

    This made both Ken and Sabo fall to their knees. They couldn''t believe what they were hearing. Luffy and thinking? And such deep thinking at that? Were the characteristics of Hiruzen and Jin Mori actually rubbing off on Luffy a little too much?

    "How did you think of that?" Sabo asked, still unable to believe that Luffy asked such a good question. Luffy just shrugged, signifying that it just came to his mind.

    "We don''t know, and you better not go and ask Hancock about it," Ken warned. They were already not welcomed by the three sisters, and he didn''t want another misunderstanding. Luffy looked disappointed that he couldn''t ask. He had been trying to find the answer himself but failed.

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    But now he couldn''t even ask. What a load of bullshit!

    Meanwhile, Hancock had arrived at Impel Down after a long day. The Navy felt a little weird that she wanted to meet Ace, but she was given the chance to only look at him and not talk with him.

    She accepted. She only needed to go inside Impel Down, and it would be over.

    After a long wait, Sabo''s magical ornament lit up. Being all knowledgeable and Sorcerer Supreme, he could create some magical ornaments too.

    "She has given the signal. Let''s go," Sabo said as he touched the ornament that looked exactly like the one he gave to Hancock, following that Luffy and Ken did the same too. And just like magic, they vanished from the island.

    Very few of Amazonians knew that men had been living on the island and from then on two men would continue living on the island until they moved somewhere else. The brothers appeared again and this time in Impel Down.

    Level 2: Wild Beast Hell

    "Yosh.. Let''s go and save Ace." Luffy shouted the moment he appeared in Impel Down and was ready to run but was stopped by Ken and Sabo.

    "Stop. We need to think of what we need to do." Sabo held his cheek and was not letting it go.

    "Let me go Sabo, I will not stop now."

    "How did this guy go from an intelligent man to a dumb man in a matter of minutes." Ken mumbled.

    "It''s your Captain. You should know," Sabo ridiculed.

    "This is Level 2. We need to go deeper to Level 6," Ken said, not answering Sabo and looking around.

    "Let''s find the stairs and then go deeper."

    Ken could feel the desolate, chilling realm within the infamous prison. His Haki told him about the presence of venomous snakes slithering in shadows, massive arachnids with razor-sharp claws lurking in corners, and winged predators.

    "Did they boost Impel Down or something? Why are there so many animals in this level?" Ken mumbled. With his Haki, he also came across interesting people. Buggy, Mr. 3, and Mr. 2. All in the same level. They had really come to Impel Down accepting Ken''s orders at that time. The surprising part was Buggy. Did he come intentionally, or was he just caught?

    Not thinking much, Ken sensed the entry to the next level and ran towards it with Luffy and Sabo. On the way, they could pick up the other three. And of course, Luffy, on the way, made noise, which was followed by vicious animals coming after them.

    "Luffy, I told you not to make noise," Sabo was furious.

    "I am sorry," Luffy looked genuinely sorry.

    "It''s fine. Reaching the 6th level couldn''t be done in silence anyways. So let''s let loose," Ken said as he stretched his arms and legs, seeing the animals coming after them. The Impel Down was alerted that three people had barged in from somewhere. Hancock had been very clever about her way of calling them, as she threw out the ornament after activating it on the 2nd level, just as Ken had asked for.

    Ken brought out his Stormbreaker, smashing through venomous snakes that crossed their path. Luffy, seeing his brother shining, couldn''t be left behind and started attacking any random huge animal that came after them while on the run. Sabo, with his formidable mystical abilities, provided them with crucial defensive shields and opened portals to facilitate strategic escapes.

 232. He has become a she

    Soon, while running towards the depths of the floor and being hunted down by some crazy beasts, they came across a prison cell filled with prisoners, but among them were some that Luffy and Ken knew about.

    Mr. 2, Mr. 3, and Buggy. Apparently, they had bonded together quite well.

    "Yo... You guys seem to have settled in well here."

    "Ah, Mr. Ken... You are here... Thank you, thank you for coming to save us."

    "Mugiwara!!"

    "How did you guys even get caught? I asked you to make a crew, and you made a crew here," Ken said to Mr. 2 and Mr. 3. Apparently, the Government was furious after they lost CP members in Alabasta and thus went all out capturing everyone under Crocodile. They even deployed the CP members to catch Baroque Works, as they thought Baroque Works had joined together to make Nero vanish.

    But, of course, their arrests were inconclusive, and since they were just short-term pirates, they were sent to Level 2. Level 2 because they were very supportive and helpful in the investigation. A very rare occasion of the Government showing leniency.

    "Buggy... You have finally been caught... Hahahaha..." Luffy laughed out loud upon seeing Buggy. He still remembered, surprisingly. The memory of Luffy wasn''t as short as it was supposed to be.

    "Why are you here?" Buggy was still angry with Luffy, so he gritted his teeth as he spoke.

    "Did you come here to free us? That is so good of you, Mr. Ken," Mr. 2 said. Mr. 2 had always considered them as friends, so he was very thankful.

    "No... We came here to free Ace, but we can save you too," Ken said, looking towards Sabo, who had been silent. Seeing the cue, Sabo used his magic to let them out of the prison. All this time, the prisoners around were busy howling and raging to be let out, since these three men were out and didn''t look like wardens of the floor or jailers.

    So it meant they were prisoners as well.

    "Let us out. We are on the same boat, right?"

    "Come on, please let us out. We will do anything for you."

    "I will kill you if you don''t let us out."

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    But they didn''t care; Mr. 2 and the others walked out of the portal that Sabo had made. Buggy was reluctant at first, but he eventually came out.

    "Buggy, do you have people here who would follow you?" Ken asked, remembering that he had asked this guy to establish a trade, which seemed like he failed and got caught. What a failure.

    "What does it have to do with you?" Buggy retorted.

    "We are rescuing you; the least you can do is show some gratitude," Sabo said, irritated by Buggy''s attitude, and berated him. This made Buggy silent. Others might not know Sabo, but he definitely did as he always kept himself updated about what was happening in the seas. He wondered about their relationship.

    "There are some people who I have convinced to follow me."

    "Good. Tell them to be ready; we will be busting them out once we are prepared to leave Impel Down," Ken said, not minding Buggy''s attitude at all. At the end of the day, he was still a coward and maybe thought Luffy didn''t deserve that hat since it was worn by his Captain and Shanks, somebody he looked up to, even though he never publicly accepted it.

    It was only because Shanks said that he didn''t want to go for One Piece that he left. The thing about the Devil Fruit was just a false reason to leave him. But this time he didn''t argue more and walked to various prison cells and those who had been friendly with him were given time to get ready.

    With the thing being done, all of them finally reached the well that led to 3rd level. Starvation Hell. The animals were already taken care of in Level 2 and by now Impel Down was in a mess. Magellan was already alerted but he was busy pooping at the moment.

    After reaching Starvation Hell, it didn''t much time to get to Level 4: Blazing Hell. It was hot to the highest limit here and thankfully Sabo could conjure up water for all of them to drink or else it would have been a tough one for the group. After completing Starvation Hell, they reached the next level. Ken noticed Daz Bones, a.k.a., Mr. 1 here with his Haki but didn''t bother with it.

    Level 5 : Freezing Hell

    This was where the real deal was.

    "Sabo, is he ready to come out with us?" Ken asked.

    "Yes. He has been notified." Sabo nodded. And within no time they reached the Level 5.5. A secret level maintained underground by Ivankov. Normally it was very difficult to find them, but having Haki it was quite easy for them. Within no time they were in the secret doorway to Level 5.5.

    The doorway slowly opened as they stood in front of it. And welcoming them was Ivankov himself.

    "Ah Sabo-boya.. You have finally arrived to rescue me." He said. Or rather this time it was a she. Seeing his/her attire Ken got goosebumps. This guy''s Devil fruit gave him the creeps.

    "Ivankov-san. It''s nice to you see you here."

    "You should have called me chan." Ivankov said. Sabo just rolled his eyes listening to him. Mr.2 went full bonkers seeing Ivankov and immediately fell on his knees seeking guidance for becoming a better okama.

    "This guy is really Dragon''s son?" Ivankov said as he looked at the guy who was devouring food like a black hole. Sabo just shrugged accepting it.

    "And we going to rescue the son of Gol D. Roger? Your other brother?" Ivankov asked as they asll sat on the table surrounding while Luffy just went on eating.

    "Yes."

    "Yosh. If we do this, we will be the first in history." Buggy said as his blood boiled. Running with them had made him courageous.

 233. The World Government is clever

    Others could only roll their eyes at Buggy.

    Meanwhile, Hancock had returned after taking a good look at the person who was going to cause the war. She wasn''t allowed to talk anyway, so it didn''t matter. After Luffy and the others had reached Level 5, Magellan finally took a closer look at the intruders. When they had entered Impel Down, he thought that they were of no importance and could be easily held down.

    However, seeing the way they had reached Level 5 and vanished made him apprehensive. He asked everyone on all floors to return to their stations and keep an eye on them.

    While Magellan was being vigilant, Ivankov and his army were getting ready for the final push to escape the place.

    "Let''s go. Let''s break down Impel Down and the World Government into pieces. They want to oppress us, but we are torchbearers of freedom and liberty. Let the World Government fear us. Are you all with me?" Ivankov shouted, and they were all ready to barge through the door and cause mayhem.

    "Yes!"

    "Then let''s go." Ivankov shouted while swaying his booty. By now he had again become a man. There was definitely something peculiar about this person. Soon they were out and back on Level 5 in the freezing cold.

    Wolves and all kinds of arctic animals came to take them down, only to be blown away by the army. Magellan was appalled to see such a huge army.

    "I will go down and handle them myself," Magellan said.

    With those words, he left the control room. Meanwhile, after fighting for some time, Ivankov, Inazuma, Ken, Luffy, and Sabo continued. Others were asked to remain on Level 5 and be on the lookout, as Level 6 might be tricky for them.

    After some struggle, they finally reached Level 6. Level 6 of Impel Down was different from all others. It was eerily quiet, and instead of extreme environments, there were cages everywhere. Huge cages made of Sea Stones. As they passed through the passages, many of the prisoners started hollering and shouting.

    Of course, Ivankov came forward and Death Winked them, keeping them quiet. They asked around to find out where Ace was, as the whole level was huge. Some of the criminals were scared enough to direct them, probably because they feared Ivankov due to his Devil fruit powers. Soon, Ken, Luffy, and Sabo reached the cage where Ace was supposed to be held. He was in a separate cage away from the others, positioned so he couldn''t talk to anyone nearby.

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    After reaching the cage, Luffy looked at Ace intently. Ken was ready to blast the doors with his Stormbreaker, but then Luffy spoke.

    "He isn''t Ace."

    "What?"

    "What are you saying, Luffy?"

    "Yeah, he isn''t Ace," Luffy repeated his words. Ken was taken aback and immediately activated his Sharingan. When he looked at the man who was being held down, he didn''t see any chakra points or the latent magic that Ace was supposed to have.

    "He''s a fake." Sabo also activated his Sharingan and came to the same conclusion as Ken. Luffy was able to recognize it because his eyes had already started to see through matter and reality.

    "Hey, you fake! What happened to Ace?" Sabo shouted. The man, who wore the same hat as Ace and had an identical body, looked up slowly at Sabo and the others while putting on a smile.

    "Hahahaha... When the World Government sent me here, I thought they were joking. Who would be foolish enough to break into Impel Down? But here we are. Some really did break in and cause havoc in all of Impel Down. But that''s good. We will be able to capture you all here," the man said with a wicked smile.

    His body and face were still impersonating Ace. It was very weird for the others to hear Ace''s voice coming from an evil imposter.

    "What''s going on? Who is this guy?" Sabo asked, visibly angry and distressed.

    "Probably some kind of Devil Fruit user, a lackey of the World Government," Ken said.

    "Who are you calling a lackey of the World Government? They paid me to impersonate Ace. I am the greatest impersonator, Hikari Kurosawa. I have eaten the Twin-Twin Fruit. I can make copies of myself and others. My original body isn''t even here, so even if you kill me, you can never get to him," the man said.

    "Hikari? Have you ever heard of this guy?" Ken turned and asked. Everyone else shook their heads.

    "So you are not famous at all," Sabo said.

    "Damn you! My name will soon resound throughout the world. You are my greatest victims, and your demise will make me famous," Hikari said, laughing loudly. His laugh was more irritating than any other he had heard before. So much so that Ken decided to put this guy in a genjutsu and make him fall asleep. There was no point in talking to this person.

    This Devil Fruit hadn''t ever shown up as far as Ken knew, so it was a syllabus that he didn''t know about in the exams. But he could think about it later, as Ace was not free yet.

    Ken had devised a plan to use Shadow clones and install one in Ace, and later let the World Government take the clone and eliminate him. This was the only way to avoid the huge war and secure victory, but fate had different plans, it seemed.

    But now that he thought of it, he should have noticed that this guy wasn''t Ace from the beginning itself. The simple reason was that these sea stones weren''t strong enough to hold him down. He had dragon slayer magic and even chakra so the only way to imprison him was having under surveillance and using different kinds of ways to hold him down.

    Impel Down was never the place for him to begin with. They had miscalculated to begin with. The World Government was really clever in this regard.

 234. I have come to kill

    "Hahahaha... Didn''t you guys come to free Ace... And leave us... Hahahahah... Your precious brother isn''t even here."

    "Fuck you guys. Now Magellan will come and imprison you."

    Such harsh and cruel words were thrown at them from inside the prison as Ken and others felt betrayed. Ivankov again got angry and used his Death Wink to silence them, putting an end to their offensive remarks.

    "What should we do now?" Luffy asked, feeling a little panicked.

    "What more can we do? Get to Marineford and save his ass," Sabo said with a sigh. It was actually Sabo who didn''t want to start a war and free Ace earlier. The Revolutionary Army wasn''t ready to expose themselves so soon. But now that plan had gone down the drain, and they were back to square one.

    "Sabo, take Luffy and the others out of Impel Down. I will come later," Ken said.

    "What?" Sabo looked at Ken, puzzled.

    "Yeah, return to Merry with everyone. I will join you later," Ken reiterated.

    "Hey, are you not coming with us? We can go to Marineford to save Ace," Luffy, who had been silent until now, said. He was looking forward to saving Ace, but now it seemed they would have to go to war to achieve it, which was fine with him.

    "Luffy, I will come, but I need to finish something here," Ken said.

    "Are you sure?" Luffy looked deeply into Ken''s eyes and asked.

    "Yes," Ken replied.

    Luffy nodded and then looked at Sabo. Understanding the signal, Sabo didn''t waste much time and opened a portal. This surprised not only Ivankov but also the prisoners, who were mocking them. They never expected that Sabo possessed such abilities.

    "Sabo-kun, what is this?" Ivankov asked. On their way, he had seen Sabo using unconventional methods to engage enemies, but this was totally new. Sabo had a smirk on his face and gestured for everyone to step into the portal.

    "This is magic that I learned."

    Soon everyone had gone through the portal back to the 5th floor, where Buggy and others were waiting for them.

    "We will be waiting for you on Merry. Come fast," Luffy said.

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    "I will be there in no time," Ken replied.

    With that, the portal closed. The other prisoners didn''t expect someone to have such a Devil fruit that could open huge portals for others to walk through. After the portal closed, Ken stretched his body a bit. They had been fighting for a long time now, so he was a little sore, though not exactly tired.

    He had achieved what he wanted to achieve. He needed to keep Luffy and others away from Magellan, and they were successful in doing so. They had moved to Level 5 so fast that Magellan wasn''t even able to catch up and confront them.

    His help had led the team safely through Impel Down, and Luffy didn''t have to lose years from his life. He was mostly happy about that.

    "Ha.. Ha.. Ha.. Ha.. It''s been some time, Punisher Kenny," Ken heard a voice from one prison. Ken could easily recognize the voice.

    Crocodile.

    "Yo.. I thought you would keep your mouth shut after the trauma that we gave you," Ken said as he turned around and looked at Crocodile. He was in his prison dress and still had his golden hand.

    This made Crocodile sulk and look at Ken with glaring eyes.

    "Don''t give me that death look. I can kill you right now without even batting an eye," Ken casually said.

    "What do you want, Punisher Kenny?" Crocodile said.

    "I am not in your home to declare what I want," Ken said as he walked away. He was here to do something before they could reach Marineford.

    He walked a bit, ignoring the narcissist, and reached a prison cell. These prison cells were quite far from Ace''s, which surprised Ken, but nonetheless, he was here.

    "I have been looking for you, Jinbe," Ken said. There was a slight clanking of chains as a huge head turned around and looked at Ken.

    "You are?"

    "Monkey D. Kenny, and I am here to free you," Ken said as he took out his Stormbreaker and swung it at the prison cell. A surge of lightning followed by a huge blast occurred, destroying the prison cell. Jimbei, who was in darkness, had his mouth wide open. He couldn''t believe that someone could actually do thatˇŞdestroy Sea stone cells?

    "What the hell is this guy?" Jinbe wondered, astonished.

    Soon, the dust settled, and an uproar spread among the prisoners who witnessed someone destroying prison cells with bare hands. This was unheard of before.

    "You are the brother of Ace?"

    "Yes," Ken replied as he slowly walked and stood in front of Jimbei. Jimbei was really huge. No wonder people hugging him wouldn''t even reach his waist. Despite the situation, seeing this bear-like guy, Ken couldn''t help but feel like giving him a hug.

    Without much delay, he swung his Stormbreaker again and cut the chains holding Jimbei down.

    "Why are you freeing me? And how are you here?" Jinbe asked as he touched his wrist to numb the pain from the chains. The commotion among the prisoners made it difficult for him to see what was happening.

    "We came to save Ace. Looks like we have been fooled. Since there was another guy who was here for the crimes of my brother, I guess we do owe you one."

    "We?" Jinbe was confused. Ken proceeded to narrate what was going on and how he reached there. The more Jinbe heard, the more surprised and grateful he became. Now he could join them in saving Ace.

    "Then we can leave now," Jinbe said.

    "Not so fast. I need to take care of something else here," Ken said.

    "Are there more prisoners here who support Ace?" Jinbe wondered if there were any other allies of Ace that the World Government might have caught.

    "No. I am here to kill a few men," Ken said and then gave the most innocent smile possible.

 235. You are anything but harmless

    Jinbe was confused and astonished by what Ken meant by that, but he followed him nonetheless. Soon, Ken was standing in front of another prison cell. This one was not far away. Without any thought, he destroyed the cell locks and entered.

    "Hahahaha... Have you come to free me too?" a voice in utter darkness said, laughing loudly. Unlike the other prisoners, this one was special. He wasn''t wearing the prison dress but the actual warden''s dress of Impel Down.

    This was Shiryu of the Rain, the previous warden of Impel Down, who had a penchant for killing people and was bloodthirsty.

    "Shiryu... I am sorry," Ken said, and in the next moment, he swung his hammer. The hammer was fast and precise, going straight for Shiryu''s head. He didn''t even get time to dodge. Mjolnir blasted through his head like a huge bullet, and the grey matter splattered on the wall behind as if someone had thrown a bucket of red paint.

    Shiryu couldn''t die more after this. Jinbe, who was outside the cell and curious, shuddered a bit. He thought Shiryu was some kind of friend of Ken, but it was nothing like that. After retrieving his Mjolnir, Ken came out of the cell. The others who were expecting Shiryu to come out had gone dead silent, as some had heard and seen what just transpired.

    The feared ex-Warden of Impel Down was dead. He didn''t even get a chance to say something in his last moments and was actively thinking that Ken would free him, just as he did with Jinbe.

    "Why... why did you kill him?" Jinbe couldn''t help but ask. He wasn''t a saint, so he didn''t care about the other criminals, but he was curious and thought Ken might have some enmity.

    "It''s because they are the worst criminals and have ties with Blackbeard. Need I say more?" Ken said. Jinbe squinted his eyes and nodded. Now he perfectly understood. Ken didn''t stop with Shiryu and proceeded to other prison cells.

    The second one was Avalo Pizarro, the one who ate the Isle-Isle fruit (Shima Shima no Mi). This effectively could make him assimilate into an island and control the things around after assimilation on the island, but of course, all of this didn''t matter as he was tied down by Sea Stone.

    "What... What are you doing?" Avalo, with his sharp teeth, shouted at Ken when he saw him entering and rotating his hammer. He had already seen from nearby how Ken killed Shiryu, and he was sure that he had never met this guy before, so he was definitely not a friend.

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    "Killing you," Ken said with a smile.

    "No... No... I didn''t do anything to you. Why are you doing this?" Avalo pleaded. He had quite a funny face when Ken had seen him before, but now his face only held fear and trepidation.

    "You haven''t, and that is true, but you have committed too many crimes to be left alive. Plus, this isn''t something personal. I am doing this for the safety of the sea," Ken said as he threw Mjolnir.

    "Nooooo...." Avalo shouted as he actively tried to dodge, but Mjolnir course-corrected itself and struck Avalo, and just like Shiryu, he too died an untimely death in Impel Down. His last screams echoed in the huge place of Level 6, making everyone silent.

    Ken wasn''t done with Avalo. He went to another prison cell, the one that held Catarina Devon. She had an ugly face, and her smile was enough to make someone shudder in fear.

    "Will you kill a harmless and innocent woman like me?" Devon said as Ken entered her prison cell. She had already seen what he had done to Avalo from another prison and was quite trembling at the moment.

    "Madam, you are anything but harmless. You are wasting your life here anyways. Why not just liberate your soul, and also the Devil fruit will get eaten by a better person," Ken said while rotating his Mjolnir.

    "I will do anything for you. You are a pirate, right? I can join your crew and be under you for the rest of my life," Devon pleaded.

    "I don''t need someone like you who doesn''t have an inch of loyalty. It''s better I send you to the afterlife," Ken said and threw Mjolnir. She screamed and furiously tried to dodge, but it was already too late. She died just like the others. This was horrifying, and never in the history of Level 6 of Impel Down did one see so many deaths in the same day.

    They were the toughest guys in the world, and now they were dying like flies. Jinbe held a stoic face as he didn''t feel anything for the people who had ties with the man that helped in capturing Ace. Ken wasn''t done though, and he went on to kill Sanjuan Wolf and Vasco Shot.

    They had huge bodies, and both of their cries echoed more loudly than the others. It was horrific. Both of them, with their funny faces, pleaded and asked to know why they were being killed, but Ken refused to answer and just sent them to their doom. The Level 6 was silent.

    Even Crocodile, who was known for jumping around and throwing his weight, was silent and trembled a bit. After killing everyone who was supposed to join the Blackbeard Pirates, Ken stood in the middle of Level 6 and shouted.

    "Listen up, you ugly and scummy bastards. Soon, someone called Blackbeard will come and say that he will free you if you join his crew. Well, you are welcome to join his group and do whatever you want, but remember, if you do join, I will hunt you down, I will find you, and I will kill you."

    Those words were heard by everyone present.

    "You are just a coward who kills people in their weakness."

    "Do you think I am afraid of you?"

    "You are just a weak bastard."

    Shouts rang out from Level 6.

 236. I own you here

    "For once in a while, I believe the criminals of Level 6," a loud voice rang through Level 6, and it wasn''t one of the prisoners of Level 6. Jinbe and Ken turned their heads and looked in the direction of the voice.

    There was a tall and menacing man standing a few meters away from them. He wore a black overcoat just like Shiryu, sharp teeth like Bartolomeo, and horns like a Devil. Of course, this was the famous and probably one of the most powerful wardens that Impel Down had ever seenˇŞMagellan.

    Jinbe had his eyebrows squinted when he saw Magellan. He didn''t exactly fear him, but he felt a little anxious seeing him. Behind him were Hannyabal and other wardens of various Levels like Sadie.

    "Ken-kun, I think we should leave now."

    "We will," Ken replied, smiling at Magellan.

    "I was doing you a service, Magellan. These criminals deserve death anyways," Ken replied. Slowly, Hannyabal and others were surrounding him with their guns in hand, and Jinbe slowly crept towards Ken, turning his back on him so that Ken wouldn''t be sneak-attacked, not that it mattered to Ken anyways.

    "That''s not for you to decide," Magellan said as his body slowly gave off purple-colored steam. This was the effect of his venom venom fruit. This was one of the most broken fruits of the world if one didn''t have the antidote to it.

    "Oh! Then who is to decide who gets the axe and who gets freedom? You? Or the World Government? The same World Government which lets the Celestial Dragons keep people around as pets and allows some of the worst criminals to walk free like it is nothing. Doesn''t that infuriate you, my dear Magellan?" Ken said.

    "Punisher Kenny, you have nowhere to run to. Surrender immediately so that I can become the ward... I mean, so that justice can prevail." Ken turned around and looked at Hannyabal deeply, the one who desperately wanted to be the warden of Impel Down. Ken didn''t like this guy at all and proceeded to use Conqueror''s Haki on him specifically.

    Soon, sweat beads trickled down Hannyabal''s face, and in a moment''s notice, he was on his knees, panting and feeling out of breath. The others around instantly shot at Ken, but the bullets seemed to do nothing to him as his body was way too tough for a normal bullet to do anything.

    "He has Conqueror''s Haki?" Jinbe was surprised but smiled. Magellan, too, was astonished by this, and now he was more determined to catch him. He was late in reaching Level 6. By the time he reached Luffy, Sabo, and a few men had already escaped. Thankfully, Punisher Kenny was here, and in no way he would let him get away.

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    Seeing Ken engaged with Hannyabal, Magellan attacked.

    "Venom Hydra!"

    Vicious serpentine tendrils of poison shot towards Ken.

    "Jinbe! Get away. I will handle him," Ken shouted as he dodged Magellan''s attack, maneuvering through the paths at incredible speed. Jinbe, being clever, jumped back a few meters. He wanted to help, and that could be done by taking out these small-time wardens.

    "Shinra Tensei."

    An awe-inspiring force sent a devastating shockwave towards Magellan. The venom that was being thrown at Ken was getting splattered all around.

    "A devil fruit?" Magellan, seeing his attack getting away from Ken, creased his eyebrows. His attack was only life-threatening if it touched the body of his enemy. This was not what he expected.

    <hr>

    But he wasn''t going to back down just because someone easily countered his venom attack.

    "Hell''s Judgment!"

    Magellan followed up by creating a rain of deadly poison that fell upon Ken.

    "You don''t learn from your mistakes, do you?" Ken said as the rain falling upon him seemed to encounter some kind of barrier. In the next second, the venom droplets flew away, falling upon Magellan''s subordinates. Ken also made sure that Jinbe wasn''t hurt by his attack and that the venom only fell upon his enemies. The enemies cried out in pain. Though they had the antidote to his attack, that didn''t mean the venom wouldn''t affect them.

    Magellan was appalled. How was he going to defeat this guy if he couldn''t even touch him? There must be some kind of loophole in his gravity manipulation. Unyielding, Magellan unleashed his ultimate technique.

    "Venom Demon: Hell''s Verdict."

    He transformed into a gargantuan, nightmarish demon made of pure poison, his toxic aura spreading all over the place. Jinbe had already taken care of most of the men, but when he saw the demonic figure of Magellan, he felt unsettled. He didn''t know that Magellan was this powerful. Ken looked up and saw the devilish face of Magellan.

    He roared in ferocity. Ken lifted his palm and pointed it at Magellan''s body, whispering.

    "Chibaku Tensei."

    Magellan waited for any kind of movement, but he didn''t notice any change. Not giving any chance to Ken, he used his hydra snakes to attack him, but as the snakes came forward, the ground started to shake. The shaking was very mild at the beginning, but soon it became intense. Ground parts started to move upward and get attached to Magellan''s body. At first, the parts were very small, but the bigger parts also came charging in.

    Magellan wanted to get rid of the sticky floor parts, but he was unable to do so. It was as if he was a magnet to everything in the surrounding. At first, it was the floor pieces, then the chains around him floated up and wrapped around him.

    "Punisher Kenny, what is this?" Magellan roared as he sent a flurry of attacks, but they couldn''t even reach Ken, and he was slowly getting drowned under the pieces of surroundings. He was getting suffocated slowly.

    "Ask the Vice-Admirals, maybe they will explain how they lost some of their limbs. Remember Magellan, I own you here. Not the World Government, not the Admirals, and not the Navy. Fear me before you fear them," Ken said.

 237. You can go back

    "Damn you, Punisher Kenny!" Magellan roared as he tried walking towards Ken and catch him with his own hands. But the weight was getting heavier with every passing second. The prisoners and the jailers around looked at Ken in horror. When Ken killed the prisoners, they thought he was only able to do so because they were tied and weak.

    But now that they saw how Ken toyed with the most feared warden of Impel Down, they gulped. Magellan tried his best, but soon he was wrapped all around in pieces from all sides, and not a sound could be heard. A huge ball of broken pieces laid on the floor.

    Ken sighed as he looked at Magellan. He didn''t hate Magellan per se. He was just doing his duty, it''s just that he was on the other side. Ken looked around with his Rinnegan eyes, which made everyone fearful and caused everyone looking at him to avert their eyes.

    "Remember, if you take the side of Blackbeard, you will be treated much worse. At least Magellan is still alive; you won''t be," Ken said. Jinbe didn''t have to do much in the end. The warden and jailers actually ran away after they saw Magellan being played with. It was horrifying for them.

    "Ken-kun, you have surprised me."

    "Hahaha... I wouldn''t have done so if I wasn''t very confident in my abilities," Ken smiled.

    "Hahahah... I am Jinbe, Captain of the Sun Pirates."

    "I am Monkey D. Kenny, a crew member of the Straw Hats."

    "Ace did speak a lot about you. Hahaha... How will we escape the prison?" Jinbe asked with a huge smile on his face. He was glad that Ken was this powerful. Whitebeard was already supposed to go, and having him on their side would be quite the help.

    "Don''t resist," Ken said, and then one of his started sucking Jinbe in. He was a little apprehensive but chose to trust Ken in the end. With that, both Ken and Jinbe disappeared. The other prisoners who had been silent heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Ken and Jinbe leave. He was a nightmare.

    <hr>

    Impel Down had already sent the report of what had gone down. Two hours after Ken left, the jailers were finally able to free Magellan after dragging him back to Level 1. After a long struggle, they were finally able to free him. But during those two hours, Impel Down experienced another attack.

    An attack that came from Blackbeard.

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    He had arrived with Van Augur, Lafitte, and Doc Q. Van Augur now had a new mechanical eye, while Burgess wasn''t to be seen anywhere. Van Augur had his eyes replaced and made a mechanical eye specially for him. Of course, it wasn''t anything like the ones Franky has, nor was it Vegapunk who performed the surgery on him. It was just a normal eye, but having him as the sniper showed how powerful his ability was.

    Blackbeard came and caused havoc in all the levels, and since the wardens and the jailers were mostly injured, they couldn''t stop him. He ran wild in all the levels and finally reached Level 6.

    "Jehahahaha... Finally here," Blackbeard laughed with his crooked teeth and proceeded to find potential crew members that he had checked from before. But this was where he got a scare.

    All the prisoners that he wanted to free were lying dead with their heads missing.

    "How is this possible? Who killed them?" Blackbeard''s smile was gone, replaced by anger. "Can anyone tell me what happened to them?"

    There was complete silence in the prison. Now that Blackbeard arrived at Level 6, there was an eerie feeling. It was as if something had come and destroyed the place, making it almost ghostly.

    "Is it Blackbeard?" A voice broke the silence of Level 6. Blackbeard turned around and saw a man with a golden hook on his hand. This was Crocodile.

    "Crocodile... Jehahaha... You are still alive... Yes, I am Blackbeard... Are you willing to join my crew?" Although Blackbeard was irritated that his favored personnel had been killed, he didn''t want to ruin his mood too much at the moment with it.

    "Then I would advise you to leave," Crocodile said.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Punisher Kenny visited a few hours ago, and he warned us not to join your crew. It was him who killed the prisoners, and it was him who took down Magellan quite easily," Crocodile said. Blackbeard''s face dripped with anger as he heard.

    "What?"

    "You can ask around, and you will hear the same answer," Crocodile said, and then he slowly went back to sit and enjoy life in prison. He regretted a bit now. For the first time in his life, he regretted trying to take down the Straw Hats in Alabasta.

    It was the greatest mistake of his life. Probably more so than taking on Whitebeard.

    "Kenny... Kenny... The brother of Ace..." Blackbeard said as he touched his right arm, which was heavily bandaged. He could still remember how Ace was able to tear off the muscle from his arm with his dragon-like claws.

    He really thought he was a goner until Akainu arrived and took him down together. He could still feel the pain and the bruises left behind by Ace. And now, his brother too was proving to be a hindrance to his plans.

    He gritted his teeth in anger, and maybe a little more pressure on his teeth would fall off.

    "I will free anyone who is ready to join my crew." Blackbeard shouted loudly. There was no repsonse in all of Level 6. He could even hear some scoffs from some prisoners.

    "I will be a Yonko soon after killing Whitebeard. Don''t you want to be in the crew of an Yonko?" Blackbeard shouted again. Still no response.

    "Punisher Kenny.. I will get back at you. I will kill your crew mates.. And then I will kill you." Blackbeard whispered under his breath. He was furious what had transpired and wanted revenge.

 238. Why did you chose this path?

    Meanwhile, Ken and Jinbe had already appeared on the deck of the Merry with Jinbe being ''vomited'' out from Ken''s eye. He was a little disoriented, but he was fine after a couple of minutes.

    "Ken, where have you been? Everyone was waiting for you," Sabo said.

    "You''re late," Luffy said as he chewed meat with vigor.

    Yes, Sabo and others had all been taken to the Merry after they made their escape. This was the greatest escape ever in the history of Impel Down, shadowing the feat of Golden Lion Shiki. The Merry could fly in the air, so going in and out of places was never a problem for them.

    "Sorry, got held up with something," Ken replied while eyeing Jinbe. Jinbe could already tell that Ken didn''t want to talk about what he had just done in Impel Down, so he too promptly shut his mouth. As Jinbe appeared, everyone was curious about who this huge guy was that Ken had brought.

    "You... You are Son of the Sea, Jinbe," Nami said, her pupils dilated as she looked at Jinbe. Jinbe, who was ready to introduce himself, turned and looked at Nami. Seeing Nami, Jinbe stiffened.

    There was sudden silence. Buggy and others, who were ready to cause a ruckus, could feel the tension between Jinbe and Nami, so they too shut their mouths and got curious. After a few seconds, Jinbe fell to his knees and bowed down to Nami.

    "I have heard about what Arlong had done to you, and whatever happened at your home is completely my responsibility. If you want to kill me, I will be happy to bow down my head and accept the punishment, but I hope that you can allow me to save Ace first. After that, I am at your disposal."

    Many people here were confused as they didn''t know the whole story, and nobody had educated them about it, but the Straw Hats knew what had gone down. Buggy had done his research on the Straw Hats, so he had a general idea of what they were talking about. But it wasn''t the same for the prisoners.

    Nami flinched as she heard what Jinbe said and clenched her fists.

    "I have met Hachi a few days ago," Nami said. This made Jinbe raise his head and look at Nami, awaiting what she wanted to say.

    "I have forgiven him, but not forgotten what I had faced. But let''s not talk about my personal problems when Ace''s life is at stake. We are going to have a talk after this is over," Nami said. This relieved Jinbe a lot and brought a small smile to his face.

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    "One question," Luffy raised his hand.

    "Yes," Sabo replied.

    "Who is he?" Luffy asked. This made everyone embarrassed. Sabo went on to explain who Jinbe was, and Ken joined in and spoke of how Jinbe was a great friend of Ace. This made Luffy remember Arlong, as he had almost forgotten about him. Arlong was taken care of very easily, so it was all the more reason for him not to remember.

    In fact, Ken was pretty sure that Lucci, the man who was supposed to be his long-time enemy, had slipped from his mind entirely. With everyone on board, Franky was asked to take the ship slowly to Marineford. According to the news, the execution was happening in 14 hours, so there was still time.

    Until then, they could take their time and rest. Chopper came forward with medicines for everyone who had just escaped, and Sanji made food. There were too many people, so Nami and Robin helped him, which of course he loved and was almost drooling as they joined.

    Meanwhile, Jabra called, saying that even the CP agents had been dispatched to Marineford. Apparently, Ace was considered too dangerous, and they had ramped up the security. This didn''t matter to Ken anyway. CP agents could be taken care of easily.

    Luffy actually wanted to go and free Ace instead of waiting for the execution time, but Sabo explained that they didn''t even know where he was, and thus it was better to attack when they were in the open.

    "Sabo, have you contacted the Whitebeard Pirates?" Ken asked.

    "Yes, they will attack during the execution time too," Sabo replied.

    "Alright, everyone. This is war. So you can go wherever you want and take care of the things around," Ken said. Of course, not everyone was happy to be in the war.

    For example, Buggy was begging to be let go and not have to participate, but nobody paid attention, and there were some Buggy fanatics who thought Buggy was trying to save Ace from the beginning itself.

    After the Sabaody incident, the Straw Hats had already returned to the Merry, so everything was in place from the beginning itself.

    And thus, the waiting began.

    <hr>

    14 hours later

    Marineford Headquarters

    A separate high-rise deck was built right in the center of the huge open platform of Marineford. The deck had two floors, with the middle floor much broader than the upper one. On the middle floor, three huge chairs were placed, and on those chairs sat three very tall men.

    Each of them had a very serious expression. Those three were the Admirals of the Marines - Kuzan Aokiji, Sakazuki Akainu, and Borsalino Kizaru. On the top deck, there was a long steel plate that looked red with some dried blood. On the steel plate, two hands were crucified with chains around the man''s neck and legs. The blood seemed to have dried up a lot, but one could still see the glisten of red from time to time, indicating that it hadn''t fully healed.

    The man who was tied up was Portgas D. Ace.

    Beside him sat an elderly man with a white beard. This was Monkey D. Garp.

    "Normally, I hate criminals with my heart and soul and would bring them down with my entire force, but family... family is where I get weak... Why, Ace? Why did you and your brothers choose this path?" Garp muttered with a heavy heart.

 239. Is this an illusion?

    Ace felt a little sad looking at his grandpa, who cared and loved him with all his heart. Though he never regretted being a pirate, he did feel bad for his grandpa. If one looked at Ace, one could see that the skin on his hands and under his eyes looked like snakes.

    His white eyes had a red color tint on them, making him look like an animal, but more particularly, a dragon. He had been under the watchful eyes of Akainu since he was caught, and he almost freed himself once in the beginning. Akainu, being the mad dog he was, proceeded to nail him on a steel bar after Ace made a run, which was stopped by Aokiji and Akainu together.

    Ace was proving to be too difficult to be held for a long time, and thus it was deemed better to kill him early and be done with it. Garp just looked into the distance with sadness, feeling conflicted in his heart. While Garp was nearby, Sengoku was standing on the side with a den den mushi in his hand.

    He used the den den mushi as a speaker and announced through it. Below the platform, there were thousands of marines and some giants among them. They all looked up at Sengoku, eager to hear what he had to say.

    "Today''s execution is of significant importance. The person to be executed today is Portgas D. Ace. Ace, tell them who your father is," Sengoku said, getting straight to the point.

    Ace remained silent and didn''t answer.

    "Go on, Ace, tell them who your father is," Sengoku urged.

    "It''s Whitebeard," Ace shouted at the top of his lungs.

    "Wrong. Ace is the son of Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates."

    This sent shockwaves through all of Marineford. Sengoku''s words were not only heard in Marineford but also in many places around the world. The World Government had made sure that the war was shown to many people around the world to boost their morale.

    "He isn''t my father," Ace shouted. He wanted to free himself and run, but the pain was bone-wrenching, and he had to stop moving his hands. As Ace spoke, the clouds above started to darken. It happened quickly, and the once clear white sky turned dark in the blink of an eye.

    Lightning surged, creating a deafening noise around them. The marines felt an ominous feeling as they looked at the angry sky. Garp, Sengoku, Tsuru, and the Admirals furrowed their eyebrows when they saw the sky change. It was not a good sign.

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    Then, silently and very politely, a small whirlpool appeared near Ace and Sengoku. The whirlpool grew larger, and in the blink of an eye, a man materialized. The man had a mask on his face and wore a huge overcoat with red clouds on it.

    Everyone, including the Admirals who were sitting on the bottom, looked at the man who had just appeared. They were puzzled, but Aokiji, Kizaru, and Garp widened their eyes in confusion. They didn''t expect this man to appear out of nowhere. However, the man possessed a very weird kind of power ¨C the kind that would make fighting him very annoying.

    "Ken!"

    "Kenny!"

    Ace and others shouted out when the man appeared. Nobody could see his face, so nobody could tell what his expression was. But those who knew him, knew that it was Kenny. Ken slowly walked towards Ace.

    "Oh no, this isn''t your home." Sengoku had been vigilant from the beginning and when he heard Garp mention Ken, he already knew who this guy was. His hands glowed with a golden color, and for those who knew Haki, they could tell that his hand was infused with Armament Haki.

    Sengoku didn''t even think twice and hit Ken with considerable might. However, something amazing happened. Sengoku''s punch didn''t hit Ken''s body; instead, his hands went straight through Ken''s body, as if he was nothing but air.

    "What?"

    "What is this?"

    "An illusion?"

    "What the hell is going on? Who is he?"

    Everyone was surprised by what had happened. While there was a small ruckus around with the arrival of Kenny, he walked slowly towards Ace. The first thing he did was punch Ace right in the face. It was a hard punch, and the sound of the impact echoed loudly. Ace''s head bent to the other side because of the sheer strength Ken had used.

    The punch made everyone around more serious. When Sengoku punched him, they thought that Ken was just an illusion and not real, but him hitting Ace with a hard punch meant that he was real and not an illusion.

    And they were sure that Ken didn''t move fast as people around had haki to begin with. So what was going on?

    "What the hell Ken, why did you hit me?" Ace shouted quite angry at his brother. He was glad and happy that his brother came to save him but also confused why his brother decided to hit him.

    "When we met in Alabasta, I fucking told you to go back to the New World and you didn''t listen. When I advised you to control your impulsiveness, you didn''t listen. Now look where you are. It''s your fucking selfishness that has brought you here. If you had thought for one second the consequences of your actions you would have known not to do something but no. You need to be the hero of the day! And the mad dog at the end caught you. Luffy and Sabo are in anxiety thinking of you and you decided to be the selfish prick." Ken roared and his voice was heard by everyone present.

    Sengoku and others were stupefied because they were still trying to understand what had happened and how Sengoku''s attack didn''t have any effect. As Ken looked down at Ace and lectured, Akainu came flying from behind, his arm shining in red magma with it''s heat being felt in the surroundings.

    He didn''t stop and hit Ken with all his might from behind.

 240. Its a coincidence

    But then the same thing happened just like the previous time. Akainu''s magma punch went straight through his body. Ken didn''t even flinch when he was ''hit''.

    "What?"

    "Again?"

    "What the hell is going on?"

    Ace, who was ready to retaliate with his own words, felt fear when Akainu attacked from behind and almost warned him but seeing him not react at all made him happy. He had seen Obito in war so he knew the most dangerous power of this guy. Of course, he wasn''t like Luffy who would unveil all secrets. He kept his mouth shut and if these people figured it out, at the end it wouldn''t matter even if they knew what his ability was because it was broken to begin with.

    Ken slowly turned around and looked at Akainu who had a very surprised look on his face. And Akainu wasn''t the only one. Aokiji and Kizaru also attacked him from the two sides. Kizaru was bold enough to even kick him on his head. Garp trembled when he saw this and he almost got up to stop the Admirals but then he was more surprised.

    Through his future sight he saw what had happened but even then he couldn''t explain what was going on. Ken felt irritated that he was being seen as some kind of toy and in the next second huge lightning came straight down from the sky on the Admirals.

    The admirals also felt the attack coming and had to elementalize the body to escape the wrath of lightning. The Admirals fell back on the platform and the lightning dissipated after leaving a huge burn mark on the platform. Sengoku and Garp were a little horrified. Garp especially. He had never seen Ken in this way.

    He knew that Ken was powerful as he himself faced him before they went out to the sea but this was different. Not getting hit even after using haki. This was already ground breaking! And now summon lightning!

    "Relax boys. I am not freeing Ace. At least not yet. There will be time for everything." Ken said as he slowly sat at the edge of the platform.

    "Punisher Kenny.. What do you want?" Sengoku said while gritting his teeth. His advanced haki could already tell that even if he punched again at this guy it would still be the same. They didn''t know what they should do to bring him down. The marines were already pointing their guns at him but Sengoku indicated them to lower their weapons because it was useless.

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    "What do I want? That''s a good question. I want many things in life but for today, let''s talk about Ace and you. Shall we?"

    "Me?" Sengoku squinted his eyes and looked at Ken. What was this guy talking about?

    "I think my voice is heard by all." Ken said and somehow his words were hear by everyone. He was using the Thor''s character to raise his volume so that everyone could listen.

    "I am Monkey D. Kenny, brother of Ace and no I am not the son of Roger. I am an orphan. You know me by my other name. Punisher Kenny, one of the Worst generation and also a pirate. My Captain is Monkey D. Luffy or Straw Hat Luffy. And let me give you some more revelation since your Fleet Admiral here would reveal it anyways later. Luffy is the son of Dragon, yes the same Dragon of the Revolutionary Army."

    This caused a huge shock to everyone present. It was not what anyone expected. The live stream videos and the marines who were listening to him were flabbergasted.

    "This is unbelievable."

    "Are you serious?"

    "Breaking news. Breaking news."

    "We were brought up by your own hero here," Ken said, pointing at Garp. "Grandpa Garp. He is our grandfather. Yes, Ace was adopted by him, just like me. But your Fleet Admiral just said that Ace is the son of Roger, and though he didn''t mention it, the main reason he brought it up at the start is to subtly imply that Ace is being executed because of his father. Isn''t that right, Sengoku-san?"

    Sengoku was taken aback by this accusation. Although he did mention it in the beginning, he didn''t expect that Ken would catch the main point.

    "What do you want to say, Kenny?" Sengoku asked.

    "Well, your meaning is that a son of a devil can only be a devil. So in that case, I should go and kill Drake. He is the son of a navy turned pirate and betrayed the trust of the navy. So, in that case, he should be executed too since he is the filthy son of a pirate," Ken said with a smile hidden behind the mask.

    This made Koby, Hellmeppo, Garp, Tsuru, and Sengoku flinch. Drake was the pirate and termed as one of the worst generation. He was the spy of the navy, though it crumbled apart in Sabody since the secret was out. Garp, Kizaru, and others were now horrified by Ken''s words. Not because of the threat, but because of how far Ken seemed to have thought his plan.

    At the beginning, he exposed Drake, and by now, people knew that he was a spy of the navy disguised as a pirate. But now that another revelation was out, it meant Ken had prepared all of this from the very beginning just to get back at Sengoku''s words.

    It was as if he had seen the future. The others might not get it, but those sitting on the upper levels definitely did.

    "You are wrong. He is being executed because he is a criminal and his pirate lineage has nothing to do with it. It''s is coincidental that he is the son of Roger." Sengoku said and tying to keep calm while thinking of ways to keep the mouth of Kenny shut. He was having a bad feeling as Ken had started talking.

    Things were starting to get dangerous here after his arrival.

 241. Both of you are stupid

    "Oh, so you admit that the Navy always goes after criminals?" Ken asked while sitting nonchalantly on the platform.

    "How dare this man sit with the high officers and not get shot down?"

    "Yes, we need to take him down."

    "Idiot, if it was that easy, don''t you think the Admirals would have taken him down? Didn''t you see how he took the attack of the three admirals simultaneously and still came out unscathed? His Devil fruit must be really outrageous to be able to avoid the attacks."

    "It must be something like the Illusion fruit or something to be able to do that." Whispers had already started among the Navy, and it irritated nobody but the Fleet Admiral the most. He wanted to get rid of Ken, but somehow he couldn''t.

    "Yes, we always take down criminals," Sengoku gritted his teeth and continued playing the game with Ken. He was still actively trying to find out what was wrong with Ken''s Devil fruit. It was outrageous.

    "Oh, then why is the criminal of a man who killed your own son still among us, walking while showcasing his powers? He killed your son in cold blood, and here he is, regarded as one of the navy. He even has a country to rule and engages in illegal trading of weapons among different countries of the world. Isn''t that right, Joker?" Ken turned and looked at Doflamingo.

    Doflamingo was having the time of his life and laughing like a maniac, but it all stopped when Ken looked at him with his red eyes. For the first time in his life, Doflamingo saw such red eyes, and it made him flinch a bit. Sengoku, meanwhile, who had been angry all this time, suddenly felt his own knees shake.

    His hands clenched as he looked at Ken with anger and shame.

    "No words, Sengoku-san? Then let me jog your memory. Donquixote Rosinante was a Celestial Dragon whom you picked up and trained like a son. He went on a secret mission to bring the pirate Doflamingo down. But your son died. He was killed by Doflamingo. And the funny part is, Doflamingo was the brother of Rosinante, and he still killed him. As a Fleet Admiral, what did you do, Sengoku-san? You can''t even avenge your own son. What right do you even have to be the Fleet Admiral and judge my brother?" Ken didn''t even finish his words when a punch came flying at him.

    The attack wasn''t from Sengoku or the Admirals, but from Garp himself. Ken, who was very unresponsive to attacks, turned around and looked at him as he saw the punch. Ken didn''t dodge, and just like last time, the punch went right through his body. Garp was angry.

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    "How dare you say those things to my friend?"

    Everyone was stiff with what Ken had just said. He still spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, and the marines were dumbstruck hearing what Ken had to say. The words of a pirate should never be believed, but if one saw Sengoku now, one could easily see the small tears in his eyes, and the way Garp reacted made everyone doubt if there was some truth to Ken''s words.

    "Grandpa.." Ken turned around and looked at Garp who had just passed through his body. Garp too turned around and he looked angry.

    "The last time we met, you told me that I disappointed you. You''re right, I probably did, but you disappointed me even more by having the spineless man as your friend who couldn''t avenge his own son, even after possessing all the powers of the world. Choose more wisely whom you share your senbei with next time," Ken said. In response, several fine, sharp threads converged onto Ken''s body from all sides.

    And just like last time, they went straight through him, with no impact. Ken turned and looked at the person who had just attacked.

    Doflamingo.

    "You certainly have a mouth on you, attempting to drive a wedge between us and the marines with lies and deceit. I''m impressed... Hehehehee..."

    Ken slowly took off his mask. The mask before was just for show, purely for drama. He needed to show his face to the public, along with his eyes. For the first time, everyone got a close look at Ken''s face.

    He was rather handsome with black hair and fair skin. But those eyes, shaped like hooked shuriken, sent shivers down the spines of many people.

    "Hahahah... " Ken suddenly burst into laughter. His laugh was so loud and pure that even Doflamingo''s evil laughter ceased. The lightning in the clouds seemed to synchronize with his laughter. Ken laughed for a good while, and then he abruptly stopped.

    "Whether it''s a lie or not, Joker, you know well in your heart. And why are you so elated? You''re just as foolish as the others, I''d say. You saw Kuma here, already transformed into an android, yet you''re naive enough to believe that this won''t happen to you. Smile fruits are already in existence, copies of Devil fruits, under your purview. What makes you think the government hasn''t created an android version of you with the same abilities? In fact, the Government has already initiated the process of replicating your abilities and embedding them into an android ready to do their bidding. In a few years, the Shichibukai system will be scrapped, and every Shichibukai will be running like dogs."

    Ken continued, and just like before, the expressions of a few people shifted from grim to furious. Sengoku and the others widened their eyes upon hearing Ken''s words. The topics he addressed were among the most closely guarded secrets, known only to a select few.

    And in response to Ken''s words, the Shichibukai who had been observing the drama turned their gaze towards Sengoku, their expressions speaking volumes. And this made the Shichibukai apprehensive. They looked at Kuma, who they already knew was an android and looked at the copies of him in the down square.

    His words were undoubtedly the truth.

 242. Try laying a finger

    "Sengoku... What he said, is it true?" Mihawk, the most reserved and rational man in the group, asked without a hint of emotion on his face.

    "No... How could it be true? He''s just lying," Sengoku said, but his words were a bit shaky, his tears hadn''t yet dried, and Ken had hit him right where it hurt the most.

    "Ah, Mihawk-san, it''s been a while since we last met. Regarding the androids, they will be known as Seraphims. Though they aren''t in production yet, that will change soon. This piece of garbage, Doflamingo, is already involved in making Smile fruits, so he has a better grasp of the concept," Ken stated. Doflamingo had long lost his smiling facade and was currently fuming with anger. Veins on his forehead were visibly throbbing, a sign of his boiling frustration. He was angered by Ken''s nonchalant demeanor towards him and by how the World Government was deceiving, seemingly forgetting his own duplicity.

    Mihawk merely acknowledged Ken with a nod, then turned his gaze toward the Admirals and Sengoku. He had found his answer. With that, he began walking away.

    "Hawkeye, where are you going? You''re supposed to fight alongside us."

    "I am not obligated to do anything. You can wage this war on your own. I hereby renounce my title as a Shichibukai," Mihawk declared.

    "Do you even realize what you''re saying? You''re trusting this lying pirate?" Another individual interjected.

    "I''ve encountered him before, and I find him more truthful than the rest of you combined," Hawkeye replied as he walked away from the platform. Observing this, Hancock also departed. The marines were now highly agitated and tried to obstruct her, only to be petrified into stone. Akainu appeared ready to attack, his hands exuding scorching lava, but Sengoku shook his head, indicating that he should remain in his position.

    "Cease the broadcast," Sengoku shouted, and the live feed was promptly terminated. People around the world who had been watching were thoroughly disappointed, and some were even infuriated that the live broadcast had been interrupted.

    However, within moments, the live broadcast resumed, this time from vastly different angles.

    "Sengoku-san, it''s not particularly transparent of you to block the global live feed. So, I''ve done you all a favor. I''ve installed hidden cameras and drones throughout Marineford to ensure the broadcast continues, thanks to assistance from the Revolutionary Army. Apologies, you might not be familiar with drones; regardless, the live feed will persist, and don''t bother attempting to locate the cameras. They''re well concealed," Ken announced.

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    "What?"

    "You bastard."

    "Evil pirate."

    "Is there no justice here?"

    The crowd roared.

    "Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous? These terms have always changed throughout the course of history! Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what''s wrong and what''s right! This very place is neutral ground! Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!"

    Ken used Doflamingo''s words for everyone to hear across the world. Doflamingo had uttered that when nobody was listening, and it was probably one of the most impactful lines ever spoken. Naturally, Ken felt the need to share it with others.

    "Well, that''s all I have to say. It''s time for me to leave. Although I can''t free him at the moment, I certainly will with some assistance," Ken stated, turning to leave. However, his path was blocked by Akainu, who stood beside Ace with his magma-covered hand just inches from Ace''s head.

    Garp, who was nearby, shuddered when he witnessed this scene. He almost leaped forward to confront Akainu, but he refrained and merely clenched his fist.

    "Punisher Kenny... Do you believe you can just walk away after insulting the Navy and ridiculing justice? I don''t understand how you remain unaffected by our attacks, but your brother Ace is definitely not impervious to physical harm. This bastard''s skin may be tough, but a few strikes from me will be enough to snuff out his last cursed breaths. If you want your brother to survive, surrender to us. Maybe then he can endure for more than a few seconds," Akainu declared.

    Ken turned to face Akainu, his expression devoid of anger and adorned with a smile. This reaction surprised everyone present, including Garp. Sengoku couldn''t shake off a sense of foreboding upon witnessing it.

    "Hahahah..." Following the smile came the laughter.

    "You might be right. My Haki isn''t incredibly strong, and facing so many of you would pose a significant challenge for me. Additionally, my brother has been crucified, making it even more difficult for me to free him single-handedly. I suppose you could kill him right here. However, you seem to have overlooked my main abilities. I can be anywhere and everywhere, all at once. If you doubt this, go ahead and ask Aokiji."

    "If you end his life here, I will obliterate this place. Numerous Vice Admirals caught a glimpse of my capabilities, which wasn''t even my full potential. Marineford will cease to exist from this point onward if you so much as lay a finger on him. Then I will proceed to be at all the bases across the world and reduce them to rubble. I don''t need to slaughter the Marines; I just need to dismantle your weaponry, armaments, and supply lines. The rest will be dealt with by the civilians themselves. And afterward, I will make my way to Mariejois. As you''ve witnessed, I''m impervious to physical attacks, so I can embark on a killing spree. I''ll begin by targeting the Celestial Dragons whom I''ve already abducted."

    "You dare!" Akainu roared.

    "He is more nasty than I thought." Kizaru spoke very slowly.

    "Arararara.. This has become a huge problem."

    "Try and see if I dare." Ken said. Sengoku came forward and put his hand on the shoulder of Akainu. He turned around, only to see Sengoku shaking his head. Ken might really be able to pull of what he said. He had seen the videos of Buster call and he was godlike there.

 243. They dreaded them

    Akainu reluctantly withdrew his magma-hot hands from Ace, allowing them to cool down. He was seething with anger, his desire to tear Ken apart burning fiercely. While the World Government had placed a massive bounty on Ken due to his actions in Water 7, there was something more at play.

    "You always talk about eliminating evil. I wonder if you''ll survive beyond today," Ken remarked, and with those words, his body was drawn into his left eye, vanishing from sight.

    "Garp... What in the world is happening? What kind of Devil Fruit did he consume?"

    "I don''t know. All I knew was that it had something to do with lightning. I have no idea what''s going on."

    "It''s certainly not a Logia. His body can''t even be affected by Haki. I''ve never witnessed anything like this before," Sengoku stated. The Navy was in disarray, and Sengoku was striving to find a logical explanation.

    He chose not to dwell on the fact that Doflamingo had murdered his son and the fact that the general public now knew of it. At that moment he was really in a very bad emotional state to refute the words of Ken and saving himself from embarrassment. Dealing with the aftermath would come later. It wasn''t the right time. Fortunately, Doflamingo hadn''t departed yet, unlike Mihawk and Hancock. He could still be utilized. Another faction with a deep-seated resentment towards Luffy and his allies was Moria. His hatred for the Straw Hats eclipsed even the shocking revelations.

    Kuma, now an android, remained at the scene. However, morale within the Marines had plummeted, with many actually buying into what Ken had spoken. Sengoku''s failure to refute Ken''s claims only solidified the pirate''s words. The way Garp reacted further underscored Ken''s credibility. Nevertheless, the immediate concern was facing the Whitebeard Pirates, given that news had arrived of Whitebeard''s ship and crew vanishing from the New World. Everyone knew that Whitebeard cherished his family above all else.

    <hr>

    Ken found himself once again on the Merry, which had ascended to an altitude so high that Marineford''s eyes and even Haki couldn''t reach them. The ship functioned as a miniature satellite, transmitting live feeds to the Revolutionary Army in Sabaody, which in turn relayed the information to the rest of the world. When Ken returned, the Straw Hats and the prisoners had already witnessed his discourse.

    Their jaws dropped upon hearing his words in the live feed. He had openly insulted the World Government and then calmly walked away.

    "What''s up!" Ken greeted, noticing the wide-eyed stares of those around him.

    "You were incredible!"

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    "You''re my hero!"

    "You''re like a deity!"

    Such words were thrown around liberally, but Ken merely shook his head. Even Jinbe was impressed by how Ken had faced the fury of the World Government head-on and then strolled away with composure.

    "Whitebeard will be here soon. So you will have to get ready." Ken didn''t bother with their worship and nor did Luffy. Luffy actually wanted to come with Ken when he had decided to act but somehow all the crew members stopped him and said it would be dangerous. At the end Luffy agreed.

    <hr>

    As expected, Whitebeard eventually arrived at Marineford. Upon his arrival, Newgate was elated. The Revolutionary Army and Straw Hats had ensured an upgraded live stream, broadcasting the entire Ken and Sengoku saga to them. Thanks to excellent logistics managed by Sabo, who, like Ken, seemed to be everywhere at once, word reached Whitebeard swiftly.

    This was why he had been absent since his departure from Thriller Bark. Now that Whitebeard was on the scene, his laughter resonated with joy. When Ace was captured, he believed his world was collapsing, but now his brother had sprung a remarkable surprise.

    Mocking Sengoku and neutralizing two formidable Shichibukai were brilliant tactics. Even the current Shichibukai weren''t exactly aligned with the World Government, and beyond that, Ken had struck a heavy blow to the Navy''s morale. That was ample achievement in itself.

    "Hahahah... Sengoku, you''re truly a letdown. I once thought we were equals. What a mistake that was," Whitebeard declared as he gradually rose with his Murakumogiri atop the bow of the Moby Dick.

    "You''d better hold your tongue, or I''ll end your son''s life right here. Your fabricated story to manipulate everyone holds no weight," Sengoku retorted with a roar.

    "Sengoku... You and I have clashed on a few occasions, and we both know who spoke the truth. Try laying a hand on my son and witness the Straw Hats'' retaliation. Ace always held his brothers in high regard, and I see why now. You''ve done well by dubbing him the Punisher. He''s a Punisher, but for the Marines. Hahahaha..." Whitebeard responded before launching his initial attack.

    Employing his signature technique of cracking the air with his punch, he triggered a massive earthquake, unleashing a subsequent tsunami. Sengoku utilized the microphone to disclose the nature of Whitebeard''s Devil Fruit power and proclaim him as the world''s most dangerous man.

    As per the original events, Aokiji intervened, freezing the sea. This led to the freezing of the ocean beneath and provided a neutral battleground for others to stand on. With the battle initiated, the Marines understood this was just the beginning, fully expecting the Straw Hats to arrive shortly.

    As anticipated, a sizable circular orange portal materialized, and numerous figures emerged. Initially, it was the Straw Hat crew, each adorned in attire designed for battle, capable of withstanding prolonged combat and resisting certain attacks. Among the Straw Hats, two were conspicuously absent.

    Nico Robin and Vivi were missing from the assembly. Their presence would have introduced too much uncertainty, and it was deemed best to keep them in reserve on the Merry. The second group consisted of the escapees from Impel Down, accompanied by Jinbe. Additionally, Sabo was present, the sole representative from the Revolutionary Army, his companions Koala and others absent from this engagement.

    "ACEEEEE! We have come to save you." Luffy after landing shouted loudly from the bottom of his heart. The marines were not surprised by their arrival and were expecting them.

    But mostly they dreaded them.

 244. The might of Straw Hats

    [

    Nami : Hermione Granzer 100% / Avatar - 75%

    Chopper : Beast boy 68%

    Franky : Cyborg 70%

    Brook : Hitsugya Toshiro 30%

    Sanji : Shinra Kusakabe 39%

    Zoro : Zenitsu, Yoriichi and Insouke 100%, Shunsui Ky¨­raku 35%

    Luffy : Hiruzen Sarutobi 100%, Jin Mori 20%

    Kenny : Thor 100% Obito Uchiha 95%

    Sabo : Danzo Shimura 1005, Doctor Strange : 30%

    ]

    Those were the percentage when the Straw hats landed on the icy ocean of Marineford. The Straw Hats also didn''t ask for help from the animals that were with them as it might also prove a nit dangerous for them. It was better to stay back and help Vivi and Robin.

    The sky which had been cleared for some minutes was again filled with dark clouds. This made many of the men shudder. They had seen the arrival of Ken before and now he was here again. A trauma and a persona whom they would fight very hard to defeat physical attacks would prove nothing to him.

    Bolts of lightning struck the icy surface, creating a powerful shockwave that sent waves crashing in all directions. Luffy after landing had allowed the Straw hats to run wild in the battlefield. Ken instead of going forward turned back and went behind. The Marinefod surrounding had walls built right on the ocean itself and thus when people got inside it becomes very hard to get out so Ken took the lead to clear the way.

    He flew towards the ships who were trying to close in from behind the Whitebeard Pirates and sneak attack. He remembered how Akainu convinced Skuward to sneak attack Newgate from behind and he wouldn''t let that happen in anyways. Ken didn''t know if this guy had some deathwish but he would never let him die in this way.

    With a mighty swing of Mj?lnir, he conjured a devastating lightning strike that obliterated the lead ship and sent splinters flying through the air. The thunderous boom that followed was deafening, but it was just the beginning.

    "Ken, where are you? We are going ahead." Luffy spoke on the comms. Another thing that had been made by Vivi and thus every one of the Straw hats were always connected.

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    "You go ahead.. I will clean some rats." Ken said.

    "Okay. Do come fast.. Ace can''t be allowed to be like this for much time."

    "I know."

    Meanwhile the other Straw hats went on their way and gave support to Luffy who was actively running towards the platform where Ace was tied down. The straw Hats didn''t allow much people to get close to Luffy.

    Nami, with a focused exhale, summoned a powerful gust of wind, creating a sudden burst that caught the incoming marines. The gust created a veil of blinding snow, obscuring visibility and disorienting the marines, some of them were even blown away to a very long distance.

    As the marines struggled to regain their bearings, Nami''s waterbending skills came to the forefront. She spotted a group of marines advancing, their footsteps echoing through the icy expanse. With a swift motion, she drew moisture from the surrounding air and the ice below, forming intricate patterns of ice on the ground. As the marines stepped onto the ice, it rapidly froze beneath their feet, ensnaring them in an icy trap. Their movements slowed and their attempts to free themselves were in vain as Nami manipulated the ice to tighten its grip.

    The other marines were terrified seeing this. What the hell was wrong with this woman? Air and ice control? What kind of Devil fruit did she eat?

    But this wasn''t the end Nami seeing an opportunity to turn the tide further, she combined her bending abilities. She conjured a swirling vortex of frigid air and water, creating a chilling blizzard that enveloped the area. The marines were caught in the midst of this icy maelstrom, struggling to stay on their feet and ward off the biting cold. Nami''s control over the elements allowed her to maneuver effortlessly through the storm, striking with precision whenever she spotted an opening.

    "She is a true weather bender. How is she doing this? What kind of Devil fruit did she eat?"

    "I don''t want to go near her. I will either be blown away or freeze myself."

    Nami and Brook had gone one opposite sides of Luffy and the marines on the rother side were''t having a good time with Brook. His icy presence seemed to intensify the chill in the atmosphere. He raised his Zanpakuto and whispered its name, releasing a surge of cold energy that enveloped his surroundings. The air itself froze, forming a mist of frost that obscured his form, making him almost ethereal as he glided forward on a sheet of ice.

    Aokiji''s ice battlefield now seemed like a playground for Brook. Spotting an approaching group of marines, Brook swung his Zanpakuto downward, releasing a torrent of icy shards. The shards soared through the air, gleaming like crystalline razors, and upon impact with the ground, they exploded into a field of icy spikes. The marines found themselves trapped, their movements hindered by the treacherous terrain of ice and frost.

    "Yo..ho..ho..ho.. Please be very careful while walking. You might slid in ice."

    With a mere thought, Brook summoned his Zanpakuto''s Shikai. Hyorinmaru extended into a massive dragon of ice and snow, roaring with raw elemental might. The dragon''s mere presence sent waves of frigid energy radiating outwards, causing the temperature to plummet. With a single command from Brook, the dragon surged forward, its colossal maw snapping shut on the marines, freezing them in an instant. This wasn''t even bankai and it was already devastating for the marines.

    Amidst the chaos, Brooks''s movements were as fluid as the ice he controlled. He utilized Shunpo, the Soul Reaper''s high-speed movement technique, to evade enemy attacks with grace and precision. With a swift flick of his Zanpakuto, he conjured icy barriers that deflected projectiles and provided cover for his allies.

    "I already cut you.. Please be good and be an icy sculpture."

 245. Let the world see pain

    Whitebeard, who was just standing and watching everything, was a little shocked at how the two Straw Hat pirates wreaked havoc. However, this did put a smile on his face.

    "Everyone, we can''t let the Straw Hats take all the credit for the war... Can we? Hahahahaha... Show the Marines what the Whitebeard Pirates are made of."

    "Yosh..."

    "Ace has great brothers... Show them that Ace is our brother too."

    "We can''t let the brothers steal all the spotlight... Everyone, let''s show them that Ace is our brother too."

    Jozu, Vista, and the other division captains of the Whitebeard Pirates soon came down onto the battlefield and led the charge. The Marines also started pushing back and engaging the pirates. While no normal Marine would approach the Straw Hats, they could definitely deal with the lower ranks of the Whitebeard Pirates.

    Meanwhile, Kizaru once tried to attack Whitebeard, only to be stopped by Marco. Marco was steadfastly by Whitebeard''s side for his safety. Aokiji was the only one sitting beneath the platform of Ace, his expression grave. Akainu was missing, having gone off to attend to something else.

    The Marines hadn''t encountered the start they had expected, and this was already a bad sign. The Gorosei had already contacted Sengoku and asked him to disable the cameras. However, even though Sengoku had dispatched people to find the cameras, they couldn''t locate them. The main reason for this difficulty was that the cameras seemed to be moving around frequently, and since the live feed was not exactly in sync with the actual video, they were finding it very challenging to locate the drone cameras.

    With every passing minute, Sengoku was growing more irritated, but there was nothing he could do. The Revolutionary Army had hijacked some of the live feeds and had even broadcasted their own live footage in various locations. This posed another problem that the Marines were currently facing in many parts of the world.

    Ken, who was stationed behind the Whitebeard Pirates, was dealing with the Marine ships attempting to launch sneak attacks on the Whitebeard-affiliated pirates from behind. It was here that Ken unexpectedly encountered someone he hadn''t anticipated meeting so soon.

    Sakazuki Akainu.

    After their initial encounter, Akainu had departed to handle other pirates affiliated with the Whitebeard Pirates. However, now that Ken was present, they crossed paths once again. Akainu was on a ship heading to confront the other ships that had just emerged from the water using the coating. Ken, who was flying, noticed his presence, and Akainu noticed him too.

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    The moment Akainu saw him, he attacked.

    "Meteor Volcano"

    He sent molten boulders hurtling towards him through the air. Ken calmly looked at the flying molten boulders and extended his palm in front of him, whispering,

    "Shinra Tensei."

    This caused the boulders to be sent straight back the way they came. Akainu witnessed this and took personal charge of his own attack that was now hurtling back. Some of the boulders scattered and dropped into the sea, producing a sizzling sound and enveloping the surroundings with steam. However, Akainu couldn''t unleash his full abilities; the ship wasn''t his ''home ground,'' so he had to be cautious about not damaging it.

    "Bansho Tenin."

    Ken didn''t give his opponent time to ponder his next move. He employed gravitational force to draw Akainu towards him. Akainu attempted to resist the pull, but it eventually overwhelmed him, causing parts of the ship to break.

    Realizing there was no escape from the impending attack, Akainu prepared himself by strengthening his arm with Armament Haki and molten lava. Notably, Ken''s Observation Haki surpassed Akainu''s; he was on the verge of glimpsing into the future. Having practiced Haki for an extended period, significant progress was almost inevitable for Ken.

    However, this didn''t imply that Akainu was significantly lagging behind in Observation Haki. He was quite close to Ken''s level in this regard. If Haki could be measured on a scale of 100, Ken''s Haki would rate around 70, while Akainu''s at that point was around 65.

    Ken, though, lacked the same proficiency in Armament Haki, as he had begun training only a few months prior, leaving much ground to cover. Akainu soon approached Ken, ready to strike. Despite witnessing the ineffectiveness of physical attacks, Akainu was compelled to try.

    Yet, Ken opted to play with his opponent. Just as Akainu neared Ken, he abruptly halted in mid-air. The gravitational pull ceased, rendering him immobile in the air.

    "Akainu-san!"

    "Admiral Akainu!"

    The Marines shouted. Akainu resorted to using Moon Walk to escape his immobilized position, but he remained trapped. The Vice Admirals had warned him about Ken''s gravitational attack, and now he was experiencing its full force.

    "Shinra Tensei."

    Ken shouted, propelling Akainu away in a direction devoid of ships, only vast ocean. Akainu didn''t plunge into the ocean; instead, he used Moon Walk to levitate in the air.

    He soared past, refraining from attacking Ken and merely observing him.

    "Your ability is linked to your eyes, isn''t it? Just like your brothers," Akainu stated. Ken hadn''t anticipated the furious Admiral to engage in a logical conversation. Perhaps this keen observation and ability to exploit weaknesses was why Aokiji had lost to him. Akainu possessed a penchant for pinpointing vulnerabilities and meticulous observation.

    "Your silence confirms my assumption. I''ve reviewed the footage. Your eyes exhibit rings when you activate your gravity-based ability and turn red when you nullify physical attacks, implying that I can hurt you if I manage to land a hit," Akainu explained. Ken paused briefly before applauding.

    "They call you a mad dog, but you are quite the husky it seems Akainu." Ken said, which made Akainu furious. "You are right, my abilities are linked with my eyes and though not all, it does have quite the significance. You know why I am telling you this? It''s because you understand against whom you are actually dealing."

    "Let the world see pain for the first time."

    "Shinra Tensei."

 246. I am Moses

    The horizon appeared to warp and distort, as if reality itself were being twisted. The ocean''s surface itself started to ripple and undulate in a way that defied the laws of physics. It was as though an invisible hand had reached down from the heavens, stirring the waters with an otherworldly power.

    "It''s happening again!"

    "Everyone, turn around NOW!"

    "Get out of here. This is massive."

    "What on earth is this?"

    Akainu was moonwalking at a very high altitude, so he too felt the push. The gravity around him seemed to shift, and the best thing he could do was to distance himself from it. Going upward wasn''t an option, as the attack approached too swiftly. He could only move sideways.

    The ocean''s response was swift and dramatic. Enormous waves formed in an instant, rising higher and higher, their crests crowned with frothy white peaks. The ships, once stable on the tranquil sea, found themselves at the mercy of an unimaginable force. Alarms blared, and crew members struggled to keep their footing as the vessels were tossed around like toys in a raging storm.

    And then, amidst the chaos, stood Ken ¨C a lone figure atop the undulating waves. The tremendous pressure exerted by this power managed to push back the tumultuous waves, creating a circular void on the ocean''s surface ¨C a hollow sanctuary amid the chaos. The navy ships caught in this maelstrom weren''t spared.

    Akainu, despite exerting all his strength, found himself unable to escape the water tsunami. He used his magma blasts to create a hole in the ocean, but the water engulfed everything. All of this was captured by a drone flying high above, recording the entire scene with its sound and video feed.

    People around the world watched in horror. The ocean had been divided? What on earth was happening?

    As quickly as it began, the cataclysmic display came to an end. The invisible force released its grip, allowing the ships to crash back into the sea with colossal splashes. The waters settled, and the waves calmed in the aftermath of the tempest.

    Thankfully, this spectacle unfolded far away from Marineford, so many didn''t witness it from a distance. However, they did see the immense tsunami being created and then turned their gazes toward Whitebeard. Whitebeard himself felt a bit puzzled, but a smile crossed his face. He had observed Ken disappearing and Akainu going missing, indicating that these two had likely played a significant role in the extraordinary events.

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    Ken floated, looking down upon his own creation.

    ''No wonder Nagato only did it once and had to sacrifice a significant portion of his chakra. The consumption is enormous. Even for my body,'' Ken thought, his expression devoid of emotion. He understood that this attack wouldn''t be sufficient to eliminate the entire navy. While many would be injured and a considerable number might drown, he was certain that Akainu would survive the tsunami''s impact. The water hadn''t receded, and the ocean floor was now smooth and even, devoid of corals or uneven terrain.

    After a few seconds, the water gradually returned to the ocean floor. Unlike the previous tsunami, this time there was no massive wave; the water simply resumed its place amid damaged ships, lifeless fish, and coral fragments. Ken floated in silence, observing everything without a trace of sympathy.

    Lately, he had grown colder, perhaps influenced by Obito''s demeanor. In times of war, compassion had no place. A few moments later, bodies began emerging from the water. These were surviving navy members who had been submerged but not killed. However, not everyone resurfaced. Among them, one navy officer stood out, carrying Akainu on his shoulder. Using a wooden splinter, he hoisted Akainu above the waterline.

    *Cough* *Cough*

    Akainu coughed intensely, as if emerging from a nightmare, his expression contorted and ugly. He felt a sense of shame, needing the assistance of someone of much lower rank to survive.

    Aoto noticed this and descended slowly, approaching Akainu. Akainu turned his gaze toward Ken with a menacing glare. His hands ignited like a display of fireworks, ready to unleash a furious assault on Ken and then end his life.

    "I was raised near the Grey Terminal of the Goa Kingdom, essentially the kingdom''s dumping ground. Grandpa couldn''t spare time for us, but we managed to enjoy life regardless. One day, your beloved Celestial Dragons declared their intention to visit the Goa Kingdom. To portray the kingdom as clean and virtuous, they decided to incinerate the entire Grey Terminal, along with the people residing there. Yes, there were criminals among them, but there were also innocent men. The Government, however, cared little. They employed the cruelest methods to slaughter and burn the entire refuse pile," Ken recounted.

    "Much like you showed no concern for the innocent boats during the Ohara incident. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of such an attack? Is it satisfying? I''m willing to bet it is," Ken said, a smile forming on his lips. Initially, Akainu dismissed Ken''s words, but a shiver ran down his spine as Ken mentioned the Ohara incident, prompting him to use Moon Walk to distance himself from the ocean.

    "You know too much, Punisher Kenny," Akainu roared, hurling magma balls at Ken. Employing his usual push and pull techniques, Ken managed to deflect the attack. However, Akainu wasn''t finished; he charged in, launching a physical assault on Ken.

    But Akainu miscalculated. He thought that his gravitational pull could be countered with strength. He was gravely mistaken. As Akainu came inches to his face he stopped mid air. He was trying his best to propel himself and gritted his teeth in fury. But nothing happened. Not an inch moved.

    "You thought I am Fujitora?" Ken said. "This isn''t his Devil fruit Akainu."

    "Begone!"

    And with one massive push he was thrown away and this time Akainu was sent back to the Marineford. It was better for him to be at Marineford, then play as some schemer here.

 247. I dont care if Whitebeard comes to save you

    Akainu was thrown at an immense speed but he wasn''t weak and just stopped himself for taste the ground after he planted his feet to the ground in the last second and he got dragged quite a bit. He had landed straight at Marineford near Ace''s execution platform. He was furious and almost was ready to head back and attack Ken but Sengoku stopped him and said.

    "Did you do what was supposed to be done?"

    "No. That bitch didn''t allow me to even get close to the other pirate." Akainu roared as he used magma heat to dry himself off. He was humiliated and ashamed. Though Ken didn''t physically hurt him but it definitely made him feel worthless. Taking help for his own subordinate and almost dying made him seething with rage. But he couldn''t say it out loud. Little did he know that everything was watched by thousands of people around the world.

    The bitch here was Akainu, not Ken.

    Meanwhile, Ken landed in one of the pirate ships under Whitebeard. The Captain of the ship was Squard. The Maelstrom Spider Pirates. Affiliated to Whitebeard Pirates.

    "You are..?" Squard was confused when Ken appeared. He had seen the posters as Ace had told him that Ken was his brother but he didn''t understand why he was here.

    "Ken. From Straw hats. I will make this short and precise. If you or any other pirate here backstabs Whitebeard, I will personally kill you all." Ken said and his words came as a thunder.

    "What? How dare you. We will never hurt pops."

    "Are you senile Punisher Kenny? How can we ever hurt father."

    "You are insane."

    Everyone shouted except for Squard. He was silent and looked at Kenny.

    "I am not saying this to all but to Squard. You know what I am talking about. Don''t you?"

    "I am never going to hit Pops. You are just mad." Sqaurd shouted.

    "Mad? You hated Roger and now that his son is here. Don''t you wish to hate him too?" Ken asked. This made everyone in the ship and all the nearby ships remember how Squard seemed to hate Roger and Ace was the son of Roger.

    "I hate Roger, not him." Squard said.

    "Good to know. If by any chance I see your hatred for Roger land on Whitebeard or my brother, the first to be slayed will be you and no questions asked. And no, I don''t care if Whitebeard comes to defend you." Ken said and with that vanished away. Squard was angry that he threatened him.

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    He was a pirate to begin with and quite a reputable one at that. But he could also understand why Ken had come to threaten him, somehow Ken had come to know that he had hatred for Roger and thus came to warn him. He didn''t hate Ace per se but he did have some amount of resentment. He hated Roger for what he did to his village and thus he was never going to forgive him.

    Before Ken vanishing from the side, he saw a huge ship sailing towards them. The ship that was carrying Little Oars jr. Ken had to admit that the naming was definitely wrong here. How the hell was he ''little''?

    Ken was back at the battlefield and saw everyone was trying their best. The marines and the whitebeard pirates clashed and it was a massive war in all directions. The scarlet sky was ablaze with the echoes of cannonfire and the shouts of warriors, as the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with the forces of the World Government.

    Franky, with a surge of cybernetic energy surged forward, his enhanced legs propelling him with incredible speed. His eyes, a pulsating amalgamation of human and machine, analyzed the battlefield with precision. Armed with an array of advanced weaponry, his arms transformed into an arsenal of futuristic firearms, each shot resonating like a chorus of thunderclaps.

    "New invention of Doctor Vegapunk?"

    "Why is he on Whitebeard''s side if he is an android."

    "Did Vegapunk betray us?"

    The Marines, taken aback by the appearance of this mechanical marvel, attempted to repel him. But Franky''s body, forged from the finest materials, deflected bullets and repelled strikes with ease. A barrage of missiles erupted from his shoulders, honing in on Marine battleships with unerring accuracy, sending them spiraling into the sea with fiery explosions.

    As the battle raged on, one the admirals of the Marines took notice of Cyborg''s prowess. He sent a light attack from far at Franky. And this attack was met with his adaptive shield, absorbing and dispersing the kinetic energy. Ken was proud of it when he saw this. Taking on the attack of an Admiral and didn''t get humiliated was in itself a huge feat.

    The Whitebeard Pirates cheered.

    Chopper had morphed into a colossal elephant, the ground trembling beneath the weight of his transformation. With a triumphant trumpet, he charged into the fray, his massive form crashing through the Marine lines like a battering ram. Marines were sent flying, their formations disrupted by the sheer force of his charge.

    But Chopper''s transformations were not limited to the land. In a swift sequence, he shifted into a falcon, taking to the skies with a grace that defied his current avian form. His keen eyesight allowed him to spot key targets on the battlefield. With a screech, he dove down, talons outstretched, aiming for Marine officers who posed a significant threat.

    One moment, he was a towering gorilla, pounding the ground and creating shockwaves that reverberated through the battlefield. The next, he transformed into a sleek cheetah, darting through enemy lines with unparalleled speed, leaving confusion and chaos in his wake.

    "Garp what kind of members did your grandson collect. How are they outrageous?" Sengoku shouted as he couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Franky could be explained. But what was up with this racoon.

    "Hahahah.. As expected of my grandson." Garp laughed lightly. Normally he was very proud of his grandson but this time he was really amazed.

 248. These two didnt show up together

    However, it wasn''t all roses and happiness on Whitebeard''s side either. When Ken returned to the battlefield, he could swear that Marineford had amassed more people for the war than originally intended.

    These marines seemed to have emerged from every crevice, significantly outnumbering the forces he had expected. The battle had been raging for quite some time. Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru were wreaking havoc across the battlefield. For some reason, they avoided the Straw Hat crew, but Whitebeard''s pirate forces were suffering as a result. Although the captains were giving their all, the scene was still one of brutality.

    Ken flew down and stood beside Whitebeard.

    "Hahahah... You''ve surprised me, Punisher Kenny. I would be delighted if you and your captain would become my sons," Whitebeard said. His words resounded like thunder in Ken''s ears. He had heard Whitebeard''s voice in the anime, and it was impressively weighty, but being there in person, Ken could feel his eardrums ringing.

    Whitebeard''s voice alone was enough to intimidate people. How did Roger even stand up to this force without a Devil Fruit ability? Ken gulped and replied, "I''m sorry, Whitebeard-san. Luffy is going to become the Pirate King, and I''m here to help him achieve that."

    "Hahahaha... I like your confidence," Whitebeard chuckled.

    "I''ve taken care of Akainu to prevent him from sneaking any attacks," Ken stated.

    "Thank you. Ace has a good brother," Whitebeard responded, his tone devoid of pride as he expressed gratitude to Ken. With those words, Whitebeard leaped into the battle, and Ken remained standing, observing.

    Akainu and his cohorts didn''t rush in immediately but sent one of their giants to confront Whitebeard. Naturally, Whitebeard effortlessly countered the giant''s blade attack. He then executed one of the most iconic moves in all of One Piece.

    Whitebeard''s eyes glinted with fierce determination, and in an astonishing display of strength, his hands seemed to grasp the very fabric of space itself. The sky itself appeared to tremble in response. A collective gasp spread through the battlefield, catching the attention of onlookers.

    And then the effect began to cascade downward. The air, ocean, and ground appeared to be cleaved apart by this attack alone, as if the fabric of space itself had been severed. The ensuing tsunami crashed down upon the beleaguered battlefield with unrelenting fury. Ships were lifted from their moorings and tossed about like toys, the combined might of the sea and Whitebeard''s power proving overwhelmingly destructive.

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    The combined assault of the earthquake and tsunami transformed the landscape in their wake. Buildings crumbled, ships were reduced to splinters, and what was once solid ground became a chaotic expanse of ruin.

    Ken watched all of this unfold with a smile on his face. The giant who had attacked Whitebeard received a clear response and was flung a mile away by the force of the attack.

    Even a giant was powerless in the face of Whitebeard.

    "Ace''s father seems exceptionally strong," Zoro commented with a grin as he effortlessly dispatched marines with his strikes. Some couldn''t even get close to him, simply pushed away by his reiatsu.

    "He''s a Yonko. What else would you expect? We still have a long way to go," Sanji noted, kicking enemies with flames on his feet as he puffed on a cigarette. This visibly unnerved Sengoku, causing him to speed up the execution of Ace.

    These two were normal soldiers and nobody important. Luffy had seen this and was having none of it. He had been fighting continuously as he moved forward, though not in full force but he was using his full body strength.

    "Look Whitebeard, your power means nothing as I execute your son." Sengoku shouted.

    "No."

    "Ace!"

    "You bastard."

    It was a very quick transition after Whitebeard showed them his power and Sengoku got angry about it and thus proceeded to finish the whole war with one move. But of course not everyone was okay with such kind of decision.

    Seeing Ace was going to be executed with a knife, Luffy had brought out Enma and shot at one of the executers by extending Enma. Sengoku didn''t expect such kind of weird move using a simple staff. One of the executors who had brought down their blade on the neck of Ace with a swift swing was heavily struck by the ever extending Enma.

    With a single move the executor was thrown back and away from the platform. And what about the other executor? Well, he got smashed away by Mjolnir. Both of the brothers had come forward and took care of the first wave of executors in this way.

    Sengoku knew that he had lost a lot of prestige in the war so he was trying his best to follow the rules now. And suffice to say, he was really surprised by Ken and Luffy of how they meddled and stopped the execution.

    "Hahahah.."

    "The straw hats are so good."

    "We are going to win this war."

    "What are you doing? Aren''t you ashamed of yourselves. The Worst generations are taking care of us. You were tarnishing the image of Whitebeard Pirates. Let''s release Ace so that we can go back home."

    "Yes.. Yes.. Let''s go."

    Sengoku looked all of with anger and shouted at Garp.

    "Garp, it''s your family again." Garp just looked at everything with downtrodden eyes. Akainu and other admirals who were busy handling the captains looked at what just happened and were furious. Their first attempt was a failure.

    Ken, who had thrown the Mjolnir, had received the hammer back after it circled the battlefield and knocked down many of the marines. It seemed like Ace needed a wake up call here. Ace could have easily swatted down the executors with his Haki but this guy refused to do so. It was time to put some sense into this guy.

    He had vanished and appeared again on the platform. The moment he appeared he was again met with punches and kicks, that too from Sengoku and Garp. And just as usual their attacks went right past his body.

 249. You have a bigger fish to fry

    Both of them sighed as Ken reappeared, much like he had done before. Sengoku was now boiling with anger. Slowly, he transformed into his Buddha form. The transformation was colossal, causing the platform to creak under the weight of his metamorphosis.

    Ken, who had just reappeared, turned to face Sengoku, while Garp took a step back.

    "Do you believe you can insult the Navy and get away with it?" Sengoku bellowed. His words reverberated across the battlefield, causing everyone engaged in combat to stop and focus their attention on the platform.

    "Ken!"

    "Ace!"

    "Ken! Free Ace!"

    "Idiot. If he could have done that, he would have attempted it long ago. Haven''t you noticed the reactions of the Admirals and Fleet Admiral the last time he approached?"

    "But he''s so close to Ace."

    "If we can reach him, I''m sure Ken will assist. However, he can''t free Ace alone. Trying to do so would result in failure and his death. It would be a futile mission."

    Such discussions were taking place, and the Straw Hat crew already knew that Ken couldn''t free Ace on his own. Luffy and Sabo refrained from complaining the first time he approached Ace, understanding the reality. But Sengoku''s patience was wearing thin.

    His palm was already open, and a massive shockwave-like attack was poised to strike Ken. Sengoku intended to unleash a sweeping attack to prevent Ken from escaping, rather than a localized, point-based assault. The notion surprised Ken, who observed Sengoku preparing to strike.

    "Sengoku-san, are you truly determined to deny me the chance to speak with my brother?" Ken inquired calmly, seemingly unaffected by the impending strike.

    "Criminals forfeit their rights," Sengoku retorted, his attack relentless.

    "Sigh! I suppose I have no other choice," Ken muttered. His Mangekyo Sharingan morphed into the Rinnegan, and then he exclaimed:

    "Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path" (Ged¨­ Maz¨­)

    And then it manifestedˇŞan entity beyond the comprehension of nearly everyone present on the battlefield, as well as the global population. Its appearance was instantaneous. Ged¨­ Maz¨­ stood as a nightmarish fusion of grotesque forms and eerie symbolism. Its towering structure, hewn from obsidian stone, exuded an aura of malevolence that sent shivers down the spines of those unlucky enough to witness it.

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    Its body resembled a mosaic of nightmarish faces, each one twisted in agony and despair, forever imprisoned within the stone. Its eyes were concealed beneath an enormous white cloth, while its long, gnarled arms extended outward like the limbs of a tormented soul yearning for release.

    "What is this?"

    "He... He..."

    The appearance of such a colossal figure out of thin air sent shivers down everyone''s spines. Fortunately, it materialized outside the platform; otherwise, the platform might have crumbled, potentially taking Ace down with it.

    Sengoku''s experienced eyes narrowed as he sensed the oppressive malevolence emanating from the statue. He had never encountered such a creature before. Although it was nothing compared to Zou, it was more terrifying than the elephant he had glimpsed from a distance once.

    In a blur of motion, the statue''s enormous arm swung downward, seeking to crush Sengoku beneath its weight. With reflexes honed by a lifetime of battles, Sengoku leaped backward, narrowly evading the devastating strike.

    Sengoku hadn''t anticipated the summoning of such a statue, and now he regretted engaging with Ken. The statue was causing more destruction than Marineford had ever witnessed before. A single attack obliterated structures in the vicinity. The ground trembled as the statue''s fist slammed into the stone platform once again, generating shockwaves that rippled through the area. Debris and rubble were launched into the air, momentarily obstructing Sengoku''s view.

    Despite Sengoku''s transformation, which made him enormous, he still seemed dwarfed by the statue''s size. The dust veiled Sengoku''s entire form.

    "Well, he can fight while I speak to my brother," Ken remarked. Nearby marines stepped back, and many had already fled. Garp gazed at the statue, then at Ken, and repeated the process. He struggled to grasp the situation, finding it difficult to make sense of what was occurring. "Grandpa, do you also intend to oppose me?"

    Garp and others had encircled Ken, expecting him to seize the opportunity and liberate Ace.

    "A criminal like you should never be set free," Tsuru declared, ready to confront Ken head-on.

    "Madam Tsuru, you should have possessed the same determination when Doflamingo employed the Cage. Instead, you merely waited and observed," Ken retorted, his words pinpointing her vulnerabilities. She struggled to fathom how Ken possessed such extensive knowledge of past events when he was just a child, seemingly oblivious to the world''s occurrences. "Calm down, everyone. I''m not here to rescue Ace; I simply wish to converse. You wouldn''t desire another entity like this to be summoned, would you?"

    A collective shudder rippled through the group. Despite their overwhelming power, none of the marines attacked. They stared at Ken, as if trying to intimidate him, yet refrained from launching an assault. The statue continued its struggle against Sengoku, and the fear of a new threat arising kept them at bay.

    Their foremost concern was to ensure Ace remained confined. Admirals struggled to return, but the Captains effectively kept them occupied.

    Kizaru was stopped by Marco.

    Jozu had stopped Aokiji.

    And Akainu? Well, he was over smart and went to fight against Whitebeard. And thus he was tied down at the moment. They had all seen the Statue and they couldn''t even believe their eyes. They really had never heard of such a being that could be summoned.

    They had seen the summoning animals at the Buster Call, but this was something else. Ken didn''t care of these people and just sat near Ace while the marines surrounded them.

    "You shouldn''t have come. Tell my father and Luffy that I am sorry. People are getting hurt because of me." Ace said as tears ran down his face.

    "Did you forget your promises to Yamato and Otama?" Ken asked. This made his hands that was crucified flinch. He had not forgotten of them.

 250. He is out of juice

    "So you do remember them. Do you recall the promise you made to us when we were young?" Ken''s voice grew louder with each passing second. Ace had once pledged to them that he wouldn''t die, so why had he seemingly given up on life while he remained in chains?

    Ace fell into silence, unsure of how to respond. He gazed at Ken with a trace of shame evident in his expression.

    "You''re a man, and man keep their promises, so damn it, don''t lose hope," Ken shouted. Ace continued his silence and turned his gaze towards the battlefield. He desired to live, but a sense of guilt gnawed at him due to the lives lost. Yet, he also remembered the commitments he had made to others.

    He couldn''t surrender now. He still had so much to accomplish. Ace''s eyes began to reflect determination, the very thing Ken had been urging for.

    "I''ll give it my all," Ace declared through gritted teeth.

    "Good," Ken said, and just as he was about to disappear, the Gedo Mazo suddenly transformed into a puff of white smoke and vanished. Ken turned around, only to find that Sengoku had brought down the Gedo Mazo, causing significant damage to Marineford in the process.

    Sengoku leaped in and landed on the platform. His golden form slowly reverted to his normal appearance, with only a few bruises marring his body. The stature of the Gedo Mazo might have been formidable if it possessed the chakra of the tailed beasts, but it remained an empty shell.

    Using the Gedo Mazo to hold off Sengoku for a while had served its purpose.

    "Sengoku-san, you''ve defied your own timeline. You attempted to execute my brother ahead of schedule. I can''t allow that," Ken explained, justifying his summoning of the colossal being to confront Sengoku.

    "What kind of Devil Fruit did you consume?" Sengoku inquired, his temper subsiding. Ken had initially come to converse, but the interaction with Ace had reignited his will to live, a determination he had lost earlier. However, the past insults still clouded his judgment.

    "Perhaps a God God Fruit. Who knows," Ken remarked with a roll of his eyes.

    "A God God Fruit? Are you jesting?" Sengoku exclaimed.

    "Why not? It''s not as if it''s the first time a fruit with divine connotations has appeared."

    "What?" Sengoku questioned, his confusion evident. Ken turned and regarded Sengoku intently. Sengoku''s expression morphed into one of puzzlement at Ken''s words. "Oh, dear Sengoku-san, how much have they kept hidden from you?"

    "What do you mean?" Sengoku pressed, yet Ken chose not to elucidate, disappearing once again. Sengoku didn''t pursue Ace''s life. He felt ashamed for contemplating Ace''s death and avoided looking at Garp. He couldn''t fathom how he would face his friend after harboring such intentions.

    Ken materialized once more, this time on the Moby Dick. He took deep breaths, visibly exhausted from his reappearance. Employing Almighty Push and bringing the Statue into play had drained a significant amount of his chakra, leaving his reserves considerably depleted.

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    The Moby dick was empty so Ken got his own time and started accumulating chakra again. While this happened, the battlefield had thrown into further chaos. Oars Jr. was finally in the battlefield and had started rampaging.

    But this was not the only chaos. Two CP agents was able to sneak in and were able to heavily injure Whitebeard. They used finger pistols on him and this was the first mortal wound Whitebeard had suffered.

    Of course Whitebeard proceeded to use his tremor fruit powers on them and blasted the CP agents of, but this attack was enough to hurt the morale of Whitebeard pirates. Meanwhile Sabo with his crimson cloak and a swift gesture of his hands, casted protective enchantments upon the some of the Whitebeard Pirates, creating shimmering shields that deflected incoming attacks. His fingers danced in intricate patterns as he weaved spells that bolstered the crew''s strength and resilience, infusing them with magical energy that invigorated their bodies and spirits.

    With a commanding incantation, he summoned ethereal chains of energy that coiled around Marines, especially the CP agents. They were harassed by the chains and thus Whitebeard was able to obliterate them.

    "Gurararara... Ace had quite a brother," Whitebeard''s hearty laughter boomed across the tumultuous battlefield, his voice filled with a mix of admiration and amusement as he watched Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, display his formidable magical prowess.

    "Happy to be of help to a legendary pirate," Sabo replied with a confident smile, acknowledging Whitebeard''s words while maintaining his focus on the unfolding chaos around him.

    However, Sabo''s journey through this battlefield was far from over. As his arcane sigils and symbols swirled in the air, his spells of confusion took hold, sowing discord among the ranks of the Marines. The once-cohesive units found themselves turning against each other, their actions driven by a haze of disorientation and misplaced aggression.

    But the appearance of Sabo and his powerful magic had drawn the attention of those who sought to put an end to his intervention. Suddenly, amidst the chaos, a group of Cipher Pol agents emerged, each masked and intent on subduing the enigmatic sorcerer. Their orders were clear ¨C Sabo was to be neutralized at all costs.

    Sensing the encroaching danger, Sabo''s focus sharpened. With a gesture of his outstretched hands, he called upon the elements themselves, conjuring storm clouds that crackled with electric energy. His resounding incantation echoed across the battlefield, and bolts of arcane lightning lashed out with precision, striking down the advancing Cipher Pol agents.

    The electrifying onslaught was swift and deadly, catching the agents off guard. Some were struck by the lightning bolts, their bodies convulsing as the mystical energy coursed through them. Those who managed to dodge the initial barrage found themselves in the direct path of Sabo''s crimson-cloaked charge.

    Sabo''s movements were a blur as he closed in on his foes. A kunai, imbued with the power of Vacuum style, glinted in his hand, its blade distorted by the sheer force of his approach. With a swift, fluid motion, he thrust the kunai forward, and the blade found its mark ¨C piercing the heart of a Cipher Pol agent who had attempted to block his path with Tekkai.

    As the agent fell lifeless, Sabo wasted no time. His crimson cloak billowed behind him as he seamlessly transitioned to his next target. His movements were a dance of death, a symphony of magic and combat prowess that left those who witnessed it in awe and terror.

    The Marines who had been observing the unfolding events watched with a mixture of relief and trepidation. Sabo''s intervention had turned the tide of battle in favor of the Whitebeard Pirates, but his ruthlessness was undeniable. The Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army had proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with, a spellbinding warrior who wielded magic with the same precision and deadly intent as any blade.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, Oars Jr. made a valiant effort to breach the defenses and reach the platform. Despite the constant onslaught from Vice Admirals and even the likes of Kizaru, he pressed forward. However, his journey was cut short when Aokiji, one of the Marine Admirals, unleashed a massive ice blade that struck Oars Jr.''s legs and froze him in his tracks. The giant stumbled and fell, his colossal frame crashing to the ground.

 251. Cant let you live long

    While Ken was accumulating chakra to go to the battlefield again, some marines had the audacity to climb up the Moby Dick and though Ken was recuperating, it didn''t mean he was defenseless. He threw the Stormbreaker which blasted everyone off. By this time the other pirate groups were already here and were helping the Whitebeard Pirates.

    Zoro and Sanji were on another level in the war. As the battle raged on, Zoro was wearing his iconic bandana and had wore a white haori. With a sip from his sake gourd, he surveyed the chaos unfolding around him, fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

    After getting the Shinsui''s character he seemed to have wallowed into loving sake more. With a nonchalant flick of his fingers, Katen Kyokotsu, materialized in his hand. His captain''s haori flowed behind him as he stepped forward, his steps unhurried.

    "Well, this looks like quite the party, doesn''t it?" Zoro''s words were punctuated by a chuckle.

    With a twirl of his Zanpakuto, his dual blades danced in the sunlight, their movements graceful yet deceptively deadly. His strategy was fluid, adapting to the chaotic ebb and flow of the battle. One moment, he was parrying the strikes of Marine Vice Admirals with casual ease, the next he was launching a flurry of precise strikes that left enemies disarmed and off balance.

    "The Flowery Winds Become Disturbed, The God Of Flowers Sings, The Heavenly Winds Become Disturbed, The Devil Of Heaven Sneers.  (hana kaze midarete, kashin naki, tenp¨± midarete, tenma warau)"

    With a mischievous grin, Zoro activated one of of his Shikai powers ¨C "Bushogama" ¨C a game of sake-drinking that influenced the battlefield itself. He rotated the blades facing in opposite directions, creating large wind blades that fire toward the Vice Admrials who wanted to stop him. This attack disoriented the Vice Admirals and then Zoro provided a normal slash.

    For Zoro, the games had already started and this was the unfair game.

    Of course, not everybody was okay with this and a huge giant came to stop Zoro.

    "Oh such a huge body! I wonder how big your shadow is." Zoro said and when the Giant punched him to the ground Zoro had already vanished and emerged again from the shadow of the huge giant which was behind and attack right at the giant. The giant wasn''t somebody to be easily fooled by and turned to dodge but this proved to be quite the comedy.

    The attack of Zoro landed right at the balls of the giant who had wanted to dodge but his huge stature didn''t have that high speed. The giant cried out in pain as Zoro had slashed away his balls. The attack even made Zoro cry out, because he could feel his pain.

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    "I am sorry..."

    Cutting the balls away was a huge torture and the giant fainted right on the spot, his face hitting the ground. In fact Zoro wanted to fight Mihawk a bit but he had already left. Though he was sure that he still wasn''t the match of Mihawk, not at least he got his bankai and made his haki better, he still wanted to have fight against him.

    Zoro after praying for the giant continued his games. He activated the other game ¨C "Irooni" ¨C a game of color. As the game''s rules took effect, beams of vibrant, swirling colors erupted from Zoro''s blades. Each beam struck its target, imbuing them with various effects ¨C some found themselves slowed by lethargy, others were left temporarily blind, and a fortunate few found their injuries healed by the soothing hues.

    This made Sanji angry.

    "Marimo, what the hell are you doing?"

    "What do you care? This is a game and these people are the players."

    "Your game is healing people, you asshole."

    "Then why don''t you take care of them?"

    "Fine"

    With a focused expression, he clenched his fists, flames dancing at his fingertips. He took care of those marines who had been healed and kicked them with his might, sending many of them away. Without hesitation, Sanji''s channeled his flames, his feet transforming into incandescent infernos. He unleashed a barrage of fireballs that streaked through the air, each impact sending plumes of smoke and sparks into the sky. The Marines, caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of fire, scrambled to evade the scorching projectiles.

    "Is he a Lunarian?" Kizaru who was taking care of the people around looked at the fire that seemed to come to life.

    "There has been no record of a Lunarian from East Blue."

    "Then how can you explain his fire. Kizaru, I want you to take care of him." Sengoku spoke through the comms to Kizaru.

    "He can''t be left alive now, can he?" Kizaru replied with his usual slow tone which seemed to be devoid of emotion. Kizaru came flying in and attacked Sanji with his leg, but by this time Sanji had his Haki turned on and met the attack of his leg, with his own leg. They clashed and had to step few feet away after it.

    "You surprised me. Like your Vice-Captain, you also know Haki."

    "And Admiral, I thought you are more interested on the Captains." Sanji replied.

    "You Straw Hats are causing quite the havoc on the battlefield, can''t let it continue. I will start with you and then the rest of the crew." Kizaru said.

    "You can try." And thus the epic clash between Sanji and Kizaru started.

    At the outset, it was clear that Kizaru held the upper hand. The Admiral''s light-speed movements allowed him to effortlessly evade Sanji''s initial barrage of flames, his casual demeanor contrasting with the fiery determination etched across Sanji''s face. Kizaru''s light-based attacks cut through the air like lasers, each strike threatening to overwhelm the young Fire Soldier.

    As Sanji pressed forward with unyielding resolve, Kizaru''s light-speed movements seemed insurmountable. The Admiral''s precise kicks and beams of light found their mark, leaving Sanji stumbling and struggling to defend himself. The power gap between them was stark, and it seemed as though the Fire Soldier''s flames might be extinguished by Kizaru''s brilliance.

    "Sanji!!"

    "That curly brow. Does he think he can take a admiral head on?" Zoro shouted as he ran to give hand to Sanji.

 252. I told you to stop

    The others straw hats were very far and there was a reason for that. These two had been fighting in extreme fast speed and there were none who could keep up with that speed. Even the CP agents could moon walk in such long distances like Sanji and Kizaru. They even fought in air.

    Zoro was trying his best on Shunpo and even Ussop was using his arrows to stop the progress of Kizaru but he was proving to be too fast.

    But as the fight went on, Sanji''s Adolla Burst surged within him, a fiery core of strength that refused to be quenched. He could feel the power, the connection with the power that had been evading him for such a long time.

    The Adolla Burst.

    The more he fought, the more he could feel the connection and with each kick he could feel it close. . With a fierce roar, he tapped into his Adolla Burst''s unique ability, using his connection to flames to propel himself forward at blinding speed.

    Sanji''s feet lit up flames and this time with blue flames and his speed started to rise suddenly.

    "You are surprising one, Vulcan feet." Kizaru said as he kicked Sanji and threw him off the air. Sanji crashed on the ground while forming a crater. But he landed on his feet which continued on the blue flames. He again burst out of the ground to meet Kizaru. In an instant, Sanji''s form became a streak of light, his movements surpassing the boundaries of human capability. Kizaru''s eyes widened in surprise as Shinra''s speed matched his own light-speed attacks.

    And not only Kizaru, everyone around looked at the fight between Kizaru and Sanji with wide eyes. One yellow and one blue.

    "He is as fast as Kizaru-san."

    "How is this possible? Did he also consume a light fruit?"

    "Idiot, Devil fruits can''t be replicated."

    "Are you sure about that? Haven''t Vegapunk been able to copy fruits in the New World."

    The discussion and whispers were rampant in the battlefield and everyone was in awe. Sengoku and others were more surprised about this speed of Vulcan feet. Each one of them was proving to be a monster. The battlefield erupted in a symphony of sparks and flames as the two forces clashed with cataclysmic intensity.

    Sanji''s feet ignited with roaring flames as he unleashed his signature move, "Rapid Inferno Shot" Each kick struck like a meteor, leaving trails of searing heat in their wake. Kizaru''s light-based defenses faltered against the onslaught, and for the first time, doubt flickered across the Admiral''s usually composed expression.

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    Though the haki was there along with the Observation, but the attack speed was more than he anticipated. This was troublesome.

    But Kizaru was no ordinary opponent. With a luminous grin, he retaliated with his own attack,

    "Yasakani no Magatama,"

    Conjuring blazing orbs of light that hurtled toward Sanji like celestial projectiles. Sanji''s Adolla Burst allowed him to anticipate the trajectory, and with a swift spin, he unleashed his "Scorching Tornado Kick." The fiery vortex clashed with the light orbs, creating a brilliant explosion that sent shockwaves across the battlefield.

    As the dust settled, the combatants faced each other once more. Sanji''s breathing was ragged, his body battered but his spirit unbroken. Kizaru''s expression had shifted from nonchalance to respect, recognizing the fire within the young man''s heart.

    Kizaru didn''t engage with Sanji and backed off because he had landed right beside Zoro and Jozu had also appeared near Sanji. His window of killing Sanji was closed as any further attack would be met by the weird attacks of Zoro and Jozu''s diamond body.

    It was nigh impossible to kill Sanji at this point. Sanji was panting as he was almost on his knees. Going light speed, disintegrating his body and then reintegrating was too much stress and strain. He was exhausted. But he finally could get hold of the Adolla Burst.

    "Baka, you would have died you know."

    "But I can say I faced an Admiral, can''t I?"

    "But we are not a match for him yet."

    "Yes, but one day we will."

    Ussop meanwhile was a bit angry that his shots were not capable at all from stopping Kizaru and soon a bone mask on his right eye appeared. He unleashed a furry of shots on the battlefield and each shot was followed by a huge explosion. And no matter how many marines got close to him, he would evade them with sonido or stand on the air.

    As the battle went on the marines were not in a very good position and they were being taken down by the straw hats pretty easily. But for the Whitebeard pirates, it too wasn''t a very good experience. Whitebeard had already being stabbed or shot at by this point and the wounds have started to build up slowly.

    Thankfully Sabo and Luffy were reaching the platform fast. Oz had gone forward to take down the platform but Doflamingo was having none of it and cut one of his leg which made him trip and land. Akainu was also involved in this. But his fall helped Luffy and Sabo as it stalled the emergence of the huge wall, which would have separated the platform from the rest of the battlefield.

    As they crossed the wall, Sengoku got scared a bit seeing how fervent and powerful they were and knew something had to be done.

    "Execute Portgas D. Ace." Sengoku shouted as two executioners had already been brought and they were new. They were the backups of the executioners and unlike the original story, there was no Mr. 3 here and so the executioners didn''t hesitate at all.

    The moment the order was given. Both of them took their blade and swung at Ace.

    "ACE!!"

    "No.."

    "My son."

    "Stop it."

    Everyone seeing from far shouted at the top of their lungs. Luffy looked at the platform and shouted.

    "I told you to stop it, didn''t I?"

    Sabo who was ready to open a portal and send Luffy over stopped and looked at Luffy with wide eyes.

 253. You are free

    A massive wave spread outward with Luffy at its center. It was his Conqueror''s Haki, and no, he didn''t use it unconsciously. He wielded it in control, and this time, its power was even greater. Luffy had made significant progress over the months, so this time the Haki surged over everyone like a storm.

    Those approaching them fell unconscious in an instant, and the executioners tumbled face-first to the ground.

    "They''ve really done it now."

    "This guy has the same Haki as Pops."

    "Hahaha... Go, Straw Hats..."

    While most of the people were surprised by this, the upper echelons knew that Straw Hat likely possessed the Conqueror''s Haki. Even their swordsman had it, so it was entirely possible that their captain did too.

    Plus, he was a D to begin with.

    Sengoku clenched his teeth. Sabo, who was nearby, was genuinely surprised at Luffy''s rapid growth, enough to wield Conqueror''s Haki. Yet, he felt a sense of pride as well.

    "Luffy... I didn''t expect you to grow so much," Sabo said as he ran.

    "Huh... Hahahaha... Well, I''ve been practicing," Luffy replied with a slight smile, still on the move. Sabo didn''t waste any more time.

    Whitebeard was taking quite a beating, and he wouldn''t be able to provide support if this continued. With no other options left, Sabo rotated his hands, and a portal opened. Another portal appeared right beside Ace.

    Sengoku, who was nearby, spotted the portal and immediately lunged towards it. He didn''t understand the mechanics of this Devil Fruit, but he had witnessed it before when the Straw Hats first emerged. Though he lacked the specifics, he could guess what it entailed after seeing Luffy and Sabo.

    Sengoku leapt into the air and aimed straight for Sabo. Sabo and Luffy had just crossed through the portal when they were confronted by a massive golden figure hurtling toward them. Sabo performed a swift hand sign and shouted:

    "Summoning Jutsu!"

    Suddenly, a colossal creature materialized between them and Sengoku ¨C a tapir, its head wrapped in bandages. The tapir had been summoned to the side, so when Sengoku was airborne, he was pulled toward Baku, the summoning beast.

    Sabo wasn''t particularly fond of summoning Baku; he found the creature rather unsightly. However, in dire circumstances, he would resort to calling upon Baku, and this was one of those moments.

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    Sengoku lost his balance as his trajectory shifted. Seizing the opportunity, Sabo and Luffy pushed forward and reached the platform.

    "Straw Hat has reached the platform! Somebody stop him!"

    "This is bad."

    "Go, Straw Hat! You can do it!"

    The admirals were trapped and unable to intervene directly. Akainu and Aokiji had teamed up to subdue Whitebeard, who was determined not to let Luffy and Sabo''s interference go unchecked.

    Marco stepped forward, blocking Kizaru''s path from returning. Garp remained uncertain, torn between his duty and his family.

    It was the first time he faced this crossroads. Ultimately, his sense of duty overwhelmed him, and he leaped to strike down Sabo and Luffy, who were in the process of freeing Ace. Ace was crucified, so they had to proceed cautiously.

    Garp materialized behind them, but before he could deliver a blow to Sabo, a blinding light suddenly appeared between Garp and the trio. The light struck the ground, and in an instant, a colossal hammer emerged, connecting with Garp''s abdomen. Under ordinary circumstances, this blow shouldn''t have affected him, yet the hammer possessed properties unlike any weapon seen before.

    Garp couldn''t halt the attack and was carried through the air by the hammer''s force. The blinding light disappeared, and Ken emerged. After Mjolnir flung Garp a considerable distance away, it returned to Ken.

    "Grandpa, I am sorry," Ken apologized. Regaining control of Mjolnir, he flung it once more, this time toward Sengoku, who had managed to free himself from Baku''s suction force and was approaching them. Mjolnir streaked through the air and struck Sengoku, overwhelming even his Buddha body. He was dragged back numerous meters.

    Meanwhile, with Ken''s arrival, Sabo and Luffy grinned and resumed their efforts. In mere moments, both managed to remove the nails. However, liberating Ace wasn''t going to be simple.

    Suddenly, CP agents materialized using Soru, a high-speed technique.

    "I''ll handle them," Ken declared, summoning his Stormbreaker. He hurled the Stormbreaker, which spun as it soared toward the agents. Although the CP agents took the attack seriously, the Stormbreaker wasn''t an ordinary weapon. Lightning crackled around it, and despite their best efforts, two agents were sent flying while the others narrowly evaded.

    Ken engaged the remaining agents in close combat. It took a few extra seconds, but Ace was finally free, albeit at a cost. Blood dripped from both his hands, as the crucifixion had taken its toll, yet Ace paid it no mind.

    A smile spread across his face when he saw his brothers.

    "Luffy... Sabo... Ken... I''m sorry... I''ve made you worry about me. I''ll make it up to you."

    "Ace... You idiot. Ken used to tell me you''re crazy. You''re even crazier than we thought," Sabo scolded.

    "What? So it''s my fault that I got captured?"

    "Of course, it''s your fault. You should''ve fled when the admiral appeared."

    "The Whitebeard Pirates don''t run," Ace retorted.

    "Both of you are idiots. Run..." Ken yelled, but it was already too late. Sengoku had arrived, expanding his body''s size and launching an attack with a sweeping motion of his hand. Luffy who was laughing watching the argument between Ace and Sabo turned around and in a moment''s notice, became a huge balloon.

    This cushioned the impact but it was enough to break the long standing platform. The platform had suffered a lot of attack and now it finally broke. The 4 people who were in the platform had to immediately jump down.

    "You dare look down on the navy?" Sengoku shouted but it was already late. The 4 people had already landed on the square and broke into a run. All the 4 had smiles on their faces.

 254. I want a rematch

    But of course Sengoku was having none of it and had become big again. He used his attacks on the four people but there were already running with hands behind their back and back bent forward. Likea typical shinobi run.

    Seeing this everyone cheered from the Whitebeard pirates. They had been fighting for this moment  right from the start. They had come all the way from the New World to the Marine HQ right from the start.

    "Gooo.. Ace!"

    "We did it.."

    "Now we can go back to the New World and have a grand and fat banquet."

    "You are damn right we will."

    The pirates were cheering and shouting at the top pf their lungs. They were really happy. The four brothers meanwhile weren''t exactly free. Ken and Sabo wanted to just use their powers and teleport but they were not given any leeway. After they broke through it seemed like the Navy had gone into some kind of overdrive. They were barraged from all the people around. Even when Ken tried to suck the three brothers in into his kamui dimension, the small time it took for them to be sucked was stopped by the attacks of the marines.

    Some of the marines even knew haki so it was becoming more problematic for them to just escape outright. With everything happening, Sengoku was on their ass running towards them.

    "This old man is really annoying. Who the hell is he?" Luffy asked as he punched a guy and stepped on the other man who was running at them.

    "He is the Fleet Admiral. A friend of Grandpa." Sabo replied.

    "No wonder he is a pain in the ass." Luffy replied.

    "Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven."

    A blue dome of chakra out flowed from the body of Ace and it hit everyone who was trying to come near or hurt them. They were blown away instantly. Sabo went on and made small humanoids out of rocks around and they defended the brothers. But the numbers didn''t stop.

    But it didn''t actually matter to the four brothers. Since they were not able to just teleport to other places, they would fight their way out. They had enough juices for that. and thus the fighting back continued with more vigor and fun.

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    Yes, fun.

    All the brothers were engaged in a banter of who was batter, who was being an idiot in the fight, of what move one needed to do. But one could easily see the friendship and the love between brothers. They defended each other and was making sure that the others didn''t get hurt.

    As they fought their way out, they soon reached the hard ice portion made by Aokiji and the freedom was now half way there.

    "You brothers are very nastyy..." A long voice suddenly appeared on the side as if the person was dragging the words as he spoke. Ken didn''t even pause and kicked the person right at the abdomen while donning himself with Haki.

    It was Kizaru. He had somehow escaped from the clutches of Marco and was now trying to hunt the brothers. Kizaru wasn''t expecting the hit and he was thrown away.

    "Guys.. Go forward. I will take care of this shit." Ken shouted.

    "Are you sure?" Ace shouted.

    Here''s the revised version of the text with corrected grammar:

    "Yes, I will be fine. Alone, I can use the Bifrost and just vanish," Ken reassured.

    And thus, Ken was held back and had his fight against Kizaru, while the three brothers were fighting their way forward. It was proving to be a tough fight for them, but they kept moving on. On top of all this, there were CP agents trying to bring them down.

    "Fire Dragon''s Roar."

    "Gomu Gomu no: Whip."

    "Images of Ikon."

    But their strength was high enough to pummel and push through everything, even with the absence of Ken. However, this was far from over. As they marched forward, they were met with another Admiral, and this time it was Aokiji.

    "Ice no-ossan!" Luffy shouted upon seeing him. Luffy still didn''t harbor massive hatred for Aokiji, one of the reasons being that Ken had always kept them apart. Aokiji also hadn''t been able to stop him, along with the other two admirals, on his march toward the platform, so he treated Aokiji just like another enemy.

    "Luffy, go ahead. I will handle this guy here," Sabo said.

    "Eh! Sabo, you too?" Ace asked.

    "You both don''t have long-distance movement. Ken and I do. Now go," Sabo said as his hands took the shape of a claw and stopped Aokiji''s spear, which was traveling at a threatening pace.

    "I can''t let you have all the fun now."

    "Revolutionary Sabo, do you really want a war against the World Government?"

    "What are you talking about? We have always been at war. It''s just that it hasn''t escalated yet."

    With that, only the two brothers were left, and they were running forward at full speed. Once they reached the end of the ice platform, the Sunny Go would come down, making it easier for them to leave.

    Moby Dick was badly damaged, so the Sunny was their best way to escape. However, since the other two Admirals were here, they had to consider how far Akainu would pursue them. Seeing Akainu coming, both of them had to run in another direction to get away.

    Ace couldn''t use his full power on the ice, so he came down to the ground to get away and face Akainu, who was running toward them.

    "This magma guy... What an annoyance," Luffy said.

    "Luffy, we might have to fight him off here," Ace warned.

    "No. We need to run back and escape. White no-ossan can''t hold on for long," Luffy said. Ace glanced at his father from the corner of his eye, seeing that he was in very bad shape, with stabs, cuts, and even a portion of his beard having been cut. This was bad, and if they needed to get him to a doctor, they needed to move fast.

 255. No

    Once standing on solid ground again, Ace wasted no time and turned back, shouting,

    "Fire Dragon''s Roar."

    A massive burst of fire erupted from Ace''s mouth and struck Akainu, who was charging at them at full speed. The fire attack was much larger than anyone had anticipated, and Ace had poured a significant amount of his magic and Devil Fruit power into this attack. As the flames engulfed Akainu, Ace''s hair slowly transitioned from black to red, and the surrounding temperature began to rise.

    "Luffy, step back!" Ace shouted.

    "No, Ace, we need to go."

    "Luffy, we can''t run if we don''t stop him here. We just need to hold him off for a while, and then we can leave." Ace was determined and wanted a rematch. He felt embarrassed by how a powerful person like him had been captured.

    As Ace stood his ground, Akainu came to a halt.

    "I thought you would run like the coward you are," Akainu taunted.

    "If I were the coward, why did you seek the help of a pirate to capture me? Where did your absolute justice go at that time?"

    Those words seemed to infuriate Akainu. With a deafening roar, Ace lunged forward, flames roaring from his fists as he attempted a devastating Fire Dragon''s Punch. Akainu, however, was no pushover. He formed a molten magma fist and clashed with Ace''s fiery attack. The ground beneath them quaked as their elemental powers collided, sending shockwaves that shook the very earth.

    Ace unleashed a torrent of Dragon''s Roar, a devastating breath attack that engulfed Akainu in a swirling tempest of fire. But the Admiral wasn''t easily defeated. He emerged from the flames, his magma body repairing the damage almost instantly. Akainu retaliated with his own Meteor Volcano, creating tidal waves of molten rock that threatened to consume Ace.

    But Ace was more than just fire. He met fire versus magma and even infused chakra into his attack. Using one of the signature moves of the Hyuga clan, he struck Akainu with an attack accompanied by fire. Akainu didn''t anticipate such a sneaky move and was blown away several meters back.

    "You have quite the moves for a pirate scum," Akainu grumbled as he got up after being struck by the palm attack. Meanwhile, Luffy was dealing with the people around him using his staff and feet. He wielded his feet like a killing machine, and it looked like an art if someone observed it from the side.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Ace didn''t reply to Akainu as the battle raged on. He summoned his ultimate technique, the Dragon King''s Roar. The sheer force of the attack created a colossal explosion, lighting up the battlefield in a blinding blaze of fire.

    But Akainu was not to be outdone. With a determined roar, he transformed his body into a massive, molten Magma Golem, towering over Ace. The Admiral''s magma fists came crashing down with earth-shattering force, threatening to engulf the Dragon Slayer/shinobi in a sea of searing heat.

    With no other choice, Ace had to jump back while holding onto Luffy. The molten magma scorched the battlefield, forcing nearby pirates and marines to flee. Ace was panting, having been under stress all this time, and his hands hadn''t fully healed yet.

    Ace and Luffy didn''t stop there; they broke into a run again. They had managed to stall Akainu for some time and exhaust his stamina, which was all they needed. Akainu, watching Luffy and Ace retreat, grew even angrier.

    Although he had overwhelmed his opponents with his attack, Ace was elusive like a slippery fish, and his speed wasn''t as fast as the two brothers. The other two were occupied with the Admirals, leaving Ace as the sole target.

    By this time, all the Whitebeard Pirates were retreating at full speed, following Whitebeard''s orders without question.

    "So, you Whitebeard pirates are all cowards? Just like the others, you are running. And just like you, Whitebeard will run away too," Akainu suddenly taunted. His words echoed and reached Ace, who had stopped running and slowly turned back.

    "Roger is not my father," Ace retorted.

    "Of course he isn''t. At least Roger didn''t run when he was executed like a rat and faced it like a man. You and Whitebeard would run for sure if you were on the execution platform for your crimes."

    This angered Ace even more.

    "Hibashira" (Fire Pillar)

    Ace shot a horizontal pillar of fire at Akainu, who gracefully defended against it. They engaged in a one-on-one battle once again. However, Luffy was growing annoyed by this point. He had been urging Ace to run away, and his brothers had been telling him the same. He now understood why Ken had been so bothered by this habit of Ace.

    "Ace, we need to go!" Luffy shouted.

    "Luffy, sometimes you encounter situations where you can''t just run away. Mad dog, you better take your words back," Ace said.

    "Make me." Akainu wore a smirk on his face as he continued to fight against Ace. However, this time, his aim was different. He intended to go after Luffy. He knew that killing Ace at this moment was almost impossible, as he could sense that the temperature of Ace''s flames was rising with each passing second.

    Ace''s body was now covered in scales, and according to the scientists, Ace might not have consumed the Mera Mera no Mi to begin with; it could be some kind of mythical Zoan fruit they had never come across before.

    And Akain could tell that Ace was a lost cause now, but Luffy.. Luffy didn''t have that kind of power and he could be killed and thus as the battle raged on Akainu was slowly inching towards Luffy who was busy deflecting the attacks of the surrounding people. Ace didn''t notice that Luffy and akainu''s distance was getting shorter and shorter and he was cosnumed with the anger of taking Akainu down.

    Just as he noticed that Akainu and Luffy had come close, he suddenly realized what Akainu had wanted to do.

    "No..!!"

 256. Bow down to the King

    "Meteor Punch!"

    Luffy, who was busy handling other people, didn''t even notice when the punch came flying from Akainu, nor was his recently grown haki strong enough to predict Akainu''s attack. He only saw a flash of a huge light coming at him at a very fast pace. Before he could even understand what was going on, he saw a shadow covering him.

    A man appeared right between Akainu''s punch and Luffy, who looked at the person dumbfounded.

    "ACE!"

    Luffy shouted. It was Ace who had come to shield Luffy from Akainu''s punch. Luffy''s eyes went wide as he saw Ace, and he already had a very bad premonition in his heart when he saw him. Luffy felt like everything in the surroundings had just stopped for him.

    "Damn you!" Ace shouted as he vomited blood from his mouth. Luffy sidestepped a bit to see if Ace had suffered some kind of serious injury from Akainu. But what he saw next made his eyes widen in horror.

    Akainu''s punch had struck Ace''s torso and had burned a part of it, but more than that, the punch had gone straight through the heart of Sabo.

    "SABO!"

    "No... SABO!"

    "Ace... Every damn time your hot-headedness creates situations like these," Sabo said as he vomited almost a bucket of blood while saying so.

    "No... Sabo... No... I am sorry..." Ace''s tears had started rolling down. He was actually hyperventilating at this point and didn''t know what to say. He wanted to save his brother Luffy, but now someone else who was very close to him had come down and saved him instead.

    Luffy, meanwhile, was just standing like a wooden log and saw everything transpiring. Jimbei and others who had been on the side looked at the situation with wide eyes and terror. Akainu didn''t waste time as he pulled his hand away, and Sabo slowly fell to the ground.

    "One Revolutionary down, two pirates to go," Akainu mumbled. Luffy came running to Sabo, who seemed to have already lost consciousness and was lying on the pavement.

    "Sabo... No... This is not happening... No." There were no tears in Luffy''s eyes, just pure fear and sadness reflected on his face. He was unable to process what was happening.

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    The others on the battlefield, like Zoro and his crew, cried out for Luffy and were now running towards him. He had almost lost consciousness because of the shock. He wasn''t yet out of danger since Akainu was going to take another shot to kill Luffy too.

    But at the same moment, Luffy, who had whites in his eyes, seemed to come back to life. But this time, the color of his pupils had changed as he slowly turned and looked at Akainu. Before, his eyes showed fear, sadness, and hatred when Akainu killed Sabo.

    But the new eyes that Luffy showed, there were no feelings, not even a tinge of emotion. There was only a single emotion, and that was ''you are an ant.'' But his eyes weren''t the only thing that had changed. A small white crown slowly formed on his forehead.

    The crown forming on his forehead, for some reason, sent chills down his spine. He had never felt this way in his life. He had been in the Marines for a very long time, and his Logia power always gave him an edge. Though he had trained hard, he had forgotten the feeling of fear.

    Even when facing Whitebeard, he never got that feeling.

    After the crown was formed, clouds started forming overhead, and thunder sounds drowned out the sounds of the people fighting on the battlefield.

    "Brat... You think you can scare me?" Akainu was incensed, but for a moment, he felt a bit scared of this guy. Ace, who was trying to stand up, vomited more blood and fell down on his knees. Akainu''s attack was still burning him, and he had his organs half burnt by this point.

    As the magma punch came down at him, Luffy sidestepped and easily avoided it. It felt like Luffy did this effortlessly. Then his hand suddenly had the Nyobo. Luffy didn''t just sit idle and hit Akainu right at his shoulder with extreme force.

    There was no Haki in it, but for some reason, Akainu couldn''t use his Logia powers, and the force with which Luffy hit him broke his collarbones and shoulder blades into at least a hundred pieces. Akainu instantly fell to the ground with a huge thump and cried out in pain.

    Luffy just stood by and watched. He didn''t attack further; he waited for Akainu to get up. After a moment, Akainu slowly got up on his knees. He knew he had to get up, or else he would die there. After getting on his knees, he looked at Luffy with terror. He didn''t expect a single hit would render his hand useless. He could tell that his hand might be permanently damaged now.

    "Brat... You think you''ve won. You''ve already lost your brother," Akainu said while blood flowed from his mouth and nose. Luffy didn''t answer and just murmured.

    "Grow, Nyobo."

    What happened next would be etched into the memory of all the people present on the battlefield and those watching the battle live. Luffy''s staff grew big and struck Akainu right in the face, but it didn''t stop there.

    The staff grew bigger and longer at lightning speed. It expanded so rapidly and forcefully that it went straight through the Marineford headquarters building within seconds. The staff was now more than half the size of the Marine HQ in width, and Akainu was still at the edge of the staff, being pummeled by everything in its path.

    Nobody could stop the staff and it just went on its way. Few people on the battlefield that the staff would even go endless but after a second it stopped. Akainu was now miles away from the battlefield. He had lost consciousness and slowly fell on the open sea along with the other marines that were on the path.

    ---

 257. Character progression 100%

    "Shrink, Nyobo."

    The enormous staff that had devastated Marineford suddenly disappeared, and a regular-sized staff reappeared in Luffy''s hands. Everyone around looked at him in fear for the first time. All this time, they had believed that this guy was probably the weakest of the four brothers, but now it seemed to be the total opposite of what they thought.

    A cluster of light beams suddenly appeared near Luffy, and before anyone could react, a round kick was delivered to Luffy after the light beam materialized. Luffy narrowly dodged Kizaru''s initial assault, leaving behind an afterimage of himself.

    Luffy didn''t stop there; with lightning speed, he struck Kizaru with his staff, who was not fast enough to dodge even with the Logia fruit and Haki. Kizaru knew what was coming, but he was still too slow to escape it.

    The staff struck Kizaru right in the chest, immediately breaking some of his ribcage bones. The momentum of the staff''s strike threw Kizaru off, and he was sent flying back, crashing into the already damaged Marine HQ walls.

    Everyone now stared at Luffy with wide eyes. If the first encounter with Akainu could be attributed to some kind of strange Devil Fruit power, Luffy hitting Kizaru like a bug made everyone realize there was definitely more to him than they had initially thought.

    However, in the next moment, Luffy''s eyes slowly turned white, and he began to fall to the ground. Before his body could touch the ground, a hand reached out and caught him. It was Ken. Ken had already sensed what was happening, thanks to his Haki, but Kizaru had been too annoying and had managed to stall him for a few seconds.

    The moment Luffy''s crown had appeared, Ken knew that things had taken a dangerous turn. As expected, Luffy had knocked out Akainu with a single hit, and thankfully, Kizaru had left him too, only to be beaten down by Luffy. But it had been too much for Luffy, and he had lost consciousness. The power of the Monkey King was still too much for his body to handle.

    Ken held his unconscious brother''s body and sighed. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sabo''s body slowly vanish into nothingness.

    After a few seconds, Sabo reappeared in the same spot, standing upright. Upon closer inspection, one could see that Sabo''s right hand was quite wrinkled, as if it were made of wood. The most horrifying thing was that there were multiple red eyes attached to it, moving and blinking on their own.

    And one eye slowly closed itself. Never to open again.

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    Sabo just used Izanagi to erase his own death and bring himself back to life. Ace who was still on his knees smiled as he saw his brother. Unlike Luffy, he remembered the powers of Sabo and though he was incensed of what had happened but at the end he knew that Sabo would be alright.

    "Lost your eye?"

    "Yeah."

    The others however couldn''t make head or tail of it. Didn''t Sabo just die, how come he was back and that too with no scar whatsoever.

    "What is going on? Didn''t Akainu just kill him?"

    "Did you see his hand. It looks so horrifying."

    The marines couldn''t understand but the pirates didn''t care. Since Ace''s brother was safe, it didn''t really matter. Sabo didn''t waste more time and took Ace on his shoulder and looked at Ken who took Luffy on his back.

    "Gurararara... The brothers seemed to have their back... I had fun coming here..." Whitebeard suddenly started speaking. He had a smile on his face when he saw that Ace was doing fine and would live on. It meant his sacrifice wasn''t meaningless. "Marco.. After this is over... Help Straw Hat Luffy to become an Yonko, he would be an excellent one..Gurarara.. My time is almost up."

    Those words echoed everywhere.

    "What are you talking about pops? We are going back together. You will heal completely." Marco shouted and along with him the others did too.

    "Marco.. We both know that it is not possible.. I am sorry my sons.. I couldn''t be a father to you for a longer time but the times are changing now.. Straw hat Luffy just showed a glimpse of it.. Gurarara.." Whitebeard paused as he was breathing heavily. "Sengoku... Someday.. Someone will appear carrying the history of all those decades on his back and challenge the world to a fight."

    "Sengoku.. You guys on the World Government all fear the immense battle engulfing the world that will eventually come. I don''t care myself but as soon as someone finds that treasure the whole world will turn upside down. And someone will definitely find it. That day will come sooner or later. Gurararara.."

    The others on the battlefield had already stopped fighting and the pirates knew that those were probably the last words of Whitebeard. He took a deep breath and shouted.

    "One Piece is Real!"

    The faces of the marines and especially Sengoku contorted as he heard that.

    "You bastard."

    Ken who had been running away smirked as he heard that. The famous words had been spoken even though he tried his best to escape that fate. With those words, the last life passed away from the body of Whitebeard. Ken made sure that Blackbeard wasn''t here or else he would have acted immediately. His haki was in full force and made sure there were no blind spots around.

    [

    Character progression of the host : 100%

    ]

    The moment he got the notification, his haki senses tingled and just out of reflex he employed a move. His whole body was surrounded by rib cage like bones, burning bright blue in color. And the person who just attacked was Aokiji with his spear. The spear wasn''t able penetrate and was stopped the skeletal part that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Aokiji wanted to use the shocking moment at the battlefield to attack and kill Ken.

    But he wasn''t successful in his sneak attack. The thing that appeared around Ken was of course, Susano.

    The actual Susano of Obito Uchiha.

 258. This isnt over

    After the Ice Spear hit the skeletal ribs of Susano of Ken, it stopped. Everyone now looked at Ken with awe, wondering what kind of moves the remaining monster brother had up his sleeve.

    "Punisher Kenny... You are too much of a threat to the Navy, and so is your brother," Aokiji said.

    "Thank your lucky stars that I didn''t go after you. It''s only because Saul is still alive; otherwise, you would have been at the top of my hate list right now. A man who could kill his own friend isn''t worth much. At least Akainu has the decency to own up to his actions. You don''t," Ken said, making sure to speak in a very low voice. He didn''t want others to hear what he said. He wanted to see if his butterfly effect would allow Aokiji to sit at the top instead of Akainu. Aokiji was dumbfounded when he heard that. The fact that Saul was alive and well made him happy but also terrified that this guy here even had connections to the people in the New World.

    Aokiji stalled for a moment, and in the next second, the Susanoo of Ken got covered in scales while an arm extended from the shoulder and hit Aokiji right in the face. This time Aokiji wasn''t paying attention and was in a trance for a moment. Just like Kizaru, Aokiji was swatted away like some kind of fly and flew across the battlefield.

    With that, three admirals were down for a few seconds. Ken didn''t care to follow up and ran while taking back his Susanoo. But of course, how could it be that easy? After Akainu was thrown away, the Navy seemed to have gone into some kind of trance state.

    Every single one seemed to be out for the blood of the pirates. The Navy came like a surging tide, refusing to let the pirates go as they ran. The brothers and the Commanders were fine, but the other pirates were suffering. The saving grace among this was the presence of the Straw Hats.

    Seeing that the Navy had gone wild, Nami used water bending to break the ice on the sea and let the marines drift apart. But that still didn''t stop the able marines from swimming or using Moonwalk to get to them. This was very odd.

    Both sides had suffered a lot, but the marines and the pirates weren''t just letting it go. Ken, looking at the situation and running, couldn''t help but sigh. Though he had changed the outcome by a nice margin, some things still continued.

    But Ken didn''t care. Until Ace was on the ship, he didn''t dare to move his eyes away. But as expected, something did happen at the end. Sengoku appeared out of nowhere, near Sabo and Ace, and that too in Zoan mode.

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    He used his full force to hit the two brothers, and Ken, who was a little far, was horrified seeing this. Without any pause, he used his Kamui to take the two into his dimension. He had made a mistake. He should have taken away the three brothers into his Kamui dimension. He didn''t expect Sengoku to actually show up.

    "Shit," Ken hissed under his breath, hoping that Sabo would use Izanagi when required. But then something amazing happened. The attack of Sengoku stopped, and it was done so by a man who had come between the brothers and Sengoku.

    And it was stopped by a sword.

    "Shanks."

    "Red-haired."

    Ken sighed in relief when he saw Shanks blocking Sengoku''s attack.

    "Red-haired?! Why are you here?"

    "Much blood has been spilled on the battlefield. It is time to end the war."

    "They are criminals. They shouldn''t be let go," Sengoku roared.

    "Sengoku-san, admit that it is not because of the criminals; it is because your ego has been bruised by someone half your age. You should back off."

    "I refuse," Sengoku roared and made his body bigger, ready to fight.

    "Do you really want to go to war with another Yonko at the moment? You can do so, and we''ll happily go along if you want," Shanks said, and in the next moment, he was surrounded by his loyal crewmates. "We are ready to take on everyone who wants to continue," Shanks announced, and his voice was heard by everyone.

    Sengoku was ready to take on Shanks, took a few steps back, and looked around. The battlefield was a mess, with soldiers and pirates lying around, including Oz Jr. and Whitebeard, who was still standing despite being dead.

    Shanks'' arrival brought everyone back from their trance state. Coby, who had been trying to stop the battle for a long time now, had lost consciousness, and Helmeppo had to come and take him away.

    Meanwhile, the backing off of Sengoku was all Ken needed, and he ran to Sabo and Ace. Without a second thought, he took both of them into his Kamui dimension and vanished inside. In the next moment, he appeared on the Sunny and ''vomited'' them out.

    "I will bring the others," Ken said after putting them down.

    Vivi and Robin were already waiting for them, as they had watched everything from their ship. Ken vanished away again, and this time he appeared near Chopper. He took him in and then proceeded to take others in too after running around a bit.

    The marines could only look at him as Ken took away his friends, unable to stop him. Shanks, seeing this, could only smile and shake his head. He had gone to take away the body of Whitebeard and bury it in the New World.

    But in all of this, Ken wasn''t done. He wanted to deliver the final blow to Marineford and essentially break their spine. After he took the crew in and sent them to the ship, he appeared again, this time floating high above the sky.

    Shanks, who was busy covering Whitebeard''s body, suddenly looked up, and his eyes went wide.

 259. I will break the wheel

    Ken when appearing high on the air looked down at the Marine HQ. Shanks looked up and seeing Ken he somehow got a bad feeling that this guy was going to do something outrageous.

    Garp and others also saw Ken high up and the air. They were a bit nervous and wanted to know what he was up to.

    "Punisher Kenny.. What do you want?" All the marines had noticed him by now, so one of them shouted at the top of his lungs.

    "Normally, I should have left along with my crewmates but your Fleet Admiral here decided to play the hero. He wanted to have a piece of my brothers. He didn''t think he would be let off so easily now, can he?" Ken asked.

    "What do you want?" Sengoku asked. Ken was too high in the air and thus didn''t just use Moonwalk to fly up as it would be too time consuming and he would off from his natural territory.

    "The World Government had done too much atrocities for the past hundreds of years to just look over and let it continue. Whitebeard spoke the right thing when he said that one day everything will come crumbling down when the treasure is found." Ken said and everyone heard his words.

    "Why? Do you think you can find that treasure?" Sengoku shouted.

    "Hahaha of course not. I am not some kind of hotshot but I want to show you a glimpse of what the future would look like." Ken said and in the next moment, his body slowly got covered by Susanoo. Unlike last time, this time his body was covered by whole Susanoo.

    A massive blue colored angelic bipedal covered Ken with him being on the head.  It had two massive wings on his back. The marines and even the red haired pirates had their eyes wide open when they saw such a huge monster. The marines felt scared looking at it because the face of the Susanoo looked like it had emerged from hell and the whole body size infused fear into everyone present.

    "What is this?"

    "Is that his zoan beast form?"

    "I have never heard of any zoan fruit which has that kind of monster."

    Sengoku had a bad feeling when Ken showed his full Susanoo.

    "What do you want to do?" Sengoku shouted. Ken didn''t reply as out of nowhere two black shuriken appeared in both of the hands of the Susanoo and he threw them at Sengoku. The huge shuriken traveled lightning fast.

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    Seeing the shurikens he dodged, but little did he know that Ken was too smart. He knew that the shuriken were easy to dodge, and so he had hidden another extra shuriken beside the main one which hid behind its shadow.

    The Uchiha was known for their shuriken jutsu and the proficiency played it''s part here. Garp noticed something was wrong and shouted.

    "Sengoku.. Dodge.."

    But it was already too late. The third shuriken which was hiding behind the two shuriken took a turn and then struck Sengoku. But instead of being physical attack which would have been quite easy for Sengoku to stop using his Haki, Sengoku felt like he was being sucked in.

    Sucked inside the shuriken!

    Before anybody could realize what had happened, Sengoku just vanished from the battleground. Shanks, Garp, Tsuru and others looked at Ken with wide eyed and disbelief. They just saw one of the finest Fleet Admiral just vanish in an attack. They had heard about how Aokiji was sent away across the planet but they didn''t ever see this kind of move nor Aokiji spoke of it.

    So this was something different and from the size of the shuriken it could only be inferred that this could only be used when he was in this blue hell beast mode. After Sengoku vanished, Ken let the Susanoo recede and just floated down and looked at the people down.

    Even the Shanks crew were a little dumbfounded of what just happened. A Fleet Admiral was taken out and they could nothing. Shanks had seen all of this happening when Ken had appeared using future sight, but now that he had seen this again in reality, it was still surreal, but he didn''t try to stop it.

    Since Sengoku let go of his pride and go after the son of his ex-captain, he didn''t bother to stop this person. Though he wondered if Sengoku hadn''t seen his demise if he had future sight. The marines were broken.

    Both mentally and physically.

    "The World Government, the Warlords, the pirates.. This has been going on for quite a long time. But from now things will change. The wheels has turned for far too long and we will be the ones to break the wheel. If you want your dignity and pride back, or in other words Sengoku back, you better stop following us, or else the damage I will inflict at the world government will be more devastating than you can imagine. This war ends now. See you soon." Ken said and with that he vanished and was back at the Sunny.

    The marines just looked around and sighed. Some fell on their knees crying, some just stood stoic and seemed like they lost all hope, some were just sad and had their shoulders droop. They killed Whitebeard, but the cost was too much. Garp and others immediately left to bring Akainu back who was been swatted into the ocean, Kizaru was taken to the hospital and only Aokiji was standing. At the last moment he had turned himself into ice when he hit the ground so he was fine but the initial force of the Susanoo was really too heavy.

    Though Whitebeard died, the people around the world didn''t feel joy. It was because it was seen as a massive defeat for the marines and because of the words of Whitebeard the pirates now were in more swing than ever.

    "This has become a huge problem."

    "Who will reach out and talk with the Straw Hats?"

 260. Your partner looks good

    "Send Garp to negotiate.. Didn''t he go before to negotiate. And then tell him to kill the whole Straw hats. Last time we didn''t kill them and it was a mistake."

    "Garp will never be able to kill them."

    "Then why do we have him as the Vice-Admiral. We should have kicked him out."

    "Don''t let the anger take your logic out. If we kick Garp away, the shambled navy will be morally demotivated to the bottom of the well. Send Kong with Garp for the negotiation."

    "Agreed. Kong is a perfect fit."

    That was the conversation between the 5 Gorosei.

    <hr>

    Meanwhile Ken was back in his ship and it flew away. Sabo was here with Jimbei as he was hurt a bit and needed some medical help from Chopper. Everyone was back in the ship thanks to Sabo who used magic to bring them to the ship. After everyone got together, the ship escaped in full speed from Marineford.

    "Is Luffy alright?" Ace asked as he too was on the ship. He didn''t leave with Marco and was following the Straw Hats at the moment.

    "He has lost consciousness and his body exhausted. He will be fine." Chopper assured. Only Ace, Ussop and Ken had seen in the character simulation the world where Luffy got his powers so they had a idea of how powerful Luffy could be but since he hadn''t completed even half of hos character, he had forcefully awakened the crown.

    And thus forceful awakening took a toll on him. But thankfully he was fine.

    Zoro and others were a bit exhausted and needed rest. In fact everyone was exhausted and proceeded to take a nap while the ship hovered above the Calm Belt. Everyone went into sleep mode. Even Vivi and Robin were mentally exhausted and they had been keeping an eye for everything.

    Before Ken left, he had asked to use the railgun at the Marineford if everything went haywire, thankfully it didn''t or else the whole island would have just vanished within seconds. Robin felt novel when Ken asked her to press the button if required. Once her own home was destroyed and now she had the power to annihilate the Marine HQ. Life really came to her fast.

    Everyone actually slept for around 24 hours, and felt famished. So Sanji went on to make food for them. Ace was sad and so was Jimbei.

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    "We will take you to Marco and others and leave for the New World." Ken said.

    "Thank you." Ace said. Jimbei too thanked them.

    "Jimbei, you don''t have to go after some Yonko at the moment for protection of the Fishman island. Use the jolly roger of Straw Hats, that will do the job." Ken said. Jimbei who had been feeling down, suddenly had his eyes open wide.

    "Jolly roger of the Straw Hats? But Luffy isn''t a Yonko yet." Jimbei said. He knew what Ken meant. Fishman island was under Whitebeard Pirates and now Whitebeard had died so there wasn''t the same kind of protection even though the upper levels of Whitebeard Pirates were still alive. But now that Ken had said them to use the Jolly Roger of Straw hats, it meant that they would be under the protection of Straw hats. Both combined it would be more or less like the protection of an Yonko.

    Jimbei hearing this almost had tears in his eyes. Though he was a Warlord, he was great friends with Whitebeard because they were protecting the Fishman Island for such a long time. Now that he had lost the title of Warlord, he was worried about the future of Fishman Island.

    But now he could be relieved.

    "Thank you.. Thank you."

    "It''s okay Jimbei, you have helped us a lot. Though Luffy isn''t awake, I am sure that he will say the same thing once he understands your predicament. The only bribe you will have to give him is meat and he will be sold." Ken said.

    "Meat?" Jimbei was confused but everyone around laughed. Soon the food was served and everyone had a fun time, while Luffy was still sleeping. His exhaustion was too much and it would take time for him to recover.

    "I am going out for a walk." Ken said after eating his fill. The banquet couldn''t start yet because Luffy wasn''t awake so a huge banquet would have to wait. So a normal fill was all they could do.

    "Are you going to talk with him?" Robin asked.

    "Yes." Ken said and then his whole body vanished inside his own eye while the others just looked at the vanishing Ken with a bit of concern. Jimbei still didn''t understand how Ken''s abilities worked but he didn''t ask.

    Ken was now in the Kamui dimension. As soon as he entered as he saw that on the far Sengoku was sitting while closing his eyes, the moment Ken appeared, his eyes opened like a deer in headlights.

    Sengoku didn''t immediately attacked Ken as he didn''t know where he was and thus needed to act cautiously. He had tried escaping the dimension but it wasn''t possible. In addition, he wasn''t alone. There was another guy in the dimension and Sengoku knew him.

    He was just surprised how haggard and downtrodden the guy looked. This guy was once a genius never seen before in the CP organisation and now he was just bones and blood vessels. This guy was Rob Lucci and he had been imprisoned, tortured, mental abuse and even used as some kind of training dummy.

    Ken would feed him and give him hope for getting stronger if he could beat Ken, but every time he got up, he would be pummeled b Ken and that too very brutally. It was so much so that Lucci had lost all the confidence he had and now he just wanted to be left alone.

    "So you have met your partner. He looks good doesn''t he?" Ken said as walked slowly towards Sengoku.

    "You are a monster." Sengoku shouted.

    "Monster? How about I destroy your homeland on the orders of your World Government and then I will see who calls whom a monster." Ken said with a calm tone. Sengoku wanted to say more but he didn''t find the words.

 261. Its about sending them a message

    "Lucci... Your help is here. Go on," Ken said as he teased Lucci. He was on his knees with his head down. He shuddered a bit when he heard Ken''s voice. For him, Ken was a monster. A monster that came out of a nightmare to haunt him until death. He had been defeated so many times that his confidence was broken and had shattered into a thousand pieces.

    He actually wanted death at this point but somehow Ken refused to let him die and even forced him to eat and not starve. His life didn''t belong to him anymore. Lucci lifted his head and looked at Sengoku.

    As he saw Sengoku, tears began to run down his face. He didn''t even blink when he was crying. This cry wasn''t a cry for help, but a cry to let him die. Lucci didn''t want to live anymore. Sengoku looking at the eyes and face of Lucci got chills down his spine.

    What kind of torture did Ken do to warrant that kind of emotion from one of the greatest geniuses of the CP organization?

    "You bastard... What did you do to him?" Sengoku shouted. He actually wanted to fight Ken here but he felt like it wouldn''t do any good and felt like this dimension was his playground.

    "If you don''t want to end up like him, then you''d better shut up," Ken said as he looked at him with emotionless eyes. He didn''t give a damn about Sengoku since he had tried to kill his own brother. All the respect he had for this person before had gone down the drain.

    "What do you want?" Sengoku asked, this time in a milder tone. He also felt a little ashamed of what he had tried to do, and trying to kill the grandson of Garp. He didn''t know if he could look at Garp in the eyes again if he ever got out of this place.

    "You overvalue yourself too much. There is nothing for you to give me. No, scratch that, your devil fruit is quite an interesting one. Mythical Zoan. There are very few of those out there, and maybe if I kill you, we can go on a search looking for it," Ken took off his thinking cap and lamented.

    Sengoku wasn''t shaken at all by those words and just kept his mouth shut. Meanwhile, Ken just sat down on the ground opposite to Sengoku and said,

    "After all these years, you never went to Law and spoke to him even though you knew that you had failed as a father to your son. Do you feel ashamed?" Ken asked. Sengoku clenched his teeth when Ken said that. He hadn''t forgotten how Ken made a mockery of him worldwide, and he was sure by now that his legitimacy was put into question since everything was broadcasted around the world.

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    Now that they were alone, Ken, again, sprinkled salt on his wounds which hadn''t healed yet.

    "That devil fruit didn''t belong to him in the first place," Sengoku said, justifying his actions. His words were more assurance to himself rather than an answer to Ken.

    "You are right, and it didn''t belong to the World Government either. It was an ownerless object and now it is in the hands of a pirate. How does it feel? Having a sought-after Devil fruit be in the hands of a pirate. Your precious Doflamingo would have got it if it wasn''t for Law," Ken said. Sengoku was silent.

    "And speaking of Doffy... I will make sure that he will be tortured more cruelly than your good student Lucci here," Ken said.

    "He isn''t my student," Sengoku shouted.

    "Right. So I can kill him right now," Ken said and without even an ounce of hesitation, he made a hand sign and in the next second there was a blast on the back of the body of Lucci. Multiple paper bombs were attached to the back of Lucci. They were triggered and thus there was a huge explosion.

    Sengoku had his eyes wide as he saw that. He didn''t expect Ken would be so cruel and just kill him. He was named Punisher by the one who named him, and now he felt like that was probably the apt name. He was a Punisher alright.

    Lucci had a small smile on his face as he died. He felt liberated. Sengoku was shaking in anger but there was nothing he could do.

    "They will come for you and you will be released. But don''t expect a King''s treatment here." Ken said. Sengoku could guess already what was the whole plan of him kidnapping was. It was never about ransom or demands, it was about sending a message to the whole world.

    That the World Government was crumbling and it didn''t look good for them. That was the whole point of this whole incident. Ken was more dangerous than they thought and should have been more cautious.

    Ken didn''t speak more and vanished away from the Kamui dimension. He wanted to make a statement to Sengoku by killing Lucci in front of him showing he was as cruel as he could get. Sengoku had his head hung and knew that he couldn''t just get out of this predicament.

    Haki was supposed to be at the top always, but Ken with his powers had nullified that whole statement. He didn''t know what was going to happen but he for sure knew that he would have to resign or he would be forced to resign.

    The bonus point of killing Whitebeard was wiped off the board as at the end the Admirals were close to death and Ace had escaped at the end. It was a loss for the World Government and the marine, and probably Akainu would take his place.

    Since the Government loved him. Now that he looked back, his reign as the Fleet Admiral was a failure to begin with. He didn''t have any shining moment and all that he had was because Garp was there to help him.

    Little did Sengoku knew that he was having self doubt because Sabo had used Kotoamatsukami at him and his view of the world was slowly changing.

 262. Its timeskip, isnt it

    Kotoamatsukami, or as Ken used to call it, the ''total mindfuck''. It was one of the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan of Shisui, who could alter a person''s past experiences or create entirely fabricated memories that could fundamentally change a person on multiple levels. This power had the potential to turn an enemy into an ally or even drive someone to the point of suicide due to false recollections.

    In the world of Naruto, Danzo had acquired Shisui''s Mangekyo Sharingan after killing him. This, in turn, allowed Sabo to obtain that same Mangekyo Sharingan. When Sengoku had come close to them while pursuing Ace, Sabo had directly employed this technique, reshaping Sengoku''s thoughts. Even if Sengoku had tried, he wouldn''t have been able to harm Ace, as he simply couldn''t find it in his heart.

    Sabo didn''t instantaneously transform Sengoku from an enemy to an ally; he merely adjusted certain significant experiences in Sengoku''s life. Over time, this would lead to a change of allegiance. Sabo had actually wanted to influence Akainu, but that fiery-tempered individual had wisely kept his distance, making it impossible for Sabo to tamper with his thoughts.

    As a result, Sengoku was showing great leniency towards Ken, or else he would have pounced on him the moment he returned to the Kamui dimension. Ken was now back on the ship and noticed that Luffy had awakened and was running around, shouting. Upon seeing Ken, Luffy leaped up and demanded a feast.

    "Ken, you scoundrel, I''ve been starving while waiting for you. I haven''t eaten a thing in the last 10 minutes. It''s your fault," Luffy declared.

    "You devoured a whole sea beast just 10 minutes ago," Sanji interjected, though it seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Luffy insisted it was Ken''s fault for not arriving much sooner.

    "Hai.. Hai.. Sorry, Captain.. Shall we have a feast?"

    "Yosha!" Luffy cheered. Everyone gathered, including Ace, Sabo, and Jinbei. The escaped prisoners had already departed with the Whitebeard Pirates, dispersing before reaching the New World.

    Ken had instructed Bon Clay to form his own crew separate from Buggy, with the assistance of Ivankov, and arrange to meet up at Dressrosa later, where Ken would give the signal. Bon Clay accepted the entire mission and set off on his way. Only Jinbei remained with them.

    Ace wasn''t really in the mood for a full-blown banquet. He was feeling low. His father had passed away, and he couldn''t shake off the guilt. Luffy tried to lift his spirits, but Ace didn''t quite sync with the festive atmosphere, though he did eat his fill. Jinbei, too, was in a somber mood, but he was grateful that, aside from Whitebeard, nothing had happened to the others, including Ace.

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    He had a suspicion that Whitebeard had intentionally met his end during the war, hoping to push the world into a more turbulent era of piracy. Luffy dozed off again after the feast and it appeared he needed the rest. Chopper examined him and assured everyone that he was fine.

    "Is Luffy alright? He never sleeps like that," Sabo inquired.

    "He is fine. Just a bit more tired, like the rest of the crew," Chopper said.

    "Did they ask for Sengoku?" Jinbei inquired, knowing that Ken had kidnapped him.

    "Yes. Grandpa called once and asked me to meet him. The World Government is ready to negotiate any price," Ken smirked.

    "This is probably a trap," Ace warned.

    "Of course it is, but they still can''t touch me," Ken boasted, proud of his abilities. The others nodded, having witnessed how powerless everyone was against Ken on the battlefield.

    "Ace, where will you go from here?" Ken asked.

    "I will return to my crew with Jinbei," Ace replied.

    "Alright, I will leave you all in Sabaody, and you can depart from there. We have things to do in Sabaody," Ken said.

    "Like what?" Sabo asked.

    "With the power we have at the moment, it is not enough to venture into the New World. So I want every one of us to train for the next two years and then return," Ken explained. Everyone, including the Straw Hats, was surprised by Ken''s words.

    "That does make sense. If you go to the New World, sure you might not get hurt, but you''ll also be vulnerable there," Sabo admitted, and Ace concurred. Even Ace knew he wasn''t at the top, and he''d be crushed if he faced a Yonko.

    "Will Luffy be okay with it?" Chopper asked.

    "I think he will accept the fact. He faced the Admirals, though he was able to take them down, it didn''t mean that he would be able to control himself," Ken reasoned. This was true. When Luffy had the crown, he was different, but he paid the price for it the next moment.

    "Franky, take us to Sabaody," Ken instructed.

    "Right away," Franky said, and the ship slowly sailed towards Sabaody while Luffy continued to sleep. Meanwhile, Garp had called him again and asked to meet at Sabaody. They arrived at Sabody pretty fast, allowing Sabo, Ace, and Jinbei to disembark. In fact, Ken wanted to invite Jinbei right then and there but held off.

    He simply asked Jinbei to be present at Fishman Island when they arrived later. Jinbei promised and was elated that the Straw Hats had welcomed him with such open arms. He was grateful for that, and in addition, Ken himself gave him the Jolly Roger of the Straw Hats to be hung above the palace.

    Luffy had woken up and was able to bid his farewell to Ace, promising to meet again.

    "Ace, remember your promises. Stay away from Blackbeard. He may be down, but he''s not defeated. We''ll take him down together," Ken emphasized. Luffy, too, pledged to take down Blackbeard together.

    As they said their goodbyes, the Straw Hats returned to the Shakki bar. And as expected Rayleigh was there, and probably waiting for them.

    "I expected you to come but not this fast."

 263. I expected better

    "Hello, Rayleigh-san. We meet again," Nami said, and everyone greeted him. He was just sipping his whiskey when they barged into the bar. Luffy, as usual, went straight for the fridge while Chopper was provided with a cotton candy.

    Nami and the others mingled well, while Rayleigh looked at Ken and Luffy with interest.

    "Spill out whatever you want to say," Rayleigh said. Ken and the others looked at each other and then both nodded. Together, they said, "We want you to train us."

    This made Rayleigh, who was casually drinking, stop mid-sip and look at Ken and Luffy. Even Sanji and Zoro were regarding him with seriousness.

    "You both wreaked havoc at Marineford, and you need training from an old guy like me? Hahahaha..." Rayleigh laughed as he said that. While he laughed, the others didn''t. They simply looked at him with expectations.

    "I can teach you, but I can''t do the things you both did, or even the things Sanji and Zoro did," Rayleigh continued.

    "We just want to learn Haki and make ourselves stronger," Sanji said.

    "Alright," Rayleigh said. "But before that, I think you have someone to deal with, right?"

    "Yes. I will face them alone," Ken replied. He nodded.

    "I''m just curious. How does your Devil Fruit ability negate Haki?" Rayleigh asked, as he had seen how no attack was able to touch him.

    "It''s simple. It''s not that they can''t touch me, it''s that they can never touch me. Haki can only influence what it can touch. They can never touch me in the first place. My body is just in another dimension, and thus no matter what level of Haki anyone uses, it will be useless," Ken explained. Rayleigh was surprised that Ken had the power to shift part of his body into another dimension.

    This was a remarkable ability and one that probably had no equal.

    They discussed a bit more about where they would train. Not all of them could train in Haki, so they decided to contact the Revolutionary Army and get information about islands around the world. They would travel to those places while training along the way. They also planned to let the other members of the crew gather more knowledge and abilities.

    While they discussed with Nami what they would have to do, Ken walked out. He started walking alone through the mangrove islands. Garp had already contacted him, so he knew that it would be a trap.

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    For that reason, he had asked the Straw Hats crew to leave and wait for him on the ship. Since he had boarded the ship, he was almost never alone and had always been with friends. But now, as he walked alone, he remembered his previous life.

    He never thought that he would be able to live out his fantasy in reality, and that too with such a huge impact. Just like the others, he was dying to see where the end of his journey would lead. But before all of that, he needed to make himself much stronger.

    [

    Choosing...

    Simulating a character for the host...

    ]

    Ken found himself in a new world. A world that seemed to be under constant conflict and battles. He noticed that he had a sword in his hand, and he was one of the guys who was more brutal than anyone he had seen around. These battles went on.

    They went on for years. In those years, he wasn''t alone, but actually got himself some colleagues in the war that was happening around. More specifically, 13 people joined him, and thus after a long and tough war against the one who was leading the conflict, they won. With their victory, peace was ushered in for the first time.

    And this peace gave rise to a proper society, or as they called it, Soul Society. He became the Commander, and the others became Captains, each taking in subordinates. Yes, Ken, for his third one, got himself a swordsman.

    One of the most powerful swordsmen in the Bleach world.

    Genry¨±sai Shigekuni Yamamoto

    Though Ken was happy about the character, he had probably gained enough power to dominate the New World with this new identity. He expected something different from the system, maybe Stars and Stripes from MHA or something along those lines.

    But it was fine. He had gained that power and he would have to be content with it. The story continued as the young Commander grew old as the years went by.

    He saw the deaths of his former colleagues, and by the end, only one of them remained. He witnessed the rise and fall of many geniuses.

    Aizen, Zaraki, Kyoroku, Toshiro...

    Then he saw how Aizen strayed and turned out to be a dangerous villain in the end. Thankfully, another genius named Urahara was there to save them all. But the real threat came out of nowhere one day, and the one he had defeated long ago returned to haunt everything he had built in those thousands of years.

    And in that battle, he died. But before he did, he burned violently and flickered. That was the last ever flicker for him and his sword, which also got destroyed. Thus, with that, the legacy of the famous Commander ended.

    Ken was back again in the real world, on the side of the street. Only a few minutes had passed in the real world, but a thousand years had passed for him. He had almost lost himself living that life, but now that he was back, everything came flooding back to him.

    Zoro must have really suffered a lot, Ken thought as he continued walking. Only this time, he had a sword at his waist. One of the most powerful swords of fire origin. Ry¨±jin Jakka.

    [

    Character completion: 50%

    ]

    Ken could feel that he wasn''t far away from bankai, but even then, considering the character completion, he could tell that bankai was a whole new level. His 50% completion was because he had the body to handle all the kido, sword techniques, and the fastest shunpo. It was only because he was the master of all that the completion rate was at 50%.

 264. You cant give what I want

    Whatever happened in Marineford had spread throughout the world. The Marines were now on the back foot, with pirates emerging from every nook and corner. Those countries with a very high taxation rate saw more pirates emerging than any other.

    And that was not all; some of the pirates got bolder and attacked bases in different parts of the world. It was basically chaos everywhere. The Revolutionary Army also took over some bases and infrastructure of the World Government, like the bridge on an island in East Blue.

    "Get on with it. You guys are so lazy. We need more hot news..."

    "What the hell are you doing? I told you to write a better article than this."

    "...."

    Morgans was yelling and having a tough time in this regard. He was a bit annoyed that the Revolutionary Army was able to broadcast everything on multiple islands, and thus his news couldn''t make up any stories just for the sake of selling. He had to tell the truth. He was also happy that the world was slowly being pushed into chaos, which meant more ''content'' for him.

    So, he was developing a love-hate relationship with the Straw Hats. Plus, like others, he was also awaiting the arrival of new bounties from the Marines for the Straw Hats and other people, including Ace. 500 million didn''t justify his current strength.

    <hr>

    Sabaody Archipelago

    Everyone''s character got something close to their characteristics, but he was the only one who got random powerful ones. First, it was Thor, then Obito, and now Yamamoto. This system was definitely random for him.

    While all these thoughts revolved around his head, he reached Sabody Grove no. 22. The island once held the human auction shop, but after what the Straw Hats had done, the Celestial Dragons had stopped any kind of transactions in the shop. In fact, they wanted to blame Doflamingo due to the lack of security. But of course, he walked away scot-free.

    Now that he was back on this island, he felt a bit nostalgic, even though only a few days had passed since then. He also noticed that the people around were moving away from the island, and in about half an hour, the whole grove was devoid of anyone except Ken.

    Ken wasn''t disturbed or spooked by it. He knew what was happening; it''s just that he didn''t care. He waited in a bar which had no one, not even the bartender, but somehow it was open. He enjoyed small sips of his alcohol as he waited for what was about to happen.

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    After about an hour or so, there was finally movement, and three men walked into the bar. The one leading them was his Grandpa, and the other two were also known to Ken. One was Aokiji himself, and the other was Kong.

    Commander-in-chief Kong. The previous Fleet Admiral of the Marines, before Sengoku took the position of Fleet Admiral. He was the Fleet Admiral when Shiki attacked Marineford after Roger was executed, and he has quite the name in the circle of Marines.

    "Oh my... Even the Commander-in-chief is here. Grandpa... you have brought quite the number of guns today," Ken laughed. Garp was huffing and puffing; he shouted.

    "Bastard... Do you know what you have done? The Marines will never let you escape... You idiot... I told you not to mess around. You even kidnapped my friend... I am very angry," Garp said. Meanwhile, Kong was surprised that Ken knew of his position. His position was never announced in public and was kept hidden away.

    People knew of Sengoku, but they didn''t know of him, so he was a bit surprised. He was just looking around and making sure it wasn''t some kind of ambush. Ken had proved to be a huge menace, and he needed to catch him no matter what.

    "Why are you so angry? I told you I will not be a Marine."

    "Idiot... Now the world is coming after you. Where is my friend?" Garp asked, as he didn''t forget the reason he was here.

    "He is alright. So, is the World Government ready to negotiate?" Ken asked.

    "Where is your Captain? The negotiation is to be done with the Captain and nobody else. As a Vice-Captain, you should know your boundaries." It was Kong who had asked, his voice loud and thundering, almost trying to intimidate him, but of course Ken didn''t seem to care.

    "Why? Am I not enough? The last time I remember, your friend here got swatted by me," Ken said. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the temperature of the surroundings started to drop at an alarming rate, with ice forming around the whole bar and his glass getting a layer of frost on it.

    "Ototoo... You calm down, Aokiji... I am not here to battle you," Aoto said, looking at Aokiji. Kong was speechless at how he was able to make his subordinate lose his cool with just a few words, while he himself didn''t seem to be threatened at all.

    "We need to see Sengoku, and then we can negotiate," Kong said.

    "So, is it to kill me, or to take your friend and run from here?" Ken asked. Kong''s eyebrows arched as he said that.

    "No matter. Even if you use all the powers of your Haki, you can''t do anything to me. Haven''t your past experiences been enough for you to understand that?" Ken asked. Kong scoffed, feeling like Ken was lying, but didn''t call him out on it. He needed to maintain his composure in order to get Sengoku back.

    "What do you want?" Garp asked, getting irritated by the cocky attitude of his grandson.

    "What do I want? Let me see... Hmm... Well, what I want, you can''t provide anyway. And what we want, we will take from you. If I say we want the history of the world, you would probably say no and sacrifice Sengoku. So, in a way, you guys have no integrity. Whatever integrity is left, is only because of Grandpa and some of the good ones."

 265. Now he has a sword scar

    Kong stiffened when he heard that. He expected some kind of demands from Ken, but there was nothing like that. It was just a ''looking down'' on them and insulting them to their faces. His hands clenched in anger and shame. He really wanted to hit him right then and there and make this cocky kid pay, but he just couldn''t. Logic was still prevailing.

    "What are you so calm about, Aokiji? You don''t belong to the ''good ones'' either. One who is associated with the destruction of Ohara and acts like nothing happened is just as guilty. You think you''re better than Akainu just because you didn''t kill the innocent ones? No. You''re just as terrible as Akainu. Someone who tried to kill his own best friend. Remember, Aokiji, if you hurt or harm anyone close to me, if I see even a fraction of your involvement in it, I will hunt you down to the depths of the earth and kill you," Ken said, and this time there was anger in his voice.

    This guy was responsible for whatever happened on Hachinosu, so he was always wary of him. Though Jaguar was fine, that didn''t give him a free pass. Aokiji was also taken aback by the sudden and direct threat. He was ashamed of being called out like that for what happened in Ohara, but also angry that a pirate dared to berate him like that.

    He believed in lazy justice, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t in favor of justice.

    "If you don''t want anything, then why did you accept the condition of letting Sengoku leave?" Kong asked.

    "I kidnapped Sengoku to prove a point, not because I wanted something from you. If I really wanted something, I would have burnt your whole Marijoa to the ground and then taken everything I need. Taking away Sengoku was just me messing around," Ken said, and in the next moment, the space around Ken''s eye distorted in a whirlpool, and Sengoku was ''vomited'' out.

    He was on his knees, looking tired, but he was alright. Seeing his old friends back, he gave a smile, but then he just shook his head. He had disappointed his higher-ups, and whatever punishments were up for him from the World Government, he would accept.

    Garp and Aokiji ran to him, while Kong had already jumped. Black lightning diffused from his knuckles as he punched Ken with all his might just after Sengoku was placed out. But as expected, his punch went through Ken''s body like there was nothing.

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    Kong had his eyes wide open when he saw that. He couldn''t believe it. Even with Conqueror''s Haki-laden hand, he was able to do nothing to this kid. What kind of Devil Fruit was this? For the first time, he felt scared for himself and the World Government. This was a monster who had risen silently, and now it had become a huge bone that had struck their neck, inching towards an infection they would never be able to get rid of.

    After Kong took a few steps back he smiled at Kong. The smile which meant as if Ken was his old friend but this smile gave creeps all over his body.

    "Kong-san, you made one move, now let me make one move." Ken said and in the next moment, and before Garp or Sengoku could even speak some words, Ken vanished from his spot and appeared near Aokiji.

    The moment he appeared near Aokiji, the temperature of the surrounding started to fall rapidly and within seconds the whole body of Ken froze. Unlike last time, this time Aokiji used all the abilities possible for him to freeze and unalive Ken.

    Sengoku and others just looked at the statue in trepidation for a second but unexpectedly, Ken phased out of the ice sculpture and he had a fine katana in his hand. The katana blade was white in color but the heat it gave away made everything around melt.

    "What is that sword?" Kong was taken aback as he had never seen a sword that could be hot. He was sure that it was the sword because Ken was fine and he didn''t give off anything extraordinary.

    Aokiji made an instant spear and stabbed at Ken with his full force but Ken easily dodged him and swung at Aokiji in full speed. Aokiji had already formed a ice shield but the sword didn''t seem to be hindered at all the struck at him.

    The sword was already laden with Haki and being a zanpakuto it cut through the flesh of Aokiji like a fine butter. The white ice around got a droplets of blood strewn.

    "Ken!"

    "You dare!"

    Aokiji didn''t expect that his shield would prove useless and the swordsmanship of Ken would be so fast. He didn''t even get to dodge and felt as if his legs were struck at the ground. No, when Aokiji looked at the eyes of Ken, for the first time in his life he felt fear.

    He felt like he was not looking at a man but a man who was all powerful and old. There was a look of indifference in the eyes of Ken which meant that Ken thought nothing of him. This made him lose his concentration and was thus not able to elementalize in the last second.

    He was punished heavily for it as he fainted after Ken struck him with the sword. In response Garp and Kong both punched at Ken but as usual they couldn''t even touch him.

    Sengoku went forward and checked Aokiji and got relieved to see that he was still breathing. He was losing blood fast so they needed to take him to the hospital.

    "He didn''t have a sword scar before, now he has one." Ken said.

    "You.. You.. Do you even care to give me face?" Garp was consumed with rage after what his grandson. A part of him was proud but a huge part of him was super angry.

 266. See you after timeskip

    "Instead of being angry, you should take him to the hospital. This sword isn''t an ordinary sword," Ken replied. Kong wanted to battle again, but Sengoku just stopped him and shook his head.

    "Train that anger of yours. It would be better for the world," Ken continued, and in the next second, the space around him distorted and he slowly dissipated from where he was standing.

    After Ken left, the three took Aokiji and started to move forward at a fast speed toward the nearest hospital, and then they would take him to the headquarters. While on the run, Sengoku asked how things were around the world, as he knew his disappearance would create quite the chaos. Thankfully, the Straw Hats, with the help of the Revolutionaries, didn''t announce anything outrageous under the pretext of his disappearance.

    But it was a huge blot on the face of the Marine for what had happened.

    "What did the Gorosei say?" Sengoku asked.

    "They wanted me to capture Luffy or anyone from the Straw Hats, but I guess I got too overconfident," Kong said as she side-eyed Garp, who seemed to be brooding. Kong didn''t blame Garp at all, as he knew it wasn''t his fault how his grandsons were turning out to be.

    He was feeling more guilty of his own actions, which didn''t bear any fruit.

    "Ken is more ruthless than he is showing. He killed Lucci right in front of me, and before he died, Lucci was actually happy that he was being killed. He had tortured Lucci so much that he wanted to just die at the end. He was able to break one of the greatest geniuses of the CP organization in less than a month. He is a monster," Sengoku said. This sent chills down the spine of Kong.

    His worst nightmare was slowly coming to life.

    "I will report this to the Gorosei and tell them to put a higher bounty on them and send more Marines in search of them. In fact, I will personally go to the New World and guard the entrance," Kong said. Sengoku nodded, and Garp didn''t care.

    <hr>

    Ken was back on his ship, and this time they had Rayleigh with them. Rayleigh was really impressed by the ship and complimented it a lot. This made Franky very happy. Franky spoke of his time when he helped a bit on the Oro Jackson. They reminisced about Tom too and became a bit sad at the end.

    "Where are we going?"

    "Ruskaina," Rayleigh said, having already given the direction to head to. The ship sailed away, and it took quite a bit of time to reach the island. The island was a peculiar one near Amazon Lily, known for its long seasons. In the original story, this place was Luffy''s training ground alone.

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    But this time, it would be the training ground for Ken, Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp. The others would be sent away. Ken had already discussed with Sabo about sending Franky, Robin, Vivi, Chopper, and Nami.

    Sabo had suggested some islands that would be beneficial for their respective fields. Like Weatheria for Nami, Vivi, and Robin within the Revolutionary army itself, and appropriate places for the others. After landing on Ruskaina, the ship sailed away with the others, each heading to different coordinates given by Sabo. Unlike in the original story, Hancock hadn''t shown up yet, so they got down to business immediately.

    "What do you know about Haki?" Rayleigh asked.

    "It''s more of an attribute associated with stamina..." Ken answered. Luffy looked confused by the complex words, but he nodded in agreement with Ken.

    Rayleigh went on to explain the different forms of Haki and how it could be utilized. Like Armament Haki that required touching the opponent''s body and Internal Destruction. The more they learned, the more surprised they became.

    Ken finally understood the inner workings of Haki, and now he was determined to learn even more. And so, two years of hard work began. Meanwhile, the others were at their own locations.

    Their paths followed the original story, except for Chopper, who was sent to a much better place for learning medical skills. Nami landed in Weatheria, embarking on her own journey to acquire knowledge about weather and further her Avatar abilities. She wanted to transition in and out of Avatar mode whenever possible.

    Chopper went to a well-regarded medical island to begin his studies. Vivi and Robin joined the Revolutionary Army. Vivi and Robin needed to be more resourceful in fights and also acquire knowledge about the world, making the Army the best place for them.

    Franky landed on a winter island and the birthplace of Vegapunk. He began gathering more materials required to enhance the ship. The ship could be remodeled to accommodate more technology and materials he could find there.

    And so, the long journey of self-improvement began for the Straw Hats, while chaos raged in the world. The new bounties were finally out for the Straw Hats and spread to the far reaches of the world quickly. The new bounties left everyone in awe.

    "Animal Chopper - 200 million beli"

    "Cyborg Franky - 250 million beli"

    "White Arrow Usopp - 500 million beli"

    "Weather Bender Nami - 400 million beli"

    "Vulcan-Feet Sanji - 600 million beli"

    "Demon Slayer Zoro - 650 million beli"

    "Punisher Ken - 1 billion beli"

    "Straw Hat Luffy - 1.2 billion beli"

    <hr>

    "Billion beli? Even before he could reach the New World, he has such a high bounty. Hahahaha... I''m waiting for you," Shanks laughed when he saw the new posters. Luffy''s new poster had a crown over his head, and he looked majestic, with eyes that seemed to pierce through the soul.

    "My son has become such a remarkable man. I should have met him at Marineford," Yasopp said.

    "You''re quite the cowardly father," Lucky Roo commented.

    "But they have grown way too fast than we anticipated. Especially that Ken. I have a feeling that he is more than meets the eye." Shanks said as he grew serious. He hadn''t forgotten the huge monster that he transformed to and the abilities were not explainable at all.

 267. No love for me

    The new bounties sent ripples through the whole world. That high of a bounty for such a young crew was ridiculous, but they could also understand why they did that. What they did in Marineford was beyond what anybody could imagine.

    Kicking away Admirals and even kidnapping Sengoku while able to save Ace. Whitebeard''s death was the only huge stain in the huge war for the pirates and that too came with a silver lining. The pirates had started to creep up now, and the sea had never been so chaotic before.

    Garp, after looking at the bounties, just laughed out and said he was proud. Doctorine from Drum Island had a huge smile on her face and encouraged Chopper to move forward in his dreams. Makino and the people from Luffy and Ken''s village had a huge celebration, and even Dadan came down the mountain to have a good time among the people around.

    Zeff, at the moment, was a shop owner on a random island in East Blue and he hardly showed his face to anyone. This included some of his past cooks of the restaurant. They had been hiding well since Ken had asked them for help.

    The time for hiding would be up soon, so they were just waiting for the signal from Ken.

    "Sanji has grown so much, Owner," one of the past cooks of Baratie said.

    "Now he can fly and use fire. We can hardly recognize the Sanji we know," Zeff said, his chest swelling with pride. He was proud of his adopted son.

    Zoro''s dojo was now full of students using two or three swords and taking inspiration from their predecessor. The dojo master had a headache looking at the students who were trying to copy Zoro but also happy that Zoro had found his calling.

    Nami''s home was also having a blast. They had seen how beautiful she was when she faced the Marines and controlled water and earth. They didn''t know how Nami got those abilities, and they didn''t need to know as long as Nami was happy. Dragon, after seeing the bounties of the Straw Hats, had a huge smile on his face.

    The Straw Hats had helped him in ways that even he couldn''t begin to imagine. Speaking about the ruler of their world, the spy of Vegapunk, and other information Ken had passed on to Sabo. In addition to giving new abilities to Sabo. He didn''t know how Ken was doing this, but he didn''t care as long as the Army was powerful. He trusted Sabo a lot. So having someone who was just ''magical'' helped them a lot.

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    Different reactions came from different parts of the world; some rejoiced and some despaired. While people were busy finding out more about the Straw Hats, the main fighting force of the crew was beaten down hard by an old man.

    Even Ken was feeling the pain in his body. Rayleigh was teaching them about advanced Armament Haki and it was not working well for the crew as they finally realized how far they had to go. It was only because they had been naive and fast enough to surprise the Marines that they were able to inflict pain.

    This was real training.

    <hr>

    Two years later, Sabaody Archipelago.

    The Merry was high up in the air as usual and the whole crew was sitting at the Shakki bar. Two years had passed since the war in Marineford and now the whole crew looked entirely different from how they looked two years ago.

    Zoro had an eye patch now on his left eye. His eye was gone, just like in the original story, and it wasn''t some hidden power of his. It was Ken who was responsible for that. He and Zoro had a swordfight and Zoro ended up with a scar on his eye.

    Of course, Ken apologized many times for this and Zoro didn''t seem to mind at all. He just looked happy to have someone with whom he could learn swordsmanship. Even Rayleigh applauded their swordsmanship.

    Sanji and others had also progressed a lot, and many people had developed new characteristics by now, since two years was a long time and many of them had completed their character arcs.

    "Rayleigh-san, thank you for the coating," Nami and Franky both thanked Rayleigh while others just freeloaded at the bar. Ken had to admit that something was wrong with this world. How could these thin women have curves that defied any forms of biological explanation?

    Seeing the huge busts and derri¨¨res of these women, Ken felt like it was a waste of his life. Maybe he could have just found himself a beautiful woman and led the life of a degenerate. And the way his life was going at the moment, he didn''t think he would find love.

    There wasn''t any particular chemistry between himself and Vivi or Nami or Robin. He cursed Oda for that because that guy was adamant about not including any romance among the crew. Now that curse was weighing down on him for sure. While Ken was daydreaming, the others were having fun.

    "There is this poster recruiting for the Straw Hats pirates in Sabaody," Shakki came forward with a big poster and offered it to them.

    "What?"

    "Are we recruiting new people?" Luffy asked, a bit confused.

    "Baka. It''s a fake. Someone is impersonating us," Usopp shouted.

    "Nani? Then we need to beat them," Luffy declared angrily.

    "What''s the point of this? We can just leave. Ace and Jimbei are already waiting for us in Fishman Island," Nami said.

    "No, they can''t use our name," Luffy said, looking particularly angry. Everyone just sighed and then looked at Ken for making his brother think twice.

    "There is one interesting guy among the so-called recruits who I want to meet," Ken said, which made everyone raise their eyebrows except for Luffy who was eating.

    "Who? A marine?" Robin asked, intrigued by who could interest Ken.

    "No, he is just a small-time pirate, but he does have a Devil fruit that is quite interesting."

 268. Am I that old?

    "What kind of Devil fruit?" Usopp asked.

    "A Logia... Swamp Swamp fruit. Technically speaking, this fruit has nothing of importance and isn''t even powerful, but the fruit allows the person to store anything in his body and has infinite space inside," Ken said. (Yes, that''s what Oda said in an SBS).

    "Infinite space? That''s interesting."

    "But why is he interesting? It''s not like we need such kind of fruit." Usopp and others were confused.

    "Well, for one, I want to beat the shit out of him," Ken replied. This made everyone stunned and then laugh out loud.

    "Then we shall move. Shall we? Everyone divide into teams of two," Luffy said, and this time it was an order. It was a lottery to form teams, and Ken got paired with Robin.

    With the small teams and disguises on, they left with communicators in their pockets.

    "How was the Revolutionary Army?" Ken asked as they walked through the streets of Sabaody. The closer they got to the Grove, the more chaos there was. People had gone haywire, thinking they were the actual recruits of the Straw Hats, and it was crazy.

    The Straw Hats had a huge reputation now, so there was quite the rush on the Grove. But Ken also noticed that there were some marines in disguises too.

    "It was informative. I got to visit new islands," Robin said.

    "Did Dragon apologize?" Ken asked. Robin was surprised and then nodded. Dragon apologized because after Ohara got destroyed he was in Ohara. There was no need to apologize, but Ken knew that if he was half the man he knew, he would definitely apologize.

    "The books of Ohara are still there and we will get to see them soon," Ken said.

    "The books? Are they fine?" Robin was surprised.

    "Yes. The Giants took them away after the alleged destruction. Though they couldn''t save all the books, some did get saved," Ken said. This made Robin very happy.

    "I would like to see the books again," Robin said.

    "Of course. We will go to Elbaf soon and you can talk with them," Ken said.

    "An island of Giants... huh! It would be quite interesting."

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    While they talked, they reached the place where the recruitment was happening, and people were just flattering the fake Straw Hats as if they were some kind of Gods. From the corner of his eye, Ken could also see his friends hiding among the masses. Sanji had teamed up with Luffy, and he was trying his best not to expose Luffy. Ken also noticed the arrival of the marines in disguises and the main person why he was here.

    Caribou.

    The guy whose face Ken hated the most. Ken took some great strides and caught up to Caribou, who was getting close to the Straw Hats, but before he could even get close, a hand from nowhere tapped on his shoulder.

    Caribou turned around and noticed that he was apart from his crew, and a guy with a white mustache over his lips was looking at him and smiling.

    "You are Whitebeard?" Caribou seeing the majestic white and curly moustache over the lips of Ken blurted out without thinking. This time it was Ken who was taken aback by the words and he almost hit the guy in ager for saying that he was too old.

    "Do I look that old?" Ken asked, anger in his voice.

    "Ah, no, sorry. Whitebeard died years ago. But you are old," Caribou replied. Ken was even angrier, seeing the audacity of this guy, and directly used Conqueror''s Haki on him. There was a small black lightning around him, and before Caribou could even understand what was going on, he lost consciousness and fell onto Ken''s shoulder.

    The people around were a bit surprised when someone just lost consciousness out of nowhere, and thankfully, in the whole flurry of people, there was no one from the crowd who belonged to Caribou''s crew. The excitement of these people joining the "Straw Hats" really made them lose their composure.

    "Is this guy alright?" someone asked.

    "I think he got too excited and passed out. I''ll give him some water," Ken said reassuringly.

    "Hahaha... What a wuss. He''ll miss the recruitment," another person said.

    Ken slowly took Caribou to the side, and with nobody around, he brought the man into his Kamui dimension. As he was doing that, he noticed that the marines had now completely surrounded the whole ''fair,'' and they had brought Pacifistas too. The Pacifistas this time were more numerous than they were supposed to be.

    As usual, the others were a bit intrigued, and when they saw the new ''Straw Hats,'' they were very disappointed. Luffy, who was angry at them for copying their Jolly Roger, just burst out laughing upon seeing them. Of course, for a second, he got confused by their appearance and thought they were his actual crewmates. Thankfully, Zoro knocked some sense into him.

    "Seriously, even with one eye, I can see them, and you can''t," Zoro said.

    As they were talking among themselves, one Pacifista came forward and identified the fake Straw Hat as someone else, thus revealing their whole scheme. But then another Pacifista was able to spot the real Luffy and shot at him from afar.

    Luffy and Zoro, who were on their way back, had to dodge the attack, and Luffy''s disguise fell off as he had moved too fast for the disguise to keep up. The people around finally got to see the real Luffy and Zoro too.

    "Those eyes... That''s the real Luffy."

    "That''s Roronoa Zoro... The swordsman of the Straw Hats. People say he''s cut down demons before."

    "Straw Hat... I''ve been looking for you for a long time," Sentoamru came forward and shouted. She had tried to catch them in Sabody before, but Ken had come instead and they had a brawl.

    At Marineford, they went on to clash against each other but he overpowered them. Now he had trained a lot over the 2 years and felt like he could catch him.

 269. Whose side are you on?

    The Pacifistas came walking in, and there were a number of them. They surrounded everyone, as many people here were criminals who needed to be put in jail. Four of the Pacifistas shot lasers out of their mouths at Luffy and Zoro. Luffy easily dodged them, but in the process, his disguise fell off.

    "What the hell are you doing? I just came here to watch," Luffy shouted as he moved into a different position.

    "Straw Hat... I have been waiting for you. You don''t need to go anywhere; just obediently follow us to Impel Down," Sentomaru shouted, finally recognizing the same Straw Hat he had seen two years before.

    "You... I remember you... You''re that Big Fat-maru from the Marineford," Luffy said.

    "Big Fat-maru? You have quite the nerve, Straw Hat," Sentomaru growled, his veins popping as Luffy misspoke.

    "PX-5... Go after him. All of you, go."

    Five of the Pacifistas jumped and flew straight at Luffy to apprehend him. Luffy simply took out his staff and spun it with incredible speed, striking at the androids in strange angles. They instantly broke upon contact with the Pacifistas.

    Seeing this, the people around had their eyes wide open. The Pacifistas were now lying on the ground with craters created from just a single hit.

    "He... He''s more of a monster than we saw two years ago," one man said.

    "He''s nothing like the imposters."

    "Can we join his crew now that he''s here?"

    Such discussions were rampant and reached the ears of Sentomaru. He sent more Pacifistas, and since Luffy was proving to be a menace, he sent the others after different crew members. Two Pacifistas approached Zoro. He, who had been quite silent, looked at the Pacifistas and smiled. That smile was like that of a devil.

    Zoro didn''t even bother to draw his swords and just mumbled.

    "Shitotsu Sansen" (Triple-Flash Beak Slash)

    Zoro drew a small triangle with his hand that glowed brightly in yellow, appearing as if it were made of lightning. The three points of the triangle suddenly shot out and struck the Pacifistas right in their abdomen, nailing them to the ground, and in the next moment, they burst out.

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    This was Zoro''s Kido. In these two years, he had not only worked hard on Haki but also on character progression. Being a Captain, he definitely had to learn about it, and so he did.

    Sentomaru was now dumbstruck seeing this. Zoro had never shown such strange abilities before, so what the hell was going on? Meanwhile, other Pacifistas and Marines approached Ken and Robin, and before they could even launch an attack, Ken had vanished from his spot for a second and returned in the next moment in the same position.

    But the Pacifistas burst out, and people didn''t even get to see what had happened, not even Sentomaru who knew Haki. Ken was too fast in shunpo for his movement to be registered.

    "These people... What the hell were they doing in the last two years? They have grown so powerful," Sentomaru shuddered as that thought entered his mind.

    The marines who were now close to them had hands come out of their bodies, making them immobile and forcing them to taste the bubbly grass.

    Sentomaru was alone in a matter of minutes. Seeing no other way, he himself went straight to get Ken, and as he came close, out of nowhere, a blue skeletal hand came out from the side of Ken and held Sentomaru within seconds.

    He tried to dodge, but in the end, Ken''s Susano was too fast and captured Sentomaru within seconds.

    "You... Punisher Kenny...!" Sentomaru roared with all his strength. He tried to use Haki to get away, but he wasn''t successful at all.

    "If anyone wants to live, then they should get the hell out of here," Ken shouted, making his voice known to everyone. This made all the spectators tremble in fright, and even though he didn''t use Conqueror''s Haki, they felt fear and scattered away.

    "The Straw Hats are more cruel than we thought."

    "We''ll die if we don''t leave now. Go... Go."

    "Fuck... I shouldn''t have come here."

    All the marines had already been taken down by Robin, and those who were not were taken care of by the Straw Hats. Yes, they weren''t the only four in the group here, and the other Straw Hats were also present, taking care of everything.

    "Punisher Kenny... Hmph... Do you want to kidnap me like the previous Fleet Admiral? I know nothing to give away, so you can just kill me," Sentomaru said, not seeming very fazed that Ken had caught him.

    "Who gave you the courage to come after us?" Ken asked.

    "To capture scums like you, the marines don''t need courage," Sentomaru replied.

    "Are you really a marine? Or are you trying to prove to others that you''re a good marine?" Ken asked.

    "What does it matter to you?" Sentomaru replied.

    "It matters because the World Government will soon try to kill Vegapunk. Whose side will you be on?" Ken said. This made Sentomaru stiffen.

    "What?"

    "You''ve been around Vegapunk, and you must have seen quite a lot. So tell me, the protector of Vegapunk, was he ever too close to the marines, or was he being coerced?" Ken asked.

    "Hmph! You''re just saying things to drive a wedge between him and the marines," Sentomaru said, not believing Ken. In response, Ken let him go and said,

    "You go back and ask Vegapunk himself where his allegiance lies. You''ll get the answer."

    Sentomaru, after being freed, didn''t even waste a second and tried to punch Ken, but Ken just opened his palm and hit him right in the abdomen, propelling him away and dragging him along the ground for a few meters before he stopped.

    "What a fool," Ken said. By that time, all the other Straw Hats had gathered.

    "We should leave... For Fishman Island. We have people waiting for us."

 270. The new skill

    With that, the Straw Hats vanished from Sabody altogether. They were back on the Merry, which was quite a distance away from the island and fully coated. Though after coming back from the 2 years of training, Franky had upgraded the ship by a lot, but they would go so deep that they would still need the coating anyways.

    After they returned to the ship, Luffy shouted.

    "Everyone, we have been away from adventure for such a long time and I am sorry to have dragged you all into this, but I hope that in this next journey of ours we will be more victorious and realize our dreams that we have been craving for such a long time."

    "Of course."

    "We are gonna rock the Grand Line."

    "The New World wouldn''t know what hit them."

    With a small celebration, Merry slowly dipped down into the water. Their main hall had a ceiling made of glass so everyone got to see the scenery outside. At first, it was all bright due to the sun, but as they dipped more, it became darker and by the end, it was darker than night. Nothing could be seen, so Franky had to switch on the spherical 360-degree lights and illuminate the deeper ocean.

    It made everyone a little more uneasy seeing the pitch-black darkness, but they got used to it, and the light of Merry helped a lot. The fish started getting larger as they dipped down more, and soon they got to meet the sea beasts.

    At first, it was fine, but some of them were bold and wanted to take a bite at them. Ken had to scare them away with Conqueror''s Haki to make their journey easier. After everything settled and their journey continued, they just got bored and talked about what they had achieved all these months.

    Ken had other thoughts in mind and brought out Caribou, who was now tied in sea stone chains, thanks to Vivi.

    "Who the fuck are... Straw... Straw... Straw Hat!!" Caribou was very angry that he was captured and left in the dark all this time. And he was ready to lash out when he saw brightness, but once he saw the Straw Hats and the whole crew, he knew that he would be screwed.

    "Oh, so you''re the weird guy Ken caught. You are quite ugly," Luffy said not being considerate at all.

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    "He really does look like a sleaze bag," Sanji said.

    "Why do we even care about him?" Nami said.

    Ken just put his face opposite to Caribou, who was now trembling and pleading to let him get away.

    "I haven''t done anything. Please let me leave. I promise I will be a good pirate and your subordinate," Caribou said. He still didn''t understand how he fainted, and that gave him more fear than ever.

    "Well, leaving you isn''t a huge matter. But I do have a question. Who are you working under?" Ken asked. This made Caribou''s eyes wide, and he looked at Ken with extreme fear, so much so that he almost fainted.

    "What a wuss," Zoro commented while cleaning his swords.

    "I..I am alone.. I am the Captain of my own pirate crew." Caribou said shakily.

    "Heh! I don''t believe you. But it doesn''t matter." Ken said and in the next moment he took him back to his kamui dimension, but this time Ken too had gone himself to the dimension, following Caribou.

    Caribou thought that he would be again shut down in this weird place and left alone but when Ken too appeared and seeing the smile in his voice, he knew something was up. He was ready to plead again but Ken didn''t even give a chance for Caribou to speak and used his sword on him.

    A long gash out of nowhere appeared on his chest and blood splattered everywhere. He cried out in pain but soon fainted. Ken wanted to do an experiment and see if his knife worked the same way it did in the bleach and the dead''s soul could be brought out.

    With the blunt end of the handle of the sword he struck the head of Caribou. The moment he struck his forehead with his sword, another Caribou came out from behind and his main body went limp.

    Caribou got scared when he saw this and more scary part was that there was chain that went straight from his chest to the limp body.

    "What.. What did you do?" Caribou now was genuinely scared. He remembered being struck by the sword of Ken and feeling pain and now suddenly there was two of his.

    "Well you are close to death." Ken said.

    "What? No. Impossible." Caribou cried out but Ken before replied with not much thought. But now that he has seen that Caribou could have a ''soul'' body he knew that the shinigami powers were the same. But that was not what Ken was really surprised about.

    He was surprised because he saw another foggy substance of about few centimeters floating nearby the limp body of Caribou. Ken didn''t know what this was and was thinking of what it could be. The foggy substance was glowing a bit and was giving Ken an ethereal feeling.

    After some random thought, Ken took a whole apple from his pouch and let the foggy thing touch the apple. The moment the apple touched the foggy substance, the apple started to transform and within seconds the apple transformed into a muddy colored apple and simultaneously the chains that tied Caribou to the limp body of Caribou broke.

    The ghost Caribou cried out in pain as he did that and Ken got irritated by his constant rambling and praying before and so he just killed the ghost form of Caribou and with that this small time pirate who had a logia fruit died without the knowledge of anyone nor his crew.

    "So I was right. If I bring the soul out I can get the devil fruit without it being appearing in a random place in the world."

 272. Arrest them

    But at the end Luffy came out of the sulking feelings once he saw food that Sanji had brought. And thus with that a new celebration began.

    "Jinbe. What about your crew?" Ken asked as he at some desserts that Sanji had made. Ken remembered that due to his old relations it took him some time to join his crew. In fact it was only in Wano that Jinbe came and started to work together.

    "The last 2 years I have been here and I have settled my past connections." Jinbe said while drinking a huge jug of alcohol.

    "Oh so basically you are jobless." Ken commented. Now it was time for Jinbe to mop on the floor. Seeing this Ken laughed and continued with the banquet. As they were having fun, Ken looked at his friends in the banquet.

    Ace and Luffy fighting over a big piece of meat. Zoro was chugging down alcohol. Franky now looked just like any other person and not like a Cyborg, thanks to the new character that he received after finishing Victor Stone.

    Brook was close to finishing his character so he had become a little cold but he still threw in skull jokes here and there. One thing they understood over time was that the character progression was a bit faster if they acted like the character in real life, which Ken himself didn''t know and thus now he was also trying to act like Yamamoto.

    But Ken was failing to do so because he was too serious for Ken to emulate in real life.

    The others like Nami who was also very close to finishing her character of Avatar was dancing around. While she did so the four elements was revolving around her. One thing to be said was that Nami had progressed much better than Aang.

    She had somehow figured out lightning bending. Zeus was going to be very powerful it seemed in the future. Robin had become more beautiful because of her new character and since she was kind of acting like the character she seemed to be more charming than anyone here, even more than Nami by a bit.

    Chopper''s second character was almost godlike so he was also in a new path. But among all the character Chopper''s second character was progressing very slowly. In this journey they had decided to leave Caroo and Banchi in Alabasta. It was too dangerous for them to be in New World and it was Vivi who suggested that.

    Vivi too got herself a new character and honestly speaking she too got an awesome character but then again the progress was slow, but unlike last time, she could now fight with the crew and even learn the elementary forms of Haki over the past 1 year.

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    She wasn''t the brightest student in fights but she was getting there slowly. Ussop got himself a very strong character and was getting more used to hand to hand fights as well as gun fights. As they were discussing and having a good time when suddenly many fishmen royal guards came and surrounded them.

    Jinbe and others had already noticed this but didn''t stop them since they haven''t attacked. After surrounding the Straw hats. Finally after the royal guards surrounded them, the three princes of the royal family came.

    From the looks of it, it seemed like the three princes had seen some kind of ghosts a few minutes ago and looked extremely haggard.

    "What is the meaning of this, Fukaboshi-sama." It was Jinbe who spoke first and he was quite irriated and honestly a bit disrespected in front of his friends.

    "I am sorry, Jinbe-san. I am really sorry. I didn''t have any other choice and I will have to do this.." Fukaboshi said and he was almost in tears.

    "Shirahoshi has been kidnapped by Hody and along with them Hacchi." Ken who was been chewing on some meat said while not being flustered at all. His words sent shock among Jinbe and the princes. How did Ken know? Of course Jinbe wasn''t that surprised as he had seen how Ken''s haki worked and how powerful he was before.

    "Hody? Hody Jones? How dare he? Why did he kidnap?" Jinbe was furious. The princes were stupefied for a bit and then went on to explain what had happened. Hody and his friends had been in the Ryugu royal army for quite some time and thus were given high positions since they were powerful and resourceful but who would have known that they were just snakes in fishmen skin.

    Few hours ago, out of nowhere they rioted and kidnapped their princess. And after kidnapping them they asked us to hand over the Straw hats to them or else their precious princess would die. They also put a bomb collar around the neck of the King and said that if they didn''t do it, they would first blow off the head of the King if they didn''t return to them with the Straw hats.

    They had also kidnapped Hachi so that Jinbe wouldn''t interfere with them.

    "Who is Hody?" Marco was confused and thus asked. Jinbe went on to explain who Hody was and how his role model was Arlong. Jinbe had only met him once or twice and always felt something was off.

    And he was right.

    Now he had come to bit them in their ass.

    "So we need to beat the ass out of Hody?" Luffy asked.

    "No.. No.. I am sorry you can''t.. Our father''s life in danger." Fukaboshi pleaded. He was ashamed but there was nothing he could do. He was here with some of them just to arrest them and send them away to the criminals.

    "I don''t care what you think. We are pirates and we do what we like." Luffy said. Marco and others didn''t say a word when Luffy said that. Fukaboshi gulped down and he was remorseful for a bit but after few seconds he had steel look in his eyes and directed the guards to come up and arrest them.

    "You shouldn''t have done this." Jinbe seeing the guards coming up to catch them, couldn''t help but shake his head.

 273. Enough for Wano

    Ken looked at the guards and sighed. His eyes squinted, and black lightning crackled around him. Within seconds, all the guards fell to the floor. The only people among the royal army who weren''t affected were the three princes. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw the guards collapse without warning.

    They could tell that Ken had done something, but they didn''t know what. Luffy and the others didn''t seem to care for the princes and were busy enjoying the banquet.

    "Fukaboshi, you should know who we are. Your palace has our Jolly Roger," Ken said. This revelation caused the three princes to have a breakdown, and they fell to their knees, crying.

    "I''m sorry... I''m sorry... Please forgive me... Please, I beg you... Please save my sister," Fukaboshi and his brothers pleaded. Luffy didn''t seem to care at all, which was understandable since they hadn''t shown respect in the beginning.

    Jinbe didn''t know what to say, and Marco was disappointed with their actions. Just like the Straw Hats'' Jolly Roger, the Whitebeard Jolly Roger was also with them. Trust between fishmen and humans was a rare thing, and suspicion had been the norm for a very long time.

    "Please help us... We know that we made a mistake, but we didn''t have any other options," the three brothers continued to implore. Jinbe sighed and looked at Luffy.

    "Luffy-kun... Could you please help? Haachi has been kidnapped."

    "Haachi... Hmm... I miss his takoyaki... Maybe I should save him," Luffy said, his eyes already turning into takoyaki again.

    "Oi, you were just eating something and now you''re dreaming of eating something else," Sanji shouted, and everyone laughed. Only the princes remained in a state of anxiety.

    "If we save you, I''ll take all your treasures," Nami stated her conditions since they had decided to help.

    "Yes, yes... As long as you save our father and sister, we''re ready to give away anything," Fukaboshi said. This brought a gleam to Nami''s eyes. With that settled, everyone left for the palace. Within minutes, they arrived in the main hall where everyone had gathered, including the ministers. The King sat on the stairs leading to his throne, tears streaming down his face.

    Around his neck, there was a thick collar with bulges on two sides.

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    "Please, Jinbe-san... Straw Hat-san... Please help us," Fukaboshi pleaded. When the King saw the Straw Hats, he was taken aback and then became extremely angry.

    "Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi... What did I tell you? Not to contact the Straw Hats... Do you even know how they protected our island? And you went on to bring them here. Get out," the King was furious and shouted for them to leave.

    The princes once again fell to their knees and begged the King. Ken and the others were a bit confused about what was going on, but they understood from their pleading and the King''s anger. After the King was fitted with the bomb collar and Shirahoshi was kidnapped, he had forbidden the princes from contacting the Straw Hats and asking them to come.

    Because that was disrespectful. He started berating them and even told them that their rights of being the princes was now null and void.

    "Neptune-sama, I think you need to calm down. At the end of the day, your sons were just worried about you and wanted to help in their way they could." JInbe said. But Nepune was angry and thus didn''t hear a word.

    Ken could tell that Neptune was really angry with what had happened and not faking to gain sympathy. Neptune came forward and even apologized to Luffy, who seemed to be fine.

    "If Luffy here is able to free Shirahoshi and save you, will you give us the treasures?" Nami asked.

    "You don''t have to do anything. I am sorry for involving you all in this matter. We will handle it ourselves." Neptune said. Nami got angry and shouted.

    "Just answer my question."

    "Uh.. Yes.. You can take whatever you want and you don''t need to do anything." Neptune had always known that the safety blanket they had was because of them and in fact at the evening they wanted to host a banquet for them but it was now in drains.

    "Good Luffy, Zoro, Ken, Sanji beat him up." Nami shouted.

    "Why should we?" Luffy, Zoro and Ken asked back.

    "Haii.. Nami-swan.. I will do it." Sanji went against the three and said. Ace and Marco who had been there as a spectator could only shake their head. These guys were really crazy. Ken just sighed and approached Neptune.

    Neptune was confused and asked.

    "What do you want to do?"

    "Freeing your from the collar." Ken said and placed his hands on the collar. His face went from casual to a serious one. His hand had already turned black and then with a small pressure the collar broke off. The ticking bomb suddenly started to tick louder and Ken just threw it out of the palace.

    Before the collar could touch the ground it bursted. Ken had just used internal destruction and taken out the collar. Over the two years he had progressed a lot in his haki. Though his Armament haki wasn''t as advanced as Observation haki, it had still reached Internal Destruction level and thus it was quite easy for him to take care of some bomb collar.

    Neptune and Princes were dumbfounded seeing how easily Ken was able to get rid of the collar so easily.

    "Your Haki has improved so much." Ace said when he saw Ken getting rid of the collar so easily.

    "How far did you learn?" Ken asked and not bothered by the surprised expression of the people around. Even Jinbe was a bit surprised but was glad that they had become powerful.

    "Enough to go back to Wano." Ace replied. This brought a smile on the face of Ken. Wano was their goal and they would need to go there one way or the other.

 271. Only Luffy has those rights

    This was an entirely new revelation for Ken, one that promised to change many things moving forward. The New World harbored an array of novel Devil Fruits, each different from the last. If Ken were to defeat a few possessors and acquire their distinct abilities, it could be a monumental game-changer.

    However, this didn''t imply that Ken could wield various Devil Fruit powers at once. He would be limited to just one. Ken had never contemplated acquiring a Devil Fruit ability before, deeming it unnecessary given his formidable existing powers. But if he stumbled upon something truly extraordinary and potent, he might reconsider.

    Back on the ship, Ken stowed away the Devil Fruit. Being of the logia type, this fruit held considerable power; it might fetch a good price, or he could choose to bestow it upon the Revolutionary Army.

    "Is that unsightly fellow secured?" Zoro inquired. Ken simply nodded, opting not to delve into the details of his actions. For the next few hours, the Straw Hats reveled in the depths of the ocean world. Ken always kept a watchful eye on Luffy, hoping to discern if he, too, could hear the calls of the sea beasts, much like Roger and Momonosuke.

    Speaking of Momonosuke, they would be reuniting with him soon. Sigh, that mischievous youngster!

    En route, Luffy and the others encountered Surume, a colossal octopus. Luffy set out to tame the creature, a feat he accomplished effortlessly. A single glance into Surume''s eyes was all it took. Luffy''s Conqueror''s Haki had come a long way in the past two years.

    With Surume''s aid, they safely navigated Merry to Fishman Island after an arduous journey. Unlike the canonical story, they encountered no complications in landing. And, thankfully, Vander Decken IX was nowhere in sight. Ken considered himself fortunate, for had Vander Decken been present, Ken might have been tempted to dispatch him then and there.

    There was no compelling reason to spare that wretched man''s life.

    Upon reaching Fishman Island, Ken employed his Haki to confirm if Ace and Jinbe had already arrived. Thankfully, they had, accompanied by an unexpected guest: Marco.

    "Why is Marco here?" Ken mused in confusion, though he didn''t voice his bewilderment to the others. They had just landed, and Luffy was profusely thanking Surume. Surume, in turn, seemed elated to receive recognition. With that, the crew moved on, but Ken lingered a moment, casting a backward glance at Surume, who wore a smile.

    "Hody is coercing you, isn''t he?" Ken ventured. Surume stiffened, uncertain of how to respond. Summoning some fortitude, Surume nodded.

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    "Don''t fret. We''ll handle him," Ken assured, then turned and made his way toward the rest of the crew, who were now calling for him. Soon they were on the Fishman island and unlike what Nami had expected, the Fishman were welcoming.

    Especially when they realized that it was the Straw Hats. Jinbe had already instructed his fellow Fishmen to keep an eye out for the Straw Hats. They were now renowned worldwide and had made a name for themselves. In Fishman Island, they were held in even higher regard.

    This was due to the fact that the safety of Fishman Island was owed to the Straw Hats. The Whitebeard Jolly Roger still flew high at the entrance, alongside the Straw Hat Pirates'' emblem.

    For some reason, or perhaps due to a cautious respect for the Straw Hats, the Big Mom pirates didn''t demand protection money from them, and other pirates were hesitant to launch attacks. This was likely because the Whitebeard Pirates, though their leader had passed, were still a force to be reckoned with. Ace, Marco, and the other Commanders were alive and well, and Blackbeard hadn''t moved to dismantle them or claim their position. So technically, there were still four Yonko.

    However, Marco had been shrewd about it. Aside from the islands very close to Whitebeard''s original territory, they had willingly ceded other islands. There was an unspoken agreement that the other three Yonko wouldn''t pursue their group. Fishman Island was one of the islands still under Whitebeard''s domain, and the Straw Hats'' flag only added an extra layer of security.

    The Straw Hats were eventually guided to a secluded spot, where they were met by Ace, Marco, and Jinbe, all sitting and enjoying themselves.

    "Luffy... Ken... You made it. You''re late," Ace exclaimed, rising to his feet with a laugh. He embraced his brothers and greeted everyone warmly. He was overjoyed to see them. Marco and Jinbe shared in the merriment.

    "Thanks for waiting for us," Ken expressed, his gaze fixed on Jinbe.

    "The Straw Hats aided me greatly when we made our escape. It''s only right to meet them when they''re in my homeland," Jinbe explained.

    "What have you been up to lately?" Ken inquired.

    "Just staying in my homeland for now," Jinbe replied.

    "Then why not join us?" Luffy suddenly suggested. This sudden proposal left everyone momentarily stunned, but it brought a smile to Ken''s face. Luffy had an uncanny knack for recognizing valuable additions to the crew.

    "Are you, Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy, formally asking me to join your crew?" Jinbe inquired, as if making it official. Luffy responded with an enormous grin.

    Jinbe returned the smile and declared, "Honestly, after Marineford, a part of me wanted to join your crew, but I refrained, thinking it might be inappropriate. Now that you''ve extended the invitation and I have no firm ties here, I, Jinbe, the first son of the sea, accept the Straw Hat Captain Monkey D. Luffy''s invitation to join your crew."

    This proclamation sparked exuberant cheers and dancing all around. Ken had half-expected Luffy to ask Jinbe later, perhaps when they were leaving the island. But Luffy, being Luffy, had little patience for such formalities.

    "This calls for a celebration and we need to have a banquet." Marco said. This made the Straw hats look at him with weird eyes which made Marco confused.

    "What is it?"

    "Only Luffy says those words." Ken said. Marco turned around and only to see Luffy sulking since he didn''t get to say his favorite words.

 274. This arc is boring

    While Ken was talking with Ace, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji went out and asked for Hody Jones'' address. Among the three, Sanji and Luffy''s Observation Haki were the best (yes, technically speaking, Sanji has better observation haki and Zoro has better Armament Haki), and thus both of them didn''t take much time to find Hody Jones.

    Another reason they were easy to find was because they had actually gone on and made a huge ''festival'' out of it. Hody and his partners, while being employed as the royal guards, had kidnapped many pirates over time and forced them into prisons and even made them work for them when required.

    Basically, it was slavery.

    So when Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy had reached, it was a house full of human pirates being chained in collars but also carrying weapons. Some of them looked listless, some angry, some sad. All in all, it was a mixture of negative emotions and looked very depressing.

    "Straw Hat Luffy... You are finally here," Hody, who had been sitting on his makeshift throne, said while laughing. Hody was there with all of his partners and also Vander Decken, who was ogling Shirahoshi like some kind of huge pervert. If everything were to be seen from a real perspective, then Vander Decken was a pedophile.

    He had been after her for years, and Shirahoshi was just a small child when this guy first saw her and apparently ''fell in love'' with her. No, this guy was just a plain pedophile, and just due to the size of Shirahoshi, many people had overlooked that fact.

    Shirahoshi at the moment was crying very loudly, and the fishmen around, who were far but were able to see from afar, had their hearts melt seeing the young princess cry. They wanted to go and confront Hody and his goons, but nobody had the guts.

    Meanwhile, Sanji, after seeing Shirahoshi, almost became a stone. Actually, the reason Sanji wasn''t useless in the Fishmen Island after seeing the mermaids was because of the training in Ruskaina. They got to see the women from Amazon for quite a lot of time.

    Hancock used to come often to help them with food and supplies. And this was done because Hancock had finally fallen in love with Luffy. It really happened in the end, but the reasons were a bit different. Hancock had seen how hard Luffy tried in the war, his aversion to the world government, and his courage, which made Hancock realize that Luffy was the one.

    Though the way she fell in love was different than the original, the kidnapping of Charlos did play a part. Hancock was head over heels for him, and thus Sanji had gotten to see quite a number of women over the years of training.

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    And Hancock always had a special effect on Sanji, which she, of course, didn''t even care to bother with and probably didn''t even notice that Sanji even existed, because she was too busy obsessing over Luffy.

    In fact, a small part of Sanji hated Luffy for being so lucky and getting the most beautiful girl pirate. And thus, Sanji wasn''t nose bleeding this time, but he was enamored after seeing Shirahoshi crying, making him angry too, as someone made this beautiful girl cry.

    "Are you Hody?" Luffy asked as he stepped into the huge ''arena'' where the other pirates were looking at Luffy as if he was some kind of salvation. Most of the pirates knew who Luffy was and were also terrified because they had seen how Luffy was able to take care of the Admirals.

    Now he was here, and it meant that taking him down was the most important thing.

    "Hahahaha... Yes, I am. I am sure the bastard Neptune sent you. Now that he has done his work, he should die," Hody said and pressed a button. There was complete silence the next moment.

    The people around took time to realize what he meant, and when they did, they understood what Hody had done. The Fishmen around started to panic and almost made a run, but Hody had creases in his eyebrows.

    He was expecting the sound of a blast since the main palace wasn''t far, but there was none. This irritated him, and he clicked the button once more. He had gotten the remote-controlled collar from the underworld and from Joker''s factory, which was supposed to be top-notch, but now it seemed not to be working.

    "That collar of yours has already been taken care of. You should now pray for your life," Zoro said.

    "What?"

    "How is this possible? Once you touch the collar, it will burst. How did you get rid of it?"

    Zoro and the others didn''t reply but started walking towards him slowly. Hody felt a chill in his spine at how emotionless they seemed when they were ready to confront him. Hody immediately shouted as Luffy came forward.

    "If you come forward, we will kill Shirahoshi," Hody said.

    "What? Hody... That wasn''t the deal. Shirahoshi wouldn''t be hurt," Vander shouted.

    "Shut up," Hody shouted, but in the next moment, they felt a huge pressure come down on them. A pressure that was not Conqueror''s Haki, but a kind of heavy feeling that seeped into the bones. Most of the men around immediately fell with their faces planted on the ground, losing consciousness.

    This wasn''t Conqueror''s Haki but Reaitsu pressure from Zoro surrounding them. He was not here to hear some bullshit and wanted to get over with it fast. The Straw Hats this time were much more powerful and didn''t bother to care about a small fry like him.

    Vander Decken had fallen flat on the ground, and his huge friend who he had come with had also fallen on the floor with a huge bang. As the Reaitsu was at its peak, out of nowhere, Ken appeared near Vander Decken, and in the next moment, he sucked Vander Decken away into the amui dimension.

    There were no warnings, nothing, as he did so.

    "I am just doing a side job, you guys carry on," Ken said, and after that, he himself vanished.

 275. Lets make an army

    Zoro and the others were a bit confused by what just happened, but they didn''t care. Ken just took out one of the players and it made their job easier. Though many people couldn''t handle the pressure, Hody and the others seemed fine.

    But by now, Hody was creeped out. Even though he was standing, he still felt a significant amount of pressure. Seeing himself trembling, Hody got irritated. Along with all his friends, he jumped at the trio with all their might.

    Luffy didn''t waste a minute and brought out his staff. A crown also formed around his forehead. Yes, Luffy was able to control his crowned form, which made him several degrees more powerful. Of course, his staff was with him.

    "Hear my call. Kinto-un."

    Suddenly, just above the top of the small arena, clouds started to gather quickly. The clouds were massive and black in color. It became gloomy and cloudy all of a sudden. Before Hody and the others could even understand what was going on, lightning fell right on them with raw power and strength.

    Each of them was electrocuted instantly. Kinto-un, one of the weapons of Jin Mori, was finally out in the open. This was actually a very giant cloud, almost the size of continents on Earth, and could be controlled by Luffy. This allowed him the ability to control the weather on a grand scale.

    Now the title of weather bender was more fitting for Luffy than Nami since he could control the weather on such a large scale. Though his control wasn''t as extensive as Jin Mori''s, he was slowly getting there. When Ken gave him the weapon, Rayleigh almost spat out the water he was drinking.

    This was a massive weapon that could wipe out islands, and now it was under the control of Luffy. This weapon alone could reign supreme over everything. Rayleigh didn''t believe it at first, but when he saw the huge cloud that appeared when Luffy called it, he knew it was serious.

    After the lightning came down, Hody and his partners were almost burnt to a crisp. Shirahoshi was already taken to the side by Sanji, as he was the gentleman of the group. Hody couldn''t find any collar for Shirahoshi and was only chained by his hands, which Sanji got rid of pretty quickly.

    "Thank you... Thank you so much... How... How is my father?" Shirahoshi asked.

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    "The mermaid princess... The mermaid princess is talking to me... I can die happily now," Sanji said with starry eyes.

    "That would be better," Zoro commented from the side.

    "What did you say, marimo?"

    "You heard me right, curly browed cook."

    "Your father is fine. He is in his palace," Luffy answered as he saw Hody and his partners finally getting up. They were haggard, but they could still fight, thanks to the drugs they took before coming in.

    The drugs made them powerful for sure, but it also took away their life force.

    Seeing them still standing and ready to fight, Zoro slowly drew his dual swords and suddenly appeared near one of Hody''s partners who seemed to be using eight swords.

    The fishman was taken aback by Zoro''s sudden appearance and attacked him with all of his swords. In response, Zoro swung his dual swords, easily breaking all the swords in the fishman''s hands.

    Hody and the others were horrified when they saw Zoro easily taking down one of them. They had thought that the Straw Hats were powerful and could easily be manipulated, since the jolly roger forced them to safeguard the island. Now they understood that they were very wrong. Luffy and Sanji didn''t waste any more time and went for Hody and the others. Luffy used his staff to strike at them. They tried to use their fishman karate and every other move known to them, but getting kicks from fiery feet and blows from Luffy, which were extra powerful, didn''t give them any chance.

    They were brought down hard and fast. One of them even lost a hand as he tried to sneak up on Zoro and stab him. Zoro was irritated and dealt with the man.

    Within ten minutes, Hody and his goons were lying unconscious in the arena. Due to the absence of Vander Decken, the Noah didn''t come down, and Luffy didn''t lose any blood. It was a clean and clear rescue for Shirahoshi.

    While this was going on in Fishman Island, something else was happening in the Kamui dimension. Vander Decken was still unconscious due to the pressure, and Ken didn''t want to waste too much time. He sent a bolt of lightning at him, leaving him half-dead. After that, he used the blunt end of his sword to strike his forehead, and in no time, he had another fruit in his hand.

    It was a Paramecia Devil fruit. Vander Decken''s fruit was quite interesting. After eating it, one could mark any person and then use the other hand to throw anything at the marked person, no matter what it was. It might be a small weapon or a boat like Noah, which could be used to transport thousands of people. No matter what it was, it would try to reach the person and could only be stopped if it was destroyed.

    It was almost a nightmarish devil fruit for the one who got marked. This was why Shirahoshi had to live in seclusion, out of fear that she would be attacked. Now Vander Decken was no more. He was done and dusted. Ken now had two devil fruits, and he needed to let them be used instead of letting them rot in some box.

    He had some ideas about whom to give them to, but before that, he would need to talk with the person. After getting rid of Vander Decken, Ken returned to the palace and waited for Luffy to arrive. It didn''t take them long to arrive with the crybaby girl.

 276. Nice try, old man

    Shirahoshi was crying a lot when she returned, and it took everyone to comfort her and assure her that everything was fine. Neptune was very happy to see his daughter safe and sound, and he thanked the Straw Hats for helping them.

    He, of course, berated his sons again for going behind his back and betraying them.

    "You will have to work like a normal Fishman for the next 10 years; your privileges are stripped from here on out," Neptune said. The princes didn''t seem to be angry or sad at all by this decision of the King. They deserved to be treated that way for betraying their savior and guests.

    "Who cares about it. I want a banquet," Luffy shouted.

    "Yes.. Yes.. We will have a banquet right away," Neptune said, understanding that this guy only cared about food and nothing else. The princes left the palace and would continue to live a normal life from this point on.

    The banquet soon started, with Shirahoshi feeling a little sad that her brothers would leave the palace. However, she would get to see them often, as by now she would be able to leave her palace without facing any danger. Of course, humans and pirates would still be interested in kidnapping mermaids, but over the past two years since the Jolly Roger of the Straw Hats was put up, such incidents had lessened significantly.

    Especially now that Hody was in jail, it would lessen even more. The word would spread in the New World about how the Straw Hats defeated them. The pirates had already escaped, and their story would spread quickly.

    The banquet started in a very grand way, with Hatchan being freed and joining them. He was very cautious, as he was in the palace along with Camie and Pappagu. Jimbei and the others had their fun time too while eating.

    Especially Luffy, who bonded quite easily with Shirahoshi, leaving Sanji a bit on the side. Zoro got a taste of the sake of the Fishman Islands, and he was more than happy to gulp it down.

    Luffy and Ace soon entered into a race to see who could eat more, and it was quite fun to watch. People around somehow started gambling on who could eat more, and Nami instantly became the bookkeeper of the gamble.

    Both Ace and Luffy took it as a challenge and wanted to beat the other. This brought a new level of excitement to the banquet, and it went on for a long time. But in the end, it was actually Ace who won. He had the body of a dragon, and Natsu in the original world also loved to eat.

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    This played a much larger role in Ace''s capacity for eating. Luffy lost in the end because he ended up sleeping soundly and didn''t wake up again to eat. His stomach became distended with food.

    Meanwhile, as they feasted voraciously, Ken veered to the side to have a conversation with Marco.

    "You seem content sipping alone," Ken remarked.

    "I''m just grateful that everyone is happy and everything worked out well," Marco replied.

    "Do you miss him?" Ken asked, his tone gentle.

    "Pops? It''s been some time, and I always knew he wanted to make a grand exit. Maybe he saw this as his chance and took it. But I''m glad we were able to save Ace. I''m sure Pops would''ve chosen this path no matter what," Marco reflected. There was a brief pause as they continued to eat and drink.

    "I know you''ve been asked this question many times, and I''m still going to ask you. Do you wish to join our crew?" Ken inquired. Marco burst into laughter upon hearing this.

    "Hahahah. You really do know me well, just as Ace described you. He even predicted that you would ask me this," Marco said.

    "So is that a yes?" Ken asked, his hope palpable.

    "No. But I will align with your cause and stand under your banner. The Whitebeard Pirates will always be the Whitebeard Pirates, but once you become a Yonko, we''ll be on your side," Marco explained. This brought a smile to Ken''s face.

    "Do you realize that Luffy doesn''t aspire to be a Yonko? He wants to be the Pirate King, and he won''t accept anything less," Ken pointed out.

    "Hahah, well, if we support him, we can say we were a part of the Pirate King''s crew in the future," Marco replied.

    "Do you remember Whitebeard''s last words?" Ken suddenly asked. Another silence fell, followed by a nod from Marco.

    "Then we''ll have to live to tell these stories in the future," Ken asserted. "We''ll be heading to Wano soon, and I hope you''ll join us. And, as an enticement, take these."

    With those words, he produced two Devil Fruits before Marco.

    "Devil fruits?"

    "Yes..." Ken went on to explain what kind of fruits they were and how he would give them to him if he came to Wano when called upon. Marco was initially inclined to decline the offer for Wano, but the Devil fruits and Whitebeard''s words made him reconsider. After some contemplation, Marco accepted the fruits. This brought a smile to Ken''s face, and he also handed Marco a communicator.

    The banquet stretched late into the night. Most of the attendees grew tired and retired to their beds. Nami lay among her newly earned riches, her mind dancing with thoughts of the treasures she was destined to acquire. This brought her immense joy.

    While most reveled in the festivities and then rested, others still had work to do. Robin had been diligently seeking the Poneglyph, which had been mentioned in the Sky Island. When she finally found it and read its inscriptions, she was left with more questions than answers. Consequently, after the banquet concluded, she sought an audience with Neptune.

    Neptune was busy gazing the surrounding and getting out of the hangover when Robin approached him.

    "I can''t cheat on my wife." Those were the first words of Neptune.

 277. Very bad at lies

    "You think too highly of yourself," Ken commented as he came from behind. Ken had woken up and wanted to join in. He knew that Robin had gone to read the Poneglyph and she was back with more questions.

    "Who is Joyboy?" Robin asked, not bothering with the formalities. Neptune, who was about to apologize for the misunderstanding, was taken aback. The wine gourd in his hand fell, and his drunkenness vanished instantly. "Who is he apologizing to?"

    "How do you know that name?" Neptune was shocked and had to ask.

    "I read it in the Poneglyph," Robin replied.

    "You can read the Ancient texts. Wait, are you from Ohara? I am sorry. I heard what had happened," Neptune said.

    "It was a long time ago. I have made peace with that," Robin replied. She didn''t flinch this time. She had come a long way since then.

    "Joyboy was someone who lived above ground during the Void Century. The apology was to the Mermaid Princess of that time. I don''t know the details of that promise, but someday, somebody will come to fulfill it on behalf of Joyboy. This is the story handed down in our royal family. So we have believed those words and continue to look after Noah for generations. When the day comes, we will fulfill that promise," Neptune said.

    "Who is going to steer the big ship? Joyboy?" Robin asked.

    "No, the mermaid princess would. She had the power to direct the Sea Kings," Neptune replied. Robin went into deep thought and suddenly it clicked for her. She had heard that when the Queen was on her deathbed, Sea Kings had shown up because of the cries of Shirahoshi. It was rumored that it was her who had called them, though the royal family had always denied it.

    "Shirahoshi is the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon. Isn''t she?" Robin asked. It was another huge shock for Neptune, as he didn''t expect that Robin would grasp that point so easily. The Sky Island had spoken of Poseidon situated in the mermaid island, and having the power to direct the Sea Kings was a significant power in itself.

    Thus, the mermaid princess being the Poseidon should be the apt fit here.

    "You are able to figure that out by yourself?" Neptune asked, his voice trembling a bit.

    "I read the Poneglyph in the Sky Island," Robin said. Neptune sighed upon hearing that and after a moment of reflection.

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    "It''s okay. I trust you all, and you have even saved her. Yes, she is the Poseidon," Neptune said. Ken had been listening to all of this and showed almost no interest. He already knew what the topic of discussion would be. The mention of Joyboy had finally arrived and now only the last island would have an answer to his questions.

    Robin and Neptune talked a bit more. Neptune was too drunk by that point and excused himself. Only Robin and Ken were left. Ken was busy sipping a bit of juice and enjoying the scenery around.

    "You don''t seem to be interested in this Joyboy." Robin asked.

    "Should I be?" Ken asked.

    "No. But I think he was important in the Void Century if his promise was written in Poenglyph. Don''t you want to know what kind of person Joyboy was?" Robin asked.

    "I do want to know but speculating it at the moment won''t answer my curiosity." Ken replied.

    "So in other words, you know who Joyboy is don''t you?" Robin said. It was time for Ken to be taken aback.

    "What?" Ken couldn''t believe and thus asked again.

    "Neptune-san said that they are waiting for Joyboy to appear again and fulfil the promise and you seem to know a lot about it. You have showed zero interest in Joyboy which means you already know who he is or maybe you even know when he will be born."

    "Did I give that vibe? You must be wrong." Ken denied.

    "I have been a spy for a long time so I can always see the signs when someone knows something and chose to hide it. Tell me, who is Joyboy?" Robin asked.

    "Sigh! Robin, sometimes you are too intelligent for the Straw Hats." Ken said.

    "Same goes for you. So who is it? Is it you?" Robin asked.

    "No. Of course not. How can I be Joyboy?" Ken refused it directly.

    "So it must be Luffy isn''t it?" Robin asked.

    "Can you stop with your predictions." Ken held his hands high and said.

    "So it really is Luffy." Robin said.

    "Fuck!" Ken cursed under his breath.

    "No wonder you have decided to follow him. You always knew that he was the Joyboy." Robin said. A small hiss when came through the mouth of Ken. This woman was really dangerous. No wonder that 78 million was on her head from the beginning.

    "No. It''s true that I have my own selfish reason to follow him but even if he wasn''t some bigshot, I would have still followed him." Ken said. "He is my brother and that is the most important thing to me."

    Robin nodded and didn''t dwell on that and asked.

    "So what is Joyboy?" Robin asked.

    "I don''t know."

    "How is Luffy related to that person in the Void Century?"

    "I don''t know."

    "Does Luffy has some special privileges due to that?"

    "I don''t know."

    "Do you know anything other than him being Joyboy."

    "Nope."

    Robin looked deeply into Ken and sighed. She could tell that Ken was speaking the truth.

    "Then how do you know that he is Joyboy?" Robin asked.

    "You will get to know soon." Ken said.

    "I will take you up on that." Robin replied and smiled. Ken thanked the gods since this interrogation was over. He only wanted to hear about the promise and nothing more. And then he fell deep in the pit. It seemed like the ''poker face'' of Ken needed some upgrade. Staying with his brothers made him like them.

    Very bad at lies.

 278. The promise

    "Do me a favor. Never talk about it to Luffy." Ken said.

    "Yes. But I don''t think it would matter to him." Robin said as she had long ago realized that Luffy didn''t care. He didn''t even care to know the meaning of D in his name.

    "But how come Luffy is a Joyboy. Is there any criteria for that?" Robin asked.

    "I don''t know much. But I do know is that Luffy''s Devil fruit plays a big part. It is said that zoan fruits carry the will of the zoan always. For that reason their awakening sometimes could be dangerous as the will of the zoan can take over the will of the person. It is the same reason why the jailers in Impel Down can''t be human anymore as their will had been erased by the fruit. Luffy''s fruit also has a will and he just needs to get over the will to control the awakened form. And in that awakened form he is called Joyboy. The fruit probably was eaten by the previous Joyboy and the will had passed down through the fruit." Ken said. "And that I feel is just one of the reasons."

    Robin nodded. Ken yawned and went to sleep as he was a bit tired now. He needed to sleep. But of course Luffy needed to have a midnight snack. It was at night that Shirahoshi and Luffy ''bonded''. As an author I know this sounds very weird but that is the way Luffy is. Maybe Hancock would kill Poseidon one day if she came to know.

    Sigh!

    Anyways, the next day the Straw Hats were ready to leave. Nami got herself a new Log Pose and of course he chose the most dangerous one. In normal circumstances, Nami, Chopper and Ussop would have been the first one to say no and get scared away but this time they went with the orders of the Captain.

    It was probably because they had progressed a lot over the years and their new characters definitely gave them an edge. While, the Straw Hats got ready, Ace and Marco also bade their goodbye.

    They had been in Fishman for quite some time and it was time they leave.

    "Ace, once we are ready for Wano, I will call you." Ken said while being on the side.

    "I will wait for it." Ace said.

    "Marco, the deal will stand." Ken said.

    "Deal? What deal?" Ace was confused and asked.

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    "It''s nothing. It''s a deal between two First Commanders." Marco said shutting down Ace''s curiosity.

    "First Commander?" Ace didn''t understand as the Straw hats didn''t have a huge group or a territory so what was up with the First Commander thing. Marco refused to say more so he didn''t bother to ask. Marco nodded at Ken as he knew what he would have to do. After bidding their goodbye Ace and Marco left in their quite small boat as compared to Merry.

    Merry''s coating was already done and so it was time to get on the ship. The royal family were really heart warming and Shirahoshi came forward and cried.

    "Luffy-sama, are you really going to leave us?" Shirahoshi cried and said.

    "Of course. New adventures are waiting for us." Luffy replied.

    "We can stop adventuring and live with u here if you like." Sanji with his heart eyes said.

    "Then why don''t you just stay here, curly eyed." Zoro said.

    "Who are you calling curly eyed, you marimo."

    "Who are you calling marimo."

    "I wish to go to adventures too." Shirahoshi said.

    "Then you should go." Luffy replied.

    "But.. But I can''t. They say it''s very dangerous out there." Shirahoshi said.

    "Hmm.. How about next time I come, I will take you to see the ground." Luffy said.

    "Huh! Really?"

    "Really!"

    "Promise?" Shirahoshi asked as she extended her huge pinky finger. In response Luffy extended is own pinky finger and promised.

    "Promise."

    This made Robin stiffen up. She looked at Ken, to which Ken shrugged his shoulders. Robin had a vague feeling that the promise of the Joyboy in the Poneglyph must be the same kind of promise that Luffy just made.

    Things just got more complicated.

    Jinbei was also onboard the ship and was given a huge room like everyone else. In fact he was given a room at the basement, which gave him access to the ocean from his room itself. Jinbe loved the whole room and thus he became the helmsman of the ship from this point on. Everyone was really happy to have Jinbe onboard.

    "Well since he is onboard, I guess it''s time he gets the privileges of being a member of the Straw hats." Ken said.

    "Yes!"

    "Hurray!"

    "We will get to see a new world hopefully."

    Jinbei was confused and didn''t understand what were they talking about. Ussop came forward and gave him a rundown of how things were. Suffice to say, Jinbe was dumbfounded. At first he didn''t believe but when he looked back at the war, he came to realize that the Straw hats were really different from others. No wonder they were powerful.

    "That crown on your head, was it because of your character?" Jinbe remembered the crown and how he felt once the crown came up. He felt like he was seeing a God in real flesh and blood. And he wasn''t the only one. Most of the people around who had Haki felt it.

    "Yes." Ken replied. He knew what Jinbe was talking about.

    "Will I be able to swim after this?" Jinbe asked.

    "Supposedly yes. But I don''t know if the ability you get might be detrimental to your origins. But it hasn''t happened as of yet so it should be fine with you." Ken replied.

    "Hmmm.. Since I joined the Straw hats, then I guess I should pass the ceremony as you have mentioned." Jinbei said with a huge smile.

    "Then come with us." Ken said and in the next moment they were taken into a white world.

 279. Its quite funny

    The story started quite normally, with a kid suffering due to lack of sleep and working his job. It was the story of a regular boy trying to make ends meet. But then, things took a turn for the worse. One day, as he was heading back home, he passed by a girl. Somehow, without even looking back properly, from his peripheral vision, he noticed that a tractor was heading towards the girl, about to hit her.

    Just on instinct, he jumped to save the girl. And thus, he died while ''saving'' her. Little did he know, he didn''t save the girl at all. The tractor was going to stop anyway, and he died not because he was hit by the tractor, but because of the shock.

    How did the guy know that he died? Well, it was simple. It was told by the goddess who handled his afterlife, and the goddess was the character that Jinbe had gotten himself.

    "Eh, so there is life after death?" Vivi asked.

    "Seems like it. Isn''t Brook a living example?" Nami said.

    "Oye, bastard Brook, did you meet a beautiful woman after you died?" Sanji was pissed and shouted.

    "Eh! Me? Really?" Brook was trying very hard to remember, but he couldn''t recall any goddess. Meanwhile, the boy asked for the most ridiculous thing ever. He asked for the company of the goddess herself in the new world.

    The story in question was Konosuba, and the character Jinbe got was Aqua. Yeah, the water goddess Aqua. Ken didn''t know if he should laugh or pat Jinbe on the back for getting quite a good character. Because at the end of the day, Aqua was a goddess, and she was quite powerful. The story went on, and for the first time, everyone had a good time and laughed, and Jinbe got to live his life.

    It was really hilarious.

    [

    Character progression: 40%

    ]

    Jinbe came out with a huge smile on his face, and everyone went in to give him a hug. The Straw Hats really liked Jinbe.

    "Jinbe, now you have more control over water and can call on the biblical floods to destroy cities if required," Ken joked.

    "Hahhahah. I always felt a bit weak outside water, but now I won''t have to," Jinbe laughed. While they talked, the ship was slowly ascending from the depths of the ocean to the surface. It was quite a long journey, and it would take some time to reach the surface.

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    Meanwhile, as they traveled, Jinbe tried out his control over water and he was delighted to see that he could manipulate water in more intricate ways than ever before. But as they were surfacing, Vivi and Franky came forward with the new findings they had gathered.

    "What is it?" Ken asked, as he could tell that Franky and Vivi wanted to say something.

    "Well... It''s like this... You know that we now monitor the navy channels. Right?" Franky asked.

    "Yes. What of it?" Ken asked. The second character of Franky was Tony Stark himself, and thus, with the new character, he had actually progressed a lot, and Merry now had an AI system installed, with the server placed near the Motherbox.

    This greatly assisted the ship, and Jinbe just had to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible.

    "There is distinct chat on the radio that G5 is trying to catch us." Vivi said.

    "So?" Ken asked. G5 was a special division of navy and was mostly responsible for the New World. For the moment Smoker and Tashigi was supposed to be here since he had obsession with Luffy. Now that Ken thought about it, Vergo was also supposed to be with G5.

    It would be fun meeting him.

    "Well Smoker is with G5 and we heard talking about keeping an eye for us." Franky said.

    "Yes. But I still don''t see the problem. He is just another navy doing what the navy should do." Ken replied.

    "That is what should be but there is another chatter in the log that somebody very high up the rank is waiting for you in one of the ships." Vivi said.

    "Really now. Then we should be more excited." Ken said. Both Franky and Vivi just shook their head. They approached Ken hoping that he would not be like the Captain but this guy spoke exactly like the Captain. Ken could see their thought process and said.

    "It will be fine. We are strong enough. Didn''t you all train well."

    Ken didn''t really care as he himself knew how much each one had progressed. Maybe they weren''t ready to face Kaido but dealing with other things could be easily done. After about a day of journey underwater, they were finally at the surface of the sea and suffice to say they were flabbergasted seeing the weather at the entrance.

    It was a hailstorm but the hails were of the size of their ships. Nami came in and rotated her hands and this led to the hails turn into water droplets and make it seem like it was normal rain. But of course the hails didn''t stop and it went on.

    Nami got agitated and in the next moment her eyes shone in white light and the weather itself started to change one she entered the Avatar form. In order to have a proper impact air sphere started to form around her and she flew up while still being in Avatar mode.

    She called upon fire and water at the same moment and hit the clouds with the right amount of temperature which made a huge pressure difference and thus making the clouds vanish.

    "Wow.. Sugee-na. Our navigator is." Luffy was really impressed and clapped his hands.

    "Nami-swan in her warrior form. So beautiful."

    "I hope no lightning falls on her." Robin said.

    "Stop with the negativity already." Everyone shouted at her.

    "She had progressed a lot and is about to end her character. I wonder what she will get." Ken thought but he was really impressed how far she had made with the character.

 280. Blow it up

    Surfacing in the New World stirred a lot of emotions within the Straw Hats. They were supposed to have arrived here two years ago, but circumstances forced them to take a different route. It was said that this was where the true journey began.

    The Straw Hats were genuinely thrilled to be here and celebrated. The ship sailed on for quite some time before they heard the den den mushi crying.

    "Why is it crying? Does it have a stomachache?"

    "Of course not. This is an emergency call," Ken replied.

    Luffy reached out to pick it up, but Robin cautioned, "Luffy, wait. It might be a trap. The Navy often does this to lure pirates."

    "I am Monkey D. Luffy. I want to be the Pirate King." Luffy didn''t hesitate and picked up the call.

    "Why are you doing this?" Both Usopp and Chopper protested. The den den mushi on the other end finally responded, sounding distressed.

    "Pirates? I don''t know. I don''t care... Please help us. A samurai... A samurai is killing us. Please, we''re trying to reach the Boss but he isn''t answering." the voice on the other side said.

    "Boss? I don''t know where your boss is. Where are you?"

    "No boss... Please tell our boss... The samurai is killing us... We... We''re in Punk Hazard." The voice shouted before letting out a scream and then falling silent. It seemed gruesome from the shouts and screams.

    "Ahh... Somebody died."

    "It looks scary."

    "Samurai? What do you think, Brook? From Wano?" Zoro asked.

    "Wano again. That name has been haunting us for quite a while," Brook remarked.

    Luffy was about to hang up when Ken stepped forward and stopped him.

    "He''s already dead. You can''t talk to the dead, Ken," Usopp said. But Ken didn''t care and just held the receiver near his mouth.

    "Yo, G5, I heard you''ve been looking for us. Why don''t you all come to Punk Hazard and we''ll settle who catches whom," Ken said.

    "Huh?"

    "It''s an emergency call. Many others can hear us," Robin explained.

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    "So, he just invited them?" Usopp said, sounding nervous.

    "Hahaha. As expected of my brother," Luffy laughed. With those words, Ken ended the call.

    "Aren''t you scared?" Nami asked, as she also knew that the Navy might be setting a trap for them.

    "It''s better to face them on our terms, or we might have to deal with their sneak attacks. Plus, I don''t think everyone will come, they might think of this as a trap too," Ken said.

    The ship sailed on, and since the emergency call came, it meant they were close to the island. And they were right. They saw the island, and it looked like a winter island. Ken knew it would be completely a winter island, not one with one part burning and the other ice-cold. This was because the legendary fight between Akainu and Aokiji never happened. After the events of Marineford and getting humiliated, the Goroesei appointed Akainu as the Fleet Admiral and didn''t allow Sengoku to make any recommendations. Aokiji decided to leave the Navy due to irreconcilable differences with Akainu, and now he was someone entirely off the radar.

    Some said he had retired, others claimed he had been consumed by rage and became a pirate. Many rumors circulated. Hopefully, he hadn''t joined the Blackbeard Pirates, or else Ken would love to give him a piece of his mind.

    "What is this island? It isn''t showing up on the Log Pose?" Nami asked as she examined the three pointers, none of which directed to the current island.

    "Some islands aren''t large enough to generate a significant magnetic field," Ken explained.

    "We just received an emergency call. Maybe it''s from this island," Sanji suggested.

    "Yosh. We need to get onto this island," Luffy declared.

    "You just want to see the samurai, don''t you?" Usopp exclaimed. Luffy didn''t seem to mind and had already made up his mind.

    "So, who will go with him?" Ken inquired.

    "Let''s have a lottery like we always do," Franky suggested. Soon, they were given strips. The ones with the marked strips were selected, and the four chosen were Luffy, Jinbe, Ken, and Robin. Each of them was excited. Ken had already mapped out the entire island with his Haki, and he knew exactly where everyone was. He wore a smile on his face as he sensed their presence.

    "Franky, take the ship into the air and make it invisible with the reflectors. We don''t know who might come from G5, so it''s better to gain a very high altitude and thus avoid any potential danger," Ken instructed.

    Franky nodded. The four of them donned warm suits and were now prepared to explore the island. Jinbe was thrilled to explore the island with the new crew and couldn''t wait to test out his new powers. After everything was set, Ken and the others leaped onto the island, while the ship gradually ascended into the air and soared to a great height. Since Caesar was still in the vicinity and they were being hunted by the Navy, it was customary to take some precautions.

    "Vivi, if I ever tell you to blow up the island, do so. No questions asked," Ken informed her before departing.

    "What?"

    "You''re joking, right?"

    "Nope. I have a feeling that we might need the railgun this time," Ken stated.

    "Got it."

    Luffy hadn''t heard Ken''s words, or else he would have asked for more details. This island was too dangerous to be left as it was. It was the place where Albert began his journey, so this place held many memories, and it was time to put an end to it.

    Soon, they were on the cold, windy, and chilly island. The island was even colder than the Winter Island where Chopper had grown up, so one could imagine how frigid it was. Only Ken seemed immune to the cold, as his sword was expelling the cold for him, which led the other three to huddle close to him.

    "I should get myself a cool sword that can expel cold and heat when needed," Luffy remarked.

 281. The Centaurus

    They walked up to the huge gates that was closed down and given warning signs. The signs were so many that one would definitely turn after seeing them.

    "Looks like some kind of hazardous zone." Robin said.

    "But there are people inside." Luffy said as he concentrated on the Haki a bit. "Ken, can you hear them?"

    "Yeah. There are children inside and probably some researchers." Ken replied.

    "Children and researchers? They are conducting experiments on children?" Robin speculated. Ken shrugged his shoulders and said.

    "Seems like it."

    "These bastards!" Jinbe was incensed and cursed.

    "Send the information over to Merry." Luffy said. Robin nodded and sent the information over the Merry with the help of new holographic watch that they had newly got themselves. The watch was made with the toughest of metals and thus almost indestructible until someone used internal destruction on the watch itself.

    The watch could be used for communication, send videos and audios over a specific range, which would cover most of an island and also send their position over. The Straw Hats always had the habit of breaking up and doing their own thing independently, thus Ken made a point to provide a powerful GPS to everyone in the team.

    After Robin sent the information and the pictures over, Ussop and the wimps were glad that they didn''t come. Even after all the abilities and power they had, they still were cowards at the core.

    Ken pulled out his sword and swung multiple times at the huge gate, thus cutting the gate in a few big pieces. With that, The 4 people walked straight in. After walking for sometime, they realized that this island held civilization once upon a time and now it had ruined and left. Only thing that left were the dilapidated buildings and a story who nobody would know.

    As they shouted for the man who called for the emergency, they heard some deep growls. At first they thought that it was some kind of animals but the truth couldn''t be much further. They finally got to see what was growling so deep. It was a dragon.

    "Ah Ace.. Why are you here?" Luffy shouted.

    "From what angle he is Ace, you idiot." Ken and Jinbe shouted. Jinbe knew that Ace had a character that was almost a dragon but in no way this ugly dragon could ever be Ace. This dragon had a huge head and the body was too fat to be as cool as Ace.

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    "The how the hell is this guy talking?" Robin asked as all of them heard someone talking. It was very small and indistinct words but they could hear.

    "Is it Momonosuke?"

    "Is someone there?"

    "Look closely. There is a waist attached behind the dragon." It was Jinbe who first pointed out and he could hardly believe his own words coming out of his mouth. It was because the waist attached to the dragon was actually a living one. And it was the waist which was talking.

    "A talking waist?" Luffy eyes shone immediately. Jinbe, who was trying to figure out what was going on, couldn''t understand why Luffy was so excited. "I want it."

    "Why is he so excited?" Jinbe asked.

    "It''s because he wants to be a Centaurus." Robin replied. She understood Luffy the best after Ken and knew what was going on his mind. Sometimes Ken thought that Robin might be the step sister or even the real sister of Luffy seeing how Robin understood Luffy.

    That would be one huge revelations if it was found out.

    "A Centaurus?" Jinbe was flabbergasted. Luffy was too excited to reply and Ken was too much bored to explain Jinbe the mind of Luffy. He took out his sword again and the swung at the dragon who was chasing towards them in order to eat them. Before the dragon could come close it was cut by Ken''s sword right at the neck.

    Though Ken didn''t use the shikai form, it definitely burnt the dragoon head and the neck part.

    "There now we have meat too to eat." Ken said. Luffy for the first time in life, didn''t go for the meat and went after the waist and within seconds he had the waist attached to the back of Luffy.

    Now he was the official Centaurus. Luffy was jumping in joy and of course the waist was getting irritated and tried to kick, only to be subdued by Luffy.

    "How is it even talking?" Robin and others were still confused.

    "He is speaking through farts." Ken replied.

    "Are you serious?"

    "Wow.. Sugee"

    Robin and Jinbe were dumbfounded while Luffy was urging this waist to speak.

    "And how is the waist still alive?" Robin asked.

    "Because the Death Surgeon is here." Ken replied.

    "Trafalgar Law? I heard he submitted hundred hearts of pirates to the government." Robin said. "In order to become a Warlord. Why is he here?"

    "Who knows. But looking that the waist, I am sure that Law did this." Ken said.

    "Agreed." Jinbe replied. As they were discussing, they heard a lot of noise and within minutes they were approached by half men, half animals people. They came in all shapes and sizes. Some had a scorpion back, some were actual Centaurus and some even had weird arms. Luffy was more excited seeing them as he thought he had found his friends since they were Centaurus.

    But of course, it was not like that at all, as these people charged at them with full force thinking they were the enemy. Ken summoned Mjolnir and struck at them with the hammer, while Jinbe just used Fishman karate to bring them down.

    Robin and Luffy just threw some punches and some back cracking to bring these people down.

    "Oye.. why did you all attack us?" Luffy was the first to ask.

    "It''s.... It''s because you are the enemy.." one of them with a huge waist of some lizard animal said.

    "Why would you think we are the enemy?" Jinbe asked.

    "It''s because we have never seen you before and this man has a sword on his waist."

 282. Alliance in the horizon

    Ken was confused by their words of these beaten men and asked.

    "How the hell is my sword related to anything?" Ken asked.

    "Because you are the samurai we have been searching for." One of them who could hardly speak said.

    "So I am a samurai because I am carrying a sword? Here.. This is my hammer. Am I a blacksmith now?" Ken said as he brought out Mjolnir from his side. This made everyone on the ground speechless as he didn''t know how to answer that.

    "So tell us what is going on in the island?" Robin asked.

    "Fuck you.. You think we will ever betray Master? Dream on." One of them shouted.

    "Master? So there is someone controlling everything." Robin said.

    "Shit.. Just shut your mouth, you traitor." Someone else shouted.

    "Shit these are manipulative bastards." The one who spoke first said. Ken and other just shook their heads hearing them say that.

    "Let''s go and see this Master. This place is off the radar and nobody was allowed to come in. So what the hell is going on here, I am curious." Jinbe said. These people wanted to stop them but Ken just squinted at them and in the next second, these beaten down people lost their consciousness.

    They started walking according to the Haki and suddenly Luffy stopped and so did Jinbe and Ken. Robin was confused and asked.

    "What is going on?"

    "Someone is here." Luffy said.

    "And we know him." Ken replied.

    "Really?" Both Jinbe and Luffy were surprised by the words of Ken. They could sense someone coming, but they definitely wouldn''t be able sense as minutely as Ken. And soon the man came into the picture. And Ken was right. They did know him.

    "Who are you?" Luffy asked. "I feel like I have seen you before."

    "Trafalgar Law."

    "Who?" Luffy asked. Unlike the actual story, Luffy didn''t need to be saved by Trafalgar so he wasn''t close with him and since he only met once he had almost forgotten him.

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    "He is one of the Supernova who rose with us. We met him in the human auction house." Ken said. Luffy thought for a moment and then remembered.

    "Ah Tra-o. Now I remember. The one with the weird Devil fruit." Luffy said.

    "Well he does have a weird fruit." Robin nodded.

    "But yours is much weirder." Jinbe said. Everyone was busy talking with each other and kind of forgot about Trafalgar altogether.

    "Tch.. Strawhat.. Why are you here?" Law asked and he also noticed the waist attached to Luffy and that irritated him more.

    "We heard an emergency and so we came. Didn''t know you were here." Luffy casually said while picking his nose.

    "Emergency?" Law was confused so Robin explained what had happened. When he got the general idea he looked at the waist of Luffy and said.

    "The man who is responsible for cutting them is the man attached to your waist. He is the samurai." This made everyone confused and then Law went on to say how he had to cut the samurai because he was creating a menace around and the waist was the part of the same samurai that Luffy had attached himself.

    "So you cut him down. That''s good.. So are those men fine now?" Luffu asked.

    "Maybe. I don''t know." Law replied.

    "Why are you here and talking so much?" Robin asked as she realized that Law must be here for a reason and she hadn''t forgotten what Ken had said before that this island held researchers and children so she wanted to know how deep the rabbit hole was.

    "I will be honest. I didn''t expect you guys to be here. I was in the lab when I saw your massive ship coming and since this island is not on the Log Pose island so it is probably fate or something of that sort that brought you here. But since you are here, it makes it easier for me to propose something that I have been thinking of." Law said.

    "Oh! What is it?" Luffy asked.

    "I want to make an alliance with you." Law asked. Robin, Jinbe and Luffy were taken aback. They didn''t expect such words from Law at all.

    "Alliance? For what?" Luffy asked.

    "To take down an Yonko?" Law asked.

    "Yonko? Who?" Luffy asked as he was slowly getting excited with the words of Law.

    "Kaido of the Beast Pirates." Law replied.

    "Hmm.. Kaido.. Well I say we go for Big Mom too. I am fine as long as its not Shanks." Luffy said. This made Law smirk a bit but didn''t say anything and waited for an answer.

    "Why should we trust you?" Jinbe asked.

    "Jinbe, son of the sea and a former Warlord. You have already joined Straw Hats?" Law asked as he didn''t expect that a great Fishman to join them.

    "Yes." Jinbe nodded.

    "You haven''t answered his question." Robin said.

    "I guess you can''t trust me. Not yet at least, as the alliance between pirates is notoriously known to be bad so I can only ask you to take a leap of faith with me. That''s all I can say. In order to prove how serious I am let me prove it to you. The island is specially maintained by the fellow warlord Doflamingo to make Smile fruits. These are artificial evil fruits once researched by Doctor Vegapunk but for some reason he left the research to do other kind of research..." Law went on to explain how the fruits were sold to Kaido and were currently made by Doctor Caesar. If they destroyed the research here and kidnap the Doctor, it would create a huge opportunity for a battle to ensue between Kaido and Doflamingo.

    Then they could take Kaido down. Law spoke more about the factory and how this was the research facility and the factory was on other island. Robin and Jinbe listened to him and were surprised to know so much.

    Of course, Luffy lost interest to know more and almost snoozed off.

 283. Poison? What is that?

    "So, I am here to propose an alliance," Law said, looking at Luffy. He felt a bit downhearted when he saw Luffy almost snoozing off, and Ken not paying attention. Just like others, he had seen how Ken and Luffy fought in the Paramount War. In order to bring an empire down, he would need help, and hopefully, the Straw Hats would accept the offer of alliance.

    Luffy, who had been dozing off a bit, woke up after Jinbe shook him. He was slowly starting to understand what kind of crew he had joined and what kind of Captain he had.

    "Oh, the story ended!?" Luffy asked.

    "No thanks to you," Jinbe replied.

    "Well... As I said, I don''t really care as long as we don''t go after Shanks. Yes, we can make the alliance," Luffy said.

    "Wait, Luffy, pirate alliances are mostly filled with betrayals and backstabbing. Are you sure about this?" Robin asked.

    "Are you going to betray us?" Luffy asked Law directly.

    "No," Law replied with his usual expressionless face.

    "See," Luffy said.

    "Be a little realistic," Jinbe shouted. "Ken, what do you think of the alliance?" Jinbe had to ask Ken because he was the most trustworthy person in the whole group. Though Ken always fooled around with Luffy, he always knew what he had to do when the situations demanded it.

    "The Captain has chosen to believe him, so the crew should too," Ken said as he slowly moved away from the hard ice he had been sitting on. As he did so, he cursed his luck because the fight in Punk Hazard never happened, making this place filled with nothing but cold.

    Law extended his hand for a handshake with Luffy, and Luffy returned the same respect. And thus, the alliance between Luffy and Law was formed, with the intention of bringing down Kaido and Doflamingo. Ken knew the story and wondered if they would follow the same path or if Law would betray them.

    Though there was almost no probability of that happening, he would have to keep an eye out. Law was his favorite character in all of One Piece, but he wouldn''t let his emotions get in the way of actual business. Jinbe and Robin just sighed and accepted the Captain''s decision.

    "So, Caesar is experimenting on children?" Robin asked, having heard the story. She wanted to know more and asked questions, to which Law promptly answered.

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    "Chopper, are you listening?" Robin said after sending everything over her watch to Merry.

    "Yes. We will need to cure them. Do me a favor: after getting inside the lab, send me the blood samples. I will be able to find out what they did to the children and make antidotes based on that," Chopper said.

    "I can''t be seen together, so you will have to face them alone for now to confuse Joker," Law said. Luffy didn''t understand, but he accepted his words. With that, Law walked away in a different direction while Luffy and the others headed towards the direction Ken had told them about.

    As they walked further in the cold weather, they suddenly heard loud crunching noises on the ice and snow. The sound resembled that of a big man walking on land, creating a discernible tremor and noise. Before they could grasp what was happening, they heard a gunshot. Two bullets came hurtling towards them, but before they could reach Robin, Ken had stepped forward and sliced the two bullets in half with his sword, all in one swift motion.

    "Thank you," Robin said.

    "Oye... It''s very cowardly for two Yetis to attack from behind. Don''t you think so?" Ken shouted. He knew who had attacked. It was the two Yeti brothers who lived on the island and essentially served as the last gatekeepers.

    They were hired assassins working for Caesar and were instructed to act when necessary. By this point, Caesar knew that something was amiss, and from the hidden cameras on the island, he could roughly discern that the Straw Hats were heading in the direction of the laboratory.

    "Yeti? What is a yeti? Sound delicious," Luffy chimed in.

    "Those are not something to eat, you idiot," Ken retorted. In response to Ken''s earlier shout, there was no reply. Instead, there were more gunshots. This time, it was Jinbe who stepped forward.

    "Fishman karate: Karakusagawara Seiken (Arabesque Tile True Punch)."

    The bullets gradually halted in mid-air in front of them and then slowly reversed their trajectory in the same manner they came, at the same speed. Luffy, who had been surveying the surroundings, vanished from his spot. After a moment, everyone heard two loud thuds followed by a slight tremor. A minute later, Luffy reappeared with the staff in his hand.

    He had just knocked the Yeti brothers out cold and triggered an avalanche on them. Though ice was their domain, having thousands of tons of weight fall on them must have caused considerable pain.

    "I''m pissed off now. Let''s go," Luffy said. He had expected something to eat, and instead, when he fought them, all he encountered were long, hairy, white giants. This must have further fueled his anger.

    They quickened their pace and soon arrived at the laboratory, which had a massive blast door.

    "This place seems to have significant problems," Jinbe remarked, sensing that many people were inside. His Haki wasn''t yet as honed as Luffy and Ken''s, so it took him a bit of time. Ken knew the blast door wouldn''t open on its own and drew his sword, swinging at the door.

    Just like before, the door was instantly brought down, and they entered. There was no welcome at the door, but they could easily detect the rancid odor emanating from inside. Luffy stepped forward and sucked in all the air around him into his stomach, then blew it out.

    The Straw Hats weren''t confused after seeing this. Over the 2 years, Ken had insisted Luffy to take a training that would make him invulnerable to poison. Magellan didn''t happen but he had the character to help him and thus in 2 years he had been using his godly power to make his body invincible to poison attack.

 284. Now I am demon

    "Poison? They have quite the underhanded methods." Robin said. "We might have died very horribly with blood coming out of our pores if Luffy didn''t help us."

    "Robin, you are the last person to say that. If anyone here who baths on poison it''s you." Ken said as she reminded her of her character.

    "Well. Since they had attacked us we should now definitely walk in." Ken said as he walked in followed by others. Luffy after emitting away the poison felt more hungry.

    "I want food." Luffy said.

    "You just ate a dragon."

    Meanwhile, when Caesar saw through the cameras he was taken aback and for the first time he felt a bit of fear. But then he remembered that who he was serving and who had his back. He was a scientist and in no way he was going to let the invasion slide away.

    He immediately called up Law and commanded

    "Law, the Straw Hats are here. Go and take care of them." Caesar didn''t know that Law had already met the Straw Hats and had made an alliance. He had done so in the most discreet way possible and thus nobody knew.

    "Caesar.. I am not your servant that I will hear your words and I am already trying to deal with the Navy that is going to arrive."

    "Navy?" Caesar was taken aback as he wasn''t expecting Navy to come. He clicked on some of the monitors and noticed that a G5 ship was coming inland through the small river that went through the island.

    "G5? What are they doing here? Where is Vergo?" Caesar asked.

    "Go and ask him." Law said and he didn''t care about the words of Caesar. After thinking for a second, he called Monet.

    "Monet, the Straw Hats are here. Go and take care of them."

    "Straw Hats? Are you sure that I can handle them?" Monet, one of the members of Doflamingo crew, one with the logia of snow fruit, knew who Straw hats were and had seen them in videos in the Paramount War.

    Though Doflamingo outrightly never said it, everyone could tell that he didn''t want to have any kind of relationship with the Straw Hats. Maybe it was subconscious fear of him that made him not talk of Straw Hats, but one could definitely see that.

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    So she wasn''t sure she could handle them.

    "I am not asking you to fight them. I am asking you to go and stop them interfering in the matters. Also ask Vergo to be on the lookout." Caesar said while laughing a bit. Monet nodded and thus in her harpy form flew away.

    Ken and others soon passed by a huge brightly lit room. The room looked like a huge kindergarten. But the huge room was empty.

    "They seem to take well care of the kids." Jinbe said as he looked around. But they are yet to find any kids.

    "Having a good place doesn''t mean they are taking well care of everything." Robin said. Ken meanwhile was listening to everything around and also heard that the G5 was here. After going through some of the rooms they finally came across a huge room which had children.

    And the size of the children surprised everyone, but they thought it was because they were the children of the giants. Robin came forward and talked with them but as she started talking with the children, suddenly some of the side doors opened and came out many men in full HazMat suit with masks.

    They had weapons on their hands.

    "You step away.. Or I will shoot."

    They all pointed their guns at Robin and others. The children got scared and back away. Robin who had been talking with them and trying to be all friends with them slowly turned her head and looked at the men in suit. She was angry. Though she had been here for few minutes she could see that the children were well mannered, filled with life and cute. And Robin had a huge weakness for being cute.

    So once she saw the men coming out with guns. It kind of triggered her.

    "Children.. Can you turn away?"

    The children were confused and didn''t know what to say but protested a bit. Robin replied, "I know that you want to see but violence is something that children shouldn''t see." And Robin had spoken those words almost like a vey strict mother which made the children fear her a bit and thus turn their head.

    "Come with us.. Master wants to meet you." One of the men said.

    "You shouldn''t have threatened us in front of children."

    "What? Whatever.. Just come with us if you want to live." Another man said and everyone pointed guns at the four men. Jinbe, Ken and Liffy didn''t react at all because they could Robin was going to take care of them. And that she did.

    In the next moment, a huge black colored circle adorned with designs that looked demonic and devilish appeared under her.

    "What?"

    "What is this?"

    Robin''s once flowing, silken hair darkens to an inky black, cascading in wild waves down her back. Her eyes, once warm and comforting, now gleamed with an unsettling scarlet glow, like twin orbs of malevolent intent. Her skin took on a porcelain-like paleness. Her attire underwent a dramatic shift as well. Her once modest clothing was replaced by a flowing, ebony robe that billowed around her frame, seemingly woven from shadows themselves.

    Her hands now bore sharp, ebony claws that glinted with a deadly sheen, extending from her fingertips like the talons of a fearsome beast. She had extra features on her body at this point. She had wings on her back and a tail. These wings exuded an aura of absolute dominion.

    "The Government once proclaimed and said that I am a demon. So here I am.. An actual demon.. Dereshishshishi..." The environment definitely dropped by ten degrees or so, because everyone felt cold as they saw Robin in her new form.

 285. You done messed up

    She certainly looked like a demon, perhaps because she was partially of demonic descent. The second character she encountered was Mirajane from Fairy Tail. Mirajane was a charming and benevolent woman affiliated with the Fairy Tail guild. However, when push came to shove, she could be rather formidable.

    Her magic, known as Take Over, enabled her to assume different forms. In this instance, she took on the essence of a demonic soul. When the Take Over occurred, she transformed into a fierce and entirely different woman, capable of feats beyond her normal capabilities.

    At this moment, Robin had taken on her demonic form. The masked men felt fear for the first time, trembling without knowing how to react. Robin, however, decided to respond on their behalf. She vanished from her position and reappeared beside the men.

    She swiftly struck two of them before vanishing once more. Some of the men came to their senses and began firing, but she was far too swift for them to land a hit. And when the bullets did strike her, they simply halted and rebounded.

    To the men in suits, all they could conceive was that she was a demon. Meanwhile, Gangster Gastino... I mean... Caesar observed all of this through the video feed, unable to fathom the nature of this Devil fruit power. Though knowledgeable, he had never encountered a Devil fruit with this kind of transformation before.

    Perhaps this was an unprecedented Mythical Zoan fruit.

    "Monet, go down and compel them to retreat. Use force if necessary," Caesar ordered. Monet was already on her way, so when she heard the command, she sighed. This might escalate into a dire situation, and she awaited backup in the form of Vergo.

    Robin soared through the air, even launching dark arrows infused with magic at the men. The men didn''t stand a chance, as magic was entirely foreign to them.

    Jinbe and Ken later escorted these men to a separate chamber, while Robin reverted to her original form. She had diligently trained in her Take Over abilities and had mastered two demonic forms. Although she knew they weren''t as potent as those of her companions, maintaining her own footing was no challenge at all.

    The children were allowed to turn. Naturally, some had witnessed Robin''s actions and were apprehensive about her transformation. This instilled fear in them, but they chose to keep their observations to themselves. In any case, there weren''t many who had witnessed it.

    "Robin, take them away," Ken instructed. Nami and Chopper were en route to assess the children and how they had been treated.

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    "Understood," Robin replied, retracing their steps. There were three other doors in the room, so Ken proposed that they split up.

    "I''ll be exploring a bit. You all enjoy yourselves," Ken said. Both Luffy and Jinbe nodded, each heading in a different direction. Ken chose the path from which Monet was approaching. After a brief stroll, appreciating the vast rooms and their adornments, the temperature around him noticeably plummeted.

    In the expansive room, a sudden cold gust swept in from nowhere, and snow began to descend, blanketing the surroundings in white within moments. Ken halted in his tracks and waited. Emerging was an exceedingly beautiful woman with wings in place of hands, and long, clawed legs.

    She was a true harpy, and even Ken couldn''t help but admire her beauty.

    "Punisher Kenny, the one the world is hunting. What brings you to this cold, harsh land?" Monet inquired as she strode forward. The cold had grown severe by now, yet somehow, the snow couldn''t touch Ken''s body.

    It was as if the snow evaporated the moment it drew near, and each step he took caused the snow around him to melt swiftly. Monet had observed this too, but didn''t know what to make of it.

    "Many people are eager to find me. It''s nothing new," Ken remarked while studying Monet.

    "You seem quite self-assured," Monet remarked.

    "In your presence? Undoubtedly," Ken replied with a smile. Monet''s once smiling countenance turned fierce, and she regarded Ken with menacing eyes.

    "You shouldn''t have come here, Punisher Kenny. This is not a place for you," Monet warned.

    "Why? Because this place houses Caesar? Or do you truly believe that Doflamingo will persist in his pursuits and think he can conquer the world?" Ken retorted.

    "You? How do you know?" Monet stammered, her terror evident.

    "It doesn''t really matter. So tell me, what''s your choice? Step aside so I can proceed with my task, or try to stop me?" Ken inquired. In response, she transformed into a demonic figure made of snow, complete with sharp teeth and enlarged wings.

    She launched a direct assault on Ken, flapping her wings to create a snowstorm that bore down on him. Ken remained motionless, allowing the attack to strike. The storm approached swiftly, and since Ken didn''t evade, Monet assumed he was somewhat afraid. However, then she witnessed something that left her utterly incredulous.

    The storm couldn''t even touch Ken''s body. There was an invisible force shielding him, causing the storm to transform into water and evaporate. Of course, she wasn''t ready to concede defeat. She flew directly at him, aiming to take a bite with her sharp teeth.

    Yet, as she drew near, she felt an imperceptible force pushing her back. Initially, the force was slight, but then it surged suddenly in strength, and before she knew it, she was hurled backward. Thankfully, being a Logia, she dispersed herself and emerged unharmed.

    "What the hell are you?" Monet shouted as she every attack she had on her books to take him down. Cold spears, Cold blizzard.. Everything. Ken was watching all of this and thinking.

    ''A waste of a good devil fruit. You don''t deserve it.''

    Monet after some assault was huffing because she didn''t know how to take him down. Ken wasn''t even hurt. It was at this time that Ken got bored and took out his sword from his waist.

 286. Have you seen a tiger?

    "Kenny... What in the hell are you?" Monet gasped as the surroundings shifted, a palpable and invisible pressure bearing down on her. Though everything appeared normal, she felt like she was facing something utterly primal.

    Her breath caught as the air thickened around her. She watched, heart pounding, as Ken advanced toward her. With each step, the atmosphere seemed to sizzle and crackle, his spiritual power radiating off him like an overwhelming wave. The icy air she commanded wavered in the face of this intense heat. She felt small and fragile, akin to a snowflake about to dissolve in the blaze of a raging fire.

    Ken didn''t even need to release his Shikai, but the heat emanating from his Ry¨±jin Jakka was enough to cause the entire area to grow warmer. For a breathless moment, time seemed to hold its breath, ensnared in the interplay of two elemental forces poised for a collision. Monet''s heart thundered in her chest, each beat mirroring the impending clash. She steadied herself, her breath mingling with the biting cold that hung in the air.

    Then it transpired. Ken drew nearer, each step resolute. Yet, Monet found herself unable to move. She felt like a child standing before enraged parents, knowing a punishment was imminent, yet helpless to escape. In Ken''s presence, she felt smaller than a speck of dust, her fear too paralyzing to overcome.

    "Before you came here... I saw the fear in your eyes. You''ve witnessed us, and that should have been evidence enough for you to flee... But you stayed..." Ken intoned. "Have you ever seen a fierce animal that didn''t strike at the prey it had set its sights on?"

    "W-what?" Monet stammered, terror coursing through her. She didn''t know how to respond.

    "Because I haven''t," he stated.

    With those words, he surged forward, cleaving Monet in two, reducing her body to separate parts. As he did so, the places he touched were incinerated. She cried out in agony, not only from the act of being severed, but from the searing pain that followed. Ken hadn''t employed Haki in the assault; he aimed to instill fear in her until the very end.

    Monet lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to reform her body. Seeing Ken standing there, fear coursed through her, preventing her from pulling herself together completely. She couldn''t find the strength to become whole again. Ken, observing Monet''s struggles, activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and transported her into her own dimension.

    A valuable Devil Fruit shouldn''t go to waste. It was, after all, a Logia-type, and Ken wasn''t inclined to give up on such an opportunity. He then turned his attention to the Den Den Mushi camera that had been spying on them. Though mostly obscured by snow, one lens still provided a view.

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    He offered the camera a smile before continuing on his way. He knew Momonosuke was here, and it would likely be Luffy''s first encounter with him. As for Jinbe, he might come face-to-face with the severed head of Kinemon. Both interactions promised to be somewhat troublesome, so it was best for others to handle introductions.

    Moving through a series of rooms and corridors, Ken eventually arrived at a heavily fortified chamber. Intrigued, he sensed no presence inside. He drew his sword and effortlessly shattered the door.

    Upon entering, he found the vast room empty, save for a table in the center. Atop the table rested a glass cuboid containing something resembling a fruit. Ken scrutinized it closely, momentarily puzzled.

    "Could this be a Smile Fruit? It certainly looks like one, but why is it kept under such tight security?" Ken wondered, struggling to find an explanation. He surveyed the surroundings, but nothing clarified matters. Suddenly, it struck him like a thunderbolt.

    This was undoubtedly a Smile Fruit, and its rigorous containment stemmed from it being a Mythical Zoan. A replica of Kaido''s fruit, the one Vegapunk labeled a failure due to its transformation not matching Kaido''s in color, even though in essence they were identical.

    Without hesitation, Ken pocketed the fruit. He''d decide whether to consume it later. After securing the fruit, he left the room and resumed his journey down the corridor, eventually reaching the exit. There, he spotted Law conversing with the men outside. It was Smoker and the G5.

    "Yo... It''s been a while since I''ve seen your face," Ken greeted, observing Smoker in conversation with Law. Law and the others turned around, surprise evident. They were taken aback because they hadn''t sensed anyone approaching. Someone like Ken should have been detectable through Haki, but there was nothing.

    He seemed like a specter. Nevertheless, they had more pressing matters at hand.

    "Punisher!"

    "Punisher Kenny."

    Law was growing increasingly irritated by the situation. He had been working to dismiss G5, and now Ken''s arrival complicated matters. In response, Smoker lunged at Ken with a punch, his knuckles imbued with Haki.

    Smiling, Ken deftly evaded the attack with a slight movement of his feet. Smoker wasn''t finished, throwing another punch, this time with his opposite hand, only for it to be sidestepped once again.

    "Why are you here? Straw Hats?" Smoker demanded, witnessing how Kenny effortlessly dodged.

    "Why? Is your name written on the door that I can''t be here. Even the Navy isn''t allowed in this place so why did you come?" Ken said. Law got irritated about how it was transforming and said.

    "Room!"

    A huge bluish transparent dome appeared and covered a great deal of distance around.

    "Shambles."

    And in the next second, the personalities exchanged between Smoker and Tashigi. It was so fast that the people around couldn''t even react. And as he did so he cut off the connection of the cameras that had been looking at him.

    "What the hell happened?" Smoker said as he himself in the body of Tashigi.

    "What is this?" Tashigi cried out seeing herself in the body of Smoker. They were horrified but then again they have heard of this before.

 287. I can see future and its not bright

    "Punisher Kenny.. Why are you here?" Law looked pissed as he asked that. Well, he always looked pissed to be honest so that was his normal reactions to most of the situations.

    "I was moving around and I heard the commotion here so I had to come." Ken replied while still seeing that Smoker and Tashigi just interchanged their bodies. That Devil fruit was really broken.

    But of course, Smoker being Smoker, even being on her body, he went to on to fight Smoker and before Smoker could hit Law with his weapon, he was parried by the sword of Ken.

    "Punisher Kenny.. This has nothing to do with you." Smoker replied and has livid by this point. He wanted to fight this man and take him down right here. Smoker always felt more danger from Ken than Luffy.

    Over time he understood one thing and that was Luffy loved freedom and he didn''t really care about anything. But Ken was different. He felt like Ken was out there to prove a point, inflict pain to people who he deemed worthy of it. This was a huge a red flag because that would mean if one day Ken had a bad day, he could just start to kill innocents just because they tilted their head wrong.

    "It has everything to do with me here. You wanted to hurt my friend and I stopped you." Ken replied.

    "I am not your friend." Law shouted. "And I can save myself. Don''t need your help."

    "Are they friends? Aren''t they supposed to enemies since they belong to different groups of pirates?" Someone from G5 commented.

    "By the way from when did Punisher Kenny start using swords as weapons. He looked handsome though."

    "Shut up. They are our enemies."

    Smoker put more effort to make Ken back off but he didn''t budge an inch. Smoker was impulsive but not crazy. He knew that he couldn''t win here so he put away his weapon. He had Tashigi and G5 to take care of so he couldn''t go crazy here even if he wanted.

    "What do you want?" Smoker asked.

    "Nothing. We handle our case here and you handle yours." Law said. But Smoker didn''t look at Law but looked at Ken for answer.

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    "To show how rotten your G5 is." Ken smiled and said.

    "What?" Smoker was taken aback by the words.

    "Oye.. Punisher Kenny . How dare you tarnish the name of G5. We might not be like the other marines, but we are not bad."

    "Yes.. Yes.. You are an asshole.."

    "You are a scum of a pirate."

    He was getting railed with vicious words of the marines left and right but he didn''t pay them any heed and just looked at Smoker, who didn''t say a word and waited for an explanation.

    "No institution could be pure and there will always be traitors.. Isn''t that right.. Vergo." Ken said and in his last words he looked at other direction of the passageway. The eyes of the G5, including Smoker and Tashigi , went wide as a man came out with a weird cut in his beard and small piece of ham struck on his cheek.

    "Hahahah.. I was asked to come here since the cameras had stopped working and because the private room was invaded. Didn''t expect to see the legendary man of the Paramount War to be here. It''s an honor." Vergo said.

    "Vergo..!"

    "Vergo-san."

    "Why are you here?"

    Everyone had different reactions when Vergo came out of the shadows. Smoker had indifference while the rest of the G5 were just surprised to the core. They didn''t think that Vergo was a traitor, but were surprised that he was here. Vergo had been the mentor and a helpful higherup for most of the people in G5, so it came as a shock that he was here.

    "You are here because you couldn''t contact Monet. Well let me be clear. She has been taken care of, so you can ask the questions which does matter here." Ken replied. This made Vergo stiffen up a bit and one could easily see the bulging veins on his forehead. He was losing his calm slowly.

    "What did you do to her?" Vergo asked and this time in a more demanding tone.

    "She is done for. What more you want to know?" Ken replied.

    "Vergo.. What are you doing here?" Smoker asked while puffing his cigar. But he wasn''t doing it our of smirk but out of anger and not knowing what was going on.

    "Smoker.. You are not supposed to be here. Law was right in punishing you." Vergo said. He wasn''t here for Smoker or G5 but for Monet. He could feel that Monet had vanished somewhere but he couldn''t find her body. He was here only for her and others were just excuses.

    Vergo slowly took out his bamboo and was ready to take care of others before confronting Ken, starting with Law.

    "You should run, while you still can. You can never confront me with the little power you have. I can take you down before your bamboo stick can even hit Law on the right shoulder to make him incapable of using his devil fruit power." Ken advised. This made Vergo make a double take. As Ken spoke those words the pupils of his slowly dilated and he spoke as if he knew what Vergo was going to do.

    He said specific words because he knew exactly what Vergo was going to do. He had seen it already. With his future sight. The advanced Observation Haki.

    "You.." Vergo spat out but before he could speak another word, he was hit at the neck with extreme force with the sheath of the sword. This made him hit the wall with extreme force making a huge crater in the side wall.

    It was Ken who did so and he was so fast that nobody even saw how he moved.

 288. I like the other name

    G5 was furious and wanted to get back at Ken but was stopped by Tashigi. She had seen the power of Straw Hats first hand in the Marineford and she knew that all of them together wouldn''t be able to hold a candle to any one of the members of the Straw hats.

    And Ken was known to be cruel. From what she had heard , the previous Fleet Admiral didn''t have any good thing to say about him after he was released from kidnapping and so much so that Fleet Admiral had left the Navy altogether and apparently do some introspection.

    Vergo was bruised quite badly as he had been just faceplanted at the wall. Smoker came forward to help Verg but instantly Ken showed the sword''s edge at Smoker and said.

    "You better step back. We have been friends for quite a long time and trust me when I say this. He is scummier than the pirates."

    "We aren''t friends." Smoker was incensed when Ken mentioned them being friends. They were never friends. Ken rolled his eyes and asked.

    "Then why come after us if you aren''t obsessed with us?"

    "Because I want to catch you, bastard." Smoker made his voice loud when he said that.

    "Yeah. My grandpa and Roger were great friends too, always showing up when Roger showed up. At the end took his son as his own grandson." Ken reminded which made Smoker speechless, but before he could come up with a comeback, they heard a laugh.

    The laugh wasn''t just a happy laugh but a maniacal and deranged laugh. It was Vergo who had gotten up slowly. His face was oozing blood and his costly overcoat seemed to have become red now. Law had his hand pointed forward, ready to take care of him.

    Law, who was silent, couldn''t even begin to explain of how happy he was seeing Vergo drenched in blood. He could also sense that Vergo would be no match for Ken and he himself knew that he could take on Vergo.

    Ken and other looked at Vergo and after quite a long laugh, he calmed down and said.

    "You can''t kill me or hurt me." Vergo said.

    "Someone has some sense in them it seems." Ken mumbled. "Why do you think I can''t kill you? Because of these people? They can''t even stop me if they come at me together, more so now when I have evidence you are a spy of Doflamingo. And Law here, first hand experienced what went down on that damned island. So I don''t understand where you get your courage from?"

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    Vergo was shaken when he heard Ken had evidence. Ken didn''t need to lie as he really was very powerful.

    "You still can''t kill me because we are tied with Kaido, the strongest creature, he is a Yonko that backs us and if anything goes wrong here, he will know. Law knows what this place is and you can''t even touch us." Vergo seemed sure and proud of what he was saying. Ken looked at his eyes for a minute before he burst out laughing.

    Vergo stiffened when he heard Ken laugh.

    "You ... Hahahaha... You really think that taking Kaido''s name will scare us, then you know nothing. Law, he is all yours." Ken said.

    "Room."

    A new room hemispherical transparent shield was created. Vergo was angry that Ken didn''t bother to handle him himself but asked someone else. He felt humiliated. His whole body got laden with Armament Haki and lunged at Law while spewing.

    "You are so arrogant that you think this worthless kid can take me? You have no idea of how the world works..." Vergo wanted to say more but before he realized his body was cut in half. Including his bamboo.

    He looked down horrified seeing how he was cut down so easily. Ken just looked at him with no emotions in his face as he knew and believed that Law could take him down. Law didn''t disappoint at all. But Vergo wasn''t down yet and again lunged at Law using his other hand to slam at him.

    And this time too Law cut him and this time vertically. With his Vergo, the one who had traumatized Law all those years and the reason why Corazon died had been avenged. He had always kept his emotions in check but he could feel that he was on the verge of tears.

    Smoker and others were already stupefied when Vergo admitted being a traitor outright. The navy men didn''t want to believe it but Tashigi and Smoker knew that Vergo was a traitor.

    "You know Law, the previous proposition of mine still stands. Join us." Ken said.

    "No. We are only in alliance for taking him down and then go on separate ways." Law was adamant. Ken didn''t push any more and then Ken proceeded to talk to Smoker about the kids inside and what was actually happening in the island including Caesar.

    Smoker and especially Tashigi was horrified when they came to know and ran through the corridor. Law and Ken just followed them slowly. Ken proceeded to take Vergo into his dimension and Law didn''t stop that.

    "I am sure Caesar had known or seen what we started here, and knowing him, he will contact Doflamingo."

    "Yes, let him. I have something to do in this island that will make that smiling guy shut his trap." Ken said. Law''s eyebrows arched but didn''t ask further. They talked more but by that time they had reached the inner part of the whole facility.

    There he saw Luffy having a verbal fight with a young child. The young child had a shaved head in front while the side burns were long and was tied up on the end of his head. He had a haughty look on his face as he verbally fought Luffy and somehow Luffy indulged with him.

    He knew who this guy was.

    Momonosuke Kozuki, son of Oden.

    And beside Luffy was a guy who had his nose and jaw broken laid down unconscious. The famous Caesar Clown. Or as Ken liked to call him Gangster Gastino.

 289. You are online

    While Ken dealt with G5, Vergo, and Monet, Jinbe and the others gathered the children around. Caesar, seeing everything unraveling swiftly, called for the release of the island''s ultimate weapon.

    Smiley.

    A colossal blob of poison, fed a Devil Fruit by Caesar, granting it a semblance of sentience. It was akin to Zoan fruits having a will of their own. Seeing that his men, including the formidable Vergo, were unresponsive, he ordered his remaining few to set Smiley loose. He intended for the brokers to witness it through the cameras scattered across the island.

    This move would draw everyone towards him, ensuring his rescue, for he was bound to be captured. Thus, he unveiled Smiley to the world and dispatched a signal to Doflamingo and the others, summoning them to his aid.

    "Luffy, who is this guy?" Robin inquired, finding the boy endearing. Meanwhile, Kinemon''s body had fully reconstituted by this point. Unlike in the original tale, it hadn''t been scattered into numerous parts, but rather into two distinct portionsˇŞone in the cold, and the other in a confined space. Consequently, when Luffy entered, Kinemon regained his corporeal form.

    Naturally, Luffy bemoaned the loss of his dream to remain a Centaurus, his frustration intensifying when he encountered Momonosuke. The entitled demeanor of the latter grated on Luffy''s nerves, sparking a spat between them.

    "This is Momo," Luffy introduced, while Kinemon also affirmed his identity as the boy''s father. Ken, though smirking at his words, remained silent.

    "We need to depart," Ken urged, sensing Smiley''s rapid expansion.

    "Shurororoo... You can''t leave. Nobody can escape this place because Smiley will consume..." Caesar began, but before he could finish his sentence, Ken struck him with the pommel of his katana and then transported him into his dimension.

    "What is he talking about?" Smoker inquired. By now, he and G5 had come to terms with the true nature of the island, and it was safe to say they were appalled. G5, in particular, felt the weight of it, as they were, ultimately, good marines. Most of them had ended up here for defying their superiors'' cruel orders, making them, in a sense, good-hearted individuals.

    Ken explained what was going on in the island and this made his face ugly.

    "Don''t fret. Law might have laid waste to your ship, but we''ll provide you with a new one. It''s essential to transport the children, as they require urgent medical attention due to their addiction. Besides, your previous vessel wouldn''t suffice for their needs, and moving them around here would be perilous," Ken assured.

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    Smoker, however, was reluctant. "Can''t you just teleport us to a new location?"

    "I can, but it might be traumatic for the children. My teleportation technique involves rapid travel, which can be a bit taxing on the body," Ken explained. Smoker fell silent, accepting that a new ship would be necessary for their journey.

    "Chopper, are you prepared?" Robin inquired through her watch.

    "Yes," Chopper''s voice came through.

    "I''m sending the coordinates," Robin relayed, and in an instant, a circular, yellowish portal materialized. Out stepped Franky, Chopper, and Nami. After introductions, Chopper immediately got to work, armed with all the necessary equipment to combat the children''s afflictions.

    Given the escalating restlessness and irritability among the children, Chopper administered a small dose of tranquilizer. Soon after, the portal reopened, and everyone found themselves aboard the Merry, soaring high in the sky.

    The ship was exceptionally spacious, akin to a floating palace, easily accommodating everyone. The male children gravitated towards Franky, while the females formed a close bond with Tashigi, Nami, and Robin.

    As they settled in, Ken, Law, and Jinbe retreated to a separate chamber. Law had come to realize that Ken handled the finer details, leaving the weighty decisions to the Captain.

    "Punisher... Are you certain about making the call?" Law inquired.

    "Absolutely. He''s been attempting to reach Vergo numerous times. It''s time to bring closure," Ken affirmed. News of Punk Hazard had spread across the world due to the terror induced by Smiley.

    "Ken... If we proceed, we''ll be in open conflict," Jinbe cautioned.

    "The fuse has already been lit. It''s too late to turn back now," Ken asserted, dialing the number. In mere moments, the call connected.

    Click.

    "Vergo, where in the world are you? Have you dealt with Law? Stay away from the Straw Hats. Your priority is securing Caesar," Ken declared as soon as the connection was established.

    "I regret to inform you that your comrade Vergo is no more," Ken stated. The line fell into silence.

    "You''re..."

    "Come on, Doffy... You recognize my voice... Don''t play games with me," Ken retorted.

    "Punisher Kenny..."

    "That''s right. Keep going. I can almost see the veins in your forehead throbbing, likely en route here, swinging through the clouds like a Spider-Man," Ken remarked. Doflamingo, indeed, was navigating the skies using the clouds as his improvised bridges.

    He almost missed the next cloud when Ken spoke these words over the Den Den Mushi. He hadn''t anticipated someone would make him feel this vulnerable so effortlessly.

    "Once you touch down here, you''ll find nothing but ruins. You''d best return to Dressrosa," Ken advised before abruptly ending the call.

    "Franky... Blow this island," Ken ordered after terminating the communication.

    "What is a Spiderman?" Jinbe asked as he was listened to Ken and was confused as he had never heard that word.

    "Some who has the abilities of a Spider and can swing around." Ken replied. Franky meanwhile heard the order and readied the railgun. Luffy and others, who were busy with banquet were surprised that Ken would order for the railgun, a weapon they had never used but was always on their minds.

    Luffy wanted to use it long ago but Ken stopped him from taking any such step. Smoker and others were a bit confused but followed them.

    "Vivi, am I connected to the channel?" Ken asked the ship was slowly going down to reach considerable height

    "Yes, you are online." Vivi said.

 290. The island killer is here

    "Yosh.. Everyone.. I believe that I am talking with the right people here." Ken said in front of a den den mushi, not just a voice den den mushi, but a live video one. This video den den mushi was connected to multiple ones and each one of them were connected to the same people that had seen Caesar unleash Smiley which was now wreaking havoc all over the island.

    The people around got to see how the bodies of Yeti brothers froze in hard scales as Smiley just ''walked'' past them like they were nothing. So everyone was happy but they also got to know that the Straw Hats had gotten their hands on Caesar and thus the people of the under ground were furious.

    But now seeing Ken directly on the video, some of them started cursing and vowing to take them down. Of course, Ken couldn''t hear them because it was a live broadcast and Ken wouldn''t hear them. And most of them wouldn''t even dare to say or speak against the Straw Hats in front of them. Most of them were not some big names and at this point only Yonko were equipped enough to face them.

    "It''s been a long time now my face had shown up in a video. I am not sure who are on the other side of this but I believe that even the World Government are keeping an eye here which makes the whole involvement much more exciting." Ken said. "Now then, since Caesar has demonstrated his work and great invention, let me show you what we have made or rather what my crew mates had made."

    The video suddenly switched from the face of Ken to the den den mushi which was upon the head of Merry and it was pointed down towards the the island of Punk Hazard. The people were confused about why they were seeing this.

    And then it happened.

    Out of nowhere the people heard a soft humming sound and from the side of the screen they saw two long metallic and shiny arms stretch out. It the two arms ran parallel to each other and it had teeth on its inner linings facing each other which was around a meter apart.

    "What is this?"

    "Some kind of weapon? Doesn''t look like it."

    The humming sound just got louder and it remained so a minute, before they heard a loud shout.

    "FIRE!"

    A flash of light came out of the two arms and the next moment, there was a loud bang that everyone on the video could hear. The den den mushi was situated quite high on the air so they could actually see what happened to generate such a loud sound out of nowhere.

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    With a searing brilliance that defied the very heavens, the railgun''s payload collided with Punk Hazard. The impact unleashed a blinding flash of light, a white-hot inferno that consumed the island in an instant. The shockwave radiated outwards, an invisible tsunami of force that tore through the landscape with a malevolent fervor.

    The earth trembled and heaved, as if in protest, sending shockwaves of upheaval rippling through the terrain. A deafening roar reverberated across the ocean, a chorus of nature''s fury at the intrusion of such destructive power.

    In an instant, the heart of Punk Hazard was rent asunder, a chasm of incandescent fury and raw energy. The blast gouged a massive crater into the heart of the island, sending plumes of molten rock and smoke billowing into the sky. The very air seemed to ignite with the force of the explosion, painting the horizon in a brilliant, fiery display.

    As the echoes of the cataclysm faded, a stunned silence fell over the surrounding waters. The island, once a bastion of scientific ambition, now bore the scars of an unimaginable force. The remnants of the railgun''s payload smoldered amidst the devastation, a haunting testament to the power that had been unleashed.

    What followed next was silence and then there was a loud cheer from the people on the ship. The children and the Straw Hats. The children were being treated and were given medicine to cope with the addiction. But the G5 marines and Smoker along with Tashigi, had their eyes wide open seeing the whole island just stopped ''breathing''.

    The island, once a thriving hub of scientific experimentation and ambition, was reduced to a sea of smoldering ruins. Charred remnants of once towering structures jutted out like grotesque sentinels, their twisted steel frames reaching for a sky that no longer embraced them. The acrid scent of scorched earth and melting metal mingled with the acrid tang of chemicals. And that was probably from the dead Smiley.

    The underground people were just silent when they saw it, and the people of the World Government who were watching it, sent the report immediately. This was a huge matter. A single weapon possessed by a pirate group to annihilate an entire island.

    This was enough to infuse fear for the first time upon World Government.

    "Finally.. Wohooo.. Sugeee.." Luffy cried.

    Ussop, Chopper were just hyperventilating at this point. Franky and Vivi were proud of what they were seeing, it was because both of them came together to make this happen and it was a success. They thought it might affect the whole ship as the payload was quite heavy and had to delivered in unbelievable fast speed. But nothing like that happened and their ship was fine.

    Franky went up to check and smiled when he saw everything was fine. Ken and others were all smiles, especially Ken. He asked them to make an island killer in the ship long back and now they had finally used it.

    Smoker just looked at the Straw Hats with utter disbelief because he understood that from this point on, they actually had the power to contend against World Government and they could be the actual changers of the world history.

    And he might have witnessed their rise to that. But then again he looked at Luffy who didn''t look like someone who wanted to conquer anything. He was just happy with the blast and not because the island was just dead now.

 291. Setting sea on fire

    Wide-eyed and mouths agape, these denizens of the underworld stared in stunned silence at the colossal screen that projected the obliteration of Punk Hazard. The once-infamous island, known for its enigmatic mysteries and hidden treasures, now lay in ruins, a testament to the destructive power of the rail gun.

    Whispers of awe and dread echoed through the dimly lit chambers, reverberating off damp stone walls and dilapidated crates. The news sent shivers down spines that had weathered countless storms, for these were individuals well-versed in the ways of treachery and cunning, but the sheer might of the rail gun left them feeling small and vulnerable.

    "By the Devil''s luck," a figure muttered, their voice carrying a weight of realization. "We''ve just seen the birth of a new era, my friends. A power that can reshape the very foundations of this world."

    The words hung heavy in the air, punctuated only by the distant echoes of waves crashing against the unseen shores. The assembled smugglers and dealers exchanged knowing glances, their minds already racing with the possibilities and implications of this newfound threat.

    Ken and others just looked at the whole scene with silence.

    "I will be back." Ken said and then vanished into his own eye. Smoker and others just looked at Ken vanishing but didn''t speak outright. They had seen Ken do this multiple times now so they weren''t that surprised now. Smoker and others were just ashamed that they were associating with the pirates, the same pirates that had kidnapped Sengoku before and made a huge fun of Navy.

    The World Government were still trying to do damage control of what had happened. Actually, a part of Smoker was happy with what had gone down in the war. That war was meaningless to start with. They could have just taken care of things privately. But no, they wanted a grand show out of it.

    Ken appeared again and this time it was more than 15 kms away on board a Navy ship. A single ship that was quite far but even from that distance they had seen how a small tsunami had happened when Punk Hazard was razed to the ground. The Navy men on the ship were dumbfounded and more so when Ken suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

    "Yo! You have been trying to sneak it for quite sometime." Ken said. And he was welcomed with lunges from three people who appeared the moment he did. Bu as usual, they went through the bodies of Ken like he was some invisible man.

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    "Guys.. Guys.. It''s been years now... At least learn something." Ken said as he looked at the Navy men that had appeared. Each of the three men had used haki but they weren''t he one in charge, but the man with a small white goatee incharge. This guy had huge bulging arms and one could easily see the veins. What kind of steroids was this guy taking? Or was it just normal muscle? Of course, Ken had seen him before.

    He was Kong. The commander-in-chief- of the World Government.

    "Yo Kong-san, didn''t you teach them that they can''t do anything to me?" Ken said. One could easily hear Kong''s knuckles moving due to anger, grinding over the bones and the veins that had popped up.

    "That island? Did you blow it up?" Kong asked. He had just received info of what had happened and he couldn''t believe what he heard. The Straw hats blew up an island. The Gorosei themselves had ordered him to take down Straw Hats, if not Ken and Luffy, then the rest of the crew. But here was the thing, Kong knew where they were as he could also sense them due to Observation Haki, but they were high up in the air and they could easily escape. He wanted to curse the Gorosei for this outrageous demand.

    And even if he did kidnap the or kill them, where would he go after that? It''s not like Luffy, Ken and the rest would just let him do whatever he wanted. And if he was successful in doing so, how would he escape. Ken would definitely raze the ship to the ground. He wasn''t Akainu who was blinded by hatred many times. He was level headed.

    "What do you think?" Ken replied with a smile on his face. That smug look gave Kong the creeps and said.

    "Someday I will wipe the smug look on your bitch face."

    "Oh and someday I will burn Marijoa to the ground. In fact, I still can do it, and you would fail to wipe my smug smile of victory." Ken said. This made Kong more angry. Conqueror''s haki was oozing from him as black lightning was spreading everywhere. Ken in response slowly took out his sword.

    "Sword? You are a swordsman." Kong who was contemplating to kick out Ken was taken aback. Until this time, they had never seen Ken carry a sword and somehow seeing that sword made Kong and others around shiver.

    "Why not.. Ry¨±jin Jakka!"

    And in the next moment, a huge wave of hot air assaulted everyone present. It was so hot that some of the Navy men who were pointing guns and Ken, ready to shoot, had their faces burned to various degrees and their hair singed. They ran out in order to placate the sudden heat wave that seemed to come out from the sword.

    But that was not the end of it. The sea around suddenly seemed to catch fire, as three typhoon like long columns burst out of the sea.

    "What the hell is this?"

    "Sea on fire.. What the hell is going on? Is it a volcanic eruption?"

    "But the weather around any island are always silent. Is it because the Punk hazard is destroyed?"

    "No. Look.. The fire just started from the sea itself. Its man made..."

    As the Navy men ran around and shouted, they suddenly came to realization that this was just done by Ken. They looked at Ken with horrified eyes, even Kong felt apprehensive as he saw the seas on fire. And as if to prove that it was Ken who did this, a typhoon of fire burst out from underneath the Navy ship that tore through the hull like paper.

 292. The lost deal

    The cracking of the wooden and the steel frame was loud enough as the fire typhoon just broke through the ship, almost splitting the ship in half. The otehers were now sure that it was Ken''s doing and two of the masked men.

    This time he didn''t let them pass his body like always but actually swiftly moved and slashed at both of them. He had opened his shikai, it would be waste if he didn''t use it. Ken was so fast that the two masked men couldn''t even react even though they had Observation haki.

    Their Observation Haki couldn''t predict at all of Ken''s movement. No, it was something else. Kong who had seen Ken make the move had his eyes wide open as he realized what Ken had just done.

    He was not that much surprised that ken ended up delivering long gashes on the bodies of the masked men but the fact that he himself couldn''t predict the move of Ken. He was actually ready with his future sight and take down Ken but then he realized that he couldn''t use the future sight at all.

    Blood spilled on the broken deck as the two masked men were thrown back and hit the floor. They screamed a bit in pain but their scream was drowned in the cracking of the ship and the ship slowly drowning.

    But all of this didn''t matter to Kong. He stumbled upon his own words as he asked.

    "You.. You can.. You can kill others'' Observation Haki?"

    Ken swung his sword in the air as the blood on the blade sizzled into vapor, while Kong looked at him with horror. He had only met one person who could ever do that and that was Shanks. There was a reason why he could do that. It was because, just like how when fighting one could mix Armament Haki and Conqueror''s Haki, thus making a person more strong, the same way Observation and Conqueror could be done.

    Only this was very rare and a very few people could do that. Now he got to see another person who could do it. One Shanks was already a bit of a headache, but having another one who could do it, that too from a Vice Captain.

    He was in more horror thinking what the Captain could do now. For the first time he was regretting taking this mission upon himself of catching the Straw Hats since the last time. They were already in peril and now there was more of a headache.

    Ken didn''t look at the masked men and just at Kong when he said.

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    "I trained in Observation Haki for years, I would be a fool if I didn''t progress further and I guess I do have a knack for it." Ken smiled. Ken didn''t speak more the world around swirled as he tried to take in Kong. Once could be looked over and forgotten, but not the second time.

    Kong was slowly being pulled into the Kamui dimension, but in the next moment Kong vanished and he appeared again on the roof of the ship. He just used Soru to escape the entrapment of Ken.

    "So you guys have learnt how to escape." Ken said as he looked up at Kong who had escaped and was on his knees. Sengoku was right, getting sucked into his eye only gives nausea and nothing else. Kong threw his blazer on his shoulder away.

    His duty demanded him to fight and so he would. He would do everything possible. Even though Observation Haki had stopped that didn''t mean his strength would be lower than Ken. Ken looked at Kong and for some reason he wanted to fight too.

    And thus both jumped at each other ready to unleash the full fight. Ken swung his Zanpakuto with precision, flames trailing in its wake. Kong countered with swift and calculated movements, dodging the fiery onslaught. Their attacks sent shockwaves through the already battered ship, threatening to engulf them in the inferno below.

    The ship groaned beneath their onslaught, the flames licking higher and higher. Ken''s eyes burned with determination, his spiritual pressure radiating like a scorching sun.

    "What the hell is the fire, Punisher?" Kong asked as he felt the heat on the face. He felt as if the fire was hurting his soul, not just the flesh. He soon understood that Ken didn''t have the Conqueror''s haki laden Armament but here was the problem.

    Kong couldn''t damage the sword of his at all. And Ken was able to stop the attack and hurt him back. Though Ken did feel the wrath as he was pushed and mauled. Kong was already in hybrid mode of his Devil fruit so it was battle of attrition and Kong definitely had more raw explosive power and Ken had in an instant.

    Ken''s Zanpakuto clashed with Kong''s Haki-infused fists, creating a shockwave that sent both warriors reeling. But in that shockwave the ship finally gave away and broke into several pieces. Kong who was ready to fight more lost the footing and had to use Moon walk to keep him standing.

    "You still don''t have the same raw power as me. You never will." Kong shouted as he couldn''t let this small victory get away and take over Ken psychologically. Ken smiled in response and said

    "It only took two years to get better in Haki, guess what would happen in few more months when I will be able to progress more." Ken said as he stepped on the air. "I wanted to capture you and your minions to make a deal with the Marijoa again, but I guess I can''t now. I would love to fight more but someone is coming. I hope you will give him a warm welcome."

    With those words he vanished. Kong flew towards him in order to catch him but it was already too late as he sucked himself into his own dimension. He was furious, but also looking at the ship a bit afraid. That sword of his made him feel scared.

    He felt as if the sword was alive. The other marines had spoken of that when they had faced Zoro and Brook in war. Was there any relation? What were the swords and why were they so dangerous?

 293. Sugar, yes please

    Kong and the others were now sailing on the broken pieces of the ship. He looked up high in the air, and though his eyes couldn''t see through the intermittent clouds, he could tell that there were a bunch of people in a ship.

    The Straw Hats.

    And among them, he could also feel that Smoker was there. Even though he had hardly met him, he still knew who he was, as Smoker was known for being the rebellious type. Unlike others, Kong knew what was going on on the island, so Smoker being in this mess was not a huge shock for him, and he could understand why he was with the Straw Hats at this point.

    Bururu... Burururu...

    Kacha

    "Did you catch any of them?" came a voice from the den den mushi as Kong picked it up.

    "No," Kong replied with no remorse in his voice.

    "We told you to at least kidnap one," another voice said.

    "I am lucky that I didn''t get kidnapped. Punisher Kenny can now kill the Observation haki of the people around. They have become more powerful," Kong replied. There was complete silence on the other side. "And not only that, he has suddenly become a swordsman who could control fire. The Straw Hats have officially become more powerful than they ever were." After some more silence, the voice on the other side said.

    "How does the island look now?"

    "Like some kind of demon had come down and raised hell on Earth. This island is no longer livable, and Smiley is dead. Caesar is also missing, presumably with the Straw Hats."

    Kacha.

    <hr>

    Pangea Castle, Marijoa.

    "Another D who is rising very sharply."

    "Faster than Roger."

    "We should have taken more notice of him during the war."

    "None of us had expected a crew to have so many tricks up its alley."

    "Punisher Kenny seems to have a good head on his shoulders; he is more dangerous than the Captain."

    "Then let''s start the chess game. Release that the Straw Hat will be the Fourth Yonko and will be the new head of the Whitebeard Pirates. I am sure that his crew wouldn''t like this."

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    "That Teach... Did he find out what he is supposed to find?"

    "He is still on search. He is proving to be quite the help for us."

    "It''s time we meet that person."

    "It is time."

    <hr>

    Ken appeared again on the ship. As he appeared, he saw Smoker and others looking down while gulping down some booze. Along with him was Law, who was being annoyed by the G5 marines and some of the children. Momonosuke had already become the apple of the eye for Nami and Robin.

    But he didn''t bother with him at the moment. It was not the time yet.

    "Franky, do we have enough materials for making them a god ship?" Ken asked.

    "No, but we do have enough materials for them to reach at least the next island. I have talked with them, and they have a permanent log pose to a navy island," Franky said. Ken turned and looked at Smoker, who just nodded at him.

    Getting the green signal, they landed in a far location of the sea away from the destroyed Punk Hazard, where Franky, Vivi, and other members of G5 started making a ship. It would take some time, but it would be completed.

    The making of the ship took a few days, but in the end, it was completed and was big enough to hold the children and the marines. Finally, it was time to say goodbye. The children were sad because they wouldn''t be receiving the great food by Sanji and be with the Robot Franky, but in the end, they understood.

    They needed to get back to their parents.

    "Smoker... Doflamingo will probably come after you," Ken said as Smoker got to the newly built ship. This made Smoker double-take and crease his eyebrows. But then Ken looked at a far-off distance and smiled.

    "But your friend is here, so you are safe."

    "My friend?!" Smoker was confused and asked.

    "You will see him soon," Ken said and then proceeded to go back to his ship. Luffy and the others bid their goodbyes. Now they had two extra people on the ship, Momonosuke and Kinemon. Their next island was Dressrosa, so they would go with them.

    What Kinemon didn''t expect was Zoro giving him the black sword that he had gotten at Thriller Bark. It was Ken who told him to do so, and Kinemon was grateful that he did, but he was also interested in the swords of Brook, Zoro, and Ken, though he didn''t ask as he wasn''t close to them yet.

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, when Doflamingo reached Punk Hazard, he was horrified. He had never seen such destruction that actually changed the weather around. Someone from Dressrosa called him and explained what had transpired, and he actually refused to believe that the Straw Hats could ever do that. But looking at Punk Hazard, he was terrified, and for the first time, he felt like he might be in a losing position.

    But then he remembered Sugar. That girl gave him hope, and since he already wanted to go after Kaido, he could use this as leverage. Use the Straw Hats to bring down Kaido while he would reap the benefits.

    After he reached Punk Hazard, he got to see Kong and others. The ship was destroyed.

    "Hehehehe... I guess we both are on the same boat," Doflamingo said. His veins were still popping as he had lost Caesar.

    "Doflamingo... The Gorosei had asked for collaboration. The marines will help you in bringing down the Straw Hats," Kong said, as he was already expecting his arrival. The words of Kong made Doflamingo happy.

    "That''s good to know. Let them make their demands, and then we will talk about the collaboration," Doflamingo said. He was expecting the ransom call anyway, so he was ready to wait.

 294. I am Jackie Chan

    After the small incident, the Merry set sail once more, heading in the direction of the log pose, and, of course, Dressrosa. Ken half-expected a preemptive attack from Baby 5 and the buck-toothed guy, but none came.

    That was a relief. In fact, Ken felt a soft spot for Baby 5. She had a tragic childhood, perpetually kidnapped by the Joker. She desired freedom but couldn''t break free, displaying symptoms of a modern form of Stockholm Syndrome. Now that Ken thought about it, even Violet had shown such symptoms.

    Violet had aided the Joker until the Straw Hats intervened, with Sanji knocking some sense into her. Ken recalled someone asking Oda about Violet still calling Doflamingo "Doffy" despite what he did to her family. Oda''s reply was cryptic, marked as 18+. Ken could guess the implications, and the mere thought made his skin crawl.

    Another reason to write off Doflamingo. He had never killed a Celestial Dragon before; now was Ken''s chance. The ship sailed, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Momo was getting used to the Straw Hats, especially clinging to Nami and Robin.

    Sanji, Kinemon, and Brook were already upset with Momo, so they protested. In response, Momo clung even tighter to Robin''s bathrobe. The next moment, Nami angrily booted them out of the shower room.

    Momo emerged, still smiling, holding onto Robin, while Sanji and the others berated him. A ruckus ensued, but others paid it no mind. Strangely, even Vivi overlooked the child''s immoral behavior. As the most level-headed crew member, her tolerance was surprising.

    "Momo!" Ken''s voice rang out, loud and strong enough to silence Sanji and the others bickering at Momo.

    "Yes, Vice-Captain-san!" For some reason, Momo feared Ken. He seemed no-nonsense, and rumor had it he taught the ship''s Captain. Momo had witnessed Luffy dealing with Caesar, whose gas-made body was cracked by Luffy''s powerful fists. Knowing Ken had instructed Luffy in the past earned him more respect.

    "You have a purpose. Don''t let life''s distractions lead you astray. You know your enemies; it''s time to act like one," Ken advised. He didn''t reveal his identity; it wasn''t the right time.

    Hearing Ken''s words, Momo and Kinemon stiffened, glancing at Ken. "This... Do you know me?" Momo asked, trembling a bit. Ken shook his head, offering no further explanation. His gesture neither confirmed nor denied anything. Momo and Kinemon were taken aback but hesitated to inquire further.

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    But the words of Ken did wake up Momo, and at least for the time being, he gave up his pervert nature. He didn''t wallow down in self-pity but rather asked his ''father'' to teach him swordsmanship. Brook and Zoro, who had been watching from the sidelines.

    They too gave some tips to the kid.

    "My teacher used to tell me of this stance... Try it," Zoro said while he remembered Yamamoto teaching him. In a sense, Ken was his teacher, but Zoro would never accept this.

    While Momo had calmed down a bit and was more serious, it was time for Ken to choose. He had thought about it a lot and had finally decided to eat the duplicate version of Kaid''s fruit. The only thing that would change would be the color of his dragon scales, and he would maintain the same ability as Kaido.

    "Ken, you got yourself a Devil fruit?"

    "What? Where did you get one?"

    "Let me see... Let me see."

    Everyone gathered around once Luffy saw that Ken had taken out a Devil fruit. They were curious, including Momo and others.

    "You are going to take it?" Sanji asked.

    "Yes," Ken replied.

    "Do you know what kind of Devil fruit it is?" Zoro asked.

    "Yes. A mythical Zoan," Ken replied.

    "Like Luffy''s?" Nami asked. Ken nodded.

    "Well then you should know better," Vivi said. Ken nodded and finally took the bite on the Devil fruit. And even though it was a copy, it didn''t make the taste of it good. It was just bad.

    After eating it, a subtle tingle of electricity coursed through her veins. The moment was ephemeral, like catching a glimpse of a shooting star in the night sky. It was a fleeting moment but it was still there. They were already on the open deck of the ship, and thus Ken chose to transform himself. He floated up as his body changed from a human to a long snake form and within seconds, the body of Ken continued to grow in size.

    At the beginning, the snake was only the height of a person, but soon it grew beyond the size of the ship. At first, the people around thought that the Devil fruit was some kind of normal-sized one, but as Ken continued to grow and fly around, they were horrified.

    Finally, by the end, Law and others got to see Ken in his full majesty. Law, who knew what kind of Devil fruit Kaido had eaten, couldn''t help but gasp seeing the majesty of the dragon that was shown in its full glory. A pink-scaled dragon, with 4 small feet, orange clouds swirling around them. The dragon had two long and thick horns that looked majestic and gave a devilish charm to Ken. The dragon had a long beard that seemed to be flying along with the crazy wind. The dragon roamed the clouds and growled. The heavens itself seemed to shake by the roars of the dragon.

    "This is way too cool."

    "This is so big.. I had never expected Ken to be so big. Luffy, can you become this big after you transform?"

    "I don''t know. I haven''t awakened as of yet."

    "You need to or else your brother will leave you behind."

    "Well he has always been powerful." Luffy said no minding at all and was happy that his brother got himself such a good devil fruit.

    "This is so beautiful."

    "Yes but the pink scales are a bit weird. Don''t you think so?" Sanji said.

    Ken was having the time of his life as he roamed the heavens and even tried out some of the moves of Kaido.

 295. Call the cavalry, but not for me

    Ken tried if he could use those moves of Kaido. Those huge sharp blades from his mouth and since he was flying it meant that he could already use the flam clouds. Seeing that the blades could be used, he had a smile on his face which came out as a loud roar.

    Law was dumbfounded as he couldn''t believe that one his alliance man had just mastered the fruit that Kaido had and from the looks of it, this guy could control the power quite efficiently. Ken slowly floated down but this time the transformation was the hybrid form of the fruit.

    The upper part of the face. was filled with pink colored dragon scales and horns from the forehead that went straight up. Just like Kaido. His arms and body were bulging and Ken could feel the extra raw strength coursing through the muscles. He felt more powerful than he had ever felt before.

    Out of habit, he took out the katana from his sheath and for a moment, Ken felt like he could cut through space if it was required. The strength he felt while swinging the sword was enormous, and even a casual swing would send air strike across.

    "This is cooooolll."

    "Ken.. You are so more powerful now. Hahahaha.."

    "Let''s have a banquet."

    Everyone was happy and wanted to have a good time while Law was speechless. Ken sat on the side and Law sat beside him.

    "You don''t have any side effects?" Law asked.

    "No. The fruit was made by Vegapunk himself and he considers this a failure because it wasn''t the same color as Kaido''s fruit. But in all other regards, it is a perfect copy. He is a genius." Ken said. Law agreed as he had heard a lot.

    "Kaido will be furious if he gets to know about it." Law said.

    "No he will be furious if I end up beating him using his own devil fruit. He thinks he is some kind of hotshot. Will be fun bursting his bubble." Ken said. Hearing the words, Law shuddered. He had heard a lot about Kaido and all the rumors pointed at one thing and that was he was beast.

    There was a saying if there was a one-on-one fight between Kaido and other guy, always bet on Kaido. But now somebody wanted to poke him and make a mockery. He felt like he shouldn''t have made that alliance but then he remembered what Ken and Luffy had done in the Paramount War.

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    This gave him solace but also a small rush of excitement.

    The ship sailed on and finally Law had the first talk with Doflamingo about Caesar and how he needed to resign from the Warlords position. Doflamingo immediately accepted as if he was expecting this. Law felt it weird but then Ken took the den den mushi.

    Of course, Luffy was going to snatch it from his brother only to be stopped by Ussop and Nami forcefully.

    "Yo, Mingo.. How have you been?"

    There was a complete silence but Ken could easily hear the teeth being gritted.

    "What do you want, Punisher?" Mingo asked, trying to be as cool as possible.

    "Tell the marines who have made a deal with you, tell them that even a single marine comes and interferes, then they can forget the new HQ they have built in the New World. I will destroy it. I know that you have already contacted the marines and you will make a false news about you leaving the Warlords, you can try doing that and the marine HQ will be done. This is a open line so I am sure that the Navy is listening so, you guys should just fuck off. And also Fujitora, don''t show up with your blind and hypocritic face in Dressrosa. Mingo, you better listen to my words, or I will show you why you should fear us more than Kaido."

    With that he disconnected the line. Doflamingo, who heard the kacha sound cut the den den mushi in half. He was furious beyond words now. He didn''t expect that his meticulous plan just went into flames. He wanted to go and beat the Straw Hats and make them pay but he had no idea where they were.

    His anger lashed out as the room split in many fine pieces. He was already back in Dressrosa so his crew mates came running in. They were already sad with the demise of Monet, but now they saw their captain being super angry.

    "Doffy.. Behahahah.. What made you so angry?"

    "Is is the Straw Hats again? The marines are with us and we will ambush them and make them suffer for what they did to Monet."

    "We will be fine Doffy. Ah thinking of help, Baby 5 can you lend me 5000 bellies?"

    "Huh.. You.. Want my help?"

    Doflamingo didn''t answer and was just fuming when another call came.

    "Moshi Moshi."

    "Hello, Doflamingo, the marines have decided that we will not interfere in the whole incident, you are on your own."

    Kacha

    Everyone had heard the call and this time all the noise they had been making around stopped. There was silence.

    "What does he mean by that?"

    "Why are the marines backing out. They promised us to help."

    "They are traitors. I have always said never to trust the marines."

    "Doffy.. What should we do?"

    Everyone was chirping and asking which made Doflamingo more mad. He proceeded to flip out the table in anger which made everyone silent again. They looked at him and just awaited his response.

    "GET OUT!"

    The crew mates stiffened and then one after another moved out. Even Diamente and Sugar moved out, because they knew talking with him at this point would be detrimental. Maybe the previous call, was something that had pissed Doffy more and the next call more so. They were curious but they needed to be patient.

    "You want a war Straw Hats.. Fine.. I will give you a war." He picked up another den den mushi and dialed. Since there was no way out, he needed to call the cavalry. He was not going to lose just because of this. He had worked hard to build the empire he had.

 296. Ah shit, here we go again

    There was a different kind of scene on the Merry. Ken''s words gave Law a scare, as he hadn''t expected the Navy to align with Doflamingo. However, Ken''s assurance brought hope.

    "By Fujitora... Admiral Fujitora?" Law asked.

    "Of course. Who else would be the blind swordsman?" Ken replied. Law shuddered at the thought of their small movement being noticed by an admiral. "You don''t need to worry. I''ve just fought against Kong. They''ll be more cautious if they want to deal with us."

    "Kong? Was he the one you were fighting?" Luffy asked, having sensed Ken''s battle against someone. Luffy, true to his nature, had full faith in Ken and didn''t press for details.

    Having a Vice Captain like him was a boon. Meanwhile, Law''s eyes widened. He knew who Kong was and couldn''t imagine someone from their generation fighting the Commander-in-chief and the previous Fleet Admiral on equal footing.

    "A swordsman... I want to meet him since he''s an Admiral," Zoro said.

    "He uses his Devil fruit more than he uses his sword," Ken replied, disappointing Zoro a bit, although he understood given his own reliance on Devil fruit powers.

    "The Navy might still come, since they are shameless," Nami remarked.

    "Let them come. We can handle them," Usopp said, his knees shaking a bit.

    "We can handle them. Just be careful of Sugar. She''s the ultimate weapon of Doflamingo. Don''t take anything from her," Ken advised.

    "How is she a weapon?" Sanji asked as he served Luffy food.

    "You''ll know soon," Ken replied. Although they were curious, they didn''t pressure him further. After eating and talking for a bit, Ken stood on the deck of the ship, breathing in the rushing air.

    Zoro suddenly asked, "Ken, you''ve told me that your abilities come from a Devil fruit. How can you eat another Devil fruit after already having one?"

    Ken, who was expecting this question, stopped enjoying the swift wind, turned around, and replied, "My previous Devil fruit allows me to have multiple personalities and thus have multiple Devil fruits too."

    "What?"

    "Sugeee."

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    "Your Devil fruit is off the charts, Ken."

    "So you can eat more Devil fruits?" Usopp asked.

    "Technically, yes. But I won''t eat another one, as I don''t go for shitty Devil fruits," Ken replied.

    "Oye oye... That''s too much ego speaking."

    Of course whatever Ken said was false and he could only eat one Devil fruit.

    Ken didn''t mind, while Law listened to them. Though he always felt like Ken had some kind of Devil fruit but hearing that he has a devil fruit that has multiple personalities was mind blowing for him. Now for Law everything made sense.

    His swordsmanship which he had never showed before. It must be his other personality. What more secrets was this guy hiding?

    The ship sailed for a few more days before the Log Pose pointed downward, which meant they had reached the place and they would just need to go down.

    "Well everyone, we have reached our next destination. Our main action here is to destroy the Smile factories and run wild," Luffy said as he got up on the main head of Merry.

    "We will need a disguise here if we want to have fun since they know us." Ken urged. In response, Ussop came and gave each of them moustaches and beard. Everyone looked a bit different once they got the additions on their faces.

    Meanwhile, Kinemon spoke of how they had to run away from Doflamingo and how one of their own men was in Dressrosa and they needed to get him. Ken had a smirk when he heard that. He of course knew of the traitor. It was only because of him, that he hadn''t exposed this so called son and father duo.

    Unlike the actual story, everyone had decided to explore the island while Ken urged them not to eat any kind of candy given to them by a kid. Their life would be forfeit if it happened as Sugar would turn them into toys.

    "Toys?"

    "Yes, here many people were made into toys and the people who were toys at the beginning, their memories would be erased from the minds of others." Ken said.

    "What?"

    "That is cruel. Deleting memories." Sanji said as he took a puff of smoke.

    "People turning into toys. That is a new kind of Devil fruit." Brook said.

    "So be careful and other than that, find the location of the Smile factory." Ken said with a smile while urging Momonosuke to be at the ship and have fun playing VR games to make his swordsmanship better. This made Momonosuke happy and agreed to be there.

    After getting ready, the teams got divided. Luffy would go with Franky. Ken with Law, Zoro with Nami, Sanji and Robin would go together while Vivi and Kinemon would form another band. Ussop, Brook and Chopper would form the trio.

    Everyone had one aim in mind and that was to find the hidden factory. Ken knew the general direction of the factory but the crew also needed to unwind and have the log pose settle down so he would take down the whole factory slowly.

    In addition to the factory, there was a problem with the Tontattas so that needed to be taken care of too. Ken opened the Bifrost and let them land away from the city and in a forest where no one could see the Bifrost falling down.

    As soon as they landed on the island, Ken could hear the voices. He subconsciously listened to the words being told by people and was easily able to single out Mingo''s words. At first he wasn''t paying much attention as he was speaking of the Coliseum.

    There was no Flame Fruit this time so the whole Coliseum wasn''t much of a story here, but once he heard what Doflamingo said he stiffened. He didn''t expect that instead of Flame fruit they got their hands on another one.

    Another more dangerous one.

    "Shit." Ken cursed.

 297. I dont know her

    Ken didn''t speak out about what he had just found and just had a crease in his eyebrows. Everyone who had Haki here could actually feel some fairly strong people on the island, which puzzled them because this island wasn''t supposed to have many, as Law had told them of the crew of Doflamingo.

    "What is going on?"

    "I feel like more strong people are coming in," Sanji said.

    "That''s rare. I wonder if there are any good swordsmen?" Zoro said.

    "Yohohoho.. Maybe they are coming to get frozen into a skeleton," Brook said.

    "You already are one," Chopper said. While everyone talked, they looked at Ken, as they expected him to say something, especially Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and Vivi, as he would always give them perks. But Ken was surprisingly very quiet as everyone got ready.

    Luffy and Franky, being the crazy ones they were, already made a run. Of course, Law shouted at them and told them to stop running around before Ken said.

    "The philosophy of Straw Hats is ''make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, improvise.'' The faster you accept that, the better mood you will be in," Ken said. This made Law shudder in both pain and frustration. One of the most powerful rookies seemed to be just children, who had their own tantrums.

    Soon, everyone went in their direction while Ken and Law went in search of the smile factory. It shouldn''t take much time as Ken already knew the general direction of the factory. So he and Law slowly walked towards that and talked like two normal men.

    "When we first met, you knew I was a D. How do you know that?" Law asked in his normal Levi-like tone.

    "You have already seen a bit of my abilities. One of those abilities includes looking into the past and the future, so in that way, I know of Corazon and your relationship," Ken said. Hearing the name of Corazon, Law trembled a bit but didn''t say a word.

    They walked around and saw the island of Dressrosa for the first time. The beautiful women, the loving and charismatic men, and of course, the toys. It was a very weird relationship looking around, and Ken could feel the charm of love in the air.

    One could come here and drown themselves in love, going after a beautiful woman and just settle for their lives. But the island was a prime example that when something looks perfect, then mostly it''s too good to be true.

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    This country was wrought with so deep problems that even Ken, who had seen a fair share of rotten places in the world, couldn''t begin to explain. Maybe the previous country of Sorbet could triumph that. Ken and Law moved around and saw many people living their happy lives.

    Ken and Law then proceeded to sit at a cafe and just enjoy the beauty of this place before it came crumbling down.

    "Since you know the future, do you think we will win this war against Kaido?" Law asked.

    "Kaido is not my main concern or even Luffy''s concern. He sees it as a bump on the road to the Pirate King," Ken said while sipping his tea. Law almost blurted out the tea but stopped at the end. he couldn''t believe that the guy who he feared the most didn''t mean much in the eyes of his alliance member.

    "If you are so sure about Kaido, why are you even in the alliance?" Law asked.

    "Wano as a whole is important to all of us. Including you, since you are a D. And in addition, I want you in our crew." Ken said.

    "I am not joining the straw hats." Law said and Ken just smirked at it. While they were sipping tea there was a sudden commotion in the square across the cafe. From the commotion Ken could hear what was going on.

    Someone had come and started some tap dancing. This made the people around go wild because the woman was way too beautiful and she belonged the Doflamingo family. Ken just sighed when he heard the whole commotion because he knew who was dancing.

    Violet.

    The woman with a tragic past and possibly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. She started dancing and honestly he could understand why Sanji fell for this woman so fast. She was a beauty by a mile. King Riku was really lucky to have two great daughters. Sadly one had died.

    Violet danced around and at one point her fingers made a circle, which made her see the thoughts of the men around and involuntarily towards Law and Ken.

    Seeing Law again she did a double take, but once she could see Ken and his inner thoughts, she almost felt a burnt in her throat.. She felt like she was looking into three different men. One covered in lightning roaming the cosmos, one filled with intense emotions of love and hatred mixed and the another filled with nothing but fire.

    Fire so hot that could burn the whole island to the ground. She didn''t expect that and had to cough as she immediately stopped dancing and fell on her knees. She wasn''t powerful enough to handle the fire and the personality of the last person she had seen in the mind of Ken. She knew who Ken was but wasn''t able to understand what was going.

    Three personalities in a single person? What was going on?

    Law could see something happened between her and Ken but didn''t know what. He couldn''t help but ask.

    "Who is she?"

    "You don''t know her? I though you knew everyone." Ken asked.

    "Why should I know her? Does she belong to the Doflamingo''s crew?" Law asked.

    "You knew Vergo and Monet but not her. Do you even hate the guy?" Ken asked as he expected Law to know her.

    "After whatever happened that day I got away from Doflamingo and he kept his crew very private. I knew about Monet only because of Vergo. I don''t even know what Sugar looks like and don''t know over the years who Joker has added. Only a few ones I know from when I was with him."

 298. Welcome to meet the Heavenly Yaksha

    "Well she is one of them." Ken said.

    "Then we should kidnap him and along with Caesar we can have more leverage against him." Law said.

    "She isn''t that important to Mingo.. And honestly I just want to kill Caesar at this point, he is inconsequential to our plans. We just need to take down Doflamingo and we will be fine." Ken said.

    "But what about Kaido?" Law asked.

    "Doflamingo has gone ahead and invited one of the three plagues of Kaido, Jack." Ken said.

    "What?"

    "Yes, Jack is currently on the way here." Ken replied.

    "But why? The Smile factory hasn''t been taken care of yet and why will Kaido just care about the smile factory when everything is running fine."

    "Because he has something which is almost priceless. In fact  many people from both of the Yonko groups are on their way here. I don''t know who are coming from Big Mom but I believe someone important is coming." Ken said.

    "But why? What is so priceless that two Yonko''s are interested and even ready to help Doflamingo." Law asked.

    "A devil fruit."

    "Devil fruit? What devil fruit?" Law asked.

    "The Tremor Tremor fruit." Ken replied. This made Law''s eyes wild and his brain almost have a breakdown when he heard that. The fruit that was supposed to be one of the most powerful in the whole world actually landed on the hands of Doflamingo.

    "Then.. Then I think even the Navy will be interested." Law said after much deep thought.

    "Oh yes. Fujitora is already here. This island will soon become a battleground that nobody had expected and people are going to die because someone turned too crazy and greedy." Ken replied while finishing the tea and standing back up. Violet was fine by this point and she had already vanished.

    Law was thinking deeply at this point. Everyone being here meant that all the negotiations were off the table and the little hope he had about using Caesar just evaporated. Here they needed to take down Doflamingo in front of his allies.

    "He can''t favor one party over the other since both the Yonko''s are involved." Law said as he soon understood the crust of the problem.

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    "He isn''t.. He just gave away fliers saying the Tremor Tremor fruit will be given to the Champion of the Coliseum." Ken said and this was reason he had cursed before. He had avoided the problem with the flame fruit but since Blackbeard didn''t get his prize, something else replaced it.

    World had a funny way to give him the same problem from a different perspective. But now two Yonkos got involved right here at Dressrosa. He wasn''t sure who would be representing Big Mom, hopefully not Katakuri, because Luffy hadn''t learnt future sight as of yet. For some reason he had made huge progress in Armament Haki but not Observation.

    Maybe Katakuri would be able to remedy the situation of Luffy like the original story. While Ken said that Law again got into thinking and finally understood the game plan of Doflamingo. He wanted to get allies and what better way to get allies other than distributing the fruit and making sure that anyone of them could get it and also get their support while at it. But Law also was a bit excited here. This chaos might give him a chance to extract revenge that he had been bottling up for such a long time.

    "The chaos will help us." Law said.

    "Not exactly, from what I am listening Luffy has just signed up as Lucy in the Coliseum for the fruit." Ken said.

    "What? That idiot!" Law cursed and huffed. He didn''t expect that the captain of the alliance would be that stupid.

    "Don''t worry. This Coliseum will help us make friends and allies. Allies that we will need in this small chaos." Ken said. Law just looked deeply into Ken and then nodded.

    While they walked to their way to the Smile factory and making sure they listen and look for clues, they were met with people that Ken didn''t expect. Baby 5 and Buffalo. They appeared out of nowhere.

    "Law .. Doflamingo wants to talk with you-dasun." Bufflao said or from his tone of words, it was an order. Though the order came out quite funny.

    "Who are you? I don''t know you." Law said without even flinching. He had a big moustache so he was pretty unrecognizable.

    "Law.. You think you can hide from us. Your sword is iconic and this guy here.. Punisher Kenny.. No matter how good his disguise is, he will be recognized everywhere." Baby 5 said.

    "Ah thank you I guess." Ken blushed a little.

    "Don''t admit it." Law was angry and shouted at Ken.

    "You just admitted to being Law after shouting at me." Ken pointed.

    "So it''s my fault now? Maybe you should have gotten a better disguise." Law said.

    "Yeah, then maybe not use the big ass sword and hide it better." Ken shouted back while getting into a verbal dispute at this point.

    "Uh.. Doffy.." Buffalo timidly said as he could see the verbal dispute going into full course. All he got in response was a loud ''Shut up'' from both Ken and Law. After the small dispute they both looked at the two and Law asked.

    "So what should we do with these two?" Law asked.

    "Getting rid of them will only cause more chaos." Ken replied.

    "But we can''t leave them here." Ken replied. In response, Baby 5 and Buffalo got into defensive mode with Baby 5 transforming her hands into guns while Buffalo his wrists into high rotating fans. Both Ken and Law didn''t care at all.

    "How dare you say such things Law? Have you forgotten about us?" Baby 5 shouted. In response, Law gave her a mean look which made Baby 5 instantly scared and go behind Buffalo in fear.

    "Baby 5, I can''t handle them alone." Buffalo being the coward he was said.

 299. New additions

    "You are in huge delulu if you think you can take us alone," Ken said.

    "What is delulu?" Buffalo was confused.

    "Nothing, just my cringy self speaking," Ken said.

    "What is cringy?" Baby 5 asked in a meek tone.

    "Nothing," Ken said, and in the next moment, they saw something that horrified both of them. A huge deep blue-colored hand materialized from the side of Ken and went forward to catch them. The hand was huge and looked like a skeleton; of course, this was Susano.

    "You think it will be that easy?" Baby 5 shouted and started shooting at the skeleton that was approaching. The gunshot sounds were loud and heard everywhere, but Baby 5 didn''t seem to care about the tranquility of the surroundings. Of course, the bullets didn''t do anything to Susano; it was just a mosquito in the eyes of Ken. Buffalo too created a small cyclone with rotating blades, but the approaching Susano was too fast for both of them, and at the end, they were easily caught by Susano''s skeletal hands.

    Baby 5 wasn''t ready to give up and turned her hands into long blades and started ''scratching'' at the hand, but it couldn''t even leave a mark. Law, by this time, was accustomed to the weird mood swings of Ken.

    "Let us go or else Doffy will fuck you up," Baby 5 shouted.

    "Yes.. yes-dasun," Buffalo chimed in.

    "Baby 5.. I need you to calm down," Ken said, and he slowly spoke the words to her. Baby 5, who was struggling by this point, stiffened when she heard that. Her ferocious demeanor vanished, and she had a blush on her face. Buffalo had a bad inkling out of it. He had always known what kind of girl she was.

    If anyone wanted something from her, they just needed to ask, and they would get it. For this reason, Doflamingo used to get rid of all the boyfriends in her life, given they wanted to use her, but in all sense, Doflamingo was using her too. So he was no different from the alleged boyfriends of Baby 5.

    Now the whole disease of hers was back, and Buffalo didn''t think it would go down in a good way.

    "You.. You.. need me?" Baby 5 asked while fully blushed, almost turning her head.

    "Yes.." Ken was gentle in his yes.

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    "I will calm down... I surrender," Baby 5 said.

    "Baby 5 no.." Buffalo shouted but was soon shut up by the thumb of the Susano. Law already knew how Baby 5 was, so he wasn''t that surprised by this kind of behavior, not he ever looked at him with a threat.

    "So what should we do? Go to Joker and talk?" Law asked.

    "That is the plan," Ken said. Buffalo couldn''t believe someone would do the same thing they just asked them to do, but before that taking them in.

    Then what was the whole point of them being captured? They could have just followed him from the beginning. What a bunch of assholes.

    <hr>

    Let''s rewind a couple of hours back. While Law and Ken were having fun being judgmental, Luffy and Franky were having the time of their lives. They went around while Franky took the whole responsibility of asking around. He had been asking around quite vaguely as Law had made them promise.

    While moving around, Luffy finally saw a huge electronic poster speaking about the Tremor Tremor fruit. This surprised Luffy a lot as he approached near to the Coliseum.

    "Luffy, we need to go.. We have other rocks to turn over," Franky said as Luffy just stood near the Coliseum.

    "Luffy.. Are you listening?" Franky asked again, and this time Luffy replied.

    "I want to fight in the Coliseum," Franky stiffened a bit and then asked.

    "What did you say?" Franky asked again.

    "I have decided.. I will fight in the Coliseum," Luffy said.

    "Luffy, we have to find the factory, and we don''t have much time," Franky said.

    "Ken and Law will be able to find it faster than us. His Observation Haki is better than mine, and maybe he has already found it," Luffy said.

    "That doesn''t give the free time to enter the Coliseum," Franky said.

    "This old man sacrificed his life for us in the Paramount War. I can''t let his devil fruit get away," Luffy said. Franky looked at Luffy and sighed. He knew that this was an order from Captain and not up for discussion.

    "Fine.. But you will have to promise that you won''t use your real name and disguise," Franky said.

    "Yes," Luffy said. And thus, he went ahead and put his name. He was ready to put his real name until Franky hit him on the head. And that was where Lucy was born.

    Lucy entered the Coliseum, and soon came across many people. Cavendish, Bartolomew, and other pirates, bounty hunters, and mercenaries.

    They all wanted one thing, and that was the super powerful devil fruit.

    Of course, except for Bartolomew, none of them knew him, and thus Lucy was kind of a klutz in the whole setting. But Luffy did have his fun, while Franky roamed around to search. But that was not the only thing that had happened; many others joined too.

    In addition to the known people, there were others too, most particularly two pirate groups: the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom pirates. They were actually here and not just some ranking members of the pirates.

    From Big Mom pirates - Charlotte Smoothie, Charlotte Perospero

    Beast Pirates - Jack, Sasaki.

    And, of course, along with them, some low-ranking officers also followed, and when they arrived inside the Coliseum, they had already established their presence. The whole ''changing room'' was boiling by their arrival. Normally, they would have clamored, but today they couldn''t because two strong pirates actually canceled each other''s pride and prestige.

    But, of course, there was always somebody to ruin it, and that was Jack.

 300. Two sides of the coin

    "These pests need to just fuck off from here." Jack said in a haughty and callous tone.

    The other people who were around clenched their fists and jaw when they heard the insult but nobody spoke up. They were incensed but knew that if one of them lashed out, a single person wouldn''t be able to take him down. Only in the Coliseum battle there was a chance.

    Luffy, of course, didn''t seem to care about this big guy''s words and walked past. He reached the place where the big statue of Kyros. The legendary warrior of the Coliseum. It was there Luffy met Rebecca who came forward and narrated who Kyros was.

    As expected Luffy was intrigued. As this was going on Bartolomew had already noticed Luffy and he was fan zoning hard as he couldn''t believe his eyes that he was seeing his idol. He almost passed out, and when someone spoke of Luffy, they didn''t badmouth him because he was kind of a legendary figure now.

    He had taken down two Admirals. That was a feat nobody had under their belt. Finally Luffy got allotted in a slot. Almost like the actual story, there were 5 arenas to be played in. Due to the fact that two Yonko pirates were involved, 4 of the main Yonko family were separated from each other.

    In one arena there was Charlotte Smoothie, one Charlotte Perospero, other was Jack, while the fourth one was Sasaki. Luffy was on the fifth one so he wasn''t going to face any of the four in the first stage itself. This was kind of fate but that didn''t mean that he was free.

    Luffy was the first to be called into the arena and he was already wearing his helmet to cover his face. Every arena would allow two champions in order to level the playing field so he walked out hearing the cheers of everyone present.

    As Luffy stepped into the bustling Coliseum, he was immediately faced with a formidable lineup of opponents. Among them were the powerful gladiators Don Chinjao, Cavendish and various other warriors eager to prove their strength. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as the spectators and participants alike prepared for a series of thrilling battles.

    Luffy''s first encounter within the arena was against the formidable Don Chinjao, a former pirate with a grudge against the Straw Hat captain. Chinjao, known for his devastating headbutt technique, was supposed to have a good fight.

    Don Chinjao recognized Luffy immediately who went after him because of his grudge against Garp but of course this Luffy wasn''t the actual Luffy and he took care of him with one shot in the head. The head of his became long and he lost his consciousness. Luffy didn''t even hear his whole set of words that Don wanted to say to him.

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    Luffy never cared about backstories.

    The chaos still went on and by now some of the people around were whispering about how Lucy was termed as Luffy. The Yonko pirates had already heard that and they had a feeling that what that old man was speaking was probably the truth.

    "So that brat is here.." Jack murmured.

    "He doesn''t look like much." Sasaki said as Luffy fought quite easily against others and took them down and his devil fruit didn''t seem to be good. But he also knew that Devil fruit wasn''t everything even though their beast pirates were trying their best to get the smile fruits.

    "Hmph! Joker has already spoken to us about him, we should take care of him right now." Sasaki said.

    "Let him win the arena and then we can talk." Jack said.

    In the midst of the chaos, Luffy''s path crossed with the enigmatic Cavendish, a charismatic yet deadly swordsman. Initially, Cavendish harbored animosity towards Luffy, viewing him as a rival for the spotlight. Luffy dodged his sword attacks and for someone like Cavendish for some reason, he wasn''t really putting all his efforts in the fight.

    But soon it got annoying, as Luffy seeing no other option made his hand filled with Armament Haki but before he could even pin him down someone from back appeared and hit him right in the head. This made Cavendish lose his consciousness and fall down. The one who attacked was Bartolomew.

    He was fuming in anger as he did that. How dare someone say ill of Luffy-senpai. Luffy was confused but didn''t say much and moved on. There were many who came forward to fight him. The one with the supreme punch or whatever that name was. A giant too.

    But soon everyone fell to their knees. It was too easy for Luffy as he didn''t bother to use ninjutsu for fear he would be recognized and just used Haki to get rid of people here. At the end only two people remained in the arena.

    Luffy and Bartolomew.

    "Oh boy.. Is this the famous Straw Hat Luffy?" Smoothie asked.

    "It seems like it." Perospero said.

    "Quite the guy. We need to kill him in this arena itself." Smoothie said.

    "That we can." Perospero said.

    Bartolomew followed Luffy outside the arena and the fight was too fast for any damage to happen at the arena.

    "Luffy-senpai can you give me your autograph?" Bartolomew said as he came out of the arena following him.

    "Huh.. Why?" Luffy wasn''t able to understand. But as they moved to the waiting room, they suddenly heard a commotion. There were screams and cries. Before anyone could even understand what was going on someone appeared near Luffy appeared and swing his sword at him. It was too fast for anyone to see but for Luffy this appeared in very slow motion.

    "Eh.. Cabbage." Luffy thought as he seemed to remember the guy. He then proceeded to dodge the guy with ease. It was Cavendish. Since he lost consciousness, he seemed to have switched himself to a new personality. And this new personality was out for revenge. Luffy was on that list.

 301. Block fights

    Hakuba. That was the name for the personality that Cavendish had when he was asleep. Normally people wouldn''t be able to see him because he was too fast and even those with haki would have a hard time keeping up. But Luffy was no ordinary man.

    Cavenidish proceeded to sting him with the sword only to be dodged continuously. Cavendish was laughing like crazy but with every dodged attack his laugh became more menacing. The people around looked horrified as they couldn''t see someone.

    Cavendish''s attacks were not without consequence. His attacks caused a commotion and anyone who tried to be near him or understand what was going on was slashed by Cavendish.

    "Oh.. Is that guy sleepwalking?" Smoothie said as she looked at everything from far and didn''t care if anyone was hurt. She was looking at a circus and these were the clowns. But she could see that Cavendish wasn''t actually awake.

    "There was a rumor that he has another personality. Never thought it was the truth." Perospero said.

    "Straw hat has progressed more than I thought. Hmm Perospero .. You need to be wary of him. Mama will be very angry if we fuck this up."

    "Sister.. You don''t need to tell me twice. I know he is dangerous." Perospero said.

    Jack and Sasaki just looked at Luffy and didn''t say a thing. They weren''t interested at all as Cavendish''s attack wouldn''t mean anything as both of their skin was too tight to even be hurt by the attacks of this nightmarish looking person.

    Luffy meanwhile got annoyed by the constant attack of this person and saw that people around were being hurt.

    "Gum Gum no : Jet Pistol."

    With one shot right at the face of Cavendish laced with haki threw him back and hit multiple walls before stopping. There was a depression in his face, nose broken and bleeding. Even hakuba who was known for being the dangerous guy disappeared with one single hit.

    "What the hell is going on?"

    "What just happened?"

    "That Cavnedish guy has another personality? No wonder he is called the reaper of Sickle Weasel of Rommel. He is way too dangerous."

    "But this Lucy is something, with one hit he took down."

    "But it doesn''t matter. The Beasts pirates and the Big Mom pirates would take care of him. His win doesn''t mean anything."

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    "But what if they took down each other. Then we can take the fruit."

    "You read my mind my friend."

    There were hush gossips, and soon the people of the Coliseum came to take away Cavendish and throw him away to the dungeons under. Luffy didn''t care and was just having fun and he was more happy to see the food. But the commotion was full on since someone attacked the waiting room, thus the two Yonlo''s pirate group wee very angry with the treatment since it wasn''t in the memo.

    The two pirate group just wanted to cause ruckus and this was a perfect time. While they shouted and were on the verge of having a fight among each other, there was an announcement.

    "The people of Block C are kindly asked to come and fight in the Coliseum ."

    This announcement made the agitated people calm down. In this group there was Perospero so he was quite eager. Luffy didn''t care much and just continued moving around. Rebecca was not in the group so she accompanied Luffy.

    Bartolomew was following him like a puppy.

    The arena fight soon started. Drawn by the allure of chaos and the opportunity to further the goals of his infamous mother, Perospero stepped onto the sandy floor of the Coliseum.

    His appearance sent murmurs through the crowd as participants and spectators alike recognized the distinctive figure known for his candy-themed powers. The announcer''s voice boomed, introducing the unexpected entrant to the audience, and the Coliseum''s attention shifted toward this unexpected turn of events.

    "Is that a minister from the Big Mom pirates? What are they doing here?"

    "Of course they will come. The devil fruit is too precious to be left behind."

    "Then why are the Whitebeard Pirates not here. It is more important to them."

    "Who knows."

    Perospero, with his unique abilities to create and manipulate candy, assessed the situation with a calculating gaze. His candy-based powers could be used in various creative and formidable ways, turning the arena into a sweet yet dangerous battlefield. The Coliseum''s atmosphere crackled with tension as gladiators eyed the newcomer, unsure of what to make of this unexpected turn of events.

    In the midst of ongoing battles, Perospero''s first opponent emerged. A skilled swordsman with a reputation for swift strikes and agile movements stepped forward, ready to face the candy-wielding adversary. Perospero, however, proved to be more than meets the eye. With a flick of his hand, he conjured intricate strands of candy that danced through the air, forming both defensive barriers and deceptive traps.

    The clash between the sword-wielder and Perospero unfolded as a spectacle of colorful confectionery warfare. Candy arrows shot through the air, and sugar-coated barriers deflected sword strikes. Perospero''s mastery over his Devil Fruit abilities became evident as he skillfully maneuvered through the battlefield, turning the sandy ground into a sticky labyrinth.

    As the battle continued, other gladiators eyed Perospero as a potential ally or a threat. Some sought to align with him, recognizing the strategic advantage his powers could provide, while others saw him as a formidable adversary to be taken down. The Coliseum, already a cauldron of chaos, became even more unpredictable with the inclusion of Charlotte Perospero in the mix.

    But he wasn''t alone, and at the end nobody was able to stand up to him. Blue Gilly was the other guy. But Persopero wasn''t happy as this guy took down some of his own subordinates in the arena fight. If it was not for the rules he would have gone for him.

    "You are lucky that the rules are saving now. You will die by my hand later." Persopero said.

    "You are welcome to try." Blue Gilly replied, not getting scared at all.

 302. Trials of Arena

    The Colosseum stood as an ancient testament to battles long past, its towering walls casting shadows across the sun-drenched arena floor. The crowd, a sea of eager faces, awaited the spectacle that was about to unfold.

    First to enter the arena was Jack, the Drought, his massive frame casting a shadow over the sandy battleground. Opposite him stood a colossal giant, muscles bulging like hills. The tension in the air was palpable as the announcer''s voice boomed through the arena, introducing the combatants.

    "Let the clash of titans begin!" the announcer declared, signaling the start of Jack''s Block arena fight.

    Jack''s opponent, the giant, hefted a gargantuan club, its weight causing the ground to tremble beneath each step. Jack grinned, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Time to test the strength of these ancient stones!" he bellowed, charging forward with a thunderous roar.

    The Colosseum trembled as mammoth met giant in a clash that shook the very foundations. Spectators marveled at the raw power displayed, the air charged with the energy of their collision. Jack''s laughter echoed through the arena as he showcased his overwhelming might, ultimately emerging victorious amidst the cheers of the crowd.

    As Jack exited the arena, Sasaki, the armored cyborg with swords at the ready, stepped in to take his place. His opponent, a swift martial artist known for his precision, eyed him with a confident smirk.

    Sasaki''s voice echoed through the Colosseum. "Your speed won''t save you from the precision of my blades," he declared, taking a stance.

    The martial artist grinned. "Let''s see if your metal can withstand the dance of a thousand strikes!"

    Blades clashed in a mesmerizing display of skill and technique. The Colosseum became a battlefield of finesse, each movement calculated and precise. Sasaki, with his cybernetic enhancements, proved a formidable adversary. The martial artist, however, danced around his attacks, exploiting any opening with lightning-fast strikes.

    In the end, Sasaki''s mastery prevailed, and the Colosseum erupted in applause as the cyborg acknowledged the defeated martial artist with a nod.

    Finally, it was Charlotte Smoothie''s turn to enter the arena. Her opponent, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit user capable of transforming into smoke, evaded her grasp with elusive swiftness.

    "You can''t escape my grasp," Smoothie declared, her voice carrying an air of regal confidence.

    The smoke-controlling foe chuckled. "You might find catching smoke to be more elusive than you think, my dear."

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    The Colosseum transformed into a surreal battleground as Smoothie manipulated the liquid within her adversary. The air shimmered with the otherworldly clash of powers, and Smoothie''s composed demeanor concealed the intensity of her focus.

    The battle reached its climax as Smoothie''s control over liquid proved too much for the smoke-controlling foe. She emerged victorious, her elegance contrasting with the chaotic remnants of the surreal battlefield.

    As Smoothie exited the arena, the Colosseum, now bathed in the warm hues of twilight, held the echoes of three distinct battles. Luffy had been watching all of this from the balcony while Rebecca was nearby almost in tears. She was in the fight against Sasaki but she couldn''t make it at all. She tried her best but she couldn''t.

    It was Luffy before who had showed her kindness and involuntarily spoke of what she wanted to do and return the favor. Of course, Luffy didn''t much care about her problems but he was thankful that Rebecca had fed him. But at the moment he only had one goal and that was getting the devil fruit.

    And unlike the original story Sabo hadn''t showed up for this Colisuem, though there were some Revolutionary members and even Koala had come, but Sabo wasn''t following him. So this whole operation of the Revolutionary Army was just led by Koala alone.

    And she knowing that the Yonko''s were involved didn''t send her subordinates to the whole event and hoped that it didn''t fall in the wrong hands. There were already whispers around that the Straw Hats had run havoc and she had even seen the whole island of Punk Hazard getting destroyed so she hoped that Dressrosa too had their presence.

    "Now for the grand event, that you all have been waiting for. "Ladies and gentlemen, warriors and spectators alike, brace yourselves for an unprecedented spectacle!" The announcer''s words cut through the expectant hush, drawing all eyes to the center of the Colosseum.

    "In a once-in-a-lifetime event, we bring together a gathering of formidable contestants, each vying for the ultimate prize: the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!" The crowd erupted in cheers at the mention of the mythical Devil Fruit, its powers whispered about in hushed tones across the seas.

    "Presenting first, the indomitable Lucy who has been a dark horse and won the arena in the fastest way possible with his feet movements out of the world. The impassable fortress himself, Bartolomeo the Cannibal! The one nobody can go beyond. The fearsome Sasaki, the cyborg swordsman with an arsenal of blades ready to carve his legacy into the pages of history! Behold the Mammoth! Jack, the Drought, ready to unleash the might of his overwhelming strength upon this sacred battleground! The elegant and deadly Charlotte Smoothie, Sweet Commander of the Big Mom Pirates, graces us with her presence, her powers over liquids poised to reshape the very nature of this competition. Lastly, the wily Minister of Candy, Charlotte Perospero, enters the fray, armed with cunning intellect and the potential to outsmart even the most formidable adversaries."

    Luffy didn''t much care about the announcement, nor did he care. The treasure box was kept on the top of a long pole that was in an incredible height.

    "God-senpai.. I mean.. Luffy-senpai.. If you want the Devil fruit, I will do my best to get it to you." Bartolomeo said. By this time Luffy and Bartolomeo had gotten close to each other and Luffy could see the goodness in him easily. Or at least his dedication to him.

    "Really? Chicken head? You will do that for me."

    "Yes.. I can die.. I mean I can get the devil fruit for you. My devil fruit ability can allow me make stairs." Bartolomeo said.

 303. This is just a clone

    The crowd erupted into applause, the anticipation reaching a fever pitch. The announcer''s voice resonated through the Colosseum, "These warriors will compete for the Tremor-Tremor Fruit in a battle that will be etched into the annals of history! Brace yourselves for a clash of titans, and a competition that will leave an indelible mark on the very stones of this ancient battleground!"

    Luffy with his golden colored helmet and moustache walked out followed by Bartolomeo. They didn''t recieve much applause because nobody had any kind of faith on them. Especially against such big names.

    But Luffy didn''t seem to care and Bartomoleo was livid because these people didn''t seem to recognize the greatness of the man walking in front of him and he had started cursing on them. And thus the audiences got more angry and started shouting at them. After this it was time for the others to come out.

    All the 4 contestants, including their minions who passed because their own blocks walked out. The 4 of them didn''t actually think their main opponent was the other but rather this Lucy. They weren''t fools like the others to think that Luffy was some nobody. He had taken down Admirals so he must be taken seriously.

    The air crackled with anticipation as Jack, Charlotte Perospero, Charlotte Smoothie, and Sasaki took their positions, their eyes fixed on this enigmatic adversary.

    "I will take down this Straw Hat, nobody comes in between. He has destroyed the smile factory and kidnapped Caesar. That is unforgivable." Jack roared.

    "You are welcome to make the first move." Smoothie said. Without listening to other people Jack jumped into the arena. At the beginning Bartolomeo wanted to come forward but then Luffy said.

    "Chicken head, stay out of it. You try to get to the fruit and I will stop them."

    "Luffy-senpai.. Even if I die I will get that fruit for you." Bartolomeo replied.

    Jack''s mammoth-like figure loomed over the sandy arena, his eyes fixed on Lucy. The Drought, known for his overwhelming strength and tenacity, cracked his knuckles, a wide grin spreading across his face. "You''ve got quite the reputation, Lucy. Let''s see if you can handle the raw power of a mammoth!" he bellowed, his voice resonating through the ancient Colosseum.

    The moment of confrontation hung in the air, and then, like a force of nature, Jack charged forward with ground-shaking steps. His massive fists swung like wrecking balls, aiming to crush anything in their path. Luffy moved with a grace that defied the mammoth''s onslaught, seamlessly dodging and weaving through the thunderous attacks.

    The arena became a battleground of contrastsˇŞJack''s overwhelming strength clashed against Luffy''s evasive maneuvers. The mammoth''s roars echoed, shaking the very foundations of the Colosseum, while Luffy''s movements were a dance of calculated precision.

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    Jack''s mammoth tusk, fashioned into a colossal club, swung with unstoppable force. Luffy, however, flowed around the attacks, utilizing the agility inherited from Jin Mori. He exploited openings in Jack''s onslaught, delivering rapid strikes that aimed to wear down the colossal adversary.

    The clash intensified, each collision of fists and strikes resonating through the arena. Jack''s raw power seemed to test the limits of Luffy''s agility and martial finesse. The crowd, caught in the throes of the spectacle, alternated between gasps and cheers.

    As the battle reached its climax, Jack, undeterred by Luffy''s nimbleness, unleashed a devastating ground-shaking stomp, aiming to catch the agile opponent off guard. Luffy, drawing from the wisdom of Hiruzen Sarutobi, swiftly maneuvered out of harm''s way, leaving Jack''s attack to shatter the ground.

    But all this time Luffy was only using his nimbleness and his Observation Haki to avoid Jack''s attack. And by that point Jack had gotten irritated and he transformed into a huge mammoth. He had eaten the ancient Zoan fruit Zou Zou no mi- Model Mammoth and thus his transformed size was huge.

    "Suggeeeee na.. Is that a Zoan?" Luffy was surprised.

    "Yes. Luffy-senpai.. It''s an ancient Zoan fruit." Bartolomeo commented.

    Luffy knew that he would have to hit back at this person and thus he went into Gear 2 in the next instant.

    "Shadow clone jutsu." Luffy shouted and 5 of Luffy appeared the next moment. Luffy and his clone not only attacked Jack, but his other clones went to fight against the other people in the arena.

    "Is that the so called ninja techniques?" Smoothie got irriated when she saw clones of Luffy coming at her to fight.

    "Who cares.. It seems we will have fun.. Heheheh" Persopero laughed and he too joined the fight. One clone of Luffy approached Persopero. Luffy wasted no time, shooting forward like a rubber bullet, his body stretching and contorting as he closed the distance between himself and Perospero. The candy-themed pirate, not one to be caught off guard, conjured a spiraling lollipop in his hand, ready for the impending clash.

    The first exchange was a whirlwind of motion. Luffy''s fists flew like pistons, each strike carrying the weight of his boundless determination. Perospero, agile and composed, skillfully parried and dodged, his lollipop weapon deflecting Luffy''s attacks with surprising ease. The crowd erupted in cheers as the two clashed in a dazzling display of skill and strength.

    The battle escalated as both fighters unleashed their signature moves. Luffy, with a powerful surge of Haki, imbued his fists with a fiery red glow, intensifying the impact of each punch. Perospero, in response, created illusions of candy monsters that lunged at Luffy from all angles, testing the pirate captain''s focus and reflexes.

    The most amazing part was that the one fighting Persopero was just a shadow clone. One needed to have huge amounts of chakra to even pull this off and all of this Luffy was able to do effortlessly.

    And Persopero wasn''t the only one who Luffy was facing in the arena. Smoothie and Sasaski while his main body was fighting Jack who had turned himself a huge mammoth. In order to fight fair and square, Luffy had brought out his staff too since he was fighting everyone. Meanwhile Bartolomeo was actively trying to get to the Devil fruit chest but was actively stopped by the minion soldiers of the two Yonko Pirates. And in addition to that the 4 strong people were also trying to stop Bartolomeo from reaching the chest.

 304. Cheer for Lucy

    The announcer was having a very hard time expressing and screaming what was going on the in the arena. It was madness. He was seeing multiple Lucy fighting multiple of them and that too Lucy giving each of them a hard fight. And for some reason Lucy was actually coming on top.

    Luffy, always one to charge headlong into battle, grinned and lunged forward. Smoothie, with an air of calm confidence, raised her sword, a blade with the ability to extract the very essence from her opponents.

    The clash began with a burst of speed as Luffy closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. His fist, enveloped in Haki, surged towards Smoothie with the force of a cannonball. Smoothie, unfazed, smoothly sidestepped, her sword cutting through the air with a liquid grace.

    The arena echoed with the sound of steel meeting rubber as the two fighters engaged in a high-speed dance. Luffy''s movements were unpredictable, his body contorting and stretching to evade Smoothie''s precision strikes. In turn, Smoothie gracefully dodged and parried, her sword leaving trails of juice in its wake.

    As the battle intensified, Smoothie decided to unveil the true extent of her powers. With a swift motion, she swung her sword through the air, creating a vacuum that sucked the moisture out of everything around her. The very arena seemed to wither under the effects of her ability.

    Luffy seeing this as a major concern shouted.

    "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)"

    It sent a long straight fire at Smoothie and as she involuntarily sucked in the fire too but this time fire getting sucked proved very bad for her as she didn''t expect that and felt a very bad burning sensation that passed through her body. It had to be remembered that this fire was actually based on chakra and what she did was consume chakra inside.

    Her body wasn''t altered by the system like Luffy and thus felt more pain as her body had never taken anything like this before. She screamed in pain as she did so. Luffy didn''t know all this as he had never faced this situation before so he too was surprised that this would ever happen.

    On the other side of the arena, another clone of Luffy was fighting Sasaki.

    Sasaki, wielding a massive sword that matched his imposing stature, charged forward with the thundering weight of a charging beast.

    The battle ignited with a clash of steel and Haki-infused fists. Luffy, his movements agile and unpredictable, dodged Sasaki''s sweeping strikes with a dancer''s grace. Sasaki, undeterred by Luffy''s acrobatics, swung his massive sword with a force that sent shockwaves through the arena.

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    Luffy, sensing the sheer power behind Sasaki''s attacks, decided to up the ante. With a burst of energy, he activated Gear Second, his body enveloped in steam as he propelled himself toward Sasaki like a rubber bullet. The clash of strength and speed unfolded as Luffy unleashed a barrage of rapid punches, each strike infused with the fiery intensity of Gear Second.

    Sasaki, showcasing the resilience of a prehistoric beast, weathered Luffy''s assault. The triceratops-themed swordsman retaliated with a powerful swipe of his sword, creating shockwaves that reverberated through the arena. The crowd gasped as Luffy skillfully evaded the razor-sharp blade, narrowly avoiding a devastating blow.

    As the battle raged on, Sasaki decided to unleash the full extent of his Zoan-type Devil Fruit powers. With a mighty roar, he underwent a transformation, his massive form shifting into that of a towering triceratops. The arena shook as Sasaki, now a living juggernaut, charged at Luffy with the unstoppable force of prehistoric fury.

    Undeterred, Luffy activated Gear Third, his body expanding to giant proportions. The clash between the rubber pirate and the armored triceratops became a spectacle of raw power. Tremors echoed through the arena as Luffy and Sasaki exchanged blows that would shatter stone.

    In a final, explosive moment, Luffy gathered his strength for a finishing moveˇŞGomu Gomu no Kong Gatling. His fists, enlarged and empowered, rained down on Sasaki with a barrage of relentless punches. But before Luffy could deliver the final punch, his shadow clone simply vanished. And this wasn''t the case only for Sasaki, but also for the ones fighting the others. Before all the fights could finish, they vanished in a puff of smoke and the main body Luffy who was fighting with staff against Jack.

    Jack hurled his huge trunk at Luffy and he was thrown back, almost falling off the edge of the arena into the bull shark infested water. The vanishing of all of his shadow clones hit Luffy hard as the shadow clones also take damage and get into the main body after vanishing. Naruto was just a pervert of not being damaged too much when he used it.

    Luffy getting himself together, slowly stood up. He was huffing a bit as he stood up.

    "Your clones.. You take their damage too once they vanish away. Doesn''t it Straw hat Luffy."

    Luffy, who just got up looked at Jack and said.

    "Still have the energy to take all of you down together. Hehehehe." Luffy gave his iconic and brave smile as he said. The other people listening to him had their eyes wide open as he said that. They felt humiliated. Meanwhile the announcer screamed through the mic and said.

    "The clones of Lucy had just vanished and now Lucy is all alone fighting Jack and Sasaki of the Beasts Pirates and Madam Smoothie and Perospero of the Big Mom Pirates. Ladies and gentlemen, we have never witnessed anything like this in the history of the arena ever before. 4 big shots of Yonko pirate group are facing a single man and he took them all alone and fighting toe to toe. This is unprecedented."

    The announcement buzzed through the audience as they themselves were dumbstruck by what was happening. They thought that Lucy would be taken down quite fast and easily but it seemed the Yonko Pirates were ganging up on him. They couldn''t understand why at the beginning but now they did.

    The audience erupted with cheer as they cheered Luffy. Of course with the name of Lucy.

 305. Hancock has rubbed off on me

    The grand arena''s atmosphere was charged with anticipation as the audience eagerly awaited the next move in the epic battle between Monkey D. Luffy and an imposing adversary.

    "So Monkey D. Luffy.. I guess you are all big talks and no actions." Sasaki taunted Luffy but he hadn''t let go of his zoan form.

    "Straw Hat, you should just leave. You are not in the right place." Smoothie said.

    "Scums of Big Mom, you should just fuck off from here. We are taking this bastard back to Kaido. He ruined our plans and kidnapped Caesar. No way we will let him go this easily."

    "Then let us go for the fruit since you want him so bad." Perospero said with his iconic tongue out.

    "That is not up to you to decide." Jack growled out lout for them to be a bit intimidated. They were ready to argue when Luffy who had got his bearings down looked at them with calmness. He didn''t have a laugh on his face nor anger. His aim was always to get the fruit and it didn''t matter who came in the way or who insulted him.

    Luffy, with his straw hat tilted back and a determined gleam in his eyes looked at them. In an instant, the arena fell into stunned silence as Luffy''s body underwent a remarkable transformation. His muscles expanded, and his form took on a new, more serpentine appearance. The air around him shimmered with an otherworldly aura as he entered Gear Fourth: Snakeman.

    "Alright, let''s make this interesting!" Luffy said while grinning.

    The other four who were busy fighting among themselves looked at Luffy who had just undergone a very weird transformation. They didn''t know what kind of transformation.

    The quartet of opponents exchanged glances, recognizing there might be some threat posed by Luffy''s enhanced form. Jack, the Mammoth, took a step forward, with Shotei blades, while Sasaki prepared to unleash his triceratops might.

    "You think that form will save you, Straw Hat?"

    "Let''s find out!"

    Luffy launched himself forward with incredible speed, Snakeman''s serpentine movements allowing him to evade Jack''s initial swing effortlessly.

    "Gomu Gomu no Snake Jab!"

    His fist shot forward like a striking serpent, catching Jack off guard and forcing the Mammoth to stagger back. Meanwhile, Sasaki charged in, his triceratops form looming over the battlefield.

    "You''re not the only one with tricks!"

    Sasaki swung his massive sword, creating shockwaves that rippled through the arena. Luffy, ever agile, danced between the attacks, his movements resembling that of a slippery snake.

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    Perospero, the candy-themed strategist, conjured sweet illusions in an attempt to disorient Luffy. However, the Snakeman effortlessly avoided the illusions, his eyes focused and determined.

    "You won''t escape my illusions so easily!"

    "Gomu Gomu no Python Strike!"

    Luffy''s elongated limbs struck with precision, dismantling the candy illusions and landing blows on Perospero. Smoothie, observing the chaos, decided it was time to take control.

    "Let''s see if you can escape the grasp of my blade!" Smoothie said.

    Smoothie swung her sword, its edge gleaming with a deadly aura. Luffy, undeterred, utilized Snakeman''s flexibility to evade the lethal strikes, contorting his body like a serpent in motion.

    The grand arena became a chaotic battlefield, each adversary showcasing their unique abilities against the rubbery onslaught. Amidst the clash of swords, the roars of a triceratops, and the sweet illusions of candy, Luffy pressed on.

    "Gomu Gomu no King Cobra!"

    His body coiled and then lunged forward with incredible force, striking Jack, Sasaki, Perospero, and Smoothie simultaneously. The opponents, caught off guard by the relentless barrage, were sent sprawling across the arena. As the dust settled, Luffy stood in the center of the grand arena.

    "That was a good warm-up! Who''s next?" Luffy said as he was panting a bit now.

    The grand arena, now a battlefield of scattered debris and echoes of the intense clash, continued to reverberate with the aftermath of Luffy''s Snakeman onslaught. The defeated quartetˇŞJack, Sasaki, Perospero, and SmoothieˇŞslowly picked themselves up from the arena floor, their expressions a mix of frustration and begrudging respect.

    "Not bad, Straw Hat. But this fight is far from over." Jack said while grinning.

    Sasaki: "You might have surprised us, but we''re not ones to back down."

    "I''ll give you credit, that Snakeman form is tricky. But you won''t escape the Big Mom Pirates so easily." Perospero said.

    "Let''s see if you can keep up with this." Smoothie said.

    The adversaries, fueled by a renewed determination, regrouped as they eyed Luffy cautiously. The arena, bathed in the glow of battle, awaited the next chapter in this epic confrontation.

    "Bring it on! I''m just getting started!" Luffy smirked as he said that.

    As Jack, with his mammoth strength, charged forward once again, Luffy prepared for the onslaught. This time, however, he added a new twist to his strategy.

    "Gomu Gomu no Snake Coil!"

    His body twisted and contorted in a serpentine manner, forming a defensive coil that absorbed the impact of Jack''s powerful blows. The mammoth, momentarily taken aback, found himself unable to break through the rubbery defense.

    Seizing the opportunity, Sasaki lunged forward in his triceratops form, aiming to catch Luffy off guard. But the Snakeman proved to be too elusive, effortlessly slithering out of harm''s way.

    "You''re like a slippery snake, Straw Hat!" Sasaki said.

    "You got that right! Now, taste this!" Luffy shouted

    Luffy countered with a rapid series of strikes, his fists shooting forward like the striking fangs of a venomous serpent. Sasaki, despite his triceratops armor, struggled to keep up with the blinding speed of Snakeman.

    Meanwhile, Perospero conjured a barrage of candy projectiles, attempting to ensnare Luffy in a sweet trap. The rubbery pirate, however, anticipated the attack, his agile movements allowing him to dodge the incoming candy tendrils with ease.

    "You''re more slippery than I thought!" Perospero said.

    "Gomu Gomu no Serpent Dance!"

    Luffy''s body twisted and turned in a mesmerizing dance, avoiding Smoothie''s sword strikes and retaliating with precision. The arena became a chaotic dance floor, the clash of powers and weapons creating a mesmerizing spectacle.

 306. A win at the end

    The grand arena trembled under the weight of the intense battle, as the combatants clashed in a spectacle of raw power and strategic finesse. Luffy, still in his Snakeman form, weaved through the attacks of Jack, Sasaki, Perospero, and Smoothie with a fluidity that left the crowd in awe.

    "You guys are tough, but I''ve got one more trick up my sleeve!" Luffy said.

    The opponents, though battered, weren''t ready to concede defeat. Jack, with a determined roar, summoned his mammoth strength for a final charge. Sasaki, Perospero, and Smoothie regrouped, coordinating their attacks in an attempt to overwhelm Luffy.

    Seizing the moment, Luffy tapped into his remaining reserves of energy, infusing his Snakeman form with an unparalleled intensity. The arena quivered as he prepared for the ultimate move.

    "Gear Fourth: Snake God!"

    In an instant, Luffy''s Snakeman form transcended its previous boundaries, evolving into a celestial serpent of immense proportions. The arena''s atmosphere crackled with a newfound energy as Luffy''s colossal figure towered over the adversaries. This was a actually a totally new form that had never appeared before. While training under Rayleigh, Ken had mentioned that using the actual fourth gear might make him bulkier and thus during fight if he lost air from his body, he would lose it. This was what happened during the fight against Kaido.

    He lost the trapped air inside his body and made him lose faster and making him go into awakening mode later. Ken wanted to avoid that and make sure he goes into awakening in a natural way.

    The crowd fell into a hushed silence, witnessing the transformation with wide-eyed wonder. The Snake God radiated an aura of power that transcended the boundaries of the grand arena. Jack, Sasaki, Perospero, and Smoothie, momentarily stunned, felt the weight of an impending onslaught.

    "Prepare yourselves, everyone!" Sasaki shouted as he new that this new transformation meant more problem for them. They could also see that Luffy was not in his optimal condition and they just needed to remain until he ran out of juice.

    But Luffy''s attacks had become more hurtful now. They could feel that his Armament Haki form wasn''t just the normal Haki but the emission form and thus even if he did miss his attack on them by an inch, the emission haki made it more problematic.

    They too were in the last bits now. While this was happening, Bartolomeo, being true to Luffy had already taken the treasure chest in his hand but he hadn''t left yet. He was waiting in the arena and had built a shield around himself so that he wouldn''t get involved.

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    He wanted to help Luffy but somehow he knew that Luffy would mind his intervention. He was just waiting. The other 4 had actually noticed him taking the treasure chest and waiting, but they didn''t attack him. It was for two reasons. One was they were being too preoccupied with Luffy to care and the other was he couldn''t injest another devil fruit as he had already taken one. They would wait for Luffy to go down and then go after this chicken head.

    "Let''s go, Luffy-senpai." Bartlomeo shouted. The arena was barely holding up. In normal circumstances the arena would have blown out long ago but Doflamingo had paid special attention because he had invited the Yonko''s so he couldn''t be careless in the arena like he actually was.

    Luffy, now in his transcendent form, moved with the grace and power befitting a deity. The Snake God''s eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity as it prepared to deliver the final blow.

    "Gomu Gomu no Serpent Divine Fist!"

    His fist, descended upon the adversaries with unparalleled force. The impact created shockwaves that reverberated through the grand arena, shaking the very foundations.

    In an explosion of energy, the adversaries were sent hurtling across the arena, defeated and unable to rise. The grand arena, once filled with the sounds of battle, now fell into a stunned silence. The crowd, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the final attack, erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this extraordinary battle is Lucy!"

    Luffy, his Snake God form dissipating, reverted to his normal self, breathing heavily but wearing a triumphant grin. The cheers of the crowd echoed through the arena, celebrating the victory of the Lucy in a battle that had never been seen before in Coliseum.

    Jack and others were laying down unconscious at the moment. Sasaki was trying to stand up at the moment, but he too failed at the end. With the last one going down, Bartolomeo and Luffy were the only one standing. And once Luffy took care of the all the 4, Bartolomeo came forward, bent one his knee and presented the Devil fruit to Lucy.

    He had wide grin in his face as he smiled like a goofy man, showing no signs of the same man who took down 4 Yonlo''s pirates alone. Though the people around cheered for him for showing them a great fight, but some people were also whispering of how this guy''s future didn''t look good as the Yonkos were definitely interested in the fruit and they might go to any lengths to get the fruit.

    But for the moment it was Lucy''s time so most of them didn''t care what would happen in the future. Luffy with the prize walked off with Bartolomeo following him like some of servant to a God. At the moment, Luffy really defeated some very strong individuals and he couldn''t just get over it so easily.

    All of this had reached the ears of Doflamingo and he was enraged. Not only Luffy had won the fruit but also just took down Yonko''s pirates. He had promised Kaido and Big Mom that either one of them would get the fruit but it turned out to a huge failure.

    Though it wasn''t his fault that Luffy was so powerful but at the end he had promised and the Yonko''s wouldn''t hear his words at all. He was in grave danger not knowing that he was in more grave danger than he was expecting at the moment.

 307. I am one of the Straw hats

    Law and Ken slowly walked towards the huge castle that was in the upper part of Dressrosa. While the arena battles were being played out, something else was happening elsewhere. Vivi and Kinemon while on their search actually came across Kanjuro and Kinemon was beyond delighted. Apparently he had broken off from the encampment and was able to find his way out.

    Vivi was happy to see that Kinemon had found his friend. All they needed to do now was destroy the factory. But thankfully Franky who was in his search mode was able to locate the factory. And it was there he met the famous Senor Pink.

    But before that he had already met with the Tontatta tribes, or the small fairies, as Ken liked to call them. The two teams of Ussop and Robin had already met them and came to know of their princess being captured and forced to work with. Thus Robin immediately contacted with Franky who at the end was able to get in touch with some of fighters of Tontatta tribe and was able to get their support.

    When Franky came forward to destroy the whole building, the guards came to stop them and he took care of them quite easily. But then, Senor Pink showed up and Franky was a bit overwhelmed by the way he did.

    Swimming from underneath and not attacking from behind. Franky didn''t expect that kind of man to face in his fight to destroy the ship. And thus this was where the fight began between him and Senor Pink.

    "Well, well, looks like we got ourselves a metal man. Ready to dance, tin can?" Senor Pink said as he adjusted his baby bottle and said. The women around of course were cheering for him and that too in a sexual way.

    "What the hell is wrong with you?" Franky was confused about why he didn''t attack.

    "A man only sneak attacks a woman''s dress from behind and never in other forms." Senor Pink.

    "Are you stupid or something?" Franky couldn''t help but shout at him. Senor Pink didn''t reply but with sudden burst of speed, Senor Pink charged at Franky delivering a flurry of rapid punches. Franky, however, effortlessly blocked the attacks with his cybernetic limbs.

    Franky now could change between cybernetics and real body because of the two characters he had received. Tony Stark and Victor Stone. Since he was in battle mode at the moment it was better to be in his strongest mode.

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    "You''ll have to do better than that, amigo," Senor Pink taunted, ducking under a powerful swing from Franky. "I''ve taken on tougher guys than you!"

    Franky responded with a barrage of energy blasts, forcing Senor Pink to evade and weave through the destructive onslaught. The Smile factory''s walls shook as the two clashed, their powers colliding in a spectacle of clinking of metal and determination.

    Senor Pink had already been hit couple of times from the energy blasts and he knew that he couldn''t take it for more time and thus decided to take the next route. He had eaten the swim swim fruit which allowed him to swim on any place and thus any solid ground was a swimming pool for him. He dove down into the ground and in a very fast motion he reached Franky from underneath and proceeded to tackle his legs and swim at a faster rate.

    Senor Pink knew that Franky could fly so he was trying to smash him at the wall of a nearby building. And Franky could see what Senor Pink was up to and thus was able to stop this progress by using his under shoulder thrusters to stop himself. Senor Pink saw his speed lessen down and before he knew it, the thrashing of Franky on a building wall was a failure.

    So Senor Pink tried the next thing and that was pulling down into the ground but that too stopped because Franky blasted at Senor Pink, making the whole ground burst open and thus there was no place to swim for Senor Pink.

    "Nice try, but you can''t out-tech me," Franky said.

    Senor Pink chuckled and cracked his knuckles again. "Maybe not, but I''ve got more than gadgets, metal man. I''ve got style!" He had blood flowing down his face and body but he still seemed to be on style always.

    While they were going to fight again, there was a sudden whirlpool beside them, and in a moment''s notice a person appeared. It was Ken. Ken was on his way towards the huge castle of Doffy and he always knew what was going on. He had listened to how Luffy had won in the arena and won the devil fruit.

    And now that he was listening to the fight between Senor Pink, he couldn''t just sit straight so he asked to be excused a bit by Law. Of course, Law was very unhappy and wanted to stop him but Ken didn''t bother to listen.

    The original traits of Straw hat pirates rubbed off on him too!

    "Ken, what are you doing here?" Franky asked as soon as he saw Ken appearing near him. Senor Pink, who had all the courage before in order to take down Franky, deflated a bit after seeing Ken. Ken was a fearful individual who had taken down even Sengoku and he was rightly feared.

    Even by his Young Master.

    "I heard about the fight between you two so I had to come and see with my own eyes." Ken said. While Franky and Ken exchanged words, the other guards who hadn''t been taken down by Franky, started shooting at him.

    The bullets came close to him before stopping. And then the same bullets were sent back the same way they came from. Some guards were directly hit, while others ducked.

    "Fuck, I thought I could surprise him."

    "Are you kidding? You want to surprise Punisher Kenny. Haven''t you seen his fight in the Paramount War?"

 308. Quite the controversial take

    Senor Pink took his stance against Ken and one could easily see that he was extra vigilant against him. Ken noticed that and said.

    "Oh please! You don''t have to wary of me. You are not powerful enough for me to move. Franky could have taken you down long ago, but he is holding back." Ken said as he saw the vigilance of Senor Pink.

    "A man must always be vigilant and careful." Senor Pink said.

    "A man should always care not to hurt their closed ones, at least not intentionally. So you have no right to say that you are a man. You are someone who is trying his best to absolve themself of the guilt that you have put your closed one through." Ken said. For some reason, the previous words of Senor Pink struck a chord of Ken.

    The story of Senor Pink was that he loved a woman and got married later. But here was the tricky part. He lied to her about him being a banker. He lied from the beginning and thus after the birth of his child, one night when she needed her, he wasn''t present.

    Soon the wife, who was called Russian (Oda, you could have found a better name), came to know of her husband''s involvement into piracy and thus she ran away one night with her sick child. Her running away turned out to be the worse as she lost her child to death that night due to very high fever and she went to coma, basically perpetually in a vegetative state.

    Since then Senor Pink tried his best to make his wife smile and he did so by wearing a baby outfit and taking care of his wife. But the damage was already done.

    Senor Pink after listening to Ken berate him couldn''t help but stiffen himself. He got embarrassed and also angry that someone talked to him this way.

    "You have no idea what you are talking about." Senor Pink said as he crossed his arms and shouted.

    "I don''t know what I am talking about? You lied to your girlfriend from the very beginning and then even married her based on this lie. If it was the other way around, I am sure you wouldn''t have been so merciful. She lost her child and even went to a vegetative state, and you thought by wearing the baby dress all your life you can wash away the guilt of what you had done. And you know what is the worst part of you? You continue doing the same job which had actually landed you in this situation in the first place." Ken said.

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    Senor Pink, who had been all serious and manly uptil this moment, couldn''t but have tremble on his knees when Ken outed him like that. He had never seen his situation like that and always tried his best to make his wife smile again.

    He then realized making his wife smile was also selfish at the end. He didn''t leave his previous life. He just thought that making himself a baby would help his wife smile and he was ready to do anything to make his wife. All but leaving his Young master.

    That was the main reason why his wife was in this position.

    "You continue to associate yourself with the same shit that had put you up here and you talk about loving your wife. You don''t love your wife! You love what you always did, yourself, which is fine. Everyone should do what they like to do but you are parading yourself around, showing that you are something else, which you are not. You just a narcissist asshole who fucked up the life of someone else. And think acting like the way you are would make your guilt wash away." Ken said.

    Those words made Senor Pink''s whole life perspective crumble in front of him. He could see the sense in the words of Ken and he had no words to defense himself against. Ken knew of his life story and he just struck the place where he was vulnerable and he hit there with all the missiles.

    Tears ran down his face as he contemplated what Ken had said and his words were actually right. He couldn''t counter Ken''s words at all. His defensive stance had gone down and one could easily see that he was very close to surrender.

    "Senor Pink-sama, don''t listen to him. He is just messing with your head."

    "Senor Pink-sama, you are the man-est of the man. He is just lying."

    "Punisher Kenny is just an evil bastard."

    Those shouts came from the surrounding people but those words weren''t strong enough for Senor Pink to thing straight. He really felt his life had just crumbled down in a matter of seconds for being shown the reality of the things.

    "I am done with you." Ken said as he felt a bit disgusted. The next thing he did was something that would etch in the minds of the people around forever. It was so cruel.

    Ken''s two hands spread out and out came two black rods. These black rods wasn''t something that was hidden in his bag, but something that he had instantly made. These were the near unbreakable chakra rods.

    Ken then proceeded to stab the two chakra rods right through his palms and crucify him to the ground. Ken dd that so fast that Senor Pink couldn''t defend himself, not that he could, but even then he didn''t stop Ken.

    The chakra rods went straight through the palms and got struck to the ground. The people around went nuts and started shooting at Ken, but of course it didn''t even touch his clothes. Franky who had been dumfounded all this time couldn''t help but gulp down.

    He had seen Ken being angry before in the war and this was the second time he had seen Ken being furious. So much so that he crucified someone. Though he didn''t know the whole story, he could guess what might have happened in the past of this Senor Pink.

    Senor Pink surprisingly didn''t utter a scream as he was stabbed. He just gritted his teeth and tears rolled down his eyes.

 309. Dont ruin my sword

    "That was a bit harsh on him," Franky said. He saw the blood flowing down the palm of Senor Pink, and he genuinely felt bad.

    "We can''t be merciful always, Franky. I know Luffy doesn''t care and is all about freedom, but sometimes some people need a smack in the head," Ken replied. Franky agreed with Ken''s words but still felt a bit bad for Senor Pink.

    Without more words, Ken vanished from his spot with the help of the Kamui dimension, leaving Franky alone. He looked at Senor Pink for one last minute before progressing towards the factory. Of course, many people were angry with what happened, but none actually tried to stop him.

    They had seen the cruelty of Punisher; they didn''t need more in their lives. Seeing that everyone had moved out of fear, he didn''t waste a moment. The small tribe members had already gone in and vacated their own tribe members.

    Their princess was finally free. Leo and his team came to rescue her. Thus, the small people were now safe and sound. Franky, getting the green signal, was finally time for the Smile Factory to end forever. Panels on his robotic limbs opened, revealing an array of powerful armaments. His right arm transformed into a high-tech cannon, and he began charging a devastating energy blast.

    With a focused gaze, Franky unleashed the energy blast towards the weakened supports of the Smile Factory. The powerful beam collided with the structure, causing a chain reaction of explosions and structural failures. The very foundation of the factory began to crumble.

    The once-mighty Smile factory succumbed to the onslaught, collapsing in on itself in a spectacular display of destruction. Franky sighed as he looked at the destruction he had just caused. The Smile factory saga was finally over, and now Doflamingo was in some deep trouble.

    Ken appeared again, almost at the gates of Doflamingo''s castle. As he appeared, his phone buzzed, and then he proceeded to receive the call.

    "Hello, Jinbe."

    "Ah, so he is here. Well, we must give them a warm welcome."

    "Keep on the lookout."

    Ken and Law were together again. He looked at Ken with nothing but annoyance as he had left.

    "Where did you go?" Law asked.

    "Just helped a friend of mine and took down one of the Doflamingo Pirates," Ken said, and Law looked deeply at Ken. Ken saying those words casually would make Law shiver a bit. He spoke like he had just crushed an ant and nothing more.

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    But he also knew that only Ken could say those words and make it feel like nothing had happened.

    "Who was it?" Law was curious and asked.

    "Senor Pink," Ken replied, and Law just nodded. As they came close to the huge gate, they were stopped by two people: two elite officers of the Donquixote Pirates.

    Trebol and Diamante.

    "Trebol... Diamante..." Law murmured under his breath. Ken looked straight at them and asked.

    "Where is the weird-voiced guy... What was his name? Ah yes, Pica..."

    "Punisher Kenny... Do you think you are even capable of seeing another one of us?" Diamante asked, and just after he finished his words, blood spurted out from one side of his neck like a fountain. Diamante didn''t even realize what had happened, and when he did, he hurried to stop the excessive bleeding.

    Diamante barely turned around and saw Ken standing behind him with his back facing him. He could see the sword on his hand. He didn''t even notice how Ken had unsheathed his sword and how he moved. The only thing he felt was the hot blood on his shoulders.

    "Diamante.." Trebol shouted and looked at him.

    "It''s nothing.. I..." Diamante wanted to say more but before he could say he felt light headedness. He wanted to assure that he was fine but before he could say so, he felt straight on the floor. The floor soon became a mess as blood flowed in large quantities. Law didn''t even feel an ounce of pity for this guy and just looked emotionless.

    Trebol screamed with his childish voice and out of anger attacked. Trebol lunged forward, his mucus tendrils reaching out to ensnare Ken. With a swift swing of his blazing zanpakuto, Ken incinerated the incoming mucus, leaving no trace behind.

    Trebol, undeterred, continued to produce more mucus, creating a defensive barrier around him. He might be childish but he wasn''t stupid. He knew something was very wrong with the fire that this guy was producing. He had seen Ken''s videos multiple times but even then they had not seen something like this before. It was the first of its kind that Trebol had ever seen.

    And for that he felt scared. He was here under the orders of Doflamingo, but he really hoped that his Young master would come and help him.

    The heat was intense, but Trebol''s mucus proved resilient. The sticky substance absorbed the flames, creating a protective shield around him. However, Ken, with a stern expression, revealed the true power of his zanpakuto.

    The temperature soared as Ryujin Jakka''s flames turned white-hot. The very air seemed to combust as Ken swung his zanpakuto downward, releasing a torrent of superheated flames that engulfed Trebol''s defenses.

    The mucus was gone and he looked at Ken with horror in his eyes. It took some time for explanation but all of this happened within a matter of few seconds. Everything got incinerated by the hot flames and there was nothing that could stop him.

    "I don''t want Ryujin Jakka to touch your filthy body. Do you want to knock yourself out or should I send you to the ocean?" Ken asked with no emotions in his voice.

    "You killed Diamante.. You hurt the pride of Donquixote Pirates. Do you think you can live long.. beheheh.. The Yonkos will soon be here..." Trebol wanted to say more but before he could, he only heard.

    "Shinra Tensei."

    And then he found himself in the air. Moving... No.. He was flying.. He flying because he was smacked away into the air and there was nothing that could stop it.

 310. More lies

    Trebol was just yeeted into the ocean by Ken and Law just sighed looking at another guy being taken down so easily. His revenge on Doflamingo was coming very fast and he didn''t know what he should feel.

    He should feel elated and excited but all he could feel at the moment was bitterness. Doing everything wouldn''t still bring Corazon back and he was only riding the coattails of someone else.

    Ken didn''t know of his thoughts and he didn''t care. He pushed open the huge gate and walked in. There was nobody in the scene and everything looked serene. The grand entrance, adorned with elaborate decorations.

    Marble floors gleamed under the soft glow of crystal chandeliers, their sparkling light reflecting off gilded frames housing masterpieces of art. The whole surrounding was clean and pristine. But the eerie silence was what would give anyone a chill.

    Ken and Law looked. They had tied up Baby 5 and Buffalo and said that Doflamingo was waiting for them here. But after entering, the whole castle seemed to be empty. There was no one. But this small silence was broken by the cry of a young kid.

    Both Law and Ken turned their head only to see a very young kid crying and running. Running as fast as her legs could carry her and behind her was Doflamingo swinging around like Spiderman and had an evil laugh like always.

    He was running after while the small girl was wailing and in fear. She looked horrified and her eyes looking around searching for someone to help her. Soon her eyes laid on Ken and Law, who had appeared. Seeing them made it seem like she had seen some hope and shouted.

    "Please.. Please help me.. This evil guy is going to ruin me." The girl shouted. She had snot from her nose and tears in her eyes. Ken looked at the kid while Law just looked at Doflamingo with nothing but hatred in his eyes. Ken who already had his sword out proceeded to attack at Doflamingo.

    He was way too fast for Doflamingo to react and before Doflamingo could do anything he was beheaded quite easily with the single swing of a sword. The head and the body split apart, stopping him in his tracks.

    The young kid, who had been crying saw that her harasser had finally died. She burst out into more tears as she saw that she was finally free. Law who had been standing looked at Doflamingo''s severed body. He couldn''t believe that his biggest motivator just got severed with a single swing of the sword.

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    He felt something was wrong but he couldn''t put a finger on it. Seeing the young kid crying, he felt a bit of pity and thus came forward and bent his knees to talk to her.

    "What is your name kid?" Law asked while Ken just looked at them with no emotions on his face.

    "My.. My name is Terrie. This evil man wanted to kidnap me so I was running from him." The young kid said.

    "Kidnap you? Why was he kidnapping you?" Law couldn''t help but ask a genuine question.

    "I.. I don''t know.. I was eating a candy on the street with my mom when this man came running after me. He killed.. He killed my mother and then tried to kidnap me.... My mother." The child burst out into a sorrowful wail and Law couldn''t help but extend his end to console her.

    It was then who Ken came forward and stopped the hand of Law from touching the young child. Law was confused and looked at Ken who just looked at the young child with emotionless eyes.

    "How many years has it been that you have been a chibi?" Ken asked. The young child''s face seemed to contort a bit when Ken asked the question but she continued her crying. But Law noticed the small flinch she had when Ken asked the question.

    Instantly he became vigilant and knew something was wrong.

    "It must be very hateful being this small after all these years. Isn''t it right? Sugar?" Ken said and the young kid who had been crying shuddered as she looked at Ken''s eyes for the first time. Looking at those blood red eyes made her body shudder.

    She felt like she was looking at some kind of evil from hell. Her tears died up almost instantly as her face panicked. Law took out his sword knowing the kid was Sugar. He had known of her but didn''t know she was such a small kid. He couldn''t even imagine what would have happened if he turned into a toy for touching this kid.

    And he was angry for being deceived.

    "I don''t know what you are talking about Uncle." Sugar replied. Ken held his zanpakuto with more strength when he heard him being called Uncle. He might be uncle in his mental age but he definitely didn''t look like one. And this kid called him uncle. Unforgivable.

    "Sugar.. Let''s cut to the chase. Release all the toys all over the country or I kill you right here. Choose." Ken said as his sword lit up into flames. Her face and eyes reflected the yellow colored flame as she took few steps back. She knew that her disguise was of no use and now had to actively find out an way out of it.

    As Sugar contemplated that there was very sharp sound in the surroundings. A sound of something slicing through the air in a very fast speed, followed by a clanking sound of metal. Sugar looked at Ken holding his sword high. There was a fine thread being stopped by the sword.

    Ken looked sideways to see Doflamingo coming out of one of the doors of the castle. The actual Doflamingo! His fingers were moving fast as he walked towards Ken and as he did so Ken was swinging his sword casually meeting the attacks of Doflamingo quite easily and without any effort.

    And even then Doflamingo had a wide grin in his voice but one could see the bulging veins in his forehead.

 311. Why is Shanks on the table?

    "You really do know every nook and corner. Hehehehe." Dofalmingo said.

    "Oh c''mon Doffy, there was no blood when I beheaded your puppet." Ken said.

    "You don''t have any right to call me Doffy." Doflamingo sent out more threads around Ken and Law but Ken was able to deflect all attacks like it was nothing. The more he did so the more irritated he was. He wanted to kill this man. The moment he had shown up in the seas, everything he had done since then had been nothing but a huge pain in the ass.

    In the beginning it was with Bellamy. Doflamingo didn''t much care at that point since Bellamy was just one of the lesser pawns. But then the Paramount War happened, plunging his life into misery. The things which Ken said had hurt his businesses, more than he could remember. Before the SMILE factories he had other businesses too.

    Including weapons and all other kinds of illegal trade but they went downhill. Only because Ken had said that one day his position as Shichibukai would be wiped out. Many countries lost faith in him.

    The only silver lining was his connections with the Beast Pirates and he did everything possible to hang to that thigh. It did alleviate some of his problems but the hurt remained. And now he was here.

    And for this he wanted nothing to but kill Ken in the worst way possible. He had already heard the news of how Luffy had won in the arena and took away the fruit which was supposed to be Hail Mary for him. Then he heard the news of the SMILE factory getting destroyed.

    That almost sent him off the roof and was ready to implement the bird cage but Sugar convinced him to take a step back and he could handle him. He liked the idea and followed it.

    But doing that had proved more fatal as Law had kept her inside his Room and he couldn''t just go and save him. More so when he couldn''t just get past Ken so easily. He wanted revenge. Revenge for all the trauma Kenny had caused him and made his life more miserable for every passing minute.

    He was already in a deep shit for losing the devil fruit, what more could he lose.

    "You think I care about what others call you. Calling you a shit and the greatest mistake of your mother and father would be actually be quite generous." Ken said. He knew exactly where to hurt and he did.

    "You have pissed me off in the worst way possible." Doflamingo said.

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    "Don''t worry your smile won''t last long." Ken said.

    Doflamingo unleashed his razor-sharp strings, dancing through the air with deadly precision. Ken parried each and everyone of them. As he did so he got closer and closer to Doflamingo.

    "Law, make her unconscious. Only in this way, the country will know the truth." Ken shouted as he parried Doflamingo.

    "You dare!!" Doflamingo shouted as he proceeded to awaken the fruit''s powers and attack Law from underneath but before the strings underground could attack Law, Ken made his move. He took both of them inside his kamui dimension. Law didn''t even have the time to protest.

    "Oh my dear child, I dare and I will." Ken said with a smile.

    "If anything happens to Sugar, I will kill all your crew mates and your families." Doflamingo said with a smile. Ken looked at him and then laughed.

    "Kizaru said the same thing in Sabody. And we are still happy and content. You know why? It''s because we have already every measure to ensure everybody connected to us are fine. And the bigger question is do you really think you can escape me or more so defeat me?" Ken said and as he did so his skin slowly started to transform and soon he was covered with pinks scales with two horns on his head.

    "You.. You ate the artificial devil fruit?" Doflamingo was dumfounded seeing Ken with the same look as he had once seen Kaido. "How many devil fruits can you eat?"

    "Why are you so surprised? It''s not like I am the only one? Blackbeard can do it too." Ken replied as his tail struck the ground with such intensity that it created a crater and an earthquake.

    "Fuck."

    As the clash commenced, Doflamingo unleashed his razor-sharp strings, dancing through the air with deadly precision. Ken maneuvered gracefully through the attacks. Streams of azure flames followed his every movement, creating an aura of intense heat that distorted the air around him.

    He manipulated the surroundings and did every kind of ambush possible but it was of no use. Then he noticed one thing. He couldn''t expect his attacks or his moves at all. Twice Ken came close to him and twice he had slashed him.

    He used Armament Haki to stop the attack and though he was successful, he did feel a bit of pain in the attack. There was some blood too. But the thing that ticked off was the fact that his Observation Haki wasn''t working.

    He stepped back and couldn''t help but ask.

    "What the fuck are you?"

    "Huh? I am a normal human being. Don''t worry I ain''t some kind of Lunarian. The fire you see around is because of my Zanpakuto." Ken said casually as if he was some kind of friend of his. This attitude irriated him more. "Oh you are confused about the Observation Haki. You have heard of Shanks right and his use of his Haki."

    Doflamingo couldn''t understand why Ken was bringing Shanks here in the fight. Everybody knew of Shanks being a great pirate and swordsman. One of the names Shanks was known around in the New World was ''Killer of Observation Haki''. He was like a silent killer and it was also the reason why the Red haired pirates were able to sneak in Marineford without any of the big wigs noticing.

    So why was Ken bringing his name up and also mentioning about the haki. It took a few seconds for this flamingo man to realize what Ken was hinting at.

 312. You are a bird

    "This is impossible. Nobody can''t reach that level so fast and early in their life." Doflamingo refused to believe what he had just thought of and then before he could speak more Ken appeared behind him.

    "What the.."

    And the he was slashed right at the arm of his. Blood splattered out and but no blood spots fell on Ken. It was because it got evaporated before it could even touch the body of Ken. Doflamingo too could feel the heat now slowly rising.

    The country which had been poster child of romanticism and love, the country where people seemed to be happy and content out of nowhere plunged into chaos. A chaos that nobody expected. The long lost memories of fathers, mothers, children, siblings, lovers all came crashing down on the minds of the people of the country.

    King Riku who had been running around and was kind of heart broken that he couldn''t win the fruit and was shipped to be a puppet saw suddenly of how his previous memories of many people around came to him. The memory of Kyros too came back and he found Rebecca too who had remembered of the toy who helped her all her life and made her the person who she was today.

    She broke down in tears with King Riku nearby. He felt guilty for being such a horrible grandparent but there was nothing he could do. But the memories coming back meant the Devil fruit user had been taken down and maybe Doflamingo himself was having a hard time.

    He had seen with his own eyes how one guy named Lucy took down higher ranking members of the Yonko and took away the fruit. There was a rumor around that he was Monkey D. Luffy, the great pirate he had been hearing about recently.

    "This country needs to heal." A man with a deep voice said from behind. King Riku who had been under guilt and shame by seeing Rebecca breaking down in tears could only nod his head. But then he remembered he had never heard that voice before and thus turned around.

    He saw a man holding a long crutch while walking with the stick being held outward, his face was ridden withs scars, scars long enough to have made his eyes shut. And another weird thing about the man was that he was drenched in water.

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    But the most striking among all the things was the white over coat. It didn''t need to be said that the white over coat had the sign of Justice.

    "You are.." Riku asked. He was hesitant because at one point he hated the Navy for not helping them but he could also understand why the Navy turned their back.

    "My name is Fujitora. I am sorry for being in this way as someone from sea made our journey hell and I was the only one to reach this island."

    "Fujitora? The admiral Fujitora?"

    "Yes. If there isn''t anyone other by that name in the Navy then yes I am that Fujitora."

    "Uh.. Welcome to Dressrosa.. The country is in bad shape now so I hope the Navy could help them." Fujitora just shook his head and said.

    "The Navy can''t help you and the only help we can give you right now is me. But it seems like Dressrosa doesn''t need our help as the flood gates had been opened." Riku didn''t know what to say and just stayed silent while Fujitora continued.

    "And that healing starts with you being reinstated as the King."

    "Huh?" Riku was taken aback as he didn''t expect someone to recognize him even with his headgear and armor.

    "You are King Riku.. Aren''t you? The previous king who had been ousted by the Pirate named Doflamingo. From what I can feel he is fighting in his castle and it isn''t looking good for him as he is fighting one of the strongest fighters in the New World. He is so powerful that he has been sensed me from such a long distance and Doflamingo doesn''t have a chance. After he is ousted I want you to be the new King." Fujitora said. King Rikue couldn''t believe what he was hearing.

    He wanted to make sure that he was hearing it right and asked again.

    As Fujitora and Riku were discussing about the current plight of the country, Doflamingo was finding it difficult with each passing moment. His whole body was covered with scars, bloodied all over. With his awakened Devil fruit, he could stich the wide gashes and stabbing on his body, but it wasn''t enough.

    He was losing his stamina fast and it was only once he was able to hit Ken and it just left him a bruise. He could read all his moves and him hurting Ken once was because in that attack he didn''t mean it and the threads struck him from ground from an angle that he also didn''t have full control. But those kinds of situations could only happen once in a blue moon.

    He was now sure that Ken could switch his Haki off and that terrified him.

    "Hehehe.. You want to take my country, my wealth, my empire, my everything right? Good.. I will give you all. Hahahaha.." Doflamingo gave cruel laughter and and then proceeded the one move which had brought nightmare to everyone.

    The bird cage.

    Ken looked up as threads started to cover the whole island in the matter of a minute while he himself sat on the throne made of threads like a King and laughed like a maniac.

 313. The flames are too high

    "Now everybody will die due to your selfishness. The innocent children, the happy couples, the nostalgic old dudes going about their lives.. Everything and everyone will die. Hahaha... Hehehe.." Doflamingo laughed as if he had won some kind of race competition.

    Ken just looked at him as the castle and the trees were slowly burning down and getting destroyed. The yellow flames raged as it casted a yellowish hue all around and his glasses reflected the destruction that his country was facing. He knew that there was no way he could get away now but he didn''t want to just lose.

    ''If I can''t reach the top, I will not let others reach the same point.''

    That was his philosophy since he was a child. He vowed to give the same treatment he had received when he was young never introspecting if there was something wrong with him. He was ''gassed'' up all his life since he showed Conqueror''s Haki quite early and thus he had been put to pedestal. Since he couldn''t go against the Celestial Dragons, he made a country for himself where he could be the ''Celestial Dragon'' and rule as he pleased.

    Ken just looked at him with no expression in his face. There was no change in his expression nor his internal feelings. Honestly speaking he had been expecting this move of his from a long way and he had asked his friends to take measures and they had been on that for sometime now.

    And in addition he wouldn''t let Doflamingo to dance around for too much anyways.

    "What? You don''t have any grand words for me here? Punisher Kenny?" Doflamingo asked.

    "Because words wouldn''t be able to cover up the anger that I have for you." Ken said and then pointed his sword''s tip at him. "Let my sword do the talking."

    "BANKAI Zanka no Tachi."

    The very ground beneath Ken''s feet seemed to quake as he uttered those words. The fire which had been raging around suddenly stopped burning, vanishing faster than any water could ever accomplish. But the heat, the heat that engulfed the surroundings was palpable.

    The heat was unbearable. The very air seemed to sizzle, and the ground cracked beneath the pressure of the unleashed power. The sky itself seemed to catch fire as if the sun had descended from the heavens and claimed the battlefield for its own. The people who didn''t even know what was going in the country felt as if all the water in the country had just evaporated, their throats became dry and lips cracked.

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    Many of the people had fainted just because of the heat was too much and they all could see that it was coming from the castle. Before it was just a small heat emitting from the main castle but now it was if the sun had just landed on the castle and threatened to burn everything down.

    "Yare.. Yare.. Did he just open the bankai?" Zoro murmured.

    "Didn''t half of the forest just burn down when he first tried his bankai." Nami said as she looked at the huge man standing in front of them. They had been on their way around when this huge man showed up and the voice of this man made both of them laugh so hard that Nami actually rolled on the floor.

    Of course, it was Pika.

    Zoro couldn''t believe that someone of his stature would have that kind of voice. Pika thus getting incensed struck at Zoro with all his might. And with that Zoro vs Pika had started and Nami scuttled away. She didn''t want to be in between the fight of these two but she also made sure that the people around were safe and sound.

    Robin and other teams were now in conflict with the other members of the Donquixote pirates. Luffy who was running around with Bartolomeo had already felt the heat before of the shikai and knew Ken was fighting but he was caught up with many minions.

    Some known minions and some unknown minions, all of them came to stop Luffy and take away the Devil fruit. Doflamingo had already sent the information to do but he didn''t threaten them publicly like he did like he did in the actual story.

    "Huh! Bankai.. Bastard.. What is going on?" Luffy shouted.

    "Luffy senpai, do you understand about the heat?" Bartolomeo obviously felt the heat, and its sudden change.

    "Yes. Ken.. He has opened his bankai. He must be pissed off. We need to go." Luffy shouted.

    "What is bankai?" Bartolomeo asked.

    "Eto.. Ken told me something inside his sword gets alive.." Luffy thoughtfully said and Bartolomeo made a weird picture about it in his head.

    Sanji was forced to meet the popping guy and he had to take care of him. So everybody were held down and the bird cage had already started which was been seen by Chopper and Ussop. And of course, Fujitora came and helped. Ussop and Chopper almost made a run but seeing him blind made them a bit secured.

    Chopper promised to make them invisible if he went after them and thus Ussop and Chopper along with King Riku and Fujitora were actively trying to stop the bird cage.

    While this was going on in the whole country with each Straw Hats taking care of the people and making sure that the Donquixote pirates were been taken down, Doflamingo''s sweat was evaporating with every passing moment.

    The black sword in front of him gave him a fear that seemed to originate from the depth of his soul. He had never seen such a sword before and he was sure that this sword was alive.

    "Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin"

    Ken shouted and all the flames which had been seemed to get sucked away in an instant. But for some reason it didn''t give him relief, but more anxiety. The sword had turned complete black and he could feel it held deep power within it at the moment.

    He just didn''t know what.

 314. Too many JJK references

    Ken didn''t give Doflamingo time to think. He lunged forward in a very fast motion and this was the first time Ken had actually actively started fighting back. He had seen how his Observation Haki didn''t have any use and thus he could only dodge with his instincts.

    And so he dodged to the side but Ken was too fast for Doflamingo to dodge but Ken was too fast and the swung on him landed on the shoulder. Doflamingo was expecting some kind of wide gashes or even burning of his skin as he could feel that the sword was too powerful but there was nothing like that.

    In the next instant, Doflamingo could only describe as the greatest horror he had ever seen or felt in his life. The right hand until the shoulder out of nowhere vanished. It didn''t burn or melt due to heat, no it just vanished. And that was not the only thing that had vanished but also the ground beneath to a few feet. There was nothing but black charred wall on the sides where everything had just vanished.

    Doflamingo couldn''t even react to what just happened. The feeling that he had lost his whole arm didn''t even register to him. He too dumbfounded to speak. and too appalled to even fathom what just happened.

    "All the heat that you were experiencing, everything had been concentrated at the tip of my sword. It''s around a million degrees. It neither burns nor erupts. Everything that touches it gets eradicated. And you just lost your arm, never to stich again with your Devil fruit." Aoto said. Those words were the catalyst as in the next second, the throne on which he was sitting on crumbled and then it was followed by the bird cage destructing on itself.

    Doflaingo vomited blood before losing consciousness. Ken knew that he didn''t need to continue anymore and just extinguished the bankai and sheathed his sword. The heat that had been radiating all this time in the whole country vanished.

    Along with it the bird cage. The bird cage wasn''t up for much time and this it didn''t affect much and Zoro vs Pika had already happened. And this time Pika didn''t even get the chance to as big as he was in the actual story.

    He tried to be one but Zoro was too lazy to fight such a huge being which was growing fast so he took himself into a higher position and attacked. The shikai of his made sure that his attack on him landed on Pika and this forced him to be out of his shell.

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    And after that it was easy for him as he delivered a crushing blow. Pika was down. Giolla, the other important member of Donquixote Pirates met with Brook and she was frozen in an instant. She did try to use her painting type powers on him but Brook''s frozen power was too much for her to handle and thus she collapsed pretty fast.

    Ussop and Chopper after helping in the bird cage, ran like a maniac because they thought Fujitora would come after them, and Fujitora actually wanted to but King Riku asked him not to.

    Of course King Riku couldn''t force him but he did say that these strangers helped them even if they were pirates. They weren''t sure what had happened but from the tiny bit of information that he had got, he could make out that everything was happening at the moment was due to the Straw hats and these people belonged to Straw Hats.

    "Chopper, I am never going to help people again.. I thought I would die when I felt the gravity. That''s an admiral." Ussop said.

    "I thought so too. His haki must be incredible." Chopper said. Both of them went to the Tontatta tribe to meet up with others. He knew that Ken would arrive soon with Luffy and thus they just needed to wait.

    Ken after taking care of Doflamingo, brought out Sugar and Law, whom he had taken in to the kamui dimension. Of course Law was furious at Ken and wanted to go off at him but soon he stopped because he saw the most horrible and also the most satisfying scene in his life.

    Doflamingo''s entire arm and a portion of the shoulder had vanished along with a huge crack on the ground. He didn''t care what had happened but he was glad to see that this was going on. Ken didn''t care about the reaction of Law and just proceeded to kill Sugar. Such a devil fruit shouldn''t be wasted on her. In front of Law himself, he proceeded to harvest the devil fruit.

    The devil fruit looked like the head of Ultimate Mechamaru from Jujutsu kaisen. Ken lamented seeing the fruit as he had been waiting for some character from JJK but there was none. There would be some people soon who would complete character and maybe they would get one or two from there.

    Law''s eyes went wide. He could see the soul coming out of her body and then the fruit Ken brought soon transformed into a devil fruit. Sugar had died and there was no coming back. Law sighed seeing this. Sugar really deserved a death for she had done and he had no sympathy for anyone of the Donquixote Pirates.

    There was a sudden cough from the side. Ken and Law turned their head to see Doflamingo standing. There was no blood flowing from the side as whole portion was charred. He was standing like Toji stood before Gojo when he was hit by his attack and knew death was few seconds away.

    But only on this case there was peace on the face of Doflamingo. There was rage and anger with tears running down his eyes from behind the glasses. Those ridiculous glasses.

    "Don''t... You.. Dare.. Touch.. Cough.. Cough.. Touch her.." Doflamingo said with his voice trailing away and he seemed desperate to get back at Ken.

 315. Witcher reference

    And in the next instant both Law and Ken were hit by Conqueror''s Haki. Ken was surprised that this guy on the brink of death could also do what Luffy did once. He really did not expect this guy to have that much will in himself. No wonder even when he was about to crucified, he swore to take revenge.

    Ken took him into his kamui dimension as he could see that he would live. Killing him wouldn''t really matter as it would just be useless and keeping a Celestial Dragon alive was more useful than a dead one. It was for this reason, the kidnapped ones were still alive in Amazon Lily.

    Because they needed them alive for further negotiations. Hancock had already left the system but the Government still didn''t go after her because she had threatened them and she was also smart about it as she had kept them hidden.

    The World Government had tried to infiltrate and free the Celestial Dragons but it was only met with statues being sent back to the Government. This was frustrating for the Navy but there was nothing that he could do.

    "Conqueror''s haki.." Law mumbled.

    "Law, explain to me why you don''t have Conqueror''s Haki?" Ken suddenly asked when Law was reminiscing of the past.

    "What does that supposed to mean?" Law asked giving him a side eye, Levi style.

    "You are a D. Why don''t you have Conqueror''s Haki, without that it will be very hard for you to go beyond in the New World and make a name for yourself." Ken said. Law felt it was like it was an insult as he was seething.

    "You have no right to speak of my future." Law said.

    "I don''t but you need to find yourself and bring the Haki out or else it will be very hard for you to move forward. Haki is the only thing that rules in this part of the world. So your devil fruit won''t be relevant after some point." Ken said.

    "Are you looking down on me?" Law asked.

    "No, honestly speaking, among all of us, you probably have the most tragic past. You have seen the abyss and it looked back at you, but at the end you turned up alright. You should be proud of yourself but you also need to awaken the Conqueror''s Haki. Kaido isn''t some kind of two time fish that will just roll over. We will have to take him down together." Ken said. Law finally understood what Ken meant to say.

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    He couldn''t explain why he didn''t have Conqueror''s Haki because there was none. You either have it or you don''t. He didn''t, or at least he didn''t find himself having one after all.

    As Law and Ken were talking, Luffy finally landed from high up in the air with Bartolomeo under his underarm. He had just flung himself using himself like a cannon to reach this place. Of course he crash landed and Bartolomeo seemed like he was in pain.

    But Luffy didn''t care.

    "You bastard Ken. You took all the fun from me."

    "You just had fun with the Yonko group and you are telling me that I had fun." Ken replied.

    "It doesn''t matter, I wanted to beat Mingo up for such a long time and you took that away from me." Luffy complained. Ken just rolled his eyes. Bartolomeo, as usual had almost a heart attack after seeing Ken after such a long time. He had seen and met him in Logue Town and now he was saw his idols again.

    They had a small talk but then Ken turned around to see King Riku coming up, followed by Fujitora. Law instantly recognized him and his hands were already in his sword. Ken didn''t care and just looked at King Riku.

    "Yo, King.. You got your kingdom back." Ken said, paying no attention to Fujitora.

    King Riku just shook his head and said. "I will not be the King again. I have failed the country, couldn''t save my own people and mostly I couldn''t even save my own family. There was nothing that I could do."

    "Well you should go out and talk to understand the people before coming to a decision. Viola is still out there so you can just talk to her." Ken said.

    Hearing the name Viola, he stiffened and soon excused himself in order to find his daughter. He felt ashamed but he needed to meet her, even if it was for one last time. After King Riku left, Luffy was curious about the blind man that had shown up.

    "Who are you blind ossan?" Luffy asked.

    "He is the new Admiral." Law replied.

    "Eh! Really? He? Ahh.. I am surprised, but he does look powerful." Luffy said.

    "This is the first time I didn''t get judged because I am blind. Hahahaha.. You are one of a kind Monkey D. Luffy, unlike your brother." Fujitora said.

    "Oye what does that supposed to mean?" Ken asked in annoyance.

    "You look down on people, Monkey D. Kenny." Fujitora said.

    "No, you are wrong. I look down on people like you. You are a classic case of avoiding problem syndrome. Since you saw the corruption to the Navy, you turned a blind eye on the justification that the Navy were the lesser evil. Let me say you one thing Fujitora. Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, meddling it''s all the same. If I have to choose one evil and another, I would rather not choose at all. But you decided to help the navy after what went down on the Paramount War because the scales had tipped. But you can''t deny, the winds of the world are changing fast and they, the Government are just old people who needed to be brought down." Ken said. Fujitora was surprised that he knew of his blindness and he hurt him right at his vulnerable spot.

    "Akainu was right. You really do hurt people more with words than your fists." Fujitora said as he half sheathed his sword.

    "Why? You want to take me on." Ken said and in the next moment, his eyes turned into limbal rings.

 316. What a scam

    "I want to but I don''t think the country is ready to handle another battle. Your last battle sucked away the moisture from the environment and if there is another , the people around will collapse in dehydration. Seriously, you are a headache to the navy." Fujitora said as he sheathed his sword and cooled down.

    Ken just looked at him and with his future sight he knew that this guy was talking the truth.

    "How was the welcome, you liked it?" Ken asked with his sarcastic smile.

    "The son of the sea lives up to his name." Fujitora said as he didn''t seem to mind the mocking of Ken.

    "Tch.. You are no fun to talk to." Ken replied. Luffy and Law seeing that everything was fine and there was no subsequent fight cooled down to and Luffy got more curious about the blind man and they both hit it off together. Ken could only shake his head. Luffy always liked Fujitora like he liked Smoker and even now it was the same.

    The war was coming. Hopefully they wouldn''t be thrown into the fate and force to battle each other.

    Meanwhile King Riku met up with Viola and the rest of the crew of Straw hats too. He thanked them profusely. But soon the people came forward and wanted him back as the King of Dressrosa. he refused at the beginning but the people remembered him to be the good king and at this moment they wanted him to be the same old king again. Finally he accepted his old post and promised to be better and bring peace to the country.

    Kyros and Rebecca decided they needed to be better father and daughter, thus opting out of the politics. King Riku also apologized to the Princess of Tontatta tribe and promised that he would make it up to them.

    It was a great reunion. The Yonko pirates after the bird cage crumbled, ran away. The defeated ones were still not in their full power and their minions were scared when they saw the bird cage and the heat they had experienced. They didn''t know what had gone down but they knew that they needed to get out.

    One of them had even informed that he had seen Fujitora and they weren''t powerful enough to face them. Only the higher command could handle those kind of people. They were arrogant but not enough to overlook their own demise.

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    Soon the whole country came to know what had gone down. And later at the presence of people and the media persons he bowed down and asked for forgiveness for what the World Government had done to the country. Of course he did this alone and the rest of the Navy weren''t with him as Jinbe hadn''t let them inside the country.

    Akainu was furious when he came to know and he wanted to talk with Fujitora. He called up another guy who was in the country and asked for his help. Though both of them didn''t have a great relationship, he hoped that the man would help him.

    The man was Sengoku.

    He was in Dressrosa too and Jinbe had allowed him to come in. After the whole fiasco, Ken had come down with Luffy and Law and they ended up meeting Sengoku. The old man with white beard and hair, he went into defensive mode and almost ready to fight Ken.

    "Calm down, old man. We are not here to fight and you will lose anyways." Ken said. Sengoku shuddered and said.

    "It won''t matter. I ain''t the Fleet Admiral anymore." Sengoku said and he let go of his defensive mode. In fact, all of this was a scam shown by Ken and Sengoku. Sabo had already changed his mind and he was in active contact with Sabo and the Revolutionary Army and they had been able to get info of all the Navy supply lines.

    But Dragon knew better and didn''t attack the lines. If he was going to hit them, he would hit them in one go, destroying the logistics and make sure the transition was smooth enough. The Revolutionary Army was being clever about it and Ken had always told him that revolution was fine, but a revolution without a proper after game plans was just as bad as the pre-revolution time.

    In his previous world, this had been the lesson every time and he didn''t want to see that here again. Dragon seemed to have heeded his words as Sabo relayed that so he had been trying to actively engage in better politics in his conquered islands.

    "Why are you here?" Ken asked, playing his part.

    "I am here to talk with him." Sengoku said as he looked at Law. Ken nodded and gave them space. He vanished from the place as he needed to go and meet some people while the other Straw Hats had their fun with people and food.

    When Ken appeared next, it was on one of the Yonko boats. The boat of Big Mom. Big Mom surprisingly didn''t send for her main ship and sent one of a lesser ship. As soon as Ken appeared he was charged with pirates of the Big Mom, and even wrapped up in bandage guy Charlotte Perospero did the same, but of course everyone them were thrown away with one ''Shinra Tensei.''

    "Guys, you need to learn more about how I attack. Every single time I face the same thing and every single time I have to handle your bullshit." Ken said.

    Smoothie commanded everyone to back down as she feared this person was more pwerful than his brother and maybe only Katakuri would be able to handle this devil of a man. His brother was already a menace and defeated them, so she knew when to stop.

    "What do you want? To rub us on our face that you won? Heh.. When my mother comes, you will run away like a runt on his death legs." Smoothie said.

 317. Poison is the last defense

    "That''s quite the low opinion you have of someone. Someone who made the Navy run with tails behind their legs. What did you do except for hiding behind Linlin? Your elder brother took the whole responsibility of all the children around while she never cared. What kind of Mom is someone who makes her children have different classes among themselves, somebody has a higher status while some have lower, and it''s only based on power. Only Katakuri has treated everyone equally. While you are just small children hiding behind someone," Ken didn''t mince his words at all and spoke them just to make them choke.

    Perospero was furious at how Ken uttered the name of his mama by her name. Nobody had the guts, and thus, in anger, he tried to hit him only to be thrown away into the sea with one attack. The crew had to jump into the sea and prevent him from drowning.

    Smoothie was surprised that Ken had that much knowledge about the dynamics of the family. He even knew of Katakuri. This meant she would have to count her words, and threatening him with Big Mom wouldn''t do any good.

    "So you have come to just humiliate us?" Smoothie asked, trying her best not to blow up in anger and showed her calm demeanor.

    "Humiliate? Na.. You have already been humiliated for the world to see. The winds are changing fast, and soon the old powers will be replaced. It''s better if you stay away," Ken said. Smoothie just smirked and didn''t say a word. "Anyways, the main reason I am here is, has the Vinsmoke family been in contact with you or Linlin?"

    This made Smoothie flinch a bit, and that was enough for Ken to know what he needed to know.

    "Good. Your face tells me the answer. Tell Judge not to come after Sanji. Sanji might forgive his family, but I won''t, so they better stay away," Ken said. And with that, he slowly vanished away. Smoothie was just dumbfounded and at a loss for words. She didn''t know what to say and just looked down in shame.

    Not only was she not successful in obtaining the fruit, but also she just got humiliated by another person from the same crew. She couldn''t remember such humiliation since she had known her family and siblings. She could already imagine the face of her Mama and wondered if she could even survive. Ken was right; Mama wasn''t really interested in her children.

    It was just her fulfilling her fantasy of having every single race in her kingdom.

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    She just sighed and ordered the crew to proceed to Whole Cake Island. Mama had already sent the whole invitation to the tea party and arranged a marriage. She was supposed to kidnap Sanji and take him away forcefully.

    But everything went down the line after Luffy took care of all of them in the arena. She was doubting if she could have tried with Sanji, but seeing how Ken was able to make fun of them even on their own boat made her realize the ground reality.

    Only Katakuri can save them at the moment.

    After Ken disappeared, he was on another ship. And this ship belonged to the Beast Pirates. Of course, Ken was here for Jack. The moment Ken appeared on the ship, he was barraged with attacks. Unlike Smoothie''s ship, these people seemed to be mad and attacked them.

    While they were attacking, Jack was the one who took drastic measures. When Ken appeared suddenly on the ship, he knew that talking with him would be of no use because the eyes of Ken were enough to make him realize that he wasn''t here to talk but rather with some mission. And thus, he ordered his subordinates to engage him.

    And thus, he did.

    Ken didn''t outright use his techniques but handled each and every one of them lunging towards him with hand-to-hand combat. He normally never engaged in hand-to-hand combat as it was never required, but today he felt the need to do so and unwind himself.

    The body of the One Piece world, Obito''s enhanced body, and having the Commander''s body with him gave him such an edge that very few bodies in the current world could compete with him, and that included Kaido too.

    He took them quite easily, but Jack was getting ready for his own sneak attack. He didn''t attack directly; instead, he just launched a deadly gaseous poison on the ship. In a matter of seconds, the whole ship was filled with green-colored aerosol poison.

    After fighting Luffy, he and Sasaki were on edge. They wanted to bring more crew and take down the Straw Hats and the Navy.

    At least that was the thought of Jack. He might be very powerful and hot-tempered, but that didn''t mean he was stupid. Since Ken was here, he needed to contain him.

    "You thought you could just walk over us. Experience the newly made poison by my own brother. This should be enough," Jack spoke loudly while wearing a huge mask. Following him, many of the crew were also wearing masks.

    But doing this stunt had also cost him a small number of his own crew, but Jack didn''t care. There was a huge fog of green poison, and they waited for the fog to dissipate to take away Ken and then threaten the Straw Hats.

    "These Straw Hats think that they can get away after what they did. Jack-sama, I heard the Straw Hat cares for his brother. We can get the fruit from them and also destroy them," Sasaki said.

    "That''s right. Oye, go and bring the body of Ken. He is quite the item," Jack ordered. The fog was so thick that when the poison was launched, nobody saw where he had gone, so the crew got into search mode in this huge ship.

    The search went on for a few minutes, but Ken couldn''t be found. This agitated Jack a bit.

 318. Let me walk the talk

    "Oye.. You guys.. What happened. The ship isn''t big enough for someone to just vanish. Search more closely. If you don''t find him, I will throw you out to the sea." Jack barked from his mask. The mask had made his voice weird but the intimidation remained.

    They searched long and wide but they still couldn''t find the person they had been looking for. The fog was slowly dissipating but somehow they felt like the clear light which should have come back by now as the sun was shining brightly didn''t light the place up.

    It was a very weird sensation for a minute or so, as most of the people searching including Jack and Sasaki were busy looking for Ken. At first all the shadow around after the fog dissipated a lot made everyone think that there was some sort of a huge cloud over the top of their head.

    But they soon realized that the shadow was getting deeper. This made many of them look up to see what the hell was up with the clouds, but when they looked up they stiffened.

    "Oye.. What are you looking up at. Search for Punisher already." Sasaki shouted. One of the crew could only open his mouth and clatter a bit before saying.

    "Is.. Is he a God,"

    "What the hell are you talking about?" Jack shouted and looked up in curiosity and when he did, he had the same feeling as his subordinate. This must be some kind of joke.

    At first he saw Ken who was high up in the air. He seemed to standing on air and looking down on them with no emotions on his face. He looked down at them as if they never existed and they were just air to him. That wasn''t the outrageous part.

    The exaggerating part was the fact that there was a huge chunk of hard rounded rock falling down on them, coming at an extreme fast speed. Yes, Ken just summoned a meteor on them. Since these guys wanted to be cruel and unleash a poison miasma, then it was better to give them a taste of their own medicine.

    The meteor was a huge one, almost 10 times the size of the boat and it was coming down quite fast. Normally a meteor should burn if it was coming from outer space, but it wasn''t like that here and Ken controlled the speed enough to let them see the meteor.

    Jack, who didn''t fear anything until this point, for the first time regretted his moves and maybe a small part of him regretted going actively after the Straw Hats. The live video feed he had watched 2 years ago seemed to be a joke to him then.

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    As the meteor descended with frightening speed, Jack and Sasaki exchanged determined glances. The fate of the ship and theirs rested on their shoulders, and without hesitation, they leaped high into the air, propelled by their incredible strength and agility.

    Their combined efforts were awe-inspiring. However, despite their valiant attempts, the sheer magnitude of the meteor proved overwhelming. Ken''s chakra had infused it with an otherworldly strength that defied their best efforts.

    As the colossal rock continued its descent, Jack and Sasaki strained against the forces of nature, desperately trying to alter its trajectory. The tension in the air was palpable as their muscles bulged, and the sky seemed to hold its breath. The sea beneath them churned with anticipation, mirroring the turmoil in the hearts of our brave heroes.

    In a heartbreaking twist, the meteor proved to be too much for even these formidable warriors to handle. Their strength waned, and the meteor descended at an unstoppable pace, crashing into the open sea with an earth-shattering impact. The force of the collision sent shockwaves rippling through the water, causing colossal waves that swallowed their ship whole.

    As the vessel sank into the depths, Jack and Sasaki, now battered and defeated, succumbed to the inevitable pull of the ocean.

    Of course before they could beyond sun''s embrace they both were sucked into the whirlpool that Ken just created. The crew members were probably dead, while Jack and Sasaki were holding their last breaths by a hair. Only to be saved by Ken.

    With one of the main players of Kaido taken care of, he was back in Dressrosa. Luffy was way too tired after the fight in the arena, thus Bartolomeo took him to a secluded location and brought him food. In fact, even Ken was a bit exhausted, so he too proceeded to take a nap with the others.

    Zoro and others had been running around so they too needed some rest as they came together and just had their rest. Kyros came and thanked them, even King Riku came late at night. The reason these people could find the place was because the Tontatta tribe told Riku as he wanted to thank the Straw hats for freeing their island.

    The next day, Bartolomeo came running in with bad news saying that the Navy were coming to catch them. This made Nami and others scared and almost ready to take their bags and vanish from their place but Ken said there was nothing to worry about as he would handle them.

    This made Ussop, Nami and Chopper relieved and urged him to go.

    "You guys with even all the powers and abilities, should be more confident." Ken said.

    "What are you talking about. They call me the Most confident man in the world." Ussop declared to which Ken just rolled his eyes. He vanished from his spot.

    "Hey don''t you think he will fight the Navy again?" Chopper asked once he disappeared from their view.

    "Maybe. maybe not. He always does this behind the scenes work that makes our sailing quite easier." Ussop said. Ken always felt like he doing his job in quite the hidden manner but except for Luffy everyone knew what he did behind their backs.

    And all of them were in support of what he did. This made the Straw Hat crew safe.

    "He killed the Beasts Pirates yesterday." Law said as he was also with them in the location. Sanji, who had been cooking, asked.

    "Those sneaky bastards who came to the arena to fight for the fruit?"

 319. Giving sermons

    "If Ken killed them, then they deserved it," Zoro said while polishing his Zanpakuto.

    "Yohohoho.. Ken has grown cruel over time," Brook said.

    "At times we need to be cruel and decisive, or else many more people will get hurt in the future. This kingdom was sick, and there was nothing they could do. I hope father is alright as he conveyed that he is on the way to Marijoa," Vivi said.

    "Don''t worry. Sabo and the Revolutionary Army are already inside Marijoa, and the Reverie meeting would be safe for your father," Nami gave Vivi hope, but she was still very anxious. Ken, during the previous two years in training, spoke to her and told her about her lineage.

    Her being from the D family and how the ancestor of hers once went to Marijoa and vanished. He spoke of the things that might have gone down and even the possibility that she herself was still alive and was the main controller of the Celestial Dragons. This new information made her shudder.

    "Do you think my ancestor is still alive? You really believe that?" Vivi asked when Ken revealed the truth.

    "I don''t know, Vivi. My visions aren''t very thorough, but I do know that the one controlling the World Government is someone who has a covered lily garden, and your ancestor''s name is Lily. Normally, it doesn''t mean anything, but there is a small chance of it being true. I will not be surprised if her body is being used as some kind of vessel. One day we will have to face this person, and then everything will be clear," Ken said. Vivi was a bit distraught, supposing the fact that the reason Poneglyphs were all over the globe was because of her ancestor, and now she herself could be the villain?

    What the hell was wrong with this world? Thankfully, it was just the thoughts of Ken and not the reality. She could only pray that the words of Ken were not the truth.

    Ken had appeared right in front of Fujitora and Sengoku, who had been busy eating noodle ramen. Fujitora seemed to have a hearty meal while Sengoku was just berating him for having bad food habits. The moment Ken appeared, both of them froze but didn''t attack or react differently.

    Both of them were in a noodle shop, so Ken, smelling the good and warm food, ordered the same. They both sat down close to each other.

    "The food here is delicious," Fujitora said, almost addressing Ken.

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    "It sure is."

    "Sanji makes better food. Ask Sengoku, he knows the taste."

    The words of Ken hurt Sengoku, and he almost choked. He had to calm down and not choke on his food.

    "I never liked the food," Sengoku declared.

    "If I tell that to Sanji, he will turn light speed just to beat you up," Ken replied. This made Sengoku shut his mouth. He didn''t want any confrontation at this moment.

    "Why are you here? To mock some old men?" Fujitora asked after he gulped down the soup.

    "Nah. Just here to tell you to look out for yourself Fujitora. And also to gulp down some noodles." Ken replied as he too started eating.

    As he was waiting, there was a very subtle small change in the gravity around but Ken didn''t seem to mind and continued to eat. He didn''t even flinch. The small change in gravity stopped and everything went back to normal. Ken continued to eat and when he was done he went on to pay the manager.

    Before leaving Ken spoke.

    "Fujiora.. Tell The Gorosei to remain out of our business. If they even try to meddle in, I will make sure that Marijoa doesn''t remain."

    "You can''t just threaten Marijoa and walk off." Fujitora said and this time with authority. Ken who had taken a few steps stopped and turned around. The surrounding temperatures slowly got heated up and people around started sweating.

    Fujitora, who seemed to turned to fighting mode back off a bit. He wanted to fight but he knew doing that would only destroy the island. Fujitora knew that Ken wouldn''t hurt the people of the island but fighting against him, in this situation would be quite detrimental.

    Ken just scoffed and walked away, he didn''t care. Soon he was back in the previous location and saw that Luffy had woken up. Well at least half awoken and had started eating. It was quite the festive mood.

    After the small banquet, they were back at the shore and this was where they were stopped by all the people who had fought with Luffy in the arena. With Abrtolomeo they came forward and asked to establish a fleet under the name of Luffy as the future Yonko.

    In the morning, after Doflamingo vanished, it was established that he had been defeated. The defeat of the Yonko''s pirates was already known to all as the newspapers accepted that Lucy was Luffy. He was now dubbed as the 5th Yonko.

    These groups of vagabonds ranging from Giants, to bounty hunters to previous Supernova, each one of them wanted to make a fleet on his name and thus be under his banner. Just like in the original story he shared sake with each of the big names, including Bartolomeo.

    "Do whatever you want but don''t encroach on the territory of Shanks and if you want any help contact Ace." Ken said as he saw everyone had already shared the sake.

    "Yes, Vice Commander." Bartolomeo said.

    "Vice Commander?" Ken was confused.

    "Yes Ken-senpai. Luffy-senpai is Commander-in-general, while you are the Vice -Commander, with the second highest in command of the grand fleet. While the rest of the crew are the Generals. General Franky, General Zoro, General Sanji.." Bartolomeo went on to explain and showed how proud he was to designate such titles for the Straw hats.

    Ken just laughed along with Luffy hearing that and accepted whatever they have cooked up. Ken gave some ideas of what they needed to do and also said what not to do. Bartolomeo and rest listened as if Ken just gave some mind blowing sermons.

 320. Which hand do you use to draw

    It was a long speech, and this time Fujitora didn''t show up. He didn''t have the Navy with him and was alone. Sengoku refused to help and even indicated that it would be better for the Straw Hats to just leave. Law had a talk with Sengoku while Luffy enjoyed sake with the new fleet.

    It went as anticipated, but Sengoku actually bowed down and apologized. Not only for pushing Rosinante for the dangerous mission but also for being against saving Law. Sengoku realized that Law was just a child at that time, and he should have considered his well-being instead of going after the fruit.

    Sengoku had enough pride to put the blame on higher-ups and admitted that he could have changed the course but refused to see that at the time. Ken was far, but he heard what Sengoku said.

    Ken didn''t expect that, because he believed that Sengoku would just apologize for Rosinante. But maybe the brainwashing of Sabo did have some good effects on him. Soon Merry flew down and the Straw Hats were ready to board. The people around served them tons of food, and Luffy was overjoyed seeing all the food.

    Before leaving, Ken looked at Sengoku and whispered with the help of Nami''s magic.

    "Help Kuma. He needs saving."

    Sengoku nodded. He didn''t need to be told. Dragon had already contacted him to save Kuma. Kuma''s changes were something he himself obliged to. It''s just Kuma didn''t expect a third party entering and neither did Vegapunk.

    If he had known, he might have declined to help Bonney in the first place or maybe just do it for her for free. But what''s done was done, and if Vegapunk wasn''t able to save him, then Franky would be sent over to use his own intellect and brain to save him.

    It took some hours, but everything was on board, and soon they were on their way. Unlike the original story, all of the Straw Hats were together, and Law asked for help to meet up in Zou. And along with Law, there were three more people.

    Kinemon, Momonosuke, and Kanjuro. Kanjuro was found and helped by Kinemon. He was very happy to meet his old ''friend'' and couldn''t wait to meet the rest. Of course, even now Kinemon and others hadn''t actually told the truth.

    But Zoro and Sanji were getting a bit suspicious because of some words Kinemon and Momosuke had said, but they didn''t pressure them to spill out. The ship sailed on the sea itself, following the vivre card of Bepo.

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    It was a good time as everyone was back in their rooms, doing their own thing. It would take some time for them to reach Zou, so everyone got engaged in their own world.

    The next day was similar, but Ken decided to confront the big elephant in the room that had been lurking for some time. They were all in the huge hall and gazed at the open sea, some lying on the fake grass while others just had a good time in the sun. Jimbei was controlling the ship and thus he too was having a fun time.

    Kanjuro, at the moment, was showing off his Devil Fruit and the fact that his drawings could come to life. Luffy and others were amazed, though Luffy labeled Kanjuro''s trick as someone who was able to use ninjutsu, as he had once seen someone while living the life of Hiruzen doing that.

    Kanjuro was happy that he was being seen in such high regard. As he was drawing, Ken suddenly asked him.

    "Kanjuro, what hand do you use to fight with the sword?"

    This made Kanjuro feel weird, but he replied without thinking too much.

    "The right hand, of course."

    "Hmmm... So your right hand is the primary and working hand of yours?" Ken asked again.

    "Yes," Kanjuro replied again, not thinking much of it. But Ken''s question caught the attention of Zoro, who was just sitting around and looking at his Zanpakuto.

    "Then why are you drawing with your left hand?" he asked. This question suddenly made Kanjuro, who had been smiling all along, freeze up. This question came out of the blue.

    "I... I..." Kanjuro stuttered.

    "Some people can have two primary hands," Chopper replied.

    "They do, but he has been using his left hand to draw such horrible art. I wonder why he isn''t trying to draw with his right hand?" Sanji, who had just served food, said.

    "Yes, yes, you spoke rightly. Maybe I should try and draw with my right hand. It might help in better art." Kanjuro was actually sweating when he replied. He was cursing inside as he said that.

    When he got aboard the ship, he thought that these people were gullible. One just clamored about food, one just lazed around, one was with swords, and another with cooking. The others he ignored, but he didn''t expect that one of them would be able to catch such a small aspect of his.

    "Oye, Kanjuro, why are you sweating? Do you have a fever or something?" Kinemon asked, as he didn''t suspect any foul play on his part since Kanjuro and he went way back in time. Ken just sighed, seeing how gullible Kinemon was.

    This story was what caused a lot of problems for the Scabbards, and Ken was determined not to repeat what had gone down in Wano. He wanted to nip the problem in the bud and tear the mask off Kanjuro''s face.

    Kanjuro, in order to show and act that he was new to drawing, ''struggled'' to draw new things. But Ken had enough of his acting, so he slowly pulled his Zanpakuto from its sheath and placed the blade right at Kanjuro''s shoulder as he continued drawing.

    The moment he did that, there was an eerie silence.

 321. He just walked into the trap

    Zoro and Brook, who had been having their own time in life, slowly got up and each placed a hand on their swords. Nami already had her staff, and Sanji set his food plate aside while the rest became serious.

    Even Luffy had a different look on his face, though he was eating whatever Sanji had served. Everyone on the ship could tell that there was suddenly a powder keg ready to burst when Ken placed the blade on Kanjuro''s shoulder.

    "Hahaha... Ken-san... I like the joke," Kanjuro said, sweating while Kinemon could feel the unrest slowly developing. He had placed his hand on his sword''s sheath while Momo slowly hid behind Kinemon.

    "Joke? Let me ask you a question. What is your full name? The actual name."

    "Kanjuro... That''s my name, and I was brought up as an orphan," Kanjuro said.

    "I will ask you again. What is your name?" Ken asked, and this time the temperature in the surroundings started to rise. This made Kin''emon more serious and ready to run away with Momo and Kanjuro. But he was also confused because Ken was supposed to know everything, including their backgrounds, which they had previously talked about.

    "Ken-dono, I think there is some misunderstanding."

    "You think I don''t know about the Scabbards and your whole team, who are supposed to be the retainers of Kozuki Oden?" Ken asked.

    "Uh! That''s not what I meant, Ken-dono. But he is also one of the retainers; it is quite disrespectful to us what you are doing," Kin''emon said. Ken didn''t bother to answer him; instead, he looked at Kanjuro, and this time there was no mercy in his voice as he spoke the following words.

    "You were raised in the theater all your life, so all in all, you have a pretty good idea of how to act and fake yourself. Heck, you were even ready to die with Oden when push came to shove. It was all because of your loyalty to that person. You were ready to go to any lengths so that you could be one of the Scabbards. Now, if you have a little bit of self-respect left in you, come clean with your name. I am saying this because even if you deny it, you will die by my hands, but that death will be the most horrifying death possible for you. I will skin you in the open sun while putting salt on you after your skin is ripped off. I will take off your nails one by one and then proceed to break your fingers slowly, one day at a time, and then send you to an open white space where you will meet no one, and the only color you will see for the rest of your wretched life will be white. But if you admit your fault, I will give you a quick death and let your soul rest in peace just because of your loyalty to that person."

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    The more Ken spoke, the more terrified the people around him were. Even the Straw Hats were dumbfounded by how cruel Ken could be, but none of them spoke against Ken and let him finish.

    "Isn''t that a bit too much?" Nami laughed nervously as she said.

    "He is darker than me," Robin replied.

    "Ken, remind me not to be on the bad side of you," Chopper said as his legs shook and he stood behind Usopp, who himself was shaking in fear.

    Kin''emon was ready to attack, but before he could do so, Brook and Zoro''s swords were placed on Kin''emon''s neck. They moved so fast that Kin''emon couldn''t even move an inch without blood flowing down.

    Momo had already started crying and went straight to Luffy, complaining and pulling his cheeks, pleading with him to stop Ken. Luffy was silent and didn''t say a word. He had more trust in Ken than he even had in himself, and whatever he was doing, there must be a reason.

    "Ken-dono, Luffy-dono, I thought we could trust you."

    But none of the Straw Hats responded as everyone waited for Kanjuro''s response.

    "This is so wrong. We came on the ship hoping to go to Wano. We don''t want any disturbance," Kanjuro said while trying to get out of the situation and change the topic. But in response, all he got was a long cut on his neck, blood flowing down. Kanjuro got more scared and tried hard to respond quickly by drawing a bird since he was holding the brush in his right hand and had a paper.

    This move made the drawing come to life, and soon they saw a huge bird made of white color. But there was a change this time. Unlike his usual crude arts, the bird was lifelike and beautiful. This was enough proof that the Straw Hats needed, if they had any doubt before.

    Even Kin''emon, who was being held down, was very surprised to see a realistic drawing from Kanjuro. For the first time, he doubted something. When the bird appeared and dove forward to take a bite at Ken, a tail grew out of the back of Ken.

    The dragon tail moved and swatted the bird in open air, making the bird turn into ink and splash all over the place. Nami conjured magic so that her clothes didn''t get any ink.

    "So now you can draw. All of Dressrosa, you made everyone suffer," Ken said. "Last chance, come clean. You have seen how I fight; I will burn you to the ground if you don''t tell us your full name."

    Kanjuro was ready to make another drawing, but before he could do so, Ken proceeded to cut the brush in half with a simple swing and then laid a huge gash on his abdomen. Kanjuro had to dodge a bit to avoid being hurt too much, but there was still blood, which stained his white cloth.

 322. What are those poles for?

    Of course, this was a trap set by Ken. He allowed Kanjuro to draw in front of everyone to see how he could draw, and this fool just showed his true colors. One chance was enough, and he didn''t need another one.

    It would be an insult to Ken and the Straw Hats if he were allowed to dance more. Kanjuro now didn''t know what he should say but knew that he was caught and struggling more would really end him. He could feel the Conqueror''s Haki oozing from Ken and already knew that he needed to come out with the truth, or he really might die the most horrible way.

    He had heard how Doflamingo vanished from the face of the earth, and he had felt the dry heat from the castle during the battle. He would never be able to stand against Ken. The bird which he drew was his panic mode working, and he was supposed to draw again to escape into the open sea.

    But he thought too much. There was nowhere for him to escape, and he would die. Kin''mon was shouting at Ken and asking him to leave Kanjuro alone, but Ken didn''t pay attention at all. Momo was also sobbing like a baby, but Luffy was numb to that.

    Kanjuro looked around, and slowly, the gullible idiot-looking white face was replaced by a maniacal laughter.

    "Hahaha... Hahahaha... Hahahaha... I didn''t expect that after so many years some people even remember me for what I was," Kanjuro said. Those words made Kin''mon and Momo freeze. They hardly could believe the sudden change in the demeanor of Kanjuro.

    "You want my name... My name... My name is Kanjuro Kurozumi. A member of the Kurozumi family. Yes, the same family which is the current shogun of Wano. Hahahah... All my life I have been loyal to only one person, and that is Orochi-sama... I infiltrated Oden''s family to spy on them and strike at the optimal time. But I guess that can''t be possible anymore... Hahahaha... What a sad tale for me."

    This was followed by the same silence as before when Ken accused Kanjuro of being someone else. But this time, the silence was followed by screams from Kin''mon.

    "Kanjuro... What the hell are you talking about? You are not in your right mind. I will talk with Luffy-dono and let Chopper-dono see your brain. You are not talking straight."

    "This is not happening..."

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    "This is a joke, right?"

    "Tell me this is a joke."

    Kin''mon went from refusal to denial, but the more he saw the face of Kanjuro, the more he believed him, and the faster he broke down. Momonosuke too was distraught and had again started crying. This time the cries were not loud but just silent sobs. He couldn''t believe that one of his protectors and great friends of his father could turn out to be a scum.

    "Who wants to be the friend of a dirty, filthy bastard like you? The Scabbards? Tch... They are just low lives, and I was forced to be with these low lives for such a long time. It was suffocating. There were even those beasts..." Before Kanjuro could speak more, he got a straight punch right at the face.

    It wasn''t Ken who took action, but Luffy himself.

    "He talks too much." Luffy said. Ken just smiled and spoke to Luffy.

    "I am sorry. I took action without consulting you."

    "He deserved it and it''s fine." Luffy said.

    Meanwhile. Kin''mon and Momo were just mentally broken down. Ken had to sit with them and explain who Kanjuro was and he did that in front of Kanjuro himself as now he was chained in sea stones and was forced to just hear the words between Ken as he spoke more of his background.

    "I was the target all along?" Momo asked. Ken could only nod his head.

    "Momo, you can''t just cry and go along. You need to grow up. You have seen the brutality your face had to face, your mother sacrificed herself leaving only you and your sister. You need to be strong. You have us on your side but if you want to be the shogun of Wano, you need to have the spine to do so." Ken gave another long speech to help him understand the gravity of the situation.

    Momo could only nod as waters ran down his face. He didn''t know that his sister was still alive and thus knowing that his sister was well and living gave him more courage to get up and take the reins. Now he was more determined to get strong and be someone who could lead Wano to a better future.

    Kanjuro meanwhile was chained and sent to the exclusive prison of Merry which was built. Nami in order to know more, used magic to get inside his brain and bring out more information. The more Kin''mon heard of how his betrayal was supposed to be and how he would respond one day to the call of Orochi, the more disgusted he was.

    But Kin''mon also felt pity. That didn''t mean he would let him escape. He was just sad and broken that one of their best friends just turned out to be a spy for the enemy. Nami even showed his memories in a pensive which Nami forcefully extracted.

    The ship sailed for a few more days. Law had been the spectator so he was also surprised by the revelation of Kanjuro. But this had nothing to do with him personally. One fine afternoon, there was finally a shout from Zoro from the top of the ship.

    "I see a very huge poles.. Standing on the sea. Wait.. What the hell.. It''s moving.. You need to see it to believe it."

    Everyone came running out and soon they were able to see huge poles which looked like legs of an elephant. No, this was an elephant and it was moving on the sea slowly. Everyone''s breath came to a stand still when they got to see it.

 323. Calm down, let me eat

    As the mysterious island of Zou came into view on the horizon, the crew gathered on the deck to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic landmass. They had heard a lot about it, and seeing it in reality was a different sensation altogether.

    Luffy, with his trademark grin, exclaimed, "Hey, look at that! The island has legs!" pointing excitedly at the massive elephant''s legs that stretched into the sky.

    "Is that an island or a giant animal?" Nami wondered.

    "Imagine the creatures we''ll find on an island that''s also a living creature! I can already see the headlines: ''Usopp the Brave Tamer of Zou Beasts!''" Ussop had already started imagining things. Honestly speaking, everyone was blown away as they saw Zou for the first time, even Ken.

    "An island that''s alive! This is incredible! I need to examine it!" Chopper let his intrusive thoughts come out unfiltered.

    "Another weird island, huh? Well, as long as there''s a good place to train, I''m fine with it," Zoro said as he slowly got up.

    "Jimbei, take us high," Ken announced.

    "Yokai," Jimbei shouted, and soon the ship was in the air, gaining altitude fast. Since there was no Kanjuro, there was no horribly drawn flying serpent, which brought tears to Robin, Ussop, and Luffy. They were flying in style!

    As the ship was slowly gaining altitude, Ken looked at the elephant that had been just walking. He felt pity and thus just jumped from the ship and came close to the front legs of Zunesha.

    "Oye Ken, what are you doing? We are going up," Luffy shouted. The other Straw Hat members were also confused about why Ken just came close to the elephant and touched the leg of it. Ken didn''t reply and just felt the sensation coursing through Zunesha.

    He could easily tell that this thing was alive.

    "Zunesha... I don''t know what your purpose is... Hope you find peace. I hope the wait for him has come to and end for you because Joyboy is here," Ken murmured, and after a minute-long silence, he vanished and was back at the ship.

    "Oye Ken, what did you do there?" Luffy asked.

    "Me? Nothing. Just wanted to check something," Ken replied.

    They didn''t ask, but Robin looked at Ken differently. She slowly came towards Ken and asked, "What did you talk with him?" Robin asked.

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    "You heard me. So you already know," Ken replied, as he had seen the ear grow on the side of the place he had touched Zunesha. Robin smiled in response and said, "Yes, but you have never mentioned that word until now. So how is it related to this elephant?" Robin asked.

    "Like you, I also have no idea. The only thing I can tell is that this elephant or whatever this is goes by the name Zunesha, and he had some sort of pact or agreement with Joyboy thousands of years ago, and right now only one person can direct his movement and actions."

    "Luffy can do that?" Robin was surprised.

    "No. You are wrong. Momo can direct his actions," Ken replied.

    "What?" Robin was really surprised now, as she didn''t expect that Zunesha, who had contact with the previous Joyboy, could hear orders from Momonsouke. This really made no sense.

    "Don''t look at me like that. I also have no idea what is going on. I only saw some glimpses, and I am as confused as you are," Ken replied.

    "Then I need to explore this island above more," Robin said.

    "Yes, there is a Red Poneglyph here."

    "Red?" Robin again was confused.

    "You didn''t think reaching Laughtale was that easy, right?" Ken asked.

    "Uh, don''t we have to just follow the pointer?" Robin asked.

    "Don''t you think everyone would have reached Laughtale if the Log Pose pointed to Laughtale? Don''t worry; everything will be explained. Reaching the last island means we need to fight the Yonkos, and there is a reason for that," Ken said, being mysterious.

    Robin wanted to know, but she knew how to have patience. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the island, and there was a huge gate being built. The ship docked, and the Straw Hats eagerly disembarked, stepping onto the lush and vibrant landscape of Zou. Since the ship was huge, they had to find a place for docking the ship. But as the ship docked, they heard several murmurs coming from outside.

    As they came to the side of the deck, they saw people never before seen by anyone among the Straw Hats. The Minks. Of course, Jimbei had met them before, but he didn''t have that much of a connection with them.

    "So these are the so-called Minks. They look like someone who had eaten a Zoan fruit," Robin said.

    "Right? Oye Chopper, these are your friends."

    "Shut up. I am an animal; they are a race. We are not the same."

    "This looks like fun," Luffy said, and without any warning, he jumped right off the ship towards them. He didn''t even notice that these Minks weren''t exactly happy to see such a huge ship, and there was quite the uproar.

    The moment Luffy dropped on the ground, he was surrounded by Minks who looked like they were ready to ''shoot'' him down. Two men who were Jaguar Mink and a Bull Mink approached, while the other Minks took steps back. Both of these Minks were jacked and buffed, and looked very intimidating.

    "Invader, you have one minute to tell us who you are and how did you bring such a sea-sailing ship high up in the air? Do you have any connection with Lion Shiki? Tell us the truth, and I will spare your and your crew''s lives," the Jaguar Mink said. Luffy, who was ready to run around and see this place, had a question mark on his forehead.

    Not because he didn''t understand the question, but because it was too many questions at a time, and he couldn''t process so much in a second.

    "What are you talking about? I just came here. Tra-o said that he has his friends here," Luffy said.

 324. I can take you inside

    "We don''t have any connections with that old bone Shiki. Our ship can fly due to the technology we used," answered Ken, who had appeared. He wasn''t agitated or intimidated; he spoke with a smile on his face.

    This made them calm down a bit, but their guards were still up. By this time, everyone had slowly walked out of the ship and stood behind Ken. Trafalgar looked around and said, "I am here to meet Bepo. He is my friend."

    "Bepo? You are the one who kidnapped him to the ship?" Pedro, one of the Guardians of Zou and the one Ken knew the most about, inquired.

    "No, he had joined my crew long ago, and I didn''t kidnap him." Law was a bit offended when Pedro accused him of kidnapping. Pedro took a deep look at Law and said, "You are the Captain of the ship, and this is the rest of the crew?" Law denied and mentioned that Luffy was the Captain of the Straw Hats. Pedro looked at his hat and the goofy smile, then ordered the other guardians to calm down, as he didn''t believe they were enemies.

    The hat, too, reminded him of his past, so his instincts told him that this was fine.

    "Come with us and don''t stray away," Pedro demanded, and they were led through the gates of Zou.

    The landscape of Zou was a breathtaking sight, with lush vegetation covering the vast expanse of the elephant''s back. Towering trees, vibrant flowers, and cascading waterfalls created a mesmerizing environment for the people around who lived on the back of Zunesha.

    The architecture of the Mink Tribe reflected their unique lifestyle. Treehouse villages were suspended from the massive branches of Zou, and various platforms and bridges connected different parts of the island. The Mink Tribe themselves were a diverse and colorful community, with anthropomorphic animal features, making them resemble different species of animals.

    One notable location on Zou was the Whale Forest, a dense and enchanting forest filled with gigantic whale-shaped trees. This served as a crucial part of the island''s ecosystem and also housed the Mink Tribe''s primary settlement, known as the Whale Forest City. And they had soon reached that place.

    Momo, who had been silent since Kanjuro''s betrayal, finally showed wonder in his eyes as he looked around. After Kanjuro''s betrayal, he even stopped clinging to Nami and Robin for a bit, revealing how deeply affected Momo was by the incident.

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    Kin''mon and Momo stepped forward, directly asking for Inuarashi and Nekomamushi. Pedro and others immediately went on guard again.

    "How do you know them?" Pedro asked.

    "Because they are the retainers of the Kozuki family," Kin''mon declared, revealing the Kozuki family tattoo on his bareback. This made Pedro and others fall silent, and one of the Guardians quickly ran to inform about the arrivals. Within minutes, Inuarashi had arrived.

    Seeing Momo again, he cried tears and bowed down to him. "Momonuske-sama, I am sorry for being useless and not being able to save you," Inuarashi said. Momo went forward and ordered him to get up. Soon, Nekomamushi showed up, followed by Raizo. Raizo was almost in tears as he saw Kin''mon again. There was a sense of joy as they got together.

    But the happiness didn''t last long as they learned about Kanjuro''s betrayal. This made all of them furious.

    "Where is the bastard? Let me ease my anger-nya."

    "Grr.. I want to send him to hell and bring him back just to send him to hell again."

    The retainers were furious, and Nami had to show them how Kanjuro was being held. He was tied to a cross and chained, with bruises all over his body and his face swollen at weird angles. Nami and others didn''t hold back at all. Ken hated traitors, and he was the one to inflict the maximum damage.

    Seeing his pathetic condition brought peace to their souls. They talked more, and soon they were inside the tree where the Red Poneglyph was stored. There, Robin and others learned that to reach the island holding the One Piece, one needed to decipher all the Red Poneglyphs, which were held by the Yonko. They needed to get to Kaido and Big Mom to obtain the Road Poneglyph. This revelation made the Straw Hats realize why reaching Laughtale was nearly impossible for most people.

    "So, there are four of these? One is with Big Mom, one is in the territory ruled by Kaido, and where is the remaining one?" Law asked, and subconsciously, the Straw Hats looked at Ken.

    "What? I don''t know the location of the last one," Ken said.

    "C''mon, Ken, I am sure if you use your abilities, you will know," Sanji said.

    "What do you think my abilities are? Some kind of apples that fall every day?" Ken complained.

    "I thought both were the same; your Devil fruit had always been a great help in the journey," Zoro said. Ken didn''t expect that the rest of the crew thought of him as some kind of ATM machine; only in this case, the ATM machine would vomit information.

    "Anyways, we need to get the one from Big Mom," Luffy knew what he needed to do. "Let''s go and take the Road Poneglyph," Luffy said, and the moment he said that, Nami, Chopper, and Usopp punched Luffy on the head.

    "If you want to die, don''t drag us."

    "Yes... yes... Don''t drag us."

    "Do you even know what you are talking about? This is Big Mom, one of the Yonko. Have you forgotten how powerful Whitebeard was, and that too when he was super old?"

    "So what do you want us to do? We need the Road Poneglyph." Luffy shouted back. And thus the argument between 1 vs 3 started. While the rest of the crew started to think deep of how to take the Poneglyph and also avoid Big Mom, if possible.

    "We might be able to avoid Big Mom, I know the ways inside." Pedro said as he came forward.

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 325. You will be the man

    "Pedro, even if you do take us inside their territory, we will still have to face Big Mom, if not her, then her right hand. Charlotte Katakuri. The one with a billion bounty." Ken replied. Pedro was surprised that Ken believed him when he said that he could bring them.

    "Why are we not going for Wano?" Momo asked. This made everyone take a double take. Even for Ken. For Ken, subconsciously, after Zou, came Whole Cake island so he was thinking of going there. But he had forgotten, the basic reason the Straw Hats were in Whole Cake island in the first place.

    It was because of Sanji. The Big Mom''s family had tried to go after Sanji from what he heard, and knowing what transpired, Big Mom wouldn''t want to poke at Straw hats. They had already done once and if they wanted to take away Sanji, she herself would have to move and she didn''t have that much luxury at the moment.

    Vinsmoke family would probably be ready to sacrifice one of their sons or their daughter to Big Mom for getting the support of theirs. Maybe Sanji, hearing the news would change his mind and go after Big Mom. But at the moment, they really didn''t have a reason to go to Whole Cake island. And the liberation of Wano came first.

    "Yosh, then we go to Wano where we have the other Road Poneglyph and then go after Big Mom." Luffy said. "Oye, Ken are you sure that there is another Road Ponelgyph there?"

    "You thought I was lying?" Ken asked with annoyance.

    "No, I meant, do you know the location?" Luffy asked.

    "Yes, but reaching there, you will have to face Kaido. Are you ready for that?" Ken asked. This made everyone silent. During their training, both Ken and Rayliegh spoke about how powerful Kaido was.

    How he was a beast, had future Observation and was known as the strongest creature. Maybe in inherent power, Ken was better, but when it came to Haki, Kaido had almost no opponent.

    Luffy had progressed a lot in Armament Haki and had even learnt Haki that could be exerted outside of the body. But he was falling short on having full control of internal destruction and also coating. Ken was also quite a distance away from achieving that.

    There was silence in the room, while the Mink tribes were terrified thinking that the Straw Hats were even considering going after Wano.

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    "So what? Are we scared?" Luffy asked with a smile on his face. This brought a smile on the faces of Ken, Sanji, Jinbe and Zoro.

    "That''s right."

    "We are the crew of the future Pirate King, how can we be afraid of one Yonko."

    "Hehehe.. It will be fun."

    But of course not everybody was onboard and they tried to change the mind of the Captain, but he had already thought about it and this would happen one way or the other. Ken too felt excited. It had been a long time since they had actual fight. Kaido would definitely give them quite the challenge.

    And maybe this would help Luffy more and awaken his devil fruit. If the situation became too dire, he would escape with the crew. That was always the back up option, but Ken knew that if he wanted to grow, he would need to push through.

    And Momo, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, Law and Luffy came forward to establish the Samurai-Mink-Pirate alliance and this alliance would go after Kaido. Of course, it was followed by a huge banquet.

    The banquet was a big one with many of the Mink tribe coming together. Following the Straw hats, Bepo''s group, who had been hiding, were also allowed to join since it was an alliance at the moment. The Straw Hats soon got acquainted with the other Mink tribe members, especially Carrot.

    She was quite the energetic kind and Luffy and her instantly bonded. Followed by Nami and others. Ken too enjoyed himself with the rest.

    "Franky, can you make Law''s ship better." Ken asked.

    "You mean the submarine? Sure. I have never worked on a submarine. Would help me a lot in refitting our ship." Franky said.

    "I didn''t ask for help." Law shouted. Franky didn''t listen at all as he went on his way followed by Vivi. He was more excited to work on a submarine and that was what he was looking forward to. Ken looked at Law and said.

    "Our ship can climb the waterfall in Wano. Can yours do too?"

    This made Law shut up as he had seen the passage to Wano and honestly it didn''t look good at all. He wasn''t sure if the ship would reach Wano safe. He didn''t complain any more and just took a sip of his wine. The mink tribe seeing the interaction, laughed.

    Ken had asked to train for a week before they leave. And the Straw hats agreed as one week would be the time needed by Franky to refit the submarine ship of Law. And thus, the whole week of training started.

    Ken was extremely brutal with training as he used more harsh measures than Rayleigh used. During the 2 years of training, Rayleigh used to call him the ring leader of the circus of how brutal he was with himself and also to others in training.

    In this week of training, Ken showed his ugly face again. And he also forced Bepo and his crew to join him. Bepo, being the cute guy, he showed the cute face to Ken to get away but he didn''t get any less time in training. Of course, the Heart pirates revolted and went against the ''regime training'' of Ken, only to be beaten back.

    And Law didn''t step in the middle while they trained. He had seen how the Straw Hats fought, and if he wanted to reach the Laughtale, he needed to keep up and so did his crew. But Ken wasn''t harsh always as he spoke to Bepo too.

    "Bepo, when the Captain falls down, who will your Captain rely on?" Ken asked.

 326. Hotel? Zivago

    Bepo was silent and thought of it for a second. At the end, he realized except for the big muscle head which they had attained from the auction for free. He was powerful for sure, but Bepo was the Vice Captain and he had been the main force of fighting since the beginning.

    Now the words of Ken made him realize that he was also the main fighting force and if push came to shove, he would have to save the Captain too.

    "I understand. I will work hard."

    "You have heard of the Mink tribe''s Sulong mode right?"

    "Of course I did. But I have never used it." Bepo replied.

    "Hmm.. You should practice the Sulong mode when the full moon arrives. Get a hold of it." Ken said. He said that because the Sulong mode of Bepo was really powerful and he had already asked Chopper to make medicines that would allow a Mink to go into Sulong mode.

    And given the nature of Chopper''s character, it should be easy to make good medicines. A medicine that would help them unleash the power for longer time and with no side affects. The reason why Ken had faith in Chopper to make a better medicine was because of his character. Chopper had a pretty broken character as his side piece to begin with. And that was Arceus.

    Yes, he got the God the Pokemon to be the 2nd character and though Chopper was progressing pretty slow, there were pretty good advancements. And Ken had a good hope that he would be able to make better medicines using his new godlike abilities.

    While they were training, he suddenly got a notification.

    [

    Character progression from Nami - 100%

    ]

    Seeing the notification, it brought a smile on his face. Nami had been working hard and that too very unusually. She was someone who was innovative and she had used her innovations when it came to Avatar character. With the help of bending and Ken suggestions, over the last 2 years, she was able to learn more bending that came out of it.

    Blood bending, Lava bending, Lightning bending. The only thing that she couldn''t learn was to fly in the process of air bending. She had tried hard but Ken had said that in order to fly with air bending, one would have to give away all the spiritual attachments and Nami had too much tied down to be able to give away.

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    So even though she couldn''t fly without the broom, she was quite the bender and a magician. As Ken was thinking of all the hardships Nami had went through. She came jumping to Ken. It''s because she too felt that she had finally achieved what she had been trying and progressing the best way possible.

    "Everyone, we have a new one." Ken shouted. This was enough to bring everyone out of stupor of training and make a run to Ken. Seeing Nami, they already realized that she had completed her character.

    The Straw Hats excused themselves and went out far away from the eyes of the public and the Heart Pirates. If Law had accepted the deal, Ken would have allowed them but since he was adamant on being the Captain, let him be.

    "I hope I can fly this time." Nami said.

    "You have broom and can teleport. What more do you want?" Ken asked.

    "You don''t understand. Flying is something I always wanted." Nami said.

    "I thought all you wanted was money." Ussop complained only to be laughed by everyone.

    "Flying is dangerous. One mistake and your whole body will be like a paste." Robin said. And everyone''s body shuddered thinking about that.

    [

    Simulating character for Nami...

    Character chosen..

    ]

    Everyone was again dragged in to the story once again. It had been a long time for them so they were thrilled. Though Jinbei got the character quite recently, the Straw Hats normally would see one new character on each new island so not seeing on in Dressrosa was a massive disappointment.

    "Even after seeing the second time, it''s still hard for me to believe it." Jinbe said as Nami vanished from their sights.

    "Right." Luffy showed his usual goofy style and was happy to be here again.

    Nami again got a gender changed character. She was born quite the handsome baby and had white hair. Ken when watched the character instantly knew why Nami was given the character. Because both of them have one thing in common.

    The ability to steal.

    The young boy grew up poor and would often steal, but he was kind of bad at it and was caught often until he met a man who helped and mentored him to be a better robber. And thus he started his journey of being the one who wanted to steal everything. Nami seeing the same ability to steal had bellies in her eyes.

    But both of their motivations were different. Nami wanted to be rich while the guy did it more so out of boredom because in the heart of his heart. Nami couldn''t understand his thought process. One day he and his mentor decided to meet up and got for another heist but the boy was caught by the guards and were beaten very badly and his mentor decided to abandon him because his own blood son was in danger.

    In essential the boy got betrayed but he was able to escape.

    Later he got the inspiration to go after the legendary Fountain of Youth and confront the saint. Yes the story here is of Ban, One of the deadly sin and named Greed. The story showed but, he an almost emotionless man, went from nobody to falling in love with the Saint of the tree and how she died to save him.

    He regretted his life too much and just wanted to die to save her back. Eventually he got accepted as one of the Seven Sins along with his Captain, whom he had great vibe with. His exploits were legendary and he did everything possible to bring his Elaine back.

    He even went to the Underworld, just to bring her back to life. The story was so touching that Chopper and others cried seeing how eternal the love was. This rattled many people.

 327. Whats next? Immortality

    [

    Character progress for Nami - 45%

    ]

    After emerging from the simulation, Nami still had tears in her eyes. Ban''s love had deeply moved her, and even his selfishness was portrayed in a way that resonated with her own experiences. She realized that, in her own way, she had shouldered the burden of trying to save her family and village.

    "Nami, are you immortal?" Robin inquired, and to test this, she inflicted a small cut on Nami''s hand. Nami almost screamed in pain, but then, to her amazement and that of others, the small cut healed up, and the blood only flowed for a moment or two.

    Elated, Nami began to laugh out loud, momentarily forgetting the main revelation of her journeyˇŞher newfound immortality.

    Luffy, being Luffy, decided to poke her, making her scream again. Luffy was only testing to see if she could heal, but Nami, in her anger, proceeded to beat him up. Despite her irritation, she knew deep down that she was now immortal.

    With her newfound abilities, Nami''s thieving skills soared, and she was overjoyed. In order to test her stealing skills, Nami proceeded to take some items from the crew. She even attempted to grab Luffy''s staff, but found that she couldn''t pull it out.

    "That is absurd," Nami complained.

    "Only he can wield it, like my Mjolnir."

    Taking the cue, Nami tried to pull the hammer, but she couldn''t. Stealing didn''t mean she could take anything. Although she felt dejected, Vivi had to encourage her. In reality, everyone was a bit jealous of her newfound immortality, knowing that she would be safe no matter what.

    Ban also had a tough time in the Underworld, so Nami''s body would soon be tough enough to handle any kind of fight with minimal pain. The Straw Hats took some time off to celebrate Nami''s character development. Nami now had a faint tint of white in her orange-colored hair, making her even more beautiful.

    After a grand banquet, the crew returned to the city and enjoyed the day. They spent a few more days training Nami, and Ken decided to intensify her training. She protested, but Ken paid no heed.

    The rigorous training continued for a few more days. Another reason for Ken''s decision was his concern for Zou, especially with the presence of the Red Poneglyph. Sasaki and Jack were already missing, thanks to Ken. In anger, Kaido might show up or send King or Queen to retrieve the Red Poneglyph. Therefore, Ken wanted to wait and see if there were any movements from the Beast Pirates. Thankfully, there were none.

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    Meanwhile, Momonosuke got his headaches whenever Zou shouted. Luffy could hear him too but it was Momo who could actively talk. Unlike, the actual story there was no attack of Zunesha and thus it was only for a few words. But the words of Zunesha was clearly heard by Luffy and Momo. And only he could reply.

    This surprised everyone, even Robin.

    "Momo, is there any reason of why you could talk?"

    "I don''t know-degozaru."

    "I heard Oden-sama could do the same. Talk and listen to some specific things." Kin''mon said. In fact, Ken too wanted to know about this. At the beginning, he thought only Roger could do it and Luffy too since he was the protagonist. But knowing Oden and Momo, who could even converse. It came as a surprise.

    The world was more layered than he thought it was.

    After a week or so, the Straw Hats were at the gate of the Zou. This was the day they would leave. And this time there were many guests with them. The two rulers of Zou, Pedro, Carrot and Raizo. Raizo was having a tough time with the Straw Hats actually.

    When Luffy came to know that he was a ninja, he was very happy but was disappointed when he saw that he could only do one kind of trick and soon he came to know that it was a Devil fruit and not what he had expected.

    Raizo was very surprised when he came to know what actual ninjas were like and was jealous. Thus he too was trying to learn ninjutsu from Ken and Luffy. Of course, it wasn''t possible for him to be a ninja but at least he had the heart.

    The atmosphere on Zou was charged with anticipation as the Straw Hat Pirates and the Heart Pirates prepared for their journey to Wano. The Mink Tribe, their loyal allies, assisted in the preparations, knowing that the impending voyage was crucial for the fate of both their island and their future.

    Ken had already spoken about the Red Poneglyph''s location being spread out and thus they needed to silence and also because of their connection to Wano. Under the towering legs of the elephantine island, the Straw Hats gathered on the Thousand Sunny, their iconic ship, while the Heart Pirates prepared the Polar Tang.

    The Polar Tang looked bigger and more modern than it ever was. Franky collaborated with the shipwright of Heart Pirates and made it better. It could dive deeper, had better coverage with upgraded sonar and radar and various other improvements.

    Bepo and others were thrilled seeing the improved ship and thanked Franky. Even Law nodded at Franky.

    "Yosh.. We are ready for Wano."

    "Did you call Ace?" Ken asked.

    "Yes. He and the Whitebeard Pirates would be on standby. If they enter Wano directly it would be chaos so they would wait until our green signal. We will have to infiltrate them." Franky said.

    "Luffy.. Remember.. Infiltrate.. Not raise chaos." Ussop spoke of this repeatedly.

    "Yes.. Yes.. I will remember." Luffy said.

    "He will definitely not remember." Everyone spoke with unison, including Ken.

    "Hahahha. I am such a good captain." Luffy laughed only to be punched away by everyone.

    "We will need someone to take care of him once we land." Nami said.

    "I will take care of him." Zoro volunteered.

    "You will lose yourself, baka marimo." Sanji said.

    "What did you say curly eyebrows?" Zoro asked with swords on his hands.

 328. Sail back

    And thus, they started their journey. Both of their ships sailed close to each other for days, but then, as they sailed for some time, Ken received a call. A call that surprised Ken to the fullest.

    "Yo, Master Ken, how have you been?" spoke a loud and deep voice on the other side of the Den Den Mushi. This was a long-distance Den Den Mushi, and Ken hadn''t been receiving or calling from here for a very long time.

    Now, hearing the voice again made him feel a bit nostalgic.

    "Zeff-san, how have you been? Is this a cry for help call?" Ken asked. Yes, it was the Iron Legged Zeff, the mentor of Sanji and also the one whom Ken asked to hide until they could get rid of Sanji''s father and his emotionless children.

    "Kid, don''t get cocky on me now. When I was your age, I used to raise terror in the seas. Just because you fought in the war doesn''t make you some kind of great pirate."

    "Hahahah... I know... I know..." Ken apologized.

    "Your apology doesn''t have any feelings, kid." Zeff complained. Of course, Sanji didn''t know of the call, and Ken was alone when the call came.

    "Hahahah... Sorry." Ken replied.

    "The reason I called you is not that some old psychos are coming after me. There have been some weird cases in East Blue, and from what I have heard, it might be related to your seas," Zeff said.

    "Eh! East Blue? What happened?" Ken asked as he was confused.

    "There have been riots in some of the islands. Two islands where people lived were decimated," Zeff said. This made the calm Ken sit up straight. His first thought was that the Government had used the Mother Flame. He felt anger rising in his veins as Zeff passed on the information.

    "What killed them?" Ken asked.

    "I don''t know much, kid, and honestly, from what I heard, I could hardly believe it. But those who came out alive said that a few huge landmasses appeared above them, and from those islands, ferocious and weird animals came down like rain. These animals then proceeded to kill and wreak havoc on the two islands. Honestly speaking, I don''t believe them, but there were many unexplainable things in the Grand Line, so I hope you know something about this," Zeff spoke in one breath, and Ken could feel the concern in his voice as he said that.

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    Ken had various question marks popping above his head as Zeff said that. His brain wasn''t able to understand what Zeff meant by floating landmasses and huge animals. He was already thinking that the Government, for some reason, used the Mother Flame, as the people around the world were slowly standing up against the governments, especially the ones who weren''t under their rule.

    But this way of warfare wasn''t something the Government should use. At first, Ken thought it might be a repeat of God Valley, but it didn''t make sense with the animals. Did they employ animals for some fun? Ken was confused as he came out of the ship to discuss what was going on.

    Ken relayed what he had heard, and upon hearing the news, everyone was a bit shaken up.

    When Luffy heard that some thing had happened to East Blue, he was ready to pack and just and so did the others who were from East Blue. The other Straw Hats were onboard with it.

    Of course, the Heart Pirates weren''t very happy and refused to tag along.

    "You can go ahead to Wano along with the Minks. We will reach there soon." Ken said. Law wanted to curse but being with Straw Hats he could see that these people had some screw loose so it was better to be away for sometime and make a base there. He wasn''t yet delusional to think that he and his crew were more powerful than the Straw Hats so he could only play the cards he had at the moment.

    The ship slowly floated up and flew away to the horizon. To East Blue via the Twin Capes. Brook was emotional as he felt he would be seeing Laboon again, after so many years. The return journey was bittersweet as they would have to go through the Fishman Island once again before coming out in the other side.

    The journey would be a long one. But Ken wasn''t thinking straight. He felt like he had missed something and couldn''t put a finger on what was it. Ken''s silence actually made everyone a bit perplexed.

    They had relied on Ken so much that they didn''t even realize how deep they were and this limbo. The journey was faster as they sailed and soon reach the Fishman Island. They didn''t need the coating this time as Jinbe was there and being the God of Seas, he created a huge bubble around thus protecting the ship from the water pressure. Before he was very new to the powers but now he could do it with ease.

    After reaching the Fishman Island, they back peddled back to Sabody. It took them a few days to reach the Twin Capes, and it was there where Brook got to meet Laboon again. Laboon didn''t take a second to recognize Brook and they both hugged each other.

    Well hugging would be the wrong word here and Laboon kind of torpedoed Brook, but Brook was more powerful this time so it didn''t hurt him at all. This was of course done in the name of fun and banter so it didn''t hurt anyone.

    "You have raised quite the hue and cry on the seas." Crocus said as he was really surprised when he got to know that Brook was alive and though he didn''t see the live view of what went down in Marineford, he did get the news. Knowing what happened and how far the Straw Hats went gave him a huge smile.

    "But we haven''t conquered them at all. Our home is in danger." Ken replied as everyone else sat beside Crocus. Chopper was very much interested to talk with Crocus.

 329. Old blood

    "I can understand as your home is in danger," Crocus said.

    "You know of it too?" Ken was surprised that Crocus knew what was going on in East Blue.

    "It''s all over the news. Haven''t you seen?" Crocus asked as he got up to bring himself a news-coo paper. On their return journey, they hadn''t stopped anywhere and had been flying around. Thus, the news coo never showed up on their ships and hadn''t been in touch with the outside world.

    Ken held the newspaper as he read what was written on the first page.

    "Lion Shiki Unleashes Chaos in East Blue - Floating Islands and Mutated Beasts Ravage Two Islands

    In a shocking turn of events reminiscent of the infamous pirate era, Lion Shiki, a feared and enigmatic figure, has orchestrated a devastating assault on two unsuspecting islands in East Blue. Reports indicate that Shiki utilized an arsenal of floating islands and unleashed a legion of mutated massive animals to wreak havoc on the peaceful communities.

    The attacks were characterized by a relentless onslaught as Shiki''s forces descended upon the islands, leaving destruction and despair in their wake. Eyewitnesses describe scenes reminiscent of a nightmare, with floating islands.

    Governments and marine forces in the East Blue are now mobilizing to assess the extent of the damage and formulate a response to this unprecedented threat. The residents of the affected islands are left grappling with the aftermath, struggling to comprehend the surreal events that unfolded before their eyes...."

    As Ken was reading, he was joined by the other crewmates. His eyes went wide as he read that. It had been so many years that he had been living here, and he had forgotten so many things from his previous world. All this time he had almost forgotten about the other fact of the world of One Piece.

    Ken had always overlooked the whole movies of One Piece once he realized that there was no Apis. Though there were people in the real world who showed up in movies, he never thought about it. Not until now when he saw the name Lion Shiki.

    It was there that the whole memories of the movie came crashing down on him. One Piece Strong World. That movie had Lion Shiki and his plans to take down the Government using science. Or whatever that was.

    Ken finally understood what was going on and why there was an attack in East Blue. This was the piece of work of Lion Shiki. No wonder it struck him like a sore throat. In the actual story, Shiki couldn''t start the war because he met with Nami and kidnapped her.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    The other Straw Hats had to go and rescue her and in the process defeat Lion Shiki. But this time there was nothing like that. They never crossed his paths, and nor Ken thought otherwise, as he always thought he had died long ago.

    But it seemed he was too naive.

    "Shiki? I heard he used to fight against Roger and is quite well known," Robin said.

    "Yes. I heard he escaped prison. He was the first convict to do so," Vivi said.

    "Shiki? I think I heard the name somewhere," Brook commented.

    "What does he want to do in East Blue?" Nami asked and was quite angry as this guy killed whole islands.

    "Let''s first reach and see what is going on." Sanji said. Luffy and Zoro were already on their way back to ship. They were on the last part of the journey and thus they needed to leave and confront this maniac.

    Ken getting the answers were happy. At least they had a lead. After coming back to the ship, they flew away. Crocus was surprised that their ship could fly. Brook and Laboon bid their goodbyes and promised to come back. Laboon was more than happy to wait.

    "Coming through this route again. It''s nostalgic." Zoro said.

    "I am so excited. I will get to see the seas where Luffy and Ken came from." Chopper said.

    "Yeah. It''s very exciting." Luffy agreed.

    Soon they went the other way of the reverse mountain and just flew few inches above. Everyone was excited and they knew which turns to take as they soon landed in the open and calmer seas of East Blue.

    "We are back home." Ken said.

    "It''s been such a long time." Luffy chuckled.

    "So now where do we start?" Sanji asked.

    "From the island that got destroyed." Ken replied.

    "Good idea. Let''s go there. Jinbe, rotate the ship 65 degrees starboard." Nami said.

    "Yosha."

    The ship started sailing and this time not in air, but in water. Though it was in water, it wasn''t slow. As they went towards the island that were destroyed, the Straw Hats soon came to realize that this journey wouldn''t be easy because after travelling for a few hours, they heard cannons and shots.

    The Straw Hats came running out to see who had the audacity to shoot at them and that too in East Blue. At least those were the thoughts of Ken and not Luffy or others. But when they came out to see, the Straw Hats, didn''t expect to see a huge fleet of Navy ships pointing their cannon at them and shooting.

    The cannon balls would struck the invisible barrier of their ship and burst, giving off a faint vibration and sound.

    "Why are there so many navy here?" Jinbei was confused. It was East Blue, and the whole fleet of ships actually didn''t make sense. They could also tell that these ships had come from the headquarters because they had their spinning peddles behind, which was the design of Vegapunk.

    "Maybe Lion Shiki has attracted their attention." Zoro said.

    "Then why are they firing upon us?" Ussop was very scared.

    "Because we are fat sheep to them." Franky said.

    "Then let''s rain hell upon them. Franky.. Light them up." Ken announced.

    "Yosh." Everyone shouted and ran to their offensive measure taking rooms. The ship had multiple rooms from where they could control their offensive measures. It was basically a gaming setup.

 330. The old story

    Merry unleashed a range of attacks, starting from laser shots to big ass cannon balls. The ships around didn''t even last 5 minutes as their ships got ridden with holes and many were instantly drowned. Thankfully, the Straw Hats weren''t that cruel and spared the lives of the Navy. But their ships were beyond destroyed.

    There more than dozen ships almost surrounding theirs but all went down. All, except one.

    "Let me handle the one." Nami said as with her staff she stood on the guard rails, ready to dive into the sea and take down the last standing navy ship.

    "Eh Nami! Why are you so interested?" Chopper and Ussop were confused by seeing the enthusiasm of Nami.

    "She probably wants to use her immortality and see what kind of reaction her body would receive since she had gone through the Underworld." Vivi said.

    "Wow.. Is that reason? Sugeee." Luffy being the idiot he was spoke.

    The ocean around her churned, responding to the Nami''s call. She lifted herself into the air with the help of a cyclone that she brought down upon. It was momentary but it was enough to give Nami the feeling of being airborne.

    The Navy ship, armed to the teeth with formidable cannons and a crew of highly skilled soldiers, advanced with an air of invincibility. Undeterred, Nami descended from her airborne vantage point, landing gracefully on the ship''s deck. The sailors, initially surprised by the sudden appearance of her, soon recognized the ethereal glow surrounding Nami.

    "This is the weather bender. Kill her."

    "No capture her. We are the last men standing."

    "Shit. Why does the headquarters want us to die this bad."

    "Don''t complain. Attack."

    As the ship''s commander barked orders, Nami raised her arms, summoning an impenetrable barrier of swirling air that shielded him from the barrage of cannonfire. With a focused expression, he redirected the cannonballs back towards the ship, causing chaos among the crew.

    The Navy soldiers, skilled in the art of combat, closed in on Nami with swords drawn and determination etched on their faces. Nami, however, demonstrated the mastery of her bending abilities and magic in her staff. Water spiraled around her, forming an impenetrable shield, while pillars of earth rose from the ship''s deck, creating barriers that thwarted the soldiers'' advances.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Determined to cripple the vessel, Nami focused her energy, summoning a massive tidal wave that surged towards the ship. The wave crashed against the hull, causing the ship to tilt precariously. Meanwhile, some of these men seemed to have advanced weaponry and were able to go beyond the barriers put up by Nami and they did wound her.

    The Navy cheered as they saw blood flowing down from various parts of the body. But then they were horrified. The wounds inflicted onto her, healed pretty fast by itself and within a second there was not even a scar on it.

    "What kind of sorcery is this?"

    "Our intelligence never spoke of the fact that the weather bender could heal."

    "This is impossible."

    "We are doomed."

    Nami smirked seeing the reaction. It did pain her when she got wounded but with each passing pain, it would go down and allow her body to adapt to the new transformation. Seizing the opportunity, Nami ascended into the air once more, channeling the power of a lightning storm. Bolts of electricity crackled around her as she directed a powerful lightning strike towards the ship''s mast. The lightning struck true, shattering the mast and rendering the vessel helpless against the relentless onslaught of the elements.

    With the Navy ship incapacitated and its crew defeated, Nami descended to the deck. After she saw the destruction she was pretty proud of herself and was happy that everything turned out to be fine. And soon beside her, the others landed.

    "Sugee Nami." Luffy started cheering and patting on her back.

    "Our navigator is very powerful." Chopper and Ussop started hurraying for her.

    Sanji was all lovey-dovey and praised her a lot and promised to cook everything she ever wanted, which was everyday. Vivi also cheered for her. Meanwhile, Ken held one unconscious navy by his collar and woke him up with multiple slaps.

    His face got swollen after the slaps. The navy was terrified when he saw Ken the moment he open his eyes.

    "What .. What do you want Punisher.. The navy would be arriving soon with Admiral."

    "Do I look like I care about an Admiral?" Ken spoke and the man felt a pressure from the surroundings that he had never felt from anyone in his life. He felt like he was looking at some kind of ancient demon that would devour him and he wouldn''t be able to even lift a pinky.

    "Now answer my question without any word of threat." Ken spoke, letting got of his spiritual pressure. He gulped down and nodded.

    "Where are the islands?" Ken asked.

    "It was last seen 80 kms east of the Oykot Kingdom. That was a day ago. That''s all I know.. Please leave me.." The navy personnel said.

    "Oykot.. Hmm. Has anyone seen Shiki?" Ken contemplated. Ken had heard of the kingdom but never bothered to go there or find more information.

    "No.. Nobody has seen him and we only know that Shiki is behind is because he had called the headquarters." The man was trembling as he was answering.

    "What a bold move by a half dead man." Ken answered and threw the Navy man away like some kind of rag doll. Of course, this didn''t hurt the Navy and he was just terrified. Soon they were back at their own ship and the location of the Kingdom was determined.

    This time they didn''t bother to go via sea as it would just be a nuisance. The ship lifted itself into the air and with tremendous speed blasted off. Soon they reached right above the Oykot Kingdom. The ship was among the clouds so nobody could see them from land and in addition they were way high up in the air for anybody to even hear them.

    "I will be going down and gather more info." Ken spoke.

 331. Cloak and dagger

    "I want to go too," Luffy threw a tantrum instantly. Seeing his tantrum, everyone just sighed.

    "Luffy-san, your home might be destroyed. Don''t you think it''s better to leave it to someone who can just go in and out in the blink of an eye?" Brook said. Those wise words seemed to strike Luffy quite a bit, and thus, he chose to be silent and sit down. This made everyone surprised, as none of them expected Brook to come out with words to actually calm Luffy down.

    Even Jinbe couldn''t do it.

    "That''s our Brook."

    "The musician does know how to calm people down."

    Everyone praised Brook, who just smiled and started playing his electric guitar. Meanwhile, Ken put on a hood and a body jacket before using his Kamui dimension to vanish. Luffy saw Ken leave and was still sulking.

    He declared that the next time he must be included. The other Straw Hats promised to do so and were just glad that Ken was allowed to go alone. When Ken appeared again, he was in the Oykot Kingdom.

    The once serene and picturesque kingdom was now marred by the shadows of impending turmoil. The once-quaint kingdom had transformed into a military stronghold, with Marines bustling about, their uniforms a stark contrast to the serene surroundings.

    The harbor, once a lively center of trade, now teemed with marine vessels and warships. The clinking of armor and the barking orders of officers replaced the usual lull of the ocean waves.

    Moving through the kingdom''s streets, Ken witnessed the hurried preparations for an impending confrontation. Makeshift barricades lined the pathways, and Marines fortified strategic positions. The marketplace, now devoid of its usual lively atmosphere, echoed with the sounds of drills and the clatter of weapons being readied for battle.

    The atmosphere was tense, and Ken overheard snippets of conversations, revealing the kingdom''s grim reality. Tales of the devastation on the distant islands caused by Lion Shiki''s mutated creatures sent shivers down the spines of those who recounted the stories. Fear lingered in the air like a palpable entity.

    As Ken moved around, he heard the bad from the Navy, but his Haki had also allowed him to notice two distinct voices that Ken didn''t expect. One was from an Admiral, and the other was from a man whom Ken didn''t expect to exist.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The Admiral that Ken heard talking was Green Bull. The one with an inflated thought that doing evil was a requirement that the Government must do to keep the balance. Among all the admirals that Ken had come across or knew of, Green Bull was probably the only one whom Ken hated the most.

    This guy was not only a coward but also someone who could go to any lengths just to fulfill his aim. This person had no morals. At least Kizaru had his morals, and though he was ready to break them to follow the rules, it didn''t mean he didn''t have them. This Green Bull had none of it.

    And the other person that Ken had heard was someone who was half associated with the Navy. Or at least he was associated once. He was someone who trained a lot of marines but now he was an outcast.

    His name was Zephyr. His portrayal was in the movie One Piece: Z, and he was currently ousted from the Navy because an enemy of his was taken in as Shichibukai by the Navy. This enemy of his killed his family. In the movie, he wanted to bring destruction to the New World to bring an end to the era of pirates.

    But at the end, he was unable to do so, as Luffy put an end to it, and even two Admirals were also involved: Aokiji and Kizaru. Ken didn''t expect another movie individual to be here. Now he was feeling a little guilty if Apis and other characters in different movies were really present, and he didn''t meet them because he had changed the story by huge proportions.

    Ken didn''t stay in one place for long and vanished again. This time appearing away from the bustling capital and in a deserted harbor which hadn''t seen maintenance for a very long time. It was dilapidated, and moss seemed to have grown all over the broken walls and doors. The wind blew strong, and the humid weather did bring a strange kind of comfort in this place.

    For some reason, there were various lights being lit around the harbor, and one could see a small number of people roaming around. As soon as Ken appeared, many of these people who seemed to be guards went on high alert and pointed their guns at him.

    "Who is it? This place isn''t for outsiders. Leave."

    "We are bandits. If you treasure your life, then get away from here."

    "Don''t come near."

    There were weird shouts from the people around as they pointed their guns at him. It was strange because they threatened Ken in such a way; it felt like they were forcing themselves to be the bad guy here just so he couldn''t reach their ''base.''

    "You should upgrade your threats. Forget about pirates. Your threats won''t even make a rat go away, forget about human beings," Ken replied with a very calm tone. His face and body still weren''t visible to the people, so these people feared him, thinking he belonged to the Navy.

    The people who were threatening him were the private army of Zephyr, which had followed him once he left the Navy. They were his diehard followers of Zephyr and would even die for them if they were asked to.

    "What are all the shouts about?"

    "Sensei... There is someone just outside our base and is not leaving."

    "What?" Zephyr was surprised and soon came forward to see what the commotion was about. He was surprised to see a man standing in a cloak and a hood. For some reason, he felt chills in his spine as he watched him. He couldn''t help but shout.

    "Who are you?"

 332. What do you want?

    In response Ken let go of his disguise and sowed his face to everyone around. This made everyone''s eyes wide with shock as they looked at the Devil''s Incarnate. They had never expected this person to find them. Especially Zephyr.

    "Yo.. Neo-Navy.. I was thinking and expecting of you in the New World. Now I know the reason you never showed up."

    Zephyr clenched his fists as he looked at Ken. He wanted to pounce on him and fight against him but the moment he did that his location would be exposed and the Navy would be forced to retaliate since he was a fugitive. And his organisation was deemed as a terrorist organisation.

    "Punisher Kenny... Why are.. Why are you here?" Zephyr spoke through his clattering teeth. He hated the Straw hats. He blamed Weevil for whatever happened to his family but he also blamed the Straw Hats. It was because of the actions of theirs that the Navy had to take so many steps and led to the downfall of the Navy.

    Of course Ken didn''t know that, and if he had known he wouldn''t have cared.

    "Why of course to talk with you. Man to man." Ken said. This surprised Zephyr as he didn''t expect him to talk. Anyways, he had already indicated to set up defenses and trap. Ken noticed it but didn''t care.

    Zephyr welcomed him stiffly and Ken was all smiles as he entered his small tent. Zephyr was followed by his two students, which Ken didn''t remember the names. It had been ages he had seen the movie so of course he had forgotten about their names.

    It was a miracle that he even remembered Zephyr supposing the fact that ken had gone through his teenage life and three long simulations, including one with Thor and Yamamoto.

    "What do you want, Punisher Kenny.?" Zephyr asked the moment both of them sat across each other.

    "This must be a serious downgrade from the way you have lied before." Ken didn''t bother to answer that and said instead.

    "I never cared about the luxuries in life." Zephyr said as he straightened his sunglasses. The sunglasses reminded Ken of Doflamingo. Two psychos.

    "True.. True.. You only cared about justice and nothing else." Ken said.

    "Rightful Justice." Zephyr corrected Ken. "You still haven''t told me what you want."

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Rightful? Are you okay? Do you have fever or something?" Ken asked as he looked at Zephyr.

    "What the hell do you want you bastard?" Zephyr shouted as he had lost his patience and his two hands had turned on the Armament Haki ready to pummel Ken.

    "I want you to give up whatever you are doing and surrender yourself to the Navy. If you don''t want that, then be a pirate. Don''t kill innocents just so you can achieve your dream of pirate-free world. That is impossible." Ken said. Those words made Zephyr shake his heart to the core.

    He didn''t expect Ken to speak his aims out loud. Not even his subordinates knew what he really wanted. His subordinates only knew that the Navy had insulted him and their teacher wanted to rectify the seas. They didn''t know his true aim of destroying the New world in order to bring an end to the Pirate era.

    But then he calmed down. He had known and even seen in live-feed of how Ken was able to get into the minds of people and make them weak by bringing their past up and destroy their ideologies.

    "Hahahah...." Zephyr laughed for a bit which surprised Ken a bit but he waited for Zephyr to speak.

    "They say you have devil words that bring out the worst fear of your opponents. They are not wrong. You do have a way to get into the heads of others. I think the Navy is wrong about your Devil fruit. You devil fruit probably has to do something with you reading their minds and then bringing out the worst fear of your opponents. Am I right?" Zephyr asked.

    Ken heard without a flinch in his face and he just smiled in response. Neither denying nor accepting it.

    "Your words don''t really matter to me. I will do what I want to do and your words can''t stop me." Zephyr said refusing to speak more about his ideals.

    "Sigh! No wonder your subordinates are ready to commit suicide just for you. There isn''t really any cure for delusionals like you. Someone who thinks he is right even though in the depth of his mind he knows that he isn''t. I just came here to warn you but it seems it doesn''t matter. You will die by our hands anyways." Ken said as he got up. Zephyr had enough of his words and attacked him.

    Ken didn''t even turn around as the punch of Zephyr went through the body of Ken and his landed on his face which destroyed the small tent. Dust and debris flew everywhere as everyone was ready with guns and cannons to take Ken down and they thought that Zephyr was hurt.

    Only after the dust settled did they realize that Ken and Zephyr was fine. Zephyr had a very surprised look in his face but it was momentary. Ken just walked past him and didn''t seem to care. The others around didn''t even need a command and began shooting Ken only for he bullets to go past him.

    This man couldn''t be trapped at all. One of the subordinates had the ability to lessen the ages of things she touched. She tried to use that ability only to see her hand to go past Ken. Ken just smiled at them as they continued their assault. He vanished into his eye after a small walk which terrified the Neo-Navy.

    Zephyr didn''t attack after the first punch didn''t do any damage. He understood it was useless. But he didn''t stop his subordinates to see if their abilities would affect Ken in any way. He was disappointed.

 333. Future plans

    Meanwhile Ken was back in his ship. The Straw Hats had been eagerly waiting for him all this time. The moment he arrived, Luffy and others barged Ken with questions. Ken spoke of how he found out that the kingdom was used as a base and an Admiral was here and also someone who was in the Navy for a long time and had a huge amount of respect.

    Ken then spoke of Zephyr''s insistence on his justice and how he was kind of like Akainu but this guy at least had a heart. Ken spoke of the base being in place for scouting and finding out where Shiki was hiding.

    "Luffy.. You decide what do you want to do." Ken said as he didn''t want to take the headache of decision. Luffy took his thinking cap on and started to think hard of what to do. Zoro asked if they could just use their disguises and infiltrate but Sanji refused as they would be caught.

    It wasn''t Dressrosa. Navy were specifically looking for them.

    "Let''s be in the air and follow the Navy. I will use my eyes." Luffy said after some silence. This surprised Ken because he didn''t expect that Luffy had progressed on his clairvoyance. He was a God to begin with so he should have had clairvoyance.

    Ken didn''t have that. Maybe Sanji and Chopper could have their hands on it but it was yet to be seen. It was nice to know that Luffy wanted to use his eyes to search for Shiki. The ship went high up in the air again and started flying around in a very wide spiral circle with the kingdom as the center, this would ensure that they covered as much distance as possible.

    While the ship did this Luffy was left to his own mechanism and his space in his room where he could just concentrate on to find Shiki. Ken had already told Luffy what he was searching for. Shiki looked like a "c**k". He did show him a picture and Luffy admitted that he did look like one.

    This would be easy for Luffy as he now had a face which he could relate to. But as Ken had expected Luffy to lose concentration and just want food so Ken asked Sanji for more food for him.

    "This guy just eats and shouts." Sanji complained.

    "Naa... Ken.. Has he always been like that. You don''t even eat half of what he eats." Nami asked.

    "It''s not that I can''t eat, but if I do eat my brothers wouldn''t get their belly full and yes he has always been like that just like the brothers." Ken replied as Sanji delivered him food while the rest just at some bits and pieces.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "That must be one hell of a life." Jinbe laughed.

    "It was alright. We had fun." Ken reminisced about his past. They also randomly talked of what they would do after Luffy became the pirate king. There was no mistake or misunderstanding here. They would give their best to make their Captain the Pirate King and there was no other way out.

    "I would make spaceships." Franky said and this surprised everyone present. Even Ken, but it made Ken very happy.

    "Franky, after you make it, me and you, will go on a journey to the stars." Ken said.

    "Aoooo.. You bet we will." Franky said as he posed.

    This made Ken really happy. In his previous life he had always wanted to go to the stars and find out if anything was out there. But the distance between each system was way too large of a number to even allow one to travel but now it was different. Franky had both the knowledge and the energy to make spaceships that could travel in space.

    He just needed time and they had lots of it.

    This made everyone intrigued and though they didn''t say it outright at the moment, Ken could tell that they did contemplate the fact of journeying to the stars heavily. While they talked of their future plans, the door of Luffy'' room opened with a loud bang.

    Everyone turned around with hopeful eyes.

    "Oye.. Minna.. I found out the tori.." Luffy shouted.

    "Let''s go."

    Soon the ship turned it''s direction of it perpetual spiral motion, and flew towards a certain direction pointed by Luffy. Ken knew that Luffy also has a pretty bad sense of direction, might not be like Zoro but it was there.

    They traveled for a day and one could easily notice that Luffy''s eyes now had a different kind of glow and Ken also noticed a slight change in the graph of progress of Luffy''s character. Luffy was still the same but his eyes had a glow that there was never before.

    They moved for and finally they could see very high up in the air multiple islands floating. These islands were huge and had the structure of downside cone with landmass above them. It was very beautiful as on the landmass one could see lush vegetation and beautiful landscapes.

    "This is beautiful."

    "Sky island without any clouds? His devil fruit must be one of a kind." Robin said.

    "I would love to have a home of mine up here." Ken said. The ship went towards on the smaller floating islands as they didn''t want to alarm anyone and being in a smaller island would be better.

    "Ken can you hear him?" Zoro asked.

    "No. This is weird. I thought he will be in his home. The only people here are his subordinates." Ken replied.

    "Sheesh. Thank god. See Shiki isn''t here. Let''s go somewhere else." Ussop said as he made a backward going motion only to see that all the Straw Hats had stepped on the land.

    "Oye.. Can you all just calm down? This guy can make islands float. This will not be good." Ussop said.

    "Chopper!!" Ussop shouted and Chopper replied.

    "Ken said that this person had made kind of drug that is harmful to people. I can''t leave them."

 334. Movie in the world?

    So, even though Usopp wasn''t very happy with the situation, he joined the group and started their explanation. But how could his complaints dampen the mood of the Straw Hats? It was only momentary before they were in awe of the whole island. The crew marveled at the surreal landscape that defied the laws of nature.

    But they soon came across creatures that defied proper biology; they were more like chimeras. Unleashed upon the islands were creatures of unimaginable ferocity. As they moved, they were attacked by a winged green-eyed serpent that had the scales of a crocodile. As soon as the serpent glided through the air and spat venom at them, Usopp shot it down.

    Usopp shot it down with the help of a bow and arrow. The bow he used was different from the one he always used as an Arrancar/Quincy. This bow was sleeker and thinner. However, this didn''t mean that the arrow he used was less deadly than the ones he used to use.

    The arrow he used was something he had just ''constructed'' in his hand itself. The weirdest thing was that the arrow was a sword when he constructed it, but as soon as he placed the sword on the bow, it changed into an arrow. With extreme ferocity and liveliness, it left the bow, making a hole in the head of the serpent and continuing into the air, vanishing into oblivion.

    The reason why Usopp was able to do it was that his second character had the name Archer, the same Archer from Fate Stay/Night. (I have a very limited idea about his overall powers, but I do know that he can do close combat and has many Noble Phantasms. You can Google him up and make your own judgments about his abilities, as I will show you in the continuing story of what I can).

    "This thing is tougher than I thought!" Usopp said as the bow vanished from his hand. But this was not the end, as from nowhere wolves who walked on hind legs ran towards them with growls and open claws. Robin and Franky came forward to ward them off.

    Robin instantly used dark magic on them and shot them down, while Franky used lasers to kill them.

    "I''ve never seen wolves like these!"

    Chopper came forward and checked their bodies. His face was grave.

    "These animals were artificially made for sure. But the kick is that they are almost in constant pain and thus have a very bad attitude. No wonder the islands were razed to the ground. Their pain turned into anger, which couldn''t be stopped. This doctor must be stopped."Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "Let''s go." Luffy, for the first time, didn''t care about the ''meat'' lying around and just wanted to end the whole charade and get on his journey. There was chaos to say the least. The plants and the animals everything seemed to be mutated. Amidst the chaos, Sanji gracefully danced through the air, delivering powerful fiery kicks to a swarm of flying carnivorous plants. "I''m not letting some overgrown flowers ruin this feast!" he declared, his legs a blur of motion.

    They carried on and soon they saw the other islands as they came towards the edge. Ken brought out his Stormbreaker and opened the bifrost and thus landed on the the other island which was the main island and the island which was their main base.

    "Chopper, did you pick up the samples?" Ken asked. Along they way they came across some plants which was supposed to be the beacon of hope for the forests. These plants were also mutated and could actually keep the abominations away. They emitted some kind of pollen that was harmful and not only to those abominations but also to humans in a long term.

    Shiki and his subordinates knew about it but didn''t care.

    "Yes. Just give me some time. We will be able to find the cure soon." Chopper said. The Straw Hats got into work in order to make a small base of their own until Shiki came or the cure was made. Luffy and Zoro went out to bring some food and see if there were any normal animals which they could catch and eat. If not they would have to go for vegetarian food which already pissed Luffy.

    Thankfully, they were able to catch some rabbits and even a lion who was very much scared. Zoro just put an end to its misery. They also brought some fruits and mushrooms which Luffy recognized. Sanji went into work mode and soon a sweet and delicious smell wafted over the air.

    But if one knew the Straw Hats, one could easily tell that the environment was quite depressing at the moment. The main reason being they had never expected themselves to come back on the route they had left once. They coming back without being the King of Pirates meant that they had taken a step back.

    Though Luffy was fine and didn''t much care but the rest of the Straw Hats took a bit hard. Even Ken who was always positive and seemed to have things under control felt dejected and thought as if he had failed the Captain a bit.

    Luffy could tell what everyone was thinking and thus suggested a bizarre game to everyone. A rubbery limb tug-of-war. The limb here being Luffy himself. This made everyone laugh as they didn''t expect Luffy himself would suggest that. Zoro and Sanji took up the proposal as that would settle the whole thing about their rivalry.

    Suffice to say the rest of the evening and night everyone had the time of their lives singing and dancing. Franky even made videos using his technology and let the Straw Hats watch movies.

    Using memories he was actually able to make movies and CG. This surprised even Ken and was happy to watch a movie from the modern era. The alleviated the mood of the Straw hats a lot.

 335. The 5th Yonko

    "These particles are really poisonous for the animal kingdom," Chopper said as he finished checking the aerosol particles that had kept the violent mutated animals at bay.

    "So, everyone is affected. Doesn''t this chicken know that?" Sanji said as Chopper submitted the full report.

    "He is a dying old man. Why would he care?" Robin said.

    "The better question is, will Zephyr team up with this chicken head?" Vivi said. This point made everyone a bit numb. Ken wanted to say that one full-time pirate and one man driven by justice could never come together. But he had seen enough in his life to know that everything was never a certainty.

    "This is absurd... Eh!" Ken wanted to speak up, but those with Haki soon turned around and looked in a direction. The direction of the main island where Shiki''s palace was supposed to be. They looked at the direction because they heard a loud noise from there.

    No, it wasn''t a noise; it was a full-blown blast.

    "Ken, what do you hear?" Luffy asked as his own clairvoyance was in full action.

    "I can''t hear shit," Ken replied as the blasts weren''t just a single blast.

    "We need to leave." Zoro got serious. They left the camp immediately and almost ran towards the palace that they had their eyes upon for a very long time. Of course, they couldn''t just use their abilities to reach the place and had to physically run.

    The whole running gag was kind of new to the Straw Hats as they hadn''t done so, or rather it was never required. They had always held abilities to reach a certain place, and Ken would always use his, but for some reason, with the blasts happening, Ken didn''t want to add to more blasts.

    Of course, in the long run, Zoro had the habit of straying off, and Robin had to course-correct.

    "Kuso Marimo..." Sanji insulted.

    "You wanna fight?" Zoro shouted back, only to be berated by Nami. Everyone had already taken the anti-dotes to the artificial aerosol pollutants in the air, thus they were safe.

    It was morning time, so the mutated animals were awake, and they charged at them like crazy only to be cut down by Brook and Zoro. Ken was emitting his pressure, and though it did scare them, they were too crazy to even consider their own deaths.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    With all the dead chimeras left in their wake, it took the Straw Hats at least an hour to reach the palace. It was in ruins, and everything around had been destroyed. The explosions that had been happening had already stopped when they reached, and by that time, Ken and Luffy had a general idea of what was happening.

    There was a huge fight, no rather, it was an ambush of one party with another. The two parties here were Zephyr''s Neo Navy and the Shiki Pirates. The explosions that they were hearing were from the blasts that Zephyr had brought in cartons.

    Zephyr had used wine and other supposed food items as a sign of good faith. Apparently, the Navy, in its research under Zephyr, had created these boxes that would explode when they came into contact with each other. This was a type of weapon that they had created, and Zephyr was using it against Shiki''s forces.

    As the Straw Hats entered the palace, they saw that Shiki was holding his own, but his forces were clearly outnumbered. It was a chaotic scene with explosions, clashes of swords, and bursts of Haki. The alliance between Shiki and Zephyr had clearly gone sour, and it was turning into a full-blown war.

    The Straw Hats had a choice to make: to intervene or to stay on the sidelines. But with the chaos unfolding before them, it seemed that the choice might be made for them.

    "What the fuck is going on?" Nami was appalled with everything happening.

    "Only thing I heard was the fact they had made some kind of deal and it broke off at the last minute." Ken said. The loud explosions before really made him unable to listen to them as the static in the atmosphere was clearly cut short due to fire and dried up everything beyond.

    In order to stop this ongoing battle which wouldn''t last for a long time, Ken came forward and released his Reitasu at them.

    This came in full force as Ken didn''t hold back at this time. The two parties which had been fighting constantly were on their knees with their face planted on the ground.

    "What... the .. hell..!"

    "Who.. Who has that kind of presence..."

    "Is it.. Fujitora.."

    The men who had gone down were struggling while many of them lost their consciousness. Ken had mixed Conqueror''s Haki in it and it acted doubly as it actually physically hurt them a bit. It was nothing like Shanks of course and his Reatsu played more a active part here but he had learnt this small useless trade in the last two years.

    Zephyr and Shiki slowly turned their heads as they too felt the affects of the Reatsu. They had an ugly look on their faces as they looked at the Straw Hats. Especially Zephyr, who had already met Ken. At that time itself he could tell that Ken was a monster.

    This AOE attack was just enough to prove his conjecture. He stopped fighting and stepped back. The other party did the same.

    "Straw Hat Luffy.. The new Yonko of the New World." Shiki said as he put forward his Conqueror''s Haki to offset the huge change that Ken had brought.

    "Yonko?" Luffy was confused and so were the other Straw Hats.

    "Oh.. Then you haven''t heard the news. The newspapers are already calling you, a 5th Yonko.. I have been waiting to meet you. The one from East Blue." Shiki said. Ken had remembered that after Fishman and Dessrosa, they called Luffy as such but they had to leave New World and run against time to reach East Blue. It was because of that they didn''t get any proper news coo.

 336. You were a crew member

    "So we are a crew of a Yonko now?" Sanji said.

    "That is quite a big name to be thrown around." Vivi said as she was excited and a bit scared too of the fact that they had been declared as a Yonko.

    "Yonko!! Now all the other Yonko will come after us.. This is bad." Ussop was shaking and so was Chopper.

    Ken and Zoro didn''t say a word and nor were they moved by it. It was just a title for their Captain and they were pretty sure that Luffy himself never took any title to his heart and the only thing he cared about was freedom.

    "Anyways.. What are fuck is going on here?" Luffy asked as he didn''t take much time to swallow the fact that he was a Yonko now.

    "That''s none of your business.. Get lost from here." Zephyr said.

    "You made it our business when you attacked East Blue. So better spill it out or it won''t end well for both of your sides." Ken said and soon the weather started changing and everyone could feel the heat rising around.

    The two big shots had a difficult look on their faces as they looked at the situation around but of course how could an egoist like Shiki care about an Yonko and attacked Luffy and Zephyr both using his devil fruit powers.

    The ground broke apart into huge pieces and slowly floated up and flew straight at the Straw Hats and Zephyr. But here Shiki committed a mistake. He had just tried using the ground itself as an weapon.

    Nami stepped forward and used her earth bending in her full force to stop the floating ground made of dirt. Shiki was taken aback as soon he lost control of his floating pieces and Nami threw them back at Shiki. In response Shiki had to use other things around to stop the flying pieces at himself.

    Even Zephyr didn''t expect that kind of attack and had to jump back to save himself from the aftermath. He had studied the Straw Hats after the war was over. But now he could see that all his knowledge didn''t amount to anything when it came to Straw Hats.

    They were weird and dangerous.

    The straw hats were proud that Nami could even counter someone like Shiki, someone who was known all around the world and the one who even fought against Roger. After the counterattack, Shiki picked himself up from the rubbles and looked at the Straw Hats in anger and disgust. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "How dare you pesky rats from East Blue, the weakest sea come after me." Shiki roared.

    "Calm down chicken. The last time too two people from East Blue went after you and was defeated very badly."

    "Grrrr. Roger... Don''t think of yourself of the same level as Roger." Shiki looked at Ken with anger and his remarks made him feel like to beat the shit out of him.

    "Of course we are not like Roger and you too are nothing like him. At least he had his own pirate crew, while you were under the shadows of someone else who just provided you delusions of the highest level. At least Roger didn''t have grand delusions." Ken said and the moment he said there was silence that settled in the room.

    The Straw Hats themselves and even Zephyr were confused. They had question marks over their heads while Shiki just looked at Ken with dead eyes. The emotions that he had just got flushed away instantly.

    "Very few people know of my past. Those who know either stand at the top or are dead. So who the fuck are you?" Shiki asked.

    "It doesn''t matter who am I. The fact still remains that you are just as delusional as your ex captain." Ken said. This seemed to have ticked off Shiki in the worst ways possible. He went to a rampant rage and attacked Ken with every thing that he had got.

    Ken smirked as he was ready to take Shiki head one. Luffy wanted to help Ken but was stopped by Zoro.

    "Don''t meddle, he had been aiming for the fight from the beginning." Zoro said while he looked at Zephyr. He pointed his Zanpakuto at Zephyr and said.

    "You will tell me exactly what is going on or else, your mechanical hand will not be the only thing which will mechanical in the future."

    "You have quite the guts kid." Zephyr said as his hands turned on the haki and was ready fight this one eyed man with an eye patch.

    Ken''s eyes glinted with the fiery intensity of a thousand suns as he unsheathed his zanpakuto.

    "Ennetsu Jigoku," Ken bellowed, swinging his blade in a wide arc. A wave of intense flames surged forth, engulfing the small closed battlefield, as the Straw Hats and others had stepped back by now. Even Nami, who wanted to help was stopped by Robin and indicated to let the big guys fight it out. The very air seemed to catch fire as the flames roared towards Shiki, determined to reduce him to ashes.

    Shiki responded with a sly grin, activating his Devil Fruit powers. The ground beneath him rippled as he severed the laws of gravity with a casual wave of his hand. "Fuwa Fuwa no Cannon," he declared, launching an island-sized projectile towards Ken. The massive floating landmass hurtled through the air, crashing through the sea of flames with astonishing speed.

    The battlefield was in shambles because of that and everyone had to run away in fear.

    "This idiot. Doesn''t he know that we are here." Ussop said.

    "Hahahaha.. It''s fun.. Hahahaha." Luffy laughed like a mad man as Ken and Shiki fought each other.

    "Ry¨±jin Jakka." Ken murmured as he opened his shikai. The air itself seemed to ignite as a colossal column of flames erupted, meeting the incoming island projectile head-on. The clash of elemental forces created a dazzling display of fire and force, shaking the very foundations of the battleground.

 337. secrets come out

    Shiki, undeterred, used his devilish powers to navigate through the chaos. He reappeared in the air above Ken, a wicked glint in his eyes. "Fuwa Fuwa no Jet," he shouted, accelerating towards Ken with incredible speed. The sheer force of his charge created shockwaves that disrupted the flames around him.

    "Flames aren''t the only thing in my control." Ken smirked.

    Ken summoned the power of the heavens. His eyes glowed with a blue intensity as he unleashed a powerful lightning strike with Stormbreaker. He sent a torrential cascade of lightning towards Shiki, who floated confidently on his levitating islands.

    Shiki, a cunning smile on his face, manipulated the very fabric of gravity. Islands shifted and danced in response to his whims as he effortlessly evaded Ken''s celestial assault. "Fuwa Fuwa no Cyclone," he countered, creating a whirlwind of floating debris that spiraled towards the God of Thunder.

    But this was the opening Ken was waiting for. Shiki had been concentrating on defense for sometime now and now that he got the chance, Ken vanished from his spot and appeared behind Shiki within a heartbeat.

    "What..." Shiki was alarmed.

    But Ken''s hand was covered with Susano and if that wasn''t enough the hand Susano was light aflame and covered in lightning. Shiki wanted to make the last defense using his Devil fruit powers but it was already too late. The huge hand covered with fire and lightning struck Shiki with it''s full might.

    Blood flew around and even though he had used Armament Haki he couldn''t stop the intensity of the attack and was taken down in that hit alone. His face planted on the ground leaving fire and lightning in its wake.

    Zephyr, for the first time gulped down his throat looking at the skeletal hand that was glowing intensely. He had seen the hand and the whole monster that had come out of Ken in the war, and that too in the television.

    Now seeing it live gave him the chills and made him realize that his dream of pirate free era was in jeopardy just because of a single crew. It wasn''t the Navy that was the most dangerous at the moment. It was this small pirate group.

    He needed to get out of here in order to regroup and come up with a better plan to decimate the New World and bring peace. But before Zephyr could even take more than 10 steps, he was surrounded by three people. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Zor, Sanji and Luffy.

    "Ossan.. Where are you going?" Zoro asked.

    "Oye he doesn''t look that old." Sanji said.

    "I like his hair." Luffy replied and Zephyr felt disrespected. He was going to attack one of them when he felt his mechanical arm stop in it''s swing. The three of them didn''t even move but his mechanical arm refused to move. He turned around only to see the orange haired girl making a bit weird but aggressive pose towards him.

    He didn''t know what she was doing but whatever it was, it had stopped his mechanical arm. At the moment he couldn''t move and when he tried, he felt the mechanical arm was breaking apart from inside and it was already getting painful as he gritted his teeth.

    "Nami.. You don''t need Avatar mode for it?" Luffy asked quite surprised that Nami was able to do metal bending as she had learnt over the years in training.

    "Idiot, the avatar mode only accumulates the power over bending accumulated by previous Avatars. She is the first of her kind to do metal bending. Nami-swaan is sugeeio." Sanji said while Zoro just stayed silent.

    Nami was sweating buckets as she was trying to dismantle Zephyr, and she almost gave up when two of his subordinates came after her and tried to ambush, only to be stopped by Brook and Chopper.

    Chopper used a beam of light from his antlers while Brook froze the other. They didn''t even know what had hit them and was take out instantly.

    Zephyr was downtrodden and he knew that he would have to leave. He steeled himself and instantly cut his arm in half with the help of his able arm using haki. Luffy and others didn''t expect that to happen at all, and before they could stop the man, he held the two subordinates up with a quick shave and then basically ran away.

    Luffy wanted to go after him but Sanji asked him to stop as he was inconsequential at this point as they had one of the man under control for whatever the fuck was going on. Shiki was under the rubble of his own doing and had to slowly be taken out by him for him to get up.

    There was a huge mark on his face and the battlefield now was in complete ruins, with his palace in total shambles. All of his subordinates were taken care of and even the doctor was held down by dark magic by Robin who tried to ambush the Straw hats.

    Suffice to say, he was both horrified and intrigued by the magic of Robin when she held him down. Chopper was particularly angry with him because in ethical way, he had betrayed the profession of doctors.

    "Bastards.. All bastards.. How dare someone from the weakest sea bring me down?" Shiki roared.

    "If you want I can send you back to the same prison and let you rot there and this time, I will take you your hands." Ken said and he wasn''t being sarcastic about it. He was serious. Shiki shut up when Ken said that.

    He more so had annoyance written over his face rather than fear for Ken. Maybe he was annoyed of being beaten down by the weakest sea again.

    "Let''s talk shall we?" Ken said as he took a chair from the rubbles and sat down on it. And so did the Straw Hats. They wanted to break him down but since Ken wanted to talk there might be reason.